Short-handed Heat leaning on Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker. How they’re leading in different ways
Without stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler because of injuries, others on the Miami Heat’s roster have needed to step into bigger roles.
Young players who weren’t playing much have suddenly been pushed into the rotation, backup center Dewayne Dedmon has moved into the starting lineup and the 21-year-old Tyler Herro’s usage rate has spiked to just more than 30 percent.
But accomplished veterans Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker have also been asked to do more on and off the court as leaders during a rough stretch in the Heat’s season with young and inexperienced players logging more minutes because of injury issues.
“Totally invaluable,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Lowry and Tucker, with the Heat set to continue its trip on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). “What’s really special about them is they have the resumes, they’re both highly decorated, former champions in this league. But they infuse so much confidence in guys and they do it in totally different ways.”
Lowry, 35, “constantly encourages the guys and the young guys” and Tucker, 36, is “extremely loud,” according to Spoelstra. But their message is the same.
“Just keep their confidence high,” Lowry said. “Just keep their confidence high and keep them motivated to just, ‘Hey, you’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to miss shots. You’re going to miss assignments.’ But just as a leader for myself and P.J., it’s continuing to motivate them and say, ‘Listen, keep the positivity.’ Don’t get on them too bad.”
Two players who were out of the Heat’s rotation and have played more consistent roles recently because of injuries are rookie center Omer Yurtseven and third-year forward KZ Okpala. In the fourth quarter of Monday’s 105-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Yurtseven logged eight minutes and Okpala was relied on to play five minutes.
How important are Lowry and Tucker when Yurtseven and Okpala are playing? Lowry and/or Tucker have been on the court for 38 of the 48 minutes that Yurtseven, 23, has played and 65 of the 79 minutes that Okpala, 22, has played in the last four games.
“They knew that we needed a little bit more out of them, specifically in that leadership role,” Heat guard Gabe Vincent said. “You lose those two All-NBA guys. I don’t even know what the stats are combined with them that we lose. In that regard, it’s next man up. Whoever it may be. We all need to contribute a little bit more. But we definitely lean on Kyle and P.J. more so right now for leadership.”
Yurtseven is constantly looking toward Lowry and Tucker for guidance during games.
“Every time the ball stops, I keep an ear out, keep an eye out for Kyle because he sees the game at a different pace, different perspective with all the experience that he has,” Yurtseven said. “Same with P.J., especially on defense, P.J.’s presence is impeccable as well as Kyle’s offensive presence. They both lead on both ends of the floor. It’s just about keeping an eye out, keeping an ear out to see what they want, see what they want to get to and who they want to get a stop on or who we can help off of.”
Before entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols Saturday, Heat two-way contract wing Caleb Martin explained Tucker’s leadership style as “loud” and noted that he “doesn’t sugarcoat a lot of stuff” while calling Lowry the “opposite of P.J.” because he’s “more calm.”
“P.J. is loud. He’s raw, he’s real,” Vincent said. “If something comes to mind, he’s going to let you know in that moment. It’s just very intense. Most of what he does is all intense. Kyle, he’ll pull you aside to have a conversation. He’ll speak up in a huddle, though. He’ll get animated if he needs to. But his is more of like just trying to connect with you, let’s address it and move on. He’s not necessarily a yeller.”
On the court, Lowry and Tucker have arguably been the Heat’s two best players since Butler went down with a bruised tail bone in a Nov. 27 road victory over the Chicago Bulls and Adebayo then injured his thumb in a Nov. 29 home loss to the Denver Nuggets.
During Monday’s loss to the Cavaliers, Tucker scored a season-high and game-high 23 points with the help of 5-of-8 shooting on threes, while also grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out five assists. Lowry finished with 22 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep, three rebounds and five assists.
Over the last three games since Butler re-aggravated his tail bone injury during last Monday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Heat has outscored opponents by 30 points in the 77 minutes that Lowry and Tucker have played together. Miami has been outscored by six points during this three-game stretch when they both haven’t been on the court.
“Patience. It teaches patience for sure,” Tucker said of playing with the Heat’s youth. “All our young guys work really hard. They give everything they got. They don’t come in looking to mess up. They come in working really hard and that’s all you can ask for as a vet in this situation. So that’s all I look for. That’s it. That’s my main focus.”
Maybe the most important Lowry and Tucker offer is perspective.
”To be able to handle this kind of adversity, you need great veteran leadership and that’s who those guys are,” Spoelstra said.
Perspective that the Heat’s situation is temporary. Adebayo is expected to return in mid-January, Butler is expected back in the coming days, Markieff Morris will eventually return from whiplash, Martin will be playing again when he’s out of protocols, and Victor Oladipo is traveling with the team for the first time this season as he moves closer to a return from May knee surgery.
“It’s a long season, like they said. There’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs,” Vincent said. “So as level as we can be, it’s extremely important. Especially with their experience, their veteran leadership. The more they’re level, the more we’ll be level.”
In the long run, Tucker believes this situation could even end up as a positive for the Heat.
“I think it all helps when you get the complete team back,” Tucker said. “Everybody’s confidence is high, playing well, been doing the right things. It’s growing pains. You win some, you lose some, but you stay even-keeled and you stay fighting for the next game.”
▪ Along with remaining without Adebayo, Butler, Martin, Morris and Oladipo, the Heat has also listed Herro as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the 76ers because of a right quadriceps contusion.
Herro suffered the injury in the second quarter of Monday’s loss to the Cavaliers, but managed to play through the injury to finish the game with 12 points on 6-of-15 shooting, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 11:39 AM.
