Heat’s Lowry again out for Game 2 vs. 76ers. Also, Spoelstra on Robinson decision and more
Life without starting point guard Kyle Lowry will continue for the Miami Heat.
The Heat ruled out Lowry for Game 2 of its second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at FTX Arena because of a strained left hamstring. The Heat holds a 1-0 series lead.
Wednesday will mark the fourth game in a row that Lowry, 36, has missed since suffering the hamstring injury in Game 3 of the Heat’s first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks on April 22.
“We’re not basing any of these decisions on whether we’re winning or losing,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s practice at FTX Arena. “This is what we think is best right now and we’ve had enough opportunities this season with either Kyle or Jimmy [Butler] out, where Gabe [Vincent] has been able to step into the starting unit and everybody feels confident that we can function on both sides of the floor.”
Lowry’s next opportunity to make his return will come in Game 3 on Friday in his hometown of Philadelphia, and optimism remains that he’ll be able to play at some point in the second round. Friday will also mark two weeks since he strained his hamstring in Atlanta.
The rest of the Heat’s roster is expected to be available in Game 2.
The Heat listed Vincent (right knee irritation), Caleb Martin (left ankle sprain), P.J. Tucker (right calf strain), Max Strus (right hamstring strain) and Tyler Herro (left ankle sprain) as questionable for Wednesday’s contest. They are all expected to be available.
Meanwhile, the 76ers will again be without All-Star center Joel Embiid in Game 2 because of a right orbital fracture and mild concussion. Embiid is the only player on Philadelphia’s injury report and there’s some optimism he could return in either Games 3 or 4 in Philadelphia.
Heat star Jimmy Butler missed Tuesday’s practice with an excused absence. But he’s expected to play in Game 2 and is no longer on the injury report with right knee inflammation.
Butler totaled 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes in the Heat’s 106-92 Game 1 win on Monday. Butler did not play in the fourth quarter, but Spoelstra said Butler would have re-entered the game in the final period if the 76ers had put together a late rally.
Without Lowry, the Heat is again expected to start Vincent in his place for the fourth straight game on Wednesday. Vincent has averaged 6.3 points while shooting 5 of 12 (41.7 percent) on threes, 1.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his three starts for Lowry during the playoffs.
The Heat is 15-7 in games that Lowry has missed this season.
“It’s a next man up mentality,” Herro said. “We have a bunch of guys who play-make. Bam [Adebayo] is our center, but he’s one of our best playmakers. Me and [Victor Oladipo] both come off the bench, we can play-make. Jimmy, Gabe, so we got a bunch of guys who can play-make whether Kyle is in or not. But hopefully we can get him back soon.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson found himself completely out of the rotation in Game 1 on Monday. It marked his first DNP-CD in more than three years, as the last time he did not appear in a game despite being available was on April 7, 2019.
“It literally can change next game,” Spoelstra said of not playing Robinson. “It’s a playoff rotation. He’s stable enough, he’s ready enough and it might just be some moments where he really can change a quarter or a game and just be ignitable. It’s just the way we went [in Game 1]. But like I said before we even started this series, this is probably going to feel like three or four different series by the time we get to the middle of it.”
Spoelstra instead used a four-man bench rotation of Herro, Dewayne Dedmon, Oladipo and Martin.
▪ The 76ers sprinkled in some zone defense against the Heat in Game 1 and it was effective at times. Miami scored 1.13 points per possession on the 23 possessions that Philadelphia used zone on Monday, according to Second Spectrum.
That’s a solid number that would have resulted in the NBA’s 11th-best offensive rating during the regular season. All of the Heat’s offensive rebounds helped lift its metrics against the 76ers’ zone.
“I think we weren’t necessarily assertive against it in the second quarter,” Spoelstra said when asked how he felt the Heat fared against the 76ers’ zone defense on Monday. “We were a little bit better with it in the second half. I’m sure we’ll see zone periodically in this series and it’s something we’ll have to just continue to be more intentional about.”
▪ Does the Heat feel any added pressure to win Game 2 on Wednesday with the possibility of Embiid’s return later in the series?
“You don’t want to like add more context to anything. You want to stay in the present moment,” Spoelstra said. “It’s really just trying to just do whatever you have to do to try to get the next game or the game at hand. That’s all we’re focused on. We haven’t had any discussions about, ‘Hey, we have to win.’ I think that adds a different kind of context and pressure.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 2:05 PM.
