Heat’s Kyle Lowry upgraded to questionable, could make return Monday vs. 76ers
It appears that the Miami Heat will be getting point guard Kyle Lowry back this week.
Lowry has been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s game against the 76ers in his hometown of Philadelphia after missing the last eight games because of left knee soreness. He rejoined the Heat in Philadelphia on Sunday after not traveling with the team for the first two games of the three-game trip.
Lowry, 36, has not played in a game since Feb. 2 and was at the center of trade speculation ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. The Heat was open to dealing Lowry but a trade ultimately never materialized.
While Lowry’s future with the Heat was in question during the days leading up to the deadline, the two sides spent the weeks following the deadline finding a path forward and making sure the knee could get back to as close to 100 percent as possible.
It has been a struggle for Lowry this season. He has averaged 12 points while shooting 39.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range and 5.3 assists per game this season.
The last time Lowry averaged fewer than 13 points per game in a season was in his first year with the Toronto Raptors in 2012-13, the last time he shot worse than 41 percent from the field in a season was also in 2012-13, the last time he shot 34 percent or worse on threes in a season came in 2014-15 with the Raptors, and the last time he averaged fewer than six assists in a season came in 2009-10 with the Houston Rockets.
Lowry has started in each of his 44 appearances this season and has not played off the bench since the 2012-13 season with the Raptors. It remains to be seen if Lowry will resume being the Heat’s starting point guard when he returns, or whether Erik Spoelstra continues starting Gabe Vincent.
Vincent has started in Lowry’s place during this eight-game stretch, averaging 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in that span, while shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three-point range.
The Heat has posted a 3-5 record in the last eight games without Lowry, including four consecutive loses.
Lowry has battled through left knee pain for the last few months. He missed two games because of left knee soreness in December and four games because of left knee discomfort in January before sitting out the last eight games because of left knee soreness. The injury has required ongoing treatment.
“He’s been able to grind through a lot of different pain and discomfort because he’s tough and he’s a competitor,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday when asked about Lowry. “And then when all of a sudden you have games, he’s going to put himself out there regardless if he’s feeling 100 percent or not. We want to get him feeling right and get him moving the way he’s capable of moving.”
Lowry has not spoken to reporters since Feb. 4 just hours before he missed his first of eight straight games. He told The Miami Herald during that conversation that he needed the injury to be diagnosed before moving forward.
Also on the Heat’s injury report for Monday’s matchup against the 76ers: Kevin Love (left knee hyperextension) is probable, Tyler Herro (right rib contusion) is questionable, and Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) remain out.
This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 4:13 PM.
