Feedback on what Heat is getting with Lowry, including league-worst area he could help
A six-pack of Miami Heat notes, mostly on Kyle Lowry:
▪ A veteran NBA scout from another team who has watched Lowry closely for years told me: “What separates him from almost all of the point guards in the NBA except a few is the high level of competitor he is, the aggressive dog mentality that he brings every night. He’s a dog, which is what he and Jimmy [Butler] have in common.
“He’s not the absolute best shooter, but he’s a very good shooter. He’s a tremendously underrated offensive rebounder. If he sets a screen, you’re going to feel it. He’s old school when it comes to that kind of approach. He sets solid screens. He fights over screens. He dives on the floor. He gets himself dirty on the court, so to speak.
“The thing I love about him is if you have a switching system [of defense, like the Heat has], he will switch onto a center and out-tough a lot of centers. He’s a tough dude. He’s in the upper echelon of point guard leaders, with Chris Paul and a few others. Going to Miami, just having a new outlook and an ability to win at a high level, he will be renewed. So will Jimmy.”
The scout made a few other points:
“Kyle will be good for Bam [Adebayo]. Bam has a dog mentality but now you have two alpha dudes with Kyle and Jimmy. He’ll be good for Duncan [Robinson] and [Tyler] Herro, too, with his ability to set them up. Everyone will be the beneficiary of more easy baskets. And remember, [Pascal] Siakam handled the ball a lot for Toronto. Kyle can play off the ball. He played with players who handled the ball a lot — Kawhi [Leonard], Fred Van Vleet.”
▪ In several statistical measures, Lowry remains a top-10 point guard, at the very least. He was 10th in three-point shooting percentage among point guards last season, at 40.2 percent, between Kyrie Irving and Paul.
His 2.8 made threes per game were seventh most in the league among points guards. His 7.3 assists per game ranked 10th at his position.
▪ During defining moments of close games, no team in the league shot three-pointers worse than the Heat last season. Lowry should help in that regard.
The Heat shot 19 for 83 on clutch threes (22.9 percent), defined by the NBA as the final five minutes of games with a margin of five points or fewer.
Lowry, conversely, has shot 19 for 45 on clutch threes the past two seasons — 42.2 percent. That included 12 for 28 two seasons ago and 7 for 17 last year.
Overall, he shot 47 percent on clutch field-goal attempts over the past two seasons, which is very good for a wing player.
For perspective, Heat players shot a dismal 37.5 percent from the field in the clutch last season (75 for 200).
▪ Defensively, the player who Lowry defended shot 48.1 percent last season, much worse (from a defensive perspective) than the 45.8 percent that those players shot overall.
That 48.1 was 10th worst among starting point guards.
But make no mistake: Lowry is a tough-minded defender, and Pat Riley called him an “exceptional” defender. He took 166 charges during the past five years, most in the league during that time span.
▪ The concern with Lowry — and it’s a legitimate one — is durability. He will turn 36 toward the end of next season. He has missed 26 games last season, 14 the previous season and 17 the year before that.
As ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote: “Small guards don’t tend to age well, but Lowry fits some of the characteristics of one we might expect to buck that trend: smart, stout physically, ace shooter, and someone who didn’t pile up as much wear and tear as a reserve early in his career. Still, Lowry’s age places this nucleus on a short, urgent timetable. They have to win immediately. Even minor slippage from Lowry torpedoes that plan.”
We’re told Dallas finished second behind the Heat for Lowry; he was intrigued by the Mavericks, who were willing to meet his price tag, but he preferred playing with Butler in Miami.
New Orleans was willing to go to $90 million over three years or more, according to a source, but Lowry never leaned toward going there, according to the source. Lowry took three years and $85 million from Miami.
▪ According to a source, Robinson can opt out of his five-year, $90 million deal after four seasons if he chooses. Robinson never considered outside offers; the Heat had the right to match anyway.
“The priority was definitely working something out with the Heat,” he said. “We felt that there was a lot of familiarity there and comfortability... Quite honestly, this was an organization that gave me my original shot and believed in me when a lot of other places didn’t.”
▪ Quick stuff: Count Clippers forward Serge Ibaka among those excited about the Heat’s potential. “Damn, Bam just got my boy Kyle Lowry,” Ibaka tweeted. “He is about to have a career year!!”...
ESPN’s Lowe said “I’m higher on this team on paper than most. They rank third in the East to me [behind the Bucks and Nets] third in the East with a puncher’s chance — not a distant third.”...
Said ESPN’s Jalen Rose: “The Heat are in position to get Pat Riley one last run at a title-contending team. I officially called the Miami Mafia for almost two decades. He’s not just gonna allow the Nets to have a Big 3, Giannis [Antetokounmpo] to win a ring and not make moves this offseason.”...
The second years of the minimum deals for Omer Yurtseven, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent aren’t guaranteed.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 1:50 PM.
