Heat’s Spoelstra learns All-Star fate. And Lowry’s impact, Herro’s feat and injury update
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra now knows where he’ll be spending All-Star Weekend.
In Cleveland.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday means that Spoelstra will be the Eastern Conference’s coaching representative for the Feb. 20 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland because the Heat owns the East’s top record through Sunday’s cutoff date to determine the showcase’s coaches. Spoelstra and his staff will coach the team captained by Kevin Durant.
Had the Bulls won on Sunday, Chicago coach Billy Donovan would have coached in the All-Star Game.
The Bulls’ loss left the Heat with the best record in the East at 34-20. Chicago is in second place, just one-half game behind Miami.
Phoenix’s Monty Williams is the coach representing the Western Conference in the All-Star Game.
This will mark the second All-Star Game that Spoelstra has coached in, as he also earned the honor in 2013. It’s the third time a Heat coach has coached in the showcase, with Stan Van Gundy doing it in 2005.
Along with Spoelstra and his staff, the Heat will also be represented in the All-Star Game by Jimmy Butler, who was voted in as an East reserve.
THIS AND THAT
Kyle Lowry has attempted only seven shots and scored just 11 points in two games back from personal leave, but that isn’t a gauge for the impact he’s having.
With Lowry running the offense, the Heat extended a 10-point halftime lead in San Antonio to 16 and turned a 5-point deficit halftime into an 8-point lead in Charlotte, when he went to the bench for a third-quarter breather. The Heat’s romp against the Hornets continued to grow from there.
“I never look at the stat line with him,” Spoelstra said. “He can control the game, the pace, make the appropriate calls, feels the tenor of the game. Knocking down the big shot or playmaking – that’s from years of experience doing it at a high level.”
The Heat has outscored teams by 17 points in Lowry’s 56 minutes since returning from a nine-game absence to deal with a family matter. He’s a plus 138 for the season, second on the team behind only PJ Tucker, who’s at plus 143.
“Kyle is putting us in great positions, putting everybody in better spots to be aggressive and play to their strengths,” Bam Adebayo said. “That’s what the point guard does, makes everybody better.”
Lowry had six assists, no turnovers and four steals Saturday. He leads the league with 22 charges drawn.
▪ This Heat team seemingly has a knack for steadying itself after rocky starts. Miami’s 35-8 third quarter romp against Charlotte followed a first half in which the Heat trailed by seven and shot 16 for 48 (34 percent).
Spoelstra’s theory about why this team is good at that: “We have a lot of really competitive veteran players that know how to work a game. They’re not getting sick at sea from an 8-0 run by an opponent. They know games are long. We have a few of those guys that understand that.”
Tyler Herro cites “our resilience. We have a bunch of guys that can score in bunches.”
▪ For Monday night’s game against the Washington Wizards, the Heat listed Butler (left big toe irritation), Herro (right knee soreness), Caleb Martin (left Achilles soreness) and Max Strus (right quadriceps contusion) as questionable.
Markieff Morris, KZ Okpala, Victor Oladipo and Chris Silva remain out.
▪ Herro’s 226 points in the fourth quarter are by far the most of any player on the team. Strus is next at plus 142.
Here’s my Sunday piece with news on Bam Adebayo and more.
This story was originally published February 6, 2022 at 5:57 PM.
