Miami Heat: Kyle Lowry Absolutely Makes Them A Title Favorite – The Past
The Miami Heat’s title odds have skyrocketed for the 2021-22 season, following what many label as the best move of the summer. That narrative deserves to be preached more, with Lowry being the missing link to the team.
To kick it off, let’s start with the ugly, which is the fact that the Heat were 25th in points scored last season.
As the defending Eastern Conference Champion being led by two premiere cornerstones in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo and also surrounded with then-experienced shooters and role guys such as Dragic and Tyler Herro, who played like a rising star during that run, as well as other dependable role guys and vets like Duncan Robinson, Andre Iguodala and Kendrick Nunn, that’s unacceptable.
Herro and Robinson were definitely far from playing their roles to a tee, as Miami was about in the middle of the pack in three-point percentage, at 35.8 percent (14th). They were tied for 13th in the league in field-goal percentage, shooting at a clip of 46.8 percent.
Now, they weren’t too bad when it came to assists, with 26.3 per game (ninth in NBA), while they were also able to maintain their notoriously elite defense, finishing the season at fifth in points allowed. But what mostly separated the Heat from the other Eastern Conference contenders was a secondary vocal leader to hold others accountable.