When the Miami Heat signed Kyle Lowry last offseason, the expectation was that the team would make a championship run and that he would be one of the last important pieces needed to win it all. The Heat have made their way to the Eastern Conference Finals and they have done so without much contribution from Lowry so far in the playoffs.
Kyle Lowry has only played in five of Miami’s twelve playoff games so far. In the first round, the Heat faced the Hawks.
They were a good team but taking into account all of the injuries they dealt with, Miami was clearly the better team. In the next round, the Heat faced the 76ers.
Like Atlanta, Philadelphia had a number of issues going on. Still, the Heat proved that they were a much better overall team than the 76ers.
The Miami Heat have made it to the Conference Finals and largely without Kyle Lowry. However, they will need him if they are going to beat the Celtics.
Now, the Heat are facing the Boston Celtics. They are much better than the opponents Miami has faced so far.
This is a more evenly matched series than people realize. To beat the Celtics four times, the Heat will have to play at their absolute best.
In order to do that, they are going to need their floor general in Kyle Lowry. Let’s be clear—Lowry is dealing with a nagging hamstring injury and he should take all of the time he needs to recover.
It would be better to play without Lowry than to play with the version we saw in the Philadelphia series. The Celtics are just too talented, collectively, for the Miami Heat to be playing without their star point guard.
They are one of the best defenses in the NBA and the Heat will need Lowry to help break down that defense with his passing ability. If Lowry does not return for this series, the Heat should still be able to win some games in this series, such as Game 1.
They are too good of a team not to. However, their ability to win four games in the series would be in jeopardy.
Hopefully, Lowry can return in playoff mode and give the Heat the extra boost they need to take out Boston.