The Miami Heat needed a true point guard this past offseason. They got one when they inked Kyle Lowry to a three-year pact.
As far as his season for the Heat though, Lowry comes in at a C-. That’s just above passing.
That seems a little harsh and frankly, it is but it’s not undeserved. Lowry came to Miami as a way to take pressure off of Jimmy Butler, specifically by handling a bit of the playmaking load as a primary ball-handler.
And for the most part, he did. Lowry improved their pace and averaged exactly 7.5 assists over the regular season.
His addition provided on and off-the-court value as a veteran and a champion. He could be another adult in the room around a much younger group—and there’s absolutely value in that.
He’s a quality player, as both a scorer and a playmaker. In fact, his individual bucket getting was extremely valuable, at times, when the offense was struggling.
The criticisms start to arise when looking at the Heat offense in particular. The crunch-time offense still relied too much on Butler, with some moments around Lowry to create but not much.
The Miami Heat were a shot away from the NBA Finals. With a bit more production from their starting point guard, they might’ve gone anyway.
To be fair, this isn’t all Lowry’s fault but there is a part of this that just didn’t feel as good as it could have been. Still, most of his performance was good when he was healthy, but there lies the major concern.
Kyle played 63 games this year for the Miami Heat, which was 76 percent of the season. That really isn’t that terrible.
However, it did lead to some poor play and gave him fewer reps with a new team, something that every major ball-handler needs. It was clear that the team needed more from him (any and everyone really) in order to get past the Celtics, but it just didn’t happen.
Some or most may not have placed those heavy responsibilities and expectations on him, but should he really get a pass? Honestly, it’s hard to overlook the Game 5 stat line of zero points, zero assists, and one rebound in almost 25 minutes against Boston.
Every player has bad games, even in the playoffs, but he needed to find a way to contribute. That’s what the adult in the room with championship experience is supposed to do.
Injuries aren’t all a player’s fault, but they still can’t be ignored. Additionally, some of the poor performances can be attributed to health as well.
This all really isn’t as bad as this article is making it sound but there is one caveat that can’t be ignored—$26.9 million dollars. Lowry makes far too much money for these concerns to be glazed over.
If he was on something closer to the mid-level or even around $10 million less, then this conversation is a little less harsh. In that light, he would get something around a B.
Season Grade: C-
But that isn’t the money he draws, so it isn’t, and that’s where we are. Again and sorry to say it, but it’s a C- for the Miami Heat’s QB1. There is also this.
The contract is only increasing for the next two years. Hopefully, he bounces back.
However, it’s rare for a player at 36 years old, but we are seeing it more and more as modern science progresses. There is a case to be made that he should be on the trade block sooner than later, however, we may revisit that later.
As for now, let’s just hope he can improve this grade in the final two years of his Miami Heat deal.