Miami Heat: Pat Riley Doesn’t Do Hidden Agendas, Even On Kyle Lowry

However, that didn’t quite happen for one of the newest Miami Heat guys this season. Perhaps by no fault of his own or perhaps by the nature of the way it all went down, it just didn’t happen.

Here is Pat Riley discussing it, in his own words, from his end of the season presser.

Pat Riley on Kyle Lowry: He had a challenging year for a number of reasons. The bottom line with me is that you have to be in world class shape...He definitely is going to have to address that and it will be addressed. I think he can be in better shape. pic.twitter.com/DfTrLN2DFT
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) June 6, 2022

Kyle Lowry dealt with a ton this past season.

From regular season bruises, to personal issues that caused him to miss quite a bit of time during the year, to the naggin hamstring injury that seemed to sap a ton of big time production from the championship point guard over the course of the Heat’s playoff run.

While it’s hard to illustrate a cause and effect relationship between the shape he was in and that last particular injury, it’s safe to assume there might be a correlation. Less weight to carry around, being in better physical condition, and just making sure those core needed body parts are as strong as possible can go a long way towards the season-long longevity of a player’s body.

So, Pat Riley did what Pat Riley does. He mentioned it.