The Miami Heat offense has hit rock bottom across the last two contests.
Not being able to make enough shots to stay in the game for nearly 6 quarters, while the second-half comeback bid against Charlotte would fall short due to the hole that said shooting had dug them into early on in that one, those two showings left the Miami Heat’s best player and team leader, Jimmy Butler, seemingly defeated after Saturday night.
And while there is a ton that goes into fixing the issue, that’s work that has to be done in the practice facility and on the actual floor of play. However, there is another part of it all that hasn’t heard itself discussed as much as it should be.
While the Miami Heat haven’t been an electric or explosive offensive team all year long, they haven’t been as bad as they’ve been in their last few games either. And among it all, one thing sticks out a bit more than others, and that’s the shot quality that the Miami Heat are getting in this disaster fest that, quite frankly, may actually extend past just these last two games in a concurrent fashion.
The Miami Heat haven’t been offensively dominant this year, but not as bad as the last few games either. And Kyle Lowry’s absence is felt there.
The sobering reality from what we've seen from Vincent and Oladipo is the Heat need Kyle Lowry to get back to being something closer to Kyle Lowry.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) February 26, 2023
That’s where a guy like Kyle Lowry has been extremely useful to the Miami Heat. And while it isn’t a direct correlation to speak of, the mere overlap does indeed show some sort of effect or impact.
Though everyone has wanted more from him individually on the offensive end, his know-how and experience allow him to help put his Miami Heat brethren in the best positions to succeed. Take his hit-ahead passes, for example, something that helps the Miami Heat constantly get easy buckets or at least, keep the opposing defenders on edge.
Also take the fact that he’s just a point guard, a floor general, and a natural quarterback that helps the Miami Heat get the best shots possible on a given possession or offensive sequence. So again, while more is needed from him on the offensive end personally, the Miami Heat’s inability to sink enough shots in the last two games screams to the notion of how much they actually do miss Kyle Lowry in the lineup.
And that’s even for all of his own perceived shortcomings this season. Because yes, they have had some open ones that they have just flat-out missed but overall, they aren’t getting as high a quality of looks as they do with Lowry in the lineup.