With the injury of Tyler Herro, one could have imagined being revived among the holders of the Heat. Erik Spoelstra however preferred to increase his five by establishing Kevin Love and therefore keeping Kyle Lowry on the bench.
The 37-year-old has enjoyed this 6th man title since mid-March and his return from a knee injury. Despite this change in status, his coach see in him ” the ultimate winner. Winning is what motivates him more than anything. There were unfortunate circumstances that brought us to this: his injury kept him out of action for five weeks. It made more sense to get him off the bench. »
The Floridian technician considers that his player is ” fantastic » since the adjustment was made. However, this was not always obvious during the last weeks of competition in the regular season, with an average of barely 8 points over this period.
This has been more the case since the start of these playoffs, during which Kyle Lowry is regularly decisive. ” We get a Hall of Famer’s brain off the bench. Our second five has struggled for much of the year. We put it there and a lot of the things we were constantly working on got sorted out. “, continues the coach, who adds:” Kyle has so much playoff experience that it would be irresponsible of us not to take advantage of his knowledge. »
Author of 15 points (4/6 on shots including 2/4 from afar) in the fourth round against the New Yorkers, the playmaker brings stability with the ball in hand to the “second unit” and in hot moments when he ends the match. Since the start of the series against the Knicks, the NBA champion with the Raptors in 2019 has lost only three balls, while distributing 5 assists per game.
“It’s not easy to sacrifice yourself”
He is also averaging just over 13 points and 4 rebounds. ” He is intelligent and experienced enough to understand. He focuses on what is expected of this team at the moment for this course in the playoffs. It is an incredible luxury. We don’t take that for granted. Even for a guy as smart as him, and he knows it, it’s not easy to sacrifice “Notes the coach who still offers 28 minutes of play in this series to the one he considers a holder.
For now, this sacrifice seems to be paying off at all levels. The Heat bench thus presents the best “Net Rating” (difference between points scored and conceded, out of 100 possessions), and by far (+6), of these playoffs. While these same substitutes only occupied 22nd place in this ranking in the regular season.
” It works for us collectively, we are all on the same wavelength. We all have a common goal, that’s the most important thing “Recalls the playmaker whose series of 771 games in a row as a starter, including 94 playoff games, or more than ten years of competition, ended last March.
At that time, we were still wondering what the Heat’s playoff journey might look like. The latter, like other “returners” like the Lakers, is now at the gates of a new conference final. So for Kyle Lowry, “ at this point it’s all about the team, their needs and what’s best for us. In the end, we try to obtain the total of victories to win a title. I do whatever it takes for us to win, that’s all that really matters. »
| Kyle Lowry | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2006-07 | SAME | 10 | 18 | 36.8 | 37.5 | 89.3 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 5.6 |
| 2007-08 | SAME | 82 | 26 | 43.2 | 25.7 | 69.8 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 9.7 |
| 2008-09* | All Teams | 77 | 22 | 43.5 | 25.5 | 80.1 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| 2008-09* | SAME | 49 | 22 | 41.2 | 24.6 | 80.1 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| 2008-09* | HOO | 28 | 22 | 47.5 | 27.6 | 80.0 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 7.6 |
| 2009-10 | HOO | 68 | 24 | 39.7 | 27.2 | 82.7 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 9.1 |
| 2010-11 | HOO | 75 | 34 | 42.6 | 37.6 | 76.5 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 6.7 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 13.5 |
| 2011-12 | HOO | 47 | 32 | 40.9 | 37.4 | 86.4 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 14.3 |
| 2012-13 | TOR | 68 | 30 | 40.1 | 36.2 | 79.5 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| 2013-14 | TOR | 79 | 36 | 42.3 | 38.0 | 81.3 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 7.4 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 17.9 |
| 2014-15 | TOR | 70 | 35 | 41.2 | 33.8 | 80.8 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 17.8 |
| 2015-16 | TOR | 77 | 37 | 42.7 | 38.8 | 81.1 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 21.2 |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 60 | 37 | 46.4 | 41.2 | 81.9 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 22.4 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 78 | 32 | 42.7 | 39.9 | 85.4 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 16.2 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 65 | 34 | 41.1 | 34.7 | 83.0 | 0.6 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 8.7 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 14.3 |
| 2019-20 | TOR | 58 | 36 | 41.6 | 35.2 | 85.7 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 19.4 |
| 2020-21 | TOR | 46 | 35 | 43.6 | 39.6 | 87.5 | 0.8 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 7.4 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 17.2 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 63 | 34 | 44.0 | 37.7 | 85.1 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 13.4 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 55 | 31 | 40.4 | 34.5 | 85.9 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 11.2 |
| Total | 1078 | 32 | 42.4 | 36.7 | 81.5 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 14.6 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
