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The Miami Heat take on one of their toughest Eastern Conference opponents, the Chicago Bulls, on Monday, February 28, but they will have to do so without point guard Kyle Lowry, who’s once again been ruled out due to personal reasons.
According to Miami Herald‘s Anthony Chiang, it’s “the same personal reason” that kept Lowry out for nine straight games last month that’s keeping him out now. “There’s no timetable for his return,” Chiang reported.
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Losing Lowry is a huge blow for the Heat (40-21), a team currently sitting in first place atop the Eastern Conference, and playing against the Bulls, who are right behind Miami with a 39-22 record. Learning that there is no return timetable for Lowry is worrisome. Aside from the fact that Miami seems to be preparing for him to miss multiple games, more importantly, there’s a deep concern for Lowry and his family.
Few details were revealed on Lowry’s situation when he was out from January 17 to February 1, and it’s unlikely the Heat will divulge any more information this time around, either The 35-year-old veteran has missed a total of 13 games this season, during which the Heat went 8-5.
Following Miami’s 110-106 loss to Lowry’s former team, the Toronto Raptors, on February 1, Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra broke his silence on Lowry’s extended absence.
“We understand all the things that we’re missing,” Spoelstra said. “But this is bigger than that. We stay connected. I communicate with him every day and everybody else, as well. He’s a part of our family now and we just want to be there for him. The basketball stuff, we can work that all out.”
The Heat Play Better With Lowry on the Court
While you can’t place a team’s success squarely on one person’s shoulders, statistics show that Lowry’s presence elevates the team’s offense, and even Spoelstra credits the versatile point guard and what he brings to the court every night.
Chiang reported, “Miami has outscored opponents by 5.8 points per 100 possessions this season with Lowry on the court, compared to outscoring teams by 3.1 points per 100 possessions when he hasn’t been on the court.”
Spoelstra said of Lowry, “There are so many IQ nuances that Kyle can bring to the game. He can dominate a game and only score six points. He can be assertive and put pressure on the defense in transition with his drives, his passing, his pitch aheads. Half-court offense, he can organize you and get the ball where it needs to go. I mentioned this earlier in the year that he’s such an underrated screener.
“Either way he’s able to manipulate situations so we can get some kind of advantage against the defense. But it’s really all across the board.”
Thus far this season, Lowry has averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 42.5% from the field and 35.6% on threes, along with 4.6 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.2 steals.
Butler Said There Are More Important Things Than Basketball While Discussing Lowry’s Absence Last Month
GettyErik Spoelstra and Jimmy Butler look on from the Heat sideline during a game versus Philadelphia on January 15, 2022.
Butler, who named Lowry the godfather of his daughter, and has been best friends with the former Raptors star for years, spoke about Lowry’s situation on January 28.
“I think it’s always really important to realize basketball is second, third, if not around that area on people’s list of importance,” Butler said. “You always got to make sure the family is good, yourself is good. It just feels good to know that we got guys that can step in and do what Kyle does for us. But I miss him, we all miss him. We want him and his family to be okay.”
Other players missing from the Heat’s roster for Monday night’s game against the Bulls include Victor Oladipo, who’s yet to play in a game this season, Markieff Morris hasn’t played since taking a blindside hit from Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic on November 8, and Caleb Martin (Achilles) is listed as questionable.
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