Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry continues to adjust to his new role coming off the bench, and head coach Erik Spoelstra recently spoke about his chemistry with the veteran.
“And then, at the end, just organized everybody,” Spoelstra said of Lowry’s performance in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s game on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons. “He and I are after two years now of doing this, we’re on the same page about play calls, where the ball needs to go, how to get everybody organized. But that’s what a Hall of Fame quarterback does.”
Lowry played all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter of Miami’s win on Sunday, registering four points, two rebounds and four assists in the frame to help the Heat emerge victorious.
Since returning from injury, the one-time champion has played in four games, coming off the bench in each of them. In that span, he’s averaging 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while connecting on 60.0 percent of his shots from the field and 60.0 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
A move to the bench has seemingly rejuvenated the six-time All-Star after he started off the 2022-23 season struggling. Plenty of people have been disappointed with his efforts as a member of the Heat. Many fans were clamoring for the team to trade him ahead of this season’s deadline, and while the Heat apparently attempted to find a deal for him, nothing materialized.
It seems possible that the Heat will revisit a trade involving Lowry in the upcoming offseason, as the 36-year-old will then be on an expiring contract.
However, the team may be open to keeping him for one more year as a bench piece. Lowry is set to make about $29.7 million next season.
While Lowry has struggled a bit since joining the Heat, it seems like he’s on a path that ends with him landing in the Hall of Fame. Basketball Reference has his Hall of Fame probability at 85.7 percent.
Helping the Heat to a championship this season would only increase that percentage. Miami is currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-34 record. It is just one game back of the Brooklyn Nets for sixth, the final guaranteed playoff spot in the East.
Lowry will look to help in any way he can as the 2022-23 regular season gets closer and closer to its end.