Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry made his return from a knee injury earlier this month, but it seems like he still isn’t able to do everything he’d like.
The one-time champion revealed on Tuesday morning that he still hasn’t been cleared to play in back-to-backs. Therefore, he’s expected to play on Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors and miss Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks.
Kyle Lowry said this morning that the doctor has not yet cleared him to play back-to-backs. So he's expected to play tonight in Toronto and then miss tomorrow's game vs. Knicks in New York.
Also, Jimmy Butler is probable with neck soreness but is expected to play tonight.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) March 28, 2023
Lowry made his return on March 11 after missing 15 consecutive contests. Since making his way back to the court, the 37-year-old has come off the bench in each of his six appearances to record 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game on 56.3 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
It seems like a move to the bench has rejuvenated the veteran, who had been struggling a bit as a starter earlier in the 2022-23 campaign.
The former first-round pick saw his name included in plenty of trade rumors ahead of this season’s deadline, but no deal materialized, seemingly due to the Heat’s reluctancy to include a first-round pick to offload big contracts.
After this season, Lowry has one more year left on his deal at just under $29.7 million. Expiring contracts are often easy to move, so the Heat might be able to find a deal they like involving Lowry this summer.
With Lowry’s future in question and Gabe Vincent set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, Miami’s point guard rotation might be completely different in the 2023-24 season.
Perhaps the Heat will try to make a move for Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. NBA insider Shams Charania recently offered some an interesting thought about Lillard’s situation, with Portland likely to miss the postseason this year.
“You have to wonder if he's going to play another game for the Portland Trail Blazers. I expect there to be real conversations this off-season.” 👀👀👀
– @ShamsCharania on Dame pic.twitter.com/IgXuWUw4pT
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 27, 2023
Lillard has been linked to the Heat plenty of times before, and Pat Riley would surely go all in to acquire the seven-time All-Star.
But for now, the most important thing for anyone inside the Heat organization is securing a spot in the playoffs. The team currently sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Though Miami has the same record (40-35) as the Brooklyn Nets, the Nets hold the sixth seed due to them winning the season series.
Every game has big implications for the Heat at this point in the season, so there’s no margin for error.
