The first move to the bench was planned; the Miami Heat wanted Kyle Lowry to ease his way back as a reserve after missing a month due to knee pain. What has followed has been player and coach in lockstep about maintaining continuity.
So Sunday, when the Heat open the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, it will be Lowry again as reserve, as it has been since his March 11 return, as it had not been for the previous 10 seasons as nothing but starter.
“That first decision to bring him off the bench was an easy one,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday at Kaseya Center. “We were fully all on the same page about it.This is what had to be done to be able to control the minutes.”
From there, the rhythm with Gabe Vincent opening at starting point guard was one neither Lowry, 37, nor Spoelstra wanted to interrupt.
“I think the plan was very well thought out and everybody was on the same page about it,” Spoelstra said. “There was constant communication. And yes, as he started to get healthier and able to play more minutes, it was one of those things that we dealt with so much inconsistency this year and a lot of moving parts, that we would just stay with this, just for the sake of stability and consistency.
“He has been great about it. He is all about winning right now. He’s playing a massive role with us right now. But that’s why he is who he is. If you’re all about winning, you’ll sacrifice if you need to, take on a little bit of a different role, if you need to, if it makes sense for winning. You can always look at it like he’s a sixth starter.”
When Lowry hit free agency in the 2021 offseason, the Knicks were speculated among suitors, with Lowry taking a three-year, $85 million package to leave the Toronto Raptors and join the Heat in a sign-and-trade transaction.
The Knicks were hesitant about the price tag at the time, electing to save cap space for something down the road. That down-the-road signing proved to be point guard Jalen Brunson on a four-year, $104 million contract in July.
Now Brunson stands as perhaps the prime challenge for the Heat.
“He’s really unique,” Spoelstra said of the emerging 26 year old. “You don’t come across a player that is as crafty and aggressive and physical, but also can get you off balance. And when he’s in the paint and around the basket and in a crowd, that’s probably where he’s most comfortable. That’s super unique.
“And his pivots, his ability to draw fouls, his ability to finish at the rim is uncanny. So you have to have a great discipline.”
Spoelstra downplayed any direct impact of the playoff history between the two teams, with the Heat and Knicks last meeting in meaningful playoff competition in 2000.
“I don’t think it matters to either of the locker rooms,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s OK. Those battles were so long ago. It probably means something to the organizations. But, ultimately, this is about trying to accomplish something huge.
“But for the league, and just for the interest? The league is in such an awesome place right now. And we all want to be a part of that. We all want that to keep on going. And certainly the storyline for the fan bases and the media, and all the things that you can push out there now, yeah, that’s good, that’s good for the game, it’s good for the interest. We want people watching this series.”
The Knicks won the season series 3-1.
“It’s great competition that the four games we played were all down to the wire,” Spoelstra said. “So if it adds to helping more people watch this series, that’s great. But again, for the players in the locker room, this is just about right now. It’s not about the history of it.”
Spoelstra downplayed the hamstring issue that center Bam Adebayo was listed with during the closing stages of the Heat’s five-game first-round elimination of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
“Actually, he played his best and physically he looked his best in the fourth quarter,” Spoelstra said of Wednesday night’s series-clinching overtime victory in Milwaukee, when Adebayo finished with his first playoff triple-double. “And he has a way of overcoming everything. He just got done with a workout right now.
“His two days [off] were really important. He feels much better.”
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