Kyle Lowry Out Game 5; Could Miss Remainder of Conference Semi-Finals

Lowry suffered a left hamstring strain in Game 3 of the Heat’s first-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks and missed the remainder of the series. Lowry returned for games 3 and 4 of the Heat’s second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, where the two teams are currently locked up at 2-2.

In the Heat’s two losses in the Philadelphia series, Lowry was obviously not the player he’s shown to be all season. In Game 1, the 16-year veteran laid an egg in the scoring column, going 0/4 from the field and tallied 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 25 minutes of play. Game 2 was not much different, putting up 6 points on 3/10 shooting and 0/6 from downtown.

What’s This Mean?

Losing Lowry isn’t an easy pill to swallow for Heat fans, or the team for that matter. In 63 games, the 6x All-Star averaged 13.4 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 4.5 RPG on 44% shooting for the Heat this season, giving Miami the right to the number one record in the Eastern Conference with a 53-29 record.

With Lowry out, expect players like Gabe Vincent, Victor Oladipo, and even Duncan Robinson (who has played for less than a minute this series) to receive an increase of minutes moving forward in the second round.

Defeating a team with MVP-Finalist Joel Embiid and former MVP and 3x Scoring Champ James Harden will not be an easy task, but Coach Erik Spoelstra is no stranger to adjustments. Expect Max Strus and Gabe Vincent to remain in the starting lineup moving forward without Lowry.

The Miami Heat have not yet announced Lowry’s timetable for return, but the Heat have a deep enough roster to be prepared for the worst – hopefully for only a game or two.

The series returns to Miami on Tuesday, May 10 for Game 5.

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