After an embarrassing exit in the 2021 playoffs, the Miami Heat entered the offseason with a major sense of urgency.
And while their roster might not be on par with Brooklyn, or a certain team in Los Angeles, the acquisitions of PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry have been widely hailed by fans and experts alike.
Regarding Lowry, specifically, he has been viewed by some as the missing link to this team, whose expectations are now through the roof.
Some still have their doubts, however, that Lowry is going to make as big an impact as some have been led to believe. According to one anonymous expective, the star point guard isn’t that big of an improvement over the guy he replaced.
“Everybody is excited about Kyle Lowry, but is he that big of an upgrade over Goran Dragic? Dragic could score and he had great chemistry with that team,” the scout said. “Lowry is a leader but he has a lot of miles on him. He takes a lot of contact, a lot of charges. I worry about injuries with him.”
Lowry, 35, is a 6x All-Star and NBA Champion who brings playmaking and shooting to the table for Miami. Certainly, on paper, he can be considered a third star for this Heat team.
On the flip side, Lowry is 35-years-old with 15 seasons of mileage on his body.
Is he still the same player he was in Toronto? Can he be counted on to produce at a high-level night in and night out?
Much remains to be seen, but if the Heat are to get past some of their Eastern Conference competitors this year, they’re going to need Lowry to step up and provide a spark offensively.
At this point, the jury is still out on if he’s capable of doing that. We’ll just have to wait and see.
