Miami Heat veteran point guard Kyle Lowry will miss Game 1 of his team’s second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a hamstring injury, the team announced Sunday. That same hamstring injury occurred in Game 3 of Miami’s first-round victory over the Atlanta Hawks. It held him out of Games 4 and 5, both Heat victories as they advanced to the second round. Now, it will keep him out of the start of the second round.
Lowry, who turned 36 in March, missed 19 games in the regular season due to a variety of minor injuries and personal issues. Virtually every member of the Heat dealt with injuries at some point in the season, as Duncan Robinson was the only player on the roster to miss fewer than 10 games. Jimmy Butler also missed Game 5 of the first round against Atlanta due to knee soreness, but he has said he plans to play in Game 1 against the 76ers.
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Philadelphia is Lowry’s hometown team. The Sixers were in the running to acquire him at both the 2021 trade deadline and in the offseason before a sign-and-trade got him to Miami. That makes this a somewhat personal series for both Lowry and his close friend Butler, who played for Philadelphia during the 2018-19 season.
With Lowry out, the Heat turned to Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup in Games 4 and 5. He will likely remain there until Lowry returns, but the Heat should also expect more minutes out of former All-Star Victor Oladipo, who started Game 5 in Butler’s place and scored 23 points in 36 minutes. Oladipo returned late in the season and is only now beginning to ramp back up into the sort of physical condition needed to play a major role.
If Lowry is going to struggle with this hamstring issue throughout the postseason, the Heat will need Oladipo to occupy that sort of major role. Miami relies on Lowry on both ends of the floor, and while the 76ers are dealing with a major injury of their own to Joel Embiid, future opponents will likely be healthier. Having their own roster at full strength will be critical to their title hopes.
