With an early exit in the first round of last season and swept by the final champion, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat were in pain. In addition to retaining the main lineup framework, the Heat have also brought in a number of strong reinforcements, including Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo and PJ Tucker, and the effect is obviously remarkable. After the Toronto Raptors, who rose rapidly during this period of away games, the Heat led the Boston Celtics, who were second in the East, two wins and basically locked in the top position.
Against old club Toronto Raptors, Heat starting point guard Kyle Lowry also continued to be in good shape. He didn't give up at all, cutting 16 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Heat take the victory away from Toronto. In the past two games, Lowry has scored 19 points and 10 assists against the Chicago Bulls, and in direct confrontations with the Boston Celtics, Lowry has also scored 23 points and 8 assists. More importantly, he is extremely efficient, shooting at least 50% of the way every game, contributing 58 points and 28 assists in three games combined. Against the Kings, due to the weak opponent and the untidy lineup, Lowry is a small test knife, cutting 9 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, but he hit 3 goals in 4 shots in the whole game, and his ability to seize opportunities is extremely strong, to be honest, like Chris Paul, Lowry is also the older and more demon point guard.
As a 2006 debut, Lowry first played for the Memphis Grizzlies, but at the time he was only the team's third point guard and had very limited playing time. Until he was sent to the Houston Rockets, Lowry was entrusted with heavy responsibilities, coupled with Yao Ming's sake, this team accumulated a high popularity in China, and Lowry was also known to more people. Objectively speaking, during the Rockets' time, although Lowry has improved significantly, it can only be regarded as a qualified first starter at most, and the Rockets have been relegated to the ninth consecutive West and missed the playoffs, forcing management to reorganize the lineup in the summer of 2012, including sending Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for a first-round draft pick.
Although it was not so easy to accept at the time, in hindsight, for Lowry's career development, being sent away by the Rockets was a blessing in disguise. After joining the Raptors, Lowry grew very fast, and it wasn't long before he formed the Raptors' backcourt twins with DeRozan to help the team become a powerhouse in the East. During his time with the Raptors, Lowry was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star for six consecutive years, entered the league's best team in the 15-16 season, and averaged about 21 points and 6 assists in two years, which is obviously very good.
It's just that the Raptors will always drop the chain in the playoffs, and often being bullied by the Cavaliers led by LeBron James is only one aspect, even if they encounter teams such as the Washington Wizards and the Brooklyn Nets, they will not take advantage, and the goal of impacting the championship is far away, so the Raptors management chose to gamble in the summer of 2018, they packaged DeRozan, Pelter and a first-round draft pick to the Spurs, in exchange for Cowy Leonard and Danny Green. It turned out that the Raptors also made the right bet, and under Leonard's leadership, the Raptors won the first championship trophy in team history. Lowry's role has also changed dramatically, with his average scoring per game dropping significantly, and sometimes not even Siakamdo on the offensive end, but Lowry averaged 8.7 assists per game, a career high. In addition, Lowry's defensive ability was also underestimated by the outside world, and Leonard formed a containment, and his efficiency also improved, and finally won a championship ring with the team.
Even if Leonard's departure led to a decline in the Raptors' competitiveness, Lowry's personal performance is commendable. In the 19-20 season that followed, Lowry averaged 19.4 points, 5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, and he and Siakam helped the Raptors to finish second in the East in the regular season, and it seemed that after winning the championship, the spirit of the whole team was different, and in the playoffs, they also lost to the Celtics and almost reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Until last season, Lowry was plagued by injuries, and there was a more obvious decline in form, and the Raptors were quite unexpectedly missing the playoffs because of the lack of major generals, coupled with the very empty interior position. Last summer, the Raptors decided to restructure the roster, so the management was not prepared to keep Lowry, but the Raptors recognized the latter's contribution to the team, and they made a promise in advance that they would retire Lowry's No. 7 jersey in the future.
The Miami Heat, who urgently need to improve their backcourt strength and veteran experience, took action, they sent dragic and Achuva and others to the Raptors in a first-and-later way, bringing Lowry back to Miami, and the two sides also signed a three-year contract worth 85 million US dollars. For most of the season, Lowry has played very well, averaging 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.1 steals so far this season, and the team often arranges for him to take turns back-to-back or consecutive away games. But as the season entered the finale, Lowry began to exert efforts, and it seemed that the veteran was hoping to find a form for the playoffs in advance, and the Heat became more and more terrifying.