If you want to win the NBA championship, you need to "gamble" a lot of times. Leonard, who was seriously injured by the Raptors, the Celtics traded Garnett with half a team in 2008, and the Heat exchanged for the elderly O'Neal, and finally successfully gambled on the championship. Therefore, high gambling is high return and high risk, and there is a sense of success in it. 3 years and 85 million US dollars, this year's Heat is also a big bet on veteran Lowry, so how does he perform in the playoffs?
Lowry is a strong player, and when the Raptors won the championship, he was the second best player. As a veteran, he is a perennial Eastern Conference All-Star point guard with top-notch organizational skills, defensive performance online, while three-point accuracy, playoff experience, is a good championship puzzle. So last summer, the Heat chose to reinforce the point guard position in order to impact the championship. They traded Lowry for a sign-and-change approach.
The deal was controversial because Lowry was 35 years old at the time, not the same level he had won in 19 years. The Contract offered by the Heat is also large, worth $85 million for three years. So by the time Lowry turns 38, his annual salary will reach $29.68 million, which is undoubtedly super high.
After joining the Heat, Lowry played 62 games in the regular season, averaging 34 minutes per game and 10 shots. In the end, Lowry can hand over 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists, shooting 43.9% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range. His organizational performance is still good, and the three points are still accurate, so for the Heat, it is indeed a promotion. The Heat also finished with a 53-29 record in the regular season, ranking first in the East. Such achievements are undoubtedly qualified.
However, after entering the playoffs, veteran Lowry began to suffer from hamstring injuries. The Heat easily eliminated the Hawks in the first round, and beat the 76ers in the second round to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Lowry missed many games in the first 2 rounds, and the team can still qualify. However, if the Eastern Conference Finals want to beat the Celtics, Lowry must play the price he deserves. So far in the playoffs, Lowry has only played 7 games, his playing time is 30 minutes, and he can average 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, of which the shooting rate is 29%, the three-point shooting rate is 23%, and it is completely undercover.
Strus, who was rescued by the Line of Fire, instead played an excellent performance, averaging 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2 assists per game. The playoff Heat's guard line was terrible, Dunro was completely DNP, Hiro's average points fell from 20.7 to 13.5 points per game, and Lowry's average score fell from 13.3 points per game to 6.4 points, all of which were unqualified answers. And this is just the beginning of Lowry's big contract, next year Lowry's salary will reach $28.33 million, and the 23-24 season is $29.68 million, which is obviously a serious premium.