Miami Heat: Does Kyle Lowry make the Heat a championship contender?
Are the Miami Heat contenders with Kyle Lowry?
Even before the move became official, most thought it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Kyle Lowry would eventually, one way or another, find his way to the Miami Heat. It made too much sense for it not to happen.
Lowry and Jimmy Butler were good friends, the Heat had enough salary cap space to sign him outright, and then when Miami opt-ed into the team option for Goran Dragic, it signaled that the team had something up there sleeve.
Now that it’s official and that Lowry gave some insight into what went into his decision to ultimately sign with the Heat, I can’t help but wonder if this move – arguably the biggest of the offseason – will even play any factor in determining the 2022 NBA Champion?
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Are the Miami Heat a championship contender?
On the surface, it’s easy to see why the Lowry to Miami move would bring excitement to the fanbase. They haven’t had a lead guard this good on the roster since the days of Dwyane Wade and he fills plenty of holes that have plagued the Heat in recent history.
Lowry may not be at the prime of his career, but he’s still a very good player that has something left in the tank. Considering he’s joining a team that is just one year removed from an NBA Finals run, there is some hope that he could reignite some of that magic from 2020.
Nevertheless, it’s not as simple as turning that switch back on. There are several factors, especially in the Eastern Conference, that have changed since the Heat made that epic run to the Finals in the restart bubble.
For one, the conference is head and shoulders better. The Brooklyn Nets have big three that are rivaled by no other team in the conference and they didn’t even win the championship last season. That leads to the Milwaukee Bucks, who have to be looked at completely differently after winning a championship last season.
This is no longer a team that will be able to be bullied in a playoff series and one that has gotten a huge mental monkey off their backs. Those two teams alone have a better roster than the Heat. That’s not even counting the Philadelphia 76ers, who finished the regular season as the top seed in the East or the Atlanta Hawks, who made a run to the NBA Finals this past season, or the Boston Celtics.
Nevertheless, the Heat will be in the mix. How deep in the mix is still relatively unknown. But they’re going to have as good of a shot as any non-top 2 team in the East is going to have against the likes of the Nets and Bucks.
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Lowry is certainly an upgrade and the championship or bust talk is exactly what the fanbase wants to hear, but unless another move is still to come, the Heat are still ways out from being a legit championship threat in the East. But who am I to rain on the Heat’s or Lowry’s parade right now?