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Kyle Lowry limited in Game 3 return for Heat against Sixers

Kyle Lowry had returned, and he had returned home.

The Miami Heat point guard and Philadelphia native’s next step is to reclaim his identity.

Lowry was plainly out of sorts in the Heat’s 99-79 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal.

“I had one good day of working out, kind of a half day, and I’ve just got to find a rhythm,” Lowry said, with the Heat turning their attention to Sunday’s 8 p.m. Game 4 at Wells Fargo Center. “I didn’t expect it to be amazing [Friday]. I didn’t expect to have zero points, but just trying to get a feel for the game, just be out there, especially in this hostile situation.”

Lowry was injured during the second half of the Heat’s first-round road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on April 22. He missed four games before returning. He played 25:21 on Friday night, finishing 0 for 4 from the field, including 0 for 2 on 3-pointers, without a free-throw attempt, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Source: Sun Sentinel

Tyler Herro wins 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro has been named the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year for his contributions in a reserve role, the NBA announced today. This is the first Sixth Man honor for Herro, who becomes the first player to win the annual award with the Heat.

Herro received 488 total points (96 first-place votes) from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love finished in second place with 214 points (three first-place votes). Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson finished in third place with 128 points (one first-place vote).

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. To be eligible for the Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, a player had to have come off the bench in more games than he started.

In his third NBA season, Herro averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 32.6 minutes in 66 games (10 starts). His scoring average of 20.8 points as a reserve was the highest in the NBA. He became the fifth player to average at least 20.0 points off the bench (minimum 50 games as a reserve) since starts began being tracked in the 1970-71 season, joining Thurl Bailey (1987-88), Eddie Johnson (1988-89), Ricky Pierce (1989-90, 1990-91) and Lou Williams (2017-18, 2018-19).

Herro’s eight 30-point games off the bench were tied for the third most since the 1970-71 season and his 20 25-point games were tied for the fourth most. He ranked 20th in the NBA in free throw percentage (86.8), 21st in points per game, 26th in three-point field goal percentage (39.9) and 32nd in three-pointers made (175).

Setting a single-season franchise record with 1,162 points off the bench, Herro helped the Heat finish with a 53-29 record and earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Miami is currently facing the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Game 2 to be played on Wednesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Herro, 22, the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, has averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 175 games over three seasons with the Heat. In the 2019-20 season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and set a Miami single-game playoff rookie scoring record with 37 points against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Heat swingman Jimmy Butler says knee should be okay for second round Game 1

Here’s ESPN.com with some good news on the Miami Heat:

Heat swingman Jimmy Butler is confident he’ll be ready for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night as he continues to deal with right knee soreness.

“It’s all right,” Butler said after Saturday’s practice. “We got another day in between. Get out there, rip and ride. And I know it will be ready to hold up come Monday, but the time off has been great for myself and so many other guys that are nicked up. Everybody’s ready to compete.”

Butler sat out Game 5 of the Heat’s series-clinching win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, but he looked solid taking jumpers and moving around the floor a little bit after Saturday’s practice. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said all the players, a group that included Butler and veteran guard Kyle Lowry, were able to do “a little bit more than [Friday].” Heat guard Tyler Herro said he would be ready for Game 1 after missing Friday’s practice while dealing with a cold.

East No. 1 seed Miami Heat awaiting their first-round opponent

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker and the Miami Heat:

The Heat’s No. 1 seed paid worthwhile dividends, too. On Sunday, they’ll open play against a proper eighth seed in Cleveland or Atlanta, depending on their remaining play-in game. Advance and they’d get Philadelphia or Toronto rather than the expected Milwaukee.

The Heat added pit bulls like Lowry and Tucker for this time of year and was open to the development of little-knowns like Max Strus and Caleb Martin. They still don’t have a top-10 player on their team. But they have a few in the tier below that. Enough?

So much still centers on Butler.

“We’ve been a great team all year long,’’ he said. “But now’s the time we talk about. When we had this team meeting, a lot of championship talk happened, but I really, really, really think we have a good shot at this.”

All those players with rings in the team meeting, Butler isn’t one of them. It’s that time of year. He says what several players around the league are this week: “We’re going to find a way to get 16 wins.”

Miami Heat sign Mychal Mulder, waive Kyle Guy

The Miami Heat have signed Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract.

Also today, the Heat waived Kyle Guy.

Mulder has appeared in 10 games (nine starts) with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this season averaging 17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 35.1 minutes while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from three-point range. Earlier this season, he appeared in 15 games (two starts) with the Orlando Magic and averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 rebounds in 13.0 minutes of action.

Mulder, who previously signed with the HEAT on September 16, 2019, appeared in two preseason games with Miami before being waived on October 15. He has now appeared in 82 career NBA games (11 starts) between Orlando and Golden State averaging 5.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 14.2 minutes. He has also appeared in 144 career G League games (121 starts) between the Windy City Bulls and Skyforce averaging 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 32.5 minutes.

Guy, who was signed by the HEAT to a two-way contract on January 17 after previously signing two 10-day contracts on December 30 and January 10, appeared in 19 games with Miami this season averaging 3.9 points in 9.8 minutes of action while shooting 40 percent from the field. He also appeared in six G League games with the Skyforce averaging 15.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 29.4 minutes.

Tyler Herro scoring big off the Miami Heat bench

Scoring guard Tyler Herro has done big things off the Miami Heat bench this season. Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

In a season of milestones for Tyler Herro, two more likely will come Friday night when the Miami Heat face the Oklahoma City Thunder at FTX Arena.

With his sixth point, he will become the third player in the Heat’s 34 years to score 1,000 bench points in a season. With his eighth point, he will tie Tyler Johnson (2016-17) for second place on the franchise’s all-time list for bench points in a season. And when he reaches 34 more points, he will match Dwyane Wade (2018-19) for the most bench points in a season by a Heat player. And all of that is with 12 games remaining…

With Tuesday night’s 17-point second period, Herro has scored in double figures in eight consecutive second quarters, dating to March 2 at Milwaukee. He has scored 120 points in those eight second quarters.

The Heat are 46-24 this season, which is the best record in the Eastern conference.

Their leading scorers in 2021-22 have been Jimmy Butler at 21.1 points per game, Herro at 21.0 ppg, Bam Adebayo at 19.0 ppg, and Kyle Lowry at 12.6 ppg.

Miami Heat sign forward Haywood Highsmith

The Miami Heat have signed forward Haywood Highsmith.

Highsmith, who was previously signed to a 10-day contract by the HEAT on December 30, February 15 and again on February 26, has appeared in 10 games with Miami this season totaling 24 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and a steal while shooting 40 percent (6-of-15) from three-point range. He has also appeared in 11 regular season G League games (seven starts) with the Delaware Blue Coats this season and averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.00 steals and 29.4 minutes while shooting 50 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three-point range.

Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “the roster spot for Highsmith came free when the Heat traded forward KZ Okpala to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Feb. 10 NBA trading deadline in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Okpala currently is out of the league.”

After spending four seasons at Wheeling University from 2014-18, Highsmith signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, splitting the season between the Sixers and their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Highsmith appeared in five games with the 76ers in 2018-19 totaling nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal while shooting 40 percent (4-of-10) from the field. Additionally, he has appeared in 106 career G League games (76 starts) over three seasons, all with the Blue Coats, averaging 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.18 steals and 29.6 minutes while shooting 43.5 percent from the field.

Miami Heat will soon have Victor Oladipo in action

The Miami Heat, who at 42-22 have the best record in the Eastern Conference, are about to get stronger. Via the Miami Herald:

League sources confirmed an ESPN report that [Victor] Oladipo is expected to make his season debut during the Heat’s season-long seven-game homestand that begins Saturday. The Athletic reported Thursday that the plan is for Oladipo to make his return in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets.

The Heat overcame all of these absences in Brooklyn on Thursday behind a dominant performance from center Bam Adebayo, who finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Tyler Herro also stepped up with 27 points and eight assists.

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Miami Heat sign forward Haywood Highsmith to another 10-day contract

The Miami Heat have signed forward Haywood Highsmith to another 10-day contract.

Highsmith, who was previously signed to a 10-day contract by the HEAT on December 30 and again on February 15, has appeared in six games with Miami this season totaling 22 points, nine rebounds and a block while shooting 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from the field and 40 percent (6-of-15) from three-point range. He has also appeared in 17 G League games (11 starts) with the Delaware Blue Coats this season and averaged 13.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.24 steals and 29.8 minutes while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three-point range.

After spending four seasons at Wheeling University from 2014-18, Highsmith signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, splitting the season between the Sixers and their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Highsmith appeared in five games with the 76ers in 2018-19 totaling nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal while shooting 40 percent (4-of-10) from the field. Additionally, he has appeared in 106 career G League games (76 starts) over three seasons, all with the Blue Coats, averaging 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.18 steals and 29.6 minutes while shooting 43.5 percent from the field.

Heat forward Jimmy Butler fined by NBA

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been fined $25,000 for what the league says is “violating league rules governing media interview access and for his noncompliance with the resulting NBA investigation.”

This results from Butler’s failure to comply with his media availability obligations during NBA All-Star 2022, including following the game on Sunday night.