The Miami Heat’s veteran guard Kyle Lowry saw his streak of 677 consecutive starts in the NBA end over the weekend against the Orlando Magic. And according to the six-time All-Star, he is quite okay with that.
Lowry hasn’t played since early February while dealing with knee soreness. He was available for the Magic game, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra opted to leave him on the bench and didn’t sub him in until midway through the first quarter. The 36-year-old ended up playing 36 minutes in a 126-114 overtime loss, scoring 12 points and adding four assists.
After the game, Lowry said that he doesn’t care about starting games “at this point right now.” The last time he wasn’t a starter was when he played with the Toronto Raptors in the 2012-13 season.
“I know in my heart I’m a starter, but right now we have to figure out things,” Lowry told reporters. “And me and Spoelstra talked. He wants to make sure I’m healthy enough to not have a setback and have to change the lineup again and have to change the rotation again.”
Lowry has shown signs of decline this season, having the lowest points (12.0) and assists (5.2) averages since the 2010-11 campaign. This, alongside his health issues, has contributed to the Heat performing well below expected in 2022-23, with the team currently finding itself at No.7 in the East with a 36-33 record.
