Spoelstra Confident in Heat's Ability to Make Up for Loss of Lowry in Game 5
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers will pay a visit to the Miami Heat for the third time this postseason. Last Monday, the Sixers kicked off the second-round series with a loss on the road against the Heat.
At the time, the Sixers were playing without their big man Joel Embiid. On the other end, the Heat also missed a key player of their own as Kyle Lowry was out due to a hamstring strain.
When Game 2 rolled around, both All-Stars were out for the second-straight game. Lowry's absence wasn't a huge concern for Miami as they picked up another win.
In Philadelphia, both Lowry and Embiid returned to the floor for their teams. Embiid's presence gave the Sixers a massive boost as Philadelphia cruised past the Heat for their first victory of the series.
Meanwhile, Lowry struggled as he shot 0-4 from the field during the 25 minutes he spent on the court. The following game, Lowry chucked up ten shots in 30 minutes and scored just six points as he struggled from the field once again.
After Miami's Game 4 loss on the road, Lowry revealed his hamstring injury was certainly something still bothering him. Although it seemed Lowry was going to continue playing through the pain, he was downgraded from questionable to out before Game 5 on Tuesday.
A couple of hours before the Heat and the Sixers tip-off, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra discussed his team's confidence in playing without their All-Star point guard for the third time this series in Game 5.
“It definitely has helped, the fact that we’ve had so many games and experiences, including the playoffs without Kyle," said Spoelstra. "The playoffs are totally unpredictable, but you gain trust through experience and seeing success during stress. Gabe [Vincent] has been able to fill in and do it in a way that we’re able to function on both sides of the ball. It might look different, but everyone is still confident that we can play our game.”
While the Heat have found success against the Sixers without Lowry multiple times in this series, they understand that missing one of their key ball-handlers is still an unfortunate situation. However, since they have experience playing without Lowry on the floor -- especially in the playoffs -- Miami is prepared to put up a fight on Tuesday.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
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