MIAMI — With 8:18 left in the third quarter of Monday night’s victory over the Houston Rockets at Kaseya Center, when Kyle Lowry went to the locker room even as play continued, everything could have changed for the Miami Heat.
Instead, as Lowry was being treated for a sprained left hand that would sideline him for the balance of the night, little changed. Duncan Robinson entered in place of Lowry and Tyler Herro kept on being Tyler Herro, even when recast at point guard.
“I don’t want to say this the wrong way,” Herro said, “but I feel like I’m the point guard when Kyle’s in the game, too. I handle the ball just as much as when he’s in the game.
“And that’s not an indictment on anybody. That’s just how we play. We have a bunch of ballhandlers and guys that can create. So I wouldn’t just say we have one point guard.”
That, however, is what the roster says, particularly with Dru Smith lost for the season in November with a knee injury.
But amid the uncertainty with Lowry heading into Wednesday night’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the second game on this four-game homestand, the numbers tell a story of a team with no clear delineation of point guard.
Jimmy Butler, the starting small forward when available, leads the Heat at 4.5 assists per game.
Herro, the starting shooting guard, is at 4.4 per game. Then there is Lowry at 4.0, trailed slightly by center Bam Adebayo at 3.9.
“We do it by committee,” Adebayo said, then ticking off the names of Herro, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and veteran combo guard Josh Richardson. “Tyler has the ball. I have the ball. Jaime, J-Rich. We have guys that can get us into actions, that can read for themselves.”
In the four games Lowry, 37, has missed, Richardson started once in his place, Caleb Martin once and RJ Hampton in the two most recent absences, at the start of the just-completed 2-3 western swing.
Hampton was unavailable Monday night due to a stomach illness, with Martin having missed the past six games with a sprained right ankle.
“I’m not going to try to be Kyle when I step into that,” Richardson said. “I think we have some good guards. We have RJ when he gets back, myself, Rook can handle. Jimmy, when he gets back, can handle. Bam can handle. Everyone can pretty much handle.
“Kyle’s a big loss if he does miss time. He’s a very important piece. But I think we have enough to kind of fill his shoes.”
Richardson said more than assists, Lowry brings a thinking-man’s approach to the game. Leading to smarter basketball by the remainder of the roster.
“He’s a big brain,” Richardson said. “So he’s always great to have on the court, because he’s always thinking. I talk about it a lot, he’s going to be a coach when he finishes, because he really thinks the game. So whether he’s handling in the corner or wherever, he has a way of affecting things.”
Adebayo agreed, that even if sidelined, there is something to be said about having Lowry on the sideline.
“Even though he might be out,” Adebayo said, “he’s still one of those people that sits on the sideline and is vocal. He’s still like our sixth man.
“He’s constantly watching film. He’s constantly talking to us in the huddle. And, like I say, even though he’s not not out there, he’s still going to be impactful.”
To Herro, being cast at point guard means maintaining the same balance, regardless.
“I mean, just try to manage the game while being aggressive, when to score and when to pass,” he said. “But, honestly, just trying to be aggressive and whatever the right play is, make the right play. I don’t try to overthink it.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Lowry’s toughness makes him a hard player to keep down.
“Yeah, the Philly guy in him right now is saying, ‘Ah, I’ll be alright,’ ” Spoelstra said. “But of course I was concerned. First of all, it took him a while to get back into the play. He’s as tough as you can be in this league. He’s played through more things than probably anybody currently playing in this Association. And then when he basically ran off the court, yeah, I was very concerned. The initial scan is clean. And we’ll just see how he feels.”