Unconsciously, the Heat have rushed to the upper half of the East, and the core of the team, Butler, quietly ranked fifth in the MVP list.
You know, last season, they only finished sixth in the East, and lost 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs to the later championship Bucks.
In the first 20 games of the season, it felt like Butler had improved again, with a continuous 30+, familiar tough defense, and it was a lament that the Finals hard-fought James man was back.
Picking a few heat footage, it was found that Butler evolved for a reason.
Because this season the Heat poached Kyle Lowry from the Raptors.
Lowry's presence, to some extent, freed up Butler's organization and allowed him to focus more on impacting the basket.
Last season, the Heat's pace was slow, and Butler not only played the defensive tip on the outside, but also played the offensive organizer, which greatly affected his scoring, especially under the basket.
The arrival of Lowry this season has given Butler a relatively easy chance to score under the basket, and his extra points are basically shots under the basket.
Lowry is slightly less aggressive than Dragic, but is a better organizer and defender, sharing Butler's outside defensive role and making the Heat faster.
This season, the Heat have given Lowry a big contract of 3 years and 85 million, which has broken through the glasses.
People can't believe how, with Pat Riley's miserliness, it is possible to give Lori, who is already 35 years old, such a large pension contract.
Without unprovoked love, the "God Operator" would not give people a high salary for no reason, and he must have seen the difference between Lowry and lowry.
So, let's analyze whether Lowry is worth the money?
Kyle Lowry was selected by the Grizzlies with the 24th pick in the first round, and as a 1.83-meter tall player, he was able to enter the talented NBA stage, relying more on his excellent ball control level and passing awareness, extremely keen insight, and good one-on-one defense.
He is a traditional defender with passing as the first choice and, in a way, can be seen as a weakened version of Paul.
But unlike Chairman Gun, he did not debut as the core, but took one step at a time and slowly grew into an All-Star player.
I still remember the first time I watched him play, or the Rockets period and Yao Ming partnered, at that time, I liked Lowry very much, he came up to be able to defend, but also to organize, can make teammates better, simple action, practical. At least in my opinion, much better than the starting Brooks.
Unfortunately, Lowry had not yet developed the projection ability to open up space, and soon Yao Ming was injured and reimbursed for the season. Lowry also left for Toronto shortly after.
I think this transaction is a dividing line, if the Rockets' Lowry is not mature, and there is no calm conflict with the coach, to the Raptors, he seems to have suddenly opened the second pulse of Ren Dou and found the direction of his career.
From averaging 11 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game in the 12-13 season to averaging 22.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.5 steals per game in the 16-17 season, shooting 41.2% from three-point range, being selected as an All-Star for five consecutive years, and leading the team to the playoffs with DeRozan for six consecutive years.
Lowry is 1.83 meters tall and appears less talented on the stage of the giant of basketball.
But some talents are visible, such as the heel of the alphabet brother, Leonard's big hand, Iverson's speed, Kobe's stagnation...
But there are also some talents that are invisible, such as the ability to learn, the desire to win, the ability to understand tactics, the big picture and sense of space on the field, leadership, and so on.
I think it's this invisible talent that keeps Lowry moving forward with determination, from humble substitutes, to iron-clad starts, to the team core and All-Stars.
Lowry spent 5 to 7 years training his not-so-good shooting, and his three-point shooting percentage, which is close to 40% per year, is not as good as some top shooters, but it is also completely enough.
He maintains a humble style, obeys the coach's arrangement, has good tactical execution ability, he has the desire to win, when the performance is not good, he ridicules himself as "garbage", and warns himself to keep improving.
After Leonard arrived, he knew how to delegate power and be willing to assist, if he cared about the data and competed for the FMVP, the North might not have a championship.
If we look at Lowry's stats last season, 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists, that statistic isn't enough to impress Pat Riley, who must have seen Lowry's other shining points.
The first is the defense, lowry can bring the Heat a tough outside defense, not only to reduce the pressure on Butler, but also to greatly reduce the pressure on Adebayor on the inside. In addition, Lowry is also the first person in the history of making offensive fouls, and his defense is not only tough, but also cunning.
Secondly, his organizational ability can make the Heat have one more point of organization, increase the speed of the ball, and the pace of the Heat this season has accelerated significantly.
Then, Lowry's style of play is very much in line with the Heat's team temperament, and he also proved with the championship that he can coexist with the top small forwards.
Finally, his playoff and championship experience is a valuable asset.
The "god operator" vision can not be wrong, lowry's joining makes the Heat very promising to rush out of the East again, and even have the opportunity to add another championship trophy to the team.