The Miami Heat will be dark horses for the NBA championship next season. Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry have a relationship that goes a long way towards determining their success.
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It’s been less than 12 months since the Heat were playing were vying for an NBA championship against the Lakers. Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo went down with injuries in the first game, allowing the Lakers a cakewalk.
It took some all-time heroics from Jimmy Butler in Games 3 & 5 for the Heat to take 2 games in the series. They banked on largely the same squad to make another run for the championship. But this time, their bid faltered in the first round itself.
Their lack of playmaking and perimeter offense hit them hard. Goran Dragic was a shadow of his 2020 self. Bam Adebayo looked way off his offensive best and was unable to put his stamp. Jimmy Butler had possibly the worst playoff series of his career.
They’ve now retooled by trading for Kyle Lowry in the offseason. They’ve also acquired PJ Tucker to reinforce their perimeter defense and offensive rebounding. Their lineup presents an intriguing challenge to the Bucks and Nets of the world.
Kyle Lowry was taken aback when Jimmy Butler asked him to be godfather for his daughter
Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler did have a great relationship, but even the former was taken aback when Butler asked him to be godfather for his newborn daughter a few years ago:
“It was like: ‘Are you serious, man?’” Lowry said. “It’s an honor for me to be able to do that and to be a part of his daughter’s life. He knows that if anything ever happens — God willing it never does — that I’ll hold it down. That’s important to myself and him.”
Lowry said his friendship with Butler impacted his decision to join the Heat “a lot. A lot. Me and Jimmy, we’ve been talking about this for a long time now. He was continuing to chirp about it and talk to me about it [this summer].
It is clear that ‘Heat Culture’ is a real thing, not just a viral NBA Twitter meme. They will be licking their wounds and aiming to come back with a vengeance in next year’s playoffs.
The Eastern Conference playoff picture for 2022 currently presents an intriguing picture. There’s no denying that the Heat will be up there among the top teams in the Conference next year.