How the Kyle Lowry hamstring injury could impact the Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks took their first victory of the series against the Miami Heat thanks to an incredible final period topped off by a Trae Young floater to seal the deal. The thing is, the Heat fell apart a little in the period which is why the Hawks were able to come back and win the game.
The player notable for his absence during this period was Kyle Lowry who is one of the best quarter-back style point guards in the game. He controls the tempo and how the Heat set up their offense. He is also a player who gets under the skin of his opponent which made him the Hawks’ No. 1 enemy.
The problem for Lowry, who remained healthy for most of the season, was that he tweaked his hamstring in the third period. Lowry relies on his quickness to make plays for himself and others, so if his hamstring is not right this will seriously impede his game which will hurt the Heat.
The Atlanta Hawks will need to press home their advantage again the Heat with or without Kyle Lowry.
So here is the thing. Lowry is still hopeful to play in the fourth game of the series. No player wants to sit out a playoff game and at the ripe old age of 36, there is no telling how many more postseason games Lowry will get.
He was reportedly not moving well at shoot-around between games three and four at State Farm Arena so if he plays there will be a level of tentativeness on defense. He did not even practice. This means that the Hawks need to try and exploit the speed of Young against Lowry. This will be helped even further if Clint Capela can play in this game after being upgraded to questionable.
The reason for this is that Capela is one of the beneficiaries of teams doubling Young. He has the ability to get easy looks at the hoop which forces the opposition to change their defense which then frees Young up.
Next. The Hawks shortened their rotations and it worked. dark
If Lowry does play and does not have his trademark quickness, this will also make him easier to defend. However, if he does not play then the Heat will have lost their general who controls this team like a maestro. This could lead to the Hawks getting a second win and putting pressure on the No. 1 seed on their home court in the fifth game of the series.