Heat’s Pat Riley says Kyle Lowry will ‘have to address’ his conditioning this offseason

The Miami heat Notorious for NBA standards for his dedication to conditioning. Players regularly check their body fat percentage, and Miami’s focus is on staying fit, so players regularly take part in the heat and continue to play the best basketball of their career. This has been a central belief in Miami’s organizational philosophy since Pat Riley arrived nearly 30 years ago. It won’t change immediately.

However, one of their major veterans represents a rare case of a player doing well, even though he is playing with heavier weights than the heat likes. Kyle Lowry is a master of using his Mass to his advantage. He has a very low center of gravity and is very difficult to move due to his weight, so he can withstand larger allocations defensively. He is famous for using his ass as a weapon on both sides of the ball, and after forming six all-star teams and winning the championship in Toronto, it’s hard to discuss his approach too much.

Still with him End of season press conferenceRiley firmly decided that Raleigh “must deal” with his conditioning issues entering next season.

“For me, and for me, as long as I want to get the most out of my players … you have to be in a world-class form. You just have to be,” Riley said. Told.

Raleigh, who has just finished the first year of a three-year contract, had a tough season for a variety of reasons. He missed time because of personal problems. He hurt the hamstring early in the playoffs and did not recover completely. However, he finally managed to start for the heat in the final five games of the Eastern Conference Finals. At one point he was one of the few players who could contribute at both ends of the floor. It was really impressive that he was able to do so at the age of 36.

If Raleigh was in better condition, would Raleigh recover faster? perhaps. But asking Raleigh to lose weight, especially later in his career, risks robbing some of what makes him so special in the first place. Miami’s philosophy is beneficial to the overwhelming majority of its players, but Raleigh may be an exception because of his particular strengths. He has already succeeded as a very effective player in his late thirties. I don’t know how significant changes will affect his progress.

Ultimately, you need to balance here. Miami needs to find a way to condition Raleigh without sacrificing the unique physical proportions that helped turn Raleigh into such a valuable player in the first place. Riley may not be used to bending the rules, but for Raleigh, doing so is probably the wisest approach possible for all involved.