Miami’s Kyle Lowry, dealing with a hamstring issue, ruled out of Game 2 vs. Sixers

The Miami Heat didn’t need Kyle Lowry in order to take care of business in Game 1. They were able to beat a Joel Embiid-less squad with relative ease, winning 106-92 on Monday.

Senior NBA Insider for Yahoo Sports Chris Haynes with the latest:

Miami didn’t have Lowry in their lineup for a closeout game vs. Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. A combination of Gabe Vincent (promoted to a starting role), Victor Oladipo and Max Strus have absorbed a few extra minutes.

Jimmy Butler is no stranger to point-forward and figures to take on a playmaking role again for Game 2. Tyler Herro had a team high 7 dimes to go with his team high 25 points. Embiid’s fellow Pure Sweat training buddy was in the zone.

It figures to be another point-by-committee approach for Erik Spoelstra’s unit.

Embiid, it was reported, is hoping to return for Game 3 or 4 back in Philadelphia where he’s remained, recovering from a concussion and orbital fracture sustained from that gnarly elbow to the face by Pascal Siakam in round one. Embiid also has a torn ligament in his shooting thumb that will need surgery this offseason.

At least there is some optimism he can play again this postseason. But if the Sixers cannot make the proper adjustments on the fly and ultimately drop another road game Wednesday, they’ll be halfway to a summer’s worth of fishing. On the other hand, if they can steal the next one, and knot things up at 1-1, they’ll have wrestled home court advantage away from a suddenly beatable Heat group with Embiid and his phantom mask looming.

That’s a monster swing and makes Game 2 so pivotal. Lowry being out again won’t hurt the cause.