It’s safe to say the Miami Heat President does not see eye to eye with Sir Mix-a-Lot based on his recent comments regarding point guard Kyle Lowry. Pat Riley, it might be said, does not like big butts, and Lowry is rather notorious for his.
Pat Riley Comments on Lowry
“I’m not saying when he was younger he wasn’t in the kind of condition that he was in this year, but he definitely is going to have to address that, and it will be addressed,” Riley said on Monday, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
In Riley’s opinion, Lowry was not in “World-class shape” this season. The Heat are famous for their intense culture around fitness, so the comments aren’t entirely surprising. Riley himself is in great shape. In addition, Lowry’s scoring dropped to it’s lowest level since 2012-13 at 13.4 ppg. However, is it possible Riley is ignoring something integral to the point guard’s game with these comments? Lowry plays a gritty style of basketball, he takes a lot of charges, and is generally a nuisance to the other team. He is also only 6-feet-tall and weighs less than 200 pounds. That’s seven inches shorter and nearly 20 pounds lighter than the average NBA player. I’d want a little extra padding too if I were in his position.
Perhaps Riley is right. Lowry isn’t getting any younger. In recent years, we have seen a number of athletes adopt insane lifestyles as they age to extend their careers. Tom Brady is one famous example of this. Maybe Lowry doesn’t have to drink two gallons of water everyday like Tommy boy, but a little body recomposition might be in order. He did appear noticeably slower in the playoffs, however, a hamstring injury would impact anyone’s quickness.
Being in better shape overall may help him avoid getting hurt in the first place, but that might be focusing on the wrong issue. The NBA season is an absolute grind. 82 games a season for a sport as physically demanding as basketball sucks. There’s also no reason for it to be so incredibly long. Well, besides the owners wanting more games to pad their pockets. It would be tragic if Lowry slimmed down. Ryan Clark would be livid. I call on the owners to save Lowry’s behind and shorten the season.
