IN THE LANE

ALL-STAR POSTSCRIPT 1.0: For all that didn’t happen at last weekend’s NBA All-Star Game, the notion of upping the ante to gain players’ attention is almost an insult to the notion of professional pride. Players on the winning team at the All-Star Game receive $100,000 each. Yes, less than a game check for the All-Stars, but still . . . a hundred grand. If it takes more than that to engage competitively, then it becomes solely about being only there for the money. But if it is only about being there for the money, then how about something like $50,000 per player (or more, if you must) per team in any quarter you hold the opposition below 30 points in an All-Star period (or some calculated figure by the analytics/metrics folks)? Then, voila, defense.

ALL-STAR POSTSCRIPT 2.0: But, please, not USA vs. World as an alternate approach. First, that gets incredibly muddled. If, for example, Joel Embiid opts to play for the U.S. Olympic team, then how does it look when he is with Team World at the All-Star Game? For that matter, when asked about the possibility of such a future setup, Heat center Bam Adebayo countered with,“I’m born in America, but I’m Nigerian, so it’s kind of tough.”With so much and so many at the moment in our society pointing out differences, do we need more us-vs.-them? And do we really need breakdowns by NBA pundits of whether the 13th-best American is more deserving than the 12th player on the international squad? The moment hardly seems right.

HOMEWARD BOUND: For all those times that Kyle Lowry had been linked to his hometown team, the former Heat guard said upon joining the Philadelphia 76ers on the buyout market that the timing now, at 37, feels best. “It wasn’t a dream,” he said during his 76ers introductory media session. “You never want to play at home because there’s so much going on. It’s a hard place to play when you go back home. But at the end of the day, it’s a dream come true because I’m able to play in front of my friends and family and people that I cheered for growing up as a Sixers fan and it’s one of those things that now I’m prepared to do. When you’re younger, you’re not really prepared to do it. At this point, at this time of my career, I’m prepared to do it.”

ALREADY INFLUENCING: As he did at the start of the Heat tenure in 2021, Lowry already is winning over his new teammates, including in his debut in Thursday night’s 76ers’ loss to the Knicks. “He was big-time tonight,” 76ers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey said. “Not just on the court, but just in communication in huddles, every single huddle. It was times when I was trying to run a different play. He was like, ‘No, we are going to run this play. You are going to be right here with the ball. You are going to do this.’ And I’m like, ‘Alright, cool.’ What am I going to say? He’s a (six)-time All-Star and Olympic champion.” Maxey added, “We need that leadership, and it’s going to be good for us.”

TIM’S TAKE: Hardly one to hold back on his Heat opinions, whether from within the team or as an outsider, former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway offered his thoughts on a recent episode of Udonis Haslem’s The OGs podcast about what he perceives as overpassing and how he thinks Terry Rozier can help. “They pass up too many shots. All this pump faking and one dribble, then pass over here. Take the shot that’s given to you. And another thing, me personally, Terry Rozier, you gotta let him go. Go be him. He’s a young guy that can go out there and get it done, … He’s the only one that can really break somebody down and make it happen. So I think you got to let him go and do what he needs to do, in the confinement of the offense.”