One change for Heat’s Lowry this season. And Jaquez out for now. And former GM weighs in

If Heat coach Erik Spoelstra goes back to starting Kyle Lowry - as he did in Sunday’s preseason game - there is apparently no longer a concern about monitoring his minutes in the wake of last season’s knee issue.

Lowry, 37, averaged 33.3 minutes per game as a starter last season before missing time to heal knee soreness; he sat out a four-game stretch in January and a 15-game stretch in February and early March.

When he returned, he played off the bench, averaging 23.1 minutes per game in 11 regular season games and 26.1 minutes per game during the Heat’s run to the Finals, during which he started only one game.

But Lowry and Erik Spoelstra said Lowry’s knee is fine and there’s no need to limit his minutes. So that won’t affect any decision to start him.

“My body feels great,” Lowry said Tuesday. “I was hurt early in the season and kept playing and didn’t give myself a fair amount of [time to heal] because I wanted to help my team. That kind of hurt me long-term, trying to be a soldier and fight through everything.”

Now, with the knee, there’s “no maintenance,” Lowry said. “Just continue to stay focused on my full body in general.”

Spoelstra agreed that no maintenance is required with Lowry: “He’s healthy. We will figure out the rotation when we get there. He’s in great shape and a great place.”

But Lowry also acknowledged: “I would love to be on the floor for 48 minutes but I know that’s not very good for my overall health. That’s with everybody…. We can’t overcook ourselves. We’ve got to be ready for the long-term and understand it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon.”

Asked if Spoelstra has informed him if he will be starting, Lowry said: “I expect to start like I’ve said throughout camp.”

Lowry, who is earning $29.7 million on the final year of his three-year contract, has not sought clarity from management on its plans with him this season.

“My job is to go out there and perform at a high level,” he said.

He ended last season as a key contributor to a Finals team, after the knee injury limited his effectiveness at times earlier in the season.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anybody,” he said. “I have to prove things to myself. That’s what I care about.”

INJURY UPDATES

Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. did not practice because of a groin strain and said he is out for Wednesday’s preseason home game against Brooklyn (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). He hasn’t played since the preseason opener.

“Right now, taking it day to day, slow, be very cautious. I’m not trying to make anything worse than it already is,” he said. “I feel good. I’m not going to play [Wednesday]. After that, we will reassess and go from there.”

Jaquez said the injury was “non contact. I went up for a dunk, felt something pull tight in my groin. It hurt a lot worse than it actually was when it happened. It’s nothing more than strain. Trying not to re-aggravate it.”

Spoelstra didn’t sound concerned about time missed: “He’s put in a great deal of work. He’s not a young player from an experience standpoint. Being around us the last eight weeks really mattered.”

In its preseason win against Memphis on Sunday, the Heat played without Jimmy Butler (dental procedure), Caleb Martin (left knee tendinosis), Nikola Jovic (right knee contusion), Jaquez, Josh Richardson (left foot discomfort), R.J. Hampton (right hip muscle strain) and Dru Smith (right hamstring strain).

Everyone except Jaquez practiced Tuesday, though Martin, Jovic and Hampton participated only to an extent because of their injuries. Any absences, beyond Jaquez, for Wednesday’s game will be disclosed shortly before tipoff.

▪ Richardson said he has been used exclusively as a point guard since the start of training camp. He began his career, as a Heat rookie, playing that position before morphing into a combo guard.

“First day of camp, [coaches said] I’m with the point guards and I’m like ‘all right.’ And every day since that, it’s ‘I’m with the point guards. All right.”

“I don’t mind it. There are a couple young guys I get to work with so it’s nice.”

He said being a primary ball handler with the Heat is “not too difficult. It’s quick. Space and pace. It’s not like I’m just walking down calling plays every time.”

Richardson said it’s “cool either way” whether he starts or comes off the bench. There’s no firm clarity on the two starting spots alongside Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

Kevin Love and Lowry started Sunday against Memphis, but Martin and Richardson did not play in that game because of injuries that aren’t serious.

Asked if he will use Wednesday’s game as a regular season dress rehearsal, Spoelstra said: “I’m not so stressed out like you guys are. Every year, at the end of preseason, we will get to a dress rehearsal. Whenever we get it, whether it’s practice or the games” is fine.

The Heat closes preseason Friday at Houston; minutes in preseason finales often go to bench players and those on training camp invitations.

▪ Former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, now an analyst for ESPN, said the defending Eastern Conference champion Heat is not in the top tier of the conference.

“In the East I do think there’s two teams that are in a tier by themselves and that’s Milwaukee and Boston,” Myers said in an ESPN Zoom session this week. “Personally, if you made me choose, I would put Boston ahead right now of Milwaukee. But after that, I think there’s some separation. And then it gets into some of the other teams.

“I think Cleveland is probably, I think, will take a step. Certainly, Philly with the MVP [Joel Embiid]. Miami, I guess you can never count them out even though they didn’t have a great regular season last year, we saw what they did in the playoffs.”

Myers said the new labor agreement, which carries additional punitive punishments for particularly high payrolls, will make it difficult for teams to have three stars on max contracts, though the Heat was prepared to do that if it had been able to acquire Damian Lillard from Portland.

“I think teams might say, ‘Look, let’s spend maybe it’s even $50 million per player on two guys and then work around the roster in that capacity,’ Myers said. “Whereas I think the idea, maybe it came from the Heat, that the big three is necessary to win, and I don’t know that that’s true. That will certainly be harder and harder as these new rules come into place.”