Heat, Celtics coaches honor Kobe together. Also, is Duncan Robinson’s defense being targeted?
The Kobe Bryant tributes continued in Tuesday’s game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Celtics coach Brad Stevens and their staffs wore Bryant’s signature sneakers to coach Tuesday. Bryant, 41, his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others died in a helicopter crash on Sunday in Calabasas, California.
“Both PR staffs mentioned it. We were all on board,” Spoelstra said after Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics. “All of us already had these. If we had to get some new ones from [Heat equipment manager] Rob Pimental, the guys were able to do that. This is something that was, both sides wanted to do it and we’re all on board for continuing to respect and honor what happened.
“I texted with Dwyane [Wade on Tuesday], it’s like we’ve all been struggling with this incredible mental weight. It’s like these last 2.5 days, your mind has been in the mud. All of us have felt this. As far as the shoes, I’m already planning on when my sons get old enough to order them the Kobes. I’m doing that. I’m going to tell them the story of Kobe Bryant when they’re old enough to understand. Those shoes will be a symbol of excellence, work ethic, commitment and class. That’s something that both staffs wanted to express to everybody, as well.”
During Tuesday’s game at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat also had the numbers 8 and 24 on an electronic sign attached to the basket stanchions. Bryant’s two jersey numbers were displayed in the Los Angeles Lakers’ purple and gold.
The Heat also honored Bryant prior to Monday’s win over the Orlando Magic with a tribute video that included various highlights from Bryant’s playing career and ended with a photo of Bryant and Gianna. Then there were 24 seconds of silence in the arena, honoring the No. 24 jersey Bryant wore for the second part of his career.
The Bryant tribute continued at the start of Monday’s game, when the Heat took a 24-second violation on the first possession and the Magic followed by taking an eight-second violation on the next possession in honor of the two jersey numbers Bryant wore.
Even the AmericanAirlines Arena marquee was used to pay tribute, as it displayed a rotating series of photos of Bryant and Gianna throughout the day Monday.
“It just shows you how much of an impact he had on this game,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “Not only this game, but people nation wide. It’s not just because of basketball. Everybody knew Kobe was a great person and he worked hard. People fed off his energy and how he went about himself. I really appreciate it because that’s my favorite player growing up. It still hurts for all of us in the NBA. It’s going to always feel like something is missing. That thing in the NBA is Kobe.”
DUNCAN ON THE DEFENSIVE
The Celtics found ways to get Heat forward Duncan Robinson on Gordon Hayward, and then took advantage of the mismatch Tuesday. Hayward finished with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line.
According to the NBA’s tracking stats, Hayward scored 13 points in the nine possessions he was defended by Robinson.
“It’s not something that’s new. They weren’t targeting him to switch,” Spoelstra said of the Celtics finding Robinson on defense. “We were trying to show and it’s a coverage.”
Then Spoelstra brought up the officiating element, with Robinson committing the second-most fouls per game among Heat players this season at 2.9.
“The level of detail and his level of technique has to be extraordinary,” Spoelstra said. “I can put a highlight film. I say this all the time to our guys, I don’t need to go fight to get Jimmy Butler any kind of respect. He can handle it, his game speaks for itself. I can put together a highlight film of Duncan Robinson’s touch fouls they they will never miss with a pinkie or this or if he’s not perfect with his form. He drills on it more than anybody in this league and he’s diligent. He has got great technique, he has good size. We’ll just have to find a way to keep on working at it and overcome it. Then I think as he spends more time in the league, he’ll earn more respect because he’s becoming a much better team defender.”
▪ The seven All-Star reserves from each conference will be announced Thursday at 7 p.m. on TNT. The Heat duo of Jimmy Butler and Adebayo are considered two of the top candidates for Eastern Conference reserve spots, which are voted on by conference coaches.
The Heat is idle until Saturday’s road game against the Magic.
▪ Guard Gabe Vincent re-joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce as part of his two-way contract, the Heat announced Wednesday.
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 11:57 AM.
