An edge Heat believes it has entering restart. And Dragic’s advice to players once in bubble
Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic said the team’s mental toughness, chemistry and internal culture of accountability give Miami a valuable edge heading into the restart of the season at Walt Disney World.
“We have a lot of players that are mentally strong,” Dragic said Wednesday during a Zoom call with reporters. “We are really connected as a team. That will be one of our advantages in the bubble.
“We have a great coaching staff that prepares us really well. We’ve always had a great conditioned team. We really think we can be one of the best.”
Dragic added that “the good thing is all of our young guys are hungry. [Kendrick] Nunn, Duncan [Robinson], Tyler [Herro], this is the first year they really got a chance and they demonstrated they can play. They are going to be really hungry when they get to that bubble. ... As long as we have the same chemistry we did at the beginning of the season, we know how to win. We have the ingredients.”
Dragic had mixed emotions when he learned the season would resume.
“At first I was excited,” he said. “Then I was really concerned because I’m leaving my family behind, two kids and my wife. ... But we are all professionals. This is our jobs. I’m excited to be able to play again and share the locker room with my teammates. Hopefully we can make a good result.”
Did Derrick Jones Jr.’s positive COVID-19 test give him pause?
“Nobody wants that to happen to anybody,” Dragic said. “When we found out, I gave him a call and asked him how he’s doing. I didn’t have concerns because you can catch it anywhere. We followed the rules and it is what it is. Everybody is healthy now.”
Dragic added that taking the COVID-19 test is “not a pleasant thing to do, especially when they [put that] in your nose. It’s a little awkward, but you get used to it. It’s one of those things you have to do. So far, so good.”
While acknowledging players need to protect themselves, Dragic warned against becoming hermits on the Lake Buena Vista campus.
“That’s a problem if you’re isolated from everybody else,” he said. “When I go to play for my national team, we spend two months away together. It’s going to be really important to get even closer as a team, hang out, talk to the players, try to stay mentally stable. In that bubble, that’s what you’re going to have to do.”
Soon after the NBA suspended play on March 11, Dragic made a decision about physical conditioning.
“Since we’re home all the time, a lot of players give into habits of sitting, watching TV,” he said. “I told myself I am not going to be one of them. Just do your work every day and that’s how you can maintain your physical ability and be ready for the season.”
On the prospect of playing without fans in attendance, Dragic said: “I’ve already had a couple of these kind of games in Europe. You can hear everybody — your coaches, players talking to each other. You can hear sneakers. It feels like a practice, but we all know what is at stake.”
HEAT BELIEVES ITS DEPTH IS ANOTHER ADVANTAGE
Add roster depth to the list of advantages the Heat believes it has entering the restart. All 17 players on Miami’s roster are expected to be available for the resumption of the season.
With positive COVID-19 tests potentially keeping players out for weeks and a heightened injury risk because of the time off, depth will be important when games begin on July 30 at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
“We’re bringing all 17 guys for a reason because everybody is healthy and ready, and we think our depth really is one of our biggest strengths,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday during a Zoom call with reporters. “We can go three deep really at every position.”
Spoelstra hinted the Heat’s depth could allow it to use an extended rotation because players might not be ready to log their usual allotment of minutes after a four-month break from game action.
“Even though our guys are in world class shape and fitness level right now, and we have 20 days to prepare for that first game, I still don’t know if guys will be ready to play 40 minutes a game,” Spoelstra said. “If we can use our conditioning level and our depth as an advantage in a sprint like situation, I think that would play to our strengths for sure.”
▪ NBA teams had until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to submit to the league their traveling party lists for the restart. Each team can initially bring up to 37 people into the bubble.
The Heat had not released its submitted list publicly as of Wednesday evening, with all 17 players on the roster expected to be part of the group that travels to Disney.
“I just hate this term of essential staff and non-essential staff,” Spoelstra said of making that list. “You have a traveling party and everybody contributes so much to this team. Then all of a sudden, we’re in this just unexplainable circumstance and restarting of a league.
“It’s an agonizing process. I think we all have to have a great deal of empathy and compassion for staff members who really have a big time role that won’t be able to go. ... This is one of the tougher decisions that we’ve had to make.”
▪ Spoelstra ended his Wednesday call with reporters by mentioning that members of the Heat organization continue to meet regularly to ensure it’s in position to be part of “action and lasting sustainable change in the areas of systemic racism and social inequalities.”
Here’s our Wednesday piece with more Spoelstra.
Here’s our Wednesday piece with eyebrow-raising comments from a Heat executive about the possibility of fans at games next season.
This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 6:49 PM.
