On Day 2 of Disney practices, Heat began (some) 5-on-5 work. How did it go? And more details
The Miami Heat held its first team practice in four months Friday afternoon at Walt Disney World. But Saturday was also an important day.
For the first time since the season was suspended on March 11 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Heat resumed five-on-five work in its second practice at Disney on Saturday morning. It’s just another step forward as Miami prepares for the restart of the season in Central Florida.
“We did a little bit of five-on-five today, just to give a little bit of a taste of it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during a post-practice Zoom call with media on Saturday. “Also, to evaluate where our guys were. As soon as I stopped it, I knew exactly what was going to happen — everybody yelling at me, saying, ‘No, let’s keep going, let’s play one more game.’ We really did just a touch of it. That’s to be expected. The guys could have kept on going.”
But as the Heat begins ramping up, the coaching staff is taking a cautious approach to avoid any potential injuries or setbacks. Miami is working to prepare for the start its eight-game “seeding” schedule in three weeks on Aug. 1 against the Denver Nuggets at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, but Spoelstra admitted the Aug. 17 start of the playoffs is a more realistic target date after a four-month hiatus.
“I don’t think it’s realistic to be at our peak by the end of this month, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re not going to really plan for that,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat already guaranteed a playoff spot. “I think the most important thing is getting ready for the playoffs, obviously. But we want to be playing good basketball by the time we play those regular-season eight games. But we’ll have to continue to adapt and adjust this plan as we go.”
During the first few practices, Spoelstra said the plan is for the team to review what it already had installed in the playbook. The playoff package will come later, with the Heat’s third Disney practice scheduled for Sunday.
Heat veteran forward Andre Iguodala used the word “solid” to describe the team’s first five-on-five work since March.
“I told the guys, ‘Good work today,’” Iguodala said. “But that first day, it seems like it’s always good work. Everybody is energetic, ready to go. It will tell tomorrow and the following days — days three and four, you start to get into the dog days. You get antsy to try to get ready for scrimmages and get ready to finish out the regular-season games. So it’s kind of like a sprint of a marathon or a marathon of a sprint. “
After only 15 of the Heat’s 17 players made the Wednesday bus ride to Disney, Spoelstra has declined to give details on practice attendance and noted Friday that those missing had an excused absence. Guard Goran Dragic said Friday the Heat was without center Bam Adebayo and guard Kendrick Nunn.
“Hopefully Bam can come and K-Nunn, and we can be a whole team and make some damage,” Dragic said.
The Heat has had three players test positive for COVID-19 since mandatory testing began on June 23. Forward Derrick Jones Jr., who allowed for the release of his name following his positive test, was cleared in time to travel with the team.
The two Heat players who tested positive for COVID-19 last week remain in Miami and are expected to join the team at Disney at a later date when they are cleared to travel. The Miami Herald has not reported the names of the two players who most recently tested positive because they have not authorized their names to be released.
“All the protocols and plans that have been put into place I think are extremely well thought out,” Spoelstra said. “Nothing is absolutely 100 percent guaranteed. But we do feel that it is safer here. I know you hear that all the time. But certainly from where we’re coming from in South Florida, where the numbers are really spiking, to an area that’s really in a controlled, safe environment, I think it’s the best opportunity for it to have success. And we’re all just praying and hoping that it works out.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ After the first two days of practice, Heat center Meyers Leonard said Saturday that his injured ankle “feels great.” Leonard missed 16 consecutive games prior to the league shutdown because of a sprained left ankle.
“I’m incredibly focused on my rehab and recovery,” Leonard said. “I’ll now go back, shower, eat, we have a team meeting and then right into recovery and use recovery modalities in my room the rest of the evening.”
▪ Heat captain Udonis Haslem looked forward to spending a night in the NBA bubble watching fellow Miami native Jorge Masvidal fight for the welterweight title. Masvidal was set to take on welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on Saturday night at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m going to be rooting, I’m going to be watching,” Haslem said in advance of Saturday’s fight. “I know that Jorge took the fight last minute. I know that he dropped a lot of weight. But he’s from the crib. We’re just mentally tough. We figure it out. There ain’t no doubt in my mind that he’s going to go out there and he’s going to figure it out. Where he came from and everything that he has been through has molded him into the person he is today.”
▪ Spoelstra and two Heat players — Iguodala and Leonard — wore face masks as they spoke to the media over Zoom following Saturday’s practice. The Heat continues to encourage the wearing of masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 12:37 PM.
