What’s life like for the Heat on the NBA campus? Spoelstra and players offer a glimpse
After arriving at Walt Disney World on Wednesday, Miami Heat players and staff spent the majority of the first 48 hours quarantining in their individual hotel rooms. The next three days have included practices.
But as the Heat continues to prepare for the resumption of the season, what else is there to do in the NBA bubble at Disney? After all, Miami is guaranteed to spend at least nearly two months there since it has already clinched a spot in the playoffs, which begin Aug. 17.
Well, the Heat has a team room at its Disney hotel, the Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Each of the 22 teams participating in the restart has its own separate lounge on the NBA campus.
“It’s a little bit different than a normal road routine,” Spoelstra said of the day-to-day schedule during a post-practice Zoom call with reporters Sunday. “But we do have our team room, which also serves as our meal room and our meeting room. So we tend to be in there quite a bit. But there’s also a nice walking path. There’s a restaurant on campus, where you can eat indoors or outdoors. So we’ll continue to explore. But that team room, we spent a lot of time in.”
Forward Jae Crowder used Instagram on Saturday to show off part of the Heat’s room, focusing on the “Family Wall” that includes photos of players and staff with their families. There’s also a wall made up of photos highlighting moments from the team’s season.
“That has been our safe haven off the court, our team room,” Crowder said, with player guests not allowed inside the NBA bubble until late August following the first round of the playoffs. “... It touched me seeing my daughter on the wall yesterday. It touched me. I’m sure it touched a lot of our other players to see their families and knowing every day we’ll see that wall, which is a good thing for us mentally.”
That room is where the Heat holds film sessions and eats some meals. It’s also where a group of Heat players played dominoes and watched UFC 251 on Saturday night.
“We’re just trying to mingle, trying to do what we need to do off the court to sustain a good camaraderie on the court,” Crowder said following the Heat’s third Disney practice Sunday held in a hotel ballroom.
Among other activities available to players and staff on the NBA campus: golf at Disney’s courses; bowling; a players-only lounge that includes video games, table tennis, pool tables; games of cornhole; a barber shop made up of six barbers selected to be in the bubble; and eventually after-hour access to Disney theme parks. Fishing is also an option, with Heat shooting coach Rob Fodor posting a photo on Instagram on Saturday of the first fish he caught in the bubble.
There are also poolside DJ sets. DJ Nasty performed a set at the Heat’s hotel on Saturday night, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Players and staff inside the bubble will be expected to remain on the NBA campus at all times — other than for a few exceptions — until their seasons are over to protect against the potential spread of COVID-19. If a player leaves the bubble without approval, they will be subject to at least 10 days of quarantining on campus.
The season is set to resume July 30 and end in October at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, with the Heat beginning its three-game scrimmage schedule July 22 against the Kings.
Miami has about three weeks to prepare for the start of its eight-game seeding schedule, which begins Aug. 1 against the Denver Nuggets.
“Honestly, we’ve really just kind of been hanging,” Heat forward Duncan Robinson said. “It has been fun to be back with everybody. ... When you spend those 48 hours in solidarity, it’s nice to be around some other people. But at the same time, also, we understand the task at hand. So while the NBA has done a great job of providing all sorts of opportunities and I know some guys have taken advantage of it, I know also we’re very focused in on making sure we’re getting rest, recovery and doing our rehab and that sort of thing so we can be good to go.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Spoelstra said Heat rookie guard Tyler Herro “looks 100 percent” through the first three practices at Disney. Herro missed 15 consecutive games because of right ankle soreness before playing in Miami’s final game prior to the league shutdown in March.
“The time off served him well and he’s moving great and providing all of that skill set that he does,” Spoelstra said.
▪ Even with three scrimmages and eight “seeding” games to play before the postseason begins, Spoelstra said the Heat’s playoff preparation began weeks ago.
“We’ve had a lot of time on our hands,” Spoelstra said. “Our staff was able to watch film at home. And here we have a lot of extra time, as well. So we’ll be able to continue to dive into those scenarios. And it’s not like that situation where there’s a possibility of having six different possibilities. It looks pretty clear, two or three.”
▪ Of two-way contract center Kyle Alexander, Spoelstra said: “He’s going full go. He spent a lot of time the last several weeks really working on his body, working on his rehab, and his conditioning and his strength, so we’re really encouraged where he is right now.”
Alexander was battling a knee injury before the season was suspended.
▪ Among the social justice messages NBA players can wear on the back of their jerseys for the restart of the season, Robinson said he went with “Say Their Names” and Crowder said he went with “Black Lives Matter.” Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonard are going with “Equality,” and Udonis Haslem chose “Black Lives Matter.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
