Heat preparing for second round after ‘emotional’ playoff pause. And an injury update
The NBA playoffs resumed Saturday, but the conversation following the Miami Heat’s practice had little to do with basketball.
There were no playoff games from Wednesday through Friday, with players protesting the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Ultimately, players decided to continue the season after engaging in important discussions in recent days on what can be done collectively as a league to advance social change.
The Heat returned to practice Friday after spending Thursday away from the basketball court. But Saturday marked the first time coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat players spoke to reporters since Wednesday’s afternoon media session was followed by the boycott of games.
The Heat learned Saturday evening that it’ll face the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs. Game 1 of the series is set for Monday at 6:30 p.m. on TNT.
“Obviously it has been an emotional couple days for everybody in this Association,” Spoelstra said following Saturday’s practice. “For there to be a pause during the playoffs, it was incredibly emotional. My biggest takeaway from this is the league is in a great place moving forward with our players leading the way. I marvel at our players and the players’ association for managing all of this, being a professional basketball player, competing at the highest level and then having the emotional maturity and courage to look at a bigger picture, to be able to try and influence real change, social change, for social equality.”
Veteran Heat forwards Andre Iguodala, who is the NBPA first vice president, and Udonis Haslem were among those who spoke during the recent player meetings that led to the decision to continue the season.
Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka tweeted Saturday: “You might have not seen or heard his name much on the news but [Andre] Iguodala has been a true leader in our league and for all the players during the last few days... You have all my respect brother!!”
And according to Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports, Haslem was one of the more vocal participants in Wednesday’s meeting and “stated that it was irresponsible and selfish for an established veteran to suggest that everyone should go home because younger players haven’t accumulated the wealth for such a drastic action.”
Haynes also reported that “Haslem pressed [LeBron] James and asked the star what he planned to do, reminding him that he’s the face of the league and it goes as he goes” before James walked out of the meeting. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers were the only two teams to vote against completing the playoffs during Wednesday’s meeting before agreeing to continue their seasons on Thursday.
Haslem was also among those who intervened when Clippers guard Patrick Beverley interrupted Michele Roberts, the executive director of the players’ union. Haynes reported: “Roberts asked politely if she could continue with her point, and Beverley responded, ‘No, I pay your salary,’” and this prompted Haslem and other players to make clear disrespect would not be tolerated.
“I think in any board meetings or meetings within companies, you’ll always have that voice who has been around the longest, has the most experience and has seen all situations,” Iguodala said of Haslem. “... His voice really resonates with a lot of the young guys, who have ultimate respect for him. So he just played that. We call him OG, but it’s that role of a guy with wisdom where if there is any disagreements, which you have anywhere, him just being the voice of reason. Any time you need calm to bring to the space, he’s there and willing to help us out in any way.”
A league source confirmed those anecdotes and said Haslem was a very vocal participant in Wednesday’s meeting. Haslem, 40, is the oldest player inside the bubble.
“That’s a 17-year vet,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said when asked about Haslem’s impact. “It ain’t that hard to figure out. Obviously he has been in championships. He has been in the Finals. He has been in those situations where if he wasn’t Udonis Haslem, who knows what could have happened. He has been on both sides of the fence. Just having him talk and to listen to UD is really a helpful thing for us. Because at the end of that day, we’re all trying to grow up and have such an impact like he does around the league.”
After players voted to continue the season during a meeting Thursday morning, a group of NBA players met with team owners on a video conference call later that afternoon to discuss what more could be done to combat social injustices.
“Our people are being harmed,” Adebayo said, “so it’s kind of difficult to focus on basketball because we all have families at home, we all have brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, and they’re not NBA stars or NBA basketball players. They’re regular people. So when you think of it as that aspect, you never know what could happen if they get pulled over, or they’re just in the wrong place, wrong time. So it’s hard to be in a positive place.”
Did Adebayo ever think about exiting the bubble because of those concerns?
“For me, I was caught between the fence, man,” Adebayo said. “I’m not even gonna lie. I want to go back home and help people, but I also want to stay here and bring awareness through media, through being on TV. I feel like we get a lot of eyes on us.”
Those eyes will be back on the fifth-seeded Heat during its best-of-7 second-round series against MVP front-runner Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Bucks. Game 1 is Monday at 6:30 p.m.
With the Heat completing a first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday, it will have a week off from game action before beginning the next series. That time should help Miami, with Jimmy Butler dealing with a strained left shoulder that limited him in Game 4 against the Pacers and Jae Crowder nursing a sprained left ankle he played through in the first round.
Spoelstra said Butler and Crowder both practiced Saturday and there were no new Heat injuries to report.
“We had a couple of really good days of work and nobody was in a mood to work on Wednesday night or Thursday,” Spoelstra said. “And that was the reason for this pause. We’ve been able to get a couple good days of work [Friday and Saturday]. ... Our guys will be ready.”
▪ The Heat announced Saturday night that an MRI revealed Heat rookie Chris Silva has a stress fracture in his left public bone. There’s no timetable for Silva’s return.
Silva did not play in Miami’s first-round series.
▪ Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Clifford Robinson died at the age of 53, the team confirmed Saturday.
“I can’t believe it,” said Spoelstra, who grew up in the Portland area and went to college at the University of Portland. “It’s shocking to me because I was in college and just right after college, so I’m not that much younger than the players on the Portland Trail Blazer team. And if you just look at that team, there’s four players that are not with us anymore. Starting with Drazen Petrovic, [Jerome] Kersey, [Kevin] Duckworth, and now Cliff Robinson. I’m shocked, I’m stunned, all you can do is send your prayers and condolences to the Robinson family.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2020 at 4:34 PM.
