Heat adds Octavio De La Grana to coaching staff in bubble. And Giannis available for Game 4
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has his full coaching staff with him in the NBA’s Disney bubble.
Heat assistant coach Octavio De La Grana, who initially was not among those who traveled to the league’s quarantine campus for the resumption of the season, recently joined the team at Disney in Lake Buena Vista.
But De La Grana won’t be on the Heat’s bench Sunday for Game 4 of its second-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, as he completes the NBA’s mandatory in-room quarantine upon arrival at the Disney campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s obviously going to be great to have him back with us once he finishes up his quarantine and our staff will be whole,” Spoelstra said of De La Grana. “... He is more of a coach whisperer to the head coach. Then with the players, he just has such authentic deep relationships with them. When you’re in an environment like this, so much of beating the bubble is about camaraderie and your relationships and authenticity to that. Coach O is all about that.”
The Heat and all remaining teams in the playoffs were recently allowed by the NBA to add additional staff members to their respective groups within the bubble. The Heat currently has 41 staff members on the league’s Central Florida campus after De La Grana’s arrival, as each team was initially allowed to bring up to 37 people (including players) to Disney in July.
With De La Grana rejoining the team, the Heat’s entire coaching staff is now inside the bubble. Spoelstra; assistants Dan Craig, Malik Allen and Chris Quinn; player development coach Anthony Carter; and shooting coach/player development coach Rob Fodor were already with the team at Disney.
Eric Glass, who was serving as the Heat G League affiliate’s head coach before the season was suspended in March, has also been with the team inside the bubble since July.
De La Grana is in his 14th season with the Heat and his fourth as an assistant coach/player development coach after spending the previous two seasons as player development coach/director of minor-league operations. He spent three seasons (2013-16) as part of the Heat G League affiliate’s, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, coaching staff.
Prior to joining the Heat, De La Grana had a combined 18 years of head coaching experience at the high school level, including two stints at Florida Christian High School, where he led his team to the Class 2A State Championship in 1996. He also spent eight years as head basketball coach at Westminster Christian High School.
GIANNIS WILL PLAY
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is available to play in Game 4 despite spraining his right ankle in Friday’s Game 3 loss. Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable leading up to Sunday’s contest because of the injury.
For the Heat, Kelly Olynyk (right knee bruise) and Tyler Herro (right hip bruise) are both on the active roster for Game 4. Rookie center Chris Silva (groin) remains out.
▪ On 6-8 and 215-pound rookie KZ Okpala playing the role of Antetokounmpo on the Heat’s scout team, Spoelstra said: “When you’re on the scout team and you’re one of those developmental players and you get to play one of the stars in this league, those are their favorite practices. It was no different with KZ. I’m not going to compare them. Like, please it’s not about that. But he has some qualities that are a facsimile and he was able to help us prepare.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 9:58 AM.
