Haslem on state of Heat entering season, what to expect from Adebayo, Herro, Okpala
The Miami Heat is set to begin its 33rd NBA season, and veteran forward Udonis Haslem has been on the Heat’s roster for more than half of them.
Haslem, 40, is entering his 18th season and has spent his entire NBA career with the Heat. The Miami native has served as a Heat captain in each of the past 13 seasons, the longest tenure in team history.
In other words, Haslem has seen and accomplished a lot.
Just two months after falling two wins short of a championship in the NBA Finals, how is the Heat approaching the upcoming season that’ll begin amid the COVID-19 pandemic? And what are Haslem’s thoughts on Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and KZ Okpala?
Here’s the Miami Herald’s Q&A with Haslem, with the start of the 2020-21 NBA season upon us ...
How do you want the team to approach this unique season after such a short break?
A: “I think the approach to it for us having a shortened offseason, I think a lot of people look at it like a disadvantage. For us, we look at it as an advantage. I think we’re one of the teams that, we don’t look for the easy way. I think when we’re challenged, I think that’s when you get the best out of the Miami Heat. I think for us going into the bubble situation, we saw that as a challenge. Being away from our families, being isolated, being quarantined, so we understand the approach that we had to take. Before we even stepped into the bubble, we challenged ourselves mentally.
“Understanding that we had the shortest offseason in NBA history, once again that can be a challenge. But it’s a challenge that we’re looking to meet. I think most people would complain about it, most people would whine about. I think we’re looking forward to the challenge. For us, I think the way that we approach things is that there’s a winner and a loser at everything. So us understanding how this is, we’re even more focused than we were going into the bubble. That’s the approach that I see from everybody in practice. That’s the way that we’re wired, that’s the talk that I’m hearing around the locker room. We’re even more focused than we were going into the bubble because of the shortened offseason. Because there are so many reasons why we should have excuses. There are so many excuses that we should have, and I think a lot of people are looking for us to have excuses. I think a lot of people are saying that we probably shouldn’t have made it that far anyway. With all that being said, we’re not looking for no excuses. We’re not running. We’re going to take our two-week offseason that the NBA graciously granted us and we’re going to get right back to the grind.”
With most of last season’s roster returning, what did you learn about your teammates during the bubble run to the Finals?
A: “That we got 15 guys that are willing to do what it takes to get it done. I think most of the time when you’re chasing this title, everybody says they want a title until they’re chasing it and they understand what it takes. The sacrifice, the grind, the failures, all of that stuff. You usually get about 10 guys in, 12 guys in, but you might have three guys who you kind of got to drag along and hopefully the other 12 guys are strong enough that the other two or three guys don’t disrupt the chemistry. It’s always something like that. With us from top to bottom, we have 15 guys that will run through a brick wall if that’s what it takes to win a championship. There was no hesitation, there was no question. From the young guys, Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn, who never had been on that stage, to the older guys who have been there before. Everybody was willing to do what it takes. I had never seen kids like Tyler Herro. I had young rooks, but I had never seen guys like Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn. Literally whatever you tell them to do, they will do it. It wasn’t, ‘C’mon OG, man. We gotta run another lap? Oh we gotta do another drill? Oh we gotta run another one.’ It was never that from those dudes.”
Did all of that make your decision to return for an 18th NBA season an easy one?
A: “Honestly, as soon as we lost that last game, man, there was an itch right then and there. Walking in the locker room, watching Bam cry, watching those guys, watching those guys that actually put their hearts out there and didn’t get it done and knowing what that pain felt like. Watching those guys actually want something that bad it hurts, in a weird way that was encouraging for me because I know one day they’re going to be champions because of that.”
With a player like Herro, how do you expect things to change for him after his historically productive rookie playoff run?
A: “Sheesh. I think people understand what he can do with the basketball offensively. So I think the biggest thing people are going to do is put pressure on him defensively. Make him have to guard, try to get him in foul trouble, confuse him a little bit on the defensive end. Because offensively, he’s a bucket. Offensively, he pretty much has it all. So sometimes they say the best way to stop somebody is to get them in foul trouble and get them out of the game. Teams are going to try to take advantage of Herro on the defensive end, put him in situations and put him actions and try to get him in foul trouble and try to confuse him a little bit. I think offensively, the kid is so crafty that he’s light years ahead of his age with his poise. We all know he got big [guts], you know what I’m saying. The kid has that ‘it’ factor.”
What kind of improvement have you seen from Herro on defense?
A: “He has gotten better, man. These kids, they listen, they’re eager to learn and they retain information. Herro has gotten better. I saw that from the first preseason game. I think people will look at a couple of the shots they hit against Herro, but I look at the fact that he stayed down on the [New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon] Ingram shot fake and pivot. Was it a foul when he contested the shot? Questionable call. But I think Tyler contested the ball, stayed down on the shot fake and pivot. Those are things that I feel like last year, he would have went for the shot fake, he would have went for the pivot and he would have gone up in the air. I look at things like that. Those technical things are things that he has improved on, and those are the things that we wanted him to improve on.”
Bam has talked about following in your footsteps and stepping into a leadership role on and off the court with the Heat. Do you see that in him?
A: “He got it. He doesn’t have to want to be it. He is it. It was in him. It’s natural. It flows. He doesn’t have to want to be it. It’s in him. He has got it. He has got the culture. He has got the mindset. He has got the background. I don’t know if it’s weird, but if you look at all us Heat guys and you look at the ‘Heat culture’ guys. You look at Dwyane [Wade] and myself, you look at the background of the bond that we shared. Dwyane and myself shared an incredible bond, but it probably started even before we met with the path that our mothers had taken. The bond that they created based on the path they had taken just helped me and Dwyane relate so well. That’s why I think I have such an admiration for Bam and the relationship he has with his mom. When you look at everything, even his life journey and his path and who he is now and who he’s becoming, he has embodied everything that a [Heat] lifer has. Overcoming odds, beating obstacles, sacrificing beyond measure for your family and for your family. Then when you get to this level, not running away from the responsibility of what it takes to be great. He has embodied all of it.”
Why does Jimmy fit in so well with the Heat?
A: “Just like Bam, he’s another guy who doesn’t have to try to be a Heat guy. He doesn’t have to try to fit in. He doesn’t have to try to embody the culture. Because somewhere along the way in his life, he has had to overcome something and has been challenged by something, and it turned him into a monster. That’s who we are here. If you’re a Heat lifer guy and you’re a culture guy and not just a guy who came and played a couple years here but a guy who’s a Heat lifer guy and a culture guy, somewhere along the way you’ve been challenged. Somewhere along the way, somebody told you what you couldn’t do and it continues to happen and it continues to happen. Somewhere along the way, that [expletive] turns you into a monster. When you get here, they embrace that and they cultivate it. They don’t just dismiss it. ‘Oh, that’s not what we want’ or ‘Oh, that’s not how we want it.’ They see something in guys like that and they mold it, and they get the best out of it.”
What have you seen from rookie Precious Achiuwa in practice?
A: “For me, I look at Precious and I think of myself. A guy who’s 6-7 or 6-8 and just hungry. That’s the first thing I look for when I see these guys, man. Are they hungry? Forget can they shoot, can they run, can they jump. Are they hungry and do they want this? The kid wants it. He wants it. He’s very receptive, does anything I tell him to do. Never get a complaint. Those are the things I look for from a young guy. Do they complain when I tell them what they need to do? Facial expression, body language, work ethic. Those are the things that I really judge the most when a young guy walks in here. Precious’ work ethic is crazy. He literally went through practice the other day and didn’t take a rep off. Spo made sure that I stayed in his ear, but he didn’t take one rep off of practice. ... He plays like he’s motivated and driven by something.”
What growth have you seen from KZ Okpala since his rookie season?
A: “I will say this, KZ is probably the person I’m most excited to see on the court this year because of everything he brings to the table. I don’t know if we have a guy like KZ, a true, true Swiss Army knife outside of Jimmy and Bam. He’s the other guy who can guard four or five positions, handle the ball, push it, make plays. He’s the other guy outside of Jimmy and Bam who can probably play four or five positions for us. We don’t have very many guys like that, so I’m excited to see KZ on the floor. If he can remain consistent on both ends of the basketball court, he can get some good minutes for us and help us out a lot.”
Final thing, are you going to bring your cornrows back?
A: “Nah. No, no, no.”
Have guys on the team been asking you to bring them back?
A: “Yeah, man. That’s too much maintenance. Way too much maintenance. I ain’t got that much time in the day anymore. I’m too busy.”
Dwyane Wade did it in his final season ...
A: “Yeah. But Dwyane had way less hair than me. He only had enough hair to braid the top. Mine used to hang down to my shoulders. I had hang time. I can’t grow them things back, man. That’s too much. That would take forever.”
