Bradley, Harkless playing catch-up with Heat after long layoff. Also, new sponsor on court
Most of the Miami Heat’s roster experienced the shortest offseason in NBA history, but a few Heat veterans haven’t played in an NBA game with stakes in more than nine months.
The Heat’s 2019-20 season came to an end in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Oct. 11, with 13 players returning from last season.
Free-agent acquisitions Avery Bradley and Moe Harkless haven’t played in a regular-season game since March, when the 2019-20 season was suspended on March 11 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think they both have their pluses and minuses,” Bradley said before the Heat opened its season Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center, “sitting out for a long period of time, and the guys that now have that quick turnaround, they have an opportunity to have a little better of a rhythm. For us, it’s trying to get back into game shape and trying to gain that rhythm. It works both ways. I feel like I’m on both sides of it. I’m just trying to pick up as much as I can, trying to get a rhythm, so I can go out there and try to help the team as soon as possible.”
Bradley last played in an NBA game, not counting the recently completed preseason, on March 10 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Bradley, 30, opted out of joining the Lakers in the NBA’s Walt Disney World bubble last season primarily because his oldest child, 6-year-old son Liam, has a history of struggling to recover from respiratory illnesses.
The 27-year-old Harkless last played in an NBA game, not counting the preseason, on March 11 as a member of the New York Knicks. The Knicks were not one of the 22 teams that were invited to resume the 2019-20 season in the Disney bubble because of its place at the bottom of the standings.
“I haven’t been able to play in a real NBA game since March, so it’s kind of impossible to simulate that game speed, game shape,” Harkless said. “So I thought I was in shape until those preseason games but I realized I was a little bit behind where I thought I was at. So I think that was the main thing, just trying to get my legs back under me. I’ve been feeling a lot better these past couple of weeks after getting a taste of being on the floor and stuff like that.
“It has definitely been a challenge, but it’s a part of what we do. It has been completely impossible to judge the offseason this offseason, so it was about just staying in shape, staying ready.”
It doesn’t help that the shortened preseason included only two games for Bradley, Harkless and the Heat. Bradley said he and Harkless have been at AmericanAirlines Arena “every single morning going over plays, watching film with the younger guys so we can get up to speed.”
“It’s different,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Bradley and Harkless. “Not only because it has been 9.5 months since they played in an NBA game. But we’re also coming off a situation where we played almost 100 days of doing something every single day at the highest level of competition and rhythm and conditioning. So even though our guys had to take a few days to get back into the basketball swing of things, everything else was already fast tracked.
“The good thing about it is that both are in really good shape. Just in terms of fitness, they’re both real pros. You can tell that they’ve done a bunch of work. That’s just not the same as competitive five-on-five, and certainly not game condition. The other real positive is we all see great upside once they get into that full game rhythm, they’re going to be able to get to a totally different level.”
NEW BRAND ON HEAT COURT
The Heat announced that Kia will be the corporate brand on the court for Heat home games this season, replacing the AmericanAirlines Arena branding that has been on the court for so long. But this is not related to the search for replacement naming rights for the downtown Miami arena.
The Heat and Miami-Dade County have agreed to continue for the arena to be called AmericanAirlines Arena until a new corporate title sponsor is found. American Airlines’ deal for naming rights ended a year ago.
“Kia is a valued partner of ours and the NBA,” the Heat said in a statement. “With its logo featured on both our primary and ViceVersa courts, Kia will be a part of everything that happens on the Heat hardwood this season.”
HOLIDAY MOOD
Harkless and the Heat held a virtual Holiday Food and Gift Drive for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami on Tuesday.
Harkless was interviewed on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami “Game of Life” Podcast on Zoom. The interview was followed by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami heading outside to the parking lot where cars were lined up, and 250 families were given food and toys as part of this drive-thru event courtesy of the Heat.
Harkless, a New York native, also donated to the Last Resort Emergency Response Fund managed by New Yorkers for Children. The donation will help serve approximately 50 families and young people in Queens who have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact.
In addition, the Heat, alongside PepsiCo, TD Bank, FedEx Express, and Comcast, hosted a contactless holiday drive-through food and gift distribution on Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena for local students and families from Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Twelve students, identified from underprivileged areas, received a holiday gift bag from FedEx, a subscription for eight months of internet service and a Chromebook laptop from Comcast, JBL headphones, toys and other items.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 12:02 PM.
