Practice time will be in short supply this season
Teams are essentially playing every other day plus travel
The Heat just wrapped up two consecutive days of practice, which is significant for this reason: It might not happen again for a while.
How long? Maybe March.
Practice time is something that will be in short supply around the NBA this season; teams are basically playing every other day, and that — along with travel and mandated days off — realistically leaves time for no more than two practices per week. Given that teams also had fewer preseason games than usual, along with shorter training camps, there just hasn’t been as much time to teach and ease into a year as most coaches would like.
“I think you need to adjust and at least we’re all on an even playing field, so it’s all relative,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “If you have a day in between, you still have an opportunity to improve. And it might not be a training-camp practice, but you can get some things accomplished.”
Miami just finished its longest break of the first half — three full days off, sandwiched between a Christmas game against the Pelicans and the start of a home back-toback against the Bucks that began Tuesday with a humbling 144-97 defeat. For comparison’s sake, Miami has a four-game trip in early January during which it will practice no more than once.
They’re not alone. Every team in the NBA will have similar practice quandaries, which comes with the territory of having plenty of four-game weeks. It could be argued that without a lot of practice time, getting off to good starts — like the Cavaliers and the Magic — might be of even more importance.
“We don’t have two days off again until Feb. 3,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said.
Tuesday’s games
Bucks 144, Heat 97: Milwaukee made an NBA-record 29 3-pointers on 51 tries from beyond the arc. The Bucks used 13 players, and 12 made at least one 3 — two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only one who didn’t. Khris Middleton had four 3s and 25 points.
76ers 100, Raptors 93: Joel Embiid had 29 points, 16 rebounds and one scare when he briefly left the game with a leg injury, leading host Philadelphia.
Celtics 116, Pacers 111: Jayson Tatum scored 27 for Boston, which rallied from 17 down in the third quarter in Indiana.
Bulls 115, Wizards 107: Zach LaVine scored 23 and Coby White added 18 to lead visiting Chicago past winless Washington.
Knicks 95, Cavaliers 86: Julius Randle had 28 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his first triple-double in two years, leading New York to a road win.
Warriors 116, Pistons 106: Stephen Curry scored 31 and Andrew Wiggins added 27 to lift Golden State in winless Detroit.
Magic 118, Thunder 107: Nikola Vucevic had a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds for unbeaten Orlando.
Clippers 124, Timberwolves 101: Lou Williams scored 20 off the bench to lead seven Los Angeles players in double figures during a home triumph.
Suns 111, Pelicans 86: Jae Crowder scored 21 as Phoenix won at home.
Kings 125, Nuggets 115: Tyrese Haliburton scored eight in the fourth quarter for host Sacramento. Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to set a Denver record with his 44th career triple-double.