Iguodala latest spokesman for ‘Heat culture’
A 10-pack of Heat notes leading into Friday’s
Game 2 of the NBA Finals:
Andre Iguodala has been with the Heat less than eight months, but he’s already the newest spokesman for Heat culture.
“You hear how this organization is run, and how that organization is run, and you start hearing about the Heat culture and then I think it was good to actually experience it,” he said. “I always talk about every young guy should experience what
Heat culture is like because it sets them up for success for their entire career.
“[Coach Erik Spoelstra] was actually saying it, that every veteran should experience Heat culture, and it’s about maximizing each and every player to complement the whole to have a complete team. It’s been a good experience.”
Iguodala said he also believes it’s smart that the Heat evaluation of players extends well beyond numbers and values intangibles and impact on winning.
The Heat weren’t the biggest underdog in an NBA Finals game on Friday, but it’s close. Lee Sterling of Paramount Sports said Friday’s game was off the boards at half of the Nevada and offshore sports books, but the Lakers were anywhere from 7.5- to 9-point favorites in 14 of 36 places where a line was set.
Since 2000, the biggest favorite in an NBA Finals game was Golden State against Cleveland (12- to 12.5 point favorite) in
Game 1 of the 2018 Finals and the Lakers a 12-point favorite over Philadelphia in Game 1 in the 2001 Finals, per Sterling.
Per ESPN, the Heat has won seven consecutive Game 2s after a Game 1 loss, all under Spoelstra. That’s the longest such streak in NBA history.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel has been talking up the Heat publicly and presumably with his team, trying to guard against overconfidence.
Among his comments in the wake of his team’s convincing Game 1 win:
“We have great respect for them and how much they fight and how hard they play, how well connected they are. Their offense, you know, is sort of a — we call it an everyone-is-live offense.
“The movement, the diversity, the balance that they play with, everybody is a threat on the court at all times with how well they move without the basketball and how good their bigs are at passing the basketball. We feel like this Miami team is as difficult to guard as any team we’ve played in the playoffs thus far, and there’s a reason they’re 12-3 coming into this series. We can’t let our guard down at all.”
Anthony Davis doesn’t necessarily believe his teammate and friend LeBron James when James says that beating his former team doesn’t carry any extra meaning to him.
“He’s a guy who obviously when he played against his former teams, he wants to win very bad, very badly, just like everyone else does,” Davis said. “But to be back in the Finals against Miami I think means a lot more to him winning this than anyone else. I think this championship is probably second behind Cleveland, being able to get this one for him.”
How does the Heat get Duncan Robinson more shots — and more good looks — after a quiet scoreless Game 1 in which he attempted only three shots in 27 minutes?
Dwight Howard praised Kentavious CaldwellPope and Alex Caruso for that: “I think they did a good job on Duncan Robinson. Tyler Herro, he got going early, but they started to lock into him. They take it personal. They don’t want guys scoring on them.”
Spoelstra points out that “the scouting report on Duncan Robinson becomes much more laser detailed, and he’s earned that respect. He continues to figure out different ways to be more assertive, to help out our offense. He’s as persistent as anyone. So just when you think that you can put him in one box, he finds a way to be aggressive and put pressure on good defenses, and I expect him to do the same thing. We do need more to our menu.”
With Goran Dragic not expected to play in Game 2, one upshot is his family will get more sleep. His family, back in Slovenia, has been setting their alarm for the middle of the night to watch the games.
“My kids, they’re going to be sleeping, but definitely my wife, my parents, my friends, they’re going to probably go to bed and set an alarm clock around 2:55 [a.m.] and wake up and get excited for the game,” he said before Game 1. “But definitely I know my Pops, he’s going to definitely watch it.”
It’s impossible to underestimate the respect Bam Adebayo has garnered from peers in the game. Adebayo was not expected to play in Game 2 because of a neck injury.
“Bam has had an amazing year,” Howard said. “To see his progress from Kentucky to now has been amazing. His growth, his leadership, his mentality has been great.”
Davis said “Bam is a great player. Bam is a lot like Nikola Jokic. He handles the ball a lot, pushes them on the breaks for them, he makes great passes, scores. He’s like their energy guy as well.”
As if the Lakers’ size with Davis and Howard (who played only 15 minutes in Game 1) isn’t problematic enough for Miami, Vogel warned Thursday his lineup “could potentially [include] JaVale McGee at some point in this series because even though we’re using Dwight’s physicality right now to start, I think his length could present a problem for them on the defensive end.”
It’s questionable if Dion Waiters sees any action in this series. He has played only 38 minutes, over five postseason games, scoring 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. He has been inactive for the Lakers’ past nine playoff games.
“Me and him really had a good chemistry on the floor,” Dragic reflected this week. “That year we called it 7-11. We went through a lot of ups and downs that season. We won 11 games and 30 losses, and then we flipped the season and won 30 games and 11 [losses]. But yeah, unfortunately with him he had a lot of injuries, too, so he was in and out of the rotation. It’s just the way it goes. Now I’m happy for him that he’s with the Lakers. He’s a great dude, great teammate, and I wish him all the best.”
Spoelstra was asked Thursday if he has grown to like moments like this because of the challenge of it. Even he wasn’t buying that.
“You know, I’m not like sick in the mind like that,” he said. “But this is when you feel most alive, when you’re being tested competitively and challenged in new ways, different ways.”