Tucker searching for the best pancakes in Miami
Before most games, P.J. Tucker can be found eating a stack of pancakes.
That seems worrisome at the surface. But for the newly acquired Miami Heat veteran forward, it’s just a part of his pregame routine that he began early in his NBA career as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
“I’ve been doing that a long time. I just like pancakes,” Tucker said to the Miami Herald. “I don’t like eating before games, so pancakes are just something that I enjoy and I’ve always loved. But it’s something that on game days, the carbs, that lasts. Pancakes kind of stick to your bones, so I’m not hungry for the rest of the day. I can play without having food in my stomach.”
Tucker, 36, won’t be conducting his pregame ritual in Atlanta ahead of Thursday’s preseason game against the Hawks because he didn’t travel with the team and is one of 11 Heat players who have been ruled out for the contest. The Heat’s preseason finale is Friday night against the Boston Celtics at FTX Arena.
Remaining in Miami on Thursday could give Tucker more time to find the best pancake spots in his new home. Since signing with the Heat in free agency this summer, he has been searching the city for go-to pregame meal options.
“It’s a bunch. I got a list. I got a whole list in Miami,” Tucker said of his process to find the best pancakes. “I’ve just been making the list. Some different chefs and people in Miami. So that’s how it happens.
“Once I post it on social media, people just start sending you places. Then I start to Google them, looking them up and seeing where they’re at, what style of pancakes they got. Then every game day, start doing it.”
Tucker recently tried the pancakes from Chug’s Diner in Coconut Grove, and he frequented nearby Greenstreet Cafe for pancakes in Miami as a visiting player during his career.
“Everybody goes to Greenstreet. Greenstreet is like the known one, and I like their blueberry pancakes,”
said Tucker, who noted that the best pancakes he has ever had are from Matt’s Big Breakfast in Phoenix.
While pancakes around lunch time have been a constant, Tucker’s pregame routine has changed a bit over the years. He eats fewer pancakes in a sitting now than he did earlier in his career.
“It’s a fun way for me, especially on the road in each city I play in, to find new places,” Tucker said of his pancake ritual. “I start to tweet, post it on Instagram, people start to
show up and have some breakfast with some fans. So it’s a good way to interact with people. Especially pre-COVID, it was fun.”
Tucker, who is entering his 11th NBA season, is expected to begin the season as the Heat’s starting power forward. Known as one of the best corner three-point shooters in the league, he has lived up to that title with 5 of 8 shooting on threes from the corners in the preseason.
“He’s one of the best corner three-point shooters in this league. We want him to let it fly,”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Tucker. “We want him to have doubledigit games with doubledigit three-point attempts this season. The more reps he can get for us, that means good things for our spacing and a lot of different things. But it’s not like we’re reinventing him. He’s a great shooter, particularly from those corners.”
Does Tucker worry about the Heat’s weekly weight and body fat measurements when he’s eating his pregame meal?
“I’m in the best shape of my career this year. I’m all the way down to 236,” he said. “So that’s the last thing I’m worried about. I actually might need to eat a few more of them, actually. I’m losing a little bit too much weight.”
BAM’S THREES
Heat center Bam Adebayo has done a lot well during the preseason, but he has yet to attempt a three.
Adebayo, who is among those for the Heat who did not travel to Atlanta for Thursday’s contest, has averaged 15.7 points on 64.5 percent shooting and 5.7 rebounds in three preseason games. He shot 2 of 8 on threes last season and 7 of 44 over the first four seasons of his NBA career.
“I don’t know why everybody is so obsessed about that,” Spoelstra said when asked about Adebayo’s lack of three-point attempts this preseason. “The guy is improving in every aspect. I watch him in his workouts. He can make the corner three as good as basically any of our bigs. But he has the ball in different areas. More importantly is his assertiveness and his ability to attack different gaps and be able to make midrange and long range shots with great accuracy now. That’s where he’s really improved in a lot of different offensive skill sets.”
The 11 Heat players who have been ruled out for Thursday’s preseason game against the Hawks: Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Dewayne Dedmon, Marcus Garrett, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Markieff Morris, Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Tucker and Omer Yurtseven.