Haslem, Heat give thanks
More of a mentor than player at 39
What does Udonis Haslem give thanks for? Being allowed to still give what he can.
As the Miami Heat’s veteran forward reflected on Thanksgiving, he offered appreciation for still being appreciated, albeit in a different way than during his Heat championship seasons.
“Being around, it wouldn’t be easy if these guys didn’t accept me, if these guys didn’t respond to me and listen to me,” the 39year-old father of three said. “So they make it easy for me. They make it easy for me to want to come to work every day and give everything I can give to these guys.”
And that’s the thing, even in his lack of playing time, the giving remains ongoing, albeit away from the court, out of sight of those who question carrying a mentor at the cost of a roster spot.
That’s why coach Erik Spoelstra felt it was so important recently to open the window into why Haslem is in a 17th season with the team, what Haslem has been doing, and where and when.
“It’s absolutely incredible, just his career of leadership, and how many different manifestations of that leadership that he’s brought to different teams and how he’s grown,” Spoelstra said. “Why I love it so much, in the recent years he really is a servant leader. He’s just here to serve. He’s here to help. He’s here to push and guide, drive guys to become their best — and with a vision with our culture in mind.
Warriors
In a season of injuries, coach Steve Kerr has joined the Warriors Wounded.
In a fit of fury Wednesday night, Kerr broke a hard plastic clipboard and cut his right hand. Unlike Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Kerr isn’t likely to miss any games.
“I’m day-to-day,” Kerr said, bandaged but smiling after a 104-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls, only the Warriors’ fourth in 19 games this season.
This hardly was Kerr’s first incident with a clipboard. Most famously, he broke one during the 2016 NBA Finals against Cleveland.
“I’m allotted two a year,” Kerr said Wednesday. “This was number one. It always cuts (my hand) in the same place. This was a little deeper one. I was a little more upset.”