South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Spoelstra: Adjustments key to coaching in bubble
Bubble life means plenty of Plan B, with coach Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat learning that on the fly inside the NBA’s quarantine setting at Disney World.
So Saturday, with Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn still away from the team amid the new coronavirus pandemic, Spoelstra stressed that all contingencies have to be considered, all while not know when or if the next positive COVID-19 test could create yet another detour.
“I’ve learned pretty quickly you better be able to adjust daily,” he said after the Heat’s second practice session on the league’s Disney campus near Orlando. “There’s no way that we could have planned for a lot of these things, even three weeks ago. And if you go back to two months ago, the idea of a bubble in Orlando probably seemed a little farfetched.
“And then, each week, things develop and you have a little bit more hope and optimism, as the league put together a very robust plan, working with the teams and players’ association. But you better be flexible. You can have a great plan, but it’s going to adjust every day, as we’ve learned.”
The practices Friday and Saturday on makeshift courts in the ballroom of a conference center have become the new normal for Spoelstra’s team, one that comes with deadlines, including the Heat’s Aug. 1 r e g u l a r- s e a s o n r e s t a r t against the Denver Nuggets, and then the Aug. 17 start of the playoffs.
“I don’t think it’s realistic to be at our peak by the end of this month, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re not going to really plan for that,” he said, with each team given eight regular-season “seeding” games ahead of the playoffs. “I think the most important thing is getting ready for the playoffs, obviously. But we want to be playing good basketball by the time we play those regular-season eight games.
“But we’ll have to continue to adapt and adjust this plan as we go. We’ve already changed some things just in the last 48 hours, due to circumstances. But we’ve had two really good workouts and I’m pleased about that. And we’ll just continue to forge ahead.”
Both the NBA and Major League Soccer are working in quarantine settings at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, with the MLS already forced to send two teams home due to a rash of positive COVID-19 tests.
“Anything can happen, and you have to be able to understand the reality of the world that we live in,” Spoelstra said, when asked about the MLS situation. “It’s a world that’s with the virus right now. You can’t run away from it. But all the protocols and plans that have been put into place I think are extremely well thought out.
“Nothing is absolutely 100% guaranteed. But we do feel that it is safer here. I know you hear that all the time. But certainly, from where we’re coming from in South Florida, where the numbers are really spiking, to an area that’s really in a controlled, safe environment, I think it’s the best opportunity for it to have success. And we’re all just praying and hoping that it works out. Because right now, so far, the three days we’ve been here, I’ve been very impressed by not only the protocols, but also everybody’s adherence to the protocols.”
An advantage, Spoelstra said, is his staff has worked camps in ballroom settings, with the Heat’s previously holding training camps at the Atlantis resort.
“As soon as we walked into the ballroom and into the gym, it felt just like our training camp, visual, of the Bahamas, when we brought in the courts,” he said, with the Heat having worked in the Bahamas with the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
“The same designs. All of it felt very familiar.”
Also Saturday from Disney:
— All of the Heat’s Saturday participants in the team’s video sessions wore masks, to emphasize the need for such precautions. “When you pass people in the hallway or in the lobby area, everybody’s wearing t h e i r ma s k s, a s they should,” Spoelstra said.
— The Heat resumed 5-on-5 work Saturday, but only on a limited scale. Spoelstra said his players wanted more, but he intervened.
— Andre Iguodala addressed his investment in Zoom video teleconferencing, the platform the NBA is utilizing at Disney. “It has been pretty exciting, especially for the company,” he said. “It’s doing pretty well on the investment side.”
— Iguodala said he is utilizing his free time to watch “Roots,” which he had not previously viewed. “It’s really good. I like the way it’s very raw and very real.”
— Center Meyers Leonard said he is mostly recovered from the severe ankle sprain that had him out the final 16 games before the NBA’s March 11 shutdown. “You know what? It’s gonna take time. But I do feel good out there,” he said. “I had no issues with the ankle. I’m incredibly focused on my rehab and my recovery.” He also said the Heat are at Disney to “Beat the Bubble.”
— Leonard, on Jimmy Butler during the first two resumption practices, “He’s at another level.”