Miami looking to overcome past falls
Heat were 1-3 against both the Hawks and Magic last season
MIAMI — It would be simplistic to cite a pair of opponents as the reason the Miami Heat finished 39-43 last season and two games out of the playoffs.
Unless, of course, you cite the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic, with the Heat 1-3 in 2018-19 against each.
It is why the next two exhibitions for Erik Spoelstra’s team might come a bit more from the heart, with the Heat to face the Hawks on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena and then the Magic on Thursday night at the Amway Center.
“The returning people, we know what our record was against those two teams,” Spoelstra said after Sunday’s practice.
In some ways, the games against the Magic turned the playoff race for the Heat, with Orlando closing last season seventh in the Eastern Conference at 42-40. The Hawks, by contrast, closed at
29-53, making those three losses even more difficult to stomach.
With both teams alongside the Heat in the Southeast Division, it means another four-game series against each this season.
“Those are the teams that we’re closest to geographically,” Spoelstra said. “The divisions don’t mean anything now in terms of playoff, but all of us veterans are conditioned that it does matter.”
The Hawks figure to be significantly upgraded this season, beyond even the growth of the young nucleus of John Collins, Kevin Huerter and Trae Young, when factoring in the offseason additions of Evan Turner and Jabari Parker, as well as the draft selections of No. 4 pick DeAndre Hunter, No. 10 pick Cam Reddish and No. 34 pick Bruno Fernando.
“They have a lot of talent and they did it pretty quickly,” Spoelstra said. “It’s young talent, but they don’t have the mindset that they want to wait. You have to respect how their young guys have gotten a lot better.”
On Waiters, Johnson
Spoelstra said guard Dion Waiters is expected to be available Monday after missing the past three days of practice due to personal reasons.
Spoelstra said forward James Johnson, who was allowed to rejoin the team Friday after being kept away due to conditioning issues, will be in uniform Monday for the first time this preseason.
“He’ll be available,” Spoelstra said. “I’ll have to work out the rotation and everything. He’ll be available.”
The Heat announced after practice that veteran forward Udonis Haslem will be out for about a week due to a sprained left wrist. Haslem has yet to play in the preseason, with the timetable now sidelining him for the final three exhibitions. The Heat open the regular season Oct. 23 against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
Maintenance plan
Goran Dragic, at 33 and coming off a knee injury, said he appreciated last week’s decision to keep him off the travel list for the exhibition against the Charlotte Hornets. But he also stressed he did not ask to be on the no-fly list.
“I mean I was surprised yes and no,” he said. “Even if they told me I wasn’t going to play, I would still like to go.
“But then, from a different standpoint, I understand, because I can achieve more, here, to be ready. But, you know, it all depends on my knee and the training staff, what they think is smartest to do to prepare for season.”
Spoelstra has taken a similar approach during some of the team’s preseason practices.
“I have to be smart,” Dragic said. “Of course, I don’t like it, because that’s not me. I want to be in every practice, working every drill. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is playing the games. So if that’s going to help me to play more games, then I’m definitely with it.”