Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Coach recommends recharge
Spoelstra wants team to ignore game for first few days of break
HOUSTON — Well, at least we now know that Erik Spoelstra takes a travel scale on the road. Because when it comes to the NBA All-Star break, the Heat coach said a Pat Riley tradition is still alive and well.
Asked in a lighthearted tone whether he would weigh his players in advance of the All-Star break, as Riley did before transitioning from the bench to a full-time role in the front office, Spoelstra smiled an almost devious smile.
“Why would you think for a second that would change?” he said in advance of the game Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. “I’m a product of Pat Riley and his culture.”
Back when the All-Star break was three or four days, Riley would give each of his players a target weight for their return, with fines otherwise issued. Now, with a new agreement between the union and league, teams are given at least a week off for the break, with the Heat idle for eight days from Thursday until a Feb. 24 game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.
“That remains the same,” Spoelstra said. “And everything that we’ve always done will still remain the same.”
But he also said the break arrives when needed for a team forced to battle back from an 11-30 record at midseason.
“I think it’s more important for the guys’ state of mind, just to be able to clear it, not to
think about the game at all,” he said. “I’d really recommend guys, at least the first three days, spend time with family, loved ones, friends, but don’t think about the game.
“We’ve been on edge now for about over a month, six weeks, really locked in. And you do need some time to decompress. When we come back, it’ll be a furious finish, the games will have so much importance. That’s what these guys live for. They love that time of year. But you do need to recalibrate, recharge and then get back to it.”
While also not getting too far from what is expected.
“Some of the guys who do need some time off physically, that first two or three days, that will give them a chance to get their bodies right, but then, after that, get back to some level of conditioning,” Spoelstra said.
Not all of his players are willing to step back.
Forward James Johnson, in the midst of a mid-career renaissance, said he will be back at AmericanAirlines Arena for just about every day during the break, with the Heat not schedule to resume practicing until Tuesday.
“I’m going to stick to my grind, stick to my same routine with the weights and to keep everything flowing the same way, so I’m not coming in after All-Star break and trying to get my rhythm back,” he said.
Johnson said he appreciates the need for some to step back, but said his preference is continuity.
“Lifting weights or doing something 15 minutes in the weight room or court is not going to hurt anybody,” he said.
Unlike the NHL, where teams are given five-day breaks at staggered parts of the schedule, Spoelstra said the All-Star break and extended layoff puts all teams on equal footing.
“Everybody goes through it,” he said. “We’ll have a couple of practices. We’ll have a program for guys while they’re away. So it’s not as if we have to deal with it and the rest of the league doesn’t.”
Asked about his plans, Spoelstra initially was coy.
“None of your business,” he playfully told his questioners at the morning shootaround on the Rockets’ practice court.
He then said, “I’ll probably be on a beach somewhere.”
Even for a team from South Florida, that appears to be the common theme.
“I’m going to get away from Miami and be on a beach somewhere else,” guard Tyler Johnson said.