Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Better sleep, better play
Heat switch travel plans for improved performance
DENVER — In considering the possibilities of his team maximizing this season-longest six-game trip, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra decided to sleep on it. He is hoping his players will do the same. In a change from his team’s traditional practice of moving on to the next city immediately after a game, Spoelstra has his team sleeping in during three stops over these next two weeks, instead returning to the team hotel after games against the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.
“Every sports scientist will tell you, the first time that they look at an NBA schedule, they say, ‘Wow, that doesn’t make sense. That’s tough,’ ” Spoelstra said. “And then you try to work in what’s realistic and what might not be.”
Spoelstra said he has consulted with a sleep specialist in a bid to maximize his team’s performance. The goal is avoiding as many 4 a.m. arrivals as possible.
“We have a consultant I’ve talked to quite a bit the last about two or three years. He’s a sports scientist. He’s worked with a lot of Olympic teams,” Spoelstra said, declining to
identify the advisor. “The bottom line is if pro athletes can get more sleep, that helps.
“Now, trying to figure that out during the course of a busy season, that’s the puzzle, to try to figure out.”
So that still has the Heat flying to Los Angeles immediately following tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets, which will allow for a Saturday practice session in advance of Sunday ’s early tip against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Spoelstra said the extra layovers on this trip are more pronounced for a reason.
“From the people I’ve talked to,” he said, “it’s more of an issue when teams come from the west to the east, to try to stay on the same time zone. It’s not as much of a factor when you’re going west.”
The flight from Denver to Los Angeles allows the Heat to pick up an hour with the change in time zones. But then there are the hours lost when flying first from Oakland, Calif., to Phoenix and then, later in the trip, from Salt Lake City to Detroit.
“Everybody’s trying to adjust and trying to find the best way to optimize our players’ health, and sleep is a big component,” he said. “When it makes sense, we’ll stay over, if guys can get a little more rest, rather than coming in at 4, 5 in the morning.”
The tradeoff is not already being on the ground in the next city for a practice on an off-day before a game.
“But I think it’ll be a little more time, anyway, this year, with fewer back-tobacks,” Spoelstra said of the NBA’s new, more breathable scheduling. “There may be times where you just have to have time off.”
While the concept of getting players back to the hotel for sleep at a reasonable hour is logical in theory, these also are 20-somethings who don’t exactly operate by standard clocks.
“I think we’ll go to sleep,” guard Josh Richardson, 24, said of the adjusted travel approach. “We’re all young guys, so we like to have fun, there’s no telling. But we’ve got a lot of guys that are really focused, so we’re not really trying to go crazy like that. But you never know.
“I think there’s definitely some positives to it. I don’t think we’ve really done it enough for me to be like it’s a lot better. I think I’ll probably have a better idea after this road trip.”
Guard Tyler Johnson said he is on board because of one particular element of this upcoming scheduling.
“Sometimes people are in the cities they grew up in. For instance, I remember when we stayed over last year in San Francisco, I went home and I ended up going back to my mom’s house,” he said, again afforded that opportunity after Monday’s game against the Warriors.
About to turn 30 at the end of the month and one of the older players on the roster, guard Wayne Ellington said he believes the kids will be all right with the revised travel approach.
“On this team, we’re pretty disciplined,” he said. “Guys take it pretty serious to get their rest.
“I like to stay over if we can and then fly out in the morning, just so we’re on our regular sleeping pattern, instead of staying up all night and getting in late. That kind of messes you up.”