Chemistry gives Heat edge in short preseason
The Miami Heat had a two-month offseason to recover from a season that took about a year to complete.
The NBA offseason lasted just 71 days, which is the fewest between the end of a season and the start of the next season in NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL history, according to Elias Sports.
COVID-19 is the reason for the abbreviated offseason, with the pandemic extending last season all the way to October. The Heat lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Oct. 11, and the Heat begins the 2020-21 regular season on Dec. 23.
“If I’m honest, nobody cares if you’re ready or not,” guard Goran Dragic said when asked if the
Heat will be ready after the short break. “We have the days that we have to fill up and be ready. Me personally, I believe that we’re going to be ready. We’re in good shape. Of course, we need to — like everybody else in the league — try to put a system in and clean up some stuff.”
That process began a week ago when Miami began team practices on Dec. 6.
And that process continues Monday, when the Heat opens its two-game pregame schedule against the New Orleans Pelicans at a fan-less
AmericanAirlines Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Sun, NBA TV). It marks the Heat’s first game at AmericanAirlines Arena in nine months, with Miami’s last game at its home arena coming on March 11 when the 201920 season was suspended because of the pandemic.
The fact the Heat returns 13 players from last season’s roster should help speed up the process.
The four who aren’t back are Jae Crowder (signed with the Phoenix Suns), Solomon Hill (signed with the Atlanta Hawks), Derrick Jones Jr. (signed with the Portland Trail Blazers) and two-way contract center Kyle Alexander (not signed by an NBA team).
“A lot of guys came back,” Dragic said. “It’s almost the same team, so we know how and what we need to do to get back to how we were playing before.”
The Heat responded to those departures by adding veteran guard Avery Bradley and veteran forward Moe Harkless in free agency. Miami also used its first-round pick in this year’s draft to add an athletic big man to its roster, selecting Precious Achiuwa at No. 20.
Bradley is expected to be part of the Heat’s rotation this season and will help as one of the league’s most reliable perimeter defenders. Harkless is an option to play as a stretch four who can defend multiple positions. And Achiuwa’s combination of size and athleticism at 6-9 and 225
pounds could lift him into a consistent rotation role as a rookie.
“That’s probably the thing that jumps out the most to me is that those guys just fit personalitywise, play style-wise, leadership-wise — everything across the board,” Heat forward Duncan Robinson said of the new additions. “They fit in seamlessly to how we practice, how we compete, how we get up and down — consummate pros, know exactly how to handle themselves and just great people to be around, which is awesome.”
The preseason will be about building on what was successful last season with so much of the core returning, and exploring new lineups and combinations
with a few new faces in the mix. That process will continue in the regular season, too, with such a short preseason schedule.
“We’re throwing them in the fire,” Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo said of the team’s new players. “That’s putting them in uncomfortable situations they don’t want to be in and just walking them through, throwing them through it, and then we’re going on the fly. Because we have the majority of everybody back, so we can go on the fly and they can figure it out as we go.”
The Heat’s preseason will also be about finding a second two-way contract player, which is essentially an extension of the team’s 15-man roster this season.
Rather than being limited to spending up to 45 days with their NBA teams, two-way players will be eligible to be active for up to 50 of their team’s 72 NBA games during a season that’s full of uncertainty amid the pandemic.
With guard Gabe Vincent returning on a twoway deal, Miami has one empty two-way contract spot remaining. The Heat has four Exhibit 10 players on its roster— forward Paul Eboua, wings BJ Johnson and Max Strus, and guard Breein Tyree — competing for the team’s final twoway contract.
Coach Erik Spoelstra said he won’t play every player in Monday’s preseason opener, with the Heat’s roster at the preseason limit of 20 players.
While Spoelstra did not want to make his plan public, he hinted Saturday that he could lean on Miami’s younger players a little more than usual Monday rather than have veterans like Jimmy Butler and Dragic play extended minutes.
“I like what I’ve seen so far in training camp. We’re doing a little bit more each day,” Spoelstra said Saturday, with the Heat off from practice Sunday.
“The guys that have been in our system are getting in much better rhythm and getting their legs under them and the conditioning to where they need to. And the other guys are getting acclimated and learning our system, learning how we do things. ... So I want to be able to probably Monday not only reward some of the younger guys, but since we won’t have an extended preseason, do a little bit of an evaluation, as well.”
The Heat’s other preseason priority: avoid injuries. Miami quick two-game preseason schedule comes to an end Friday against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa.
“The most important thing is to be in the best shape that you can be, try to get ready for a season, try to get that basketball feel when you play five-onfive,” Dragic said. “Definitely we need to be careful not to have injuries. We’ll see. We play Monday, so we’ll see how the coach is going to rotate the players and who’s going to play, who’s not.”
THIS AND THAT
The Pelicans will be at ● less than full strength for Monday’s preseason game, with guards Eric Bledsoe (medical protocols) and JJ Redick (medical protocols) not on the trip and ruled out. In addition, forward Wenyen Gabriel (right knee/quadriceps tendinosis) is listed as out and center Steven Adams (left hamstring soreness) is questionable.
The Heat did not issue an injury report Sunday, with teams not required to do so for preseason games.