South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Nunn returns, Bam and Butler sit out scrimmage loss to Utah,
What once was months away is now less than a week away for the Miami Heat.
Next Saturday it again will be for real for Erik Spoelstra’s team.
For now, it’s still about getting some up to speed and others some downtime.
So with Kendrick Nunn back, and with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo given the day off, the Heat fell 101-99 Saturday to the Utah Jazz in an exhibition scrimmage at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
It was the first scrimmage action for Nunn, who arrived Tuesday to the NBA’s “bubble” setting at Disney World with Adebayo, after the two dealt with COVID-19. The rookie guard closed with five points in 18 minutes.
“It felt good getting up and down,” Nunn said.
Adebayo was held out as a precaution, his Disney debut likely to come in Tuesday’s 2 p.m. scrimmage finale against the Memphis Grizzles.
“We got what we want to out of the scrimmage,” Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra said it was a matter of being a bit safer with the bulkier Adebayo.
“He really wants to feel a little bit more comfortable,” Spoelstra said. “We have two more practices before the Memphis game. KNunn is a different weight class.”
As for Butler, it was a continuation of the prudence from Wednesday’s 104-98 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings, when he only went 11 minutes, all in the first half.
This coming Saturday, after going since March 11 without a game that counts in the standings, due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the Heat will resume their regular-season schedule against the Denver Nuggets, in the first of their eight “seeding” games ahead of the playoffs.
“We’ve had 11 solid training-camp practices,” Spoelstra said, “and we didn’t even have an opportunity to do that back in October.
“This is unique, and obviously had some time off, but we’ve been able to get quite a few things accomplished, get guys back into the way we want to play, get some conditioning.”
The Heat got 27 points from Kelly Olynyk and 20 from Tyler Herro. The Jazz got 21 points from Rudy Gobert, 17 from Mike Conley Jr. and 17 from Jordan Clarkson.
Of Herro, Spoelstra said, “He’s fearless, but you can see how he’s continuing to develop his skill level.”
Five degrees of Heat from Saturday’s scrimmage:
1. Nunn, not Bam: While both arrived to Disney nearly two weeks after teammates, Nunn was in the starting lineup, while Adebayo watched from the bench.
Nunn missed his first three shots and opening two 3-point attempts, before converting a reverse layup in the second period. He closed 2 of 7 from the field, with three assists and two rebounds.
“By the time that first game starts, I should have everything under control,” Nunn said.
Nunn and Adebayo went through their first full Disney practice on Friday night.
“Obviously getting KNunn and Bam back the last two days was important,” Spoelstra said. “It was great to have them at practice and we’ll continue to get them acclimated to everybody else.”
2. Other perspectives: As is typical for exhibitions, Spoelstra gave Butler the day off, perhaps indicating something closer to a dress rehearsal Tuesday.
That had Herro joining Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Derrick Jones Jr. and Meyers Leonard in Saturday’s starting lineup.
Those five were followed off the bench in the first half by Goran Dragic, Olynyk, Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill and Chris Silva, putting the Heat 11 deep on a first half that ended in a 47-47 tie.
“We’ll start to get everybody, the whole group, ready for Tuesday, and then go from there,” Spoelstra said.
3. Kelly can: After scoring 12 points against the Kings on Wednesday night, Olynyk had 14 in his first 11 minutes Saturday.
Olynyk closed 10 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers, with eight rebounds in his 28 minutes.
“He’s in tremendous shape right now,” Spoelstra said. “He’s really worked at it in May and June.”
Leonard, by contrast, went scoreless in 14 minutes, with three rebounds.
4. More to go: Having clinched a playoff berth, the Heat will be in the Disney bubble at least one more month, with the playoffs to open Aug. 17.
“Look, we feel extremely grateful to be part of this,” Spoelstra said. “I remember having Zoom meetings back in April. And if you told us that we were going to be in Orlando, finishing the regular season and then having an opportunity to continue in the playoffs and compete for a title, we all would have thought that that would sound like a longshot.
“So we feel really grateful and blessed to be a part of this. And we get an opportunity, unlike a lot of people outside the bubble that when we go to practice and get in between those four lines, our world feels normal again. It feels like the world before the virus.”
5. Perspective, too: What follows those basketball moments, Spoelstra said Saturday, is when reality hits.
“It’s only when we leave practice and go back to the hotel and realize that we have the protocols and the masks and have to adhere to different behaviors that we realize, ‘OK, it’s not the same world,’” he said.
“But we have nothing to complain about. We are enjoying it. And thinking about our family and friends at home who have to deal with a different reality than we are right now.”