IN THE LANE

THE RILEY RULE: Former Heat forward and assistant coach Juwan Howard said on The DC Coaches Basketball Podcast that part of his success as Michigan coach dates to a conversion with Heat owner Micky Arison about how Arison chose Pat Riley to lead the franchise.“I remember having a conversation with Micky Arison one day at a Christmas party at Coach Riley’s house,” Howard said on a recent episode of the podcast.“I asked him, I said, ‘What did it take? How did you decide on who was going to be the president of your team? What do you look for in that qualification?’ He said to me, ‘Well, I look for people I know I can trust. I also look for people that I know are great at their job and I do not have to micromanage and I let them be themselves.’ I’ll never forget that. I remember when I started looking at, when I got hired by Michigan, thinking about staff and who would be the right people. I use my evaluation of how I chose my staff by remembering that conversation I had with Micky Arison.”

SUBTLE STRIDES: Although pedestrian with a seven-point performance in Wednesday night’s loss to the Heat, San Antonio Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV, the University of Miami product, has grown on Spurs coach

Gregg Popovich in his third season. “It’s been a big step forward for him,” Popovich said when the Heat visited.“He had a lot that he had learned, obviously, being a young guy about the NBA and how the game is played, since it’s so different. But he’s been really receptive. He’s really coachable. Obviously, he’s a heck of an athlete.” Popovich cited Walker,“learning how to play the game, making decisions, understanding what wins and loses, how to play with your teammates,” adding,“all those sorts of things were aspects of the game that he needed to learn more about. And he’s made huge steps in all those areas. We’re thrilled with what he’s done.”

APPROACH NOTED: Ahead of his team’s loss last weekend to the Heat, Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said teams could do far worse than going to school on the Heat approach.“I think everything that they do is exemplary and inspirational,” he said. “The way they have built this program over the last 20-plus years is really impressive. The demands and standards they set are unique. I don’t know that we can emulate what they do, but there are definitely things that we can take inspiration or learn from.”

LATE OPPORTUNITY: After negligible minutes earlier in the season and then a month away from the Charlotte Hornets in the G League bubble in February, former University School standout Vernon Carey

Jr., the Duke product and son of former Mami Dolphins tackle Vernon Carey, is finally getting his first steady NBA minutes.“I’ve got to get him some minutes and he needs to feel that confidence from me and our group that we trust him, we’re watching him,” said coach

James Borrego, who gave Carey his first start a week ago.“And he’s got to grow and develop for us to be a good ball club.” Carey, drafted No. 32, is on a three-year, guaranteed deal.

NEXT STEP: Nevada Smith, who guided the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, from 2016 to 2019, with the team 78-72 over that span, is continuing on with his

association with Shaka Smart. After assisting Smart last season at Texas, Smith recently was named to Smart’s staff at Marquette. “Having worked for Coach Smart at Texas, I know we have an alignment in how we see the game,” said Smith, who was replaced as Skyforce coach in 2019-20 by current Heat

assistant Eric Glass, with the Skyforce not operating this past G League season.