Adebayo, Nunn not with Heat for first full team practice since March 10
Quick hits after the Miami Heat’s practice Friday afternoon at the Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista — Miami’s first full team practice since March 10:
▪ Coach Erik Spoelstra said he had a “full gym” at practice but declined to say how many players were there, other to say that those who weren’t there had an excused absence.
It was expected that 15 players would participate Friday; two players are recovering from COVID-19 and were not present.
During a conference call with reporters Friday, Goran Dragic revealed that Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn are the players who are not with the team.
During the past week, the Miami Herald had not reported the names of the two players who most recently tested positive for COVID because they had requested that their identity not be revealed publicly.
“Hopefully Bam can come and K-Nunn and we can be a whole team and make some damage,” Dragic said. “Some guys are not here. We are eager, expecting them to come, hopefully to be healthy and we can all start practicing together.”
Derrick Jones Jr., who had authorized release of his name after he tested positive for COVID-19, is fully recovered and was with the team on Friday.
All told, three Heat players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past few weeks.
“We had a good workout, looked like a Miami Heat practice, had a bunch of extra energy to get out,” Spoelstra said. “Guys enjoyed being around each other. You could feel the genuine enthusiasm.”
After spending two days quarantining in their hotel rooms, the Heat practiced for an hour on Friday; it was not full contact. But the Heat will have contact drills Saturday.
▪ Of playing during a pandemic, Spoelstra said: “We are going to have to be very flexible, not be so rigid and pivot when we need to, that will be necessary.... Once we get into a daily routine... the entire situation will normalize.”
▪ Spoelstra said Meyers Leonard is “full go... ready for full contact. He’s moving great.”
Leonard sustained an ankle injury in early February and was still sidelined at the time the NBA halted play on March 11 because of COVID-19.
▪ Spoelstra said Miami’s strong depth works to its advantage.
In scrimmages and regular-season games, “I’m going to play guys a little more, go deeper into our rotation as guys get into better game shape,” Spoelstra said. “That’s a strength of ours we want to utilize.”
▪ About playing in a bubble, Spoelstra said: “It’s not going to go perfectly.” But “we feel good about the plan, feel good about our team.”
▪ Udonis Haslem’s message to teammates: “Enjoy it.”
He said: “Everyone came with the right mind-set. Once we got in the gym, smiles, jokes. It was just like old times.”
Haslem said his voice “was very, very loud today,” encouraging everyone.
He said players were a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect. He noted that the NBA “has given us everything we need.”
▪ Haslem, on newly signed Brooklyn Nets guard Jamal Crawford replacing him as the oldest player in the NBA: “I’m still the sexiest guy in the league, so it’s all good.”
▪ Haslem said he will put “Black Lives Matter” on his jersey. “Just putting Black Lives Matter covers everything,” he said. Dragic said he opted to put “equality” on his jersey.
▪ Dragic said his body felt “great. We went through some running and shooting.”
▪ Miami’s scrimmage opener, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22 against Sacramento, will be televised live on Fox Sports Sun. So will Miami’s third and final scrimmage game, at 2 p.m on Tuesday, July 28 against Memphis.
Heat-Jazz won’t be televised live at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 25 because the two Fox regionals in Florida have Marlins-Phillies at 4 p.m. that day and Jays-Rays at 3 p.m. that day. That Heat-Jazz game will be on tape delay on Fox Sports Sun but available live on Fox Sport Go.
All eight Heat seeding games will be televised by Fox Sports Sun, beginning with the Aug. 1 opener against Denver at 1 p.m.
