Heat do the Disney ‘wave’ to greet quarantining Adebayo, Nunn
Face time came early for the Miami Heat with Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn, when the team did the . . . wave.
Coach Erik Spoelstra explained before Wednesday night’s exhibition against the Sacramento Kings at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex that the team improvised, with the two starters in quarantine amid their late arrival to the NBA’s “bubble” type of setting.
"We had a team dinner last night," Spoelstra said. "And so we were on the other side of the lake, socially distanced outside, and we had them come out to their windows. We all waved to them, which was pretty funny."
The best feeling came earlier, when the two arrived to the team hotel COVID-19 free, two further negative tests from being able to rejoin their teammates, who had arrived at Disney on July 8.
"Obviously, it's awesome to have them back with us," Spoelstra said. "We've been communicating with them every single day. And as I said the very first day we arrived on campus, that we have to continue to be open to everything that comes our way."
Spoelstra continued of the two late arrivals, "and that was something that came our way and we adjusted the best that we possibly could. But it's great to have them with us."
The timing could have the two active for Saturday afternoon's exhibition against the Utah Jazz, the second of the Heat's three scrimmages before their games begin for real on Aug. 1, although Spoelstra was non-committal.
“We’ll just have to see what they look like when we get ‘em on the court,” he said. “But I know that during the months of May and June, they had the most workouts. And they’re young. So it won’t take ‘em too long to get back. That does mean something. And the last 10 days or so, they were able to do bike workouts and stay fit, like everybody else did coming into this.
“And then we’ll just adjust on the fly. I’ll figure it out. It’s not like we’re going to put them in five-on-five, hunger-games scrimmages the first time out on the court. But it’s just good to have them back. And I know that everybody is excited to have them join us in a real way, instead of just virtually every day.”
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