Miami Heat Blog – Page 31 – NBA Blog

Eric Glass to coach Heat summer league team

Summer leagues are next month. It’s too early to dive in fully, but here’s some quick info on the Heat, as reported by the Palm Beach Post:

Eric Glass’ ascension on the Heat bench will continue this summer.

The Heat confirmed that Glass will lead the organization’s summer-league teams in Sacramento and Las Vegas this year. The 34-year-old Glass follows in the footsteps of Heat assistant coaches Chris Quinn, Juwan Howard and Dan Craig as head of the team’s summer program — Quinn coached the Heat’s summer-league team last year, Howard led the summer program in 2016 and Craig coached the summer rosters from 2013 through 2015.

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Shane Battier reportedly staying with Heat front office

It’s always fun to see where well-known former players wind up once they hang up the sneakers. Shane Battier is doing his thing in Miami, and reportedly might have left for Detroit but will stay put. Here’s the Miami Herald with the details:

Shane Battier, the Heat’s director of basketball development and analytics, has removed himself from consideration for a high-level front office job with the Detroit Pistons, a source confirmed Tuesday.

The Pistons had shown interest in several former players – including Battier, Brent Barry and Tayshaun Prince – for a role in their revamped front office. And Battier has ties to the state, having been born and raised in Birmingham, Mich., and attending Detroit Country Day school.

Battier had interviewed with the Pistons and was asked back for a second interview.

But Battier, 39, ultimately decided to stay with the Heat

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And according to Michigan Live, “The Pistons hired Ed Stefanski last week as a special adviser to owner Tom Gores. Stefanski is leading the search for a new president of basketball operations and head coach after Stan Van Gundy was dismissed on May 7.”

Heat on the outside in regard to 2018 Draft

The NBA front office world centers around Chicago right now — that’s the location of the 2018 Draft Combine. The Heat, however, face challenges, in that they lack draft picks. Which makes it hard to actually draft anybody. Here’s the Sun Sentinel reporting:

Getting into the room with free agents hasn’t been a problem for the Miami Heat in recent years, even if the results with Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward have. Over the next month, the Heat face an even greater challenge — getting into the room with NBA draft prospects.

Not only do the Heat stand with the Toronto Raptors at the only teams without a selection in either round of the June 21 draft, but the Heat also lack the funds — at the moment — to buy their way into the draft, with all $5.1 million of their allowable spending money through June 30 sent to the Dallas Mavericks in the July salary dump of Josh McRoberts.

Against that backdrop, the Heat front office is in Chicago for the annual draft combine, still afforded the ability to interview up to 20 participating prospects…

Although the Heat cannot complete a “purchase” transaction at the draft, having reached the limit of cash included in 2017-18 transactions because of the McRoberts move, the Heat can work with a team to select for them and then purchase the rights to that player after July 1, when next season’s “Maximum Annual Cash Limit” becomes available.

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Heat face difficult road, now down 3-1 to Sixers

The Sixers and Heat series has been a joy to watch. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Heat, who have put up a great fight but are now one game from elimination:

Two games later, and with the Heat on the brink of elimination, there is no room for fun. They need a victory Tuesday in Game 5 in Philadelphia to keep the season alive. The Sixers lead 3-1 in the best-of-7 series.

“I was just having fun with that in Game 2,” Wade said. “It’s not about him. It’s about us. It’s about these 15 guys going on the road against a team that’s looking to close us out to win their first playoff series. We got to do what most people don’t think we can do.”

Only 11 teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit in league history. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the last team to do it when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Heat did it in 1997, rallying against the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals.

“It’s not necessarily us against the world,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s us against the Philadelphia 76ers. We have to find a way to finish games. They’ve really nailed us in the fourth quarters in all four games — except the one we were able to pull away. We just have to do better. Through three quarters we’ve been up. It’s going to require a full 48-minute game of absolute our best effort.”

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Justise Winslow fined for attempting to damage Joel Embiid`s facemask

Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow has been fined $15,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct for intentionally stepping on and attempting to damage the facemask of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which took place after Embiid’s facemask had fallen onto the playing court, occurred with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter of the 76ers’ 128-108 win over the Heat on Thursday, April 19 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Hassan Whiteside receiving very limited playing time so far in playoffs

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who through three playoff games is receiving just 13.7 minutes per outing of playing time, averaging a mere 3.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

From a national perspective, Thursday night began and ended the same way for the Heat, with TNT’s Charles Barkley bashing Hassan Whiteside before and after the 76ers’ Game 3 win against the Heat that gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

What happened in between Barkley’s remarks Thursday was even more discouraging for Whiteside, who has managed just 11 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 41 combined minutes during three games in this playoff series while committing seven turnovers and nine fouls.

And with Saturday’s Game 4 looming, Whiteside, who’s active on social media, made clear he’s tuning out the torrent of criticism: “I don’t get caught up in the guys that can’t do my job but talk about my job.”

A night after Whiteside curiously attributed his struggles to lack of involvement on offense, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday “we’re not going to change the playbook, but certainly we’ll work to get Hassan active on both ends and where you feel him in the game. Part of that is my job. We had a film session today, and we were working on that. He’s going to do his part.”

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Tyler Johnson health update

The Heat are down 2-1 in their first round playoff series against the Sixers. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Heat shooting guard Tyler Johnson:

Guard Tyler Johnson began clutching his left hand early in Thursday’s game after jamming his left thumb while colliding with Sixers center Joel Embiid on the second possession.

Johnson was evaluated after the game but no serious damage was found after X-rays. He wore a protective wrap during Friday’s practice.

“I was trying to catch myself,stumbled, put my hand down,” Johnson said. “I lost my balance when I ran into him. I tried to brace myself on the floor and jammed my thumb … Initially it was a little bit sore. We got a little tape job on it.That’s more to make it a little bit more comfortable. It’s a little sore, nothing that’s not manageable.”

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Justise Winslow willing to do whatever

The playoffs are not a time for friendship between foes. It’s about winning. Send the other guys home. And every winning team needs an enforcer or two. Or three. As for the Heat, here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

Justise Winslow is not here to win friends, not this time of year, and certainly not from the Philadelphia 76ers fans who took exception with his over-the-top defensive aggression against Ben Simmons.

“I can be the bad guy if that means winning,” the Miami Heat reserve forward said as his team prepared for Thursday’s Game 3 of the best-of-seven, opening-round series that is tied 1-1.

Winslow said maximizing his fouls and physicality against Simmons has returned him to his basketball roots.

“Growing up I played on all types of teams that would just press and defend and run around with our heads chopped off,” he said on the practice court at AmericanAirlines Arena. “But this is more organized obviously in the NBA. It’s fun sometimes you get to go back to that and just go out there and make plays defensively. It’s kind of in my nature. I was brought up in AAU, high school.”

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No Heat playing restrictions for Dwyane Wade

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Heat, who recently welcomed Dwyane Wade back and currently have no plans on restricting his play in regard to back-to-backs:

After being put into a “maintenance” program with the Miami Heat during his previous tenure with the team, Dwyane Wade said no such contingencies have been discussed for this reunion tour.

That had Wade again in the rotation in Wednesday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back set, after playing 21 minutes in Tuesday night’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Wade had been held out of games in four of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ back-to-back sets earlier this season before his recent buyout…

The Heat have three remaining back-to-back sets, with coach Erik Spoelstra saying Wednesday a maintenance plan has not been discussed since Wade’s signing.

“Not right now,” Spoelstra said, “no.”

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Cavs trade Dwyane Wade to Heat

The Cavs have traded Dwyane Wade to the Heat in exchange for a protected 2024 second-round draft pick.

The trade also creates a traded player exception for the Cavaliers in the amount of approximately $1.5 million.

“We would like to thank Dwyane for everything he brought to this team and to the Cleveland community during his time in Northeast Ohio,” said Cavs General Manager Koby Altman. “A definite Hall of Famer when his playing career is complete, his basketball legacy is cemented by how he carries himself both on and off the floor. His work ethic and commitment to the game of basketball with such an illustrious career was greatly respected by his Cavs teammates and everyone in our front office. We wish Dwyane nothing but the best in his return to Miami, where he established himself as one the NBA’s all-time elite players.”

“We feel that Dwyane can help our team in so many ways,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “It is a beautiful moment for us, for the city and for the fans. All of us embrace it in the manner that we want to win and that’s why we brought Dwyane back home. We look forward to having a great end of season run as we fight for the playoffs.”

Wade, a three-time NBA Champion with the HEAT, played 12 seasons in Miami, appearing in 855 regular season games (845 starts) averaging 23.7 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.65 steals and 35.7 minutes while shooting 48.8 percent from the field. The 12-time NBA All-Star is the HEAT’s all-time leader in points (20,221), field goals made (7,325), free throws made (5,185), double-figure scoring efforts (816), assists (4,944), steals (1,414), starts, games played and minutes played (30,560). He also ranks among the HEAT’s all-time leaders in blocks (2nd, 759), total rebounds (4th, 4,126), defensive rebounds (4th, 3,051), offensive rebounds (5th, 1,076), double-doubles (5th, 121), field goal percentage (7th, .488) and three-point field goals made (7th, 386). Additionally, Wade, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP, has appeared in 166 career postseason games (all starts) with the HEAT averaging 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.57 steals, 1.00 blocks and 38.4 minutes while shooting 47.7 percent from the field.

Hammons, who was acquired on July 7, 2017, did not appear in a game with the HEAT this season. He did appear in 25 games (14 starts) with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this season and averaged 8.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.96 blocks and 20.2 minutes while shooting 53.6 percent from the field.