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Eric Glass, from Heat video room to coaching summer league

It’s always interesting to see the journey taken by guys who work their way up in the coaching world. Here’s the Palm Beach Post reporting on Heat summer league coach Eric Glass:

Miami Heat assistant coach Eric Glass has one directive from his boss, head coach Erik Spoelstra, when it comes to summer league.

“He said ‘do whatever you want and don’t be afraid to make a mistake,’” Glass said. “Which was huge for me.

“He gave me incredible trust and leeway.”

Glass is leading Miami through two summer leagues, having just won 2-of-3 games in Sacramento and now moving onto Las Vegas where the Heat will compete in the NBA Summer League starting at 5 p.m. Saturday with a game against New Orleans.

Glass, 34, is next in a line of Heat coaches who got their start in the video room, eventually moved to the bench and started to make their bones in summer league. With thousands of hours in the video room and for the last two years as the Heat’s player development coach, Spoelstra believes Glass is “more than ready” for the challenge.

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And here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel, from June:

Glass, 34, is the Heat’s video coordinator, as well as part of the team’s player-development staff. His coaching experience includes time under former NBA coach Mike Fratello with the Ukrainian national team.

The Heat often have utilized summer league to develop their coaching staff, with assistant coaches Chris Quinn, Juwan Howard and Dan Craig among those to recently coach the team’s summer rosters. Pat Delany, now an Orlando Magic assistant coach, also has coached the Heat during summer league.

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Miami Heat sign Derrick Jones Jr

The Miami Heat signed forward/guard Derrick Jones Jr. today.

Jones Jr., who was originally signed to a two-way contract by the HEAT on December 31, 2017, appeared in 14 games (eight starts) with Miami last season and averaged 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes of action. He spent 13 games with the HEAT’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging 19.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.69 blocks, 1.46 steals and 29.1 minutes while shooting 51.2 percent from the field.

Prior to signing a two-way contract with Miami, Jones Jr. spent time with the Phoenix Suns and their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, earlier in the season where he totaled nine points, four rebounds, four blocks, three assists, a steal in 33 minutes of action during six games with Phoenix and averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.81 blocks, 1.8 assists, 1.13 steals and 28.9 minutes in 16 games with Northern Arizona.

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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