5 Post-Practice Comments from Spoelstra, Iguodala, Nunn

The Miami Heat went through their last practice before game 1 of the playoffs on Monday afternoon. This media session included the playoff role for Heat’s rookie Kendrick Nunn. Here’s what was said…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Kendrick Nunn confirms he will be coming off the bench.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) August 17, 2020

Kendrick Nunn was asked about the different mindset of coming off of the bench or starting. He basically said that it doesn’t matter to him since he just will go out on the floor and play no matter what. This then lead to the question of if he’d heard if he would be starting tomorrow. He then confirmed that he will be coming off of the bench. This consequently means that Goran Dragic will be the starting point guard tomorrow, since Erik Spoelstra usually rolls with guys that he trusts.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Andre Iguodala on this team’s veterans helping their young guys, “We know how to have guy’s backs…helping a guy that would normally linger for 2-3 games, it may linger for 2-3 minutes.”

— Brady Hawk (@MiamiHawk607) August 17, 2020

Andre Iguodala talked a little about the importance of the veterans on this roster with the young guys, including Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Goran Dragic, and himself. He said that they know how to deal with these guys when their going through tough stretches. But, you have to truly know your teammates since you have to deal with them all differently. He mentioned that he doesn’t deal with Bam Adebayo the same way he does Duncan Robinson. This leads right into a previous answer he said which was that his most important stretches come in between time-outs. His off-court leadership will become essential starting tomorrow.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Erik Spoelstra said Derrick Jones Jr. was able to go through the walk through portion of practice today and is feeling better. Jones' status for Game 1 tomorrow is still up in the air.

Heat injury report released at 5:30 p.m.

— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) August 17, 2020

Erik Spoelstra began the media session discussing the current status of Derrick Jones Jr. He mentions that he went through the walk through portion of practice today and that he’s not totally ruled out yet. But, it does seem like we’re going in that direction, since there is no reason to rush him back into a game that quickly. This may consequently mean that he will be back by game 2 or 3, and hopefully be a pivotal part in the second unit’s offensive and defensive success.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Erik Spoelstra on Indiana’s new defensive speed with Justin Holiday and Edmond Sumner, “You have to take care of the ball, you have to make sure you’re rock solid getting the ball where it needs to go without mistakes.”

— Brady Hawk (@MiamiHawk607) August 17, 2020

Erik Spoelstra was asked about the new defensive scheme that Indiana is using, which is to chase people totally off of the threes. This changed because they lost their all-star big man Domantas Sabonis, which lead to them going smaller and faster. Spoelstra said the most important thing is taking care of the ball and limiting mistakes, since they want to get out and run off of turnovers. He also mentioned that Indiana is top 3 in steals and points off turnovers in the bubble, which is why he will be stressing the idea of limiting mistakes. This may be another reason why Gorn Dragic will be entering the starting lineup for Kendrick Nunn, he wants his veterans in control of the ball.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Andre Iguodala reveals no samples available at Barista Butler's coffee. Questions that marketing strategy. Says, "He's trying to build a monopoly.'

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) August 17, 2020

Andre Iguodala got asked about the idea of Jimmy Butler’s new coffee shop in the bubble. Andre says that most people give out samples when they first start out with a business. But not Jimmy. He’s charging $20 a cup for small, medium, and large. Jimmy also said that he may raise the price to $30 for the playoffs. Andre ends the discussion with, “He’s trying to build a monopoly.”