5 Takeaways from Post-Practice Interviews with Iguodala, Dragic, Spoelstra

The Miami Heat finished up a late practice tonight in the Orlando bubble. Afterward, Andre Iguodala, Goran Dragic, and Erik Spoelstra spoke with some media as they get closer and closer to their first scrimmage game this Wednesday. Here’s what was said…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Some tidbits from Spo tonight:

-anticipates having all 17 guys in the building relatively soon

-said he hasn’t worried too much about setting the rotation yet, more focused on conditioning

-lauded Goran Dragic for his willingness to take a bench role@5ReasonsSports

— Karens In Paris (@NekiasNBA) July 18, 2020

Coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about the current status of Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn and if they would return in the next few days. Spoelstra responded with the words “we’ll see.” It seems as everything is “we’ll see” when discussing the circumstances of Covid-19, since there is truly so much unknown. Although, there seems to be a bunch of optimism upon them returning pretty soon, which will be much needed for this Miami Heat team to succeed.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

After the Heat's seventh practice at Disney, Erik Spoelstra says he has spoken to opposing head coaches for Heat's scrimmages, including Jazz coach Quin Snyder, about specific things the teams want to work on in exhibitions. Spoelstra says he has never done that before.

— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) July 18, 2020

There’s been a lot of talk about players being able to talk with players from other teams, but there hasn’t been a lot of buzz about coaches. Erik Spoelstra said that he talked to some opposing coaches, including Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder, about different game plans in the bubble. This is something no coach has been able to do before or thought about doing, especially Erik. But, Spoelstra has used the word “adjusting” many times over the last week which is a clear clue that he will adapt to whatever circumstances.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Andre Iguodala has been extremely impressed with Tyler Herro and his thirst for knowledge & drive to get better pic.twitter.com/dx3uoiEQtl

— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) July 18, 2020

Andre Igudala discussed Heat’s rookie Tyler Herro today in a very positive way. He says, “He wants to be great for a really long time.” This has been proven true through his clear hard working attitude and winning mentality. Andre talks about how he wants to help Tyler both on and off the court. He says he is there for him if he needs help with the approachment of things like endorsements and social issues. This is another reason why having a veteran guy like Andre Iguodala on this team is so essential.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Dragic on Duncan Robinson: “he’s always first in the gym, he always wants to improve.”

— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) July 18, 2020

Since two veterans got to talk with media tonight, there was a lot of talk about the young guys. Goran talked about Duncan Robinson, saying “He’s always first in the gym.” When the team usually talks about Duncan, it usually is about his lethal shooting. But not today. It’s about his hard working attitude. It seems like the players have an even more locked in attitude than usual. He also says that Duncan always wants to improve, which if he was able to improve his defense and shots off the dribble, he’d be an even bigger eye sore for teams.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

asked Spo about defense, specifically how he plans to balance working on core D (drop) vs zone/switching after such a long layoff

Said in this kind of environment, he/the team has more time to drill the zone + switching principles than they would in-season@5ReasonsSports

— Karens In Paris (@NekiasNBA) July 18, 2020

Coach Spoelstra also got to talking about the different defensive schemes we will see after this long hiatus. He says that this type of environment benefits this because they have more time to drill the zone defense. This is something that we most definitely might see more of in the playoffs. Either if its to lock up a 76ers team in a first round match-up or to catch the Indiana Pacers off guard. It seemed pretty productive this season when it was used, especially to help Heat bigs like Meyers Leonard. Spoelstra also said he will be drilling the basic switching principles over the next few practices to make sure his team is 100% ready.