Media Day Marked the Beginning of a New Day for the Miami Heat

Today marked the first day that many new faces, as well as old ones, wore their Miami Heat threads in front of media for the 2021-22 season. It felt like the dawning of a new day. The bad vibes and weirdness of last season were officially behind everyone. As most Media Days go, it was time for optimism and looking ahead.

Nothing exemplified this more than Kyle Lowry stepping up to the podium saying “good morning. Good morning! Sh*t!” Trying to wake up a room full of media members the same way he hopes to wake up this Heat team into a better season. Welcoming them into a new day that’ll be better than the previous one.

The entire day was full of the feeling of a fresh start for so many people. Erik Spoelstra smiling in front of everyone as he talked about how great it was to have an actual offseason with a real training camp on the horizon. Spoelstra has always been a big believer in building habits and how having a routine can help in building them. He’d go on to say that “this offseason was good for everybody. The offseason felt very adequate, it felt long, we were able to get away.” Again, putting everything into perspective about how strange last season was for everyone.

It’s easy to understand Spoelstra feeling such optimism with the team being built so perfectly to what he wants to run. He would go on to say “the way the roster was constructed was done in a very thoughtful way.” This isn’t to say that Miami is a perfect roster — far from it. There are still noticeable holes on the team, but it certainly is apparent that the team has a set identity and pecking order. It’s a drastic difference to what happened most of last year where it took quite a bit to find themselves if they ever did.

One of the players that will be a part of the new identity was PJ Tucker who was wearing his new threads alongside a pair of Jordan 1 “Legends of Summer.” The NBA Veteran seemed to fit right into his new home as he called it “a match made in heaven.” Tucker spoke about how he envisions working next to Bam Adebayo and how easy it is to play with a guy like Bam. He revealed how much he plays pickup with Adebayo and how seamless it will be. Miami hopes that Tucker’s insertion will go as smoothly as those pickup games. And that’s not misguided hope that seemed to follow the team last year — instead, it’s real tenable hope.

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But Miami won’t let hope be the only thing powering them into the season. They have the motivation to cleanse the sour taste of last season’s playoff exit. “I don’t think that chip will ever leave. It’s embedded in me,” added Adebayo during his availability. While he may have been talking about the motivation to get better, there’s no doubt how much this applies to the way he and the team will have a chip to carry throughout the year. Past Heat teams have always operated in the manner that Adebayo speaks of; it’s how they received the reputation they have today.

Another player turning the page from last year is a very noticeably bigger Tyler Herro. You hear a lot about how guys “put on muscle” at the start of camp but most of that can be a lot of fluff. With a guy who came into the league as small as he did, there’s no mistaking how much weight he’s added. It feels appropriate that such a new look comes from a player who is ready to show the league that what they saw last season wasn’t him. A player who was constantly dealing with injuries and getting pushed around both literally and figuratively.

“I think it’ll help on both ends of the floor. Stay in front of my man easier, keep everyone in front of me. Offensively obviously being able to take bumps. My durability throughout the season, I wanna be able to be on the floor and be available as much as I can,” Herro added during the practice court availability. The Heat organization will hope to see how much Herro puts this to work on the floor. A lot of guys add weight, but fewer guys make it matter on the floor. It will help to learn from Jimmy Butler, who is sculpted like a statue, about the intricacies of using strength on the court to your fullest advantage.

It’s these types of stories that tell you how much adequate offseasons matter for an organization that prides itself on putting its players in the best possible position to succeed. It was difficult to put those players in those positions last year when everything was so topsy-turvy.

The weight of last year has started shedding and the light of a new season began to shine on this media day. The possibilities that Bam Adebayo spoke about in expanding his game out to the three-point line, while still being an inside threat with the addition of Kyle Lowry. The hopes of a Tyler Herro bounce-back season that puts him in contention for the Sixth Man of the Year award. The sweet nothings Jimmy Butler whispered into the ears of Heat fans about just how good Kyle Lowry will fit in. The pictures of Victor Oladipo in a Heat jersey once again teasing everyone of what’s to come even further down the road.

Everyone is ready to move ahead and as far away from last year as possible. Even Gabe Vincent is saying he’s ready to shoot the way he did in the G-League as he’s finally come to understand the shot mechanics the Heat staff introduced to him a while back. The entire team, staff, and fans are ready to turn that proverbial page after the horror story that was 2021.It’s a day to feel the first ounce of hope for what should be a fun season, Heat fans. Media Day is only the beginning and we have even more to look forward to in the coming weeks. It truly felt like a brand new morning in the world of the Miami Heat and, in the words of Kyle Lowry, “good morning!” It’s time for the Heat to wake up South Florida sports once again.