LAS VEGAS – The matchup Monday night for the Miami Heat at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League was a reminder of how things are about to change in the Eastern Conference. And it had little do with Monday’s players on the court in the gym on the UNLV campus.
Instead, with the opposition the Boston Celtics, the green and white of the opposition was a reminder of altered competition, from the Celtics to be without Jayson Tatum to the Indiana Pacers to be without Tyrese Haliburton to the Milwaukee Bucks no longer with Damian Lillard, each player sidelined by a torn Achilles.
And yet, to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the misfortune of others cannot be the driving force behind a push to get out of the play-in bracket in the East after three consecutive seasons of doing the postseason the hard way.
In attendance in Las Vegas as his younger players attempt to regain their footing, including 2024 first-round pick Kel’el Ware, Spoelstra spoke of how Heat resurrection has to come by first looking inward.
“We’re not afraid of the competition,” Spoelstra said of what still remains in the East. “You can’t be afraid of the competition. You can’t think that just because there’s been some changes in rosters or some injuries that, ‘Oh, now we have a chance.’
“That’s kind of a loser’s mentality.”
Because for all that has set back the Celtics, Pacers and Bucks, there is a New York Knicks roster boosted by Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, an Orlando Magic roster upgraded with Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones, an Atlanta Hawks roster elevated with Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a Detroit Pistons roster on the rise and a Cleveland Cavaliers roster with almost all back from the group that obliterated the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
“We want to compete at the highest level regardless of who’s out there,” Spoelstra said. “We know we have to improve. We knew we had to do some things this offseason.”
Among the offseason changes for the Heat have been the acquisition of Los Angeles Clippers scorer Norman Powell and the drafting of Illinois playmaking guard Kasparas Jakucionis.
“We know that we have to have a really good training camp, which I think we will,” Spoelstra said of the need to bounce back from 37-45, the team’s first losing record since 2018-19. “Guys are going to come in prepared. We’ll have a productive August and September. Everybody is motivated.
“We’ve had plenty of time off. Everybody wants to just gear up and get ready. You can feel the energy, you can feel the excitement building. It doesn’t have to be all there right now. But look, it’s happening organically. I feel it myself, the staff feels it, the players feel it.”
While teams tend to go dark in August, Spoelstra said he can see the itch already there for something better. Andrew Wiggins, Spoelstra said, is back in South Florida, attempting to find the footing that was difficult to establish after his acquisition at the Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline from the Golden State Warriors. Haywood Highsmith will be at the team’s youth camp on Tuesday. Tyler Herro put out social media over the weekend of his work at Kaseya Center.
“It’s not that we wish training camp could be tomorrow,” Spoelstra said, “but I think there will be a nice healthy ramp up to get there.”
With an appreciation that there still are ample challenges ahead, even if the Celtics, Pacers and Bucks might not match their recent best.
“There’s still going to be great competition,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what it’s about. You got to embrace it and we’re looking forward to it.”
Ware’s moment
Among Spoelstra’s comments in Las Vegas were an expectation of more from Ware, with Spoelstra speaking in the wake of an uninspired start by the 7-footer in summer league.
Ware responded with a 21-point, nine-rebound, three-block showing in Sunday’s 92-72 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And, yes, Ware took stock of Spoelstra’s admonishment.
“I mean,” Ware said, “it all comes down to like Spo said, just putting in the effort, going out there and playing. That’s just what I wanted to show that I can do.
“I just took it as motivation. Obviously, he’s the coach and he has that trust in me and he wants to see me be the best that I can be. So I took it as motivation.”
Assistant coach Eric Glass, who is guiding the summer roster, said Sunday was a step in the right direction.
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for from him,” Glass said. “And then it translated to everything else. When he comes in with that focus and that intensity, the rest of his game blossoms. He has that potential.”