Miami Heat: Conditioning to be a major factor for all teams when hiatus ends

The Miami Heat are well known for being an organization that requires its players to be in tip-top shape. That’ll be tested at end of suspension hiatus.

The Miami Heat, like every other team and player in the NBA, are in the midst of unknown territory. With a suspension of play occurring in the middle of the season, although rightfully so and about mid-way through the last third of the season to be specific, this is something that no one could have ever prepared for.

With so much time off though and even for these thoroughbred athletes, conditioning is something that we must consider. Being a pretty good athlete myself throughout high school and college, just one day off or one day of steady eating could do a ton as far as throwing off those conditioning standards that had been set and met for myself. Think about expanding that out to weeks of doing nothing and weeks of eating, steady.

We are not the only ones considering these very real and likely circumstances though. Here is an excerpt from a piece written by Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, where quite frankly, a ton of those in, around, and associated with the league are worried about the very same thing. This specific quote is from NBA player Anthony Tolliver of the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I started working out exclusively at my house last summer,” Tolliver said. “I always dreamed of having my own gym. That’s why I live in Texas; my money goes a lot further. But most guys don’t have a setup like mine."

Though the piece goes on to indicate that Tolliver hasn’t touched a basketball, but has only worked out for strength and cardio purposes, how many NBA players have the discipline to do that? Not only the discipline to work out period, but the discipline to focus on the other essential elements that don’t involve the actual ball? If you ask me, not a ton, as the lot of them seem to be spending their time more focused on how in shape their video gaming skills are.

There are a couple of saving graces for the Miami Heat though. Although one of them isn’t this next piece of content I’ll share with you, it is lighthearted, funny, and indicative of the fact that this is something that others are thinking about and could become a real issue.

The first saving grace for Miami though is that, as we all are aware of, the Miami Heat have a strenuous conditioning policy and although they may be a bit relaxed upon return considering the circumstances, the players know that they should be ready or keeping themselves prepared.

Secondly, the rest of the players play with Jimmy Butler. What this means is that you know he won’t hesitate to hold you to a certain set of standards, so if nothing but to avoid his wrath, they are probably at least staying half-way conditioned. You also have to include the fact that you can be almost certain that he is still working hard to stay in shape, probably waking at the crack of dawn or in the wee hours to do so.

The last thing is this. Unlike most other locales at this particular time of year, the Miami Heat and their players have nature on their side.

From the terrain to the humidity, the sand of the beaches, or the mere temperature itself, they have the built-in conditions that are more friendly to getting work done outside in the elements. That isn’t something that all players and teams in different cities have.

The Miami Heat are typically a disciplined team, so we should hope that this won’t be as big an issue for them. However, it is something that must be considered and will show up in at least a few situations across the league. For the players’ sake in light of Jimmy Butler, for our sake as fans, and for the Miami Heat’s sake as far as chances at contention once the league does return, let’s hope they are taking care of their business conditioning-wise.