The Miami Heat are nearly done with their preseason group of games. While it was certainly nothing to write home about or write about, in general, there was one tidbit of goodness that came from the game for the Heat.
In a losing effort and one that was out of hand from the very start, The Captain and the Miami Heat’s OG in Udonis Haslem, got the start.
Though he would only play 13 minutes total in the contest for one point on four field goal attempts and for a twist, one attempt from downtown, he was able to finish with four rebounds and three assists in his time on the court.
If you didn’t know any better, it would seem like The Captain was taking a cue from Bam Adebayo. Seriously though and while his starting appearance was more than a joy of an occurrence, that wasn’t the biggest thing with Udonis on Thursday night.
The Miami Heat will always be a tough bunch and especially with ‘The Captain’, Udonis Haslem, is around. Even he, though, can show vulnerability at times.
That would be the comments he made after the game. They come via the reporting of the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.
"Udonis Haslem, “Obviously, there’s a part of me that has never stepped on the basketball court without my father somewhere, whether it be watching it on TV or in the stands. That was a harsh reality for me. I had moments, I had moments. But I’m going to continue to have moments.”"
Playing his first actual minutes on the court since the passing of his father, Haslem showed real introspection and transparency there. It’s not that he isn’t always introspective or transparent, as much as the fact that the stuff of that nature from him is usually motivated by or from a different place, if that makes sense.
Never fearing of expressing himself or showing his emotion, it typically doesn’t come from a place of great pain and yearning, as this does, but rather from a fiery hunger and/or passion for excellence. While it’s typical, expected, and simply alright, as UD is human too, it’s just always a bit intriguing to hear guys typically of one nature, show another.
For someone as stoic, yet expressive, and passionate as UD can be, this was a change of pace. More often than not though and in situations like these, it’s better to express it than to bottle it all up.
While it never gets better or you never get over it, time tends to begin to ease things of this nature. From a, literal, very personal perspective, that pain of absence, at least slightly, slowly turns into the joy of memories.
It never goes away. But it, slowly, becomes more bearable with time.
Hopefully that’s what happens sooner than later for the Miami Heat Lifer, as this is sure to be a tough one for him. But it also goes to show that even the resident tough guy, such as Udonis is, can have a moment every once in a while and rightfully so.