The Miami Heat's depth is going to get an early test. Not only will the Heat have to begin the season without Tyler Herro (for at least the first month), but they're also starting training camp without Pelle Larsson at full strength. Still battling an injury he suffered in the EuroBasket Tournament, Larsson didn't participate during the Heat's first day of training camp.
Larsson is battling a thigh contusion, and he continues to do more each day, according to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. However, it's never great when a player, especially a young talent looking to cement his spot in the rotation, is beginning training camp on the sideline.
The hope is that this isn't an injury or ailment that is going to linger much, but there's at least an outside chance that it impacts the team enough to throw their early-season rotation off a bit. That's even more of a truth considering that Larsson was largely going to use this early part of training camp to prove that he deserves a full-time spot in the rotation.
For now, that's going to be difficult for Larsson to do now that he's getting a delayed start to his sophomore campaign.
Pelle Larsson had a loaded summer workload
It's entirely unfair to suggest that Larsson's huge offseason workload is the culprit for his injury, but it's certainly something that should be considered. Larsson participated in the summer league for the Heat and then quickly joined Team Sweden for the EuroBasket Tournament shortly after.
Larsson did have a few weeks between the end of the EuroBasket Tournament and the start of training camp, but it still wasn't enough for him to completely shake the injury.
Even though I don't believe anyone would consider this injury serious, it's still something to keep a close eye on. The Heat are probably playing this much safer than they need to, and that may indeed be what's best in the long run.
Giving Larsson an extra few days off before training camp, especially after the loaded summer he had, is not necessarily a bad idea. However, it's far from an ideal situation for Larsson. This is not exactly how he'd like to begin his sopnomre campaign, but it's a long season.
I'd have to believe that Larsson is going to have a bigger role this season, but he's going to have to wait a little longer to prove that. And for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, it probably changes some of his early-rotation plans.