Omer Yurtseven already confirmed as a rookie Miami Heat heart final yr that he might dominate the summer-league portion of the equation.
So whereas the quadriceps and leg soreness that stored him out of Saturday’s Las Vegas Summer League opener towards the Boston Celtics on the UNLV campus was disappointing, the 6-foot-11 huge man is aware of what issues most can’t be completed within the desert.
Anything substantive in the case of taking part in time solely can come when he reveals he can play alongside Heat beginning heart Bam Adebayo.
Which makes that, on the soonest, a difficulty for coaching camp and the preseason.
“I think that the stretch that I had last year was very solid and I was dominant in certain games,” Yurtseven mentioned, “however I believe it’s simply us taking part in and having a while collectively.
“I think it’s just seeing us play and dominate the boards and just pretty much dominating all around is going to convince him that we’re going to be a lethal force.”
That’s “him” as in coach Erik Spoelstra, who’s in attendance for these video games in Las Vegas.
At minimal, ought to Yurtseven make it to the courtroom from the soreness amassed from competing final week with the Turkish nationwide workforce, it may very well be attention-grabbing to see how typically the summer time teaching employees performs him alongside one other true huge man.
“Summer league helped me get better, helped me be just a level above and unlock myself and have that confidence,” Yurtseven mentioned of his offseason breakout a yr in the past. “And this yr’s is identical, and enhance and leap one other stage, and use each recreation.
“Playing the game time is the real fire that you want to be in, to just take that next step, take the leap every game.”
Beyond Saturday’s recreation, the Heat have 4 remaining in Las Vegas, a schedule that resumes Tuesday towards the summer time roster of the Atlanta Hawks. In the interim, Yurtseven will meet with the Heat medical employees, who’re on the town for the NBA’s annual conference of workforce physicians.
Regardless, Heat summer-league coach Malik Allen mentioned the time alongside teammates and the employees is time effectively spent.
“Just talking to him,” Allen mentioned, “I mentioned, ‘You’ve been via it final yr. You performed in video games, performed effectively in video games. You’re a Heat man.’ So simply being right here and being part of that is helpful for us and it’s helpful for him simply to be round, and for the opposite guys. Put your foot into speaking to those guys, similar to guys spoke to you and talked to you and helped you alongside.
“It’s just a pretty cool thing we do and that we have with so many guys from before. And just make sure you’re a part of it. You’re here, just be part of it.”
Allen mentioned a cautious strategy was prudent.
“I just know he got banged up, came out of the game. He tried to work out and it was just tight,” he mentioned of Turkey’s victory final weekend over Great Britain. “So we’ll just see how it goes, see what the doc says. And just kind of take it day by day from there.”
Yurtseven is aware of what he needs, after crossing the Atlantic.
“I do want to play and that’s the reason I’m here,” he mentioned.
Last season, when Adebayo missed seven weeks attributable to thumb surgical procedure, Yurtseven obtained to expertise NBA life as a number one man. During an 11-game stretch bridging December and January, he pulled down at the very least 12 rebounds in every outing, the longest such streak in franchise historical past, and have become the primary NBA rookie to seize 12 rebounds in at the very least 11 straight since Blake Griffin in 2010-11. Also, he amassed at the very least 16 rebounds in 4 straight video games in January, turning into the primary rookie to perform that since Larry Smith in 1980-81.
Action this week might present such a style once more.
“I think it’s the freedom that it gives more than anything,” he mentioned of taking part in summer time league. “You have the green light, and being able to have that confidence, going into the game just being focused.”
No matter when the return comes, Allen, because the big-man coach on Spoelstra’s employees, is aware of what has to return subsequent.
“He just needs to work on the finishing and getting a little bit more more efficient, which I think throughout the course of the year he did,” Allen mentioned. “But I believe the large factor with him is simply a chance to proceed to play is what he actually, actually wants.
“I think a lot of things fall into place for him. Getting him to play at our level, an intensity level where he can continue to keep growing, that’s really what he needs. It’s not like a summer checklist of two to three things skills-wise.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com