National Basketball Association

Heat notes: Miami getting into groove during first week of camp

Published Oct. 5, 2014 6:00 p.m. ET

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It was an eventful week for the Miami Heat as they opened training camp, debuted their new-look roster during the annual team scrimmage at the AmericanAirlines Arena and later traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to face the New Orleans Pelicans in their preseason opener.

Because all the players arrived at camp in shape and were able to pass the Heat's conditioning tests, the team was able to move quickly onto the business at hand. With many faces, head coach Erik Spoelstra began camp with a focus on getting everyone up to speed with their defensive principles before slowly working in offensive schemes throughout the week.

Despite a crowd-pleasing performance during their team scrimmage, the Heat trailed most of the way in their 98-86 loss to the Pelicans that demonstrated there's still plenty of work to be done.

Here are a few of the more noteworthy items of interest with Week 1 of training camp in the books:

HAMILTON'S HEART CONDITION

Soon after camp began, the team lost center Justin Hamilton due to a minor heart ailment. After experiencing dizziness and fatigue during drills, he was taken to a hospital, where he underwent a procedure to correct it.

"It was scary," Hamilton told reporters Friday. "I just felt more relieved that there was something there and it was an easy fix. So in a short time, I'll be back out there."

Hamilton was present with the team during the scrimmage and practice but did not participate in full-contact drills. He is scheduled to resume normal basketball activities within two weeks, pending a re-evaluation.

"I'm feeling great now," he said. "I just want to be back out there. Luckily, I have a great training staff here and I was able to take care of it. I'll never have it again just because of the procedure I had."

ENCOURAGING TURNOUT FOR SCRIMMAGE

With almost 10,000 fans filling up the lower level at AmericanAirlines Arena to get their first look at the roster during the scrimmage, players expressed their gratitude for the large turnout and positive attitude.

"I was very encouraged," Udonis Haslem said Friday. "We really didn't know what to expect. But our fans were behind us 100 percent and not even just encouraged with the fans, but with the overall effort and enthusiasm of the guys that were out there playing."

Dwyane Wade was also happy to see the response the team got from their fans.

"It was cool, there was great energy," he said. "I think for a lot of the new guys it was good for them to come in and feel it. Our fans are very excited this year. I think everyone is excited to prove everyone wrong, even our fans. It's going to be an exciting year from the standpoint of [the energy] they're going to bring us. We just got to do our job of coming in here every day and continue to get better."

GRANGER LOOKING HEALTHY

One of the early positives for the Heat was how well Danny Granger has looked in camp and on the court. The former Pacers star has been slowed in recent years with injuries that ultimately led to his trade earlier this year to Philadelphia and subsequent signing with the Los Angeles Clippers.

"I told him I'm not going to evaluate him right now," Spoelstra said. "I'm just encouraged that he's out there every single day and he hasn't missed a turn."

Spoelstra said Granger has been arriving to camp early to fast-track his rehab with his trainers and to continue working on his shot. He scored 12 points in both Wednesday's scrimmage and Saturday's preseason opener.

"I just like the fact that he's out here, he's healthy, he's feeling great about his body," Spoelstra said. "He's going through great fatigue of his legs which is a terrific sign. It's not fatigue or pain with his knee. It's fatigue from working every single day, twice a day, that he hasn't been able to do in I don't know how many years. That's a great sign."

LESSONS LEARNED

In their loss to the Pelicans, the Heat once again struggled to defend the 3-point shot, which was their Achilles' heel last season and in the NBA Finals. For the game, the Pelicans connected on 14 of 32 attempts to outscore the Heat 42-15 from beyond the arc.

With none of the starters reaching double digits in scoring, the Heat fell behind early and were unable to catch up to the Pelicans despite the best efforts from the bench. James Ennis led the team with 17 points and six rebounds, showcasing plenty of aggressiveness by going 8 for 10 at the free throw line. Granger and Shawne Williams each scored 12, and Norris Cole contributed 10 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists.

Chris Bosh struggled with his shot all night, going 3 of 13 from the field and finishing with nine points, six rebounds and four turnovers. Wade and Luol Deng were also non-factors, scoring six and four points, respectively.

Though defending 3-point shooting remains a concern, there is also the question of who will pick up the slack from long range with Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Michael Beasley and James Jones all gone from last season. Granger led the team with two of the five 3-pointers the Heat made against the Pelicans, and he connected on four of them in the third quarter of Wednesday's team scrimmage.

The shooting guard trio of Andre Dawkins, Reggie Williams and Tyler Johnson did not enter the game against the Pelicans. New acquisition Josh McRoberts, who could also help the Heat in that shooting department, sat out the game with a toe injury, as did Chris Andersen (sore calf).

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.