By CHRIS PERKINS
FOXSportsFlorida.com Heat writer
The Heat had the day off Tuesday, two days before its game at Phoenix on Thursday. The off day isn't a rarity. It's commonplace. And it's by design.
Give coach Erik Spoelstra some credit for this one. Getting rest is something his players truly appreciate. It's the kind of thing that earns an NBA coach big points.
"When we need our rest, we need our rest," guard Carlos Arroyo said. "He doesn't play with that."
All season, Spoelstra has been careful to give his players plenty of rest. He made that promise during training camp, and he has followed through. It wasn't easy, especially during that tumultuous 9-8 start when the Heat needed practice time to get itself together.
"During that tough period I think everyone's initial reaction would have been to dig deeper and push harder and try harder and kind of abandon the blueprint," forward James Jones said. "But you have to give him credit. He stuck in there, the players stuck in there and we bought into it, and we've been enjoying success ever since."
Forward LeBron James leads the Heat in minutes at 37.2 (he averages 40.2 for his career) but ranks only 17th in the NBA. Guard Dwyane Wade is second on the team and 28th in the NBA at 36 minutes per game (career 37.5), and forward Chris Bosh is third and 45th at 34.9 minutes per game (career 36.8).
In other words, the Big Three are all playing fewer minutes this season than they've averaged in their careers.
Granted, the Heat haven't had much time to practice so far. They just finished a stretch of seven games in 11 days. In the bigger picture, they played 20 games in 34 days. And in the overall picture, Miami (21-9) has played 30 games, more than any other team except Atlanta (18-12).
That workload means off days have almost been mandated by the schedule.
But there was still pressure to win. Many coaches would have taken every opportunity to practice, and they would have practiced their team long hours. Spoelstra resisted that temptation. And beyond giving players days off from practice, he has made the practices short and crisp.
That strategy could be considered a gamble, but the results have won games
