Pelle Larsson’s path back to the Miami Heat has taken the patient route, and with opening night here, the team still doesn’t know exactly what its backcourt will look like Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Larsson and Dru Smith were both on the floor for Monday’s practice, but Erik Spoelstra stopped short of saying either guard would be ready to play. That leaves Miami with a live question behind starter Davion Mitchell, and it’s one the Heat would clearly like answered before the season begins.
Larsson said the team has been building him back up gradually after an earlier push to return came up short.
“I feel like we’re slow tracking, honestly,” Larsson said. “I feel like we’ve been taking our time with this. I tried to speed track last time against the Timberwolves and it didn’t work out, so we’ve been just taking our time, upping the practice load a little bit every day and it’s working.”
That failed return came during Miami’s Oct. 10 exhibition against the same Timberwolves team it will see to open the regular season. The Heat announced that Larsson exited because of illness and would not return.
A few days later, as Heat Nation reported Oct. 13, Larsson said he had dealt with headaches for about a week.
He had finally gotten through a morning without one and was back to some work, but he still hadn’t proven he could handle his normal load. Monday’s update made the process a lot clearer: Miami has been deliberately easing him back instead of risking another setback.
Larsson also said he’s comfortable operating at point guard if needed. Playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo or Nikola Jovic gives the Heat enough ball-handling options to spread the pressure around when defenses pick up full-court or trap.
Smith’s situation is different, but just as unresolved. He missed all of Miami’s exhibition games with a calf injury, so Spoelstra never got preseason game reps to evaluate him with the team’s newer pieces. Smith said his status depends on how his calf reacts to the extra work, and Spoelstra described both guards as moving toward a return after what he called a demanding session, though he still wouldn’t label either one available.
The uncertainty around Smith has also created a path for Ryan Conwell to make his case. The rookie has been adapting to life both with the ball and without it, depending on which teammates he shares the floor with.
“I’m definitely confident, especially with the reps I’ve been getting, being a ball handler,” Conwell said. “That’s where a lot of my minutes have been.
Just depending on if I’m out there with Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Bam, I’ll be off the ball. So I’m just trying to do what I can.”
Spoelstra added that Conwell won’t get the same amount of on-ball work when he’s out there with the regulars, which makes the evaluation more complicated. In other words, it’s one thing to handle the offense in the exhibition setting and another to fit in when the veterans are on the court.
That doesn’t mean Conwell has locked up the backup job, but the opportunity is real. If he can contribute without needing to control every possession, he can stay in the mix even when Miami gets healthier.
For now, though, the Heat are still waiting on the final call. Monday’s practice had everyone available, and the first opening-night injury report is due Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
EST. What happens next will determine whether Larsson and Smith are part of Miami’s reserve guard plan on Wednesday, or whether Spoelstra is still sorting through his options at the last minute.
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