MIAMI _ Andre Iguodala didn't need much to transition to the Miami Heat. Hey, this isn't his first NBA move, after all. As he said, he just needed some new sheets and bed supplies.
"I'm big on sleep," he said.
Iguodala also put on knee pads for a practice for the first time in 16 NBA seasons. That's part of the Heat protocol. Practice like you play.
"I'm ready now," he said.
The real transition of Iguodala and Jae Crowder being traded just before the All-Star break to the Heat is this: Are you ready for how the Heat will look now? Older? More experienced? And, surely, in some form, a little less of the kids?
It was a fun run to the All-Star break for the Heat. The kids were great fun. The veterans were fun in new roles, too. Winning, of course, was the most fun of all, considering no one knew what to expect in October.
But, get ready, as the Heat transition from a young team that delighted you to a more experienced team trying to win in April and May. It's hard to say to what degree change will happen. There's a line to walk, as coach Erik Spoelstra talked it Wednesday.
"We're so excited about how much the young players have grown," he said. "But for us to really make this about now, we do need some veteran experience and guys that have done it at a super high level in the playoffs."
That will be the chore of the coming weeks _ how to mix the offensive fun of the kids with the heavy lifting of the playoffs demands. You can bet the Heat will play less zone defense, for instance. That's a good thing.
The Heat went to it to protect some of the younger players' defensive games that aren't up to NBA demands. They can't be. They're kids. But zones won't work for long stretches against good teams prepared for it, as they will be in the playoffs.
Enter Iguodala, 36 and Crowder, 29. They're tried, tough and good-to-great defensive players. Iguodala has made the NBA's All-Defense first team. Crowder missed once by a single vote. Zone? They don't need to be hidden in no stinkin' zone.
"The league knows what I bring on defense," Crowder said.
Suddenly, as the Heat play Atlanta on Thursday night, a team with a great perimeter defender in Butler upgrades to potentially three great defenders on the court at the same time. Or, perhaps, not so suddenly. We'll see how quickly it works out.
It will be interesting to see how Spoelstra plays this mix of experience and youth. He pushed all the right buttons again so far this year. He didn't just recognize the talent of young players like Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro. He expanded the role of Bam Adebayo. He used them in a manner they succeeded.
Now the issue changes to how, and when, and against whom to use everyone. He talked to the team Wednesday about the great mix of age and youth on this team.
He broke it all down by age groups. Seven players are under 24, he said, and, "bring a youthful joy and enthusiasm, and innocence and eagerness and ambition every single day." You want to keep that, right?
Two players are 27, Spoelstra said, and four others are over 30.
"They're bringing great veteran experience and leadership, and they want to mentor, they want to help," he said. "They're enjoying the success of young guys, and I think that's unique. Not every older player is like that, and certainly not every younger player has that type of humility."
It's a smart move. A necessary move, really, to advance in the playoffs this year. Rarely do young teams have a chance in an NBA spring. That's why the addition of Iguodala and Crowder matter. The Heat aren't a young team anymore.
Suddenly, they're an experienced team with young pieces. Or, again, maybe not suddenly. We'll have to see where the script goes from February to April.
One thing for sure: Iguodala and Crowder already sound like Heat players.
"It's all about winning," Iguodala said.
"You see the championship DNA here," Crowder said.
Strap on your knee brace. Here comes the run to the playoffs. The fun, young team that surprised everyone isn't so young anymore. They might be more fun if it all works out, too.
