Oct. 8--Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra today painted a picture of a slower go for power forward Udonis Haslem than some might have expected.
"Udonis sat out today, just to kind of be cautious with it, as we move forward," Spoelstra said in Paris, after his team completed practice at Bercy Arena. "Right now, we're going day-on, day-off."
Haslem entered training camp with a sprained left foot.
"Hopefully, pretty soon, we can go two days on, one day off," Spoelstra said. "And then he'll be playing five on five soon enough."
Haslem said it has been a trying experience.
"I'm here and I'm with the guys, but I still don't feel like I'm a part of everything right now," he said.
"I can do certain things. I can run, I can jump, but it's just certain movements and certain cuts that still give me a little problems. We're going to work on it and chip away at those movements that we need to get down."
By contrast, point guard Shaun Livingston was back on the court, after sitting out Tuesday's first practice of this weeklong European trip that features exhibitions against the Nets today in Paris and Sunday in London.
"Basically, with him, we'll just see how it goes every day," Spoelstra said of the former Los Angeles Clippers first-round draft choice, who has been sidelined since a devastating February 2007 knee injury.
Spoelstra said he was impressed with Livingston's performance.
"He's got such a great gift and feel for passing," the first-year coach said of the 6-foot-7 playmaker. "And what's unique is he's got the size and length, so he's able to see over the top of the defense, and passes that we haven't been able to complete or even see the last week, he's been doing both. He has that length to be able to get the ball delivered right underneath the hoop for easy baskets."
Overall, Spoelstra said today's practice had the look of a team that was out of its element.
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