The cold reality of NBA travel arrived early this season for the Miami Heat.
What was expected to be a 90-minute short hop to Friday night's game against the Indiana Pacers instead turned into a winter wander land for Erik Spoelstra's team.
Opting to spend Wednesday night in New York after earlier defeating the Brooklyn Nets at the start of this two-game trip, the Heat arrived to Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday afternoon amid light flurries that quickly turned into a significant snowstorm.
Seven hours of waiting on the plane and two de-icing tours later, the team was off to Indianapolis, arriving at 10:30 p.m.
"It was long. The guys were able to catch up on some rest," said Spoelstra, who nonetheless had his team on the court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Friday's morning's shootaround. "Thankfully we had five-star food on the plane, a lot of good company. And we didn't get in too late. The most important thing is we were safe."
Spoelstra has decided during several trips that feature days off between games to stay over after games to ease his players' sleep patterns. The Heat initially were scheduled to practice in New York and then fly.
But Spoelstra said Thursday that daytime delays just as easily could have come after a post-game dash to the airport.
"That could have happened at any time," he said. "We've had times where we've had to stay the night, when we were at the airport and it was snowing too hard. That doesn't go into my consideration."
Guard Goran Dragic quipped that cross-Atlantic travel might have taken less time.
"You cannot control the weather. It's just a part of life," he said. "I was joking around, 'Man, I could already be in Slovenia."
Both Spoelstra and Dragic said the experience only heightened the reality that all Heat trips eventually end in South Florida.
"We say it all the time when we're crisscrossing the country during the winter, virtually everywhere we go it's 30 degrees and snowing," Spoelstra said. "And we have an unbelievable opportunity to fly back to one of the vacation destinations in the world. We should always feel grateful."
Dragic is, having called Houston, Phoenix and now Miami his NBA-playing homes.
"At the same time," he said, "I grew up in a city like Indianapolis, with the cold weather. So I'm used to it. But I definitely like the warm weather more."
Wayne's world
Spoelstra on Friday again praised guard Wayne Ellington for the work he does in getting open for 3-point shots.
"He's in such great condition that he'll run 10 routes and nine of 'em will be all fake," Spoelstra said. "But he'll do it just to put stress on the defense and see if they make a mistake. And when they make a mistake, he makes you pay for it."
Spoelstra said the movement and 3-point success go hand in hand.
"When he's on the move, reading defenses, coming off screens, in any fashion, handoffs of doubles or singles," Spoelstra said, "that's when he's at his truest form of who he is supposed to be."
Jones back
Derrick Jones Jr. was back with the team Friday after missing Wednesday's victory in Brooklyn with a stomach flu . . .
The perfect 6-0 start by the Heat's G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, came to an end Thursday with a road loss to the Oklahoma City Blue, who improved to 5-0. DeAndre Liggins scored 25 for the Skyforce, including seven 3-pointers, while Heat two-way forward Yante Maten added 20 points.
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