Gamecock great Chris Silva gets rare treat: a chance to actually practice with Heat
Chris Silva’s first season in the NBA has been a little bit of a culture shock, but not for the same reasons a lot of other players might struggle to adjust. The Miami Heat forward has actually had to learn how to not work as hard as he was used to.
Silva is spending this season on a two-way contract, which limits him to only 45 days with the NBA team. Every practice day counts toward those 45, and the Heat has been so impressed with Silva’s play on game day it has pretty much entirely stopped letting him practice.
Tuesday was a rare exception. For the first time since the preseason, Silva suited up for practice.
“I was excited. It’s fun to be out there with those guys, learning,” Silva said after the practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. “It was definitely a surprise, but I enjoyed it today.”
This rookie season has been far different from the four years he spent with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Frank Martin is notoriously intense, and Silva said the coach’s practices reflect his personality. While Miami (9-3) would love to have Silva on the practice court every day, the salary cap means Silva has had to learn how to prepare without practicing.
The Heat made a rare exception Tuesday with Miami in the midst of three consecutive days off. The Heat hasn’t played since a 109-94 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday and won’t play again until Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Miami. Erik Spoelstra wanted to keep Silva fresh while also finally giving him an opportunity to learn in some way other than on the fly.
“He’s been so terrific and he’s been so dedicated behind the scenes, but this is a long stretch. It’s three days off before we play the next game,” the coach said. “I know that there’s an allotment of days, but we also want to have some humanity. He really wants to be around the guys. We want him to be around the team. We want him to feel like he’s a part of it, not just in the games, and he needs the reps, and today was a really important day for him. It’s a shame we can’t have more of them, but that’s the deal and we love the two-way setup.”
Silva’s contract would allow him to head to the NBA G League and play with Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but his play has forced the Heat to change any plans it may have had. In just 8.3 minutes per game, Silva is averaging 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and shooting 68.0 percent from the field. He has played in all 12 games and been a reliable spark plug, particularly because fellow forwards Justise Winslow, Derrick Jones Jr. and James Johnson have all missed time with various injuries.
His contract means his progression all has to come on game days, too. If Silva spends more than 45 game or practice days with Miami, his contract has to be converted to a full-time contract rather than his two-way deal. Right now, the Heat doesn’t have enough cap space to pay a Silva as a full-time NBA player.
Every day Silva can spend practicing with Miami will only be beneficial, though. Silva is getting plenty of full-time reps on game days, but it’s hard to do too much instruction when a game is going on. An inexperienced player can only get so much of a leash in a meaningful game.
Silva said, for example, he has been having some confusion with a couple of the Heat’s coverages. He can go back and watch film or ask for a pointer on the bench during live action, of course. Nothing is quite the same as being able to get hands on instruction like a player can get in practice.
“You need to drill, you need to go through mistakes,” Spoelstra said. “You think about it, get corrected.”
