subject: LeBron James practices with Heat [print this page] The NBA's reigning two-time MVP went through his first full practice with the Heat on Tuesday, a workout so intense even coach Erik Spoelstra was dripping sweat when the first session of training camp was over at a U.S. Air Force installation on Florida's Panhandle. A snaking line of reporters and camera crews surrounded nearly half the court, and James gave them a memorable show.
"It's not normal," James said. "It's not normal just yet. It's a new beginning for me. I don't feel like a rookie but I feel like it's a new start. I've been around training camps before, but it's not normal. You guys know it's not normal. But as the mlb jerseys year goes on, with the team getting to know each other, I continue to get to know you ... you get more comfortable with one another."
He'd put on the Heat practice uniform before, doing so over the summer after joining Miami and spurning an offer to remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers, essentially his hometown team and the place where he grew into a global icon over his first seven pro seasons.
And he wasn't laid-back in his first formal Miami practice. Quite the contrary.
"That's what we're trying to get from everybody, no possessions off, to have that mentality," Spoelstra said. "It was a good start."
Miami arrived 12 hours before its first practice amid fanfare, a large crowd of military personnel packed into a hangar to greet the team that decided for many reasons to hold their weeklong camp about 650 miles from home. Col. Michael T. Plehn, commander of Hurlburt Field's 1st Special Operations Wing, had a midcourt seat alongside Heat president Pat Riley for practice.
Players posed for pictures with some reporters after practice, a sight that rarely, if ever, happens in Miami.
In Miami, interest has apparently never been higher. The Heat said more than 20,000 single-game tickets for home contests were sold Tuesday, the top one-day total in franchise history -- and noted that none of the 41 NFL jersey regular-season matchups has even sold out yet.
There will be many non-traditional events on the Heat itinerary this week, including guest speakers, meet-and-greets with military members, even a chance for players to go through real training -- doing things like loading [dummy] bombs and navigating through simulated battle situations -- alongside airmen.
That being said, the trip is about basketball.
"It is, and it was very intense from start to finish," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "The intensity was high. No one was slacking. We got our work done. Everything was good."
Spoelstra said he isn't changing much of the Heat structure for this camp. Nonetheless, given all the roster revamping -- Mike Miller, Eddie House, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and other new faces joined the fray as well -- the structure of things might change on its own mlb jerseys.
There's already clear competition for two starting spots, plus plenty of minutes in what's likely to be a nine-man rotation when the season opens for real Oct. 26 against the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.
In short, camp will be exactly the way James, Wade and Spoelstra would prefer: Tough.
