Erik Spoelstra – The man who has put the Miami Heat on the brink of elimination: NBA Feature
Last year when LeBron James went missing in action in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, every Tom d**k and Harry, who knew anything about basketball, unloaded the guns of vitriol on the self proclaimed King, and in the hindsight it seems fair, given the infamous ‘THE DECISION’ episode.
But, in that hoopla, everybody forgot that the Heat did not lose only because of James’ choking acts.
The man did play exceptionally well and when his shots didn’t fall, LeBron switched to the distribution and rebounding mode – a triple-double in Game 5 is a testament to that fact. But, when James needed people around him to deliver, nobody stood up to the occasion, except Wade, and clearly that was just not enough to counter the brilliance of the magnificent Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks who played as a team possessed.
That season came and passed by and this time James’ Miami was again tipped to be the favourite for the NBA title. The regular season performances which the men from the South Beach showcased further strengthened that fact and when Chicago Bulls got knocked out in round one of the Eastern Conference Finals, there was apparently no one left in Miami’s path towards the NBA Finals for a second year running.
That however is quickly turning into an invalid argument, and for once it is clear that the reason is not James.
As we stand on the cusp of a potential season ending Game-6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the resilient Boston Celtics, it has become evident that Miami Heat do not know how to play as a team.
For the last two years, this side has been carried by James, Wade or occasionally Bosh, with the role players only concentrating on defense.
Such has been the mentality of the team, that players like Udonis Haslem do not hesitate in openly conceding that offense is no longer their job. This has been the very psyche which has ruined the confidence of Mike Miller and James Jones, two of the best three point shooters in the league and the only man responsible for it is Erik Spoelstra.
Spoelstra certainly likes to keep things simple – run your offense through the star players and stack everybody else on the D, even if that is not their forte.
But what happens when the opposition manages to hound the stars? That is a question Spoelstra had no answer to last year and it is same question haunting the Heat this time around.
It has pretty much become clear now, that Spoelstra has added nothing to the team in the past two years. The success which Miami has been having is all due to the fact that James, Wade and Bosh have learnt to accommodate each other and that has come with time.
What the Big Three have not managed to do however is to carry everybody else with them and you can’t blame them, it’s just not their job.
That’s Spoelstra job, but one really wonders if he is aware of that. The guy who started out as a video co-ordinator at the franchise has failed to inculcate the fabric of team work in Heat and now they are suffering and so are we.
That however doesn’t end here.
The Miami coach has also simply failed to ring in the proper rotations when the chips have been down for the Heat in the playoffs, let alone this series.
But in Game-5, it just became too ridiculous.
It was a game that marked the return of Chris Bosh and the forward did ignite the Heat in the first half, with 9 points and 6 rebounds in nearly 10 minutes. All of sudden it seemed that Miami had found that extra gear needed to fend off the C’s and all they needed was a final push for a 3-2 lead.
Then, the unexplainable happened. The second half started and Bosh was nowhere to be seen. Fine I thought, he would be there soon, but that didn’t happen as well and in no time the Greens whiplashed Miami with a 15-1 third quarter closing run and basically knocked the steam out of them.
Bosh did return for four odd minutes in the game, but by then it was too late.
The power forward was frustrated by the lack of playing time afforded to him post game, and when Spoelstra was asked about the tactic, all he could say was;
“I didn’t think it would be fair."
I mean common, is that guy even serious.
Your best post player returns to the game after a 9-game layoff, close to full fitness, and when the team needed him the most, Coach Spo pretends to be an angel.
He just wouldn’t admit, it was a bad (read ‘stupid’) call that cost Miami the game, and probably the series.
Five extra Bosh minutes might turn out to be the difference between a trip to the finals and another season of bitter disappointment.
This is just one of the many tactical errors Spoelstra has made as a head coach and is perhaps the reason he doesn’t command any respect from his team.
Wade’s on-court outburst against him in the conference semifinals pretty much highlighted that fact. Imagine anybody taking on Doc Rivers, Gregg Popovich or Pat Riley like that. Those guys will eat the player alive, but that is not the case with Spoelstra, who indicated the very next day that ‘it happens all the time’.
The Heat stand on the verge of elimination and come Thursday night, if the fat lady sings, rest assured it will be not because of James.
Heat cannot win a championship with Spoelstra as a coach. They have to cross this hump with somebody else. For now, Pat Riley needs to take over. He and his five championship rings worth of experience might help Miami live to fight another day.
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