Erik Spoelstra lavishes praise on Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers – NBA Update
On Saturday night Miami Heat finally grinded their way to the NBA Finals after seeing off the gritty Boston Celtics in the Game 7 of the epic Eastern Conference Final series.
In a series featuring superstars, it all came down to who wanted it more and in the last seven odd minutes of the Game 7, a younger and more athletic Miami just managed to cross the line.
The series which LeBron James branded as the toughest of his career so far, was not just a duel between the players, it was also a war between two coaches – Erik Spoelstra and Doc Rivers.
On one hand was the Miami coach with two of the best players in the league by his side and on the other was Rivers urging his veteran and injury depleted roster to give it their one final shot.
Rivers marshalled his men with a fervour and intensity which is very rare and the tears in his eyes, when the defeat finally became imminent, reflected the effort he had put in.
With a depleted and old roster, Doc spurred his team throughout the season and has proven that he is one of the very best in his trade. The stature which Rivers has established in the league was depicted in the words of Spoelstra
in the post game press conference;
“I have an incredible respect for Doc,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a great coach. I’ve had some opportunities to spend a little bit of time with him during the summers. He’s a great X-and-O guy, but you see what really separates him
is his ability to manage personalities.”
Rivers, just like Spoelstra, was handed three superstars – Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen - back in 2007 and the wily coach took them to the championship podium in the very first year. He managed to build a good chemistry
among his stars very quickly and built his team around them.
Spoelstra has so far not been able to do that completely with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and admitted in the presser that managing the stars was the main thing on which he seeked River’s output back at the Summer
coaching clinics;
“I had a chance in the summer to spend a little bit of time with him at a coaching clinic,” Spoelstra explained. “While all those other things are important, the day to day, how you motivate, how you manage all the different challenges
and personalities is really probably the biggest part of the job.”
Spoelstra's lack of control over his side came in the spotlight during the Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers when an under performing Wade confronted him. Spoelstra has also been blamed on relying
too much on his stars and failing to inculcate the fabric of team work in his side.
Tags: