Since the offseason, many people, including fans, have begun to wonder whether Erik Spoelstra is right for the job as head coach of the Miami Heat. After all, the team failed to make the playoffs in an easy conference, when they had talent. They certainly had a superstar in Dwyane Wade. They had the chances to make the playoffs, so there really is no excuse, right?
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Also, when it comes to the NBA Finals appearances that Spoelstra has and the two championships that Spoelstra has, it really comes down to LeBron James, doesn’t it? What head coach couldn’t have gotten that team to the NBA Finals?
This is the part where I tell you how wrong you are if you think this way. Yes, the team failed to make the playoffs, but were inhibited by injuries all season. I have gone over them ad nauseum, so I won’t do that again. The point is that no team that has endured the kind of injuries that Miami has endured would be able to bounce back and make the playoffs.
To say that Miami should have risen above that and still made it is nonsensical. This is unfortunate to say, but Miami cannot ride Dwyane Wade’s back any longer. A player like Wade could have been relied on before, when he was in his prime. But Wade lacks the ability to stay with offensive players on defense anymore, usually trying to play passing lanes to force turnovers.
His defensive real plus-minus is minus-1.96, which is terrible among shooting guards. He tends to have conserve the energy he has in his knees and provide offensively, which he did rather impressively. Of course, if this player is your star, then you’re in trouble. Couple that with Chris Bosh‘s blood clot in his lung, and now you’re missing two of your stars.
Sir Charles In Charge
Spoelstra has had his fair share of adversity this season.
Finally, we get to the idea that anybody could have coached the 2011-14 teams. This is the strangest type of logic because nobody says that about the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers. Nobody says this about Chicago Bulls with Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. They only say this about Erik Spoelstra, who had LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Just because he had great players doesn’t make him a bad (or mediocre) coach. Plenty of great coaches have had great talent, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich among them. But channelling that team to be able to work in unison and cohesively is another thing entirely. Spoelstra was able to get that team to move past distractions, and press forward to their goal.
He created a system where Dwyane Wade would play off the ball, and Bosh would turn into a three-point shooter. Those are players who had previously been in other roles.
It was Spoelstra who got the team to play great defensively. One player (especially a player like LeBron) cannot play defense for an entire team. They played great defensive sets that forced turnovers and started the break for them. That is how they were able to get their points. That is how they were able to win championships.
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