At what point do the Heat have to make a move with their coach?
David Aldridge: How about we let Erik Spoelstra get to Christmas before we pronounce this experiment a failure? Good Lord, the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, 24-hour news-beast cycle is going to destroy this country. (Not to inject politics into this, but for example: it might take longer than 18 months to recover from a near-depression, so maybe this isn’t the time to buy a new Range Rover, you know?) The Heat has dropped two superstars into Spoelstra’s lap, with next to no effective role players, and said ‘win a title.’ Now, Erik’s a big boy and he knew the gig, but he also deserves some time to figure out a way to make this work. Like, the rest of the season, maybe?
Steve Aschburner: The summer of 2011 figures to be the time for a coaching change in Miami if things don’t sufficiently perk up this season. The roster isn’t good enough to win big right now, so a move by Pat Riley would waste its impact. But going 20 games or so into 2011-12 before pulling a “Stan Van Gundy” would bring on way too much negativity for a team far more ballyhooed than the 2005-06 Heat. I think Erik Spoelstra is a good enough coach to survive and thrive once he breaks some of his superstar’s bad habits. But if a change happens, whether it’s Riley or some other Star Replacement To Be Named, it would best come in the summer in tandem with plugging holes in the Heat’s rotation.
Art Garcia: Last Saturday. Let’s face it, LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh aren’t getting fired … even if they’re in the wrong. Erik Spoelstra doesn’t deserve this fate. By all accounts he’s a solid young coach who’s done a bang-up job for two seasons. But if your players don’t respect you or tune you out or don’t believe in your system, it doesn’t matter how the X’s & O’s get shuffled. There’s no shortage of Hall-of-Famers who turned on their coach; Magic, Jordan and Shaq come to mind. I suspect we’ll know before the All-Star break if Spoelstra-SuperFriends can work.
Fran Blinebury: They don’t and they won’t. Pat Riley isn’t stepping into this mess in the first year while the 3 Am-egos are getting things sorted out and the right supporting cast isn’t in place. And this team still has too much talent to completely crater. If they came close and staggered home with a .500 record, they’d still make the playoffs in the East and will go into the postseason with the so-called “puncher’s chance.” Relax. The season is five weeks old.
Scott Howard-Cooper: Only when they know they have a better alternative. Making a move just to make a move is too shortsighted. If Pat Riley doesn’t want the job or doesn’t feel up to it, if there is no one else on staff to handle the job for the rest of the season, if there is no available candidate you think is the long-term solution, management could be adding to the existing problems with a lateral move.
Shaun Powell: Pat Riley should have never put Erik Spoelstra in this position in the first place. The coaching change should’ve been made last summer. Might as well wait until next summer now, since a new coach — be it Riley or an interim — can’t also play point guard or center for the Heat.
John Schuhmann: Whenever Pat Riley finds the Fountain of Youth. The Heat have played 18 games together, so Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have 474 (regular-season) games left on their contracts. I don’t think Riley’s ready to commit to coaching 474 games, and I don’t think there’s a (relatively) young coach out there who’s better qualified to coach this team than Erik Spoelstra, who, by the way, Riley handpicked two years ago. Since then, he’s made Riley look pretty smart, winning 90 games with a temporary roster over the last two seasons. This is a different group that requires a different kind of leadership, but he’s certainly earned a lot more than 18 games to prove that he can provide it.
Sekou Smith: They don’t. The Heat’s issues only seem to arise when they lose a game. No one has a problem with Erik Spoelstra when they win. The problems in Miami start and stop with their superstars. Until they figure out how to co-exist, no coach is going to be able to fix what ails them.
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A team this great will still require a great coach to win a championship in the NBA. I like the coach, but he is not a great coach yet (assuming he gets there). The end result here is inevitable. Best to just set every party interested up for success. Remember, this team wants to win now!
Riley, Daily, Jackson, Popavich, Brown – Pretty darn good NBA coaches.
erik is a very good coach, i do hope the the three stooges will realize that they need to listen and have confidence to their coach. they should also know that they are part to be blame for their losses especially the self proclaimed king. he needs more salt to eat before he become great as mj was. i believe they will become a better team if they will just do the system that their coach implementing!
They do not need to change coaches now. I think a lot of people have been too unfair to coach Erik. Erik Spoelstra is a good coach. He brought the team to the playoffs the past couple of years even if the roster was depleted (in preparation for their big catch last summer).
Also, it would be a true sign of “placing the blame” on another. If all of the sudden, the big three pulls their support from Erik, when at the start of the season, they were saying empathically that “Erik is their coach. And they don’t want Riley.”
The players are the ones who have to adjust. This is the players fault, or more like the management’s fault for putting up a team with so many issues in different position. Despite their big three, this team wasn’t really built well.
Erik Spoelstra is a great coach, considering his achievements with this team. He made a fifth seed with Wade and a cluster of grapes. There are many factors why Miami is in this situation:
1. Complete roster makeover – them playing as a unit for around 30 games (including the off-season) won’t be enough for him to make the necessary adjustments, let alone assign the player’s role. His situation is nowhere near Boston in ’07-08, where the Celtics had the Three Acquisitions. Miami was left with two players (Wade, Haslem) in their original roster from last season.
2. Injury to key players – Wade had his hamstring pulled last off-season, Mike Miller had a freak accident involving LeBron, and Haslem has a potentially season-ending injury. Having your key players on the bench won’t do your team any good.
3. Chemistry – When Houston had their 22-game winning streak, Yao was injured in the process, yet the Rockets managed to pull off one of the most amazing runs in the regular season. Why? Guys learned to trust each other, knowing each other’s capabilities and limitations. They knew exactly what they had to do in the court. They complemented each other’s game, which Miami hasn’t done yet this season.
4. Reality check – this has to do with their egos. For the Big Three, they should check their egos once in a while, and learn to defer to the other guys when necessary. For the rest, they should have at least some pride in themselves for them not to lose their confidence on the court. Having three of the top players in your team doesn’t mean that they have to do all the dirty work, the great highlights, the crucial plays, the all-important points. They can work under the radar all season long because the three of their teammates share the spotlight most of the time. In fact, their Big Three plays under scrutiny every night, and the rest of the team can be overlooked. When Miami loses, the blame is on the three. If Miami wins, the role player’s name who contributed comes up on the newspapers.
I think Erick Spo has got the worst out of all of the Heat. If he has a gameplan and the players don’t follow it how can you blame the coach? The 3 well Wade the Queen and soft Bosh need to listen to coach and stop trying to be player coaches. The Heat beat the pistons last night horay let’s get charged and get ready for Clevland. I think Lechoke will get booed while entering the building. Anyways the Heat can beat them anyway but I think Clevland will play hard to try and beat Lechoke. I think Eric Spo will get these dudes on track if they listen and stop thinking they know it all. We’ll see if they can pull off a win against clevland I think they will but as for good teams I really don’t think they have what it takes to beat playoff caliber teams on a regular. Don’t blame the coach blame the players, and blame Riley for not getting a decent PG and Center. Let the coach coach stop complaining and listen to your coach!!!
didnt have enuff time to get a center or point guard….and no money….and they neva will have a dacent pg or center because of their three salaries…..300m tied up doesnt give alot of breathing room…and if they got out and ran like the SUNS OR KNICKS then it wouldnt matter if they had a center or pg because honestly NOBODY, probably not even my lakers could beat LBJ and WADE both out in the open court
Erik is Awesome!!!!! the players are players and if they just listen to the man that gets paid to do what he does, then things will turn around
dwayne needs to play point an stop hogging the ball
they all need 2 buying to the coaching system
Keep Spoelstra, trade LeBron as quickly as possible, and make a serious run in the playoffs. There’s no point in banking everything on next season, since next season might not even happen.
Lebron’s ego has got the best of him… what kind of superstar (and an example to many young fans), shoulder barges his coach and then pretends that it wasn’t intentional? That’s disrespectful on a whole other level. I thought the league was trying to clean up it’s image on the court? If so, does this not include shoulder barging your coach?
Like I said from the get-go. Forget Lebron., Bosh or Boozer together with Wade and a semi decent line-up (with the money they spent on Lebron Shame, they could’ve had a good support team), would’ve won more games up to this point in the season and maybe have a better chance of competing for it all.
Erick is a good coach a true blood filipino who does not put the battle down. there’s no difference with boxing, first you have to listen to your coach, secondly DISCIPLINE, Third stay humble, be what u are dont be like a king!JUST like manny pacquiao a Congresman but stil remain as an athlete! a great athelete! so LEBRON, DWADE,BOSH, be like a team! its a long way to run prove to the people that ur really a POWER TRIO! I Know the TEAM MIAMI HEAT will be a better team if there’s a GREAT COMMUNICATION, DISCIPLINE, RESPECT!
I agree but at the same time Erick is too young of a pro coach to handle Wade, Lebron, and Bosh. But hey great things can happen when everyone is in sync so let’s hope they figure it out…soon!
Ah Ha…Cavs, had you left Lebron alone with all the slurs and hater remarks we heard, your team might would have concentrated on THEIR game or the lack thereof. Allow your Cavs to play the game they love.
I WANT PAT!!!!
nice win coach ERIK SPO. i told you. you have a fighter HEART like MANNY PACQUIAO. nice JOB big 3. HEAT for the CHAMP!
I definitely agree with Sekou..Seems like when they lose a game, critics immediately pounce on Coach Spo. But when the Heat wins, and when they do they usually win big, I think Spoelstra is not getting the credit that he deserves..To quote Fran Blinebury, let’s take it easy on the Heat, the season is still young.. Besides, I really believe that it’s the postseason that matters more for teams with a caliber such as the Miami Heat.. =)
LeBum should work. oftentimes his just watching wade and bosh and waiting behind the arc.
We all know that there is no problem about the coaching of Erik Spoelstra the reason why the Heat is pressure about winning the game is Lebron James. He is too much confident(maybe he is a star) but i dont think so.. i think Heat should have to add Steve Nash because they need a good PG.
The only 2 things missing in this situation are roll players and time. Everyone, from the players to the coaching staff need time to get a feel for each other. How much time? Obviously more than 10 games. They have the perfect coaching staff, someone who will execute Rileys’ philosophies ( who is a proven championship coach himself) and try to work out the old philosophies the allstar players bring with them. I am a Lebron, Wade, and Bosh fan individually so I am stoked about this team! It took Boston some time also with thier big 3.
There are so many Miami HeATERS ryt?
Why couldn’t we just shut our mouths? Let’s face it. The Miami won’t combine Wade, Bosh and LeBron for nothing. Yes, it’s a fact that they already lost 8 games… but even the Lakers lost some games too. remember that they have a 4 game skid. The blame is not only on Spo, Lebron, Wade, Bosh, the bench, or to the management. The blame must be pointed on to EVERYONE. this is a TEAM game. no one can win a basketball game by himself, even though Lebron is the best player in the world (excuse me kobe, but accept it) he cant win a title by himself.
The whole team must defend and rebound, it’s very clear that their strength depends on the open court. you can’t run if you dont force miss shots. and off course if you dont rebound the ball!! for once! DEFEND and REBOUND. DEFENSE is your BEST OFFENSE. the heat is out muscled, but there’s no way in this world that they can be out hustled with all the atheletes they have! once again DEFEND! (i haven’t seen the Chase Down by the king for awhile, nor the steal by wade, even the monstrous block by bosh) its all about defending. the celtics cant win games if they dont defend the basketball. second, you must rotate the ball. stop one on one plays. heat has the best individuals, but those individuals would be better if they just share the ball! we dont need a Steve Nash to win games. all we need is this same HEAT team, all together working a ONE UNIT! without egos, and giving respect to everybody. we don’t need Riley to step out on the court. All we need is The King, Flash, CB, Coach Spo and the rest of the crew working as a FAMILY
Time will show that Erik Spoelstra is, even now, one of the finest coaches in the NBA. Super stars or not, this team is new and needs some time to gel. This team will be amazing.
Everyone stresses the issue about role players…here’s the deal, when the Miami Heat win big, just like no one mentions the coaching issues, no one mentions the issues with ‘lack’ of role players. Rebounding and point guard play are not an issue either. With any team, when superstars play aggressive that creates opportunities for role players. It’s very simple. When the stars are not aggressive, then we know that the role players are going to struggle. So what’s wrong with the Heat? Not much, they simply need time to come together and re-discover that killer instinct. While there are weaknesses at the point guard and center positions, when Wade and James are attacking offensively, and putting pressure on the ball on the defensive end, the aforementioned weaknesses simply don’t matter as much. The bottom line is is this: they have the pieces to win it all this year. The issue has more to do with coming together in addition to Wade and James properly balancing floor, attacking the defense and picking up the defensive intensity. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to consistently initiate the offense by using Jame and Wade in a pick and roll set from the top of key, essentially the same set that they have used previously with Haslem, Shaq etc. This unpacks the lane, creating paths to the basket and oppurtunities for weakside rebounds by forcing the big men to help. With Wade and James being exceptional passers, Miller, Jones and House would get even more open looks.
Nba.com writers need to get off the ‘Heat bashing wagon’. They think they are defending the fabric of the game but keeping inflated egos in check but it is they bring this game into disrepute. If something had of gone down at Lebrons homecoming then the media is only to blame for its irresponsible reporting by fanning the flames of hatred.
Keep YOUR egos in check people and find another outlet to vent your anger.
NBA.com writers should just ignore the heat…It just makes lebron happy…We need to give this guy a lesson.. What do you think heat fans? It’s not good for the nba to always post blogs about the heat, etc. there are other teams that are great that need exposure like the pacers, players like griffin.. What do you think heat fans? are you in heat?
I agree totally with John Schuhmann & Sekou Smith, when a team loses in its games why are we too quick to pinpoint the coach as the main person to blame? Spoelstra has done a lot for this club let alone enter the playoffs with a bunch of temps last season. So who among the “coaches” which you think can fit in will be able to last until the 6 years contract ends for the trio, especially the way they behave? no one, especially if it is the same age as him. So I salute coach Spo for doing a very nice job with this guys. lets face it, reality check, a team will always lose a game in the season, no matter how good they be, lets just wait for this team to mature and be able to build a solid roster to help the trio. Go miami heat!
Miami with their four games win streak makes spo a happy man. If they play like this every game, Erik Spoestra will b e the coach for a long time like Phil jackson was with the lakers.GO HEAT GO HEAT!
Also to the haters Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha that’s what you get you asses
To all those who want pat back. Forget it. Pat will never coach again. the only coach that can coach this team is either Erick Spoestra or jeff Van Gundy
To all those who want pat back. Forget it. Pat will never coach again. the only coach that can coach this team is spostra or jeff van gundy
Spoelstra got 3 superstars, not two… are you even watching the Heat’s games? Bosh is a 20-10 every night!
i love miami heat,but d problem is how to watch ol d games of miami heat hire in my belove country so SAD….
coach erik spo ur d best i know that. ur a hard working coach and olso ur so young. GO HEAT…..
I think Spoelstra is good enough to coach the Heat, He just wanted the player to be serious so that they could win every game.. just trust him..
coach erik spo ur the BEST! go heat! beat them ol!!!
too much firepower but it does not work dis time. the game of basketball it does not work if you had best players in the team. The real problem with HEAT is the chemistry! CHEMISTRY does not come over nite, it is continuing process of playing thru the weeks,months & even years of playing basketball games together. But one thing must the HEAT MUST improve the outside shooting. Whenever Wade or James isolated, the said two players must ready to take shoot. Because the opponet will defintely sug to them to defend the driving line.
the heat can win 60 plus . But question is how they can content with hawks & celtics. HAwks had so deep bench. The boston can play anyone, because boston are complete team. They had zone breaking player, inside player
Erik spoelstra is a great coach for miami team now . The problem is not on the coach but in fact it depends on the big three supertars was playing. I think they didn’t catch up what was the the point of their coach of having playing on the court and find some good rythym in playing . i think the problem of the team now is what the big three give his best to play inside the court and be responsible of their playing. I love miami team now . and i dont care on their past and bad losses. so go miami take a revense now and be a good enough to win a Championship again. go the big new three . just give your best . .gooooooooo teammm. . .
Fire Lebron!!!
lebron james is to be blamed why they’re losing
HEAT 5TH streak win.. thats GOOD… BIG 3 keep up d good work. coach ERIK SPO u deserve to win after ol!!
With all this Hoppla….Miami Heat VS Boston Celtics in the East Final……AND STOP TALKING!!!
lebron power dunk baby…. coach spo lets go… GO HEAT!!!
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