Storyline: Erik Spoelstra has two rings, four Finals appearances, and over 350 wins in just 7 seasons. He also has just twelve more wins than losses when he didn’t have an historic roster to coach.
The Miami Heat are struggling. They suck.
The Heat’s starting lineup is minus for the season: they give up more points than they score. That’s with a lineup of Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh, and Hassan Whiteside. And while it is arguable that this is a championship-contending lineup, there’s no argument that it’s enough talent to produce a better record than 25-21 and with the 25th toughest schedule in a league of thirty teams.
I’ve heard continuous talk about what the Heat should do. It’s always about “turning things around” and roster moves. It’s almost never about the coach. I’ve listened to Miami local radio and the pulse of the city seems to agree.
But I don’t understand why Erik Spoelstra is never considered. Maybe he should.
Courtesy: pagesix.com
In 1995 Erik Spoelstra arrived in Miami as a video coordinator. He moved his way up the ladder from coordinator to scout to assistant coach. He was part of the 2006 Miami Heat team that won the NBA Championship over the Dallas Mavericks. He has been credited for his personal relationship with Heat star, Dwyane Wade, as he worked with Wade since the 2003 draft.
Spoelstra became the head coach in April ’08 after Pat Riley’s decision to return to the position of president. Spoelstra was Riley’s hand-picked successor. Riley gushed over Spoelstra’s innovative thinking. He did that to counter critiques against Spoelstra’s young age (37). Spoelstra’s hiring was a historic moment: he was the first Asian American head coach in the history of the four major North American sports leagues.
In one sense it would seem insane to relieve Spoelstra from his duties. He led the Heat to the Playoffs in his first season–despite the team’s record of 15-67 the previous season. He got his team to the Playoffs his second year, too. In his third year, Spoelstra led the Heat to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Then, in just his fourth season, Spoelstra won his first NBA title, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. In 2013 he won back-to-back titles, defeating the San Antonio Spurs in an intense seven-game series.
The 2014 NBA Finals would also feature Spoelstra’s Miami Heat. But they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. The 2015 NBA season was the first time Spoelstra didn’t reach the playoffs (37-45 record).
To summarize, Erik Spoelstra is a two-time NBA champion coach; the third coach in NBA history to reach four NBA Finals in consecutive seasons; owner of the second longest winning streak in NBA history (27 games); and he has missed the Playoffs only once.
Heck of a coach, huh?
But another look at Spoelstra’s career may have a different storyline. Spoelstra’s overall coaching record is 376-228, a strong 60% winning average. But let’s look at that record more carefully. In 2008, when Spoelstra took over for the Miami Heat and made the Playoffs with a 43-39 record, that record was good enough to be a 5-seed. Well, that says something about the Eastern Conference, doesn’t it? Consider that the Detroit Pistons made the Playoffs with a 39-43 record. That season ended for the Heat in the first round (in seven games) to the Atlanta Hawks. This roster had Dwyane Wade, who was the NBA’s leading scorer.
The following season, the Heat’s record was 47-35, once again good enough for a 5-seed in a year where a .500 team made the Playoffs in the East. That’s in comparison to the Western Conference, where an 8-seed won 50 games. That season would end for the Heat in just five games (to the Boston Celtics), again in the first round.
Courtesy: espn.go.com
The following year was the formation of “The Big Three.” In came Lebron James and Chris Bosh, two seasoned and accomplished all-stars, one a two-time MVP. Those moves would obviously elevate the Heat to new heights, which included the four Finals appearances and a mass of wins.
Even with such a dynamic team, though, it’s arguable that the Heat should have won three out of the four Final appearances–certainly not the final Finals’ appearance where Spoelstra’s Heat were defeated in 5 games, a series where the Spurs outscored the Heat by the largest, average point differential in Finals history.
Following that season James exited for Cleveland. Spoelstra, for the first time, missed the Playoffs. And here we are this season, possibly looking at the same result.
Spoelstra has a coaching record of 152-140 (just over 50% percent) if we remove four seasons of “The Big Three.” So while you can look at this coach and see two rings, four Final appearances, and over 350 wins in just 7 seasons, you can also look at his stint as having just twelve more wins than losses when he didn’t have an historic roster to coach. And he coached that roster in a weak conference. He didn’t win a lot of games and he had early exits from the Playoffs.
Think about it.
