Tag: Erik Spoelstra

The Miami Heat are bad enough without Erik Spoelstra blowing games

The Heat should get Erik Spoelstra some help.

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.

What’s up, hoops fans. Welcome back to Layup Lines. The NBA Cup got started Tuesday night with a little group play action, and several of the games delivered in the way of drama.

You already know about the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, who put on show in Klay Thompson’s first game back in the Bay. But there was also the Atlanta Hawks going on the road to stun the Boston Celtics with a one-point win, and the Detroit Pistons’ overtime win over the Miami Heat.

That last game was particularly interesting because it involved one of the greatest coaches of this generation making an incredibly uncharacteristic mistake at the worst possible time. With the game tied at the end of the extra period, Erik Spoelstra called a timeout — even though the Heat didn’t have any.

The blunder led to a technical foul that allowed the Pistons to shoot the game-winning free throws with a second left (and made for a great Jalen Rose meme).

Now, look, I’m not here to necessarily defend Spoelstra. Yes, he’s human. Yes, he’s allowed to make mistakes. And there’s no guarantee the Heat would’ve won in the second OT. But he blew it. There’s no way around it. He even owned up to it after the game.

But isn’t blaming Spoelstra kind of just a convenient cover for how mid the Heat actually are and have been for what, more than two years now? They’re 4-6 on the season after losing a dog fight with the Detroit freaking Pistons. The same Pistons team that tied the record for the longest losing streak ever last season. Shouldn’t that be a bigger concern here?

I don’t know. It just seems like maybe that’s where the focus with this team should be. It’s not that Spo lost them a game. It’s that Heat management keeps forcing him to prove how great he is on a nightly basis by rolling out a team that isn’t actually very good. They’re worse than bad, because there isn’t some high lottery pick awaiting them for winning 40 games every year.

We forget because Miami made an improbable run to the finals two summers ago, but they’ve been an 8-seed each of the last two years. As mid as mid gets. And they’re only getting middier. Their star player, Jimmy Butler, is now 35 years old and hasn’t played at least 65 games — the league minimum for awards — since 2018-19. And by the way, he was out again Tuesday.

Sure, the Heat still have Olympian Bam Adebayo, but after him, it’s Tyler Herro, the potential of Jaime Jaquez Jr. and a bunch of dudes. And they’re supposed to compete with the likes of the Celtics, Cavaliers and Knicks? Please. That they aren’t as bad as the Pistons most nights is a credit to Spoelstra.

So you can go ahead and pin this one loss on the coach, but you’re probably missing the bigger picture. The Heat win more games because of Spoelstra than games they lose because of him. I can’t believe I’m saying this about a coach, but Pat Riley and the front office should do more to get the man some help.

Gregg Popovich health update

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

I used this newsletter last week to send well wishes to Gregg Popovich after learning the Spurs coach would be out indefinitely with an health issue. Today we learned exactly what that health issue was.

The Spurs announced Wednesday Popovich suffered a mild stroke at the team’s arena Nov. 2. They said he’s expected to make a full recovery after already starting a rehab program. A timeline for his return hasn’t been determined.

This news is both scary and relieving to hear all at once. Whether or not he coaches again — which it sounds like he will — it’s awesome to know he’s expected to recover. At the same time, it’s difficult anytime you hear about a stroke.

The important thing here is Pop seems to be OK. So, let’s just continue to keep him in our thoughts until he’s back with the team.

Through the years: 6 unforgettable Gregg Popovich moments

Shootaround

— The Trail Blazers perfectly shut down a gambler’s injury complaints

— Steph Curry hitting a three over Klay Thompson was surreal to see

— Dwight Howard’s impressive Dancing With The Stars run came to an end

— The 2024 NBA Cup is using customized basketballs for tournament play

That’s all for today, folks. Huge slate of hoops tonight, more tournament action Friday. Catch you next time.

Jalen Rose’s stunned reaction to Erik Spoelstra’s timeout mistake was an instant meme

Did Jalen Rose have a Chris Webber timeout flashback?

Jalen Rose was a part of the Fab Five at Michigan that famously watched Chris Webber call a timeout the Wolverines didn’t have against UNC in 1993.

Flashforward to 2024. Rose was in attendance at the Miami Heat loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, and he watched as Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout late in the game.

But he didn’t have a timeout, which meant a technical foul and the win for the Pistons.

Cameras caught Rose’s reaction, and there were A LOT of Chris Webber jokes about what was flashing through his head at that moment:

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Erik Spoelstra is the obvious choice to replace Steve Kerr as U.S. men’s basketball coach

Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA. He deserves to take over for Steve Kerr with Team USA.

After winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics — even with some unwarranted internal controversy regarding Jayson Tatum — Steve Kerr is reportedly done coaching Team USA men’s basketball, according to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein.

The news does not come as a shock, as the legendary Golden State Warriors head coach has previously told The Athletic he would likely step down as the Americans’ head man after the Paris Games because he always thought the job was like a “baton” to be passed along.

Where it gets interesting is who will likely replace Kerr, especially as the USA program starts looking ahead to Los Angeles in 2028. Stein has said Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue are the top two replacement candidates, a decision that feels like a no-brainer either way.

However, let me make the decision for the Americans rather easy.

It should be Spoelstra. Running away.

With no disrespect to Lue, who I think is comfortably a top-five coach in NBA basketball right now, Spoelstra is clearly the best coach in the men’s game. In fact, it’s not even close. Frankly, I was always a little surprised the master tactician from Miami wasn’t the USA coach for this past Olympics cycle, as I actually think Spoelstra is a lot better than Kerr.

Spoelstra’s qualifications basically speak for themselves.

He’s led the Heat to two NBA titles, with six overall appearances in the NBA Finals since 2011. The Heat have missed the playoffs only three times in his entire tenure, which started in the 2008-2009 season. Anyone you talk to about the game often touts Spoelstra’s innate ability to maximize whatever talent he has on hand. He is, in effect, the purveyor of the infamous “Heat Culture” that has become a meme in NBA circles precisely because you really can never count Miami out as long as Spoelstra is coaching. That’s because he’s a brilliant basketball junkie through and through.

Now imagine the guy known for taking “gritty” and often haphazardly pieced-together teams coaching a squad of all the best American players on the planet. Hoo boy. This isn’t to say the Americans are facing any real threat of losing their gold-medal perch in Los Angeles, but more that Spoelstra’s coaching would probably make them somehow even more of a virtual shoo-in.

Make the right decision, USA basketball. Let Kerr pass that baton to Spoelstra. He’s earned it.

Team USA coach Steve Kerr is impressed with how hard LeBron James practices

Even after all these years and accomplishment, LeBron James still works like a madman when it comes to his craft.

After someone has been in the same profession for many years and has accomplished almost as much as there is to accomplish there, he or she may have a hard time keeping up the motivation to work hard every day.

It is human nature to suffer some sort of complacency or letdown at that point, especially when one also has all the money one needs for an entire lifetime.

But even after 21 NBA seasons, four NBA championships and more points than anyone else in league history, LeBron James has maintained an impressive work ethic. He has done an admirable job of keeping his body right, and that has allowed him to continue to play at a high level even at age 39.

He is currently training with Team USA as it prepares for the Summer Olympics. Team USA is looking to bring back the gold medal to the United States after a poor showing in last year’s FIBA World Cup in which it didn’t even earn a bronze medal.

After the squad’s first practice, head coach Steve Kerr, who has seen his Golden State Warriors teams go up against James six times in postseason play, was impressed with how hard James continues to practice after all these years.

Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

“I was blown away by how hard he practices,” Kerr said Saturday after Team USA’s first training camp practice at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). “And I went to [assistant coach Ty Lue] and [assistant coach Erik Spoelstra] and I said, ‘Is this normal?’ They said, ‘Every day, every day.’ To Spo I said, ‘What about way back when you got him?’ Spo said, ‘Every day. Every drill, every walkthrough.’”

Lue and Spoelstra are obviously very familiar with James. Spoelstra coached the superstar for four seasons with the Miami Heat, while Lue guided him to an NBA championship in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James is teaming up with fellow Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis, as well as other studs such as Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards and the Warriors’ Stephen Curry on Team USA. Together, everyone on the roster is hoping to prove that the United States is still tops in the sport of basketball.

LeBron James says Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks helped Miami reach new heights

LeBron James. Chip Kelly. Erik Spoelstra. How the three combined to create an NBA Championship offense.

Chip Kelly and the NBA is like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit.

But Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was able to put a round peg in a square hole as LeBron James said.

According to the NBA legend and future Hall of Famer, Spoelstra, a Portland native and Jesuit High School graduate, took a page out of Chip Kelly’s book when he was with the Oregon Ducks, and used philosophies in Kelly’s spread offense to help unlock a new level with the Heat at the start of their title run.

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James said in a recent interview that Spoelstra came back to his home state and studied Kelly’s spread offense that changed the landscape of college football back in 2011.

“Spo is the reason why we were a better team, and our team was assembled more properly,” James told J.J. Reddick on a recent episode of Uninterrupted. “That summer, he went to Oregon and hung out with Chip Kelly, and learned the spread offense.”

Miami lost to Dallas in the previous season and James said Spoelstra’s goal was to study the Ducks’ spread offense and translate that to the professional basketball game. At this point in time Oregon was having great success on the field, having just made it to the national championship game against Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers, and Kelly’s offense was changing the landscape of college football.

Spoelstra hoped to glean some of the tricks from that, and translate them to the basketball court.

“I don’t know the super conversations that he and Chip had,” LeBron said. “But when he came back to us, he knew that in order for us to reach our potential, for one, I had to be *expletive* ten times better than I was in that previous June Finals. But Chris Bosh had to go to the 5, and had to start working on his corner three.”

Moving Bosh out of the paint allowed James to drive more to the hoop for easy buckets, get fouled, or both. This spread the floor in a way that allowed playmakers space to move and cut without the ball, much like Kelly’s offense opened up running lanes for the likes of LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, and De’Andthony Thomas.

The strategy also worked for Miami, as they went on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder for the championship the following season, and repeated the next year against the San Antonio Spurs.

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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra explains what Sixers are getting with Kyle Lowry

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra explains what the Philadelphia 76ers are getting with Kyle Lowry.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers made the move in the buyout market to bring in Kyle Lowry after he was waived by the Charlotte Hornets. Lowry began the season with the Miami Heat before he was moved to Charlotte in January in the Terry Rozier trade.

In his 18th season in the league, Lowry is averaging 8.2 points and 4 assists while shooting 38.5% from deep. He will bring his toughness and veteran know-how to Philadelphia and look to help it reach its ultimate goal in his hometown, but the question is whether he has enough left in the tank to do so.

Before the Miami Heat knocked off the Sixers, 109-104, on Wednesday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave his thoughts on Lowry and what he brings to Philadelphia.

“He’ll bring a lot of veteran leadership and he still has talent,” said Spoelstra. “I said it when we made the move, I think I said it when we first acquired him, the thing about Kyle is you evaluate him based on how the team does and basically everywhere he’s been for the last decade-plus, he’s been able to impact winning for organizations and he did that for us. The results speak for themselves.”

Lowry made some contributions for the Heat on their run to the finals in 2023. He made big plays in the postseason and did a number of big things for Miami off the bench, but he is 37 years old. It is fair to wonder if he will be enough to help the Sixers right now.

“We didn’t accomplish our ultimate goal, but there were a lot of playoff wins and he had a big part in all of that, and more than anything, I’m just grateful that I was able to develop that kind of relationship with him,” Spoelstra added. “I really enjoyed our time working together and collaborating. It’ll be a good fit here. He’s back home and working with a coach that he’s very familiar with.”

While Lowry may not be the same All-Star player he used to be, the Heat saw him bring veteran leadership to Miami. Maybe that will be his biggest contribution to Philadelphia.

“Leadership, the competitive toughness … and the playoff experience,” Spoelstra finished. “He’s been able to win in the playoffs. He has a bunch of playoff games under his belt and he knows how to impact winning for sure.”

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NBA Twitter reacts to Erik Spoelstra’s eight-year, $120M extension with Heat: ‘From video coordinator to most committed coaching money ever’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Erik Spoelstra signing an eight-year extension with the Miami Heat.

Erik Spoelstra has signed an incredible eight-year, $120 million extension with the Miami Heat, per Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to the same report, it is the most committed coaching money in NBA history. Spoelstra has already coached the Miami Heat since 2008 and has now signed an extension that’ll keep him in South Beach until 2032.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the biggest news of the night.

LeBron James shows love to Erik Spoelstra after massive contract extension

LeBron James gave Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, his old coach, his flowers after receiving a big contract extension.

On Tuesday evening, it was reported that longtime Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra received an eight-year, $120 million contract extension from the organization.

While definitely a massive extension, many believe it isn’t outlandish. Spoelstra has long been considered one of the NBA’s best coaches, if not the best coach in the league.

He has won two world championships and has been to six NBA Finals since he took over during the 2008-09 season. A big reason for those numbers is he maximized LeBron James contributions during James’ time with the Heat.

The 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar gave his old coach his flowers while saying Spoelstra is worth every single cent of his new extension.

In the four seasons James and Spoelstra were together, Miami reached the championship series each June. These days, the latter has a different group that is an underdog rather than a front-runner, yet it still finds a way to be in the title mix more often than not in the end.

Podcast: Key takeaways as Rockets, Rafael Stone answer media questions

Rafael Stone wants the #Rockets to watch and learn from the 2023 playoffs, and today’s @TheLagerLine explores the key themes — starting with organizational culture and alignment.

Monday’s episode of “The Lager Line,” sponsored by Clutch City Lager of Karbach Brewing, explores the key takeaways from recent interviews involving general manager Rafael Stone, head coach Ime Udoka and other members of the Houston Rockets.

Hosts Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves explain why Stone’s remarks on Udoka’s role in personnel decisions should be taken as a promising sign, along with the importance of Houston’s draft and free agency decisions being made independently of one another. The show also offers insight on Udoka’s rumored hires for assistant coaches.

Finally, the episode dives into the NBA Finals between Denver and Miami and themes potentially relevant to the Rockets. Topics there include the role of Erik Spoelstra’s Heat culture and whether the evolution of superstar big man Nikola Jokic with the Nuggets can provide a template for Alperen Sengun and the Rockets to follow.

Monday’s podcast, which is sponsored by Clutch City Lager of Karbach Brewing, can be listened to in its entirety below. Each episode is also made available via flagship radio station SportsTalk 790 and all major podcast distributors under “The Lager Line.”

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