Tag: Erik Spoelstra

Miami’s Erik Spoelstra on Joe Mazzulla’s head coaching job: ‘His care-factor is through the roof’

Heat coach Erik Spoelestra offered strong praise for rookie head coach Joe Mazzulla ahead of Game 1 the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has enjoyed tremendous success in his first year as head coach in the NBA. He and the Celtics were one of the league’s top team’s all season long, and are a few wins away from another Finals appearance. Standing between Boston and a shot at a banner, sit a familiar foe, the Miami Heat.

The Celtics and Heat are now dueling in a third Eastern Conference finals showdown in four seasons. And though Boston is heavily favored in the series, it’s hard to count Miami out from the jump. They are savvy, tough as nails, and on quite the eight-seed is on a real Cinderella run. Throw in one of the Association’s most respected head coaches in Erik Spoelstra, and the Heat have more than a puncher’s chance.

Spoelstra famously worked his way up the ranks, serving as an assistant and video coordinator for the team before earning the role of head coach at the age of 38. Now one of the league’s top minds, Spoelstra is a massive asset for this Heat team’s chances in the 2023 postseason.

Ahead of Game 1 between Boston and Miami, Spoelstra was asked about Joe Mazzulla, what it’s like to be a young coach in the NBA, and more.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gives his thoughts on Sixers firing Doc Rivers

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gives his thoughts on the Philadelphia 76ers moving on from coach Doc Rivers.

The Philadelphia 76ers have moved on from Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job following another second-round exit. Rivers was 154-82 in three seasons in Philadelphia, but he wasn’t able to guide the Sixers out of the second round in any of those seasons.

It isn’t necessarily his fault. In 2021, they had to deal with Ben Simmons passing up a critical dunk late in the Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. In 2022, James Harden and Joel Embiid were dealing with injuries. In 2023, Harden and Embiid weren’t able to deliver in Game 7.

However, that’s just the nature of the business and the coach will get the blame most of the time. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave his thoughts on the Sixers moving on from Rivers:

It’s disturbing. Doc’s a Hall of Famer. That’s what Andy (Elisburg) always says, too, you get past the first round, there’s gonna be some really good teams. Great players, great organizations, great coaching staff. They’re going to lose just by the nature of this beast. There’s only so many teams that can advance. It’s just a really hard thing to do. Yeah, it’s been a tough couple of weeks hearing the news of some just really surprising firings.

Spoelstra is right about the firings around the league. It’s understandable because it is the way this business goes. The coach is always the first one to go when things go wrong, but Rivers did a lot of great things for the Sixers during his time here.

The same goes for the likes of Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks and Monty Williams with the Phoenix Suns. Those two, like Rivers, did a lot of great things for the teams they coached. It’s hard to win in this league, but it will be interesting to see how Philadelphia handles its coaching search to replace Rivers.

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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gives his thoughts on James Harden, Joel Embiid

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra offers up his thoughts on Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and James Harden.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are hitching their title hopes to stars Joel Embiid and James Harden for good reason. The two have been an elite duo all season. Their chemistry allows them to play off each other very well.

The Miami Heat saw the duo up close in the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals, albeit both teams were hobbled with injuries. The Heat ousted the Sixers in six games.

After having a full training camp and a full season under their belt, Embiid and Harden look to take the Sixers to new heights. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra can see the duo taking the next step.

“More continuity, more time together,” Spoelstra said of the duo. “People think you can put together teams and it’s automatically going to work. You have to take time and work through a lot of different things that a long NBA season can provide you.”

Spoelstra knows a thing or two about how important continuity is for a team. He has coached superstars Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler and others. It doesn’t happen overnight. It always takes time.

As the Sixers prepare for the 2023 playoffs, they will need Embiid and Harden to be at their very best to reach the mountaintop in this very talented league.

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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra not surprised to see Sixers sign Dewayne Dedmon

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra can see why the Philadelphia 76ers brought in big man Dewayne Dedmon.

MIAMI — Dewayne Dedmon has not played for the Philadelphia 76ers since he was picked up in the buyout market, but when he does get on the floor, the idea is he will provide size off the bench behind Joel Embiid.

Dedmon has been sidelined by left hip tightness. When he is able to get back at it, one has to figure that he will get an opportunity to play for this group (unless Paul Reed has anything to say about it).

Before signing with the Sixers, Dedmon played 30 games for the Miami Heat. He played 113 games for Miami across three seasons and he provided minutes for them off the bench before he was sent to the San Antonio Spurs and subsequently waived.

“Dewayne’s a pro,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “We really enjoyed our time with Dewayne. He was really important for us when we first signed him and then last year, when he was healthy, he gave us great minutes, and fit who we are. He’s tough, he’s physical, and he’s a great defensive voice. He can really communicate well.”

Dedmon shot 40.4% from deep in the 2021-22 season for the Heat, albeit on 0.7 attempts per game mostly as a trailer in transition. One has to wonder how much he has left considering the plantar fasciitis he had at the beginning of the season and the hip injury now, but his size and toughness are obvious reasons why the Sixers signed him.

“You can see why they signed him,” Spoelstra added. “He’s another guy with presence in the paint with size, but he’s a really enjoyable guy. He’s a really funny guy behind the scenes. Most people don’t get to see that side of him, we did, and that was probably one of the pleasant surprises of developing that relationship and seeing his humor.”

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Multiple members of the Heat give love, respect to Sixers’ PJ Tucker

Multiple members of the Miami Heat give their love and respect to Philadelphia 76ers veteran PJ Tucker.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers made the move in the offseason to go out and PJ Tucker in free agency and sign him to a 3-year $33 million deal early in the free agency period. The Sixers wanted to bring in the tough-minded veteran in order to help push them over the top.

Tucker spent the 2021-22 season with the Miami Heat and he had a big year for them. He averaged 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds along with 2.1 assists while shooting 41.5% from deep and 48.4% from the floor.

In Wednesday’s 101-99 loss to those Heat, Tucker had eight points and he was 2-for-2 on corner triples. His former Heat teammates had a lot to say as they gave love and respect to what Tucker brings to the table.

Dewayne Dedmon childishly threw a massage gun on the court after arguing with Erik Spoelstra

This was presumably Dedmon’s last game with Miami.

This has not been an ideal season for Miami Heat big man Dewayne Dedmon, and it got even worse on Tuesday night.

The NBA veteran, who is averaging a career-low 11.7 minutes per game, was seen arguing with Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the sideline. Although it was not immediately clear what the heated discussion was about, he was not very effective on the previous defensive possession.

Immediately after the interaction with Spoelstra, the center stormed off and slapped something off the bench that made its way onto the court in the midst of a Miami offensive possession.

Players on both teams were visibly confused by the flying object:

If you missed it the first time, be sure to look on the left side of the screen.

Dedmon, obviously, was given a technical foul for his childish behavior and subsequently ejected from the game. This could have been very costly for the Heat, who were short-handed with available players during the match.

Spoelstra, who was also involved in a skirmish on the bench with Jimmy Butler last season, described what happened as just a “regular Tuesday night” for the Heat. Miami defeated Oklahoma City, 112-111, shooting 40-for-40 on free throws.

This was presumably the last game with the franchise for Dedmon, who also had an unfortunate blunder during a recent loss against the Lakers as well. He will become trade eligible on Jan. 15.

Orlando Robinson, who has played very well lately and made his first career start during the Heat’s victory over the Thunder, is widely expected to take Dedmon’s minutes as Bam Adebayo’s backup.

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Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on Joe Mazzulla, Will Hardy’s early coaching success

Spoelstra shared his thoughts on two of the youngest head coaches in the league, Utah Jazz head coach (and former Boston Celtics assistant) Will Hardy and Boston interim head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is among the longest-tenured coaches in the NBA and has learned much about the profession over the nearly 15 years he has been the Heat’s head honcho on the court.

Speaking with the Celtics Wire ahead of the 2022 NBA Mexico City game, Spoelstra shared his thoughts on two of the youngest head coaches in the league, Utah Jazz head coach (and former Boston Celtics assistant) Will Hardy and Boston interim head coach Joe Mazzulla.

“I think they are tremendous,” related the Miami head coach. “The coaching professionalism is in a great place in terms of innovation, creativity, coaching staffs that are willing to buck the trends and try different things.”

“I think that’s making all of us better,” Spoelstra added. “I’ve known Will for a while, but I really got to know him through USA Basketball. I was so impressed with him, and the way he could command the room. He has great emotional intelligence.

“The same thing with Joe,” he continued. “Joe is young, but he has an older spirit, and the way he views coaching and leadership, all of those things are impressive for somebody at that age.

“I know I certainly wasn’t ready for all of that when I was 33,” Spoelstra concluded. Given that at that age, the Miami coach was still a Heat assistant with nearly a half-decade ahead of him before he’d take of the reins as head coach, that’s high praise indeed.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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