Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  92 responses

Who Has Erik Spoelstra’s Back in Miami?

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

When the story exploded yesterday that Miami Heat players were openly questioning head coach Erik Spoelstra, most people automatically assumed this was a somewhat awkward LeBron James power play.

While that may be true to some degree, Spoelstra’s problems don’t end with King James.

Dwyane Wade, the face of the franchise, didn’t exactly jump to his coach’s defense when the media came running to him for reaction with rumors swirling. If anything, it sounded as though Wade didn’t mind distancing himself from Spoelstra.

The Palm Beach Post
has the quotes:

(on the perception that Wade “signed off” on the Spoelstra promotion, because of their long relationship)

“Consulted on that? That’s a little overstatement. (laughter) In this league and in sports in general, you really don’t look at it and say a coach is your guy. A coach is a coach and he has to take hard stances at times—more times than not. Players and coaches, it’s always that kind of weird type of relationship. You don’t look at him and say, ‘That’s my guy right there,’ in the sense of me. Yeah, I came in when Spo was early in his coaching career. He wasn’t even on the bench when I first came in. he’s grown to know me; I’ve grown to know him. He’s a different person and I’m a different player than when we came in. So, I’m not going to say he’s my guy but he’s my coach, you know. We listen to him and try to execute a game plan and sometimes players and coaches get into disagreements. In general, that’s life with people. It’s the nature of sports.”

Yikes.

LeBron James and Erik Spoelstra had a pregame meeting last night, and both came out of it trying to sound positive. Spoelstra even went as far as to claim that these conflicts are a good thing. Whatever you say, coach!

Pat Riley has been curiously quiet during all of this. The entire basketball-watching world is waiting to find out which side of the Erik Spoelstra fence he’s going to stand on.

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  • Crustified Dibbz

    !!! DISCIPLINE BABY !!!

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Cosign stephen jac…. I mean whooooo! And how bout them spurs? Best in the league! Im so tired of hearing and reading about miami, its just boring now. They will improve. Lets see how they look in feb.

  • JTaylor21

    J is on point when he said that this team needs to run all game long.
    They are professional athletes who have been working on their conditioning and
    stamina since the first day they picked up a basketball so it really shouldn’t be
    a prob. If old chaps like the phx suns can run all-game long why can’t young cats like wade,
    bron, and bosh do the same. Like CB34 has been saying since bron’s cavaliers days, you can’t
    have the best athelete in the L and be running half court PnR BS. They need a coach who knows and
    can take advantage of their strengths.

  • Fat Lever

    “That’s my teammate. That’s my quarterback. And if you guys do that, that’s really unfair”(sobbing). Ahahahaha.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    First thing I want to point out is that Wade doesn’t want Riley coaching him. None of them want 4 hour practices, so no matter if they do or don’t have a problem with Spoelstra, Riley isn’t the guy they want taking over. JVG is an interesting candidate to takeover mid-season, as well as Fratello. But IMO they should seek out Don Nelson, even if it is just as an assistant, as crazy as it sounds, he’s the only type of guy to have playoff success without any kind of interior presence.

  • matt

    the heat players lost their games, the coach was not playing. they will win their next few games but these past days just show how immature james is, always pointing to somebody else and not looking at himself on how he can lift the team to be better. it makes the jordan-pippen tandem vs james-wade comparison a no-brainer!

  • benno

    No one, because his back is white and probably has moles on it!

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    The Miami Chill! Burr!

  • Lz – Cphfinest3

    To answer the question: Chris Quinn

  • Lz – Cphfinest3

    and maybe, just maybe John Crotty

  • http://www.twitter.com/chris_griff_3 Chris_Griff_3

    Trading Lebron is unlikely, though probably the best option. I think it’s more likely that he gets benched sooner than later, though.

  • http://www.twitter.com/chris_griff_3 Chris_Griff_3

    And we’ve seen this movie before. The guy playing Lebron’s role at the time went by the name of Allen Iverson. This won’t end well.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    yeah trading the best player in the NBA for the next decade is the right option. no

  • Cizzo

    When is it Bron fault or Wade fault? Disreguard C.Bosh He’s from the Naaboo Tribe from the movie Avatar, he’s a non factor anyway. With two Superstar that can allegedly carry a franchise on their own, forget whho’s team it is. If that was the case why did you guyawant to play together? when is the together part emphasized? E Spo get the Ax will that stop Bron and Wade from Hawking the ball? I’m glad that Bron has been brought back down to reality….. And yall can spare me with this eaerly season kinks they need to work out, I knew in August this team was going to be trash……

  • http://www.twitter.com/dfrance21 dfrance21

    @JTaylor21 You can’t compare them to the Suns tho. The Suns don’t run for dunks and lay ups, they run and jack threes because pretty much 1-5 can shoot from 3. The shooting is what makes their running game so effective. They don’t have 1 3 point shooter on their starting 5. teams would just run back, pack it in the paint and what Arroyo brick open shots, or Lebron and Wade pick up charge after charge. If you look at the 3rd quarter yesterday where Wade looked really good, he was shooting pull up jumpers. I think he needs to keep working on that and let Bron drive the paint.

  • Cizzo

    People, Quit saying that Bron is the best player in the league, one of the beeter athletes maybe? Pure BBall DNA not Bron……

  • doyouwantmore

    Lebrominique is about to be overshadowed by the second coming in Kevin Durant.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    That was dumb, doyou. Have u seen kevin this year? Looks more like russ’s team.

  • unrel

    riles should just march down to the practice court.. and yell at everyone.. coaches and players.. straight up say.. ‘spo.. get your ish together.. you have a year to secure your job’.. and then say.. ‘those making 100+ mil.. earn your check’.. then walk out..

  • http://thephotoriot.com davidR

    nbk, don nelson coaching the heat would be the craziest thing ever. but ONLY if the players buy into the running madness. i’m not really convinced lebron and bosh are down to run n gun

  • PlanetAsia14

    Man, quit blaming Spo, and blame LeBron, he’s just being a terrible “leader,” enough said.

  • O

    i wouldn’t be surprised if The Knicks can D’antoni this summer, the Heat will pick him up on a 2 year contract. Things could get interesting…

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    About this team going uptempo..
    Sadly the starting 5 doesn’t fit uptempo style. Sure Bron n Wade are monsters on open court. But the other 3 kills it. That’s why Arroyo needs gone as a starter or in the whole team. He should be a vital running partner. But he kills it most of the time when he’s part of the break. Mainly because of his lack of offense specially shooting. He literally stops the fastbreak and waits for his teammates when he has the ball and the D gets back fast. The D lets him have space since he can’t shoot to help out on the coming Wade/Bron. As for Anthony, don’t mistake him as a pivotman who can run because he’s undersized.. he doesn’t run down the floor at all.

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    As I said before in this era, a PUJIT is essential for the running game to succeed. You can’t have just rim finishers and say you can run. You need guys that will stretch the floor while running. Guys that will confuse the D if they will either make a pull-up or finish at the basket. That’s why even Bron and Wade should have an effective PUJIT. You can’t just put House to start because the bench would be thin. Lastly if they run, have ALL 5 GUYS running. Miami right now is just a fastbreak duo.

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    I noticed in the game against Dallas.. Arroyo has been getting open looks on the wings. They’ve found him open many times, but he bricked all exept for 1 if I remember. I don’t know if that’s a designed play/ accidental/ the defense lays off him since he can’t shoot. Nonetheless imagine if a guy who CAN knock those down was in Arroyo’s place? I’m sorry for being critical with Carlos. I don’t hate him it’s just that nothing he brings to the table works as an advantage for the team. With 3 guys being best in iso’s, the other two should make themselves good in off-ball. That also applies to Bron and Wade.

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    “I was saying boo-urns”

  • DaHolyKarron

    this is sooooooooooooooooo boring and old now come on mow

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    No disrespect to Spo but Riley would be perfect to coach this team. He’s dealt with superstar triumvirates before, let’s not forget….. Guy by the name of–what was his name? Byron Scott? Oh wait, Michael Cooper? Oh yeah, KURT RAMBIS?!

  • http://slamonline.com kobehater

    look if 18 games is the whole season then miami would suck they will still have 60 wins by end of season
    lebrons talent is better than anyone in the leage. he wasnt just wat he is without work. god is good, but didnt just give him all those skiils LBJ had to work 4 those. the spoied player is all those hyped players who havent done s*** 4 the leage or anything else kobe(the rapist)bryant. carmelo(overated)anthony, and gilbert arenas

  • http://www.youtube.com/TheBasketballJunkies Kenny Baxter

    BabyBron first Donrus card http://twitpic.com/3bm2nz

  • lockon

    lebron’s ego is contagious. damn. or either he doesnt know what he is doing, given the situation. they are giving the blaming spoelstra. damn. riley should back up spoelstra. players should listen to their coaches. this line up isnt just working. no consistent chemistry or whatsoever. spo is right on getting serious as well. this time last year, with only wade and a paper thin line up, they had a better record!

  • roebro

    cosign lockon

  • Gomez

    This scenario is the worst advertisement for the NBA I think i’ve ever seen … It’s ugly. Bron and Wade are exposed, caught out – shoulder slumping, quitting, pouting … WTF. Are you kiddin me? Two of the top four ‘leaders’ in the league … Their leading nothing. This is about character not ball anymore. Won’t work, won’t commit, won’t lead. Some people have compared these two to JORDAN at times, never, ever, again. They sold.

  • roebro

    cosign Gomez

  • Scottie Pimpin

    and this bum has the nerve to talk about the bulls loyalty. wade is wack, lebron is wack, mavrick carter is wack, and the heat are wack. their own fans dont even wanna watch them play. Noah was right, it got real hollywood down there. riding each others nuts like hos, i bet the heat dancers more heart and integrity thans these bums, who would have thought out of the three Bosh would come out looking good. they say he ruined his legacy, man he got no legacy. they make kayne west seem grounded and humble.

  • Jackie Moon

    The Lakers can’t beat any of the teams that have beaten the Heat! JTaylor21 is going to be the MAN tomorrow … ruh roh …

  • flipnoyce

    So Much HYPE with the Heat over the summer, now everything is on a boiling point from players to coaching. It’s always been a coaching problem with Bron whats new? I think,it really doesn’t matter who his coach is because he’s going to do what he feels like doing regardless. I believe that Riley doesn’t want to step on the coaching plate just yet because this team has yet to have their chemistry and identity put together, but when they do I wouldn’t be surprise. Coach SPO just keep your head up and be the MAN to these boys, let them know whose BOSS!!!

  • Jay Reyes

    there are players there that have a myriad of talent but is certainly uncoachable… i do find Lebron leaning towards that…

  • flash

    if only riley has got the guts to trade lebron for hardworking role players that would compliment wade, bosh’s game and the heat style of play. go back to the big and small combo u always had

  • Aristotle

    Atleast now we can see why Riley wanted to sign Derek Fisher. Miami need a floor general that will tell these 3 stars to shut up and start playing. They need a coach on the court. I’m a Miami fan since Eddie Jones days there, and I still want to see them do great. But I always believed David Lee would of been the better option compared to Bosh. Would of saved some money and could of maybe invested in a PG or a C. I’d love to see Nash come over on the vet’s salary…

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