How do you feel head coach Erik Spoelstra performed?
Tachauer: So here’s the thing. I’m a huge fan of Spoelstra. Always have been, and probably always will be. But his rotations lately? I have so many questions. From barely using Wayne Ellington in the fourth quarter period, to playing Kelly Olynyk for just nine minutes in Game 4… he struggled. I understand that during the regular season he had a handful of injuries to work around, but I’m not sure what happened in this series. Don’t get me started on how he utilized Hassan Whiteside either.
Nurse: I will always be critical of Spoelstra, because he’s a great coach whose poor decisions always seem to be masked with excuses. It can be debated if he gave Whiteside a true chance or just gave up on him, but there is no denying that he stayed with poor lineups too long, let the Philadelphia 76ers gain momentum for too long and often benched players with the hot hand… Shaky coaching at best.
Johnson: Spoelstra did the best he could with Miami. At times, pulling guys like Winslow or not trying Luke Babbitt for his 3-point scoring might have backfired, but this team is still very much a work-in-progress. Still, Spoelstra is the only coach I could imagine on Miami’s sideline for the foreseeable future.
Haynes: Spoelstra did a good job. He put the Heat in position to win each game. We were winning or tied at the half, every single game in the series. The inability to close out games is a result of lack of talent, not coaching.
Gewirtz: This is a very divisive topic right now on #HeatTwitter. I personally trust Spoelstra as a coach, but that doesn’t mean he is exempt from scrutiny or making mistakes. I think he made a few in the series against the Sixers. The biggest being not changing the lineups enough. I think more adjustments could have been made to combat the speed of the Sixers, especially with Whiteside playing so terribly.
Eyrich: There were times that I was concerned with where he was sharing minutes. Many analysts insisted that Miami did not want to try and run with the pace that the 76ers could bring. In my opinion, Miami played their best basketball this past season when they trusted their offense. I’m fine with slowing the pace down, but there were times that I would have loved to see the Heat run with some of their smaller lineups.
Keaton: These were a tough five games, so I give Spoelstra credit for maximizing most of the team’s talent, but I will feel like he left some food on the table in Games 3 and 4. Using lineups that didn’t include players that were hot at the time was confusing, but also going with Whiteside much longer than he should have, spelled doom for us.
Sims: Rotations could be better, etc. But Spoelstra is dealing with the cards he’s been dealt; trying to massage an immature personality in Whiteside and get him to be motivated enough to give maximum effort play is a challenge. Yes, the Heat need more shooting and better efficient scoring but that’s a personnel issue. Spoelstra is a defensive minded coach, so I’d like to see an offensive minded assistant coach added to his bench.