Miami Heat: Erik Spoelstra says he could have ‘been fired several times’
By Trey Flynn
The Miami Heat are 22-23 and Head Coach Erik Spoelstra is trying his best to try and keep Miami above water in the Eastern playoff race.
The Miami Heat are playing a very important home game tonight against the Denver Nuggets, as they once again are attempting to grab a .500 record.
This roller coaster season for the Heat may be an indication of whats to come for an organization that has lost some of the best players of all time in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Obviously, Wade is back, but he isn’t the same player he once was, nor is this team as thrilling as they once were.
The Heat may in fact be hitting a downtrend this season that could potentially be a precursor for some down years in the near future. And unfortunately for Head Coach Erik Spoelstra, he may have to ride it out as he has seen his share of ups and downs on the Heat bench.
Spo, who has been an NBA coach in Miami for the entirety of his 21-year career, has told Shandel Richardson of The Athletic some illuminating news that illustrates the ups and downs he has had with the organization at the beginning of his time in Miami as well as his current year with the team:
"“I would’ve been fired several times if I was within another organization … But I was given an opportunity to grow, to learn.”"
Spo’s opportunity to learn and grow with this franchise has given Miami the chance at several championships, and while he shouldn’t get most of the blame for the Heat’s inconsistency as of late, he is still apart of this team that has had a never-ending struggle.
Ultimately, Spo is one of the best coaches in the league in terms of consistent winning and has cemented his name as one of the greater player-coaches around the NBA. So even with a currently-constructed inconsistent team that he now coaches, I can’t see Miami moving away from their future Hall of Fame coach.
In fact, it isn’t Spo’s fault that his team is full of overpaid role players, he just gets the job to try and assemble the best team out of those guys and go from there. And he may be doing a better job than any other coach could do with this current-heat team.
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As Miami goes into the Denver game tonight, it is an interesting thought that Spo could be coaching for another team and it is even more interesting to think how this Heat team would fare without the presence of Erik Spoelstra in the locker room.