Miami Heat: Why Erik Spoelstra is still one of the top coaches in the NBA
Top defense
There is a reason the Miami Heat have been relatively successful especially in recent years where they lacked a star. Despite being below average on offense for the last couple of years, the Heat were always in the race for the playoffs.
Miami has always been one of the top defensive teams but with Spoelstra, they remained elite. Since the 2009-10 season: the Heat in points allowed ranked second twice (’19, ’10), ranked fourth twice (’12, ’18), ranked fifth four times (’17, ’16, ’14, ’13), and ranked sixth twice (’15, ’11). As you can see, the team were in the top-five eight times.
Not only do they rank high in points allowed but also in opponent field goal percentage and defensive rating as they ranked top-10 in eight of the seasons in both categories.
The most common argument is how can you not be a top defensive team when you have a big three. Well, over the years, we have witnessed many players who weren’t known for their defensive ability in their career but excelled in Miami.
One of the most reliable statistics that can measure the defensive impact is the Defensive Player Impact Plus-Minus. Let’s have a look at some of the players who despite being a defensive liability, performed well.
In his career, Goran Dragic was always a below-average defender and his DPIPM shows it. Not once in his career has he had a positive impact on defense. Then, his first year in Miami, he jumped from -1.4 to +0.6.
Dion Waiters is another key example. A year before he joined the Heat, he was an abysmal -2.2. Although he wasn’t much of a defender in Miami, he turned that minus into a plus, which is still a massive upside.
However, one of the biggest surprises comes from Chris Bosh and Michael Beasley. Bosh made the biggest jumps out of anyone when joined Miami. Before Miami, he was a plus on defense four times with the highest being at +1.6 and was on the minus three times. In the first year, he was a whopping +3.4. That’s double what LeBron James had. Then, we have Beasley who always been a liability on defense except for his tenure with the Heat.
The sample isn’t small. There are countless players that have improved significantly in Miami and it is fair to say that none of those players are All-NBA defensive caliber players but they play like it in Miami.
You may think how does that translate to results?
Take one the best team in Milwaukee Bucks and the reigning most valuable player in Giannis Antetokounmpo and you will notice they play much worse when playing against the Heat.
Over the last three years, Antetokounmpo has averaged 20 points per game, nine rebounds per game and four rebounds per game. He plays the worst in comparison to any other teams.
This all goes back to the system that Spoelstra follows and is what makes Miami such an elite team on defense.