Can Miami Heat Ace The Test Of Adversity?
By Max Marshall
By now, everyone knows what happened on Wednesday during the third quarter of the Miami Heat’s last game against the Golden State Warriors. For added context, the Miami Heat have been struggling in back-to-back games against teams who didn’t have their star players playing.
This past Monday, Miami went against the Philadelphia 76ers, but James Harden and Joel Embiid did not play in the game. Miami was probably guilty of thinking they would just walk in there and get the easy win.
That would be wrong, as Tyrese Maxey really gave Miami a hard time. If one were to guess, frustration was settling in for Miami after not showing up against a version of the Philadelphia team that, if you’re being honest, Miami should have wiped the floor against.
Now, that takes you back to Wednesday. When coming out the halftime, it was tied at 50.
The third quarter started and Miami was awful, allowing Golden State to go on a 13-0 run. Coach Erik Spoelstra then called a timeout.
The Miami Heat were pushed to the brink in their last contest. With that, everything the organization has ever preached is about to be tested.
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That is where Jimmy Butler and Spo looked to have a few choice words for each other. It isn’t exactly clear what Butler said to Spoelstra.
But, whatever was said, Udonis Haslem did not like it and immediately stepped in. Haslem told Butler that he would kick his you know what, in a very colorful UD kind of way, while things didn’t stop from there.
Dewayne Dedmon stepped in to grab Bulter away but that didn’t stop Spoelstra from walking towards Bulter. That’s when the best part of it all happened, the Erik Spoelstra clipboard toss.
Though the outside will try to hold this one against Miami, if you follow them, you know Miami loves stuff like this deep down. How many times do you think Pat Riley has watched the incident footage?
He probably loves it and Spoelstra too. It seems Spoelstra wanted to light a fire under Butler and he needs it. And to point it out, this whole thing is why Udonis Haslem still has a roster spot.
Miami talks about culture all the time, with good reason, and they show it. And with how flat they had been in back-to-back games, something had to be done.
Spoelstra has said countless times that this organization is not for everyone and that is true. What happened Wednesday will put it all to the test.
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The playoffs are right around the corner. So it’s time to lock in and light a fire, hopefully, to blaze into the postseason.