Comments on: Celtics-Heat Game 5: Erik Spoelstra vs. the depths of pressure

By: hooopsluver

hooopsluver — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 06:35:21 +0000

Spo needs to go. Remember in 2000 when Rambus was the coach of the lakers with Shaq and Kobe. They were swept from the playoffs multiple years in a row by Utah or Portland despite having the 2 most dominant player in the NBA. Shaq was at his prime and Kobe was unguardable but they couldn’t beat the other TEAMS. It was the coach’s fault. Once they switched to a coach who can win the respect of the team and brings in a defense and offense system (triangle), lakers won 3 straight championship and dominated the league. They won the first ring with P. Jackson in his first year as their coach.
Strategy, preparation, and also the prior experience of winning a championship is needed to get the Lakers going and the Heat needed the same thing.

Go back to 2005 with Van Gundy (no championship experience) as coach. The team made it to the conf final and lost to Detroit with Shaq and wade. Riley (5 rings) took over mid year in 2006, and they won the championship.

Spo is too green to coach this team. He is a deer in the headlight. He spends too much time trying to sound smart but has no strategy, and no offense system. He is a good defensive coach but with Bron and Wade, Miami should be the best offense.

In the triangle, Bron and wade would have a system that does not require a traditional guard, and also allows both to post up alot. The offense is also a zone buster, something Spo has no clue on how to beat. Miami stands around the perimeter whenever Boston goes to the zone defense.

Again Spo is a nice guy but not the caliber coach the heat needs. Jerry sloan ( hall of fame coach) would be a good choice because he can max the pic n roll with wad and bron.

By: lakerluver

lakerluver — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:55:12 +0000

Riley needs to share some of the blame for the Heatles being the biggest frauds since Milli Vanilli because he hired Spo and brought the Little 3 together. He had to know he couldn’t put decent role players around them for the pennies left over after signing the Little 3 to max level contracts. Riley arrogantly thought he could parade the Little 3 out with 2 scrubs and they would blitz the rest of the league. And where the heck was he when the Heatles had a championship celebration BEFORE they had even played a single game?! How did he allow that bush league crap to take place?!! The whole franchise is a failure if (when) the Heatles lose tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the tears flow AGAIN.

By: mogogo1

mogogo1 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:30:14 +0000

Riley’s also made it very clear he doesn’t even want to coach any more. It’d be one thing if he still had the fire, but to expect him to step into this when that’s not even what he wants to do is just asking for a disaster. He’d need to win a championship (and would one even be enough?) or be branded as a total failure.

And I’ve never been convinced that them winning a title would cure the personality conflicts. I actually think that would just make things worse. I think LeBron and Wade coexist right now primarily because they know they need to win a title to get the monkey off their backs. Remove the monkey and I think they’d be at each other’s throats Kobe-Shaq style. That is not an appealing place to coach.

By: BigBeachBall

BigBeachBall — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:30:11 +0000

The Heat will have to wait…. not 5, not 6, not 7…..

By: scalfor3

scalfor3 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:23:29 +0000

they were both out played and out coached actually

By: mogogo1

mogogo1 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:21:59 +0000

Wade is a valid gripe because instead of helping LeBron mature, Wade has regressed and is the biggest crybaby on the team. Bosh, on the other hand, has worked out spectacularly well. He doesn’t complain about being the third guy and his game meshes. Problem is, he’s been hurt this playoffs and even when healthy his presence doesn’t make up for the fact that guys 4-12 are the weakest such group in the entire league.

If Wade and LeBron truly bought into the concept of team, the Heat would win a championship or two. But what is becoming more and more apparent is that they were never going to be a tremendous dynasty with just three players. It was a flawed idea from the start.

By: ezwriter69

ezwriter69 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:16:20 +0000

“…when James nailed key three-pointers over Boston, they were off the dribble, gauging the defense. Spot-up? Not so much.”
Interesting, that’s 180 degrees, diametrically opposite from what Magic said last night, as he said that James was a good 3-point shooter when squared up, but not off the dribble. Then again, it’s Magic Johnson, what’s he know about basketball, right? You certainly can’t both be right, so maybe for his sake you ought to send him this article, straighten him out? I’m sure he’d appreciate your expertise… he’s not exactly a student of the game, he’d love to know where he is so wrong, to keep from embarrassing himself like that.

By: barryblogs

barryblogs — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:13:36 +0000

THIS SERIES ISN’T OVER! I say that as a Celtics fan – after two games of both series OKC and the Celtics were dead, no way they could beat the Spurs or the Heat. Now you are firing coaches after 5 games. I hope the Celtics close it out tomorrow but there are no guarantees…and if Wade makes the 3 pointer at end of game 4 we’re not even having this discussion.
Cool it. These are two quality teams beating on each other with every game close. Let it play out before the blame game begins.

By: baredon

baredon — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:47:22 +0000

WTF… If you cant handle some pressure… Pack your ass and go home…

By: paulhargis53

paulhargis53 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:39:28 +0000

avermaver: Before this series, it was said,Heat will sweep, Heat in 5, and finally Heat in 6. Here they are in the drivers seat.
If they get past the Heat, which seems likely, I wouldn’t count them out against either the Spurs or the Thunder.
When will you people give them the respect they deserve and have earned.

By: scalfor3

scalfor3 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:38:34 +0000

avermaver: so wade is holding lebron back from his ring? did you watch the finals last year?

By: sailbum7

sailbum7 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:09:43 +0000

Let’s face it, the Heat were not out-played by the Celtics, they were out coached. Doc Rivers is an incredible coach who has the respect of his TEAM. They all listen to Doc and do what he wants them to do. The prima donnas on the Heat think they all know better than their coach and do not listen. The players have no respect for Spoelsta which makes him completely ineffective as a head coach. Whether that is his fault or his players’ is debatable, but either way he is not able to get the job done.

By: fanz928

fanz928 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:50:34 +0000

Should have closed out with bosh in the final 6 min

By: gridirongoon24

gridirongoon24 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:10:52 +0000

im sure spoelstra told his team to not get back on defense after misses and some makes lol i mean come onnnn! He will definitely be the scapegoat if they lose but these players dont get blamed enough for their lack of intensity… “We never really thought we would be in this position.” – wade. Pathetic mindset. Pressure is gonna be on in gm 6 and the celtics are the most battle tested team in the league. Its gonna be bad

By: avermaver

avermaver — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:03:48 +0000

tireless and dedicated sounds like a follower, they need a leader

By: avermaver

avermaver — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:01:44 +0000

Garnett isn’t going to retire this season. The Celtics can’t beat OKC

By: avermaver

avermaver — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:59:43 +0000

He joined up with a guy who was a one-man wrecking crew before he arrived and hasn’t learned how to share the floor with the great one

By: avermaver

avermaver — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:57:49 +0000

Wade and Lebron have no charisma to make their teammates play better. Lebron didn’t do a very good job picking elite players to mesh with his “talents”

By: canehouse

canehouse — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:53:36 +0000

Here is how I see it… as I have watched almost every HEAT game or at least parts of every HEAT game for pretty much the last 18 years. Spo is a tireless, dedicated, coach. Pat Riley wouldn’t have promoted him otherwise… but what Spo lacks is that “it” quality to manage emotions during a game, to inspire players to go beyond their norm. Doc Rivers has “it” and his players are clearly responding.

By: lakerluver

lakerluver — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Spo is gonna be the scapegoat but Miami has far more issues than coaching. Those clamoring for Reilly need to understand he ain’t bringing a 22 year old Magic Johnson with him. Yeah, I know he won a title with Shaq/Wade but unless the refs put Wade on the foul line 30 times again even Reilly can’t lead this team to a ring.

By: hscdaw

hscdaw — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:02:25 +0000

This post is comical. It is typical media…blame the coach. The reason the Heat are trailing in this series lies with the players. You can criticize Spoelstra all you want, but the bottom line is the Celtics want it more. LeBron and Wade are constantly complaining to the refs while the Celtics are converting on the other end. Leadership starts and ends on the court. KG is a leader, the Heat are a team who believe they are entitled. If you want something, you have to grab it.

By: florida727

florida727 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:45:29 +0000

I’m not a Heat fan at all, but I can empathize with Spoelstra’s position. Think about it… you’re suppose to dictate to a bunch of egomaniacal multi-millionaires what they’re supposed to do? Yeah. Right. Watch their timeout huddles. Half the time, the “superstars” aren’t even in the huddle or paying attention to what he’s saying (ironically, they hang on every word in Doc Rivers’ huddles; maybe that’s why they’re a TEAM). Problem is, you can fire the players. Their money is all guaranteed.

By: gmsingh

gmsingh — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:36:49 +0000

Weird, wasn’t LeBron a dominant player when he was on Cleveland, too? He went to South Beach so he would have a team around him and win more championships than anyone in the history of NBA Championships. What the hell happened to our “hero”?

By: michflaguy

michflaguy — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:50:22 +0000

Yeah right…Bird, Magic and Jordan never had any good coaches.
How freakin’ lame can you get???

By: chuckiejohnson

chuckiejohnson — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:49:37 +0000

If I was the owner of the heat I would write out a blank check and send it Fedex to Phil Jackson.

By: michflaguy

michflaguy — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:48:26 +0000

Here’s a good one for the “what if” file…

The Heat lose game 6 and Spoelstra gets fired.
The Celtics go on to win the East AND the championship.
Garnett, Allen and Pierce all retire with their 2nd ring to go out on top.
Doc Rivers walks away and goes to….the Heat!!!

….the scary thing is that now this scenario is not that far-fetched!

By: sportfan305

sportfan305 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:33:30 +0000

The games have been close, but the Heat has been inconsistent and missing too many free throws, and Garnett has been a beast.
Spoelsta doesn’t bark like Rivers ( Rivers seems be either yelling to his team or yelling at the refs the ENTIRE GAME- DOES THAT GUT EVER SHUT UP! ) and doesn’t seem to motivate or game manage well. Hoping for a game 7 but not looking good.

By: davidly

davidly — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:27:45 +0000

If it was so hard to write this, why is there drool running down my screen? Oh…

By: gunsmoke527

gunsmoke527 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:27:22 +0000

Bottom line. I just want to see the Thunder beat the Celtics! It’s not that I am a Celtic fan, but a Final like that would mean: JaBoWaHeat, just watch the Finals in your ‘man caves’!

By: jeighbeigh

jeighbeigh — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:19:39 +0000

“If Bird, Magic, and Jordan were on the “Heat” with that same supporting cast and both sets of Big Threes on the court were roughly the same age, they wouldn’t need any coach or at best, minimal coaching.”

….but Matt Moore is the one with the weak writing.