Comments on: Stan Van Gundy thinks people should back off of Erik Spoelstra

By: bestcoastinfluence

bestcoastinfluence — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:30:46 +0000

Since when is San Antonio and Denver high profile jobs? Any time you have a team that isn’t win a title from the major market teams like the Heat, Knicks, Lakers and a few others, the coach is gonna be on the hot seat. Pop will never get fired and Karl has done more for that team than people realize, just like Spoelstra has for the Heat. But, Spoelstra is expected to win and Karl and Pop are allowed to come up short. He knew what he was getting into when he got the job and Lebron and Bosh joined that squad.

By: cesaleo

cesaleo — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:31:24 +0000

So does that mean Pop should be fired? He hasn’t won a title in five years. And how about George Karl, in all the years in Denver he never won a title, give him the boot too? This ain’t about who’s not producing, its about how overblown people get when talking about the Heat.

By: iowahbr

iowahbr — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 11:15:02 +0000

Well I guess that Doc Rivers is 3 times a better coach than Spoelstra has now been setled by last night’s results. I think Spoestra is doing a better job than he is given credit for and more importantly seems to be respected by his players.

By: borderline1988

borderline1988 — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 02:28:25 +0000

Boston has a completely different team though, a perfect team for running out of timeout plays. They have the best (if not, second best to Nash) passer in the league in Rondo, who’s just as comfortable driving to the basket.
They have Ray Allen, the best 3 pt. shooter in NBA history, and Pierce, easily one of the better shooters in the NBA. Both players can pump-fake, and put the ball on the floor and either pull-up or drive (which is rare for shooters).
And then they have Garnett, one of the better jump-shooting big men in NBA history, who is also the best screener in the NBA. Then throw in Brandon Bass, who can really stick a 15 foot jumper.

The Boston Celtics are literally built perfectly for end-of-game plays. They are a coach’s dream for out-of-bounds plays. There are endless amounts of opportunities, and it’s very hard to defend when you need to worry about 4 or 5 players who can score from any point on the court.

Contrast that with Miami, who (sans Bosh) have only 2 players who can put the ball on the floor, and both of whom are much weaker outside shooters than Pierce, Allen & Garnett.
That’s why the Heat often run iso plays. If they try to run a more complicated play, the Celtics will over-load on the strong side, and dare the Heat to try to swing the ball out of Lebron or Wade’s hands to Battier or someone else. When the Heat try to do that, usually the play breaks down because you can’t rely on the Heat role players to do anything but catch and shoot.

Fact is, the Celtics are basically allowing Wade and Lebron to shoot from outside, and then they’ll double or triple team if either of them try to drive.

By: eureca323

eureca323 — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 01:50:08 +0000

It wasn’t Spoelstra’s fault Lebron broke down in the NBA finals last year. It’s not Spoelstra’s fault Bosh got hurt in the playoffs. Its not Spoelstra’s fault Wade is a shell of his former self right now. However I don’t agree that Spoelstra has them going every bit as well offensively then Doc has his team. Celtics run some outstanding plays. Especially in late game situations.

By: bestcoastinfluence

bestcoastinfluence — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 00:26:43 +0000

Any high profile team will have a coach that is on the hot-seat when they don’t win the title. It is what it is.

By: raidmagic

raidmagic — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 00:15:40 +0000

I think Spoelstra is taking too much heat for sure. Take Westbrook or Hardin off the Thunder and see where they are. Take Ginboli (sp) off the Spurs and they probably don’t go as far.

By: ss3walkman

ss3walkman — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 23:55:25 +0000

Captain Save a Hoe just tryna speak up cause he got fired for not doing the same thing, managing his player.. DWIGHT! Spoelstra is outta there too if Miami don’t win the championship this year