Erik Spoelstra: The Man behind Miami Heat's Success

LeBron James, Head Coach Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade

Miller had hardly played throughout the season while Battier had had quite a large number of minutes. During Game 2, Spo decided that Miller would make a more favourable impact on the game than Battier. Remember the scenario: Heat are the defending champions and they have just lost game 1 to Spurs. He gave Battier’s minutes to Miller and voila! Miller shot 100% from the 3 point line, scoring 9 points and he played more than satisfactory defense. His presence allowed the other players to focus on restricting Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

It’s just one game though right? What’s the big deal? The big deal is, Spoelstra was facing Gregg Popovich, one of the best coaches in the league right now. Spoelstra did something which Popovich didn’t expect.

I quoted this example because it’s recent and has already received a lot of attention.

Spoelstra has never been a media hog. He’s soft spoken and doesn’t ask for the limelight. Although, in retrospect, I don’t think he’ll get any when his team features players like LeBron, Wade and Bosh. That being said, his two most vocal and loudest supporters are Wade and LeBron. They heap praises on him after every win, and defend him after every loss. Maybe it’s time for us, as fans, to take a leaf out of their book.

He was a coach who was on the verge of being fired two years ago. He had just signed LeBron, it was the 2010-11 season and the Heat were at 9-8. Most of the fans were clamouring for his resignation. However, the management stuck to him and within no time, Spoelstra had the fans on his coat tails.

A coach who takes blatant criticism light-heartedly, rises above it and leads his team to 2 championships within his 5 years is definitely worth way more respect than what he currently receives. I hope that in the future, Spoelstra gets the credit that he richly deserves.