Erik Spoelstra: The Heart, The Soul, The Leader

During this intriguing off-season for the Miami Heat, many players have been discussed through free agency and the draft. Although we have a good idea who Miami will be resigning for this upcoming season, there’s still a bit of uncertainty. But at the end of the day, their leader, Erik Spoelstra, will be ready either way.

If there was anything to take from this past postseason for Miami, it would be that Spoelstra is by far the best situational coach in the NBA. Many roster changes were made, including decreased roles for Kendrick Nunn and Meyers Leonard, even though they had so much success during the regular season.

The key word there was “regular season” though, since Spo knows what the playoffs are like after being apart of them for a while now.

He also had to make many game-plan adjustments, especially on the defensive end. Due to the fact that their rotation had a lot more versatility, he had the ability to mix it up and go to zone a lot more. And most of all, he let Bam Adebayo be Bam Adebayo.

Another thing about Spo is that he truly understands his personnel. And having that extra time in the bubble with his players allowed him to increase that understanding even more.

(And by the way, you can get the “Five Finals, Three Trophies, No Tanking shirt here)

As said before, although there’s uncertainty of what the roster will look like exactly, you must have confidence in Coach Spo to make it work no matter what. For example, if Giannis Antetokounmpo was to take his talents to South Beach, there should be zero doubt about a possible fit. Spo has done it before, and he will do it again.

And although he hasn’t gotten the respect that he absolutely deserved over the years, this past season put a stamp on it.

He put all of his trust in Jimmy Butler upon arrival in Miami, he built an offensive and defensive scheme around their cornerstone piece in Bam Adebayo, and he gave a rookie in Tyler Herro the ability to do what he does best.

This team truly is special, and that all starts with the leader of this team, Erik Spoelstra.