5 Post-Practice Comments from Erik Spoelstra

Erik Spoelstra spoke with media after practice today, following the game five loss to the Boston Celtics. He talked about some of their issues in the game, and went into detail about Jimmy Butler. Bam Adebayo, and Udonis Haslem. Here’s what was said…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Spo on Bam: “He is one of the best players in this league. He’s going to become one of the best winners.”

Spo, like everyone else, disagreed with Bam’s “blame me” take after last night’s loss.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) September 26, 2020

Erik Spoelstra talked about Bam Adebayo after practice today, even disagreeing with him taking the blame for the loss. He said, “He is one of the best players in this league. He’s going to become one of the best winners.” This is clearly the truth, especially since Bam has been the biggest contributor to all of Miami’s postseason wins. Game five of the Eastern Conference Finals though definitely wasn’t his best, and Bam recognized that when he said “blame me” after yesterday’s game. Spoelstra, along with Jimmy Butler and the rest of the team, totally disagreed with that statement, saying that it’s on everybody. Bam definitely wasn’t happy with his performance, which is why he will be coming out with a bunch of fire power on Sunday night.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Erik Spoelstra, while discusses his team's 3-point struggles, snaps his fingers while saying, "Our guys are extremely ignitable. It can happen just like that." He adds, "Our guys are like a powder-keg, our shooters. They can explode at any time."

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) September 26, 2020

Erik Spoelstra also touched on the team’s current three point shooting struggles. First off he recognized the fact that Boston does a very great job at defending the three, and getting them off of their normal rhythm threes. He follows that saying that “We’ve also missed some open ones.” He also said, “Our guys are extremely ignitable. It can happen just like that…They can explode at any time.” And as I’ve mentioned before, with the confidence shooting on this Heat roster, this shouldn’t be much of a worry. This also is another reason Kelly Olynyk can be a factor next game, since he’s such an ignitable shooter.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Erik Spoelstra on Udonis Haslem talking to the players during the timeout, "I can't imagine being in a locker room or a game without UD…It brings this head coach great comfort when he's leading the huddle."@5ReasonsSports

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) September 26, 2020

Udonis Haslem was seen in the huddle during a timeout in the third quarter of yesterday’s game, trying to bring some energy to the team. When Coach Spo was asked about this, he said “I can’t imagine being in a locker room or a game without UD…It brings this head coach great comfort when he leads the huddle.” He mentioned that it was hard enough not to have D-Wade in the locker room anymore, but he’s just glad to have that vocal leader in Udonis Haslem. This team has a bunch of vocal leaders on the sideline though, which Spo mentioned Andre Iguodala as well. This team must listen to their knowledgeable vets in order to stay locked in on finishing this series.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Erik Spoelstra on Jimmy Butler's voice on this team, "If he screams and yells and snaps at us, we don't take it personal. That's our language. We kind of like it like that."@5ReasonsSports

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) September 26, 2020

Erik Spoelstra was asked about Jimmy Butler’s personality with this team versus his past teams, which Erik said he doesn’t know since he wasn’t around him on past teams. He followed that saying that “If he screams and yells and snaps at us, we don’t take it personal. That’s our language. We kind of like it like that.” And it’s not just Jimmy who doesn’t mind yelling at teammates, Bam and Goran are always letting teammates know when they make a mistake. And that’s the beauty of this team. They truly don’t take it personal, and all take accountability for their actions, as Bam did after the game yesterday.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Spo: “We never expected it to be easy.”

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) September 26, 2020

Erik Spoelstra finished off the session talking about closing out the series. He says, “We never expected it to be easy.” This team isn’t used to being in this situation, since they’ve been the underdogs all season long. But after that loss, it’s time for them to show that gritty and tough mentality in game six. It definitely won’t be easy, but if they hit open shots at a consistent rate it’ll make it easier. And once again it’s now time for the veterans to show up. Tyler Herro has had his moments to get them here, but ultimately it’s on Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic to close this thing out. Goran showed he was ready to do that in game five, and now it’s time for Jimmy to show it tomorrow night.