Heat vs. Pacers Game 4: Loss Would Put Erik Spoelstra on Hot Seat
Following an on-court spat between Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade, it seems as though the head coach of the Miami Heat has finally lost control of the one-time favorite to win the NBA title.
A Game 4 loss at Banker's Life Fieldhouse to the Indiana Pacers would throw the media into a frenzy and would effectively put Spoelstra on the hot seat.
Wade and his coach both tried to say they had buried the hatchet, but I'm not buying it (mostly because reports of this Wade-Spoelstra semi-dysfunctional relationship have been around for awhile).
Can you imagine what Pat Riley would have done if Wade started yelling in his face on the sideline during a playoff game? Can you imagine what Riley would have done if Wade started yelling at him behind closed doors?
The answer is simple: Riley would have never let it get this far.
It doesn't seem that Spoelstra has the full support of his players, despite what Wade and LeBron James tell the media. His style of coaching is something new to me, which involves standing on the sideline, crossing your arms and staying quiet for a long time.
Obviously, when a team is playing well, a coach doesn't need to say anything, but in certain instances when the Heat are in disarray, Spoelstra doesn't always step up and tell the guys on the court what to do.
It's undeniable that Spoelstra's rump is warming up. It's not just because the Heat are currently in a 2-1 hole and are set to play in front of an Indianapolis crowd that is sure to be raucous. It's because he doesn't seem to know how to coach the superstars he has on his roster (not to mention the other players).
We're in the midst of the second round of the NBA playoffs, and Spoelstra doesn't know what lineup to put in. I'll give him a bit of a break since Chris Bosh went down at a highly inopportune time, but not enough of a break to let him off the hook. He's an NBA coach who hasn't thought about what his rotation would be if one of his players went down? That doesn't exactly scream, "Wow, this guy can really coach."
The Heat finished the regular season at just 7-6 before running through a disappointing New York Knicks squad. Now they've run into a young buzz saw in the Indiana Pacers, staring a 3-1 hole dead in the face.
And another thing: LeBron doesn't seem all that intrigued about putting the Heat on his back down the stretch. Everybody hammers him too much for choking during clutch time (myself included), but he really hasn't been that bad in the last five minutes of close games.
Despite those statistics, LeBron is past the point of not having the ball in his hands for the final shot. He's a three-time MVP and is in pretty good company in that respect.
A three-time MVP wants the ball in his hands at the end. He begs for the ball.
Spoelstra needs to realize that and draw up a play for LeBron, pull him aside and say, "Bron Bron, I want you to take the final shot. No matter what."
If Spoelstra doesn't get the most out of Wade and James this afternoon, he could be in prime position to lose his job.
