Erik Spoelstra Gives Emotional Press Conference After Heat Miss NBA Playoffs
Most basketball fans assumed the Miami Heat would spend the season's final night fighting for lottery positioning. The Heat instead recovered from an 11-30 start to surge into the playoff picture, finishing 41-41 with a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers sandwiched between two triumphs over the Washington Wizards.
It still wasn't enough, as the 41-41 Chicago Bulls instead snagged the Eastern Conference's eighth seed by winning two of their three head-to-head matchups.
After Wednesday's 110-102 win over Washington proved for naught, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra struggled to accept that the season ended without a playoff bid.
"It just doesn't feel right," Spoelstra said during an emotional postgame press conference. "It doesn't feel like the basketball gods shined down on us."
Despite winning two championships with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Spoelstra said he's not sure if he has "ever wanted something more for a team." He continued to commend his squad.
"When anyone of us wanted to get into team sports, it was to be around a team like this," he said. "We went through so much together. ... Through everything, we made each other better. It was such an honor to be around a group like this."
Sports movies have conditioned fans to expect closure from an underdog comeback narrative, but one of the NBA's best second-half stories will instead watch from home as the Bulls face the Boston Celtics despite recently losing to the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Life doesn't always provide a happy ending, but Spoelstra remains a Coach of the Year candidate who can build on Miami's late renaissance next season.
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