Erik Spoelstra's Faux Pas: Heat's Rookie Coach Makes Rookie Mistake

I just returned from Christmas up in Seattle (rain, snow, cold) to beautiful southern California (sunny and 70), and it is good to be home…

Because of the inclement weather up in Seattle and the fact that I love basketball, I spent a good portion of my days on the couch watching pro and college basketball. After all, there wasn’t a Sonic game to go to.

One game in particular stuck out in my mind and all of our minds when we were watching it. The game was nothing of significance—just a regular season game between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls—but what happened at the end of the game is worth noting.

With 30 seconds remaining and up over 10 points, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout to let his subs in the game. When it occurred, we all looked at each other, saying, “What the #$#@?”

Apparently, the Chicago Bulls were also irate at the Heat.

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Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro sarcastically wondered if Spoelstra called the timeout “to set up a play or something,” then added that “we’ll play them again.”

Spoelstra said he was made aware of the Bulls’ unhappiness with the timeout when he saw some Chicago coaches pointing angrily at the Heat bench and assistant coach Ron Rothstein.

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In my opinion, I do not believe Coach Spoelstra was trying to stick it to the Bulls. However, he did make a rookie mistake for a rookie coach.

Calling a timeout at that point in the game and up by that much is a flat-out no-no—you just do not do it. There is no reason for a timeout to be called at that juncture in the game even to be bringing in subs. In fact, with 30 seconds left and with your subs at the scorer’s table, the sportsman's move would be to bring those players back to the bench.

Most of the time if a coach pulls a move like Spoelstra did, he does it to show up the opposing team and coach, which is why we reacted the way we did when watching the game and why the Bulls have reacted the way that they have. Maybe in the future if a coach makes this type of a move we can call it a “Spoelstra.” Just a thought.

The good news with all of this is that it looks as if the Bulls vs. Heat rivalry is rekindling, and that's just what any NBA fan wants to see.

Image Source: CBS4.com