Miami Heat notched a stunning 111-101 victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. Rotating the team’s offense without their star Jimmy Butler, Coach Erik Spoelstra’s geniuses helped them cope in the post-season. Even though he proved his naysayers wrong who said he wouldn’t be able to win without stars like LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, Coach Spo has been denied the ‘Coach of the Year’ award repeatedly.
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NBA Insider Shams Charania was baffled by Spoelstra not winning the prestigious laurel yet. Reacting to Miami’s recent win on the ‘Run It Back’ show, the analyst remarked,
“How crazy is it that Erik Spoelstra has never won Coach of the Year, because year after year the performance that he puts on as a head coach, he’s clearly one of the best to ever do it.”
Charania also highlighted how Spoelstra’s intuitive decisions helped the team grab a 10-point victory in their last game. In the absence of Jimmy Butler, the Heat HC deployed a small-ball lineup that helped the team maintain a fast-paced offense throughout. Most of them were capable of shooting from the perimeter and spaced the floor well. It seems the franchise did a great job offering the HC a lifetime contract.
The analyst also lauded Tyler Herro, who led the way, scoring a franchise playoff record of six triples and 10+ assists. The Heat broke another franchise record by scoring 23 three-pointers in the game, the most in the franchise’s playoff history. Charania also lauded Coach Spo for his intuitive decisions during the game, which allowed all five Heat starters to score in double-figures.
Charania’s claim makes sense because the Celtics were the winningest team in the league in the regular season. Competing and winning against such an in-form squad, that too without their star guard Playoff Jimmy, is praise-worthy for the Heat HC.
Once again, Coach Spo seems to have asserted himself as a viable candidate for the Coach of the Year award. However, this season, OKC’s Mark Daigneault, Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, and Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley have appeared as finalists for the award. It is quite unfortunate that the league fails to recognize Coach Spoelstra’s achievements, despite him proving his worth every season.
The NBA fails to recognize the potential of Erik Spoelstra
Coach Erik Spoelstra’s career deserves to be honored with the highest laurels for an NBA coach. According to Basketball Reference, the highest Coach Spo has gone up to is finishing second, twice in the race during the 2012-13 and the 2016-17 seasons. Yet, the only highest laurel to his name is the NBCA Co-Coach of the Year award in 2017.
Despite being among the NBA’s top 15 coaches, Spoelstra is the only one who has never won the award. He has made six Finals appearances in the last decade, tied only to the mighty Golden State Warriors. These accomplishments warrant the veteran coach for the highest laurel in coaching, which could be a solid tip-off to honor Spoelstra’s incredible achievements and coaching acumen.
