Insightful Arnovitz/Espn Article on Spo

[indiegrind]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/ ... tra-110601

[rainking]

One of the best feature pieces I have ever read about a head coach. Arnovitz clearly has been working on this article for quite some time and he perfectly captured how Spoelstra's work-ethic and temperament as a youngster prepared him for the storm that surrounded the team this season.

I have had mixed feelings about Spo as a coach during his tenure here, but he won me over during the post-bumpgate news conference that Arnovitz writes about. There was incredible tension around the team at the time, with the opportunity for the team to splinter between those that respected Spo, his hard line with LeBron, and believed in his ability to navigate the team through that rough start vs. those that didn't respect Spo,might begin to tune out his rhetoric, and fall into bad habits. Spoelstra handled the interview session beautifully that day. Even though Riley was criticized heavily at the time for not publicly guaranteeing Spo's job security, it was clear to me that behind the scenes, Riley did just that because Spo spoke that day with the confidence and conviction of a man that was assured by his bosses that they had his back. It was only then that I was convinced that he could manage the personalities and day to day communication within the team. The part of the story where Arnovitz talks about Wade and LeBron being pragmatists is really good stuff. They both were smart enough to realize at this point in the season that Spo was not going anywhere and neither were they. They all needed to continue to communicate and grow together in order to validate the decision that they made. From that point on, the relationship between Spo and LeBron especially seemed to turn the corner.

Some really interesting things from the article that I didn't know...He played with Zo at Nike camp as a teenager. He played in the game when Hank Gathers passed away...He can speak some German after playing and coaching there after college...He has a relationship with Mike Brown but chose to not seek advice on coaching LeBron, allowing him to approach the situation with a clear mind.

Very good stuff from Arnovitz as usual. He and Tom Haberstroh have been a revelation this year. Really advancing the way in which ESPN covers basketball.

[HIF]

"He's like Batman," Wade said. "He goes into his cave. Nobody sees him."

[Tim_Hardawayy]

I thought it was cool that they mentioned he played with Zo. That had to be surreal for him to end up on the staff of the same NBA team with him down the road.

[ndnow]

What the hell.. how come I didn't now that Spo was Zo's PG during HS?

[rainking]

What the hell.. how come I didn't now that Spo was Zo's PG during HS?

He wasn't Zo's PG during HS. He just was on the same team as Zo at an off-season Nike camp.

[Kerosene]

The article was very Insightful, to say the least. It really helps illustrate Spo's come-up and reveals a lot about his past , which I thought was cool.

[Lord Hades]

Great read. A lot of work obviously went into that. I've still issues with some of Spo's decisions, but I don't see how anyone couldn't respect the guy for how he's made his way through this organization. Doubly so for how he's maintained the course through all the BS this season. I believe there was some uneasiness early on (not surprising), but the team definitely listens to/respects him. That's not a given with all the drama involved in this thing.

Hell, even the constant Tony Robbins rhetoric doesn't bother me any more.

[mopper8]

The article paints a very full picture of him as a man (and not just a coach), a d he comes off very well as a result.

Mre than anything, his ability to maintain control of the team and gain the players' respect throughout it all was jus greatest accomplishment this season.

[BFRESH44]

Philapino Jackson.

[Vertical Limit]

I was all for firing the guy in the beginning of the season but damn, he sure has proved me wrong. He still got a lot of adjustments to make on himself.

I think what has impresses me the most is that he is more calm and in control at press conferences, he isn't stuttering, he isn't repeating the same bs he used to repeat all season long, he's just in.. Riley mode at the moment.

[Heej]

You have to hand it to Spo for the way he handled himself despite all the intense scrutiny early on. He's been one of the best coaches this post-season. In terms of making the right adjustments, keeping the team even-keeled after times of intense adversity, and always sticking to his guns. Some coaches are naturally suited to the playoffs as opposed to the regular season due to their coaching style and personalities.

Heat fans know this very well because it's an exercise in differentiating between 2 of your most recent coaches. Everyone remembers Stan Van Gundy, but imo he's always been one of those coaches that's been suited to the regular season. Fans love pointing at him as a good coach that makes the right adjustments because he's just like your average NBA fan in that he's constantly panicking and making adjustments at the drop of a hat, and switching up his lineups whenever he feels stuff isn't going the way he wants to. The way he overreacts to stuff makes him good for the regular season imo because he's constantly making adjustments as opposed to sticking to his guns.

Spo on the other hand is very deliberate, and to us fans sometimes very slow, especially in the regular season. But he's one of those coaches where if you give him enough time to break down games he will find the best solution for you, by virtue of being an X's and O's genius. People don't realize how naturally gifted he really is. When it comes to X's and O's stuff Spo is the equivalent of those 15 year olds graduating from Harvard with medical degrees. Even though it's frustrating in games when we see him riding Joel a little too much, or leaving in Bibby for too long, I'd still rather have a coach like Spo in the playoffs that's very poised and deliberate with his methodology than SVG the Master of Panic. Spo is nothing if not consistent, and that's an admirable trait of its own.

With that said Spo, less Bibby plzzz

[salqaddoumi]

Great read, TrueHoop is such a great resource and I'm glad ESPN bought it so it got more viewership.

I've had fluctuating opinions regarding Spo but he's earned my respect and backing after the job he's done this season. I doubted him for his steadfast refusal to drill anything but defense for all of training camp and the beginning of the season and I'm just now seeing how that's paying off 7-8 months later.

[Heat3]

Great article, what I found inteteresting was that he didn't want Mike Brown's advice on Lebron. I could have sworn there were reports lasat July that he did in fact seek out his advice. I guess that was just BS like a lot of the nba reporting had been around that time.