Now that it's over... how do we feel about Coach Spo?

[Wonderllama]

Do we finally give the poor guy the credit he deserves, or is he still on the hot seat for next year?

[Slot Machine]

I'll say what I've always said about him, great adjuster between games, in game? Not so much. I'll admit I greatly underestimated his influence regarding motivation though. He instilled values that stuck with our guys and kept us afloat when things looked tough. Congrats Spo.

[Three O Five]

He's Spo Spo gooood lol.

Spo-ctacular even.

[dolphinatik]

I still want a new HC or to bring in some knowledgeable assistants for offense and defense sets. Same as always

[WadeInTheWater]

Do we finally give the poor guy the credit he deserves, or is he still on the hot seat for next year?

He gets credit for outcoaching a coach in the finals that was as inexperienced as him, Doc Rivers schooled him countless times but we had a special player that just said 'no we're not going out like this'.

[Darkstar]

When Spo retains his job he needs to give his paycheck to Lebron because that's who earned it.

[lolcat]

keep spo. loved how he developed this season along with the team. he has great chemistry with our stars. just tweak the roster a litle in the offseason and pleaaase add a big.

[PurpleRooster]

He is getting better.

Lucky to go against an equally young coach in Scott Brooks.

He manhandled that match-up.

But he is learning, adapting, and he might be a keeper.

[MartyConlonJr]

My stance on him hasn't changed.

I always felt he was:
Great defensive coach (underrated with out PG and C positions being so unconventional)
Decent offensive coach, but I feel that part of it is our superstars don't follow his plays, so he tried to adjust with this freelance offense that has been a bit cheap at times.
Not a great motivator (But I think a lot of this is youth, and following Pat Riley - how can Wade and Haslem get inspired by this guy after seeing PAt Riley dunk his head in ice for 5 minutes, just no parallel).
A bit raw.

I feel that getting the ring is going to fill in some of those gaps. Motivationally, guys will listen to him from now on because he has won. He will have a lot more confidence at actually be able to deliver a bit better there.

If we get a legit center, he will look like a genius in coming years defensively.

I think his rotation and adjustments improved over the last two series, to the point I was impressed.

One thing I think is missing is I just don't see a bunch of complex offensive sets, like the way Scott Skiles always has our guys running around like chickens with their head off when we play them.

I always felt he needs a lot of polish on the offensive end, and was just a bit young/unpolished. A title erases one of those, and if he can improve the offense, he'll be great.

I was afraid his inexperience could cost us a title getting him to where we want him to be, but we've got both, so we should be really happy.

[LBJ 1through5]

Top 5 coach IMO.

[radikalBaller]

He made some good adjustment with playing JJ and Cole.

[carbine23]

Spotastic!

[Heej]

An offensive coordinator wouldn't be too much to ask for though would it?

But I'd like you guys to check out this great article by Izzy that highlights what I found most impressive about Spo.

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2012/st ... hort-story

Though it mostly has to do with having a guy like Lebron James, Spo was able to make a small ball team capable of walling off the paint in a way that only teams with dominant big men normally can do. That alone is a coaching feat in and of itself. Sometimes you guys are too busy caught up in the flashier sides of coaching like adjustments and nice looking plays and sets, especially after timeouts in crucial possessions (which I've always maintained Spo is one of the best in the league at, he's as gifted at the X's and O's as almost anyone that's ever sat in the coaching seat).

But what no one on this board seems to acknowledge is the culture Spo (with help from Riley for sure) has managed to build with this team. It's difficult to sell your guys on competing every possession on the defensive end the way the Heat usually do. And it's hard to get your guys to run the plays you want them to when you have 2 supremely talented offensive juggernauts in Wade and Lebron that happily break off plays whenever they damn well feel like it.

Do you think any mere coach would have been able to sell LBJ on playing the 4 and posting up the way he did? Or getting Chris Bosh to play the 5 when it's been well documented that he's avoided it his entire career. Sure, losing the 2011 Finals had a lot to with these guys being so willing to make these sacrifices but it takes a truly talented coach to get your guys to stick with the gameplan when the going gets rough instead of reverting back to their old comfort zone of spamming high pick and rolls and barreling into the paint with the hopes of drawing a foul and settling for long contested jumpers when they're feeling tired.

Plus it's obvious how Spo has managed to really earn the trust and respect of the guys on this team. You can see it in these post game and post practice interviews and press conferences where guys give off the cuff remarks that are rife with Spo and Rileyisms. Even Mike Miller was talking about staying the course and keeping on grinding. You don't naturally talk about those things unless it's something that's been entrenched in the core of your being as a basketball player. They don't just hear what Spoelstra has to say, they listen to what he has to say. And most importantly, they BELIEVE in what he says. The most important ability a coach can possess is the ability to sell his team on the principles he preaches. Spoelstra has this in spades, and it's why Riley chose him as his heir and sees so much potential in him. And his background as a video coordinator lets him break down sets in a way few coaches can. It's this rare combination that our fan base fails to appreciate in Erik Spoelstra.

There's so much more to coaching than looking good for the media by coming up with these legendary "adjustments" that everyone prattles on about. We're not educated enough as basketball fans and haven't played at a high enough level to truly appreciate what it means to be a coach. Sure he still has more to learn, but he's nowhere near as far behind the learning curve as people on this forum make him out to be. There's a reason why he's generally held in such high regard around the league.

[TripleC]

Well deserved. Amazing adjustments he made in this series and other match ups as well.

[Heat fan06]

Well deserved, he made some nice adjustments.

[krikor]

a genious. To be fair, up until OKC series I still didnt look at him high.But the OKC series, and how we won it as a team..and role players stepping up each game.... each game finiding a new way to win, really really gave me great impression on him.

[BigDaddyPR]

He deserves all the credit in the world, flawed but good enough for this team. And like some said, he is getting better....

[GetMoney]

pat riley wont be around forever
phil jackson, pop, etc wont be around forever

YOU MUST GIVE THESE YOUNG GUYS A CHANCE TO BECOME THE NEXT GREAT COACHES!

[Pimpwerx]

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1177716&p=31546208#p31545914

Before the playoffs begin, I'm gonna start the "Spo for Hall of Fame" bandwagon, so people can't say I'm a front-runner.

Who are the two most-criticized people on the Heat? Lebron and Spo. Lebron's about to win his 3rd MVP...nuff said. So what's so good about Spo? For all his perceived flaws, he inherited a 15-win team, and despite that, he has coached a grand total of 12 games in 3 seasons with his team having a losing record. He has never missed the playoffs. The one time he had a team capable of making the Finals, he got there. He made the playoffs two years in a row with a team we all now know was tanking to sign the Big3. You know what? We're a bit of alright with Spo. You need to hop on the hype train before he banks that first ring, because it's just gonna be raining championships down here. Destiny and dynasty await.

Knicks up first. Let's go HEAT!

Recognize how many years we have him under contract. RESPECT! PEACE.

[CeCeySay]

I like how Shane, Bron & others mention 'staying the course' in their interviews....it speaks volumes on how they believe what Spo preaches


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