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There has been a constant speculation from everybody in the basketball world regarding the Miami Heat and their approach to the regular season. This was amplified after this past season where they had their second straight finish as the eighth seed which prompted Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to address the claim.
Friday afternoon saw the Heat conduct exit interviews where players, on a voluntary basis, spoke to the media as key stars declined like Jimmy Butler, who is usually at the forefront of the regular season criticism. However, Spoelstra put it bluntly when he said that it is “off base” to think Miami doesn’t take the regular season seriously and that they are not a “load management team.”
“We’re going to look at everything but to say that we did not philosophically take the regular season seriously,” Spoelstra said. “That’s totally off base. And I can see why people would point to that, because of the missed games. We’re not a load management team. There were things that happened and sometimes you just can’t control that and I think there are still opportunities to find ways to win a handful more games and I’m sure every team is going to reflect and look back on that. And that’s the feeling that we’ll be left with all summer long, no ifs, ands or buts, but that’s just not reality.”
Erik Spoelstra on the claim that the Heat don’t take the regular season with importance:
“To say we did not philosophically take the regular season seriously, that’s totally off base…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/f3cyQ94fnp
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) May 3, 2024
Spoelstra says Heat don’t want to fight for play-in every season
People originally thought this since they barely scraped by the NBA playoffs in the season prior and went on a miraculous run to the NBA Finals and thought they were just saving their energy. Even if that was the case, it backfired this season as the Heat’s 2023-24 season was defined by a frustrating amount of injuries, especially in the postseason to players like Butler and Terry Rozier as Spoelstra said the goal isn’t to “fight for the play-in every year.”
“We ended up where we were, and we ended up getting knocked down in the first round 4-1, and that’s what we’ll have to think about all summer, and then once we get away from all of this, we’ll spend a great deal of time figuring out how we can be better than we were, you know, this season,” Spoelstra said.
“Our goal is not to fight for the play-in every year, we know the deal here,” Spoelstra continued. “This league has a lot of parity, its not easy. The reality is you spend the majority of your seasons striving for that but at least us in this building. We’re striving for the ultimate prize. But the reality is the majority of the time, unfortunately, you’re ending your season at a loss. And that’s sometimes can send you into a maddening state, because you don’t want to accept it. We won’t accept it. We’re going to keep on striving, you know for that. We’re just going to work and find ways that we can improve all across the floor.”
Adebayo says “slow starts” led to sluggish Heat offense
Besides the injuries, Miami’s offense was a slog all season which was highlighted in their short playoff run. The team’s captain in Bam Adebayo would credit that to their abundance of “slow starts” throughout the course of the season.
“I would say it’s because we got out to a lot of slow starts,” Adebayo said. “For us to pick our pace up. Play with pace and once you get to the playoffs, then that’s when it starts to slow down. I feel like we played a slow pace throughout the regular season and it cost us some games.”
Bam Adebayo on the offensive struggles this season and how they played slow.
“I would say it’s because we got out to a lot of slow starts…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/yfh57fBmqp
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) May 3, 2024
The Heat now enter in another off-season where they are looking to bolster their roster and get back to their winning ways on a quest for a championship.
More must-reads:
- Pacers' Pascal Siakam leads team to Game 6 win vs. Knicks
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- The 'Most triple-doubles in the postseason' quiz
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