Instead of anger, Spoelstra offers perspective with Heat still in the playoff mix
After the Heat’s third consecutive loss and less than 24 hours after the Suns snapped a 17-game losing skid with a win in Miami, coach Erik Spoelstra’s message was clear.
“We forge ahead,” Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s practice. “It was a very disappointing loss. There’s no getting around that. And we have to keep on grinding in this and show some grit and some perseverance. There’s going to be some more disappointing moments. And then ultimately there’s going to be some exhilarating moments.”
Instead of anger, Spoelstra offered perspective with the playoffs still within the Heat’s reach despite its 26-33 record. No. 10 Miami is just 1.5 games behind the eight and final playoff spot.
“We’re still in a group — I don’t care what anybody else says — we’re in a group that’s fighting for something right now,” Spoelstra said with 23 games remaining on the Heat’s regular-season schedule. “And we still have every bit of an opportunity as those teams.”
When Spoelstra was asked by a reporter why there wasn’t anger in his voice just hours after the Heat lost to the team with the league’s worst record, he answered: “We don’t have to express anything to you. We owe nothing to any of you. We can express our disappointment and anger to ourselves. But this is not about sending a message to any of you. This is about us and it was even more paramount that we have blinders on and just focus on doing better and not trying to please or satisfy whatever anybody else’s opinion of what’s going on.”
While the playoffs are still a possibility for the Heat, the odds aren’t in its favor.
Entering Tuesday, the Heat had just a 13 percent chance of making the playoffs and was projected to finish with a 35-47 record, according to FiveThirtyEight.com’s playoff predictions. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index had the Heat with a 19.1 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Why are the odds stacked against the Heat? For one, the Heat is trending in the wrong direction with nine losses in its past 11 games.
But Miami’s remaining schedule also doesn’t help, with a brutal back-to-back up next that begins against the two-time defending NBA champion Warriors on Wednesday and ends with a matchup against the high-powered Rockets on Thursday. The Heat has the seventh-toughest remaining schedule in the NBA based on the current combined winning percentage of teams left to play at .535.
“Perspective is kept because we’re still in a playoff race,” guard Dwyane Wade said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, we got eliminated last night when we lost to Phoenix.’ So we still have opportunity, we have a lot of games left. But it’s going to be tough. It’s not a secret that it’s not going to be easy. But at least we’re playing for something, you know. And that’s all you can ask for at this time.”
With six weeks remaining in the regular season, the possibility of the Heat missing the playoffs for the third time in 11 seasons under Spoelstra becomes more real with each loss.
“We’re going to continue to work at this until we get it right,” Spoelstra said. “We’re disappointed about it and there’s not much else to say about it. The only thing you can do is roll up your sleeves and work. This is not about trying to prove how angry we are to everybody out there. There’s a lot of guys in this group that lost sleep last night about this and it has nothing to do with any one of you.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 3:27 PM.
