Spoelstra hopes Heat keeps this team together. And Strus unhappy with call reversal
Erik Spoelstra would love to get another chance to coach this specific Heat roster.
But it ultimately will be the decision of ownership and Pat Riley whether to keep together all or nearly all of this group that fell one game and a few points short of a second NBA Finals appearance in three years.
“Look at the history of how we’ve done things since Pat and Micky [Arison] have created this culture,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s president and managing partner. “Anytime we’re close and have banged on the door, even if it ended in a disappointing loss, our history has shown that we usually bring the majority of the group back, the core back, and we take another shot at it.
“Of course, you’re talking 48 [hours after elimination] and after we had an opportunity on a make or a miss to possibly, potentially get to the next round. Yeah, you want to have a chance to do it again with the same group. I love this group.
“I love the locker room. I’m grateful we had an opportunity to work together. I’m grateful for this year and this season. I really enjoyed it. It made me better. I filled out a lot of my journal entries in a positive way from these experiences.”
But at the same time, Spoelstra also acknowledged: “You want to be able to be objective about all of it. And the first, most important part about it is you come together to try to do something special, you are all here in that locker room to produce a result.
“And it’s a bottom-line business. We did not accomplish the goal that we set out for ourselves... [But] it was a really gratifying and memorable experience.”
Though the Heat will be over the salary cap, Miami has avenues to keep any of its free agents. Victor Oladipo, Markieff Morris, Dewayne Dedmon and Udonis Haslem will be unrestricted free agents; Caleb Martin will be a restricted free agent and P.J. Tucker has a $7.2 million player option.
After the 2020 NBA Finals appearance, the Heat opted not to give Jae Crowder the three-year, $30 million deal that he received from Phoenix, offering only two years instead. So even if the Heat wants to keep all its key pieces, outside offers could impact that.
Spoelstra addressed other issues:
▪ On Kyle Lowry’s conditioning: “Kyle will come back next training camp in the best shape of his career. That’s important as you get further into your career and into your 30s... That is your ultimate opponent, Father Time, and Kyle understands that. He trains hard, works at it behind the scenes.” Lowry turned 36 in March.
▪ He said there’s “no doubt” another level that Victor Oladipo can get to, as he moves further away from last May’s major knee surgery.
“You saw immediately his presence defensively and how impactful he can be,” Spoelstra said. “In the playoffs, he’s getting in better rhythm in the most pressure packed moments. He hasn’t had that summer of work. Vic has a great work ethic. He lives in Miami and I saw it over the years.
“He hasn’t had a summer like this in four years. You are going to see a totally different Vic by the time he gets to training camp. He’s going into the summer able to work on his craft. He will get back to the player people are accustomed to seeing.”
▪ On the team’s significant decline in three-point accuracy (from 37.9 in the regular season to 31.3 in the playoffs): “Some of those looks that may have been described as open or lightly contested might be a different shot than in December or January. Our shooters will continue to work on making shots under duress with shorter windows.”
PLAYER REFLECTIONS
▪ Max Strus remains irked that his third quarter three-pointer in Game 7 was overturned, minutes later, by a replay review at The NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. The NBA determined that he had stepped out of bounds, which was unclear.
“I don’t know how that was called that after I had seen the video,” Strus said. “They say they have that rule to take the human error out of the game, and then the human error makes an error on the video. I hope I don’t get fined. I’m obviously not happy about it. It is what it is at this point. I guess you can’t really do anything. But it definitely changed the game and the momentum.
“I think it went to a six-point game to an 11-point with no time off coming off the clock. I’m not happy about it, but I guess you just got to move on.”
Where is Strus’ biggest room for growth?
“I’ve got to be more complete. Teams are going to force me to make plays inside the arc. I’ve got to get better there. I’ve taken leaps and bounds as a player in this league.”
▪ Udonis Haslem, 41, said he hasn’t decided whether to return for a 20th season as a player and will “take my time” to make that decision, in consultation with Heat management.
He reiterated that he would be interested in getting a stake in Heat ownership when he retires.
▪ Gabe Vincent hopes he can be a rotation player moving forward: “Every player wants to play. I think I’ve shown I can be a rotational player in this league. I would love to play every game.”
What area is he most proud of this season in terms of his improvement?
“Playmaking,” he said.
▪ Caleb Martin, an impending free agent, was asked if he wants to return, check out what’s available in free agency or both:
“I want to be here. I got better here. I believe I’ll get better here. I feel like my team and the staff believe in me and feel I’ll get better here.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 5:12 PM.
