#erik-spoelstra

#erik-spoelstra

The Denver Nuggets play the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals.Tip off is at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC (WJLA-TV in the DMV).This is the first time the Nuggets have played in the NBA Finals.They have never won an NBA championship or an ABA championship when they were in that league from 1969-1976.

Death, taxes and the Miami Heat playing clutch games.In Miami's league-leading 40th clutch game, it was able to outlast its intrastate foe, the Orlando Magic, in overtime 107-103 inside the Amway Center Saturday evening.Miami trailed by as much as nine with 2:34 left in regulation, but seven consecutive points from Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent and Jimmy Butler cut it to 95-93 with 1:12 left.

Jimmy Butler once swore he would never play in a Miami Heat jersey, but he says now that he intends to retire with the franchise.Prior to the start of the 2023 NBA Finals in Denver, Butler was asked by ESPN's Malika Andrews about an interview he gave when still a member of the Chicago Bulls, in which he said he'd never wear a Heat jersey.

The Toronto Raptors need to be more active on the free agency market than ever before, as this team needs bench talent as badly as any playoff team or fringe contender in the league.The mid-level exception (MLE) could help them entice players to come to Toronto with some extra cash.While Otto Porter Jr. came to town with plenty of bombast, the injury bug bit him hard and limited him to just a handful of games.

Barring an extreme move one way or the other, the Miami Heat are going to likely end up in the NBA Play-In Tournament.With less than a month remaining, it might be too big of an ask to expect the Heat to catch the New York Knicks to be the sixth seed in the East.That being said, Miami shouldn't fall below the eighth seed, either.

For several years now, it has been a thought from this direction that Kevin Love and the Miami Heat would be a good fit for each other.And after just a few years of imagining such an occurrence, Love and Miami have finally found each other.And to get right to it, Love definitely fills some needs that Miami has been looking for this season.

The Miami Heat have lost their last two games at the buzzer.They could've had both of them, or gotten the split.Instead, now Miami is two games below .500.And the Heat have had a home-heavy schedule to open the season; losing these early games hurt.Last night's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers felt worse because Miami played well for most of the game.

Before we go any further, Boston Celtics fans, let's all just take a deep breath.Ok now that we've collected ourselves, let's calmly and rationally reckon with the fact that the Celtics just lost both home games and are now down 2-0 to the Miami Heat, putting them in a box so tight that they might literally have to become Hardwood Houdinis to escape it.

Evidently, RJ Barrett's career postseason production has been more impressive than I realized.Tommy Beer surprised me with this one:

Thru is his first 12 career playoff games, RJ Barrett is averaging 17.4 points, 5.8 rebs, 3.3 assists and 1.7 three-pointers.Full list of players to match or exceed those averages in their first 12 postseason games before turning 23:LeBron JamesLuka DoncicDonovan Mitchell- Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer)
May 4, 2023
Perhaps the time has come to reconsider my thoughts about Rowan Alexander Barrett, Jr.

For the second consecutive time, the Miami Heat will enter a game severely shorthanded.Friday night, Miami only had seven available players to face the Washington Wizards on the road and lost 107-106 in overtime.Tonight, the Heat will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are 10-point favorites.Heat without at least five players for Sunday's game against the Cavs, as Jimmy Butler returns to Miami.

In the first round, the Knicks won a contested Game 1 on the road.The higher seed evened the series with a mostly-must-win Game 2; then the series changed venues, the Knicks mostly dominated the next two games, asserted their superiority and put the Cavaliers to the sword in Game 5 - and if they hadn't won then, they surely would've in Game 6.

The Miami Heat will face the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.As the No. 8 seed, the Heat pulled off the stunning upset over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, while the Knicks rolled to a five-game series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.Now, the Heat and Knicks will play each other in the playoffs with a trip to the conference finals on the line.

This is part two of our series on how the new CBA impacts the Miami Heat.For a full breakdown on the new luxury tax bracket and an increase in the full mid-level exception, check out part one here.Here, we'll discuss two more minor changes to the CBA that the Heat can use to supplement their roster in the offseason.

The Boston Celtics started their season off strong and took the lead atop the Eastern Conference.Since then, the C's have gone through some struggles finishing games, especially recently following multiple second-half breakdowns against teams such as the Nets, Knicks, and Cavaliers.As of now, Boston sits as the 2nd seed in the East and two games behind the Bucks for the first seed.

Caleb Martin had the job of defending Jayson Tatum last night.He couldn't catch a break from the referees, who whistled him for five fouls in just 11 minutes of playing time.Jimmy Butler was out, so Erik Spoelstra couldn't play him.Spoelstra said after the game that Haywood Highsmith played so well, he couldn't take him out.

The Miami Heat, and not the NBA, have suspended center Dewayne Dedmon one game without pay for conduct detrimental to the team in lieu of his actions in the first half of Tuesday's one-point win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson reported Wednesday night.Heat suspends Dedmon for one game after consulting with NBA- Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz)
January 12, 2023

Miami's Dewayne Dedmon has been suspended one game, in consultation with the team and NBA, for actions Tuesday night that included knocking a massage gun onto court.-

Bam Adebayo carried the Miami Heat in their last two wins, scoring 38 points Friday night against Washington before notching 32 in a Sunday matinee at the Atlanta Hawks.Considering Pat Riley challenged Adebayo to take a more aggressive offensive role after last season, Adebayo has answered the call.

The Miami Heat got a huge win on Wednesday night and though it was over the lowly Sacramento Kings, it's not about  who they beat but how they got it done.Playing a Miami Heat brand of basketball, they would get after it on both sides.The ball had energy, the players had energy, and thus, the entire team had energy.

The Miami Heat may have struck out at the NBA Trade Deadline, not landing a player, however, that doesn't mean that all hope is lost.With Russell Westbrook, almost assuredly, to be bought out by the Utah Jazz after being traded there from the Los Angeles Lakers, the reports indicate that the Miami Heat are among the two teams that Westbrook will be deciding over as the week progresses


Russell Westbrook is expected to make his final decision this week between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, per @ChrisBHaynes
- Sami Hassan (@BullsTimes) February 10, 2023


Looking over at Chicago, that's where his old coach, Billy Donovan, is.

The Miami Heat held their first practice since the All-Star break today.And Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported today that Miami will have to play without Kyle Lowry and Omer Yurtseven for now.NEW: The latest Heat injury updates on Kyle Lowry and Omer Yurtseven, who continue to move closer to their returns https://t.co/Cqbx4dJExB

For the first time this NBA regular season, the Miami Heat have upgraded the status of guard Victor Oladipo in the injury list today after missing the first 24 games.Oladipo briefly played in the preseason before being shut down with left knee tendinosis.With several players including Jimmy Butler potentially out tonight against the Detroit Pistons, the Heat could use Oladipo's services tonight - albeit with an understandable minutes restriction.

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, who met in the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2020 and 2022, are seeing each other again now.After Miami fell to the Celtics last night behind a 49-point performance from Jayson Tatum, the two teams will meet again tomorrow night.And Jimmy Butler, who propelled the Heat to a superb 47-point, 9-rebound, 8-assist night in Game 6 of that series this past May, is officially listed as questionable to play.

The Miami Heat are 2-4 to start their 35th season in franchise history.While it's not cause for alarm - Miami was 7-14 to start the 2020-21 season - it is cause for concern.Last year, the Heat got off to a 6-1 start, and the only loss came with Kyle Lowry sidelined.We knew that Miami had a guard-heavy roster coming into training camp and never signed a player to take P.J. Tucker's role.

This is our GAMETHREAD: Chat live about the game here!The Miami Heat (1-2) host the Toronto Raptors (1-2) for the second time in three nights at the FTX Arena.Coach Erik Spoelstra will use a new starting lineup tonight after Caleb Martin was suspended for one game by the NBA for his role in the scuffle on Saturday with rookie Christian Koloko.

The Miami Heat haven't gotten off to an ideal start.Heck, if you let some tell it, their season is already over and they should be  tanking  for the NBA Draft.Obviously, these people have never even heard of Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, or Jimmy Butler.But that's neither here nor there.What is, both, here, there, and very important no matter where it's located is how they should go about turning this putrid start around.