#erik-spoelstra

#erik-spoelstra

Celtics The Celtics continued a historic pushback from a 3-0 deficit on Saturday.The Celtics outlasted the Heat in a wild 104-103 Game 6 victory that culminated with a play that could be remembered for years and became the fourth team in NBA history down 3-0 to force a Game 7.Here are the takeaways.

Celtics COMMENTARYBoston sports fans know what it feels like to start dreaming down 3-0.Can you imagine if the Celtics pulled this off?Of course you can.You're reading this story about a Boston sports team on Boston.com,which - per the Google metrics - means there's an incredibly high statistical chance that you are a Boston sports fan.

Celtics "We've got to come together and we've got to start helping each other out on both ends."As the seconds ticked off the scoreboard at TD Garden, the Celtics felt yet another win on home court slipping through their grasp.What was once a double-digit lead for Boston early in the third quarter on Wednesday was crumbling in a hurry thanks to Jimmy Butler and the Heat.

Celtics "Someone's got to break through.This is the team to do it."The Celtics still have a long climb ahead of them in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.Boston is the 150th NBA team to fall into an 0-3 deficit in a playoff series.The first 149 teams all eventually lost their series.

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.

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.

The Knicks are coming off their best season since 2012 and their second-best season since the turn of the century, so it feels like an odd time to question whether or not they should fire their coach, but if this team wants to take the next step towards being a championship contender, it might be the right call.

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.

O.G. Anunoby and the Toronto Raptors may not have had Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, or Gary Trent Jr. healthy for their tango with old friend Kyle Lowry and the Miami Heat, but they couldn't use that as an excuse.Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were unable to suit up for Miami in this one.Even though Fred VanVleet was back in the lineup following his bout with an illness, Anunoby and Scottie Barnes were expected to take on big offensive roles.

With 2:23 left in the Miami Heat's game against the Phoenix Suns, Caleb Martin nailed a 3-pointer to pull Miami within 107-106.The Heat forced a 24-second violation on the other end of the floor, thanks in part to a Jimmy Butler deflection.Kyle Lowry then made a 3, giving Miami their first lead since the beginning of the third quarter.

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.

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.

The Miami Heat seem to be finally hitting their stride after 2 consecutive victories against the rival Milwaukee Bucks.Heat improve to 24-20, 4 games above .500for the first time this year and winners of 3 straight.They have also won 12 of their last 17 games.This was a dominant performance, as Miami won today by double digits 111-95.

The Miami Heat defeat the New Orleans Pelicans at home 100-96, improving to 26-22 on the season.The win keeps Miami in 6th place in the Eastern Conference and still 1st in the division.It was a rough start for the Heat to begin this game, as they trailed by double digits and looked sloppy on both ends.

The injury bug has hit the Miami Heat really hard to begin this season.There were games as of recently where Miami only had 7 players available to play.These injuries have opened up playing time for other guys, and the one that looks like he has benefited the most from that is 25 year old PF Haywood Highsmith.

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.

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 Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime to eliminate the No. 1 seed in the East and advance to the second round.Here are 15 thoughts from a stunning Heat win:
1. Amazing.
2. The Heat came back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter and Jimmy Butler uncorked another classic performance to beat the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in overtime, 128-126.

Being a pretty good rebounding team for most of the year and definitely taking it to teams on the glass since the All-Star break with the help of their new acquisitions, Kevin Love and Cody Zeller, the Miami Heat have looked a bit pedestrian on the glass as of late.In the last three contests, a defeat to the Orlando Magic and wins over the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies, the Miami Heat have been outdone on the glass by the opposing teams.

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.

It has been well over a month since the last time Kyle Lowry has played for the Miami Heat.He has had an interesting season to say the least.The veteran PG started off the season pretty solid actually, he was available every game in the midst of an early injury plagued schedule for the team.His numbers during the time were impressive too, having some vintage performances in the process.

It has been well over a month since the last time Kyle Lowry has played for the Miami Heat.He has had an interesting season to say the least.The veteran PG started off the season pretty solid actually, he was available every game in the midst of an early injury plagued schedule for the team.His numbers during the time were impressive too, having some vintage performances in the process.

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.

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.

After the breaking news this morning of the Miami Heat acquiring both Kevin Love and Cody Zeller, additional news on starting PG Kyle Lowry was reported.Lowry, who has missed the last few games from knee soreness, has seen improvement and plans to be back in the Miami line up by the end of February.

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

The Miami Heat visited a New Orleans Pelicans team without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram Wednesday night.And the Heat did what they were supposed to do, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back.Miami made their first seven field goals and grabbed a 30-10 lead, ignited with some crisp ball movement and good defense forcing Pelicans turnovers.

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.-

When the Miami Heat started the season at 2-4, I wrote an article here titled, "No big beyond Bam: Heat are back where they started."Omer Yurtseven, who some thought would supplant Dewayne Dedmon as Bam Adebayo's backup, was about to undergo ankle surgery.Dedmon had trailed off as a serviceable backup center since joining Miami in spring 2021.

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 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.

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.

Victor Oladipo has yet to play a game for the Miami Heat this season as he suffered a knee injury during training camp.Luckily, it was not his surgically repaired knee that kept Oladipo out of most of last season.There was optimism a few weeks ago that this was not going to be a serious injury, and that if anything the team was just taking more of a cautious approach in working Oladipo back considering his injury history.

Erik Spoelstra called a timeout with 3:09 left to go in the Miami Heat's Wednesday night game against the Sacramento Kings.Kevin Huerter had just made a 3 to make it a 99-96 game.And Jimmy Butler was out with a hip injury.The Heat rattled off seven straight points to retake the lead, capped off with a 3 from Max Strus.

GAME STORY
The Miami Heat (2-5) return home and will play the Golden State Warriors (3-4) and both teams are looking to find their mojo as teams that went deep in the Playoffs last season.Last week, the Heat played the Warriors in San Fransisco.They played a close game, but ended up letting Steph Curry and the Warriors pull away late for a 13-point win.

The Miami Heat are 2-5 and need something to get them back on the right track.There is no magic trick-type essence to it all though, as they'll just have to do the work to figure this thing out.You know that's true, as that's how these things tend to go, but also because that's the Miami Heat's way of going about most situations, with hard work, effort, and in a direct fashion.

As the Miami Heat have fallen to 2-4 on the season, there are negatives-but most certainly positives to take away from their rigid start.While the final score of Thursday's,  110-123, defeat at the hands of the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors doesn't provoke much positivity, a moral victory is that the Heat are a team that can compete with the NBA's best.