NBA Finals Prediction: Erik Spoelstra will be the Heat’s MVP
Coaches can’t win the Finals MVP, but if the Heat is able to beat the Lakers four times it will be because of the game plan and adjustments made by Erik Spoelstra throughout the series.
The Heat are dangerous because on any given night a different player can be their best player, and we’ve seen that throughout the playoffs. In their Eastern Conference Finals wins, it seemed like the go-to guy didn’t just vary game to game, but at times quarter-to-quarter between Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and even Andre Iguodala. But for all the variation in where they get their points, Erik Spoelstra is the constant.
The NBA Finals will be no different for them than any round since the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They won’t have the most talented roster on the floor, but they’ll still have a coach who has been able to re-shape his team each series to play above the perceived sum of their parts.
There are a lot of great coaches in the NBA right now. Nick Nurse, Brad Stevens, Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, this list goes on and on. Erik Spoelstra is in that conversation, but if he can finish off a playoff run where he took down Giannis Antetokounmpo and a really talented Celtics team by knocking off LeBron James and Anthony Davis, then he’ll have a pretty strong case for the best coach in the NBA.