Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra should be the leader in the clubhouse for the NBA’s Coach of the Year award.
Before the season, one of the biggest reasons for skepticism regarding the Miami Heat revolved around health and the chance of their big three missing stretches of the regular season based on their history.
Through the first 40 games of the season, that hesitance hasn’t been wrong. The trio of Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo, and Jimmy Butler has only played in 14 games together this season. Still, Miami is 25-15, ranked third in the Eastern Conference standings, and just three games back of the top seed.
When their top trio plays together, they’re a really good team. And, quite frankly, one of the best in the league. When their top trio isn’t all healthy, they’re still a really good team. And it’s somewhat unexpected.
The Miami Heat are 7th in the NBA in net rating and Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry have played in just 14 of the 39 games together. @5ReasonsSports
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) January 6, 2022
In fact, in addition to questioning the Heat’s top trio’s durability, the other concerns revolving around this team involved their thin depth. After Lowry, Bam, and Jimmy, the Heat would have to rely on a lot of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson as unproven commodities (and “washed” vets – PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris) rounded out the remainder of their rotation.
Tucker is on pace to have one of the best seasons of his career – he’s averaging eight points per game on 47 percent shooting from 3-point range) and Max Strus appears to be the next diamond in the rough that the Heat organization has found.
But when team overall success simply doesn’t add up, you have to credit the head coach. Especially in professional sports. That’s where Erik Spoelstra enters the fray.
He’s been considered one of the best coaches in the league ever since LeBron James roamed the Heat’s sidelines, but you can make an argument that his best work is being done this season.
Without his two top players for the majority of the season, he still has the Heat 10 games over .500 and playing at an extremely high level when they are healthy.
In what appears to be a wide-open East, the Heat has to be considered one of the teams that can win the conference. Especially if they can get healthy between now and the stretch run.
Through the first half of the season, it’s hard to argue against Spo being the favorite to win the NBA’s Coach of the Year award.
Sure, Cleveland Cavaliers coach J. B. Bickerstaff deserves some credit. Same for Billy Donovan with the Chicago Bulls and Taylor Jenkins in Memphis. But it’s hard to look at what the Heat is doing, considering their circumstances, and not place a hypothetical vote for Spo.