MIAMI — In an alternate universe, the Miami Heat might have been guided at the moment, and in recent seasons, by Doc Rivers, Tom Thibodeau, Billy Donovan or a number of recycled coaches.
With a different Heat management model, that could be the perspective in this current NBA reality, as well, considering the flurry of coaching dismissals in recent days.
Because for all Erik Spoelstra has accomplished, including this current run of three Eastern Conference finals in four years, before the start of the run, the Heat had missed the playoffs in three of the previous five seasons, failure at a higher rate than what over the past week cost the jobs of Mike Budenholzer, Monty Williams and Rivers.
“Let’s not act like the Heat didn’t have their down times,” said former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who is calling the Heat-Boston Celtics Eastern Conference finals for TNT. “They missed the playoffs three of the previous five years. In most organizations, there’s no way Spo comes back after that. No way. No, he’s gone and we’re on to the next year.
“My only point of saying that is it’s not just every year they’re winning and going to the Eastern Conference finals. No, they’ve had their challenges, too.”
For that Spoelstra is appreciative of the franchise stewardship of Micky Arison, Nick Arison, Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg.
“I get it. And I’m so thankful,” Spoelstra said of still standing in his 15th Heat season. “I’m grateful every single day working for Micky, Pat, Nick, Andy, that they are right there in the trenches, with us, particularly when things get tough.
“It’s a blessing, really, to go through tough times. I’ve told the team so many times, and you’ve heard me say it, there’s a beauty in the struggle.”
While Van Gundy has been open about his perspective of the Heat’s Culture (capital C) being somewhat overstated, he appreciates the value of culture (lower-case c) that has fueled the Heat’s continuity.
And yet, he also sees teams appreciating Spoelstra and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich as gold standards, without standards that allow for such coaching longevity.
“The thing that gets me, if you listen to these GMs around the league, they always want to talk about culture and all of this and consistency,” said Van Gundy, who went on to coach the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans after the Heat. “So you look at, I would say even San Antonio obviously is on a rebuild now, the two most consistent franchises over the last I don’t know how many years now, have been the Spurs and the Heat. And those are who everybody aspires to according to these GMs, and it doesn’t seem to occur to them that these two teams have continuity, and it makes such a difference.
“If you’re the Heat, you know what kind of players your coach needs and wants, so you know in your scouting what to look for. Everybody’s job gets easier; players can settle into roles. Everything works better. And yet, these [management] guys, they just keep searching. It’s hard for them to say, ‘No, we had a down year and we were disappointed in the playoffs, but this is our guy.’ ”
To his credit, Spoelstra has not allowed the approach or his attitude to grow stale. He constantly has probed other coaches on their success, for example seeking out the game’s leading minds, on many levels, when he considered moving to zone defense. The way the Heat play this year not only isn’t the way they played 15 years ago or 10 years ago or five years ago, in reality it isn’t the way they played even last season.
The approach has changed. The roster has changed. The staff over the years has been refreshed.
All while maintaining the coaching continuity that the front offices of the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, even with recent playoff success, have excised.
“It takes so much time and energy to restart something,” Spoelstra said, speaking beyond his situation. “And I think that’s been a part of why we’ve been able to reboot so many times over and over and over.
“We’re not reinventing a new culture and then trying to teach everybody and then all of a sudden two years later it’s going to be somebody else doing the same thing.”
