Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra Having One Of His Toughest Coaching Seasons

Erik Spoelstra has been a significant reason the Miami Heat have displayed some of the same flaws all season without any improvement.

Spoelstra is a legendary coach and definitely worthy of his Top 15 Coaches of All-Time honor in February 2022. He has led the Heat to two championships and six NBA Finals Appearances. These accomplishments earned him a massive $120 million contract extension in 2024, the largest contract a coach has ever received in NBA history.

However, Spoelstra cannot be denied as a reason the Heat have struggled to close out games. It’s one thing to be a bad team who lacks the talent to win games. Spoelstra was part of those seasons before they acquired Jimmy Butler. Having significant leads and consistently blowing them in the fourth quarter is another. It’s even worse against rebuilding teams like the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets.

Before this season, the Heat were in many clutch games throughout the Jimmy Butler era. Their net ratings in the clutch have always been toward the bottom of the league, except in 2023, when they had the second-best rating, and in 2022, when they had the fifteenth. They’re the second-worst this season, only ahead of the 15-win Utah Jazz. This has led to the Heat being on a four-game losing streak and leading the league with their ninth loss when leading by at least 15 points.

Spoelstra spoke on remaining confident the Heat can turn their fourth quarter struggles around.

“Some of these games, you can’t even explain,” Spoelstra said. “We’ll get to work and try to fix the things that are obvious, and there are things that are just happening. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of stress in our lives. We have a lot of good things going for us to be able to be in this profession and be around each other. But there is a beauty in the grind and beauty in the struggle. If we keep on forging ahead, I do believe that there’s something beautiful on the other side.”

MIAMI HEAT’S KEL’EL WARE GETS HIGH PRAISE IN ROOKIE RATINGS

Amid rebuilds in the NBA, consistent winning is always challenging when a team moves on from its best player.

This was the case for the Miami Heat, who traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 5. Fans didn’t have much to cheer for beyond Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo until Kel’el Ware finally earned a starting position.

Ware has averaged 8.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks on 54.8 percent shooting and 34.2 percent from three-point range.

He has displayed great chemistry alongside Herro, giving him another lob threat whenever he drives to the basket. Ware’s connection with Adebayo is even better because the Heat have had a defensive rating of 108.3 when they’re both on the court, which ranks second in the league. As the starting center, it has allowed Adebayo to focus on his offense much more as a power forward, which has resulted in one of the best stretches of his career.

Ware ranked high in Grant Hughes from Bleacher Report's rookie grades.

“An athletic and powerful finisher inside, Ware also showcases just enough stretch potential to kindle excitement about his offensive ceiling,” Hughes said. “A 34.2 percent hit rate on threes may not seem like much, but when paired with Ware’s interior finishing, solid rebound rates (76th percentile on the defensive glass), and shot-blocking, it more than suffices.”

Ware received an A-minus grade.

“If he keeps this up, the 7-footer will likely finish among the top five in Rookie of the Year voting,” Hughes explained. “Not bad for a No. 15 pick.”

BILL SIMMONS CLAIMS TERRY ROZIER MAY BE THE “WORST ROTATIONAL PLAYER” IN NBA

The Kyle Lowry for Terry Rozier trade last year went from seemingly a steal for the Miami Heat to an absolute waste of a first-round pick for second-round pick production.

Last season, while on the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier played the best basketball of his career. He averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 45.9 percent shooting and 35.8 percent from three-point range. Rozier had career highs in points, assists, and two-point percentage.

Once traded to the Heat, his numbers decreased in several categories, which was expected considering he went from a top-two option with the Hornets to sharing the court with three 20-point scorers in Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo.

It’s a year later, and Rozier has only gotten significantly worse. On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons hosted a draft of the worst contracts in the NBA with Ethan Strauss and Wosny Lambre. They explained Rozier’s remaining two years for a $51.5 million contract as one of their highest picks in this draft. Strauss explained why he understood the appeal for trading for Rozier’s production in Charlotte, even though it has been to the Heat’s detriment this season.

“On the face of it, $25 million bucks for a shooting guard who is capable of being a prolific scorer is okay,” Strauss said. “The problem is, we have a sizzle reel from this season that shows him actively undermining the ability of the Miami Heat to win basketball games.”

Simmons went into greater detail and questioned if he can still play the sport effectively based on watching him play this season.

“It looks like he completely lost his ability to play basketball,” Simmons explained. “I looked up when they made the trade last year because I remember thinking, getting for what they gave up, I would much rather do that than give all the (expletive) you had to for Damian Lillard, which included Tyler Herro. When they traded for him last year, he played 30 Charlotte games: 23.2 points, 36 percent from three, and he was playing awesome. This year, his stats are almost half: 11.8 points a game, shooting 40 percent, and shooting 29 percent from three. Eye test wise, he might be the worst rotation guy in the league.”

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook