Do the Miami Heat Need a Coaching Adjustment? | How Spoelstra Can Get the Most Out Of New Roster

Do the Miami Heat Need a Coaching Adjustment? | How Spoelstra Can Get the Most Out Of New Roster

We scrutinized the players on the Heat roster, but what about the team’s head coach? What does Eric Spolstra have to do differently in order to get the most out of this current Heat team? We’ll let you know on today’s episode of Locked on Heat. You are Locked on Heat, your daily Miami Heat podcast, part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked on Heat, your daily podcast on the Miami Heat. Whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app, thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day. I’m Wes Goldberg here with David Rmill. Both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day for daily content on the Heat. Join more than 17,000 Heat fans and click that subscribe button on YouTube. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. have a great show for you today. We’re talking about what we want to see from Eric Spolstra this season. We both put together a list of three things that we want to see from Spo. No real instructions, no guidelines to this, so I guess we’ll just see where we end up. We also have not shown each other our lists. Uh but David, do you want to start or should I lead off? No, I got this. Um, you know, I think one of the things I never would have associated with Eric Spolstra was a kind of lack of direction or it seemed like maybe there were moments last season where he just wasn’t as fully engaged as we’ve grown accustomed to. I I think a lot of Heat fans recognize Eric Spolster as one of the greats of the game in terms of his success. And yes, has he relied on incredible players in order to gain that success? Guess what? That’s how it works. You don’t win with GLeague level players in the NBA. And Eric Spolster has taken advantage of that. It’s about managing egos. It’s about getting the most out of teams regardless talent level, etc. And that being the case, I think last year, and I think we both agree on this, was a subpar one. Even for Eric Spolster, I think there were moments there where he looked a little burnt out. and and this season what I’d like for him and again this is something I never would have said. Coach with intent to use the words that Eric Spolster loves using in terms of his players. Coach with intent. Seem like you’re out there and trying to make the most out of this roster and and this maybe this is kind of vague and overgeneralized, but there were moments last year where it seemed like the team was directionless. And I know you were just trying to steer things in the right direction given everything that was happening in that locker room and behind the scenes and trying to incorporate new players. It wasn’t easy for anybody, but there were still moments there where Eric Spolstra, I think, let the team down. And I think he’d be the first to admit it. And I think this summer is going to be an important one for him in terms of recharging, regaining that level of focus and coming into next season with a renewed sense of purpose and intent. And that’s what I’d like to see from Spo is making sure he gets the most of this roster and to take each practice, each game as purposefully as as seriously as possible because this team quite frankly isn’t good enough to take days off nor games off. So they have to go out there and I’d like to see a team that is more aligned with the motto and mantra of the Miami Heat and go out there and work their butts off every night in order to find a way to win. If Eric Spolster made two mistakes last year, I think one that he started the season with was trying to turn that roster into a five out offense roster and that was not going to happen. Um, he tried to lean into a Terry Rosier Tyler Herro backcourt with Jimmy Butler kind of playing a little bit more point guard which based on Jimmy Butler’s own comments and the people around Jimmy Butler he was either happy with or not happy with depending on the day. Uh, and then with Bam, uh, you know, with the three-point shooting and all of that, it just felt like Bam was getting further and further away from the basket. And that was, you know, I think that might have been the wrong use of the offense. I think he was trying to learn something from the Boston Celtics, the way that they won the championship with three-point shooting. And by the way, this team does need to figure out how to get up more threes, and they did get up more threes last year. Um, so I think there was some of that some of that idea was right, but trying to turn this into a five out offense, I think wasn’t the proper use of the roster. And then the second thing that he that was the big mistake there was just like the the game management stuff, the the calling the timeouts when he didn’t have one, the the not calling timeouts when you probably should call the timeouts, uh, not challenging plays when you probably should in close games. That’s stuff that got away from Eric Spolstra last year, but I am not at all concerned about going forward. Uh, you mentioned his need to recharge. I don’t think that anybody in the history of the world needed a vacation more than Eric Spolster needed a vacation after what he had gone through between the the coaching and the drama and the personal life stuff and everything that had been gone on the last two or three years and just the lack of summers and the Olympics that he had and the finals runs. It’s just like this guy, he just seemed burnt out to me honestly. and and that happens to the best of them. And Eric Spolstra is quite literally the best of them right now in the league. And so I think with a summer recharged, with a chance to reflect on things, he will be just better. But that’s not to say that he can’t improve on some things. And that’s not to say that we don’t want to see certain things um change. And I think a big part of this, David, is the fact that the Jimmy Butler era is over. And the way that he coached the Jimmy Butler teams cannot be the way that he coaches these teams. And I think he understands that. I think we’re already seeing it the way that he called out KL Wear. Yeah. Using the media. I think this is a this is a young roster. The average age of this roster is like 25 26 years old. That’s just a that’s a inherently different kind of team. You’re coaching an inherently different kind of player and the way you go about coaching that team has to be different. And I think we’re already starting to see that from Spo a little bit. I agree. I I think that’s that’s part of it is he he he’s talked about it and we’re we’re getting closer to media day and training camp and everything else like that. So, we’re already at least my internal clock for the NBA season is already starting to work that way and I’m already trying to figure out exactly what the pulse of this team is going to be. And Eric Spolster always says that when it comes to training camp that every camp is different. It’s almost like a an organism and that it has a a different vibe every time. and what’s the main theme of the camp and and everything else like that. And I think he needs to figure out what the pulse of this team is like what is the motivating factor? What is it going to be that unites this group? What is it going to be that motivates them and takes them to that next level? What’s going to drive them and understand how these players were all going to work towards getting better individually and working together as a team? And so I’d like to see that from Spo as well. You know, just being able to kind of understand this group a little better. And I think the age is a big factor in that because you cannot apply the same methodology that you used in years past with an older team that was gearing for a longer playoff run that needed to take off let’s say November through March, take those months off knowing that you were going to try to go on a longer playoff run. This isn’t that kind of group. You need to be able to play with intent on a daily basis at the start of the season, the middle of the season, at the end. I have a specific thing for my first list item here for Eric Folstra. Long rotation, short leash. That’s what I think this roster has to have. I’m looking at this depth chart and there’s a lot to try to figure out here from that depth chart. I think there’s 13 guys who I think 12 to 13 guys who I think need to play or could maybe not need to play have have a case to play. Uh you look at what we project to be the starting five. Tyler Hero, Norm Pal, Andrew Wiggins, Bamab Bio Wear. You look at the bench guys, DaVon Mitchell, Pella Larson, Himeakas Jr., Haywood Highmith, Nicol Yovic, Simon Feekio, Kasparis, Yakonis. Heck, if Tay Rosier looks better in camp, there’s a case to be made that Rosier should get some minutes. Uh so I’m thinking 12 to 13 guys here have a case to play. I would probably say 10 need to play, maybe 11. Um, and so I think he needs to have a long rotation. I think he should be playing 12 to 13 guys every night. With that said though, short leash. You make a mistake, you’re out, done. Not maybe for the whole game, but we’re we’re we’re mixing things up, right? Like we have 13 guys who need to play and if it’s not your night, we’re we there’s only so many minutes to go around. We’ll allocate those minutes elsewhere. And and you know, I think that’s going to be key. I I want to see I I think that level of competition plus opportunity is something that can kind of get what you what you’re talking about having that intention every single day getting better every single day. I think those two things can go together where if you’re giving those play players the opportunity but also fostering that level of competition where your minutes aren’t necessarily guaranteed outside of obviously like the starters and the and the main top seven or eight guys like those guys are going to play. you need to have some sort of, you know, coherent rotation every single night. But I want to see him go deep into this bench, at least for the first half of the season. I think it’s a great call. Um, there’s a point that I’d like to piggy back off of that, but I think I’ll save that for our next segment. But overall, I I do like the idea of um doing things a little differently. You know, we’re talking about the approach on a daily basis, but also when you look at the number of players who can play, and we’ve made this point before. Let’s this might be the deepest team that Eric Sper has ever had. And and that’s kind of funny because again, there might not be that top tier talent on the roster, but you have many playable guys on there that can all offer something different. So, and they all can play at the NBA level. Maybe not sustainably, maybe not two-way factors, but at the same time, there’s still a lot of players here that can make an impact on the game. And finding that right balance is going to be crucial for Eric Bolster. All right, so we’re going to continue on with our list. I have a very specific change that I want to see on offense, too. David has a point that he wants to piggyback on. I’m not sure what he’s talking about. We’ll find out after this. Today’s episode is brought to you by FiveHour Energy Transfusion. Time to fuel up and turn it up with 5Hour Energy Transfusion. It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink minus the alcohol into a quick energizing shot. Whether you’re sinking birdies or just making memories with friends, this one’s a hole in one for your energy game. Let’s be honest, some days in the course or off of it, you just need that extra boost to stay sharp and energized. You want to be able to play better, play longer. You want to be able to enjoy your time when you’re out there with friends and family and 5H hour energy really helps you do that. So if you’re looking to boost your golf game a little bit and enjoy those good times with good people and good flavors, well the grape ginger lime flavor gives you the best parts of your clubhouse to go without chasing down the bevart. If you go to 5hour energy.com today, that is the number fivehourenery.com. You can use my promo code locked to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order. It cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. We’ll be right back. Thanks again for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day. Before we continue on, uh we have an announcement that we want to share. We’re launching our 25 of 25 series where we’re going to rank the top 25 Heat players of the past 25 years. We’re going to start doing shows next week about the 25 of 25. But before we do that, we need your help on deciding who those 25 players are to cast your vote. Join the Lockdown Heat Insider community where we are sending the link to the survey every morning this week. So, sign up with the link to the Lockdown Heat Insider community uh with the link in the show notes. You do it now so that you can get in before voting ends on Friday night. Uh David, there was a point that you wanted to piggyback on. Was that also the second related to the second item on your Eric Spolster coaching to-do list? It it is. Uh I think you said that the short leash should be out there. I’m not so sure I agree with that. I I think you have to find a right balance and it’s not ever easy, but you don’t want players, especially a younger roster like this kind of feeling like that hook is going to be there kind of always waiting in the wings. And I know it might drive certain players and maybe that’s what you kind of are trying to to gear towards. That might be the case. But I I also think players kind of thrive on some kind of level of not just comfort, but understanding that they can be allowed to make mistakes and knowing that they’ll have the opportunity to make up for those. Not if I screw up today on a random Tuesday, I might not. It feels like you’re thinking about somebody specifically. Am I wrong? No, not necessarily. I I would say Niko Yovic. Um, you know, we’ve seen that from him in the past where if he’s not out there, he just seems maybe he’s more demonstrative than other young players, but it always seems like it gets into his head a little bit, especially when he’s missing his shot and he’s not being the factor out there that we expect him to be and he gets the hook and then you know he’s buried in the depth chart and not really much of a factor until later on when all of a sudden he reemerges kind of like the phoenix from the ashes of his playing time and winds up becoming a much more complete player. So to to me I I I do like the idea of going to a deeper but I just want it to be more more random and that’s kind of where I’m looking. Abandon the substitution patterns of the past. Eric Spolstra is like, “Oh, we’re down a starter. Well, who’s the next best player? Should he get the starting minutes?” Absolutely not. I’m going to go to the 15th man on my bench because I don’t want to screw up my my substitution patterns, you know? And maybe he’s relaxed on that to a certain degree, but I think that’s a big part of it is just instead of just sticking to that idea of not playing that guy and and finding, you know, what works for the second unit. They’re all big boys out there, Eric, and and they know how to pick up the slack. Put your best players out there. Put yourself in a position to win. We don’t see that from any other coach in the league that wants to make that kind of substitution pattern the norm. And to piggyback on your point, I think it’s not just about ebanning those patterns, but finding guys that are going to be impactful on a game-to-ame basis. Not, oh, him is on a hot streak, I got to go with him, and that means I’m not going to see Heywood Heismith for a week or two or three until Haime get, you know, pulls a groin or gets hurt or something like that. It’s like, you know what, this matchup, Haime might be effective. Next one, Haywood might be effective and the Nico or Terry or anybody else on that roster. It’s it seems like you stick to your own guidelines in terms of your substitution patterns and you wind up getting stuck. And for a franchise that looks so much to the future and loves inviting chaos and bringing about the energy and change that chaos creates, etc. Eric Spo’s kind of the exact antithesis of that. like for for all the speak about chaos and and that idea he’s very stale sometimes in his substitution patterns very rigid maybe I should say and that’s and we might not see that player again for some time I’d rather him just be a little bit more wild and random so that you can’t necessarily plan for it and I think that’s an advantage for a team this deep and also O lacking in superstar talent. So I think what Eric Spolstra might push back with on the point that you’re making is that it’s not necessarily like first of all untrained eye. No. Uh but if he were going to push back on any specific point, it would be that hey like I’m writing somebody that’s on a hot streak during these games or whatever and then these other players get buried. I think what he would say is he’s rewarding people who are performing behind the scenes or showing the kind level of effort on the court that he needs to see and that’s how he’s driving that competition. It’s not necessarily what everybody’s watching during these games, but it’s all the stuff that’s happening in the background. That’s what I think the push back would be. And I do think that there’s a big part I always say this about coaching. Coaching, NBA coaching is like icebergs. We only see the very tip of it. Most of it we have no idea what’s going on. Um, and I think that’s what Spo would say. Now, I do think that you and I are saying very similar things where I I think you want to see a lot of guys get opportunities every single night and how you divvy up those minutes is going to be a challenge right now. I I said short leash because you only have so many minutes to go to round. So, I’m sorry, Nico, if you’re not making shots. Sorry, buddy. Hey, what is Haime? is like somebody else is and we only have so many minutes to play here and we got to go out and win this game. And to your point, maybe it’s more matchup based, which I think we saw somebody like Mark Dagnel do that a lot with OKC last year and they went and won the championship. Uh, and so maybe it’s a combination of all of these things where you’re just trying to play 12 to 13 guys. And I think with your idea, David, it’s it’s easy to sell that to the team where it’s, hey, you’re not going to play tonight, but two nights from now, that’s your time to shine. So don’t take it personally. This is just a matchup thing. It’s nothing that you did on your own. On the same on that same side, we have seen what Eric Spolster has done when he doesn’t think that these players are working hard enough behind the scenes and he calls them out like he did with Kell in Las Vegas. And then we saw how Kell responded uh which was very well. So maybe it’s a combination of all these things, but I think you and I both agree if there’s a similarity on our list so far is that hey, we got to figure out a way to play a lot of this roster and maybe use that depth to uh to their advantage here. Uh my thing, my next thing that I want to talk about is pace. The Jimmy Butler era is over and so is the era of being one of the slowest freaking teams in the NBA. It’s done. I thought it had a purpose with Jimmy Butler and it it did have a purpose. Jimmy Butler liked to play slow. He’s the best player on the team. He’s the head of the snake. You play through him, through his strengths and through his weaknesses. And part of the Jimmy Butler experience was, “Yep, we’re going to be methodical. We’re going to get him into the post. He’s going to dribble a bunch of times. He’s going to shove people out of the way. And then he’s probably and he’s going to get really close to the basket. And then he’s going to kick out to some to a shooter, whether it’s Duncan Robinson, Max Struce, Caleb Martin, whoever it was.” That’s not the that’s not the roster anymore. But in the Jimmy Bowler era, in including last season, uh, which was half of a Jimmy Bowler era, the Heat ranked 27th, 29th, 29th, 28th, 29th, and 27th in pace. Yikes. That ain’t going to fly anymore. Who on this team wants to play slow? Nobody. Bam does not want to play slow. Bam wants to get up and down. There is four more points per game for Bam in a high-paced offense when he’s out in transition and doing all the stuff that we know Bam can do in transition. To be even more specific, David, I want them to be top 10 in pace this year. I think 10th is a realistic goal looking at this roster. And I think Eric Spolio should be preaching pace, pace, pace, and and and figuring out a way to get this team higher in pace. Last year, I even looked I went back and looked at the numbers after Jimmy Butler got traded just as slow as they were before Jimmy Butler got traded. But that was their offense. They had already installed their offense. And it’s really hard to change your offense in the middle of a season. So, I think going into training camp, I want Eric Sper to be preaching pace and coaching towards a top 10 in pace team. That should help the offense overall. We’ve talked about this offensive rating, bottom 10 in offense for the last teen years. They need to get better there. I think it also would improve with their three-point shooting volume because you have two of the best three-point shooters in the league now in Tyler Hero and Norm Pal. Those guys should be getting up 20-pointers per game combined, just the two of them. And I’m serious about that number. They should be taking 10 three-pointers each every night cuz that’s the strength of this team. Yeah. But the only way to get up that many three-pointers and not be the Boston Celtics where 80% of your shots are three-pointers is to get more possessions and increase the pace. So, I think this team needs to be top 10 in pace. There’s no excuse. No, it’s a great point, a great call out, and I think it would absolutely behoove this roster to point out I mean, exactly what you said, the fact that this former team, it it does not exist anymore. This is a new group, new players. And I think you’re absolutely right that you have to find a way to to identify the strength of this team and be able to maximize those. And I think this is a group that’s younger, faster, wants to play with pace, and they should be able to lean into that. My only concern with that because I do agree with you. I think it’s 100% supposed to be the focus of this group and I would not be surprised again if along the same lines of what I just mentioned before that Spo talks about the the pace being a main factor or a defining point or quality in this group uh during training camp. My one concern about that is Khalil Wear. How does he fit into that? Can he play with pace given what we’ve seen from him and his uh let’s say endurance or conditioning and things of that sort. Is he going to be willing and able to still be a factor if they’re making him run up and down the court frequently? I just think he’s the one player who might not benefit from playing with that pace. I don’t want to be wear Yes. No doubt is tough for centers, especially centers that don’t have like the the top 1% elite athletic conditioning like Bam does. Um, and my my response to that would be, “Okay, we’ll see. You can’t get out there. Sorry, your minutes are going to get cut. It’s a challenge to the young player, right? To to be in that tip-top shape that this coaching staff is challenging him to be in.” And by the way, if you run the floor, you get rewarded. I think if Khloe Wear were able to play like, and again, it’s not even against it’s, to your point, hard for sevenfooters to play that way all the time. Yeah. It doesn’t have to be a track meet. You just got to get up and down. Like, you know, Cleveland was top 10 in pace last year. They have Jared Allen, Evan Mobley out there all the time. It can be done right. Indiana played at a high pace. Miles Turner was up running up and down the court. It can be done. Um I think Kell Wear can do it. I think he can do it. And if they do do that, that’s going to open up a ton of lobs, a ton of trailing threes for Kell. If he’s bought into that, he’s going to thrive. The trailing threes, I think, is a big selling point. It’s like, you know what, just get down there and eventually if everybody else is pushed ahead attacking the rim, you don’t have to run the whole court. You can run 60% of it and exactly that’ll do. See those 24 footers. Uh all right. I have uh we we both have one more uh coaching adjustment coaching thing that we want done coming up. I think mine is going to surprise people. I think it’s going to surprise you, David. We’ll talk about it next here on Lockdown Heat. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Monarch Money is uh well, if you ever wish you can manage your money and it felt a little easier, well, Monarch Money will help you. It absolutely can make that process much easier. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO and it gives you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than just a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You can track all of your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, in addition to managing your money, you’re also building wealth. If you’re looking for a, you know, a big purchase down the road, Monarch Money will help you. If you’ve got a goal that you’re serious about, this is the way to go about it. And making sure that you meet those goals and to keep track of your finances. And believe me, you’ll start to see with Monarch Money how you can start to cut costs here and there. Something you might be able to save on just a little bit. And as soon as you make those tweaks and changes, you’ll be able to set your goals and reach them. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money using code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com. Use the code locked NBA. You get half off your first year. We’ll be right back. All right, last parts of our list here. David, what do you got? Uh, this one here is uh perhaps a little surprising as well. I think it’s time to shake up the coaching staff. interesting. Uh yeah. Okay. I think I think you you need a new voice there. And I as somebody who’s as much pro player as I am, I I it pains me to say this, but I don’t know that you’re getting the same kind of juice in having somebody like I don’t want to name anybody in particular. you just have former players on on your coaching staff and um I think you might need something a little different and I don’t know if it’s maybe hiring uh a former head coach that might be available now and getting another voice in there. You get a little complacent I think and look again is used to doing things a little a certain way and he’s got the right of being he doesn’t feel a hot seat. It doesn’t exist there. If there’s one coach in the NBA now who doesn’t have a hot seat, it’s Eric Spolster. You could probably make a case for Steve Kerr as well, but Spo like his job’s not in danger. He could screw up royally and and he’ll still have a job here, but you just want something different and you want something a different voice, a different flavor. And just having the same guys, especially if they’re guys that you coached, right? How is that going to work? They’re not going to challenge you and and they’ve never been coaches in any most of these cases. Again, these are former players. They’ve never been coaches. Even the younger guys that maybe are going through the coaching tree again, who are they gonna who are they gonna challenge? Who who how are they going to feel comfortable offering a differing view when you’re going up against a a Hall of Fame NBA legend and Eric Spolstra? And so getting somebody in there who just might be willing to, you know, be a little different to challenge a guy like that, to be able to put his voice out there and say, “No, you know what? I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” that just something a little different I think might be or just to offer a new perspective or a new idea. Absolutely. Absolutely. It might go a long way towards forcing Spo out of his comfort zone. Again, ironically, this is stuff that Spo talks about all the time, but for somebody who preaches chaos and change as much and and looking for that new voice and energy, etc., he’s kind of stale. You know, stuff is stuck in his his methodology. And so, I think that’s a it’s something that could use a shakeup there. I think there’s a there’s an obvious pro and there’s an obvious con when it comes to the coaching staff the way that the Heat do it which is to your point guys who are familiar guys who have come up through the system we coached them and now they will coach the next generation and the the obvious pro is alignment we all have we’re all preaching the same thing we’re all marching uh in the same direction at the the same beat of the same drum and that’s hugely important in the NBA where you I mean you know you and I have talked to coaching staffs across the NBA and we it is shocking and glaringly obvious when people are not on the same page and it is the number one thing I would argue more than talent more than anything else that brings teams down in the NBA is when teams are not on the same page from ownership general management president of basketball blah blah blah to the coaching staff to the players all of that stuff everybody has to be on the same page and it is a thing that is hugely impressive about the Miami Heat over the years and impressive about the other most successful organizations in the league. It’s impressive about the Thunder. It’s impressive about the Warriors. It’s been impressive about the Spurs for two decades, three decades. Um, that’s the way it is. So, that’s the obvious pro. The obvious con is that you end up in the group think thing. Y and everybody’s thinking the same way. Yes. But on the on the on the other side of that, everybody’s thinking the same way. and there’s not a whole lot of room for new ideas and they tend to get not even filtered out but not even existing in the first place because everybody’s already got the same ideas. I don’t I don’t disagree with you at all even if it was like a consultant or somebody just to come in and just be like yes, hey, what about this? I don’t think Eric Wilson needs to be challenged at this point. I think his singular vision has been proven to be the act a good one. Sure. but just somebody that comes in with some new ideas that have never existed in that building before and uh I think that would be interesting. So I I’m with you on that. It might be a little bit late in the game, but who knows? Uh you know, in terms of the offseason, but uh I don’t see why. I mean, just again, a former head coach, somebody that’s out there, maybe a college coach that wants to still be act I’m just saying Michael Malone, somebody along those lines, like somebody who’s not afraid to kind of say, you know what, I’m waiting on my next coaching opportunity. You know what’s funny is that when guys like Tibs and these other guys are unemployed, they will often visit other teams and hang around. I remember when I was covering the Warriors, I would see former head coaches just hanging around all the time. And I don’t know if that’s just because they were a little bit more open about that where if it happens in Miami, they tend to just like rush them out of the practice facility before media comes in, which is entirely possible. I have no idea. I am not reporting anything. But it would be kind of cool to just see coaches hang around, especially because I’m sure a lot of these coaches would like to learn a thing or two from Eric Spolster and what they’ve got going on with that program. But um we’re running out of time here, so I’m going to get to my one. My last thing here, ditch the zone defense. Oo, flush it. I’m done. The zone defense. I I’m I’m going a little extreme here. I’m not saying ditch it entirely, but you can’t rely on it as much as you’d been relying on in the past. And one of the reasons Miami relied on it so much is because they were so undersized and underskilled on the defensive end. But they’ve made some changes. They’ve made some additions to the roster. I don’t look at this roster and say, “Yep, they should be playing a ton of zone.” Why should this team be playing a ton of zone? If you’re starting with Bam at the four and Kell at the five, you’re not undersized anymore. And when you’ve got DaVon Mitchell out there at the point of attack and a guy like Pella Larson who I think is a pretty solid defender, even a guy like you’ve added in Norm Pal with a 6’11 wingspan who I think will be a better performing defender in Miami than he has been in the past where he was a very good defender in Toronto. That is there for him. Yeah, Wiggins is an awesome defender. Okay, Heismith, you got him on the roster still. There is no reason for this team to play as much zone as it had in the past. I don’t look at this roster and say that’s a zone defense roster. I look at this roster and I say you should play two different kinds of defenses. You should have a drop when Khlo Wear is at the five. And I would love to see them getting back to switching everything with Bam at the five. When you get into those lineups with Bam at center and Wiggins at the four and whatever else you got on the perimeter, you should be switching everything. When Haywood’s out there with Bam and Wiggins, you should be switching everything again. And they haven’t really been a switch everything defense in a couple of years now. for a couple years now. And I think if you toggled between those main defensive schemes drop with Kell and then you’re, you know, at the point of attack with guys like Da’Von, you’re forcing over those screens, you’re for funneling guys to Kell at the at the to the basket, all these things. If you’re playing that way, I think that uh takes advantage of the talent that you have on the roster. And then when Kell’s out and Bam’s at the center spot, boom, we’re switching everything. And I think that’s going to keep opposing offenses on their toes. They’re going to have to read and react constantly. and adjust constantly over the course of regular seasons. I think that could be a huge advantage for them. You got to use zone here and there, fine, but it should not be a base defense the way that it’s been like basically your your 2A defense uh over the last few years. It just feels like it’s still such a positive impact. Like Miami still tends to benefit from this. like like we’ve seen a number of teams get really discombobulated by the zone and it just tends to shake up what they can do. We saw it in the playin tournament. You know, when you throw zone out there, all of a sudden it it seems like a team even with a smoothly running offense kind of just craps themselves all over the place. They don’t know exactly how to play and adjust and things of that sort. They might not have the offense for it. Now, on the flip side of that, we’ve also seen a number of teams go, “Oh, okay. You’re going to give us a space. We’ll roast you with that. Thank you so much.” and and they kind of seem to take advantage of it. And to your point, I think that’s where you just want to be able to find different variations and find those schemes that um you can be more effective with. And I wonder how much of it gets coached. Again, like because practices aren’t open, I’d love to be able to see just how much time is spent on any of these base defenses and how much zone gets kind of drilled into it, especially with a roster that’s gone through some changes. Exactly. Oh, in the past. Yeah. In the past it has been a lot. We’ll see now. Exactly. Exactly. So, can they still use the zone effectively if it’s not something that’s taught and drilled over and over at Nauseium the way it has been in the past? You know, trying to get these new players on board, getting them uh to kind of be the best versions of themselves defensively within this kind of context might be very difficult. And so, you might lose something that’s been a very effective weapon for them in the past. And I don’t know if I’m necessarily willing to take that chance, but I see what you’re saying in terms of wanting something that’s just might be a little different instead of just making it the norm. And uh the other part about it is it fuels your offense when you’re not like the other defenses I’m talking about. Zone kills your offense. I mean, you’re you have to gang rebound so everybody’s going towards the rim, right? Uh that slows the pace down. Exactly. And if you’re playing drop and you’re aggressive at the point of attack, you create turnovers that way. If you’re switching everything, you’re creating turnovers that way. I want to see more blitzing, more hard hedging. Um, all that kind of stuff that you don’t get to do in a zone defense. And by the way, they don’t really have like before in the Jimmy Butler era, you were able to play zone and still create turnovers because Jimmy Butler was so good at reading passing lanes. Like he would just create those turnovers. You don’t have that guy. I mean, you have a couple of guys, but you don’t really have that main guy like Jimmy anymore who can create those kinds of turnovers. I think DaVon’s good at taking creating turnovers, but more in like that you bumped into me and the and you lost the ball like your body stopped but the ball kept going kind of turnovers and now I’m picking up bell could be a turnover. Exactly. So you don’t really have those like those pass ironically enough the the best guy at reading and jumping passing lanes and creating steals might be Tyler Herro. It is absolutely is. It absolutely is. His I’m going to go out on a limb and say you shouldn’t be basing your uh defensive scheme on Tyler Herro in a positive way. Maybe in hiding Tyler Hero, but um No, I want to I want I want to see them I want to see them switch it up. You You can have the zone. It could still be on the menu. It just can’t be like the number it can’t be that thing that you’re ordering every time you’re at the restaurant. It can’t be the guacamole. It just I’m sorry. Like it has it has to be something else. It can’t it has to be dessert, right? It has to be the dessert on the menu. It’s like not every night, but every once in a while on special occasion. Uh, sounds like you had a bad experience with uh, guacamole lately. You want to talk about it? I don’t know. It just feels like every time we go out, we order guacamole and I’m just like, you know what? Maybe I don’t want space. Maybe I don’t want avocado tonight. Maybe I want the dumplings instead. But I’m losing that battle every time because my wife’s pregnant. So, that’s not that’s not a battle I get to have. Um, all right. So, that’s what we wanted to see from Eric Sper. Let us know in the comments section what you want to see from Eric Spolster this season. Thanks for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

The Miami Heat are beginning a new era, and that means Erik Spoelstra has to approach coaching the team in a new way.

Wes Goldberg and David Ramil discuss what they want to see from Spoelstra’s coaching this season, including a major change to the offense, leaning into the roster’s strengths on defense and rotation adjustments.

0:00 Intro
1:30 How Spo can learn from last season
11:30 Changes to rotation and offense
24:15 Changes to coaching staff and defense
Become a Locked On Heat Insider on Subtext! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonheat

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-heat/

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nba

📲 Follow Locked On Heat on Twitter
Locked On Heat https://twitter.com/LockedOnHeat
David Ramil https://twitter.com/dramil13
Wes Goldberg https://twitter.com/wcgoldberg

📸 Follow Locked On Heat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockedonheat/

📺 Follow Locked On NBA: https://linktr.ee/lockedonnba

📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: lockedonpodcasts.com/offers

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k
Did you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.

OLIPOP
Get a free can of OLIPOP! Just buy any two cans in store and they’ll reimburse you for one. Head to drinkolipop.com/LOCKEDONNBA to claim your free can and find OLIPOP near you.

CarGurus
Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.

WayFair
Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#miamiheat #heat #nba #freeagency