Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is a fan of the NBA’s play-in tournament. The two-time champion, whose Heat were a play-in team this year, believes the play-in tournament is “probably the best thing that’s happened in the last decade.”
“I do know the play-in helped,” Spoelstra said on May 18. “There are far less teams tanking. Everyone was fighting for it those last two months. Every game was must-see TV and that was in both conferences. So I think [for] the league, that’s probably the best thing that’s happened in the last decade.”
The Heat finished the regular season with 44 wins, which was good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They lost the 7-8 play-in game at home versus the Atlanta Hawks but beat the Chicago Bulls in the 8-9 play-in game to clinch the eighth seed in the East.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Erik Spoelstra & Miami Heat Updates
Behind All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler, the Heat upset the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Then, Miami defeated the No. 5 seed New York Knicks in the semifinals.
Spoelstra, one of the best coaches in NBA history, thinks all the adversity the Heat have gone through this season has been a blessing in disguise.
“It was a blessing to be able to go through all of that,” Spoelstra said. “I have not been part of a regular season like that, and I think we all grew and got better from it. To not let it collapse our spirit, but really to harden us, and steel us and bring us closer together and develop that kind of grit and perseverance that’s needed in the postseason.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Erik Spoelstra & Miami Heat Updates
Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro broke his right hand in Game 1 of the Bucks series and combo guard Victor Oladipo suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in Game 3. However, the Heat are somehow three wins away from reaching the NBA Finals again.
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