The Heat would be well served to find a coach who can instill a team offense. They did not run an effective team offense for more than a quarter in any game in the series. Eventually, the games became give-the-ball-to-Lebron-or-Wade-and-watch-them-score, 1 on 5. It worked in game 2 when the Spurs got a little cold and Lebron was extremely hot. It might've good enough in a weak East, but it makes all the other players on the squad less effective & adding more talent (Melo) won't significantly change the situation.

Amidst the back to back to back 3's in the 3rd, the look on Spoelstra's face said it all. They pan to him and he's shaking his head laughing in disbelief. It has Torbush written all over it. He had no clue and no answer.

Bosh shot 55% in the series but averaged only 10 shots per game. Wade shot 44% but got 13 shots per game. Miami and its players have a lot to think about.

Wade was trash on both ends, so the Heat don't want to get stuck paying him 42 million over the next two years, but Wade might make them and he has been a fan favorite in Miami for a long time. Miami clearly has to get better; as constructed, they have no chance to win titles against the western conference powers. They gave the Spurs about as much trouble as Portland did... and had the same record as Portland. I'm not saying that MIA is the same as POR, but that comparison is a bit of an elephant in the room as is the Lebron era Cavs. All that means that Lebron has a lot to think about, because he's going to keep taking a lot of blame from the casual fans and dumb sports personalities no matter how bad his supporting cast is. Finally, if I'm Bosh I'm a little upset. My team just got embarrassed in the playoffs, I'm going to get raked over the coals for a quiet performance, yet I hardly ever got to touch the ball. Do I want to go down with the ship or am I going to go find a team that will let me inside the three point line and pass me the ball every once in a while? Bosh had fewer touches in the halfcourt than Trevor Ariza and DeMarre Carroll.

You aren't going to find a coach to tell king James what to do. Lol. Spostra's greatest coaching move has been to not get fired when the king was pissed with him.

Spoelstra will stay, his offense worked for 4 straight finals and back to back championships. Wade got old these finals and had trouble with turnovers and finishing around the basket, Chalmers was their best statistical 3 point shooter all season and he was scared to take a wide open 3 by the 3rd game and Bosh is having an identity crisis (last night he had Tony posted up and didn't do anything and had Bonner 1on1 and passed out of it). With Battier getting old, Miller gone and Chalmers struggling they had a lot of trouble spacing the floor. They'll have to make some roster moves and reload 3 point shooters, but it'll be tough to win another with Bosh and Wade being paid $20 million a piece.

[This message has been edited by 12thMan2012 (edited 6/16/2014 7:43a).]

Bosh could have made this more of a series, but he never got the ball. I think we can thank Wade for that.

Wade was absolutely awful. If he wants to win another championship, he needs to get into a different role. He isn't a main scoring threat against solid competition anymore. They need a real point guard who can create for others and space out the floor. They also need another decent big man.

Basically, LeBron and Bosh are the only players actually playing to their price tag on that Heat team. They need a 3rd guy and Wade is not him anymore (kind of like what happened when Manu declined - Leonard has stepped up to be basically a big 4 now with Manu having streaks of amazing) at least not consistently. If Miami doesn't overhaul their team, I don't see them winning another championship.

I don't think Spoelstra is a bad coach. He's better than many in the NBA (behind Pop and Carlisle for sure). SA just was so focused and driven to beat this Heat team, and his players just did not perform, that there wasn't much he could do. He should have readjusted and played more through Bosh and less through Wade, but for the most part his guys just weren't able to get things done against SA. We all knew it, and I think Spoelstra did too, there was no way Timmy and Manu and Parker and Pop were losing to this Heat team again. Absolutely no way. And they definitely showed that this series.

I think the Heat's coach is very solid. The Heat just didn't have the depth to compete. There isn't really too much he could have done differently.

Requesting a gif of Spoelstra shaking his head in disbelief last night.

You think Bosh is playing up to his contract??

I think Bosh and Wade have to restructure contracts and I wonder if LeBron will take the lead on that. If he opts out and resigns for $14-15 million it'd be tough for the other two to rationalize keeping their huge contracts.

The heat lost because they were wore the **** out.

San Antonio's bench and ball movement took the Heat's legs right out from under them

No, they lost because they just weren't as good.

Miami was gassed for most, if not, all of this series. Bottom line, Spurs hit their stride after losing Game 2 and not sure any coach or team could have stopped them. No controversial wins in this series. Miami just got a beat down by a better coach and team. Go Spurs Go!!

[This message has been edited by agwin12 (edited 6/16/2014 9:43a).]

In the regular season, the Heat had the #2 offensive efficiency ranking in the NBA. I don't think offense is their biggest issue. Miami just didn't have a good defensive adjustment for what the Spurs were doing. Also, some of their guys went cold. If I'm Miami and I'm able to keep their big 3 intact, I'm working to get better at the PG spot and overhauling my bench.

The Spurs were the best team in the league.

In retrospect, the Heat would have truly benefitted from retaining Mike Miller, and Riley's decision to amnesty Miller might have cost the Heat. That and playing the best team in basketball this year.

Really without Miller, I'm not sure they win last year. They did win, and got older. They had to make better changes last year, and they didn't.

The Spurs got better.




[This message has been edited by Iowaggie (edited 6/16/2014 10:23a).]

I thought Carlisle embarrassed him 3 years ago. Now Pop takes him to school. I'm convinced there's no "coaching" involved with the Heats.

Love it Guitar!

Last year, Miller, Haslem and Battier played significant roles on the Heat. They lost Miller in the offseason, Haslem and Battier hardly played and their was nobody else there to fill their roles, throw in Chalmers awful performance and they were done. It is what happens when you sign 3 big contracts and a bunch of old guys, you get old. Can't exactly say that it was a bad way to build the team after 4 finals and 2 championships, but it definitely has to change for the future.

It wasn't spoelstra, the Spurs got better, Heat got worse, that simple.

[This message has been edited by 12thMan2012 (edited 6/16/2014 10:42a).]

The fact is, nobody really knows how good Spoelstra is.

Excluding discussion about Pop, the greatest coaches all had the greatest players.

Not sure there is much of a difference between Spoelstra and Brooks except that for much of Spoelstra's time:
LBJ > Durant
Bosh > Ibaka
Wade = Westbrook (no longer true as Westbrook much better).

And the Heat had some great depth and an easier conference.

Guitarsoup

I think that's a tough job. Three players put that team together.

This is one area where a guy like Jackson could come in and manage egos and win. But they seem to win with the force of their talent. And because of a very weak east.

The best team won. From top to bottom the best team won. Miami is done at this point. James is leaving. If he wants championships he will go to San Antonio. If he wants fame then he will go to Los Angeles.

I don't see how you can say Bosh is worth $19 mill. Maybe half that. He isn't great at anything anymore and he has definite weaknesses in his game. Lebron is the only one of the Big 3 that deserves the money they are making.

Wade really has dropped off but you knew that was coming. Guards that rely on crazy athleticism age fast, you have to be fundamentally sound to last. Wade is still trying to make plays he did 5 years ago by driving to the basket and his body just can't do it anymore, now he is basically hoping to get lucky every once in a while or get bailed out with a foul. Once the Spurs just gave him a little space to drive and then were waiting with the shot blockers he was terrible. He is also only a decent jump shooter so that limits him.

I don't think this Miami team can be rebuilt to win titles unless Bosh and Wade cut their salaries in half or more and they can get a great PG and a solid big. I don't see it though and watching Lebron in those PC's it looked like he couldn't see it either.

Bosh is still elite at midrange shots and was elite in the playoffs at the three (.405)

I have a lot of respect for Bosh and feel like he is very much overlooked. Maybe not worth 1/4th of the cap, but he is a very valuable player.

James in San Antonio will win those championships he talked about. Duncan likely will retire. That will free up some money to sign James. And in San Antonio with that type of offense would average a triple double.

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I think that's a tough job. Three players put that team together.

This is one area where a guy like Jackson could come in and manage egos and win.

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Jackson did a great job with Kobe and Shaq, especially when you added in Malone and Payton.

Oh wait, no he didn't.

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The best team won. From top to bottom the best team won.

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As Stephen A Smith said, it's very rare to see a Finals where one team was thoroughly dominated by the other in every aspect of the game. Ball movement, execution, hustle, coaching, bench, shooting, defense, etc. Literally every aspect.

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Amidst the back to back to back 3's in the 3rd, the look on Spoelstra's face said it all. They pan to him and he's shaking his head laughing in disbelief. It has Torbush written all over it. He had no clue and no answer.

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I don't think that says anything. NO ONE would have had an answer at that point.

I don't really blame Spoelstra for their loss. He seems like a decent but not spectacular coach. The scheme they run is great. His initial Finals game plan, while not good enough, seemed to be the most effective of anything they tried.

Similar to what happened with Dallas, they simply don't have enough players who can contribute both ways. Wade is a lazy shell on defense and had no counter-adjustment to the Spurs playing off of him on offense. Lewis is a shooter with no defense. Anderson would not be an appreciably different player if you removed his fingers. Chalmers sucks in every conceivable way when there aren't three superstars drawing all the attention. Allen is a great shooter who can't keep up on defense. Bosh was the only player who was probably underutilized, but he likes being primarily a spot-up shooter so you can't completely blame the coach. Cole can defend, but there's not much point to defending one player well against the Spurs. Basically, they got a historically great performance from James. Other than that, the Heat are a bunch of scrubs. Their number 2-4 players would be nice options to come off the bench, but as starters in the NBA Finals? Bosh yes, everyone else no.

Meanwhile, the Spurs have exactly one player in the regular rotation who doesn't play well on both ends, and he shot 50% from three in limited minutes.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 6/17/2014 5:34p).]

Spoelstra's a very good coach and the crumbling of the Heat is highly overstated. The Spurs were clearly the better team this season and the Heat caught them ridiculously hot. There's really not much more to it than that. Who else still beats the Heat this season? Maybe the Thunder and Clippers and that's it. They are an elite team and will probably be back in the Finals with as good a shot as every other of the last 4 seasons next year. They need to make some tweaks to their roster for sure, but there's no need to completely rebuild.

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Spoelstra's a very good coach and the crumbling of the Heat is highly overstated. The Spurs were clearly the better team this season and the Heat caught them ridiculously hot. There's really not much more to it than that. Who else still beats the Heat this season? Maybe the Thunder and Clippers and that's it. They are an elite team and will probably be back in the Finals with as good a shot as every other of the last 4 seasons next year. They need to make some tweaks to their roster for sure, but there's no need to completely rebuild.

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The Thunder didn't get totally outclassed. Neither did the Mavericks. Yes, the Spurs were hot and were clearly the best team in the league, but Miami got blown out 3 straight games. They may have a chance at the Finals, but it's hard to see them having a chance at beating the western conference champions without a significant improvement.

I agree with Ulrich. Miami can win the east based on the best player (Lebron) but will not win the championship as built. Name me 1 player on their roster worth a damn after Lebron and Bosh?

They need 5-6 new guys including at least 1 more good to great starter.

Any team in the West playoffs, 1-8, could've beaten every team in the East not named Miami. It's tempting to say that the Thunder or Clips would've taken Miami too, but I think Miami matches up much better against those teams.

Spoelstra? As a prior poster noted, he misses Mike Miller badly. They did not have even close to the supporting cast that SA had and it was obvious. You can X and O all ya want, but if your reserves can't carry the jocks of SA's, then you're in a world of brown if any of your star starters are old (DWade).

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Any team in the West playoffs, 1-8, could've beaten every team in the East not named Miami.

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Go ahead and add Phoenix at 9 to the list. Even Minnesota at 10 would have a fighting chance against half the East.