Erik Spoelstra takes blame for mismanaging rotation after latest blown lead in loss to Bulls
The Miami Heat were on track to get back in the win column for much of their contest against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Miami was ahead by 12 points after the first quarter and up by 11 after the third quarter, but the wheels fell off for the Heat in the final frame.
The squad was outscored by 16 points across the final 12 minutes of play and lost the game by a final score of 114-109.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra shared part of the blame for Miami squandering its lead in the fourth quarter and said that he could have done a better job of managing his players’ minutes.
“I felt like I didn’t do a good job with managing the minutes,” Spoelstra said. “I went into the game thinking that we need some speed and a little bit more of an energy boost. We got that lead, so I thought we would try to extend it.
“Nobody in the locker room is going to make an excuse. Our main guys are not going to make an excuse about it. But I felt like there was some fatigue in that fourth quarter.
“If I could have gotten them a little bit more of a break at some point of the game, I think we would have had enough of a boost to finish this off. But that’s on me. I have to do a better job for this team.”
Only nine players in total saw the floor for Miami on Saturday, and every one of them received at least 10-plus minutes of action.
Longtime Heat players Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were on the floor a bit longer than usual as well. Adebayo was on the court for just over 38 minutes, while Herro logged over 36 minutes of playing time. On the season, Adebayo and Herro are averaging 34.5 and 35.7 minutes per game, respectively.
Adebayo and Herro played quite well overall, as they combined to score 43 points in the contest. However, like the rest of the team, they appeared to be out of gas when the fourth quarter rolled around. Herro and Adebayo combined for only nine points (on 4-of-10 shooting) in the fourth.
Miami’s current losing streak has now ballooned to three after it lost to the Bulls. The Heat are also losers of six of their last 10 games played and would have to fight their way through the play-in tournament for a playoff spot if the campaign ended today. The Heat are currently the No. 9 seed in the East.
Maybe Spoelstra will be extra mindful of how many minutes he dishes out to his players and how long the rotation will be when the Heat play their next game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. The Hornets hold one of the worst records in the league at 15-48 and just recently snapped a lengthy losing streak with a three-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
Udonis Haslem Reacts To Former Teammate Closing In On His Franchise Record
On Nov. 21, 2012, Udonis Haslem came down with the 4,808th rebound of his NBA career, setting a Miami Heat all-time franchise record. He came down with 983 more boards before calling it a career — but now, it appears that one of his former Heat mentees may be on pace to surpass him.
Three-time All-Star and Miami franchise cornerstone Bam Adebayo became the team’s all-time leader in double-doubles on Mar. 3. Just weeks earlier, he moved into second on the franchise’s all-time rebounding list, putting him on Haslem’s heels for the top spot. Considering Adebayo’s average of 10 rebounds per game this campaign, the 27-year-old big man is on pace to break Haslem’s record potentially as soon as next season.
Despite the two sharing the bench as teammates between 2017 and 2023, Haslem joked that he won’t be pulling for Adebayo in his chase for the history books. “I love him… but I don’t love him that much,” Haslem said. Adebayo, on the other hand, made it clear that he’s coming for his former mentor’s record — although he still indicated there’s nothing but love and mutual respect between the two.
“That just would be the ultimate respect to surpass somebody like that who has won three championships, went undrafted, been with this franchise 20 years,” Adebayo said. I’m going to catch him at some point.”
