Perspective: Spoelstra may still look younger than his age and experience suggest, but over the past decade he has proved his worth as a trustworthy leader on the sidelines, Candace Buckner writes.
But if the Celtics somehow fumble away the advantage of playing this win-or-else game on their home court, then Joe Mazzulla will be considered the overmatched rookie coach who couldn’t steady the ship. Mazzulla, after abruptly taking over for Ime Udoka just before the start of the preseason, will have inherited two all-NBA players and a rock solid core from last year’s Finals team only to drag it down to the second round.
Mostly, the Heat’s most valuable person this postseason — and really, since the end of the Big Three run — has been the 52-year-old at the head of the bench. This will be Miami’s seventh conference finals appearance under Spoelstra, and the third in the past four years. He has come a long way from the film room.seem to emerge whenever he gets this far.
New York ended the game with just two more field goals, and though the Heat also lacked inspired shot making, it persisted through its identity. A team president such as Riley, who built this gritty team, theoretically has only so much say in crafting results from the roster. It has been Spoelstra who has worked his magic over this group.
In a league that treats coaches as disposable as game-used tape, Spoelstra, the film-room kid, has remained. While Spoelstra’s lowly beginnings help fluff up his story arc from the video room to the Heat’s sideline, the fairy-tale rise should no longer define him.
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