NBA finals, Miami, Spoelstra motivator: ‘My players are wild agonists’

“It won’t be the public who decide the match. It won’t be the narrative, who considers us already beaten and not even the previous ones. It will be what will happen on the parquet, between the lines of the field, between my team and the opposing team”. Erik Spoelstra doesn’t give up, he doesn’t even think about it. Charge his Heat specialists with surprising feats in the 2023 NBA playoffs. They have already knocked out the first-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the East and the Boston Celtics by winning Game 7 in the Garden after losing three times in a row, but now the Finals await them Mission Impossible, to put it to Tom Cruise: recover from 1-3 against the Nuggets, starting to do it by winning tonight in Denver. Spoelstra, the Miami coach, believes it. “My players are wild agonists”. And he’s ready to unleash them.

FORCES IN THE FIELD

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It is not only or so much the words that impress, but the resolute tone with which he pronounces them. Looks like Al Pacino in Every damn Sunday, as an inspiring football coach who harangues his boys pre-game. Spoelstra is an excellent motivator, at least as much as he is a fabulous strategist and tactician. He needs his players to believe they are better than they are in order to win Game 5 at the Ball Arena. Because the comparison has appeared unequal, so far. Nikola Jokic has been more dominant than Jimmy Butler in the confrontation between the men of the franchise, the pack leaders. Jamal Murray has swept the indirect confrontation with Bam Adebayo between “second strikers” of the respective teams. And Denver’s supporting cast was markedly better than Miami’s. The various Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, Christian Braun took turns to provide their duo of principal filmmakers with important support. And all the teammates also defended for Jokic and Murray, they protected them in their own half. Miami’s miraculous wingmen, sensational beyond all logic during this extraordinary playoff run, have instead returned to Earth, in the Finals. Max Strus was disastrous, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin mediocre, Cody Zeller even incomparable. And Coach Malone wasn’t crushed by the uncomfortable confrontation between the leaders as was the case with Budenholzer and Mazzulla, who had all sorts of combinations. In short, it is true that the Heat have already won in Denver in Game 2, breaking the Nuggets’ playoff home unbeaten run, but it is equally true that to repeat themselves they would need a subdued performance from Joker and company and to raise the level a lot compared to the two games played in Florida. Finish so little for the opponents.

Previous

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They say Denver is the big favorite. But that history leaves a glimmer of light in Miami. Comebacks from 1-3 down in a best-of-7 playoff series were just 13 in history. But it happened once at the Finals. Not even who knows how long ago, in 2016. Back then, LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers were able to overturn the result against the Golden State Warriors by prevailing in a thrilling Game 7 in Oakland. But Steph Curry had a bruised ankle, Dray Green had been disqualified for yet another low blow, the Cavs had James and above all the Dubs were presumptuous. Unforgivable. Denver is unlikely to commit that mortal sin. Because this historical nucleus, the one with Jokic and Murray on the parquet and Malone on the bench, has completed two playoff comebacks like this. In fact, he recovered to then win from 1-3 in 2020 first against the Utah Jazz, in the first round and then in the following one against the Los Angeles Clippers. I mean, Denver knows how to do it. And that he cannot afford to underestimate Spoelstra, who knows more than the devil when it comes to overturning desperate situations on paper…