Sources: Miami Heat players growing frustrated with coach Erik Spoelstra
Some players for the Miami Heat (9-8) are growing frustrated with coach Erik Spoelstra, according to an ESPN report citing people close to the situation.
According to the sources, some players feel that Spoelstra is too hard on them, not letting them be themselves. The sources also said that some players find Spoelstra’s offensive strategies
to be too simplistic and that the coach is panicking as rumours of the Heat replacing him gather more steam.
According to one source, Spoelstra told James in front of the whole team “I can’t tell when you’re serious” when James was clowning around during a recent practice.
“He’s jumping on them,” said the source. “If anything, he’s been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole
team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn’t believe it. They feel like Spoelstra’s not letting them be themselves.”
Publicly, the players have backed Spoelstra. “I never would put anything on the coach – win, lose or draw – because they can give us the game plan but they’re not on the court playing,”
said Dwyane Wade after their most recent loss to the Dallas Mavericks over the weekend.
According to one source, some Heat players said Spoelstra’s tenuous job security is affecting how he coaches. “He’s not a motivator. Instead of coaching he’s at the point where the players
are starting to sense that he’s fearing for his job.”
The Heat have played poorly against teams with winning records so far this season, winning only one of these seven games. With their most recent loss to Dallas, the team many thought would
take the NBA by storm are now losers of four of their last five games. One source said the team lacks a clear leader.
“They don’t want to step on each other’s toes,” the person said. “There’s no leader on the team. Somebody has to speak up and be the leader on the team. They can’t be afraid to step on
people’s toes. They need a vocal leader who’s going to make everybody accountable. I don’t think it’s on the coach. It’s on the players.”