Spoelstra dissects the Heat's energy void, LaVine's scoring surge, and the struggle to win ugly. He details what needs sharpening.
On the overall lack of energy and Zach LaVine’s hot shooting carrying Chicago:
Erik Spoelstra: "We didn’t have a lot of juice on either end of the floor. When LaVine got going on his first two threes and then hit that third one on a pick-and-roll pull-up, you could tell he was in a great flow and we weren’t doing a whole lot to disrupt him. Some of our inefficiency offensively led to our inactivity defensively. It was not one of our finer games, but we’ll regroup."
On what was missing from Davion’s point-guard play despite the looseness in the offense:
Erik Spoelstra: "Just some of the decision-making. I don’t like to talk about his assist-to-turnover ratio too much because I don’t want him thinking about that—I trust him with the ball. He’s our engine. He gets the ball where it needs to go, helps with our pace, and has a good feel. He’s an IQ player. But this could have been a different kind of game—one you just gut out at the end. My biggest takeaway right now is: can we win some games when it’s not at our identity? We’ll work on getting more consistent Monday, but this is the NBA. It’s not always going to go exactly how you want. Great teams figure out a way to win, even if it has to be an ugly win."
On starting Jaime over Ware to begin the second half:
Erik Spoelstra: "Just looking for some juice, looking for something to kick-start some energy. It didn’t really work out that way, but it wasn’t an indictment on Ko."’
On the recent dip in pace and whether it’s opponents adjusting or Miami not executing:
Erik Spoelstra: "Both for sure. After 20 games the league scouts you and puts together a game plan. If you’re doing something well, you have to put more effort, more intention, more detail into doing it. Really good teams don’t let opponents take them out of what they need to do. That’s why the practice day will be important."
On Fontecchio breaking out of his shooting slump (even in a loss):
Erik Spoelstra: "I think it probably feels good for him. We know the value he brings—one way or another he gives you gravity, plus all the other details we’ve been really encouraged by: team defense, toughness under the basket, rebounding against bigger players. He sticks his nose in there. For shooters you have to weather those storms in a long NBA season. I always tell those guys: can you miss 10 straight and shoot your 11th as if you made 10 in a row? He has that mentality. He’ll be just fine."
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