Erik Spoesltra, the Miami Heat's coach, calls it "basketball in the mud," the ability to win by playing poorly at times, uninspired, suffering from injuries, having public clashes with their stars, suffering unfair refereeing decisions, with players so undervalued. , but finding despite all this the way to score more points than the rival. His team has thus reached the NBA finals, with the most ineffective attack in the league, the eighth and last to qualify for the playoffs in the East, after losing with three minutes to go in the decisive game.
On the opposite bench, that of the Denver Nuggets, Michael Malone is the prototype of patience. The fourth longest-serving coach in the league (after the legendary Gregg Popovich -27 seasons with San Antonio-, Spoelstra himself and Steve Kerr), has gradually matured the team for eight seasons. He arrived in 2014, at the same time as Nikola Jokic, and has created it around the figure of the Serbian and the Canadian point guard Jamal Murray. Most franchises wouldn't have given him that much time, in a world where players trade like trading cards in search of the magic combination and immediate results are expected. Proof of this is that in recent weeks Nick Nurse, who gave the ring to the Toronto Raptors, has been fired; Nick Budenholzer, who won the tournament with Milwaukee; Monty Williams, who led the Suns to the finals; and Doc Rivers, of the 76ers.
Other teams would have dispensed with Malone's services in 2018, when a loss to Minnesota on the final day knocked the Nuggets out of the Finals. Or after losing last year in the first round against the Warriors, or the previous year in the second against the Suns, despite having Jokic, the league's MVP and the best player in the world. But injuries had enslaved Murray, playing second fiddle to him; Michael Porter Jr. he hadn't quite grown and he lacked the secondary actors he now has: Aaron Gordon, Cristian Braun, Kentavious Caldwell-Jones, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green...
Spoesltra says he spent the longest, most miserable night of his life after losing the 2011 Finals to the Dallas Mavericks (with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the team), and blaming himself for it. He put on an iron breastplate. He combines confrontation with empathy, yin with yang. He lets the players express themselves (he had a verbal spat with Jimmy Butler in the playoffs last year), without giving it much thought. He puts three conditions, yes: that there is eye contact, that nothing is personal and that the discussion is accompanied by a solution. On the other hand, he is involved in the lives of his boys, he gives them explanations when he takes them out of the rotation, he sends them personal messages, he offers to help them when they have problems, he sends them gifts for birthdays or when they have children. At the same time he inspires, infuriates, challenges and gives compassion and affection. In Miami, the drama and the conflicts are fought face to face, in front of the television cameras if necessary. Differences need to be aired instead of left to fester.
Part of the mystique that surrounds Spoelstra – of an American father and a Filipino mother – is the complete lack of prominence. He refuses to talk about himself and focuses on the players. The last time he gave an interview about his person was nine years ago, and since then he has done his best to stay in the shadows. The me does not matter, only the us.
There are coaches who are great at designing plays, others making tactical adjustments or motivating players. Malone and Spoesltra do all three.
