New York – with its two NBA titles and two additional trips to the finals during the effectiveness of the three greats of Miami Heat, and their selection as one of the 15 best coaches in the league in 2022, the reputation of Erik Spoelstra is almost impeccable.
But lately, things have been incredibly rough for Spoelstra and heat. On Monday, Miami lost 116-95 against the New York Knicks for his eighth consecutive defeat: the longest of the Heat during the race as a 17-year coach of Spoelstra.
“We are all being tested, including myself,” said Spoelstra. “No one has acquitted this. I have not found enough answers for this team. I have to do a better job. Our group has to do a better job.
“We have to put our feet on the ground and keep our terrain at this point. You always have an option. It does not mean that you win, necessarily … but [you at least have] To take some steps. And you could see that in some of the losses in the last three weeks, where it seemed that we were advancing. The last two games have not felt like this. “
It has been a frustrating season for the club, which has a story of playing with effort. The franchise endured a high profile confrontation with former star player Jimmy Butler, who was suspended several times after demanding an exchange. The president of the team, Pat Riley, changed Butler to the Golden State Warriors before the deadline.
The Heat, which has gone 4-15 since the movement, has remained less than 100 points for three consecutive games for the first time since 2018. Miami, which is in the tenth and last place for the game tournament in the east, is 10 games below .500 for the first time since 2017.
“We are going through the dark days at this time,” said Eavel Jaime Joquez Jr. after the loss. “As a team, at this time we have to unite and find a way to fight. It’s something we’ve been talking about. We just need to find something to meet.”
Miami (29-39) jumped to a 12-0 advantage during the first four minutes on Monday. But things quickly became in the second quarter, when the Knicks All-Star, Karl-Anthony Towns, fell 15 consecutive points in just over three minutes to give New York a 33-31 advantage, their first time.
The Knicks continued to see it in the third quarter, surpassing Miami 41-15. The game was delayed about 10 minutes after the actor and comedian Tracy Morgan, who was sitting on the court, required medical care. He was taken from the court in a wheelchair.
“We hope Tracy will feel better soon and we hope to see him back to the court,” said a spokesman for Madison Square Garden in a statement.
The heat returns to Miami for a five -game farm while trying to break their skate. Spoelstra said it will be a test for its players to advance mentally.
“This has been one of the biggest challenges I have faced in a regular season. But we just have to follow the course,” said Spoelstra. “We will have another game on Wednesday night, and we have to collectively that our mind well. All these losses do not necessarily impact the next game. That is mental discipline [we need]And it is a difficult human condition to fight because it is human nature to stack some of these memories and let them affect us for the next game. “
The senior writer of the NBA of ESPN, Tim Bontemps, contributed to this report.
