A month later, Erik Spoelstra returns to Detroit

It's only those who do nothing who never make a mistake… For now, the CV ofEric Spoelstra speaks for himself in the NBA, but the Miami technician is not immune to a careless error. This is what happened a month ago, during the Heat's last game in Detroit, a game that ended unexpectedly, to say the least, since the Heat won the game in less than two seconds while leading 121-119 in overtime.

After Cade Cunningham's alley-oop throw-in for Jalen Duren, Erik Spoelstra simply asked for a timeout which he no longer had! As a result, after Malik Beasley's successful penalty free throw, Miami no longer had enough time to make a mistake and recover the ball, ultimately losing 123-121 to general incomprehension. A perfectionist, Erik Spoelstra has of course not forgotten this sad evening.

“As a coach, you always have it in the back of your mind. it could have been a victory. But as is the case with the players and the staff, these are just opportunities to constantly grow and improve, and this has been an opportunity for me to do that.”, he confided yesterday. “All the reminders, the procedures, we never see these kinds of scenarios often enough, whether it's making video, or going through these kinds of things with the team and personally. It's a game based on human error. Luckily, I got stronger at that.”

Errare humanum est

Erik Spoelstra confirmed that he had no excuse to clear himself, the entire bench having reminded him just beforehand that he no longer had a timeout on his hand. It was in fact the defensive collapse of his team, which perhaps anticipated too much an outside shot on the throw-in, allowing Cade Cunningham to make Jalen Duren shine, which made him come off his hinges, the pushing him to make this improbable mistake.

“Everyone reminded me that I no longer had it, the staff and the players. I got too emotional and that's something I value, being able to stay in the present moment, and I didn't do that. Then, unfortunately, we paid the price for that.”

Even if the moment must have been very painful to experience at the heart of a start to the season which was not flamboyant, the players supported their coach in this difficult moment, and the team has brilliantly been able to bounce back since then and returned to the Michigan with its best current streak, of four victories, this year.

“We are all human, it happens. We must move forward”summarized Bam Adebayo, while Tyler Herro promises that this setback will fuel their motivation for tonight. “Of course it’s always in the back of our minds. We have the feeling that we owe them one on their land. So we just have to go and get this game back.”