Despite the Miami Heat’s disappointing team results over the past two seasons, a general consensus persists that Erik Spoelstra remains the NBA’s premier coach. With Gregg Popovich stepping away from coaching duties in San Antonio, Spoelstra is now the league’s longest-tenured coach, having taken over the Heat in 2008. He was again named the best coach by league executives in their annual survey and was recently elevated to head coach of the US men’s national basketball team after serving as an assistant.
However, a new ranking from CBSSports.com has placed Spoelstra behind a long-time nemesis: the Indiana Pacers’ Rick Carlisle.
In this ranking, which is divided into eight tiers, Rick Carlisle stands alone in Tier 1, while Erik Spoelstra settles into Tier 2 at the No. 2 overall spot.
While still classified as “elite,” the explanation for his slight slip was provided by author Sam Quinn: “For the past half-decade or so, Spoelstra would have been the universal answer if every fanbase could pick one coach to lead their team. His resume is astounding: six Finals trips in the past 15 years, an uncanny ability to develop second-round picks and undrafted free agents into legitimate NBA players, a comprehensively strategic system, and a ‘Culture’ so strong it’s printed on the jersey.”
“Yet, last year was likely the first true disappointment a Spoelstra-led team has experienced since the 2011 Finals. He is far from the only person culpable for the embarrassing Jimmy Butler saga, but it’s ultimately the coach’s job to maintain locker room peace. From February 1st on, only the Charlotte Hornets were worse than the Heat in clutch fourth quarters, posting a staggeringly poor -12 net rating. The offense grew stale. Was that due to Butler’s absence, or had the Heat become complacent? Even small, uncharacteristic game-management mistakes emerged, such as Spoelstra costing the Heat a game against the Detroit Pistons by calling a timeout he didn’t have.”
Quinn concedes that if your team hired Erik Spoelstra tomorrow, you’d still feel great. He’s just not quite as bulletproof as he has been in years past. By his own lofty standards, he had a down year. Meanwhile, their No. 1 coach, Rick Carlisle, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career.
The choice of Carlisle at the top is a worthy one. Heat fans well remember Carlisle’s prowess from before his current Pacers stint. In the 2011 NBA Finals, the experienced Carlisle outmaneuvered a less seasoned Spoelstra. Most recently, he guided the Indiana Pacers, a team without a noted superstar, on an unexpected run to the NBA Finals with a play-style completely different from his prior deployments.
Of Carlisle, Quinn writes: “Unlike his more famous counterparts like Pat Riley or Phil Jackson, Carlisle has never been blessed with obvious juggernaut teams. That is likely why he’s rarely been part of the discussion for the greatest coaches in NBA history. But after what we just witnessed, we can no longer deny him his place in that group. All Carlisle has done for the past two-and-a-half decades is exceed expectations. His teams win more than they should. His players grow beyond who we thought they could be. This past spring punched Carlisle’s ticket to the Hall of Fame and assured him the top spot among the league’s current coaches.”
Nevertheless, the debate is not over. If Spoelstra can guide the current, young Heat roster back into the Eastern Conference’s top four, a reconsideration of the top spot may very well be in order.