Heat coach Erik Spoelstra taking advantage of quarantine by spending more time with family

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says more family time has eased the frustration of three weeks without basketball

Add grillmaster to the list of titles held by Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Spoelstra said he has been in front of the grill the last three weeks more than the entire time he's lived in South Florida. It has become routine since the NBA season was suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Spoelstra family is following every precautionary order during the quarantine period.

“I’m barbecuing every single night," Spoelstra said. "I’ve never been a barbecue guy. I’ve always been a takeout, order-out guy. But now I’m cooking meals for this family.”

The lone positive of the situation is Spoelstra having more time to spend around his wife and two children. The life of an NBA coach or player often keeps them from loved ones during the season. He is now allowed to work from home, with the team holding video teleconference meetings every other day. Spoelstra has made the most of the difficult circumstances. The league is unsure if the remaining games on the schedule will be completed. A decision will be made after the 30-day suspension period. 

"Yes, we are being affected by it taking away from work and doing what we love to do and our livelihood at work and having to stay at home," Spoelstra said. But we still have opportunities for three meals a day. Look, my kids are young kids under the age of 2. They have no idea what’s going on. They think this is a big party in the backyard every single day."

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here