Erik Spoelstra Has Been One Constant During Miami Heat's Rough Stretch

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra helped team handle a rocky month due to injuries and COVID-19

The Miami Heat have dealt with injuries to their star players in the past month. 

They've also lost a few players to health and safety protocols because of COVID-19. It led to using starting fives that sometimes resembled G League rosters because so many players were in and out of the lineup. 

The one constant, however, has been coach Erik Spoelstra. He helped keeps things in order enough that the Heat didn't lose much ground in the Eastern Conference standings. 

Despite playing stretches without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Heat are still 25-15 as they near the halfway point of the season. They are the No. 3 seed in the East and coming off a huge victory against the Phoenix Suns, who held the NBA's best record. 

Other coaches have done a really good job this year. But no one has done a better job than Erik Spoelstra has. Miami just keeps winning games no matter who they put on the floor.

Taylor Jenkins is right behind him for me, with Billy Donovan third on that list.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 9, 2022

And much of the credit goes to Spoelstra, who continues to show why deserves mention as one of the top coaches in the NBA. This could be the year he finally wins Coach of the Year. 

"Spo has just been really good at just letting us play," guard Kyle Lowry said. "He's let us play for a while. He puts a game plan and he wants us to do certain things a certain way. Adjustments on the fly. His adjustments and his game plan is very particular. He understands everything that other teams are going to do. He understands what it takes for us to win the game ... He's really good at his job." 

The Heat return to action Wednesday at the Atlanta Hawks. 

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