Meet the Miami Heats New Assistant Coaching Staff: There’s been some movement this offseason in the Miami Heat’s coaching staff, and this could produce a bit of change in team dynamics. Head coach Erik Spoelstra will remain but longtime assistant Ron Rothstein retired after spending 40 years in coaching. For those young enough to remember, Rothstein became the organization’s first head coach back in 1988. His retirement won’t completely take him out of basketball. Rothstein will join the Heat broadcast booth and analyze games. There’s a wealth of knowledge in that mind of his, and the basketball world needs an outlet to obtain it. Fans will certainly benefit, but the Heat could take a step back. Rothstein has likely seen every type of player, defensive scheme and offensive set known to man, which means he has an idea how to counter all of them. As Spoelstra’s former assistant, one can surmise Rothstein had valuable information to offer within the flow of the game, which helped Miami advance to the past four NBA Finals. He will surely be missed, but it’s entirely possible that a change here will produce a different type of team going forward (more on this later). Joining Rothstein in this staff exodus is Bob McAdoo. McAdoo, a former league MVP and Hall of Famer as a player, brings 19 years of coaching experience into his new gig as one of Miami’s lead scouts. It’s probably safe to say that McAdoo’s time as a player gave him some insight with respect to dealing with athletes. What’s more, he was once labeled a superstar and then accepted being a role player for two Los Angeles Lakers title teams (1981-82 and 1984-85). One could argue that he helped Dwyane Wade—then at the peak of his powers—pass the baton to LeBron James after the 2010-11 campaign. McAdoo certainly had the credentials to do so. However, James’ decision to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers changed the landscape of the Heat. Miami was probably going to change some of its schemes because the team no longer had the youth and energy to aggressively attack teams (especially on defense where they routinely blitzed and trapped pick-and-rolls), but James exit probably altered the makeup of all the plans. Rothstein’s retirement coupled with McAdoo’s reassignment opens up the door for a bit of new blood. David Fizdale will remain as Spoelstra’s top assistant while Juwan Howard, a former Heat player, will move up to an assistant job after a season working in player development, per Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. I’m guessing Howard will take the spot vacated by McAdoo. Although Howard was never the same caliber of player as McAdoo, he was viewed as a franchise player during his stint with the Washington Bullets and became a role player over the years. He signed on with the Heat in his final three seasons and played an enforcer role for the team (the 2012-13 campaign was his last). After 19 campaigns in the league, Howard is more than qualified to teach players a thing or two and steer them in the right direction. Also, the 41-year-old Howard will probably have an easier time relating to players than McAdoo, who will be 63 when training camp opens. Considering that Howard is a good teacher and communicator, I’m guessing the move will help as it pertains to acclimating a roster that’s seen a bit of turnover this summer. It was no different when he was a player to when hes a coach now, Spoelstra said last October, according to the South Florida Sentinel’s Ira Winderman. He does a great job of communicating in a way that our players can respond to. Miami acquired Danny Granger, Josh McRoberts, and Luol Deng via free agency and Shabazz Napier through the draft. I suppose that players responded better with Howard, which in turn led to a promotion. Still, there’s one vacant spot left to fill with Rothstein’s retirement. According to Wojnarowski, Miami is interested in bringing in former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart. As a member of the Warriors, Smart often had a quick hook with Stephen Curry whenever he coughed up the ball or didn’t compete well enough defensively. Interestingly enough, Smart allowed Monta Ellis to get a little more leeway in these areas. Ethan Sherwood Strauss touched on this over at ESPN’s TrueHoop blog in March 2011: There’s something strict and paternal in the way Keith handles his best player. A bad mistake often leads to a quick hook, while veteran Monta Ellis is free to frolic. It’s as though Smart’s trying to hone Curry’s mastery of split-second decisions through punishment. Smart won’t be the head coach in Miami, but if he uses a different set of rules for players on a veteran team, it might create turmoil more than anything. On the flip side, I think Smart will help revamp the Heat’s defense. Miami played a taxing style of defense predicated on athleticism, and it can no longer do that. Instead, they need to switch things up and play a little more conservatively. Smart is as dedicated as they come to his craft, and I think he will be able to diagnose exactly what the Heat need on this front going into next season. If you’re not convinced, here’s a tweet from the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones dating to back when Smart was the Kings’ head coach: Keith Smart spent a lot of time studying the Kings on film. This is the first time hes been the head coach throughout all of the offseason in the NBA so he broke down all the film he could to plan for this season. He said in approximately 7,000 defensive possessions for the Kings there were only about 30 where all five players were in a defensive stance at the same time. Smart said the Kings have to make a gigantic leap defensively this season. Lazy defense = a lot of losing, in case you hadnt noticed. Smart might have his shortcomings in terms of player handling, but his contributions as it pertains to scouting Miami and then devising a solid defensive system with the help of Spoelstra, Fizdale and Howard could help the Heat get back into the top-10 efficiency rankings (they finished no. 12 last year). That’s a surefire way to get into the postseason and perhaps even compete for a title with a bit of luck. The shakeup in the coaching staff will help the team improve defensively, but I’m not sure it will have any impact whatsoever on offense. The Heat will live and die with the exploits of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and I’m not exactly sure that’s a recipe for success given Wade’s injury woes in the past two years. Still, the new staff will make the team look a bit different, and that might just be what the Heat need to compete in the Eastern Conference. Read more NBA news on BleacherReport #Basketball #NBA #NBASoutheast #MiamiHeat #fantasybasketball
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 04:34:29 +0000
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