Eric Spolestra is a tier above MDA and Mike Brown. He was handed a talented roster, but unlike the other two, he could actually design an offense and defense to make them successful and win a ring.
I agree. I thought Spo was a mediocre coach at first, but what he has done with that roster is kind of revolutionary. Basically eliminated the center position from the lineup to maximize athleticism and outside shooting, and to compensate he installed a defense with relentless ball pressure and fronting the post. That leads to turnovers, and with that small lineup they can beat other teams down the floor for easy transition points. At a time when pretty much everyone was scrambling to get size in order to combat the Lakers twin towers, the Heat decided to beat all that size with speed and ball pressure.
I don't know exactly how much of that is Pat Riley's influence, but I still gotta give props to Spolestra. Phil had MJ and Pippen, Kobe and Shaq, Kobe and Pau. Pop had Duncan and Robinson, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. Doc had KG, Pierce, and Allen. Just about every coach we think of as being a great coach has won with immensely talented rosters.
As for Del Negro... Nah, I don't think he's a very good coach. The Clippers half court offense is still kinda whack.
Just to be clear: I'm not saying Spo is as good as Doc or Pop or Phil. Just that he's a better coach than I once thought.
Edited by djcovi, March 01, 2013 - 03:41 AM.
