Spoelstra turns up the Heat in Miami

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 31, 2016

Much is the same for Erik Spoelstra, the Portland native, Jesuit High and University of Portland grad who is in his eighth season as coach of the Miami Heat.

Spoelstra, 45 and in his 21st year with the Miami organization, has the Heat playoff-bound and in the running for as high as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

One major change is about to take place in Spoelstra’s life, however. One of south Florida’s most eligible bachelors is about to get hitched.

Spoelstra and former Heat dancer Nikki Sapp will wed in late July in Miami.

“Just got back from a wedding tasting,” Spoelstra says. “We’re getting married after summer league and free agency. Everything revolves around the NBA calendar, of course.”

Sapp teaches seventh-grade English and runs the dance program at the middle school.

“I’ve changed as the years have gone on to be ready for this step in my life,” Spoelstra says. “Nikki keeps me very grounded. She has really opened my lens to life outside the basketball court.”

An NBA coach is pretty much basketball 24/7/365 through the season though, and that’s Spoelstra’s focus with the Heat, 43-30 through Monday and in the midst of a three-game trip that ends Saturday in Portland.

“We’re in the thick of an extremely competitive race in the East, which is fun for our players,” Spoelstra says. “You feel the significance of every game.”

Spoelstra’s Miami teams made the postseason in each of his first seven seasons at the helm, winning back-to-back NBA championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13. After the Heat reached the NBA finals for the fourth consecutive year, losing out to San Antonio in 2013-14, LeBron James took his talents to Cleveland. Miami dipped to 37-45 and missed the playoffs for the first time in Spoelstra’s tenure last season.

“It was hard, but it was also a growing experience,” Spoelstra says. “You can’t take anything for granted. It’s hard to win in this league. Nothing is ever guaranteed.

“During my time in Miami, we’ve had some great years and some tough years. Last year, even with Dwyane (Wade) missing 20 games in the second half of the season, we were in the playoff hunt going to the last game.”

Miami has bounced back this season, despite the loss before the All-Star break of All-Star power forward Chris Bosh to blood clots.

“I like our team,” Spoelstra says. “We’ve dealt with a lot of adversity, but I like the way the group has come together and connected and grown from it. We felt we put together a team that could grow together as the season went on, and I’ve been pleased with the results.”

At 34, Wade has remained healthy (missing only six games) and kept his status as one of the premier shooting guards in the league, averaging 19.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds while playing 30.5 minutes per game through Monday.

“Dwyane has continued to reinvent himself and adapt his game to our team,” Spoelstra says. “He has grown as a leader. I’ve enjoyed seeing that growth as a pro.”

Goran Dragic has had a solid season as Wade’s backcourt mate, and Luol Deng has taken a step forward in his second season in Miami.

“Luol is becoming more the player he was in Chicago,” Spoelstra says. “He’s feeling more comfortable with being a leader and as a member of our organization.”

Center Hassan Whiteside is an emerging talent who has become one of the league’s premier big men, leading the league in blocked shots (3.7) and ranking fourth in rebounds (11.7). Since the 7-foot Whiteside returned to duty in early February after missing six games with a knee injury, Spoelstra has brought him off the bench, giving the starts to veteran Amare Stoudemire.

“Hassan has grown incrementally each month since he’s been with us,” Spoeltsra says. “He’s been a force at the center position. We brought him off the bench when he came back, and we played really well during that stretch, so I’ve kept him there, but it’s not indicative of his role. He is playing starter’s minutes.”

The Heat are being mum on the status of Bosh, who missed the second half of last season with the same blood clot issues. The veteran forward has said he hopes to return to action at some point this season.

“We don’t have an update on him,” Spoelstra says. “He’s around the team, he’s working out, and he’s in a great place.”

Spoelstra began his career with Miami as video coordinator in 1995, shortly before Pat Riley arrived as head coach. Spoelstra moved up the ranks under Riley, serving as an assistant coach under the Hall-of-Famer before becoming his handpicked successor in 2008, with Riley moving upstairs as team president. Eight years later, the one-time boy wonder has approached middle age.

“It goes by fast,” Spoelstra says. “Pat told me the first day he hired me (as head coach), ‘You’re going to blink and it’s 10 years.’ I’m not quite there yet, but I can relate to what he told me.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have been with this organization. We all know how unique it is in pro sports to have that kind of stability. It comes from the top. The course of the Miami Heat changed immediately when Mr. (Micky) Arison took over (as owner) in 1995.

“His first big move was hiring Coach Riley. That changed the culture and the direction of this franchise for the next 21 years. When you see other places that are not like that, it makes you feel grateful for being a part of it.”

Spoelstra has continued to evolve as a head coach, adapting to a change of roster and the NBA game itself.

“You have to,” he says. “This league changes so quickly. From year to year, the competition changes. It is so difficult to win in this league. To be able to do it consistently, you have to have great stability within the organization, but also awareness of how tough it is.

“If you don’t adapt as a coach or in the front office, you get left behind. The way the game is played and the way the teams are put together are different than they were when I started eight years ago.”

Spoelstra says he is enjoying coaching more than ever, but admits there will be a day when he might be interested in a front-office position.

“You see what Pat did,” he says. “Yeah, that would be intriguing. But right now, I absolutely love coaching. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“And I get to do it with people I love, including Pat. We’ve worked together for so long, it feels much more like a family than a business. He has been a great mentor and example for me. We have a special bond.”

Spoelstra’s family still lives in Portland — parents Jon, a former NBA front-office executive, and Elisa and sister Monika Metz. Normally, Erik looks forward to the annual trip to his hometown for a chance to have a night visiting with family. This time, the Heat play in Sacramento on Friday night, making Portland the second of back-to-back games.

“That’s OK,” Spoelstra says. “After not making the playoffs last season, I was able to get out to Portland several times during the summer. So I spent lots of time with family. That was nice, but you don’t want to do that too often, or you’ll be out of a job.”

keggers@portlandtribune.com

Twitter: @kerryeggers