A coach picks his words carefully
Erik Spoelstra said he would not make the loss in Charlotte about the officials. Then he spent the next minute doing something close to it. Giannis Antetokounmpo played only 25 minutes in Miami’s 115-110 defeat and fouled out with under two minutes left, and his coach used the postgame podium to question how that came about.
The complaint, as relayed by EuroHoops, was about physicality. Spoelstra pointed to the contact Antetokounmpo absorbs every night, then noted that the player taking the beating is the one who ends up on the bench with six fouls. He compared the situation to Shaquille O’Neal, who built a career on the same imbalance. The coach did not want others to use his comments as cover for the team’s own problems, and he said so.
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Why it matters for Miami
The Heat are 0-3, their first such start in Spoelstra’s 19 seasons in charge. Antetokounmpo, in his first year in Miami, finished with 14 points. With him in foul trouble, Miami clawed back from 22 down and tied the game three times before Charlotte pulled away.
The question for the next week is whether the whistle changes or the Heat do. Dallas visits on Monday, and a team without a win cannot count on late rallies to cover for a star who is out of the game when it is decided.
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