(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
After a slow start to the 2023-24 NBA season, the Miami Heat have picked things up as they’re currently fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat typically take a while to ramp up during the regular season, but this year they’ve come out of the gates strong as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo look motivated to get the team back to the Finals.
Miami lost some key role players in free agency like Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, but the team has been able to manage without them as they’re getting contributions from the rest of the roster.
However, the Heat’s biggest advantage remains head coach Erik Spoelstra, who is arguably the best at his job in the league.
Spoelstra kept busy over the summer as he served as an assistant coach on Team USA during the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
During his time with Team USA, Spoelstra was able to build relationships with players like Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson and he joked about his relationship with the two of them, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Erik Spoelstra jokes that he came out of this summer’s Team USA experience really liking both Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson — something he said he hoped wouldn’t happen given the nature of the Heat-Knicks rivalry.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 24, 2023
The Knicks and Heat were bitter rivals in the 1990s as the two teams faced off in the regular season and playoffs several times.
The matchups were always physical and fights often times broke out between the players.
Although their rivalry has died down in recent years, New York and Miami fans still clearly dislike each other.
In this day and age, coaches and players are more friendly with each other but Spoelstra is still likely looking forward to beating Hart and Brunson’s Knicks.
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