{"id":209471,"date":"2026-03-28T10:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T10:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/209471\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T10:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T10:25:08","slug":"is-it-as-simple-as-the-miami-heat-arent-good-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/209471\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it as simple as the Miami Heat aren&#8217;t good enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Q: The Cavaliers are using the same defense and the same offensive sets to run up the score against the Heat that they used in last year\u2019s playoffs. Why doesn\u2019t Erik Spoelstra make any adjustments? He had to know this was coming.\u00a0 \u2013 Thomas, Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>A: Because his players aren\u2019t good enough? Moving beyond the Bam Adebayo-Evan Mobley matchup, Donovan Mitchell is better than Tyler Herro, James Harden is better than Norman Powell, Jarrett Allen is better than Kel\u2019el Ware and Max Strus against the Heat is better than Jaime Jaquez Jr. against the Cavaliers. Gimmicks and systems have long been secondary in the NBA to talent. That, more than coaching, is why the Heat have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2026\/03\/25\/worst-of-all-worlds-odds-are-against-the-heat-for-playoffs-and-for-high-lottery-luck\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stuck in the play-in mud<\/a> these past few seasons. Elite talent wins in the NBA, which, for the Heat, remains lacking on the high end.<\/p>\n<p>Q: Ira, please ask Erik Spoelstra <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2026\/03\/26\/heasts-spoelstra-finally-settles-on-a-lineup-were-going-to-go-with-this\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">why does he think<\/a> he will be the only successful small-ball team in NBA history. And did this utter embarrassment finally prove it will never, ever work, especially defensively? Please Ira, be the voice of the fans. \u2013 Pinga.<\/p>\n<p>A: And that\u2019s exactly what I did before the game, when it became apparent the Cavaliers would again have Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in their starting lineup, the duo that pulverized the Heat in last year\u2019s playoffs. Spoelstra pointed to how Andrew Wiggins played up at power forward not only earlier this season but also during his time with the Warriors, when Draymond Green was cast at center. So asked, and that was Spoelstra\u2019s answer.\u00a0 (There are many more interview sessions with Spoelstra, beyond those televised after games, including pregame and at morning shootarounds on the road.)<\/p>\n<p>Q: The Heat should trade everyone else and keep Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro,\u00a0 Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Kel\u2019el Ware.\u2013 Jeremiah, Oneida, New York.<\/p>\n<p>A: First, a lot of the paring might come organically, with Norman Powell, Simone Fontecchio and Keshad Johnson impending free agents and Andrew Wiggins with a player option. But while you mention others beyond Bam Adebayo, I would think any and all would be at least dangled for a start along the lines of a Giannis Antetokounmpo. So your \u201ckeep\u201d list might even be more spartan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Q: The Cavaliers are using the same defense and the same offensive sets to run up the score&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[17325,114,123,125,2490,16151,124,2295,110],"class_list":["post-209471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-ask-ira","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-heat","tag-miami-heat-blog","tag-miami-news","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}