Erik Spoelstra admits making 'serious mental error' vs. Pistons
The Miami Heat are off to a bad start in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup following a two-point defeat at the hands of the Detroit Pistons.
What's surprising is the fact that it was not a player who cost the Heat this matchup. Instead, it was a grave mistake by head coach Erik Spoelstra in the dying seconds of the game.
Coach Spo called a timeout after the Pistons leveled the game at 121-121. However, the Heat had no timeouts left and it resulted in Spoelstra being slammed with a technical foul as Detroit sealed the game.
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Spoelstra talked about the error during the postgame conference.
"I made a serious mental error. That’s on me," coach Spo said. "I feel horrible about it. There’s no excuse for that. I’m 17 years in. I knew in the huddle we didn’t have [a timeout]. I got emotional in the huddle. I made a horrendous mistake."
Erik Spoelstra on calling a timeout the Heat didn’t have late in OT:
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 13, 2024
“I made a serious mental error. That’s on me. I feel horrible about it. There’s no excuse for that. I’m 17 years in. I knew in the huddle we didn’t have [a timeout]. I got emotional in the huddle. I made a… pic.twitter.com/SyEkd9nbSM
It's good to see that Spoelstra took accountability for his mistake. But the end result remains the same as the Heat now fall to a 4-6 record in the Eastern Conference.
Fortunately, due to the overall poor performances by East teams, the Heat are still the ninth seed in the conference. They still have a shot at turning their season around.
Spoelstra and the Heat are all set to play their second group stage game of the NBA Cup against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
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