News of Stan Van Gundy's firing from the Orlando Magic's head coaching position has been all over the NBA headlines. Erik Spoelstra could be facing similar circumstances if the Miami Heat do not win a championship this year.
The Heat brought Lebron James to Miami to win a championship. Plain and simple. They played well during the regular season but were humiliated last year by Dirk Nowitzki and the aging Dallas Mavericks.
This year, their regular season was not as dominant and they have looked disorganized against the Indiana Pacers. There were two things that can explain why Van Gundy was fired. The Magic never won a championship and relationships in Orlando between some players and coach were strained.
It was not just any player that seemed bothered by Van Gundy's coaching, it was superstar, center, Dwight Howard. Their problematic relationship was all over media headlines. Howard never admitted that he wanted a different coach, but things were messy in Orlando. All Howard said was that their goal was to win a championship.
This is very similar to what is going on in Miami. If the Heat do not succeed and win the sought after Larry O'Brien trophy, Spoelstra is the first one out of there. There will be no championship and relationships seem to be strained in Miami too. In Game 3, Dwayne Wade had a very confrotational reaction to whatever Spoelstra had told him.
Spoelstra looked helpless as he almost tried avoiding eye contact with Wade while scratching his ear. The exchange did not look like the head coach was the one in charge. Coach Spoelstra described the confrontation as a part of the game in a press conference after the game. He said it happens often in the course of a season.
Whether he likes it or not, the confrontation does not look professional. From the outside looking in, it looks like the players do not respect a coaches decision and once it reaches the public eye, fans question the leadership quality of the coach.
Erik Spoelstra's job might be in jeopardy and it depends greatly on the Heat's success.
