The Miami Heat have made a significant turn around, winning six of their previous eight games going into the All-Star break. Prior to that, they had been losing seven straight games, which was equal to the longest losing streak since 2008. Star Bam Adebayo and head coach Erik Spoelstra discussed the major shift the team had undergone.
The main strength of Miami has always been their hard-charging defense, which allowed them to win even in low-scoring games. But they weren’t playing to their identity, strengths, or the much-discussed “Heat Culture” during that losing run.
Following their seventh consecutive defeat to the Phoenix Suns on January 29, the team held a meeting and a film session during which “things were said that needed to be said.” It was described as a “vulnerable” moment. Since then, the Heat have the second-best defensive rating in the entire league, trailing only the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Throughout the losing streak, Spoelstra has insisted time and again that a “breakthrough” is imminent and that the winning ways will return once they return to their strengths. It most certainly has, as he recently stated, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, that in order for a team to return to the point at which they succeed, they must “deal with your harsh realities.”
Spoelstra said, “There are times when you have to deal with your harsh realities and go through that in a season. We were losing games as a result of not defending as well as we should have. And eventually you become so sick and tired of losing and the anguish of losing that you eventually give up.
