NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 27, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 6: Postgame

Miami Heat 125, Boston Celtics 113

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Q. Can you take us through the scene in the room and what the moment is like?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I mean, I can go on a long tangent about it. But this was a promise that Pat [Riley] and I made to Goran Dragic six years ago that we would have a contending team. No one would know those turn of events, a bunch of events that we couldn't control and he stayed with it, stayed with it and we are able to build some solid pieces around him.

Our organization obviously just kept on forging ahead. We were able to get a a draft pick, late, in Bam Adebayo, and obviously the general public is being introduced no Bam. But I've been through 50-plus playoff games with him because we've been scratching and crawling for our playoff lives the last two years and he's been every bit a part of that struggle trying to get into the playoffs.

And then to be able to get somebody like Jimmy Butler was one of the most amazing recruiting visits we've ever had. Last June, it was so conversational, and you just felt like after 20 minutes that our -- we were so aligned in how we viewed competition and work and culture, everything. We never even got into a pitch with him. We really just had dinner.

We were talking shop and he interrupted Pat and I after dinner, probably five minutes into just a conversations, and he said, "By the way, I'm in."

We're like, "What? We haven't even given you our pitch yet."

But he set the stage, you know, to this right about now, this team, that it would be now, and you need to have somebody like Jimmy, guys like Goran, the leadership of UD, be able to draft somebody like Tyler, be able to develop guys like Duncan and K-Nunn, and then the midseason trade to be able to get Andre with such championship experience, championship pedigree, and Jae, and Solo, because we are relying on our young guys.

So the guys that have been in our organization for so long, we understand how difficult this is to get to this point, and that's what that locker room, of all the guys that have been here for so many years, we just want to enjoy it for a night. Teams like this are unique and special, a group that really competes. A bunch of guys that have been overlooked in a lot of ways. A lot of guys in our locker room have been told that they are less than; they are the anti-AAU or new age analytics where you're trying to figure out what a player can do statistically. These guys just want to compete. They just want to roll the ball out and play and compete and fight for it.

And that's one of the reasons that I really, really admire and love being a part of this group.

I'm on a long tangent but I do want to acknowledge Boston. They are a class act, a class organization. A great series. It was so competitive. I mean, in many ways, this was a seven-game series, just how competitive it was. Extremely well-coached and well put together and we are just honored to be a part of that type of series in the Conference Finals, and then we get an opportunity for the next stage. Our guys will look forward to it. We're going to try to enjoy it for a night.

Q. Specific to Bam, you said it wasn't his fault despite the fact that he took the blame after the loss the other night. What is it about his personality that allows him to forget what happened the other night and show up and deliver the way he did in a closeout game to send you to the Finals?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Bam is one of the great competitors already in this association. He's going to become one of the great winners in the history just because he's so competitive. He moves the needle in every single day. You can't put an analytic to his game and that's probably why he was overlooked in college. He competes every single possession. He's really going into a leadership role. Way beyond his years. His offensive game is just growing daily. And he wants the responsibility, and he wants the accountability, and he isn't afraid of putting that responsibility on his shoulders, and that's what he did the other night.

All the greats in the history of the game have done that before. It was not his fault. That was a collective effort, including the coaching staff, but he wanted to take a step forward and put it on his broad shoulders, and he backed that up tonight. He was sensational. And just from a competitive standpoint, all across the board.

Q. Today is the one-year anniversary of Jimmy's introductory press conference. In that one year, how much of an impact has he had with the rest of the roster as far as just setting the tone?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: So much of this league is just about alignment. Who cares what you believe in. Who cares what your culture is.

Can you acquire a group of people that are aligned in whatever that vision is, and you need your leaders to embody those qualities, whatever they may be, and Jimmy Butler embodies those qualities just like all the Heat players of our great past have done before: Alonzo Mourning, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem. He just embodies these qualities of professionalism, of work, of accountability, of being reliable, and he leads. He doesn't have to make any apologies for who he is. We love him for who he is and what he's all about. He impacts winning. I think everybody in the league has always known that he impacts winning. It's not about stats. It's not about anything else. He cares.

And for us, that's our language. I don't even know what his stat line was tonight, but man, did he impact winning, and he set the tone all season long. We talked about how competitive our group is, of. We have a lot of guys. I had to actually calm things down at the beginning of the year. Everybody is trying to beat each other into the gym; all right, that's getting ridiculous now, how early guys wanted to get in there and work.

But you want to run a practice and compete, Jimmy is going to make sure that that's going to go to a different level. Because he can't do anything without competing fiercely. And doing whatever it takes to win.

Q. I know you said you want to enjoy this one night, but also if you have to start your homework for the next team, you've already failed the test, but what do the next two days look like?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I tell you, that it's going to be brutalizing for our video staff. I'm going to have a few beers tonight, glass of wine, call my wife, definitely face time with her, and talk to the Godfather [Pat Riley] at some point. And we've been at this for a long time. We know how difficult it is to get to this point, but our staff will prepare, and we know we didn't come this far just to celebrate this. Nobody has to get that twisted.

We just understand that this doesn't -- this is hard to do. It's hard to do. I want our guys to at least acknowledge and be able to take a few hours just to enjoy it. I'm not questioning whether our guys will get to work and dial in and we'll have a very healthy respect for our next opponent.

We've all been watching in the bubble. You're watching all the games. At least I watched maybe the first half, but we know who we are facing.

Q. After the game that Bam had last game, knowing how he was feeling, did you talk to him about it and try to help him feel better? Is that a situation where you allow him to --

ERIK SPOELSTRA: No. I loved it. I wanted to let him know and everybody know that it wasn't his responsibility. All the greats have done that, take that responsibility, and then prove it the next opportunity.

He is a great, elite competitor. I love everything that he's about.