The challenge of Erik Spoelstra's career is to come

Spoelstra is right. The single-game elimination environment is a different beast that many players aren’t too familiar with aside from the NCAA tournament. It’s a shift for the coach, too, because Spoelstra’s teams are lately known for being spoilers, and now he’ll direct his most loaded units since the Big Three Miami Heat. Yet, that won’t matter to anybody if they fail to capture gold because the talent differential between the United States and other countries still makes his squad the front-runner team. Aside, with Spoelstra picking the lineups, expect a starting and closing five built for speed.

The United States won gold in the last Olympics and went through two close games, but a year earlier in the FIBA World Cup, they failed to bring back any medals, and it was a group that Steve Kerr coached, and Spoelstra was an assistant on.

In 2023, the United States sent out a talented group that did not contain the top echelon of NBA players. Spoelstra said at his introductory presser that there is a “call to action” so the best American players raise their hands to participate. Still, Spoelstra should be able to win with a team like that if the top guys wish to wait until the Olympics. The world may be getting better and the rules are different, but it doesn’t excuse how badly the 2023 squad folded or when they got smoked when Gregg Popovich was coach of the 2019 World Cup roster. 

The 2028 Olympics will be hosted by the United States. There’s extra pride and pressure to deliver, and at their best, they should overwhelm everyone.

Naturally, the position is a covert recruiting tool for other players to join the Heat, but that will only have more success if they win, especially if they redeem themselves early. Also, a stellar tenure would reinforce Spoelstra’s standing as one of the top basketball minds in history. 

The rule change in FIBA where there is no defensive three-second violation will allow Team USA to play a supercharged zone. Keep in mind how effective Spoelstra’s schemes were in the 2020 Orlando bubble when he had Bam Adebayo in the back middle, and Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder and/or Derrick Jones Jr. at the top of the zone, neutralizing rivals. The advantage with Team USA is that whoever sticks the corners will probably be faster or longer defenders than Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. 

Spoelstra said getting the nod was the “honor of a lifetime,” and he understands the expectations. He inherited Pat Riley’s best coaching qualities, and all that’s left is for him to make his own mark as head coach of an international squad.

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