"Concern is extremely high”: Erik Spoelstra's alarm clashes with Jimmy Butler's calm amid Heat's losing streak
Jimmy Butler may not be concerned after the Miami Heat suffered their seventh-straight loss when they went down to the Phoenix Suns on Monday, but head coach Erik Spoelstra didn't echo the same sentiment when he addressed the media following their, 118-105 defeat. Placed 24-23, the Heat have now slipped to seventh in the East, and the last time they hit a snag was during the forgettable 2007-08 season where they had only 15 wins for the entirety of the season.
When asked about the slump, Spoelstra kept it real, calling the concern "extremely high", and that the Heat is in trouble:
“I mean, obviously if you're in this kind of hole right now, the level of urgency, concern is extremely high. We're just not doing it consistently hard enough, tough enough, with enough resolve with the things that come at you in an NBA game. We can do it for periods of time, but not be able to sustain it.
"We have to get over this hurdle, one way or another, and that's what we're gonna get to work on. And we've been saying that, we've been doing it and I'm not absolving myself from this at all. I'm every bit a part of this right now and we have to come together and figure out some solutions and dig deep to figure out how to get one win. That's what this thing is about right now.”
Injuries and inconsistency have plagued Miami since the start of the season, but despite the absence of their big stars one game or the other, the side managed to string up a healthy record before going down the slope. Erratic shooting and below-par defense have been their bane this time around.
On the game front, the Heat's new acquisition Terry Rozier had a decent outing with 21 points. Tyler Herro had 17 points, while Jimmy Butler led with 26 points. But they were beaten comprehensively by Kevin Durant (20 points), Devin Booker (22 points) and Eric Gordon (23 points).
Jimmy Butler not concerned about Heat's slump
For Jimmy Butler, it was all about tapping into each player's strengths and that would be enough to get the team back to winning ways. Sharing his two cents on the slump, he said:
“We're alright. We just got to stay the course and correct. But we know what we have to correct, control what we can control, and then we'll live with the results. But we have to do what we have to do on both sides of the ball to get the results we want.”
As reassuring as Jimmy Butler's words sound to Miami fans, there is work to be done and the Heat have a chance to snap that streak when they take on the Sacramento Kings next. It remains to be seen if they can indeed pull off a much-needed win.