"Damn, it was humbling" - Heat's Erik Spoelstra reflects on historic lopsided NBA playoff loss
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made his feelings known after a historic loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. The Heat had an embarrassing performance in Game 4 of their first-round series, losing 138-83 and getting swept out of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Spoelstra felt humbled and embarrassed by what happened. He just hopes that his players learned something from the experience of playing in the postseason against the best team in the Eastern Conference.
"I think I became better from it," Spoelstra said. "I hope the players became better from it, but damn, it was humbling. You know, this series was humbling. These last two games were embarrassing, but Cleveland's also a very good team."
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The Miami Heat were the underdogs heading into the series since they were the No. 10 seed and had to battle their way in the NBA play-in tournament to qualify for the playoffs.
The Heat lost all four games by double-digits and three by more than 20 points. The 55-point loss in Game 4 was the most lopsided defeat in a series-clinching game in NBA history and the third-most in playoff history.
It was an embarrassing series for the proud franchise under Erik Spoelstra, since they were unable to give their fans a great performance, or at least give an effort to make the games at the Kaseya Center competitive.
Tyler Herro responded to Darius Garland about getting targeted on defense, but it didn't work since he struggled to get it going in Games 3 and 4. It's going to be a very interesting offseason in Miami, especially after the entire Jimmy Butler debacle during the campaign and the woeful exit from the playoffs.
Erik Spoelstra on lessons learned by Tyler Herro from this series
Tyler Herro's response to Darius Garland has made headlines, but his performances in the last two games of the series were highlighted. He had 13 points in Game 3, but was worse on Sunday with just four points on 1-for-10 shooting.
Coach Erik Spoelstra believes his star guard will work on his game tirelessly in the offseason and enter the 2025-26 season a better player.
"He's a competitor, so he loves that kind of challenge and he'll figure it out," Spoelstra said. "He'll have a great offseason. I don't want to think about that right now, but I know Tyler. I know what he's about. He's going to work and he'll come back better from this."
The Heat have a good core with Herro and Bam Adebayo, as well as young prospects like Nikola Jovic and Kel'el Ware.