Spoelstra On Team's Crunch-Time Playoff Push: 'Miami Heat Are Must See Basketball Right Now'
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – "The Miami Heat are must see basketball right now."
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra isn't kidding.
An overtime thriller to beat the Cavaliers Monday night is keeping Miami's season alive.
"You know, including the 'Big 3' team, this is probably been one of the funner teams I've been around. You know these guys really, really come with a lot of energy," power forward Udonis Haslem said.
"We understand what we were able to the second half of the season. People were kicking dirt on us. That's the only way we can go out – we finish this season with a win," said shooting guard Tyler Johnson. "To have an opportunity to play for the playoff is something that's really special."
This team right now is priding itself on its brotherhood.
And the emphasis on a winning culture is now written across the front of the AmericanAirlines Arena.
But with one game to go, this team isn't going to be happy with just getting back to .500. They want the postseason.
"It's our game seven. Our guys are looking forward to it. They love competition and I'm just thrilled that our guys get to experience, you know, something like this," Spoelstra said.
To get into the postseason, a couple of things will have to happen. First of all, Miami needs to beat the Wizards on Wednesday. They then have to hope for either the Bulls or the Pacers to lose.
"The Wizards are going to come down and they're going to play us tough. I mean it's always a tough game against those guys. You know we just have to come out ready to pop from the jump. You know we can't have a slow start," said shooting guard Josh Richardson.
If the Heat are lucky, reinforcements may be on the way.
Dion Waiters was playing one-on-one with Haslem at practice, working on that injured ankle while coaches kept a close eye on their shooting guard.
"He looks good, he looks good. He's making shots. He looks comfortable," said point guard Goran Dragic.
"Dion's cut from the same cloth as myself. Once he puts that jersey on and, you know, makes the decision, the coaches make the decision that he's going to be out there, he's not going to focus on that injury. He's not going to focus on that pain," Haslem said.