Q: Ira, with the Heat and Bulls now tied and the Bulls winning the season series, which team has the easier remaining schedule? – Joel.
A: I would have to give a slight edge to Chicago. The Bulls’ remaining games are at Thunder, vs. Raptors. vs. Trail Blazers, at Hornets, at Cavaliers, vs. Heat, vs. Wizards, at 76ers. The Heat’s remaining games are at Wizards, at Celtics, vs. Grizzlies, vs. Bucks, vs. 76ers, at Bulls, at Pelicans, vs. Wizards. The Heat-Bulls game could well decide the higher seed between the two. But at this time of year, it also comes down to what the opponent has to play for. For example, a playoff team locked into seeding might sit starters. Conversely, a lottery team locked into a lottery position might have no reason to need to tank.
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Q: Ira, isn’t it funny when the Heat win no one is talking about the lottery. But as soon as something goes wrong, they say they should’ve lost. – Martin.
A: Actually, I have no issue with that, because of how the NBA has established a narrative to make everyone feel like a winner. If your team is bad, there is always the lottery. If your team is mediocre, there always is the play-in round. And if your team is good, there is the battle for seeding in the playoffs. The thing that gets lost in the entire process is that players play to win, and coaches coach to win. So if a team truly needs to or wants to tank, that is up to the front office to make sure the players most capable of helping you win do not take the court. Philadelphia on Saturday night was a prime example of that, when anyone and everyone of note was out of action. And we now are seeing more and more lottery teams decide to shut down players for the season. It’s not the right thing to do, but it’s the NBA’s way of making everyone feel like there is something better ahead.
Q: I was watching the interview of Erik Spoelstra when he was talking about the NSU Sharks winning the Division II championship on Saturday. He was talking about Jim Crutchfield and mentioned that he was at West Liberty. Was that just a slip of the tongue? – Mike, Coral Springs.
A: No, he was mentioning how fortunate Nova Southeastern was to pry Jim Crutchfield away from West Liberty in 2017 to help establish this dynasty in Davie. Erik Spoelstra has been a fan of Jim since he became aware of the unique system at Nova that has produced these remarkable results. Best coach in South Florida? Jim Crutchfield is up there with any of them.
