Kerr Applauds Championship Mentality of Heat Bench Players originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The culture of heat is more than a slogan in Miami.
It’s one of the reasons Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes the Heat are in the 2023 NBA Finals – their sixth appearance in the past 13 seasons.
Kerr credited Miami’s depth for their rise to success throughout the playoffs and applauded Heat players for knowing and understanding their roles.
“I think you have to establish that throughout the season with your team,” Kerr said on “The Draymond Green Show,” which was released Monday. “The message has to be whoever’s got it playing. And the guys have to be connected enough to not only understand that, but to embrace it. Caleb Martin was the star of the Boston series. He’s hardly been a offensive factor in this series, didn’t play much.But he hit a huge 3 in the fourth quarter [on Sunday].
“None of these Miami guys are sitting there saying, ‘Well, I didn’t play’ or ‘Man, they put on such and such. It’s just about winning. And you know that from our groups that we’ve had. When you have that champion mentality, every guy is bought. Every guy is just trying to win. Nobody cares about all that. You don’t walk into the locker room saying, ‘Well, I should have played more’, you just want to win. And that’s the beauty of finding that magic when you have a champion team is that everyone is on board and it makes the decisions for the coach really easy. You just go with your instincts and go with whoever plays well. »
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra usually goes up to 10 in his roster, and there have been contributions up and down the roster starting at the top with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but with impact all equally important coming from role players like Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Caleb. Martin.
Coming into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, no one expected the Heat to get this far – except themselves. Their trust in each other led to trust and ultimately success. It’s the Heat culture.
RELATED: Kerr Reveals 2015 Playoff Moment That Changed Coaching Outlook
It’s a principle that has been instilled in the organization for decades thanks to Pat Riley. The Warriors have had a similar philosophy in the past: strength in numbers.
It hasn’t worked for them this season, but the Warriors can only hope that their catchy slogan that somehow got lost over the years can be found again next season and for years to come.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast