The Los Angeles Clippers Head coach Tyronn Lue revealed one thing he’s been trying to get from Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra during their joint training period for Team USA.
“I’ve been trying to get Spo out of his comfort zone for two years now,” Lue told ESPN.
Spoelstra, one of the NBA’s best coaches, sometimes used a zone defense in Miami to help disrupt opponents.
The two-time NBA champion head coach is a defensive genius, having led the Heat to the NBA’s fifth-ranked defensive rating last season.
While Spoelstra has never won the NBA Coach of the Year award (he’s finished second in voting multiple times), he is clearly one of the most respected minds in the league.
Lue, who won a title with the The Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in his coaching career, faces a difficult task in Los Angeles in the 2024-25 season.
The Clippers lost star forward Paul George in free agency to the The Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, which could lead them to change the way they play in the 2024-25 season. If Lue decides to focus his team more on defense because they won’t benefit from George’s offensive prowess, a zone could be an effective way to mix up the Clippers’ coverages.
Last season, the Clippers ranked fourth in the NBA in offensive rating, but only sixteenth in defensive rating. They still finished fourth in the Western Conference.
Spoelstra’s zone and ability to make on-the-fly adjustments have helped Miami reach the NBA Finals twice in the last five seasons. The Heat made a trip to the Finals in the Orlando, Fla., bubble in the 2019-20 season before returning in the 2022-23 season as the No. 8 seed in the East.
It’s possible that Lue and Spoelstra could face off in the NBA Finals this season if the Clippers and Heat can make a solid playoff run. If that happens, it will be interesting to see if Spoelstra uses the zone Lue wants to learn against his fellow Team USA coach.
