No easy season for Miami Heat

The ship likely has sailed for Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

The Heat owners know it and so does president Pat Riley. But they’re not ready to push the panic button just yet. Spoelstra, who is the first Filipino-American head coach in the NBA, will be on the sidelines when the Heat face the Washington Wizards at 7:30 p.m. today.

Riley has publicly said he won’t fire Spoelstra and that he doesn’t have the stomach for the grind at age 65. Many don’t believe him and think he will take over in December.

His track record indicates the move could be possible. He fired Stan Van Gundy in 2005, and he later won his fifth NBA title. But things are different this time around.

The Heat spent millions to acquire LeBron James and Chris Bosh to form a Dream team with Dwyane Wade. They instantly became the favorites to win a string of titles when the deal was announced. James, Bosh and Wade probably thought South Beach would be party central for years to come.

But that hasn’t been the case. The Heat are 9-8 overall and are coming off a 106-95 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Spoelstra has had to endure most of the criticism this season.

To make matters worse, some of the fans have given up on the team. They either show up late to games or not at all. A few commercials have been made to plead with fans to arrive on time.

But Riley won’t coach because his ego won’t allow him to. Let’s be honest folks, this season has been a complete bust so far. If Riley takes over now, it will result in failure, and he doesn’t want that.

Riley would rather place the blame on someone else and hire a better coach during the off season. He’s already made good on his promise to win an NBA title, so why screw up his legacy?

The Heat is in such disarray that it really doesn’t matter who coaches. The team is destined to have a rough season.