Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Spoelstra’s super party
Weber on Heat: ‘Why go down the same road?’
MIAMI — When it comes to the Super Bowl, Erik Spoelstra appreciates that even athletes become fans. So the Heat coach once again is altering his team’s travel plans to accommodate the moment.
This time it’s a noon flight from Miami to Minneapolis on Sunday in order to ensure an arrival in time for the opening kickoff.
“We’re all sports fans,” Spoelstra said in advance of Saturday night’s game against the visiting 76ers. “We don’t want to miss it. We love it. Guys talk about it all the time. And, secondly, we think it’s a great team event to do together.”
The payoff from one such effort was a franchiserecord 27-game winning streak.
That was back in 2013, when, after an afternoon victory over the Raptors at Air Canada Centre, Spoelstra allowed his team to take in the Super Bowl at Toronto’s massive Real Sports sport bar, despite having a home game the next night against Charlotte.
“It was one of the best team days I’ve had in the NBA,” former Heat forward Shane Batter would later say, even if Spoelstra did spend the first quarter game-planning on his computer. “It was one of the best days I’ve had as a pro, socially with my teammates.”
The following year, there was a team viewing party at Ray Allen’s Miami home that featured an outdoor viewing setup.
In 2015, the Heat had planned to watch the game in Boston before flying to Detroit, but a snowstorm in Boston had the Heat instead scurrying for viewing options in Detroit.
Last season, the options were limited, with the Heat playing a home game that day against the Clippers.
This time, there was plenty of time for planning and adjusting of the typical travel itinerary that would have featured a late-afternoon departure for the three-hour, 50-minute flight.
“We’ve had great times, memorable times,” Spoelstra said of the team viewing parties. “It’s not just about the business, it’s about also creating some memories.”
Spoelstra is so convinced about the benefits that he has made Sunday’s team viewing party mandatory.
“Yes,” he said, “mandatory.”
“I enjoy it. I love it,” he said. “I actually like it better when we’re on the road to be able to do it together and enjoy.” expected to soon return from his sprained left foot and join that mix.
“So I figured I should pick something new, and actually a team with a spot, and they actually let somebody go to fit me in,” Weber said at the Warriors’ Saturday shootaround in Sacramento.
The Warriors released veteran center Anderson
in order to sign