Erik Spoelstra is NBA royalty. Minted. 

He’s got two rings to prove it, as he led the Miami Heat to the NBA championship in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Having LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at their respective Hall-of-Fame peaks probably had something to do with that, but Spoelstra also led the Heat to the Finals as a fifth seed in 2019-20 and the seventh seed in 2022-23. 

He’s guided Miami to the playoffs 14 times in 17 years without the benefit of a significant rebuild. He’s trying to do it for the 15th time in the final days of his 18th season. He’s done it with different types of teams and different levels of talent. 

The primary question mark around Spoelstra isn’t his coaching chops; it’s how he has been so good for so long and never been recognized as the NBA coach of the year?

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic is still trying to build out his NBA resume in his third season as head coach. This is the first time he’s had a chance to compete for a playoff spot. 

It’s what makes this two-game series the Raptors have at home against Spoelstra and the Heat so compelling. The second game, especially. 

The Heat were beaten convincingly enough on Tuesday that they had a team meeting after the game. The Raptors are expecting a response on Thursday. 

“They will be locked in, ready to throw the first punch, I’m sure,” said Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili. 

There aren’t many moments in a regular season when things stay still long enough that you can get a snapshot of a coaching match like this, where two evenly matched, mostly healthy teams are playing important games on proper rest. This is one.

Rajakovic deserves recognition for getting the Raptors this far: on the brink of securing Toronto’s first playoff appearance since 2021-22. Two seasons ago, the Raptors won 25 games and were 25th defensively. They won 30 games last season and were 17th defensively. 

The Raptors won their 44th game on Tuesday against Miami, are........

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