Big Three Eras Rocky Start: LeBron, Spoelstra, and Pat Rileys Pivotal MomentFormer Miami Heat assistant coach David Fizdale recently shared insights on the Hoop Genius podcast about the teams early struggles during the Big Three era. Fizdale hinted that LeBron James might have wanted then-head coach Erik Spoelstra fired during that time. The teams initial performance, with a barely above .500 winning percentage, was a major disappointment. However, Fizdale revealed that the team actually had the fifth-best net rating in the league during that first month. The real issue was their fifth-worst net rating in fourth quarters, indicating a problem with finishing games. Pat Riley addressed this directly with the team, making it clear that he would trade any player before he would fire Coach Spoelstra. Following this powerful message, the team went on an incredible run, winning twenty-two out of twenty-three games, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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