Heat can handle the truth: Spoelstra calls ‘Code Red’ take on Martin foul on Tatum ‘an irrational assessment’
BOSTON – The Miami Heat say they can handle the truth, and that the term Code Red from the movie A Few Good Men should have no place in the vernacular of this playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
If the wake of the hard foul by Heat forward Caleb Martin against Celtics forward Jayson Tatum in the closing minute of Sunday’s 114-94 Heat loss at the start of this best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series, Celtics television analyst Brian Scalabrine accused Heat coach Erik Spoelstra of ordering a Code Red during a late timeout. In the Jack Nicholson-Tom Cruise 1992 movie, the term Code Red, an unofficial Marine act of discipline, was at the center of the plot.
Spoelstra addressed the ensuing swirl ahead of Tuesday’s practice at TD Garden, where Game 2 will be played Wednesday at 7 p.m.
“It was an irrational assessment in our view in what actually happened,” Spoelstra said pointedly but calmly. “The players are fine. All the outside noise or anything like that is not going to decide this series or the game. This is good, clean, tough, physical playoff basketball – and it always has been with Boston and us.”
Spoelstra said the players, the teams and the league, which can review such incidents, all need to move on.
“It’s not going over the top,” Spoelstra said of the play, “The league doesn’t need to look into anything more on either side, put extra eyes on it. This is just tough, competitive basketball, what everybody wants – this is what the fans want, players want, teams want and even the league.”
Martin took the fallout in stride.
“I wasn’t too surprised,” he said. “It’s that time of year where things get amplified and everybody likes to try to have a say in something. It’s just that time of year, and anything that’s done wrong or hard fouls happen to certain people, they’re going to be, ‘maybe that was to try to take guys out,’ stuff like that. That’s just what comes with this time of year.”
As he did in the immediate wake of the incident after Sunday’s game, Martin again stressed Tuesday there was no intent for such a collision, one that did not cause injury.
“I mean anybody who knows me,” he said, “I don’t feel the need to try to take out guys in order to beat somebody. First thing I did is turn around and check if he was OK. If I was trying to take somebody out, I’d have just kept walking away. That’s just not who I am.
“It’s the playoffs. Hard fouls happen all the time. If the roles were switched, I don’t think anybody would have been calling it a Code Red. That just happened. And if anybody watched it, I clearly got pushed into him (by Celtics guard Jrue Holiday). I was going for a putback dunk and the push changed the trajectory. That stuff just happens. Guys are playing full speed and things happen. I’d never try to hurt somebody.”
Limited doses
In the wake of missing nine of the previous 14 games with a back ailment listed by Heat as left facet syndrome, Heat guard Duncan Robinson has been limited to 12 and 15 minutes in his two games back, the latter on Sunday against the Celitcs.
Robinson said Tuesday that he is offering what he is able.
“Rest helps, coming back from any sort of thing,” he said. “Probably won’t feel totally myself until I get an extended, extended rest. But, yeah, that’s what this time of year calls for.”
Spoelstra has said there is not necessarily a minutes restriction.
“Just trying to get to a point where I can be as available as I can,” Robinson said., “based off the situation and just how I’m feeling, and just doing whatever I can to give whatever minutes that I can give to the team.”
Adebayo’s nomination
Heat center Adebayo said Tuesday he was pleased to be named Sunday a finalist for the first time in his career for Defensive Player of the Year.
“I guess the (voters) are actually paying attention, they’re actually watching the games, they’re actually looking at games, paying attention to what I do that’s not only showing up in the stat book,” he said.
The other two finalists are Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and San Antonio Spurs rookie big man Victor Wembanyama. The winner will be announced later this postseason.
“It’s great to see he’s acknowledged for the efforts that he does,” Spoelstra said. “Our team defense was very good this year. He was a major part of that.”