The shorthanded Miami Heat became even more depleted on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder after backup center Dewayne Dedmon inexplicably got himself ejected early in the second quarter after throwing a massage gun onto the court following a heated argument with head coach Erik Spoelstra. But the argument doesn't appear to be anything that could fracture the two's relationship beyond repair.
When asked by TNT courtside reporter Stephanie Ready about what happened between him and Dewayne Dedmon, Erik Spoelstra still found it in him to joke about the situation, saying that these kinds of outbursts on the Heat bench are nothing new. Perhaps one could even see it as a feature (not a bug) embedded deep within the famous Heat Culture.
“That's a regular Tuesday night with the Miami Heat,” Spoelstra said, with a wry smile plastered on his face. “We're in a one-point game and we have some skirmishes on the bench.”
Erik Spoelstra Dewayne Dedmon pic.twitter.com/3eoSS3Oma3
— That's a highlight (@ClipIt_NBA) January 11, 2023
Coach Spo is right in that this is becoming a regular occurrence for the Heat. In a memorable row between head coach and star player, Spoelstra had also engaged in a public verbal argument with Jimmy Butler, with Udonis Haslem having to vociferously take the side of his coach amid the altercation.
Nonetheless, the parties involved in that previous argument have said that that disagreement hasn't broken their relationships and that having these sorts of disputes just means that they truly care about winning. Perhaps that is the case for Dewayne Dedmon here. Nonetheless, it remains unclear what exactly caused Dedmon's outburst. This situation should get more clarity within the next few days.
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