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From The Asian Reporter, V21, #13 (July 4, 2011), page 9.
 
Spoelstra and Na defy expectations

By Mike Street | Special to The Asian Reporter

Expectations can produce different results, and two Asian sports figures defied expectations last month: Li Na by winning and Erik Spoelstra by losing. Fortunately, the outlook remains high for both, giving each a chance to continue or reverse their reactions.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra faced a no-win situation in last month’s National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. Coaching a team with the greatest assembly of talent ever to hit the hardwood, Spoelstra would get little credit for fulfilling expectations by winning, while a loss with so much talent would inevitably lead to criticism. But a win would mean beating Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, a team primed for revenge.

In 31 seasons in the NBA, Dallas had made the finals only once, losing to the Heat in 2006. Both teams have changed a lot since then, but Miami’s changes before this season were far more significant, landing both the biggest free agent on the market — marquee player LeBron James — and six-time All-Star power forward Chris Bosh. With Dwyane Wade already in Miami, superstars now comprised three-fifths of the team’s starting lineup.

Filipino American Spoelstra, who became the NBA’s first Asian-American coach in 2008, felt the expectations created by that talent quickly. Miami finished the first two months of the season barely above .500, and even President Barack Obama speculated about Spoelstra’s job security.

When Miami lost just once in December, speculation died down until the Heat lost five straight between February 27 and March 8. Heat general manager Pat Riley again denied that Spoelstra was on the hot seat, and the Heat responded once more, winning 15 of its final 18 games to seize the second playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The team faced little opposition in the first three rounds, losing just one game in each series, but Spoelstra couldn’t come up with a plan in the finals to stop Nowitzki. Miami coasted to an eight-point victory in game one and seemed well on the way to another win in game two when Wade drained a three-pointer to put the Heat up by 15 with 7:14 remaining. Wade struck a triumphant pose and the Mavs took umbrage, going on a 22-5 run to even the series.

Spoelstra rallied his troops for a victory in game three, with tough defense preventing Nowitzki from sinking a last-minute, game-tying jumper. But Miami couldn’t maintain the momentum in game four, when Nowitzki felt a different kind of heat. Battling a 101-degree fever, Nowitzki scored 10 points in the final quarter, including the game-winner, delivering a sharp rebuke to Wade and James, who had mocked Nowitzki’s flu-like symptoms before the game.

This deflated Miami, and James collapsed in the final frame of the fifth game, contributing just two points to his team’s cause. A Wade trey with four minutes remaining once again sparked the Mavs, who finished the game with a 17-4 run to win 112-103. Spoelstra tried to even the series on Miami’s home court, but the Mavs took the lead early in the third quarter and never relinquished it, winning 105-95.

Dallas was exuberant about the franchise’s first championship, but the defeat led to questions about Spoelstra’s future. "We’re going to bring Erik back," Riley said. "As far as any kind of long-term situations, that has not been discussed." Any extension will undoubtedly depend on whether Spoelstra lives up to next year’s expectations better than he did this season.

Expectations can sometimes decrease the pressure enough to allow success, as China’s Li Na demonstrated at this year’s French Open. Na reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2005 and the Australian Open semifinals this past January, but had never reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, where she was seeded sixth this year.

In the opening match, Na’s relatively low seed seemed justified, as Barbora Zahlavova Strycova battled to a long tiebreaker in the second set. Strycova won that set 8-6, but Na recovered to win the third set, 6-3, and advance to the next round. Na easily defeated Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Romania’s Sorana Cirstea before running into her first seeded opponent, ninth-ranked Petra Kvitova. Kvitova took the early advantage, whistling two aces past her opponent and twice breaking Na’s serve to win the first set, 6-2.

But Na found her serve and won the second set, 6-1, setting up a dramatic third set. Kvitova again jumped out to a quick lead, winning the first three games before Na rallied to win six straight games to take the match and finally reach the Ronald Garros quarterfinals. Na rode the momentum to beat her next two opponents, fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka and seventh-seeded Maria Sharapova, in straight sets.

In the finals, Na would face fifth-seed Francesca Schiavone, her fourth straight top-10 seed. Though Schiavone won last year’s French Open, Na looked like the defending champion in the first set, battling her Italian opponent furiously to break Schiavone’s serve in the fifth game before pressing her advantage to take the first set, 6-4.

Na continued her strong play to take an early 3-1 lead in the second set, but her Italian opponent rallied to draw even, 4-4, eventually pushing the finals into a tiebreaker game. As her fellow Chinese in the crowd encouraged her with chants of "Jia you!" ("Let’s go!"), Na reeled off seven straight points to take the match and the French Open, becoming the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam tournament.

Li Na and Erik Spoelstra are both at the forefront of their respective sports, but others will follow their leads, bringing with them the pressure to succeed. With the talent displayed by both of these sports figures, however, they should rise to those elevated expectations, rewarding Asian-American athletic fans across the world.


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