Tony Fiorentino came to the aid of Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra by calling out Dan Dakich for his comments during the Las Vegas Summer League quarterfinal game on Saturday.
The Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans were playing at the time of Dakich’s rant against the suggestion that Spoelstra was one of the top two or three coaches in the league. His co-host at the time, ESPN’s Jorge Sedano, was the one who lauded Spoelstra as one of the top coaches in the game.
Dakich’s argument became even more ludicrous when he said that Spoelstra may not be among the top 10 coaches in the league.
Fiorentino was one of the original Heat employees from the franchise’s first year in the league during the 1988-89 season. He worked as the Heat’s color commentator for television alongside play-by-play announcer Eric Reid for 15 seasons.
Dakich continued to defend his stance on Twitter and didn’t back down one bit. Moreover, he appeared to be more determined than ever to prove that his argument was correct and that Miami media is merely scared of Heat president Pat Riley.
Spoelstra has led the Heat to the Finals four times (2011-2014) and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
The debate has seemingly ended between the two, but this argument could spark a discussion between other members of the media in the coming days.