The bench in basketball game during a time out for the Miami Heat is used for discussing new plays, peer feedback, oh and maybe there’s time for some coach-on-player fighting.

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat coach and Jimmy Butler, Heat star player  had somewhat of a disagreement on the Miami bench on March 23 during a Heat loss to the Golden State Warriors. Thankfully, team mascot Udonis Haslem was there to do everything but the bare minimum and escalate the situation from a 10 to an 11. For any other team, this would be bad. This is the Miami Heat, a large part of a unique and historic branch in basketball.

By the end of the night, the Miami Heat were dug into the ground  by the Warriors 118-104 and during a time out, Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem got in each other’s faces on the bench. Head coach Erik Spoelstra somehow got involved to the point where Butler asked his coach, “What, you want me to fight you?”

Most viewers understand NBA players rarely mean what they say in a heated conversation like this, especially when they’re losing and are frustrated with themselves and the team. The players get upset about something, they get in each other’s faces, and then make up a few minutes later. Sadly, Haslem is NOT one of those guys who speaks under his breath and holds back. NBA watchers have witnessed Haslem knock people out like it’s WWE on numerous occasions.

Teams competing for titles have a great deal of pride and dignity. Sometimes, passion is too strong in the locker room. The team as a whole seems antsy for the playoffs. As assumed, the PR team worked fast to create a quick statement to explain why it’s actually a good thing to have angry meetings like this in public.

“We have bigger things to accomplish,” Spoelstra said. “But we do want to play better. Everything else across the board. It starts with our leadership; our veteran players have to lead and then we just have to play better. We got to play more consistently, and that’s really all the discussions were. I know how it could look on the outside, but as I mentioned before, that is more our language than playing without passion or without toughness or without multiple efforts.”

However disgraceful, the fight was not uncommon. Butler is an amazing player with not many weaknesses. Except his mouth. He seems to have a reputation of disagreeing with fellow teammates or coaches.  

Many players had commentary on the situation which they released to press and social media. For example, Kyle Lowry, who wisely removed himself from the situation, said that Miami Heat is a basketball team that wants to win basketball games and were simply conversations, trying to belittle the situation and calm all sponsors and viewers. 

“Listen, our guys really want to win basketball games and we have guys that work extremely hard,” Lowry said. “The passion comes out. The fire and the emotions come out sometimes. But like I said, to us it’s nothing. We conversated and had a conversation and we continue to build.”

P.J. Tucker took a different path, one that could be considered sister to gaslighting.

“Simple-minded fools who think it’s not a good sign that the Heat have dropped four of their last seven and are leaking oil before the most pivotal stretch of the year don’t understand that this is all part of the plan. The hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA runs hotter, collectively, than any other side. To keep that type of fire bottled up would be disastrous.All part of the masterplan,” he said.

Question is, is anyone really believing that the disarray and disorder of an inner team fight is truly “all part of a masterplan”?