MIAMI – The Heat and Knicks are known for their heated rivalry.
However, the coaches of both teams are great friends.
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On Wednesday, Erik Spoelstra will go up against his former assistant and close friend David Fizdale.
Both coaches had nothing but glowing remarks about each other at shootaround.
Fizdale said, "It will never, ever impact our brotherhood. We made a pact many, many years ago when we first started working together that we'd never let this business come between us. We've stuck to that."
Spoelstra said that he called Fizdale when he first round out that he was going to be the Heat's head coach and asked him to join his staff.
Spoelstra said, "This profession has been really good to both of us and that's why both of us have been dedicated to doing the very best we can for our organization. There's only 30 of these jobs, that's not lost on me."
Spoelstra added, "What is special about this is the fact that we started out in this business together as young kids in our 20s working in the video room working for a Hall of Fame mastermind. We were part of what we thought were historic matchups, Heat/Knicks... what you want out of this business are great memories... That's how you form great friendships and relationships that transcend the business."