MIAMI -- To appreciate Erik Spoelstra's ongoing Miami Heat optimism in the midst of the external pessimism is to consider Spoelstra has seen worse and coached himself out of such depths.
As in the 11-30 start to 2016-17 season and the 30-11 finish to that season.
So, no, the Heat coach does not view hope amid this latest 1-6 run as a fool's errand.
"Our group is very resilient," he said, with the Heat turning their attention to Wednesday night's rematch against the Atlanta Hawks at Kaseya Center, after falling 98-86 Monday night in Atlanta. "Look, what you need right now, you need an incredible amount of stubbornness. You got to be stubborn. You absolutely got to be stubborn and persistent in what we're trying to do. We're not getting the result we want. But there's things that are trending in a better direction.
"You got to quiet all the noise and just not listen to anything, not read anything. But that's just the deal right now. We're closer than what it feels like."
The 1-6 run coincided with the aftermath of the trade of Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors for Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Kyle Anderson, with the lone victory coming in overtime against the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors.
"We're putting this thing together quickly and sometimes it doesn't happen just like that," Spoelstra said of the inability to hit the ground running. "But are you building the right habits and building the right trends through the adversity? The head coach feels that we are and so you got to be stubborn.
"You got to put your head down and collectively be stubborn minded about this until we start generating some wins."
So, with hope, onward.
"This group is great," Spoelstra said of his revised mix. "The intentions are great. We just need to put together a game plan and get this one on Wednesday."
Those thoughts echoed Spoelstra's thoughts going into the game in Atlanta.
"It's hard to win in this league," he said. "I appreciate that. I really appreciate that this season. You have to fight and have a desperate collective energy that's consistent all the way though and there has to be a collective spirit, which our group has. That's the part I think we can build on.
"There's a spirit in our locker room. That usually indicates that things are going to start going in your direction. It doesn't guarantee anything because it still is decided in between those four lines. But there are some intangibles in this locker room. Guys care about each other, they want to play well for each other. We just have to put it together."