The Miami Heat have a defined style, and they've been awfully successful with it. And yet, head coach Erik Spoelstra essentially tossed it out the window—and gave his group a fighting chance for the 2025-26 NBA season in the process.
The Heat almost never run—they'd never previously had a top-10 pace in the play-by-play era (which started in 1996-97)—but they're suddenly the fastest team in the league, per NBA.com. They've also largely ditched pick-and-roll plays (a staple in modern NBA offenses) and instead leaned into a motion-based offense meant to prioritize movement and empower everyone involved.
"We have a style that we’re trying to get to that we think maximizes our personnel," Spoelstra told The Athletic's Law Murray. "That’s it. We’re not trying to trick people or whatever people may think."
The Heat are evolving in front of our eyes, but they're managing to do without losing their core identity. It's a fascinating process to witness and a serious flex from the best coach in basketball.
This is coaching-clinic excellence from Spo.
The Heat didn't have to reinvent the wheel. While they weren't exactly world-beaters the past couple of seasons, they were NBA Finalists in 2020 and 2023, and they had another Eastern Conference finals appearance sprinkled in between.
Their formula had a reliable, consistent track record behind it. They just didn't have all of the pieces to execute that plan. So, rather than trying to force square pegs into round holes, Spo just crafted a new plan to fit what he had.
"We wanted to switch the philosophy of how we played basketball," Bam Adebayo told Murray.
The Heat are playing fast, but not reckless (14th in turnover percentage), and they're not giving up their defensive integrity in the process. This isn't quite a dominant defense (seventh in efficiency), but it's good enough to do the heaviest lifting on a team that's at least above-average on both ends.
Which is exactly what this Heat team needs to be. Because while they have some dynamic stoppers (like Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins), they also have some walking liabilities on the game's less glamorous end (like Nikola Jovic and, whenever he's ready to return, Tyler Herro).
It's smart for Spo, then, to set up an offensive system designed to squeeze everything it can out of this roster. The fast pace allows Miami to mask some of its one-on-one limitations by attacking a defense that's not yet set. The emphasis on motion guards against the lack of a primary playmaker and some shot-creation deficiencies. The priority on perimeter shots is simply keeping up with the times.
Spo is pulling all the right strings, which is what he's expected to do. But the fact he's giving himself new strings is a testament to his razor-sharp hoops mind and one of the biggest reasons to believe in this bunch.