The Miami Heat have gotten off to a blistering start to the season, but it's difficult for fans to completely buy in this early. As Nikola Jovic said after the team's historic win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the hope is that this year is different - and that the team doesn't resort to their slow pace, as has been the case in the past.
"Since I came here we always say we’re going to play fast every year, we don’t really do it, we kind of go back to the slow pace…this year from the jump he (Spo) really wanted play this way…it will for sure help us look better."NIkola Jovic on the Heat's new offense
The Heat's new offense looks good, but they'll have to prove they won't fall back into old habits, with one of them playing at a much slower pace.
The Heat's bad habit of playing slow
The Heat, over the years, has been a notoriously slow-paced team. In fact, over the past five seasons, Miami has ranked in the bottom 5 in pace. Miami has been a below-average pace team for nearly the past 15 seasons.
It's a habit that the team has tried to break out of, but didn't find much success in doing so. As Jovic stated, in the first few years of his career with the Heat, it's a habit that Spo has tried to break. But, for one reason or another, the Heat has had real difficulty in placing faster as a team overall.
And while they've had flashes of it and have verbalized the importance of it, the Heat has never truly stuck with it.
In many ways, that will be one of the team's biggest tests heading into the next few games.
No one can argue with the Heat's results through the first two games of the season. It's a real shame the Heat aren't 2-0 right now. If they close out the Orlando Magic, the narrative surrounding the Heat would be that much more impressive.
But even with that collapse in the fourth quarter, the Heat have to like where they are as a team.
Again, the true question is, can they keep up this level - and speed - of play all season long? Is this just a fast start to the year, or is there a tangible reason to believe that this new offense is here to stay?
Time will tell, but it's difficult to blame Heat fans for being hesitant about banging the drum on this new, exciting brand of basketball.