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Miami Heat fans could have spent the entire offseason feasting on optimism, and they still wouldn't have seen this coming.

Miami isn't surprisingly good; it's good good. The Heat have 11 wins in 17 tries against teams that are .500 or better. That's a .647 winning percentage, which trails just the world-beating Milwaukee Bucks (.667). Only three other teams in the Eastern Conference have better than a .647 winning percentage overall.

The wins alone are remarkable, but the style is where Erik Spoelstra has really flexed his coaching muscle.

The connection among this club—the ball movement, the defensive rotations, the selflessness—would trick you into thinking it's benefitted from continuity. However, four of the team's top seven players in minutes last season aren't on the roster, one can't stay healthy (Justise Winslow) and another has been reduced to part-time duties (Kelly Olynyk).

Jimmy Butler (who didn't have the shiniest reputation) has emerged as a clear-cut leader. Bam Adebayo has taken an All-Star leap. Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson have added to the organization's long list of player-development success stories. Tyler Herro has been empowered to take and make big shots as a 20-year-old rookie.

Spo has transformed this season into a continuous coaching clinic, and that's enough to get the nod over Nick Nurse, Billy Donovan, Frank Vogel, Nate McMillan and the rest of this crowded field.

—Zach Buckley