The Miami Heat's encouraging 2-1 start to the 2025-26 NBA season has been overloaded with pleasant surprises. Jaime Jaquez Jr. looks like a true building block again, the new offense is humming (albeit in unique—and maybe unsustainable—fashion), and they've even managed to slay one of the East's on-paper dragons.
What has really fueled this ascension, though, is Miami's bench becoming a legitimate game-breaker. While head coach Erik Spoelstra has always been a mastermind in terms of maximizing his roster, his work with the second unit so far has been simply spectacular.
Last season, the Heat were a wholly mediocre 15th in bench scoring at 35.