This may be a new-look Miami Heat team with an up-tempo style and some changes in their personnel, but what the start of this season is showing us is that they are still building their success on one of the things that has always defined the Erik Spoelstra era: being a defensive force that everyone dreads playing.
Heading into Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, the Heat held the third highest defensive rating in the NBA. This is a good indicator that no matter how modernized or retooled this team might become, their foundation is always going to be toughness and discipline under Spoelstra.