We are extremely lucky to be witnessing this era of the Heat. The combination of a coach who empowers his players and finds ways to allow them to play to their strengths, a scouting staff that has a clear vision of the type of player they’re looking for, developmental coaches that focus on improving what a player is already good at, and a group of players that all believe.

On what other team does a player that cashes in on his first major deal and was prompty demoted to the end of the rotation stay committed and proceed to work even harder? Duncan looks like a new player. Two years ago this man wouldn’t put the ball on the floor inside the three point line and now hes driving past guys and playing in the pick and roll…dude even has some subtle hesitation moves that are really impressive. Last year had to have to have been brutal for him and I’m loving every minute of this rebirth.

Highsmith was an average starter in the Bundesliga after wandering around for a couple years in the league before he came to the Heat. I had no clue who the kid was when he joined the team and went to look up some highlights. They say you can make anyone look good in a highlight reel but this kid was a complementary player at a division 2 school…suffice it to say I was fairly unimpressed and wrote him off without a second thought. But the team didn’t. They spent two years with this kid reworking his shot and turning him into this defensive menace. What other organization in this league has that kind of patience and belief in its developmental program?

I don’t know if these guys are talented enough to hang with Boston. Milwaukee hasn’t found themselves yet and if they do they’ll be frightening as well. But they’re a joy to watch. As good as Tatum and Giannis are I’ll take the team with Duncan and Haywood every day.