It's March, so naturally the Miami Heat are hot

Originally posted on Miami Heat on SI
By Ethan J. Skolnick | Last updated Mar 8, 2026 9:48 PM ET

With apologies to February, March has always been Erik Spoelstra's leap month.

The Miami Heat coach has traditionally had success at this time of year, as he learns the emotional and physical rhythm of his team, and settles into more stable rotation patterns. It is happening yet again, with the Heat winning their fourth straight to start March 2026, this one a blowout of the Detroit Pistons, the top-seeded team in the East. This follows a sweep of tanking Brooklyn, and an impressive road victory against a hot Charlotte Hornets team. And now the Heat have two winnable games at home, against Washington and Milwaukee, before the schedule stiffens again.

If all of this feels familiar, that's because, since he started his run as professional sports' longest-tenured active coach in 2008, Spoelstra has had a habit of getting his teams to peak around now. This is something that scares some fans of other teams, including noted Boston Celtics' "Superfan" Bill Simmons, who has been wrung through The Ringer by the Heat in many prior seasons.

This was Simmons' response to the Heat's Sunday romp against Detroit:

Uh oh here come the Heat back from the dead again pic.twitter.com/W5Cdimbf2M
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 9, 2026

Spoelstra has a winning percentage of .607 in March, even better than his overall mark of .578. That includes two of his best single months -- he went 12-3 in 2010, with Dwyane Wade and not much else; and 17-1 in in 2013, with Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Oddly, he's 28-9 in his career on Mondays in March. Miami doesn't play this Monday.

Sometimes, the March charge has been due to better team health, but that's not necessarily been the case this time. The Heat did get briefly, totally healthy, but they've been without All-Star guard Norman Powell and versatile two-way wing Andrew Wiggins recently, as well as forward Nikola Jovic, who was counted on prior to his disappointing season.

Yet they've kept rolling; Powell's absence has made it somewhat easier for Tyler Herro to work his way back into rhythm, while Myron Gardner has been a positive surprise as a spot starter in Wiggins's place.

Spoelstra will have decisions to make when both are back. Wiggins almost certainly slots back in as a starter, but Powell's role isn't a given, since it's been a challenge for him and Herro to share the floor.

But at least the coach has options now.

“You can sense our locker room is trying to seize the moment right now.” — Erik Spoelstra pic.twitter.com/fUWEaTIro1
— Five Reasons Sports ⚾️⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) March 9, 2026

Spoelstra has spoken optimistically about this particular roster, even as it has hit some snags, with bad losses to Sacramento, Indiana, Utah and others. The Heat have stayed in the top 5 in defensive rating all season, or at least in the games that Bam Adebayo plays. But now the offense is starting to flow again as it did early in the season, when the Heat got off to a 14-7 start.

It took a while, but Miami is now back to seven games over .500, now at 36-29 and in the sixth spot, at least until Orlando finishes its game with Milwaukee.

They've flipped a switch, while flipping the calendar forward.

This article first appeared on Miami Heat on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: