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Mavs' Carlisle: Heat's Spoelstra now in Coach of the Year discussion

USA Today Sports

Erik Spoelstra's Miami Heat are starting to look like the Heat of old. The team he led to four straight Finals is gone, but this year's version is making a case for Spo to be Coach of the Year.

“This is the hottest team in basketball,” Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said Monday, according to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. “These guys have won 16 out of 18 games going back to right around the time we played them last.

“They’ve made a remarkable turnaround and Erik has done an amazing job. Now they’re five games under .500 and they’re in the ninth spot (in the Eastern Conference), and when we were preparing for them they were (12-30).”

Under Spoelstra, Miami faced Carlisle's Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, where the Heat lost. The longtime Mavs coach and 33-year league veteran added that he isn't sure he's ever seen a better drive-and-kick team than Spoelstra's current crop.

“Erik has thrust himself in the conversation for coach of the year, without question," Carlisle said, noting the Mavs would be in trouble if they weren't on their defense against the Heat. "These guys are legit.”

Carlisle's comments come not long after Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said there's no better coach in the league than Spoelstra, yet he's never won the honor.

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