This is season six for No. 1 in Miami. It is not yet the longest Chris Bosh has been with an NBA franchise. It is, however, the longest he has played for any NBA coach. It has been such an eternity, in what Erik Spoelstra calls "the microwave society" of sports, that you would assume the two men were intimately acquainted.

Two championships. Two Finals defeats. One pothole-pockmarked 2014-15 season, for Spoelstra professionally, for Bosh physically.

What could remain a mystery after all they've endured and overcome?

"I think we're just getting to know each other, really," Bosh said Tuesday, following preparation for a season that starts Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

SIGN UP

Be the first to know. No one covers what is happening in our community better than we do. And with a digital subscription, you'll never miss a local story. SIGN ME UP!

For Bosh, the progress came this summer, after Spoelstra suggested they set up some lunches. "I'm glad you said that," Bosh recalled saying. "Let's kind of take root in what we're talking about. … It starts with me and you. If we're not communicating, how can we expect everyone else to communicate?"

So they did, twice in Miami, once in Las Vegas. Let their guards down, let the jokes fly.

"Because before it was a lot tougher," Bosh said. "Because, in the arena, it's like, 'Gimme the ball!' And he's like, 'No!' Know what I mean? As a player-coach, it's always [like that]. But man to man, it's a lot different."

So that was different. It was another sign that Spoelstra, nearing his 45th birthday, entering his eighth season as an NBA head coach as well as a marital commitment — but still boyish enough to bounce out of the shootaround in a backward cap — is open to evolving.

SHARE COPY LINK Miami Herald sportswriters Ethan J. Skolnick and Manny Navarro discuss the Miami Heat's season opener against the Charlotte Hornets at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday, October 28, 2015.

Yet something about Spoelstra's situation, strangely, feels so much the same as it always has, same as when he got the job in 2008, same as when he was blessed with Bosh and LeBron James as star complements to Dwyane Wade in 2010.

It still feels like many Heat fans don't know him well enough.

Or rather, don't trust him quite enough.

This is odd, in light of the victories. The 351 regular-season wins, second-most in Heat history, only 103 behind Pat Riley, who coached 291 more games with Miami. The 63 playoff wins, 29 more than Riley with Miami, while accruing the same number of losses.

This is odd, in light of the longevity. He's now the second-longest tenured coach with his current NBA team, and will be first as soon as Gregg Popovich takes his sideline-reporter-terrorizing talents into retirement. He's by far the longest-tenured coach of a major local team, as, since his hiring, three Miami Dolphins coaches, three Florida Panthers coaches, six Miami Marlins managers and three Miami Hurricanes football coaches have sunk into South Florida quicksand.

This is odd, in light of the backing Spoelstra has repeatedly received from bosses and the compliments he consistently gets from peers.

And yet, here many are, still, in show-me stage.

Show you can advance out of the first round without James.

Show you can get the starting lineup to sing, even with the overlapping backcourt, the underwhelming spacing and the unclear identity of the Heat's go-to guy.

Show you can get the subs to sacrifice, so the Heat's depth becomes devastating rather than distracting.

Show you can stagger rotations, so the most possible players can find rhythm even as you alter routines.

Show you can get this group to embrace defense as the past two Heat teams did not.

Show you can instill an identity in a team that, unlike predecessors, doesn't yet know what it is. Or what it can do.

SHARE COPY LINK Dwyane Wade discusses what Udonis Haslem has meant to him and to the Miami Heat. Wade also talks about his vision for the season on Oct. 27, 2015.

"I know if it's not done right, it can look bad," Wade said of what he expects. "And bad, as in still win games, but not the way we want to. I know if it's done right, it can be real good. But I don't know which one we're going to get