The Miami Heat are past focusing on a playoff push; for them, it’s already game time.
Despite sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference as of Thursday morning, the Miami Heat have not yet officially clinched a playoff berth.
But do not bother telling the team that.
Because for Hassan Whiteside and company, gone are the days of a playoff push. For them, the postseason may as well have already begun.
"“We can’t control what other teams are doing,” Whiteside explained. “Right now, we’re in the playoffs. So we’ve got a playoff mindset already. So we’re coming. It’s got to mean a lot.”"
And it does. Just not for reasons one may think.
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The majority of people may be surprised at how far the Heat have come this season. From basketball fans around the league to local media, it is safe to say most did not see such a transformation coming. After all, making a leap from 11-30 in January to 37-38 in March is no easy task.
Miami certainly deserves all the props in the world, too. It is hard to name a more compelling NBA storyline of 2016-17. Impossible, really.
However, there are a select few that are not so shocked at what the Heat have accomplished.
The team itself being a large part of that group.
No matter how full the Tank Train was getting, neither head coach Erik Spoelstra nor the roster wanted any part of that ride. Nevermind president Pat Riley, whose path has never taken him anywhere but to the warm, sunny town of Successville.
"“It’s an uniformed assumption,” Spoelstra replied when asked if they were throwing in the towel. “If you know anything about our organization we’re not going to play for any other purpose or motivation than to win. Everything we’re building is trying to build habits to learn how to win but learning how oftentimes comes with frustration, anger, disappointment.”"
So no, making the playoffs would not serve as a way for Miami to prove its worth. Because the entire organization has never lost sight of what that is. Not when LeBron James jumped ship. Not when Dwyane Wade went home. Not when they could no longer utilize Chris Bosh.
Mere mortals may have seen James Johnson as simply a cheap pickup. They may have laughed at the acquisition of Dion Waiters. Gasped over Tyler Johnson’s matched $50 million contract. But Riley knew better.
Of course it would take time. Patience is a virtue in South Beach too.
A lost cause though?
Never for this kind of franchise.
Therefore, the Heat are grinding it out at such a level for each other. The ones who all along, knew what they were fully capable of. Who never lost sight of who they were. Who never stopped playing Miami Heat Basketball. Who trusted the culture.
“When the season started out, we were strangers,” Whiteside told Anthony Chiang after Wednesday night’s win over the New York Knicks. “Strangers became friends, and then friends became family. These my guys.”
And it is pretty obvious, the feeling is mutual among the entire squad.
Between Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters going by 7/11, the Brothers Johnson making t-shirts out of their newfound brand, and Wayne Ellington calling Rodney McGruder “pit bull” as a term of endearment… there is nothing but love in Miami.
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Now, the Heat do have seven games left in the regular season, most if not all of which they must win to indeed stick around for the playoffs. And unfortunately, their standing also relies on the performances of other ball clubs like the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers. However, in case it is not already obvious, Miami is anything but afraid of a challenge.
As Whiteside has put it time and time again, “ different.”