Miami Heat: Despite 2018-19 struggles, the organization stands strong

The 2018-19 team might be struggling, but the Miami Heat as an organization, continues to be as strong as ever.

The Miami Heat are anything but hot so far this season.

At 11-16, right now, the 2018-19 team sits ninth in the Eastern Conference, at a game and a half out of playoff contention (should the postseason start tomorrow).

They fall behind the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons, who hold the eighth and seventh spots, respectively. And are seven games behind the number two Milwaukee Bucks.

All facts that almost don’t seem so bad in a vacuum, when things like their abysmal 111-84 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, aren’t taken into consideration.

Yes, this year hasn’t exactly gone according to plan for the men of South Florida.

But at the very least, fans can rest assured that the organization itself is very much just as solid as ever.

(Unfortunately, Dwyane Wade‘s prior basketball family, the Chicago Bulls, can’t say the same.)

While some fans have been calling for the team to tank, the front office’s unwillingness to do so should absolutely be looked at as a good sign. Despite the Heat’s poor start to the season, both president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra have enough faith in the roster, to keep working as hard as it takes in order to turn things around.

"“This is what pro sports is supposed to be about,” Spoelstra said. “Competing every night. To try to win. Not the opposite. Obviously not every year you are going to have a realistic chance to compete for a title. Since I have been here, working for Pat, from day 1, that has always been the directive. For me, that brings great clarity. Keep the main thing the main thing. And everything else is just b —- t.”"

Keeping the main thing, the main thing, may just sound like another great Spoism, but he’s not wrong. If a team isn’t always trying to develop into the best version of itself, then what’s the point of even existing within the greater picture of the league?

A mindset that has obviously been shared by Miami, since the franchise’s creation.

"“Do the history on it,” Spoelstra continued. “What franchises have had the most enduring sustainable success over the last 24 years? We’re up there with the top three or four. The teams that constantly tank, I don’t know where they are.”"

Spoelstra, along with the rest of management, shouldn’t care either.

Because as long as they keep searching for solutions to the team’s current issues, things can only go up from here; something that is definitely supported by the players’ desire to figure it out, too.

Although at times, it’s been clear that the frustrations of this year have temporarily set in (no one wears his heart on his sleeve quite as obviously as Hassan Whiteside), the guys too have no intention of throwing in the towel.

"“It’s f–king dumb,” Tyler Johnson said regarding tanking. “If you really think that as a fan, I don’t think you’re a true fan. Why would you ever not want to put your best product out there? We were a playoff team (last year). People jump ship at the first sign of trouble. In today’s society, that’s like built in. Any time something is too hard, you just don’t do it anymore. You just quit.”"

The Culture may be about many things, but quitting certainly isn’t one of them.

And that’s something the organization should be applauded for.

There may be more ugly losses to come. And perhaps the bounce back won’t be as historic as the team’s 2016-17 30-11 run. But make no mistake: the team isn’t going to be defined by their valleys. Instead, when it’s all said and done, it will be their peaks that Heat Nation remembers most.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and no franchise is tougher than the Miami Heat.