The Miami Heat have never been “cute”. That’s just not the way they get it done.
It never has been. When you look at the organization from the very top to the bottom, nothing about them says “cute”.
Take Pat Riley as the most supreme example. Always a hard-nosed coach, known for his stoic demeanor, quick quips, and demonstrative scowl if needed to be expressed.
Then look at the current head coach. A man that is a cliche machine, “staying the course” and “getting better every day” all the while, Spo isn’t necessarily “cute” in his approach either.
From the greatest player in franchise history, one Dwyane Wade, to Alonzo Mourning and everyone in between, the Miami Heat way has never been that. It has been about hard work, being more gritty, tough, and physical for 48 minutes per contest.
It’s about doing the work that no one notices, only for that work to be the only thing that people notice when it’s the thing propelling you over your opponent. Just a look at a few of their more key pieces this season.
The Miami Heat usually don’t receive their fair share of praise for their accomplishments. Udonis Haslem is perfectly fine with that though.
Jimmy Butler gets up before the sun does and works just hard for just as long. Kyle Lowry has earned the moniker of being a scrappy bulldog of a point guard and not just for his stubby, sturdy, and stocky size and build, but also for the attacking demeanor he plays with on the floor and on both sides nonetheless.
P.J. Tucker is self-explanatory, right? I mean—he’s always the smallest biggest dude on the court.
Even down to Bam Adebayo. He’s just getting to a point with his offensive game that he should be starting to scratch at this point but has excelled, up until this point, off of sheer hard work, want to, and determination.
The man that epitomizes it all, the captain and the OG in Udonis Haslem, spoke about it all recently. Here is what he had to say.
Udonis Haslem on overlooked Miami Heat: Whatever... It might not be the sexiest. We ain't got nobody out here scoring 85 points in one game but we're winning basketball games as a team. Sorry to everyone in the basketball world that isn't sexy enough for you. pic.twitter.com/gMQxH03sf1
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) April 13, 2022
As he insinuated, who cares if the Miami Heat are overlooked? Though wanting not to hear falsehoods, narratives, and agendas pushed is a fair argument, UD has one too.
If the people out in the world and media tasked with pushing, creating, or propelling the basketball conversation choose not to acknowledge or recognize the Miami Heat for what they are and how they’ve gotten it done this season or any season, for that matter—so what?
That’s, kind of, the point of it all.
While they continue to do that, whatever that may be, the Miami Heat will just still be over there working, continuing to get better, and doing the things that got them the number one seed this year and is always the backbone of the their success. So, as UD stated, they may not be the “sexiest” and he’s fine with it.