Group Chat: What’s the main reason for the Miami Heat’s slow start?

The In-Season Tournament starts Friday night against the Wizards. New uniforms. New court. New tournament. Has the NBA gotten you to care about their In-Season Tournament?

Azam: No, but it’s mostly just tied to the Heat and their slow start more than how the league has promoted the event. The tournament-specific court idea is a promising one, but between the Heat’s slow start and the tepid response to their jersey design, I’m not invested in the tournament as much as I just want to see Miami beat Washington to stop this tailspin toward the bottom of the league.

Stephanie: To be honest, I am not a fan of the in-season tournament. However, I am really into the city edition courts and uniforms as they give each team its own identity. I am looking forward to the Heat bouncing back and hopefully seeing them get back to winning starting against the Wizards.

Noah: I think it is something that will grow on me as the tournament progresses. I was not a fan of the play-in tournament at first, but now I’m intrigued. The Heat and the Lakers made deep playoff runs following the play-in tournament, making it even more exciting. If the players buy into the idea, the in-season tournament could be exciting. If not, fans will not care about it either.

Leo: It’s not something that has me shaking with excitement, but if it provides us with a chance of securing silverware in a month’s time then I’m sure it will grow on Heat fans. Given our turbulent start to the season, it is simply not something that the organization can sneer at and a deep tournament run would instill much-needed confidence in the roster.

António: I’ll wait for the elimination games to get excited — even if as an NBA fan only. Right now, the Heat don’t allow for much excitement and they’ll have to play with some kind of urgency, regardless of the game counting for the In-Season Tournament or not. I think the tournament has a chance to grow, especially in the later stages, but right the excitement levels are low either way.