The Miami Heat's fall from grace has not been exaggerated one bit. And the fact that they've been the epitome of average for much of this season is the greatest sign that monumental changes are desperately needed this summer.
As Heat reporter Anthony Chiang points out, after their 14-7 start to the season, the Heat have gone just 26-30. During that stretch, the Heat have the 14th-best offense, the 14th-best defense, and the 16th-ranked net rating.
Throw in that the Heat are currently in a battle for th 9th and 10th spot in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament field, and that's about as close to average that a team can be in the Association.
The Heat find themselves in an identity crisis
For as proud a franchise as the Heat once were, I don't think there's any question that Miami currently finds itself in an identity crisis of late. There's no real direction from the front office, and it's trickled down to the decisions that Erik Spoelstra makes with his rotation on a night-to-night basis.
On top of it all, the fans are quickly growing tired of the never-ending hamster wheel of mediocrity.
While it's easy to point fingers and assign a pie chart of blame, none of that speaks to the real root of the problem. And that's the fact that real change is desperately needed.
The Heat don't just need to shake up their roster; there's an argument to be made that monumental changes, from top to bottom, need to be explored by the franchise - perhaps even some that run well beyond just the roster makeup.
In theory, an infusion of talent could make all the difference for the Heat. However, especially this time around, that may not be enough to make up ground on how much the league as a whole has changed.
The Heat can't excel in the modern NBA with aging tactics
That could be the biggest problem for Miami: the fact that they're trying to fight with antiquated weaponry.
The league has moved away from free agency, embracing the draft and internal development, and that's just something that hasn't been a huge priority for the Heat. Miami continues to hunt for "whales," even when it seems like it never has enough assets to pull anything off.
They refuse to sell on their veteran players before they risk losing them for nothing, and will openly admit as much. They want to go big-game hunting, but don't want to do what it takes to collect the tools necessary to be successful in those endeavors.
It's no reason why they've fallen into serial mediocrity with little hope of breaking out.
Big changes are desperately needed; it's become abundantly clear now. The question is, will the front office finally yield to that reality? If not, more of the same mediocrity should be expected. At least now fans won't be surprised by it.