Inside The Heat

Everyone suddenly jumping on the Miami Heat bandwagon

Ethan J. Skolnick|
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

This isn't necessarily a good sign.

Ever since all the outsized, outlandish, soap opera style coverage of the Miami Heat's post-"Decision" Big Three era of 2010-2014, Heat fans have had considerable skepticism about the national media, ESPN most of all. Typically, its analysts have focused on the most salacious stories related to the franchise (when it had the biggest stars), or ignored it entirely in the aftermath of LeBron James' departure.

Even during the Jimmy Butler era, which included three Conference Finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances, the Heat tended to be dismissed or doubted all the way through. The 2020 Finals run in particular, was characterized by most as fluky, a product of all the teams playing in a Bubble, even that might have been the purest basketball we've seen.

This offseason was more of the same, as the blowhards behind the desks hardly mentioned Miami at all, or if they did it was as no more than a play-in tournament nuisance. The acquisition of Norman Powell -- which is proving to be the heist of the summer -- was hardly mentioned at all.

Ah, but now all that has changed, and that's not necessarily ideal, since these analysts tend to wrong more than they're right.

First, it was former NBA center Kendrick Perkins, who shifts opinions like NASCAR drivers shift gears, coming around on Miami. "I was sleeping on the Heat," Perkins said. "I'd like to apologize."

And now, it's the noted Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith doing the same. He noted that when Tyler Herro returns -- which could be as soon as Monday against the Mavericks in Miami -- that "you got to pay attention to (Miami)." Surprisingly, he didn't throw in a mention of himself partying on South Beach, as he so often does, and few actual Miamians actually do.

This is all deserved, with the Heat off to a 9-6 start in spite of an extremely challenging schedule loaded with last season's playoff teams, even as Herro has missed every game and Bam Adebayo and Powell have also missed time. But it's not necessarily desired. The Heat have done just fine without anyone taking notice.

You may recall this "take" from Perkins prior to the season:

But that's why the show is called First Take.

It's the First, but there's always a Second, Third and 10th.

So, until a two-game losing streak, or LeBron James sneezes, they're all-in.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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