"Heat Culture" is Real, but it Doesn’t Need to be Written on a Court.

Under ordinary circumstances, what’s understood doesn’t need to be said. Well, in this case… I guess that it does. Last week (Nov. 6), Miami unveiled their new City Edition ‘culture court’ vs. the Lakers, and it’s atrocious — whoever decided it was a good idea to implement such a poorly thought out design (from a competitive standpoint) was wrong, and they need to immediately be fired.

Allow me to explain.

For select games in the 2023-24 NBA season, Miami will be using their new ‘culture court’ at the Kaseya Center to further solidify themselves as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. At first glance, fans are drawn to center court where it says, “Heat Culture,” a concept Pat Riley and the entire Heat organization have prided themselves on for years now. In fact, the team recently released a video on Twitter (X) showcasing their 2023-24 NBA City Edition jerseys, during which they attributed a majority of their success to “Heat Culture.”

In retrospect, that’s not a problem. Based on what players like Jimmy Butler, LeBron James and Udonis Haslem have said about the organization, they’re not wrong.

The problem is what’s listed on either side of the court in the middle of the lane (and the effect it will likely have on opposing players when they play against them). In bright red font it reads: “Hardest working. Best conditioned. Most professional. Unselfish. Toughest. Meanest. Nastiest team in the NBA.” Really Miami? I get it. With two recent NBA Finals appearances (2020, 2023) you’ve been good lately, and that’s something to be proud of. But you’re nowhere near being the best team in the league. And essentially, that’s what you’re trying to say.

Last week, after Miami’s 108-107 point victory over the Lakers, the Heat sat at 11^th place in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 3-4. While they recently went on a four-game win streak (six total) and propelled themselves to 7-4 (Tied for 3^rd in the Eastern Conference), they still trail behind the Celtics and 76ers, who sit at 9-2 and 8-3 respectively. More importantly, they sit behind the defending NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets, who disposed of them in just five games last year (4-1) in the 2023 NBA Finals. Numbers don’t lie. And although it’s still early in the season, Miami isn’t the best team in the league right now. As it currently stands, they aren’t even the best team in the Eastern Conference. So why does their court say they are?

We’ll get to potential effects on opposing players in a minute, but first, let’s dispel some more myths of Pat Riley’s famous mantra – another reason it shouldn’t have been put on the court to begin with (it’s not even true).

To my understanding, “Heat Culture” involves toughness, grit and mental fortitude. By virtue of Riley’s influence, Miami prides themselves on their defense. If they truly were the “toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA,” surely that would show up in the scorebook.

According to NBA Advanced Stats, Miami ranks 24/30 in scoring (109.6 points per game), meaning only six teams in the NBA score at a lower rate than they do. They rank 17/30 in free throws attempted, suggesting 16 other teams attack the rim harder than the “toughest team” in the NBA. Surprisingly, they rank 21/30 in rebounding, which is essentially a battle of who wants it more. Based on Riley’s mantra, this should theoretically be a category Miami dominates in.

In all honesty, the only grittiness Miami shows on the defensive side of the ball is in the steals category, where they rank 4^th (averaging 9.1 steals per game). In almost every other category that is slightly indicative of toughness, meanness and/or nastiness, they find themselves in the middle of the pack.

Which brings me to my final point. At 7-4, it’s probably not the best time to put out a message saying you’re the best team in the league. If that’s not convincing enough, it certainly wasn’t the time to do so when you were 2-4 (which was Miami’s record when the court was originally debuted). Even if you were undefeated, I still don’t think it’s a good time to say it. If we learned anything from Colorado this season, it’s probably not the best idea to give opposing teams whiteboard material, especially if you don’t have the ability to back it up. Just like Stanford’s offensive lineman Connor McLaughlin was quick to “flex his watch” at Shedeur Sanders after their win, 29 teams in the NBA will be ready to remind you who’s the “toughest, meanest, nastiest team” of them all. And if I had to guess, I’m willing to bet they’d say it’s not you Miami.