MIAMI — There is something particularly honorable about a professional sports team overachieving. It is a way of telling fans that no matter what appears to be missing, there is a willingness to go above and beyond.
So the Miami Heat went above and beyond all the way to the 2020 NBA Finals in the Disney World quarantine bubble, while others took a get-me-out-of-here approach.
And then with a roster shy of the talent level of rivals in the Eastern Conference, the Heat rose to the No. 1 playoff seed in the East last year and played within one victory of the NBA Finals.
But what overachieving is, by its very definition, is not sustainable.
So as Erik Spoelstra’s team enters this stretch of eight of nine at Miami-Dade Arena, starting with Wednesday night’s rematch against the Philadelphia 76ers, there remains an outside sense of desperation, as if a spot in the play-in tournament would make this season an utter, unabashed failure.
And yet, with this roster, the only way out of this hole for the Heat is to . . . overachieve.
The Heat mantra “hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA” bleeds the type of drive required to overachieve.
But nowhere does the phrase available at a Miami Heat retail outlet near you say anything about “most talented.”
But that is why Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade won the franchise’s first championship.
And why Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh won the second and third.
Consider what the Heat faced on Monday night in Philadelphia against the 76ers’ roster of Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey.
Embiid is better than Bam Adebayo. Regular-season Harden has largely proven better than regular-season Jimmy Butler (yes, very intentional about that phrasing, although playoff Butler made an appearance Monday) and Maxey certainly on Monday night trumped Tyler Herro.
Better. More talented.
The goal had been to inject an All-Star-level Kyle Lowry into that equation. Instead, that glimmer long has faded.
So when it comes to the Heat’s upcoming schedule, including a huge Friday matchup against the New York Knicks, followed by consecutive games against the Atlanta Hawks and then consecutive games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the path to resurrection in the standings again will come down to overachieving.
Getting more from less.
Like the Heat did on Monday night, thriving on the hustle of Caleb Martin, Max Strus, Victor Oladipo, and, yes, Cody Zeller.
“You have to show some grit,” coach Erik Spoelstra said in the wake of the 101-99 escape in Philadelphia that snapped a four-game losing streak.
Such an approach worked last season against the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
Such wasn’t as necessary in the second round, with Embiid missing the first two games of that Heat series.
And then, ultimately, worn down by the Boston Celtics in last season’s East finals.
But it was the good fight.
With the same group largely returned to again fight a good fight.
This time, though, tethered by the luxury tax; so this time, without P.J. Tucker.
With the internal message to overcome that aspect by overachieving.
Mired in seventh place in the East is not where the Heat expected to be in March, with 20 games to play.
Since the Heat stood within one Butler shot of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Knicks added Jalen Brunson, the Hawks added Dejounte Murray, the Cavaliers made the blockbuster move for Donovan Mitchell, and, yes, the 76ers added Tucker.
The Heat?
Spoelstra, Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and the Arisons asked for more from what already was in place. From the Vincents. The Struses, The Martins.
Yes, that creates culture, players willing to overachieve because of the confidence from above.
But what wins in the NBA, what always has won, is talent.
Butler was elite on Monday night, with his talent winning out.
Now all he has to do is do it again Wednesday night.
And then do it in the 19 remaining regular-season games after that.
With the remainder of the roster otherwise asked . . . again, to overachieve.
When judging this past week that mostly wasn’t for the Heat, condemn, castigate, criticize if you must.
But until Monday, until Harden’s potential game-winning three bounced off the rim, what we actually were seeing was a team unable to overachieve.
Because that is difficult to sustain, if sustainable at all.
Ultimately, Butler stepped up with his scoring, Adebayo with his defense, and the Heat held on in Philadelphia.
The little team that could finally did again.
“A lot of guys stepped up and played their minutes hard,” Strus said.
But the “hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA” wouldn’t have made it to Monday’s finish line without the star power of Butler.
Otherwise, same as it always was.
Overachieve, or bust.
