The Miami Dolphins are bad. The Miami Hurricanes are bad. The Miami Marlins are bad. The Florida Panthers play a sport nobody cares about.

The Miami Heat aren’t bad. They are slightly above average. They will be a 5–7 seed and will be a tough first-round out. That isn’t bad, and we as a fan base should appreciate it … I guess.

The problem is: What the Heat are is maybe the worst thing you can be in sports — and definitely one of the worst things you can be in a glamour and glitz, event town like Miami.

The Heat are boring.

Phewww…. what a weight off of my shoulders! I can breathe again!

As a certified-Heat homer, this has been a difficult realization. My job as #HeatTwitter President, Miami Heat Beat co-host, and Miami Heat Beat blogger is to feed off interest and even create some where there is none. For the first time in a long time, interesting has become an absolute chore.

Sure, there are #TheKids, as I call them. Josh Richardson, Bam Adebayo, and Justise Winslow are supposed to be coming into their own this year. Richardson has looked capable, if not consistent, the first seven games and has been one of few bright spots. Adebayo has looked more clumsy than athletic, maybe the nerves that come with increased expectations. And Winslow has had the early part of his season derailed by injuries.

But are we watching the growth of future superstars or the maturation of complimentary guys and role players? So far, it looks like the latter … and I gotta tell ya’, I’m not tuning into Hardwood Classics to watch the early years of Trevor Ariza. The hardcore Heat fan is all bout watching the young guys develop, but what about the rest of the crowd? What are they supposed to latch onto?

It was/is supposed to be all about Dwyane Wade’s last year. But, let’s be real, farewell tours become more poignant during the last few weeks of the season. It’s hard to muster up emotion about Wade’s second to last game in Charlotte.

So, what are we left with? The same team, the same players, and the same results. Impressive blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers on a Saturday night, followed by back-to-back double-digit losses to last year’s lottery teams a couple of days later.

The excitement coming into this season wasn’t about what was going to happen on the court, but what was going to be done off of it. Heat fans started the summer hoping for trades and cap relief, then ended the off-season with dreams of Jimmy Butler dancing in their heads. But, alas, none of that has come to fruition … yet.

So yeah, Heat fans are bored, and who can blame them? Maybe we’ve been spoiled by the giant sweeping transactions of the past. Maybe the parades and trophies have made us complacent. But in a city that is known to show up late or not at all, our sports franchises need to give us something to keep us in our seats.

We are used to our Saturday and Sunday afternoons being disappointing exercises in sports viewing, but the Heat used to light up our Miami nights.

Save us Pat Riley, you’re South Florida’s only hope.