Everyone suddenly jumping on the Miami Heat bandwagon

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."