The pressure is off.

That is the latest tack taken by Heat coach Pat Riley amid his team's dreary start to the season.

"There's no pressure on anybody anymore," Riley said before Tuesday's game against the Bucks at AmericanAirlines Arena. "There shouldn't be. We're out of it."

His voice offering only the slightest tinge of sarcasm, Riley added, "I mean, in the minds of everybody else, we're out of it."

Riley's point was that, as an NBA bottom-feeder, the Heat should be beyond pressure.

"This is a team that has a long way to go," he said. "And what they can do is ... produce more beyond this limited expectation that has been put out there for us. I don't think any player should be under pressure now."

Riley said his comments should not be translated into his giving up on the season.

"My expectation is to turn this thing around," he said. "I am trying to do everything I can, every day."