Pat Riley has started to run out of ways to describe his Miami Heat.

"Horrendous," he said following an early loss.

"An absolute mess," he said after a subsequent defeat.

We're not growing, we're swelling," he said recently.

"Horrendous," he repeated after losing last Wednesday at Washington.

So what happens when one of the NBA's most articulate coaches begins to recycle words criticizing the team? Might Riley follow the example of his rival and protege, Jeff Van Gundy, and seek the nearest exit?

Van Gundy resigned earlier this month as coach of the New York Knicks just 19 games into the season.

"He's a lot like I am," Riley said. "He cares so much and takes everything so personally and deeply that he wasn't having any fun."

Riley is not having much fun, either. The Heat started 2-14 thanks to a 12-game losing streak, the longest of Riley's 20-year coaching career. That left Miami with the league's worst record, unfamiliar territory for a coach who has never missed the playoffs and has won four NBA championships.