The Heat’s 2010-11 NBA Eastern Conference championship banner hung discreetly, almost ashamedly, from the rafters. No pregame ceremony marked its rising at Miami’s home opener Tuesday night. The banner was there waiting for fans because it had to be, but it was as if the team wished no one noticed. No reference to it was heard.

Did you know Super Bowl losing teams get rings, too?

“Never wore mine,” Dan Marino told me once. “Ever.”

Never in South Florida sports history has “almost” been not good enough more than with the Heat as its embarks on Season 2 of the Big 3.

THIS YEAR, the T-shirts read, in capital letters.

“Almost” is so not good enough that the Heat came within two games of winning an NBA title last season — despite all the turmoil, newness, injuries and adjusting — and yet still changed its offense in a significant way, an overhaul more than a tinker.

I think it might be working.

This Miami attack is more free-wheeling (“freedom” is the word coach Erik Spoelstra likes) and shows more play in the low-post nearer the basket, especially from the locomotive-strong LeBron James.

This offense beat a strong Boston Celtics defensive team 115-107 Tuesday night. That was two days after the Christmas Day beat-down in Dallas, where the Heat watched the Mavericks raise their championship banner and then proceeded to obliterate the Mavs for almost 100 points in three quarters before decelerating.

At one point Tuesday, tres grande — James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — were a combined 22-for-31 on field goals. Snapshot: LeBron steals a pass, sprints downcourt with Celtic Rajon Rondo nipping at his side and jackhammers a monstrous slam dunk over his opponent.

“There is no question our group feels considerably more comfortable — and not in a complacent way,” Spoelstra said. “It was painfully slow last year, especially in [the beginning].”

This season’s Heat team penetrates to the hoop enough to increase its number of free-throw tries and decrease its reliance on long jumpers and three-point bombs.

“Our guys understand the ratio,” Spolestra said. “Our identity is to be an attacking team.”

This is a mere two games into a truncated 66-game season, granted, but one thing has come clear quickly.<

The Heat is better. By a lot.

The more aggressive offense suits the Big 3, and so does the increased familiarity with one another. Udonis Haslem’s return to health makes a big difference. Defense-minded veteran Shane Battier was a smart addition. And rookie point guard Norris Cole will be a significant energy charge off the bench if Tuesday night’s whirling-dervish show by him was an indication.

Underline that last sentence.

Cole was on the floor in the crucial closing minutes Tuesday, and had 20 points.

“A pace-changer,” Spoelstra called him. “Our immediate spark plug.”

As an aside, can you imagine being this kid coming into this team?

“My first week of training camp my eyes were a little big,” he admitted before Tuesday’s game, with a smile. “You see LeBron, D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Juwan Howard of the Fab Five … it was an eye-opening experience.”

Cole has the potential to make starting point guard Mario Chalmers slowly disappear, and is one reason why the Heat is better. By a lot.

To the rest of the league, it must seem unfair.<

The Heat being better is like Bill Gates winning the lottery.

It’s only two games, yes, I know. And keep reminding myself. Let’s get a better read on how much Miami has improved when the Heat hosts the Lakers on Jan. 19 and the Chicago Bulls Jan. 29.

For now, though, this looks like a Heat team destined for a championship run that finishes what it started.

That Eastern Conference banner that appeared quietly in the rafters Tuesday?

I have a feeling this team will see a bigger one raised, and with considerably more fanfare, a year from now.