Here’s all the ways the Miami Heat can make the NBA Playoffs

The Miami Heat will need some breaks to make the playoffs. Here are all the ways it could happen.

With two games left in the season, the Miami Heat are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 39-41 record and hoping to finish in the top eight to make the playoffs. Miami is the only team on the outside looking in that is currently not mathematically eliminated from the post season.

That’s because they are tied with the Bulls in record, but Chicago owns the tie breaker. The Heat are also just a game back of the no. 6 seed Pacers and two games back of the Milwaukee Bucks.

There is still time for the Heat, but they’ll need some breaks if they are going to make the playoffs.

Read More: Whiteside comes alive to save the Heat’s season

The easiest way for the Heat to make the playoffs would be to win their final two games hope for either Chicago or Indiana lose one.

Here’s the problem with that, though: The Heat have the toughest schedule by far, playing the Cavaliers and Wizards. Chicago will play Orlando and Brooklyn at home, while Indiana plays Philadelphia and Atlanta.

That makes the other way the Heat can make it: One win and two losses by either the Bulls or Pacers, very unlikely.

The other way the Heat can make it — and this is a weird one — is if Milwaukee loses its remaining two games vs Charlotte and at Boston even if the Pacers and Bulls win their last two. Here it is explained by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson:

"Here’s why: If No. 9 Miami and No. 8 Chicago win out and the No. 6 Bucks lose out, all three teams would finish 41-41. The Bucks already have clinched a playoff spot.But in the head to head matchup among all three teams, Miami had the best record (4-3), with Milwaukee 4-4 and Chicago 3-4.Per an email from Elias, even though the Bucks already have clinched a playoff berth, that three-team tiebreaker would still be used to resolve a Bucks/Heat/Bulls tie, instead of a two-team Heat/Bulls tiebreaker that would favor Chicago by virtue of its 2-1 season series win against the Heat. As a result, Miami and Milwaukee would be the playoff teams in that scenario."

Next: Does missing playoffs still have a positive effect on the Heat?

So to recap, there are three ways for Miami to make the playoffs:

• Two wins and one loss by either Chicago or Indiana
• One win and two losses by either Chicago or Indiana
• Two wins, two wins by the Bulls, and two losses by the Bucks

So now with two games left, at least you know what to root for.