Following the official release of the NBA schedule, it’s time to dive in to the Miami Heat’s five biggest regular season matchups of the 2017-18 season.
After months of anticipation, the NBA released the official 82-game schedule for every team this week. For the Miami Heat, there were several similarities from years past.
Just like a year ago, they’ll open things up on the road against the in-state rival Orlando Magic.
There will be no Christmas Day game, and fans will be seeing plenty of the likes of division rivals like the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets.
With that being said, the Heat will have nine national television appearances, a far cry from last year, where they rarely ever graced anyone’s screen, except for those with NBA League Pass.
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Boasting a talented roster that features one of the league’s top centers, a veteran point guard at his apex, and a bunch of fighters, Miami will make some noise in the East, especially due to its weakened state.
While it’s not forseeable to expect them to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers for first, aside from LeBron James and company, the conference is as wide open from two through eight as it has ever been.
The southeast division is among the most competitive in the league also, with four playoff caliber teams in Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, as well as the Washington Wizards.
The Heat will have their hands full, but as they showed during the second half of last season, they are up for anything thrown their way.
Locked, loaded, and ready to return to the playoffs, here are the five key games to watch out for as the new season quickly approaches on the horizon.
Wednesday, October 25th vs. San Antonio
While an early, regular season matchup with an out-of-conference foe may not seem like the typical must-see contest, a nationally televised game against one of the three best teams in the league will be just what the doctor ordered.
In just the fourth game of the season, Miami will be able to test their wits and gauge just where they stand early on, giving head coach Erik Spoelstra plenty of time to make adjustments.
Not only that, but the Heat have not beaten the Spurs since James departed for Cleveland in 2014, losing nine straight dating back to the 2014 NBA Finals.
Needless to say, that’s a streak they want to see end very soon and this is the perfect opportunity to attempt to catch a Gregg Poppovich-coached team off guard.
It just would not be in Miami’s best interest to head in to San Antonio on December 6th down 0-1 in the season series. The Spurs would have both the psychological and physical advantage, as they tend to play extremely well in the depths of the AT&T Center.
For the Heat to reach the level of play that they desire to consistently be at, you have to be able to beat the best.
A year ago, Miami beat the likes of Golden State, Houston, Toronto, and Cleveland with this same group.
It’s about time they exact some sort of revenge for that humiliating Finals loss from three years ago, despite a completely different roster.
Monday, January 22nd at Houston
The Houston Rockets officially entered the realm of the league’s juggernauts this offseason, acquiring Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pairing the league’s best floor general with MVP runner-up James Harden is going to be a very difficult matchup to defend.
These Rockets already boasted one of the league’s most potent offenses without Paul, and Harden can now shift back to his natural position of shooting guard.
With Sixth Man of the Year Eric Gordon coming off the bench to go with a supporting cast that features Trevor Ariza, Nene, Ryan Anderson, Clint Capela, and a stout defender in Luc Mbah a Moute, Miami is no doubt going to have its hands full come time for this matchup.
Why so big, you ask?
It’s the middle of the season, all teams are expecting to be clicking on all cylinders as the All Star break approaches. It doesn’t get any more competitive than that.
This will be the perfect chance for this Heat team to prove to everybody that it can hang with the league’s best, and I think that by this time, most teams will begin to take Miami seriously.
While it definitely will not be easy, a victory on Houston’s home floor in front of a national audience would just bolster this team’s confidence in a huge way.
Miami proved it could hang with the Rockets last season, and this year should be no different.
Sunday, December 3rd vs. Golden State
When the defending champions come to town, it’s always a big matchup no matter who you are. Come December, it will be no different for this Heat team.
Miami defeated the eventual-champion Warriors in their lone trip to South Florida last season, winning on a thrilling, last-second 3 pointer from Dion Waiters following a furious Golden State comeback.
It was so coincidental and ironic, that even Kevin Durant joked about it after the game.
“He gave me a little wink after he hit that three,” Durant chuckled. “F*****g sucked sucked to see that go through the rim, but that’s a big brother to me kind of. [I] can smile at that one after the game was over. He played great.”
That alone will make this game interesting, and it’ll be intriguing to see if Waiters has another big game against his former teammate in Oklahoma City.
For me, I’m personally looking forward to another Hassan Whiteside-Draymond Green matchup, but it will more than likely be the likes of Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee defending Miami’s star big man down low.
Dragic going against two-time MVP Stephen Curry is also a matchup to watch out for, and stopping the reigning Finals MVP will be a handful.
Win or loss, if the Heat put up a fight, they should walk away satisfied.
Wednesday, November 1st vs. Chicago
Not a nationally televised game, and this contest could end up having zero impact on either team’s chances at a playoff spot.
Dwyane Wade is coming back to town, and the Heat have not beat him in Miami since he joined the Bulls as a free agent last offseason.
This game will more than likely be marked on every fan in South Florida’s calendar, and I personally guarantee that you’ll see a number of fan-made signs reading “come back, 2018!”
While I’m not going to make any prediction on that subject at this point, it’s certainly a topic for discussion in the near future and with Jimmy Butler now in Minnesota, these theories do have a pulse.
Quite frankly, Miami should run right over the Bulls in this one, and I expect them to win by double digits. That’s not a knock against Chicago, but the Heat are clearly the superior team at this point and they should win this one relatively easily.
The significance of the moment is what places this game on this slate, and the ratings for local broadcasts in the southern Florida will skyrocket.
I doubt there will be another video tribute, but I also don’t expect any boo’s either.
Fans have been waiting for this moment, and judging from reactions on Twitter from last year’s game, will take in great satisfaction in beating no. 3 in his former house.
Again, this game wields no playoff significance whatsoever, but pulling this one off will mean a lot for the city of Miami itself.
Tuesday, March 27th vs. Cleveland
In what will be Miami’s final national television appearance of the regular season, the defending Eastern Conference champions will be coming to town.
The Heat went 3-1 against the Cavaliers last season, and have not lost a season series to them since James returned in 2014.
On top of that, Cleveland has not won a game at AmericanAirlines Arena in that timeframe as well, so that may be a footnote on their personal agenda.
Heading in to the playoffs, this will be the perfect chance to gauge what state the Heat are in, both mentally and physically.
It’s difficult to predict whether or not the Cavaliers will be resting their starters, but even if that’s the case, Miami needs to be all in.
Any chance you have to gain any sort of advantage whatsoever has to be seized, especially against a juggernaut like the Cavaliers.
Whether Dragic will have to match up with Kyrie Irving or not will not matter, they have no. 23, and in certain situations, that’s all you need to win a regular season game, particularly on the road, where James usually tends to play well.
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Both of these rosters could be vastly different by the time this matchup comes around, but even if that were to come to fruition, these teams will more than likely be in the same positions they’re in now.
Let’s just face it: it’s fun to beat LeBron James in his former kingdom, and the Heat hope to continue that streak with another victory this year.