Miami Heat: Key matchups in the month of February
After a 10-5 finish to the month of January, the Miami Heat need to secure winnable games against the Eastern Conference’s playoff hopefuls.
Nearly capturing the third spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the 2016 playoffs, the Miami Heat remain straddled in fourth, following a last-minute loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Despite Miami staying seven games above the .500 mark, the loss has meaningful implications as the team cruises into the month of February: tiebreakers. Having lost the first two of the season’s three contests against Cleveland, Miami is guaranteed to lose a two-way tiebreaker with the Cavaliers.
The importance of tiebreakers is inherent in the NBA format, and the Heat are all too familiar with its repercussions. In 2016, a four-way tie benefitted the Heat, as late season losses from the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets boosted them into the third place and home court advantage.
In the following year, the magic of the 30-11 final half of the Heat’s season dried up, as a losing tiebreaker with the 41-41 Chicago Bulls edged Miami out of playoff contention.
Currently, only one game separates Miami from the seventh place in the East. Though the Heat don’t have to face off against Cleveland again until the end of March, February has a few key matchups that should be marked on Miami’s calendar.
Philadelphia 76ers (Feb. 2, Feb. 14 & Feb. 27)
February holds a whopping three of the season’s four meetings with the Joel Embiid-led Sixers. Though the Heat are just 3.5 games ahead of Philadelphia, the games are even more important given the pseudo-beef between Embiid and Hassan Whiteside.
Sparked in 2017 when Embiid tried to curry All-Star votes online, it reignited during a preseason bout that saw the bigs battle, capped by Whiteside fouling Embiid three times in the opening quarter. Subsequently, a war of words and Twitter-fingers arose between the two, equal parts good fun and earnest resentment.
"“I haven’t talked to Joel. I don’t know. It’s just another opponent,” said Whiteside. “He does a great job of interacting with fans and fans love him. He got like a cult following. They love him.”"
Rivalry aside, the Heat haven’t won the season series with Philadelphia since 2016, when they swept the Sixers 3-0. Last season, the teams split the four game series, and though the tiebreaker was irrelevant to either team, both of Miami’s losses marked easily winnable games against a depleted, injury-ridden Sixers squad.
While the Sixers have been looking less like a playoff team than they did at the start of the season, Miami’s three games with them are high priority matchups. A winning record against the Sixers in February could serve to protect the Heat, should they drop more games and inch towards the lower half of the East.
Barring a well-timed end-of-season win streak though, the Sixers shouldn’t pose a threat to the burgeoning Heat.
Detroit Pistons (Feb 3)
The volatility of the Eastern Conference spiked after the Pistons acquired Blake Griffin from the Los Angeles Clippers, in a six-player trade last Monday. The union of two All-Star talents in Griffin and Andre Drummond, creates a formidable front court duo, capable of threatening a late-season playoff push.
For Miami, the trade means one thing: they have to win two more games against Griffin, Drummond and the Pistons, to secure a favorable tiebreaker. Currently five games ahead of the ninth place Pistons, February’s contest will test the fortitude of the Heat’s big men; namely, Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo.
Though Olynyk and Adebayo have been playing well together, neither is particularly suited to guarding Griffin, whose ball-handling and playmaking will surely draw them out of their defensive comfort zones.
Taking advantage of the Pistons’ growing pains with Griffin should be of utmost importance for the Heat. Any trade comes with a deal of readjusting, no matter how talented the players involved. And Miami’s February 3 game in Detroit will be just the second time Griffin dons a Pistons’ jersey. Exploiting his efforts to blend into head coach Stan Van Gundy’s schemes, should be the key to keeping the Pistons on their heels.
Next: The Miami Heat couldn’t get it done against the Cleveland Cavaliers
Miami will also have to surpass trials presented by the Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks in the shortest calendar month. While a heated Raptors rematch is sure to thrill, Miami’s playoff hopes lie in prioritizing very winnable contests against Philadelphia and Detroit.