With a win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Heat finally secured themselves a spot in the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
It’s official: the Miami Heat are going to the playoffs.
Currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, the team secured themselves a spot on Tuesday night, with a win over the Atlanta Hawks. 2017-18 regular play isn’t done yet, as the Heat still have four games remaining in their schedule, but the question on everyone’s mind is how Miami will fare come the postseason.
If the playoffs were to start today, they would face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With a 48-30 record, LeBron James and company sit third in the East, therefore matching up with the Heat. And while anyone would love to watch James and Dwyane Wade go at it, it would certainly make for a tough run.
Now, the Cavaliers haven’t had an easy year; a slow start led to a trade deadline roster revamp, while a plethora of injuries made things even more difficult. However, it seems that lately, they’ve started to get it together. They went 10-6 in the month of March, and just came away with an 112-106 win over the Toronto Raptors last night.
As for how Cleveland has played against Miami, they won the season series 2-1.
Still, the Heat managed a 98-79 victory on March 27, and held James to just 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes. So it’s safe to say this possible first round matchup would turn into a hard-fought battle.
"“I’m not a calculated guy of who we’re going to get,” Goran Dragic said. “I don’t mess with basketball gods. We just need to play and be ready. If you make some noise, you need to win against the best teams in this league so it doesn’t matter if you get them in the first or second (round). You need to go through everybody, so why not play Cleveland? We’ll see.”"
What most people are hoping for however, is meeting the Boston Celtics. Sitting second in the East with a record of 53-24, the team is pretty banged up, with many speculating both Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart will miss the first round. And while they may have gone 7-3 since Irving was sidelined, some of these wins came against teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Orlando Magic.
Miami also has had a nice campaign versus Boston this year. Going 2-1 in the season series, it’s clear the Heat thrive when facing a so-called harder competitor. Especially Kelly Olynyk, who scored 32 points in the December 20 win.
Miami could still also be paired with either the No. 1 Toronto Raptors or the No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers, if they are able to overtake Cleveland. So for now, the Heat just have to keep grinding it out.
Next: How Hassan Whiteside's comments were a Miami Heat wake-up call
The 2018 NBA Playoffs tip off on April 14.