Miami Heat: Road ahead more difficult after loss to Orlando Magic
By Duncan Smith
After a tough home loss to the Orlando Magic, the road ahead for the Miami Heat looks more difficult. The playoffs are still in reach, but getting there is more complicated.
On the night the Miami Heat retired former All Star and champion Chris Bosh‘s jersey, they blew a big early lead against the Orlando Magic and lost 104-99, and complicated the outlook of their season in the process.
The Magic leapfrogged the Heat in the standings, taking a half game lead over the Heat for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and bumping the Heat down to ninth. The Magic own the tiebreaker against the Heat, meaning that if the two teams finish with the same record, the Magic would make the playoffs over the Heat.
As a result, the Heat will have to win two more games than the Magic over the final eight games of the regular season if they hope to make the playoffs.
Adding to the Miami Heat’s headaches, the Charlotte Hornets are the second-hottest team in the East (behind the Magic), having won four straight games. The Hornets are now just a game behind the Heat in the standings, and they also hold the tiebreaker against the Heat by virtue of having the better divisional record.
Thus, the Heat must also finish with more wins than the Hornets to top them in the playoff standings. Tying either the Magic or Hornets means certain doom.
As you might imagine with the Heat being dealt such a substantial blow and their two closest competitors playing their best basketball of the season, their playoff odds have been reduced.
According to ESPN’s BPI, the Heat are down to 41.3 percent to get into the playoffs, and even more stark, per FiveThirtyEight the Heat are down to just 29 percent to get in.
Next. Playoff outlooks for the Heat's closest competitors. dark
The Miami Heat will look to get back on track on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks and wrap the week up on Saturday against the New York Knicks, so at least the scheduled week finishes in the Heat’s favor. The organization is also hoping for a speedy return to the lineup from Justise Winslow who has now missed six games with a bruised thigh.