Kill the weak
It’s important to avoid the Milwaukee Bucks, but it’s no less important for the Miami Heat to find their best matchup in the first round. Getting the second seed is the best way of doing that. As things currently stand, both the seventh and eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference are below .500, with the Brooklyn Nets sitting at 18-20 and the Orlando Magic at 16-20.
The Nets have lost seven straight games, the Magic just lost Jonathan Isaac, and there is a jumble of terrible teams right behind them with the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards all within 4.5 games of the eight seed.
Whoever the final two teams in the Eastern Conference playoff picture are, they will be a true disaster. Whether it be the Nets, who are falling apart but still somehow better without Kyrie Irving, the Magic, the Pistons without Blake Griffin, the dreadful Bulls, or the Washington Wizards who are practically pulling players off the street to fill out their roster, the top two seeds are going to have historically easy matchups in the first round.
Contrast that with the current three versus six seed matchups, the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics are 25-11 and the Pacers are 23-15, just a three-game difference. And the Pacers are likely to improve as they’ll get Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon back from injuries.
The Eastern Conference playoff picture has plenty of time to shift and change. We do know that the Bucks will be the one seed. We know that the seven and eight seeds could be among the worst teams to ever make the NBA playoffs.
We also know that the two through six seeds are a true gauntlet of competition. The three versus six and four versus five matchups are going to be grinding, ferocious and extended battles which could take a toll that lasts long into the playoffs for whoever comes out victorious.
It is absolutely essential for the Miami Heat to take that two seed.