Miami Heat: Just How High Can They Actually Climb In The Seedings?
The Miami Heat are in the 6th seed following a win over the Charlotte Hornets and a loss from the Boston Celtics against the Portland Trail Blazers. Now, Miami is a game up on the C’s and can lock up a playoff spot outside of the play-in tournament with a strong finish.
Can the Heat do it? A look at Miami’s strength of schedule for what lies ahead shows a challenging road (I don’t care what Jimmy Butler says).
The Heat’s remaining Strength Of Schedule ranking is 14th. However, two of the seven games left are against the Celtics, the team hot on the heels for the sixth seed.
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Despite the turbulent road ahead and the few remaining games, a few scenarios are yet to play out. Let’s look at them.
The Heat can still catch the Atlanta Hawks and the 5th seed —
It will be a challenge. Atlanta is a game up, at 36-30, but the road ahead is far clearer.
The Hawks SOS is 23rd in the NBA. The only real challenges on the Atlanta schedule are the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers.
To pull into the 5th spot and earn a dance with the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, it will likely require a perfect finish or a major slide from the Hawks to close the season.