The NBA just recently put out their opening week and Christmas Day schedules. However, the Miami Heat are nowhere to be found on either of those schedules.
With the amount of success the Miami Heat had this offseason, they should be one of the most entertaining teams in the league. Miami is a big market and they now have three- All-Star caliber players.
The core of Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo should be enough to garner national attention this year. The team will be super aggressive and that alone will draw the eyes of many.
It seems absolutely ridiculous that the Miami Heat did not get an opening week game or a Christmas Day game. These games are reserved for the best teams that people want to watch the most, so why weren’t the Heat included?
Starting with the “Kia NBA Tip-Off” schedule, the NBA has eight different matchups over four different days. The teams involved are the Nets, Bucks, Warriors, Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Nuggets, Suns, Mavericks, Hawks, Clippers, and 76ers.
Some of those teams even play multiple times across those games. The Nets, Warriors, Lakers, and Suns all have two games in that stretch.
Then, looking ahead to the Christmas Day games, the NBA scheduled five matchups. The games will be the Hawks vs Knicks, Celtics vs Bucks, Warriors vs Suns, Nets vs Lakers, and Mavericks vs Jazz.
Now, teams like the Nets, Lakers, Warriors, and Bucks were obvious choices for these games. They are filled with superstars and entertaining players.
For that same reason, it makes sense for teams like the Mavericks, Celtics, Suns, and Hawks to get this exposure. Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, and Trae Young are amazing young stars.
However, teams such as the Knicks, Clippers, and Jazz getting a game on these days over the Miami Heat is absurd. The Heat have more stars and arguably a better team than all of these squads.
The Miami Heat have a better team than the Knicks, a bigger market than Utah, and, without Kawhi Leonard, more stars than the Clippers. It just makes way more sense to have them playings
The NBA fully disrespected the Miami Heat by not putting them on the schedule for any of these days. They’ll just have to make them regret their decision this season.