The NBA recently released their schedules, Miami Heat included and of course, for the upcoming season and it has to be said, it’s only made things harder. Only in the best ways though, the excitement for the season has only grown with the revelation, as there are a ton of great matchups to feast your eyes on and dive into.
For the Miami Heat, in particular, that is no different. Though they don’t face their archenemies, the Milwaukee Bucks, on national television until around mid-December, the schedule provides many other little treats along the way that should quench that desire until it actually happens.
The Miami Heat don’t have a super-tough schedule, as a whole, as much as they have tough stretches. This one to open March definitely qualifies there.
While those treats are plentiful throughout the year, believe that, there is one little stretch that deserves a bit more attention than some others. Here it is.
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Taking into account the March schedule, it should be a month that sees the Miami Heat grab a slew of wins as they head into the home stretch for the playoffs. Out of the 15 games that take place that month, a win would be winning nine, while they should definitely win 10 of the 15, and actually have great shot at winning 11 of them.
With four games being at the will of the opposition, there is a slight little stretch to open that month that should bother a bit. Opening March on the 2nd and 3rd of that month with back to back games, they face the Milwaukee Bucks and then the Brooklyn Nets on the following night.
That’s a tough set of games and especially on back to back nights. Then, to make matters no better, they get a day off from the dual-contests, only to face the Philadelphia 76ers.
With all of Philly’s issues and the improvements that the Heat have made, Philly shouldn’t be as big of an issue as they were last season, when all things are equal. However, coming off of that set of games and then to face Philly, that’s a totally different monster and all things aren’t equal there.
Essentially, the Miami Heat face the best of the best in the East, the top three seeds from last year, over the course of only four days. Not only is that a stretch that the Miami Heat will need to have their minds right for if they don’t want to get embarrassed, but it will also reveal a lot about this team in the big moments.
Now, it all helps, as that’s apart of the closing stretch that allows them to sharpen their tools for the playoffs. Outside of just that though, it’s a really tough stretch and will tell a lot about what to expect beyond that point.