Miami Heat basketball is back! Well, sort of.
Following the All-Star festivities in Cleveland, the NBA is set to resume, though the Miami Heat won’t return from their own break until Friday. With the rest of the league looking to get back on the court on Thursday though, it’s official.
With 23 remaining games on their schedule, only eight away games, and with one of those being in the state of Florida, their final game of the season against the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat don’t necessarily have the toughest remaining schedule.
Also still sitting in first place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, though numerically tied with the Chicago Bulls and only separated by their head-to-head tiebreaker(Miami Heat 2-0 against Chicago on the year), their final stretch of games and the circumstances surrounding them should bode well for their chances of maintaining that top seeding as well.
That will be the topic of discussion here, so why not get it started. Here is the latest All U Can Heat Roundtable, taking a look at the final record and seeding predictions across their final 23 games.
Kenneth’s Take (@K_Said_Que)
The Miami Heat don’t have a ton of away games on the schedule in the final games of the year, but they do play quite a few high-quality teams. They’ll split a home and home matchup with the new look Philadelphia 76ers, while they also have the Brooklyn Nets on the agenda two more times this year.
For good measure and not to be outdone, they’ll face their conference-leading counterparts in the Chicago Bulls twice as well. In between, they’ll see the Milwaukee Bucks, the Warriors, the Suns (though without Chris Paul), the Cavaliers, the resurgent Celtics, and a pesky Toronto team, among others.
Even with all of that though, the Miami Heat should be just fine. They’ve played tough all year, winning some big games along the way.
Here’s the record and seeding prediction.
Prediction: 17-6 Across Final 23, 55-27 For Year, Number One Seed In East
With their team starting to fully round into form, from a complete health and lineup perspective, they should be in a good spot to keep competing at the level that they have thus far.
Predicting Miami Heat Record And Seeding Across Last 23 Games: Eric’s Take
The Heat are in a strange spot right now. That’s not by any fault of their own though.
Eric’s Take (@FrittsWrites)
For some reason, people keep forgetting they exist. They are frequently left out of contender conversations.
They are usually referred to as “sleepers” or “loomers”, despite being the number one seed. It’s all just odd.
Granted it has been an odd year but the Miami Heat have shown the most consistency and strength in the entire Eastern Conference, which is why they will finish as the number one seed.
The biggest threats are the Milwaukee Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Chicago Bulls. Chicago is still figuring some things out, while we still don’t know how Philly will look with James Harden running the show.
The Bucks are formidable, they are the defending champs, but they wouldn’t scare me if I were the Miami Heat and especially with the vitriol they should have built up. There’s also Boston, who’s been playing very well, but still has questions to answer about this year with a short time to do so.
With just 23 games left, let’s say the Heat only lose six. They’ll go 17-6 post-All-Star.
Prediction: 17-6 Across Final 23, 55-27 For Year, Number One Seed In East
The East is too stacked and no one will touch 60 wins. Miami will have 55 though and that should be enough to seal the one seed.
Predicting Miami Heat Record And Seeding Across Last 23 Games: Tre’s Take
This double-overtime game before the All-Star Break may be pretty important for the Miami Heat further down the road. Bumping their win total to 38, Miami sat atop the Eastern Conference headed into the week-long break.
Tre’s Take (@RowbothamTre)
Based on their current winning percentage, the Heat are on track to win 52.8 games. You give them the benefit of the doubt and say 53 games total.
In most seasons, this would be a respectable record that would likely host a first-round playoff series as a three or four seed. Thankfully, this is not a typical season.
I foresee the top seeds in the East only reaching 52 to 54 wins, based on where teams currently sit.
This gives Miami a prime chance to secure one of the top two seeds in the East and at least, host a playoff series or two.
When looking at their remaining schedule, I have the Heat winning 14 of their 23 remaining games. This would give Miami the 52 wins that could put them in contention for a top-two seed.
The East is going to be the more entertaining Conference to watch come playoff time. With so many teams fighting for positioning already, there are going to be a few must-watch first-round series.
As far as the prediction, the Heat will finish the regular season with a record of 52-30. With this record, they will barely edge out the Bucks, 76ers, and Bulls for the top seed.
Prediction: 14-9 Across Final 23, 52-30 For Year, Number One Seed In East
Most importantly, they will secure home-court advantage for the duration of the playoffs.
Predicting Miami Heat Record And Seeding Across Last 23 Games: Isiah’s Take
Team health will always be a primary concern for NBA title contenders and over the last three seasons, the Miami Heat have been a team afflicted with that very issue.
Isiah’s Take (@IsiahCurryNBA)
As the All-Star break will allow them to reintegrate the remainder of their depth, Miami’s chances of sustaining a top seed in the Eastern Conference appears likely.
However, it won’t necessarily be an easy route for the Heat, as they’ll have eight of those 22 remaining games on the road. Two of them will come in a back-to-back set against the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn.
The Greek Freak speaks for himself, but Brooklyn could possibly have Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons in the lineup by then too. To add to that misery, just two days later they face the 76ers.
Joel Embiid is having an astronomical season for Philadelphia. The Heat will also play a total of four games against both Philadelphia and Brooklyn in this final stretch.
You should expect multiple losses from those four matchups. With a few marquee matchups with Cleveland, Golden State, and Phoenix, Miami will also close out the final six games of their schedule with three consecutive road appearances against Boston, Chicago, and Toronto.
They’ll host Charlotte and Atlanta for their last two games at home, before going across the state to Orlando for their final game of the year. Here is the prediction.
Prediction: 18-5 Across Final 23, 56-26 For Year, Top Two Seed In East
In other words, the Heat are truly in for a wild finish, standings wise. But the most difficult segment of their season schedule is behind them—hopefully.