Miami Heat Roundtable: Predicting Last 23, Final Record, & Seed – Noah’s Take
After a tumultuous first 59 games of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Miami Heat finally got to rest during the All-Star Break.
Noah’s Take – (@ndeckerbuckets)
They are currently sitting in seventh place in the East, putting them in a play-in position. Their remaining schedule puts them in a great position to make a playoff push though, as long as they can stay healthy.
Let’s take a deeper look at Miami’s remaining schedule. Their first game after the All-Star break is against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Although the Bucks are one of the toughest teams in the league to beat, they will likely be without Giannis Antetokounmpo for this game. That makes them beatable.
After the Bucks, the Heat do not have too many opponents where they might be expected to lose. They have a few games against the 76ers, as they will probably lose some of those.
They might also drop a game against the Grizzlies or the Mavericks. There will also be some games where the Heat simply do not show up.
That has happened multiple times already this year, although that should become less frequent as we approach the playoffs. The most important games for the rest of the schedule will be the games against the New York Knicks.
The Heat have three games against the Knicks and lost the previous matchup this season. The Knicks are sitting just half a game ahead of the Heat in the standings right now.
With their records being so close, every game is important, and the Heat would love to own the tiebreaker against the Knicks. They know how important those games will be, so they will likely get the job done.
So how many games will they win? I would predict that the Heat finish the season going 14-9, bringing their final record to 46-36.
The Heat will also have an opportunity to move up in the standings. They will probably move ahead of the Knicks and should also finish with a better record than the Brooklyn Nets, who traded away their superstars.
That is why I have the Heat finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. That puts them in a good position to make a deep playoff run, depending on who they face in the first round.
Record Prediction Across Final 23 Games: 14-9
Predicted Final Record And Finish In Eastern Conference: 46-36 And 5th