Can Miami Heat Fight Off The New York Teams To Avoid Play-In Scenario?
The first thing the Heat must do is close the gap between them and the Knicks. New York is playing the best basketball they have all season, but their winning streak has been closed.
The Knicks and Heat play each other two more times this season. The Heat must win both of those games.
The Knicks have already won the first two contests against the Heat. One more win would give them the tiebreaker over the Heat in the standings.
This is a difficult task considering how well the Knicks are playing right now. However, the Heat are a more experienced playoff team.
If they treat those games like playoff games, then they have a chance to win both games. That is easier said than done though.
One of those games is back-to-back in late March. Considering how close that is to the end of the regular season, it wouldn’t be surprising if Eric Spoelstra gives Jimmy Butler the night off for one of those games.
If that happens, the Heat might need to put together a winning effort without their best player.