Although it’s been a disappointing regular season for the Miami Heat, they find themselves in the most advantageous position for this week’s play-in tournament.
Last season’s No. 1 seed in the East was one win from reaching the 2022 NBA Finals, but an uneventful offseason and regression from role players stymied the Heat this season. Still, the Heat (44-38) have the best record among the play-in teams and, as the No. 7 seed, will have two chances to win one game and advance to the playoffs.
On Tuesday, the No. 7 seed Heat will face the No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks at Kesaya Center. If the Heat win, they’ll advance to the playoffs and take on the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the first round. If they lose, they’ll have an opportunity to win one more home game and claim the final playoff spot.
Here’s how the play-in tournament works
While the top six seeds in each conference are granted automatic berths in the playoffs, the seventh through 10th seeds are entered into the play-in tournament.
In the tournament’s first round, the seventh seed plays the eighth seed, with the winner advancing as the seventh seed in the playoffs and facing the second seed in the first round. In another game, the ninth seed plays the 10th seed. The loser of that game is eliminated and the winner faced the loser of the 7-8 game to determine who advances as the eighth seed.
The 2023 AT&T NBA Play-In Tournament schedule ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/M9izpVhaFP
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 9, 2023
Miami Heat playoff schedule 2023
Tuesday, April 11: 7:30 p.m. vs. Atlanta Hawks (TNT)
Friday, April 14: 9:30 p.m. ET or 10:00 p.m. ET, vs winner of 9/10 game (if necessary)
The Heat defeated the Hawks, four games to one, in the first round of last season’s playoffs and are 3-1 against the Hawks this season. They do as good a job as any other team in slowing All-Star point guard Trae Young with an aggressive defense that traps Young off screens and forces the ball out of his hands.
But past success means less in a high-variance, winner-take-all play-in game. If Young, Dejounte Murray or any other talented Hawks player erupts for a big game, things for the Heat will be difficult. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will need fellow starters Gabe Vincent, Tyler Herro and Max Strus to make shots and execute the scheme on defense.
Take care of business, and the Heat will get several days off before an Eastern Conference finals rematch against the Celtics begins over the weekend. Lose, and risk an uneven season becoming even more of a disappointment.