In what is now starting to become an unfortunate annual tradition, the Miami Heat have found themselves in the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament for the third year in a row. This Heat team has been exactly what their record has shown— consistently inconsistent.
Despite just scratching by to punch a ticket into the NBA playoffs in recent years, Miami has shown success getting past these games. They memorably made a run from the play-in tournament to the Finals in 2023.
Granted, Jimmy Butler’s rise to postseason stardom is no longer an option. Instead, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo will have to get the job done this year. And they haven't exactly done that in the last part of the regular season.
Let’s dive into an overview of each of these last three play-in journeys for the Heat.
1. 2023 vs Atlanta Hawks & Chicago Bulls
In arguably one of the greatest underdog runs in NBA history, the 2023 Heat turned a play-in appearance into an NBA Finals emergence. They saw themselves go into those play-in rounds as the seventh seed overall, securing home court throughout the pre-playoff tournament.
The first matchup featured a loss at home to Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks. But the team resiliently bounced back to get the job done down the stretch in the following 8-9 matchup in a win over the Chicago Bulls.
Led by Jimmy Butler and Max Strus’s 31 points each, Miami closed out the Bulls on a 15-1 run en route to the victory. Bam Adebayo also added a game-high 17 rebounds. Butler’s incredibly clutch shot-making in that matchup was just a glimpse of what was to come with a magical playoff run to quickly follow.
2. 2024 vs Philadelphia 76ers & Chicago Bulls
The following year, the Heat banked on another “Playoff Jimmy” masterpiece to will an inconsistent Heat squad back to a Finals berth. Unfortunately, the worst case scenario panned out instead.
Butler, who seemed to coast his way through another regular season, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first play-in loss against the Philadelphia 76ers. Without their superstar, the Heat fought for the eighth seed at home against the Bulls for the second consecutive year.
Tyler Herro rose to the occasion in Butler’s absence, submitting a masterful 24, 10 and 9 statline. The rising guard put the team on his back to lead them out of the play-in and into the first round of the playoffs.
3. 2025 vs Chicago Bulls & TBD
Not only will the Heat be in their third straight play-in this week, but it will also be the third consecutive matchup against Chicago on this stage. Miami has gone 0-3 against the Bulls during this 2024-25 regular season, but a losing season series record shouldn't stop them.
All three of those losses came with them surrendering double-digit leads. They should have a blueprint to address where things went wrong in those games. However, Josh Giddey should be high on their scouting report— who has had incredible performances this year against the Heat.
On paper, Miami's roster is better than Chicago's. Still, coach Erik Spoelstra will have to get his squad locked in to avoid their first-ever play-in ousting.