When the NBA schedule dropped last week, the first thing that popped out to Miami Heat fans was how soft the run into the All-Star Break is going to be, but also how brutal the opening 15 games are going to be.
In particular, games 6 through 15 are going to be a stretch where Miami might be favored in two of those games at best.
And yet, despite how brutal that stretch is going to be for the Heat, it's actually not the worst stretch a team has to face in 2025-26.
Miami doesn't have it the worst in 2025-26
During that ten-game stretch in question, Miami has to face the Knicks twice, the Cavaliers twice, in addition to the Lakers, Warriors, and Nuggets.
But if you are going to muse about Miami's schedule, just don't do it with a Sacramento Kings fan. There is a stretch in November where the Kings have to face:
- @ Milwaukee
- @ Denver
- Golden State
- Oklahoma City
- Minnesota
- Denver
- Atlanta
- @ Minnesota
- @ San Antonio
- @ Oklahoma City
The Kings weren't bad last year, going 40-42, and yet they will probably struggle to go 3-7 at best during that stretch.
But if you are thinking, "Well, they are in the West, of course, they have a hard stretch," the Heat don't have the most difficult 10-game stretch in the East either.
That honor belongs to Milwaukee, which has a ten-game stretch in January that looks like this:
- @ Golden State
- @ Los Angeles Lakers
- @ Denver
- Minnesota
- @ San Antonio
- @ Atlanta
- Oklahoma City
- Denver
- Dallas
- @ Philadelphia
If Miami had that stretch, even if the roster does take a step forward, going 3-7 would seem like a win for the Heat.
There are positives and negatives for Miami having its most challenging stretch of the season at the beginning, compared to a team like Milwaukee having it in the middle. On the positive side, the Heat can get their lumps out of the way immediately and will have the prospect of the 12-game run into the All-Star Break to build up to.
But it also means that guys can't ease into the season, and if those stretches were flipped, the Heat could build up some confidence in a young roster before testing themselves against the gauntlet.
All in all, Miami's schedule setup isn't the greatest, but it also isn't the worst.