It's now or never for the Miami Heat. They've been toying with the idea of finally breaking out of the Play-In Tournament bubble, but an upcoming brutal stretch of the schedule will ultimately determine the team's fate.
Over the next two weeks, the Heat are either going to cement themselves as a top 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, or they're going to fall back into an all too familiar spot heading into the postseason.
It's a great opportunity for the Heat to finally break free from the recent mediocrity that has plagued them.
The Heat's schedule gets brutally difficult
Starting Thursday night, in a stretch that extends to March 27, the Heat will face the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers twice.
That's eight teams in the playoffs, or pushing hard for the postseason. The only real saving grace of this stretch is that four of those contests will come at home.
With how tight the race in the East is for the 5th and 6th seeds, you'd have to imagine that the Heat would have to go 5-3 or 6-2 to have a real chance to keep pace in the standings.
Certainly, the Heat will have their work cut out for them.
The Heat's injuries could play a huge impact
One underlying storyline to keep a close eye on for the Heat is their health. With the hoopla of their six-game winning streak and Bam Adebayo's 83-point historic performance, it's easy to forget that four key rotation players are currently listed as questionable or out for the start of this pivotal stretch.
Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell, and Nikola Jovic have already been declared out for the Bucks game, while Herro and Ware remain questionable.
It'll be interesting to see how the Heat handles the start of this two-week schedule, especially considering that they're probably the "easiest" of the stretch.
Will they try to buy another few days for Herro and Ware? Will they take the risk of taking a bad loss against the Bucks with so many more difficult matchups on the horizon?
As much as they may not want to admit, a loss to open this eight-game stretch against the Bucks, a team that lost six of its last seven games, would be truly devastating.
The Heat's playoff fate is on the line. If they're going to finally break out of Play-In mediocrity, it has to happen now. The shift may already be transpiring, with the Heat having won six straight games, but the true test of the season has finally arrived.
The Heat have a great opportunity to finally put the Play-In Tournament demons behind them.