Heat's Play-In Tournament fate may be defined by pivotal homestand

The Miami Heat are riding one of their best stretches of the season into a week that could be one of their most important, depending on how it swings. On the tailwinds of knocking off the Easter Conference's best Detroit Pistons, the Heat now face three very winnable matchups. 

Each game is winnable because Miami is considered the better team over the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards, and the Orlando Magic — all of which visit Miami this week to face the Heat on their homecourt. The five-game win streak the Heat are enjoying will be more enjoyable if they can stretch it to eight. 

That being said, the Heat are victims of their own levels of success this season as well. When they win a couple of games, they drop a couple; when they win a few, they lose a few afterward. Consistency has been their enemy this season, but they can overcome that enemy this week by closing out opponents they should close out. 

Heat have no space to lose ground while riding a five-game road winning streak

The Heat remain in a play-in spot, as they have all season, despite their recent five-game winning streak. They've since moved into the seventh seed, but no further, which means their work is far from over. Credit to the Heat not only for going on this stretch and putting some of their consistency issues aside for a week, but also for beating quality teams along the way. 

The Brooklyn Nets aside, the Heat took down the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons during their current run, with a new-look (and quickly surging) Charlotte Hornets in the middle. However, with a playoff spot still over the hill, the Heat cannot afford to rest on this win streak, which makes their upcoming three-game home stand all the more important. 

Like the West, the East is tighter than ever (although the West is still considerably the stronger conference without question), and every night a loss or a win can impact the standings. There is not much room between the fifth and tenth seeds, which means Miami, currently not in a playoff spot, is working with virtually no room at all. 

The good news for the Heat as they prepare for this week is that their opponents are ones they should beat, and Miami is 21-11 at home this season. Better news? Ten of their remaining 17 games are at home. This creates a significant advantage thanks to their stellar home record. Miami will have to contend with a few sure-fire playoff-bound teams in those games, but that's a problem to solve then. 

For now, it's about taking care of business at home this week, first against the Wizards (who will have Trae back in the lineup), the Bucks (who also had Giannis Antetokounmpo return recently), and the Magic, whom the Heat are so far 0-4 against this season.