Had the Indiana Pacers not come back to beat the Raptors in Toronto Wednesday night, the Miami Heat would enter the All-Star break in possession of the No. 6 seed in the East.
Instead, after winning six of their last eight, the Heat are a half-game behind the Pacers and tied with the Orlando Magic in record (they own the tie-breaker over their division rival) for the No. 7 seed.
How high can the Miami Heat climb the Eastern Conference standings after the All-Star break? It depends on a lot of factors, but none more than Jimmy Butler.
Here’s a full look at the updated East playoff picture as of Thursday morning:
- Boston (43-12)
- Cleveland (36-17)
- Milwaukee (35-20)
- New York (33-22)
- Philadelphia (32-22)
- Indiana (31-25)
- Miami (30-25)
- Orlando (30-25)
- Chicago (26-29)
- Atlanta (24-31)
The Heat are three games back of the New York Knicks for the No. 4 seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With 27 games remaining, that’s a good chunk of ground to cover but attainable.
But turning around out of the break with four-straight road games isn’t an easy way to get the final stretch of the season started.
Let’s take a look at some pros and cons for what lies ahead for the Heat when they resume their season after the All-Star break.