Now that the dust has settled after a wild final weekend to the NBA’s regular season, we know where the Miami Heat have landed in the standings and the potential path for making another run to the Finals.
Just as it did last year, it starts with the play-in tournament. The Heat are the No. 8 seed and will face the Philadelphia 76ers on the road for a chance to advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The loser of that game will play the winner of the 9-10 matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks for the eighth and final playoff seed.
Here are the play-in tournament matchups and schedule for this week.
NBA Play-In tournament matchups, dates, times
Western Conference
No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans vs. No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers - Tuesday, April 16, 7:30 PM ET, TNT
No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 10 Golden State Warriors - Tuesday, April 16, 10:00 PM ET, TNT
Eighth Seed Game: Loser of 7 vs. 8 vs. Winner of 9 vs. 10 - Friday, April 19, Time TBD, TNT
Eastern Conference
No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 8 Miami Heat - Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN
No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 10 Atlanta Hawks - Wednesday, April 17, 9:30 PM ET, ESPN
Eighth Seed Game: Loser of 7 vs. 8 vs. Winner of 9 vs. 10 - Friday, April 19, Time TBD, ESPN
Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid will go toe-to-toe when the Heat play the 76ers. The winner will advance and play the New York Knicks in the first round. The loser will play one of the Bulls or Hawks on Friday, with the winner of that final game earning the right to meet the 64-win Boston Celtics in the first round.