On this week’s Heat Check: What should the Miami Heat do ahead of the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline? And the “Mayor of NBA Threads” tells his story. By Pierre Taylor
During the NBA’s long and grueling 82-game regular season, there are always some moments that just stand out above the rest.
Sunday night’s 111-102 win against the Suns in Phoenix was one of those moments for the Miami Heat (25-22). Not only did the victory clinch a winning 3-2 five-game West Coast trip for the Heat, but it came under challenging circumstances.
Along with Sunday marking Miami’s fifth road game in seven days, the Heat was also playing Sunday after a long night that didn’t include much sleep. Following Saturday night’s win against the Utah Jazz, the Heat’s flight from Salt Lake City to Phoenix was delayed by more than three hours and that led to the Heat landing in Phoenix at 4:30 a.m. Mountain Standard Time for a game that tipped off less than 14 hours later.
“This was a tough turnaround, and I’m not making an excuse for it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra admitted after Sunday’s victory in Phoenix. “I’m just saying when we got to bed at 6 a.m. and have two games in less than 22 hours, it’s fun. It’s fun to try to rally around the challenge. This oftentimes could be a scheduled loss, and everybody just absolutely rallied around the opportunity. And you have a moment like this. Hopefully it can lead to more momentum because it’s a tougher type scenario.”
The Heat needs some momentum amid an up-and-down month, as Saturday and Sunday’s wins are Miami’s first consecutive victories of January.
“We knew how important this win was,” said Heat sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr., who contributed 20 points, five rebounds and six assists off the bench in Sunday’s win over the Suns. “We know how important this next stretch of games is for us going into All-Star break. So we’re just taking that to heart and we’re done talking about it. We need to just go do it.”
Norman Powell #24 of the Miami Heat reacts to a three-point shot against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of the NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center on January 25, 2026 in Phoenix. Christian Petersen Getty Images
The wins didn’t come against the best opponents, as two of the Heat’s three victories during the trip came against teams with one of the NBA’s six worst records this season in the Sacramento Kings and Jazz. Miami’s other win during the trip came against a Suns team missing its best player, as Phoenix four-time All-Star guard Devin Booker was unavailable against the Heat because of a right ankle sprain.
But considering the Heat entered its five-game West Coast swing with a rough 7-13 road record this season and was also missing a chunk of its rotation for most of the trip, coaches and players were pleased with the results. The Heat played the entire trip without starting guard Tyler Herro because of a rib injury, was missing backup center Kel’el Ware for the final four games of the trip because of a strained hamstring and was also without starting guard Davion Mitchell for the final three games of the trip because of a sprained shoulder.
“It’s good,” Heat guard Norman Powell said when asked to grade the team’s trip. “I wouldn’t say satisfied. But to come out 3-2 is good. We’ll take that. And being above .500 on this road trip, I think it sets us up good for going home. ... I think we’ve been tested on this road trip, which is good for us in many different ways.”
The Heat now returns home for a matchup against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday at Kaseya Center. But before continuing its schedule, the Heat has two days off to rest and recover from this tiring stretch on the road.
“I’m sure everybody could use it,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s two-day break. “But the guys who really need it the most will be Norm, Bam [Adebayo], and [Andrew Wiggins]. Probably Jaime could use some extra time as well. We’ll try to maximize that as much as possible.”
Powell, who played through lower-back tightness during the trip, said he’s “really looking forward” to the time off from games.”
“I definitely need the rest,” Powell emphasized. “And hopefully with these two days, I can get everything to calm down and be ready to go for Orlando.”
What follows is an important stretch for the Heat in its push to avoid sliding down the Eastern Conference standings and also potentially escape the NBA’s play-in tournament.
The Heat’s next five games come against East teams that would be in the play-in tourney if the season ended Monday.
After hosting the Magic on Wednesday, the Heat will play three straight games against the Chicago Bulls (Thursday in Chicago, Saturday in Miami and Sunday in Miami) before hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The Heat, which currently stands in seventh place in the East, is also again in play-in tournament territory after needing to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in tourney in each of the last three seasons.
The play-in tournament features the seventh-through-10th-place teams competing for the final two playoff seeds in each conference.
After Sunday’s slate of games, the Heat sits in seventh place in the East with a 25-22 record, the Magic is in eighth place at 23-21, the Bulls are in ninth place at 23-22 and the Hawks are in 10th place at 22-25. To escape the play-in tournament, the Heat needs to move up to at least sixth place in the East, which is currently occupied by the Philadelphia 76ers (24-20).
But on Sunday night in Phoenix, the Heat’s focus wasn’t on what’s ahead. Instead, Heat coaches and players were appreciative of what they had just accomplished on the road under difficult circumstances.
“More than anything, it was just the mentality,” Spoelstra said following the Heat’s win over the Suns, “the collective spirit to try to accomplish something a little bit unique in a long NBA season.”