On this week’s Heat Check: Can the Miami Heat avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament for the first time in four years? By Pierre Taylor
Miami Heat captain Bam Adebayo made headlines last week when he expressed his strong distaste for the NBA’s play-in tournament.
“I don’t want to be in that [expletive] no more,” Adebayo said, with the Heat entering Thursday night’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat’s goal during the final six weeks of the regular season is to move up the standings and finish among the East’s top six teams to clinch a playoff spot without needing to take part in the play-in tournament. The eighth-place Heat entered Thursday percentage points behind the seventh-place Orlando Magic and one game behind the sixth-place Philadelphia 76ers.
But the Heat must also make sure not to fall further in the East standings, with teams like the ninth-place Charlotte Hornets right behind eighth-place Miami. That’s what makes Friday’s game against the scorching Hornets in Charlotte (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) on the second night of a back-to-back set for the Heat so important.
“I like the pressure for this group,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think we need that pressure to really kick us into another gear. And there will be a lot of pressure in these games. There’s going to be a lot of clutch games, close games, a lot of emotion in these games.”
The upstart Hornets, led by guard LaMelo Ball, rookie guard Kon Knueppel and third-year forward Brandon Miller, enter Friday’s matchup against the Heat on a six-game winning streak after an impressive 118-89 blowout victory against the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday. Since a shaky 13-25 start to the season, the Hornets are an eye-opening 19-6 to reach Friday’s contest against the Heat with a winning 32-31 record.
The Hornets, who have not made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, have posted the NBA’s top offensive rating and sixth-ranked defensive rating since Jan. 10.
After winning the first two matchups against the Hornets this season, the Heat can clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Hornets with a win in either of the teams’ two remaining matchups. The Heat also faces the Hornets in Charlotte on March 17.
If the Hornets win their final two meetings against the Heat to split the season series, the Hornets would have the advantage because of the better division record. Miami is 5-5 and Charlotte is 9-4 in division games, which would be the next tiebreaker if the two teams split the season series.
“This pressure, and everything that we’re feeling going down the stretch, this is a privilege,” Spoelstra said. “This is an absolute privilege. Even when we’re not getting the result that we want, we have an opportunity to step up into this pressure. ... I want that pressure for our team. We have to stack some wins, we have to stack quality, consistent basketball, which we’re fully capable of.”
The Heat is trying to avoid the play-in tournament after needing to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in in each of the last three seasons.
How does the play-in tourney work?
The seventh-place team in each conference hosts the eighth-place team in a play-in game. The winner of this matchup earns the seventh playoff seed.
The ninth-place team in each conference hosts the 10th-place team in another play-in game. The loser of this matchup is eliminated from playoff contention, while the winner of this matchup goes on the road to take on the loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game for the right to the eighth playoff seed.
The Heat has entered the playoffs as the East’s No. 8 seed through the play-in tournament in each of the last three years. The Heat wants better for itself this season.
“I know we have a lot of competitors in our locker room, and I’m banking on that bringing out a better version of ourselves,” Spoelstra said. “We have everything we need. We’ve got a high-powered offense. We’ve got a very good defense. It can be as good as anybody in the league defensively. But we need to put it together, particularly in the moments of truth.”
TWO-WAY CONTRACTS SET
The Heat did not make a move with its two-way contracts ahead of Wednesday’s deadline to sign a player to such a deal for the rest of the season.
So, Vlad Goldin, Trevor Keels and Jahmir Young remain on two-way contracts with the Heat. But any of them could still be promoted to a standard deal before the end of the season.
Goldin and Keels are currently with the Heat’s G League affiliate, but Young is with the Heat for Thursday’s game against the Nets.
Along with missing Goldin and Keels, the Heat ruled out Simone Fontecchio (left groin strain), Keshad Johnson (G League), Nikola Jovic (low back injury management), Norman Powell (right groin strain) and Terry Rozier (not with team) for Thursday’s contest.