not the path of preference<\/a>, even if it has led to playoff appearances in each of the previous three seasons for Erik Spoelstra\u2019s team.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s harrowing,\u201d Spoelstra said of having to navigate the event for the Nos. 7-10 seeds in each conference, with only half the participants moving on to the playoffs proper. \u201cWe say it every year that we\u2019ve been in there, you don\u2019t want to be in there. But that\u2019s sometimes the path you have to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Heat each time doing it the hard way, a path with no other choice this time around.<\/p>\n
The Heat have been pushed to the limit in each of their previous play-in visits, in each case taking a win-or-go-home game in order to advance to the best-of-seven opening round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like the NCAA. It\u2019s like playing in the Olympics,\u201d Spoelstra said of those single-elimination rounds. \u201cThe one-game eliminations, they\u2019re harrowing. There\u2019s nothing else. It\u2019s game seven.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time there will be two Game 7s, if the Heat is fortunate enough to get past the Hornets in their play-in opener, needing to then defeat the loser of the Nos. 7-8 game to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to be in the playoffs. You want to punch your ticket,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cAnd it doesn\u2019t always happen in the way that you want it to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Heat, it has not happened the preferred way in any of the past four seasons, Spoelstra\u2019s team not advancing directly to the playoffs after the regular-season finale since 2022.<\/p>\n
In 2023, there was an opening play-in loss to the Hawks before securing a playoff ticket with a victory over the Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n
In 2024, there was an opening play-in loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, before a making the playoffs with a victory over the Bulls.<\/p>\n
Both of those play-in rounds came with the Heat as a higher play-in seed, afforded the opportunity of two chances to secure one victory to advance.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Heat for the first time had to play from the Nos. 9-10 portion of the play-in bracket, therefore requiring a 2-0 run, one achieved with an opening victory in Chicago, followed by an overtime victory in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
This season, it will be a similar pathway from down below, the unforgiving Nos. 9-10 portion of the play-in bracket that requires two victories without a loss.<\/p>\n
So very much a different life than when the Heat were ruling the regular-season standings, afforded the time off while others played on in the play-in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe top four or five teams in the league, the top seeds, they kind of understand where they\u2019re going to be three months before the end of the regular season,\u201d Spoelstra said of this season\u2019s likes of the Pistons, Celtics, Knicks and Cavaliers in the East, and the Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets in the West. \u201cEverybody else is jostling, and they\u2019re probably not in the exact position they want to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that includes the teams that have to go through the play-in to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As in where the Heat again find themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an opportunity,\u201d Spoelstra said, with hope at this stage arguably all that remains.<\/p>\n
NBA play-in<\/p>\n
When: Tuesday-Friday.<\/p>\n
Television: All play-in games are exclusively streamed on Prime Video. There is no FanDuel Sports coverage of the Heat beyond the regular season.<\/p>\n
Format: No. 10 in each conference plays at No. 9, with the loser eliminated and seeded into the NBA draft lottery based on regular-season\u00a0 record.<\/p>\n
In that same opening round of the play-in, No. 8 in each conference plays at No. 7, with the winner of that game receiving the No. 7 playoff seed and facing the No. 2 playoff seed in the best-of-seven opening-round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
In a last-chance game, the loser of the Nos. 7-8 game hosts the winner of the Nos. 9-10 game, with the winner of that matchup facing the No. 1 playoff seed in the best-of-seven opening-round of the playoffs. The loser of that game is seeded into the NBA draft lottery based on regular-season record.<\/p>\n
Playoff matchups: The winner of the East Nos. 7-8 game will play the No. 2 Boston Celtics in the best-of-seven opening round of the playoffs. The other team advancing in the East will play the No. 1 Detroit Pistons in the opening round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Playoffs: The best-of-seven opening round of the playoffs begins Saturday. Should the Heat advance, their playoff opener would be next Sunday in Detroit,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2013 After all the numbing moments, the lamentable losses, the stumble down the standings, it turns out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[114,123,125,2490,124,2295,110],"class_list":["post-228680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-heat","tag-miami-news","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}