Opportunity to double down on playoff seeding
MIAMI — The Miami Heat’s lesson from last season is that all playoff possibilities have to be taken into account, including tiebreakers.
That makes certain games worth more than others, starting with tonight’s visit by the Philadelphia 76ers, the second game of a five-game homestand.
Losing out on a postseason berth by the thinnest of possible margins last season, the Heat have several upcoming games that could allow them to double down on potential playoff seeding.
The first playoff tiebreaker is head-to-head record.
The Heat are 0-2 against the 76ers this season, but the remaining two meetings are at AmericanAirlines Arena, including a March 8 matchup. If the Heat lose Tuesday, that tiebreaker will be decided.
On Saturday, the Heat close out their season series against the visiting Detroit Pistons, down 2-1 in that head-to-head matchup.
Three days later comes the first of two games next week against the Washington Wizards, with the Heat 1-1 in that four-game series. From there, beyond the March 8 rematch with the 76ers, the Heat’s lone remaining game that involves a team they likely are going to battle for playoff seeding is a March 25 road game against the Indiana Pacers, up 2-1 in that season series.
With the initial tiebreaker in multi-team ties being composite record, many of the aforementioned games could not only swing head-to-head tiebreakers but also such multiple-team tiebreakers.
The Heat have already closed out their three-game season series against the Milwaukee Bucks at 3-0, which could be a significant boost in multi-team tiebreakers.
Last season, the Heat, at 41-41, missed out on the Eastern Conference’s final tiebreaker by losing their season series 2-1 to the Chicago Bulls. Dwyane Wade’s Chicago Bulls. To refresh the process, per the NBA: Two-way ties (1) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
(2) Division winner wins tie from team not leading a division
(3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division
(4) Conference won-lost percentage
(5) Won-lost percentage against playoff teams in own conference
(6) Won-lost percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference (7) Net points, all games Multi-team ties (1) Division winner wins tie from teams not leading a division
(2) Head-to-head won-lost percentage among all ties in multiteam tie
(3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division
(4) Conference won-lost percentage
(5) Won-lost percentage vs. playoff teams in own conference
(6) Won-lost percentage vs. playoff teams in opposite
(7) Net Points, all games