As playoff stakes rise, so does competition for Heat
As the playoff stakes rise, so does the level of competition down the stretch
For as much as Sunday night’s victory over the Charlotte Hornets had a playoff atmosphere because of the seeding stakes attached, the reality is that all it did was lift the Heat’s mark against teams with losing records to 24-12.
For as much of a challenge as the Hornets have stood for the Heat this season, they entered with a losing record and exited that way.
Now is when the stakes actually rise, dramatically, with five of the season’s final seven games not only against teams with winning records, but also against teams involved in seeding desperation. Just like the Heat. “Everything is super competitive,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat turning their attention to Tuesday night’s visit by the Dallas Mavericks to AmericanAirlines Arena. “I think this is just a unique season. I think everybody is really putting out, competing to the end.”
Whether it is the Heat’s games against teams in a similar bind, fighting to avoid the play-in round, upcoming opponents such as the Mavericks or the Boston Celtics, or upcoming opponents fighting for the highest seeds, such as when the Heat next week face the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, the pandemic-shortened schedule and addition of the play-in tournament has dramatically changed the NBA’s end game.
“And, ideally, this is what you want out of the league,” Spoelstra said. “You don’t see a lot of teams just resting guys and getting ready for the playoffs.”
Essentially, the pre-playoffs have begun, which for the Heat could mean pushing for homecourt advantage in the first round or falling to the play-in round, where a mere two losses could end it all before the best-of-seven first round opens.
“I’m sure the whole league feels like that, at least all the teams that are jostling for legitimate playoff positioning,” Spoelstra said of May desperation that typically is accompanied by actual playoff stakes. “And if you’re a competitor,
which our guys are in the locker room, this is what you want out of this profession.”
But center Bam Adebayo also said the moment can’t overwhelm.
“When you look at the schedule, you can see who we’ re facing, so it’ s not like we’ re ignoring it,” he said. “We know who we’re up against.”
The Heat enter the regular season’s final run with victories in seven of their last nine.
“We want to be playing your best basketball at the right time,” forward Jimmy Butler said, “and I’m praying and hoping that right now is the right time for us to be playing our best basketball.”
Guard Goran Dragic said the mood was different before the game in Charlotte.
“It felt like the playoffs a little,” he said. “Our preparation was like that.”
While most off the roster was part of last season’s run to the NBA Finals, there are enough new pieces to also make it feel different.
“Right now is definitely big playoff implications with every game that we play,” said center Dewayne Dedmon, whose only playoff appearance in his previous seven seasons came with the San Antonio Spurs in 2017. “So we’re just coming out every game trying to treat it as a playoff game, having to just build that momentum going into the postseason.
“I think it feels like a team that’s putting something together. We have a bigger goal here. So we’re preparing for the playoffs right now. Each game has playoff implications for us.”
But Adebayo said harping on the meaning is not nearly as meaningful as being prepared for the challenges.
“We know the situation we’re in,” he said.
As for Butler, he doesn’t want to hear about the Mavericks, Celtics, 76ers or Bucks, even with the Heat 11-17 this season against teams with winning records.
If nothing else, last season’s run within two victories of a title showed him what is possible.
“That’s tough for you?” Butler asked rhetorically of the remaining gauntlet. “I think we’ll be just fine.”