The NBA regular season is coming to a close and the Heat are showing why they belong in the playoffs. Miami is doing a great job holding on to a playoff spot, and their schedule has become more favorable as they have kept winning games.
There are only 7 games left for the Heat and they have to keep winning in order to seal their ticket to the playoffs. They are currently in a tie with the Indiana Pacers having the same record.
The Heat could end the season with the 7th or 8th seed. They are 1 ½ games ahead of the 9th seeded Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have a tough game tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers and a loss could help the Heat in a big way.
The Heat had a tough game against the Boston Celtics losing 112-108. The Heat could not handle Isaiah Thomas as he would explode for 30 points.
The Celtics shot 53.2% from the field and the Heat would shoot 45.1% from the field. The Heat did out rebound the Celtics, but they did not move the ball well at all. The Heat only had 19 assists, while the Celtics had 32 in the game.
Hassan Whiteside had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The Heat had plenty of help from their bench. James Johnson and Tyler Johnson would combine for 44 points off the bench in the loss.
The Heat would come back in their next game against the Detroit Pistons and win 97-96. Late game heroics from Whiteside led the Heat to a win. His buzzer-beating tip in allowed him to finish the game with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
Goran Dragic would be the top scorer in this game scoring 28 points. Pistons big man Andre Drummond struggled against the Heat scoring 9 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
This was an important game for the Heat and the Pistons as both teams are still fighting for playoff position. The Heat just took the advantage over them.
In their most recent game the Heat came away with a 105-88 win over the New York Knicks. The Knicks have been struggling throughout the season and have been eliminated from playoff contention.
This game was still a must win for the Heat and they came out and played hard. Dragic would have another big game scoring 20 points grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists.
Whiteside would come just shy of a double-double again scoring 11 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. The Heat needed this win and will be playing the same team again on Friday. The Heat are capable of getting another win against the Knicks in Miami.
The Next two games the Heat will play are games they should win. The first is against the Knicks and the next game is against the Denver Nuggets. Their last 5 games come against eastern conference playoff bound teams.
Those games could also be won if those teams decide to rest their star players before the playoffs start. They will play the Hornets, Raptors, Wizards, Cavaliers, and the Wizards again for their final regular season game. The Heat can punch their ticket to the playoffs in none of their players rest and if Detroit and Chicago continue to lose their final games.