The Miami Heat are running out of time in the regular season and their playoff hopes could ride on these last four games. The Heat have been struggling to get the wins they need and they are going in and out of playoff contention as a result.
The Heat have lost two of their last three games and that puts them in a tie with the 7th, 8th, and 9th seeds. The Heat currently are currently holding the 8th and final seed in the eastern conference playoff picture. In their next four games they will have to play perfect basketball in order to get wins.
In their second game of a back-to-back against the Knicks the Heat would fall 98-94. The Knicks had their way in this game with the Heat and free throw shooting had a lot to do with their win. The Knicks shot 94.1% from the free throw line.
Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic would be big factors in this game, but their output would not be enough. Whiteside would have a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Dragic would put up 22 points in the game. The Knicks starters did a good job on offense as well. Courtney Lee and Kristaps Porzingis would combine for 42 points.
The Heat would also take on the Denver Nuggets and lose that game 116-113. The loss would be devastating for the Heat and knock them down to the 9th seed in the eastern conference.
Dragic and Whiteside would be the top two performers for the Heat once again, but they did not get enough help from their bench. A couple of Nuggets starters would shine in this game.
Nikola Jokic and Danilo Gallinari would combine for 48 points. The Nuggets had plenty of help from their bench as well. The next game the Heat would play was a must win in order to get back in playoff contention.
The Heat would play against the Charlotte Hornets and win 112-99. This was a big game for the Heat because a loss would have made their playoff journey tougher especially with their upcoming schedule.
Dragic and Whiteside put up big numbers again, but the story of this game was two different starters. James Johnson started at forward for the Heat and scored 26 points.
Josh Richardson would also a big factor in this game. He would score 19 points in his starting role. This win was important for the Heat to gain some momentum going into their last four games.
In the last four games of the regular season the Heat will be playing against the 1,3, and 4 seeds of the eastern conference. Their first game coming up is against the Toronto Raptors.
The next game they will play will be against the Washington Wizards. Then the Cleveland Cavaliers will come into the Heat’s house, and the Wizard will be the last game of their regular season for Miami.
All of these games are important so the Heat will need all of the production they can get from their starters and their bench. If they don’t those three teams could easily beat them and permanently knock them out of the playoff picture.