Tough balancing act awaits Heat, Wade as last game of the season could decide playoff fate
On Tuesday, the Heat will do its best to celebrate while also competing like its season depends on it.
That’s not an easy balancing act, but the Heat will try to pull it off in its regular-season home finale against the 76ers.
The Heat will honor Wade before Tuesday’s game, with the contest possibly marking his final one at AmericanAirlines Arena before he retires at the end of the season. Wade will play at least two more games in Miami if the Heat makes the playoffs.
And the result of Tuesday’s game against the 76ers will likely play a big role in deciding the Heat’s playoff fate. The Heat is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference after Friday’s loss to the Timberwolves. Entering Saturday, No. 9 Miami stood one game behind the eighth and final playoff spot occupied by Detroit, one game behind No. 7 Brooklyn and 1.5 games behind No. 6 Orlando.
The Heat’s home finale is its second-to-last game of the regular season, with Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn marking the end of the schedule.
Tuesday’s pregame ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. and fans will be allowed to start entering the arena at 6 p.m. The Heat-76ers game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
The ceremony will include an official Wade career retrospective video, special guest tributes, a Wade-centric player introduction sequence and some words to the fans from Wade. Giveaways for fans attending the game include a Wade shirt, lanyard and commemorative game ticket.
But Tuesday won’t mark the first time the Heat entered an important game with a career to celebrate. It’s not even the first time it has happened this season.
During a March 26 home game against the Magic, one of the teams Miami is competing with for one of the East’s final playoff spots, the Heat held a 36-minute halftime ceremony to retire Chris Bosh’s No. 1 jersey. Heat players and coaches remained on the court to witness Bosh’s ceremony.
What happened next? Orlando quickly erased Miami’s nine-point point halftime lead with a 21-11 run to start the third quarter. The Magic outscored the Heat 62-48 in the second half on its way to a 104-99 win.
“It had nothing to do with halftime,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after that loss. “The start of the third quarter, they got back into the game so quickly. We were not executing with force or detail. They made more plays, had less mistakes defensively and we had to score over the top of them. They just played better. It was a toss-up game, and they just made the plays down the stretch.”
But some Magic players believe they benefited from the long halftime, with Heat players and coaches spending most of the break sitting in chairs on the court instead of in the locker room.
“I think so,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic said when asked if the extended break helped Orlando. “Obviously, coming off a back-to-back, it gave us a little bit of rest and time to regroup. It was a weird situation because it doesn’t happen that often.”
Magic wing player Evan Fournier told The Athletic: “When I came out of the locker room and I saw they were on a bench, I was like, ‘Really?’ I was really, really surprised. We all thought they were in the practice facility.
“That’s awful. It’s not just the fact that you can’t get loose or stay warm or anything. It’s you stay still. It’s probably the worst thing you can possibly do.”
Tuesday’s ceremony for Wade will take place before the game. The Heat hopes it doesn’t lead to a slow start.
This story was originally published April 5, 2019 at 3:59 PM.
