A look at ticket prices for what could be Wade’s final home game. And Richardson still out
As expected, ticket prices for what could be Dwyane Wade’s final home game aren’t cheap.
With the Heat facing long playoff odds, it appears that Tuesday night’s regular-season home finale against the 76ers will be Wade’s final game at AmericanAirlines Arena before retirement.
As of Monday afternoon, the cheapest 300-level resale ticket on Ticketmaster for Tuesday’s contest was listed at $225, the cheapest 100-level resale ticket was listed at $362, and the cheapest “standing only” resale ticket in the 400 level was listed at $107.
A courtside seat resale ticket on Ticketmaster is selling for as low as $4,750 and as high as $8,186. But according to Ticket of America’s Michael Lipman, those aren’t the highest prices of the season, with courtside seats selling for $11,500 each when LeBron James played against the Heat in Miami on Nov. 18.
Lipman added that ticket prices for Tuesday’s regular-season home finale are about four times higher than a usual Heat home game.
The Heat will honor Wade with a pregame ceremony Tuesday that begins at 7 p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. game.
▪ The Heat announced there will be an AmericanAirlines Arena viewing party for Wednesday’s regular-season finale between the Heat and Nets in Brooklyn, which begins at 8 p.m. and is likely to be Wade’s final NBA game.
General admission tickets are $1 each and can be purchased online at Heat.com, with proceeds benefiting the Miami Heat Charitable Fund. There is a limit of eight tickets per purchase and the event will be mobile-only entry.
Fans can begin entering AmericanAirlines Arena at 7 p.m. Parking will be available in the Arena’s P2 parking garage for $5 per car and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
A LOOK BACK
The Heat was not pleased with the officiating in Sunday’s loss to the Raptors.
With the score tied and 10 seconds to play and the Heat about to inbounds after a timeout, referee Eric Lewis blew the whistle but then didn’t give the ball to Dion Waiters to inbound until a few seconds after that. Wade and teammates started running the play, only to find out that Lewis still had the ball.
The possession ended with James Johnson missing a difficult corner three.
“You blow the whistle when you hand the ball to somebody when you’re out of bounds, not before it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That got us moving into motion before that, and then it was sideways from there. Everybody would have liked to see that last play at least have a chance at it with how it was designed. It affects timing of a play, which is paramount.“
But the NBA’s Last Two Minute report released Monday evening indicates that timing issue was created by Waiters.
“As the Heat are ready to inbound, the official sounds his whistle to start the throw-in but Waiters steps onto the floor before the ball is at his disposal and the Heat begin their offensive set,” the report reads. “Waiters then steps out of bounds to receive the throw-in and the official gives him the ball to inbound.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat will continue to play without Josh Richardson, who is listed as out for Tuesday’s game against the 76ers because of a strained left hip. Richardson has already missed the past two games with the injury.
Miami expects Ryan Anderson to be available, who is off the injury report after missing the previous two games because of personal reasons.
The 76ers are listing center Joel Embiid (left knee soreness), JJ Redick (back tightness) and James Ennis (right quad contusion) as out. Jonah Bolden (sore left knee) and Furkan Korkmaz (right knee surgery) are questionable.
This story was originally published April 8, 2019 at 5:46 PM.
