Heat gets late night clarity on a draft pick and potential path to playoffs. Schedule set
Tuesday night’s play-in games in Orlando and San Francisco provided a measure of clarity for the Heat on two fronts -- one regarding the draft and another regarding a potential second step in its quest for a playoff berth.
Orlando’s 120-95 victory against Atlanta in the 7-8 play-in game sent the Magic to the playoffs (where they will play Boston) and sent the Hawks to a play-in elimination game.
The winner of Wednesday’s Heat-at-Bulls play-in game (7:30 p.m., ESPN) will travel to Atlanta to play the Hawks on Friday night at 7 p.m. on TNT. The winner of that game will get the eighth seed and advance to play top-seeded Cleveland in the playoffs beginning at 7 p.m. on Sunday on TNT.
The Heat needs to win two road play-in games (in Chicago and Atlanta) to advance to the playoffs. Miami’s season would end with its next loss.
Meanwhile, Golden State’s 121-116 play-in victory against Memphis late Tuesday night sent the Warriors to the playoffs (where they will play second-seeded Houston) and ensured that Miami will receive the Warriors’ first-round pick in June’s NBA Draft.
That pick will be 18th, 19th or 20th, with the order to be determined by a random drawing among the Warriors, Memphis and Milwaukee, who all finished 48-34. Playoff performance has no impact on draft order of playoff teams.
Under terms of the Jimmy Butler trade, Miami was scheduled to get Golden State’s pick in June as long it fell between 11 and 30 -- something which is now certain.
ESPN’s latest mock draft, released last week, has French point guard Nolan Traore, Michigan forward Danny Wolf and Arizona swing forward Carter Bryant going 18th, 19th and 20th.
Among other players projected for that range: Illinois swing forward Will Riley, Georgia power forward Asa Newell and Georgetown center Thomas Sorber, as well as several international prospects.
Butler -- who finished with 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Golden State’s win on Tuesday -- has now advanced to the playoffs in 13 of his 14 seasons, including all five full seasons with the Heat, though he missed last year’s first-round series against Boston due to injury.
Meanwhile, the Heat will keep its own 2025 first-round pick only if it loses in the play-in round and thus misses the playoffs. If the Heat makes the playoffs, Miami would send its 2025 first-round pick to Oklahoma City but would keep its 2026 first-round pick.
The Heat also owes a future first-round pick to Charlotte as part of the Terry Rozier trade. If the Heat misses the playoffs this week, OKC would get Miami’s unprotected first-rounder in 2026 and Charlotte would get the Heat’s unprotected first-round pick in 2028.
First-round schedule set
The NBA released dates for all first-round series in the middle of the night on Tuesday. And if the Heat wins at Chicago and Atlanta, Miami would play Games 1 and 2 in Cleveland on Sunday and Wednesday, with Game 2 airing nationally on NBA TV and locally on FanDuel Sports Sun.
The Heat would host Game 3 at Kaseya Center at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26 on TNT and would host Game 4 on Monday, April 28, with the time and TV information to be determined.
If needed, Game 5 would be in Cleveland April 30, with Game 6 in Miami on May 2 and Game 7 in Cleveland on May 4.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 12:56 AM.
