After winning in Chicago, Heat just one road victory from making more play-in history
The Miami Heat has already made NBA play-in tournament history before, becoming the first team to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in tourney and then win a first-round series. The Heat did that in 2023 on its way to an improbable playoff run that ended with a loss to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
Two years later, the Heat is one victory from making more play-in tournament history.
After defeating the Eastern Conference’s ninth-place Chicago Bulls 109-90 on Wednesday night at United Center in an elimination play-in game, the Heat is just one victory away from becoming the first 10th-place team in either conference to make the playoffs from the play-in tournament since this current play-in format was first instituted for the 2020-21 season.
The Heat now advances to take on the East’s eighth-place Atlanta Hawks on Friday at State Farm Arena (7 p.m., TNT), and the winner of that play-in game will clinch the East’s No. 8 playoff seed and open the first round of the playoffs against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday at Rocket Arena. The Hawks suffered a 120-95 play-in loss to the seventh-place Magic 120-95 in Orlando on Tuesday, putting themselves in this win-or-go home scenario on Friday.
“We’re only halfway there,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, alluding to the one play-in win still needed to make the playoffs. “We didn’t have the luxury of having the one game and then you’re automatically in.”
What makes qualifying for the playoffs through the play-in tournament as the 10th-place team so hard is it requires two consecutive road wins.
“The job is not finished, obviously,” said Heat guard Tyler Herro, who was the catalyst behind Wednesday’s impressive victory over the Bulls with a game-high 38 points on 19 field-goal attempts. “We knew what our path was. It’s going to take two wins on the road, which we’re capable of. We knew that from the beginning, and we’re excited for this challenge going into Atlanta. We just got to keep that same focus.”
The Heat earned Wednesday’s win in Chicago behind an inspired defensive effort and Herro’s efficient offensive explosion.
After allowing the uptempo Bulls to set the pace and sweep the teams’ three-game regular-season series, Miami held Chicago to a season-low 90 points on 39.8 percent shooting from the field and 10-of-37 (27%) shooting on threes on Wednesday. The Heat also finished with 10 steals and totaled 26 points off 18 Bulls turnovers.
“Our guys really respected how much they can score,” Spoelstra said. “We had some impressive defensive efforts. To be able to hold that team to 90 is not an easy task. So, there were some very good defensive performances. I thought Bam [Adebayo] set the tone at the beginning of the game just with his energy and toughness.”
The three regular-season games between the Heat and Bulls were played at a pace of 103.5 possessions per 48 minutes, with Chicago outscoring Miami by a total margin of 55-36 in fast-break points over those three meetings. That’s the fastest pace that any regular-season series involving the Heat was played at this season.
But the Heat controlled the pace in Wednesday’s must-win contest, outscoring the Bulls 14-13 in transition. This game was played at a slower pace of 98.5 possessions per 48 minutes.
“We locked in defensively,” Heat forward Andrew Wiggins said. “This has to carry over to Atlanta. We got one more game to do the same thing. Lock in defensively and the offense will follow.”
Like the Bulls, the Hawks play fast.
While Chicago played at the second-fastest pace in the NBA this regular season (103.6 possessions per 48 minutes), Atlanta played at the third-fastest pace in the league (103.4 possessions per 48 minutes). The Hawks finished the regular season averaging the sixth-most fast-break points in the NBA at 17.2 per game.
“The most important thing about today is that we imposed a will defensively and competitively,” Spoelstra said after Wednesday’s victory in Chicago. “On the glass, loose balls, things of that nature. Those will remain true. As we get to Atlanta, there will be some different specifics to their team and we’ll just have to get to it.”
While Josh Giddey was the focus of the Heat’s defensive plan against the Bulls, four-time Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young will be at the center of the Heat’s defensive plan for Friday’s contest. Young has struggled against the Heat’s aggressive defense in recent years.
In four games against Miami this regular season, he averaged 17 points per game while shooting just 35 percent from the field and 26.5 percent on threes. But with the Heat often sending extra defenders his way to try to get the ball out of his hands and pressure him, Young still managed to average 12.3 assists per game against the Heat this regular season.
“Obviously, y’all know Trae Young is the head of the snake,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “So it will really be him and we’ll figure everything else out.”
A big part of the Heat’s defensive scheme against Young is expected to include pesky defensive-minded guard Davion Mitchell, who limited Bulls guard Coby White to 1-of-6 shooting from the field while spending five minutes of game clock as his primary defender on Wednesday.
In fact, there’s no other player in the NBA who Mitchell spent more time defending this season than Young, according to NBA tracking stats. Young shot 12 of 28 (42.9 percent) from the field and 3 of 10 (30 percent) on threes while dishing out 17 assists to nine turnovers during the 155 possessions that Mitchell guarded him this regular season.
“We know who the main guy is,” Mitchell said, referring to Young. “Try to slow him down. We know we’re not going to hold him to zero points, but try to slow him down and make him take tough shots, make him see different looks and different players and keep going from there.”
The Heat and Hawks split their four-game regular-season series 2-2, with the Heat winning both games in Miami but losing both games in Atlanta.
But the two players who averaged the most points for the Hawks against the Heat this season won’t be available for Friday’s win-or-go-home play-in contest. Jalen Johnson (averaged 28 points per game against the Heat in the regular season) is out for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury and De’Andre Hunter (averaged 26 points per game against the Heat in the regular season) was traded to the Cavaliers in February.
“We still got more to do,” Wiggins said. “You’re looking at the bigger goal, the bigger picture, which is the playoffs. We got to do whatever we can.”
With a win Friday in Atlanta, the Heat can qualify for the playoffs for the sixth straight season and make play-in tournament history.
With a loss Friday in Atlanta, the Heat would miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-18 season.
“We’re only halfway there,” Spoelstra said after getting the first of two play-in tournament road wins needed to make the playoffs. “We got to recalibrate and get to our prep pretty quickly and get on to Atlanta.”
The Heat is used to recalibrating on the fly after being forced to change things in the wake of Jimmy Butler’s departure. Following the February trade of Butler, the Heat went through a 10-game losing streak before bouncing back to win six games in a row and now finds itself one win away from making the playoffs.
“I’ve really enjoyed this team, coaching this team, working with this team,” Spoelstra said. “... You have an opportunity to grow closer together, which is what happened from that 10-game losing streak. This team did not fold.”
