The Heat will play in the in-season tournament. They will be in Eastern Conference Group B with the Bucks, Knicks, Hornets, and Wizards. The NBA also released the Heat’s 2023-24 regular season schedule. Let’s discuss all of this further.
Heat Off-Season Companion Part 9: The Heat Will Participate in the In-Season Tournament
The in-season tournament is an idea that the NBA has discussed for years and it will now be part of the NBA this season. It is important to first point out that all of the in-season tournament games that the Heat play will count toward the 82-game regular season. The Heat will play four group games, one each against the other teams in their group.
These teams are the Bucks, Hornets, Knicks, and Wizards, as previously mentioned. It is interesting to consider how seriously the teams and the players will take this in-season tournament. They do count as regular season games, so they do matter in that sense.
However, contending teams might not care too much about winning the in-season tournament. It seems more likely that teams that are not contending for the real NBA championship will be more motivated to win this tournament. As for the Heat specifically, they should be one of the best teams in their in-season tournament group alongside the Bucks.
The Heat have a good opportunity to make it out of this group and advance further in the tournament.
The Heat Have a Challenging October Schedule
It is a challenging start to the season for the Miami Heat. In October, the Heat will play the Nuggets at home, followed by road games against the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Bucks. The Nuggets are the defending champions and are one of the best teams in the West.
Playing the Celtics in Boston and the Bucks in Milwaukee is always challenging. Additionally, the Heat have struggled against the Timberwolves in recent years. If the Heat go 3-1 in October, that would be a great start to the season.
The Heat Play The 76ers on Christmas
The Heat finally have another Christmas day game. The 76ers will visit Miami to play the Heat on Christmas Day. It is good to see the Heat have a Christmas game and the Heat have played well against the 76ers at home in recent years.
Hopefully, the Heat will win on Christmas in front of a significant audience.
Heat Off-Season Companion Part 9: The Schedule Will Show The Heat’s Mettle Early
Given the Heat’s October schedule, it could be a challenging start to the season. However, it will be clear how strong the new-look Heat are right away after some off-season moves. It is a good bet that the Heat will advance out of their in-season tournament group, at least.
Check back next week for more Miami Heat content.