Heat headed to play‑in
The Miami Heat will participate in the NBA play‑in tournament as part of the 7–10 seeding battle for the final playoff spots in the East. (sports.yahoo.com). League rules confirmed that teams seeded 7 through 10 now enter the play‑in to determine the Nos. 7 and 8 playoff seeds. (oklahoman.com)
Miami is headed to the National Basketball Association play-in tournament after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 42-39. (nba.com) The National Basketball Association’s play-in sends the teams seeded seventh through 10th into a mini-bracket for the last two playoff spots in each conference. Miami drew the No. 10 seed, while the Charlotte Hornets finished ninth at 43-38. (nba.com) That means the Heat open on the road against Charlotte, and the loser is out. The winner advances to face the loser of the seventh-versus-eighth game between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers for the East’s No. 8 seed. (nba.com) The schedule starts April 14 for the SoFi National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament, and the full playoffs begin April 18. Miami has no path to the No. 7 seed now that the regular season is over and the bracket is set. (nba.com) The standings show how narrow the margin was. Orlando finished seventh at 45-36, Philadelphia eighth at 44-37, Charlotte ninth at 43-38 and Miami 10th at 42-39. (espn.com) The top six teams in the East avoided the play-in entirely: the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta grabbed the No. 6 seed, which ended its run of three straight play-in appearances since 2022. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) For Miami, the format leaves no cushion. A loss to Charlotte ends the season, and two straight wins are required to reach the first round as the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) If the Heat survive, they would move on from the regular season’s last-day scramble into a win-and-advance week. If they do not, the season ends before the National Basketball Association playoffs start on April 18. (nba.com)
