The regular season is over, now it’s the moment of truth for teams with title aspirations. The Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers are still in contention for a playoff berth, but will have to earn it in the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Sixers will get to play at home for having a better performance in the regular season, as they finished 7th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 47-35 record (the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic gained the upper hand in the tiebreaker).
The Heat finished just below them with 46 wins and 36 losses, so this one looks like an evenly-matched showdown on paper. The stakes will be high, but the loser won’t go home.
What happens if the Heat beat the Sixers
If the Heat take down the 76ers in the Play-In game on Wednesday, they will qualify for the playoffs with the 7th seed in the East. Therefore, Miami would set up a meeting with the No. 2 seed New York Knicks in the first round.
That’s because the Play-In Tournament determines the 7 and 8 in each conference battle it out for the 7th seed. But as we’ve said before, the loser will have one more chance to make the playoffs.
What happens if the Heat lose in Philadelphia
If the Heat lose to the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center, they will play the Chicago Bulls or the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 8 seed on the line. In the Play-In, the loser of the 7-8 game faces the winner of the 9-10 matchup.
Chicago and Atlanta will face off to try and earn the chance to compete for the 8th seed. The team that claims the last ticket to the playoffs will have to take on the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics in the first round.
The Heat’s unbelievable run in 2023
Last year, the Heat were in this situation and went on to defy the odds. After losing to Atlanta in the game for the #7 seed, Miami claimed a hard-fought win against Chicago to make the playoffs as the #8 seed.
From then on, Erik Spoelstra’s men showed another face and proved all their doubters wrong. Led by an inspired Jimmy Butler, the Heat upset the #1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in five games before leaving the Knicks and Celtics on the way en route to the NBA Finals.
They couldn’t stop Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets from winning the ring, but it was still a remarkable run that proved we should not rule out Play-In teams from challenging for the title.
