Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Miami Heat, has a strong opinion about playoff seeding.
The Miami Heat appear to be taking the scenic path to the NBA Playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Miami Heat fell 111-92 to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, dropping their season record to 44-36. This has moved them to eighth position in the Eastern Conference. With only two games left in the regular season, Miami would need a slight miracle to advance out of the NBA Play-In Tournament and into the top six.
At a minimum, they must defeat the Toronto Raptors in their final two regular-season games. Furthermore, they require the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers to slip up and lose all of their remaining games.
The Heat should aim to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament, but they don’t appear to be concerned about it. After their game on Wednesday, head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about Eastern Conference seeding and blew it off. “We’ll focus on the next 48 hours to prepare for another war. “I don’t even care about the standings,” Spoelstra stated in his postgame interview. “I just want our team playing the way we’re capable of playing, and that’s what we’re going to look to do these last two games.”
That answer isn’t really shocking. Since becoming Heat head coach, Spoelstra’s team has experienced all the NBA Playoffs have to offer. He is one of the finest in the business, so nothing will be too difficult for them to conquer. They’re probably not worried since they know what it takes to get out of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Last season, the Heat made it all the way to the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed, but were ultimately defeated by the Denver Nuggets.
This is a battle-tested team that understands what it takes to succeed in crunch time. No matter where they end up in the Eastern Conference, Spoelstra will have his squad ready to go.