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Why Heat must protect their house in crucial week that could make or break season appeared first on . Add as aPreferred Source by clicking here.<\/p>\n
MIAMI \u2013 With the Miami Heat looking to improve as the team heads into the home stretch of the regular season, the upcoming week is going to be crucial in fortifying their spot as they attempt a playoff push. Though the Heat are dealing with injuries to key players such as Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins, the team will have to make do in handling business.<\/p>\n
After Miami beat the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Sunday, the upcoming week will be vital in stacking up wins in the continued goal of avoiding the play-in tournament. There\u2019s no denying that the goal for the Heat is to avoid the tourney, as many within the team have made it public, with them being sick and tired of fighting their way into the playoffs for the last three seasons.<\/p>\n
With the team being in Miami until the March 17 contest against the Charlotte Hornets, that means the team will have been at home for seven of its last eight games, having already beaten the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets twice. After the Pistons on Sunday, the Heat will face the Washington Wizards, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n
Looking at the Eastern Conference standings, it\u2019s very tight, leaving little room for error, as from the fifth to the 10th seed, it\u2019s only separated by four games. Besides handling business against low-ranking teams in the conference like the Wizards and Bucks, though each has stars like Trae Young and Giannis Antetokounmpo, respectively, those are contests that Miami expects to win.<\/p>\n
The most important game will be Saturday against the Magic, since they\u2019re right next to each other in the standings as before the Pistons contest, Orlando was sixth, to Miami\u2019s seventh spot, only separated by a fraction of a percentage point. Depending on how long Powell and Wiggins are out, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and others will need to carry the weight.<\/p>\n
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As the Heat push for the playoffs, the road to the postseason isn\u2019t easy, as looking at the middle of the Eastern Conference teams, Miami has the toughest schedule left in terms of winning percentage, according to Esfandiar Baraheni. Including Sunday against Detroit, 10 of the remaining games are at Kaseya Center, where the Heat have a 21-11 record on their home floor.<\/p>\n
Besides the overall goal of playing well at home, there is an added pressure of every game counting due to the standings, which head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about wanting his team to \u201cenjoy these matchups.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known for all season long how important it is to establish home spirit and the feeling like you don\u2019t want this to be a place where people want to arrive, and I think we\u2019ve done a pretty good job of that,\u201d Spoelstra said to before the win over Detroit. \u201cBut more importantly, it\u2019s just the opportunities as competitors, these games have a little bit more context to them, and that\u2019s what you have to love about this time of year\u2026we have our motivation, which is trying to get to another level as a basketball team, but as competitors. I want our guys to enjoy these matchups in this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n
If there is one thing that Miami needs for the rest of the schedule, it\u2019s momentum and energy, the exact thing that the home crowd can give.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, being able to get in front of our home crowd and build that energy, keep this winning streak going. And you know, when we get home, I feel like we can begin to score 140,\u201d Adebayo said after the team\u2019s win over the Hornets on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat it\u2019s nice, it\u2019s sunny, get to go to the beach, you know, you get to just be home. I think that\u2019s the most important thing. We love our fans, so to have that home stretch is going to be crucial for us. We want to make the most of it,\u201d Jaime Jaquez Jr. said.<\/p>\n
At any rate, Miami has a five-game winning streak after the Pistons game, with the team at a 36-29 record.<\/p>\n
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Related: Bam Adebayo\u2019s perspective on scoring 10K points makes Heat milestone extra special<\/p>\n
Related: Heat star Bam Adebayo joins Dwyane Wade in all-time scoring club<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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