On Thursday night, the Miami Heat were defeated 109-105 by the Philadelphia 76ers, which presented yet another obstacle in their path to earning entry to the postseason.
As of now, it looks like the Heat will have to participate in the upcoming Play-In Tournament. They are currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a 42-34 record, which puts them barely ahead of the eighth-seed 76ers and right behind the Indiana Pacers.
Miami's hope is that they can win a few games, and the Pacers can lose a few. That would give them the sixth seed, meaning they would be able to bypass the Play-In entirely.
The problem is that the 76ers are looking better now that Joel Embiid is back. They have won their last three games. So even if the Heat win multiple matches, they will still have the Sixers hot on their heels all the way through the rest of the regular season.
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The best news is that they can't fall further than the seventh seed, because they are far ahead of the ninth-placed Chicago Bulls, who hold a 36-40 record.
Miami still has several games left in the regular season. On Friday night, they take on the Houston Rockets, following by the Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, and Toronto Raptors (twice) because April 14. Will they be able to climb to the sixth seed by then or will they enter the Play-In again this season?
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