The Miami Heat are in the thick of the fight for one of the last two Eastern Conference playoff spots with the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers. As the season wanes, the Heat believe they have more than a fighting chance to get one of those seeds and, as Al Diaz of the Miami Herald writes, they’re loving the fact they are even in this position:
But considering the 11-30 depths from which the Heat has risen, merely having a chance to make the playoffs entering the final week is remarkable.
“I constantly mention to these guys, you don’t want any other life in this league than playing for something significant and having that feeling of every single game, where it has meaning,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It would be a shame to live in another world like that where the games don’t mean anything.
“What do you want as a pro athlete? You want a life more ordinary? Really? You want to play. These guys in the locker room right now feel alive. You can’t pay enough money to feel like that, regardless of what the results are.”
There are a few scenarios where the Heat — which stands ninth in the East — could make the playoffs, but all require help. The easiest path: Winning the final two at home against Cleveland on Monday and Washington on Wednesday and hoping that Chicago or Indiana loses once.
The seventh-seeded Pacers (40-40) play at the 76ers on Monday and home against Atlanta on Wednesday. Miami owns the tiebreaker against Indiana.
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According to Elias, even if the Bulls and Pacers win out, the Heat also would qualify for the playoffs if Miami goes 2-0 and Milwaukee loses to Charlotte and Boston.
“How ever the chips fall after we take care of what we can take of, we can live with,” Heat forward James Johnson said. “But we can’t live with giving somebody else the option of getting us out.”
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The Cavaliers, meanwhile, will be motivated on Monday because they’re battling with Atlanta to clinch the No. 1 seed. The Cavaliers have indicated they won’t rest veteran players as long as the top seed remains unresolved.
“Having two big games in front of our home crowd … guys wouldn’t want it any other way,” Whiteside said. “It’s felt like playoffs for the last month.”
The Heat cannot clinch a playoff spot on Monday, but it could be eliminated if it loses to the Cavaliers and the Pacers and Bulls win.
But if Miami beats Cleveland, it will ensure that it will go into Wednesday’s finale still in contention for postseason.
“This is what we live for,” guard Goran Dragic said. “The players want to be in this position. You feel alive.
“It’s a lot of pressure, a lot of nights you don’t sleep because you’re so anxious for other results or your games. Some players like this; some players don’t. All the players in this locker room feel the same, that we deserve it and fight to the end.”
