Miami Heat: The ideal pathway to make the NBA Finals
By Jack Simone
With the addition of Kyle Lowry, the Miami Heat are set up perfectly to make a run at the NBA Finals. That being said, the road to get there is not going to be easy by any means.
The Eastern Conference is more talented than ever this season. Most teams in the East made the necessary moves to compete and will be looking to push for the playoffs.
Teams such as the Nets, Bulls, and Celtics all had a very busy offseason. Then there are obviously the teams like the Bucks and 76ers who will be towards the top of the conference still.
All that in mind, what is the ideal pathway for the Miami Heat to make the NBA Finals? Who will they be hoping to match up against in each round of the playoffs this year?
Hot. First Week Of Season Gives Them Chance To Set Baseline. light
The ideal pathway for the Miami Heat to make the NBA Finals: Round 1 – Any play-in team
In the perfect world, the Miami Heat are able to snag the two seed in the East. This would allow them to play one of the four play-in teams instead of an actual playoff team.
The team projected to be in the play-in range from the Bulls to the Knicks, to the Pacers, and maybe even the Celtics or Hawks. It’s a wide range, but whatever team falls there is obviously not having their ideal season.
Being able to play a play-in team in Round 1 would allow Miami to have the easiest matchup possible. In a realistic world, the Knicks are probably the most realistic first-round matchup in this scenario.
While New York is a talented roster, the Heat matchup with them well. Regardless, landing the two seed would make Miami’s path to the Finals that much easier.