ESPN Website Projects Miami Heat to Finish Season with Losing Record

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After completing a blowout victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers last Saturday, the Miami Heat stood tall with the Eastern Conference’s best record.

That was then, and this is now.

The Heat have now lost three straight games and are seventh in the East with a 12-9 record. Although it remains early in the NBA season, if Miami loses to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night, they could fall out of the top eight altogether.

While that may not be cause for concern in December, that will be an issue by the time the season gets to April. According to ESPN.com offshoot FiveThirtyEight, the Heat are projected to finish with a record of 39-43. The projection gives Miami a 44 percent chance of making the playoffs. It is based on a formula that runs 10,000 simulations of the season and takes into consideration: travel distance, fatigue and altitude.

Based upon the site’s projections, the Heat would finish 10th in the East, clearly outside of the pecking order for a postseason berth.

For those that aren’t aware, the Heat have played a favorable schedule thus far. They have played the least amount of road games of any team in the NBA, and have played just seven squads that made the postseason last year.

Considering this year’s squad was predicted by most to be among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, that type of finish would clearly be a disappointment for the Heat.
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D.J. Siddiqi grew up in the heart of South Florida in Broward County. Growing up in South Florida during the late 90's and 2000's, D.J. witnessed the Pat Riley years where the Miami Heat faced off with the New York Knicks all the way to the painful late 2000's seasons where the Heat were a one-man team with Dwyane Wade. D.J. has closely followed the Heat over the past decade-and-a-half, and unfortunately witnessed Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals in person when the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit to knock off the Heat. D.J. has writing experience as a columnist with sites such as Bleacher Report and Rant Sports, and he is proud to bring his knowledge of the Heat and the NBA to Heat Nation.