The Miami Heat know that they’ll be heading to the 2022 NBA Playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they do not yet know who they will face in the first round of the playoffs.
That’s because of the recently created play-in portion of the NBA postseason. When Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about the ramifications of the play-in tournament, he offered a fairly hilarious reason as to why he is not trying to predict what may or may not happen.
“I was never good at math, and had everybody explain all the different scenarios,” he said. “That’s when you lose me in 30 seconds.
“It will play out the way it was supposed to play out.”
In the East, the four teams that will star in the play-in tournament are the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets.
Obviously, given the immense amount of talent on Brooklyn’s roster, the Heat would likely love to avoid the Nets early on in the playoffs. However, none of the other play-in teams would be easy outs for the Heat. The Hawks, Cavs and Hornets are all led by young and talented players.
So far this season, the Heat have done everything they’ve had to do to be one of the best teams in the regular season. Despite that, a lot of pundits are currently questioning just how far the team will advance in the playoffs.
Later this month, the Heat will begin their journey toward what they hope is an NBA championship. It’ll all begin against the team that comes out of the play-in tournament as the No. 8 seed to face Miami in the first round of the playoffs.
As for Spoelstra, he’ll likely start developing a strategy for success the moment he knows who his team will face in the first round.