Entering their Sunday night home matchup against the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat will look to extend what’s already the best home start for the team in franchise history.
The spotless record at home is paired with the Heat’s best ever start since the Big 3 era, with head coach Erik Spoelstra’s squad having won 16 of its first 22 games. While critics have charged that many of the team’s wins have come against weaker opponents, all nine of its home victories have been by nine points or more.
The most impressive of those victories in front of the Heat’s Miami fan base came in a 129-100 thrashing of the Houston Rockets on Nov. 3. From an overall perspective, two of the Heat’s road wins came in clutch overtime fashion over Milwaukee and Toronto.
Getting to such a lofty level might not have been expected, given the number of the injuries the Heat have dealt with, as well as some off-the-court drama concerning Dion Waiters.
However, the addition of players such as Jimmy Butler and rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn have provided the Heat with some early juice that they hope propels them into the postseason.
Following their game against the Bulls, the Heat have three games on their schedule in a five-night span. On Tuesday night, they host the Atlanta Hawks, followed by a Friday night matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently tied for the best record in the NBA at 20-3.
That’s followed one night later with a road clash against the Dallas Mavericks.