Miami Heat: Will the team’s road woes doom them in the NBA Playoffs?
Are the Miami Heat set up to fail when the NBA Playoffs start?
Prior to the NBA’s hiatus, the Miami Heat was one of the better stories to emerge in the Eastern Conference. After acquiring Jimmy Butler via sign-and-trade during the offseason, the Heat quickly emerged as a top 4 team in the East during the 2019-20 season.
When the “seeding games” begin, the Heat will sit just 2.5 games back of the Boston Celtics for the third seed in the East.
However, with the NBA shifting its “seeding games” and playoffs into a playing bubble in Orlando, Florida, you can’t help but wonder what type of effect the change of scenery will have on a team like the Heat.
Miami Heat’s road woes
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
- NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24
It’s difficult to pinpoint what to expect from any team as the NBA shifts to unprecedented circumstances, but especially for a team like Miami that struggled mightily on the road during the regular season.
Overall, the Heat were 14-19 away from Miami. Since January, the Heat were only 5-11 in road games. While some of that could be attributed to the injuries sustained by Tyler Herro, Meyers Leonard, and others, Miami’s distinct road woes, especially at the turn of the calendar, can’t be a great sign for what’s possibly to come for the team in the playoffs.
Statistically, it appears even worse for the Heat. When at home, the Heat had the NBA’s best offensive rating and third-best point differential. That shouldn’t come as a surprise for a team that was 27-5 at home before the hiatus.
However, on the road, there were real concerns.
As the road team, the Heat had the 19th ranked offensive rating, had a middle of the pack defensive rating, and a (-2.7) point differential. Simply put, as a road team, the Heat were a below-average team. On most nights you couldn’t tell they were a playoff team, much less one of the four-best teams in the Eastern Conference.
As the NBA inches closer to a return, which is currently slated for a resumption of games on July 31, you can’t help but wonder what that will look like for the Heat. Keep in mind, with the NBA moving all its operations for the remainder of the season into a bubble in Orlando, a case can be made that every game will essentially be an away game.
Even though the NBA is trying to figure out how to incentivize would-be home playoff teams, there’s likely nothing that can be done that will replicate an authentic homecourt advantage. Then again, with every team essentially playing “road games” from here on out, would that equal the playing field?
One of the most interesting storylines heading into the resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season revolves around how teams will adjust to a neutral playing field. Specifically, for the Heat, here’s to hoping that, at least for them, neutral doesn’t equate to road games.
Related Story. NBA Free Agency: 4 potential landing spots for Harry Giles. light
If so, the Miami Heat is being set up to fail in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.