The Miami Heat close the regular season with two games against the struggling Toronto Raptors, but that good fortune is unlikely to help them land an automatic playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Even if the Heat win the two games — the first is Friday night in Miami — the squad appears headed to the play-in round after being blown out 111-92 at home by the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Miami (44-36) stands two games behind the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers for the final two top-six playoff berths in the East and one game behind the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers entering the final weekend of the regular season.
The Heat were part of the play-in round last season before advancing into the playoffs. They eventually reached the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Denver Nuggets.
So the Heat will be in familiar territory if they are part of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game in the play-in derby.
Finishing eighth would make Miami the road team in the 7-8 game. And the club will need some help to avoid playing at Philadelphia, Indiana or Orlando.
“We have a great group,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have a very competitive locker room. We all want the same thing. And sometimes, this league can just really humble you. And that’s what happened (Wednesday) night.”
Miami is just 3-6 in its last nine game homes and the loss to Dallas was one-sided early. The Mavericks led by as many as 25 in the first half while cruising to the victory.
“We didn’t come out with as much intensity as we should have,” said Heat center Bam Adebayo, who had just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting and collected only three rebounds. “We’ve got to be better than that.”
Tyler Herro led Miami with 21 points to top 20 for the third straight game.
Toronto (25-55) has dropped 17 of its past 19 games. The Raptors lost 15 in a row during the stretch before splitting their last four contests.
Toronto put forth a strong effort against the host Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night before succumbing 106-102.
Immanuel Quickley had a stellar outing with 32 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and rookie Gradey Dick established career highs of 24 points and six 3-pointers. Dick has scored in double digits in seven straight games and nine of the past 10.
Dick received sparse minutes early in the campaign but has often played 30-plus minutes over the past month. Dick said his biggest lesson this season is keeping his focus and not letting opinions or social media comments get under his skin.
“My family has been tremendous for me,” Dick said. “The thing I’m most proud with is how we stuck together and didn’t let those outside noises affect me.
“The season is so long and there are ups and down. When you are in your downs, if you listen to those comments, it’s the worst thing you can do.”
Against the Nets, the Raptors shot just 37.2 percent from the field and were outrebounded 56-45. Brooklyn had a 48-32 edge in points in the paint.
“Their length, their size vs. our size, obviously we knew going into the game they had a couple of guys that are really good with that,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We were able to get in the paint but not able to score.”
The Raptors and Heat split two meetings in Toronto earlier this season. Miami won 112-103 on Dec. 6, and the Raptors scored a convincing 121-97 win on Jan. 17.
–Field Level Media
