4 reasons the Miami Heat could make the NBA Finals

Easier schedule

When the schedule was released, the Miami Heat were meant to have one of the most difficult schedules in the league. With Oladipo declaring he will not play this season, two games became much easier and those two games could make a difference.

Their schedule looks like this:

Looking at this realistically, the Heat could go 5-3 and maybe even better. Oladipo’s decision makes the two games versus the Pacers almost certain that they will win. The same goes for the Phoenix Suns. That’s three games already, and they are very likely winning at least one game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets.

There is a chance they could win versus the Bucks too, seeing as they already have the number one seed locked up and could limit certain players’ minutes.

But how does this impact them going to the finals?

The Heat are only 2.5 games behind the Celtics and with an easier schedule, they could give the Celtics a scare by getting the third seed.

That would then completely change how the playoffs would look like for every team.

Right now, the Heat would face the 76ers in the first round and face the Bucks in the second. That is the most likely scenario, as the Pacers are most likely to stay as the sixth seed. But what if the Heat catch fire and somehow, someway catch the third seed?

That would the most ideal scenario for the Heat. This would mean they face the Pacers in the first round, which is a much easier opponent than the 76ers. They would face the Raptors in the second round and eventually face the Bucks in the conference finals.

The hardest opponents are the Bucks and the Celtics, and if they do manage to get the third seed, they would completely avoid Boston.

These eight games will be important for the Heat if they want to have a deeper playoff run.