3 Eastern Conference NBA teams to watch down the final stretch
By Duncan Smith
2. Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are not a team to sit on their hands. They had an active NBA trade deadline, trading a pick and the right to waive Meyers Leonard to the OKC Thunder for Trevor Ariza, and trading Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley and a pick to the Houston Rockets for Victor Oladipo.
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They missed out on LaMarcus Aldridge in the buyout market (he went to Brooklyn), but his best days are behind him and this is no crucial loss. The Heat have been a streaky team all season and as they get healthy and stock up on new talent like Ariza and Oladipo, they may be ready for their hottest stretch of the season.
The top three seeds in the East are essentially set, barring injury-related disasters, but the Heat will want to solidify their own position and at least claim the four seed from the Charlotte Hornets. There is a logjam between the four and eight spots with just 1.5 games separating the Hornets from the eighth-seeded Boston Celtics.
It’s critical for the Heat to capitalize on their new momentum and not only take the four seed and avoid having to play the Nets, Sixers or Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, but also avoid sliding into that 7-10 range where they would find themselves vulnerable to the play-in tournament.
They have their fate in their own hands, and they need to make the most of that advantage,.