Despite entering the All-Star break as the top seed in the East, the Heat had a tough road to get there. Out of their 59 games played so far, Miami had 33 away games. That’s the second-most away games in the league, with Orlando having the most. Out of the top ten in this category, only Miami, Cleveland, and Memphis are a top-5 seed in their conference. The Heat also had two separate six-game road trips, packing a lot of travel into a short amount of time. While the Heat’s schedule started out rough, their post All-Star break schedule looks to be much more beneficial.
Out of the 23 games remaining for the Heat, only eight of them are away games. On top of that, they don’t have a road trip that lasts more than three games. They also only play 10 teams with a record above .500. With a 19-7 record at home, Miami will look to take advantage of their remaining schedule.
With injuries to key members of the Heat bench, the All-Star break will be helpful in more ways than one. In the past two games, without the second-team trio of Herro, Martin, and Dedmon, Miami has averaged only 22.5 points off the bench. This is a considerable drop off from their 34.4 season average in bench points.
Miami’s recent loss to the Mavs was a prime example of how essential these injured players are to the second-team offense. The Heat’s bench shot just 33% on 27 attempts in this game. In comparison, the Mavs bench shot 48% on 25 attempts, with Maxi Kleber and Davis Bertans leading the way. Getting these players healthy after the All-Star break will be essential to Miami making a deep playoff run. Add that to the return of Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris sometime in the future, and the Heat’s depth will be among the best in the league.
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