Dare we dream? The Heat missing the playoffs?

If they hang around long enough to grab the 7th or 8th seed and have both Wade & Shaq healthy and well rested, along with the fat boyz in shape, they could surprise the number 1 or 2 seed especially if they steal one of those first two road games.

The only hope is to that they finish in the 9th or 10th spot so that the title that they stole from the Mavs last year won't be validated with another trip to the finals. With Stern and the officials still in love with Wade, you never know what will happen.....

I was watching them play the Clips last night and the Clipper announcer indicated that Riles was upset that some of the player weren't giving it 100% and were too busy flashing their rings instead of working hard. (Seems like we had a similar issue as it relates to working hard with some of our guys in the 04-05 season as we didn't take all of the teams seriously and didn't turn it on until late in the 4th quarter.) He also said that the Heat organization was so excited about winning the title that they gave out over 400 rings...which means that the ushers, ticket takers and custodial crew all got one. :winner_first_h4h: Those rings may not have had as much bling in them as the players rings, but it looks like everybody celebrated..

The Heat will make the playoffs because the rest of the East sucks too. Right now they would make 8th seed, and they just won't play at this level the whole season.

Actually right now they're in 9th place, which would leave them out of the playoffs. The potential problem for them (or whomever finishes ninth in the East) is that the truly sucky part of the conference, the laughable Titanic division, will get one playoff spot no matter what, even if that division winner does not have one of the best 8 records in the conference.

Exactly right. The Heat only have to be better than 4 teams, Orlando, Washington, Atlanta and Charlotte, to make it to the playoffs. I don't think a sub .500 record will get it done, but I also don't think it'll take too much more than that. Realistically, their only competition is from Washington and Orlando. One in 3 odds isn't bad.

I hate that about all the major sports. It should be the best 8 teams, regardless of what division they're in. Teams can't control who they play or what division they're in, so why should they be penalized for it? Even if my team doesn't make it, I'd rather see the 8 best teams rather than than the top 3 or 4 (depending on the sport) teams that happened to be better than the other teams that also stunk in their division.

If the season ended today, NJ would get in with a .419 winning percentage.

I expect that things will even out by the end of the season with the Titanic division; the odds of a division winner ending up with the 9th worst record in the conference are VERY slim. But it is possible, and that team will probably be several spots below the 4th seed in the standings, yet they'll get the 4th seed anyway. Still, that's not such an unfair outcome. It won't be like Memphis/Clippers last year where both teams had a direct interest in tanking to get the Nuggets in the first round, instead of the Mavericks. That won't happen with the new system of seeding--I can't see a scenario where it makes sense to tank yourself out of the 3rd seed just in order to get the 5th seed.

Felling you sir. BTW, Heats' ways to tank for playoff are just stealing money, shame.

Could be the first round match up if the Pistons continue to play above the rest of the conference and the Heat just happen to lurk around long enough to grab the 8th spot on the last day of the season.

Have the Heat gone on a West coast trip this season?

I just looked it up--they had one stretch in early December where they went 2-2 in four straight games on the road against Western Conference teams. Their trip that starts tonight is the last time they'll have a big stretch of games all on the road out West, though they do still have to play consecutive games at Houston and at Dallas later on in the season.

Not a good time for them not to have Dwayne Wade.

If no major trades or injuries happen it looks like Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Orlando, and Washington will make the playoffs. That's 7 teams, it's up to the Nets and Raps to take the last spot away from the Heat.

himat, I mentioned this before: if all seven of those teams (entire Central division + Orlando and Washington) finish ahead of the Heat, then Miami is out of the playoffs, period. It wouldn't matter what record the Nets, Raptors, or anyone else from the Titanic division ended up with. Each division winner is automatically in the playoffs, regardless of whether they have one of the top eight records in the conference or not.

Things are now looking better for the Heat. They're 3-1 so far on their 6 game west coast road trip. They lost at Phoenix to start the trip, but Wade's been back in the line-up since the game after that. They've won 3 in a row since he came back, close games at Portland and Seattle, and then a blowout last night at Golden St. Posey and Walker were back for last night's game as well. Shaq still isn't back yet, but I think they're saying he's expected to play again some time in the next week or so. Plus, they're getting healthy right as the Bucks are being decimated by injuries, so they're already back in that 8th slot in the East, tied for now with the Nets.

Doesn't it just irk you that they are currently playing better than us with over weight players, assistant coaches, and missing a real big man in the middle.

Yeah, even with ronny as their coach who happens to be another coach I love to hate (one of the minor reason why big daddy quit).
It shows how much Flip sucks at his job.

Sorry. What I meant was that if the Nets win the Atlantic it could be up to a team like Toronto to knock them out of the playoffs. I don't think Toronto will get a top 8 record though.

You're not watching the Raptors enough then. They've been playing with a poise I never expected (even after the preseason).