The Miami Heat enter the 2025 NBA play-in tournament as the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. They will have to win against the ninth-seeded Chicago Bulls later before trying to take down the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks to book their tickets to the postseason.
Miami have the opportunity this year to become the first 10th seed to qualify for the playoffs. Given their history in the tournament, including an improbable NBA Finals run in 2023, Tyler Herro spoke confidently about the challenge that awaits his team.
“Hell yeah, we’re excited for this challenge,” Herro said via Zachary Weinberger of ClutchPoints. “We dropped those 10 games, and it kind of, our path became more clear. You know, as that happened, but we still are in the saddle. We haven’t let go of the rope, and we’re excited for this challenge.”
“It just ultimate clarity, you’re not looking at the standings no more,” teammate Bam Adebayo added. “You’re not trying to see if they lose, if we win. You got to win two road games to punch our ticket.”
Miami Heat News: Erik Spoelstra bares gameplan vs. Chicago Bulls
The Miami Heat must slow down the Chicago Bulls to beat them later in the ninth vs. 10th matchup. For context, Chicago are the second-fastest in pace at 103.6 possessions per 48 minutes while Miami are the fourth-slowest at 97.1 possessions per 48 minutes.
The Chicago Bulls completed a season sweep of the Miami Heat. Despite this, Erik Spoelstra’s men are not lacking in confidence.
“We don’t want to play a prevent offense or prevent type game,” Spoelstra said. “We want to attack this game. You can dance with the fire, but you’ve got to be smart with it. We don’t want to play at just a snail’s pace to slow them down. They’ll still score and find a way to score.”
