The Miami Heat needed an overtime period to pull away, but they beat the Atlanta Hawks by nine points in a play-in bout on Friday to secure the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Thus, the Cleveland Cavaliers will take on Miami in the opening round of the playoffs. The best-of-seven series will kick off with Game 1 at Rocket Arena on Sunday night.
After the Heat punched their ticket to the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Miami star guard Tyler Herro sent a message to the Cavaliers and made it clear that the Heat are looking forward to the matchup.
If not for a standout all-around showing from Herro, perhaps Miami would have seen its season come to an end on Friday. After all, he dropped a team-high 30 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Herro was particularly effective putting the ball through the net from 3-point range, as he buried half of his 10 3-point attempts.
But for as impressive as Herro and the Heat looked against Atlanta, they are facing long odds to advance past a juggernaut of a Cavs team. Cleveland was dominant throughout the regular season, as it won a whopping 64 games, more than any team in the East.
The Cavaliers also have clear edges in talent and depth. Cleveland has one of the most talented offensive backcourts in the league with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and a whopping six players on the current roster averaged double digits in points for Cleveland this season.
However, if there’s one area where the Heat have an advantage, it’s in the coaching staff. Erik Spoelstra might just be the best coach in the NBA today, and he’s led Miami to a pair of titles and several more NBA Finals appearances during his time as the team’s head coach.
It should be interesting to find out how the first-round series plays out and whether or not the Cavs will be able to make quick work of Miami.
