Heat schedule set for first NBA In-Season Tournament, including a mystery week

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·4 min read
John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS
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MIAMI – The release of the NBA’s 2023-24 schedule comes in two parts, because the NBA this season is attempting to integrate a second element into the typical 82-game regular-season grind.

So instead of announcing the complete schedule for the coming season, a release that instead will come Thursday, the NBA on Tuesday announced the four early-season games that also will be In-Season Tournament Games for the Miami Heat.

Win all four of those (or at least three) and it would be on to the quarterfinals of an event that has precedent in the soccer realm but has yet to be tested in the NBA, NHL, NFL or Major League Baseball – the notion of winning a trophy (and a $500,000 payout per player) for a schedule within a schedule.

So, for now, what we officially know about the Heat’s 2023-24 schedule are their four games in group play in Commissioner Adam Silver’s shiny new event:

– Nov. 3, 8 p.m,, at Kaseya Center against the Washington Wizards.

– Nov. 14, 7 p.m,, at the Charlotte Hornets.

– Nov. 24, 7:30 p.m, at the New York Knicks.

– Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m. at Kaseya Center against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Heat will continue to play a typical schedule of regular-season games amid that schedule-within-a-schedule.

Because of the tournament, the eventual release of the 82-game regular-season schedule will include only 40 home dates and 40 road dates per team. An additional two games per team then will be determined by tournament results.

The week of Dec. 3 is then reserved for tournament games for teams that advanced to the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament, as well as fill-in games for teams that do not advance to those quarterfinals.

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The ghost schedule, an open week, for the moment is set up as:

Dec. 3: No games.

Dec. 4: Quarterfinal tournament games (at team sites).

Dec. 5: Quarterfinal tournament games (at team sites).

Dec. 6: Regular-season games for teams not advancing to quarterfinals.

Dec. 7: In-Season Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas.

Dec. 8: Regular-season games for teams not advancing to quarterfinals or semifinals.

Dec. 9: In-Season Tournament championship game in Las Vegas.

All results other than the tournament championship game will count in the regular-season standings.

It is therefore possible that additional Heat games could be played home or away on Dec. 4, 5, 6 or 8.

The Heat and the rest of the NBA then will resume traditional scheduling the balance of the season on Dec. 11, with the league idle on Dec. 10.

As for how two additonal games will be determined for the Heat if they do not advance to the tournament knockout round or past the quarterfinals, the NBA announced Tuesday:

“Each of the 22 teams that do not advance to the Quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament will be assigned two regular-season games (one home game and one away game) that will be played on Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Friday, Dec. 8. A formulaic approach will determine the matchups for these 22 games using the Group Play standings in each conference (fifth through 15th).

“Two of the 22 games will be scheduled cross-conference because there will be an odd number of teams in each conference that do not advance to the Quarterfinals. These cross-conference games will be scheduled between bottom-finishing teams in Group Play subject to travel constraints, and no team will play more than one of its two games cross-conference. The other 20 games will be scheduled within conference featuring teams that are otherwise scheduled to play each other three times over the course of the season wherever possible.

“The losing teams in the Quarterfinals in each conference will play each other in a regular-season game on Dec. 8.”

The Heat annonunced sales for their two group-stage home games, with VIP presale beginning Wednesday at noon and general sale Saturday at noon. Eligibility for VIP presale comes by signing up on team’s website.

Other Heat dates

Media reports previously revealed:

– The Heat will face the Boston Celtics in the teams’ first meeting since the 2023 Eastern Conference finals on Oct. 27 at TD Garden, where the Heat last season won Game 7 of that series.

– The Heat will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 25 at 8 p.m.

– The Heat will play Feb. 27 on the road at the Portland Trail Blazers, with Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard having requested a trade to the Heat.

– The Heat will return to Ball Arena, where they were eliminated in the 2023 NBA Finals, to face the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 29.

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