BREAKING NEWS:Grading the threat level of the four possible Heat Play-In opponents……….

Teams are vying for playoff positions with less than a month remaining in the regular season, and the Miami Heat is running out of time to advance out of the play-in tournament.

“It’s well known to all,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. stated Erik Spoelstra. “And that is the very best thing about this time of year—being in situations like these, battling for a postseason spot.”

To bypass the play-in round and go straight to the playoffs, the Heat must place among the top six in the East. In the first round, doing so would also mean avoiding the Boston Celtics, the top-seeded team, and the Milwaukee Bucks, the second-seeded team.

The Heat would enter the play-in tournament with a seventh or eighth-place finish, giving them two chances to win a single game and guarantee the seventh or eighth seed in the East.

Following the Heat’s five-game losing streak, their chances of making it out of the play-in round decreased. According to Basketball Reference, they now have less than a 16% chance of being selected as the No. 6 seed. The Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers are Miami’s most likely opponents in the first play-in game as the postseason picture becomes more apparent. The Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks would probably be the Heat’s opponents if they lose that opening game.

Let’s take a look forward and rate these four teams according to how much of a threat they are to the Heat and how they might prevent Miami from making it to the postseason.

With a 6-6 record over their previous 12 games, the Hawks have survived since Trae Young went down with a finger injury just after the All-Star break. The only thing Hawks supporters have cause for optimism is the rise of Jalen Johnson, and Dejounte Murray has taken Young’s spot.

But a threat to the Heat, they are not.

Indeed, the Hawks defeated the Heat in the opening play-in game of the previous season and on the boards, but history won’t repeat itself. These Hawks are not to be trusted. They appear to be headed toward significant offseason adjustments due to their injuries. The Hawks might lash out at the end of the season if they could.

Miami has a 2-1 record against Atlanta this season, with their lone defeat coming from a last-second 3-pointer made by Joel Murray that separated the teams by only one point. The Heat should be optimistic about their prospects of winning at Kaseya Center and moving on if these teams meet in the play-in game.