The Miami Heat are preparing for another matchup tonight against the Orlando Magic, which will be the fourth and final contest against each other. Miami has a 2-1 record against Orlando this season as they look to win the series inside the Kaseya Center.
However, when it comes to the Heat and protecting their home floor, it's been easier said than done compared to previous years being a strength of the team. Through 50 games total, Miami has a 13-12 record on the road and at home, which further shows the up and down time the squad has been going though in the 2023-24 season.
The Heat are currently in the midst of a four-game home stand where they lost the first contest to the Los Angeles Clippers last Sunday making it five of their last six home games where it ended in a defeat. Granted, most of those were on the brutal seven-game losing streak, so they were doing anything but winning.
Erik Spoelstra's candid response to middling home record
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra is aware of the home record and said to ClutchPoints that it has been harped time and time again to the team “for a while now.” However, looking at the rearview mirror always is a recipe for disaster as the Heat are focused on the road ahead which is the Magic Tuesday night.
“Yeah, we have been saying that for a while now. So right now it's about doing whatever we have to do to take care of business tonight against a very competitive team,” Spoelstra said before Tuesday's game against Orlando. “They handled us in Orlando last game, game before that was extremely competitive here on our floor. It's set up to be very competitive, a good spirit about the game and we had a tough one the other night so we want to get back to it.”
As Spoelstra mentioned, the Magic took care of the Heat on their home floor on Jan. 21 which was the third loss in the aforementioned skid. However, it can be argued Miami turned a corner as they broke the streak with a quality win facing the Sacramento Kings inside the Kaseya Center and handled business the next game against the Washington Wizards on the road.
Heat at full strength, which has been a rarity
Now, the team is at full strength as Tyler Herro is back to being available after missing the last game with a migraine and their dynamic shooter in Duncan Robinson returns after missing the last three games being in the concussion protocol. While it has been a rarity for the Heat to have a fully healthy lineup due to the injury issues throughout the season, Spoelstra reacted to the news simply saying that it is “hopefully a good thing.”
“I actually had to fill out my board with all the different plans and possibilities,” Spoelstra said. “So hopefully it's good thing.”
With all the inconsistency the team has gone through this season on the offensive side of the ball, it is not that surprising to see the home record the way it is. On the other hand, it can be seen as slightly concerning with how much of a strength it has been in the past.
Even with the up and down season in the prior year, the Heat finished with a 27-14 record in the Kaseya Center. The year before that in the 2021-22 season, Miami had a 29-12 record at home. The home record now matches the one from the time where the team had the No. 1 seed and is two losses away from last season and Miami has played already played 50 games.
However, they have a chance to add more wins to that column as they have start a back-to-back tonight at home against the Magic and then the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday who only have 10 wins. Miami is 26-24 which currently puts them eighth in the Eastern Conference.
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