After months of basketball, the 2022-23 NBA regular season is officially in the books. Now, all eyes are on the Play-In Tournament to see who will take the final four spots in the playoffs. With the Miami Heat set to host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, it is time for some Heat Play-In Tournament predictions.

Miami finished the regular season with a 44-38 record, which earned them the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. After winning nine more games last season and finishing as the top seed in the East, this was a fairly disappointing season for the Heat, although they did manage to close out their campaign on a good note after winning four out of their last five games.

On the other side of the matchup, Atlanta went 41-41 in the regular season to secure the No. 8 seed. This will be the second year in a row that the Hawks are in the Play-In Tournament. They managed to make it out of the tournament last year, but ended up losing to the Heat in the first-round of the playoffs 4-1.

Although Miami will have a home-court advantage, this should be one of the most entertaining Play-In games of the year. With that being said, here are some bold predictions for the Miami Heat in their 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament game versus the Atlanta Hawks.

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3. The Heat will hold Trae Young to at most 40% from the field, force 5+ turnovers

If there is one player that Miami defenders should pay extra attention to, it's Trae Young. While the point guard did not have a great season by his standards, he still put up some numbers that the Heat should not ignore.

Young averaged 26.2 points, a career-high 10.2 assists and 3 rebounds per game. He made 42.9 percent of his field goals and 33.5 percent of his 3-pointers, both of which were his worst marks since his rookie campaign.

Fortunately for the Heat, Young struggled in their four encounters in the 2022-23 regular season. The guard put up less than 20 points per game and shot 35.6 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, he averaged 5.3 turnovers in these games as well. Miami ended up winning three out of those four games, including the two that happened in Florida.

With a playoff spot on the line, the Heat will once again limit Young's efficiency. Young won't make more than 40 percent of his shots and will have at least five turnovers as well. If this happens, the Hawks will have many problems overcoming the Heat's defensive efforts.

2. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will combine for 40+ points for the Heat

As for the Heat, the team's season was seriously impacted by injuries. Most notably, Jimmy Butler sat out in 18 games, with Miami going 9-9 without him.

The six-time All-Star scored 22.9 points per game, his best mark since joining the franchise, while also grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game and dishing out 5.3 assists per game too. Butler's fantastic campaign also saw him shoot a career-high 53.9 percent from the field.

Although Butler had his issues with injuries, Bam Adebayo managed to have a healthy season, appearing in all but seven games for the Heat. The big man also averaged a personal-best in points per game with 20.4, in addition to 9.2 boards and 3.2 assists per game. Adebayo remained a stalwart on defense as well, averaging 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per contest.

With Butler back in the starting lineup and Abebayo putting up some of the best numbers of his career, this duo will be tough to slow down. It says here that they will combine for 40-plus points against the Hawks, and should that happen, the Heat will be in a good position to clinch a playoff spot on Tuesday.

1. The Heat beat the Hawks, clinching the No. 7 seed in the East

At the end of the day, it is one game instead of a seven-game series between these two teams like they had in the 2022 playoffs. Because of that, it could go either way.

According to FanDuel, the Heat are the favorite to win this matchup. Currently, the spread is set as -5 in their favor, which is tied for the lowest among all Play-In games. This means that most fans expect this game to be a close one, likely decided by the final possessions. If that is the case, the final minutes should be must-see television.

Still, with the home fans on their side, Miami could have an edge over Atlanta. If both Butler and Adebayo can put together strong outings, the Heat's offense will be hard to stop. And if Miami can limit Young's impact, Atlanta will need their supporting cast to step up.

Despite the Hawks' best efforts, the Heat will end up winning this game. This should be a close one for the most part, but thanks to some defensive stops, Miami could open a more comfortable lead in the final minutes.

With that result, the Heat will officially clinch the No. 7 seed and will prepare to square off against the Boston Celtics in another rematch from the 2022 NBA Playoffs. This would be the third time in the last four seasons that they would face each other in the postseason, and it would certainly be a thrilling series.