Hoping to finish strong, the Miami Heat will play host to the Washington Wizards on Saturday afternoon.
The Heat (40-37) have clinched a spot in the play-in round. They entered play on Friday in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, but they have five games left in the regular season and could move up in the standings.
Miami also has a fairly soft schedule from here on out, including two games against NBA-worst Washington (17-59).
The problem for the Heat, though, is that they are just 2-8 in their past 10 games, including a 147-129 loss to the visiting Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
On the other hand, Heat players such as Jaime Jaquez Jr. say they have not lost confidence.
“We know what we’re capable of when we lock in,” Jaquez said.
Jaquez said Miami is looking for a win “by any means necessary” down the stretch, and it would certainly help the Heat if Norman Powell can play.
Powell, who leads Miami in scoring (22.1 points per game), missed the game against Boston due to illness.
Miami’s other big scorers are Tyler Herro (21.4 ppg) and Bam Adebayo (20.3). Adebayo, of course, burned Washington for 83 points on March 10, and that was the second-greatest scoring game in NBA history.
Since then, though, Miami is just 3-8, which Herro this week called “a terrible stretch.”
Other Heat players to watch include point guard Davion Mitchell, who leads the team in assists (6.5); Jaquez, who is their top bench scorer (15.0); and Pelle Larsson, who does a lot of dirty work such as drawing charging calls. In addition, Andrew Wiggins averages 15.6 points and Kel’el Ware is a double-double threat (10.9 points, 9.0 rebounds).
Meanwhile, the Wizards have lost 20 of their past 21 games as Washington fans are no doubt looking forward to potentially having the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The team still is fighting hard, according to coach Brian Keefe.
“Our guys are competitive,” Keefe said. “Even after a loss, they come back the next day ready to work and ready to get better. That’s been our thing all season.”
The Wizards on Wednesday lost 153-131 to Philadelphia. In that game, Washington received a career-high 21 points from Anthony Gill, who played 35 minutes off the bench, going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers.
“I don’t want to disappoint my teammates,” Gill said of his thought process. “They put in so much hard work to get me the ball in a position to score — the least I can do is put the ball in the basket to get them an assist.”
With stars such as Trae Young (quad) and Anthony Davis (finger) on the injured list, Gill said the final six games are about setting the tone for next season when — presumably — those guys will be healthy.
“We have an opportunity,” Gill said. “We’re trying to build a foundation to move to something special next season. We have to finish strong no matter who is on the court.”
