Where Do The Miami Heat Stand With Five Days Left In Regular Season?

How do the Miami Heat square up in the Eastern Conference standings

The Miami Heat fell 111-92 to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, further digging themselves into Play-In Tournament certainty. 

Here's where the Heat stand with five days remaining in the regular season:

The Heat have two games remaining. The team has a positive 44-36 record, but that is only good enough for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Last night’s Heat loss guaranteed the New York Knicks (47-32) a top-six seed. The Milwaukee Bucks (49-31) and Boston Celtics (62-17) have also clinched playoff berths. 

The Heat sit one game behind the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers (45-35) and two games behind the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic (46-34.)

The current playoff scenario sees the Heat faceoff with the 76ers in the Play-In Tournament. A win in that game would set up a matchup with the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. A loss would set up a win-or-go-home game against the winner of the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks. The winner of the eighth-seed game would face the Celtics in the opening round.

Thursday’s matchup between the Knicks and Celtics is the only game with Eastern Conference playoff implications. 

The Heat host the Toronto Raptors in the final two games of the season. The first of the two matchups is Friday at 8 p.m. The Raptors have nothing to play for and will likely continue to throw young talent on the court.

Casey Fahrer is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at caseyfahrer716@gmail.com.

You can also check out his personal blog HERE