Miami has a soft run into the All-Star Break but faces a brutal opening 15-game stretch. Games 6 through 15 include two matchups each with the Knicks and Cavaliers plus games against the Lakers, Warriors, and Nuggets, leaving Miami likely favored in only two at best. Other teams have tougher stretches: the Kings face a brutal November run that could turn a 40-42 team into a 3-7 stretch, and Milwaukee endures the East's toughest ten-game gauntlet in January. An early gauntlet lets Miami get losses out of the way and build toward a softer pre-All-Star run, but it also removes opportunities to ease into the season, so the Heat's schedule is tough but not the worst.
When the NBA schedule dropped last week, the first thing that popped out to Miami Heat fans was how soft the run into the All-Star Break is going to be, but also how brutal the opening 15 games are going to be. In particular, games 6 through 15 are going to be a stretch where Miami might be favored in two of those games at best.
During that ten-game stretch in question, Miami has to face the Knicks twice, the Cavaliers twice, in addition to the Lakers, Warriors, and Nuggets. But if you are going to muse about Miami's schedule, just don't do it with a Sacramento Kings fan. There is a stretch in November where the Kings have to face: The Kings weren't bad last year, going 40-42, and yet they will probably struggle to go 3-7 at best during that stretch.
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