Miami Heat 2021-22 Game Schedule Info
Will the Miami Heat be an NBA championship contender? The Heat are preparing to square off against teams from the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference and the star-studded Western Conference. Here's a closer look at the Miami Heat's 2021-22 schedule, complete with marquee storylines, rivalries, and matchups in the regular season.
Who Are the Miami Heat?
The Miami Heat are a professional basketball team in the NBA's Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference. The Heat joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1988. Miami missed the playoffs in five of its first seven seasons before Hall of Famer Pat Riley assembled a team that made noise in the late 1990s. Riley traded for star center Alonzo Mourning and point guard Tim Hardaway to help the Heat earn six consecutive playoffs berths from 1996 to 2001. The Heat reached the doorstep of the NBA Finals before falling to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals. Riley & Co. were then bounced from the playoffs by the New York Knicks — who quickly became the Heat's most hated rival — in three consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2000. Miami was pushed to the NBA margins for a couple of seasons before dynamic guard Dwyane Wade breathed life back into the franchise. Riley pulled off a blockbuster trade for Los Angeles Lakers superstar center Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 to set the stage for the franchise's first moment of glory. Wade and O'Neal were the cornerstones of the Heat's first NBA championship squad. Riley's team beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals thanks largely to this dynamic duo. Wade earned the NBA Finals MVP award to kick off a string of honors for the all-time great. The Heat failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs over the next four years before Riley pulled off the coup of a lifetime in 2010. Reigning back-to-back NBA MVP LeBron James took his prodigious talents to South Beach and formed a superteam with Wade and Toronto Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh. Miami's “Big Three” left an indelible mark on the Heat and the rest of the NBA by dominating the league landscape with a magical four-year run that included four NBA Finals appearances and two titles. The Heat, quickly becoming the envy of the rest of the league, were undaunted after losing the 2011 NBA Finals to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. James, who was widely criticized for his decision to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to form a superteam, won the first NBA Finals of his career by leading the Heat to a five-game series triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder's dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in 2012. The Heat were far from done, though. Erik Spoelstra's team earned a third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals in 2013. James helped Miami beat the San Antonio Spurs in an epic seven-game thriller en route to his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award. The Heat became the first Eastern Conference team to win back-to-back titles since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. James spearheaded a franchise-record 27-game winning streak in 2013 as he tried for a three-peat. The Heat's Big Three made it to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals but couldn't topple the Spurs again. Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker foiled Miami's bid for a third ring in four years by winning the title in five games. The Big Three Era abruptly ended when James left South Beach to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers after the 2013-14 season. It took the Heat a handful of years to rebuild and re-shape the roster before they made the sixth NBA Finals in franchise history during the 2019-20 season. All-Star Jimmy Butler carried the Heat to the Finals before James' Los Angeles Lakers won the championship.
Miami Heat Schedule for 2021/2022
The Miami Heat are poised to be NBA title contenders again after last season's disappointing first-round playoff exit. Erik Spoelstra's team made three pivotal offseason moves to improve obvious deficiencies from a year ago. The Heat added six-time All-Star guard Kyle Lowry in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Raptors to take some of the burden off leading scorer Jimmy Butler. Lowry's play-making prowess and man-to-man defensive skills will be a welcomed addition for a team that finished sixth in the Eastern Conference in 2021. Miami also fortified its frontcourt by bringing in P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris to give some help to budding star Bam Adebayo. Tucker — who played an integral defensive role for the Milwaukee Bucks during their championship run — instantly improves the Heat's rebounding and defense. Morris is also expected to be a significant part of Spoelstra's frontcourt rotation. The Heat look like NBA title contenders again after revamping their roster in the offseason. Check out TickPick for the best deals to watch the Heat's pursuit of a playoff berth live. With easy accessibility and cheaper prices than the competition, TickPick offers endless options to watch live sporting events.
Get Your Tickets for the Miami Heat on TickPick
You can watch the Miami Heat trio of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry attempt to return to the playoffs with live event tickets on TickPick. There's no better place to buy tickets for a team ready to contend for an NBA title than TickPick. Find the perfect seats for your budget with no service fees and a 100% BuyerTrust Guarantee.
