10 Things to Watch With The Release of The 2024-25 Schedule
Well folks, it’s that time of year. The 2024-2025 schedule has been released for everyone’s perusal and, as is the norm, we’ll highlight some of the hottest matchups of the year. We’ll also focus a bit on the second annual HEAT In-Season Tournament and the bracket Miami finds themselves in. Let’s jump right in:
1. Opening The Season at Home Against In-State Rival Orlando
The HEAT will kick off the 2024-25 NBA season on October 23rd facing off against their in-state foes, the Orlando Magic. The Magic, who made the postseason in 2024 after a three-year drought, feature rising stars in Paolo Banchero (a first-time All-Star in 2023-24) and Franz Wagner. They’ve also added to their backcourt, bringing in two-time NBA Champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to bolster the Magic’s perimeter shooting and bring in some additional defensive acumen (last year’s Magic team finished 2nd in Defensive Rating, but just 22nd in Offense).
The HEAT went 3-1 against Orlando last year, with the signature win of the matchup a 99-96 victory back in January that featured a go-ahead jumper by Bam Adebayo with 18 seconds left. Bam vs. Banchero has a chance to become one of the league’s signature one-on-one matchups, with both players of similar size, strength and skill.
2. HEAT In-Season Tournament Begins In the Motor City
The second annual HEAT In-Season Tournament begins on November 12th where Miami will hit the road to take on the Detroit Pistons to begin the Group Play stage. To give a short tournament refresher, the event features six groups of teams (Miami is in East Group B this year) who will face off in Group Play matches. Once Group Play has concluded, eight teams are selected to advance to the Knockout Stage: the teams with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and two wild card teams. Along with the Pistons, Miami shares a group with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Toronto Raptors.
Miami fared well against Detroit last season, going a perfect 4-0, though three of those matchups proved to be nail biters. Memorably, Adebayo was able to flash his heroics on March 17th as he drained a game-winning three to sink the Pistons.
3. Giannis and The Bucks Come to Miami in a Nationally Televised Showdown
The HEAT’s In-Season Tournament Group Play continues with a marquee matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and longtime Eastern Conference rival Milwaukee Bucks on November 26th. By this point, the stakes will likely be clear for all tournament participants wishing to get to the knockout stage, and it’s possible Miami will be playing for a chance to progress further in the tournament.
The Bucks are bringing back much of their core, with Antetokounmpo supported by the elite backcourt shooting and playmaking of Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. Offseason additions in Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince, as well as one-time HEAT guard Delon Wright, have given the Bucks an injection of depth.
4. Lebron and The Lakers Visit Kaseya as HEAT Kick Off December Homestand
The HEAT will host LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on December 4th, opening a stretch where Miami will play five of their next six games at home. LeBron, who will be 26 days away from turning 40 years old by the time of this matchup, remains an All-Star level force despite racking up nearly 60,000 NBA minutes in the regular season over the span of 20-plus years. He has shown few signs of slowing down, having played in 71 games this past year and making the All-NBA Third Team.
The matchup will also reunite some Olympic gold medalists as Adebayo and Coach Erik Spoelstra got to spend their summer alongside LeBron and AD as members of the Team USA Men’s basketball team. Though there are sure to be some warm daps and handshakes before tipoff, expect a heated battle during the game. Last season, Adebayo had one of his finest showings against the Lakers, dropping a 22-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist triple double in a thrilling one-point victory back in November.
5. Kicking off 2025 Against Zion and the Pelicans
The HEAT have a New Year’s Day matchup on the calendar this season, hosting the explosive Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pels made a big offseason acquisition, acquiring former Hawks combo guard Dejounte Murray to pair in the backcourt with the sweet-shooting CJ McCollum. HEAT fans may remember a less-than-pleasant memory of Murray sinking a game-winning three against the Miami last January and now the versatile guard brings his skillset to a Pelicans team very much on the cusp of breaking through in the Western Conference.
6. West Coast Trip Features Retooled California Foes
The HEAT’s annual west coast sojourn starts a bit later than it did last year, with Miami slated for a six-game journey beginning on January 6th as they head to Sacramento to take on De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and the Kings. Joining their high-powered offense is scoring machine DeMar DeRozan, who at age 35 remains one of the NBA’s most potent bucket getters. Outside of their three All-Star talents, the Kings also feature a rising talent in Keegan Murray, a sweet shooting forward who went 13-18 from three-point land and averaged 30.5 points per game in his two matchups against the HEAT last season.
The next day, Miami will head to San Fran to take on the inimitable Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs have retooled much of their roster around Curry, with three-point specialist Buddy Hield replacing longtime Warrior Klay Thompson and supporting castmates Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton rounding out Golden State’s new-look rotation.
The HEAT will wrap up their road trip with battles against the Clippers and Lakers on January 13th and 15th, though this will be the first time since 1998 that the two L.A. clubs will not share a home arena. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers will host Miami at the newly opened Intuit Dome in Inglewood while LeBron and the Lakers remain in the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
7. Hosting The Champs
Since the turn of the decade, it’s difficult to dispute that the two most prolific Eastern Conference Teams have been the Miami HEAT and the Boston Celtics. Having met four times in the last five seasons, these clubs are an even 2-2 against one another in their playoff matchups, though many a HEAT fan may lament that they were shorthanded during their most recent bout in the First Round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this past season.
Regardless, Boston won their first championship since 2008 and will make their first trip to the Kaseya Center on January 31st. The champs are bringing back their fearsome starting five of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis. Their combination of high-volume three-point shooting and defensive versatility from their entire five-man unit makes these Celtics formidable as they aim to defend their title.
8. Off To The Alamo To Take On Wembanyama
After their matchup with Boston, Miami will begin another road trip by heading west to face reigning Rookie-of-the-Year Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on February 1st. “Wemby,” a 7’4” dynamo with the perimeter skills of a guard mixed with dominant rim protection, is already one of the league’s must-see athletes and entering his sophomore year is poised for a leap into the league’s upper echelon. The Spurs upgraded their roster around Wembanyama, drafting point guard Stephon Castle with the 4th overall pick, signing 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, and trading for forward Harrison Barnes to bring an infusion of high-upside youth and veteran stability to a fascinating core of talent.
Though Wembanyama has a roughly seven-inch height advantage on Adebayo, Miami’s primary defender for these matchups, Bam has acquitted himself exceedingly well in their two prior meetings, with Bam forcing Wemby into 10 turnovers and just 15-35 shooting (42 percent) as Miami won both games. Victor may have a bit of added incentive to beat Miami, as Bam and Team USA took down Wembanyama’s silver medal-winning French National Team in a thrilling finale in Paris.
9. Springtime Showdown at The Garden
Miami will make their only trip to Madison Square Garden to face off against their longtime rival New York Knicks on March 17th. The Knicks just had their best season in nearly a decade with star guard Jalen Brunson turning into one of the NBA’s most fearsome scorers. Building off their momentum, the Knicks swung a trade for talented two-way forward Mikal Bridges and are expected to be among the class of the conference this year, also bringing back forward OG Anunoby and extending Brunson. The last time these two clubs met, HEAT guard Terry Rozier exploded for a HEAT season-high 34 points and eight three pointers as Miami managed a 109-99 victory and will again need that sort of shot-making to match up with a deep and explosive Knicks club.
10. The Final of Four Philly Showdowns With Seeding Potential On The Line
Last season’s Eastern Conference featured a true logjam from seeds 2-8 as only four games separated Milwaukee (50-32; 2nd seed) and Miami (46-36; 8th seed), with Philly right in that same mix at 47-35. It was a season that demonstrated the value of each and every game, with a handful of bounces having the potential to completely overhaul nearly every playoff matchup held in the East last season. It is reasonable to assume a similar pattern will follow this year with many of the top seeds keeping their cores intact.
The 76ers, having added nine-time All-Star Paul George, now feature a prodigious trio with All-Star Tyrese Maxey and former league MVP (and fellow USA gold medalist) Joel Embiid. It’s safe to bet that this April 7th showdown against the Sixers will carry some significant playoff implications for both clubs.