Chip will remain firmly on shoulder for the Miami Heat this season, with Wednesday’s release of the 2022-23 regular-season schedule providing ample motivation.
Despite advancing with one game of the 2022 NBA Finals and having made the Eastern Conference finals twice in the past three seasons, the Heat have been scheduled for only 11 total television appearances on the league’s prime national TNT, ESPN and ABC outlets.
By comparison, after the Heat finished as the No. 6 seed in 2021 and were ousted in the first round, they still received 10 such games last season. This season, the Los Angeles Lakers have 27 such games and the Philadelphia 76ers, vanquished by the Heat in last season’s second round, have 23. Even the Brooklyn Nets, whose roster remains in flux amid uncertainty with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, have 13 such national games.
The paucity of national coverage includes only one such game (the second on the schedule, an ESPN broadcast on Oct. 21 against the visiting Boston Celtics) before January and has the Heat off the league’s schedule of Christmas Day games, a rarity for a team coming off an appearance in the conference finals.
Not counting games on NBA TV, which are blacked out in local markets and subject to change, the Heat’s second nationally televised game is not scheduled until the Jan. 4 road game against the Lakers, on ESPN.
The Heat have 11 games on NBA TV, including their Dec. 17 game against the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City.
The Heat’s first appearance on TNT is not scheduled until the Martin Luther King Day road game on Jan. 16 against the Atlanta Hawks.
And when it comes to ABC’s national coverage, instead of being part of the network’s prime-time schedule of Saturday games, the Heat’s lone scheduled appearance is a 1 p.m. game at FTX Arena against the Milwaukee Bucks.
This will mark the sixth time in the last seven seasons the Heat have been left off the NBA’s Christmas schedule, with a home game in 2020 against the New Orleans Pelicans the exception, when the Heat were coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals. The Heat had appeared in seven consecutive Christmas games starting in 2009.
Of the eight teams that made the conference semifinals last season, the Heat is the lone team from that group without a Christmas game, after finishing last season as the No. 1 Eastern Conference playoff seed. Instead, the New York Knicks, who failed to make the playoffs, are featuring in one of the five Christmas games. The Knicks have a combined 13 TNT/ESPN/ABC appearances on their 2022-23 schedule.
As for the Heat’s schedule breakdown:
— The schedule opens with an Oct. 19 home game against the Chicago Bulls, the start of a four-game homestand, to be followed by a three-game western swing.
Ten of the first 14 will be at home, with 12 of the next 17 on the road. It is the first time in their 35 seasons the Heat open with their first four at home.
The Heat then close the season with five of their final seven games on the road.
— The Heat will play all four of their Southeast Division rivals four times (two home, two away) and each Western Conference team twice (one home, one away).
The four Eastern Conference teams the Heat will play only three times are Brooklyn and Chicago twice at home and once on the road, and Detroit and Philadelphia once at home and twice on the road.
The Heat will play each remaining East team four times.
— As part of the league’s goal to reduce travel and maximize rest, the Heat will face the same opponent in consecutive games at FTX Arena six times.
The Heat will host the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 22 and Oct. 24; the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12; the Washington Wizards on Nov. 23 and Nov. 25; Milwaukee on Jan. 12 and Jan. 24; Atlanta on March 4 and March 6; and the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 8 and March 10.
Those will be the lone times those teams will visit.
In addition, the Heat will play consecutive road games against Boston, in rematches of last season’s Eastern Conference finals, on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.
— The games against the Wizards mean the Heat will be home for Thanksgiving, idle on Nov. 24.
In other holiday scheduling, the Heat will be on the road against the Utah Jazz on New Year’s Eve, idle on New Year’s Day, play in Atlanta on Jan. 16 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and conclude their schedule on April 9 on Easter Sunday against the Orlando Magic in a 1 p.m. game.
— The Heat and Miami Dolphins play on the same day twice: Nov. 27 (Heat at Atlanta, Dolphins home vs. Houston) and Jan. 8 (Heat home vs. Brooklyn, Dolphins home vs. Jets).
The Heat and University of Miami play the same day three times (Oct. 22, Oct. 29 and Nov. 12), with the only home conflict on Oct. 22 (Heat vs. Toronto, Hurricanes vs. Duke.)
The Heat and Florida Panthers play on the same day 35 times, 10 times with both at home.
— The Heat’s last game beyond the Central Time Zone will be Jan. 6 in Phoenix.
— As for tickets, individual-game sales begin Aug. 22 at noon at Heat.com, with an eight-ticket limit per household per game. All games are mobile-only entry. A presale will be available to those who sign up at heat.com/presaleaccess. Half-season ticket plans also remain available.
Heat’s 2022-23 schedule
Wed. Oct. 19 vs Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 21vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Sat. Oct. 22 vs. Toronto, 8 p.m.
Mon. Oct. 24 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Oct. 26 at Portland, 10 p.m.
Thu. Oct. 27 at Golden State, 10 p.m. NBA TV
Sat. Oct. 29 at Sacramento, 6 p.m.
Tue. Nov. 1 vs. Golden State, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 2 vs. Sacramento, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 4 at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 7 vs. Portland, 8:30 p.m.
Thu. Nov. 10 vs. Charlotte. 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Nov. 12 vs. Charlotte, 8 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 14 vs. Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 16 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 18 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Sun. Nov. 20 at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 21 at Minnesota 8 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 23 vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 25 vs. Washington, 8 p.m.
Sun. Nov. 27 at Atlanta, 5 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 30 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. NBA TV
Fri. Dec. 2 at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Mon. Dec. 5 at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Tue. Dec. 6 vs. Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. Dec. 8 vs L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. NBA TV
Sat. Dec. 10 vs. San Antonio, 5 p.m.
Mon. Dec. 12 at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Wed. Dec. 14 at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Thu. Dec. 15 at Houston, 7 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 17 vs. San Antonio (Mexico City), 5 p.m. NBA TV
Tue. Dec. 20 vs. Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 23 vs. Indiana 8 p.m.
Mon. Dec. 26 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Dec. 28 vs L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. NBA TV
Fri. Dec. 30 at Denver, 9 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 31 at Utah 9 p.m.
Mon. Jan. 2 at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 4 at L.A. Lakers, 10 p.m. ESPN
Fri. Jan. 6 at Phoenix, 10 p.m. ESPN
Sun. Jan. 8 vs. Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 10 vs. Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m.
Thu. Jan. 12 vs. Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 14 vs. Milwaukee, 1 p.m. ABC
Mon. Jan. 16 at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m. TNT
Wed. Jan. 18 at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Fri. Jan. 20 at Dallas, 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Sun. Jan. 22 vs. New Orleans, 3:30 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 24 vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m. TNT
Fri. Jan. 27 vs. Orlando, 8 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 29 vs. Charlotte, 1 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 31 at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Thu. Feb. 2 at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 4 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 8 vs. Indiana, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 10 vs Houston, 8 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 11 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Mon. Feb. 13 vs. Denver, 7:30 p.m. NBA TV
Wed. Feb. 15 at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Fri. Feb. 24 at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Sat. Feb. 25 at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Mon. Feb. 27 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. NBA TV
Wed. March 1 vs. Philadelphia. 7:30 p.m.
Fri. March 3 vs. New York 8 p.m.
Sat. March 4 vs. Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Mon. March 6 vs. Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. NBA TV
Wed. March 8 vs. Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. March 10 vs. Cleveland, 8 p.m. NBA TV
Sat. March 11 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Mon. March 13 vs. Utah, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. March 15 vs. Memphis, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. March 18 at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Sun. March 19 at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Wed. March 22 vs. New York, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. March 25 vs. Brooklyn, 8 p.m. NBA TV
Tue. March 28 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. TNT
Wed. March 29 at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. April 1 vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m. NBA TV
Tue. April 4 at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Thu. April 6 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. TNT
Fri. April 7 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Sun. April 9 vs. Orlando 1 p.m.
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