Advertisement

Heat 2023-24 schedule short on long homestands, includes some double vision | Full schedule

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·8 min read

MIAMI — Lengthy road trips will be a significant part of the 2023-24 Miami Heat schedule released Wednesday by the NBA, with three trips of five or more games. Homestands? Not so much, with the Heat not at home at any stage for more than four consecutive games at Kaseya Center.

There will, however, be a degree of double vision at Kaseya Center, with the Heat hosting the same opponents in consecutive games three times (Indiana Pacers on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2; Chicago Bulls on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16; and the Toronto Raptors in their final two home games, on April 12 and April 14).

And if the goal is a fast start, it will have to be a fast start that will come on the road, with 12 of the Heat’s first 17 away from Kaseya Center. By contrast, nine of the final 13 games will be at home.

The Heat open their defense of their 2023 Eastern Conference championship against the visiting Detroit Pistons on Oct. 25 and then immediately head out for a three-game trip that includes a travel-intensive back-to-back set on Oct. 27 in an Eastern Conference finals rematch against the Boston Celtics and then a 1,400 trip for a game the next night against against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 28.

Despite being the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Heat’s only nationally televised game on TNT, ESPN or ABC before Thanksgiving is that road opener in Boston. With only two more national telecasts before Christmas.

Beyond that road opener in Boston, other noteworthy games on the Heat schedule include:

— Oct. 24 at Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat’s first game against the Bucks since eliminating top-seeded Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokoumpo in Game 5 of last season’s playoff opening round.

— Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Lakers. The one visit of the season by LeBron James and . . . Gabe Vincent.

— Nov. 12 at San Antonio Spurs. The Heat’s first regular-season game against No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama, although the Heat also play in San Antonio in the Spurs’ preseason opener.

— Dec. 25 vs. Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat are back on the league’s ultimate holiday stage, with an 8 p.m. game at Kaseya Center.

— Feb. 27 at Portland Trail Blazers. The return of Damian Lillard?

— Feb. 29 at Denver Nuggets, March 13 vs. Denver. The Heat’s two games against the opponent that vanquished the 4-1 in last season’s NBA Finals.

— March 24 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers. The return of Max Strus.

Because of the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament, the Heat currently are listed with 40 home games and 40 road games. Two additional games will be added to the schedule the week of Dec. 3 once the tournament quarterfinals are determined.

There are 13 back-to-back sets on the schedule (one fewer than each of the past two seasons), including three instances of home games on consecutive nights (Dec. 13-14 against the Charlotte Hornets and Bulls); Jan. 24-25 against the Memphis Grizzlies and Celtics; and Feb. 6-7, against the Orlando Magic and Spurs). The Heat limited play of forward Jimmy Butler in back-to-back sets last season.

Related Articles

The six Eastern Conference teams that the Heat are currently scheduled to only play three times this coming season are Boston, Cleveland, Indiana, Milwaukee, New York and Toronto. The Heat will play Boston, Indiana and Toronto twice at home and once on the road. They will play Cleveland, Milwaukee and New York once at home and twice on the road. That math, however, could change based on the two games to be added based on results in the in-season tournament.

The Heat, Miami Dolphins and University of Miami football team all will be playing road games on Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving. The Heat and Dolphins both will be in the New York area that day, with the Dolphins playing at the New York Jets at 3 p.m. and the Heat playing at the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. The Hurricanes play at noon at Boston College.

Then, on Nov. 11, the Dolphins are home for “Monday Night Football” against the Tennessee Titans at 8:15 p.m., with the Heat playing that night at the Charlotte Hornets at 7 p.m.

The Heat and University of Miami football team both play on Oct. 28, with the Hurricanes home at Virginia and the Heat playing on the road that night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then, on Nov. 11, when the Hurricanes are playing at Florida State, the Heat that night will be playing at the Atlanta Hawks. On Sat. Nov. 18, the Hurricanes will be home against Louisville, with the Heat on the road that night against the Chicago Bulls.

As for the Florida Panthers, whose regular-season opens on Oct. 12, there are same-day conflicts between games at FLA Live Arena at Heat games at Kaseya Center on only six occasions: Nov. 6, Dec. 2, Jan. 19, Jan. 24, Feb. 6 and March 26, down from previous seasons, with both the Heat and Panthers having advancing to their respective leagues’ championship rounds last season. Overall, the Heat and Panthers play on the same night 34 times on their respective schedules.

Tickets for Heat regular-season home games will go on sale to the general public Saturday at noon at Heat.com or Ticketmaster.com. Heat home games are mobile-only entry.

Heat 2023-24 Schedule

October

Wed. Oct. 25 vs. Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 27 at Boston, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Sat. Oct. 28 at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Mon. Oct. 30 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

November

Wed. Nov. 1 vs. Brooklyn 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 3 vs. Washington, 8 p.m.*

Mon. Nov. 6 vs. L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

Wed. Nov. 8 at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 11 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 12 at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Tue. Nov. 14 at Charlotte, 7 p.m.*

Thu. Nov. 16 vs. Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

Sat. Nov. 18 at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 20 at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 22 at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 24 at New York, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Sat, Nov. 25 at Brooklyn 6 p.m.

Tue. Nov. 28 vs. Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m., TNT*

Thu, Nov. 30 vs. Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

(* – Games also counting as pool play in NBA In-Season Tournament.)

December

Sat. Dec. 2 vs. Indiana, 8 p.m.

(In-Season Tournament schedule TBA Dec. 4-Dec. 9)

Mon. Dec. 11 at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 13 vs. Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

Thu. Dec. 14 vs. Chicago, 7:30 p.m.

Sat. Dec. 16 vs. Chicago 8 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 18 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 20 at Orlando 7 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 22 vs. Atlanta, 8 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 25 vs. Philadelphia 8 p.m., ESPN

Thu. Dec. 28 at Golden State 10 p.m., NBA TV

Sat. Dec. 30 at Utah, 5 p.m.

January

Mon. Jan. 1 at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 3 at L..A. Lakers, 10 p.m., ESPN

Fri. Jan. 5 at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 8 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 10 vs. Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m.

Fri, Jan. 12 vs. Orlando, 8 p.m.

Sun. Jan. 14 vs. Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 15 at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 17 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 19 vs. Atlanta, 8 p.m.

Sun. Jan. 21 at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 24 vs. Memphis, 7:30 p.m.

Thu. Jan. 25 vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m., TNT

Sat. Jan. 27 at New York, 3 p.m., ABC

Mon. Jan. 29 vs. Phoenix, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

Wed. Jan. 31 vs. Sacramento, 7:30 p.m.

February

Feb. Feb. 2 at Washington, 7 p.m.

Sun. Feb. 4 vs. L.A. Clippers, 6 p.m.

Tue. Feb. 6 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 7 vs. San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Sun. Feb. 11 vs. Boston, 2 p.m., ABC

Tue. Feb. 13 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 14 at Philadelphia 7 p.m.

Fri. Feb. 23 at New Orleans, 10 p.m., ESPN

Mon. Feb. 26 at Sacramento, 10 p.m., NBA TV

Tue. Feb. 27 at Portland, 10 p.m., TNT

Thu. Feb. 29 at Denver 10 p.m., TNT

March

Sat. March 2 vs. Utah, 5 p.m., NBA TV

Tue. March 5 vs. Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Thu. March 7 at Dallas, 7:30 p.m., TNT

Fri. March 8 at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Sun. March 10 vs. Washington, 6 p.m.

Wed. March 13 vs. Denver, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Fri. March 15 at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Sun. March 17 at Detroit, 3 p.m.

Mon. March 18 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Wed. March 20 at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Fri. March 22 vs. New Orleans, 8 p.m., NBA TV

Sun. March 24 vs. Cleveland, 6 p.m.

Tue. March 26 vs. Golden State, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. March 29 vs. Portland, 8 p.m.

Sun. March 31 at Washington, 6 p.m.

April

Tue. April 2 vs. New York, 7:30 p.m.

Thu. April 4 vs. Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m., TNT

Fri. April 5 at Houston, 8 p.m.

Sun. April 7 at Indiana, 5 p.m.

Tue. April 9 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. April 10 vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Fri. April 12 vs. Toronto, 8 p.m.

Sun. April 14 vs. Toronto, 1 p.m.