Heat announces 2021 home preseason schedule. Here’s when you can next see Miami in person
The Miami Heat will kick off the 2021-22 NBA season with a slate of preseason games in October, including three home games at the newly christened FTX Arena.
The Heat expects to have the building at full or near-full capacity and will welcome fans back to the arena Oct. 4 for its preseason home opener against the Atlanta Hawks. Miami will also host the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 11 and the Boston Celtics on Oct. 15.
A full preseason schedule and broadcast information for the exhibitions will be announced at a later date. The first two games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the third is set for 8 p.m.
Tickets for the three games will go on sale Monday at noon through Ticketmaster and the Heat’s team website.
Despite rising COVID-19 cases, Miami hopes to have a full 17,000-person crowd on hand for its preseason tune-ups in the fall. The Heat spent most of the 2020-21 NBA season playing in front of limited-capacity crowds, but opened the arena to maximum capacity for the 2021 NBA playoffs. The 2021 NBA Finals are also being played in full arenas and nearly every major American sports team is now allowing fans in at full capacity.
After two unusual seasons, the NBA is eyeing a real return to normalcy in the 2021-22 NBA season. Training camp is scheduled to start Sept. 28 with the regular season slated to begin Oct. 19. After the coronavirus pandemic led to atypical calendar for two straight years, the NBA will be back to starting at its normal time next season.
With the back-to-normal schedule, the playoffs are scheduled to begin April 16, 2022, with a potential seven-game NBA Finals running from June 2-19, 2022.
Here’s the full schedule for the Heat’s home preseason slate:
▪ Oct. 4: vs. Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
▪ Oct. 11: vs. Hornets, 7:30 p.m.
▪ Oct. 15: vs. Celtics, 8 p.m.
