Miami Heat’s 2022-23 schedule is out: Full list of games and things to know

The Miami Heat finished just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals last season, but this season’s schedule doesn’t necessarily reflect the fact that it was one of the final four teams standing.

With the NBA releasing the full 2022-23 regular-season schedule Wednesday, the league opted not to have the Heat play in the exclusive season-opening doubleheader on Oct. 18 or on Christmas Day.

The Heat is the only team among the eight that made it past the first round of the playoffs last season that’s not playing on Christmas this year. The New York Knicks, which did not make the playoffs last season, took Miami’s place on the holiday and will face the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas.

“I thought we should have played on Christmas,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said Tuesday. “But I feel like this is nothing new. I feel like last year we could have played on Christmas. But the media is going to do what they have to do, cover who they want to cover, say what they want to say. We just got to continue to do us.”

The Heat’s 82-game schedule opens with a four-game homestand that begins against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The second game on the Heat’s schedule is a nationally televised Eastern Conference finals rematch against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at FTX Arena that will air on ESPN.

The first month of the regular season includes a lot of time in Miami, as the four-game homestand to begin the schedule marks the first time in franchise history that the Heat has opened the season with its first four games at home. The previous high for consecutive Heat home games to start a season was three to open the 1995-96 campaign.

The Heat will play 10 of its first 14 games at FTX Arena.

But the Heat then hits the road, as eight of its 10 games following this 14-game home-heavy span to begin the season come away from Miami. In total, the Heat will play 17 of its next 26 games on the road after Game 14.

Heat’s first two games revealed. Full schedule announced Wednesday. And Heat moves to WQAM

The Heat has three four-game trips and one five-game trip during this 26-game stretch.

The five-game trip is the Heat’s longest of the season and spans one week: Dec. 30 at Denver Nuggets, Dec. 31 at Utah Jazz, Jan. 2 at Los Angeles Clippers, Jan. 4 at Los Angeles Lakers and Jan. 6 at Phoenix Suns.

The Heat’s longest homestand of the season comes in March when it plays six straight games at FTX Arena, beginning March 1 against the 76ers and continuing March 3 against the Knicks, March 4 and 6 against the Atlanta Hawks, and March 8 and 10 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While off on Christmas Day, the Heat is working on a few holidays this season. Miami will take on Utah in Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31 and face the Hawks in Atlanta on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16.

The Heat’s schedule this season also includes a game in another country, as it will play the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City on Dec. 17 in a contest that will count as a Spurs home game. This will mark the Heat’s second game in Mexico City, as it previously defeated the Brooklyn Nets in Mexico City on Dec. 9, 2017.

Tickets for the Heat’s Dec. 17 game against the Spurs in Mexico City will go on sale at a later date. Beginning Wednesday and through Sept. 3, fans can register their interest in tickets to attend the game and receive access to an exclusive ticket pre-sale by visiting www.nbaenmexico.com.

The Heat is currently scheduled for 11 national TV appearances, which could change during the course of the season: Six games on ESPN (Oct. 21 vs. Celtics, Jan. 4 at Lakers, Jan. 6 at Suns, Jan. 20 at Dallas Mavericks, Feb. 15 at Brooklyn Nets and Feb. 24 at Milwaukee Bucks), four games on TNT (Jan. 16 at Hawks, Jan. 24 vs. Celtics, March 28 at Toronto Raptors and April 6 at 76ers) and one game on ABC (Jan. 14 vs. Bucks).

The Heat is also currently set to have 11 of its games aired on NBA TV (Oct. 27 at Golden State Warriors, Nov. 30 at Celtics, Dec. 8 vs. Clippers, Dec. 17 vs. Spurs in Mexico City, Dec. 28 vs. Lakers, Feb. 13 vs. Nuggets, Feb. 27 at 76ers, March 6 vs. Hawks, March 10 vs. Cavaliers, March 25 vs. Nets and April 1 vs. Mavericks).

For perspective, the Lakers and Knicks (both teams did not make the playoffs last season) are scheduled to appear on national TV more than the Heat this season. Not including games on NBA TV, the Lakers and Knicks are set to appear on national TV 27 and 13 times, respectively.

With most of the Heat’s roster from last season returning, there aren’t many reunion games.

Miami has made no outside additions to its 15-man roster in free agency and the only player from the season-ending roster who signed elsewhere this summer is forward P.J. Tucker, who is now a member of the 76ers. The Heat is scheduled to play the 76ers three times this season (Feb. 27 in Philadelphia, March 1 in Miami and April 6 in Philadelphia).

When it comes to back-to-backs, the Heat has 14 this season — the same amount of back-to-backs it played last season. Miami’s first three back-to-back sets come in the first two weeks of the schedule.

The All-Star break is scheduled from Feb. 17-22. The 2023 All-Star Game will take place on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City.

The Heat’s regular season comes to an end on Easter with a matchup against the Orlando Magic on April 9 at FTX Arena.

As for conflicts with the Miami Dolphins, the Heat and Dolphins play on the same day just once: Nov. 27. But there’s a chance the Heat and Dolphins could also play on the same day on Dec. 17 and Jan. 8, but the Week 15 Dolphins-Buffalo Bills game and Week 18 Dolphins-New York Jets games have not been definitively scheduled yet.

The Heat and the Miami Hurricanes play on the same day three times: Oct. 22, Oct. 29 and Nov. 12.

Other observations from the Heat’s 2022-23 schedule include the four Eastern Conference teams it faces only three times: the Nets, Bulls, Detroit Pistons and 76ers. The Heat hosts the Pistons and 76ers only once and makes just one trip to Brooklyn and Chicago. The Heat faces every other East team four times, for two home games and two road games.

The Heat plays every Western Conference team twice, for one home game and one road game.

It’s worth noting that the NBA brought back an element of the schedule it implemented for the 2020-21 season that helped reduce travel during the COVID-19 pandemic: For teams playing twice in one market, the league often scheduled teams to play both of those road games in that respective city consecutively on one trip instead of having to make two separate trips to play those games.

The Heat had none of those “series” in last season’s schedule, but has seven such series this season. Miami will host the consecutive games against the same opponent in six of those seven situations and will be on the road for consecutive games against the same team once (at Celtics on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2).

The Heat is scheduled to hold its annual media day on Sept. 26 before opening training camp on Sept. 27. Miami will play a five-game preseason schedule: Oct. 4 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, Oct. 6 at Nets, Oct. 7 at Memphis Grizzlies, Oct. 10 vs. Houston Rockets and Oct. 12 vs. New Orleans Pelicans.

As part of a press release announcing the Heat’s schedule, the team said: “A limited number of Miami Heat Half Season Ticket Plans are available for sale for the upcoming 2022-23 season. Fans can contact the Heat by sending an email to ticketsales@heat.com or by calling 786-777-HOOP. Starting Monday, the general public can purchase single game tickets by logging on to Heat.com beginning at 12 p.m. There will be an eight-ticket limit per household per game. All Miami Heat home games are mobile only entry. Heat fans can secure access to purchase tickets before the general public by signing up via https://heat.com/presaleaccess.”

Bally Sports Sun will air each of the Heat’s five preseason games and 77 of the 82 regular-season games, including the one in Mexico City. The only five Heat regular-season games that won’t be televised on Bally Sports Sun are the four that will be on TNT and the one that will be on ABC.

The Miami Heat Radio Network, which is moving from 790 The Ticket to AM 560 Sports WQAM this season, will carry the majority of the team’s preseason and regular-season games, and all playoff games. The exception will be select Dolphins and Hurricanes football games that WQAM is already committed to.

MIAMI HEAT SCHEDULE

Oct. 19: vs. Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 21: vs. Celtics, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Oct. 22: vs. Raptors, 8 p.m.

Oct. 24: vs. Raptors, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 26: at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.

Oct. 27: at Warriors, 10 p.m. (NBA TV)

Oct. 29: at Kings, 6 p.m.

Nov. 1: vs. Warriors, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 2: vs. Kings, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 4: at Pacers, 7 p.m.

Nov. 7: vs. Trail Blazers, 8:30 p.m.

Nov. 10: vs. Hornets, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 12: vs. Hornets, 8 p.m.

Nov. 14: vs. Suns, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16: at Raptors, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 18: at Wizards, 7 p.m.

Nov. 20: at Cavaliers 7 p.m.

Nov. 21: at Timberwolves, 8 p.m.

Nov. 23: vs. Wizards, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 25: vs. Wizards, 8 p.m.

Nov. 27: at Hawks, 5 p.m.

Nov. 30: at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

Dec. 2: at Celtics, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 5: at Grizzlies, 8 p.m.

Dec. 6: vs. Pistons, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8: vs. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

Dec. 10: vs. Spurs, 5 p.m.

Dec. 12: at Pacers, 7 p.m.

Dec. 14: at Thunder, 8 p.m.

Dec. 15: at Rockets, 8 p.m.

Dec. 17: at Spurs in Mexico City, 5 p.m. (NBA TV)

Dec. 20: vs. Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 23: vs. Pacers, 8 p.m.

Dec. 26: vs. Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 28: vs. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

Dec. 30: at Nuggets, 9 p.m.

Dec. 31: at Jazz, 9 p.m.

Jan. 2: at Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Jan. 4: at Lakers, 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 6: at Suns, 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 8: vs. Nets, 6 p.m.

Jan. 10: vs. Thunder, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 12: vs Bucks, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 14: vs. Bucks, 1 p.m. (ABC)

Jan. 16: at Hawks, 3:30 p.m. (TNT)

Jan. 18: at Pelicans, 8 p.m.

Jan. 20: at Mavericks, 7:30 p.m (ESPN)

Jan. 22: vs. Pelicans, 3:30 p.m.

Jan. 24: vs. Celtics, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)

Jan. 27: vs. Magic, 8 p.m.

Jan. 29: at Hornets, 1 p.m.

Jan. 31: at Cavaliers, 7 p.m.

Feb. 2: at Knicks, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 4: at Bucks, 8 p.m.

Feb. 8: vs. Pacers, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 10: vs. Rockets, 8 p.m.

Feb. 11: at Magic, 7 p.m.

Feb. 13: vs. Nuggets, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

Feb. 15: at Nets, 7:30 pm. (ESPN)

All-Star break

Feb. 24: at Bucks, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 25: at Hornets, 7 p.m.

Feb. 27: at 76ers, 7 p.m. (NBA TV)

March 1: vs. 76ers, 7:30 p.m.

March 3: vs. Knicks, 8 p.m.

March 4: vs. Hawks, 8 p.m.

March 6: vs. Hawks, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

March 8: vs. Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m.

March 10: vs. Cavaliers, 8 p.m. (NBA TV)

March 11: at Magic, 7 p.m.

March 13: vs. Jazz, 7:30 p.m.

March 15: vs. Grizzlies, 7:30 p.m.

March 18: at Bulls, 8 p.m.

March 19: at Pistons, 6 p.m.

March 22: vs. Knicks, 7:30 p.m.

March 25: vs. Nets, 8 p.m. (NBA TV)

March 28: at Raptors, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)

March 29: at Knicks, 7:30 p.m.

April 1: vs. Mavericks, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

April 4: at Pistons, 7 p.m.

April 6: at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)

April 7: at Wizards, 7 p.m.

April 9: vs. Magic, 1 p.m.