“Of course,” Spoelstra said. “We’re competitors. I’ll have a better answer if and when we get to that point. But our focus will be on finishing out the season strong. And then we’re going to do whatever we need to do to seize that opportunity to get in the playoffs.”

“We all burned the boats, both teams, focusing on this game,” Spoelstra continued after the loss. “…Our mindset was to get this game and they played better than we did. They deserved it and that’s the biggest takeaway from it.”

Both Miami and Chicago are most likely to be either the ninth or the 10th spot in the standings though there is still a chance the two can get to the eighth spot depending on how the Atlanta Hawks finish the regular season.

Bam Adebayo on the Heat’s clear goal for the final two games 

Despite Heat newcomer Andew Wiggins returning in the game, the loss for the team had play-in tournament implications as besides the result, it likely leads to them staying at the 10th seed. Meaning, that Miami’s path to the eighth seed in the playoffs involves winning two games on the road during the play-in tourney.

Still, the team has two more games left in the regular season to worry about as there is a clear goal as said by Heat captain Bam Adebayo, who scored 18 points and collected six rebounds, after the loss Wednesday.

“Win,” Adebayo said about the approach of the final two games of the regular season. “You want to go into the play-in on a positive note, understanding that we got to go in there to win two games and then go into the playoffs.”

At any rate, Miami is now 36-44 which puts them 10th in the East as the next game is on Friday when the team faces the New Orleans Pelicans.