Friday's loss to the Magic was a crushing blow to the Heat's chances to secure the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the East and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

But it wasn't a mortal blow. There's still a chance (a 39.46% chance according to SportsLine) for the Heat to work itself back into position to host Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs in Round 1 as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

In fact, they control their own destiny in the chase for the No. 4 seed.

It starts with what happens Saturday night when Atlanta, seeded No. 3 in the East, hosts Boston, seeded No. 4 in the East, in a crucial game. The Hawks and Celtics at 47-32, but the Hawks currently own the head-to-head tiebreaker 2-1.

If the Hawks lose Saturday's game and the Heat win their final three games, Miami would own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Atlanta and leapfrog them in the standings. If the Celtics lose Saturday's game and Miami wins out, the Heat would leapfrog the Celtics (by virtue of its win in Boston Wednesday) in the standings and earn home court.

The key to all this is Miami owning the division tiebreaker with Charlotte. Although the team split the season series, if the Heat and Hornets win out Miami would pass Charlotte based on division record.

After that, things get a little more complicated if the Heat lose one of its final three games. So, winning out is paramount to earning home court. To get the No. 3 seed, the Heat would need some help with the winner of Saturday's game (preferably the Hawks because Miami owns the head-to-head tiebreaker) losing at least another game down the road.

Here's a look at what's left on the schedule for the four teams fighting for the three through six seeds in the East:

Atlanta Hawks (47-32, 6-5 between teams, 8-7 in division, 28-21 vs. East; 3-1 vs. Hornets; 1-3 vs. Heat; 2-1 vs. Celtics)

vs. Celtics on Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

at Cavaliers on Monday, 7 p.m.

at Wizards on Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Boston Celtics (47-32, 5-2 between teams, 30-19 vs. East; 1-2 vs Hawks, 2-0 vs. Heat; 2-0 vs. Hornets)

at Hawks on Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

vs. Hornets on Monday, 7:30 p.m.

vs. Heat on Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Miami Heat (46-33, 5-5 between teams, 9-6 in division, 29-20 vs. East; 3-1 vs. Hawks; 2-2 vs. Hornets; 0-2 vs. Celtics)

vs. Magic on Sunday, 6 p.m.

at Pistons on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

at Celtics on Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Charlotte Hornets (46-33, 3-7 between teams, 7-7 in division, 31-18 vs. East; 1-3 vs. Hawks; 2-2 vs. Heat; 0-2 vs. Celtics)

at Wizards on Sunday, Noon

at Celtics on Monday, 7:30 p.m.

vs. Magic on Wednesday, 8 p.m.

NBA TIEBREAKER RULES

In case you wanted to figure out how Miami could still land home court if it loses one of its final three games, you can have at it with the tiebreaker rules below:

** Two-way ties: (1) Head-to-head; (2) Division win-loss percentage; (3) Conference win-loss percentage; (4) Winning percentage vs. playoff teams in own conference; (5) Win percentage vs. playoff teams in West; (7) Net points

** Multi-way ties: (1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division; (2) Heat-to-head win percentage; (3) Division win percentage for teams in same division; (4) Conference win percentage; (5) Win percentage vs. playoff teams in own conference; (6) Win percentage vs. playoff teams in West; (7) Net points

KEEP IN MIND

** Even if Miami loses its final three games, the Heat can't fall any lower the No. 6 seed. The best the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers can finish is 45-37. The Heat already have 46 wins.

** The Cavaliers are on the verge of clinching the top seed in the East. If they win in Chicago Saturday night, they'll clinch the No. 1 seed, making Monday's game at home against the Hawks meaningless for them and an opportunity to rest starters. So, the Heat probably won't get any help there.