MIAMI — You play to win the games. We get that. The Miami Heat get that. It is why “tank” remains out of the team’s vernacular.

But there also are times when the greater good has to be considered, of getting your team whole and healthy through the 82-game regular-season marathon, preferably without players missing large chunks, as was the rub  all those years with Jimmy Butler.

Which brings us to the NBA Cup, with the Heat now with a seat at the event’s playoff table for the first time in the in-season tournament’s three-year run.

Competition for Erik Spoelstra’s team in the event resumes Tuesday with a quarterfinal against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. No issue there, merely a short flight after a two-day break in the schedule.

But then it gets tricky, while appreciating that Spoelstra is all in on this, seeing advantages of his young players experiencing a playoff-type atmosphere that the NBA delivers to the event.

Still, win in Orlando and it’s back to Miami on Wednesday … and then off on a potential 11-day odyssey across all four time zones.

All of which is why a loss Tuesday night in Orlando hardly would be the worst of Heat outcomes, amid the long-term fight to avoid the play-in round for the first time in four years, even if a Tuesday loss comes to the chagrin of Spoelstra.

Otherwise, win Tuesday at Kia Center and …

Off to Las Vegas on Thursday in time for Friday’s Cup media day, to be followed by a Cup quarterfinal there on Saturday.

Win that game and its two more days of Cup promotional and media work in Las Vegas before the Cup championship game on Dec. 16, a game that does not count in the standings.

And then finally rest for the Heat weary?

Not quite, with the Heat scheduled then for a three-game trip immediately after the Cup concludes in Las Vegas.

So it would be fly from Vegas to New York on Dec. 17 for a Dec. 18 game against the Brooklyn Nets, then immediately back on a plane overnight for a Dec. 19 game against the Boston Celtics, followed by a flight back to New York on Dec. 20 for a Dec. 21 game against the Knicks.

So to recap, by maximizing all Cup possibilities, starting with a Tuesday win in Orlando, the Heat would head out of Miami on Thursday and not return until the early hours on Dec. 22, the day before a home game against the Toronto Raptors.

By contrast, lose in Orlando on Tuesday night, and there would be only one game between Tuesday and Dec. 18 — either Dec. 14 in New York or Dec. 15 at home against Toronto.

In a well-crafted piece for The Athletic, former NBA executive John Hollinger noted the incredibly compacted schedule required at this stage of the season to accommodate the scheduling for the Cup’s knockout round, when few will play and most will watch.

For the Heat, it’s Saturday night against the visiting Sacramento Kings as the capper to the latest run of three games in four nights. Then that Nets-Celtics-Knicks stretch of three in four for Spoelstra’s team immediately after the Cup championship game. And immediately after Christmas, another three-in-four for the Heat.

As it is, if the Heat win in Orlando on Tuesday night, it means only 40 home games this season, instead of 41. And even with a loss in Orlando on night, it still might mean only 40 regular-season home dates, based on what happens in the other East knockout Cup game between the Knicks and Raptors.

To this point, Cup chaos has been another intriguing element of a surprisingly intriguing Heat season, from the running up of the scores against the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls in Cup pool play, to sweating out the final night of the opening round, when even Spoelstra couldn’t take the math and opted for a movie instead.

But even with all Cup games but the championship counting in the regular-season standings, at some point there also has to be an eye on the greater good.

Yes, the Cup is the NBA’s ultimate case of play-for-pay, with Heat players each already assured of an extra $53,093 Cup bonus for making it this far. With a win in Orlando, that per-player payoff rises to $106,187. And from there, with each win, to $212,373 and then $530,933.

That’s assuming some if not all of that isn’t left at the tables in Vegas.

So for the Heat, Vegas … maybe.

But in the big picture, the ultimate jackpot could be fighting the good fight on Tuesday night in Orlando, and then coming up with rest for the weary, finally with an opportunity for an exhale, a reset, potentially a takeoff point with far fewer air miles.

No, the Heat won’t have a choice about sitting players in Orlando. The NBA won’t allow that in such a national showcase, as evidenced by this past week’s $250,000 fine to the Cavaliers for doing so in a nationally televised game.

But instead of every last breath, the Heat also could create some scheduling breathing room, even as Spoelstra wants them to breathe it all in.

IN THE LANE

ALL THE CLUTTER: Speaking of the compacted NBA schedule to accommodate the NBA Cup, another factor in the schedule is the weeklong break to accommodate All-Star Weekend. To that end, Heat icon Dwyane Wade offered his own thoughts on a recent podcast. “I don’t think we should stop and do the All-Star game in the middle of the season,” Wade said. Instead, he proposed the All-Star Game as a postseason event, similar to how the NFL stages the Pro Bowl. “The All-Star Game should be a trip, a vacation.” Except considering it’s hard enough to get players to participate during the season, imagine the logistics to do it afterward. The point is players don’t care about All-Star and hardly embraced the Las Vegas travel for the NBA Cup. Almost all agree that 82 games has become too much. Much too much is then carved aside for weeks for the Cup and All-Star.

A FEW WORDS: When it comes to the emergence of undrafted Mavericks point guard Ryan Nembhard, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra blames it all on Gonzaga coach Mark Few, his close friend and fellow Team USA coach. Even before Nembhard torched the Heat for 15 points and 13 assists in Dallas’ 118-108 victory Wednesday night, Spoelstra already had heard plenty. “I don’t want to hear from Mark Few anymore about any of the Nembhards. I’ve been hearing about Nembhards forever, just pounding me to get one on our team,” The emergence of Ryan Nembhard comes in the emergence of Andrew Nembhard, the breakout Indiana Pacers guard. The common bond is each started elsewhere collegiately, Andrew at Florida, Ryan at Creighton, before finding their way under Few at Gonzaga. Of Ryan, Spoelstra said, “He’s a Gonzaga guy and you’ve got to love those competitive guys, the Mark Few guys, and he’s one of them. Just super competitive. We love those stories, two-way guys who are starting to break through. But he’s doing it with a competitive spirit for sure.”

END GAME: While the FTX signage is long gone from the Heat’s arena, only now are some of the final remnants of that failed association being addressed. One includes former Heat captain Udonis Haslem having reached an apparent settlement over his role in having promoted the failed crypto exchange. According to Front Office Sports, Haslem has reached a “proposed resolution” with plaintiffs who sought damages. Haslem’s filing was submitted Nov. 26 with approval expected by Jan. 13. Former Heat center Shaquille O’Neal previously reached a $1.8 million settlement. Other athletes involved in the suit are Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Shohei Ohtani and David Ortiz. Haslem was accused of “promoting FTX on social media, at public events and in other promotional materials while failing to disclose he was being paid to do so.” In Dec. 2022, Haslem told the Sun Sentinel of FTX’s failures, “I got gypped out of $15 million. That’s what my equity had grown to.”

NUMBER

2. Number of season series the Heat now have completed, finished this past week with their two-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, while yet to even face once Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Indiana, Toronto, Washington,  Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Utah.