PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An eight-game winning streak wasn’t enough for the Sixers to avoid the play-in tournament. Some will blame Doc Rivers’ Bucks for getting blown out by the Magic, spoiling the 76ers’ efforts.
But there’s nothing Nick Nurse’s Sixers can do about it at this point — other than beat Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. That’s no easy task, of course.
Here’s what you should know about the Sixers-Heat matchup on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
How the play-in tournament works
This is new for the Sixers, who have avoided the play-in tournament for the last three seasons. Because the Sixers are seventh in the East, they essentially have two chances to make the playoffs.
The 76ers and Heat are taking part in the seven-eight slot in the East, and the winner will face the two-seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The loser of this game will face the winner of the nine-10 game between the Bulls and Hawks on Friday. If the Sixers are in that slot, the game will be held at the Wells Fargo Center. The winner of that game will be the eighth seed in the playoffs against the Celtics — a side of the Eastern Conference bracket that all teams should want to avoid.
Will the reigning MVP suit up?
Let’s not bury the lead any further. The Sixers go as Joel Embiid goes. Although they won the last three times that Embiid was not in the lineup, those games were against the Nets, Spurs and Raptors — and they barely beat San Antonio.
This season, the Sixers are 31-8 when Embiid plays and 16-27 when he doesn’t. Arguably, the Sixers could have easily gotten the two-seed if Embiid hadn’t missed a good chunk of the season for his knee injury.
Embiid was a late scratch for Sunday’s win over Brooklyn. The official reason was for his left knee injury recovery. Nurse said after the game that Embiid didn’t play out of precaution, and he’ll be fine and ready to go.
The Heat are no easy feat
The Sixers are the home team in this seven-eight slot of the play-in tournament because they have a better record, but only by one game. They finished with 47 wins, while the Heat had 46.
Additionally, they split the regular season series — a collection of games that probably won’t be a good indicator of what can happen, as Embiid and Butler each only played in one. The Sixers won that showdown in Miami, but the Heat have a better record on the road this season than at home.
The bottom line: The Heat won’t be easy. They’re the reigning Eastern Conference champions, making it to the NBA Finals last season as the eighth seed.
Will the Sixers face ‘playoff Jimmy’?
Butler has been known to take his game to another level in the postseason. While the play-in tournament is technically not the playoffs, it is essentially a playoff game. Butler was a difference-maker two seasons ago when he and the Heat bumped the Sixers from the second round. He willed the Heat to the finals last season.
The Heat are a formidable team, with talents like Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. Keeping Butler in check, however, will always be a key.
Sixers-Heat postseason history
The Sixers and Heat have met in the playoffs three times — 2011, 2018 and 2022 — with Miami winning two of those series. This is the first time the Sixers are participating in the NBA’s play-in tournament. This will be the Heat’s second time. Last season, they lost to Atlanta at home before beating the Bulls and making it to the NBA Finals as the eighth seed.