The Philadelphia 76ers are returning home on Thursday night to host the Miami Heat as the teams battle for position in a clogged Eastern Conference, where the sixth and tenth seeds are just 4.5 games apart in the standings.
The Sixers are coming off a 2-1 road trip that saw them lose to the Pelicans and then beat both the Timberwolves and the Pacers. The Heat are coming to town on the heels of a 128-117 loss to the Bucks on Tuesday night.
Who: Miami Heat (31-28) at Philadelphia 76ers (32-26)
When: 7:00 p.m. EST
Where: XFinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, FanDuel Sports Network Sun
The Sixers were in a bad spot after losing to the Pelicans last week, with it being their fourth loss in a row and their fourth game without Joel Embiid. The team then defeated the Timberwolves before taking on the Pacers.
Embiid returned for the Pacers game and finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists in just 26 minutes of work. Embiid is listed as "probable" for tonight's game, and it looks like the shin issue that was bothering him has subsided, or at least become manageable.
The Pacers game looked like a letdown initially as they outscored the Sixers in the first quarter, 38-30, but the Sixers pulled away with huge second- and third-quarter leads. Tyrese Maxey finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists while star rookie VJ Edgecombe dropped 23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists of his own. It's the second straight game where their forced turnovers led to a large point differential, and it's something the team will aim for moving forward.
With Embiid back in the picture, the team can look to move up in the standings and keep teams like the Heat at bay, while improving their play as they look toward the playoffs. Trendon Watford stepped up huge against the Pacers with 12 points in just 15 minutes, as Dominick Barlow wasn't in much of an offensive mood. If the Sixers are to move on in the playoffs, players like Barlow, Watford, Quentin Grimes, and Jabari Walker will need to be counted on to support the new big three on the team.
Looking at the Heat this season, you'll see a team that's just as good as their record may suggest. There are nights where they look like a surefire playoff squad, beating teams like the Suns, Thunder, and Nuggets, while other nights they're getting dominated by teams like the Pacers, Hawks, and Jazz. It hasn't been an easy season for the team, and the eighth seed is probably their limit.
In their most recent loss to the Bucks, they shot just 33% from three-point range — hard to believe given the Bucks' fourth-ranked defense — while the Bucks shot 41%. The Heat, as far as the numbers go, should be a top team, as they boast a top-five defensive unit and rank in the top 10 in assists, rebounds, and steals. The problem is that their offense is just 25th in the league, and it's holding them back.
With 32-year old Norman Powell as their leading scorer, things may need a shakeup this offseason. Powell is a good player, but they need more from players like Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Andrew Wiggins. They saw a good jump in second-year center, Kel'el Ware, who's averaging 11.4 points and 9.4 rebounds on the season, but they're just not deep enough to take on the better teams in the league.
Embiid usually does a little more when he's facing talented opposing centers. In Adebayo and Ware, the Heat have two strong centers that do a lot of damage on the boards and defensively, which will get the Sixers' star center looking to run through them both. While Miami has looked great, defensively, this season, the Sixers should have just too many weapons, and that's what will get them through.
For the Sixers, having Maxey, Edgecombe, and Grimes get more open looks and move up and down the floor at a good pace is enough to put any opposing team on edge. Then, you combine that with Embiid's dominance on the offensive side of the court, and it's a recipe for disaster for the Heat. They just don't have enough to keep up with this version of the Sixers.
Highlights galore from the Sixers' big three, but it could be a nice night for Quentin Grimes to get some minutes and back into his shooting groove. The team will need some quality minutes from Barlow and Watford to battle what the Heat like to do defensively, but this game will come down to one man, Kelly Oubre Jr. If he's able to have a good game, the Sixers will get away with a victory, and if he doesn't, it could be a long night in South Philly.
Sixers 123 - Heat 106
