After finishing 45-37 and earning the No. 7 seed in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers have secured a spot in the play-in tournament, where they will face the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic.
The last time the Sixers were in the play-in tournament, they were in a similar position, with home court advantage, but against the Miami Heat. In that game, Philadelphia took care of business.
After trailing at halftime, the Sixers turned it on in the second half, outscoring the Heat by 13 points over the rest of the game en route to a 105-104 victory that secured their spot as the seventh seed. More importantly, though, was how the Sixers won that game.
Joel Embiid had just returned from injury at the start of that month and appeared in five games to end the regular season. While he was clearly still shaking off some rust, he led the Sixers in points and rebounds with 23 and 15. Tyrese Maxey also contributed 19 points in the Sixers' win. However, it wasn’t the stars that determined this win, but a combination of the Heat missing free throws and one role player by the name of Nic Batum.
Batum scored his season high this game, pouring in 20 points off the bench, hitting six clutch three-point shots. Combined with the Heat’s knack for missing free throws that game, the Sixers were able to pull out a win against the Heat despite the Sixers’ two best players both shooting below 50% from the field.
That blueprint could decide whether the Sixers advance this time around. While players like Tyrese Maxey and Paul George are still stars, the team will need to see some of their other players step up big for them to make any noise in this year's playoffs. This is doubly true with Joel Embiid recovering from surgery as a result of his appendicitis. Look for Sixers role players like Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards to play a critical role for the Sixers this postseason.
The winner of Wednesday’s play-in matchup between the Sixers and the Magic will go on to play the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will play the winner of the Heat-Hornets play-in game for the chance to secure the final spot in the playoffs.
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