Full NBA Play-In Tournament schedule, preview, and predictions
By Ben Handler
8. Miami Heat @ 7. Philadelphia 76ers - Wednesday, April 17th, 7:00 PM EST - ESPN
This is a loaded matchup for a play-in game with two teams that entered the season with championship aspirations. The Sixers find themselves in this spot almost completely due to the meniscus injury that forced reigning MVP Joel Embiid to miss two months of the season.
They were 30-8 with Joel in the lineup, and they are completely overqualified for the 7 seed. If they win, they’ll be a nightmare matchup for the Knicks in round one. Of course, there are new questions about Embiid’s health, and those will always hang over this Sixers team.
The Heat don’t have any such excuses for finishing in eighth place. They just prove year after year that they don’t care about the regular season. They believe they’ll play themselves in, then flip a switch once the playoffs start. It worked for them last year, but they’re playing with fire and risk getting burned.
They’ve struggled all season and just don’t look like the team that made the Finals last year. Granted, they’ve turned this trick before and maybe I shouldn’t be fooled again, but I just think the Sixers are the much better team this year and I think they take care of business at home, forcing Miami’s season to the brink.