Despite winning their final 8 games, the Sixers could not avoid the play-in. Their struggles with Embiid out were too much too overcome, and now they have to take on the Miami Heat Wednesday night, with the 7-seed on the line.
Win that game, they advance to take on the Knicks in a best of 7 series. Lose? Well then they will have to play the winner of Hawks vs Bulls. Then their prize will be a 1st round series vs the Celtics.
So winning Wednesday’s game vs the heat is a must for the Sixers. They will have to play the Celtics eventually, but they want to put it off as long as they can. Give Embiid more time to get into a rhythm.
But they need to get through the Heat first. Something that is easier said than done, given the Heats history of stepping it up come playoff time.
The Sixers History Vs The Heat
They lost to the Heat two years ago in the 2nd round. Though at that point, Tyrese Maxey had not grown into a star, and Embiid missed two games, and was limited in the games he played. This time they are as healthy as you can hope for.
Before that, the last time they played the heat was Embiid’s first playoff experience. And both teams have changed way too much since then to draw any real conclusions from that.
Overall, Embiid is 8-10 against the Heat in his career. That includes 4-6 in their last 10 games. But more recently, Embiid led the Sixers to a win over them in his 2nd game back from injury. A game that makes the difference in them getting to host this game, rather than play it in Miami.
So will they win it? Let’s take a closer look at every Sixers recent and career history against the Heat, to get a better idea of how they might fare in Wednesday nights game.
Here Is How Every Sixers Player Has Performed Against The Heat In The Past:
Tobias Harris
Career
39 games, 16.3 pts, 6.0 rebs, 1.8 asts, .7 stls, .5 blks, 48.5 fg%, 34.7 3p%, 80.7 ft%
This Season
1 game, 27 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts, 1 stl, 0 blks, 55.6 fg%, 57.1 3pt%, 100 ft%
Fans are not happy with Tobias Harris. He has not lived up to his contract at all. But don’t let the frustration about that, cloud your overall view of him.
Forget for a second that he is a max player. There is nothing they can do about that right now. He can still contribute. He still scores about 17 pers game, plays decent defense, and rebounds. Tobias has value. And his one game against the Heat this season was one of his best games this season.
Cam Payne
Career
14 games, 6.5 pts, 2.4 rebs, 3.8 rebs, 0.6 stls, 0.1 blks, 33.0 fg%, 32.0 3pt%, 90.0 ft%
This Season
5 games, 4.8 pts, 1.4 rebs, 2.0 asts, 0.4 stls, 0.0 blks, 42.9 fg%, 40.0 3p%, 0.0 ft%
We are now into the area where we aren’t sure how big a role these guys will have in the playoffs. Cam Payne gave them good minute while embiid was out, and filled some of the scoring gap. They would have fewer wins were it not for Payne.
Lately, he has not been so great. And in 5 games against the Heat, 2 with the Bucks, he failed to make much of an impact. I wouldn’t count on him to do too much in the play-in game. If he sees the court at all.
