Sixers Crushed by Heat in Home Finale

In their final home game of the regular season, the Sixers were blown out by the Heat, 129-101. This was essentially a meaningless game for the Sixers, at least in terms of the standings, since they are locked into the 3-seed in the eastern conference as a result of the Celtics’ win on Wednesday.

No starter played more than 30 minutes, as the game was well out of hand early in the 2nd half. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 21 points. Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler led Miami, each scoring 24.

The Sixers were without Tyrese Maxey (neck/rest) tonight and De’Anthony Melton left the game early with mild right calf tightness.

Miami Shines From Deep

The Heat must love the baskets at the Wells Fargo Center. Coming into this game, Miami ranked 27th in the league in three-point shooting, but don’t tell that to them when they come to South Philly.

When the 2 teams matched up at WFC earlier this season, the Heat shot 40.5% from deep and made 15 three-pointers. They followed that up tonight by going an astounding 46.2% from deep on 18 made threes. For comparison, the Heat are only shooting the 3 at a 34.3% clip on the season.

8 Miami players cashed in from outside on Thursday. Most notably, Tyler Herro went 5/8, Max Strus went 4/8, and Kyle Lowry went 3/4.

Miami’s three-point shooting barrage was, in part, aided by a lackluster effort on the defensive glass by the Sixers. The Heat tallied 10 offensive rebounds in the game and cashed in from deep on multiple extended possessions. Overall, the Sixers were outrebounded 42-32.

Sixers Take It Easy

With the only real meaning to this game being the possibility for the Sixers to guarantee a 1st round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, it was pretty clear that they planned to coast through.

The Sixers didn’t put up a fight and there were certainly times when it was obvious the team was not going all out to win. Whether it be settling for contested shots or not trying to block a Miami shot attempt while within reach of the shooter, the Sixers seemed content with helping the Heat keep their slim chances of avoiding the play-in tournament alive. Miami would still have to win their final 2 games and have Brooklyn lose their final 2 games to clinch the 6-seed in the East.

Doc Rivers pulled most of the starters late in the 3rd quarter, and no starter played the final 10 minutes.

It has already been announced that Joel Embiid will not play in Atlanta tomorrow he won’t even travel with the team. With just 2 games remaining in the regular season, and Philly nestled into the 3-seed in the East, I do not expect any starters aside from maybe PJ Tucker to play the rest of the way.

So with this news, you may ask yourself, “Will this affect Embiid’s chances at his 2nd consecutive scoring title?” The answer: Probably not. The only player that has a chance to catch Embiid is Luka Dončić, and to do so, he would have to average over 45 ppg in Dallas’ final 2 games if Joel indeed does sit out the rest of the regular season.

What’s Next

The Sixers will be on the road in Atlanta tomorrow when they face the Hawks at 7:30p. Expect most, if not all, of the starters to rest in this one. The Sixers will finish the regular season against their most likely 1st round playoff opponent, the Brooklyn Nets, on Sunday at 1:00p.

Over these final 2 games, I will be watching players on the bench unit closely as they vie for a spot in the playoff rotation. Shake Milton, Georges Niang, and Danuel House Jr., who all seem to be on the playoff rotation bubble, should be the most intriguing to pay attention to.