Sixers expect drag-out fight from Miami Heat in NBA Play-In Tournament: ‘Welcome to the NBA playoffs’

The Sixers expect to contend with much more than Jimmy Butler, who has built a stellar postseason reputation. Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson are also formidable.

by Keith Pompey

Published April 17, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

The 76ers will have to contain Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat forward and former Sixer who has lived up to his nickname “Playoff Jimmy.”

The Sixers will have to contend with Bam Adebayo, Miami’s athletic center and one of the NBA’s best defenders.

The Sixers will have to shut down Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, two elite three-point shooters.

And the Sixers will have to overcome Heat Culture, which has been described as the “hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA.”

So what is the No. 1 thing the Sixers must do against Miami during Wednesday’s 7 p.m. Play-In Tournament game at the Wells Fargo Center?

“A lot of stuff,” Nico Batum said following Tuesday’s practice. “They got a lot of guys that can score for sure besides Jimmy. They got Herro, Robinson. They got Bam. They got a lot of weapons. Their culture, they play a lot together. And they know how to win.”

And they know how to thrive as a play-in team. Last season, Miami became the first play-in team to advance to the NBA Finals.

“They have so much stuff to be a great team,” Batum said. “You have to contain them, contain them all. That’s what we have to do tomorrow.”

The winner between the East’s seven-place Sixers and the eight-place Heat will open the playoffs 6 p.m. on Saturday against the second-seeded New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The loser of that game will play the winner of the ninth-place Chicago Bulls and 10th-place Atlanta Hawks at home Friday with a chance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics Sunday at TD Garden.

“It’s just like a Game 7, basically,” Batum said of Wednesday’s play-in game. “We don’t think about, ‘Yes, if we lose, we got a chance.’ No, we have to win tomorrow. We want to win tomorrow night. We want to move [on]. We want to be in [the first round.]

“We feel we are a good team. We’re going to play a great team, as well. They want the same thing. So it’s going to be a really good fight tomorrow.”

Joel Embiid was a full participant at Sixers practice for the second straight day on Tuesday. The reigning MVP is officially listed as questionable. But he’s expected to play Wednesday after missing Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Brooklyn Nets for precautionary reasons.

Reserve KJ Martin (left great toe bruise) is also questionable. The Sixers will remain without De’Anthony Melton (spine) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise). However, Terry Rozier (neck spasm) and former Sixer Josh Richardson (right shoulder surgery) will miss the game for Miami.

The teams split this season’s four meetings with the Sixers winning the final two.

Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds in their 98-91 victory on March 18 at The Center. Then the All-Star guard had 37 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds while Embiid added 29 points and three assists in a 109-105 victory on April 4 in Miami. This was Embiid’s second game back after being sidelined two months while recovering from a torn meniscus in his left knee. It was the seven-time All-Star’s only game against the Heat this season.

But Maxey averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds in this season’s four games against the Heat.

Butler only faced the Sixers once, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in the April 4 game.

But he’s mastered the art of raising his level of play in the postseason.

The six-time All-Star forward averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists while shooting 32.9% on three-pointers in 813 career regular-season games. However, Butler averaged 21.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting 34.7% on threes in 119 playoff games.

He even averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists as Miami ousted the Sixers in the second round of the 2022 East semifinals.

“He finds his matchups that he likes,” Maxey said of Butler. “He knows the spots he wants to get to. He doesn’t get sped up. He knows how to score the ball. He knows how to make plays for his teammates. He’s a competitor at the end of the day. He’s someone that doesn’t like losing so someone like that.

“You gotta go out there and beat them. You can’t just lay down and expect to win. You gotta go out there and beat him and he’s gonna make it tough for us.”

And it will get tougher if Herro and Robinson are both draining three-pointers.

Robinson, who is listed as probable with left facet syndrome, is a career 39.8% three-point shooter. Meanwhile, Herro, the 2022 sixth man of the year, is shooting 38.5% on three-pointers for his career. He’ll be available to play Wednesday after dealing with right foot medial tendinitis.

Adebayo was an All-Defensive second-team selection in each of the past four seasons while excelling on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound center averaged 19.3 points, a career-best 10.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

“Welcome to the NBA playoffs,” Batum said. “You are going to play against good teams. They all have great players and can do a lot of stuff and in a great system with great teammates around that can do stuff as well. That’s why the playoffs are not easy.

“You have to find a way to slow a guy, but also make sure the other guys don’t go crazy as well. That’s the beauty of the NBA in the playoffs. But we got the same stuff, too. Teams have the same problems against us as well.”