NBA Playoffs: Heat stagger into play-in tournament against Embiid, 76ers

The Miami Heat are familiar with marquee postseason matches, having made the Eastern Conference finals three of the past four years.

But this marquee matchup is one the Heat had preferred to avoid.

In the most glamorous of all play-in tournament matchups, the Heat will face the Philadelphia 76ers in the 7-8 matchup Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

After the Heat bumbled through another nondescript, injury-riddled regular season at 46-36, the seventh seed looks to make a second straight glorious run behind “Playoff Jimmy” (Jimmy Butler), All-Star center force Bam Adebayo and sharpshooter Tyler Herro.

The Sixers surely would’ve been higher than an eighth-seed play-in participant if Joel Embiid hadn’t had surgery and missed a chunk of the season.

Wednesday’s winner in Philly moves on to New York and the NBA playoffs first round against the scorching, second-seeded Knicks. A Heat-Knicks rivalry renewal would be a rematch of last year’s second-round war that Miami won in six games on the way to the NBA Finals.

That magical run was missed by an injured Herro, who could be this postseason’s X factor as he again battled assorted injuries in 2023-24.

They also have a new point guard in the younger Tony Rozier, who replaces aging veteran Kyle Lowry. Ironically, Lowry is now in his hometown Philly and stands as the first obstacle, while the more electric, 30-year-old Rozier has become a big question mark and will miss Wednesday’s game with a neck injury.

The former Hornet missed the final four games with a neck issue. More tests were ordered, he didn’t practice Tuesday and the team ruled him out in the afternoon. It might be why the Sixers are favored by 4½ points in many sportsbooks.

“It’s one game, so anything can happen, but Miami has had trouble scoring," one NBA scout said. “Beyond Butler, they have Herro, who has missed half the year and only recently came back, and Bam, who has improved his repertoire but it remains to be seen if he can truly be a go-to option when it counts."

Wednesday’s loser will play the winner of the Bulls-Hawks 9-10 play-in match staged Tuesday night. That game decides the eighth seed.

The Heat’s bench also suffered a blow when 3-point sharpshooter Duncan Robinson’s back acted up. He sat out the final four games and practiced on a limited basis Tuesday but is listed as probable for the Sixers.

The Sixers are back to full strength now that Embiid is rolling.

“Embiid has been a monster since he came back," the scout said. “The rest/time off did him a lot of good. (Tyrese) Maxey has become unstoppable at times. You gotta say Philly is the favorite with home court. The Lowry factor is interesting. Miami needed more punch so they acquired Rozier but now they don’t really have a point guard. Meanwhile, Lowry has fit in well with Philly, since they don’t need him to score."

That’s why the Heat need Herro to light up the perimeter in the postseason. Herro missed 20 straight games with a foot injury in February and March.

In his return for the final six games of the regular season, Herro did well, averaging 21 points and shooting 37.5% from 3. This year, they can’t win without Herro.

“I think the biggest takeaway from last year is anything can happen," Herro said. “It’s not ideal to be in the seven or eighth spot, but we’re here and that’s our reality. We can make moves with wherever we’re at."

Despite the Heat’s Finals run in 2023, it hasn’t created the national buzz because of their up-and-down regular season. But historically this is their time. Coach Erik Spoelstra’s time.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season — these past seasons, actually," Adebayo told reporters after the season finale. “This is the time of year when backs are against the wall. You start to find out who everybody is."

Everyone knows what Butler is capable of in the postseason, his ability to get to the free-throw line and make late-game clutch shots.

“We’re not the same group as last year, so we leave that where it’s at,” Butler said. “We’re moving forward with the group that we do have. But we are very confident in the guys that we do have, and we know what we’re capable of.”

And nobody likes to bet against Spoelstra, arguably the top coach in the NBA, in the playoffs.

“It’s been an eventful season," Spoelstra said. “Many different things have happened. But I think as long as your team approaches all of those experiences the right way, you’re gaining something from it and then developing some collective grit and toughness."

NBA Play-in Tournament

Wednesday

Heat vs. 76ers, 7 p.m. ESPN

Hawks vs. Bulls, 9:30 p.m. ESPN

Friday

Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3, 7:40 p.m. ESPN

Winner of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 1, 9:30 p.m. TNT

Playoffs start Saturday with games at 1, 3 and 6 p.m. on ESPN and 8:30 on ABC.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: NBA Playoffs Miami Heat Philadelphia 76ers play-in Embiid