Sergio Rodriguez wants to stay with the Sixers

Sergio Rodriguez will play one-on-one at 76ers practice on Friday to test his strained left hamstring.

"It's feeling better. But the injury is kind of tricky because you never know when you are 100 percent," said the reserve point guard, who has missed six games with the injury. "The way that we are not practicing, it makes it hard to recover well."

The Sixers haven't had a serious practice since the trade deadline on Feb. 23.

With only three games remaining, Rodriguez realizes that he and the team have to decide quickly on whether he will return. The Sixers will end their season Wednesday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Rodriguez was asked whether he was leaning toward returning or remaining sidelined. "I don't know," he said. "Let's see tomorrow. On Monday, we have like five days. So tomorrow morning, we will see at what we are."

"It's very hard to get a test," he said. "But the injury is nothing."

Rodriguez will become a free agent on July 1. He wants to return to the Sixers. He is averaging 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 22.3 minutes this season. He was playing his best basketball before he got hurt.

Rodriguez had 12 points and seven assists against the Chicago Bulls on March 24. Two days later, he finished with 16 points while making 4 of 7 three-pointers against the Indiana Pacers.

"Let's see how it goes," he said of his future. "It's going to take a long time, because [free agency] is in July. You are not going to know anything. I don't want to rush myself.

"It's been a good season for me, a great season for the team."

Rodriguez said that people did not expect the Sixers to be as good as they are, based on how they began the season.

"It's going to be a special thing in the coming years in Philadelphia," he said. "You always want to be a part of that."

Sixers coach Brett Brown was asked if was mindful of players disconnecting in the final days of the season.

"I'm terrified of it if that's what mindful means," Brown said.

In past seasons, the team had several players lose interest at the finish because they felt they would not be part of the Sixers' future.

"It's the feeling that we all had when it's June 2 and school gets out June 8," Brown said. "It gets a little bit loose. We are always mindful of that, and I'm always fearful of that."

He said the problem has not crept into this team so far.