Sixers focus on health as they wait to see if they’ll face Brooklyn Nets or Orlando Magic in first round
“The thing that’s most on my mind is the health of the players,” coach Brett Brown says.
MIAMI — Now that the 76ers are locked into the No. 3 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs, they won’t risk their health to finish strong and maybe post 52 wins for the second consecutive season.
The Sixers, in short, are in chill mode. They’re basically waiting to see if they’ll face the Brooklyn Nets or Orlando Magic, teams battling for the sixth seed, in the opening round.
Joel Embiid (left knee tendinitis) and JJ Redick (back tightness) will not play in Tuesday’s game against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. Reserve post player Jonah Bolden is questionable with a sore left knee.
But the Sixers (50-30) have been shutting down players for a few days.
They had an optional shooting session Sunday before boarding a plane to South Florida. Monday’s scheduled practice was canceled and replaced by a meeting at the team hotel. And instead of a formal shootaround, the Sixers will have optional shooting Tuesday morning.
All this comes after Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Redick, and Mike Scott did not participate in Saturday morning’s shootaround for that night’s game at the United Center against the Chicago Bulls. Butler missed his second straight game and three out of four with lower-back tightness. Embiid played alongside Simmons, Harris, Redick, and Scott, but was a game-time decision because of the tendinitis.
“Health trumps all,” Brown said Saturday.
So the biggest question entering the final two games is: how many minutes will the available players play?
After facing the Heat (38-42), the Sixers will conclude the regular season Wednesday night against the Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center.
Having played only 10 games together, the starting lineup of Butler, Harris, Embiid, Redick, and Simmons could use some additional on-court bonding. But at what cost?
Butler, Embiid, Redick are dealing with injuries. And the other two starters, who have been logging a lot of minutes, need rest.
“The thing that’s most on my mind is the health of the players,” Brown said. “Always has been, and it’s my job to deliver them to a playoff setting that they’re ready to throw punches. And sometimes that comes at an expense of always being able to put your best players on the floor.”
The first round of the playoffs begins on Saturday. The top four seeds have home-court advantage.
The Sixers will find out the start date and their first-round opponent after Wednesday night’s regular-season finales. The Nets (41-40) would get the sixth seed with a victory over the visiting Heat (38-42) or an Orlando loss at the Charlotte Hornets. The Nets, having won the season series, 2-1, over the Magic, own the tiebreaker.
The Magic (41-40) would nab the No. 6 seed under two scenarios. The first scenario involves both an Orlando victory over the Hornets (38-42) and Nets loss. The second scenario would involve the Magic and Nets both losing their season-finale while the Detroit Pistons win both of their remaining two games - home against the Memphis Grizzlies (Tuesday) and at the New York Knicks (Wednesday).
Under the second scenario, the Magic, Nets and Pistons (39-41) would all have the same record. But Orlando would win the three-team tiebreaker due to being the Southeast Division winner.
The Sixers split their season series against both the Nets and the Magic.