Courtesy of a "time to get to work" third quarter by the Sixers and a comeback win by the undermanned Boston Celtics, Philadelphia will host a Play-In Tournament game at 7:30 on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
The Sixers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 126-106, on Sunday, just before the Celtics made an improbable comeback against the visiting Magic to win, 113-108. That gave the Sixers the seventh seed in the Play-In, while Orlando fell to the eighth seed.
Should the Sixers win on Wednesday, they will play the second-seeded Celtics starting in Boston this weekend in a first-round series. If the Sixers lose on Wednesday, the Magic would garner the seventh seed and the Sixers would host the winner of the nine-ten game between Charlotte and Miami. If the Sixers win that game, they would be the eighth seed and travel to a series in Detroit against the Pistons. If they lose, the season is over.
First things first.
"They're a tough team, they won like five straight prior to now," said Tyrese Maxey of Orlando, after leading the team on Sunday with 21 points, including 16 in the deciding third quarter when the Sixers outscored the Bucks by 38-16.
"They have guys back and they're a playoff team, they've made the playoffs the last couple years, they know how they want to play, they have very good talent and they're well coached. It's going to be a good challenge for us."
The Sixers, of course, will be moving forward without the presence of center Joel Embiid, who had appendectomy surgery last Thursday in Houston. So the auditions for a rotation continue for coach Nick Nurse on Sunday, even though it was the last game of the regular season.
"I think we found a few things out, but I also think everyone left on a fairly good note," said coach Nick Nurse. "Guys hit some shots and some guys played well, and I think that's important because it wasn't feeling very good there in the first half. So it was good that everyone got some touches and made some plays and guarded a little bit better and all that stuff. We'll take the win, for sure. It was okay from that standpoint.
"I think we've got a lot of ceiling to go, yet. There's a lot. I hope that we get to play a bunch of games and keep improving."
It's amazing that a coach would be saying that upon the completion of Game 82, but that's just what the Sixers season has presented, with injuries and suspensions costing key players so many games. And now comes the different animal, which is the postseason.
"I always view it that everybody needs it," said Nurse about playoff experience. "Let's hope that we get into a playoff series, because I think that it's so valuable for everybody, even the guys that have been in them a little bit. VJ (Edgecombe) obviously needs it. Tyrese needs some more. It's an invaluable experience and that's why you really want to get in it and go through it."
Driven by matchups, who the Sixers may play in a playoff series could dictate Nurse's starters. Boston is a team that loves to play on the perimeter and shoot threes, while also taking advantage of a spread-out defense by driving to the basket. That would seem to favor Adem Bona to get starting minutes at center. Detroit is a more physical team, which may lead the coach to lean on Andre Drummond a bit more.
The other starters appear to be set in Maxey, Edgecombe, Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. Quinten Grimes, who posted 20 points against Milwaukee on Sunday, will be the first guard off the bench. Justin Edwards and Dominick Barlow seem to be in a battle for the first subbing wing. Edwards — who posted 20 points and hit five-of-eight threes — gives the team a decided advantage at the offensive end. Barlow has had most of his really good minutes throughout the season when Joel Embiid is in the game. At other times, he seems to disappear. That, of course, can't happen this time of the year. Again, it could be a matchup necessity that Nurse may see between them.
"We've been going through this all year," said Maxey when asked about what kind of continuity the team may have. "I think a couple of days will be good for us. Just know what we're going to run, what we like to run, how to get Paul the ball, how to get Q the ball, how to get our scorers the ball, VJ, all of us.
"It's a good team. It's a really, really good test for us. I think it's a good opportunity for us, a good opportunity for some guys that don't have any postseason experience to get some, too. I think it will be fun."
It was reported after the game that Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers would not return to the team next season. The 64-year-old, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame with the most recent class, coached three years with the Sixers before joining the Bucks... Edwards scored all 20 of his points in the second half... Paul George scored 11 of the Sixers first 22 points and that was all he would get... Drummond finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds in almost 23 minutes... The Sixers beat Orlando two out of three games this season, winning once at home and once on the road. The lone loss was a 144-103 beatdown by the Magic at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
