PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers passed their first postseason test on Wednesday when they defeated the Miami Heat, 105-104, in the play-in tournament. Now, their attention turns to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
The Heat are the defending Eastern Conference champions and they have been through every battle and scenario one can throw at them. The Sixers were down 14 and dug deep to rally and advance.
Knocking off a Heat team that plays with such physicality and tenacity was a big test and will help the Sixers prepare for the Knicks.
“Absolutely,” Paul Reed told Sixers Wire. “First of all, it just gets our mind right. It gets us already expecting to play at that level again in a few days and I think it’s good that we had kind of like a wake-up call. It’s only gonna get harder from here. It’s not gonna get easier.”
The Knicks are just as physical as the Heat and have more size with Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson. While Miami wanted to force Philadelphia into turnovers and bad shots with its zone defense, New York looks to swarm the Sixers with its length and man-to-man defense.
“They’re a team that’s gonna play extremely hard,” added Reed. “They’re gonna be extremely physical with us. So I feel like that’s gonna be one of the biggest challenges that we’re gonna have to face going against the New York Knicks.”
The Heat did their job in Philadelphia’s case. They gave the Sixers a taste of what the postseason will be like. Now, the Sixers must use that experience against the Knicks.
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