PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers will play host to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in the 7 vs. 8 play-in tournament matchup to determine the No. 7 seed in the East. The winner will head to the first round while the loser will prepare for another play-in game.
The Sixers and the Heat have been preparing all week for this important matchup and a number of topics have been discussed. Topics include Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the zone defense that the Heat will almost certainly throw at the Sixers.
Another topic that needs to be addressed is Heat star Bam Adebayo. He is an All-Star who is one of the better defenders in the game, but he can also be a big contributor on the offensive end as well. He’s somebody young Paul Reed would like to make an impact against.
“For me, it’s great,” Reed said at shootaround on Wednesday morning. “It’s great experience. It’s a great opportunity for me to get better and work on stuff. He’s an All-Star caliber player so it’s great.”
Adebayo and the Heat are led by coach Erik Spoelstra who is one of the best coaches in the league. His different defensive schemes are going to challenge the Sixers, and it’s something Reed and the rest of the group will have to prepare for.
“They play extremely hard,” Reed said of the Heat. “They’re coached by a very good coach and he’s gonna throw a lot of schemes at us and he’s gonna make adjustments and we’re gonna have to be prepared for it.”
The play-in tournament isn’t necessarily a playoff game. It has playoff implications and there is a lot on the line, but it isn’t categorized as a playoff game or anything like that.
However, the Heat have been here before and they know what it takes. The Sixers will have to be prepared for a battle on Wednesday.
“It feels like a real playoff game,” Reed finished. “You gotta go out there and handle business and play together and take it very seriously.”
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