PHILADELPHIA — Due to a 105-104 win over the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, the Philadelphia 76ers are the No. 7 seed in the East and are headed to the playoffs. They will take on the New York Knicks in a tough first-round series.
The win also means Buddy Hield will finally play in a playoff game. The eighth-year pro out of Oklahoma never had the opportunity while playing for the New Orleans Pelicans, the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers earlier in his career and he will have that chance after playing in 632 games in his career.
After scoring seven points with six assists in the win over the Heat, Hield gave his reaction to finally making the postseason in his career.
“I think it’s a blessing,” he smiled. “Thank God for the opportunity. It’s just about being patient with it. With the trade, seeing Indiana making it, my old team in Sacramento making it, I just (felt) like, ’(Expletive), when is my time?’ Just got to be patient, and I was patient about it.”
Hield is right about that. The Kings made the playoffs in 2023 to snap a 17-year playoff drought. The Pacers clinched the No. 6 seed and a playoff spot this season for the first time since 2020 after they sent him to Philadelphia. He now has his chance.
“I feel like once you get over that hump, everything starts falling where it’s supposed to be,” Hield added. “I’m just glad. I’m excited, man. I’m excited for these guys, I’m excited for the coaching staff that we have. To be in Philadelphia, first time making the playoffs, it’s a blessing. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done.”
It was a rough first half for Hield on Wednesday. He was unable to get any type of rhythm and flow, but he was made an impact in the second half. Miami’s zone defense seemed to befuddle him and the Sixers, but he fixed that and helped the Sixers rally from 14 points down to win.
“I think we had more pop, more flow,” Hield said of the second-half success. “We were so focused on trying to feed Joel (Embiid) the whole time and get him going. Like, make him be our savior, but we started playing real team basketball and once we got that going, we were good.”
Hield and the Sixers move on to face the Knicks and look to make a deep run into the playoffs.
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