CAMDEN, N.J. — The host Philadelphia 76ers take on a big challenge in the 7 vs. 8 play-in tournament game on Wednesday against the Miami Heat. The Sixers and the Heat split the season series between the two teams, but the Heat are a battle-tested bunch.
The Heat have the ability to rise in the toughest moments and come out successful. They were in the play-in tournament in 2023, emerged as the No. 8 seed and made an incredible run to the NBA Finals. Led by Jimmy Butler, Miami presents a huge challenge.
“He’s a physical player, but if you let him kinda just get to spots where he wants to get to, it’s hard,” KJ Martin said of defending Butler. “So just putting bigger guys. Like, obviously like me, Nico (Batum), or Kelly (Oubre Jr.), whoever, we’ll make it harder for him.”
A big key to Butler’s game is getting to his spots and using his basketball IQ to bait players into fouls. If the Sixers aren’t smart with their defensive schemes and principles, it could be a long night.
“Him not just being able to bully guys and get to the line and stuff like that so limiting his free-throw attempts and staying solid,” Martin added. “Staying down on pump fakes and stuff like that so I think we should be good.”
Miami fell to the Denver Nuggets in the finals, but it was a run nobody will forget. As long as Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are healthy, the Heat will be a tough bunch.
“I can remember about my last 12 games with them, and they’re always hard-played, super intense, physical games,” added coach Nick Nurse. “So that’s OK. That’s what we think we are, too. We want to go out there and scrap with you. Sometimes you’ve got to get ready to do it right from the jump against these guys. Obviously, they’ve got a bunch of other things. Bam’s a great player, Jimmy’s a great player. They’ve got unbelievable complementary pieces.”
Nurse is right. While the Heat have those three guys leading the way, they can also turn to Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, Caleb Martin and others who all find ways to contribute to winning. It’s the “Heat Culture” they are always preaching down in Miami.
“They’ve got some guys coming back,” Nurse added. “Their health issues are improving. Herro’s back playing. Robinson’s a great shooter. Rozier’s into the fold and explosive. So tons of talents and tons of scoring options that you’ve got to keep your eye on. There’s lots of matchups that we have to play. We just have to prepare for it all.”
The Heat also play a a great deal of zone defense. In a one-game scenario, a zone defense can really throw a wrench into any team’s plans.
“I guess it’s a 2-3, but they pull those wing guys way up,” said Nurse. “They really try to keep the ball from going to the corner, because of how high they pull their wing guys up. There’s certain things that they’re willing to live with that I think fall into an analytical mindset, but it’s a little different. You don’t (typically) see the wing guys covering up so high and their communication is really good. They’re really talking about who’s going where, talking through cutters. They really seem to do a good job of getting matched up in it.”
[lawrence-related id=93772,93769,93766]