Heat know 76ers a challenge even without injured Embiid
In Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s mind, the injury situation with Joel Embiid doesn’t doom the Philadelphia 76ers.
He figures it’ll only steel their resolve.
Clearly, the 76ers are not going to be a better team without Embiid, the scoring champion and MVP finalist currently sidelined by a right orbital fracture and mild concussion, injuries that have him officially ruled out for Game 1 and likely Game 2 as well. That said, the 76ers played the Heat once this season without Embiid — and won. They’ll try to do it again tonight when Philadelphia visits Miami in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
“Whenever you’re dealing with a team that has to change a little bit, that immediately gets them a built-in sense of urgency,” Spoelstra said. “But again, what we’re trying to accomplish, it is so difficult. When you approach it that way, that just puts you there to compete at a high level, the necessary level that is going to be required.”
The Heat aren’t exactly in perfect health, either. Jimmy Butler has been slowed by a sore knee, Tyler
Herro caught a cold that turned into an upperrespiratory-type mess — but not COVID-19 — and PJ Tucker has been dealing with a calf issue. (All three expect to play today.) And Philadelphia native Kyle Lowry missed the last two games of the first-round series against Atlanta with a hamstring strain, so the Heat can’t be certain when their point guard will be 100% again. He’s been ruled out for Game 1.
“I think both rosters are going into this battle knowing that both sides got enough to get the job done,” Butler said. “We’ve got a job to do. They’ve got a job to do. But I’m banking on the Miami Heat.”
The 76ers went 6-8 without Embiid this season.
Suns, Mavs come in at near full strength
The Phoenix Suns have proven they can win playoff games without AllStar Devin Booker. The Dallas Mavericks showed the same when their own superstar Luka Doncic was out of the lineup.
If adversity builds strength, then this Suns-Mavericks playoff matchup could be a doozy.
The Mavericks travel to face the top-seeded Suns in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals today. The Suns are trying to get back to the NBA Finals for a second straight season, while this is the first time the Mavericks have been past the first round since Doncic came into the league.
Some suggested the Mavericks are playing with “house money” since they’re finally past the first round for the first time since 2011. Dallas coach Jason Kidd doesn’t see it that way.
“I don’t know anything about the house money, but it’s the first team to four and hopefully we can put ourselves in a position to do that,” Kidd said. “It’s going to start on the road against the Western Conference champs. This is a great test for us.”
Booker missed three games of the Pelicans series with a hamstring injury before returning in Game 6, scoring 13 points in the closeout win. Doncic also missed three games of the MavsJazz series because of a strained calf before returning for Game 4 and tipping the scales in favor of Dallas.
Both should be at relatively full strength for this series.