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Despite punishing the Brooklyn Nets 107-86 on Sunday, the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the complicated play-in tournament. Wins by the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers forced a showdown between the 76ers and the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The winner will get the No. 7 seed in the East playoffs, while the loser takes on the winner of the Bulls-Hawks battle.
Beating the Heat for the seventh seed will be a tough task, but the 76ers will be playing at home while Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are ready to play. The two teams split the season series 2-2, so Philly will expect an end-to-end, slambang encounter. If they win, waiting ahead of them are the second-ranked New York Knicks in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers will have to fix some issues for the playoffs
#5 Ball movement
Like Philadelphia fans, the 76ers can sometimes be guilty of watching Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey beat up their defenders.
“The Process” almost toyed with opponents and might have won his third straight scoring belt had he been healthy enough to qualify. Maxey has also reached a level where he has become quite a headache to contain.
In some cases, ball movement becomes a problem because of the 76ers’ virtuoso scorers. When they stand around, the assists also suffer. Philadelphia is 24th in the NBA in this category, a number that should be higher to make a deep playoff run. Nick Nurse has to create more actions to get everyone involved.
#4 Fastbreak points allowed
The Philadelphia 76ers need to do a much better job of preventing leaks in the open court.
They surrender 15.4 points off the break per game, which is 24th in the NBA. The lethargic Washington Wizards and the Memphis Grizzlies did better than them in that category. Both give up 15.1 fastbreak points per contest.
#3 Shooting accuracy
Two of the NBA’s deadliest scorers are surprisingly playing for a team that's hitting 46.4% of its shots, which is 23rd in the league.
Joel Embiid is hitting 52.9% of his attempts, but the others have to step up. The Philadelphia 76ers’ shooting percentage has to improve to win at least one playoff series.
#2 Rebounding
The Philadelphia 76ers are 20th in the NBA in rebounding with 43.0 caroms per game.
Securing possessions after holding an opponent will be crucial in the playoffs. Embiid, Paul Reed, Mo Bamba, Tobias Harris and everyone in Philly’s frontcourt have to help in this category.
The 76ers have been having trouble stopping transition attacks. They will be run out of the playoffs if that issue goes hand in hand with their lack of rebounding.
#1 Health
Every issue the Philadelphia 76ers have to tackle will go down the drain if Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey can’t stay healthy. “The Process” recently returned from a knee injury and almost suffered another heartbreaking one late in the season.
Last season, Embiid also played hurt. If he can’t shake off the injury bug, Philadelphia is likely doomed to another disappointing exit in the postseason.
Guess the Lakers players!
