Sixers look to enter All-Star Break on a tear vs. Heat

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

 Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Philadelphia, PA ❖ TV: NBCSP ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic 

The Philadelphia 76ers (29-25) have something special brewing as they host the Miami Heat (30-27) in the final game of the five-game homestand and the final game before the NBA All-Star Break.

It seems like it's been months since the Sixers last dropped a home game, and in actuality it really has. Aside from the London game, a faux Sixers home-game, the Sixers have won their last 10 games at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers already have one more win than all of last season, a season deemed a success by a lot of people, which was a major step up from the 10-win travesty in 2015-2016. 29 wins is the most the Sixers have captured since they went 34-48 in 2012-13.

To be completely honest, the Sixers are ending the first half of the season on an insanely high note, with the potential to go five games over .500, and riding high on a five-game winning streak.

Heat/Sixers will bring playoff atmosphere to The Center

Despite some early season woes and gelling that had to be done, combined with some of the worst late-game collapses in the NBA due in part to many inexperiences surrounding the Sixers, the team has a big opportunity to seize to head to the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

The matchup on Wednesday between Miami and Philadelphia will have a playoff-like feel to it with  both teams right in the thick of the playoff race.

The Sixers and Heat are wrestling for control of the seventh and eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference, with the Sixers only a half game in front of the Heat for those playoff positions. With the Detroit Pistons losing three straight games, they are currently 3.5 games behind the Heat for the eighth seed. Which means, as of right now, its the Sixers and Heat battling to stay above the cutline.

Both teams want the momentum to be in their favor heading into the All-Star Break, because you never know what can happen in the second half of the year.

Just look at how tight the standings are, especially in the middle half of the field. Two games separate the Sixers from having either the seventh seed or the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Seeds 4 through 8 are definitely up for grabs this season, as the Cavs have begun to gain ground in the East once again after their youth infusion following the Trade Deadline last Thursday.

It's also important to note that the record of the season series between the two teams could be used as a tiebreaker to decide playoff positioning. The Sixers would take a 2-0 lead in the season series tonight, after defeating the Heat 103-97 on February 2.

Sixers takeaways before the All-Star Break

The Sixers are doing a lot of things better during their recent success that they struggled with before they went streaking.

For one, the Sixers are figuring out ways to finish games, to start them hot like they have been doing so well all season long, and finding ways to finish them hot as well.

It feels like the Sixers have gained notoriety this season for being one of the most successful teams in the first and second quarters and then allow teams to trickle back and come within a couple baskets of getting the come-from-behind victory in the end.

A lot of the problems the Sixers have had when they were struggling to gain ground from being around the .500 mark was injuries and inconsistency of having certain players playing at any moment. Joel Embiid was battling back soreness for awhile that caused him to miss the games that were close to one another, and JJ Redick missed a couple weeks due a small bone he broke in his leg following an incident during the Sixers/Raptors game on MLK Day.

Without Embiid and Redick, you eliminate two of the Sixers' top scoring options right there. Then, the Sixers have to rely on other players to create plays and put up shots. We've already seen the problems that occur when you entrust guys like Robert Covington to shoot a high volume of three-point shot attempts, when some go down, and majority of the others don't.

But with both Redick and Embiid in the starting lineup as of late, a lot of good things have happened, and a lot of the scoring has come from those two players.

Sports Talk Philly's Dan Knerr wrote a piece earlier in the week about the hustle, aggression, and style of play Sixers' power forward Dario Saric has exhibited for the team at this point in the season.

A lot of the team's recent successes have revolved around how well Saric plays and the ways that he scores. His defense is O.K., but his offense is getting better literally every day.

Last season, Saric excelled in the paint, with his 3-point shot being somewhat of a secondary weapon. In 2016-17, Saric averaged 4.2 three-point shot attempts, making 1.3 of them at a 31.1% clip. This season, the Sixers have relied a lot more on Saric's perimeter shot, averaging exactly 5 three-point shot attempts, sinking 1.9 of them at a 38.7% clip. It's just obvious how much more Saric has meant to the Sixers this season, just by his ability to make 3-pointers, especially on a typically inept and shaky three-point shooting team.

But Saric is also averaging 14.6 points per game in 30.7 minutes this season, up from his 12.8 points in 26.3 minutes last season. He's also shooting 45.1% from the field this year, against his 41.1% in 16-17.

And that's with Embiid and Ben Simmons on the floor at the same time, which many of his stat increases last season occurred when Ersan Ilyasova was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, and Embiid went down with a season-ending knee injury.

The Sixers are just chalk full of advantages this season that they didn't have last season, while the bench is still left in disarray. There are still players that have contributed on the bench this season for Philadelphia, especially in TJ McConnell, who is coming off his first career triple-double, and Trevor Booker, who was the forward acquired in December from the Brooklyn Nets for Jahlil Okafor.

But the bench still has it's quirks and problems, as do many other benches around the league. The Sixers were getting great defensive play and an occasional offensive sparkplug off the bench from Justin Anderson, except he just suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Knicks on Monday night.

Wade returns to Philly as a member of the Heat

It's not as big of a deal as maybe some other returns in recent memory, but Dwyane Wade returning to the Heat after a trade from the Cavs at the deadline could be one of the more feel-good stories of 2018.

Wade was a member of the Heat from 2003-2016, pretty much solely responsible for bringing the Heat their first NBA Championship in 2006, and helping win two titles in 2012 and 2013 on the LeBron-led Heat teams.

He signed a two-year deal with his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2016, only to find himself back with LeBron James at the start of this season in Cleveland.

But as a part of the trade deadline house-cleaning a week ago, the Cavs sent Wade back to Miami to seemingly finish out his career with his old team.

Wade, now 36, isn't supposed to be any kind of spark plug for a young Heat team, but if nothing else, will provide veteran leadership and fan hype as Miami gears up for a postseason run this year.

Marco Belinelli to make Sixers debut

As mentioned before, the Sixers have had plenty of issues with their bench play this season, with a glaring need for someone to contribute outside shooting with the hope that it will turn into points when the stars are off the court.

Guard-play has been an issue for the Sixers the last couple seasons, and with injuries to Jerryd Bayless and now Justin Anderson, 31-year-old Marco Belinelli comes in at the right time for a team struggling to figure out the health of those players.

Belinelli was signed to the Sixers on Monday to a contract prior to the team's home matchup with the New York Knicks, in which he just watched from the sidelines.

Belinelli has played 52 games this season for the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 23.3 minutes and shooting 41.1% from the field, 37.2% from beyond the arc. On top of that, Belinelli is averaging 11.4 points per game, two boards, two assists, and almost a steal per game in limited action.

While he will most likely not see too much action tonight for the Sixers, with the injuries to other guards, Belinelli will probably see more action with the Sixers off the bench than the nearly 23 minutes he saw with the Hawks.

Matchup Preview  |  February 14, 2018
	@
Miami Heat (30-27, 16-15 Away)		Philadelphia 76ers (29-25, 17-10 Home)
Projected Starters Goran Dragic Point Guard Ben Simmons Tyler Johnson Shooting Guard JJ Redick Josh Richardson Small Forward Robert Covington Justise Winslow Power Forward Dario Saric Hassan Whiteside Center Joel Embiid* Injury Report Dion Waiters (ankle/out)   Joel Embiid (ankle/questionable) Kelly Olynyk (shoulder/out)   Marco Belinelli (coach decision/questionable) Rodney McGruder (leg/out)   Demetrius Jackson (hip/questionable)     Justin Anderson (ankle/out)     Markelle Fultz (shoulder/out)