76ers at Heat
The Miami Heat are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and that appears to be just fine with the two-time defending champions. “It will be no disappointment when the playoffs start,” Dwyane Wade said of losing the No. 1 seed. “It will be a new season and we will be looking forward to it.” The slumping Heat will face either the Washington Wizards or Charlotte Bobcats in the first round of the playoffs, but first they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday on the final night of the regular season.
The Heat rested LeBron James and Chris Bosh in Monday's loss to the Wizards, which clinched the top seed for the Indiana Pacers. Wade played 18 minutes in that one and scored nine points before joining his fellow stars on the bench. The 76ers have endured one of the worst seasons in franchise history but have a chance to end the campaign with back-to-back wins for the first time since the first week of January.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (18-63): Wrapping up a season where the team obviously was more interested in ping-pong balls than winning basketball games, the Sixers defeated the Celtics 113-108 on Monday behind Michael Carter-Williams' 21 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Carter-Williams, the favorite to win Rookie of the Year, has shot at least 50 percent from the field in six of his last eight games after doing so just three times in his previous 31 contests. Thaddeus Young, on the other hand, has shot no better than 47.1 percent in any of his seven games this month and has made just 7-of-31 3-pointers since the calendar turned to April.
ABOUT THE HEAT (54-27): Miami has lost five of its last seven games and is one loss away from its first three-game skid since early March. Wade, who is working his way back from a hamstring injury, is expected to play Wednesday while James and Bosh likely will rest again. The Heat trailed by as many as 36 points in the loss to the Wizards despite three 3-pointers by the seemingly ageless Ray Allen, who will average single-digits in points for the first time in his 18-year career unless he erupts for 40 against the Sixers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Sixers and Heat have split two meetings this season, including a stunning win by Philadelphia in its home opener on Oct. 30 - a game in which the Sixers led the Heat 19-0 before holding on for a 114-110 win behind Carter-Williams' 22 points, 12 assists and nine steals.
2. Miami has won its last 10 home games versus Philadelphia.
3. If James does not play on Wednesday, he will end the season averaging 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists on a career-high 56.7 percent shooting.