NBA Matchups: March 30

PHI @ MIA | BOS @ ATL | PHX @ MEM | CHI @ SAS | MIN @ DAL | CLE @ UTA | DET @ OKC | WAS @ LAL

Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat (back end)

Team Totals: 76ers 124.3, Heat 122.3

Injury Report: Heat on a B2B

76ers projected starters: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Paul George, Dominick Barlow, Joel Embiid

Heat projected starters: Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo

Nurse quotes: Said he was worried about pushing up minutes too much on the main guys off injuries.

Spo quotes: Said it’s disappointing to see their defense get crushed lately, said they had five months of great defensive habits and it’s been a bad stretch of play on that end, said there’s a lot of pressure on them to bring their defense, said they really need to have their defense when they’re on the road.

Stats and Notes: 

*The 76ers were whole on Saturday and had what was probably their biggest win of the season in Charlotte to give them the tiebreaker. Tyrese Maxey returned early from his pinky injury and played a whopping 43 minutes. After the game, Maxey was asked how his legs were feeling, and he said, “Oh, legs are good.” The Maxey-Joel Embiid two-man game was the focal point, but the 76ers were able to get some transition going, too. They’ll get a Miami defense that has really fallen apart since St. Patrick’s Day, ranking 27th in defensive rating over those six games (29th in the halfcourt). They have been a little unlucky because of some jumpers going in, but they are getting beaten pretty decently in the paint these days. Philly’s offense has been crushing in the Embiid minutes so far with a 142.2 O rating in those 64 minutes. For the 76ers defensively, they have been more vulnerable in the paint even with Embiid in there. Their transition defense has also been a bit of a problem when Embiid plays, which Miami should be able to exploit with the most transition possessions per game in the NBA.

*After it looked like Tyrese Maxey was just going to be a decoy for the first quarter with just one shot, he really found his rhythm in the second quarter and beyond. He dominated the ball with 7.1 minutes of touch time and added 13 potential assists. This matchup isn’t the greatest one for him with Davion Mitchell set to guard him. The pace of Miami does work to his advantage, and Embiid does have a tough matchup in Bam Adebayo.

*Joel Embiid is back to full minutes and didn’t quite look all the way back for most of last week. Still, his usage was fantastic, and getting to 36 minutes is a huge deal. His matchup against Bam Adebayo is not very good, and he went only 8-of-20 shooting from the field against him earlier this year (26 points). He also scored just 11 points last year and didn’t pop off two years ago (23 and 29 points). I’m not too into this spot.

*Paul George also got up to full minutes with 36 on Saturday and hit a huge corner 3-pointer in clutch time. His usage held up nicely with 19 FGAs, which he’s rarely had when he’s next to Maxey and Embiid. He’ll get a tougher matchup in Andrew Wiggins, but Wiggins may not go, making it slightly better. I like Maxey way more, but at least PG should play a good bit to make him viable.

*Tyler Herro gets a fantastic spot here. His role should expand with Norman Powell likely out. The 76ers are going to play a ton of drop coverage, which bodes extremely well for Herro. I’m really into Herro for this spot.

*Bam Adebayo gets a tough matchup against Joel Embiid, and he’ll have to fight off the foul risk. He’s also on a B2B to make it less likely that Erik Spoelstra plays him huge minutes. I’m not too into Bam here, but there is a ceiling case to be made because Embiid’s defense hasn’t been at its peak yet.

Great matchups: Tyler Herro, VJ Edgecombe

Good matchups: Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Andrew Wiggins

Bad matchups: Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo

Boston Celtics (back end) at Atlanta Hawks