PHILADELPHIA (WSVN) — The Miami Heat are gearing up for their Wednesday night match-up against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The highly anticipated game between the two teams will decide which one will earn the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference title.
7News cameras captured Miami Heat players warming up at Temple University, Wednesday morning.
“You can feel it. It’s that time of year again. Everyone’s excited to be, you know, done with the regular season, so we’re excited,” said Heat guard Tyler Herro.
The team’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra, said his team is ready.
“We’re looking forward to it. I mean, this is what you want. You want to have these kind of environments, these kinds of games,” said Spoelstra. “We watched the games last night; it’s the best of what this association is about.”
Spoelstra said this opportunity is what the team plays all season for.
“We’re going to try to do whatever we have to do, you know, to put ourselves in a position to win,” he said, “and, if it goes according to plan, we’re able to get them out of the comfort zone, that’s great. If it doesn’t, then we figure out a different path to get to win.”
The coach emphasized that this play-in matchup is more about the team than their opponent.
“This is about just falling back on our habits and, you know, being our best versions tonight,” said Spoelstra. “I just want our guys to really embrace the competition, enjoy it, compete for each other, and do what we have to do.”
Both teams have tons of playoff rivalry, which has been shown in the past two to three seasons. There are a lot of storylines that intersect both teams, as Heat player Jimmy Butler used to play in the 76ers, and Philadelphia 76ers point guard Kyle Lowry used to play with the Miami Heat.
7News cameras captured Lowry, a future Hall of Famer, warming up on the court as he threw some basketballs into the basket.
Now, both teams face one another in a high-stakes matchup.
The winning team will be locked in to the seventh seed in the East and face off against the New York Knicks.
Whoever loses the Wednesday game will have one last opportunity at a play-in game on Friday to make it into the playoffs.
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