76ers vs. Heat: Players to Watch on Monday
On Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers welcome the Miami Heat into the Wells Fargo Center for an Eastern Conference showdown.
Doc Rivers' side comes into Monday night's match off of a close loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
For the third time this season, the match between the two powerhouses was separated by less than ten points, as Jayson Tatum iced the game off with a three late into the fourth quarter.
Joel Embiid, who ended the match with 41 points and 12 rebounds, sank a full-court shot that would've sent the game into overtime had he released the ball a second sooner, ultimately conceding the season series to the defending Conference Champions.
Going into Monday's match, Doc Rivers will be without Dewayne Dedmon for the third straight game as he continues to suffer from soreness in his left hip.
On the other side of the ticket sits the Miami Heat, who come into the match off of a narrow 103-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Their loss came despite relentless effort on the offensive end from former Sixer Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, with the two combining for 61 points.
Erik Spoelstra could be without Herro, who is listed as questionable with a contusion in his right rib, joining Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love on the Heat's injury reserve.
Players to Watch:
Sixers: Joel Embiid
Coming off of an emphatic performance on Saturday night, Philadelphia will be looking towards Embiid to continue his dominance as they look to not drop two games in a row for the first time since the beginning of the month.
In his career, Embiid has made a living against the Heat, averaging 23 points on 49 percent shooting while also securing 11 boards per game, so there's a solid chance that will continue on Monday night.
Heat: Jimmy Butler
Despite being somewhat streaky during the regular season, Jimmy Butler finds himself as the Heat's player to watch due to his run of recent games, as well as it marks another return to the arena he once called home.
Over the previous five games, Butler is averaging 21 points and five assists on 49 percent shooting, showing that he is starting to warm up as the playoff picture becomes clearer by the week.
Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.
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