'We Owe Them One': The Sixers React to Their Postseason Fate

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey never got to experience March Madness, but he imagines Sunday night, in the locker room, after the Sixers' victory over the Milwaukee Bucks was something like it.

Celtics big man Luka Garza lined up a contested wing 3 to give Boston the lead over the Orlando Magic in the final minute of regulation.

It was a lead Boston would hold.

The Celtics' bench crew knocked off the full-health Magic on the final game of the regular season.

It caused the Eastern Conference Play-In picture to flip, giving the Sixers the seventh seed and the Magic the eighth. It meant the Play-In tournament would run through Philadelphia. Worst case scenario, the Sixers will have two chances to win one game and earn a traditional playoff spot.

The Sixers' locker room was ecstatic.

"I guess that's the closest I get to March Madness. Because I never did that before. But that's cool, that's fun. That's just a cool moment for our team," Maxey told reporters after the Sixers' 45th victory of the season.

The Sixers will ostensibly take the Play-In court without Joel Embiid, who is recovering from an appendectomy.

They've spent all season preparing for that possibility.

"This is what we've been doing all year. We've been going through this all year. I think the couple days of practice will be good for us," Maxey said.

"Just know what we're going to run, what we like to run, how to get Paul [George] the ball, how to get [Quentin Grimes] involved. How to get our scorers involved, VJ [Edgecombe], all of us. I think that'll be good for us."

Maxey knows he's the head of the snake. He made sure to pay the Magic their due respect, perhaps equal parts telling the truth and setting the tone for his own team.

"They're a tough team. They won like five or six straight prior to right now. They're getting guys back. They're a playoff team. They've been in the playoffs the last couple of years. They know how they're going to play. They have very good talent. They're well-coached. It'll be a good challenge for us," he told reporters.

Philadelphia book-ended a beatdown loss to the Magic at home with a thrilling early-season victory and a January win in Orlando to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Maxey doesn't remember much from that ugly loss in late November.

But he knows the Sixers are due for some payback.

"It was so long ago. But we owe them one from home. You know what I'm saying? We got to try to avenge that loss. That was a really bad loss for us. Other times we played them, we played them at home, we won. I think we played them on the road and we won," Maxey recalled.

"So, it's a good team. It's a really, really, really good test for us. I think it's a good opportunity for us. Good opportunity for some guys that don't have any postseason experience to get some, too. I think it'll be fun."

Speaking of those who lack experience, Maxey wants his younger teammates to trust the time they've put in while expecting the unexpected.

"Just be prepared for anything. A lot of things weird happen in playoff games. But trust your work. Shoot the ball when you're open. Make plays when you're open. Pay attention to detail. Know the scouting report. That's really it," Maxey said.

Andre Drummond had a similar message.

"Just the attention to detail. Every possession counts. Every possession matters. One bad possession can lead to a five-point lead for a team," Drummond said.

"So we have to be really focused on both ends of the floor. Take great shots, get stops and play our game and not allow them to speed us up."

Nick Nurse, whether he realizes it or not, sees some of his own team in the Magic.

"They haven't hardly been healthy all year," Nurse told reporters on Sunday night.

"Pretty physical team. Looks like they got everybody back now, too. I think they're pretty much fully healthy. So that's a very talented team. Big wings, aggressive guards. [Jalen] Suggs and [Desmond] Bane are two competitive, physical guys back there. [Paolo] Banchero and [Franz] Wagner at the wings and they got some decent depth.

"[Anthony] Black has had a great season when he's been healthy, too. Very good, very talented team. They've been one of many teams in the league that hasn't been very healthy this year, so it'll be a really tough game."

The Sixers' head coach views postseason experience as a rite of passage for youngsters like Adem Bona and Justin Edwards, who were on the team last season and are about to experience postseason basketball for the first time in their careers.

"I always view it as everybody needs it. You need it. Let's hope we get into a playoff series because I really think it's so valuable for everybody. Even the guys that have been in them a little bit need it," Nurse said.

"VJ obviously needs it. Tyrese needs some more. It's invaluable experience and that's why you really want to get in it and go through it."

Nurse will look to Maxey for more than heavy minutes and high usage when the ball drops on Wednesday.

He'll rely on Maxey's experience playing the Miami Heat in the seven-versus-eight Play-In game in 2024.

"There are a couple of guys that have been through it. So that always helps. I don't think it hurts, that's for sure. It was a pretty tough game and that one needed to get into the second half as well. It was a game we had to stay with and keep finding our way. I'm sure that'll be the same against Orlando," Nurse said.

He'll spend the coming days trying to enhance the team's awareness of what's to come. He's excited to be back in high-stakes basketball.

"I think you understand the importance of each possession and the intensity and physicality and all that stuff is going to go up and you better be ready to meet that challenge. I think that's good. Getting our awareness heightened a little bit will help us," Nurse said.

Drummond thinks it may be worth revisiting the team's no-fouls pickup games from the offseason to prepare for the postseason.

"Honestly, we need to get back to it. Because in the playoffs they don't really call that many. It's a lot more physical. They let a lot more go. So we might need to get in on Tuesday and get it in for an hour or so," Drummond said with a laugh.

"Just a straight practice with no fouls and just play hard without looking for the refs."

The Sixers could not save themselves from the Play-In tournament. But perhaps they can save themselves from a summer that is just five days shorter than those of the 10 teams already headed to Cancun.