By winning against the Heat during the “play-in” between the 7th and 8th in the East, the Sixers validated their place in the playoffs. They will therefore face the second in the conference, namely New York, leaving the Bulls and the Heat to compete to know who will cross paths with the Celtics, best team of the regular season, in the first round of the “postseason”.
And if anyone seems happy to avoid the Celtics, it's Paul Reed. In the show Run it Back, the replacement pivot for the Sixers looked back on the victory against the Heat and the start of the playoffs. He notably explained the preference of Joel Embiid and his team to face New York rather than Boston. “We're not going to lie, yes, we wanted to play against the Knicks. It’s the “simplest” team, I guess,” he explains.
Joel Embiid's replacement then elaborated. “But it’ll be fun.” It fits pretty well for us against them. They have a great point guard (Jalen Brunson). We have a great point guard (Tyrese Maxey). But we also have Joel, an MVP…Right now, he's one of the most unstoppable guys in the league. » he adds.
Serene Knicks
The Knicks didn't necessarily need that to motivate themselves. Tom Thibodeau's players indeed finished the regular season well. They grabbed 2nd place and finished with a fifth victory in a row by beating the Bulls in overtime. Above all, the Knicks have won three times against the Sixers this season. They are confident in their strengths and just want to stay focused.
“That’s what he thinks. Let's just focus on what we need to do.”, replied Isaiah Hartenstein. “That's what podcasts do: they make sure you're comfortable, and guys say stupid things. Ultimately, we are focused on ourselves. Let them make their comments. We are focused on our team. We strive to improve every day and focus on the Sixers. »
The Knicks center concludes that his team is like that anyway, preferring to avoid outside disruption. But Paul Reed's statements can always serve as bonus motivation.
