Philadelphia 76ers Begins Preparation For The Miami Heat

The Heat and Sixers meet for Game 1 Monday in Miami

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers has nothing but respect for the Miami Heat. 

After the Sixers defeated the Toronto Raptors and advanced to meet the Heat in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Rivers offered his thoughts on the matchup. 

We're going to go play grown men, and we're looking forward to the challenge,'' Rivers said.

The Sixers won the first three games against the Raptors before dropping two straight. They closed it Thursday in impressive fashion with a 35-point victory behind 33 points from center Joel Embiid. 

''This series made us a better basketball team,'' Rivers said. ''We actually needed them in some ways. We are a new team and we're still growing. All the switching and all the different things they did, I thought it was really good for our team. I thought it was something good to go through.''

Both teams will be well rested for the series. The Heat have been off since Tuesday after defeating the Atlanta Hawks in five games. They won despite playing without starters Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry. 

The Heat and Sixers last met in the postseason in 2018, with Philadelphia winning 4-1 in the first round. 

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