The eighth-seeded Sixers are in South Beach for a critical matchup against the sixth-seeded Miami Heat Thursday.

Coming off a successful Joel Embiid return, the Philadelphia 76ers will hit the road to face arguably their toughest remaining opponent of the regular season: the Miami Heat. Currently, the Heat reside in the coveted sixth seed of the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games above the Sixers.

The Heat, much like the year before, have had a roller coaster of a regular season marred with injuries to key players. Heading into tonight’s game, the Heat will be without Tyler Herro (medial tendonitis), Josh Richardson (shoulder surgery) and Orlando Robinson (G League assignment). Jimmy Butler, who has missed a handful of games over the past few weeks, is expected to be available.

This game carries some weight beyond the regular season for both sides. Currently, the Heat lead the season series between the Sixers 2-1. A Miami win would clinch the regular season tie-breaker over the Sixers, while a loss would default to conference win percentage. As things stand, the Heat have the better conference win percentage over the Sixers (by two games).

For the Sixers, things appear to be looking up despite another lengthy injury report. All of Joel Embiid (injury recovery), Tyrese Maxey (hip tightness), Tobias Harris (knee hyperextension) and Mo Bamba (illness) are questionable heading into tonight’s game. Robert Covington and De’Anthony Melton remain out.

Hopefully, the Sixers’ key players are healthy enough to suit up. Not only is it crucial to where they may finish, but the Sixers simply need every minute they can get to build chemistry and find their footing ahead of the postseason. Assuming Embiid sits in one of the upcoming back-to-back games, and he’ll have four games at most to get his rhythm back.

There’s plenty of incentive for both teams to win this game with playoff implications. If there’s any regular season game to ‘try’ in, it’s tonight.

Game Details

Who: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat

When: 7:30pm ET

Where: Kaseya Center, Miami, FL

Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic