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EspañolPHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers will return home from a 3-game road trip on Thursday as they take on the Miami Heat in a hugely important game in terms of the standings. The Sixers lead the Heat by 1.5 games for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and Miami currently leads the 3-game season series 1-0.
In terms of the playing status of Joel Embiid, the big fella will play in this one after being listed as probable. He told reporters in Indiana about the pain threshold he is dealing with as he made his return on Tuesday in the win over the Pacers.
In terms of what coach Nick Nurse and Co. will do moving forward with Embiid, the Sixers will listen to the medical staff and go from there.
"I mean, I think that regardless, we're gonna listen to him and what they're telling me to do with him as far as the load that he's taken," Nurse explained on Embiid. "Whether it's a game day or non game day or whatever. So I think we're just going to try to be as smart as we can with it."
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As far as the matchup with the Heat is concerned, Nurse and his team is taking this one a bit more seriously. They know this one means a bit more.
"I mean, yeah," Nurse started. "I think we only play them three times this year, and this one could decide the tiebreaker or keep it alive. So I think it adds a little bit to it. Close in the standings, always seem to battle with these guys, so it should be good."
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. EST on Thursday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers vs. Heat: Final playing status for star big man Joel Embiid