As we told you on Wednesday, the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers both had pretty strong incentive to lose their final battle of the 2014-15 season. Had the Nets lost their own finale, there was a 50-50 chance that a Miami win would grant their late lottery pick to the Sixers. A Sixers win would all but guarantee the Heat kept their pick.
The tanking Miami Heat played these guys all 48 minutes
And they still won!
(The Nets won, making this moot by ensuring Miami will keep its pick barring an unprecedented lottery upset. But the games were simultaneous, and the Nets actually trailed most of the night. The scenario was in play until midway through the fourth quarter of Heat-Sixers.)
Philadelphia responded to the situation by sitting Nerlens Noel, letting Joel Embiid draw up plays and trotting out a version of the proto D-League club they have offered up all year. Miami went a step further: they rested everyone who was a clear NBA future and went with this bunch the entire game.
Two substitutions the entire game for Erik Spoelstra: one to get Zoran Dragic (the younger, lesser brother of Goran) out of the game, and one to get him back in. This is a Michael Beasley dream game, and it resulted in a win. That's how bad the Sixers are, y'all.
Good job, good effort, Heat.
