News » at home against 23

Back in the playoffs for the first time in six years Jordan Willis Jersey , the Philadelphia 76ers got a bit of a pick-me-up on Thursday as they prepared for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals matchup with the Miami Heat at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

“We had a nice team dinner, went over the game plan, shared a message from Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson, exchanged some stories, some well swishes, and we wake up this morning and reset the game plan,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “They understand the magnitude of this time of year.”

It would be understandable if at least a few of the Sixers players didn’t.

The last time third-seeded Philadelphia won 50 regular-season games — the 2000-01 season — Ben Simmons was 4 years old. His backup, No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz, was 2, and he turned 3 while the 76ers were in the midst of their postseason run to the NBA Finals that season.

It hasn’t been 18 years since the 76ers started “The Process,” though it may have felt that way. But even in this better-than-anticipated season, the team feels excited and prepared for its first playoff run since 2012.

Even the absence of star young center Joel Embiid — who Tarik Cohen Jersey , Brown confirmed, will miss the beginning of the playoffs as he recovers from a broken orbital bone — is doing little to dampen Philadelphia’s spirits.

“We prepare the same way we’ve been preparing the last seven or so games without him,” said Simmons, who has averaged a triple-double over the last month. “Stick with our defense, stick with our offense. We’re ready to play; I love stepping up and playing against the best competition.”

Against the sixth-seeded Heat, Embiid’s presence could play a major factor.

Miami has a pair of stout centers in Hassan Whiteside, one of the league’s best defenders, and rookie Bam Adebayo, who is one of the league’s best rebounders per 48 minutes.

“They are tremendous rim protectors,” Brown said. “You better go to jump or you better find perimeter shooters, because anything soft or non-purposeful is very difficult with those two bodies in there.”

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat could turn to Adebayo more against a 76ers squad missing one of the premier post players in the game.

“He certainly brings something that could be needed in this series, which is that energy and physicality under the rim,” Spoelstra said. “This is a big offensive rebounding team and you need more of your best rebounders out there.”

Both teams enter the matchup coming off good Aprils Dawuane Smoot Jersey , though the 76ers come in as the hottest team in the NBA with a franchise-best 16 straight wins. Miami ended the regular season winners of five of eight.

“This is a great competition,” Spoelstra said. “You look at our games, we split them 2-2 and we had some crazy games. Both teams had big leads and lost them. This is what you want. Usually the 3-6 matchup is very competitive.”

Neither team dominated the season series, with all four games between the teams taking place during a five-week stretch from early February to early March. Philadelphia won at home, 103-97, on Feb. 2, followed by a 104-102 Miami road win on Feb. 14. The teams met again two weeks later in Miami, with the 76ers scoring a 102-101 win, and the Heat closed out the season series with a 108-99 home win on March 8.

“They played us hard; they were really physical with us, especially down in Miami,” Sixers guard J.J. Redick said. “They run multiple actions on offense so you really have to defend for the whole shot clock. They have a deep roster with a bunch of guys who play hard and play together. It’s a big challenge for us.”

SAN DIEGO — There will be a double homecoming Friday night at Petco Park.

Right-hander Joe Musgrove, who was born and raised 20 minutes east of San Diego in El Cajon, will be facing the Padres for the first time as the starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And the Padres will also be back in San Diego for only the third game since June 6. This is also a brief respite. After three games at home this weekend against the Pirates Aaron Colvin Jersey , the Padres hit the road again for six games before returning home on July 9.

A quick check of the math. Between June 6 and July 9, the Padres will play only five games at home against 23 on the road in a span of 32 days.

“I’ve never seen a schedule like this,” said Padres manager Andy Green, whose club is coming off a 2-5 road trip to San Francisco and Texas.

Starting for the Padres Friday will be left-handed rookie Eric Lauer. Like Musgrove, Lauer is a former first-round draft pick.

Musgrove is one of three Pirates pitchers from San Diego County. Trevor Williams will start Saturday night’s game. And Steven Brault, who was a teammate of Musgrove at Grossmont High in 2010, is in the Pirates’ bullpen.

Musgrove, 25, was the 46th overall pick of the 2011 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Lauer, 23, was the 25th overall pick of the Padres in the 2016 draft.

Musgrove is 2-3 with a 4.59 earned run average in six starts for the Pirates this season. Lauer is 3-4 with a 5.05 ERA in 12 starts for the Padres

Although Musgrove will be facing the Padres for the first time, Lauer made a start against the Pirates earlier this season in Pittsburgh. On May 17, the Pirates scored four runs off Lauer on six hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.

In seven starts since Tracy Walker Jersey , the 6-foot-3, 227-pound Lauer is 2-2 with a 3.25 ERA. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Musgrove has struggled recently. He is 0-3 in June with a 7.45 ERA, and he gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings in his most recent start against Arizona on Saturday.

Lauer has lowered his ERA in each of his last five starts and has given up two runs (one earned) on eight hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts over 12 innings in his last two starts.

Lauer and rookie teammate Joey Lucchesi are two of the first three pitchers to reach the major leagues from the 2016 draft. Lauer was promoted to the Padres from Triple-A El Paso on April 24.

“We expected there would be growing pains with Lauer,” Green said recently. “Two years ago, he was pitching once a week in college (Kent State). Last year, he and Joey were working with five days’ rest between starts. This is an adjustment, being in a five-man rotation. His jump recently has come with blending in his secondary pitches as well as having better command of his fastball.”

George King Jersey ,