Iguodala, Brand and Young stay at home; Orlando, NY could flip-flop

The Philadelphia 76ers have left Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young are at home resting while the team prepares to play its final two games of the season, beginning tonight in Milwaukee.


The two will also miss the team's final game of the season at Detroit on Thursday. The good news for the Sixers is that Iguodala, who had to be helped off the court following the Sixers' playoff-berth clinching victory over the Nets on Monday night, is fine and is not being listed by the team as injured. 


Smart move by the Sixers. Now that there in, do what you have to do to make sure you don't run into the Heat. And nobody can really knock you because, like most teams at this point of the season, you're resting players for the playoffs.


Use this time to get some other guys on track and back in rhythm. Guys like Nik Vucevic. The rookie out of USC has had an up and down season, as rookies are wont to do. But the Sixers are going to need his big body – and his occasional scoring spurts – against Miami or Chicago.


Speaking of the two aforementioned teams, I truly think that the 76ers will remain safely in the eighth seed. The possibility exists that the Knicks, tied with the Sixers for the seventh seed but holding the tie-breaker advantage over the Sixers, could close out the season with victories over the Los Angeles Clippers (at the Garden Wednesday night) and in the season  finale against a Charlotte team that couldn't win the D-League championship at full strength. 

The Knicks want to avoid the Heat as much as the Sixers do, and if they win their last two games  and Orlando drops its last two against Charlotte (yeah, right) and Memphis that would leave the teams with identical records. However, the Knicks would receive the higher seed by virtue of the better head-to-head record.


Contact staff writer John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmitchInquirer