The Sixers were last in action on Monday, when they endured a late beat-down, being outscored 33-21 in the third quarter en route to a 109-101 loss.

The Pacers’ last game was a 10 point loss to the Knicks, last Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Indiana was in Boston earlier in the week expecting to play the Celtics on Tuesday night, however that contest was canceled due to Monday’s tragic events at the Boston Marathon.

The NBA elected not to reschedule the contest since the Pacers and the Celtics are already locked into the 3-seed and 7-seed in the east, respectively.

With that being said, from a basketball perspective, it will be interesting to see the philosophy of the two coaches tonight.

With rumors circling that Doug Collins is expected to step down at season’s end, likely to be officially announced during a Rod Thorn press conference on Thursday, it is quite possible that he’ll try to will the troops to a final victory under his reign.

On Monday night, Collins elected to let the young guys such as Arnett Moultrie get extended fourth quarter minutes rather than bringing the starters back in to try for a comeback.  The scoreboard will dictate whether he decides to go that route once again tonight.

The Pacers, on the other hand, will have to choose between resting their guys for a first round series against either Atlanta or Chicago, or playing their guys normally to attempt to secure a 50-win season and some momentum going into the playoffs.

They have lost four out of their last five, so momentum may be an issue, however it wouldn’t be surprising if the starters get pulled for the majority of the second half regardless of the score.

The last contest between these two squads was March 16th in Philadelphia, a game which the Sixers won with a tremendous fourth quarter effort.  Spencer Hawes tallied 18 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, eight assists, and a career-high 7 blocks.

Feb 06, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers centers Lavoy Allen (50) and Spencer Hawes (00) during the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Not only was this by and far the best game of Spence’s career, but it was also the first time since Hakeem Olajuwon’s quadruple double in 1990 that a player had racked up those stats in a single contest.

The Sixers do not have much to play for here, especially considering that they are immersed in a three-way tie with the Blazers and Raptors for the 10th worst record in the NBA.

The lottery implications aren’t huge, and probably aren’t worth tanking for, especially considering that coin tosses will be the final determinant of draft order for the squads that endure equal results tonight.

Toronto will get the Celtics, and the Blazers will get the Warriors, both at home, both opponents being playoff-bound teams that may or may not rest their starters, much like Indiana.

This game should be an emotional one for Doug Collins, who will most likely be coaching his last game for Philadelphia. Reports state that he will be reassigned as a special consultant for next season.

Expect a lot of emotional, reflective responses from players and coaches in tonight’s post-game coverage. Noteworthy quotes will be included in the recap, right at here at The Sixer Sense.

The not-so-grand finale of the Sixers’ tumultuous 2012-2013 campaign tips off at 8 PM tonight in Indiana.

Feb 20, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick (7) drives against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Anyway, this week saw the end of the trade deadline so the links will be to sites talking about the small trades that went down.

Our first look is a trade between the Suns and Raptors. The Suns made another move that has me a fan of the team but lets stick to this one. The Raptors get Sebastian Telfair and the Suns get Hamed Haddadi & a second-round pick. The Suns had a backup PG already so they had room to give up Telfair. Meanwhile, the Raptors could use some help with the PG spot considering health issues. Seems to work out for both teams.

Our next trade is between the Wizards and Celtics. Wizards traded Jordan Crawford to Boston for Jason Collins and Leandro Barbosa. I thought Crawford was special but I guess Wizards trying to get a little older. But again, check out the links from the teams sites that cover those teams. They’ll know better than I. Also, Jason Collins is still in the NBA. He has a twin brother. This leads me to the next trade…

This was a 3 team trade with the Rockets, Suns, and Kings. In reference to my latest comment about twins, one of the players traded was Marcus Morris who now joins his twin brother, Markieff, in Phoenix. Cool. No, the Kings and Suns didn’t exchange players but I just linked these into one trade since they happened basically the same time.

Probably the biggest trade was between the Magic and Bucks. Magic traded J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith to Milwaukee for Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih and Tobias Harris. The Bucks are going to be pretty nasty from the outside and this deal makes me fear even more for the Sixers’ playoff chances. Magic are also not too far behind the Sixers and while I don’t think they will catch the Sixers, the Magic are still…I don’t know. Bucks win for sure.

Hawks and Mavericks made a deal. Hawks traded Anthony Morrow to Dallas for Dahntay Jones. This deal doesn’t make a splash but again that was the common theme for all of the trades made Thursday.

Heat and Grizzlies made a move but I always find these types of trade boring. A player for cash/picks/draft rights. That’s what we’ve seen though and the rest of the trades here will be on that scale. Heat trade Dexter Pittman, a 2013 second-round draft pick and cash considerations to Memphis for the draft rights to Ricky Sanchez.

Knicks and Thunder had an exchange. Ronnie Brewer to Oklahoma City for a 2014 second-round draft pick and cash. Yeah. I will say that the Thunder may find of use for Brewer. A wing defender that can shoot a little bit. Another cute little story, Matt Shetler (editor of Knicks blog) is the assistant NBA division director and Andrew Kennedy is the director (editor of Thunder blog). So it was a trade between our leadership. Battle of the bosses! Or something. So yeah.

Thunder also sent Eric Maynor to the Blazers for the rights to Georgios Printezis and cash. I wish the Sixers could’ve gotten Maynor as a backup PG but I’m cool with Pargo.

The Warriors made another trade besides the one made with the Sixers. They traded Jeremy Tyler to the Hawks for cash and future draft considerations.

And I did save the Sixers’ “move” for last. They got Charles Jenkins and cash from the Warriors for a protected second-round draft pick. So cool.

So that’s it for NBA News from FanSided! Tune in next week for more awesome FanSided content!