"We'll see how he feels," Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said. "We don't want to jump to conclusions. See how he feels after this workout."
Young has missed seven games since he was hurt in a March 31 win against the Atlanta Hawks. The Sixers won their first two games without Young, then lost their next five, dropping to 40-40.
The Sixers have two games remaining: tonight against the defending-champion Celtics and tomorrow in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, the top team in the Eastern Conference.
"In the fastbreak, he helps us tremendously," DiLeo said of Young. "He's a great runner, a guy that just plays and gets tip-ins and hustle plays. He will block some shots and do things. We do miss that element; it changes our dynamic a little bit."
The Sixers' slump has dropped them into seventh place in the East.
"You know you're going to have ups and downs during a season, but you don't want to have them at this time," said Sixers point guard Andre Miller.
"We can't point at offense. . . . Our defense is the problem. We've had this problem all year: Collectively, we're not on the same page."
Miller and the Sixers have two games in two nights to change that.
Tonight, Boston has little at stake. The Celtics have clinched the second seed in the East but are coming off Sunday's embarrassing 31-point loss to the Cavaliers.
"They probably want to come in and make a point," Miller said.
Tomorrow, Cleveland will be playing its final home game of the season. With a win, the Cavs can tie the 1985-86 Boston Celtics for the best home record in NBA history at 40-1.
Young said that he would be fine with playing in back-to-back games and that it could help him get back in game shape. But he was also realistic.
"If I have to wait until the playoffs," Young said, "I'm going to wait."
Miller said he tries not to follow the playoff-seeding race.
"But this time of year, you get caught following it anyway," Miller said. "We want the best seed for our team, to try to position ourselves for a good playoff run. Of course, everybody wants to duck Boston and Cleveland in the first round. Those are teams you want to avoid because they're going to be hungry and want to get those series over quickly."
Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.
Push for Playoff Seeding
Eastern Conference
5. Miami Heat (42-38). Conference record, 27-23. Remaining schedule: Hawks, Pistons.
6. Chicago Bulls (41-40). Conference record, 24-27. Remaining schedule: Knicks.
7. 76ers (40-40). Conference record, 24-26.
Remaining schedule: Celtics, Cavaliers.
8. Detroit Pistons (39-42). Conference record, 26-25. Remaining schedule: Heat.
The Lowdown
The Pistons were locked into the eighth spot in the conference with last night's 91-88 loss to the Bulls. Detroit will face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.
With the victory, the Bulls moved a half-game ahead of the Sixers for the sixth seed.
The Sixers split the season series with the Heat and Bulls. The first tiebreaker is conference record and the next is winning percentage against playoff opponents within the conference.
The Sixers can no longer reach the fifth seed because they are two games behind the Heat with two games to play and the Heat own the tiebreaker.
If the Sixers win both their remaining games, they will gain the sixth seed regardless of how Chicago does since they own the tiebreaker over the Bulls.
If the Sixers split their remaining two games, they still could finish sixth if the Bulls lose to the Knicks.
If the Sixers lose their final two games, they will finish seventh and face Boston in the first round.
