The Sixers didn’t take the court Wednesday night, but they might have still won big.
With the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic losing, the Sixers now have the inside track for the sixth seed in the East, barring a weird tiebreaker coming into play.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks did the Sixers a huge solid, beating the Heat 111-92 in South Beach. Even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks were able to take down the Magic in Milwaukee 117-99. Since the Sixers own the tiebreaker over Orlando, it means if the Sixers beat the Magic and close out the season with a win over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday, they will be in the driver’s seat for the No. 6 seed. That would mean an automatic playoff spot and avoiding the Play-In Tournament.
There is one quirky way the Sixers could find themselves as the No. 7 seed. If the Sixers are tied with the Magic and Pacers, Orlando and Indiana would have the tiebreaker over Philly because … divisions. That’s right, there are still divisions in the NBA and it could wind up hurting the Sixers because the Magic won the Southeast.Tl;dr: The Sixers need to win out, and they need Orlando to lose out or Indiana to either win out or lose out.
As of this posting, the New York Knicks are the No. 3 seed, but a lot can change with all these teams so jumbled. Avoiding the Play-In also means avoiding the top-seeded Celtics in the first round. If the Sixers were able to go on a run as a six seed, they wouldn’t see Boston until the Eastern Conference Finals.
All of that is getting ahead of ourselves. The Sixers host the Magic Friday in what should be a playoff-like atmosphere.
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