With six games remaining in the regular season, the Sixers hold a firm two-game lead over the Nets for first place in the East. What makes this significant?
Obviously having the one seed is big for bragging rights and having home court advantage, but that is even more important for Philly. The Sixers have a 25-7 record at home this season, the best in the entire NBA. That is compared to only a 20-14 record on the road. Even with no or limited fans in the stands, the Sixers are continuing the trend from past years of playing significantly better at the Wells Fargo Center.
On top of that, it would likely ensure avoiding Brooklyn or Milwaukee until the conference finals. The other two best teams in the conference would then have to battle it out in the conference semifinals, leaving an easier path for Philly.
So how likely are the chances of clinching the one seed? Well, the Sixers must go 4-2 in their remaining games to clinch. That record would get easier if Brooklyn loses any of its six remaining games.
Philly has maybe the easiest schedule remaining in the league. They only face one team with a record above .500 (Miami Heat). The Nets still have potential losses in their schedule with Dallas and Denver coming up.
Put all of this together, it appears to be very likely the Sixers will be the one seed in the playoffs.
Now, what is the best matchup scenario for our team in the playoffs? To be honest, it would be if the standings stay as is.
Charlotte is the current eight seed with Indiana two games behind. The Hornets have done a great job this season turning around their team. and they have their future star in LaMelo Ball. They still will not be any match against the Sixers in the first round. We should be able to sweep that series.
The second round is where it gets a bit more interesting. Right now, New York is the four seed and Atlanta five, so Philly would play the winner of that series. Both teams deserve respect for turning into legitimate playoff teams, but the Sixers should not have much trouble putting either squad away in a seven-game series.
What could present some concern though is a sneaky Miami or Boston team moving up. They are both tied the six seed, 2.5 games behind the Hawks for the five seed (technically only 1,5 games back, but Hawks own both tiebreakers). Atlanta does not play another team above .500 the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the Heat and Celtics have much harder schedules, including facing each other twice.
Hopefully, this means Atlanta should be able to stay in front of Miami and Boston. Let’s all root for the Hawks the rest of the regular season!
Bottom line – if the current seeding stays put, which it appears it should, the Sixers will have the perfect playoff matchups to FINALLY reach the conference finals. That is when, most likely, the matchup we have all been waiting for would go down against either Brooklyn or Milwaukee. Until then, let’s hope the current seeding stays put!
