Can The Sixers Really Chase Down Boston For The 3 Seed?
We’re officially in the home stretch of the NBA Regular Season. Seeding is starting to take shape, and teams are making their last runs at trying to improve that seeding to give them the easiest path to an NBA Finals. The Sixers, of course, are focused on that as well, and it seems like they have a real opportunity to make it a reality before the playoffs tip off. Philly is currently in command of the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, but the once top-seeded Boston Celtics have dropped to the 2nd seed, and only stand one game ahead of the Sixers. With 13 games remaining for the Celtics, and 15 left for Philly, how realistic is it for Joel Embiid and company to track down the rival Celtics?
Well, the Celtics certainly have the easier schedule of the 2. The Celtics only play 4 of those final 13 games against teams with winning records, but it does help that the Sixers are in that group of 4. It doesn’t make it easy for Philly to make up ground though. They, on the other hand, will face 8 teams over .500 in their final 15 games, including the top seeds from each conference and the Celtics. When you break it down that way, it seems like it would be a pretty safe bet to say that the seeding in the Eastern Conference will look just like it does now when the regular season is over.
Stranger things have happened, though, and the Sixers biggest asset is that they are the hottest team in basketball. Boston is 5-5 in their last 10 games, and that stretch included losses to the Rockets, the new look Nets, and the Knicks twice. Those aren’t exactly juggernaut teams, and the Sixers have gone 7-3 over the same time frame. Professional basketball is a game of runs, and the NBA season is as well. Right now, the Sixers are on a good run, and the Celtics are on a bad one. Whether or not they can continue in those directions is the major question, and I would bet that the Celtics will ultimately recover enough to lock down the 2 seed. That being said, though, the Sixers are certainly playing for something down the stretch of the regular season, and it could definitely help them come playoffs if they are able to track down Boston.
