What’s The Sixers Need To Happen To Get The 6 Seed
We are nearing the end of the regular season. The Sixers have just two games left. One against the Magic tomorrow night, and then 1 against the Nights on Sunday at 1 pm. It is their last chance to improve their seeding and avoid the dreaded play-in tournament.
As of now, they are 45-35 and sit in the 7 seed. But just 1 game separates them, The Pacers, and the Magic. 1 game also separates them and the 8 seed, currently held by the Heat.
Win out, and they are guaranteed at least the 7 seed, which means they would get to play the play-in at home. The hope is to avoid it altogether though. In 1 game, anything can happen. Losing that first game wouldn’t eliminate them, but it would mean they would have to beat the winner of the 9 and 10 seed. If they do win that game, they would have to play the Celtics in the 1st round. Not ideal.
The 6 seed is the best case scenario. You avoid any play in, and could avoid the Celtics until the Eastern Conference Championship. You would have to go through either the Bucks or the Knicks in the first round, and then they would likely face the other one in the 2nd round. Not an easy path, but it is the ideal path. But what do they need to claim the 6 seed?
Here is a Quick guide:
Sixers Need To Win Out
This one is obvious. If the Sixers want to get the 6-seed, they need to win their final two games. Beating the Magic also has the side effect of knocking them down a game. But just winning out will not be enough for them to claim the 6-seed.
Magic Need To Lose
Winning Friday night would start this off right. But the Magic will also need to lose on Sunday to the Bucks. The Bucks are without Giannis, but they just beat them last night without him 117-99. The Magic are 4-6 in their last 10 games, so it is certainly possible they lose. And the good news is the Bucks might need that game to secure their own seeding.
But what happens if the Sixers win out, and the Magic win on Sunday? The Sixers have the tie breaker over the Magic. But they could still end up in the 7 seed depending on what happens with the Pacers.
Pacers Need To Win
It seems counter intuitive to say one of the teams you are contending with needs to win. But the idea is we want them to avoid a 3-way tie. If the Pacers, Magic, and Sixers, all finish with the same record, the Magic would get the 5 seed, the Pacers would get the 6 seed, and the Sixers would be stuck with the 7 seed.
The reason why is the Magic won their division, and the Pacers have the tie breaker over the Sixers. To avoid all of that, it is easier for the Pacers to win, and win the 5 seed, outright.
If the Magic just lose out, and the Sixers win out, it wont matter as much. The Sixers would have a better record than the Magic and there would be no need for tiebreakers. But just in case the Magic do win on Sunday, we want to root for the Pacers to beat the Cavs on Friday. If that happens
Are There Any Other Paths?
Technically yes. If the Pacers lose out too, the Sixers could pass both of them. But the 6-seed is preferable to the 5 seed. They are far better off in the 6-seed, so they can avoid the Celtics in round 1 and round 2.
The Cavs losing out would also change things. The Cavs and the Pacers play each other. So 1 of them will get a win, guaranteeing they finish above the Sixers. But the Sixers could catch them too if they lose out, and the Pacers win out.
The situation listed above, with the magic losing, and the Paces winning, is the simplest way for them to get in. The best part is, it is highly possible. The Magic losing their final two games is not out of the question. The Magic will be underdogs in both games.
If the Sixers just take of their own business, the rest may work itself out. Instead of battling for their life in the play-in, they could be comfortable in the 6-seed, playing with the Knicks without Julius Randle, or the Bucks without Giannis.
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Tracking Every 40 Point Game By Joel Embiid This Season
40 against the Bulls on 12/18
The very next game, Embiid did it again, scoring 40 in 37 minutes. But this time it was in a loss. Maxey scored 29 in the game, but the rest of the team combined managed just 35 combined points. The Sixers had just 38 combined FGs in that game, and Embiid either scored or assisted on 21 of them. He also had 14 rebounds. It was not a great night for the Sixers, who lost 108-104. But it was still a very good game for Embiid.
