If the NBA regular season ended today, the Sixers would be the No. 8 seed in the eastern conference and they'd start their postseason in Miami. As a play-in team, the theoretical 8-seeded Sixers would need to either defeat the Heat, or the subsequent winner of a 9-10 battle between the Bulls and the Hawks (which would be played in Philly).
But the season does not end today. The Sixers, have kept some hope alive for moving up the ladder, with six games left in the regular season. There is a lot of benefit to Philly winning as many of their final six games as possible — and they'll have a better chance at it with Joel Embiid now suiting up.
Philly is extremely unlikely to finish any worse than 8th, or any better than 6th. Here's a look at each scenario:
The 8-seed
As mentioned previously, this is the most likely spot for the Sixers — and it's the one they currently hold. There are benefits from finishing the season strongly and getting a better playoff position.
The 7-seed
The Sixers are currently one and a half games behind the Heat for the seventh seed in the east. The 7-seed has home court advantage guaranteed for one or both play-in round games. These two teams play Thursday in Miami with some high stakes at play. The Sixers winning this game would even the season series 2-2, which would bring some complicated metrics into play for a tie-break if they finish with the same record.
Here's a look at the slate left for the Sixers and Heat down the stretch:
| Sixers | Heat |
| at Heat | vs. Sixers |
| at Grizzlies | at Rockets |
| at Spurs | at Pacers |
| vs. Pistons | at Hawks |
| vs. Magic | vs. Mavericks |
| vs. Nets | vs. Raptors |
| vs. Raptors |
After facing Miami, Philly has just one game left against a winning team, the Magic at home on April 12. It's worth mentioning that the Grizzlies and Spurs games are back-to-back.
The Heat face four playoff hopefuls in their final seven games and four of their next five.
The 6-seed
The sixth seed is the prize right now and it comes with some serious benefits. First, it gives the team nearly a week off after the end of the regular season, prior to the playoffs. Second, it allows the Sixers to avoid the Celtics and Bucks — the top two seeds — for at least one round as they'll play the Cavaliers, Magic or Knicks in a 3-vs-6 matchup. And finally, it allows the Sixers to avoid the play-in tournament.
In order to leap from 8th to 6th, the Sixers have to catch Pacers, whom they trail by two games in the standings (but it's really three, since Indiana has already won the season series — which is the tiebreaker).
| Sixers | Pacers |
| at Heat | at Nets |
| at Grizzlies | vs. Thunder |
| at Spurs | vs. Heat |
| vs. Pistons | at Raptors |
| vs. Magic | at Cavaliers |
| vs. Nets | vs. Hawks |
The Pacers have a tougher schedule. The Sixers essentially need Indiana to lose at least three times, while going 6-0, or lose four times while going 5-1. Three wins will clinch it for the Pacers and relegate the Sixers to a play-in scenario.
MORE: Sixers win in Embiid's return
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