On Thursday, the NBA will likely approve their proposal to return back to playing in Disney this summer. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, 22 teams will be brought to Orlando including 13 from the West and 9 from the East. It is nice to finally have some structure and a light at the end of the tunnel. Over the last few months, there were countless concerns that the season may have been  canceled. That is not an issue anymore. While there were many proposals brought to the table, this 22 team idea seems to be the most fair for each conference as their situations were both different.

So the NBA's inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify.
The NBA's back.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 3, 2020

The full proposal details:

As mentioned above, 9 Eastern Conference teams will join 13 Western Conference teams to finish a makeshift season. Each team will play 8 final regular-season games to determine the seeding. There will still be only 8 teams from each conference who make the playoffs. If the 8th and 9th seeds in either conference are within 4 games of each other, there will be a play in game to determine who moves on. 

Who’s still alive: 

In the East, this is the current standings of the 9 teams: 

1: Milwaukee Bucks 53-12

2: Toronto Raptors 46-18

3: Boston Celtics 43-21

4: Miami Heat: 41-24

5: Indiana Pacers 39-26

6: Philadelphia 76ers 39-26

7: Brooklyn Nets 30-34

8: Orlando Magic 30-35

9: Washington Wizards 24-40

And here is the West:

1: Los Angeles Lakers 49-14

2: Los Angeles Clippers 44-20

3: Denver Nuggets 43-22

4: Utah Jazz 41-23

5: Oklahoma City Thunder 40-24

6: Houston Rockets 40-24

7: Dallas Mavericks 40-27

8: Memphis Grizzlies 32-33

9: Portland Trail Blazers 29-37

10: New Orleans Pelicans 28-36

11: Sacramento Kings 28-36

12: San Antonio Spurs 27-36

13: Phoenix Suns 26-39 

How does this affect the 76ers?

This is probably the best scenario for the 76ers. A rumored overall tournament would’ve placed them against the Celtics, Bucks, Clippers, and Lakers in a very hard group of games. A return with just the 16 teams meant they would play Boston, Toronto, and Milwaukee on their way to the finals.

This proposal allows them to help break through to possibly as high as the 3rd seed. While it is much more likely they will land in the 4th or 5th seed they will go up against probably Miami or Boston to start things off. Another benefit is the return of a healthy Ben Simmons and a highly motivated group ready to compete. 

With all games taking place in Disney it will be interesting to see how the Sixers perform given their lopsided home vs away records. As both Brett Brown and Elton Brand have indicated over the last month, the team will be ready to play. Joel Embiid also seems to be in the right mindset.

Overall thoughts on this proposal: 

I think this is the best idea that has been brought up and allows every team with a shot to get a chance to compete without feeling left out. The competitive battle in the bottom of the West can finish with a proper amount of games and nobody feeling that they were shorted on missing the playoffs. While playing likely won’t resume for another 6 weeks or so, it is nice to know that basketball is back and we will have a conclusion to this incredible season.