Playoff Outlook: Philadelphia 76ers earn a massive win in Miami and a quick reminder that playoff seeding doesn’t matter

Drew Smith
April 5, 2024
Sixers
0 Comments

The Philadelphia 76ers have five games left in the 2023-24 NBA regular season – and there is a ton of playoff seeding implications still left to resolve after they earned a MASSIVE victory against the Miami Heat last night in South Beach.

Right now, the 76ers are currently locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Standings. That means the Sixers would be in the NBA Play-In Tournament, facing the No. 7 seed which as of now, would be the Miami Heat.

Last Night – Full Game Recap >>

If that was the scenario at the end of the season, the 76ers would need to beat the Miami Heat on the road to secure a spot in the playoffs. If they don’t, they would have to beat the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 seed tournament game which right now, would be between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.

Before last night, I really see a path for the Sixers to move out of the No. 8 seed and in a broader view, the NBA Play-In Tournament. Now, there is a way more realistic path to jump both the Heat and the Pacers to finish the regular season as the No. 6 seed heading into the playoffs.

No. 7 Seed & No. 8 Seed

The Philadelphia 76ers are currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Standings. They are currently one and a half games behind the Miami Heat in the No. 7 seed.

They are a half game behind the Miami Heat and just a game behind the Indiana Pacers, currently in the No. 6 seed.

Philadelphia 76ers – Current Standings

Why No. 7 is better than No. 8: The No. 7 seed will receive home court advantage guaranteed for one or both play-in round games.

76ers, Heat, Pacers Remaining Schedules:

Philadelphia 76ers	Miami Heat	Indiana Pacers
@ Memphis Grizzlies	@ Houston Rockets	@ Brooklyn Nets
@ San Antonio Spurs	@ Indiana Pacers	vs Oklahoma City Thunder
vs Detroit Pistons	@ Atlanta Hawks	vs Miami Heat
vs Orlando Magic	vs Dallas Mavericks	@ Toronto Raptors
vs Brooklyn Nets	vs Toronto Raptors	@ Cleveland Cavaliers
–	vs Toronto Raptors	vs Atlanta Hawks

Schedule Notes:

76ers: The Sixers will only face one team with a winning record to close out the regular season – the Orlando Magic at home on April 12th. The only other “concern” would be the back-to-back between the Grizzlies and Spurs on the road.

Heat: Miami will face four teams in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs their final six games of the regular season.

Pacers: Indiana will face four teams in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs their final six games of the regular season.

A win last night in Miami evened the regular season series between the Heat and Sixers, giving them a much more realistic path to the No. 6 seed over the final week of the season.

No. 6 Seed

The sixth seed is where every NBA team wants to be heading into the playoffs, assuming you’re at the bottom looking for a spot to get in.

The No. 6 seed is the lowest seed that carries nearly a week off following the end of the regular season. It would also allow that team to avoid the Celtics and Bucks – the Eastern Conference Top 2 Seeds – for at least one round.

Instead, the Sixers would face the Cavaliers, Magic, or Knicks in a 3-vs-6 matchup – which is obviously much better than the Celtics and Bucks.

Right now, the 76ers would have to catch the Indiana Pacers, who currently hold the coveted No. 6 seed. They are currently a game behind the Pacers in the standings.

Honestly, one of the mantras of The Liberty Line is simply Playoff Seeding Doesn’t Matter and looking at the Philadelphia 76ers remaining schedule, I’m perfectly comfortable heading into the playoffs in any seed available. You are going to have to beat good teams to advance and maybe after YEARS of high expectations.

Maybe that’s what was needed after all these disappointing playoff runs in the past?

The Philadelphia 76ers immediately went into “Win-Now” mode with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz. We rushed from The Process into NBA Finals Mode and never really gave the time expected to let things grow naturally.

Now, with zero expectations and a healthy Joel Embiid aided by Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr – the Sixers are primed to make a surprise run deep into the playoffs.

Ryen Russillo is a RAT >>