Playoff seeding after the Magic beat T-Wolves, pushing the Sixers to the 8th seed in the East with 3 games left

The standings in the East have shifted again. The Magic won on Wednesday night and jumped the Sixers into seventh seed. Philly is now currently the 8th seed at 43-36 with three games left and the path to avoiding the play-in just got even more narrow.

Sixers Current Standings:

• 5th: Hawks (45-35)
• 6th: Raptors (44-35)
• 7th: Magic (44-36)
• 8th: 76ers (43-36) ← us
• 9th: Hornets (43-37)
• 10th: Heat (41-38)

The top six avoid the play-in. Philly is now two spots out with three games left. Every path forward requires winning games and getting help.

Sixers: 3-0

Win Houston on Thursday, Indiana on Friday, and Milwaukee on Sunday and finish 46-36. To avoid the play-in entirely the Sixers would need Toronto to lose at least one of their final three.

They own the tiebreaker over the Raptors via Atlantic division record so a two-way tie at 46-36 goes Philadelphia’s way. The Magic could also reach 46 wins but the Sixers won the season series over Orlando so that tiebreaker is covered too. A 3-0 finish keeps the sixth seed very much alive. It requires beating Houston, which is the hard part.

Sixers: 2-1

Finish 45-37 and the math gets complicated fast. Atlanta is out of reach even if the Hawks go 0-2 because they swept the season series. To grab the sixth seed at 45-37 the Sixers would need the Raptors to go 1-2 or worse and the Magic to go 1-1 or worse.

Multiple dominoes need to fall. It is possible but requires significant scoreboard watching. The Hornets could also land at 45-37 by beating the Pistons and Knicks but the Sixers won that season series too. A 2-1 finish most likely means the play-in.

Sixers: 1-2

Finish 44-38 and the only way to avoid the play-in is if the Raptors go 0-3, the Magic go 0-2, and the Hornets go 1-1 or worse. That is a lot of things that have to go wrong for other teams simultaneously. This is a play-in outcome almost certainly.

Sixers: 0-3

Finish 43-39 and they are looking at 8th through 10th depending on what the Hornets and Heat do. This is a collapse scenario and not worth spending much time on. It should not happen. Losing to Indiana and Milwaukee would be inexcusable.

The Final 3 Games Start Tonight in Houston…

Win Houston and the conversation stays interesting. Lose Houston and lock up Indiana and Milwaukee and survive the play-in. Lose to Indiana or Milwaukee and nothing else matters because that would be a complete failure regardless of seeding.

Three games. Start Thursday night in Houston.

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