Another look sets Philadelphia 76ers at 48 wins
The Philadelphia 76ers schedule softens at the close of the NBA season. But how many wins? Lets take another look as the NBA competes over All Star events
The Philadelphia 76ers have not been this way for six seasons. Here at the All-Star break, the team is in the midst of NBA Playoff discussions. And so, much of what will be depends on the what will happen as the team makes a playoff push. No player on this team, and certainly not head coach Brett Brown, have had this level of success before. That evoked serious doubts throughout the NBA community as to whether the team would even be in this situation this year.
But here they are, with a short sprint to the finish line and an NBA schedule which seems to favor their chances. So let’s dive into it, shall we? The following table highlights the Philadelphia 76ers remaining games (H=home, A=away) and their W-L record against the rest of the league.
Home stretch
The Philadelphia 76ers had a tough schedule so far. The team made their west coast trips, pushed past two of the best Eastern Conference teams in Boston and Toronto, and emerged 30-25. But the last 27 games (14 away, 13 home) should be a lot easier.
They no longer face any more games against Toronto, Boston, Houston, Golden State, San Antonio or Oklahoma City. As a matter of fact, the Sixers don’t have any road games against the West.
Remaining schedule
| Remaining | W | L | Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | 3 | 1Toronto Raptors | 41 | 16 | 0.719 | – | |
| 1 | 3 | 2Boston Celtics | 40 | 19 | 0.678 | 2.0 | |
| A H | 0 | 2 | 3Cleveland Cavaliers | 34 | 22 | 0.607 | 6.5 |
| A | 2 | 1 | 4Washington Wizards | 33 | 24 | 0.579 | 8.0 |
| H | 1 | 1 | 6Indiana Pacers | 33 | 25 | 0.569 | 8.5 |
| A H | 1 | 1 | 5Milwaukee Bucks | 32 | 25 | 0.561 | 9.0 |
| 7Philadelphia 76ers | 30 | 25 | 0.545 | 10.0 | |||
| A A | 2 | 0 | 8Miami Heat | 30 | 28 | 0.517 | 11.5 |
| A | 3 | 0 | Detroit Pistons | 28 | 29 | 0.491 | 13.0 |
| H A H A | Charlotte Hornets | 24 | 33 | 0.421 | 17.0 | ||
| A H | 2 | 0 | New York Knicks | 23 | 36 | 0.390 | 19.0 |
| A | 1 | 1 | Chicago Bulls | 20 | 37 | 0.351 | 21.0 |
| A H H | 0 | 1 | Brooklyn Nets | 19 | 40 | 0.322 | 23.0 |
| H A | 1 | 0 | Orlando Magic | 18 | 39 | 0.316 | 23.0 |
| A A | 1 | 0 | Atlanta Hawks | 18 | 41 | 0.305 | 24.0 |
| Total | 16 | 13 | Eastern Conference | 423 | 439 | ||
| W | L | Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | 1 | 1Houston Rockets | 44 | 13 | 0.772 | – | |
| 0 | 2 | 2Golden State Warriors | 44 | 14 | 0.759 | 0.5 | |
| 2 | 0 | 3San Antonio Spurs | 35 | 24 | 0.593 | 10.0 | |
| H | 1 | 0 | 4Minnesota Timberwolves | 36 | 25 | 0.590 | 10.0 |
| 0 | 2 | 5Oklahoma City Thunder | 33 | 26 | 0.559 | 12.0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 6Portland Trail Blazers | 32 | 26 | 0.552 | 12.5 | |
| H | 1 | 0 | 7Denver Nuggets | 32 | 26 | 0.544 | 12.5 |
| 1 | 1 | 8New Orleans Pelicans | 31 | 26 | 0.544 | 13.0 | |
| 2 | 0 | LA Clippers | 30 | 26 | 0.536 | 13.5 | |
| 2 | 0 | Utah Jazz | 30 | 28 | 0.517 | 14.5 | |
| 1 | 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | 23 | 34 | 0.404 | 21.0 | |
| H | 0 | 1 | Memphis Grizzlies | 18 | 38 | 0.321 | 25.5 |
| 0 | 2 | Sacramento Kings | 18 | 39 | 0.316 | 26.0 | |
| H | 1 | 0 | Dallas Mavericks | 18 | 40 | 0.310 | 26.5 |
| 1 | 1 | Phoenix Suns | 18 | 41 | 0.305 | 27.0 | |
| Total | 14 | 12 | Western Conference | 442 | 426 |
Philadelphia 76ers are playoff bound today
The Philadelphia 76ers are currently ranked as the 7th-seed for the playoffs right now. Still, the team is just one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks, 1.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers and 2 games behind Washington Wizards for the 4th-seed.
The team just completed a five game home-stand by winning all five, topped off by an incredible win against Miami. Nine of our next 12 games are on the road, so that will be a test. Although, the team finishes the last 15 games with 10 home games. Complicating everything for the Sixers are six back-to-back games. The team is 2-6 when facing 0 days rest.
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Expectations
While the Philadelphia 76ers still face no Furkan Korkmaz nor Markelle Fultz, the team is healthier than it has been for most of the year. Both Joel Embiid and Justin Anderson have slightly sprained ankles The hope is that both should be good to go after the All-star break. Even better news is the fact that Embiid can play back-to-back games. And we have learned that Furkan Korkmaz has been upgraded to weight bearing activities on his foot. Whether that means he can participate with the team through season’s end remains up in the air.
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The 76ers have a stout defense that leads the league with 47.0 rebounds/gm, while ranking sixth in steals and 11th in blocks. The team’s offense stands at ninth in the NBA in points per game at 107.5. And the team has added some punch off the bench by signing shooting guard Marco Belinelli.
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There are ten games remaining against teams with winning records. Our record against those teams is 8-5. There are 17 games against teams with losing records. Our record against those teams is 9-3. If the 76ers continue to dominate these teams, we should finish 18-9, which would give us a record of 48-34 and probably the 4th-seed in the East. This would give Brett Brown 20 more wins than last year and a leg up on NBA Coach Of The Year.