How likely is home-court advantage for the Sixers?

By Joe DiProsperos | Mar 13, 2018

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 6: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers gives autographed ball to fans after the game against the Washington Wizards on February 6, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Philadelphia 76ers are in a prime position to earn home-court advantage for the first time in 15 years.

If you were to tell me a year ago that the Philadelphia 76ers, who back then were on their way to a 28-win season, would be in contention for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference the very next season, I would have no choice but to question your sanity.

Let’s be honest, this team has exceeded all expectations this season. Having a 36-29 record and sitting just two games back of the third seed with 17 games left in the season is above and beyond anything anyone could’ve asked for out of this squad. I mean just earning an eighth seed and barely making the playoffs this year would’ve been a major improvement in and of itself.

A major reason the Sixers find themselves in such a position is their dominant play at home. They have currently reeled off 12-straight victories at the Wells Fargo Center and are 20-10 as the home team overall this season, as opposed to their 16-19 mark as visitors.

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Clearly, if this squad wants to increase their chances of making it at least past the first round in the playoffs, earning home-court advantage would do wonders in swaying those odds in their favor.

The Sixers obviously must continue to keep racking up W’s if they want to make that a reality. Their schedule the rest of the way definitely works in their favor in that regard. The Sixers have by far the easiest remaining schedule in the league, as they will be facing off against opponents who have been in tank mode a good majority of the season.

This includes the Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks (twice), Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets (twice). Aside from maybe resting up guys for the playoffs, there is no reason why this squad shouldn’t run the table in all of those games.

Granted, there are a few key games down the stretch that should have playoff seeding implications. I’m not just talking about this Tuesday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers. I’m also looking at late-season match-ups versus the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks, in addition to games against the Denver Nuggets, a team fighting for a playoff spot, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are currently fifth in the West.

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So it clearly isn’t going to be the easiest road to home-court advantage.

Yet, scheduling may work again in the Sixers’ favor. Like I said earlier, the Sixers are just two games back of the third seed, which is currently held by the Indiana Pacers. If we look at remaining schedules, the Pacers’ is the second-most difficult in the entire NBA.

Since we’re on the topic, by comparison, the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards have the 12th-most difficult remaining schedule while the fourth-seeded Cavs have the seventh-easiest, although they do play the top-seeded Toronto Raptors twice and the Cavs have been faltering of late.

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In the end, what this all means is that home-court advantage is definitely attainable for the Sixers. As long as they play their cards right, continue to improve on certain facets of their game (*cough* turnovers), and win games that they have no business losing, come April, Philly should host a game one for the first time since 2003.