The Philadelphia 76ers clinch the third seed with a win over Milwaukee.
We’re here. The last game of the regular season, and one of the biggest single games the Philadelphia 76ers have played in a while. The outcome will almost certainly determine who they play in the second round, should they make it that far.
Heading into tonight’s game against Milwaukee, the Sixers have won 15 straight. Not only is that a franchise record, but they’ve now won seven of those games without Joel Embiid. The momentum seems to be going in Philly’s favor.
Tonight’s matchup presents some interesting challenges, though. The Sixers pulled out a surprisingly hard-fought win in Atlanta before making the late-night flight home. Playing the second night of a back-to-back after traveling is never easy, especially for a team dealing with injuries like the Sixers.
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Along with Embiid, I doubt we see Dario Saric make an appearance. He jogged directly to the locker room after getting elbowed by John Collins 13 seconds into the Atlanta game, chipping his tooth. However severe that may be, an immediate return could be difficult for The Homie.
Ersan Ilyasova and T.J. McConnell also got banged up at some point last night, while Ben Simmons is dealing with gastroenteritis. The Sixers aren’t in the greatest shape.
Their incentives, however, are relatively clear-cut. If they win, they lock up third place. That would pit them against the injury-plagued Celtics or the No. 7 seed in the second round, assuming they make it that far.
If they lose, they’d face a tough Pacers team in round one and, should they win that series, face the top-seeded Raptors in the second round. On top of that, if a conference finals series against Cleveland is the end goal, it’d be nice to have home-court advantage.
The Cavs host the Knicks tonight, a game they’ll almost certainly win. That means the Sixers need this win.
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Milwaukee is in an interesting spot as well. If they win, they’ll keep their first round pick and clinch the sixth seed. That’d also pit them against the Cavaliers in round one, though, which is far from ideal. That, of course, is assuming a Cleveland win tonight.
I don’t want to make any claims about teams outright tanking games for playoff positioning (and other advantages), but it might be a thought that crosses someone’s mind.
With how they’ve played lately, the Sixers are capable of causing issues for anybody in the postseason. Joel Embiid’s inevitable return will only help their cause.
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But, if the goal is making the conference finals — or even THE Finals — a win tonight could be of critical importance.