The Philadelphia 76ers would benefit in the playoffs if the Toronto Raptors surpass the Milwaukee Bucks to become the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Philadelphia 76ers should want the easiest path to the NBA Finals as possible. Recently, I wrote an article about what a potential path to the NBA Championship would look like based on the standings at the time. In that piece, the Sixers path to the finals would have them matched up against the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics before they would face the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
No doubt that would be a tough path and based on current standings, there’s a good chance that’s it would be. The Sixers themselves seem very locked into the third seed with three games over the Indiana Pacers with an easy schedule for the remaining nine games they have left.
The first round matchup would be with the Pistons based on the current standings. Philly would have an easy time with Detroit based on how their regular season series went. However, there’s a chance that the matchups beyond the first round could be altered.
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Currently, the Milwaukee Bucks hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference and hold a three game lead over the Raptors. However, that could change in the final weeks of the NBA season. The Bucks are missing a starter in Malcolm Brogdon, which is why I didn’t have them making the East Finals in my previously mentioned article.
Brogdon is an important part of the Bucks success. His absence will hurt them down the stretch where they have six out of their last eight games against teams with winning records. They are also missing reserve big man Nikola Mirotic, who’s sharp shooting, scoring and rebounding has been a welcomed addition since the Bucks acquired him at the trade deadline.
Brogdon is set to be out for the rest of the regular season and could miss a decent portion of the post season. Mirotic could miss two-to-four weeks, but it puts the Bucks in a bad place. With a rough schedule and injuries, they are bound to lose a few games at the end of the season. There’s a chance that the Bucks could finish going 4-4 or possibly worse the rest of the season.
Toronto has eight games left on their schedule and only have one matchup against a team with a winning record. They aren’t dealing with any major injuries either. There’s a real chance they could finish their last eight games with only one loss or none.
If the Bucks go 4-4 and the Raptors go 7-1 the rest of the way, then the Raptors would become the number one seed. If that happens, it changes the playoff path for the Sixers completely. If the Raptors do claim the one seed, then they would face the Miami Heat in the first round and then face the winner of the Pacers and Celtics series.
The Pacers are the higher seed, but the Celtics are just a more talented team and talent, more often than not, wins in the playoffs. The Raptors would face the Celtics in the second round and honestly that matchup could go either way. The two teams split the season series, so there’s no real indicator who would come out of that matchup. Regardless, it would be a long series and drain whoever advances to the conference finals.
On the other side of the bracket, the Sixers are currently set to face the Pistons and the Bucks would face the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are young and play hard, but the star power of Giannis Antetokounmpo would get the Bucks past a Brooklyn team in the first round.
Brogdon may still be out by the time the Sixers and Bucks would face in the second round and Philly have proven they can beat Milwaukee without him in their lineup. It would be a much easier second round matchup against an injured Bucks team versus a healthy Raptors roster. Then they would only have to face Boston or Toronto in the East finals, rather than both based on the current standings.
The Philadelphia 76ers would benefit if the Raptors become the top seed in the East before the end of the regular season. Based on current standings, the Sixers would be on a very tough playoff run, but if the Raptors become number one in the conference, then the Sixers path to a NBA finals would be easier.