Philadelphia 76ers should strive to keep the No. 3 seed

The Philadelphia 76ers should prioritize keeping the higher seed come playoff time.

Following the Pacers’ loss to Boston on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers officially clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. What hasn’t been locked up, however, is the exact seed.

The Sixers are currently third, holding a 1.5-game edge over the Celtics. With three games left on the Sixers’ schedule (and two left on the Celtics’), there’s still room for Boston to edge out the third seed and drop Philadelphia to fourth.

In theory, the Sixers have an easy path to the No. 3 seed. The remaining teams on the schedule are Chicago and Miami, with the former facing Philadelphia twice. Those are three beatable teams who the Sixers are superior to.

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This late in the season, though, team quality doesn’t mean much. The Sixers are banged up and coming off a three-game losing streak, their first of that magnitude this season. There’s a good chance Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler don’t appear in all three contests.

With injuries and general fatigue adding up, there’s a chance the Sixers fumble down the home stretch. That’s led some to speculate whether or not the Sixers should want the No. 4 seed, pointing to potential second-round matchups as reasoning.

If the Sixers drop to the fourth seed, it sets them up for a (potential) second-round bout with the first-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The last two meetings between those teams have been thoroughly entertaining, with each stealing a game on the other’s home floor.

Purely in terms of matchups, the Sixers shape up better against Milwaukee than Toronto, who holds the No. 2 seed. The Raptors are more versatile on defense and possess two kryptonic players in Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard, both of whom give the Sixers trouble.

There’s a valid argument, as the Sixers would have better odds against Milwaukee than Toronto. Even with those odds taken into account, though, it’s difficult to advocate for Philadelphia intentionally tanking the end-of-season games.

If the Sixers drop to fourth, it sets up a first-round matchup with Indiana. The Pacers are less dynamic without Victor Oladipo, but their depth still outshines the Sixers by a considerable margin. The Pacers are not an easy out.

That would require the Sixers to exert more effort in the first round, with an upset being wholly possible. The Sixers, especially with Embiid and Butler carrying significant injury concerns, would be wise to avoid a long, trying first-round battle.

In the third seed, the Sixers would face either Orlando, Brooklyn or Detroit. Those are three teams who, barring injury, should present quick work for the Sixers when operating at full strength and maximum intensity.

The Sixers aren’t in a position to take seeds for granted yet. There hasn’t been enough proven with the new-look starting five to intentionally tank playoff seeding to garner more favorable matchups beyond the first round. That’s especially true when the ‘more favorable matchup’ would still emerge as favorites.

Another reason to avoid falling is the potential Celtics matchup. If Boston flips the switch and overcomes both Indiana and Milwaukee, the Sixers would have home-court in a hypothetical Eastern Conference Finals. That’s no longer the case if the Sixers drop to fourth.

Philadelphia should attempt to rest Embiid and Butler whenever possible over the next three games, but that shouldn’t alter the intent and purpose with which they perform. We saw a return to defensive effort in the Bucks game. Now the Sixers must finish strong and lock up the third seed.