As everyone knows, it takes a lot of things going right for a team to win a playoff series, much less head to the Finals and win the championship. The Philadelphia 76ers, however, remain engaged in a fierce fight for positioning in the standings and cannot afford to look too far ahead yet despite the playoffs starting in a couple of weeks.
Be that as it may, playoff success can be so dependent on matchups. Some teams simply fare better against certain squads regardless of seeding and homecourt advantage. As such, it could be sensible for a team like the 76ers to exert some control over their fate in the playoffs and try to draw a better matchup for them to start the postseason.
One team in particular which could be vulnerable come playoff time, believe it or not, is Detroit. With the Pistons missing Cade Cunningham indefinitely due to a collapsed lung, there is no telling if he will be back in time for the playoffs. For that reason alone, they might be the biggest candidate to getting upset in the first round.
The 76ers could try to draw the Pistons in the first round
Of course, getting the Pistons as their first-round opponent will be a complicated and dangerous gambit. Detroit is currently locked into the first seed out East, which will require Philly to finish eighth in the standings just to get the opportunity to duke it out with a superpower missing its best player.
To match up with the Pistons in the first-round, the 76ers will have to tick off three boxes — finish the regular season at No. 7 or No. 8, lose in the first play-in game, face a sudden death match with the winner of the No. 9 vs No. 10 matchup, and win over the latter. Put simply, a lot of things have to happen for the 76ers to get that series.
With the 76ers in great position to go as high as No. 5 in the standings, they will obviously not try to lose out. However, they have a tough slate to finish the season with San Antonio, Detroit, Minnesota, and Houston still on deck. A rough stretch against those teams could easily push them down. Deliberately trying to lose the first play-in game to avoid finishing seventh is also a foolish proposition in and of itself.
Things would be more direct if they finish No. 9 or No. 10, which will cap their highest standing at No. 8, but they also run the risk of getting booted out right after their first play-in game.
The Pistons would be a more forgiving opponent in the first round than the other teams in their tier given the absence of their best payer, but the 76ers are not in full control of their fate in the standings. But if they do want that path, they can certainly do so, albeit by taking a huge gamble that could backfire in a ridiculous fashion.