The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Orlando Magic on Friday, April 12th. With just a few days remaining in the NBA’s regular season, there are still plenty of questions that will be answered in the coming days as to how the Eastern Conference Standings will shake out.
Perhaps most significantly, what remains to be seen is which two teams will finish the season as the 7th and 8th seed, landing them in the Play-In Tournament.
5. Orlando Magic (46-34)
6. Indiana Pacers (46-34)
7. Philadelphia 76ers (45-35)
8. Miami Heat (44-36)
With just 2 games to go for the Sixers, they have an opportunity to avoid the play-in by winning their remaining games, and getting a little bit of help from the Indiana Pacers. Yes, the Indiana Pacers.
With Miami and Orlando both losing tonight, Sixers winning out would push them to 6. They already have H2H tiebreaker outright vs. Orlando, and Miami would be one back in the loss column.
— Planet 76 (@planet76podcast) April 11, 2024
However, a 3-team tie (PHI, ORL, IND) would land the Sixers in the Play-In.
The Sixers matchup with the Orlando Magic looms large as the Sixers own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Orlando. A win over the Magic would give the two teams the same record, with the Sixers owning the tiebreaker with just one game remaining.
However, a 3-team tie between the 76ers, Pacers, and Magic would land the Sixers in the Play-In Tournament given how 3-team tiebreak scenarios work. Given that information, what we do know is that if the 76ers win their remaining 2 games (Magic, Nets) and the Pacers win or lose their 2 remaining games (Cavaliers, Hawks), the Sixers will find themselves safe from the Play-In Tournament.
Of course, should the Sixers win out and the Magic lose their remaining games (Philadelphia, Milwaukee), it does not matter what the Indiana Pacers do in their remaining games.
The 76ers come into the matchup with Orlando, winners of 6-straight games. They won the previous 2 matchups with the Magic and will look to earn the series sweep on Friday night at 7 pm ET.