The Philadelphia 76ers earned a 135-120 road victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night despite being without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, De'Anthony Melton and Robert Covington. was completed. The Sixers showed great resilience, making a franchise-record 24 3-pointers in the win. Sure, Toronto was missing a lot of key pieces, but at this stage of the season a win is a win.
We'll be updating the Eastern Conference standings and the Sixers regularly until the end of the regular season on April 14th, and finding out who they might face in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Sixers were able to pick up a win against the Raptors, but it didn't help them much. The Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards on the road, so Philadelphia couldn't gain any advantage over the seventh-seeded Heat. However, the Sixers were able to win half a game against the underdog Indiana Pacers for the No. 6 seed. Philadelphia also visits the Heat on Thursday, making it an important game for both teams.
The Sixers are sitting idle as they prepare to return home for Tuesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers are scheduled to play the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, while the Orlando Magic are scheduled to face the Portland Trail Blazers. The Sixers are aiming to catch the Pacers and advance out of the play-in tournament. Philadelphia is also the No. 5 seed, 3.5 games behind the Magic, so they have a good chance of catching Orlando.
Important matchups:
- Pacers vs. Nets 7:00 p.m. ET
- Magic vs. Trail Blazers 7:00 PM ET
At this point, it appears the Sixers have qualified for the play-in tournament. But Philadelphia would help their cause if they could beat the Heat for at least the No. 7 seed. That would allow us to host a play-in tournament with 7-on-8 matches rather than traveling for that contest.
The 7-8 winner will officially become the seventh seed in the playoffs and will likely face the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1. The loser will play the 9-10 winner to determine who will be the No. 7 seed. They will face the Boston Celtics as the 8th seed.
- X-Boston Celtics 58-16 –GB
- Milwaukee Bucks 47-27 11 GB
- Cleveland Cavaliers 45-30 13.5 GB
- New York Knicks 44-30 14 GB
- Orlando Magic 43-31 15 GB
- Indiana Pacers 42-33 16.5 GB
- Miami Heat 41-33 17 GB
- Philadelphia 76ers 40-35 18.5 GB
- Chicago Bulls 36-39 22.5 GB
- Atlanta Hawks 34-40 24 GB
*X – Indicates that the team has qualified for the playoffs
