I see that the Sixers have 6 games left in the regular season. Unless there is a total collapse and they drop all 6. they are locked into the 3rd playoff position. The number 6 seed is still up for grabs. The Pistons, Nets, Heat and Magic are all in the hunt.
At the time of this post the Pistons are 6-4 in their last 10 games while the Heat and Magic are 7-3. The Nets have been struggling due to a long road trip. They did beat the Celtics to improve their last 10 games results to 500. One of these teams will not make it in. Which one do you think does not make it?
Give your response here.
ESPN has the odds for the Magic at 74% of getting in. The Nets have the most difficult remaining schedule. Brooklyn faces Toronto and the Bucks so that looks likes 2 losses out of a possible 6. The Pistons are playing most of their remaining games at home so they should turn things around. The Heat is playing 3 of its final 6 against teams that are headed toward the lottery.
Out of this group I would like to play Miami. Joel Embiid loves to dominate Hassan Whiteside. Miami was handled with relative ease last year and the Sixers are better this season. It could be a sweep!
My second choice would be the Magic. They have been playing well defensively but the Sixers offense is a juggernaut when everyone is in sync. Ben Simmons did not play during the last game against Orlando. The Sixers inexplicably went over 6 minutes without scoring in the 3rd quarter when the game turned into a blowout. That will not happen again if they met post season.
I will turn my attention back to NCAA March Madness and give my Final Four picks on Thursday.