March 30 East playoff picture after Sixers beat Mavericks at home
The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up a 116-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday back at home to halt a three-game losing skid. They were able to welcome Joel Embiid and James Harden back to the lineup after they missed time with injuries and the Sixers will be looking to gain momentum for the playoffs.
Until the conclusion of the regular season on April 9, we are going to update the Eastern Conference standings and where the Sixers are at on a daily basis while taking a look at who they could face in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Wednesday's prominent games (March 29)
Along with the Sixers knocking off the Mavericks, the Milwaukee Bucks put on an offensive showing and knocked off the Indiana Pacers 149-136. Philadelphia remains five games back of the Bucks for the No. 1 seed with six games to go. The Sixers do have one final matchup with Milwaukee on April 2, but it looks like the No. 1 seed is out of reach.
Possible playoff opponents moving around
In terms of possible playoff opponents, the Brooklyn Nets won and the New York Knicks knocked off the Miami Heat. The Nets are now 1.5 games up on the Heat for the No. 6 seed and the Knicks look fully entrenched as the No. 5 seed as they are 2.5 games up on Brooklyn and four games ahead of Miami. With Philadelphia sitting at No. 3, they won’t have to worry about the Knicks.
If the Sixers do somehow catch the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed, there is the possibility of facing the Heat in Round 1, but Philadelphia is currently two games back of the Cs and Boston does own the tiebreaker. If Philadelphia were to get No. 2, they could face the Heat, the Atlanta Hawks, the Toronto Raptors, or the Chicago Bulls depending on how the play-in tournament shakes out.
Thursday's most prominent games (March 30)
The NBA schedule is light on Thursday as the Sixers are one of the many teams who are idle. The only game on the schedule that would affect the Sixers is the Celtics and the Bucks matching up in Milwaukee. If Boston loses, then Philadelphia will be 1.5 games back of the Cs with six games to play and a home matchup with Boston on April 4.
Important matchups:
Celtics at Bucks (7:30 p.m. EDT)
March 30 East playoff standings
X-Milwaukee Bucks 55-21 -GB
X-Boston Celtics 52-24 3 GB
X-Philadelphia 76ers 50-26 5 GB
X-Cleveland Cavaliers 48-29 7.5 GB
New York Knicks 44-33 11.5 GB
Brooklyn Nets 41-35 14 GB
Miami Heat 40-37 15.5 GB
Atlanta Hawks 38-38 17 GB
Toronto Raptors 38-38 17 GB
Chicago Bulls 36-49 19 GB
X- denotes clinched playoff berth
