The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a second straight win on Friday when they knocked off the Toronto Raptors 117-110 at home. Joel Embiid had 25 points and 12 rebounds, James Harden had 23 and 11 assists, De’Anthony Melton and Tyrese Maxey had 13 points each, and the bench unit had a big night in order to contribute and help the team win.
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.
Friday’s most prominent games (March 31)
While the Sixers were able to knock off the Raptors at home to improve to 51-26 on the season, they were unable to gain any ground on the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed. The Cs beat the Utah Jazz 122-114 at home so the Sixers remain 2.5 games back of Boston with five games to play.
The Sixers do have one more matchup with the Celtics on April 4 in Philadelphia, but Boston does own the tiebreaker so that is something to keep in mind. It does appear that the Sixers will be entrenched as the No. 3 seed.
Games concerning potential playoff opponents
The Brooklyn Nets strengthened their hold on the No. 6 seed when they defeated the Atlanta Hawks 124-107. They are now two games ahead of the 7-seeded Miami Heat, who the Nets own the tiebreaker with, and they are four games ahead of both the Hawks and the Raptors.
The New York Knicks knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers so they remained 2.5 games ahead of Brooklyn for the No. 5 seed. With the way everything is shaking out at the moment, it’s looking more and more likely that the Sixers will face the Nets in Round 1.
The Chicago Bulls took care of the Charlotte Hornets 121-91 to get a bit closer to the Hawks and the Raptors, but those teams in the play-in tournament aren’t a concern for the Sixers at the moment. Unless they can move up to the No. 2 seed, Philadelphia wouldn’t face any of Miami, Atlanta, Toronto, or Chicago in Round 1.
Saturday’s most prominent games (April 1)
It’s a light NBA schedule with only two games on the docket. The only one that matters for the Sixers is the matchup between the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks from Miami-Dade Arena. The Heat will look to make a late push for the No. 6 seed, and if they can, they would face the Sixers in Round 1.
Important matchups
Heat vs. Mavericks (7:30 p.m. EDT)
April 1 East playoff standings
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X-Milwaukee Bucks 55-22 -GB
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X-Boston Celtics 54-24 1.5 GB
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X-Philadelphia 76ers 51-26 4 GB
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X-Cleveland Cavaliers 48-30 7.5 GB
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New York Knicks 45-33 10.5 GB
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Brooklyn Nets 42-35 13 GB
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Miami Heat 40-37 15 GB
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Atlanta Hawks 38-39 17 GB
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Toronto Raptors 38-39 17 GB
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Chicago Bulls 37-40 18 GB
X- denotes clinched playoff berth
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire
