Even though Monday night was really bad basketball, it would take a monumental collapse for the Sixers to finish any lower than the three-seed in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers failed to pick up their 50th win of the season Monday night in Dallas, as the Mavericks won 122-102 because the Sixers had another lengthy stretch without a bucket (10 minutes, 7 seconds) and played poor defense on top of that. They were without Joel Embiid for the second game in a row due to load management, and Jimmy Butler sat out because of back tightness that's making him day-to-day.
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The Sixers are seeking their first back-to-back 50 win seasons since 1984-85 and 1985-86.
With five regular season games to go, the Sixers sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, 3.5 games ahead of the fourth-place Celtics and fifth-place Pacers, as well as four games up in the loss column.
If the Sixers would've beat the Mavericks Monday and the Celtics lost to the Heat, which didn't happen, that would've clinched the third-seed for the 76ers. Their magic number to do so remains two. In other words, any combination of Sixers wins and Celtics losses that reaches two.
Here are the Sixers, Celtics and Pacers remaining regular season games:
76ers Schedule
WED @ Hawks
THU vs Bucks
SAT @ Bulls
April 9 @ Heat
April 10 vs Bulls
Celtics Schedule
WED @ Heat
FRI @ Pacers
SUN vs Magic
April 9 @ Wizards
Pacers Schedule
WED @ Pistons
FRI vs Celtics
SUN vs Nets
April 10 @ Hawks
The Sixers own the tie-breaker over the Pacers, while the Celtics have it over both teams. One more 76ers win and Indiana can no longer reach the three-seed because the most victories the Pacers can amass is 50.
The only way Boston can reach third-place is to win out and hope the Sixers fail to win two more games. The only way for the Pacers to jump the Sixers and Celtics is to win out, hope the 76ers lose out and finish with a better record than Boston.
In terms of the Sixers five remaining games, the Hawks already beat them twice, the Bucks are the best team in the East, the Bulls beat the Embiid-less Sixers earlier in March and the Heat could be fighting for their playoff lives in what could be Dwyane Wade's last home game.
Winning two more games won't be a cake walk, especially with the way the Sixers played their last five games. But if all the 76ers need to do is win two games of their final five, the odds to clinch the three-seed are very good.
Dropping to either four or five would be an epic collapse and the last thing Brett Brown's team should want heading to the postseason.
