Sixers sit on cusp of ‘biggest game of the year’ and shot at East Conference’s sixth seed

The 76ers squad that struggled without Joel Embiid now has a solid chance to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.

“A couple days ago, that was not even a question for us,” Nico Batum said of possibly securing the East’s sixth playoff seed. “We know what we can do [Friday]. There are still some games [Thursday] that can count for us. But, like I told you last game, the good thing we’re doing right now is everything we can control, we’re doing it right.”

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And what the Sixers (45-35) are doing is finding a way to win. They’ll take an NBA-best six game winning streak into Friday’s pivotal game against the Orlando Magic at the Wells Fargo Center. A victory would give the seventh-seeded Sixers the head-to-head tiebreaker over the fifth-place Magic (46-34) with one game remaining.

If they defeat the Magic, the Sixers could secure the sixth seed with a victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Sunday’s regular-season finale at home. The only scenario that could stop the Sixers from taking that slot into the playoffs is a three-way tie with the Magic and sixth-place Pacers.

In that case, the Magic would get the fifth seed as winners of the Southeast Division, and the Pacers (46-34) would finish sixth as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Sixers. As the seventh seed, the Sixers would host the Miami Heat in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game. The matchup would most likely be moved to Wednesday because the Flyers play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

But the Sixers will be favored to defeat the struggling Nets (32-48) on Sunday. Unless the second-place Milwaukee Bucks rest their starters, the Magic could have a tough time Sunday against a team that defeated them, 117-99, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Indiana closes out the season at the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday and returns home Sunday to face the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks.

But first, the Sixers must defeat the Magic to even create an opportunity to land their desired seed.

“It’s maybe the biggest game of the year right now for us [Friday],” Batum said. “So we’re at home. I mean, we kind of have everybody back right now. We had a great practice today. You know the crowd’s going to be into it, so it can be a good night for everybody.”

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The young Magic, led by All-Star Paolo Banchero, were one of this season’s surprise teams. The Magic, who are finishing up their second winning campaign in 13 seasons, were third in the Eastern Conference on April 6 before falling to fifth after consecutive lopsided losses to the Houston Rockets and Bucks.

Banchero, the 2023 rookie of the year, is a solid blend of skill and power at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds. The power forward averages a team-high 22.5 points along with 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Franz Wagner, a 6-10, 230-pound small forward, is the team’s second-leading scorer at 19.6 points.

Orlando also ranks third in the league in defensive rating (110.8) behind the Minnesota Timberwolves (108.1) and Boston Celtics (110.5).

“They’re good,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said of the Magic’s defense. “They’ve got athletes and size and length, so they’re going to be good. The coaching staff does a good job. … I don’t think we’ve played them with Joel yet, so I don’t really know what they’re going to do. I think that changes what it is.

“We did a lot of practice on a lot of different stuff today, so hopefully we’ll be ready for whatever we see.”

Embiid did play in one of this season’s previous two meetings against the Magic. The reigning MVP had 36 points, seven rebounds, and four steals as the Sixers prevailed, 124-109, on Jan. 19. Embiid suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee against the Golden State Warriors 11 days later. The injury sidelined him two months before returning April 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Sixers have been the league’s hottest team since his return. However, they haven’t had much practice time. That could have benefited De’Anthony Melton, who returned Tuesday from a spine injury, and recent additions Buddy Hield, Kyle Lowry, and Cameron Payne.

Obtaining the sixth seed would give the Sixers a week to practice for a first-round opponent rather than face the Heat in a few days.

» READ MORE: With playoff seeding at stake, the Sixers take on a crucial homestand. Their approach? ‘Just win.’

“I think it would be beneficial,” Nurse said. “Somebody asked me, ‘Do you value having the play-in game, to get [Embiid] an extra game to get back in shape?’ So I think you can look at it both ways. I think we’ll look at it positively either way.

“But we do need a little bit of practice time here and there. I think last night was the first night in like 35 days that I didn’t get a whole bunch of edits from my assistants to watch. Those are coming tonight. We’ve had one every day for 30-some days that we were preparing. It’s the first time we’ve had two days off. Giving us three or four would be awesome.”