Philly in seventh, tied for 5th.

[rickortreat]

The playoff races are tighter than I can ever remember, with the top in the West only 8 games from being out of the playoffs.

In the East the top 3 are clearly Boston, Detroit and Orlando, with Cleveland currently in 4th.  Outside of the Boston series which is likely to be Atlanta, the other three series are going to present significant problems for the top seeds.

Until their recent injury problems, Toronto was the 4th best team and has some real talent.  They have the potential to give Detroit, Cleveland or Orlando a very tough series. Washington has suddenly gotten healthy, and any team with a Jamison, Arenas and Butler on it is going to be very dangerous. Philly, has been one of the hottest teams in the league, and has done so through solid team effort and has demonstrated the ability to defeat the best teams in the East. 

Currently in a three way tie, Toronto, Washington, and Philadelphia have six games to work out their seedings.  Cleveland is not safe in the fourth spot either.  Their recent loss to Chicago keeps them vulnerable to being overtaken by the teams behind it.  Cleveland is not playing good ball, and hasn't since the trade.  I don't think they'll get out of the first round, no matter which team they get matched with, a loss of home-court advantage in the first round would make that even more likely.

Philly's chances depend on what the other team's do over their next 6 games, but regardless of what the other teams do, the Sixers need to keep winning.  Their home and home match with Atlanta will determine their season.  The Hawks match-up well with the Sixers and have beaten them twice already. Both of the losses came before the Sixers started to play at their current level.  This mini-series will serve as a good benchmark for the Sixers.  If they really have improved to where they are the 10th best team in the league, they should be able to beat the Hawks in these two games.

It shouldn't be enough for them to just make the playoffs.  Because of the tightness of the seedings, it will be hard for the Sixers to control their destiny. In order of preference, based on how they play, I would rank the Sixers potential first round opponents this way:  Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando.  I know many people think Detroit is better than Orlando, but the Sixers match up better with Detroit and have an advantage in athleticism. Cleveland is about stopping Lebron only, or scoring enough to stay ahead, and they can do that.  Orlando spreads the floor and plays outside in.  When they are shooting well, the Sixers have a very tough time stopping them. Their defensive tendencies that work so well against a Detroit are a disaster against Orlando.

This is tough for the Sixers, since Orlando is the middle team in the rankings.  They can only assure themselves of a meeting with Detroit, by tanking a few games, but from a momentum standpoint, the only choice is to try and catch Cleveland.

[rickortreat]

With the victory over the Hawks, along with a loss by New Jersey, the Sixers have clinched a playoff spot.  In addition, a loss by Toronto puts them a game behind the Sixers and Washington.  The Sixers currently have the tie-breaker with Washington, so have Fifth place all to themselves, 3 games behind the Cavaliers.

Now, their destiny is in their hands as they will hold onto the fifth spot at minimum if they win out.  Cleveland is about as vulnerable as can be imagined, they are only playing .500 ball.  Unfortunately that would mean the Sixers and Cleveland would tie and the Cavaliers will hold the tiebreaker, even if the Sixers beat them in their final meeting. The Sixers need the Cavs to drop 4 of their last six to overtake them for the fourth spot and 1st round home court advantage.

Any Sixers loss would diminish their chances greatly, if Cleveland wins three of it's final six they will clinch 4th.

The current match-ups are to my liking in the East.

Boston-Atlanta
Detroit-Toronto
Orlando-Washington
Cleveland-Philadelphia

Upsets are possible in every series with the exception of Boston. Atlanta isn't a bad team, but just aren't good enough to take out Boston.  They can't even beat Phila. at home.  If the Sixers can beat the Hawks tomorrow at home, that will take them one step closer to a match-up with Cleveland.

[rickortreat]

Philly is now in sixth, after loosing to Atlanta at home.  This was a very disappointing loss to me, since the Sixers came out flat and without energy.  They should have tried to jump on Atlanta early and blow them out of the building, but couldn't even get a run until near the end of the game.

Washington is now in the 5th spot, and is in control of the situation.  Strategically, this is bad for the Sixers, so the loss was costly. Now, the pressure is on them to defeat Detroit, Indiana, Washington, Cleveland and Charlotte to finish out the season. They can still get 4th spot or 5th, depending on what Washington and Cleveland do. They can only guarantee themselves a game against them when they play, that will be enough to catch Washington, but not Cleveland.