Depending on the seedings they should get to the 2nd round. They are playing at a higher level now than every E.C. team with the exception of Boston (9-1) and Orlando (8-2). And, no matter how many games Orlando wins, it still won't get that bad taste of loosing to the Sixers out of their mouths.
IMO the Magic, Celtics and Pistons will have no problem with the Sixers. The harsh reality of playoff basketball with hit the Sixers in the form of a 4-0 or 4-1 series loss. The only teams the Sixers can upset are the Raptors and Wizards. If they Sixers face the big three in the East in the first round they will be done for the simple fact they Sixers are an inferior team. We will see come playoff time.
What is it? Are you related to Reality? "The simple fact they Sixers are an inferior team"
THAT IS NOT A FACT!!!! It is an opinion. I also don't go for ebonics. "they Sixers" is not even close to proper English. I have a hard time accepting and valuing opinions from people without a working command of the language.
It's clear you have an opinion, but apparently you are having difficulty explaining that opinion. The difference between the Sixers and the teams you look upon more favorably, is that they have been winning all year, while the Sixers haven't been playing good ball for more than 25 games. AS far as playoff experience goes, apart from Detroit and Cleveland, none of the other teams have much at all. So with no real experience to separate them, the only edge any of these teams have is longevity and a better season long record.
But over the past 25 games the Sixers have played as well as any of those teams you say are better, and in many cases, they have played significantly better, which is why they are now only 2 games out of the 5 sport and 4 games out of Cleveland's 4 spot.
Not only that, but they have been defeating good teams all the way. Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix, Detroit, San Antonio.... The 4 western teams are all playoff teams and are suppossed to be head and shoulders above the East. Yet a lowly 7th place EC team beat them all. Explain how they beat those teams playing their game and then tell me why the Sixers can't compete in the playoffs!
The only difference is that the Sixers are younger than the other teams and are learning on the fly. But they have learned how to play as a team, and have learned how to win well enough to beat the best teams. You think they can adjust, I think whatever they do won't be enough in many cases, because the Sixers out hustle other teams and place pressure on the ball handlers. Unless you can get your players to work harder all of a sudden, or find a better point guard on your bench, you can't adjust to that pressure.
The only team in the East that scares me as a Sixer fan is Boston. The Sixers haven't found a way to handle Bostons's defense yet. The rest of the teams are just as flawed as the Sixers. Orlando doesn't have a good point guard. Detroit is old, and we match - up with Detroit better than any team in the league. Cleveland still has to integrate all of those new players into the line-up and right now the Sixers are catching them for their spot. They also don't have guards who can match with Philly's.
Soon, all the sportwriters will be talking about the upstart Cinderella Sixers. Just remember where you read it first.