NBA playoff picture: All the Sixers scenarios to skip the play-in tournament

Update: The Sixers ended the season with the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning they’ll have to go through the play-in tournament to reach the NBA playoffs. They’ll face the Miami Heat Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center, with the game airing on ESPN.

If the Sixers advance out of the play-in tournament, they’ll face either the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, which begin on April 20.

The 76ers enter their final game of the season today against the Brooklyn Nets needing a little help to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament and advance straight to the playoffs.

The easiest way for the Sixers to land the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference — which would allow them to advance directly to the NBA playoffs — would be a win over Nets at Wells Fargo Center (1 p.m., NBC Sports Philadelphia) paired with an Orlando Magic loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and an Indiana Pacers win against the Atlanta Hawks.

There’s also a chance the Sixers end up with the No. 5 seed. For that to happen, Philly will need to win and the Pacers would need to lose.

The Sixers could even land the No. 6 seed if they lose to the Nets. In that case, they’d need the Pacers to win and the Magic to lose, leaving Philly and Orlando tied. The Sixers have a better head-to-head record (3-0), so they’d end up as the No. 6 seed and push the Magic into the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed.

What the Sixers are really trying to avoid is a three-way tie with the Pacers and Magic. In that case, the Magic would end up the No. 5 seed because the tiebreaker rules for multi-team ties favors division leaders, and Orlando will end the season atop the Southeast Division. The Pacers have a better head-to-head record against the Sixers (2-1), so they’ll land the No. 6 seed, pushing the Sixers into the play-in tournament.

There’s also the possibility of a four-way tie with the Pacers, Magic, and Miami Heat. In that case, the Heat would land the No. 5 seed (because they would win the Southeast Division), the Pacers would end up with the No. 6 seed, and the Sixers would be pushed into the play-in tournament.

Thankfully, the Bucks still need a win to lock up the No. 2 seed, so they’ll have something to play for today against the Magic in Orlando. The Sixers, Pacers, Magic, and Heat are playing at 1 p.m. on Sunday, so Philly sports fans won’t have to wait long to discover the team’s playoff fate.

With the first round of the NBA playoffs scheduled to begin Saturday, landing the No. 6 seed would earn the Sixers some much-needed rest, especially with Joel Embiid coming off knee surgery that forced him off the court for two months. Embiid briefly exited Friday’s game with a knee injury, but returned in the second half and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.

If things don’t fall their way, the Sixers will end up in the NBA’s play-in tournament, likely facing the Miami Heat on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. The tournament actually begins Tuesday, but the Flyers are scheduled to play their regular-season finale at home that night against the Washington Capitals, and it could be for a playoff spot.

» READ MORE: The Sixers' success hinges on Joel Embiid’s knee

It’s possible the Sixers will end the season tied with the Pacers or the Magic (or both). If that happens, here are the NBA’s tiebreaker rules.

The Boston Celtics have had the top playoff spot locked up for weeks, but the Bucks will clinch the No. 2 seed with a win Sunday against the Magic.

The New York Knicks could snag the No. 2 seed with a win against the Chicago Bulls and a Bucks loss. But the Cleveland Cavaliers also could land the No. 2 seed with a win against the Charlotte Hornets and losses by both the Bucks and Knicks.

If the Sixers manage to end the season with the No. 6 seed, they would face whichever team ends up with the No. 3 seed, currently the Knicks.

» READ MORE: What a Sixers vs. Knicks playoff series would look like

Clinched the playoffs: Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers

Clinched play-in: Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks

Eliminated from playoffs: Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons

Here’s how the playoff bracket currently looks in the Eastern Conference, as of Sunday morning:

And here’s how the bracket for the play-in tournament currently looks:

There has never been a three-way tie for a No. 1 seed in NBA history. That could change today, with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets entering the final game of the season with identical records.

The only way for the Nuggets to land the No. 1 seed is a win against the Memphis Grizzlies and losses by the Timberwolves and Thunder. The same scenario applies to both the Timberwolves and the Thunder. Otherwise, the top seed will end up being decided by a tiebreaker.

Here are the tiebreaker scenarios:

Former Sixer James Harden has already clinched a playoff spot with his new team, the Los Angeles Clippers. They’ll face Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs for the third time since 2020.

That leaves the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns fighting for the No. 6 seed. All the Pelicans need is a win Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, while the Suns need a win against the Timberwolves and a Pelicans loss to overtake them in the standings.

At this point, if LeBron James, Steph Curry, or Domantas Sabonis hope to make it to the playoffs, they’ll have to win a play-in game. At least it’s something LeBron is used to — the Lakers have won play-in games two of the past three seasons.

Clinched the playoffs: Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks

Clinched play-in: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers

Eliminated from playoffs: Houston Rockets, Orlando Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs

Here’s how the playoff bracket currently looks in the Western Conference, as of Sunday morning:

And here’s how the bracket for the play-in tournament currently looks:

The NBA’s play-in tournament begins on Tuesday and will run through Friday.

Four teams in each conference will enter the tournament, with two spots in each conference’s playoff bracket up for grabs.

The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed.

The loser hosts the winner of the second play-in game, between the No. 9 seed and No. 10 seed. The winner of that game advances to the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.

This is the fifth season the NBA has hosted a play-in tournament, which initially was created for the league’s bubble because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current play-in rules have been in effect since the 2020-21 season.

The NBA playoffs begin with the first round, with the first game scheduled for Saturday.

Sixteen teams ultimately will make the playoffs, eight in each conference. Each playoff round, including the NBA Finals, is a best-of-seven series with the higher seed gaining home-court advantage.