As we reach the closing weeks of the NBA season, teams are looking to move up the standings, preparing for the playoffs. Several teams in the Eastern Conference are gunning for a seemingly up for grabs sixth seed, in an effort to avoid the dreaded Play-In.
NBA East Sixth Seed: Orlando Magic
One of the better success stories of the season, without a doubt, has been the Orlando Magic.
The Magic (41-27) is having a great season behind the play of All-Star Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who has continued to improve his game throughout his three-year career.
The question is, can the Orlando Magic keep it going? Orlando has the talent to keep themselves out of the Play-In, but do they have the experience?
The Magic are one of the youngest teams in the league, and typically, the experienced teams are the ones who know what to do down the stretch in the playoffs. It would be interesting to see if the Magic could keep up with more experienced teams during playoff time.
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NBA East Sixth Seed: Indiana Pacers
The (39-31) Indiana Pacers are holding on to the sixth seed for dear life.
This season has been successful for the Pacers, with All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton having a breakout year.
Indiana made sure to strengthen their core during the season, trading for forward Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors well before the trade deadline.
The Pacers started the season strong, even making the NBA In-Season tournament; they've since cooled off after falling into the middle pack of Eastern Conference playoff teams.
As of now, the Indiana Pacers are fighting to remain sixth in the NBA East, keeping their playoff hopes alive game by game.
NBA East Sixth Seed: Miami Heat
The question is not whether the Miami Heat can make another deep playoff run but whether they can get themselves out of the Play-In.
The Miami Heat (38-31) are currently seventh in the west, tied with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat have struggled with injuries to critical players like Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler, who have been dealing with nagging injuries all season long.
All-Star big-man Bam Adebayo is currently out due to injury, along with Duncan Robinson.
Despite this, they managed to stay afloat and remain competitive during the second half of the NBA season.
The Miami Heat would not only like to avoid the Play-In, but also avoid a potential matchup with the Boston Celtics in the first round, who have for the most part looked like the best team in the league.
NBA East Sixth Seed: Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have fallen in the standings without their reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
The team has gone 2-23 without the Process on the roster, with the team looking to first time All-Star Tyrese Maxey to keep them afloat.
Avoiding the seventh or eighth seed Play-In would be ideal for the Sixers, as it has been reported that Joel Embiid could likely be returning at the start of April.
The Philadelphia 76ers would also like to not see the Boston Celtics early in the NBA Playoffs, especially without Embiid at the helm.
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