Pacers or Heat, who do Sixers supporters want to win on Sunday?

The Miami Heat, ranked seventh, will take on the Indiana Pacers, ranked sixth, with a variety of Playoff and Play-In implications. And when the regular season ends, the result will undoubtedly affect the Sixers’ own final standing. So please select your preferred candidate below.

The Sixers take on Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in their final back-to-back game of the trip, which tips off at 7 p.m. EST. The team is looking to win five straight games. Philly has now finished 5-5 in their previous 10 games. Joel Embiid was in the starting lineup for the last three victories, bouncing back from an injury that kept the reigning MVP out of the game for more than two months.

However, there will be another important game to keep an eye on before that pivotal match even begins, before Gregg Popovich even divulges his plan to prevent Joel from dropping another 70-burger on his team.

The seventh position The sixth-place Indiana Pacers will host the Miami Heat at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Thanks to ESPN.com, the top 10 teams in the East standings are as follows ahead of Sunday’s schedule of games:

So, Miami or Indiana, who do you think will win today? And why? Now let’s explore some implications.

The Pacers (44-34) are currently ahead of the Heat (43-34) by a half-game, so if Indiana wins, it almost certainly puts an end to Philadelphia’s slim hopes of avoiding the Play-In altogether and earning the sixth seed.

Before any Play-In games begin, the Sixers have an 18.7% chance of starting as the No. 6 seed, a 29% chance of finishing as the No. 7 seed, and a 52.3 percent chance of finishing as the No. 8 seed, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

Naturally, you’ll be cheering for Tyrese Maxey and company to continue winning.

However, what about the remaining terrain in the East?

What if the Pacers prevailed today?

As mentioned, the Sixers’ chances of finishing sixth (18.7%) would decrease even more if the Pacers prevail. On the plus side, though, Philadelphia would have a better chance of placing seventh.

If you genuinely care about homecourt advantage in a Play-In single-game elimination match for the No. 7 seed, an Indianapolis win on Sunday increases the likelihood that the Sixers will host rather than travel to the Heat (assuming they take care of business).

The Heat-Sixers Play-In rivalry match’s probable victor would face the team that finishes with the second seed (Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Orlando, respectively, have the inside track).

The loser of that contest would then get to host the victor of a Bulls-Hawks Play-In match (No. 9 vs. No. 10) in order to earn the coveted opportunity to play the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Do you think the Heat should win this game?

It would (albeit slightly) pave the way for Philadelphia to finish No. 6 and possibly put an end to all of these Play-In shenanigans if you’d rather swallow some rivalry pride and cheer for the hated Heat today.

Joel Embiid and company would be able to focus on a better route to the NBA Finals from the 3-6 hole of the big bracket if the Heat win. These are the advantages.

The Sixers might avoid Miami for the Play-In and instead face Indiana, who looks to be a less formidable opponent, which is good, but they would have to travel (not good) if Miami prevailed on Sunday. This is one of the drawbacks of having Miami as the favorite to advance to the Play-In.

Thus, asking the first question, “for the Play-In, would you rather host Miami or visit Indiana?” would help to simplify part of this equation.

Miami appears to be a constant threat when the Playoffs start, regardless of how poorly they perform during the regular season. The reigning Eastern Conference champions, Erik Spoelstra’s culture club, have defeated the Sixers in the postseason in 2022, as well as the Bucks and Celtics the previous season. Since Jimmy Butler was traded away by the Sixers, they have advanced to the East Finals three times in the last four seasons and have qualified for the NBA Finals twice. Over me, Tobias Harris!?

Though Embiid’s conditioning would undoubtedly be put to the test more against the Racecar group, the Pacers rank second overall in pace and offensive rating, while Miami is ranked twenty-first in both categories.

If you don’t think it matters that the Sixers are the No. 8 seed going into the Play-In and that they have to defeat Miami or Indiana to have a chance to avoid Boston in the first round, then just support the Sixers to be seeded No. 6. Even though it makes your stomach turn, if that works for you, you’ll be cheering for Miami on Sunday.

And you’ll have to acknowledge that this result raises the likelihood To make it to the Play-in, Philly needs to pack up and travel to Indianapolis.

The second-seeded team will be weak.

The most important aspect of all of this is that, compared to the 61-win Celtics, whoever finishes as the No. 2 seed appears to be much more vulnerable.

• The Bucks under Doc Rivers have only finished 15–15 in their past 30 games.
• The Cavs have only won 14 of their previous 30 games.
• And although they are still very, very young, the Magic are 21-9 over their last 30 games.

In comparison to your chances in Boston, Sixers supporters would have to prefer their chances against any of those teams, particularly as long as Embiid keeps improving his conditioning.

However, if you believe that the Sixers hosting the Play-In is a major deal, you might be hoping to give up that sixth seed and make a strong push for Philadelphia to finish at least seventh.

Even if Philly were to secure the No. 6 or No. 7 seed, they would still have to face either Milwaukee or Cleveland in the first round.

Thus, if you’d like, you could debate this stuff back and forth all day.

However, we were interested in your opinions.