As the Sixers barrel towards the bottom, it’s time to look around to see how other lottery teams are doing.
This is really what this season has devolved into.
The Sixers as an organization have yet to waver in their attempts to turn this season around. The reality, as they just turned in their best performance in weeks and still came up with their ninth loss in a row, is that they’re just a bad basketball team.
With the Sixers first-round pick this year being top-six protected, and them currently sitting on the sixth worst record in the league, it’s worth a look around at teams surrounding them in the standings.
Even without postseason implications, there could be a lot of impactful movement over Philadelphia’s final 24 games. Due to the new lottery odds, they still currently have a 54% of getting jumped and having to send the pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So let’s have a look at who the Sixers’ “competitors” have on their plates for the rest of the week. Shockingly, none of these games are on national television so it will take a League Pass to subscription to watch if you’re in the Philadelphia market.
Chicago Bulls (23-36)
This has to be the place to start because technically, it still goes both ways. Despite the Bulls throwing in the towel by trading Zach LaVine at the deadline, the Sixers still haven’t been able to catch them for the 10 seed in the East — and they’ve actually been trying. As Jake Fischer reports, they are still trying despite continuing to bottom out each game.
The Bulls kick off the weekend with a big one in the tanking race. They play the Raptors Friday, the team currently directly ahead of the Sixers for the fifth worst record in the league. Then they take on the Indiana Pacers Friday, which should be a tough matchup.
Chicago has been as bad as they intended — they’re 2-7 since dealing away Lavine. As the Sixers demonstrated on Feb. 24 though, the rest of the East might be too bad to even catch that.
A Bulls win over Toronto could help the Sixers gain ground towards the Play-In race, but it also helps them gain ground on the Raptors. This season has shown which one they are more likely to catch.
vs. Toronto Raptors (18-41), 2/28, 8:00 p.m. ET
@ Indiana Pacers (33-24), 3/2, 5:00 p.m. ET
San Antonio Spurs (24-33)
This is a long shot for them to fall all the way down towards the Sixers’ range, even after losing Victor Wembanyama for the rest of the season. Five games ahead of the Sixers in the loss column, they are still trotting out their best effort as they try to acclimate De’Aaron Fox. Never say never though, as they have a very tough back-to-back this weekend.
They go to Memphis to play the Grizzlies Saturday, then come home to play the Thunder on Sunday. It only takes one big losing streak to fall right back into the tanking race, and the Spurs have already lost their last four.
@ Memphis Grizzlies (38-20), 3/1, 8 p.m. ET
vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (47-11), 3/2, 7 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets (21-37)
Back to the East, this will certainly be a team worth watching the rest of the way as it’s just a game that separates them in the standings. That Nic Claxton buzzer beater back on Feb. 22 will have massive implications on where these teams end up. The Sixers no longer have the tiebreaker.
They have another big matchup against a lottery team as they take on the Trail Blazers Friday night. Portland has played pretty well over the last month or so. They have caught the Spurs in the loss column and have two more wins. While not likely, Brooklyn being able to knock off the Blazers would be huge as it could potentially give the Sixers more cushion. Despite the talent level on that team rookie coach Jordi Fernandez has shown he can get consistent effort from the guys on a nightly basis.
The Nets also play the Pistons Saturday which will be even tougher, even if it wasn’t the second leg of a back-to-back.
vs. Portland Trail Blazers (26-33), 2/28, 7:30 p.m. ET
@ Detroit Pistons, (33-26) 3/1, 7:00 p.m. ET
Toronto Raptors (18-41)
Another division rival that would be really helpful for the Sixers to catch. Currently three games worse, they’re 2-0 against Philadelphia already this year, and might be on the verge of getting healthy. R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have been in and out of the lineup all year, though there’s still no timetable on when Brandon Ingram could play his first game as a Raptor.
If the Sixers are able to catch them for the fifth worst record, the odds of the pick going to the Thunder would finally fall under 50%, and the Sixers could definitely use that reassurance.
Toronto’s matchup Friday against the Bulls is obviously big, then they take on the Magic Sunday. They won’t be favored for that one, but the Magic haven’t exactly been impressive since they welcomed Paolo Banchero back to the lineup. One Toronto win would be huge. Two this weekend would be amazing.
@ Chicago Bulls (23-36), 2/28, 8:00 p.m. ET
@ Orlando Magic (29-31), 3/2, 6:00 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans (16-43)
This will be harder for the Sixers to catch, currently five games better, and that’s even after the Pelicans have won three in a row and four of their last five. They have finally gotten Zion Williamson on the court on a consistent basis for the past month or so. It’s not impossible they string together a month of decent basketball.
It may be tough for them to extend their winning streak as they go right back at it with the Suns after knocking them off in Phoenix Thursday. If they can’t make it two in a row, they do also take on the Jazz on Sunday, and for once they may enter that game as the favorites.
@ Phoenix Suns (27-32), 2/28, 9:00 p.m. ET
@ Utah Jazz (14-44), 3/2, 8:00 p.m. ET