In the NBA's playoff seeding rules, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. If the teams split the season series, the second tiebreaker is conference record. Depending on the results of the final two games of the regular season for each team, the Sixers could end up being tied in record with four different teams. Here are the teams that would have the advantage if the Sixers and each of those teams finished as the only ones in the conference with their identical records:
• Sixers tied with Cleveland: Sixers win tiebreaker
• Sixers tied with Orlando: Sixers win tiebreaker
• Sixers tied with Indiana: Pacers win tiebreaker
• Sixers tied with Miami: Heat win tiebreaker
However, things get tricky if more than two teams finish with the same record. The top tiebreaker in that case is which teams involved have won their division. The Sixers, of course, will not finish first in the Atlantic Division, and neither will the Pacers. But there is a scenario in which the Sixers, Pacers and Magic finish in a three-way tie at 47-35 (the Sixers would need to win both of their last two games -- one of which comes at home against Orlando on Friday night -- while the Pacers and Magic would each need to split their final two). In that scenario, the Magic would get priority in seeding because they would finish the season leading the Southeast Division, then the Pacers would finish next, and the Sixers last of the three.
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