The Eastern Conference is a gauntlet right now. With just two days left in the 2023-24 season, the Boston Celtics are the only team that has clinched their spot in the NBA playoffs. There is a storyline developing between the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks battling for the 2-seed, but the biggest storyline in the East revolves around the 4-seed through the 8-seed, as just a game separates most of these teams. The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic find themselves in this range, and something special may wind up happening due to the NBA Play-In Tournament.
While the Heat are 44-36 on the season and in the play-in region of the East standings as the current 8-seed entering Friday, the Magic are the 5-seed, two games ahead of Miami at 46-34 overall. Two games remain on the NBA schedule for all 30 teams, which is why the Heat and Magic could wind up tying one another.
There are a ton of scenarios out there. The Magic could still rise up as high as the 3-seed and the Heat could potentially move up out of the play-in region of the East standings. Perhaps the most unique scenario that could play out involves Orlando falling to the play-in tournament. There, they could run into the Heat in the 7-seed vs. 8-seed game. Better yet, one of these teams is going to wind up winning the Southeast Division and could meet the other in a key play-in game.
How Magic, Heat can meet in play-in tournament
How can a division winner in the NBA ultimately have to earn their spot in the playoffs via the play-in tournament? Well, the answer to this question is that divisions simply do not matter anymore. In the past, the NBA would give division winners the top seeds in the conference, but that hasn't been the case since the 2013-14 season. Regardless of where teams finish in their division standings, they are seeded ahead of the playoffs based on their overall record.
As things stand right now, the Magic, who lead the Heat by two games for the Southeast Division, are the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are currently the 8-seed, but that could change drastically by the end of the day on Friday.
Due to all 30 teams in the league being in action, all of the one-game leads that are held in the standings could be gone by the end of the day. Two games currently separate the Heat and Magic, but that could be cut down to just one game should the Magic lose to the Philadelphia 76ers and the Heat defeat the Toronto Raptors.
So, how can the Magic and Heat run into one another in the play-in tournament despite one of them winning their division? The first thing that needs to occur is exactly what was just described, with the 76ers defeating the Magic and the Heat defeating the Raptors. This would move Orlando down to the 7-seed, assuming the Indiana Pacers were to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers as well. If the Heat were to win as well, they would be a game behind the Magic.
Then, heading into Sunday's final games for both teams, the Magic would need to lose to the Milwaukee Bucks, the 76ers would need to defeat the Brooklyn Nets, and the Heat would once again need to defeat the Raptors. From there, the Heat would actually move up to the 7-seed and the Magic would be the 8-seed in the play-in tournament.
Of course, there are several different scenarios and situations that could play out based on tiebreakers, especially if three or four teams are tied with the same record when all is said and done. Specifically pertaining to the Heat and Magic, there is a small chance of them meeting one another in the play-in tournament.
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