The final stretch of the 2017-18 NBA season will clearly go down as one of the most eventful season-closing periods in recent history. Out West, we are witnessing an unparalleled deadlock with six teams separated by just two games and only three certain postseason participants. The East has, surprisingly, followed suit; not in terms of uncertainty regarding the top eight teams, but rather on the level of micro-conflicts that will determine the playoff seeding.
Bucks, Heat, and Wizards will all be struggling to reach a more favorable position by the end of the season, but the primary focus of the public will expectedly be on a two-team jam higher up in the standings. The Cavs, who have arguably underperformed over the course of the season, and the Sixers, who have surpassed preseason expectations, will look to top each other right at the finish line.
Much to the joy of NBA fans, the two teams will go mano-a-mano tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in a high-stakes showdown that will have major implications on their eventual playoff success, and the legacies of every player involved.
Following yet another LeBeast night, in which LeBron James posted a respectable stat line in just the final six minutes of the game (13 points, four rebounds, three assists for a 16-point comeback), the Cavs have advanced to a 49-30 record for the season. That gave them half a game lead over the Sixers, and a win tonight will almost certainly cement their place as the number three seed. After all, a 3-1 head-to-head advantage would be extremely tough to waste, especially considering the fact that the rest of the Cavs' schedule features two games against the Knicks.
James playing 40 minutes leading up to an away back-to-back game definitely isn't ideal for the Cavs and coach Ty Lue, but it would be foolish from the Sixers to rely on him being fatigued. Despite leading the league in minutes played in his 15th year, he is still having an MVP-calibre season; the time and money he invests into taking care of his body have proven more than worthwhile both for him and the Cavs.
Besides that, Kevin Love is returning to the lineup, and that could pose certain matchup problems for the Sixers. With Joel Embiid sidelined until the playoffs and Dario Saric listed as questionable, the Sixers will likely have to run with an Amir Johnson / Ersan Ilyasova frontcourt. A fresh Love, posting a respectable 15 points and nine rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the arc since his recovery, will surely give the Sixers a run for their money, especially in the defensive and rebounding department.
Despite being shorthanded, one thing is for sure – the Sixers won't be entering the game with a mindset of an underdog. They are riding a 12-game winning streak, their longest since before Embiid, Saric, Ben Simmons or Markelle Fultz have even been born. The spirits in Philadelphia are at an all-time high, the Process has reached its next evolutionary stage, and it seems more likely than not that the Sixers will make noise in the playoffs for the first time since the Allen Iverson era.
The Sixers have energy, motivation, a generational talent in Simmons and a rapidly improving top prospect in Fultz at their disposal. All of that seems like an excellent recipe for a historic win that would give them half-a-game leeway over the Cavs. As mentioned, the Cavs should be able to win out the rest of their games, but the same can be assumed for the Sixers, as they will close out the season against the Mavericks, the Hawks and at home against the Bucks.
Attaining the third seed would be highly beneficial for both teams should they go head-to-head in the later stages of the playoffs, but it has huge implications on a wider scale as well. With the recent news of Kyrie Irving missing the rest of the season, the value of that third seed has risen exponentially.
If the Sixers/Cavs go through their first-round matchup unscathed, they would face either Irving-less Celtics or the seventh-seed Bucks/Heat/Wizards in the conference semis. It is clear, therefore than a win in tonight's matchup provides an open path to the conference finals, making this one of, if not the most important game of the season for both franchises.
There are two possible outcomes: either the Cavs redeem themselves for a sub-par regular season campaign and LeBron gives himself the best opportunity to reach the eighth straight NBA finals, or Ben Simmons puts the final exclamation points on his ROY candidature and tags the timeline of the Process with a new critical milestone. The stakes are incredibly high for both teams, which will force both Lue and Brett Brown to approach it like a playoff game.
At this stage of the season and under these circumstances, this is a must-watch. Make sure to tune in at 7 PM ET and enjoy a matchup that has all the required ingredients for making it an instant classic with major impact on the present and the future of two major NBA franchises.
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