The Philadelphia 76ers needed an improbable run just to make the postseason. Yet if the Sixers somehow got to the playoffs, they would have had to face a Miami Heat team that has slaughtered them for years. As such, it was somewhat fitting that the Sixers were officially spared from that by the Heat themselves on April 6.
When the Heat beat the Sixers again by 106-87, it left Philadelphia on the brink of official elimination. The Milwaukee Bucks then shut the door themselves with a 100-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors. This left the Bucks up by six games for the final playoff berth in the East, with six games to go and the tie breaker in hand.
Now it will officially be Milwaukee’s honor to win the eighth seed and face Miami in the first round. The Bucks could always overtake the Boston Celtics for the seventh seed, but they have lost countless chances to catch them over the last few weeks. At 37-39, the Bucks appear doomed to be the first team that gets slaughtered by the Heat in the postseason.
The Sixers have already been beaten up by the Heat four straight times in the regular season. Therefore, the only consolation about missing the playoffs is that they won’t have to face Miami again until next year.
Of course, when the season started, the expectation was that a more evenly matched Philadelphia team could face Miami in the second round, or even the conference finals. At the least, the Sixers weren’t projected to face the Heat as an eighth seed. But when it became clear this was the best they could do, it barely seemed like it was worth it -- and the Sixers largely played like it wasn’t.
Fittingly, the season came to an end in Miami, just like it would have in the postseason -- assuming the Sixers got lucky enough to steal one game in Philadelphia. As per usual, the Sixers challenged the Heat for a little while on April 6, then didn’t have enough left for the final minutes.
The same formula would have likely repeated itself four straight times in the playoffs, but Philadelphia will never know for sure now. However, the Sixers could have felt free to guess -- yet guessing is all they can do during a longer than expected offseason.
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