Just 5 years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers finished with 10 (yes, 10) wins in the 2015-16 NBA season. On Friday, the Sixers clinched the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2001,embarrassing the Orlando Magic 122-97. The #1 seed means home-court advantage throughout the playoffs for Philadelphia.
Head coach Doc Rivers said the team should feel good about what they did. “It’s an accomplishment. I don’t want to downplay it, but I told our guys to enjoy, I don’t want to call it a moment, I told them to enjoy the second, because it’s not what we want, but it’s part of what you can get on the way to what you want.” Rivers told ESPN. “I think for this team, as young as we are, to have home-court is really important. It’s nice to have. So we should feel proud of it.” Ben Simmons, who Philly selected with the 1st overall pick in 2016, said, “It means what we said we wanted to do at the start of the season was get the No.1 seed. Obviously have home-
court advantage, but besides that, we’ve got to get ready for the playoffs. We’ve got one more game to finish out and then the real job starts. We put ourselves in a good position but ultimately we want to win the (NBA) championship.”
The Sixers clinched with one game to spare. When they lost four games in a row about three weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that they would walk away with the top seed. Home-court advantage could be big for the Sixers for a few reasons. First of all, they have the best home record in the East at 27-7 and an away record of 20-16. Also, they avoid having to play Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the first two rounds.
Since the Allen Iverson-led 76ers took the top seed in the East and made the NBA Finals in ‘01, (where they lost in five games to the LA Lakers) the kings of the East have been struggling. In the past 12 seasons, only two top seeds in the East have made the NBA Finals. The Sixers first-round opponent hasn’t been confirmed yet. The Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers will play to determine the 7th and 8th seeds. Simmons told ESPN, “I don’t care who we play. That’s the point of having the No.1 seed. You feel like you're the best team in the conference so you’re supposed to be able to play anybody. If we were scared, we shouldn’t be in this position.”
Source: ESPN.com
