BBNBA: Sixers, Bucks and Celtics jostle for playoff position

The playoff race is going down to the wire as all 30 NBA teams play on Sunday to close out the regular season. We’ll recap the action from Saturday as well as preview the playoff implications of the final day of games. Let’s dive in.

Sixers, Bucks and Celtics playing chess atop the East

The Miami Heat locked down the one-seed in the East the other day, leaving Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia to jockey for the three remaining home-court advantage spots. With one game to go, Milwaukee owns the two-seed at 51-30, while Boston and Philadelphia are a game back at 50-31 — though Boston owns the tiebreakers over the other two, while Philly loses the tiebreaker with Milwaukee also. Confusing, I know.

So all of these teams are gunning for the two-seed, right? Not exactly. With an albatross like Brooklyn waiting in the weeds at the bottom of the East standings, the two-seed might meet Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in the first round, assuming they take care of business in the first play-in game. And dropping to the four-seed would mean matchups with the Raptors in the first round then on the road vs. Miami in round two.

The three-seed is the spot of desire for these three teams. Chicago is locked in at sixth, and while they overachieved this season, their record against the top teams is atrocious and they’ve been banged up down the stretch.

The Sixers have the Pistons at home, which should be an easy win. The Bucks will be on the road vs. Cleveland, which is fighting for play-in positioning. So they’ll be no doormat. Meanwhile the Celtics are at Memphis, easily the toughest game of the group. But with Memphis already locking down the two-seed, they may rest their guys. Or maybe not, and the Grizzlies show up to beat Boston for the hell of it? Seems like something they’d do.

All this is to say there’s a big cloud of dust to be settled before the playoff picture is clear. There could be some interesting gamesmanship as the powers in the East battle for the two and three seeds.

Isaiah Jackson, Tyrese Maxey play well in Sixers’ win over Pacers

Speaking of the Sixers, they avoided being pigeonholed as the four-seed with a win over the Pacers on Saturday. Tyrese Maxey contributed to the winning cause, scoring 18 points while dishing out five assists. The 2021-22 Sixers have been anything but consistent, from roster movement to play on the court. However, Tyrese Maxey’s production has been one of the steady engines for an up-and-down Philly campaign. His effort, scoring and availability are immense difference-makers for a team that otherwise lacks some of those qualities.

You can see some of that patented Maxey effort in the first clip of Saturday’s highlight reel:

Indiana’s Isaiah Jackson shined in his team’s loss. The rookie big knocked down a three on his way to 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Like Maxey, it was an effortful, all-around game from Jackson, who’s found his footing since the Pacers staunchly committed to losing (Saturday’s defeat marked Indiana’s ninth loss in a row).

Since dealing Domantas Sabonis and dumping all of their decent players onto the injured reserved list, Jackson has received ample opportunity down the stretch of the regular season. After the All-Star break, he’s averaging 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 57.1% from the field. As stated, the Pacers planted their flag in the tanking race months ago, and they’re looking to re-tool their roster. I imagine randos such sa Terry Taylor, Gabe York and Nate Hinton aren’t part of the long-term plan. But a former first-rounder like Isaiah Jackson absolutely is. Perhaps Indy is hoping to lose enough to pair a scorer like Paolo Banchero or Jabari Smith next to Jackson down low.

Trey Lyles puts finishing touches on career year

Trey Lyles’ career season is nothing to stuff on awards ballots. But the former 2015 first-rounder finally found some stability in both Detroit and Sacramento in 2021-22 as a player despite continuing to pinball to different stops around the league. He scored 15 points for the Kings in a loss to the Clippers on Saturday, enough to push his total season average to a career-best mark at 10.5 points per game, the first year he’s cracked double-digits.

Looking at his numbers after joining Sacramento, he’s playing his best basketball since the move from Detroit. Lyles is knocking down over 37% of his threes while also shooting a blistering 86.2% from the free throw line. He’s also getting to the line more in 2022 than any of his other seasons.

The Kings once again disastrously underachieved en route to their record-setting 16th missed postseason in a row. Gooness gracious. The NBA let two extra Western Conference teams in and Sacramento still can’t find a way into the playoffs. Heck, the Spurs are THIRTEEN games under .500 and are playing postseason basketball. You don’t even have to be good to make the play-in. Just not an abomination.

Statistics

Player	Result	Points	FG(3PA)	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Turnovers	Minutes	+/-
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	133-120 W vs. IND	18	7-15 (2-6)	1	5	1	0	0	30	+11
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	133-120 L @ PHI	16	6-12 (1-1)	7	0	2	2	2	30	-13
Trey Lyles (SAC)	117-98 L @ LAC	15	6-10 (1-3)	6	0	1	0	0	19	-6
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	100-94 L vs. GSW	DNP – Knee	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC)	117-98 W vs. SAC	DNP – Illness	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Today in the NBA

3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Pacers (Jackson) @ Nets

3:30 p.m. Wizards @ Hornets (Washington, Richards)

3:30 p.m. Bucks @ Cavaliers

3:30 p.m. Hawks (Knox) @ Rockets

7:00 p.m. (TNT) Celtics @ Grizzlies

7:00 p.m. Raptors @ Knicks (Quickley, Noel*, Randle*)

7:00 p.m. Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Magic

7:00 p.m. Pistons (Diallo) @ 76ers (Maxey)

8:30 p.m. Bulls @ Timberwolves (Towns, Vanderbilt)

9:30 p.m. Spurs (Johnson) @ Mavericks

9:30 p.m. Lakers (Monk, Gabriel, Davis*) @ Nuggets (Cousins, Murray*)

9:30 p.m. Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander*) @ Clippers (Boston)

9:30 p.m. (TNT) Warriors @ Pelicans

9:30 p.m. Kings (Lyles, Fox*) @ Suns (Booker)

9:30 p.m. Jazz @ Trail Blazers (Bledsoe*)

* — Inactive