Nick Nurse gives honest take on 76ers potentially avoiding play-in, Joel Embiid ramping up as 76ers…..

The 76ers could avoid the play-in tournament and earn a playoff berth to conclude the 2023-24 season.

 As the 2023-24 regular season comes down to the wire, the Philadelphia 76ers still don’t know what seed in the Eastern Conference they will be at season’s end. The way they — and other Eastern Conference teams — play in the rest of their games will decide it.

The Sixers have two more games remaining and need to win each one to keep their chances of avoiding the play-in alive. Up next on the schedule for them is a matchup against the Orlando Magic, who lead them by just a single game in the standings. Those two squads and the Indiana Pacers are crawling over themselves trying to secure the fifth and sixth seeds in the conference, which are owned respectively by Orlando and Indiana. Philly is currently in seventh place.

In the event of a two-way tie in season records between teams, the first tiebreaker is their head-to-head record. The Sixers have beaten the Magic twice already this season, so they would finish ahead of them. But multi-team ties have different tiebreakers. If the Pacers also have the same record as them, the Magic could jump ahead if they win the Southeast division, which would happen with either one more win from them or one more loss from the Miami Heat.

Regardless of what happens elsewhere, the Sixers have their own games against the Magic and Brooklyn Nets to worry about. Falling into the play-in tournament means having to duke it out for a playoff berth, cutting into the rest and preparation time for a future first-round series. In the randomness that could spawn from a single game with do-or-die implications, a playoff bid isn’t guaranteed for the higher seeds.

Of course, that extra game could be of particular benefit for Philly. Joel Embiid is still working his way back from injury and needs as many live reps as he can to get in tip-top shape before the playoffs. Because the 76ers play like a title contender with him in action, the risk of a play-in game feels minimized. Plus, giving Embiid another game to mesh with new teammates Kyle Lowry, Cam Payne and Buddy Hield would be nice to have.

Nick Nurse said that it would “certainly” help the 76ers to avoid the play-in tournament but acknowledged that there are silver linings for either scenario.

“I think it would be beneficial,” Nurse said. “Somebody over here asked me, ‘Do you value having the play-in game to get [Embiid] an extra game to get him back in shape?’ I think you can look at it both ways and I think we will look at it positively either way we get it.

“But we do need a little bit of practice time here and there and…I think last night was the first night in 35 days that I didn’t get a whole bunch of edits from my assistants to watch. Those are coming tonight,” the 76ers head coach continued. “Like, we had one every day for 30-some days that we were preparing because it’s the first time we’ve had two days off. And giving us three or four would be awesome, I think.”

The 76ers enjoyed two off days before facing the Magic, their first time having such a break since late February. With other injuries besides Embiid’s to watch, it’s quite helpful. Nico Batum called the matchup with the Magic “maybe the biggest game of the year” for the Sixers, who have to scrap their way to a playoff berth.

Batum said that there are times when the Sixers’ bad losses percolate back into view as opportunities that got away.

“Especially in the last two or three weeks,” he said, “you can think of a recent game and you’re like, ‘Dang if we could have that one or that one or just one quarter or whatever, it would’ve been different.’ But, hey, we are where we are right now so we can’t really control that. Right now it’s about tomorrow’s game. Will be a big one against a good team. So just focus on that right now.”

From narrowly losing to the Los Angeles Clippers or Cleveland Cavaliers to blowing chances against inferior opponents like the Nets or Memphis Grizzlies, the 76ers have given themselves plenty of games they wish they could have back. Even with the wins they stole against the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Cavs (twice), the stench of regret is hard to wash off of the ones that got away.

“It seems to me that every year it comes down to some teams needing these last couple of games,” Nurse said. “So the lesson is [that] game two is just as important as game 82 in the standings.”

While past chances loom over the 76ers, they can make them matter less by taking care of business against the Magic and Nets. They have the advantage of playing both teams at home and catching Orlando at the end of a road trip. However, a recent loss to the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks will surely light a fire under the young squad that has been one of the NBA’s biggest defensive juggernauts.

The book has not yet closed on the 2023-24 regular season but the final pages are upon us. The 76ers, after a whirlwind of a season, still have the power to write their own ending.