March 04, 2026
The final 21 games of the Sixers' 2025-26 regular season will determinate their fate.
Is this a playoff team? For now, the answer is yes, thanks to a lead over the Orlando Magic for the Eastern Conference's No. 6 seed which has been trimmed to just 0.5 games. If they fall between No. 7 and No. 10 – a distinct possibility – the Sixers will have to earn their way into the playoffs via the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Every game between now and the regular-season finale in the second week of April is meaningful for the Sixers. Some are going to be especially pivotal. That is the focus of this week's power rankings roundup:
Before the Sixers were publicly humiliated by the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, John Schuhmann previewed the Sixers' difficult upcoming slate:
"The Sixers have the third toughest remaining schedule (cumulative opponent winning percentage of .500) among the top eight teams in the East, though only 10 of their 22 games are against teams that currently have winning records. Two of those are against the Spurs, who they’ll host on Tuesday." [NBA.com]
The Sixers do have some statement wins on their resume. Their opening-night comeback in Boston would have looked even more impressive had we known what the Celtics would turn into this season, they won two games at Madison Square Garden in emphatic fashion. They've beaten the Houston Rockets as well. But their track record against high-level competition has not inspired incredible confidence so far.
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While the conventional thinking might be that the Sixers' most important remaining games will come against their toughest opponents, Tim Bontemps takes a different approach:
"At the end of March, the Sixers have a set of games against the Bulls at home followed by the Hornets, Heat and Wizards on the road. If they can go 3-1 or 4-0, they'll have given themselves a chance to secure a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference. That is, of course, depending on Joel Embiid's health, With him, Philadelphia will think it can beat anyone over seven games. Without him? It'll be a short playoff run, at best." [ESPN]
As the Sixers might experience on Wednesday night when they take on the Utah Jazz for the first of two battles this month, even games against tanking teams like Chicago and Washington can be challenging. They cannot afford to mess around.
MORE: Answering questions about Sixers' playoff matchups and rotations
Law Murray's list of the Sixers' most important remaining games: March 9 at CLE, March 17 at DEN, March 23 vs OKC, March 30 at MIA. He writes:
"I enjoyed that run Joel Embiid was on where he was literally leading all league scorers for several weeks. That momentum is gone now. Embiid had a solid couple of games after missing more than two weeks, then strained his right oblique, leaving him day-to-day-to-day again. Bubble wrap Embiid for all I care. Just make sure we finally get him against Nikola Jokić in Denver this season. We are so close. Give the people what they want and need to see!" [The Athletic]
With a tiebreaker already clinched over Orlando, that March 30 contest in Miami against the Heat will be crucial to determine another tiebreaker scenario. Both Orlando and Miami are only half a game back of the Sixers in the standings for the No. 6 seed.
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