Brooklyn Nets Surpass Sixers in Eastern Conference Standings

The Philadelphia 76ers are no longer the top team in the Eastern Conference. No, this is not an April Fool's joke. After spending months in the top spot, the Sixers never had a marginal lead over the competition beneath them in the standings.

With the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks continuing to find success through their schedule, the Sixers always had the two clubs breathing down their necks. 76ers head coach Doc Rivers always mentioned that despite his desire to lock up the first seed in the East this year, he doesn't pay attention to the standings.

One of his respected veteran leaders, Tobias Harris, couldn't say the same. “I look at the standings,” Harris admitted this past weekend after the Sixers lost to the Clippers. “I know where we are. I know the race. I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t look at the standings every day. It’s just something that I do.”

For Harris, looking at the tight Eastern Conference race was a motivational tool. As a guy who has taken his All-Star snub in stride and embraced doubt surrounding his team as Joel Embiid has missed time, it comes as no surprise Harris enjoys the difficult race for the top spot with the Nets.

“It’s a close race, which is good,” Harris continued. “At the end of the day, that’s another challenge, and that’s something that I look forward to going out and just doing whatever we can to win a basketball game and to stay up at the top of the East.”

Harris's tactics didn't work the following game against the Denver Nuggets. As the Sixers sat just a half a game in front of the Nets on Tuesday, they fell short to the Nuggets and suddenly shared the top seed with Brooklyn, who had the same record of 32-15. With no game to follow on Wednesday, the Nets had an opportunity to snag sole possession of first place with a win over the Houston Rockets.

Although Brooklyn struggled initially on Wednesday night, they rallied in the second half to defeat Houston 120-108. With that victory, the Nets advanced to 33-15, advancing half a game past the 76ers. Now, for the first time since January 19, the Sixers are not the top team in the East.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.