76ers Playoff Watch: Cavaliers Clinch Playoff Spot Sunday

The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to the 2023 NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2018.

With a win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the Cavaliers became the fourth team in the Eastern Conference to crack a spot in the playoffs, following the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

After defeating the Rockets, the Cavaliers improved to 48-28 on the year. They are six games back from the first seed. With the Bucks, Celtics, and Sixers all continuing to do well down the stretch of the year, the Cavaliers are likely to remain in the fourth seed.

The remaining two playoff seeds are temporarily taken up by the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. Meanwhile, the Play-In picture for the seventh and eighth seeds currently has the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls competing.

If the season ended today, the Sixers would be locked into a first-round series with the Nets. The Cavaliers would go toe-to-toe with the Knicks, which is becoming the most likely series to happen.

As for the sixth seed, the Heat recently surpassed the Nets before they fell short against them over the weekend. Both teams possess a 40-35 record, but Brooklyn holds the tie-breaker.

According to Tankathon, the Nets have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA, as they face just two playoff teams in the final seven games. While the Heat’s schedule isn’t too much tougher, the Nets seem to have the upper hand in that department.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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