April 5, 2026, 3:22 p.m. ET
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are currently the No. 7 seed in the East as they head into the final four games of the regular season. They are only half a game back of the No. 6 seed Toronto Raptors, and they hold the tiebreaker over the Raptors, so there is a strong chance they finish in the top 6 and avoid the play-in, but the play-in is a possibility.
Therefore, there is a chance the Sixers could see the Detroit Pistons in Round 1 of the playoffs. The Pistons finished off a season sweep of the Sixers as Philadelphia fell to Detroit 116-93 on Saturday night. The win clinched the No. 1 seed for the Pistons which means the Sixers would have to finish No. 8 in the standings to set that matchup up.
The playoffs are a much different game than the regular season, so things can obviously change, but the regular season showed how tough the Pistons will be.
“That’s playoff basketball,” said Paul George. “That’s No. 1 in the East. We played No. 1 in the East right there. I think it was a reality check for us that we gotta play more physical, play harder. They took it to us. They challenged us on both ends. They outplayed us. More physical, more aggressive, faster to 50/50 balls, they crashed the boards. It was everything, you name it, they did it.”
The Sixers will have to look ahead to the playoffs at the moment and will likely have to watch much more film in an effort to identify where they can attack the Pistons compared to what they did in the regular season.
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“I mean, it’s the playoffs,” added rookie VJ Edgecombe. “Obviously, I’ve never been there, but I know game’s gonna be different. The intensity is gonna be higher. So, obviously, if we meet, we obviously want to beat them. So, I mean, yeah, whatever you have to do to beat them. We need to do. If that takes watching way more film, than that’s what it takes, or just being better. I mean, I’ve never been in playoffs. So, I can’t really tell you what it really takes, but experience is the best teacher.”
With that being said, again, the playoffs are a different game. The Pistons are a relatively inexperienced team outside of Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson when it comes to the postseason. Their main core have only the 2025 playoffs to lean on. The Sixers have a wealth of playoff experience as they have been through the wars. They” watch some film and get ready.
“I think you always do that, especially when you’re playing against a playoff team this late in the season, but I think we’ll be ready,” added Tyrese Maxey. “If we see him again, we’ll be ready.”