In the NBA play-off East game that ended today, the 76ers finally defeated the Heat 105-104 after a hard battle, and entered the playoffs as the 7th in the East, and will face the Knicks in the second place in the East in the first round.
In the other game, the Bulls beat the Hawks 131-116 and will play the final playoff game against the Heat for the final playoff spot, with the winner facing the Celtics in the first round in the East.
It is worth mentioning that in today's game, both Bulls Caruso and Heat Butler have major injuries and are expected to be reimbursed for the season.
There is no doubt that the Celtics have become the biggest winners, because neither the Bulls, who have a weak roster, nor the Heat without Butler, can no longer pose a threat to the Celtics.
The Celtics are far ahead of the regular season record this season, locking up the No. 1 in the East early, and there is no opportunity and necessity to choose an opponent, and when they see the 76ers and the Heat appear in the 7-8 places, I believe the Celtics are unwilling to see this scene, because the 76ers fell to 7th because Embiid was absent, and now Embiid has returned.
The Heat, on the other hand, reached the Finals as the Black 8 last season, including a victory over the Celtics.
Regardless of which team they face in the first round, the Celtics may win, but it won't be easy.
But after today's game, the Celtics were relaxed, the 76ers went to play against the Knicks, and the Heat Butler was injured. While Celtic don't need to pick opponents, it's certainly nice to be able to avoid tough opponents.
The Celtics don't pick, but the Bucks do.
At the end of the season, the Bucks lost more and won less, with the goal of ceding No. 2 and avoiding the 76ers or the Heat. In the end, it fell to No. 3 as he wished, and now that the 76ers appear in No. 7, the Bucks are also happy in their hearts.
Let the young Knicks play against the 76ers and themselves against the young Pacers. Don't look at the Pacers regular season 1-4 Pacers, but in the playoffs, the experience of the Bucks will give them an advantage, and the young Pacers will also have to pay some tuition, which will definitely be easier than playing the 76ers.
On the contrary, it is the Knicks, against the 76ers, and they really have to beware of being hacked 8.
Over the years, the Knicks have also played in the playoffs several times, but the performance was not ideal, Randle's performance in the playoffs was not efficient, and Brunson's arrival allowed the Knicks to break through the first round last season and finally lose to the Heat in the second round. Although the 76ers often have "soft feet" in the playoffs, they have also reached the second round for 3 consecutive years, and they will be more experienced.
The 76ers vs Knicks will be a relatively close set of matchups in the East.
In contrast, the final matchup in the East, Magic vs Cavaliers, may have much less attention, although both teams are good, but they are not very popular, and they don't have much playoff experience.
Overall, on the Eastern side, the Celtics and Bucks are still a notch ahead of other teams. But the biggest surprise is Brother Alphabet's injury, if Brother Alphabet can't come back in time in the first round, or if he doesn't find his form after coming back, then the overall strength of the Bucks may not be much different from the Pacers, and the Pacers will have a chance to complete the counterattack.
In the end, the east is probably the "leftover" who is king.