As the NBA gets set to resume the 2019-20 season which has been suspended since March 11 due to the pandemic, there are a couple of details that continue to be ironed out. For the Philadelphia 76ers, the question of tiebreakers has reached the forefront due to their position in the standings.
They are currently tied for the 5 seed in the East with the Indiana Pacers, but they are relegated to the 6 seed due to Indiana winning two of the three matchups the team played before the league suspension. This means Philadelphia would match up with the Boston Celtics in Round 1 rather than the Miami Heat who sit at the 4 seed.
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the tiebreaker rules will not change despite a truncated finish to the season. That means Philadelphia’s opening matchup with the Pacers to resume the season will be very important.
Two things that were unclear about the NBA’s tie-breaking procedures have been clarified: the usual standings tie-breakers will be used, and winning percentage will be what determines who is in each spot in the standings, according to a league source.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 6, 2020
The tiebreaker rules are as followed according to ESPN:
- 1. Better record in head-to-head games
- 2. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
- 3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
- 4. Higher winning percentage in conference games
- 5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
- 6. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
- 7. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed
Obviously, there is no more home-court advantage so earning a higher seed does not exactly matter in the grand scheme of things, but a matchup with Miami may be a bit more favorable than Boston despite losing the season series to the Heat. [lawrence-related id=32685,32678,32670]