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Philadelphia 76ers Playoff Odds After Blowout Loss vs Cavaliers

What are the Philadelphia 76ers' chances of making the playoffs after losing to the Cavaliers?

Justin Grasso

Dec 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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Before Saturday’s matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sixers won six of their last ten games.

After a rough start to the year, the Sixers have shown signs of turning things around as the Eastern Conference’s early playoff picture begins to form.

So far, the Sixers are still not in the frame. If the season ended on Sunday, the Sixers would be outside of the NBA Play-In tournament, which would feature the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and the Indiana Pacers.

As December closes out in under two weeks, what are the Sixers’ current chances of making the Eastern Conference Playoffs in 2025?

According to Basketball Reference’s playoff probabilities report, the Sixers have an 11 percent chance of making the playoffs as they sit at 9-17 to begin the year.

On Friday night, the Sixers hosted the Charlotte Hornets for the second and final time this year. It was the fourth time the Sixers and the Hornets played, and Philly found a familiar result. With a fourth win over the Hornets, the Sixers swept the series.

On Saturday, the 76ers traveled to Ohio for a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers didn’t seem to stand a chance against the top-seeded Cavs. The game was a beatdown as the Sixers lost 126-99.

Despite going into the 2024-2025 NBA season recognized as potential championship favorites in the East, the Sixers have officially been the conference’s most disappointing teams so far. Not only do they currently hold the fourth-worst odds of making the playoffs at this time, but they are outside of the Play-In as well.

The positive note is the Sixers have plenty of time to turn things around. A hot streak could cure-all, as they are four games back from the sixth seed and just one and a half games back from the final Play-In spot.

Finding consistency has been a struggle for the 76ers due to health, but they seem to be improving in that department. Joel Embiid returned early after suffering a sinus fracture and didn’t seem to deal with any setbacks on Friday night.

Paul George is officially in the midst of his longest playing streak since joining the Sixers, and Tyrese Maxey hasn’t missed any action since November 18.

The Sixers will get back on the court on Monday to face the San Antonio Spurs. They are searching for their tenth win of the year.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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