Games to watch this NBA trade deadline week that will help or hinder Sixers’ play-in hopes

Like Los Angeles getting stars, the Sixers might make the play-in out of another franchise just giving up.

New CBA restrictions be damned! In the most shocking NBA trade of all time, the Los Angeles Lakers fell ass-backward into another transcendent superstar. But, a definitely more interesting and important ass-falling also became more likely last night: the once 2-12 Philadelphia 76ers playing postseason basketball.

They are just one game back from the 10th seed, currently held by the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls just traded away their best player, Zach Lavine. When you trade your best player, you will probably lose more games. Hence, Philadelphia probably makes the play-in.

There’s still a lot of season to go though. With the trade deadline on Thursday, it’s a week where headlines will be about rumors and deals more than results. But the results matter. Philadelphia needs Chicago to lose, but wouldn’t mind the other teams in or near the East play-in to drop a few games.

For the Sixers, the Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat are all within an optimistic but not impossible reaching distance. So, let’s see who they’re playing this week. Obviously, they’ll play more than the games listed below, so I’ve picked the most entertaining matchups those teams play from today through to Sunday.

Happy deadline week!

NBA

Feb. 3: Atlanta Hawks @ Detroit Pistons
Before the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić and ripped the heart, soul, and basketball fandom out of their supporters, the most brutal news any NBA fanbase had to deal with was Atlanta Hawks fans’ digesting Jalen Johnson’s season-ending labrum injury.

Johnson was having the best season of his four-year career, earning talk as the league’s Most Improved Player and potentially even an All-Star. His size and do-it-all bag on offense was perfect for a Hawks team with a genuine chance at the East’s sixth seed. But, alas.

Johnson went down after 11 minutes of play in a 122-119 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 23. And they still haven’t won since. It’s swelled to an eight-game losing streak and they’ve skid to the ninth seed. Since the injury, their offensive rating has cratered from 111.3 to 102.9, worse than the Washington Wizards’ league-worst 104.1.

On Monday night, they’ll try to turn things around against a spouting Detroit Pistons team. Winners of 10 of their 16 January games, Detroit is 25-24 on the season and holds the seventh seed. Cade Cunningham’s ascendant play has secured him an All-Star spot, the franchise’s first since Blake Griffin in 2019.

Cade orchestrates on offense. By calculatedly and assuredly attacking angles, he draws defenders in, once there, his passing makes life oh-so-easy for his veteran shooters and young rim-running bigs. He is third in the league in assists and 11th in points, one of just four players in the top 11 of both.

Feb. 4: Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
They finally did it. After two seasons of trade rumors surrounding Zach LaVine, the Chicago Bulls traded the former All-Star guard to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. It was part of a three-team trade with De’Aaron Fox, another All-Star guard, going to the San Antonio Spurs. But, for the Sixers, all that matters is the Bulls got worse.

All they received for the surging LaVine was salary filler and their own 2025 draft pick back from the Spurs. It’s a signal that they’re finally embracing the tank. Currently, in the final play-in seed and one game ahead of the Sixers, we can expect the Bulls to secede from their position in the standings and descend to a more rewarding lottery position.

With LaVine and Fox both dealt, the Miami Heat’s superstar turned migraine Jimmy Butler should be next. His trade request has turned into a dramatic saga culminating in the team suspending him indefinitely without pay. Butler has made it known he only wants to be traded to the Phoenix Suns, which makes it harder to get him off the team.

Moving from drama to hoops, the Heat are the sixth seed in the East but haven’t built any distance from the play-in teams. They’ve beaten up on bottom-feeders but haven’t beaten a team with a positive record since their four-point win over the Houston Rockets on Dec. 29th.

With the Hawks sliding and the Bulls throwing in the towel, the Heat will almost definitely be in the play-in. The return for Butler, if he is traded, will be crucial in deciding if they can escape it.

Feb. 5: Chicago Bulls @ Minnesota Timberwolves
The Bulls’ three-point-heavy and ball-moving offense can always get hot, but trading LaVine means trading away 25 points on great efficiency. Even with sixth-year guard Coby White showing flashes of near-Lavine production this season and especially last, and center Nikola Vučević maintaining a 40% three-point stroke, they are going to struggle to score at the rate they were with LaVine. Especially (and obviously) against great defenses.

After a rough start, the Minnesota Timberwolves have regained a little bit of their league-leading defense from last season. Their sixth this season and have the second-best defensive rating over the last five games. On the other side of the ball, they’ve struggled.

Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards have failed to orchestrate their fit and the whole offense. Veteran point guard Mike Conley has finally succumbed to father time’s inevitability, and Rudy Gobert has also regressed offensively, even by his standard.

But Edwards is still Edwards. He’s explosive and has turned into an efficient and high-volume three-point shooter. Of the 24 players making at least three threes a game, Edwards’ 42.3% efficiency on those shots is the fourth highest.

He should feast against this Bulls team, which is full of shocking defenders. The LaVine trade didn’t net them any good ones either. They currently have the seventh-worst defensive rating and I’d expect that to drop further if their offense falls off too. It’s much easier to defend after a bucket than it is after a miss.

Feb. 6: Orlando Magic @ Denver Nuggets
The eighth-seeded Orlando Magic are having a weird season. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, their two burgeoning stars and main offensive weapons both missed extended time due to tearing their obliques. A weird enough injury as is, but both of them suffering it turns it into a spookily weird occurrence.

Paolo went down first but Franz elevated his play and kept his team competitive. Wagner then went down before Paolo returned and all seemed doomed. But they did fine. When Paolo returned on Jan. 8th the team was the fourth seed. Injuries to other rotation players occurred (Jalen Suggs, Goga Bitadze, and Mo Wagner, Franz’s brother, have all missed extended time, with Mo out for the season) but Paolo is such a singular force on offense that the worst of it seemed to be over. Wagner returned too just a couple of weeks later.

But, since Paolo’s return, they’ve had the second-worst offense, the 11th-worst defense, and have gone 2-10. Only the Washington Wizards have a worse record in that stretch (with any stretch for any stat, you can assume this to be the case). It’s dragged the Magic all the way down to the play-in mix, just four games ahead of the Sixers.

But, they still have Paolo and Franz: Two players capable of individual greatness on both ends, but an especially daunting task for any defense.

Maybe the Denver Nuggets could teach them how to bounce back. They started off slow but Nikola Jokic being the single greatest offensive weapon of the 2020s has turned them around. Mostly he alone, but also co-star Jamal Murray rounding into form after a rough start, and Russell Westbrook’s resurgent play, has pulled them up to the West’s fourth seed.

Feb. 7: Milwaukee Bucks @ Atlanta Hawks
After an 8-2 stretch in the first couple weeks of January, the Milwaukee Bucks seemed set to make a push for the three seed. But, they’ve lost four of their last five, including three double-digit losses in a row. Now, just two games separates them from the play-in. They’re better than the teams below them, but, as we’ve all witnessed this week, anything can happen in the NBA. Most likely though is a Bucks win, which is good for the Sixers.

Viewing-wise, in their previous matchup, Trae Young cooked for 35 points and 10 assists. Giannis had 32 of his own (and got the W). With no Jalen Johnson and a fragile Milwaukee perimeter defense, this could be a massive game for Young. And any game could be a massive one for Giannis.

Feb. 8: Chicago Bulls @ Golden State Warriors
This game will go down two days after the deadline. It’s likely the Golden State Warriors’ roster looks different. They’ve been heavily linked to Vučević, so this could be his revenge game!

Whether it’s Vooch or someone else, reports state they are trying to do something to salvage this season. They are out of the play-in and have lost 20 of their last 32 games. It all seemed so magical during their 10-2 start, but Stephen Curry has looked older (he went a whole game without scoring a field goal!), Draymond Green’s been injured… and LeBron James just got Luka Dončić on his team!

ESPN’s Shams Charania said the Warriors are “legitimately calling about every All-Star,” including the Sixers’ Paul George. If they do get a bite, this game should be the first for Steph’s new teammate, whoever he may be.

Feb. 9: Charlotte Hornets @ Detroit Pistons
Expecting the 12-34 Charlotte Hornets to win a game is silly, but LaMelo Ball is a lot of fun to watch, and they played the Pistons close in their last matchup. He is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain, but could be healthy by the time this game comes around.

These are the types of games that the Pistons have done well to not lose this season, distancing themselves from teams that joined them in the lottery last year. They’ve gone 13-6 against teams below .500.

They also might look different by this game. They’ve been linked with the New Orleans Pelicans. With other reports stating they’re looking for another playmaker next to Cade, you’d assume the Pelicans’ CJ McCollum would be of interest.

If they do or don’t make a move, they’re still a great watch this season. And the Hornets play basketball also.