2024 NBA Playoffs seeding tie-breakers: Exploring Eastern Conference 6-8th seed scenarios

As the NBA regular season comes to a close, the playoff picture is starting to take shape. While some teams have sealed their fate, others will be fighting for position down to the wire.

One of the key races to watch in these final days is in the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat are neck-and-neck for sixth place. This spot in the standings is highly coveted, as it means not having to fight through the NBA Play-In Tournament.

At the moment, the Pacers are clinging on to sixth place with a 46-34 record. The Sixers aren't far behind at 45-35, and Miami is within striking distance at 44-36.

With so few games left, there is the rare chance where three teams all finish with the same exact record. In that event, the NBA would have to break out its tiebreaker rules to determine which teams get which seed.

Here is how things would unfold for these three teams if they were to end in a tie.

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NBA playoff tiebreakers for Eastern Conference 6-8 race

The NBA rulebook states that the first tiebreaker is a division winner. Since that is not the case here, the next tiebreaker must be used.

In the event that multiple non-division winners are tied, the team with the highest winning percentage in games among the tied teams wins. If it were to come to this, the Indiana Pacers would end up getting awarded the sixth seed. They had a 4-2 record against the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat this year. Meanwhile, the other two teams both went 3-4 in such matchups.

While it doesn't matter much, a tiebreaker would then need to be used to see which of the Sixers or Heat gets the seventh seed. Head-to-head winning percentage is typically used, but doesn't work here since they split the season series.

Since the Heat and Sixers aren't in the same division, winning percentage in the conference is the tiebreaker. The Heat have a slight edge at the moment, but things could change. Each of the Sixers' final two games are within the Eastern Conference.

With the Pacers in the sixth seed, they'd open the postseason against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Sixers and Heat would face off in the first round of the play-in. The winner would be awared the seventh seed and a first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks. Loser would play again in hopes of getting the eighth seed and facing the Boston Celtics.

Looking at their schedules, the Sixers' final two games are against the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets. Miami finishes up the year with the mini-series against the Toronto Raptors. As for the Pacers, they also have two games remaining. They'll take on the Cleveland Cavaliers before ending the year against the Atlanta Hawks.