Welcome to the third edition of Sixers tank watch, where we will remain locked in on any and all factors which could impact whether or not the team will hold onto its top-six protected first-round pick, which will otherwise belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Sixers have their most crucial tanking game yet on Wednesday night, as they face the Toronto Raptors on the road. Let's break down where things stand now and what could change in the next week:
Lottery standings entering tonight
Here is what the lottery standings look like entering Wednesday's action, courtesy of our good friend Tankathon.com:
What is the difference between the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 slots for the Sixers? Quite a bit, actually. The team would double its odds of keeping that protected first-rounder if they end up successfully leapfrogging Brooklyn and Toronto and climbing from No. 7 to No. 5 by the end of the season. The full odds breakdown, as always:
| Lottery position | Chance of keeping pick |
| 1 | 100.0% |
| 2 | 100.0% |
| 3 | 93.0% |
| 4 | 81.1% |
| 5 | 64.0% |
| 6 | 45.8% |
| 7 | 31.9% |
| 8 | 26.3% |
| 9 | 20.2% |
| 10 | 13.9% |
| 11 | 9.4% |
| 12 | 7.1% |
| 13 | 4.7% |
| 14 | 2.4% |
As we have covered extensively, it is going to be an immense uphill battle for the Raptors to keep up with the Sixers and Brooklyn Nets in the race to secure optimal draft lottery positioning because of their unfathomably easy schedule late in the season. And with five wins in their last 10 games, the Raptors now find themselves on the verge of falling from No. 5 to No. 7 in the lottery standings, particularly if they knock off the Sixers on their home floor on Wednesday.
MORE: Sixers fans flocking back to 'comfort zone' in Tankathon
The week ahead
Here are the slates facing the Sixers, Raptors and Nets over the next seven days:
Sixers: Wednesday @ Toronto Raptors (22-43), Friday vs. Indiana Pacers (36-28), Sunday @ Dallas Mavericks (33-33), Monday @ Houston Rockets (40-25)
We will focus on the Sixers-Raptors matchup in Toronto in a minute, but the rest of the Sixers' slate is worth mentioning, too. They will clearly be underdogs against both the Pacers and Rockets — even with Houston's burgeoning star Amen Thompson likely to miss Monday's game. Sunday's matinee in Dallas, however, will be a monstrosity. A team comprised of players who will be inactive for that matchup would crush any arrangement of ones actually suiting up, as the Mavericks are the only team that can say it has had a more disastrous season than the Sixers.
Our old friend Caleb Martin should be available for Dallas on Sunday, but he will just be one of a few. The Mavericks have seen the top, middle and bottom of their roster completely ravaged by injuries, to the point that many of their recent games have been played with just the minimum eight available pieces.
Raptors: Wednesday vs. Sixers (22-42), Friday @ Utah Jazz (15-50), Sunday @ Portland Trail Blazers (28-38), Monday @ Phoenix Suns (30-35)
All eyes are on Wednesday's game in Toronto — the same will be said when the Raptors visit Philadelphia on March 30 — and with the Sixers' season series against Brooklyn over with, their two remaining games against the Raptors are far and away their most meaningful games left on the schedule when it comes to maximizing their odds of keeping the protected first-round pick.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are certainly well aware of the implications of this game and will be looking out for themselves. As of this writing, star forward Scottie Barnes is listed as questionable, while starting point guard Immanuel Quickley is out for rest and RJ Barrett is out due to personal reasons. The Sixers' own injury report is lengthy, including Tyrese Maxey and Paul George already being ruled out.
Nets: Thursday @ Chicago Bulls (27-38), Saturday vs. Boston Celtics (47-18), Sunday vs. Atlanta Hawks (31-34), Tuesday @ Boston Celtics (47-18)
The Nets are legitimately playing defense so well of late that any game is winnable — in fact, they were a few plays away from beating the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night — but we are really looking at a pair of toss-up games here, as Brooklyn defeating the defending champion Celtics will be a long shot in both occasions.
Despite once holding a 50-plus-point lead over the Sixers, the Bulls have largely played horrid basketball since trading Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings. Chicago has merely taken control of the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference because their main competition was the Sixers. They are very beatable. Meanwhile, the Hawks have sputtered since losing Jalen Johnson for the season, but if Trae Young is available Atlanta will be favored at home against the Nets. That game could go either way as well.
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