By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Sixers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night – the team that went to the last three NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference.
With the Sixers in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race and pushing for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they have begun to build a reputation for themselves across the NBA according to Matt Moore of The Action Network:
Thing I heard a lot at Sloan from executives was "I wouldn't want any part of Philadelphia in a round 1 matchup."
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 2, 2018
The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference's "goal is to provide a forum for industry professionals (executives and leading researchers) and students to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the global sports industry. MIT Sloan is dedicated to fostering growth and innovation in this arena, and the conference enriches opportunities for learning about the sports business world. The conference is open to anyone interested in sports."
With representatives from many teams attending the event in Boston, it appears that there was one common theme: nobody wants the Sixers to open their playoff schedule. The Sixers are 20-20 this season against teams with a winning record – one of 10 teams in the entire NBA with a .500 record or better against such opponents. The Sixers have played the most games against teams with a winning record so far this season. After being laughed at by league executives for years, they are now the team that is feared.
The Sixers currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a conceivable path to the third seed as they have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA. The Sixers have beaten all of the remaining teams in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt at least once this season after picking up their first victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers since 2015 on Thursday night.
