By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Philadelphia, PA ❖ TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The Philadelphia 76ers (36-29) return home this evening for a match-up against the Indiana Pacers (39-28) in a game that has plenty of playoff seeding implications. After playing seven of their last eight games on the road (4-4), the Sixers will play 11 of their final 17 games at the Wells Fargo Center, a place where they have won 13 in a row. The Pacers have won five of their last six games and have moved ahead of Cleveland for the third seed. With the Sixers in the six spot, Philadelphia and Indiana would find themselves in a first-round series if the playoffs started today.
Since the All-Star Break, Philadelphia has been in the top-10 in offensive rating (110.1) while the Pacers are in the bottom three (101.1). On the defensive side, Indiana has been the third-best team in the NBA in defensive rating since the All-Star Break at 99.2 while the Sixers come in at No. 12 (106.2). Philadelphia has posted a 6-4 record in that span. Indiana has gone 6-3.
A Look at the Standings
There's less than 20 games to go in the NBA season and the playoff picture in both conference still have plenty of opportunities to shift over the coming few weeks. Here's what the current standings look like for both the Pacers and Sixers:
Pacers:
*39-28 (3rd place in Eastern Conference)
*0.5 game ahead of Cleveland (4th in East, 38-28)
*1.0 game ahead of Washington (5th in East, 38-29)
*2.0 games ahead of Philadelphia (6th in East, 36-29)
*Remaining Eastern Conference playoff teams on schedule (4): TOR, @ WAS, MIA, @ TOR
Sixers:
*36-29 (6th place in Eastern Conference)
*1.0 games ahead of Milwaukee (7th in East, 36-31)
*1.5 games ahead of Miami (8th in East, 36-32)
*6.5 games ahead of Detroit (9th in East, 30-36)
*1.0 games behind Washington (5th in East, 38-29)
*2.0 games behind Indiana (3rd in East, 39-28)
*Remaining Eastern Conference playoff teams on schedule (2): CLE, MIL
Previous Match-ups
The Sixers and Pacers have met twice already this season, with each team winning in their respective home arenas.
First match-up (Nov 3): J.J. Redick and Robert Covington combined to hit 13 three-pointers and score 53 points, leading the Sixers to a 121-110 win over Indiana. Ben Simmons also notched a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Second match-up (Feb 3): Both teams were on the second game of a back-to-back. Despite being held to just 38 second half points by the Sixers, Indiana held on to a 100-92 victory at home. Indiana led 40-27, but the Sixers came back to lead 51-50. A 12-6 run heading into the locker rooms gave the Pacers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Bojan Bogdanovic and Victory Oladipo each scored 19 to lead the Pacers.
Key Players to Watch
Pacers: At this point, it would be surprising to see anyone other than Victor Oladipo win NBA Comeback player of the year. After averaging 15.9 points per game last season for the Thunder, Oladipo has put together a phenomenal year as the lead man for the Pacers. He's averaging career-highs in points (23.8), rebounds (5.3), assists (4.3) and steals (2.2) while also bumping his field-goal percentage from 44.2 to 44.7 and three-point percentage from 36.1 to 37 percent. Since the All-Star Break, Oladipo has shot under 25 percent from three, but is still averaging over 20 points per game.
Sixers: Although he's listed as questionable tonight with gastroenteritis, Dario Saric has been the Sixers' unsung hero this season and a big part of why they are pushing for their first playoff spot in years. Here's a look at how he's ranked among the best in the NBA since Christmas.
Since Christmas, 36 players have attempted 100 threes and 100 free throws. Among them…
3P% rank:
1) KD (50.0%)
2) Steph (45.8%)
3) Dario (45.6%)FT% rank:
1) CP3 (92.8%)
2) Dario (90.9%)TS% rank:
1) Steph (.712)
2) KD (.681)
3) KAT (.663)
4) Dame (.648)
5) Dario (.635)— max (@MaxOnTwitter) March 12, 2018
In 10 games since the All-Star Break, Dario is averaging 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. He's caught fire big time over the last five games, shooting nearly 65 percent overall and 55.6 percent from three-point range.
Booker Returns to Philadelphia
After being acquired by the Sixers in December, Trevor Booker was released in February to make room for Ersan Ilyasova. Shortly after news broke about his departure, the veteran forward signed a deal with Indiana for the remainder of the season.
He's appeared in three of the Pacers' five games since signing, averaging 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Projected Lineups
| Matchup Preview | March 13, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
@ |  |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana Pacers (39-28, 16-16 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (36-29, 20-10 Home) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
