Orlando Magic Daily
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Orlando Magic’s playoff hopes tied to besting Miami Heat

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Evan Fournier's upcoming free agency presents a dilemma for the Orlando Magic. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Evan Fournier's upcoming free agency presents a dilemma for the Orlando Magic. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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D.J. Augustin, Orlando Magic, Josh Richardson, Miami Heat
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 04: D.J. Augustin #14 of the Orlando Magic drives to the basket against Rodney McGruder #17 of the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on December 4, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Division importance

The division system is a bit of a relic of an older time. Division used to matter a lot because of guaranteed playoff seeding and unbalanced schedules. The NBA has done away with both. But the division battles still matter for at least two things.

The first is the tiebreaker between teams within the same division. If two teams within the division split the season series, the first tiebreaker is division record.

That is not likely to play a role unless the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets tie for the division championship on the final day of the season.

Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic /

Orlando Magic

Charlotte only has that final game against Orlando left in its division play. The Orlando Magic would need to win both its remaining division games — the home finale against the Atlanta Hawks and the final game against the Charlotte Hornets — to tie division records with the Hornets.

The next tiebreaker is conference record. The Hornets have 26 conference wins and the Magic have 25. So Orlando would have to make up a game in their final six games — like say that season finale at Spectrum Center.

But the Southeast Division will play another major role when it comes to tiebreakers.

In the event of any three-way tie, any division winner earns the tiebreaker automatically. This is where the Magic have an advantage on their competition even though they lost the season series to both the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets.

Having already won the season series with the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic have an inside track to win the Southeast Division. The division champion will make the playoffs anyway, but that is no longer a guarantee for a playoff berth.

However, it is still on the books that it will guarantee a tiebreaker victory in the case of a three-way tie.

This rightly has a lot of NBA writers a little bit peeved. But no one in Orlando will complain if they tie the Heat in a three-way tie, win the division, and automatically get into the playoffs (as the seventh seed most likely in that scenario).

Essentially, the Magic could just tie the Heat on the final day of the season and almost guarantee themselves a playoff position regardless of who else they are tied with. Their intra-competition record does not matter (the first tiebreaker in the event of a three-way tie) as being a division champion trumps that.

This is an advantage the Magic have in their back pocket no matter what.