Magic’s playoff hopes tied to Heat
Ultimately, the Orlando Magic are in a good spot should there be a tie as long as the Miami Heat are involved in that tie.
Orlando would in that case likely win the Southeast Division and get an automatic pass into the playoffs. That should just how important the win over Miami carried. It eliminated a lot of the complicated tiebreakers for the team.
Things are really simple for the Magic.
They lose the tiebreaker with any team one-on-one except the Heat. They likely win the division if they are tied with — or better than — the Heat and that would trump any three-way tiebreaker scenarios, sending Orlando not only into the playoffs but likely into the seventh seed
If the Miami Heat somehow finishes ahead of the Orlando Magic, the Magic lose the tiebreaker to the Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons in the event of a three-way tie.
Essentially, Orlando is cheering for Miami at least to be tied with them if they cannot beat them outright. Orlando will always beat Miami — and anyone else — in that scenario.
The only thing missing in this equation is for the Magic to take care of their own business and put themselves in a position to pass Miami or be tied with them. That is ultimately the key to all of this.