By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
With first overall pick Ben Simmons, Croatian star Dario Saric, and a healthy Joel Embiid all set to take the court this season, Sixers front office executives and fans alike have made it clear they view this as the start of a new era. Apparently, the NBA scheduling committee agrees, as the Sixers will be nationally televised five times this season. Per Brian Seltzer, the last time the Sixers appeared on national television (non-NBA TV) was during the 2012-13 season.
The Sixers will take the big stage right from the get-go, as the opening game of the season is an ESPN-televised clash with Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City on October 26th in Philadelphia. With Kevin Durant’s highly-publicized departure to Golden State, Westbrook is expected to be out for blood all season long. Some people are claiming it’s not out of the question for him to flirt with averaging a triple-double; I personally can’t wait to see a well-rested Westbrook start to unleash that fury and the young Sixers do everything in their power to stop him.
Of course, the opener is just 1 of 82. The other nationally televised games are November 17th at Minnesota on TNT, December 16th versus the Lakers on ESPN, and November 7th vs. Utah and November 14th at Houston on NBA TV. The 5 nationally-televised games are actually the 2nd-fewest in the NBA (only ahead of Orlando); but hey, progress!
The Sixers will play 17 of those brutal back-to-backs this season. The NBA has made a concerted effort to drop the total number of back-to-backs; teams’ numbers range between 14 to 18 this season. Although the Sixers are toward the high end with that, according to calculations made by Ed Kupfer, they will have the 4th-fewest amount of miles traveled over the course of the year. Philadelphia is also one of only ten teams not to have to play 4 games in 5 days at any point.
You can check out the full Sixers schedule, but here are some of the other key home contests:
– LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will flash their world champion rings in Philadelphia November 5th and 27th.
– The Bizarro Sixers (Minnesota) come to town on January 3rd, showing what the Sixers roster could look like if not for some lottery misfortune.
– The Clippers take the Wells Fargo Center floor on January 24th; will they still provide their annual beatdown with all the new faces on the Sixers roster?
– Kevin Durant and the Golden State superteam everyone will love to hate will bring their show to South Broad on February 27th. Fortunately, this time around Harrison Barnes won’t be there to hit a game-winning three at the buzzer.
Other notes:
– Cleveland, Charlotte, Detroit, and Washington are the four Eastern Conference teams the Sixers only play three times.
– Oddly, the usually-exhausting Disney on Ice road trip is only 4 games this year. The Sixers do have two 5-game road trips, from 1/29-2/6 and 3/20-3/28. They also have one 5-game homestand from 11/19 to 11/27.
However you want to slice it though, it’s 41 at home and 41 on the road leading up to the season finale on April 12th at the Knicks. Sixers fans probably don’t care who is on the opposite end of the floor; they just want to see Simmons, Saric, and Embiid make their NBA debuts. They’ll get a little taste when the preseason begins October 4th against Boston. a town Nerlens Noel has made clear he loves. But the real fireworks begin October 26th; make sure to clear your calendar and batten down the hatches for Hurricane Russ’s arrival.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
