Philadelphia 76ers Schedule Gives First Reason For Optimism

Jul 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Scottie Wilbekin (18) celebrates after a scoring play in an NBA Summer League game against the Knicks at Thomas and Mack Center. The Knicks won the game in overtime, 84-81. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers Schedule Gives First Reason For Optimism

It out. The 2015-2016 NBA season schedule is out. It’s out and we’ve talked about it.
In fact, if you need to look it up, you can review that 2015-2016 schedule right here.

But the key to any evaluation is the context. To know where we are going, let’s review the 2014-2015 season with the help of a visual tool. The record was 18-64, and graphically, when you measure the streaks, it looks something like this:

As you can see, the team fell early and didn’t seems to recover (if you were measuring the team success by wins). In fact, the team dropped seventeen straight games before finally winning one against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Will 2015-16 be more of the same?

Well I’m already on the record for my predictions, and while optimistic, I plan to weigh in and give you where those 34 wins will come on the calendar.

October gives the Sixers a good start, perhaps even 2-0. With the team entering the season with new fire, and a league truly anticipating a “roll over and play dead” attitude, I think the team can truly sneak in a pair of wins to start off the season. Only 32 wins to go.

More from The Sixer Sense

The Sixers will have a 16 game schedule in November, and this is without a doubt the most difficult month for them. First of all, they face a host of legitimate playoff contenders in the Cavaliers, Spurs, Thunder, Raptors, Heat, Hornets, and Mavericks. But this is where I believe the team will begin to change their fortunes. I do not see the team losing more than four games in a row, and more likely will limit losing streaks to three games. Why?

This is a young and inconsistent team. Inconsistency when good means they cannot sustain success. But when trying to improve, it also means that they will have games where they appear to be playoff contenders. Of the sixteen games in November, I see them doing better than expected – winning as many as seven games. So by the end of November, at 9-9, things feel much differently. By the time December rolls in, the month begins with some success against the Lakers and the Knicks, but the team will do no better than 6-10 this month. At 15-19, the tone for the season begins to settle in. The team will win another 6 in January, which comes with two fewer games in the month. 21-27 now. Enough to hope for success.

Twelve games in February. Five wins in February. The team will push their losing streak frequently this month. Wins will come with less ease, but the youth of the team begins to mature. The Sixers will win at least one game they shouldn’t in this month. Now at 26 wins and 34 losses. Fifteen games in March, and nearly .500 ball as they win seven. 33 wins, 42 losses. But one solo win in April as they push towards their first playoff season since 2012. But they will fall short. The season will end at a “close but no cigar” mentality, and many will endure and even join in the call to change direction.

But a 34 win season will be miraculous. The cavalry will be coming in 2016. If the Sixers can just hold out this year, win games, show resolve. It will take time and a herculean effort to turn this ship around. In 2015, the wheel will get a major spin.