The Sixer Sense
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The 3 most exciting Christmas games the Philadelphia 76ers could be apart of

By Daniel Stets

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 27: Kevin Durant #35 and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors celebrate in front of Richaun Holmes #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center on February 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 27: Kevin Durant #35 and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors celebrate in front of Richaun Holmes #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center on February 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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What would be the best Christmas Day game that the Philadelphia 76ers could play in?

The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t played on Christmas in a long time. On a related note, the Sixers haven’t been good in a long time either.

But times are changing in Philadelphia. With the emergence of Joel Embiid, the signing of J.J. Redick, and the growth of the current Sixers core, they may finally be a good NBA team next year. If they are, it’s possible the NBA could schedule Philadelphia on Christmas. If they did, what would be the three best games the Sixers could play on Dec.

Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers /

Philadelphia 76ers

25th?

1.) Philadelphia vs Los Angeles

Markelle Fultz vs Lonzo Ball would be must see television. Joel Embiid vs Lavar Ball is must see drama.

The Lakers improved this summer. They added Brook Lopez in the D’Angelo Russell trade. Also, they signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a massive one year deal.

Fultz vs Ball would be the most intriguing matchup from the national media’s perspective. However, there are other interesting potential matchups in this game as well. Caldwell-Pope would have to chase Redick all around the court. Brandon Ingram would be challenged by Robert Covington, one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Joel Embiid is a dominant defensive center. He would get to showcase his skills against a skilled post player in Brook Lopez. Philadelphia vs Los Angeles would be my favorite Christmas game for Philadelphia to play in due to the Fultz vs Ball matchup.

2.) Philadelphia vs Cleveland

If Philadelphia impressed LeBron James, would he consider signing with the Sixers in the off-season? Probably not. I won’t get into James to Philadelphia rumors in this post, (read about that here). This game would be fun because it would be Philadelphia playing against the best team in the east (sorry Boston, you’re still not close to Cleveland). Joel Embiid is already one of the best players in the Eastern Conference. It would be a boon for Embiid’s notoriety if he could dominate this game in front of a national audience. Sixers fans know how good he is, but the rest of the world may not.

Other interesting matchups in this game include Robert Covington trying his best to slow down Lebron. As good as Covington is, he probably will not succeed. Lastly, watching Ben Simmons, who has LeBron like passing characteristics, go up against LeBron would be must see television.

3.) Philadelphia vs Golden State

This would be dubbed (no pun intended) as the “present vs future” game. The super team of Curry, Thompson, Durant, and Green, go up against the super team of the future in Fultz, Simmons, and Embiid.

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It would be very fun to watch Fultz and Simmons go up against Curry and Green. They would get destroyed, but observing how Philadelphia’s young franchise players handle the current NBA juggernaut would be compelling.

If Golden State went small and put Green at center, Philadelphia would be able to punish them with Embiid. Green is one of the best defenders in the NBA. However, it’s hard to see him having success against Embiid, who is seven foot two.

Poor Robert Covington. He gets pitted against having to try and handle Kevin Durant. Covington would do an admirable job at this task, but most likely fail due to Durant simply being too good offensively for Covington to handle.

Speaking of failing defensively, Fultz would probably fail at containing Steph Curry. As long as Fultz shows sufficient effort, there really is no reason to criticize him though. Curry is one of the best players ever and he is in his physical prime. Fultz is ninteen years old. Curry has the advantage.

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Conclusion

Philadelphia probably won’t play on Christmas. Teams like Golden State, Houston, and Cleveland will. The Sixers aren’t proven enough to get a spot. Hopefully they can have an incredible season this year, and get a good matchup next Christmas.