The Philadelphia 76ers have several prominent games in the early NBA schedule release.
After a season in which they exceeded all expectations, many expect the Philadelphia 76ers to compete in the Eastern Conference. That comes with national attention, which is reflected in the NBA’s first schedule release ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
The league has announced national T.V. games for opening week, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day — all of which feature the Sixers. For a team that spent years trolling the bottom of the standings, their rise to prominence has been quite the spectacle.
Sixers-Celtics will be the first game of the NBA season, carrying on an old rivalry that was re-ignited in the postseason. That game will take place in Boston, Oct. 16 at 8 PM E.T. on TNT. The Sixers will then have their home opener on Oct. 18, facing the Bulls at 8 PM E.T., also on TNT.
That means the first taste of NBA basketball this season will feature the Sixers. Then their second game will promptly take place on national T.V. yet again. Given how many pundits were bashing the rebuild just two years ago, their turnaround remains one of the best storylines in the NBA.
Christmas Day will reward Sixers fans with a prime-time matchup against — you guessed it — the Celtics. That game will also take place in Boston, airing on ABC at 5:30 PM E.T. The fact that Boston gets home court in both games is odd, but the Wells Fargo Center is occupied the week of Christmas.
On the MLK Day, the Sixers will host the slightly-remodeled Houston Rockets at 8 PM E.T. on TNT. The Sixers had some entertaining battles with Houston early last season, including one in which Eric Gordon drilled a game-winner at the buzzer.
Here are all the NBA games announced to date:
We’re entering a new Sixers era — one that will feature many more national T.V. games. With LeBron James heading west, the Sixers and Celtics will be the nucleus of Eastern Conference basketball. Expect this trend to continue for several years.
As currently constructed, the Sixers feel like second-tier contenders in the East, trailing Boston and Toronto. As Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz continue to grow, however, Brett Brown’s squad will soon join that discussion.
It should be a fun season. The full NBA schedule will be released Friday, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck.