Sixers: 5 notable games on 2021-22 schedule

The Sixers‘ 2021-22 schedule has officially been released, with 27 national T.V. games and some flashy prime-time events on the docket. Following another second-round defeat, Philadelphia will enter the new season with a lot left to prove.

Joel Embiid will seek to win his first MVP award. Ben Simmons will, at some point, find a new home. The Sixers also have a slew of young talent waiting to break out, from Tyrese Maxey and rookie Jaden Springer, to G-League legend Paul Reed.

Here are five games on the schedule that stand out.

5 notable games on the Sixers’ 2021-22 schedule: Nets (Oct. 22)

The Sixers’ home opener is an ESPN showdown with Brooklyn, who just about everyone has penciled in as the 2022 title favorites. The Nets were the No. 2 seed, just a few games behind Philadelphia in the standings last year.

Obviously, Brooklyn is the main team Philadelphia is chasing. If the Sixers want to win a championship, it will likely involve going through Brooklyn (or the team that beats Brooklyn, as the Bucks would have you know). The matchup is interesting, both for the stakes involved and on paper.

Very few teams are as naturally big and physical as Philadelphia. Joel Embiid murders small bigs in the paint, while Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons (if he’s still around), and Andre Drummond all relish scoring opportunities at the rack. Brooklyn, conversely, is the most natural small-ball team in the NBA, with Kevin Durant often being the biggest player on the floor.

Brooklyn’s center rotation involves Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Nic Claxton, none of whom are particularly well-suited to containing Embiid. If Simmons is still around, he’s probably the most effective James Harden defender in the NBA. That makes Philadelphia a tricky matchup for the Nets.

The flip side of that coin, of course, is that Brooklyn can pretty easily out-run and out-gun Philadelphia on a good night. The Sixers still struggle to defend great pull-up shooters. The Nets have three, as well as Joe Harris, arguably the league’s best off-movement shooter. Brooklyn will force Embiid to defend in space, and will simultaneously punish the defensive deficiencies of Seth Curry and Danny Green.

We still have not seen the Sixers and Nets wage battle a full strength. Brooklyn is pretty clearly the better team, but this should make for fun early-season basketball.