Instant Reactions to Sixers Schedule amid New James Harden Comment

Nick Nurse is the new head coach for the Sixers after five seasons leading Toronto. He guided the Raptors to a world championship in 2019, hurdling over the Sixers on the way to raising the trophy, and left Canada with a 227-163 record (58.2% winning percentage).

Nurse, who was surprisingly fired by the franchise last April, will look for redemption right away when the Sixers and Raptors square off on October 28 in Toronto. The two teams also meet on November 2, December 22, and March 31.

It will mark the first of four regular-season showdowns against the Raptors, a team led by Pascal Siakam who has been a thorn in Joel Embiid’s side over the years. The Sixers won the season series 3-1 last year; one year after Philly knocked Toronto out of the playoffs in the first round.

It’s unclear whether Nurse will have those games marked on his calendar — the fiery head coach might circle the first one — but they should be intriguing matchups nonetheless. The Raptors lost star point guard Fred VanVleet in the offseason — a guy who was linked to the Sixers at one point — and replaced him with Dennis Schroder. Toronto also inked center Jakob Poeltl to an $80 million contract while returning young standouts Scottie Barnes and O.G. Anunoby.