There are a ton of questions circling around the Philadelphia 76ers organization. Most of them center around how and when the disastrous James Harden situation is going to end. Reigning MVP Joel Embiid also generated some concern with his offseason comments both in interviews and on social media. Despite the uncertainty, there is still going to be a season to play, that is unless the Sixers spontaneously combust before the season begins.
The NBA on Thursday afternoon released the full schedule for the 2023-24 regular season. The Sixers are playing 29 games on national TV (including games on NBA TV). Their longest homestand is five games, beginning on Oct. 29 against the Portland Trail Blazers and ending on Nov. 8 against the Boston Celtics. Their longest road trip is five games over an 8-day period starting with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 25. The Sixers also have 14 back-to-backs on their schedule for next season. Their full schedule can be found here.
Below are five games to watch from throughout the Sixers’ season:
Oct. 26: at Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 p.m. EST, TNT
The season opener is always an exciting game to watch, especially when it is against one of the top teams in the league. Games between the Sixers and Bucks were always must-watch events in recent seasons, although that might not be the case this coming season. With all the uncertainty looming around the Sixers roster, will this still be appointment television? The Sixers very well could open up the season with the Harden situation still ongoing. If that is the case, this game will serve as an immediate test of how good a roster centered around Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris can be. This game is the first of three matchups in the 2023-24 season. The two other times these rivals face off are on Feb. 25 in Philadelphia and March 14 in Milwaukee.
In-Season Tournament
The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament has the potential to add an interesting wrinkle into the season. In Group Play, the Sixers play a single game against each of the four other teams in their group. This stage of the tournament occurs between Nov. 10-21, with normal regular-season games also mixed in during that time. Their Group Play schedule is as follows:
- Nov. 10: at Detroit Pistons, 7 p.m. EST
- Nov. 14: vs Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m. EST
- Nov. 17: at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m. EST
- Nov. 21: vs Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. EST, TNT
Eight teams advance from Group Play into the Knockout Rounds. If the Sixers advance past Group Play, the Knockout Rounds are from Dec. 4-9.
Dec. 25: at Miami Heat, 8 p.m. EST, ESPN
For the second consecutive season, the Sixers will be playing on Christmas Day. They travel to South Beach to take on the Heat, the defending Eastern Conference champions. Both of these teams could look vastly different come this point in the season. Harden could potentially be traded, a move that will to some extent be a shakeup of the Sixers’ roster. The Heat could also potentially look different if they are able to come to an agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers to acquire star guard Damian Lillard. Even if neither of those moves happened at this point, a Sixers-Heat game should be competitive and interesting to watch. This game also kicks off a 4-game road trip for the Sixers, their second longest of the season.
Jan. 16: vs Denver Nuggets, 7:30 p.m. EST, TNT
The defending champion Nuggets travel to Philadelphia for what could potentially amount to an entertaining game to watch. Any time Embiid and Nikola Jokic face off is worth watching. Fans will have to wait until mid-January to see this showdown between two of the league’s top players. The last time these two faced each other resulted in a 126-119 Sixers’ win led by Embiid’s 47 points and 18 rebounds. Hopefully both Embiid and Jokic are healthy heading into this contest because this matchup only occurs two times per season.
March 24: at Los Angeles Clippers, 3:30 p.m. EST
What makes this a potential game to mark down on the schedule is the moderately strong chance of a Harden trade to the Clippers occurring at some point over the next handful of months. While the recent reports indicate there is no traction between the Sixers and Clippers in trade talks, things could obviously change between now and the end of March. This game occurs after the trade deadline. If a Harden trade to the Clippers does occur, get out the popcorn because this game will be oozing entertainment value.
