Philadelphia opens Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against the 53-29 Knicks, then plays Cleveland, Milwaukee and Detroit at home before a trip to Indiana on October 28. The roster that boards the train is thinner than the one that finished preseason, and the opener is the hardest game of the five.
What does the week look like, and where is the trap?
Tuesday at the Knicks on NBC and Peacock, then home for the Cavaliers Thursday on ESPN, the Bucks Saturday on NBA TV and the Pistons Sunday. The trap is the Saturday to Sunday back-to-back, the only one on the slate. Philadelphia comes into Tuesday with three days off and one game in the previous seven. New York has four days off. Nobody gets to blame fatigue in the opener.
Why do the Knicks matter more than the other four?
Because they are the champions, they swept Philadelphia in the second round in May, and the sweep cost Daryl Morey his job. Last season New York went 53-29 with a net rating of 6.4, a 118.7 offense and a 112.3 defense at a slow 97.7 pace. Philadelphia finished 45-37 and dead even at -0.1. Jalen Brunson averaged 26.0 points, Karl-Anthony Towns 20.1 and 11.9 rebounds. That is the gap.
Didn't the Sixers already beat New York this month?
Yes, 120-97 on October 5, and it means nothing. That was preseason, and the three games that followed were losses, 108-114 at Brooklyn, 106-144 at Boston and 120-125 against Boston at home. Embiid scored 27 and Maxey 22 in the last one. A 1-3 preseason and a 23-point exhibition win over the champions are both exactly as useful as the 0-0 record says.
Who is actually out?
Dominick Barlow is out with a back problem, reevaluated in two weeks, estimated return November 2. Hoops Rumors reported he will miss at least two weeks. Ariel Hukporti is out for the year with a right Achilles. Tacko Fall is out through at least Wednesday with a left hip issue. Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Adem Bona are all day-to-day with Tuesday as the estimated return, so the frontcourt depth depends on three game-time calls.
Can this group handle three home games in four nights?
On paper, better than it handles New York. The bigger issue is bodies. Barlow played 71 games and 23.8 minutes last season, Wade 59 games and 22.3. If Wade and Bona cannot go, the minutes behind Embiid fall to Jabari Walker and a 41-year-old who is not a center. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and LeBron James are cleared. Four games in six days will tell Nick Nurse how deep this bench really is.
Who is out for the Sixers' opener against the Knicks?
Dominick Barlow, Ariel Hukporti and Tacko Fall are out. Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Adem Bona are day-to-day.
What channel is the Sixers-Knicks opener on?
Tuesday, October 20, at Madison Square Garden on NBC and Peacock. The next game is Thursday at home against Cleveland on ESPN.
