2022-23 Sixers Schedule Breakdown

get back into it now. Seventy six Ers schedule came out yesterday for the twenty twenty two twenty three season. I'll go ahead and run through a couple of schedule highlights, but as I do that, please there are so many ways that you could do this. Send me a DM, you can comment on the space, you can use the chat, you can send a comment to the Sixers, tweet about this space. Matt and I are going to try to keep up with all of them, but what we really want to hear is what matchup you guys are most

excited about. This, of course, is our core group of Sixers fans on Twitter spaces and let us know what you're most excited about and why if you have to dip early if you want to leave us a comment and want to hear what we have to say later. This is also going to be available on the seventy Sixers Insiders podcast feed, so make sure you're following the seventy Sixers Insiders podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Matt and I are going to be with you all season long.

We're so excited to get back up and running here on spaces and over there on the podcast feed, so as always, if you join early, if you leave early or join late, this conversation in its entirety will be available over there. One more housekeeping note, we see your comments about about letting other people talk on the space. That is still something that we definitely want to do

this season. For now, the best way to make your voice heard on the spaces to send us a comment, send us a DM, send us anything via text, and we can make sure that we read it aloud. We're still working technically on how we're going to incorporate your voices, your live voices into these later in the season, and that is coming. So we hear you, we see you, and we're excited to talk to you, not just via DM or text, but also on the airwaves, so enough

for me. Good morning, Matt Murphy. I want to hear your voice before I run through the schedule highlights. How are you doing, how are you feeling? How do you feel about this schedule? Lauren? It's so good to be back with you. I hope that my audio is now resolved. I am doing this from Indianapolis for the MBA two K League playoffs seventy Sixers Gaming Club. Shout out to them their season about to head into the playoffs. So if you're not already following them, that's the Sixers two

K League team at seventy Sixers GC. Quick plug there. But so good to be back on Sixers spaces with everyone. Yesterday was an exciting day around the NBA, whatever team you're a fan of, but especially the Sixers. When the schedules drop, just pouring over it. And I know some people take the approach of oh, eighty two games will be played. Well, a few years ago that wasn't even the case. But we returned to that normal schedule last year, eighty two games. There's no problem in my opinion, with

getting excited about it. And I liked doing this last year with you talking about which matchups we're looking forward to, because it's something throughout the season on spaces that we touched on last year when the games happen, because we're on here after Sixers wins and we would say, oh, what was your favorite game so far this season, and we get to do that in advance, and just thinking about what could be in the twenty twenty two twenty three season, and the Sixers are going to be on

national TV a lot. They're right up there with some of the best teams in the league, obviously with the roster moves that they've made and how they look heading into the year. It's an exciting time and I'm excited to talk about the schedule for sure. For more on that exciting time, head back to that seventy six Ers

Insiders feed that I just mentioned. A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak to assistant coach Dave Yeager, not only about his crazy, sort of mind boggling season that he had last year, of course, missing some time due to head and neck cancer and then rejoining the team for the final stretch and the playoffs on the bench. If anyone deserved, I know I've said it a few times, but if anyone deserved a super relaxing off season, it

was Dave Yeager. And instead he's spending a lot of time giving back to the different communities that are important to him. So go over to the seventy six Ers Insiders Feed listen to that conversation between Dave Yeager and me. Plus hear what he has to say about some of those new roster editions and what he's most looking forward to in the twenty twenty two twenty three season. So if you don't trust my takes, I get it, but you should definitely trust a veteran coach like Dave Yeager

and listen to what he's excited about. His excitement certainly got me excited. And now let's go ahead and finally dive into the schedule. There are many key matchups. I'm gonna try to tell you guys what I had highlighted, what I had circled on my calendar. But then we'll go through some of the comments that you guys are sending. There are a lot of themes here. You guys are excited about what I'm excited about, So let's get into it. First. Of course, the Sixers playing in the NBA's opening Night

October eighteenth at Boston. That one is going to be at seven thirty pm Eastern on TNT. That the first game of the NBA season, the first national TV game of the NBA season. The Lakers and the Warriors will play on TNT after that, but an honor to be chosen for opening Night on this twenty twenty two twenty three season. And then of course the home opener and equally or almost equally exciting matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks

and janis onto to kumpo. That one will also be at seven thirty pm Eastern on t n T on October twentieth. So in those first three days of this season alone, the Sixers matching up with top rivals in the Eastern Conference, the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics

the former lead, defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. That is Milwaukee's opener, it is the Sixers home opener, back to back, the Sixers being featured right away this season, and that is a theme that we that we should talk about. Two matt thirty four nationally televised contests. That's almost double the amount of national TV games that the Sixers had at the beginning of the season last year, so the NBA shedding some well earned light on MVP runner up

Joe Ellenbeid, James Harden and the crew. Very much looking forward to that first week, Matt, Any thoughts from you on that first week. I'm seeing a lot of comments about about opening night. What are you most looking forward to in the first week and then and then we'll dive into some more key matchups. I think it's really cool that it's the first game to tip off the

entire slate of the NBA regular season schedule. And I know the Warriors are the defending champs and because of time zones and all that, they will play on that night, But to tip off the entire NBA regular season on Tuesday, October eighteenth against Boston, that's really cool for the Sixers the home opener against the Honest and the Bucks the

Sixers home opener two days later. Though, you can't start with a better pair of games, especially with how most people are looking at the top of the Eastern Conference, while you're getting all of those teams right away. I also think this is not first week related, but I also think it's cool that the Sixers will have the first game of the five on Christmas Day at noon against the Knicks. But I might be jumping ahead a

little bit there. You mentioned NBA TV that thirty four does include eleven on NBA TV, So thirty four national TV games including the eleven NBA TV games, And I pulled up a tweet from Krishna who shared yesterday the full list for each team, So just for some context, excluding NBA TV, the Warriors have thirty national TV games, then the Lakers, then the Celtics, Bucks Sixers. Sixers and Bucks both have twenty three, which is the fourth most on ESPN, ABC and TNT, so right up there with

some of the top teams. But Lauren, because the opening week is so exciting, you might think that our picks for the matchup we're looking forward to most are obvious. So I'm wondering if you're going chalk with that, Honestly, I might be. I really like though that a lot of people have the Golden State Warriors, and rightfully so, circled on their calendars. The first time that one is coming for the seventy six ers is right before that

Christmas Day game December sixteenth, versus Golden State. That's one that I'm very much looking forward to. The Sixers last season hosted the Golden State Warriors earlier in the season, then played them in Golden State, but severely shorthanded. They won the first at home. They dropped the second to the eventual Old Champions. But Matt, I'm really looking forward

to that one. It's always a show when Steph Curry played Thompson Draymond Green and company come to town, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this iteration of the Sixers matches up with that iteration of the Warriors. Of course, when the Sixers beat the Warriors last year, they did not have James Harden on the team. Tyrese Maxie had some growing left to be done. Joel Embiid was rounding into that MVP form, but he continued to

get better as the season went along. I think that's going to be a really interesting test, not only because, of course, anytime you match up with a team as illustrious as that one, it's a really good barometer to test yourself by. It's a good time in this season to do it as well. If you play those great teams early. I mean, look even having this conversation about the schedule is probably putting too much weight on things

too early. But I always worry about how much weight gets put on those first two games, when neither team has really gotten in any reps together their first truly competitive run on October eighteenth and October twentieth, A lot of people are going to put a lot of stock into those games. But two months later, as the team hosts Golden State, I'm willing to take a little bit more of a temperature and a pulse on how this team looks a third or so of the way through

the season. So to me, that's one that I've got circled on my calendar. I'm not sure if that's a chalk pick or not, but Matt, maybe as you look at that first half of the season, I'm curious what you have circled that isn't an opening night or a Christmas Day matchup. I think it's kind of chalky the Golden State pick, but it's not too bad. I actually thought that the Milwaukee home opener was a given for the Marquee matchup that we could say we're looking forward

to most. I had Golden State right there at the top of my list that Friday, December sixteenth game, and I want to elaborate on that in a second. I also want to just read a couple tweets from people who joined the space in real time at the top. Again, you can get these after the fact on the podcast network. I know some people also sent in their their matchups they were looking forward to in advance yesterday. But some people who today have replied sw Sports said Christmas Day

game is their most excited game. A Meal mentions the seventy six ers versus the Warriors, saying they can't wait for that. Nolan can't wait for the Celtics opener, which we said we'll tip off the NBA season, And there's

a bunch more that we can read throughout. But I think some added context for the Golden State matchup on December sixteenth, which will be an ESPN game at seven thirty, is that it's in the middle of a really long in fact, the longest homestand of the six or twenty two twenty three schedules seven games over fifteen days from December ninth through the twenty third, And how about this three consecutive fridays you'll get in Philadelphia the Lakers, the Warriors,

and the Clippers, so that homestand the holiday season will be in full swing. I think that adds to why Golden State is a really strong pick for your the one you're you have circled the other one that I think was one of my backup picks. Let me know how you feel about this, Lauren. The Denver game on January twenty eighth. It's a Saturday afternoon and it's part of what they're calling MBA Rivals Week. So towards the end of January, they'll have embiid Yokich on a Saturday

afternoon in South Philadelphia. So that was probably slightly under the Golden State game for me. I also am excited about that. Look, the NBA sort of test drives different things every year. I'm I'm all about any reason to get folks excited about the NBA a little bit in that sort of mid midseason lull. I want to go through a couple more, I'll just list them off that excited me right off the bat, and these of course all before All Star breaks, so sort of looking at

what is soonest to come for the seventy sixers. We talked about the opening two then the Sixers will play their first of many Matt back to backs. Not back to backs, but back to back games against the same team. A lot more of those this year, most of them actually are split home and home, but playing the same team twice in a row. The series option, of course, new to the NBA, started during the pandemic seasons October twenty sixth and October twenty eighth, both at Toronto. Those

always good games, competitive games. That's a team that has always given the Sixers trouble. The Sixers, of course, got over the hump in the playoffs against the Raptors this season, but those are teams that have a lot of I don't want to say that there's any bad blood there. That's certainly not the right term to use, but there's contentiousness between those teams. They always bring their best punch for one another. So very much looking forward to those

Phoenix on November seventh, Milwaukee again on November eighteenth. The Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia seventy six Ers meet up for the first time. On November twenty second, then visiting at Memphis. That's another one that I don't think is chalk Matt. I don't think that that's chalk. December second at Memphis is one that I'm looking forward to. The Grizzlies, of course, a young, exciting team led by a young

exciting player in John Morant. John Morant and Joel Embi two of the most exciting, if not best players in the NBA right now. I think you can actually safely say that they are both two of the most exciting and best players in the NBA right now and sort of welcoming in a new generation of best guys in the league. When you think about players like that. Then the Lakers for the first time. On December ninth, we

talked about Golden State. On sixteenth, we talked about Christmas Day, you talked about rivalry week, Matt and then as you get into the end of this season, a lot of people on Twitter talking about the last few games, that difficult stretch towards the end of the season. And of course you can look at that in one of two ways. Right Either it is a really interesting test and a challenging time for the Sixers. You never know who's going to be jockeying for position or seating as the playoffs

come along. So that of course could either be a really difficult and exciting stretch or and this is one that I sort of lean a little bit towards when I see all the commentary about how difficult that final stretch is. A lot of times in the end of March in April in the NBA, players are resting, preparing for the playoffs. Some teams have different priorities during that phase.

Teams are sort of winding their season down. Playoffs seating has already been figured out, so I wouldn't worry too much. I would caution anyone against worrying too much about that final stretch. But of course, should things be a little bit closer, it's going to be really exciting to see

how things shake out down the stretch. That of course, from March twenty seventh onward, the Sixers we'll see, let's say, actually March twenty fourth onwards, the Sixers will see Golden State, Phoenix, Denver, Milwaukee, Boston, Miami, and Brooklyn for the regular season finale. So that end

of season, it's way too soon to talk about. But to those of you in the comments I see you that are concerned about it, remember that maybe not quite as concerning as seeing that slate of teams at the beginning of the season or in the middle of the season when there's still a lot to be determined. Matt, that was a lot anything you want to draw attention

to before we start to wind this one down. Yeah, I mean, at face value, March is crazy to start the month five road games in the first seven days, so that first week and it starts with a back to back on the road. That first week ends with a back to back on the road. So two back to backs in the first week of March in the midst of five road games in seven days. They this comes courtesy of seventy six Ers pr The Sixers will conclude the regular season with twelve consecutive matchups against playoff

teams from the previous year. But I do agree with your thinking that that's towards the end of the year and teams are gearing up for the playoffs, and that's a long way off. So it was something that a lot of people were tweeting about. Certainly notable, but I think for me, the excitement reigns supreme about many of the games that come before that, including Christmas Day at the Garden, which is going to be an amazing game to kick off the five Christmas Day games Sixers Nicks

noon Eastern. That's going to be so much fun. I'm really looking forward to that one. Any thoughts about the Christmas Game, Lauren, Oh? I mean, what's not to love? Start your day with Sixers basketball. I saw a tweet that I'm not gonna be able to pull up in real time right now, but breaking down all of the all of the national TV's lineups for both sports football

and basketball that will be played on day. What a delight that day is going to be, and really cool for the Sixers to start early, hopefully get the win, and then enjoy the rest of the day at their leisure watching those games. I want to go into my DMS Matt before we wrap it up, Cardinal Flame wants to talk about one matchup that we have not discussed yet, and I think it's certainly worth a shout out Cardinal Flames as I'm really excited for the November nineteenth matchup

with the Timberwolves. The new look t Wolves, especially now with how heated the matchup between Kat and Jojo can get now excited to see what it's going to be like with Rudy in the mix. The Timberwolves are one of those sort of big question marks for the NBA this season. They could be great. A lot of people wondering if the new addition is going to make a positive difference in Rudy Gobert, matching him with Carl Anthony Towns.

Carl Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid have of course shown much entertainment to NBA fans across the country in recent years. So that is a great one actually to look at. That's sort of an X factor of a game that November nineteenth against the Timberwolves. I specifically says Annie. Annie wants you to know that the Nets home game is circled because it's on their birthday. So very much looking forward to celebrating many birthdays with the Sixers. I don't

have a birthday game this year. I was a little bit bummed about that. I have had one in the past couple of years, but that's okay. Looking forward to celebrating all sorts of things as we go along. Matt, any other under the radar picks for you or dms you want to highlight. I love that you said under the radar because if anyone caught our schedule release podcast

last season. That was something that I was really pumped up to talk about, Like which game is kind of a sleeper game that not everyone is circling right away, but it's still something that you're paying close attention to. And you picked Houston last year as you're under the radar matchup that you were looking forward to, the Houston

on the road. I think it was a San Antonio Houston back to two games and a couple of days on the road, but it was and then those ended up getting rescheduled due to some help and safety protocols shuffling around. Um, but yeah, not my best under the radar pick. I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I'm gonna do a better one this year, Matt, Do you have one I do? And notably absent from your string of tweets was the home Memphis game, and you mentioned Memphis again, but you

mentioned the road game at the Grizzlies. So my under the radar matchup that I'm looking forward to the most is the Sixers hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday, February twenty third, because it's the first game after the All Star break as well, not to mention the fact that it being February twenty third, it is part of hold on, I lost it that part of the schedule. We got a tweet from Hassan who said two twenty four through three four is a tough stretch Memphis, Boston, Miami twice,

Dallas and Milwaukee. So I'm highlighting the start of that tough stretch in Hassan's opinion, with the Grizzlies game right after the All Star break, so it's good to have a few home games right around that time. Also notable in that stretches the Heat because that will be the first time that the Sixers and Heat play. If I didn't miscount, it's a home and home and the Sixers and Heat won't play until February twenty seventh, so quite

a long time to see that rematch. But I'm going with the Memphis Grizzlies game for my pick here, what about you? I like your pick, and right you are

about the Miami Heat. All three of those matchups will be following at the All Star Break this year, so fans that we're watching the playoffs this season on bated breath are going to have to, of course wait a little bit longer for that matchup, but could be a good thing because you'll sort of see what both teams will look like in their not complete product, but a more evolved product than perhaps if you see them earlier

in the season. That's why I personally am a fan of that middle third of the season, as we've already talked about, so some of those Miami contests coming just slightly after the All Star break, looking forward to seeing how those teams match up. Indeed, Matt, I'm gonna pick two. I'm gonna pick both of the times that the Sixers and the La Clippers face off this season. The Clippers, of course, have had some bad luck with injuries. Their marquee players have not been available of late, but they

remain a pretty big question mark for this season. Everyone should know with talent like that, no better than to count them out. But of course it's a little bit difficult to anticipate what those matchups are going to look like. A full strength Clippers team is going to be lethal

when they get there. It's just a matter of when the Sixers play the Clippers in Philadelphia on December twenty third, and then shortly after in Los Angeles on January seventeenth, So I'm gonna go ahead and circle the two Clippers matchups, just because we have no idea what those are going to look like that time of year, and of course hoping that both teams could potentially play each other at more strength than they played last season or even full strength.

Looking forward to seeing what that team is able to do as they re enter the mix or anticipatedly re enter the mix this season. I love it, good picks.

I wanted to end by just running through because we're so close to all of this training camp right around the corner preseason games October third, October fifth, October tenth, and October twelfth, Brooklyn on the road, Cleveland at home, then at Cleveland and then home against Charlotte opening night Tuesday October eighteenth at Boston Home Open, or Thursday October

twentieth against the Milwaukee Bucks. And I wanted to wrap up with this because, again, follow the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast feed, I loved your conversation with assistant coach Dave Yager, which you mentioned at the top, so everybody be sure to go listen to that. I wanted to read a quote from another person you caught up with recently, and that was Tyrese Maxi at his camp in Philadelphia,

and here's the quote. For a little something to hold everybody over, Tyrese Maxie said, I feel like I relate to everybody in this city, the fans that come to the games. They work and spend their hard earned money to be able to attend these games. I feel like I worked extremely hard to be able to get to where I am. Nothing was given to me, everything was earned, So I really understand where they're coming from on