It’s no secret the 76ers are entering a challenging part of their schedule.
This reality was only reaffirmed by the playoff-like battle the team found itself in on Christmas Day at TD Garden, where the Boston Celtics emerged with an overtime victory, 121-114.
Regardless of the obstacles that surface in the days and weeks ahead, as the demands and difficulty of the schedule intensify, the Sixers are ready - read ‘eager,’ actually - to confront this stretch of their slate head on.
“All you have to do is look at what happens starting tonight,” Brett Brown said Saturday, hours before his Sixers took on the NBA-best Toronto Raptors at The Center. “Then, we all fly to play the Boston Celtics [on Christmas], and everybody gets our memories of playing them. Then, you hit the road with the team, and you see who we’re playing.”
Up first Thursday are the Utah Jazz (17-18, 11th-Western Conference), a club that figures to be in the playoff hunt all season long. Then, it’s the Portland Trail Blazers (19-15, 6th-WC), followed by dates with the LA Clippers (19-14, 4th-WC) and te Phoenix Suns (8-26, 15th-WC).
Once the Sixers get back home, they host rookie standout Luka Doncic and the upstart Dallas Mavericks (15-17, 12th-Western Conference). Not too long after that, there’s a clump of match-ups against the Indiana Pacers (22-12, 3rd-Eastern Conference), Oklahoma City Thunder (21-12, 3rd-WC), Houston Rockets (18-15, 7th-WC), and San Antonio Spurs (18-16, 9th-WC) all in a row.
Then, the Sixers make their second and final trek of the season out West, visiting the Denver Nuggets (21-10, 1st-WC), Los Angeles Lakers (20-14, 4th-WC), Golden State Warriors (23-12, 2nd-WC), and Sacramento Kings (18-15, 8th-WC).
In turn, the Sixers’ front office will then be able to extract an even better sense of the organization’s needs heading into a critical period of the league calendar.
Once the Sixers return from their road game at Sacramento, less than a week will remain before the February 7th trade deadline. March 1st marks the last chance to sign buyout candidates.
Recently, Elton Brand said he’s been “very encouraged” by the Sixers’ performance. In the same breath, he also acknowledge the group isn’t a “finished product” yet.
When told about Brown’s enthusiasm for the games right in front of the Sixers, Brand joked, “I’m glad he’s looking forward to it.”
Accounting for the big picture a third of the way into the season, the Sixers, at 22-13, are the sixth-best team in the NBA, based on record. That’s not just saying something, but saying something good.
They have two All-Stars on the roster, in Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler, and could wind up with a third, in Ben Simmons, before all is said and done.
The Sixers have shown they can hang with just about anyone. Over the next six weeks, before important decisions are made, they’ll likely find out how close they are to being top-of-class.
“I think...where are we realistically [will] be more clearly determined,” Brown said about the upcoming portion of the Sixers’ campaign. “For that simple reason, you love it. That’s what this time the year, and especially the schedule we’re playing, does for me. This middle third we will be completely tested right from the get go.”