Scene Setter:
With the new year very much in its infant stage, the 76ers (2-1) are still in the midst of experiencing a handful of “firsts.”
You can put back-to-backs in that category.
Tuesday, the Sixers will play their first of two games in as many nights, visiting the Detroit Pistons (2-0) at Little Caesars Arena.
On Wednesday, the Sixers will be in Milwaukee, facing the Bucks.
The back-to-back will be the first of 13 on the season for the Sixers, one less than last year’s total. Nine of these sets will come before the All-Star break.
Given the volume of games played in an NBA season (2,460 total), and the usage demands on buildings either owned or leased by the league’s 30 clubs, back-to-backs are unavoidable part of scheduling.
As for the impact back-to-backs have on performance, Brett Brown, who’s spent nearly two decades in the NBA as a coach, considers both sides of the coin.
“I see it a little bit, but not to the level others do,” Brown said Monday, before the Sixers flew to Michigan.
Brown hears the logic behind a widely-held theory associated with back-to-backs:
Teams play the previous night, don’t get into their next city until the wee hours of the morning, and subsequently have a hard time finding their legs later that evening.
The only thing is, Brown has found this isn’t always the way back-to-backs play out.
Take Saturday’s match-up with Orlando, for instance. The Magic had a game the night before, a blowout home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Orlando then had a two-plus hour flight up the Atlantic coast to Philadelphia. How did the Magic come out in Saturday’s game?
Well, if you followed the game, you know the answer. Pretty darn strong.
Orlando opened on a 9-0 run, and gave the Sixers, which ended up winning 116-115, all they could handle.
Not to be overlooked is that the opponents on this two-game trip, like the Sixers, figure to be factors in this season’s Eastern Conference playoff race.
Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, and the Pistons are have won their first two outings. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are 3-0.
“I like their two coaches. I respect their two coaches,” Brown said, referring to counterparts Dwane Casey (Detroit) and Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee). “The respect I have for NBA players in general, and those guys that Detroit have, and Giannis and Company, it’s the NBA, we expect nothing less than fistfights.”
Opponent Outlook:
It’s not a dynamic you see very often - eventual Coach of the Year winner relieved of his duties before receiving the award, only to land with another franchise in the same conference.
But such was the off-season Dwane Casey had. The 61-year old spent the previous seven campaigns in Toronto, lifting the Raptors to historic heights.
A swift exit in the opening round of last year’s playoffs prompted then-no. 1 seed Toronto to head in a different direction, creating Casey’s path to Motown.
Detroit has won its first two contests, a three-point win over Brooklyn, and a two-point triumph at Chicago.
Against the Bulls, Blake Griffin, now fully healthy (clearly), posted 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Follow Along:
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• Video: NBC Sports Philadelphia / NBC Sports MyStream, NBA TV