There’s a long way to go between now and August 1st when the Sixers officially kickoff their bid to climb the NBA standings and improve their playoff seeding. Here’s your definitive guide to everything that’s going on in the meantime.
Training Camp
Training Camp started last week for the Sixers and will roll on until the exhibition games begin on July 24th. However, two days before that, they will be able to play in intersquad scrimmages. These can take place from July 22nd through July 28th.
Exhibition games
The Sixers will play in three exhibition games prior to the matchups that will determine their seeding for the upcoming NBA playoffs.
Friday, July 24 – 3:30 pm vs. Memphis
Sunday, July 26 – 12:00 pm at Oklahoma City
Tuesday, July 28 – 8:30 pm vs. Dallas
While home court advantage is basically eradicated, what’s interesting is that they will play games at different times of the day. That will be a common theme with the NBA cramming so many games into such a short space of time
Seeding games
This is where the fun begins. The Sixers are already five-point favorites over the Indiana Pacers, but that was before Victor Oladipo came out and said there’s a strong possibility he will play when games begin. He originally wanted to take some extra time to rehab a ruptured quadricep tendon.
The Sixers may well be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the extended break after such a rocky road before the season came to a grinding halt. Time to re-energize, calm any off-the-court concerns, put down their swords and work out why their abysmal road record of 10-24 was such a night-and-day contrast to their home dominance would’ve been welcomed by a team who looked as though they were beginning to fall apart at the seams.
The full schedule looks like this for the refreshed and galvanized Sixers unit:
Saturday, August 1 – 7:00 PM @ Indiana Pacers
Monday, August 3 – 8:00 PM Vs San Antonio Spurs
Wednesday, August 5 – 4:00 PM @ Washington Capitals
Friday, August 7 – 6:30 PM Vs Orlando Magic
Sunday, August 9 – 6:30 PM @ Portland Trailblazers
Tuesday, August 11 – 4:30 PM Vs Phoenix Suns
Wednesday, August 12 – 6:30 PM Vs Toronto Raptors
Friday, August 14 – TBD, @ Houston Rockets
A game against the Raptors is enough to send any Sixers fan into a state of rage, but this is a very friendly run-in. The Raptors are the only top-eight team that they’ll face and there’s a strong chance that they soar up the standings and pick up momentum. That would of course lead them into a trickier playoff opponent, but surely it would be better than facing the Celtics as the sixth-seed.
The playoffs will begin on August 17th. The road to that fateful date begins now.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
