The NBA is calling upon the Sixers in prime time yet again. According to Shams Charania, the Sixers will visit the Boston Celtics on October 18, the NBA’s first day of the regular season. The game will be televised on TNT.
It’s a tall task for anyone to beat the Celtics these days. But if Philly wants to be viewed as a serious threat to win a championship, it’s going to have to beat the league’s best teams. Many will point to the history of this era of Sixers basketball and say that the regular season does not matter one iota. There is some validity to that sentiment. But, your odds of winning anything are better if you’re a 1-seed or 2-seed than they are if you’re a 3-seed or 4-seed. And in order to earn a top-2 seed, you need to beat a fair share of good teams and dominate the bad teams. So while regular-season success doesn’t translate to playoff success in the case of the Sixers, you need to build regular-season equity to be in an advantageous position come playoff time.Â
It was revealed on Sunday that the Sixers will visit the Knicks on Christmas. That means the league is entrusting the Sixers to represent appropriately on its two most precious days of the regular season. You might not be so bullish on the Sixers, but the NBA obviously is.
