August 17, 2023
It isn't exactly clear what the Sixers are going to look like on opening night, but we at least know what their 82-game slate is going to be.
The NBA announced its 2023-24 regular-season schedule in full on Thursday, confirming the previously reported Christmas Day matchup against the Heat down in Miami and an October 26 tip-off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Milwaukee.
The Sixers' home opener at the Wells Fargo Center will be October 29 against Portland.
Here's the full schedule, via NBC10's John Clark:
Sixers schedule. They open on the road at Milwaukee and home opener is Sunday, October 29 against Portland pic.twitter.com/G3aahEUzdw
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 17, 2023
And the team's AI-generated reveal, which is just...🤦 (But then again, the A.I. play was obvious there, so I do have to give props for the cameo):
we asked A.I. to generate our 2023-24 schedule: @Ticketmaster | https://t.co/sYDbRNdqkN pic.twitter.com/aXJwTyfRiB
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) August 17, 2023
With dejection still lingering from another embarrassing second-round playoff exit, James Harden wanting out and in an open feud with team president Daryl Morey, and suspicions that Joel Embiid's patience might be wearing thin, the Sixers have been in a fragile state all summer – and this is with new head coach Nick Nurse still needing to come in and get established, all while Morey has chosen to kick the can down the road on a contract extension for Tyrese Maxey.
It's been an exhausting few months for a fan base that has only grown to know heartbreak, which is now dangerously trending toward apathy.
Adding a new layer to the usual grind is the in-season tournament that will run from early November into December.
The format will break all 30 of the league's teams down into groups of five and seed through a round of group play before going into a single-knockout tournament that will culminate in a championship game on December 9 to be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It's different, for sure, but an effort on the NBA's part to keep a regular season format that has grown aggressively mundane a bit more interesting.
No idea if the Sixers will hit the second-round wall there too though.
We'll see how it goes.
Their group play slate for that:
a little friendly competition. 😈
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) August 15, 2023
📝: https://t.co/DxRck8lgT0 pic.twitter.com/zFqXlFniHp
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