Let’s get it back to the Sixers.

Schedule dropped about 20 minutes ago, and golly are the Sixers gonna be in the thick of it.

For starters, they’ll play 24 national television games during their 82 game slate, which is nearly 30% of their schedule. They are going to be a big draw this season and a primary focus in a rather depleted Eastern Conference.

Nine of those games will be on ESPN, nine will be on TNT, and six will be on ABC, plus 12 more games on NBA TV. Those six games on ABC are tied for the league-high with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Of note are the following dates:

  • home/season opener – Wednesday, October 23rd vs Boston
  • Jimmy Butler’s return – Saturday, November 23rd
  • JJ Redick’s return – Friday, December 19th
  • Christmas Day – home game vs. Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks
  • LA Lakers at home – Saturday, January 25th on ABC
  • Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers in the house – Tuesday, February 11th
  • Markelle Fultz’s return – Sunday, April 5th (if he’s even playing)

Maybe the biggest schedule quirk is that the Sixers are opening with nine of their first 13 games on the road, a veritable murderer’s row to kick things off. Check this out, after the jump:

The good thing obviously is that you’re getting one of those west coast road swings out of the way early. The other is March.

Here’s the monthly breakdown, courtesy of the Sixers’ PR staff:

  • OCTOBER: 4 games (2 home, 2 road)
  • NOVEMBER: 16 games (7 home, 9 road)
  • DECEMBER: 16 games (9 home, 7 road)
  • JANUARY: 13 games (6 home, 7 road)
  • FEBRUARY: 11 games (6 home, 5 road)
  • MARCH: 15 games (8 home, 7 road)
  • APRIL: 7 games (3 home, 4 road)

Also notable:

  1. the Warriors are here on January 28th, so that Lakers/Warriors combo is gonna be something fierce, just wait until you see all of the posers in the crowd
  2. the Sixers will travel the 2nd fewest miles this season
  3. there will be 18 weekend games (six Fridays, seven Saturdays, five Sundays) at the Wells Fargo Center
  4. looks like 13 back to back games, and I’d sit Joel Embiid for every single one

Here is the full jawn: