Category: Sports News

NBA basketball is approaching closer than it might seem. As the final holdouts from free agency have agreed to deals, we’re only about a month out from Media Day and the start of training camp. With the full 82-game schedule plus NBA Cup groupings having been released, now’s a good a time as any to break it down into segments and evaluate each part of the Sixers’ upcoming journey.

These segments have been broken down into approximately 20 games to look at the season quarter-by-quarter. It’s important to remember that 82 games is a slog, with stretches of it that are more often defined by how the team itself is doing rather than their opponents — especially one with as many new moving parts as this Sixers roster.

Still, it’s time to go through section by section of the Sixers season and see what they’re up against. The first portion will be broken down to the first 21 games of the season, taking us right up to Thanksgiving, mainly because games 20 and 21 are a back-to-back.

The Sixers will play the minimum 14 back-to-backs this season and will have four of them in this first quarter of the season. The other thing that jumps out about the first quarter of the season is how Eastern Conference-heavy it is. Only two of the Sixers’ first 21 opponents play in the West: the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.

The schedule will probably always lean that heavy with NBA Cup group games taking place in this part of the season. The Sixers will kick off group play this year on Oct. 30 at home against the New York Knicks, their second game against the reigning champions in the first 10 days of the season.

They’ll obviously start the season taking on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers for the home opener. Their first weekend of the season brings their first back-to-back, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks then the Detroit Pistons. Assuming health, it will be interesting to see how the Sixers attack back-to-backs with their older stars. One would imagine Joel Embiid and LeBron James won’t be playing both legs of them, and the Bucks-Pistons combo will be a first look at if the Sixers stagger guys between nights, or just go for it all on one night.

That back-to-back is conveniently two home games, but the other three in this early part of the schedule will require travel. After the Sixers host the Knicks they’ll shoot down to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. After the Indiana Pacers come to town on Nov. 15 the Sixers will take a train or bus up to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on the 16th. After their final game of Cup group play on Nov. 27, the Sixers will head to Houston for the 28th as they’ll finally start to face some Western Conference opponents.

A theme you might have noticed is that the Sixers won’t just be playing a lot of Eastern Conference teams early, but they’ll be seeing some of them multiple times early in the season. This was the case last year as well as they played the Celtics three times within the first month of the season. This year, they’ll see the Pacers three times before the month of December, while having played the Knicks, Cavs, Pistons and Bulls twice.

Three of those teams — the Cavs, Knicks and Pacers — are in the Sixers Cup group as well as the Miami Heat. That’s a strong group that doesn’t present any obvious weak link. It’s very possible that a team that just added Giannis Antetokounmpo or won the East 14 months ago is the worst team in this group. The Sixers haven’t had any NBA Cup success in its short history and this will be a tough year for their new-look group to break that trend.

Two more games to keep an eye on this early in the year will be Nov, 10 and 12 against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors. While it’s a home game, this will be Jaylen Brown’s first game against his old team and, unsurprisingly, will be nationally televised. The interest in that second game is still pending a league investigation, but the Raptors could be an interestingly scary team.

This first stretch of the season will be a good litmus test for how much better and deeper this Eastern Conference is. Only six of their opponents in this stretch didn’t make the playoffs last year, and at least two of them in the Heat and Pacers will be trying to change that this season.

It’s one of the Sixers’ lightest stretches of the season in terms of travel with Houston and Chicago as the two furthest opponents, but the four back-to-backs are the tied for the most in any quarter segment of the season. To start the season the Sixers will find out just how good their conference is.

10/20: @Knicks
10/22: vs. Cavs
10/24: vs. Bucks
10/25: vs. Pistons (B2B)
10/28: @Pacers
10/30: vs. Knicks (Cup) 
10/31: @Hornets (B2B) 
11/2: vs. Bulls 
11/4: @Pistons
11/6: @Cavs (Cup)
11/8: @Bulls
11/10: vs. Celtics 
11/12: vs. Raptors 
11/15: vs. Pacers 
11/16: @Nets (B2B) 
11/18: @Magic 
11/21: vs. Bucks
11/23: vs. Trail Blazers 
11/25: vs. Heat (Cup)
11/27: @Pacers (Cup) 
11/28: @Rockets (B2B)

Welcome to Volume V of our “Choose Your Own Adventure” starter series, where we explore the Milwaukee Bucks’ options at each position. Read along, make your choice, and share your pick in the comments—if you dare!

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The centre rotation is nowhere near as jammed up as the guard rotation with three viable options at the five: Myles Turner, Kel’el Ware, and Jericho Sims. With Giannis gone, suddenly each of these players—less so for Sims—will have a license to explore the studio space just that little bit more. The “shooting bigs” will also have the chance to roll, while Sims will have more opportunities in general because he no longer has to be separated from a non-shooting power forward in GA.

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Go on to OPTION 1.

1. The turn-around trade bait: Myles Turner

As the “elder statesman” of the team, Turner is an obvious choice to start—and majority of fans agree—if only to revive his trade value. I feel like last year’s fit with Turner and Giannis was good in theory, but it did lead to Turner standing stationary on the three-point line a lot of the time as Giannis bulldozed, when he has way more to offer than that. Like, Doc really wasn’t creative at all with how he utilised Turner, and now that Giannis is gone, he will surely be more involved. Get him screening more, rolling, popping, setting flare screens—all the stuff that made him so valuable with the Pacers. I don’t know about you guys, but I think MT is in for a big season (for however much of it that he’s wearing a Bucks uniform).

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If you’re willing to give second chances, choose Turner. If not, turn to OPTION 2.

2. The Kryptonian: Kel’el Ware

By starting Ware at centre—and thus probably moving Turner to the bench—you are making the decision to go all-in on the future. Feed Ware all the reps that he didn’t get in Miami, and see what you’ve got: give him more back-to-the-basket opportunities and try to expand his game at the rim. After all, if there was one player the Bucks got back in the Miami trade—excluding Nate Ament—who you could say has a chance to be that “blue chip prospect” that everyone said the Bucks didn’t get, it would be Ware. Frankly, he’s one of the more unique players I’ve seen. At 7’0”, he’s explosive at the rim, has real touch in the paint, can block shots, and make threes at a 40% clip. There just aren’t many players who can do all of those things. As I’ll deep dive in an upcoming article, there have been major questions about Ware’s motor, but if he can sort that out—and it’s a huge if—he could be special. Look, I don’t hate the idea of starting Ware at centre from the jump, but I do get nervous about him being the full-time defensive anchor at this stage. Maybe those concerns are misguided, though—let me know in the comments.

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If you’re ready for a new flame, choose Ware. If not, turn to OPTION 3.

3. The fleet-footed finisher: Jericho Sims

I feel like Sims is somewhat polarising, but my dirty little secret is that (whispers)… I thought he was straight-up better than Myles Turner for a good portion of last season. Yes, you aren’t getting much offensive versatility with Sims, but his ability to switch on defence is mind-boggling. Like, the number of times a guard would “try him” last season, only to back away and make the next pass because they simply couldn’t shake him was amazing. I truly believe the league missed by not offering him more than the minimum; his defensive ability is special. As long as there’s shooting at the other four spots, I think Sims could do a great job in a starting role. Now do I think that’s actually going to happen? No way. For various reasons, Turner and Ware need to play a lot, but I truly believe the Bucks must keep investing in Sims long term. His foot speed on defence is an outlier skill at the centre spot, and it’s only a matter of time until the league figures that out.

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QUICK! Make a decision, you’re near the end. Choose Sims if you like your centre to rebound, set screens, and throw it down hard. Otherwise, pull a rabbit out of your hat and tell us who it is in the comments.

THE END

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Send in your questions now for this week’s episode of The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast to discuss everything Pistons. Submit your question in the comments section here or on Twitter to @TheRealWesD3 and/or @RobbieBettelon. If you’re on BlueSky, you can also send to @RobbieBettelon.bksy.social.

Join us live on Thursday night as Wes and Robbie discuss Pistons news late into August. What questions would you like to add to the show?

Plus, The Pindown has a phone line where you can leave a message and hear your voice on the show. Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message around 45 seconds or less so we can fit everyone into the show.

The podcast will be uploaded to all audio platforms the following morning.

The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast Vitals:

When: Thursday, August 27th at 7:30 p.m. ET

Where: Detroit Bad Boys YouTube Channel

How to submit questions:

• Detroit Bad Boys Website: Comment section of the weekly Pindown episode articles.
• Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message to 45 seconds or less.
• Twitter: @detroitbadboys, @RobbieBettelon, or @therealwesd3
• YouTube: Chat section of The Pindown live recording — Subscribe here

As always, leave any questions or topics you want to be discussed in the comment section below.

Go Stones.

We’re roughly a month away from training camp starting around the NBA, as teams will be getting back into the flow of things as they begin a new journey this season. For now, fans are still trying to enjoy what’s left of the offseason, and the schedule release a few weeks ago gave them some excitement.

The Atlanta Hawks have some interesting matchups that fans should look out for this season, and here are a few that could be enticing to mark on the calendar.

Oct. 21 vs. Orlando Magic

Not only is this the season opener, but this is against a team that has basically rivaled the Hawks over the past two seasons. It all started two years ago when the Magic injured Vit Krejci and Larry Nance Jr. in the same game, and from there, the mayhem began. The Magic defeated the Hawks in the play-in tournament that year, but last season, they got their revenge.

The Hawks swept the Magic last season, but they also injured another key player on the team, Jock Landale, who ultimately missed the remainder of the season and the playoffs because of it. There’s no doubt there’s still some hate brewing between these two teams.

Nov. 6 vs. Washington Wizards

The Hawks would have played the Wizards a few days before this, but this one holds more weight. First, it’s the start of the NBA Cup games, which means these matchups mean a little more. Second, this will be the official return of Trae Young playing against his former team. Young already received his video tribute last season after he was traded, but he wasn’t playing due to injury.

The Wizards should be coming into this season fully healthy, and Young is going to want to put on a show against the team that drafted him in 2018.

Nov. 18 @ Oklahoma City Thunder

This will be a return for Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins after they were traded from the Thunder this offseason. They helped the Thunder win their championship two seasons ago and there’s a good chance they’ll be getting their video tributes in this game.

This is also a game where the Hawks match up against one of the better teams in the Western Conference. They’ve played them close on the road for two straight seasons but haven’t been able to get the win in the end, and it would be big if they could walk out with a victory this time.

Nov. 29 @ New York Knicks

The first time the Hawks see the Knicks since the first round of the playoffs should be special, and it comes two days after Thanksgiving. The Knicks didn’t make many changes to their roster over the offseason, so the Hawks should know this team pretty well after seeing them several times the past season.

Dec. 27 @ San Antonio Spurs

This is also another game where the Hawks have come close on the road the past two seasons but haven’t been able to walk out with the win. The Spurs should once again be a top team in the Western Conference this season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were better this year.

This game comes at the end of the calendar year, and it would be big for the Hawks to close out 2026 strong against a really good team.

Jan. 4 vs. Philadelphia 76ers

This will be the second time in the season when the Hawks will face the 76ers, and the one and only time at home. It’ll be interesting to see how the 76ers look by this point, but it will also be interesting to see how the Hawks have fared throughout the first few months of the season.

This game will be the second to start the year 2027, and just like the Hawks should want to end 2026 strong against the Spurs, they should want to do the same against the 76ers when the calendar flips.

Feb. 8 vs. Miami Heat

This game comes days before the trade deadline, and there’s no telling what has already happened by this time. Depending on where the Hawks stand, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see if they had made a move or two to improve the team. At the same time, there is a chance they wait until the actual deadline day to make a deal, and a win or loss around this moment could change a lot.

Feb. 26 @ Toronto Raptors

This could be a random game near the end of February, but it could also mean a lot to the Hawks. It was no secret that they struggled against the Raptors last season, and it could be big if they could turn that tide this season.

Mar. 29 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

This game could absolutely have no importance for the Hawks internally, but fans are always excited when the Timberwolves come into town, and it’s because of Anthony Edwards. The hometown player will be coming toward the end of the season, and it’ll be interesting to see how they’ve done over the course of the season after the moves they made this offseason.

As for some Hawks fans, they’re still holding out hope that Edwards finds his way on the Hawks soon.

Apr. 11 @ Cleveland Cavaliers

The last game of the season always comes with some sort of playoff implications, and with how deep the Eastern Conference is supposed to be this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise that a lot of things were determined on this day. To make things even better, the Hawks will playing a team that is supposed to be in the Eastern Conference gauntlet, and this game could mean a lot too them as well.

Either these two teams are fighting for positioning by this time, or they’re resting their starters.

In a special episode of Boardroom Talks, Durant sat down with Speedy Morman for one of the most candid conversations of his career.

Kevin Durant has been one of the most scrutinized, analyzed, and debated athletes of his generation. So when Speedy Morman sat down with the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer at KD's home for the latest episode of Boardroom Talks, the conversation that unfolded wasn't the one you might expect. It was looser, funnier, and more revealing than any press conference or postgame media scrum has ever managed to produce.

It started, as so many KD conversations do these days, with something that went viral for the wrong reasons. The Nobu bush photo -- Durant's beanie barely visible over a hedgerow, an image the internet immediately ran with as proof that the greatest scorer alive was hiding from paparazzi -- got addressed quickly and dispatched just as fast. He wasn't hiding: "Why would I hide behind the bush? Why do I need to hide? I wouldn't have went to Nobu then because Nobu is the paparazzi capital." He admitted the photo was funny and then they moved on. Which is exactly what KD did with the whole thing once the AI video of him jumping over the bush started circulating; some jokes you just have to let run their course.

From there, the conversation moved through KD's childhood in the DMV, the 2007 NBA Draft, NIL, the New York Knicks' championship run, Russell Westbrook's retirement, and LeBron James heading to Philadelphia. Durant's verdict on the Sixers was unambiguous. "That's going to be a juggernaut," he said, pointing to the championship-caliber front office and coaching staff around James, Embiid, Brown, and Maxey. "I think it's not no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

When Morman brought up Jalen Brunson's famous decision to leave $113 million on the table, Durant didn't pretend he would've done the same. "I don't think I would be advised to do that," he said. "I probably would've been like, 'All right, I'm cool with it.' And then I'd have sat down and talked to all my people — Rich, all my friends — and been like, 'What? You serious? Why do you need to take that risk when this dude's a billionaire?'" He paused. "But for him to make that decision and it come out the way it did, kudos to him."

Some of the most illuminating moments came when Durant talked about the parts of his life that rarely make headlines. His best teammates, for instance, aren't the names you'd expect — alongside James Harden and Nick Collison, he listed Nasi Muhammad and Daniel Marshall, guys whose families he knows, players he's stayed close with long after the locker room days ended. And then there are the friends he made playing video games, people he's now known for almost a decade, invited to his home, trusted completely. "I can call right now," he said of one of them. "He going to pick the phone."

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The CeraVe deal came up, the one that turned his legendarily ashy legs into one of the most memorable brand campaigns in recent memory. Durant's explanation for why he refuses to lotion before games was delivered with complete seriousness: The ball gets slippery, the sweat mixes with the lotion, and suddenly you're fumbling passes at the worst moments. The ashiness was simply an occupational hazard. "He knew what he was doing," Durant said of the original photo that launched the whole thing, then laughed.

Near the end, Morman asked KD what comes next. The answer was characteristically direct and unexpectedly revealing: He wants to keep making content, build relationships, and see what falls from them. But one goal stood above the rest. "One of my main goals is to be the GM of the Team USA," he said. "One of these Olympics, one of these years. I want to do that job one time."

He's got time. He's still, by his own account, got buckets left in him.

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