The last time these two teams met with something on the line, New York swept Philadelphia out of the second round and won the whole thing a month later. The Sixers answered by signing LeBron James and trading for Jaylen Brown. So 76ers vs Knicks on Friday, October 30 at Xfinity Mobile Arena carries a bit more edge than your average late-October game, and it opens NBA Cup group play too.
Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. ET, which is 11:30 p.m. GMT in the UK. Here are the five things worth knowing.
1. The Knicks are the champions now, and most of that team is back
New York went 53-29, swept Cleveland in the East finals and beat San Antonio 4-1 in the Finals, the franchise's first title since 1973. Jalen Brunson was Finals MVP after scoring 45 in the Game 5 clincher in San Antonio, 13 of them in a row during the fourth quarter.
All five starters return under Mike Brown, now in his second season. The one real loss is Mitchell Robinson, who signed a three-year deal with Boston; Andre Drummond is the replacement, and NBA.com called it a likely downgrade on defense. OG Anunoby might be the player to watch here. His 67.2% effective field goal percentage in the playoffs was the highest in postseason history for anyone with at least 150 attempts.
2. Philadelphia's last memory of New York is a 4-0 sweep
The Sixers finished 45-37 and seventh in the East, then came back from 3-1 down to beat Boston, winning Game 7 109-100 on the road. That was the high point. The Knicks swept them in the conference semifinals, and Game 4 finished 144-114.
That series explains a lot about what happened next in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks3. LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are Sixers
Nick Nurse now has a rotation that looks like nothing he's coached before. The summer in short:
- Jaylen Brown arrived from Boston in a trade built around Paul George and draft picks.
- LeBron, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, signed as a free agent.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade came in for depth.
Projections vary on how good it is. ESPN projects 47.5 wins, while one BetMGM total sat at 50.5. Analysts mostly agree the offense should be hard to stop when the ball moves and that defense is where it could go wrong.
4. There may be too many shots to go around
Joel Embiid and Brown each posted a 32.5% usage rate in last season's playoffs, tied for the highest among players with at least 100 playoff minutes. Add LeBron, and Tyrese Maxey coming off an All-NBA season, and somebody is going to spend a lot of time standing in the corner. NBA.com expects Maxey to play off the ball more.
Then there's Embiid's health, which is always the question. He has played 96 regular-season games over the last three years. VJ Edgecombe, after a strong rookie year, is the guy who might quietly benefit if the stars take turns sitting.
5. 76ers vs Knicks, part two, with NBA Cup stakes
These teams opened the season against each other at Madison Square Garden on October 20, banner night for the Knicks. Ten days later they meet again in Philadelphia, and this time it counts toward the NBA Cup group stage as well as the standings. It's also the first game of Prime Video's run of five straight Friday group-play doubleheaders.
My pick: the Knicks have continuity, and that matters in October more than at any other point of the season. Philadelphia has more raw talent on the floor than New York does, but they've had a few weeks to figure out who gets the ball. I'd lean Knicks by a few points, though I'd change my mind fast if Embiid is sharp. He averaged 30.1 points against the Spurs last season, so the ceiling is still there.
How to watch
In the US, 76ers vs Knicks streams on Prime Video, which also sells NBA League Pass as an add-on. Elsewhere, League Pass is the usual option; check local listings in the UK, Mexico and Australia (where it tips at 10:30 a.m. AEDT on Saturday).
DAMITV will have it free on the NBA streams page, HD and no account needed. Knicks fans can bookmark our Knicks live stream page for the rest of the season, and if you want more basketball the next night, our Rockets vs Thunder preview covers OKC's Halloween trip to Houston. The official game page is on NBA.com.
