The Milwaukee Bucks and 76ers each failed to meet expectations last season, but a new opportunity begins Wednesday when the teams meet in Philadelphia in the season opener for both squads.
It is the third straight season in which Milwaukee and Philadelphia have met in their respective season openers, with this one missing some significant star power.
The Bucks boast Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who will be ready to roll Wednesday. Khris Middleton, on the other hand, needs more time to heal from offseason surgeries on both ankles.
The Sixers were hoping to unveil newcomer Paul George alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. However, George (knee) is going to miss the opener, while Philadelphia announced Tuesday that Embiid (knee) likely will miss the team’s first three games.
The Sixers said Tuesday that Embiid is “responding well to his individualized plan and is expected to ramp up his return to play activities this week, including scrimmaging.”
Embiid averaged 34.7 points and 11.0 rebounds in 33.6 minutes per game last season, although he was limited to 39 contests after undergoing in-season left knee surgery.
George, who signed a four-year, $212 million deal with Philadelphia in the offseason, averaged 22.6 points for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24.
Maxey was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player last season, and was an All-Star for the first time after averaging 25.9 points and 6.2 assists.
The Sixers are hoping to rebound from a first-round playoff exit, when they lost to the New York Knicks in six games. They still are striving to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the Embiid era.
“I’m just ready to go out there and compete in a real basketball game,” Maxey said. “Get the sour taste out of our mouth from the New York series and actually get a chance to start all over again.”
The Bucks were bounced in the first round as well, with a six-game defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. It will be Milwaukee’s first full campaign under former Sixers coach Doc Rivers, who took over midway through last season, with mediocre results down the stretch.
“Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, ‘(What) if this year doesn’t go well?'” Antetokounmpo said. “Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded. Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody.”
Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points and 11.5 rebounds last season, while Lillard chipped in 24.3 points and 7.0 assists during his first season in Milwaukee.
“We both gotta be aggressive and understand the moments and situations where we can use the other to create an advantage,” Lillard said. “And we gotta just trust that. And as time has gone on, we’ve gotten better and better. And this year it’ll be even better.”
Offense wasn’t the issue for the Bucks last season. They averaged the fourth-most points in the NBA at 119.0, but were just 21st in defense, allowing 116.4 points per game.
Milwaukee has won each of the last four meetings between the teams, including all three last season, and has either won or tied the season series going back to the 2012-13 campaign.
