76ers 2017-18 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

Philadelphia 76ers fans have been trusting the process for years. In the 2017-18 season, that fanbase is ready to see some results.

And for good reason. The Sixers had a fascinating offseason that included trading up to the top overall pick to select Markelle Fultz and adding veterans JJ Redick and Amir Johnson in free agency. With the team also getting Ben Simmons back in the fold after he missed his entire rookie season, the Sixers will have a whole new look this year.

The aforementioned group will join Joel Embiid, who dazzled in his 31 games last season, fellow Rookie of the Year finalist Dario Saric and Robert Covington, who has quietly developed into one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA. And with Furkan Korkmaz coming over from Europe after being a first-round selection in last year's draft—even if he may not crack the rotation with regularity this year—Sixers fans have a lot to be excited about.

There are questions, of course.

Will Simmons be effective as the primary ball-handler? Has he improved his outside shot enough to give him a well-rounded offensive game? Will Fultz thrive or struggle as a secondary facilitator playing off the ball? Will the young talent jell quickly, or will the learning curve be steep? What in the world will the team do with Jahlil Okafor (who likely will be the team's third option on the depth chart at center behind Embiid and Richaun Holmes)?

But no question will loom larger than the health of Embiid. After missing his first two seasons due to various injuries, Embiid was a force of nature when on the court last season, averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in just 25.4 minutes per contest. He played like a legitimate All-Star and, if healthy, would have almost certainly been a unanimous Rookie of the Year selection over Malcolm Brogdon of the Milwaukee Bucks.

But his health remains uncertain. If healthy, his impact on the court makes the Sixers a legitimate threat to snag a postseason berth in the weak Eastern Conference. If his injury concerns rear their ugly head once again, however, the team could be facing another mediocre season.

Either way, however, there is more excitement for this team than there has been since the Allen Iverson years.

2017-18 Season Details

Season Opener: Wednesday, Oct. 18, vs. Washington Wizards (7 p.m. ET)

Championship Odds: 50-1 (via OddsShark)

Full Schedule: NBA.com

Key Matchups

Boston Celtics: Oct. 20, Nov. 30, Jan. 11, Jan. 18

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

The Celtics and Sixers are going to be linked for many years to come after the Sixers sent the Celtics the No. 3 overall pick and a future first-rounder in exchange for the top overall selection. The Sixers coveted Fultz, who presumably fits perfectly alongside Simmons. And the Celtics have maintained that Jayson Tatum was the top guy on their board.

So it was a win-win for everybody, right?

Well, the future will tell. This season, the Celtics likely will get the better of these matchups, given their superior veteran talent led by Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. But it will be interesting to watch Fultz and Tatum face off, and if the Sixers jell quickly, these contests could be a preview of a rivalry set to be renewed in a big way in the coming years.

The Sixers have their young core of Embiid, Simmons and Fultz. The Celtics have Tatum, Jaylen Brown and a slew of future draft assets. These two teams could very well become the toast of the Eastern Conference in the coming years, with this season serving as the prologue to that tale.

Los Angeles Lakers: Nov. 15, Dec. 7

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Lakers have been rebuilding for about as long as the Sixers, and given that the Sixers have owned a Lakers conditional first-round draft pick that will finally convey in the 2018 draft (but may be sent to Boston if it falls between No. 2 and No. 5), these two teams have been closely linked in each of the past two offseasons.

These matchups, then, will offer both teams a chance to compare the state of their rebuilds. But it will also be a clash of the past two top picks (Simmons and Fultz) against the past two No. 2 selections (Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball).

The Lakers, like the Sixers, have had a fascinating offseason, adding Ball and free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope while cutting ties with 2015 No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell. Like the Sixers, the Lakers should be much improved in 2017-18. 

For two organizations hoping to be nearing the conclusion of their rebuilds, these contests will serve as quite the litmus test.

Projection

The Sixers are a difficult team to project going forward, because there are simply so many variables and unknowns in play.

In Embiid, the team has a transformational talent that is good enough to lead this unit to the postseason. In Simmons and Fultz, they have two potential stars with immense upside. Redick perfectly fits into the team given his pinpoint outside shooting. Covington's three-and-D ability rounds out a very solid starting lineup.

There is solid depth in play, too, with Saric and Holmes highlighting a rotational group that also includes Johnson, Jerryd Bayless, Timofey Luwawu-Cabarrot, Nik Stauskas, T.J. McConnell and Justin Anderson.

That's a group that, barring injury, could make a real run at one of the Eastern Conference's playoff seeds. Young players struggle in the NBA, so expecting a young core to win 50 games is probably folly. But 40 games in an Eastern Conference now devoid of Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Paul Millsap?

That isn't so far-fetched. You just have to trust the process.

Record Prediction: 40-42