Last weekend I went to a paper trade show with my oldest son here in Germany. Lovely time, great fun. He got a nice old Jordan, some Ewings and a young Shaqs found another Brunson for his collection. At one booth we were flipping through the doll box when I noticed a rather ugly ball logo on the seller’s chest. When he politely asked what we were looking for, I told him about our love for the Knicks and then I couldn’t bring myself to make it clear that we certainly weren’t looking for players from his incomparable squad.
Philly fan laughed, I did too – just some good ol’ friction. When we talked about the first season, I mentioned that he must have had an interesting year before. “We all know it’s going to go south somehow,” he chuckled, referring to his team’s center pressure and other issues he’s used to his franchise. Of course I knew what he was saying; As you may recall, it was mostly the Knicks who tormented Philly’s younger brothers in recent years. However, I was still amazed at how grateful the defeated man sounded about the team’s fortunes.
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I’m sure it won’t be long before you look around to find members of the Sixers fan base, especially after their surprisingly solid start to the season (4 wins, 1 loss). He can also win the opening night against New York. Of course, no Philly fan wants to hear about asterik’s acquisition of emotionally drained Knicks on Ringo Night as a lot of people including the new star player made that game bigger than it was.
The Knicks are starting their NBA Cup defense in Philly
As fate would have it, the Sixers will once again have a chance to define themselves on Friday against the reigning champion, and once again it will be your basketball team. This season, the Knicks begin their title defense in the much-maligned NBA Cup, a test-tube baby basketball competition that clearly has had its moments over the years and still feels very forced most of the time. It doesn’t matter if you care about Adam Silver’s money or not, the game against Philly will certainly be an interesting one as it matches the Knicks against a potential playoff opponent and against one of their biggest rivals in the season.
What we saw from the Sixers in the opener was a bit of a preview of their season in general. They played some top-notch defense, helped by the switchability of LeBron James, and the feigned respectability of Joel Embiid. Philadelphia is teeming with strong wings, and many of their guys thrive in the passing game. They go into the break as they currently rank in the top 5 in the NBA, and their assist-to-turnover ratio sits right up there with the best teams in the league.
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It’s funny, except for that one thing, it’s a convenient fault to do that. Just two players from the regular rotation now shoot over 45 percent from the field; nor do they retaliate offensively, nor do they throw or strike many stings. Even with all his scoring, the mid-court offense was mostly driven by isolation. Every Philly star takes his turn, with mostly mixed results. Tyrese Maxey was clearly the best of the pack, scoring 28.4 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting.
The 76ers play strong defense yet run a clunky offense
The bad O’s and the strong D’s lead to an extreme breakdown early on for the newly assembled group, which was partly expected, but could also be a concern going forward. You certainly wouldn’t feel safe if your team was down 29 against Cleveland in your home opener, then a few nights later trailing Detroit by 21 in your only loss only to run in the fourth quarter down 13 against the Pacers sans Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac. Let’s give them at least some credit for coming.
Either way, the show is a must and I will continue to Philadelphia. We’ve only recently seen LeBron complain about playing center and Joel Embiid about not playing at all – funny one of the guys who basically invented the term load management. Jaylen Brown also hinted at his relationship with Jayson Tatum, beef or no beef yet: “Maybe some lamb chops and gravy.” Uh, okay, we’ll chalk it up as just another instance of a guy trying to sound very smart and interesting yet doing the exact opposite.
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For the Knicks, the team is definitely not caught up in all that hoopla. Lately, they’ve found a much better rhythm on offense, and they’ll clearly need it against Philly’s physical strength. Joseph Alvarado could return to this one; It is currently being used as a game time decision. Limit turnover will be at a premium as New York doesn’t want to run up and down the 76ers, especially not on the road. When Nick Nurse tries to hide Embiid in Josh Hart, the Knicks try to punish her. Test the opponent’s communication in the backline with plenty of stiff back cuts, relieve Brunson’s ball-handling pressure, and hit your open shots. Sounds easy, I know. In the end, it’s just a game.
The seller on the show paper, and that’s for sure. I’m not sure if he’s watching the fight on Friday; perhaps preparing another show. I do know one thing, though: he sure would love it if the Knicks gave him a reason to feel a little more defeated.
Game Details
Who: New York Knicks (2-3) Philadelphia 76ers (4-1)
Date: Friday, October 30, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
TV: First Video
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky