PHILADELPHIA -- Teams typically introduce their entire roster prior to their home opener. But as the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers prepared to tip off at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night, only Philadelphia's starting five was introduced to the crowd.
The reason was obvious: It would allow the Sixers to avoid either ignoring their star point guard, Ben Simmons, or introducing him in absentia to a chorus of boos.
It was yet another example of the space both Brooklyn and Philadelphia find themselves occupying this season. After they finished with the top two records in the Eastern Conference last season, only to each lose in the second round of the playoffs, they entered this season as the epicenters of NBA news because of the absences of Simmons and Kyrie Irving.