It’s hard to remember a Sixers offseason that inspired such optimism.
It’s much easier to remember brutal starts to the season.
It was only two years ago that the Sixers opened the season with three consecutive losses. The first two were against East contenders in the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. The third was against the lowly pre-Wemby Spurs — similar to this past Friday’s loss to what was essentially the Raptors 905.
Tyrese Maxey made sure history did not repeat itself Sunday when he snapped out of his early-season slump and carried the Sixers to a 118-114 overtime win in Indiana, spoiling the Pacers’ home opener.