Philadelphia 76ers: 5 must-watch games from 2019-20 NBA schedule

1. Dec. 25 against the Milwaukee Bucks (ABC)

Do yourself a favor: Go ahead and add a little more ink to these boxes on your calendar (Dec. 25, Feb. 6, Feb. 22 and Apr. 7). Why? It’s simple. You might see this matchup seven more times during the months of May and June.

For now, let’s take a look at the first meeting on Christmas Day.

The Sixers and Milwaukee Bucks are the Eastern Conference’s presumptive favorites heading into next season (Sixers +800, Bucks +550 per OddsShark).

Similar to how these games generally fared last year, Joel Embiid vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the initial headline. But don’t think for a second that these two generational talents are going to have a head-to-head, shot-for-shot melee for a full 48 minutes.

While you can almost guarantee they will brim the stat sheets when healthy, it’d probably be better to view it as, Embiid vs. Antetokounmpo/Brook Lopez/Robin Lopez, and Antetokounmpo vs. Embiid/Al Horford/Ben Simmons — as each of these contests may be decided by whoever plays the better all-around team game with their supporting cast for four quarters.

Simmons and Horford have both drawn the Greek Freak assignment in their careers — most recently Horford — who did a decent job of limiting Giannis’ many strengths in the five games they played against each other last postseason.

But if the reigning MVP improves on his 25.6 percent 3-point shooting by the time winter comes along, Horford’s defensive strategy of giving him space on the perimeter becomes moot.

In all likelihood, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are set to be the Sixers’ biggest roadblock in 2019-20.