Sixers Open The Season In Boston Tonight
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 2015-16 regular season begins tonight for the 76ers as they will run with the Celtics up in Boston.
The 76ers are coming off an 18-64 campaign. They went 2-5 in the preseason and they have already had to deal with more than their fair share of injuries. Forward Robert Covington will miss at least the first couple weeks of the season because of a knee injury. Guards Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall won't be available for some time as they recover from injuries.
Guard Nik Stauskas did not play in the preseason because of a right tibia stress reaction, but he practiced yesterday and today after shoot-around he called in to KYW Newsradio and he was asked if there was any official word on him hitting the floor against the Celtics.
"Well, the team hasn't made anything official," Stauskas says, "but I feel great and I'm excited for tonight."
Listen to the entire interview with Nik Stauskas of the Sixers:
He talks about how the injury came about.
"They think I kind of overused it throughout the summer," Stauskas says. "Just working out and playing with Team Canada and eventually it led to a stress reaction in my tibia. Last couple weeks it has been tough sitting out, I would've loved to be out there in the preseason with my team, but I'm healthy now and I'm ready to go for the regular season."
Stauskas was an outstanding long range shooter in college at Michigan (hit 44% of his three point attempts in two seasons) before being drafted in 2014 with the 8th overall pick by Sacramento. Last season, as a rookie with the Kings, he averaged 4.4 points a game while shooting 32% from three. While he played in 74 games, he only got about 15 minutes a night, making it hard to develop consistency. The Sixers acquired him in an off-season trade with the Kings.
A healthy Stauskas could be a big piece on a 76ers team that is desperate for consistent perimeter shooting.
"With the low post presence that we have with Jahlil (Okafor) and Nerlens (Noel)," Stauskas says. "I feel like it's going to be a good opportunity for me to space the floor on the outside and give those guys room to work with. So I'm looking forward to playing with them."
The Sixers have won just 37 games combined the last two years and the pundits aren't real impressed with what the 2015-16 squad has to offer.
"We hear it, I don't think we really pay too much attention to it, at least I don't," Stauskas says. "But for us, the way I look at it is we come into the season, there is absolutely no pressure on us at all to come in and win a lot of games right away. When you play without any pressure you know you play freely and you play more comfortably so I think we can use that to our advantage and I know I will throughout the season."
The Sixers and Celtics will tip-off tonight at 7:30pm.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
