Sixers Notes | Williams promises to return to court ahead of schedule
Monty Williams left a message for the 76ers in Orlando, wishing the team good luck in the season opener Tuesday night. Just four days removed from knee surgery, Williams could not join his teammates, who dropped their first game of the season, 95-88.
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/31/2002 03:01 AM EST)

NBA | Hornets say hello by dumping Jazz; Yao's debut shaky
A hobbled but energetic Baron Davis got the party started for the New Orleans Hornets in their new home. Davis, who struggled with back spasms throughout the preseason, had 21 points and 10 assists as the Hornets beat New Orleans' old team, the Utah Jazz, by 100-75 last night in the regular season opener for both teams.
( Associated Press, 10/31/2002 03:01 AM EST)

A sad start for the Sixers
The locker room was silent. Game 1 for the 76ers, a physical matchup that resulted in three players' needing stitches at halftime, had ended in defeat, and only the Orlando Magic were happy about it.
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/30/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Sixers find way to make lead disappear
In a game that was as rough as sandpaper, the 76ers never were able to smooth out the edges. In a game in which the Sixers held a 65-56 lead with 6 minutes, 33 seconds left in the third quarter, they ultimately could not hold on to an Opening Night victory.
( By PHIL JASNER, jasnerp@phillynews.com, 10/30/2002 06:31 AM EST)

Hill's return could be magical
He has been, in a sense, like everyone else over the last 2 years, waiting, watching to see whether at age 30, after three left-ankle surgeries and arthroscopic knee surgery he could resume his career at a satisfying level.
( By PHIL JASNER, jasnerp@phillynews.com, 10/30/2002 06:32 AM EST)

On Basketball | Magic have potent sidekick, Sixers a lone danger
Don't get hurt! That was more like a plea to Grant Hill from the Magic than a demand. It's been two years since the former all-star forward has played pain-free.
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Columnist, 10/30/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Sixers Notes | MacCulloch is limited to 16 minutes
Although he was productive when in the game, Todd MacCulloch played only 16 minutes last night in the 76ers' season opener against the Orlando Magic.
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/30/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Tonight's Sixers Game
Bucks at 76ers 7, First Union Center. TV/radio: Comcast SportsNet; WIP-AM (610). Records: Bucks, 0-0; Sixers, 0-1. Injuries: For the Bucks, Anthony Mason (sore left hamstring) is probable; Ray Allen (sprained left ankle) is day-to-day.
( 10/30/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Garnett getting tougher on T'wolves
Kevin Garnett has evidently come of age. Garnett seems to have concluded that Timberwolves can no longer use the huge salary they pay him as a legitimate excuse for the club's repeated failure to surround him with the supporting talent needed to compete in the powerful NBA Western Conference.
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/30/2002 06:52 AM EST)

NBA | Spurs top Lakers in season opener
Without Shaquille O'Neal and Rick Fox, the three-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers simply didn't have enough firepower against the San Antonio Spurs.
( Associated Press, 10/30/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Sixers Preview: It's a ring thing
High above the floor of the SBC Arena in San Antonio, well before tip-off, a Los Angeles Lakers montage played on the jumbo scoreboard screen. Allen Iverson stopped loosening up for the 76ers' preseason game against the Spurs, rested the ball on his hip, and stared at the screen.
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Even Brown might need program to know team
The coach's emotions have dwindled from genuine excitement to sheer nervousness. The 76ers that Larry Brown envisioned after a series of moves can suddenly be viewed as a team whose season could be over before it begins.
( By PHIL JASNER, jasnerp@phillynews.com, 10/29/2002 05:30 AM EST)

Tonight's Sixers game
76ers at Magic 7:30, TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando, Fla. TV/radio: TNT; WIP-AM (610). Records: Season opener for both teams. Injuries: For the Sixers, G Greg Buckner (right knee sprain), and F Sam Clancy, F Derrick Coleman, C Samuel Dalembert and F Monty Williams (left knee rehabilitation) are out; F Mark Bryant (right quadriceps strain) is questionable.
( 10/29/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Bill Lyon | Playoffs don't look like a lock
The 76ers unfurl another season starting tonight, and all we know about them is what we don't know. They are so new, so changed, so rearranged, that it is not possible to say much of anything about them that is certain.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/29/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Sixers Notes | Polynice becomes team's final cut
This was a tough one, made on the final day of cuts in the NBA. Yesterday, coach Larry Brown waived Olden Polynice, reducing the 76ers' roster to 15 players.
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 03:01 AM EST)

When 76ers arrived, apathy ruled
You know all about the NBA in 2002, right? It's a league with top-shelf cachet. Plush arenas. Spotlit superstars. Courtside celebrities.
( By Frank Fitzpatrick, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 03:01 AM EST)

On Basketball | League is looking like a Western world
Rick Fox and Doug Christie got into a fight in a preseason game on Friday, and it was headline news all weekend. Neither of those two is perceived as a player who will have much say-so about who the next NBA champions will be. So why the fuss?
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Columnist, 10/29/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Picture of health, portrait of hurt
For all his levitating feats and ability to score so freely, Toronto's Vince Carter may be one of the NBA's most puzzling stars. He is at times a skywalking contradiction in terms. The fans seem to love his high-flying ability, evidenced by the fact that he was the leading all-star vote-getter for the third straight year last season.
( By Marc Narducci, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 09:21 AM EST)

The 2002-03 NBA season at a glance
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 10:24 AM EST)

A team-by-team look: Atlantic Division
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 10:28 AM EST)

A team-by-team look: Central Division
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 10:25 AM EST)

A team-by-team look: Midwest Division
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 10:25 AM EST)

A team-by-team look: Pacific Division
( By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/29/2002 10:25 AM EST)

National TV schedule
All times are listed with the time they will be seen in the Philadelphia area.

( 10/29/2002 10:25 AM EST)

So far, Iverson keeping word on practice, punctuality
The gym was nearly vacant yesterday. Practice was over, and most of the 76ers were either lifting weights, icing their knees, shooting the breeze, or getting medical treatment.
( By Ashley McGeachy Fox, Inquirer Staff Writer, 10/28/2002 03:01 AM EST)

Iverson's crossover move
Allen Iverson was on the bus to practice early, a full 10 minutes before departure. He has been, in fact, on board from the start of training camp, doing everything he said he would do.
( By PHIL JASNER, jasnerp@phillynews.com, 10/28/2002 06:22 AM EST)

When good news comes in threes
They weren't necessarily meant for one another. They weren't necessarily made for one another. But as disparate as their skills and personalities might be, they have somehow bonded and blended as the core of the 76ers.
( By PHIL JASNER, jasnerp@phillynews.com, 10/28/2002 06:21 AM EST)

Phil Jasner | A better team, but...
QUICK, SOMEBODY call a home-improvement specialist. That window of opportunity that has been open for the 76ers is slowly closing.
( jasnerp@phillynews.com, 10/28/2002 06:20 AM EST)