By Jack Ryan
If Spike Eskin is to be believed, Sixers fans are getting a 2017 Christmas present.
According to WIP’s Eskin, the Knicks are slated to play the Sixers on national TV on the NBA’s marquee day at Madison Square Garden.
It will be the second straight year the Knicks host an Christmas game, with last season’s turning into a nightmare — a 119-114 defeat to the Celtics that started their downfall to a 51-loss campaign.
It’s surprising that New York would be included this year given their low expectations, especially against a Sixers team that hasn’t won more than 28 games in a season since 2012-13.
The entire NBA schedule will be released later this month. The season starts earlier than usual — on Oct. 17 — because part of the preseason was sacrificed in order to limit back-to-backs and condensed scheduling.
