Sixers visit Celtics to open season on Oct. 28

The 76ers will open the regular season on the road for the second consecutive year.

This time, it will be a homecoming for second-year power forward Nerlens Noel. He'll lead the Sixers against the Boston Celtics in an opener at TD Garden on Oct. 28. Noel's hometown of Everett, Mass., is less than four miles from the arena.

The Sixers will play seven of their first 12 games at home before spending 18 of their next 24 on the road, including six straight away games. The NBA announced its schedule Wednesday.

After facing Boston, the Sixers will entertain the Utah Jazz in their home opener Oct. 30 at the Wells Fargo Center. Then they'll host LeBron James and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 2 before facing Michael Carter-Williams and the Milwaukee Bucks two days later at the BMO Harris Bradley Arena.

Look for the Sixers to get Carter-Williams' best effort. The point guard won the 2013-14 rookie of year award as a Sixer before he was traded to Milwaukee in February.

Facing former players like Carter-Williams and seeing how first-round pick Jahlil Okafor matches up against the league's other top rookies will provide most of this season's excitement. The Sixers, coming off 63- and 64-loss campaigns, will not make any national television appearances.

Okafor will square off against the first overall pick, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 23 at the Target Center.

The two matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers will be among the Sixers' most anticipated games of the season. Okafor was expected to be drafted second by the Lakers. Instead, they shockingly took guard D'Angelo Russell, whom the Sixers coveted at the third spot.

The teams' Dec. 1 matchup at Wells Fargo could mark the last time that standout Kobe Bryant returns to his hometown as a Laker. The next day, the Sixers travel to Manhattan to face fourth overall pick Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Sixers will complete their series with the Lakers on New Year's Day at the Staples Center. The Sixers will host the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Jan. 30.