Sixers set to tip off Noel-Okafor era

Before catching a flight to Boston on Tuesday, Nerlens Noel had a conversation with a guy the 76ers call "Jah."

As in Jahlil Okafor, the guy Noel will team up with in the Sixers' version of the Twin Towers.

"I told him to definitely be at ease," Noel said, preparing Okafor for the 2015-16 season. "Never to get too frustrated, because there will be times that you hit a certain type of wall. You just have to stay confident, go to what you rely on and stay encouraged."

Noel wants his frontcourt mate to realize that the season opener Wednesday night is just the first in-game step toward their goal of developing into a dominant tandem for seasons to come. The Sixers square off against the Atlantic Division rival Boston Celtics in a matchup loaded with story lines.

Noel opens the season against the favorite team from his childhood, whose arena is less than four miles from his hometown of Everett, Mass. Okafor will play in his first game as professional. Boston swingman Evan Turner - the Sixers' first-round pick in the 2010 draft - faces the team that gave up on him. Philly native and former Penn coach Jerome Allen makes his assistant coaching debut with the Celtics.

And facing the Celtics in Boston is always huge for Sixers coach Brett Brown, who's from nearby Maine and played at Boston University.

"It's always something a little bit different when I'm coming back to Boston," Brown said of opening the season. "I just get really excited to start [any season]."

But Brown is nervous about leading this particular team in the regular season. He expects the Sixers to play with tremendous heart and get after it on defense. But Brown knows the banged-up squad will be ratty on offense.

"The last time we played them, we didn't score a lot, did we?" said Brown, recalling a 81-65 preseason setback to Boston on Friday in Manchester, N.H.

This time, the Sixers have only nine players who are definitely playing. Another player, Nik Stauskas (stress reaction, right leg), will be a game-time decision. Robert Covington (right knee), Tony Wroten (right knee), Kendall Marshall (right knee), Carl Landry (right wrist) and Joel Embiid (right foot) are all sidelined with injuries.

"I see a group that I believe will start slowly," Brown said. "How long? I don't know. But I think the group is going to start, slowly. I see a group that I feel we can move more forward than any of the groups that I've coached."

But this season, the Sixers could challenge - if not exceed - the 0-17 start by last season's team.

That's why it's important for Okafor to remain at ease. The 6-foot-11, 268-pound rookie won an NCAA title last season at Duke, but this season will be nothing like any he has experienced.

In addition to dealing with expected mounting losses, he'll experience an NBA baptismal.

"I just feel like it's now true NBA," Brown said. "The preseason is not even close to the regular season. It's not even close to the playoffs. So it just goes up several more layers [Wednesday] night.

"And I think that we just have to be patient."

The goals against the Celtics are to play in the open court and feed Okafor the ball. However, Brown doesn't expect the offense to be fluid or in "tremendous rhythm."

It probably won't be that way for a while.

So Brown plans to use time between the first three games as an opportunity to educate his players. Instead of tough practices they will be in the classroom, studying schemes on iPads, learning from teammates and taking quizzes.

But their first of 82 tests comes against a much improved Celtics squad.

"I'm excited about it," Okafor said of his first NBA game. "I don't know what it's going to be like, but I can't wait."

It turns out that like Noel, Okafor rooted the Celtics growing up. He was a fan of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, who led the Celtics to the NBA title in 208.

Meanwhile, Turner will face the team that traded him to the Indiana Pacers in February 2014. He signed with the Celtics after that season and has been a solid addition.

"I think the weight of this city, the weight of his role, the weight of being the second [overall] pick, I think all those things as a young player beat him down a bit," Brown said of Turner's tenure in Philadelphia. "I think he can take a deep breath and play free. I enjoy seeing him and I'm happy for him that he's found a home. He's a good player."

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers

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