Sixers appreciate two-game sets, a scheduling quirk that offers ‘small preview’ of playoffs

When the 76ers blew two late leads Sunday in their 116-115 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors, they didn’t have to wait long to get revenge.

The teams met the next night, on the same floor, with the Sixers beating the Raptors, 115-102.

Then on Wednesday, the Sixers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first of a pair of home games at Xfinity Mobile Arena. They will square off again on Friday.

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These quick two-game series are part of a scheduling change the NBA implemented several seasons ago that has teams periodically playing consecutive games against the same opponent in the same location to reduce travel.

“It kind of gives you a small preview of what the playoffs look like, having to beat a team and go out and do it again the next night or whenever you play,” Sixers power forward Dominick Barlow said Wednesday after shootaround.

Coach Nick Nurse added that it does keep you on the same team for a few days in a row.

“So it gives you a chance to maybe look at your team a little more in depth over those days,” he said, “because you’re not sprinting to the next prep session or whatever as much.”

Nurse is fine with this format. It’s something he experienced frequently while coaching in the NBA G League.

Barlow feels this forces players to be ready, physically and mentally.

“You play a team twice, they are going to know your tendencies a little bit better,” he said. “They have a scouting report. So I think it’s good.”

The two games against Cleveland begin a six-game homestand for the Sixers. In all, they’ll play nine of their next 10 games at home.

They’ll have a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers (Monday) and Phoenix Suns (Tuesday) before entertaining the Houston Rockets on Jan. 22 and the New York Knicks on Jan. 24. After traveling to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Jan. 26, the Sixers will entertain the Milwaukee Bucks the next night before closing out the month with home games against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 29 and the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 31.

“I like it,” Barlow said of this stretch of home games. Playing at Xfinity Mobile Arena “kind of reminds me of playing outside as a kid. … The crowd, they are just passionate, and they care. If you are not playing well, they’ll let you know. If you are playing well and doing what you are supposed to do, they love you. That’s what I grew up on. So I like it.”

He is also excited to be home after playing eight of the last 10 games on the road. It gives him a chance to go home after the game instead of traveling to a new city and checking into hotel rooms.

“It’s probably good for everybody,” he said.

The Sixers headed into Wednesday’s game with a 22-16 record and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They were a half-game behind the fourth-place Raptors (24-17), 1½ games behind third-place Boston Celtics, and 2½ games behind the second-place New York Knicks. However, the Sixers were only 1½ games ahead of the seventh-place Cavs (22-19).

“I try to look at it just from a competitive standpoint,” Barlow said of keeping up with the standings. “But I try not to get too wrapped up in it, because we’ve got to control what we can control. When you look at that sometimes, you start to worry about when other teams are losing. We’ve got to worry about us winning.”