Bucks-76ers marquee Christmas game provides the first matchup of the projected East favorites

PHILADELPHIA — Ask any player on the Milwaukee Bucks and they'll tell you that playing on Christmas is a meaningful experience.

Not every team gets selected to play in these marquee matchups -- the ones many of them grew up watching with their families -- and to be considered among the league's elite, must-see squads is special.

It means something different to every player, but for everyone there is pride in the Bucks being featured on Christmas for the second successive season after the franchise went more than four decades without a holiday game.

“What does it mean to me? I got to open my presents early. That’s what it means to me," Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo joked. "No, it’s fun. You’re always told the best teams play on Christmas, all-star players play on Christmas and all that. The whole world is watching these games, so it’s good to represent our team and the city of Milwaukee.”

This year's matchup holds another level of meaning, too. When the Bucks face off against the Philadelphia 76ers at 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center -- a game that will be televised on ABC -- it will be the first matchup of the season between the two teams widely projected to vie for Eastern Conference supremacy. 

While the Bucks and 76ers haven't met in the playoffs since the 2001 Eastern Conference finals, they have circled each other as rivals the past few seasons. In the summer of 2017, Bucks co-owner Wes Edens took a shot at the 76ers during general manager Jon Horst's introductory news conference, saying, “The guys in Philly like to talk about the process an awful lot. Me, I’d rather talk about the results.”

The Bucks are 4-3 against the 76ers since Edens made that off-the-cuff comment to a question about the hiring process, not about Philadelphia. The most recent two games in the series have been doozies.

On St. Patrick's Day in Milwaukee this past spring, Antetokounmpo put up a career-high 52 points and famously called 76ers star Ben Simmons a baby, but Philadelphia center Joel Embiid had 40 points and 16 rebounds to lead the 76ers to victory.

Then, less than three weeks later in Philadelphia, Eric Bledsoe whipped the ball at Embiid, inciting a skirmish and getting ejected less than three minutes into the game. Led by Antetokounmpo, who scored 45 points and recorded five blocks, including four against Embiid, the Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter for a 128-122 win.

“It’s definitely an exciting Christmas matchup," Bucks center Brook Lopez said. "The Sixers are a great team and it’s always kind of a knockdown, drag-out when we play them.”

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This one will be a measuring-stick game for both teams. The Bucks, who have won 21 of their past 22 games, own the league's best record (27-4) and boast victories over both Los Angeles teams, the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors among others, will face the challenge of dealing with the 76ers' new-look roster. It includes Al Horford and Josh Richardson in the starting lineup along with Embiid, Simmons and Tobias Harris.

While the Bucks have dominated the early season, the 76ers (22-10) have not yet coalesced. With a team made up of long, versatile defenders, the 76ers' defense has been strong, but their offense has been only slightly above average (12th in offensive rating).

The biggest positives for the 76ers, though, are that Embiid remains a force, averaging 23.0 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, and they've played very well at Wells Fargo Center this season (15-2).

Milwaukee's road record has been similarly good at 12-2, meaning something will have to give. There will be plenty to learn about both teams, but no matter what happens this game is just an appetizer -- three more contests between the two this season and potentially a reunion in the postseason.

“They’re going to play fast, they’re going to shoot a lot of threes, they’ve got one of the best players in the league, one of the best big guys in the league, Joel Embiid – he’s going to get a lot of touches in the paint," Antetokounmpo said. "We’ve just got to show bodies, play for one another and just play together. Hopefully, we can get a win.”