Thanksgiving is often a time of reflection. A time when people who care about each other come together and discuss the things that they are thankful for.

In the Philadelphia area and even for those fans that don't live in the area, Philadelphia sports teams play a major part in many of our lives.

With that in mind, we polled our Sports Talk Philly experts to see what they are most thankful about in regards to the teams they cover.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers remain a perfect 5-0 to begin the season after a 129-128 come-from-behind victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Furkan Korkmaz hit a three from the corner with 0.4 seconds remaining to win the game.

Philadelphia did not have a lead until there were 10.1 seconds left in the game, and Portland was up by 21 points at one point in the third quarter. However, none of that mattered as the 76ers fought through a barrage of Portland threes to move to 5-0 on the young season. 

Here are some observations from the victory.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

It was not pretty, but the Philadelphia 76ers got it done on Saturday night. Playing without superstar big man Joel Embiid, the 76ers battled and defeated the Detroit Pistons 117-111. Philadelphia is off to a 2-0 start to the season for the first time since the 2013-14 season. 

After a sloppy first half, Philadelphia headed into halftime down 57-54 and with some things they needed to change. The Pistons came out of the half and went on a 13-3 run, building up a 10-point lead. However, Tobias Harris caught fire for 16 points in the third quarter to give the Sixers a slim lead going into the fourth quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, Ben Simmons and Al Horford dominated to the tune of a 34-28 advantage in the final quarter. Horford scored 15 of his 23 points in the final quarter of play, including hitting a key three-pointer in the game's final minutes. 

Here are some observations from the team's hard-fought victory.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers began their season with a 107-93 win over the rival Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center. It took only one game to see the Sixers play a smash mouth, bully ball style. 

Despite struggling from 3-point range, Philadelphia was able to fight through using physical defense and a balanced scoring effort that saw all the starters finish in double figures. 

The game was close through the first half, with the 76ers using a 7-2 run at the end of the half to take a 49-48 lead heading into halftime. However, the Sixers blew it open with a 13-2 run early in the third quarter and never looked back. 

Here are observations from the win.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers had an exciting preseason filled with surprises, blowouts and one game where the team fell flat. You might be thinking it's just the preseason and none of the stats, trends and performances matter. The regular season is just days away, but that does not mean that we learned nothing from the preseason.

Throughout the preseason, we were able to learn some things about a couple of the team's young players as well as seeing some potential concerns surrounding the team come into fruition.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers are planning on approaching Friday night's preseason finale against the Washington Wizards as a tuneup for the regular season opener against the rival Boston Celtics. 

Treating the preseason game against Washington as a tuneup is important for the 76ers. The starting lineup has only played together twice, against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions and the Orlando Magic. With the additions of Al Horford and Josh Richardson to the starting lineup and a tough early-season schedule featuring matchups with the Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, the 76ers need to gain chemistry by playing on the floor together more than they have this preseason. 

"If health permits, I'd play it like I'd play Boston," head coach Brett Brown said Wednesday. "I think incrementally, we had a plan, I think we've delivered on the plan, executed a plan...I would like to play like I'm playing the Boston Celtics, and then take a deep breath with a day off and get through the game healthy, and come back ready to dig in."

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers have all the tools to become one of the NBA's best defenses this season. The starting lineup consists of players all 6-foot-6 and taller, including two potential Defensive Player of the Year candidates in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. However, the team's bench also has the talent and mindset to be great defensively.

General manager Elton Brand did a good job adding to the team's bench this offseason, working together with head coach Brett Brown to add players who excel on the defensive end of the floor. It is widely known that Brown highly values defense and hustle on that end of the floor, and the 76ers have become a team with a strong defensive identity. 

"I feel like when you look at the course of 82 games in the regular season, I think that our second team can establish that type of identity," Brown said after the game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions, via an article by NBC Sports Philadelphia's Noah Levick. "But I've said a lot, I want to play aggressive defense. I want our defense to be the launching pad to our offense, not the other way around. And I think that our length and mentality can help me achieve that."

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers moved to 2-0 this preseason with a 100-87 win over the Charlotte Hornets Friday night at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. 

Don't let the final score fool you, this game was not close at all. The 76ers held a comfortable 20-plus point lead throughout most of the contest before bringing in the end of the bench players for most of the fourth quarter. 

After getting off to a slow start, Philadelphia ended the first quarter on a 22-4 run, building up a lead they would never lose. Here are some observations on tonight's win over Charlotte.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers, as many would have predicted, easily defeated the Guangzhou Loong-Lions, 144-86, in the preseason opener at Wells Fargo Center. 

The game got out of hand relatively quickly, with the 76ers holding a 14-point lead after one quarter of play. Philadelphia opened up the second quarter on an 18-6 run, widening the lead to 26. The game was a blowout from there on out. 

While it is only the first preseason game, the 76ers looked impressive against Guangzhou. However, the Loong-Lions were several overmatched and this result was to be expected. With that being said, here are some of our observations from the 76ers' win in the preseason opener.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers open up their 2019-20 preseason tonight with a game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. 

The following are some pregame notes about the team's health and rotation for tonight's preseason opener: 

Joel Embiid only expected to play in the first half

According to the Inquirer's Keith Pompey, superstar big man Joel Embiid will only be playing in the first half against the Loong-Lions. With it being the preseason opener, there is no reason to play Embiid the entirety of the game.