(AP)

Projected to have one of the youngest starting lineups in the NBA, the 76ers aren't going to be granted any favors during the 2013-14 season – beginning with their opening-night opponent.

The Sixers will open the season Oct. 30 at Wells Fargo Center against LeBron James and the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. League-wide, the NBA released schedules for all teams Tuesday night.

Aside from Miami, another gem of a game comes only a few days later, when Cleveland and former Sixers bench staple Andrew Bynum play the front-end of a home-and-home series in South Philly Nov. 8. Bynum and Co. make a repeat trip to town Feb. 18.

Other highlights to the home portion of the Sixers' schedule include:
Jrue Holiday's first game at Wells Fargo in a visiting team's colors, when New Orleans visits Nov. 29; Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with division rival Brooklyn Dec. 20, the Sixers' final home game before their annual lengthy holiday road trip; Miami's return and final appearance in Philly Jan. 17; and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers making weekend trips, Jan. 25 and Feb. 7, respectively.

(Associated Press)

MIAMI – The last time the 76ers played Miami, Thad Young was on the bench nursing a tweaked hamstring. There's no way on knowing whether Young would've prevented LeBron James, the NBA's surefire MVP winner, from a triple-double.

But the Sixers know this: They like their odds with Young defending James, as opposed to the alternative.

At Friday morning's shootaround, Young offered one sentence as to how he hoped to stop James: “Keep him in front of you and just try to stop the freight train,” Young said, smiling.

In the Heat's 16-game winning streak, which they carry into their meeting with the Sixers, James has averaged 28.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists – which astoundingly are all reminscient of his season totals. But James, already on pace to establish a career-best shooting percentage with his 56.2-percent clip, is hitting a ridiculous 61 percent of his shots during this streak.

James had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a win over the Sixers Feb. 23.

“He facilitated more,” Jrue Holiday said of that performance.

And what about tonight?

“He has to see three or four jerseys. He can't just see one or two,” Holiday said.

(Associated Press)

Sam Dalembert and Brandon Jennings are not Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. And Monta Ellis is nowhere near Rajon Rondo.

Still, the point to be made is this: No matter who’s on the floor, the 76ers aren’t going to be “intimidated.” Those are Evan Turner’s words, not mine.

The other day, after the win at Boston, Turner told reporters he and the Sixers from a season ago would’ve coughed up their 106-100 win over the Celtics. He intimated that they would’ve found a way to lose, especially when a veteran Boston team began to close in on their once-14-point lead, in a hostile environment like a near-capacity Boston Garden.

Plain and simple – whether it’s tonight at home against Ellis, Jennings and Milwaukee or Wednesday night against winless Detroit or even rematches with the Celtics or the New York Knicks, the Sixers won’t play scared.

“We’re not intimidated. We want more,” Turner said. “We keep progressing. Every single game is important. We don’t walk out onto the court and go, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Paul Pierce,’ or ‘Oh my gosh, it’s LeBron,’ or ‘It’s Carmelo.’ You expect to win. That’s progressing.”

Big words from the third-year swingman, who had a solid three-game stretch to help the Sixers sweep a roadtrip of three games or more for the first time since 2003. Let's see if he and the Sixers can use his words as a springboard to further successes.