When: Saturday, April 15, 1:00 p.m. Tip-Off
Where: Wells Fargo Center
How to Watch: ESPN
It’s that time of the year again. Playoff basketball is upon us, and the 54-win 76ers are looking to play deep into the summer this year with the season ending with Embiid, Harden and crew lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy. Here’s all you need to know about the Sixers, the Nets, each team’s player to watch, and a prediction on the outcome of the series:
The Sixers Side: At times, Philly rolled this season and was able to illustrate that through an MVP-caliber campaign from Joel Embiid and to a slightly lesser extent, James Harden. The Sixers dynamic duo became the first pair of teammates to win the scoring (Embiid) and assist (Harden) titles in the same season since the 1981-82 season, when George Gervin and Johnny Moore did it for the Spurs.
Beyond them, the Sixers possess a host of versatile options. Tyrese Maxey, P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton and Jalen McDaniels (to name a few) provide quality depth and talent at both ends of the floor; Philly was one of the three teams in the league this season that ranked in the top 10 both offensively and defensively, in fact. As we’ve seen a number of times in 2022-2023, the Sixers can beat a team in a lot of different ways with a myriad of weapons at their disposal.
Sixers Player to Watch: Joel Embiid: C’mon. Could it really be anyone else? The 29-year-old big man is tracking to be the league’s MVP and with good reason. His 81% efficiency at the rim and 48.7% from the mid-range makes “The Process” as potent of an offensive weapon as there is in the league today and his rim protection ability is every bit as elite as his offense. It’ll take an entire Nets’ squad to slow him, but even then, expect the big man to feast in this series.
The Nets Side: If Brooklyn is to exploit any part of Philadelphia’s game, it should be to get out and run the floor, as the Sixers inability to keep up in transition defense could prolong the series if the Nets can effectively do this. The Sixers ranked third from the bottom this season in points allowed on the fast break and the Nets, well to be blunt, love shooting the basketball. Brooklyn has attempted 37.6 three-point attempts per game dating back to February, which is sixth most in the league during that time; their 13.3 three-pointers made are among the top 10 in the league during that span too, so the club very much lives-and-dies by the triple. With Joe Harris, Seth Curry
Spencer Dinwiddie, and Mikal Bridges all capable from beyond the arc and a good interior defensive presence in Nic Claxton, it could put a bit of a scare into the Sixers if they were to get hot.
Additionally, the Nets are facing little to no pressure in this series. An early win on the road could ratchet up the pressure on a Philly team with clear title aspirations.
Nets Player to Watch: Mikal Bridges: It was probably a bittersweet moment when Bridges heard his name called with the tenth overall pick by his hometown Sixers in the 2018 NBA draft. Later that same night, the Sixers traded away Bridges to the Suns in exchange for Zaire Smith and a 2021 first round pick. The trade has gone on to be one that never really benefited Philadelphia, but the Overbrook native and Villanova graduate has gone on to make the most of his time in the NBA. Could revenge be on the mind of the NBA’s current iron-man? One would imagine that Bridges would find extra motivation (and even satisfaction) in taking down his hometown team.
Prediction: Sixers in 6: Since the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Ivring, the makeshift Nets’ roster has hardly kept their heads above .500 to end the season. Despite this, if they make enough shots and run the floor well enough, the Sixers could need to tap more into their reserve then they’d like to in a first round series. However, expect Philly to dominate large stretches of play and the Nets struggles in closing games to lead to a decisive series win for the Sixers.
