It’s Brooklyn.
It took until the final night of the NBA season, but the #3 seeded Sixers finally have their opponent for round one of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. With their win over the Miami Heat in Dwayne Wade’s curtain call, the Brooklyn Nets cemented their position as the #6 seed, and will travel down to Philadelphia on Saturday for Game 1.
It's time to stand together. All of us.
It's time to lay it all out on the table.#PhilaUnite | #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/5fFNmNg7hR— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 11, 2019
It’s been a long road back to the playoffs for Brooklyn, a team that went just 20-62 two years ago. They’ve managed to overcome the missteps by general management in their ill-advised trade with Boston, and have maneuvered smartly while developing some homegrown talent. The teams have split the four games they’ve played during the regular During those regular season matchups, Brooklyn’s big men Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis had some trouble containing Embiid down low, whereas the smaller Rondae Hollis-Jefferson actually found more success. We’ll see what third head coach Kenny Atkinson’s plan of attack is to try and slow down the big fella.
One thing fans can expect to see in the Nets efforts to stifle the Sixers star-powered offense is a lot of zone defense. Brooklyn played the second most zone in all of the NBA in 2018-2019, and had measurable success using it against Philadelphia. Look for them to keep mixing up defensive schemes, and switching between man and zone to try and cause problems for the Sixers. Brett Brown certainly isn’t taking the first round match-up lightly, and acknowledged how the Nets could be a dark horse in these playoffs.
Brett Brown on Nets
“We don’t match up well. Dangerous. Completely dangerous. Where do I assess where we’re weak? Where do I need the most help? It’s pick-and-roll defense. The matchup scares you”#Sixers 🏀 pic.twitter.com/q2DEDGuvRg
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 11, 2019
The Sixers struggles against high scoring guards has been well documented all year long, and they’ll face a real test in containing D’Angelo Russell, who is enjoying his best year as a pro. In 81 games this year, Russell is averaging just over 21 points per game, to go along with 7 assists, and is shooting 43% from the field, all of which are career highs. In four games against the Sixers this season, he’s averaged 27.3 points, including a 38 point performance in their November 25 match-up where Jimmy Butler hit his second buzzer beating winner as a 76er. It will be interesting to see who Brett Brown tasks with slowing him down. Most likely he’ll be checked by a combination of Simmons, Butler, and TJ McConnell when he’s on the floor. The Sixers will also have to account for three point specialist Joe Harris, who led the NBA in three-point percentage, and won the three-point contest back in Charlotte during All-Star Weekend.
This team has come a long way since their blowout in Boston on opening night of the season. GM Elton Brand certainly did his part in bolstering the talent of the starting lineup, and anything less than an Eastern Conference finals appearance will likely be seen as a failure by the fan-base. The Brooklyn Nets are a tough test, one that poses some match-up problems offensively for the Sixers. However at the end of the day, this is series they should be able to take care of business in no more than five or six games. The stage is set for a deep playoff. And it all starts on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo.
