The Brooklyn Nets finished the year as the sixth seed at 45-37 and held off the Miami Heat (44-38), who were only one game behind them.
However, the Nets were up and down after the trade deadline with a record of 10-12. This is expected after trading away two All-NBA talents in a week and starting from square one with a new team. To be able to hold onto a playoff spot was still impressive and locked in a date with the Philadelphia 76ers in this first-round NBA playoffs preview.
The main storyline of the series is Mikal Bridges going against the team who drafted and traded him to the Phoenix Suns, only fifteen minutes after Bridges was drafted. Nets vs 76ers, here we go.
Game One
Saturday, April 15th, the Nets had a tall task heading into a hostile environment in Philadelphia and being underdogs in this series. It was a back-and-forth affair in the first-half with the Nets hanging around 67-58 with Bridges putting up an efficient 23 points.
Turnovers, hustle points, and three-point shooting proved to be too much to overcome for the Nets to steal home court. The Sixers’ PJ Tucker was on the offensive glass giving second-chance opportunities, ultimately having twenty-nine more shots than the Nets. The Sixers were able to get out and run plus convert on the Nets’ nineteen turnovers. Lastly, the Sixers had a playoff franchise record of twenty-one threes, shooting 49% from downtown.
The offense was not the issue for the Nets, shooting 56% from the field and 45% from three, making 13-29. Their defense was not there with the Sixers having three players with 20+ points, those being Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and James Harden.
The Nets would never lead in the game, while they gave the Sixers some scares with their runs, the Nets were simply unable to contain the three-point line to get over the hump.
Bridges finished the afternoon with 30 points, not getting nearly as many looks as he did in the first half, but as the series goes on, who is going to step up if Bridges is phased out of the game?
Spencer Dinwiddie and Cameron Johnson were two starters that had double digits, Johnson had an efficient 18 points and Dinwiddie had 14 points. Those are two starters to keep an eye on as the series goes on and if they are able to provide backup for Bridges.
What’s Next?
The Nets have another opportunity to right their wrongs in game two on Monday back in Philadelphia. The saying is “a series doesn’t start until a team wins on the road” and one can argue that this game is the deciding factor if it is a competitive series or a sweep.
The Nets are 10-point underdogs on Monday, which goes to show how hard it is going to be to take homecourt away from the Sixers. But, the Nets have to clean up their decision-making and limit the Sixers to one-and-done on the offensive end, if they are going to stand a chance.
Jacque Vaughn can anticipate that the Sixers will not make twenty-one three-pointers in game two, but the way they played Embiid was something that can be continued moving forward.
When Embiid would catch on the post, it would be an immediate double, and the second guy coming for the weak side to double team. If Embiid made a pass out of the double team, it would be a scramble to get back to their rotations. Now, the three-point shooting made this adjustment look bad, but it’ll be interesting to see if the Sixers are able to make enough threes to keep Vaughn honest.
Playoff basketball shows if coaches are able to make the necessary adjustments and Vaughn will have his hands full trying to contain the potential MVP award winner Embiid. It’ll be interesting to see if double-teaming Embiid will be something Vaughn sticks with or throws an assortment of coverages at the big man.
Make Philly Work For It
All in all, the goal for the Nets should be to make the Sixers work for this series win, do not let it be easy for them. The Nets are not expected to win this series, but with a young team on board, this will be key playoff experience going up against one of the teams presumed to make it out of the Eastern Conference.
Running Philly off the three-point line, limiting second-chance opportunities, free throws, and turnovers are the key factors for the Nets if they want to at least make this series beyond four games.
As mentioned, game two is back in Philadelphia on Monday at 7:30 pm EST, and then the series swings to Brooklyn for games three and four.
