Philadelphia 76ers: A peek into the Sixers-Nets matchup

As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare to face off against the Brooklyn Nets, here’s everything you need to know about the two teams history and matchups.

With the NBA regular season officially wrapped up the Philadelphia 76ers are the third seed in the East and are locked in a first-round matchup with the sixth seed Brooklyn Nets.

For the Nets they were just able to lock into the sixth seed with a 42-40 record and a strong three-game win streak to finish the season as well as going 4-6 in the final six games. On the other hand, the Sixers who have had the third seed clinched finished the season with a win but only picking up two victories in their last six.

Let’s focus in on this Sixers vs. Nets first-round clash.

More from Philadelphia 76ers

In all-time history, the 76ers have had the Nets number winning 113 wins out of 196 regular season matchups.

However, in four regular-season games this season the two teams split even with two wins apiece. The first game of the season was a 122-97 home victory for the Nets. While mildly worrisome, it is worth noting is the fact that this was against a 76ers team with Dario Saric, Markelle Fultz, and Robert Covington each recording at least 24 minutes of action.

The Nets, on the other hand, had three players score 20 points in D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and all three are still on the team.

The next game of the series was a very close, a 127-125 away win for the 76ers. This tight margin victory was pushed by a 34 point outing by Jimmy Butler and 32 points from Joel Embiid, fighting off Russell’s 38 points and Spencer Dinwiddie‘s 31 point night. However once again due to the Sixers making a few moves this season, this Tobi and Bobi-less team was not the same one Brooklyn will see in the playoffs.

The third game of the series was also the Nets second and final victory for the season in a very close 127-124 away win. All be it, this was a Sixers team with no Butler, but still, it was a very winnable game for the 76ers. However the Nets had a scoring change of pace, instead of Russell taking the lead, Dinwiddie took charge with 39 points with Allen Crabbe (who’s out for the remainder of the year) following up with 20 points.

The last regular matchup between these two teams was also the first look into what the first round may look like with both sides having their main line up secured. In this final match up the Sixers picked up their series-splitting win at home 123-110. The victory was behind the Sixers big man Embiid who went 3-4 from deep and scored a total of 39 points while no one else on the team broke 20; though J.J. Redick came close with 18.

The regular season is a little confusing to take away from since the Sixers only played the Nets once with a similar team they have now. However, we can take away what anyone can from this season. Russell is someone to watch and highlight; he is fully capable of leading the Nets against top opponents.

Another critical point to remember is that he’s not the only player capable of scoring and doing work on the team. Dinwiddie dropped at least 30 points in two of the four matchups with three players scoring 20 in their first meeting of the year.

Now looking into the season stats of the two teams line ups can help paint the picture for the playoffs. Starting with the Sixers, you have PG Ben Simmons with a stat line of 16.9 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists. At SG you have J.J. Reddick averaging 18.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. Next at SF Jimmy Butler who has 18.2 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, and four assists. Then at PF, there’s Tobias Harris with 18.2 points per game, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. Finishing off the Sixers starting line up is C Joel Embiid who’s leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 27.5 points per game, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.

Now to take a look at the Nets starters. First, there’s PG D’Angelo Russell who’s averaging 21.1 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and seven assists. Next at SG Joe Harris with 13.7 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Then there’s SF DeMarre Carroll with 11.1 points per game, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. At PF rookie Rodions Kurucs who has 8.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. Finally at C Jarret Allen with 10.9 points per game, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.

Just looking and comparing the starting line ups its noticeable that the Sixers have more scoring power all around with everyone except Simmons, with four players averaging at least 18 points per game.

While the Nets do have Russell leading the team with 21.1 points a game, it’s a steep drop off to the next leading scorer (Harris), who averages 13.7. Of course, there’s more to basketball than just points. Looking at some defensive stats like blocks and steals it’s still in the Sixers favor. The 76ers as a team average 7.4 steals and 5.3 blocks a game compared to the Nets 6.6 steals and 4.1 blocks a game.

What has to be looked at now though is the two teams bench which can easily decide how a game plays out. The Nets bench starts off strong with PG Spencer Dinwiddie and SG Caris LeVert scoring 16.8 and 13.7 points per game respectably. Next, you have SF Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who’s averaging 8.9 points per game off the bench. Then there’s PF/C Ed Davis with 5.8 points per game and SG Treveon Graham with 5.3 points per game. Of course, some of these players purposes aren’t to score. Like Davis, who is averaging 8.6 rebounds and Hollis-Jefferson with 5.3 rebounds a game. Levert and Dinwiddie average 3.9 and 4.6 assists a game making them not only scoring options but players to watch for passing the ball and getting other teammates opportunities.

As for the Sixers bench, first, there’s PG T.J. McConnell averaging 6.4 points per game as well as 3.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds. Next is SG Jonathon Simmons who is putting up 5.5 points per game 2.2 assists in only 15 games with Philadelphia. At SF James Ennis III is averaging 5.3 points per game and 3.6 rebounds with only three more games more than Jonathan Simmons. Next up at PF Mike Scott has 7.8 points per game and 3.8 rebounds. Finally at C is Boban Marjanovic who’s averaging 8.2 points per game, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists with the Sixers.

Right off the bat the Nets scoring numbers stand out compared to the Sixers when it comes to the bench. With only Scott and Boban really putting up a fight statistically to the Nets first three scoring options. This could be problematic for the Sixers in the playoffs if the bench can’t keep up and the starters have to do all the work.

Although the only matchup in the regular season that featured a Sixers team with Boban, Butler, and a slew of bench players ended in a 13 point win over the Nets, it’s not safe to say the first round is a shoo-in.

With D’Angelo Russell’s ice-cold veins and new mentality after coming to Brooklyn and solidified players around him, Brett Brown‘s squad will have to bring their all and be on their A game night in and night out.

Next. 3 key questions for 76ers when facing Nets in 2019 NBA playoffs. dark

The Sixers should be able to advance passed the first round but not flawlessly. The Nets were a team that went from fighting for a chance at the eighth seed to securing the sixth, making them a team that can’t be overlooked. Even with a full-out effort from the Sixers the Nets will most likely steal a couple of wins in the series just like the regular season. However the 76ers star power should lift them to something similar to a 4-2 first round series win.