Philadelphia 76ers: Playoffs is building strong chemistry

For the Philadelphia 76ers, the playoffs have appeared to be the catalyst needed for the team to build some much needed chemistry.

This first round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets is exactly what the Philadelphia 76ers needed. The game one loss and the tension that has built between the two teams has accomplished what needed to happen since the trade deadline. It’s building strong bonds and chemistry on this roster.

The game one loss was apparently a wake up call for this club. It probably showed them that pure talent won’t always win out. While the Sixers are clearly the more talented team, the young scrappy Nets with a trio of young guards in D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert has proven to be a formidable challenge. It forced this team to become more connected.

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It showed with a game two blowout victory with a 51 point third quarter and a franchise high in total points in a single game. That blowout was fueled by a firery half-time speech from head coach Brett Brown that caught the attention of the club. It pushed the Sixers to be their very best, which has shown to be impressive.

Even without Joel Embiid in game three, the Sixers got the best performance of the postseason from Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons and J.J. Redick. With Embiid out, it allowed Harris and Simmons to really hit their stride, which was important for game four.

Game four was full of drama and there was plenty of backstory with it. Embiid had a flagrant foul on opposing center Jarret Allen in game two and laughed with Simmons during the press conference after the contest. Which obviously frustrated the Nets.

Then before game three, there was back and forth between Simmons and Nets veteran Jared Dudley. Both of those situations came to a head in game four. The video below will illustrate the frustrations of both teams coming to a head.

Both Dudley and Jimmy Butler were ejected from the game and Embiid also received a flagrant foul on the play before the ensuing tuffle as well. This showed that Butler is very committed to his teammate and in the postgame interview, Butler indicated that he would be willing to protect Embiid in another similar situation.

Besides this showing those two being close, it gives a positive indication about Butler’s long term future with the franchise. Butler is set to be a free agent this summer and the fact that he is willing to get into a pushing match to protect a teammate shows he, at bare minimum, cares for Embiid. This could go a long way this summer retaining him during free agency.

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Hopefully the Philadelphia 76ers close out this series with a game five win. If they do, it will surely continue to build chemistry and momentum when they enter the second round.