Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets: Domination at its Finest
By John Adair
After being eliminated from playoff contention Saturday night in South Beach, the Sixers looked like the team that lost 12-of-13 games earlier in the season. From the very beginning, it was clear who the better team was.
Brooklyn took control from the opening tip and never looked back. With a 31-18 lead after the first quarter, the Nets turned to their bench. After the bench struggled for a little stretch in the second, the starters returned and put all hopes of a Sixers’ comeback out of reach. After the Nets got out to a 18 point lead at halftime, they cruised to a 104-83 victory on their home floor.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 13-of-22 shooting from the field. Lopez’s front court mate, Reggie Evans, scored 17 points of his own while grabbing 24 rebounds. Evans had more rebounds than the entire Sixers’ team through three quarters. Luckily for the Sixers, the Nets’ starters did not play a single minute in the final quarter.
Apr. 9, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets power forward Reggie Evans (30) dribbles the ball around Philadelphia 76ers small forward Evan Turner (12) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
The most significant number in this blow out loss is the rebounding differential. As a team, the Sixers were out-rebounded 67 to 34, almost getting their total doubled. Brooklyn also grabbed 24 offensive rebounds alone, while the Sixers had just 8. Reggie Evans also had 9 offensive boards by himself.
Here are the player grades and notes:
Evan Turner – 28 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists – D
Turner was back to doing what he does best, settling for contested mid-range jumpers. He shot 3-10 from the field and grabbed just 3 rebounds. Evan didn’t do a bad job creating for others, but in a game where everyone else was struggling, you would expect him to be a little more aggressive.
Thad Young – 24 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists – F
Thad has been one of the most consistent players for the Sixers this season. Tonight was an exception. He was absolutely tough to watch. If his 1-of-9 shooting wasn’t enough, he grabbed only 3 rebounds. Reggie Evans dominated this match-up from the very start.
Spencer Hawes – 22 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 turnovers – F
Spencer Hawes has played well the last few weeks, but it was a totally different story in Brooklyn. Hawes couldn’t stop Brook Lopez at the defensive end and couldn’t get anything going offensively for himself or others. He had 3 turnovers, which is three more than his assist total.
Damien Wilkins – 22 minutes, 5 points, 1 assist, (-22) – F
Wilkins has had a nice run since entering the starting line-up in Doug Collins’ rotation, but he shot just 1-of-5 against the Nets and failed to grab a single rebound.
Jrue Holiday – 28 minutes, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist – D
Jrue has been unquestionably the Sixers’ best player and play-maker this season. While the point guard did shoot 5-of-10 from the field against a solid Brooklyn team, he totaled only one assist, seven under his average. The younger Holiday brother also had a minus (-) 31 rating for the game, the worst of all Sixers.
Nick Young – 21 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist – B
Even if most of his points came in meaningless minutes, Nick Young provided the single bright spot in the Sixers’ performance. He added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench. On a night offense was hard to come by, Young had no problem getting his own.
Dorell Wright – 18 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – D
Wright shot just 3-of-10 off the bench. The streaky shooter has been the offensive presence of the second unit for the Sixers as of late, but not tonight. While nine points is not all that bad, nine points on ten shots if awfully inefficient.
Justin Holiday – 16 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – C-
The older Holiday brother shot just 2-of-5 from the field and missed his only three-point attempt, but he played hard for his 16 minutes. Hitting the boards, playing tough defense, hustling for every second he saw the floor can only help him in terms of minutes for the rest of the season.
Lavoy Allen, Arnett Moultrie, Charles Jenkins – F
All three guys saw more minutes than usual in mop-up duty and did nothing to impress. None of them were aggressive at the offensive end when they needed to be and most notably, Moultrie had more personal fouls (5) than rebounds (4).
Royal Ivey – Did Not Play (Coach’s Decision)
Kwame Brown – Did Not Play (Coach’s Decision)