Preview: Philadelphia 76ers @ Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are the Philadelphia 76ers’ ghost of Christmas past
Mar 15, 2016 – Philadelphia 76ers (9-57) @ Brooklyn Nets (18-48), 07:30pm, Barclays Center
The Philadelphia 76ers travel to face the Brooklyn Nets, three nights after their loss to the Detroit Pistons. In that game, Philadelphia started off the game strong with spirited play from the entire team, leading the Pistons at the half by five points. However they could not keep momentum going and ultimately fell when Detroit picked up on both ends of the court, ultimately losing by 14 points.
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This also brings us to a contributing factor to Philly’s demise that night; on a second game on a back-to-back, the Sixers were missing three key members of their team from injury the previous night against, you guessed it, the Brooklyn Nets.
Although Philly did prevail that night, it was a quintessential Pyrrhic victory when seeing Robert Covington leave on a stretcher, hurt from teammate Jerami Grant, who was injured himself, and Richaun Holmes nursing his own leg injury in a separate incident. This is also on top of missing Jahlil Okafor who missed the game entirely to go under surgery, ending his year.
On the other side, the Nets are riding a 4 game losing streak. The team is mired in a lost season (most likely seasons) since they have no change for the playoffs and have traded their draft picks in the coming years. It was always playoffs or bust for them, though their mishandling of their signings and trades essentially ruined their future for the next three years.
This could mean that their new GM Sean Marks has a difficult job for him, but with expectations so low, anything that he does will be signs of improvement for that club. Selling the future for the present is something Sixer fans are familiar to, especially when Billy King is involved (seeing his name still sends shivers down my spine).
What To Watch For
Where does the energy come from?
Our usual spark plug, Nerlens Noel, has been criticized lately for not always giving maximum effort so he will need to bring his best, especially against Brook Lopez. Ish Smith also needs to become less of a playmaker and more of a play finisher, since now he should have more offensive freedom to create.
The bench should also be excited for this game, since they will be getting extended minutes as well. Guys who are normally cemented to the end of the bench, like Sonny Weems and Kendall Marshall should get playing time and can even showcase their talent.
My point is, with so many key contributors missing, even should get hyped to play this game since they will have their best opportunity to do so.
Final Take
It’s always tough for a team to lose multiple starters and have a fighting chance in the NBA. With Jah and RoCo out, and I would assume Jerami would’ve started had he been healthy, the Sixers are relying on Carl Landry (to his credit, has been playing very well) and Elton Brand, both players the Sixers would never had expected to get extended minutes on their team. Luckily for the Sixers the Brooklyn Nets are also cellar dwellers and can give them some trouble.
Prediction – Philly fights hard and comes out with a lead in the half, however in the third the Nets end up creeping back into the game, taking advantage of the Sixers’ short bench. This time Philly finishes out the game strong with a few days extra rest and nets the win (see what I did there??)
Where To Catch The Game
- Watch it! -€“ CSNPhilly is broadcasting the game
- Hear it! -€“ 97.5 has the game on the radio
- Stream it! -€“ NBA League Pass is available for anyone out of market