Sixers: The unanswerable Bucks vs. Nets question

By Christopher Kline | Jun 14, 2021

Ben Simmons, Sixers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

The Philadelphia 76ers are currently occupied with the Atlanta Hawks — a fervent and capable second-round opponent who already stole Game 1 in the Wells Fargo Center. While the Hawks can still make noise, the Sixers are on a path to victory. If the Sixers do indeed advance, one of two teams — the Brooklyn Nets or the Milwaukee Bucks — awaits them.

We have contended with this question practically all season: who would the Sixers want to play in a hypothetical Eastern Conference Finals. The Bucks have added Jrue Holiday, P.J. Tucker, and a healthy dose of experimentalism to the mix this season. The Nets have, some would argue, the greatest offensive trio we’ve ever seen.

The Nets and Bucks are two formidable opponents. Naturally, health will determine which the Sixers prefer to face.

The Nets and Bucks are currently locked up at 2-2 in the conference semis. While that score is misleading as to who the better team is — Brooklyn when healthy — it is the reality. The Nets are down James Harden, and now Kyrie Irving. If neither guard can return this series, and soon, then Milwaukee has a winnable path to the conference finals.

No one who watched games one and two of that series would argue Milwaukee is the better team. Even without Harden, the duo of Irving and Kevin Durant was more than enough to send Milwaukee into a downward spiral, leaning on old habits and forgetting the offensive principles Mike Budenholzer set in place.

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Now that injuries have become more pervasive in the series, however, the Bucks have momentum and a window. If the Sixers do face Milwaukee, hypothetically at near full strength (both teams are missing a starter), it would make for compelling basketball. Before the postseason, I said Bucks in 7. Since then, Milwaukee has planted the seeds of doubt. I would expect nothing if not a long, competitive series, but color me skeptical of the Bucks.

As for Brooklyn, the Nets pose the most obvious threat if Durant, Harden, and Irving are all on the floor. Even without a true center in the rotation, and very little in the way of 40+ Joel Embiid points every night, the Brooklyn offense is too powerful to overlook. Even the Sixers’ defense — which is better equipped to handle different play styles than any defense in basketball — would be hard-pressed to keep the Nets quiet.

If the Nets are missing James Harden, then it’s at least a conversation. The Nets probably still enter the series as favorites. Many would argue the Bucks are the second-best team in the East. But, it is at least a conversation. Philadelphia won’t fold inward like the Bucks in games one and two, mostly because Embiid is a man possessed.

If the Nets get Harden back, but are missing Irving, then it’s a less interesting conversation. There’s a non-ridiculous argument that Harden and Durant are the two best players in basketball right now. Many would at least consider them top-five. Embiid can only do so much.

Where the series skews heavily toward Philadelphia is if both Harden and Irving are forced to miss time. The Nets have an assortment of great role players who fit seamlessly next to the core trio. If it becomes a core single, however, I’m not sure the Nets have enough juice to outperform a (nearly) fully healthy Sixers team.

So, in short, the answer to the ultimate question — Nets or Bucks — is a frank, who knows? We need to see how the rest of the Brooklyn-Milwaukee series transpires, then we need to see Philadelphia officially top Atlanta without further distress in the injury department. Then, and only then, will we have a clear picture of who the preferable opponent is. And, by then, we’ll know who it is, regardless of preference.

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