Brooklyn Nets: Why the Nets can and cannot win the series against the Sixers
Why the Nets can’t win the series.
For this one, it is relatively tough to breakdown. Both of these teams split the season series and the Nets both won and lost at home to the Sixers this season. However, there are so many moving parts to this.
Right now, the Nets are the hotter team. The Sixers had enough breathing room to finish 20 games over .500 and still lose six of their last 10 games. The Nets won three straight to end the year and won six of their last 10. The Nets enter the hotter team, and I’ll get into that more later, but the Sixers might still be better.
The Sixers have a core build much like the Nets, but they got there in totally different ways. The Sixers went with the tank until we drop approach. Through that, the Sixers got players like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
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With Philly’s contention window opening they also went out to get and have had J.J. Redick and earlier this year traded for Tobias Harris.
Also, the Sixers have Jimmy Butler. So between all those players, there is no doubt that the Sixers have more talented players on the surface. Really, the Sixers tasted playoff success last season winning a series before getting bounced.
They went in this offseason and improved more. Unlike the Nets this year, this Sixers team isn’t satisfied to just simply make the playoffs. They are built to make a deep run and contend for the Eastern Conference as early as this year.
The Nets, while a great story, are going up against a team that is way more ahead of them in “the process” and the core of the Nets, Russell, Dinwiddie, LeVert, etc have simply not played in a playoff game, or really many big stage type games for that matter, together. The Sixers have.
Between the Sixers having a home court advantage, which always needs to be noted and them being ahead of the Nets in terms of expectations, the Sixers should be ready to bring it and ready to finally make a run towards the finals. They are three seed in the East and have simply been one of the best teams in the league over a large sample size.
It is a tall order for the little old Nets to just all of a sudden take command of a series like this, especially in the first round where the talent gaps are usually the largest.