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Philadelphia 76ers: 5 keys to series vs. Nets

By Derek Hryn

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Spencer Dinwiddie #8 of the Brooklyn Nets in action during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 25, 2018 at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Philadelphia won 127-125. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty License agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Spencer Dinwiddie #8 of the Brooklyn Nets in action during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 25, 2018 at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Philadelphia won 127-125. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty License agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The 2019 NBA Playoffs are set, and the Philadelphia 76ers drew the Brooklyn Nets in Round 1. Here are the 5 keys to advancing.

Saturday marks a pretty special day for the Philadelphia 76ers franchise.

Need we say more?

Absolutely.

For the second straight year, playoff basketball exists in South Philly; Appreciate it. Enjoy it. Love it.

It’s been a long time coming, but this team can yet again bask in the luxury of possessing homecourt advantage against a No. 6 seed that ordinarily tries to hold its own in one of the most dogged postseasons known in all of sports.

But the Brooklyn Nets are not a feeble opponent, especially in that sense … so let’s put a damper on the basking for a moment.

At first glance, the Sixers are favored to win this series handily. They finished the regular season 51-31 — just a hair different from last year’s emphatic conclusion — and did so with an astounding 26 players seeing floor time in their uniform since the first game on Oct. 16.

If there’s one thing we gathered this year, it’s this: Elton Brand isn’t playing around. And there is no rhyme or reason to do so.

The Sixers have wittingly become a win-now roster, to go along with a starting lineup we have seldom seen. A group, mind you, that has won eight of its 10 games played – and one we could see again for Game 1 this weekend.

Head coach Brett Brown, who’s handled adversity soundly since his arrival in 2013, claims he’s ready for whatever’s thrown at him.

"“What I’ve tried to do is sort of get out in front of stuff and anticipate this period of time coming up,” Brown said, per Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. “And how you roll out your guys, ready to throw punches as healthy as we can be. So you ask the question, ‘Will everybody be healthy to start the playoffs?’ It is my belief that they will be.”"

When Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and J.J. Redick share the court as one, you have likely the scariest team in the Eastern Conference. Without it however, you have a, uh, problem this time of year.

That aside, here the five keys to winning the series.