The Brooklyn Nets handily upset the 76ers in Game 1 to gain a home-court advantage, with many different players stepping up.
The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round, 111-102. Although Philadelphia unarguably has the better starting five, the Nets exposed the No. 3 seeded 76ers weaknesses and their depth was key on the way to victory.
Just last year, the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans swept the No. 3 seed Portland Trail Blazers. Although only one game separated the Pelicans and Trail Blazers in the regular season standings, the sweep still came as a shock considering Portland’s star backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
The Nets-76ers series may not be close in terms of player talent on the court, but recent trends show they’re closer on paper. Both Brooklyn and Philadelphia have gone 34-22 in their last 56 regular season games, with the difference in overall record attributed to the Nets very slow start to the season.
What made the win even more surprising was experience, as the 76ers finished as the third seed last season, even advancing to the conference semifinals. Philadelphia then traded for All-Star caliber players Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris to pair alongside franchise players Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. They also acquired Mike Scott, Jonathan Simmons, and Boban Marjanovic to add to the team’s bench.
Despite starting the season 8-18, the Nets had many talented prospects like Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Caris Levert, and most notably, D’Angelo Russell. Once those players started to gel and became comfortable in head coach Kenny Atkinson’s schemes, Brooklyn took off.
With Russell set to become a restricted free agent, the latest win against Philly is even more evidence that Brooklyn’s young core is worth keeping intact. It also solidifies Brooklyn as a premier free agent destination for upcoming free agents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. With all that being said, here are 3 takeaways from Game 1 for the Brooklyn Nets.