On Saturday, the Nets and the 76ers will kick off their 2023 NBA Playoff series at 1:00 p.m. In a series in which Philadelphia is heavily favored, the 76ers will look to make quick work of Brooklyn to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Nets have something to prove, going into a small rebuild after trading away their two superstars at the trade deadline.
Here are three predictions for the first round playoff series between the 76ers and the Nets.
Joel Embiid Continues to Average 30-plus
For the second-straight regular season, Joel Embiid averaged north of 30 points and won the scoring title. He was unstoppable this season, averaging 33.1 points on 54.8% shooting from the field, Embiid is going into the playoffs as one of the best scorers in the league.
However, he’s averaged 30 points in a playoff run just once. In 2020, Embiid averaged 30.0 points per game as the 76ers got swept by the Celtics. Last year, he averaged 23.6 points per game in the playoffs after suffering an orbital bone fracture and a concussion in the first round.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stay fully healthy throughout most of his postseason experience. But over a week off and a mostly healthy season should help keep Embiid off the injury report for this playoff run, which would help him truly dominate the playoffs for the first time.
Embiid’s scoring should translate to the playoffs well. He’s physical, can shoot from around the floor and draw contact. Staying healthy is very clearly the key for Embiid to dominate, which in turn leads the 76ers to wins.
Assuming his health, Embiid doesn’t have a very tough matchup against the Nets. Nic Claxton is a good defender at center, but Embiid has proven before that he can succeed against him. Embiid’s scoring has been as good as it’s ever been this year, and that should continue against Brooklyn.
Philadelphia’s Perimeter Defense Slows Down Mikal Bridges
The biggest threat to the 76ers losing games in this series is Mikal Bridges.
The former Phoenix Sun has taken a huge leap offensively since joining Brooklyn at the trade deadline. He averaged 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in his 26 games with the Nets.
Bridges looks like a future All-Star and cornerstone piece for the Nets. But in this series, Philadelphia will be ready for him.
Bridges’ length and shooting touch make him a very good scorer; the problem is, he’s the only Brooklyn player capable of stepping up as a first scoring option in a playoff environment. The 76ers have De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker and Jalen McDaniels to throw at Bridges, who all bring some combination of athleticism, length and grittiness on the defensive end.
Add in the rim protection of Embiid, and Bridges may not find as much success scoring the ball in this series. Philadelphia will almost certainly try to make other Brooklyn players beat them rather than Bridges. Should the Nets win a game or two in this series, though, it will almost certainly be because of him.
The Villanova product was also drafted by the 76ers, but traded on draft night, perhaps adding some fuel to the fire for him. Brooklyn is going to turn to its new star to score a lot in this series. Philadelphia should be ready for it though, and try to limit Bridges’ impact and force other Nets players to shoot.
Strong Rebounding, Shooting From Three Lead to 76ers Sweep
The Brooklyn Nets ranked 29th in the NBA in rebounds per game this season. It’s one of their biggest holes, as Claxton is their only player over 6’10” that will get playoff minutes.
The 76ers actually weren’t much better in rebounds per game, ranking 26th. However, there were many times this season that Embiid looked like he could’ve been crashing the glass more, but chose not to to get positioning on offense.
In the playoffs, that should change. Embiid is capable of averaging more than his 10.2 rebound per game this season when he’s more aggressive. On top of that, Paul Reed getting playoff minutes as the backup center, which he has been over the last few weeks, will help the rebounding problem. Per 40 minutes, he averaged 13.9 rebounds this season. Getting him minutes will help take advantage of a Nets team that rebounds poorly.
The 76ers shooting from deep should also help them take this series. Philadelphia was first in the league in team three-point percentage this year at 38.7%. Brooklyn was in the top ten in opponent three-point percentage as well. In this series, the 76ers should be letting it fly.
Three-point shooting will be key for them not just to score, but also take attention away from Embiid so he can dominate the paint. With strong rebounding and shooting, the 76ers should dominate this series, leading to a sweep. They’ll get some extra rest before Round 2 of the playoffs, where they’ll likely see Boston.
Featured image courtesy of Rich Schultz/Getty Images
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