Game 55 : Brooklyn Nets (37-17) @ Philadelphia 76ers (37-17) l Wednesday l 7pm

[Eyeamok]

Ultimate troll move by Nash, and solid game theory to boot: keep the scrubs in, and if you lose, the damage to your team is minimal. But if you win with the scrubs after being up 22 in the 4th, the sixers are devastated.

Better move by Doc: Have your starters struggle to beat the Nets bench players, thus giving the Nets a false sense of confidence.

[thenbaman]

Nets won this one.

DeAndre can’t defend Embiid but he and the Nets are getting used to Embiid. While instead of playing against Harden and Durant, our guys played against Shamet and Jeff Green.

Tobi had a good game. But he was defended by like Joe Harris and Shamet almost the entire game.

We probably should have sat Embiid this game.

I don’t get this reaction. Are we all philosophers or sports fans?
Sixers won by 6 points in a basketball game.

Thank you,I don't get some of these fans.

[Sixerscan]

Nets won this one.

DeAndre can’t defend Embiid but he and the Nets are getting used to Embiid. While instead of playing against Harden and Durant, our guys played against Shamet and Jeff Green.

Tobi had a good game. But he was defended by like Joe Harris and Shamet almost the entire game.

We probably should have sat Embiid this game.

Lol wait what? Jo wasn't getting calls in the first 1st quarter, and then continued to go down low in the 2nd and made things happen. The only reason the Nets got back into it is because Doc went uber bench heavy. Harden and Durant aren't going to stop Jo. Yeah you have to stop them, but it's about the same as stopping one player because there's only one ball. As long as Jo is hot, and Tobi can be productive we have a good chance of beating them. I also don't trust them all to be healthy for each game, or for Kyrie not to pull a Kyrie.

My statement was more on future games. I think we should have not played Jojo this game just as the Nets sat out Harden and KD.

If just for this game, yeah we won this.

And you should know we’ll win it just by seeing who’s available for tonight’s game.

We still dont know how we can stack up against a healthy nets squad. Unlike the Nets.

You’re aware that Jordan has been playing against Embiid in nba games for like 5 years at this point right? Including twice earlier this year. He’s not some sort of unknown entity.

If the Sixers don’t get the benefit of playing against Durant or harden, don’t Durant and harden also not get the benefit of playing against the Sixers? You could just as easily spin this as saying the Sixers are more prepared to go against the Nets because they are more used to Nash’s basic offensive sets and defensive calls his team was making than Durant is not ever actually playing them live. Really it’s all not that helpful either way because of how different the regular season is than the playoffs.

Yes I would say you are overthinking it. You play to win the games, it’s gonna be hard enough to beat these guys without getting cute with psychological battles like this. Getting home court is more important than any of this, and wouldn’t have been a lock at all to beat them with both Embiid and Dwight out.

[Murray_17]

Also, Jordan played yesterday because they don't have any other big body to play now that LMA is out sick and Blake cannot plya back to backs. Claxton is super switchable and their best defender but he is gonna get mad bully by embid because he's super thin right now.

Jordan was out of the rotation before yesterday, i doubt we see him in the playoffs at all.

[the_process]

Nets won this one.

DeAndre can’t defend Embiid but he and the Nets are getting used to Embiid. While instead of playing against Harden and Durant, our guys played against Shamet and Jeff Green.

Tobi had a good game. But he was defended by like Joe Harris and Shamet almost the entire game.

We probably should have sat Embiid this game.

I don’t get this reaction. Are we all philosophers or sports fans?
Sixers won by 6 points in a basketball game.

Thank you,I don't get some of these fans.

The point is there is bigger goal in mind than winning some regular season game. Yes, being the number 1 seed is nice, but it’s not at all necessary. The 73-9 Warriors, who were defending champions and on a mission to prove they weren’t a fluke, lost in the Finals. The Lakers are mailing it in right now, knowing that even from the play in series they can win it all as long as their guys are all healthy. People might be overthinking it, but there definitely has to be a broader focus.

[Sixerscan]

I don’t get this reaction. Are we all philosophers or sports fans?
Sixers won by 6 points in a basketball game.

Thank you,I don't get some of these fans.

The point is there is bigger goal in mind than winning some regular season game. Yes, being the number 1 seed is nice, but it’s not at all necessary. The 73-9 Warriors, who were defending champions and on a mission to prove they weren’t a fluke, lost in the Finals. The Lakers are mailing it in right now, knowing that even from the play in series they can win it all as long as their guys are all healthy. People might be overthinking it, but there definitely has to be a broader focus.

But it doesn’t really make sense in this context. Playing Embiid a normal amount of minutes in a home game that isn’t a back to back isn’t some sort of “win at all costs” move. If the bench could have just held the lead (and maybe it does if the other center on the roster wasn’t sitting out with what is hopefully a precautionary injury) he wouldn’t have even played 30 minutes.

[youngcrev]

I don’t get this reaction. Are we all philosophers or sports fans?
Sixers won by 6 points in a basketball game.

Thank you,I don't get some of these fans.

The point is there is bigger goal in mind than winning some regular season game. Yes, being the number 1 seed is nice, but it’s not at all necessary. The 73-9 Warriors, who were defending champions and on a mission to prove they weren’t a fluke, lost in the Finals. The Lakers are mailing it in right now, knowing that even from the play in series they can win it all as long as their guys are all healthy. People might be overthinking it, but there definitely has to be a broader focus.

Getting the #1 seed guarantees nothing, but it's still huge in terms of making their path easier and improving their odds. Home court advantage and avoiding a Nets/Bucks series until the ECF (and only having to beat one of them) are pretty big factors for a team with a slim margin as it is. The idea that it's less important than the Nets "getting used to playing against Embiid" is pretty ridiculous.

[snoopdogg88]

Using the 73-9 Warriors as an example of seeding and record not mattering is a little disingenuous considering they went to game 7 of the Finals that season and won 3 championships in those 4 seasons.

In the NBA more than any other sport, seeding matters, record matters. Very very rarely does a team win a championship that wasn’t on at least a 56-57 win team.

[Stanford]

Thank you,I don't get some of these fans.

It's pretty simple

There is some amount of information (not none) that we can get from watching certain parts of this game that will inform us about the outcome of a potential playoff series. Those things may be valid or they may be overreactions, but I think it's ridiculous to shame people for thinking about them.

[Murray_17]

Wow, LMA is done with basketball. Poor dude, he gets his best chance at a ring and has to retire....

For us this is kind of a blessing? The Center rotation for the nets is really short now.

[Sixerscan]

Another benefit beyond just home court is this win gives you potential extra wiggle room when it comes to resting guys. Like if they are up one game on the Nets with 3 games to go they can avoid sending Embiid etc. to Miami for the Heat game and then just take care of business in the back to back against the Magic to end the season.

[Skates]

The Nets bench comeback last night is just one of those things that happens a couple times every year. The Sixers bench did it in the game I attended a few weeks ago against Memphis and the coaches on the comeback team rarely put their starters back in because it is the frenetic young energy and fresh legs that catch the other team off guard. In past years we might have list that one, and it was cool to close it out with Tobi sitting (though not cool that he has a sore knee), since that kind of finishing touch has been his specialty all year.

The Claxton/Johnson double team on Embiid is one of those things the team can easily adjust to and take advantage of in a longer series/full game. Sixers also learned a good lesson about taking their foot off the gas too early.

[sixers4real]

Wow, LMA is done with basketball. Poor dude, he gets his best chance at a ring and has to retire....

For us this is kind of a blessing? The Center rotation for the nets is really short now.

Actually, I wanted him to play. Embiid would’ve been dominated him.
Sucks for LMA though, wish him the best

[sixers4real]

I don’t get this reaction. Are we all philosophers or sports fans?
Sixers won by 6 points in a basketball game.

Thank you,I don't get some of these fans.

The point is there is bigger goal in mind than winning some regular season game. Yes, being the number 1 seed is nice, but it’s not at all necessary. The 73-9 Warriors, who were defending champions and on a mission to prove they weren’t a fluke, lost in the Finals. The Lakers are mailing it in right now, knowing that even from the play in series they can win it all as long as their guys are all healthy. People might be overthinking it, but there definitely has to be a broader focus.

With that logic, we can just rest everybody game after game so we can be healthy for playoffs, who cares about seeding.

[DCasey91]

Just realized we traded away Theo Maledon? Really like really, yeah nah 76ers from office is a clown show.

I had him as the best euro pg (better then Hayes by a fair margin).

Jesus Christ almighty, Presti has a good eye for talent

Scouts still haven’t learnt much imo. He was groomed by Tony Parker ffs, and kept hidden away at times. The Euros always said Theo was a far superior player to Hayes. Watch him become an all star pg.

Whelp that another one to add to the list of mistakes

[TTP]

Just realized we traded away Theo Maledon? Really like really, yeah nah 76ers from office is a clown show.

I had him as the best euro pg (better then Hayes by a fair margin).

Jesus Christ almighty, Presti has a good eye for talent

Scouts still haven’t learnt much imo. He was groomed by Tony Parker ffs, and kept hidden away at times. The Euros always said Theo was a far superior player to Hayes. Watch him become an all star pg.

Whelp that another one to add to the list of mistakes

What a weird post.

1) Why is this in the game thread vs the Nets?

2) Maledon has been one of the worst players in the NBA this season by every metric.

I'm not saying he won't ever be good, but just a really weird thing to rage about.

[youngcrev]

Just realized we traded away Theo Maledon? Really like really, yeah nah 76ers from office is a clown show.

I had him as the best euro pg (better then Hayes by a fair margin).

Jesus Christ almighty, Presti has a good eye for talent

Scouts still haven’t learnt much imo. He was groomed by Tony Parker ffs, and kept hidden away at times. The Euros always said Theo was a far superior player to Hayes. Watch him become an all star pg.

Whelp that another one to add to the list of mistakes

You think the Danny Green for Al Horford trade was a mistake...? Asking for a friend

[76thBearCub]

With any luck, the Rockets next 2 decades will mirror the Knicks last 2.

[DCasey91]

Just realized we traded away Theo Maledon? Really like really, yeah nah 76ers from office is a clown show.

I had him as the best euro pg (better then Hayes by a fair margin).

Jesus Christ almighty, Presti has a good eye for talent

Scouts still haven’t learnt much imo. He was groomed by Tony Parker ffs, and kept hidden away at times. The Euros always said Theo was a far superior player to Hayes. Watch him become an all star pg.

Whelp that another one to add to the list of mistakes

You think the Danny Green for Al Horford trade was a mistake...? Asking for a friend

It was a mistake not going through with the idea right/wrong we can’t predict the future
I believe they were going to move on from Embiid and structure it around Ben (the idea has merit when you think about) they just didn’t go through with it in the end. Wasting assets again

It’s like picking up a new car (Bridges) then giving it back then getting the same car but isn’t as good (Thybulle).

When I look through the moves we made in its entirety it’s a ton of doubling down without seeing it through for better or worse. It’s fine to back the wrong horse but don’t let it linger out to pasture and let it’s（perceived value left) go to the wayside so to speak.

[76ciology]

If we face a healthy net squad, we’d put Seth on Joe Harris right?

With the starting unit, Who do you guys think will defend Harden? I think it’s going to be Tobi, with Green on Kyrie and Ben on KD.

I think Tobi can do a good job in a way that we can live with the result of his defense on Harden without needing to throw extra help defense.

I’d also like to see if Tobi can score against Harden at the post or on ISO. I think both guys are around equal in size with 8’7” standing reach