The 76ers pulled off one of the gutsiest wins of the Brett Brown era, as the head coach's future is constantly a topic of debate, beating the Nets 131-115 in Game 3 of their first round playoff series, taking a 2-1 lead.
Franchise "crown jewel" Joel Embiid was ruled out at approximately 7:47pm for this 8pm game due to left knee soreness, which was a sudden turn of events for all of us who are very used to Embiid's game-time decisions turning into "good to go's" for the center, which was the case for the first two games of this series. The major red flag this time around was reporters tweeted about an hour before the game that Embiid was walking around in street clothes, which isn't how things usually are. To give context, Embiid is typically on the court going through some sort of warmup about a couple hours before tip.
Adding more craziness to this sudden development was Greg Monroe was starting in Embiid's place. Monroe was signed by the 76ers in early April. Think about that for a second—one of Brown's starters in a playoff game was somebody who has been with the team less than a month. I caught a lot of backlash for writing that Brown deserves to coach this team in 2019-20. But honestly, how can you possibly evaluate Brown fairly when he's starting Monroe in a critical playoff game.
That being said, it didn't prove to be a problem for the Sixers, who lead the series 2-1, getting home court advantage back without the services of Embiid.
Simmons aggressively feeding off of boos
Ben Simmons wasn't phased by the Brooklyn boos, or Jared Dudley's comments. In fact, he likely fed off being the villain. It appears more and more that he used Game 1's criticism to his benefit, continuing to be aggressive and assertive with the basketball.
Simmons scored a game high and playoff career high 31 points, on a very efficient 11-for-13, to go along with nine assists.
If the Nets fans believe they're going to rattle Simmons with their heckling, they should think twice. In actuality, they're hurting the team they're rooting for in the Nets.
Tobias Is Back
This was a homecoming of sorts for Long Island native Tobias Harris, who ended his lengthy slump with a strong second half in Game 2, and carried that over to Game 3. While most of the Sixers couldn't hit a bucket from behind the arc, Harris gave the team the long range threat they so desperately needed.
He pulled off playoff career highs 29 points and 16 rebounds, going six-for-six from the three-point line. These are the type of performances that will earn Harris a max contract this off-season, and likely with the 76ers.
Redick Taking Advantage of Home Cooking As Well
JJ Redick resides in Brooklyn, and like Harris, was feeling good from distance.
Redick went five-for-nine from three-point range, scoring 26 points. A lot of Redick's clutch shots from deep came in the second half.
Butler Being Backup Point Guard Is Key
Nothing against T.J. McConnell, who has developed into a more than serviceable NBA player, but his limitations have been exposed at times this season.
While it's easy to root for McConnell and you don't want to see him be relegated to the bench, he probably wouldn't serve the Sixers well on the floor in this series.
Jimmy Butler's ability to run the point has proven to be a huge asset to the Sixers when Simmons needs a break. Butler doesn't always have to put up a crazy amount of points to be effective. If he's getting his teammates involved, that's a plus for the Sixers.
Meantime, he finished with a very quiet, but effective 16 points and seven assists.
Boban remains solid on both ends of the floor
Prior to this series it seemed like the Nets would be a bad matchup for Boban Marjanovic because of their athleticism.
On the contrary.
Marjanovic continues to be a problem for Brooklyn, and it's because they lack depth and extensive skill in the front court. For as talented as they are in the back court, it's the exact opposite for their bigs. Marjanovic keeps providing stellar rebounding and timely offense off the bench for Philadelphia. He scored 14 points in 18 minutes, along with grabbing eight rebounds.
His only negative was getting into foul trouble, picking up his fifth foul in the third quarter and fouling out with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter.
Monroe OK—Not Terrible, But Not Great
Monroe wasn't as bad for the Sixers as it appeared he would be in the opening two minutes, when he allowed three Brooklyn offensive rebounds.
The veteran center settled down and provided great hustle, as well as decent rebounding.
However, everything else was pretty ineffective—a lack of offense and poor defensive help.
Sixers Still Unable To Stick Brooklyn's Guards
The Nets triple threat of guards—D'Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert—were once again a handful to guard, but that was expected. As mentioned in previous posts, they're not going to be able to stop the trio. It's just a matter of outscoring them.
Brooklyn Struggling from 3 point Line
The Nets went eight-for-39 from three-land. If that poor shooting continues, this series won't be going on much longer, and the Sixers will have a chance to rest a bit before the second round.
Nets careless with the ball
One of the narratives for the Sixers all season was their issue with turnovers, but that's been major problem for the Nets in this series. The Sixers scored 21 points off 16 Brooklyn turnovers.
