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Gap between Nets and 76ers becoming glaring in first round series

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Nets
Philadelphia 76ers’ James Harden reacts to a foul call in the first half during Game 2 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets, Monday, April 17, 2023, in Philadelphia.
AP Photo/Derik Hamilton

PHILADELPHIA — What’s becoming clearer in the Nets’ first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers is the gap between the Nets and Sixers. Brooklyn has managed to keep Game 1 and Game 2 competitive, but Philly has shown an ability to adjust and dictate the game when they’ve needed to the most that just hasn’t been seen by the Nets thus far.

On Saturday, Mikal Bridges carried the Nets in the first half and after halftime, the 76ers took him out of their game as they blitzed and doubled up on him. Cam Johnson led the offense in the first 24 minutes of Game 2 and the Nets started to execute their game plan taking a lead into halftime, however, the Sixers adjusted once again and quickly chipped away at the visitors’ lead. 

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That has been the story of the series thus far from the Nets’ standpoint. Brooklyn has done some things well — on Monday their defense was strong holding Joel Embiid to only 20 points and James Hardent to eight points and 3-for-13 from the floor.

Where the Nets struggled was their shooting, finishing the game shooting 37.5% and knocking down just 13 of their 42 attempts from beyond the arc. The game was an improvement from the Game 1 performance, still, it was far from matching the Sixers. 

“At the end of the day, you know, last game where they had 90 more shots in us and today is even,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn sid. “I think that’s progress from our group. We just got to do it for four quarters, we did it for two my man. We’re gonna do it for four. And so that’s a great challenge for this group and they should be extremely excited to go home, hear our crowd and be able to get some games.”

But in order for those games to be more than just two extra dates on the calendar at Barclays Center, the Nets will need to step it up. Even as the Nets limited Embiid’s production and took Harden out of their game, Tyrese Maxey stepped up for the Sixers with a game-high 33 points and was just a beast on the floor. 

When it came to Brooklyn, the Nets didn’t have anyone that really stepped up after Johnson became the main focus of the Philly defense. Bridges scored 12 in the second half, but outside of Bridges and Johnson the rest of the Nets’ combined for 17 points while the Sixers offense began to roll a bit more.

Nets
Brooklyn Nets’ Cameron Johnson, right, shoots the ball over Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey in the first half during Game 2 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs, Monday, April 17, 2023, in Philadelphia.AP Photo/Derik Hamilton

“CJ has the ability to do this performance over and over again,” Vaughn said. “It makes me smile just thinking about what his game is right now and what it’s going to become. Do we need some other people to step up at home? Yes, we do. Anyone you want to sign up, put ’em on a list, I’ll check that thing off. We need everybody to show up and be ready to play.”

When the game tips on Game 3 on Thursday back at Barclays Center the Nets know what they’re in for and just how well the Sixers play. And of course, the weapons that they have aside from Embiid and Harden. 

When asked if there’s a “pick your poison” element when trying to scheme defensively, Johnson agreed to a certain extent. 

“There’s an element of that, but at the same time, that’s not a poison you wanna pick,” Johnson said referring to Maxey’s open looks. “Maxey teeing off open threes from the corner. And so like I said, we’ll go back and look at what we’re doing and adjust. Harden was on the wrong side of that one today: Eight points, and that’s what we wanna do, but in games like this, that 33 from Maxey on efficiency is pretty killer.”

For more Nets coverage, visit amNY.com and our affiliate site at TheBrooklynGame.com

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