Top Takeaways from Kevin Durant, Nets vs. James Harden, Joel Embiid, 76ers
The Brooklyn Nets, sans Ben Simmons, went into Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night and delivered a 129-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, as well as a message to the entire NBA.
Even without Simmons, the Nets have more than enough firepower to hang with—or sprint past—anyone. Brooklyn made the game a master class in offensive execution, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combining for 47 points on 34 field-goal attempts.
Philly's defense didn't just struggle with Brooklyn's stars, though. Just about anyone who rocked a Nets jersey was getting buckets. Former Sixer Seth Curry looked appropriately right at home and pumped in 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting (4-of-8 from three). James Johnson, Nic Claxton and Patty Mills combined for 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting off the bench.
The Sixers couldn't even get off a counterpunch. MVP candidate Joel Embiid managed 27 points but shot just 5-of-17. James Harden was even worse, going 3-of-17 against his former team. Tyrese Maxey, who had scored 17-plus points in seven consecutive contests, was barely noticeable, finishing with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting.
The Nets Will Be a Playoff Problem
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Unless the Nets can close a five-game gap over the final month, they will open the postseason in the Play-In Tournament. They just might end it at a much later date.
Brooklyn's offense can be overwhelming when Irving and Durant share the court. Both are 50/40/90 club members with lethal, three-level scoring arsenals. Durant is a four-time scoring champion. Irving hasn't averaged fewer than 23 points in six seasons. It's sometimes staggering to see them on the same roster that isn't from the fantasy realm.
Those two are hard enough to handle on their own, but the Nets go red-hot when their supporting cast catches fire, which is why this front office was smart to add supplemental net-shredders. Mills, Curry, Goran Dragic and Cam Thomas can all hit on any given night, as can scoring big LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed Thursday's tilt with a hip injury.
And we haven't even brought up Simmons yet.
Say what you want about the polarizing point guard—Sixers fans said plenty on Thursday night—but he might be the league's most versatile stopper, and he's an impact playmaker. He might have his shortcomings as a shooter and willing scorer, but the Nets shouldn't need offense from him. His defense and length could be immensely valuable, especially with Joe Harris lost for the season to ankle surgery.
Brooklyn's rocky road to this point presents all kinds of obstacles going forward, but the Nets' ceiling arguably stretches as high as any.
Good Test for the Sixers to Respond to Adversity
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Prior to Thursday night, Philadelphia had mostly led a charmed existence since pulling off the blockbuster for The Beard.
The Sixers entered this game 5-1 since Harden's debut and 5-0 with him on the floor. Just one of those victories was decided by fewer than 15 points.
That made it easy to buy Philadelphia's chemistry development as a full-fledged success, but it's easy to feel good during a string of blowout victories. The true test of a team is how it handles—and, ultimately, responds to—adversity, and while one loss in an 82-game season isn't exactly that, this is as close as the new-look Sixers have come to it.
So, what happens next?
Do the Sixers flush Thursday's loss and immediately embark on their next torrid run? Or might this turn into a bigger obstacle for this group to overcome? This roster has never been in this position before, and this was perhaps a reminder that creating chemistry on the fly isn't always easy.
The Sixers are, on balance, still in great shape to make this season special, but the top of the Eastern Conference is so closely bunched that no team in it can afford any type of losing streak. Avoiding one and covering up some mistakes could reveal a lot about this club's nature and perhaps its ability to course-correct come playoff time.
