The Philadelphia 76ers opened up the 2022-23 playoffs with a rousing 121-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Three Sixers scored over 20 points, including Joel Embiid, who led the team with 26 points.
PJ Tucker also proved his worth against Brooklyn. The former champ gobbled up offensive rebounds all night, finishing with seven boards total.
After the game, Nets forward Cam Johnson called out Tucker’s effort, praising the grizzled veteran for his chops on the glass.
“Definitely an area I can be better in for sure,” Johnson said of the Nets’ getting outworked for the offensive rebounds. “P.J. [Tucker] kind of just lingers around in that dunker spot and you’re ready to rotate and next thing you know he’s right upside you. So definitely an area for improvement.”
He also went on to talk up Embiid, who clocked five of his own rebounds.
“Just a different look than Joel,” said Johnson. “He’s sitting, same thing [as Tucker], in the dunker [spot]. Break down the point-of-attack defender, draw the help, and give it to him for dump-offs. But he’s an energy guy, high offensive rebounder. So we just got to be a little more alert for what he does in the game.”
While Embiid finished with a pretty stat line, he didn’t lead the game in scoring. That honor belongs to Mikal Bridges, who finished with 30 points.
Joel Embiid Praises Mikal Bridges After Sixers Beat Nets
Heading into the series, one of the potential weak spots in Philly’s matchup versus Brooklyn appeared to be the Sixers’ guards’ ability to hang with the Nets’ long wings. While the likes of Royce O’Neil were largely contained on Saturday, Bridges found his spots.
After the game, Embiid explained how the Sixers had to adjust to Bridges’ strong play at the half.
“We let him get comfortable,” Embiid told reporters during his postgame press conference on NBA.com on April 15. “Everything he was getting he was getting downhill. He was getting a bunch of pull-up jumpers. It’s not easy being the star, being the main guy. So, once we saw that, we just doubled him, got the ball out of his hands and it worked out pretty well for us.”
It’s tantalizing to imagine Bridges’ fit with this Sixers side. After all, the Villanova product was drafted No. 10 overall in 2018 by Philadelphia before being jettisoned to the Suns for more draft capital.
The long-armed defender has taken a leap since joining Brooklyn in the Nets-Suns Kevin Durant blockbuster. In 26 regular season matches in the Big Apple, Bridges averaged 27.2 points on 47.5% from the field.
Jalen McDaniels Sends Message on Doc Rivers
While the bulk of Philly’s squad is playoff tested, one player made his postseason debut on Saturday: Jalen McDaniels. The wing came over from the Charlotte Hornets at the trade deadline, where he’d spent his entire four-season career to that point.
After the game, McDaniels was honest about the difference between the regular season and playoffs.
“Honestly, the playoffs is way different,” McDaniels told Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “Like everybody says, just like the intensity of the game. Everything, every detail matters. I think I did something like little, and Doc (Rivers) was like, ‘Hey, like that can’t happen,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, you’re right. It can’t’. So it’s locking in. That’s the big thing in the playoffs.”
The Sixers and Nets hit the hardwood for Game Two on Monday night.
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PJ Tucker & Joel Embiid Name-Dropped by Cam Johnson After 76ers Crush Nets