Getty Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
Former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons will not be joining his current team, the Brooklyn Nets, as they take on his former team in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. However, according to Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer, his absence from the series could very well work against the Sixers.
“The Nets might be better off without a guy like that…from a pure basketball standpoint,” Sielski said. “Sure, when they began the season, they had Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and Simmons and the hope that those three could carry them on a deep playoff march. But that hope faded fast, and the Nets traded Durant to the Phoenix Suns and Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, and now they have a more balanced approach on offense, especially now that Simmons isn’t in there to gum up the works.”
Sielski asked Sixers head coach Doc Rivers about how Simmons’ absence would impact the series, to which Rivers didn’t mince words.
“I’m not touching that,” Rivers said. “No thank you. I’ll pass. He’s not part of the playoffs, so we shouldn’t talk about him.”
Rivers coached Simmons for one season before the latter made his trade request the following summer in 2021.
James Harden’s Production Called Into Question
Michael Pina of The Ringer previewed every single first-round matchup in the 2023 NBA Playoffs – though two of them have yet to be officially set in stone. When he got to the Sixers’ upcoming series against the Nets, Pina questioned whether James Harden would be ready to go after his enigmatic performance toward the end of the season.
“Harden missed six of Philadelphia’s final 11 games,” Pina said. “In the ones he suited up for, Harden was up and down (by the extremely high standards he’s previously set) while reportedly dealing with a sore Achilles that, per Rivers, is now all better.”
Pina then explained what he believes could happen if Harden plays hurt.
“How healthy is Harden? And if he’s not, are the Sixers in trouble? The Nets have a swarming defense that’s full of long, physical on-ball defenders who will do their damnedest to neutralize a Harden–Joel Embiid pick-and-roll by switching, helping, blitzing, and executing a diverse game plan. Brooklyn also has the personnel to stay in front and bother Harden in isolation. Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson, and Nic Claxton are all more than capable of surviving on an island, especially during minutes when Embiid is on the bench.”
Spencer Dinwiddie Believes Nets Match Up Well With Sixers
On an appearance on FanDuel TV, Spencer Dinwiddie said that he believes that the Nets can beat the Sixers if they slow down Embiid.
“Embiid is the likely MVP, so obviously, we’re going to have to give it everything we got in terms of stopping him,” Dinwiddie told Fanduel TV. “But to be honest, out of the major seeds, we probably match up with them the best if we can limit him and not foul him.”
Dinwiddie also believes there’s one flaw the Sixers have that the Nets can exploit.
“We feel like defensively, there’s ways we can attack them as well. Mikal (Bridges) is playing at a high level. We know they don’t exactly get back in transition. We want to play fast, we’re young. We understand there’s no expectations. We like our chances, to be honest.”