The Philadelphia 76ers will continue their growth and development as a team on Sunday when they hit the road again and face the Brooklyn Nets for the first time since the two teams met in the playoffs back in April. While the two teams look a little different, a trip to Brooklyn will rekindle some memories from a brief, yet entertaining, playoff series.
The Nets are still working through their own growth issues as they are working through injuries to superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as well as trying to work their younger guys into things. They lost to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday in Toronto 110-102.
With that said, it’s time for the guideline to this game:
How to watch Sixers vs. Nets
- Date: Sunday, December 15
- Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Injury Report
- Sixers: QUESTIONABLE: Al Horford(left knee soreness)
- Nets: NOT YET SUBMITTED
Storylines
Brown upset with Sixers’ execution
The Sixers may have finished off the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday with a win, but it was not all that pretty. There was some sloppy execution and there were a lot of moments that showed off that there are still some growing pains for his team. Coach Brett Brown was not happy with how the game unfolded despite his team coming out on top on the scoreboard.
“There are some good things that happened in that game and there are some poor things,” said coach Brett Brown. “My mind is completely on ‘What do we have to do to not be in that situation?’ Some of it is you missed some free throws, in fact you missed a lot of free throws, some of it is we had poor fouls, we fouled them too much when it mattered most in the last three minutes.”
Harris building All-Star case
For the Sixers to be successful in the 2019-20 season, they will need Harris to play at a high level after the team gave him a $180 million contract over the summer. So far, he is responding as 19.8 points and 7.0 rebounds and he is shooting 32.5% from deep. Break that down over the last 16 games and he’s averaging 22.1 points and 41.2% from deep. It’s that type of play that is building a legitimate All-Star case for February.
“I’d love to be an All-Star, it’s a goal of mine as a player, I thought last year I was an All-Star at the beginning of the season,” Harris said. “It didn’t happen that way, but I think each and every night, I want to play at my best every single night to help us win games. I know when I’m aggressive and I’m getting things in the flow, I’m a very hard player to guard. I’m on this team to score the basketball and play at that level every single night.”
Prediction: The Sixers do struggle on the road, but they are beginning to find their groove. They are coming off an emotional road win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday and then returned home the very next night and fought off the Pelicans. The Nets are a scrappy team led by Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, and Jarrett Allen, but the Sixers are much more talented and they are finding a groove. Philadelphia should be able to win this one.
Pick: Sixers pull away in the second half
Sixers vs. Nets season series
Game 1 December 15:
Game 2 January 15:
Game 3 January 20:
Game 4 February 20:
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