The Philadelphia 76ers head to Brooklyn for the final game of the regular season against the Brooklyn Nets looking for their “B Squad” to grab another win before they get ready for the playoffs. Joel Embiid, James Harden, DeAnthony Melton, Pj Tucker, Tobias Harris, and Tyrese Maxey will all be cheering the team on from the bench as they did against the Hawks on Friday evening.
Sixers vs Nets Game info
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (53-28) at Brooklyn Nets (45-36)
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn NY
When: 1:00 EST
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Sixers vs Nets betting info
Spread: Sixers +1.5 (-110) | Nets -1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Sixers +105 | Nets -125
Total: Over/Under 218 (-110)
Eye on the Sixers in Brooklyn
The Sixers are looking to get a little healthier prior to the playoffs and have all of their key players sitting on the bench as they did against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. The “B Squad” of the Sixers came back against the Hawks to get a huge 136-131 win as Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang led the team with 24 points each.
With the third seed in the Eastern Conference assured, the Sixers are resting their starters and on Friday this allowed younger players and reserves to get some extended minutes. The same is going to happen in Brooklyn and the Sixers are hoping for the same results.
Jalen McDaniels was able to show what the Sixers acquired him for in 44 minutes on the floor. McDaniels had 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists which was a huge night for the young player and should give him some confidence going into the playoffs.
Georges Niang had 24 points and Daniel House Jr. put up 22 points of his own. These are all big numbers for reserves that don’t see extended minutes but should help the players, the coach and the team as they can see what each player is capable of in extended minutes.
Guard Shake Milton put up 15 points and a huge 16 assists in the start and even recent G-League Champion Jaden Springer played 34 minutes with 19 points. Springer has shown great growth throughout the G-League season and exploded in the playoffs, leading the Blue Coats to the title.
These players will all get the same minutes tonight against a Nets team that they’ll be facing in the first round of the playoffs.
Eye on the Nets at home
The Nets have secured the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will face off against the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs, albeit with a completely different look than the team they’ll face today.
The Nets, for all the hype that comes with playing in Brooklyn, are a shell of the team that everyone predicted would be at the top of the Eastern Conference at the start of the season. With James Harden traded to the Sixers last year, the Nets were supposed to feature a lineup of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons, combined with players like Joe Harris and Seth Curry to give them a formidable lineup in the East.
Kyrie and Durant are gone, having been traded to Dallas and Phoenix at the deadline. Ben Simmons, sadly, has lost his way in the league and is currently out with a back injury. (insert lack of spine joke here).
In their place may be a better team for the future. The team is 4-1 over their last five games, helping them avoid the play-in tournament and securing the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Mikal Bridges may be the star that Brooklyn wished they had before the deadline. Over his last 10 games, Bridges is averaging 29.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. While his shooting hasn’t been great, he’s leading this Nets team.
Combined with Nic Claxton, Seth Curry, and Cameron Johnson, the Nets have put together a good end to the season. While they’re not expected to contend this season or probably for the next few seasons, the Nets, loaded with draft picks over the next several years, including two first-round picks this season. The future isn’t shining but it’s getting brighter for the team.
What to expect
Anything is possible this afternoon. The final regular season game for both teams will be a fun one to watch. The Nets will want to get a win but keep their players healthy for what’s going to be a rough first round matchup against the Sixers.
The Sixers, having secured their place and resting their starters, will be putting out the same lineup (Georges Niang is questionable) as they did against the Hawks. Players like McDaniels, Springer, Milton, House Jr., and maybe even Mac McClung will see extended minutes. With all of those younger players, you may not expect much from the Sixers but they showed resilience in the Hawks game with timely shots and defense at the end to steal a win from a Hawks team that looked a lot like the one that ousted the Sixers from the playoffs two seasons ago.
This one should be fun to watch and although the Sixers aren’t favored with the amount of players missing the game, the younger players are eager and hungry to prove that they deserve minutes and can be counted on when needed in the playoffs.
Sixers vs Nets betting offers
Prediction: Sixers 111 – Nets 104
