Nets-Sixers Playoff Matchup: Why Joel Embiid and 76ers will coast into Round 2
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia 76ers' Round 1 playoff matchup is all set.
The Sixers will take on the Brooklyn Nets, beginning with a Saturday tilt at the Wells Fargo Arena.
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Joel Embiid and James Harden against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving; Ben Simmons against his former team and ... Oh, wait.
That would've been the matchup a few months ago -- and that would've been must-see TV.
Instead?
KD and Kyrie have moved on to new teams and Simmons is done for the season, again.
So what will this matchup look like?
The new-look Nets are without a flashy big name, but you can bet Mikael Bridges will be out to prove to his hometown Sixers just how silly they were for selecting him and then trading him.
So we are left with a matchup that heavily favors the Sixers. After all there's nobody to match up against Embiid.
Nets center Nick Claxton isn't gonna have much of a shot.
Plus, Embiid has been simply dominant the past few months. He's won Eastern Conference Player of the Month three of the past four months.
Now you never expect a team to be looking ahead, but we all know that the East is a Beast and Brooklyn isn't part of that monster.
Standing in front of the Sixers will be the Celtics and the Bucks.
True challenges.
Ones they might not be able to topple even with Embiid playing like an MVP.
This series shouldn't even be close.
The only advantage Brooklyn might exploit is the Sixers' shoddy transition defense.
But it seems silly to even be breaking that down.
The Sixers should roll over the Nets and into their first true test.
My pick: Sixers in a sweep and onto Round 2.
