The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers are set to meet for the first time this season. Catch the live broadcast on Friday at 7:30 AM on League Pass and 9:00 AM (delayed telecast) on TV5.
Both teams remain playoff contenders in the stacked Eastern Conference even without top players Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons.
The Nets are looking to bounce back after an opening night loss against the reigning champions, Milwaukee Bucks. As expected, Kevin Durant and James Harden dominated on offense, combining for 52 points in the 127-104 defeat. However, an unexpected x-factor brought some firepower off Brooklyn’s bench.
Patty Mills, who joined the Nets in the offseason, scored 21 points by shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from beyond the arc. While his breakout performance wasn’t enough for Brooklyn to take the win, it was enough to give them a spark of hope for this season.
Without Irving on the floor, Mills’ offense will help the Nets throughout the season, giving head coach Steve Nash an additional option on offense in the backcourt. If Mills can sustain his debut performance all season long, then the absence of Irving won’t be as devastating as everyone initially thought.
Meanwhile, the 76ers shocked their fans by starting the season on a strong note. Even with Ben Simmons halfway out of Philadelphia, the team was able to get a huge win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
Four players scored at least 20 points. Tobias Harris and Andre Drummond had the rebounds under control and Tyrese Maxey and Furkan Korkmaz facilitated the offense.
This is excellent news for Joel Embiid, who still ended up with a decent 22-6-5 line. His team is making a collective effort to fill in the void Simmons left. Not only is the team doing everything they can to win games, but they’re also putting off pressure on Embiid who has suffered injuries in the past.
If Philadelphia can keep up this type of effort every night, then they may be better than everyone thought. The Sixers can only get better as time goes on, especially when they find the right trade for Simmons.
And if you’re looking for one more game to catch, the Phoenix Suns face the LA Lakers at 10:00 AM on NBA TV Philippines via Smart’s GigaPlay App and Cignal TV. That should be an interesting game considering these two teams faced off in the first round of the playoffs last season. Both teams also dropped their season-openers and are looking to bounce back with a win.
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