The Sixers and Nets are tied at 1-1 with the series shifting to the Barclay Center in New York. The 1st two games of this playoff shows that guards that score off the dribble give the Sixers problems. The Nets have 3 players that do this consistently. Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert and D’Angelo Russell have presented match up problems for Philly. I expect this to continue tonight.
The Sixers did do an excellent job of changing their game plan in game two. Game one Philly missed 22 of 25 three pointers. They improved in game two and made 39% of the 23 taken. The biggest take away from this stat is Joel Embiid did not attempt one. He did most of his scoring inside and used pump fakes when he was on the perimeter. He can dominate Jarrett Allen and get him in foul trouble. This weakens the interior defense of the Nets. This trend will remain for the duration of the series.
D’Angelo Russell has taken more shots than anyone one his team so far. If the Nets make any adjustments for game three, they should reduce his shots and by let other players have opportunities to create. Russell has shown a tendency to dribble deep into the shot clock.
Ben Simmons should be in attack mode from the opening tip. He can set the tone for himself and the rest of the team by speeding the game up and is a matchup nightmare for the Nets. Tobias Harris took 7 shots in game one. He took 12 in game two. Harris also went 7 for 7 from the foul line. He will remain aggressive this evening.
Coach Brown did an excellent job adjusting for game two. Coach Atkinson must show if he can counter tonight. I expect another high scoring game. The over/under total is currently set at 227. For my game selection you can follow me on Twitter. I will participate in a live chat that will start at 7:30 pm.