BROOKLYN NETS

People who have been watching and analyzing the NBA for years will frequently tell you that a playoff series hasn’t really started until a team has won a game on the road.

Well, welcome to the playoffs.

This game took everyone’s expectations and threw them right out the window. Joel Embiid struggled mightily to score, getting the majority of his points on fouls that were quite soft by playoff standards. He wasn’t the only one on the Sixers that had a rough time as starters not named Jimmy Butler shot 3-for-22 from the field in the first half. On the flip side, D’Angelo Russell, who has carried this team on his back for long stretches this season, was neutralized early on, shooting 2-for-11. Despite this, the Nets carried a lead through the opening two quarters.

Not everything was a surprise, though. Brooklyn’s guards did just as well as they were expected to, with Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie both posting huge numbers. Butler carried an offensive load large enough for his whole squad with 36 points on 11-of-22 shooting. In classic third quarter fashion, the Brooklyn lead that was once as large as 16 dwindled down to single digits as the second half got underway.

Even still, the Nets rolled with the punches and never gave up the lead. Every time things would start to go south, somebody would step up and make a crucial stop or hit a difficult shot. In the second half, Russell, much like Stella, finally got his groove back and then it was all over but the window dressing.

The staggered firing squad of Russell, Dinwiddie, and LeVert were lethal and, in this game, the Sixers couldn’t find an answer. Of course, Brooklyn is still only 25 percent of the way towards securing a series win. Philadelphia, however, is at zero percent and that is more than enough for a team that wasn’t even supposed to be here.