Although the Nets were run out of the gym in game 2 last night, they accomplished their goal in Philadelphia. All they had to do was steal 1 game in Philly, and they did just that. The Nets now have home court advantage, as they have more home games than away games left. The Nets can close out the series in game 6 in Brooklyn, or they can close it out in Philly in game 5 or game 7. Of course there is still a chance that the Nets lose the series, but they have the key aspect of a home court advantage. The Barclays Center crowd will be very energetic in games 3-4, as they have not seen playoff basketball in 4 years. The Barclays Center sold out the Nets last 4 home games, and there will not be an empty seat in Brooklyn for games 3-4. That will play a huge factor for the Nets because they feed off of the crowd’s energy. Hopefully there will be another “blackout in Brooklyn” as there was during the first years of the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets showed that they are a team to be feared in Philadelphia. They utterly embarrassed the Sixers in game 1, and they scared them again last night in the first half. Brooklyn was only down 1 going into halftime, but they came out flat in the second half and allowed the Sixers to score 51 points in the 3rd quarter. However, that third quarter was a fluke and the Nets will not allow that to happen again. The Sixers will not score 50+ points in another quarter this series. The Nets also showed their grit in the first 2 games. When Jarrett Allen viciously caught a Joel Embiid elbow to the face he didn’t complain. Allen got up like a man, and was happy that he created a turnover for his team. Then Rodions Kurucs got his revenge on Ben Simmons (who referred to him as “that kid” after game 1) by elbowing him in the face. The Brooklyn Grit is real, and they will always play hard. The Nets showed that they can beat the Sixers, and they should be able to with a few adjustments. It’s time to take control of this series in Brooklyn.

#WeGoHard