(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
It doesn’t seem like too long ago that the Nets stole Game One from the Sixers. After that, it seemed as though every national media pundit said the Nets could pull of the upset. They said they matched up well with the Sixers and if there was to be an upset in the playoffs it would be that series. It hasn’t quite played out that way. Everything in this series changed in Game Two. Ben Simmons turned it up a notch at the start of game two. Embiid scored the first seven points of what would be a 51 point 3rd quarter for the Sixers. Most importantly, it was what Brett Brown did at halftime that turned things around.
With his team only up one, Brett Brown laid into his players at halftime. The normally calm Brown exploded and gave the Sixers the wakeup call they needed. They have responded tremendously since. I don’t know if it was the media, or if it was Jared Dudley. Whatever it was, it has brought out a different Ben Simmons the last three games. His motor has always been questioned by some, but there’s no doubt he’s showed there’s some fight in him the last three games.
The Sixers return home tomorrow to close out the series in Philadelphia. I fully expect the Sixers to come out and take care of business. The Nets caught the Sixers with their pants down Game One. In the end, the talent will prevail and set up a very interesting series with the Raptors in the 2nd round. I can’t guarantee a win in that series, but the way the Sixers responded after Game One against the Nets has me confident that they’ll be in a seven-game dog fight with the Raptors. They need to close it out tomorrow and get all the rest they can before the series with Toronto begins.
