April 5th 2017
Nets 141 Sixers 118
The Nets, on a mini road trip after two great victories at home over the weekend were in Philadelphia to face the Sixers. The Nets were the only team that did not beat the Philly squad this season, that changed last night.
The Nets offense has been potent and flowing as of late and it showed early.
The Nets started out hot, jumping out to an early 10-point lead. They shot 71% from the field in the first and scored 40-points in the period. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was 3-3 in the first quarter as he was playing in his hometown. The Nets were without Isaiah Whitehead who was nursing a left ankle injury. The Nets were looking for their first 3-game winning streak of the season.
The Nets also signed Archie Goodwin to a multi-year contract today, rewarding the young player for his efforts since joining the team. With 7:01 left in the first half he got a nice dunk in transition to give the Nets a 53-34 lead.
Now let’s discuss their first half, 81-points, 23 assists on 28 field goals and 70% shooting overall. The Bench also had 43-points. Sean Kilpatrick led the bench and the team with 13-points in the first half. Those 81-points tied a Nets franchise record for point in a half.
The Nets went on a quick 7-0 run again in the third to push their lead to 30-points. The Sixers were not defending well as the Nets were able to get pretty much whatever they wanted on the offensive end of the floor. The Sixers still have a depleted roster without Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor.
The Nets had 100-points on the board with five minutes left in the third quarter. It was just a rough night for the home team. They just could not contain the Nets on defense. Brook Lopez sat out most of the third period and the entire fourth, it was just that kind of night. The Nets scored 141-points on a season high 36 assists. Eight players scored in double figures and no one player scored more than 16-points it was a total team effort.
This kind of performance and the team’s performance in the last 3 games begs me to ask the question what if? What if Jeremy Lin was healthy all season? What if the Nets had a healthy roster like this all season? What if the team had played with this much consistency all season? While I don’t have the answers like Sway, I do know that their record would be much better than what it is now. They started the season off well when everyone was healthy and they are also finishing the season well once again because the roster is complete.
Next season looks promising but the Nets have decisions to make in the off-season and they will also be asking questions. Who do they keep and whom do they target in the free agency period this summer?
Thank You for reading.
Sherman Gomez is a staff writer for PureSportsNY
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Photo Credit: Chris Szagola AP/Photo