76ers vs. Nets: Harden, Embiid Explain Battling Nets' Physicality

The Brooklyn Nets approached desperation in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs heading into their Thursday night battle against the Philadelphia 76ers. One win would’ve placed the Nets in a position to force a Game 5, at the least.

Another loss puts Brooklyn on the path to getting swept, as they would go down 0-3. The Nets were fortunate to be back home where the crowd would be on their side for their 2023 playoff series debut after coming up short against the Sixers in South Philly for the first two games.

There was a lot of pride involved in Thursday night’s game, which is something the Sixers understood. In the days leading up to the Game 3 battle, Doc Rivers and his team anticipated Brooklyn’s best effort, as 0-3 tends to be an elimination sentence in the NBA.

Prior to tip-off on Thursday night, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn confirmed what the Sixers already thought; Game 3 would be a physical test for both sides, ignited by the squad that’s fighting for their first win in the postseason this year.

“I told the guys that what I can’t control is Seth Curry, the size you are,” Vaughn explained before Thursday’s game. “You’re not about to grow in the third game. I can’t control that, Nic (Claxton), you’re not about to put on 20 pounds overnight either. But what we can control is the fight. The fight and hitting somebody and enjoy doing it.”

The Nets have sparked a physical series in the first two games, throwing aggressive defensive looks at Sixers center Joel Embiid and attempting to get the Sixers out of their ways with scrappiness. However, it didn’t help Brooklyn win in Games 1 and 2.

Therefore, they had to take it up another notch in Game 3.

“If there's one possession where you don't have a hand or a hip or something on somebody, you're doing your teammates a disservice,” Vaughn continued. “That's what it’s going to take. That mentality and that mind shift. That shift of thinking for this entire group. We’re getting out-rebounded. We showed it to them. It’s been a strategy of Philadelphia. 39-3 in second-chance points. You got to hit somebody. If you want to win, you’ll hit somebody tonight.”

Answering the Call

The Nets heard Vaughn’s pregame message and attempted to deliver it. Brooklyn got off to a quick start and certainly didn’t lack energy and physicality.

Just a few minutes into the first quarter, the Nets nearly accomplished their goal of totally slowing Joel Embiid down as the big man faced a potential flagrant two foul call after having a negative reaction to Claxton stepping over him.

Embiid claimed he didn’t remember the play after the game, but it was apparent the big man regretted the reaction as he understands he’s too valuable to his team.

“I told our guys you can see it early on, it was a lot of extracurricular activity going on our way,” Doc Rivers said after the game. “You’re up 2-0. What do you expect? We got to play through it. We got to knock out the distractions.”

“The whole game, you could see what they were doing,” Embiid explained. “They were just trying to get a rise out of me. I’m too valuable, especially after the first one I just understood that I’m too valuable to get into this type of stuff. That was the second time, you know, hitting me in the back and that’s not reviewed. My back, my knee, hitting me every single time, which is fine. It’s working for them. I just got to keep going. You could see what the gameplan was. To make me frustrated so I can get ejected. I’m too mature to put myself in a position where I’m going to get ejected. I just went about my business, and we got the win.”

Checking Off Boxes

The Nets couldn’t get Embiid out after the big man’s flagrant foul on Claxton, but they were fortunate that James Harden picked up a flagrant two foul call late in the third quarter. As Harden picked up an offensive foul while driving on Royce O’Neal, it seemed Harden hit O’Neal in the groin area, causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

After the play was reviewed, Harden was tossed from the matchup after checking in for a little under 30 minutes. Harden disagreed with the call, and sounded off on the decision after the matchup, describing the call as “unacceptable", especially in a playoff game.

“I don’t think it was deserved but they made a decision,” said Embiid, regarding Harden’s ejection. “We just focus on the win. We got the win and now we move on.”

“Obviously, we knew that they were at home for Game 3 and they were going to come out with intensity, make shots,” Harden added. “We got to keep our composure for four quarters. Even without me being out there, our team did a really good job of winning the game. That’s all that matters in the playoffs. Just winning the game. Tonight was a great example of that.”

The Message From Doc

Doc Rivers did all he could to convince the Sixers to stay out of their own way. While losing Harden was a significant step back in that strategy, he thought the entire team did a much better job adjusting to their response against a scrappy Brooklyn team

“It's a good lesson for us because there were so many guys struggling, getting inside themselves,” Rivers said. “Instead, just grind. Just hang around. That’s all I kept saying. Just hang around. Get out of your head. I used a whole timeout to tell them to get out of our heads. I thought we did that down the stretch. We executed down the stretch, got great shots, move the ball, and play right.”

“[Doc told us] just stick together — all of us — we knew what they’re trying to do,” Embiid said. “Get us ejected, fluster us, and do whatever it takes. If that’s the only way they think they can win, then I can’t do nothing about it. We focus on the positive, which is to stick together. Even with the James ejection, we still find a way to win a game on the offensive and defensive end.”

The Sixers survived the non-Harden minutes and defeated the Nets 102-97. With that victory, they take a 3-0 lead in the series. Knowing how the Nets responded down 0-2, the Sixers can expect even more physicality in Game 4, as Brooklyn has nothing to lose.

But Doc Rivers believes that Game 3 had more than enough lessons attached to help the Sixers keep their composure throughout the matchup that could become the final leg of a first-round sweep.

“If this doesn’t teach you… Like, come on,” Rivers finished. “This has to be a teacher for us, really. It should be, but again, we have to win in different ways. That’s what this team does. We win high-scoring games, we win low-scoring slugfests, and that says a lot about our team.”