The evening began with Ben Simmons but ended with a referendum on James Harden.
If you’ve been afraid to stomp the .500 Brooklyn Nets, this is what scares you.
If you had doubts about the Philadelphia 76ers and thought they played too much bravado and emotionality of the evening, it was revealed in the 29-point rout.
And those warts were exposed for the entire Eastern Conference to see, leading to whoops that were ostensibly reserved for the inactive Simmons but easily carried over to the lifeless, bewildered outfit performing Thursday night.
Maybe that’s why Simmons showed up to take insults from angry fansbecause he wanted to be there when the situation predictably changed – revenge without shooting.
The events of the last month or so seemed to portray Simmons as unhappy with the stricken franchise. But zoom out to all sides and it becomes quite clear that there are no good guys here.
Simmons wasn’t the only one responsible for the last time the 76ers performed on such a big stage. Practice was in jeopardy and even Joel Embiid had eight losses in Game 7 at home to score 31 points and 11 rebounds.
So grayscale maybe, but no one is clean, and that’s why the last few weeks have seemed a little nastier, even in one hand washing the other business of the current NBA.
Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, Blake Griffin, Nick Claxton and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets watch from the bench at the end of their crushing victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on March 10, 2022. (Elsa/Getty Images) )
The Nets had a quiet evening, motivated by rallying around Simmons in a hostile environment. While the Nets stars lack continuity and familiarity on the court, they can certainly bond as Public Enemy No. 1 in multiple arenas.
Kyrie Irving in Boston, Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City, and now Simmons in Philadelphia. Simmons was the subject of contempt when he was still on the organization’s payroll—at least now he can take the comfort of being a guest.
“It’s hard for you to praise Ben Simmons when you lose so much,” Duran said coldly, trying to downplay the night.
“We won the championship today? No. Are we in the playoffs? No,” he said, but later admitted that he wanted to send a message.
The story goes on
Message sent to Philadelphia and received by the rest of the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia played like they had 16,000 fans on the court with them. Instead of being frothy, the 76ers relaxed or, in Harden’s case, performed as if the stage was too big for him.
Infinity example.
For 76ers basketball president Daryl Morey’s grand plan to come to fruition in June, his stars will need to work like supernovas for the next three months.
Not just good players or pretty good players, but franchise players.
There are too many holes in the roster that only the greatness of superstars can plug. Embiid failed due to Simmons’ lack of development and a mental breakdown in Game 7, but in return came a player who failed more than any superstar talent this side of Karl Malone.
Over the past 12 months, Harden has caused a double fuss, and if you squint, you can conclude that he was sane in Brooklyn’s Arkham Asylum. Understandably, he may have craved the stability Irving was reluctant to provide as a teammate and the responsibility Duran refused to impose as the franchise’s top voice. Harden’s desire to get out could be explained even if it was a deal deadline.
This obscured, at least temporarily, the fact that he could not be relied upon for anything other than an ideal situation.
When things go wrong, he’s not the one to turn up his nose. He went straight into the tank, one after another, when his team needed leadership.
When he doesn’t have the ball, he’s useless. If he doesn’t throw a dime on the screen to Embiid, he won’t help the MVP candidate. And for most surrogates in similar positions, mission #1 is to make life easier for the best guy.
Chris Middleton keeps the wolves away from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Choose a name, any name, to beat Nikola Jokic.
Embiid traditionally got the better of Andre Drummond, but Drummond kept Embiid at bay, forcing him to retreat to the perimeter after he failed to pick up a rhythm in the first half.
And, unfortunately for Harden, he ran into a New York-sized boulder on Thursday – a team that knew his game and the pitfalls all too well, luring him into a dark alleyway before leaving him rudderless, a truly scary hour.
Irving hit him in the chest, and his other former teammates took liberties by pinning Harden down for a two-point basket. A regular season game in March, for perspective, but that adds to the heaps of evidence he has yet to debunk about disappearances in big games.
“Whenever he goes defensive, he can be very destructive,” Nets coach Steve Nash said of Irving, no doubt aware of both fighters’ ability to destroy in all the wrong directions.
And while the 76ers talk a lot about wanting the Nets to be a real contender — something that can only be achieved in contentious playoff games — they seem like a franchise that doesn’t want to be in Brooklyn for a seven-game series. .
The Nets are far from a flawless product and there’s no guarantee they’ll make it out of the play-in tournament given that Toronto has vaccination mandates and Irving won’t be able to dance around if New York cancels its mandate anytime soon. regarding private business.
But whenever Irving starts dancing with the ball, he seems to be on a different plane than his quarterback. And Durant strikes fear every time he’s one of the five Nets on the court, reminding everyone that he’s the worst person on the planet as a healthy player – even if his leadership and Irving’s eventual backing leave a lot to be desired.
After being the supporting performer of Jason Tatum’s career day on Sunday afternoon, Durant wasn’t about to go down on national TV again. Took the game with due attention looking at Embiid during an early confrontation then laugh later as an adequate response to the lack of strategy and fighting on the part of the 76ers.
“It was a good environment to start, but when we got off the court it was different,” Duran said. “Regardless of who played tonight, we were locked in.”
If Durant hadn’t been hurt in January, and if Irving hadn’t been, you know, himself, that would have been a different conversation about these Nets.
Many moons ago they were the favorite bets on the Larry O’Brien prize in June. But reality prevailed, and chance made its way down Atlantic Avenue, biting at their sore spot.
It may well be too late for the Nets to reach their potential, but they could drag some of their opponents along with them before it’s done.
Because it looks like they exposed the 76ers and presented a plan that others are sure to follow, making it likely that Philadelphia believers will be booed not just by one underachieving star, but by another.