521 Nets +8 over Sixers (loser)
The Nets put everyone that hasn’t been paying attention them on notice by stealing game 1 of the series on the road. D’Angelo Russell got off to a slow start shooting the ball but then began to pick it up and play better especially in the 2nd half as well as Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert. The Nets guards were able to get whatever they wanted off the dribble and the Sixers don’t have many adjustments they can make to get that under control so they’ll have to have a better performance on the offensive end. In the 4 games they played in the regular season the Sixers averaged 123 PPG on 52% FG and 45.4% 3-pt FG and the Net defense was able to hold them well under that ( 102 points 41% FG and 12% 3-pt FG) so the Sixers will have to figure out way to get their main offensive guys like Harris, Redick and Simmons in a rhythm to have better offensive productions than they had in game 1. Joel Embiid also didn’t look healthy and was visibly limping throughout the game but still was able to perform pretty well but well under his output he produced against the Nets during the regular season so I'm expecting to see him play more closer to the basket than the perimeter as much as he did. The Nets also underperformed on the offensive end compared to what they averaged vs the Sixers in 4 regular season games (118 PPG on 47.9% FG and 42.2% 3-pt FG). I’m expecting a more efficient shooting game from D’Angelo Russell and this is a must win for the Sixers but the Nets play well enough to keep it within the number.