There have been a lot of marquee matchups this NBA season, but a very important game is set to take place on Thursday night. At 7:30 PM ET on TNT, the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia in a game that has so many storylines attached to it.
Not only are there playoff implications on the line, as the Nets are currently trying to work their way out of the play-in tournament range and the 76ers are looking to work their way up to the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference, but these two teams made a blockbuster trade exactly one month ago at the trade deadline.
In a deal that shook up the playoff landscape in the East, the Nets agreed to trade James Harden and Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two future first-round picks.
The pairing of James Harden and Joel Embiid has been extremely successful so far in Philadelphia and with Harden on the floor, the 76ers are 5-0.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Nets vs 76ers Thursday: Lineups, Injury Reports & Broadcast Info
Playing against his former team in the Brooklyn Nets, James Harden will definitely be looking to make a statement with his new team, but Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Nets will also be looking to prove Harden wrong tonight.
Since returning from his MCL sprain in his left knee, Kevin Durant has been on-fire offensively and with Kyrie Irving coming off of a 50-point performance on Tuesday night against the Hornets, Brooklyn’s offense is clicking on all cylinders right now.
Oh, and we can’t not mention the fact that Ben Simmons will be making his return to Philadelphia tonight, sitting on the bench for Brooklyn due to a back injury. We should expect the “City of Brotherly Love” to welcome Simmons back with open arms right?
LATEST NBA NEWS: Nets vs 76ers Thursday: Lineups, Injury Reports & Broadcast Info
This game in Wells Fargo Center is going to have a Game 7 type of atmosphere to it tonight and with both teams fighting for playoff position, this could truly be one of the most important regular-season games of the year.
Both the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets are needing a victory tonight and a win for either side means a lot more than just beating their rivals.
Many things will factor into which team will win tonight, but here are three key factors to watch for in this battle tonight.
