Game 65 Preview: Philadelphia 76ers (33-30) at Nets (22-42)

This guy (Kenny Anderson) will be at the ceremony while Jason Kidd will make an appearance via video. We really could have drafted Dikembe Mutombo instead of Anderson but of course the Nets drafted the guy with the shorter and much less effective career. Good riddance New Jersey!

Well, here it is. Tonight will be the last NBA game in New Jersey for the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets and probably the last one in the state for a long, long time, if not forever. I will be at the game and am less excited about the actual game (Philly has something to play for while the Nets haven't for a few weeks) than I am about the half-time ceremony honoring the many characters/basketball players and personnel that played a big part of the team's crazy 35-year tenure in the Garden State.

After tonight, the next Nets home game will be in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, hopefully with Deron Williams (and maybe Ersan Ilyasova or Ryan Anderson? Eh, maybe not, I might be getting my hopes up.) Whoops, back to the actual game. D-Will and Shelden Williams probably won't be able to go while Gerald Wallace looks to be good to go. The 76ers don't have any major injuries.

Background on Philadelphia

The Nets beat the 76ers in Philadelphia just 10 days ago so not much has changed with this team since them. They are still oddly centered around the bench players to a certain extent with key contributors in Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, and Spencer Hawes all out of the starting line-up. The way to beat Philly is to contain the bench because when the bench is limited, the starting line-up becomes less effective and voila, the 76ers become beatable.

Previous Game

With an overtime win in Indiana on Saturday night, the 76ers basically assured themselves of being the 8th-seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. They haven't mathematically clinched yet, but the 9th-place Milwaukee Bucks need to win their last three games, with Philly losing their last three games, in order to take the 8th-spot. After blowing a 1st quarter double-digit lead, the 76ers took over the overtime period on the strength of a crucial Lou Williams 3-pointer with 1:08 left. Elton Brand led the way for Philly with 20 points and nine rebounds while Williams added 19 off the bench.

After staying close and even leading at some points on Saturday night in Milwaukee, the Nets faded late without D-Will and lost to the Bucks, a team desperately fighting for a playoff spot in the East. Gerald Wallace had his second-straight good game with 18 points and 11 rebounds and effectively led the Nets, even playing the point for a few sets. 

Probable Lineups

PHI- Holiday (PG), Meeks (SG), Iguodala (SF), Brand (PF), Vucevic (C)
NJN- Gaines (PG), Brooks (SG), Wallace (SF), Humphries (PF), Petro (C)

Three Keys to a Nets Win

1. Clog up the paint on defense to neutralize Philly's interior-centric offense

2. Anthony Morrow needs to rebound from his shooting slump and hit some shots

3. Not a key to win, but it would be nice for a good and somewhat intense performance from this Nets team in the last game in New Jersey