Sixers vs. Nets: Game Preview

The Sixers will look to rebound from more than one brutal loss tonight against the Brooklyn Nets. Not only do the Sixers want to erase Friday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers from their fans’ minds, but they will also be looking to get revenge for their abysmal 122-97 loss to the Nets earlier this year.

The November 4th game against the Nets was the Sixers’ 11th game of the season, and their matchup tonight is their 22nd. So I thought it would be fun to look at the stats B.N. (before Nets) and A.N. (after Nets), as there is an even 10 games in each of those time periods.

The first thing that stood out was Ben Simmons’s FG%. In the first 10 games of the season, Simmons was shooting 47.4%. After the steamrolling by the Nets, his FG% rose to 60%. In addition to the increase in shooting percentage, Simmons is also taking more shots. These two factors have caused his point average increase from 13.2 PPG to 17.4 PPG.

Joel Embiid has been putting up monster numbers, buoyed by the number of free throws he has been taking. He has been averaging 1.5 more FTAs per game in the last ten games in comparison to the first ten games of the season. His FT% has remained fairly steady, allowing him to tack on an easy 2 points per game to his stat line.

It should be noted that Brett Brown has been relying on his bench in the second half of the games played. Furkan Korkmaz, Landry Shamet, and Mike Muscala are all averaging more minutes per game A.N. than they were B.N - 10, 4, and 7 respectively.

The Nets are coming off a loss to Sixers West, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie each put up 18 points, the latter in 30 minutes off the bench. The Nets will miss forward Caris LeVert, who is out for the foreseeable future with a gruesome foot injury. In the Sixers and Nets’ previous meeting, LeVert outscored almost the entire Sixers team.

Injury Report:

Sixers: Markelle Fultz (wrist - is that what we’re going with?), Jonah Bolden (leg), Justin Patton (foot), Zhaire Smith (foot)

Nets: Treveon Graham (hamstring), Caris LeVert (foot)

Game Info:

When: 6:00 p.m. EST

Where: Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Twitter: @Liberty_Ballers