Game Of The Week NBA: Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The Nets (37-17) take on the 76ers ( 37-17) Wednesday in Philadelphia. The teams have split their series this season, with the 76ers taking down the Nets 124-108 the last time they met on February 6th. Both teams have won three of their last five. 

The Nets Big Three have played in only seven games together this season, and they won't be adding another one on Wednesday when they take on the 76ers in Philadelphia. Kevin Durant (28.1 PPG) will be out (Rest) along with Blake Griffin (Left Knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (Non-COVID related illness), Chris Chiozza (Fractured Third Metacarpal Right Hand) and James Harden (25.2 PPG), who is suffering from a right hamstring strain. Spencer Dinwiddie and Tyler Johnson are also out for Brooklyn. Dinwiddie has a partially torn ACL, and Tyler Johnson has right knee soreness, and now I've officially typed out too many injuries and the names of too many body parts I didn't even know anyone had.  

All of this is disappointing news to anyone hoping to catch a marquee matchup between two of the best teams in the NBA battling for No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, though Kyrie Irving (27.4 PPG) has been upgraded from questionable to active and is expected to play. I can't fault Steve Nash for taking it easy on Durant, Brooklyn's star power forward has only recently returned after missing 23 games with a hamstring injury, and the Nets doesn't want to risk further injury with the playoffs on the horizon. If you're disappointed about Brooklyn's lineup for tonight's game, think about how disappointed you'd be with Durant or Harden out for an entire playoff series. I'll look forward to both teams having their full arsenal when it matters the most in just a few weeks. 

I did read this interesting tidbit on ESPN earlier today: The fewest games played together in a season by an eventual NBA champion team's top three scorers is 10 (2001 Lakers). Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Derek Fisher played together in the same game only a handful of times that season, but it all worked out, so take heart Nets fans.  

The 76ers are -9 point favorites. I think they'll win, but I like Kyrie to go off and have one of those super human games where he drops somewhere around 50. It will be enough to keep the Nets close, but they're short a lot of firepower, so Philadelphia gets the win 105-100. 

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