PHILADELPHIA — The Nets got hit first Saturday night in their first-round playoff series against Philadelphia. Now they have to slip and counter, or risk getting knocked out in Game 2.
The Nets can’t afford to allow a team with Joel Embiid and James Harden on it to take 19 more shots than they did — while getting hammered on the offensive glass, and turning the ball over against Embiid’s drop coverage.
Underdogs or not, they’ll have no alibis Monday.
“That is underlined: No excuses,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “You step into the Octagon and you’re not ready, you get knocked out. That’s what happens. You’ve got to be ready.”
Their Octagon will be Game 2 on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center. After a 20-point opening loss, the Nets must adjust to slow either Embiid or Philadelphia’s 3-point shooting.
“Me and [Dorian Finney-Smith in Dallas] have been in that situation before where we got popped the first game and then came back and won the series,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “It’s like taking the first jab really. It’s not necessarily indicative of how the series is going to go.”
The playoffs are all about adjustments.
The 76ers countered Brooklyn’s doubling of Embiid by moving him out further and tweaking their spacing, shooting 21-for-43 from deep.
Now the Nets will adjust in Game 2.
“There’s only five places you can put the dudes on the court, so they had their spacing two different ways,” Vaughn said. “We’ll have an answer for both.”
With half of those 3-pointers coming off of scrambles due to doubles of Embiid and the other half against regular defenses, Vaughn was content with the former but concerned with the latter.
“Just taking pride in defense. We just need to guard up more,” Nic Claxton said. “The double teams are good, but at the end of the day you’ve got to be able to man up and get stops, or make it difficult.”
The Nets typically switch 1 through 5, but threw in drop coverages and even zones.
They doubled Embiid and saw Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker go 5-for-8 from deep despite mediocre movement off the ball.
“When they move, you move. Isn’t there a song like that?” 76ers coach Doc Rivers asked rhetorically. “There were times when you could see them coming in the drop and we were standing still. You’ve got to move when they move, and it’s got to be instant. We were late and we were fortunate we made shots.”
Whether Rivers meant the John Legend version or Ludacris, the point stands.
It’ll be one of the Sixers’ few concerns.
The Nets, however, have many.
Pushing the pace more — making the game less “Rocky” and more Penn Relays, in Philadelphia parlance — will be a priority. Another will be going right after Embiid when they do get bogged down in the half-court.
“One thing I think they’ll do is go downhill and challenge [Embiid] more,” Rivers said. “They made the choice of going halfway and throwing. I think they’ll challenge more. So we have to be ready for that.”
Mikal Bridges had an encouraging 30 points, but just seven in the second half once he started getting doubled.
The Nets must not only do a better job screening for Bridges, but also availing themselves to him.
“You’ve got to get a flash guy and you’ve got to play second side. Once you get two on the ball, your job’s done. … If they’re resorting to that defense, it’s basically an admission that they can’t guard you,” Dinwiddie said.
“[Their] eyes should get more wide open. If they’re going to double and blitz [Bridges], great. That means Joel is away for the rim. If they have to double-team we should be able to spray that thing and get open 3s,” Vaughn said. “We welcome them blitzing and giving us open 3s.”
Hunting those open 3-pointers will be a key on Monday.
After attempting just 29 3-pointers in Game 1, the Nets will look to get up 40 or 50 in Game 2.
“Brooklyn loves to shoot a lot of 3s. They didn’t shoot a lot of 3s, so they’re going to make it a point of emphasis to get us in rotation and try and shoot more 3s,” Georges Niang said. “They’re going to try to make it a 3-point shootout.”
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