Paul Reed believes Sixers are better team in preparation to face Nets
NEW YORK–The Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets wrapped up their regular seasons on Sunday when the Sixers knocked off the Nets 134-105 at Barclays Center. Philadelphia finishes at 54-28 and is the No. 3 seed going into the playoffs while the Nets finish at 45-37 and as the No. 6 seed.
These two teams will face each other in Round 1 of the postseason beginning on April 15 at 1 p.m. EDT for Game 1 of this series. The Nets are a much different-looking team now than they were at the beginning of the season after trading away superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and are now built around Mikal Bridges and a cast of versatile players who can play both ends of the floor.
As the Sixers prepare to face the Nets, big man Paul Reed kept it real when beginning to think about Brooklyn in Round 1.
“I think they’re a good team,” Reed began when discussing the Nets. “They switch a lot which I like I can use that to my advantage with the way I play. Defensively, I feel like—tonight they didn’t have a full roster so we didn’t really get their best look, but in the times we played them previously, we’ve been able to handle them pretty well. I think we got the better team, to be honest, and we should be able to come out and get the win.”
As the Sixers now turn their attention toward the playoffs, they will be looking to get over the hump and go on a deep run in the postseason. They have been bounced in Round 2 for four of the previous five seasons and they will look to take advantage of the opportunity that’s been presented in front of them.
Philadelphia will have a tough path to get to the finals having to likely go through the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference, but they have the talent to get there this season. Joel Embiid and James Harden have built their chemistry together to be an unstoppable duo and that will be a key factor for this run.
“I’m super excited,” Reed added. “I feel like this year is gonna be a much better year for us as a team to excel because we have better team chemistry, team dynamic now, and I feel like we can really make it to the finals.”
