Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers preview: Sunday night hoops

SB Nation

Still waiting on that W. The Brooklyn Nets began their three game homestand with a showdown against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. Brooklyn fought, but once again fell short as the Hawks proved

to be too much. Brooklyn is 0-5 on the season.

The opponent tonight has gotten off to a darn good start. The Philadelphia 76ers went on a mad dash in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as the Boston Celtics held on to win by one point. That was Philadelphia’s first loss of the season, which doubles as their first loss in NBA Cup play.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. Tip after 6:00 p.m. ET.

Injuries

No Haywood Highsmith or Danny Wolf.

No Paul George, Jared McCain, Dominick Barlow, or Joel Embiid who the 76ers want to have two days rest between games.

The game

This is the first night of a back-to-back for the Nets. They host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

The Nets started to have Nic Claxton switch more on defense, and the defenders behind him will need to be in sync behind him while he’s out on the perimeter. Brooklyn’s defense has sprung many a leak this year and if they want to get a win any time soon, they’ll need to correct that in a hurry. His job will be a bit easier as he won’t have to face his old nemesis Embiid, but the Nets defense can’t afford to think they’ve got an easy night at the office.

The biggest reason why is waiting for them in the Philadelphia backcourt. Tyrese Maxey will make them pay for it. Maxey is averaging 35 points a game during the first stretch of the season and he’s been scoring from everywhere imaginable. He’s possibly the fastest player in the NBA and his first step is absolutely electric. Maxey has fully stepped into the role as franchise player, and it’s a role that suits him well! For the Nets, they have to do everything they can to keep him out of the paint.

Brooklyn needs better from Noah Clowney. A lot was expected of him coming in to the season, but it hasn’t connected yet. Jordi Fernandez spoke about his struggles at practice on Friday and is pushing to be better, especially on the defensive end. The kids on this team have a lot on their shoulders, but they’re going to have to meet the challenge. If they don’t, this Nets situation will get a LOT darker.

Player to watch: VJ Edgecombe

Nothing energizes a fanbase more than a good rookie. The 76ers had a miserable 2024-2025 season, but it was all worth it now that Edgecombe is on the team. He endeared himself to the Philly faithful even more with this sequence on Friday night

Good defense does it every time! Edgecombe has been filling up the stat sheet thus far and gives the 76ers another downhill threat and a great finisher at the rim. Edgecombe’s early excellence has made the Sixers’ future a lot more exciting than we thought it was last February.

Cam Thomas will look to do some more tonight. Brooklyn needs CT to score efficiently and make the right play when facing traps and double teams. Thomas didn’t do a great job of either against the Hawks and with the Nets offense needing to hit all of its cues to succeed, more is required of Thomas. It’s a challenge he’ll have to consistently meet every game if he wants to reach the level of stardom he aspires to.

From the Vault

Game 7 of the World Series was last night, and the Dodgers pulled off a miraculous comeback in the 9th to win it in extra innings. It had been six years between Game sevens, so let’s take it back to 2019