Minutes after the Sixers’ 125-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls concluded, the Nets finished off the Heat in their own regular season finale, locking us in for a Philadelphia-Brooklyn first-round playoff series. So we knew the who, but still needed to know the when. It took a few hours, but the NBA made sure we would all wake up Thursday morning knowing when to tell our loved ones we’d need to be by a television. Here are the dates for the first round between the Sixers and Nets, with times known for the initial four games: Game 1: Saturday, 4/13, 2:30pm EST, in Philadelphia (ESPN; NBCSP) Game 2: Monday, 4/15, 8:00pm EST, in Philadelphia (TNT; NBCSP) Game 3: Thursday, 4/18, 8:00pm EST, in Brooklyn (TNT; NBCSP) Game 4: Saturday, 4/20, 3:00pm EST, in Brooklyn (TNT; NBCSP) Game 5: Tuesday, 4/23, time TBD, in Philadelphia, (TBD; NBCSP) - if necessary Game 6: Thursday, 4/25, time TBD, in Brooklyn, (TBD; NBCSP) - if necessary Game 7: Saturday, 4/27, time TBD, in Philadelphia, (TNT; NBCSP) - if necessary As a reminder, the Sixers split the season series with Brooklyn, 2-2, but destroyed the Nets recently at home in the only game with rosters as currently constructed. 11/4/18: Brooklyn 122, Philadelphia 97, away game 11/25/18: Philadelphia 127, Brooklyn 125, away game 12/12/18: Brooklyn 127, Philadelphia 124, home game 3/28/19: Philadelphia 123, Brooklyn 110, home game We’ll have a ton of coverage in the couple days leading up to Saturday afternoon’s opener. For now, the major open question concerns the health of Joel Embiid. Last night, Elton Brand said he was “optimistic” that Embiid would be ready for this weekend, but conceded it was “possible” he would not be available. After the Bulls game, Brett Brown reiterated that he expected to have all his starters available, and after growing a bit frustrated with multiple versions of essentially the same question regarding Joel’s availability, said the team would provide the information via the normal injury report. My personal feeling (and again, this is pure conjecture) is that Embiid will play, but the team knows the extent of the knee soreness and he is clearly not 100 percent. For a Sixers club that has looked the part of a true contender when Embiid is available, and average, at best, otherwise, Joel not firing on all cylinders is the surest way to ensure they fail to reach the lofty goals they have set for themselves. We’ll know more in the days to come.<doc-sep>The Brooklyn Nets have officially clinched a playoff berth. Oh what a long, strange trip it’s been. Following a win against the Bucks and a little help from the Raptors over the Heat earlier Sunday, Brooklyn has officially done the improbable. They simply aren’t supposed to be here. Nobody thought they would be. But here they are. The Nets (41-40) solidified their spot with a 108-96 win over the Indiana Pacers, Sunday evening. It was their second straight victory and their third in the last five against top tier teams, including Boston, Milwaukee and now Indiana. The 41 wins mark the most since the 2013-2014 season. It gets better: Since the Detroit Pistons lost earlier, the Nets will be the seventh seed at the very worst. They could have clinched the sixth seed if the Pistons had beaten the Hornets but they didn’t. Now, the sixth seed will have to wait till Wednesday’s game vs. the Heat. A win and they will play the 76ers. Lose and they go up against Toronto. They had to go through the last team that made the post season to get to the post season in Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young. It never looked like there was a doubt, though. The Nets came out of the gates with a ton of energy and tenacity, represented by a 9-0 run to start the game. They flirted with double digit leads most of the way, but Indiana wouldn’t go away. The Nets simply didn’t make them pay from the field, so they did the little things. They out-rebounded the Pacers 52-33, including 17 offensive rebounds. They hit 17-of-22 from the line, while allowing just seven free throws for Indiana. Joe Harris led the way in the first half — hitting 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from three to notch 18 points. Indiana hung around and trimmed the deficit down to six, but the Nets answered with a 9-0 run — 17-7 extended, which gave them a 16-point lead in the fourth. Indiana made their final push and got it within 10, but D’Angelo Russell halted that real quick with an and-one to cap off his night, tying Drazen Petrovic for most points in a single season. This one wasn’t all that close, but the difference maker this entire season has been closing out close games. The Nets finished 19-9 in games decided by five or less. Last year, they were 18-32 in games in which they were within five points with five minutes or less. Nobody thought it would happen, but they proved everybody wrong. The Nets lost Caris LeVert early in the season due to an ugly injury. They went on a skid and owned an 8-18 record with potential lottery thoughts on their minds. I asked a source close to the Nets if they were deflated after losing an eighth straight game. “Deflated? Nah. We have another game tomorrow.” And that’s the mindset that carried them. They won seven straight games after that — 20 of the next 26. They’re 33-22 since December 7. D’Angelo Russell became an All-Star and everybody followed suit. Behind his lead and LeVert’s return, the Nets rallied late in the season and got wins when they needed them most. Look at where this team was when Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson took over three years back. Look at them now. The word culture isn’t something to be tossed around lightly. It means something in Brooklyn, where players have revitalized their careers and the narrative on the organization has shifted 180 degrees. It wasn’t long ago the Nets were the laughingstock of the league for having zero picks. Now, they’re a breath of fresh air for the league. And it’s only just the beginning with three draft picks and enough cap space for a max free agent in the summer of 2019. But for now, let’s enjoy this one. —- CELEBRATE WITH WINE? Kenny Atkinson swears he didn't know score of the Miami loss until Post colleague Brian Lewis asked before game. Told me no one was following details before the game. But I guarantee you every player in that locker room will take the court tonight knowing they are in with a win. — Greg Logan (@GregLogan1) April 7, 2019 Kenny Atkinson admitted he will have a glass of wine to celebrate... or overthink until Wednesday. “One glass. Win or lose tonight I’ll have one glass.” pic.twitter.com/Ji0N5eQAYD — Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 7, 2019 Jared Dudley last night on #Nets postseason hopes: “We want to control our own fate. We want to win in Indiana and celebrate and have the decision to rest guys on Wednesday and see who we want to play first round.” #NBA @JaredDudley619 — Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) April 7, 2019 For a different perspective, head on over to Indy Cornrows, our Pacers sister site on SB Nation. *** The Nets will face the Miami Heat in the final game of the season this Wednesday at home. It will be Dwayne Wade’s last game. LeBron James is expected to attend.<doc-sep>PLAYOFFS!!! The Nets did it, they really did it. After all the dark speculation at the beginning of the season, the despair of the winter losing streak, and all that worrying as the bottom of the East crept closer and closer, Brooklyn was able to get through it all and finish as a playoff team. Amazing. Truly amazing. They even have a chance to finish out the season with a winning record and the sixth seed, which is like, a real seed. Not one of the bottom two or anything. Six is legit. A win over Miami and they will be playing the 76ers, the third seed, in the first round. The Miami Heat, whose playoff hopes ended Tuesday night, will be traveling to New York on the back end of a back-to-back. More significantly, the Heat are coming off an emotional night in Miami, the organization’s final tribute to Dwyane Wade. And yes, DWade is expected to play Wednesday. Where to Follow the Game MY9 and New York’s Country 94.7 at 8pm, ET. Injuries Allen Crabbe (knee) is out. So is DeMarre Carroll (wrist). Joe Harris (foot soreness) is questionable. Dzanan Musa remains on assignment with Long Island, which missed an opportunity Tuesday to win it all in the G League Finals. Josh Richardson (hip) is out. Erik Spoelstra says he expects to play Wade and Udonis Haslem who is also ending his Heat career Wednesday night. The Game The Heat lost their best player with just games left in a season when they were struggling to make one of the final few playoff spots. Just really tough. As a result, Miami had lost four straight before blowing out the 76ers Tuesday night, essentially squashing their playoff hopes and squandering the final stretch of DWade’s career. Miami doesn’t have a ton of other scoring options outside of Richardson and Wade. They’re built on a sort of bizarro egalitarian principle of having everybody be the same type of player and score between 10 and 15 points per game. They also recently released Rodney McGruder (a favorite of mine after discovering his existence this season) for cap reasons. He could score a little bit. The Nets will have to figure out something of a playoff rotation, maybe not in this game, but sometime before the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see who gets those bench spots outside of Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert. Will we see Jared Dudley? Ed Davis? Treveon Graham? I’m sure a lot of the decisions will come down to matchups and trust. In this one though, we’ll probably see all of them get some limited minutes even if there’s a playoff seed on the line. I doubt anyone is going to play 32+ minutes, especially after those back-to-back wins the Nets pulled off over the weekend. Brooklyn was firing on all cylinders over the weekend, especially against Indiana, and that is exactly what you want to see heading into the playoffs. This game should serve as one last tuneup before the real challenge starts. Just make it out with no bumps or bruises and if Kenny wants to give some of the deeper bench guys some run, then go for it. Definitely would not mind a little Shabazz Napier action in this one. In the two games over the weekend, Caris LeVert averaged 21 points, four assists, and a steal while shooting 57% from the field and 50% from three. He looked good, and it isn’t hard to envision a game where he makes a significant impact off the bench and swings the momentum in the Nets favor. Him combined with Dinwiddie make for what could be the best 6th and 7th men off the bench in the league, up there with Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, who might finish first and second in 6th Man of the Year voting. Miami will be interesting to observe over the next couple of seasons. Historically, they’ve been a pretty popular destination for players, but with their current cap situation they don’t figure to be major players anytime soon unless they get really creative. This is a team that’ll be paying Hassan Whiteside $27 million next season and Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk a combined $24 million in 2020-21. Yikes. Not a ton of foresight from Pat Riley and Co. You’d think that Miami would be a pretty attractive location for at least some of the big names this summer. Rest Watch Russell, who did miss only one game this season due to rest right before New Year’s Eve, insists that whatever the game plan is for the final regular season affair on Wednesday, he will be part of it. Asked what Kenny Atkinson has told him regarding rest, DLo appeared befuddled at the thought. “Sh*t, I’m trying to win,” he said, almost smiling, with confidence. “What you mean? It makes sense if guys are banged up to rest. But I’m playing,” he insisted, with a smile. Well, that answers that. Player to Watch It’s Dwyane Wade. Who else? We get to watch a legend play in his final game, and it’s truly disappointing he couldn’t have gone out on a better team. He’s played surprisingly well this season after looking pretty washed in Cleveland. Also, wild he played in Chicago. Does anyone really remember that happening? It was him, Jimmy Butler, Rondo, and Taj Gibson. I cannot believe that happened for a whole season. Anyway, Wade is a legend, a three-time champion, an MVP, a Finals MVP, a Miami legend, and so much more. He’ll never get the credit or recognition that Kobe does, but for a while there they were a lot closer in talent than plenty of basketball fans would probably be willing to admit. Wade is going to go down as one of the best two-guards in NBA history, and it’ll be special watching him play on an NBA court one last time. Enjoy retirement Dwyane. A Note I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for reading and following both NetsDaily and my game previews this season.<doc-sep>MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 09: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena on April 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) The playoffs will officially begin on Saturday for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Brooklyn Nets. Even though the Philadelphia 76ers already had the No. 3 seed locked up in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs, Brett Brown‘s team didn’t find out the Brooklyn Nets would be their opponent until Wednesday night. After splitting the series (2-2) during the regular season, all eyes will be on the Sixers to see if they have what it takes to take down the inexperienced Nets in the playoffs with a much better team compared to last year. Despite failing to add a superstar in the offseason, Philadelphia did come through with some key trades during the regular season by bringing Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris on board to join one of the league’s top duos in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Want your voice heard? Join the Section 215 team! Write for us! Like most teams, the Sixers have gone through their fair share of struggles at times throughout the regular season, but hopefully Brown will have this team ready for the start of this series against the Nets, which will officially begin on Saturday. Right away, one of the main factors that stands out about this series is how the travel will be limited for the two teams when seeing how the drive from Philadelphia to Brooklyn and vice versa really isn’t too bad compared to what other teams will be dealing with. As for what to expect from the Sixers, well all the work put in over the last year to make sure this team is in better position to make a run at the NBA Finals will be put to test right away when facing the Nets. This season has been filled with numerous surprise contenders in both conferences, but after looking at all of the struggles that Brooklyn has been dealing with over the previous three seasons, no one saw this coming. By splitting the season series, the Nets have already proven they have what it takes to compete with a team like the Sixers, and just because Philadelphia finished with the better record doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to win. One game obviously won’t determine the outcome of an entire series, but for the Sixers, here’s to hoping they get off to the right start by winning that first game over the Nets on Saturday to give them an early advantage.<doc-sep>
The Brooklyn Nets already knew heading into their season finale against the Miami Heat that they were playoff bound. But the question was what seed they would hold when the postseason began. Fortunately, the Nets controlled their own destiny and took advantage of that opportunity. Brooklyn drew the recently-eliminated Miami Heat at home and went on to pick up an impressive 113-94 win. In turn, this locked them into the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, placing them ahead of the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons, who rounded out the final three spots. Their reward for the six seed? A date with the Philadelphia 76ers and their impressive young core. While the official schedule will be released within the next day, here’s a look at what we know. Nets to Face 76ers, Series Starts This Weekend The dates and times of the first round have been set. Here’s a look at the schedule for the Nets vs. Sixers series. *UPDATE: Official dates and times revealed below, courtesy of Sports Media Watch. Game 1: Saturday, April 13 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) Game 2: Monday, April 15 8:00 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 3: Thursday, April 18 8:00 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4: Saturday, April 20 3:00 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 5: Tuesday, April 23 TBD Game 6: Thursday, April 25 TBD Game 7: Saturday, April 27 TBD The official dates of the series have been released. With that said, let’s take a look at the matchup between the Nets and Sixers. Nets Split Series With Sixers The Nets and Sixers both won one game at home and one on the road, splitting the season series 2-2. The fact Brooklyn won in Philly is important, considering they’ll have to steal one on the road at some point. Brooklyn star D’Angelo Russell had a superb performance in a tough 127-125 loss earlier in the year, as he poured in 38 points on 16-of-28 shooting. While the Nets fell just short in that game, it took a Jimmy Butler game-winner for the Sixers to get the job done. Although the season series was a split, the Nets and Sixers only met once when Philly had their new-look starting lineup which featured both Butler and Tobias Harris. That game came in late March and the Sixers won 123-110 behind Joel Embiid’s 39 points and 16 rebounds. Speaking of Embiid, the subject of his health will also be worth monitoring, and there’s some cause for concern on the Philly side. Joel Embiid May Miss Game 1 vs. Nets? One of the most eye-opening pieces of pre-NBA playoff drama came to light on Wednesday before the final night of the regular season. Sixers general manager Elton Brand said it’s “possible” Embiid could miss the first game of the postseason, as Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice detailed. REPORTER: In your mind, is his health a question at all, or is he as healthy as you could have hoped he would be heading into the playoffs? BRAND: No no, I’m optimistic that he’ll be ready this weekend and he’s doing everything he can to get back. But you know, of course, he’s the major key. We see the difference between when Joel is out there and when he’s not. REPORTER: So there’s a possibility he won’t be ready? BRAND: Again, I’m optimistic he’ll be ready this weekend. REPORTER: So it’s possible he won’t be? BRAND: It’s possible. While nothing official has been decided, that’s a massive piece of news to monitor. Embiid has been dealing with knee soreness since the All-Star break, and if he misses any postseason time, it could give the Nets an opening to win a game in Philly. READ NEXT: NBA Playoff Schedule: First Round Dates, Times & Best Matchups