The time has finally come. Following a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets will face off in a nationally televised matchup on Thursday night. James Harden will square off against his former running mates in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, while Ben Simmons is expected to be on the sidelines at Wells Fargo Center
Needless to say, there has been no shortage of hype leading up to this matchup. Even with Simmons not taking the floor in the game, fans appear ready to voice their opinion following the months-long saga dating back to the summer.
Given how things ended with Simmons in Philadelphia and Harden in Brooklyn, some feel a rivalry is beginning to form between these two teams. Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant, remember, are budding on-court adversaries, too. During his pregame availability, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers gave a short and sweet answer on the subject.
“Let's make it one,” he said.
“That's going to have to happen if both of us want to get the same thing. We have the exact same goal,” Rivers continued. “I think Brooklyn wants to win the world championship, and so do the Sixers. So at some point, if that's true, then we'll probably have to go through each other. That's just a fact.
Both teams have championship aspirations and view the other as an obstacle to achieving their goals. Add the recent swapping of All-Stars on top of that, and there is sure to be no love lost between the Sixers and Nets. Each side has its reasons to be fired up for a matchup like this, which should result in a thrilling game.
Who knows? Maybe this could be the earliest stage of what becomes the NBA's most heated rivalry.
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