Sixers-Nets NBA Playoffs: storylines, matchups and more

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Fresh off their best regular season in over 20 years, the Sixers will face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Game 1 will tip-off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wells Fargo Center. 

The series would have a little more juice if former Sixer Ben Simmons was suiting up, but he's out for the remainder of the season with a nerve impingement in his back. 

Here are storylines, matchups to watch and more: 

Get in, get out

The Sixers enter the series as heavy favorites over the Nets. They're -1000 on FanDuel Sportsbook to win the series (Bet $1,000 to win $100), and a quick series in four or five games would benefit Philadelphia to get as much rest as possible before a likely second-round matchup vs. the Boston Celtics. 

An ideal outcome for the Sixers in this series would be finishing it in four or five games and coming out healthy. 

The Sixers' two stars -- Joel Embiid and James Harden -- both dealt with nagging injuries throughout the season. 

Plus, in the Sixers' last two playoff runs, Embiid has gotten hurt in the first round. 

Embiid, who has been playing through a calf injury, suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee vs. the Washington Wizards in 2021 and fractured his orbital bone against the Toronto Raptors in 2022. 

If Embiid were to suffer an injury in the first round, the Sixers wouldn't have a chance against any other teams, let alone Boston. 

Throughout the year, the Sixers have looked disinterested at times, but if they come out and handle business, Embiid, Harden and company shouldn't have any problems putting away the Nets. 

Which Harden will the Sixers get? 

Speaking of Harden, all eyes will be on him to see which version of the former MVP the Sixers will get in the playoffs. 

Harden had a terrific year, despite not being named an All-Star. He averaged 21 points, a league-best 10.7 assists and shot 38.5% on 3-pointers. 

But, he's been dealing with an Achilles injury that forced him to miss four games last month. He missed a month earlier this season with a foot injury. 

The Sixers can probably get by the Nets without the best version of Harden, but in the next round vs. Boston, that will be a different story. 

Sixers have significant matchup advantages

The Sixers finished the season with a top-three offense in the Association as Embiid won the scoring title for the second straight year by averaging 33.1 points. 

Embiid will get his points every night, and he should have plenty of success against a Nets squad lacking a player that truly can bang with him on the block. Nic Claxton is a good, young center who will give Embiid fits, but the likely incoming MVP has a clear advantage in the matchup. 

Embiid had his most efficient year from the field this past regular season. Look for the Sixers to set him up at the nail, elbow and run the pick-and-roll with Harden to pick apart the Nets' defense. 

Harden and fellow guard Tyrese Maxey also have great matchups vs. the Nets. With guys like Joe Harris, Seth Curry and Patty Mills in the lineup, Harden and Maxey could help Embiid out by hunting the aforementioned players on offense.

If Maxey can get going against Brooklyn, maybe he carries that momentum into the second round. The Sixers will need it. He's the team's x-factor. When Maxey is hot, the Sixers are a different team. 

The Nets' defense has ranked in the middle of the pack since the NBA trade deadline. 

The other guys

Every year, role players are crucial in the playoffs. The lack of depth a team does or doesn't have can swing a game when starters are resting. 

The Sixers have been a victim of that plenty of times before during the Embiid era, specifically, the backup center position. 

It looks like Paul Reed will be the backup for Embiid in the playoffs. He took over the role from Montrezl Harrell midway through the season. 

The Sixers could also play small ball with P.J. Tucker at five instead of inserting Harrell. 

After Tucker signed a three-year, $33 million deal, this is the time he'll earn that contract. It's why the Sixers signed him -- to be a tough-nosed defender in the playoffs and make winning hustle plays. 

Tucker wasn't a fan favorite throughout the year but he had some moments, especially late in the year, where you saw why the Sixers signed him. 

Revenge series? 

Mikal Bridges was in the Sixers' hands. We all know the story by now. 

The Sixers drafted Bridges in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2018 and traded him to the Phoenix Suns for the rights to Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first-round pick that helped them acquire Tobias Harris. 

Bridges, a Philly native who starred at Villanova and won two national championships and played a Great Valley High School, said he was "pissed off" on C.J. McCollum's podcast when the Sixers traded him away. 

Could a revenge series be incoming? Absolutely.

But, for as good as a player Bridges is, he simply doesn't have the goods to defeat this Sixers team. It would take a herculean effort from him and the rest of the Nets because they don't have a bonafide star on the roster. He would have to go nuclear every night. 

Since he was acquired by Brooklyn at the trade deadline in the Kevin Durant deal, Bridges has averaged 27.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26 games. 

Odds

The Sixers are -1000 to win the series on FanDuel. 

If you think the Sixers will sweep the Nets, the series to go four games is +260, while five games is +195. Six games is +280 and seven is +320. 

Schedule

Game 1: Nets vs. 76ers | Sat., April 15 | 1 ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Nets vs. 76ers | Mon., April 17 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
Game 3: 76ers vs. Nets | Thurs., April 20 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
Game 4: 76ers vs. Nets | Sat., April 22 | 1 ET (TNT)
*Game 5: Nets vs. 76ers | Mon., April 24 | TBD
*Game 6: 76ers vs. Nets | Thurs., April 27 | TBD
*Game 7: Nets vs. 76ers | Sat., April 29 | TBD  

In:
• NBA Playoffs
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Joel Embiid
• Philadelphia