Brooklyn Nets: Top 5 games to look forward to in the 2019-20 season

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Jarrett Allen Brooklyn Nets (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

December 15th vs Philadelphia 76ers

After last year’s playoff series, every Nets fan is looking forward to this matchup. The 76ers will visit the Barclays Center on December 15th to play the Nets, who they defeated in five games in last year’s first-round series.

In the regular season last year, the Nets and Sixers were competitive in their matchups. Once the playoff series between the two began, the Nets fought their hardest and proved they have a bright future ahead of them, but ultimately fell short to a team further down in their own respective timeline.

There isn’t any love lost between these two organizations; and though a catalyst to the animosity, Jared Dudley, is no longer on the team to continue his rivalry with guard/forward Ben Simmons, the crowd will still greet him and Joel Embiid with plenty of boos. After Embiid’s flagrant foul on his elbow to Jarrett Allen in Game 2 and the brawl after a hard foul against Allen in Game 4, Brooklyn will be looking for a measure of revenge in this matchup.

For the Nets, this is all about respect. They want to cement themselves as a force in the Atlantic Division and prove that they can compete against a team of this magnitude.

This matchup will prove intriguing not just for the aforementioned factors, but the sheer size of Philly’s starting-five as well. Jarrett Allen struggled heavily when asked to fend off a barrage of elbows from Embiid, if that were to continue, they have DeAndre Jordan to protect the paint in his absence.

With Philly adding Al Horford and Josh Richardson in the offseason after the departures of Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick, the Nets will use this as a test to see where they stand against the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.