The Brooklyn Nets clinched the sixth seed in the East with their 101-84 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night. The team will now have the ability to rest its squad in the team’s season finale ahead of the first round.
In the Nets’ win over the Magic, Brooklyn’s new duo managed to clinch the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year despite their poor shooting night.
Bridges finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists, shooting 7/24 from the field and just 1/12 from 3-point range. Dinwiddie, on the other hand, ended his night with just six points on 2/11 shooting from FG range and 0/6 from three. Luckily, Dinwiddie continued his elite passing to add 14 assists and seven rebounds in the victory.
The Nets first round matchup is locked in
Fortunately for the Nets, the team already had a good idea of who they would be playing in the first round ahead of their matchup against the Magic. With the 76ers clinching the No. 3 seed on Wednesday night, Brooklyn’s most likely opponent was already set in stone.
Despite the tough matchup in round one, Brooklyn’s heading into the playoffs with confidence within their group, and rightfully so. The Nets are 5-1 in their last six games and are building momentum as a group to give the Sixers a run for their money in the first round of the postseason.
"Now it's just time to reset and get ready for our matchup."
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 8, 2023
Nic Claxton shares with @Meghan_Triplett what Brooklyn's mentality is as the Nets are back in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/Wmoyja0Tt7
The Nets finished with a season-high 14 steals as a team versus the Magic on Friday. If the team can enter the series against Philadelphia continuing the high level of defensive play as of recent, Brooklyn may be able to slow down MVP front-runner Joel Embiid.
If the Nets can limit Embiid’s production, they put themselves in position to shock the world.