Sixers are feeling the closeness of the playoffs

The 2019 NBA playoffs are just two weeks away, and you can feel it.

There was a mood shift Thursday night that was a little more palpable than it’s been in recent weeks, and that’s in large part because of the mere seven games that stand between the Sixers and their second straight playoff run.

So, when the Brooklyn Nets came to Philadelphia on Thursday, with the Sixers reeling from two disappointing losses, the Nets were met with an early dominance that surely reminded them where the Sixers are in the Eastern Conference standings.

“I think it’s just knowing that they’ve got to feel us on the defensive side,” Ben Simmons said.

The Sixers jumped out early, leading by as many as 20, en route to a 123-110 win over Brooklyn. Early defense, fewer turnovers, more emphasis on guarding spread pick-and-rolls, and continued chemistry progression were apparent in a way that they haven’t been recently, and it was timely. There’s no more time to waste.

There’s a mix of eagerness and anxiousness that comes to the players and coaches when the playoffs draw closer, and for all the hand-wringing and concerns that also come with the postseason, there’s a level of excitement that is welcomed and necessary.

“I’ve felt this for a while,” Brett Brown said.

Though Brown says that, he also acknowledged that he’s paying even closer attention to the standings and the battle that’s happening at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, where only 2½ games separate the sixth and 10th spots.

Even with the position jockeying and excitement that is bubbling under the surface, Brown also said that a slow build is the best approach when it comes to the playoffs. The emotions that are earned and undeniable are expected in the home stretch of the regular season, but it’s best that they are tempered with a level-headed understanding of the moment.

“It comes with sort of a balanced perspective,” Brown said. “I don’t want them like we’re back as kids and summer is here and you just spring out of school, like here we go, I don’t want that.”

It’s really no wonder, against a possible first-round opponent, a Nets team that has presented challenges for the Brown and his players in the past, that three Sixers — Simmons, Jimmy Butler, and Joel Embiid — each received a technical foul for mouthing off after foul calls, letting competition and anger get the best of them.

The outbursts and consequences provided another moment of teaching and reflection for the Sixers before they embark on a postseason run that has lofty expectations placed on it — whether they’re ready for the playoffs or not. It’s going to take discipline and just the right amount of anger, excitement, competitive spirit, caution, and focus to make a deep run.

“It doesn’t reflect what we’re going to need,” Brown said of the technical fouls. “Imagine going back and looking at your teammates, losing Game 1 of a series because we weren’t able to control our emotions. That’s on me, too.”

Through the season, there have been games with a playoff atmosphere against elite teams. That was the case against Boston, driven by history and a decades-old rivalry that is nearing rebirth. It’s always an intense situation taking on the defending champions, as was the case when the Warriors were in town. But, there’s a difference when the fans bring the atmosphere compared to when the players create it.

It was the Sixers players who created the playoff atmosphere Thursday night. There was an intention, from the opening tip, to put to bed the recent bad losses and display the kind of precision that will be needed when the regular season is over.

The Sixers don’t yet know whom they will face in the opening round of the playoffs; it could be a number of teams, including the Nets. The win Thursday did more than add one game to the win column for the Sixers. It also gave a glimpse of what is right around the corner: seven more games of slow-building emotions and a team that is ready to unleash.