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Watch Live: Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 6:00 PM EST on NBA TV and YES Network

James Harden returns to Brooklyn as the 76ers and Nets square off on Saturday night.

New York Knicks v Philadelphia 76ers Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

The new look new-look Brooklyn Nets are 1-0 since the trade deadline, but they will face a serious battle on Saturday night as they look to take down the mighty Philadelphia 76ers.

Good news for the Nets, the 76ers are on night two of a back-to-back set and coming off a win over the Knicks. We certainly won’t see the full-strength 76ers.

Brooklyn is hoping to get another stellar performance from Spencer Dinwiddie along with breakout start Cam Thomas who cooled off a little in the team’s last game but has remained on a tear.

I feel strangely optimistic about this team; not necessarily “championship optimism” but it’s starting to feel fun again, right?

WHO: Brooklyn Nets (33-22) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (35-19)

WHEN: 6:00 p.m. est

WHERE: NBA TV (national), YES Network (tv and app), WFAN-FM (radio)

Game preview.

For the Nets, Spencer Dinwiddie made his return to the team following the trade from the Dallas Mavericks and looked like he never left. Din paced the Nets attack with 25 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals to only one turnover in 38 minutes. He attacks at will and kept the Nets offense humming when he was running it. For the Nets, they are going to need him to put the pedal to the metal and run, run, run.

All the bigs on the court tonight will have to contend with guards who love to attack the basket. For the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey has been the engine coming off the bench that has taken on the role of the third shot creator. He’s had some struggles running bench lineups as the lead option, but that can be tweaked the deeper we go in to the season.

Three-point shooting will be absolutely essential tonight. The Nets are second in three point percentage while the Sixers are fourth. For Brooklyn, Joe Harris heated up in a hurry and helped the Nets get back in rhythm on Thursday. They’re going to need to be locked in from deep now that they don’t have an offensive fulcrum like Durant to score everything he touches the rock. Having guys like Harris, Royce O’Neale, Seth Curry, and Patty Mills cashing in on their threes becomes even more important when you don’t have a player who can create their own shot.

For more on the 76ers, check out Liberty Ballers.