76ers’ Game 1 performance against Hawks gives Philly fans Brett Brown flashbacks

The Atlanta Hawks held a near-20 point lead over the No. 1 seeded Philadelphia 76ers at halftime. So, what gives?

To put this modestly, Trae Young went off, and the 76ers didn’t have anyone capable of guarding him. Young had 12 points and five assists in the first quarter alone, and expanded those totals come the second.

While the return of Joel Embiid and the start of the second round was enough to get 76ers fans amped, Philly had their MVP candidate come out to a WWE-style intro before the game.

Was that cool? Absolutely. Is it super lame if you don’t back that up with a victory? Absolutely.

NBA Playoffs: Atlanta Hawks won’t be pushovers in the second round for the 76ers

Doc Rivers is a very capable coach and there’s a good chance Philly turns this result around very quickly, even if it ends in defeat for the home side.

Nonetheless, it didn’t stop Sixers fans from have Brett Brown flashbacks.

https://twitter.com/SixersTre/status/1401602594523422721

The Sixers replaced Brown with Rivers after last season, as one too many playoff failures forced them to make a tough decision. They weren’t about to trade a member of their young core in Ben Simmons or Embiid, so they let Brown fall on the sword.

Rivers led the Sixers to the top seed this year, and helped transform Embiid from a great player to MVP candidate.

This is Twitter, where fans overreact all the time. That doesn’t mean we can’t make fun of it a little, though.