Jimmy Butler Is Looking Forward to a Physical Matchup for Game 3

The scene might get tense in Brooklyn on Thursday night as the Philadelphia 76ers travel to the Barclay's Center to take on the Brooklyn Nets for Game 3 of the round one playoff series. Last time these two met, the Sixers started slow but picked up the pace in the second-half where they destroyed the Nets 145-123.

With the series tied at 1-1, both teams are looking forward to getting their chance at taking the lead. The Nets went up 1-0 after shocking the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center to open up the series. Now, the Sixers are going to take a stab at trying to steal a win on the road this time around. They know it won't be easy, but they are looking forward to the challenge.

The series may get chippy moving forward, as the trash talk continues. It all started with Nets' veteran Jared Dudley exposing their gameplan, which required their team to avoid covering Sixers' star guard Ben Simmons completely. Since Simmons is unwilling to shoot the ball, the Nets have decided not even to guard him at times. We see it, but they keep talking about it. Also, the incident between Joel Embiid and Jarrett Allen called for some trash talking as well.

Although Embiid tried to be a respectful opponent and issue a public apology after the game, he just ended up laughing, which seemed to get under the Nets skin. Now that the Sixers know the Nets could be out for blood on Thursday, Jimmy Butler and the rest of the team are looking forward to a physical matchup.

After getting in an early 8:45 am shootout in Brooklyn on Thursday, Butler embraced reporters who were in attendance to discuss the matchup. When asked if he's expecting a more physical battle, Butler responded with enthusiasm. "I hope so," Butler said with a smile to Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey. "I'm all for physicality, I think a lot of the guys on our team are," Butler then followed by saying "they want this one just as bad as we want this one."

Many are under the impression that the third-seeded Sixers aren't taking the sixth-seeded Nets too seriously, but that couldn't be more false. After splitting with the Nets with two wins, and two losses in the regular season, Philly expected some stiff competition in round one. Then came the Game 1 beatdown by Brooklyn on Philly's home court, which seemed to humble the favorites a bit. The Sixers might be all smiles and having fun, but to say they aren't expecting a fierce effort from the Nets would be flat-out wrong.

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