Nets look to gain ground on Sixers

James Harden will be on one side Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Ben Simmons will be on the other, likely with 76ers fans screaming in his ear.

Wells Fargo Center will be loud, and Jacque Vaughn acknowledged the game carries a bit of extra significance, but not because the Nets and 76ers have become hated rivals.

“More than anything it’s [because] Philly is a game … above us in the standings, and I think that makes it important,” the Nets’ head coach said at practice Tuesday. “You’re playing an Eastern Conference team, and you don’t know what the results are going to be at the end of the year. I think at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.”

The Nets will enter play as the East’s fourth seed, one-half game back of the Bucks and a game behind the 76ers. Vaughn wanted the focus to be on the postseason outlook and not on Harden’s first game this season against the Nets, the team he forced his way off last season, or Simmons’ second game in Philadelphia, where he became Public Enemy No. 1 after he refused to report to the Sixers.

There are ingredients for the two squads to loathe each other, including several past altercations between Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid. But Durant, who will miss at least two more weeks with a sprained right MCL, disputes any notion of bad blood.

“Rivalries in the NBA are not really a thing, in my opinion,” said Durant, who will be focusing on his rehab and won’t travel to Philadelphia. “So it’s going to be a battle amongst each fan base on social media, but as far as the players, it’s another game on the schedule.”

The last time the Nets and 76ers met, on Nov. 22, Simmons was roundly booed at his former home, but played well.

➤ If Embiid suits up, it would be the first time he will play against Simmons. The former teammates could not make it work after Simmons played poorly in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Hawks, and Embiid publicly criticized Simmons’ often unwillingness to shoot. Embiid, who missed the 76ers’ win Saturday at Sacramento, is questionable with left foot soreness.