Speaker 1: The seventy six ers find themselves in an O one
Speaker 1: hole to start their opening round series, but the vibes
Speaker 1: around the team are confident and forward looking. The higher level,
Speaker 1: big pitches stuff is the areas that can be fixed
Speaker 1: so easily. There's lots to be excited about. After finishing
Speaker 1: with just twenty eight wins last year, how did the
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets manage to orchestrate such a ragmatic turnaround this season?
Speaker 1: We asked a guy who's pretty close to the club.
Speaker 1: There have been times, even as a close up observer,
Speaker 1: that I've been very surprised in their resiliency and the
Speaker 1: idea that they would be overwhelmed by the moment or intimidated.
Speaker 1: I don't think that's going to be there. Game one
Speaker 1: takeaways and insights on the Nets from my an Eagle
Speaker 1: on this episode of the broadcast. It was no doubt
Speaker 1: a tough one for sure on Saturday. Not the way
Speaker 1: anyone expected things to go, at least if you play
Speaker 1: for coach work for I'd think follow are a fan
Speaker 1: of the National Basketball Association franchise from the city of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: I'm Brian Seltzer. We'll take a look at what happened
Speaker 1: in game one, what didn't happen with the seventy six
Speaker 1: we can do better on this edition of the podcast,
Speaker 1: and then we'll play an interview with Iron Eagle. If
Speaker 1: you don't know the name, I would bet you know
Speaker 1: the voice. He does the NETS games on television and
Speaker 1: where you've probably heard or seen him before is the
Speaker 1: NBA on TNT, NCAA tournament broadcasts on CBS, the NFL
Speaker 1: on CBS, and he's been doing NETS games for years.
Speaker 1: So we'll speak with Ian who is certainly someone who
Speaker 1: has his finger on the pulse of Brooklyn and how
Speaker 1: they've managed to put a team together that has given
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers fits so far. All that coming up,
Speaker 1: but first we want to remind you that to subscribe
Speaker 1: to the podcast, if you are not yet a subscriber already,
Speaker 1: you can go to just about anyone if your favorite
Speaker 1: podcasting platforms. It could be Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stick, SoundCloud,
Speaker 1: tune in, pocketcasts, the list does go on. Just type
Speaker 1: in Sixers podcast network and that will take you to
Speaker 1: our feed. I an Eagle with a lowdown on Brooklyn
Speaker 1: what triggered their turnaround in a few minutes, but wanted
Speaker 1: to start by going back to what we last saw
Speaker 1: from the seventy Sixers on Saturday in that one oh
Speaker 1: two lost, The Brooklyn Nets. Sixers shot in the game
Speaker 1: just forty and a half percent from the field, three
Speaker 1: of twenty five from outside the arc, they missed thirteen
Speaker 1: and their forty two free throws. Brooklyn scored fourteen points
Speaker 1: off of these seventy six ers, thirteen turnovers and just
Speaker 1: a game in which things didn't quite seem in sync.
Speaker 1: Understandable at least. I think if you go back and
Speaker 1: look at the last couple of weeks, that the seventy
Speaker 1: sixers not have their full competent of players available for
Speaker 1: the home stretch of the regular season. I don't think
Speaker 1: anyone of the Sixers expected to magically click their heels,
Speaker 1: come out Saturday and be a fluid, fine tuned, well
Speaker 1: oiled machine, and that board itself out as Brooklyn gave
Speaker 1: the Sixers trouble once again. They had eleven three pointers
Speaker 1: in the game. D'Angel Russell came on big in the
Speaker 1: second half finish with twenty six. Carsel Vert was an
Speaker 1: X factor off the bench with twenty three, and I
Speaker 1: thought Ed Davis was huge in that game Brooklyn once
Speaker 1: again got nothing out of Jarrett Allen facing Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: and Ed Davis stepped in and gave Brooklyn twelve and sixteen.
Speaker 1: He was plus twenty eight and I thought helped get
Speaker 1: Brooklyn going late in the first quarter when the Nets
Speaker 1: went on that first run. We know that the playoffs
Speaker 1: is a season of adjustments, a season four a psychological stability,
Speaker 1: maintaining an even keel, not getting too high or too low, winner, lose.
Speaker 1: Let's run you back a sound check in the past
Speaker 1: couple of days. First beginning with what the pulse and
Speaker 1: mood was like at practice on Sunday in Camden. Jimmy
Speaker 1: Butler keeping things in perspective every day, we're three food,
Speaker 1: we're have you. It could be about work. We could
Speaker 1: be now pulling out, So in any worry about it. Man,
Speaker 1: we're going into the bad baby tomorrow. Maybe all right,
Speaker 1: that's a sentiment you can get behind, can't you. Let's
Speaker 1: go out there and win that big baby tomorrow or
Speaker 1: bad baby tomorrow, whatever was Butler said. Brett Brown. We
Speaker 1: know does a spectacular job of keeping his team focused
Speaker 1: no matter what, and right now in the playoffs, it's
Speaker 1: no different. Hey, Sixers. In fact, we're not alone in
Speaker 1: being the higher seed to lose at home on Saturday,
Speaker 1: same fate suffered by Toronto and Denver too. Nobody accepts
Speaker 1: what happened yesterday, and interestingly, as I remind them, you know,
Speaker 1: you look around the league three scalps ahead by visiting teams,
Speaker 1: and it's just part of how do you win four games?
Speaker 1: And so much of it for me over the years
Speaker 1: is how do you have that psychological stability where you
Speaker 1: don't overreact, where you know you're at peace in some
Speaker 1: place within yourself where you solid and steady and you're
Speaker 1: not up and down all the time, and the playoffs
Speaker 1: can trick you. You You have to ignore the noise. You
Speaker 1: really have to live in a place that is not distracting.
Speaker 1: Where can the seventy six ers improved for Game two?
Speaker 1: Perhaps one of the top things they can tweak as
Speaker 1: much as anything else is demeanor. I think we gotta
Speaker 1: be similar physical. Hopefully I'll feel better and you know,
Speaker 1: gained a couple of mom my athletic abilities so I
Speaker 1: can be more dominant on the block. That's got to start.
Speaker 1: That just be physical, starting with me. Jimmy did a
Speaker 1: good job attack on Monday. We got to do a
Speaker 1: better job. Joel Embiid is questionable for Monday's game. His
Speaker 1: fellow All Star Ben Simmons knows he needs to do better.
Speaker 1: Four for nine from the field, nine point seven boards,
Speaker 1: three assists, three turnovers versus Brooklyn on Saturday. I think
Speaker 1: you're trying to run the teams in Western terms of that,
Speaker 1: you know, getting guys at ball and putting guys in
Speaker 1: certain positions. I think some take up on myself as
Speaker 1: staying aggressive. That's tacking downhill and making them, you know,
Speaker 1: make tough plays. Part of the attitude that collectively, you'd
Speaker 1: have to think the seventy sixers would want to adopt
Speaker 1: across the board for Game two and quickly put Game
Speaker 1: one in the rear view. I an Eagle broadcaster for
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets. A conversation with him after I tell
Speaker 1: you about this. We know it is the playoffs. We
Speaker 1: know that at the Center in South Philadelphia, it is
Speaker 1: a tough ticket to get to be in the building
Speaker 1: for one of the postseason games. What could be your ticket?
Speaker 1: How about eight playoff sweet rental sweets for seventy sixers.
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Speaker 1: The Brooklyn Nets definitely one of the more impressive stories
Speaker 1: from the NBA and the twenty eighteen nineteen regular season
Speaker 1: twenty eight wins a season ago. Yeah, they had a
Speaker 1: core of young talent that they started to put in play,
Speaker 1: springing Danzel Russell in a trade with the LA Lakers.
Speaker 1: But I'm not sure if anyone really expected the Nets
Speaker 1: to take this much of a leap, and in particular
Speaker 1: be a thorn in the seventy six ers side too.
Speaker 1: Up until this point, they've been so far well, that
Speaker 1: could be everyone except for the Brooklyn Nets themselves to
Speaker 1: give us some more stories about Brooklyn, how this season
Speaker 1: took shape, the development of some of their key players.
Speaker 1: We welcome in an Eagle broadcaster for the Net on
Speaker 1: the y S Network. You also, of course, I am
Speaker 1: sure have heard and seen him on the NBA on
Speaker 1: t NT, NBA TV, NFL, on CBS, NCWA tournament coverage.
Speaker 1: He is simply one of the best at what he does.
Speaker 1: Ian Welcome, thanks so much for the time. On the
Speaker 1: seventy six er side, the theme is optimism, confidence, hope.
Speaker 1: Tell us what's the mood around the Brooklyn Nets right
Speaker 1: now after that Game one win? You know, I think
Speaker 1: validating a lot of what they felt about their season
Speaker 1: that yes, they are a surprise that people didn't expect this,
Speaker 1: but there was this feeling going into Game one that
Speaker 1: they were not just happy to be there. They thought
Speaker 1: they could compete with this Philly team based on what
Speaker 1: we saw during the regular season and based on the
Speaker 1: improvements that they've made throughout the year. Very deep bench
Speaker 1: that is legitimate strength. Kenny Atkinson has faith in going
Speaker 1: ten deep, which isn't always the norm come playoff time,
Speaker 1: and their guard play Russell and Dinwoody and Lavert when
Speaker 1: Dinwoody and Lavert have been healthy and they've been tough
Speaker 1: to stop one on one, and Russell's success has been
Speaker 1: evident an all Star season and at times he's carried
Speaker 1: this team on his back. So I think, more than
Speaker 1: anything else, just confirmation that they could play with this team,
Speaker 1: compete with this team, and win games in this series
Speaker 1: not just be a nice story, but maybe shock the
Speaker 1: NBA world. You mentioned the words surprise and referencing the
Speaker 1: season that Brooklyn has had, when for people closest to
Speaker 1: the team, was it not a surprise anymore? Obviously there
Speaker 1: was the eight and eighteen start, but finishing at the
Speaker 1: clip that Brooklyn did thirty four and twenty two is
Speaker 1: pretty darn impressive. Yeah, you know, Brian, I think after
Speaker 1: they got through that eight and eighteen stretch and started
Speaker 1: putting wins together, three game winning street, four streaks, seven
Speaker 1: game winning streak, that's when you realize that this team
Speaker 1: had a little something. The chemistry was always there, a
Speaker 1: very likable group. They like being around one another. There's
Speaker 1: a connectivity between the head coach, the coaching staff, the players,
Speaker 1: the front office, and I think the realization that the
Speaker 1: things they were preaching were actually working. This team is, yes,
Speaker 1: a three point shooting team, but they drive to the rim,
Speaker 1: and they actually lead the NBA in scoring on drives
Speaker 1: to the rim. So there's perception that's developed over the
Speaker 1: last couple of years that, all right, they're just going
Speaker 1: with the modern way of looking at the NBA. Threes
Speaker 1: are better than twos. That thought necessarily the case. They
Speaker 1: did go out and acquire talent that could help them
Speaker 1: from the perimeter, but they've taken a different perspective in
Speaker 1: how they go about their business, and I do think
Speaker 1: they're a bit more flexible than people may have viewed
Speaker 1: them before this season started. I would say in the
Speaker 1: month of January there was this true realization that they
Speaker 1: were going to be able to be a part of
Speaker 1: this conversation throughout the year, and they weren't going read
Speaker 1: to be just a flash in the pan that showed progress.
Speaker 1: They thought they could be a playoff team, and with
Speaker 1: each month that passed, the rest of the NBA got
Speaker 1: the memo, especially in the games now five of them
Speaker 1: between the regular season the postseason against the seventy six ers.
Speaker 1: What you mentioned about the attack mode of some of
Speaker 1: the guard play that has certainly been on full display,
Speaker 1: and that has definitely been something the Sixers have had
Speaker 1: problems with. If we look at d' angelo Russell and
Speaker 1: Spencer Dinwoodie, what were the developmental areas of focus for
Speaker 1: those two guys in particular that obviously had major seasons
Speaker 1: for the Nets. Yeah. First with Russell, I just think
Speaker 1: realization of taking quality shots, getting his teammates involved as well.
Speaker 1: He ended up the year at over twenty one points
Speaker 1: per game, seven assists per game, and a gifted passer.
Speaker 1: He makes things look very easy and very casual in
Speaker 1: many ways, and I think that actually hurt him. His
Speaker 1: first few years in the NBA. There was this perception
Speaker 1: that he was nonchalant, and maybe at times he was,
Speaker 1: but this year that turned into a different focus, a
Speaker 1: steely concentration to do the right thing, to make the
Speaker 1: right plays. And I also think he was challenged by
Speaker 1: this coaching staff because they knew how talented he was,
Speaker 1: and maybe he had not received that kind of back
Speaker 1: and forth in his previous stint in LA where they
Speaker 1: wanted to see him be better. Just because you take
Speaker 1: a bad shot and make it doesn't mean it was
Speaker 1: the right shot. And for a while that was the
Speaker 1: way D'Angelo occupied his time in the NBA. Not really
Speaker 1: the case anymore. He take some shots where you think
Speaker 1: to yourself, well that that's not going to go in,
Speaker 1: there's no possible way, and he finds a way. It's
Speaker 1: pretty amazing his development at maturity off the court. Brian,
Speaker 1: more than anything else, I just think we tend to
Speaker 1: forget how young these guys are and how inexperienced they
Speaker 1: may be in life with so much that is put
Speaker 1: on their plate. He's just come a long way on
Speaker 1: the personal side as well. From my perspective, Spencer Dinwoodie
Speaker 1: always an older soul, a real mature guy, and I
Speaker 1: think a chip on his shoulder based on the fact
Speaker 1: that he was not really a factor in the NBA
Speaker 1: second round pick because he was injured his last year
Speaker 1: at Colorado, Detroit didn't really get a fair shake. Goes
Speaker 1: to Chicago as part of their G League team, tries
Speaker 1: to resurrect his career and signs a minimum deal with
Speaker 1: the Nets just to get into the league and have
Speaker 1: a contract, and then surpasses his deal in the last
Speaker 1: couple of years, and if anything, what was building behind
Speaker 1: the scenes was the fact that he thought he deserved
Speaker 1: a long term deal at big money, and the question
Speaker 1: was whether or not the Nets were going to give
Speaker 1: it to him. They did, and he earned it. This
Speaker 1: three year, thirty four million dollar extension, I think put
Speaker 1: his mind at ease, obviously on the financial side, but
Speaker 1: even deeper than that. It just allowed him to know
Speaker 1: that he was a legitimate NBA player. All the things
Speaker 1: that he believed finally were out there in a public
Speaker 1: setting that he belongs. And sometimes that mental part of
Speaker 1: it is just as important as the physical part. With Dinwoodie,
Speaker 1: he's got this extra year. He has this ability to
Speaker 1: blow by defenders because he's so long, maybe deceptively long.
Speaker 1: He's six six two hundred, and his ability to get
Speaker 1: to the rim to draw contact keeps you honest with
Speaker 1: that three point shot. There's a real fire inside of him,
Speaker 1: and I think we've just seen that on display more
Speaker 1: and more this year, and a lot of that was
Speaker 1: often directed to officials and two opponents, and I think
Speaker 1: he's been much better at parsing out when to use it,
Speaker 1: when to harness it, and the numbers back it up.
Speaker 1: He's been behind Lou Williams, the best bench guy in
Speaker 1: the NBA this year. Everyone knows you file the league
Speaker 1: on a national level as well. What didn't trigued you
Speaker 1: about the seventy six ers going to the playoffs? What
Speaker 1: were your expectations? Yeah, my curiosity, I think, like everybody else, Brian,
Speaker 1: was just how quickly this team could mesh in a
Speaker 1: pressure situation Ten games together as a starting unit. That
Speaker 1: certainly draws some question marks. And you know, a lot
Speaker 1: of that was based on the fact that Tobias Harris
Speaker 1: was acquired before the deadline and Joel emb just wasn't healthy.
Speaker 1: But the question that most people around the league had
Speaker 1: and now it's still out there, maybe more than ever,
Speaker 1: is when facing adversity, how would this team handle it?
Speaker 1: Would it be fragile or would they ban together? And
Speaker 1: the first question that pops up is how do you
Speaker 1: handle a game one loss? And boo birds and distractions,
Speaker 1: cell phones and questioning of fans. All of those things
Speaker 1: now are part of the equation and they can use
Speaker 1: it to motivate them even more or it could become
Speaker 1: a major theme and what turns out to be an
Speaker 1: underwhelming postseason. There's a lot of overreaction after one game
Speaker 1: in the NBA playoffs, Anyone that's been around this league
Speaker 1: knows that many conclusions are drawn after just one game.
Speaker 1: One of those people that just jumps in feet first
Speaker 1: and Okay, this is how the series is going to go, right.
Speaker 1: It's the great part about the playoffs is that you
Speaker 1: do get the chess match. You do get the coaching
Speaker 1: staffs dueling on how to adjust, and the intrigue for
Speaker 1: me is to see how Philly handles it. I think
Speaker 1: Embiid will get more paint touches he should, and obviously
Speaker 1: JJ Reddick and Tobias Harris have to be more of
Speaker 1: a factor in this series, not just in Game two,
Speaker 1: but to win this series. The Nets, though they don't
Speaker 1: go away, they fight. That has been a theme throughout
Speaker 1: the season for this Brooklyn squad, and there are have
Speaker 1: been times, even as a close up observer, that I've
Speaker 1: been very surprised in their resiliency and how they handle
Speaker 1: their business game and a game out, even against some
Speaker 1: really good opponents. So the idea that they would be
Speaker 1: overwhelmed by the moment or intimidated, I don't think that
Speaker 1: that's going to be there. Philadelphia is going to have
Speaker 1: to earn this thing in the first round. If they're
Speaker 1: going to advance. I just don't get the same vibe
Speaker 1: that I got a year ago when everybody around the
Speaker 1: Sixers knew they were better than the Miami Heat and
Speaker 1: they would find a way to beat the Miami Heat,
Speaker 1: which they did in five games. This just has a
Speaker 1: different feel to it compared to twenty eighteen. I an
Speaker 1: Eagle broadcaster for the Brooklyn Nets. Thank you so much
Speaker 1: for a few minutes. Really appreciate it. Enjoy the rest
Speaker 1: of the series. Yeah, looking forward to it. Good to
Speaker 1: talk to you, brook I an eagle with some insights
Speaker 1: and perspective on the Brooklyn Nets and how they managed
Speaker 1: to reverse their fortunes in a very significant way this
Speaker 1: past season under third year head coach Kenny Atkinson. And
Speaker 1: also a guy who Brett Brown knows very well, Sean Marks.
Speaker 1: He played a bit for the San Antonio Spurs and
Speaker 1: he's the general manager of Brooklyn. All right, Well, the
Speaker 1: hope is this that some of the tough juju was
Speaker 1: gotten out of the way with in Game one and
Speaker 1: the seventy Sixers can bounce back on Monday for Game two.
Speaker 1: After the game, be on the lookout and your pod
Speaker 1: feeds for a rewind episode of the podcast, and then
Speaker 1: we'll probably have at least one episode more ahead of
Speaker 1: Thursday's Game three, when the series shifts to Barkley's Center
Speaker 1: in Brooklyn. Talk to you next time here the broadcast
Speaker 1: see