Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers Podcast wherever you get your pods. We
Speaker 1: have heard the good word. It certainly looks like Joel
Speaker 1: Embiad is going to be back in a seventy Sixers
Speaker 1: uniform pretty soon. Joel catches it with his back to
Speaker 1: the basket because those at ten hammer said, oh man,
Speaker 1: what a flake, and Bead rested Rarer to go. The
Speaker 1: big Fellow was certainly making an MVP case before his injury.
Speaker 1: Can he still make a final push in the home
Speaker 1: stretch of the season. He pirouetted the paint and laysing
Speaker 1: it Joel embead with power and finesse all on one play.
Speaker 1: But maybe even most important, how have the Sixers benefited
Speaker 1: from learning how to win without him? I'm Devon Gibbons,
Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Robin, and I'm Brian Seltzer on this week's
Speaker 1: Friday Deep Dive the impending return of Joel Embiad. Guys
Speaker 1: all signs pointing to the big man coming back, and
Speaker 1: I will be honest and frank with you. When it
Speaker 1: first happened against the Washington Wizards, my initial reaction was
Speaker 1: not v good. I was a little bit concerned. It
Speaker 1: was great to see him walk off under his own
Speaker 1: power than the news that came out a few days
Speaker 1: later that it was only a relatively minor issue. So
Speaker 1: I'm just grateful that we're in a spot that we're
Speaker 1: talking about Joel Embiid all signs pointing to him coming
Speaker 1: back on a basketball court for this season. Well, what
Speaker 1: we know for sure is that they're all going to
Speaker 1: be thrilled to have him back whenever he can come back,
Speaker 1: and that they're proud of what they've been able to
Speaker 1: do in his absence three and two on the road
Speaker 1: trip to start, three quality wins. That win that was
Speaker 1: the night before the road trip started. At home, they've
Speaker 1: really made the most of what looked like it could
Speaker 1: be a pretty treacherous week and a half or two
Speaker 1: weeks away from home. So I think the combination of
Speaker 1: coming home and potentially having Joel be waiting for them
Speaker 1: at home is really exciting to this group. And of
Speaker 1: course Doc Rivers has expressed that he gets daily updates
Speaker 1: about Joel Embiat's progress, that things have been going well
Speaker 1: as he's ramped up on court activities, and we'll have
Speaker 1: to see exactly how ramped up. Those activities have been
Speaker 1: when the team is back for it's back to back
Speaker 1: on Saturday and Sunday. So as the terrible injury athlete
Speaker 1: of the podcast that I am and having dealt with
Speaker 1: major injuries already, of course, when we see something like
Speaker 1: that with the big guy like Joel embiad Is at
Speaker 1: his size and the way that he went down, we've
Speaker 1: seen him go down before, but this one just looked
Speaker 1: a little different where the way he went down, and
Speaker 1: we're all happy, and him first and foremost, he's happy
Speaker 1: that it wasn't you know, the worst that was assumed
Speaker 1: by many, and myself, you know, not being one of them,
Speaker 1: but just again seeing it, seeing how he went down,
Speaker 1: seeing how his leg went, but ultimately fun and out
Speaker 1: that it was later a bone bruise out for a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks. That was great. Now the only thing
Speaker 1: with the bone bruise part, like self, this is the
Speaker 1: week's version of how did it happen? Is? If you remember,
Speaker 1: and Lauren, you weren't around when I when I almost
Speaker 1: broke my ankle, but I had a bone bruise and
Speaker 1: my ankle and I had a boot, had a walking
Speaker 1: boot and while I am only five six and I
Speaker 1: don't weigh as close to what Joel embiidways at the time,
Speaker 1: my physician did say, I wish you would have just
Speaker 1: broken your foot because it was an easier heel than
Speaker 1: the bone. So I'm happy. I'm elated that things have
Speaker 1: worked out the way that embiads injury has and the
Speaker 1: recovery and the Sixers get him back for the stretch
Speaker 1: front of the second half of the season while they
Speaker 1: were about the seating and of course the playoffs in
Speaker 1: the very very very near future. And for the uninitiated
Speaker 1: out there, d you are recovering ACL patients almost a
Speaker 1: year now, a little bit more than a year, a
Speaker 1: little more than the year, almost two years. How about
Speaker 1: that the pandemic just threw things off. It was May
Speaker 1: of nineteen, late May of nineteen and surgery in June,
Speaker 1: and of course I was rolling along. I had a
Speaker 1: little setback where I had some some knee scrape that
Speaker 1: had to go in there and some scar tissue on
Speaker 1: my knee. I was also a little meniscus tear as well.
Speaker 1: So you know how we often talk about these things
Speaker 1: and how things play out, and we never really know
Speaker 1: what the injuries are. But now I know so bone
Speaker 1: bruise and ACL tear that I did suffer at full
Speaker 1: tear by the way complete tear that, yeah, you know
Speaker 1: I did. I did fear a little bit when I
Speaker 1: saw him go down the way he did because mine,
Speaker 1: while it was contact, it wasn't anything that I did.
Speaker 1: Someone ran into my knee and the same thing within
Speaker 1: beat and how his knee buckled the way that it
Speaker 1: did hyper extension. So that was great, and just happy
Speaker 1: that he's good. And yes, I should be able to
Speaker 1: play ball soon. So Joel and I'll be back out
Speaker 1: there on the floor. Last time I was out there
Speaker 1: on the floor with them was with fir con court plots.
Speaker 1: He and I had a shoot out, so that was it.
Speaker 1: That's right. I forgot about that. Yeah, tremendous. You know,
Speaker 1: there are no locker rooms in the traditional sense this season.
Speaker 1: They are only zoom rooms, and Lauren, you're in all
Speaker 1: of them with the seventy sixers when they speak. Why
Speaker 1: don't you bring us up to speed on what we
Speaker 1: know at this point in time about Joel Embiid, what
Speaker 1: Doc has said he's been up to, and how the
Speaker 1: Sixers feel he's doing well. I remember when we went
Speaker 1: into the break, we looked at the games that we're
Speaker 1: going to follow that came right out after the break,
Speaker 1: the stretch that the Sixers are now let's say halfway
Speaker 1: through that terrible twenty days on the road out of
Speaker 1: twenty three days. It's a really tough strength of schedule
Speaker 1: these first few weeks back. And I think that if
Speaker 1: you had told us that we were going to see
Speaker 1: the Sixers come out five hundred halfway through that tough stretch,
Speaker 1: I think we'd feel pretty darn good about it, maybe
Speaker 1: even with Joel Embiid in the fold, considering how much
Speaker 1: they were playing on the road, So for them to
Speaker 1: have gone over five hundred, still jockeying for that first
Speaker 1: seed in the East. In Joel's absence, I think he's
Speaker 1: really presive, and I don't think enough people are talking
Speaker 1: about it. Obviously, a couple of tough losses there on
Speaker 1: the road that sort of tarnished the thing that they
Speaker 1: had going, But when you zoom out and look at
Speaker 1: what they've done since the break, especially without Joel, I
Speaker 1: think it's been very impressive. Dyeah. I think if there's
Speaker 1: any guy in the league, for better or worse, who
Speaker 1: knows how to return from an injury. It's Joel Embid
Speaker 1: And I probably should have looked up games of note
Speaker 1: for Joel coming back off of injury absences, but the
Speaker 1: first one that actually comes to mind was the game
Speaker 1: against Detroit last year at the Center, right before the
Speaker 1: shutdown when he came back. He didn't play during the
Speaker 1: West coast trip, and he went out there against the
Speaker 1: Pistons and had a fantastic game. It'd be compliments of
Speaker 1: Milton about Joel Embid showing anything. No signs are rushed
Speaker 1: after the five game absence thirty and twelve for him
Speaker 1: in his return. He's a guy who's been through this before,
Speaker 1: and incredibly, it seems like more often than not, at
Speaker 1: least for what my gut is telling me, it seems
Speaker 1: like you it doesn't show that much rust. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: was about to say the exact same thing. No rust.
Speaker 1: He typically comes back and has a big performance. So
Speaker 1: maybe that's something that we can prepare ourselves for when
Speaker 1: he does finally get back on the floor, whether it's
Speaker 1: this weekend or starting next week, he definitely goes out
Speaker 1: there and shows that he's ready to go. If I
Speaker 1: know Joel Embie like YouTube do as well, and the
Speaker 1: listeners the viewers is that he's been wanting to get
Speaker 1: back out there on the floor, so he's chomping at
Speaker 1: the bit. And if it is against Minnesota and Karl
Speaker 1: Anthony Towns, or if it is against Jonah's Valancinis and
Speaker 1: the Memphis Grizzlies, he definitely performs well against them. So
Speaker 1: I think that where the team is right now, definitely
Speaker 1: keeping their head way above water since in his absence
Speaker 1: and now with him coming back, he's ready to go,
Speaker 1: and I expect a big performance from him, and whether
Speaker 1: there's minute restrictions or not, when he's out there, you
Speaker 1: know he's gonna try to show that, hey, this injury
Speaker 1: may have shut me down for a little bit, but
Speaker 1: it didn't change who I am, and that is of
Speaker 1: course still him understanding what's going on around the NBA
Speaker 1: that I am still the MVP of this NBA. We're
Speaker 1: going to get into that whether or not Joel Embiad
Speaker 1: still has as good of an MVP chance as he
Speaker 1: did before the injury, and also exactly what his return means.
Speaker 1: But before we go too far down that path, I
Speaker 1: wanted to ask you guys, how do you think the
Speaker 1: Sixers have fared in his absence, and in his absence,
Speaker 1: I'm taking that post All Star break in its totality
Speaker 1: because he had to miss the first game back due
Speaker 1: to health and safety protocols. He played only twenty minutes
Speaker 1: against the Wizards, then went down with a knee injury.
Speaker 1: So I'm looking at this whole post All Star break
Speaker 1: stretch without Joel Embiad essentially as evaluating how we think,
Speaker 1: quote unquote they've fared, Lauren, how do you think they've
Speaker 1: done without him? Well, I remember when we went into
Speaker 1: the break, we looked at the games that we're going
Speaker 1: to follow that came right out after the break, the
Speaker 1: stretch that the Sixers are now, let's say halfway through
Speaker 1: that terrible twenty days on the road out of twenty
Speaker 1: three days. It's a really tough strength of schedule these
Speaker 1: first few weeks back. And I think that if you
Speaker 1: had told us that we were gonna see the Sixers
Speaker 1: come out five hundred halfway through that tough stretch, I
Speaker 1: think we'd feel pretty darn good about it, maybe even
Speaker 1: with Joel Embiid in the fold, considering how much they
Speaker 1: were playing on the road. So for them to have
Speaker 1: gone over five hundred, still jockeying for that first seed
Speaker 1: in the East. In Joel's absence, I think is really impressive,
Speaker 1: and I don't think enough people are talking about it. Obviously,
Speaker 1: a couple tough losses there on the road that sort
Speaker 1: of tarnished the thing that they had going, But when
Speaker 1: you zoom out and look at what they've done since
Speaker 1: the break, especially without Joel, I think it's been very impressive.
Speaker 1: I mean, deed, the eight and three eight and three
Speaker 1: is eight and three. That's a pretty darn good eleven
Speaker 1: game stretch, no question about it. Going into it, As
Speaker 1: you guys pointed out, you just looked at it and
Speaker 1: you say, okay, and when we're looking at six game
Speaker 1: road trip, that's going to be tough in another self.
Speaker 1: But then for him to go down and have to
Speaker 1: deal with everything before you even hit the road and
Speaker 1: trek out west, they were winning. They were doing it
Speaker 1: in different way, the different styles, and you had different
Speaker 1: people standing up with the top performances, from Shake Milton
Speaker 1: to Firkin quirkmas Tony Bradley who's now moved on, But
Speaker 1: thank you Tony for all the great work that you did.
Speaker 1: Dwight Howard and the usual suspects and Tobias Harris and
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons as well, not to exclude Danny Green and
Speaker 1: Seth Curry. But they did this as a team. This
Speaker 1: was a complete team effort into making sure that again
Speaker 1: they kept their heads way above water in his absence
Speaker 1: with the best player of being out and maintaining that
Speaker 1: number one overall seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn has
Speaker 1: a half game up on the seventy sixers in the standings.
Speaker 1: But that's pretty darn good considering that you just talked
Speaker 1: about selves an eight and three record, and Lauren used
Speaker 1: talking about splitting five hundred on this six game road
Speaker 1: trip with the four out West. And while you have
Speaker 1: had some things go your way with Golden State in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles, Lakers missing their two best players in Steph
Speaker 1: Curry and Lebron James. Sometimes that happens, and that's just
Speaker 1: the nature of the schedule, will and how things play
Speaker 1: out in an NBA season. So where they are right
Speaker 1: now to be in the position that they have been
Speaker 1: in without Joel Embiid eight and three selts, as you
Speaker 1: pointed out, that's tremendous. I mean, this guy has been great,
Speaker 1: so for them to play the way that they've been
Speaker 1: playing without him. It works for me. This one works
Speaker 1: for me. Now when he comes back and you have
Speaker 1: these If he does come back over the weekend, you
Speaker 1: have the two games at home, you have to go
Speaker 1: back on the road for another four. Then we'll start
Speaker 1: another you know, next six or next ten that we
Speaker 1: look at in there and how we evaluate how we
Speaker 1: want them to play over the next few weeks as
Speaker 1: we prepare for mid May and started the playoffs. When
Speaker 1: you look at that eight and three stretch without Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid on the whole, there are a few things that
Speaker 1: shoot out to me. One, I think there's some guys
Speaker 1: who elevated their level of play from what we saw
Speaker 1: before the All Star break, and we've talked about this.
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris has maintained an excellent level of plays, averaging
Speaker 1: twenty two points per games since the break. But then
Speaker 1: there's also guys like Danny Green. I think at the
Speaker 1: start of the road trip, the game again the Knicks,
Speaker 1: the game actually before that against the King's Golden State,
Speaker 1: a big late shot. Then obviously his twenty eight point
Speaker 1: performance against the Lakers really helpful of the Sixers Batis
Speaker 1: Thible doing a little bit more offensively, knocking down some
Speaker 1: shots for Concorkmas scoring at a higher percentage. A good
Speaker 1: game here and there from Shake Milton Dwight Howard, Yes
Speaker 1: he's been ejected twice, but also dominating the glass, helping
Speaker 1: the Sixers do something on the rebounding side of things.
Speaker 1: In the absence of Joel Embiid, the Sixer I think
Speaker 1: they've made their shots. They're the seventh best three point
Speaker 1: shooting team since the All Star Break. But the biggest
Speaker 1: thing is and this was something that Doc Rivers was
Speaker 1: hoping to be part of the team's identity going back
Speaker 1: to the beginning of the season and what he thinks
Speaker 1: will ultimately help win them a title. I think Darryl
Speaker 1: Moorey would say the same thing too. They're playing great defense,
Speaker 1: so the number one rated defensive team in the league
Speaker 1: since the All Star Break doing that without their anchor
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid, and I think that is such a huge
Speaker 1: reason and really encouraging to see that they haven't really
Speaker 1: dropped off with the exception of save the Denver game
Speaker 1: on that end of the floor without him, and it
Speaker 1: speaks to the improvement that the players around that anchor
Speaker 1: have shown on the defensive end well, I guess the
Speaker 1: stretch of playing without him, other guys kind of found
Speaker 1: their niche a little bit. You know, when he's off
Speaker 1: the floor, I think we'll have a better idea what
Speaker 1: to run. Obviously, you know, having him inmates our second
Speaker 1: unity deeper, so that will help as well. We talk
Speaker 1: about Ben Simmons on defense, we talk about Matisse Thyble
Speaker 1: on defense. I don't know if we talk enough about
Speaker 1: how good Tobias Harris has gotten on that end, about
Speaker 1: how good Danny Green remains on the defensive end. We've
Speaker 1: seen good stuff from Seth, from fur Con. These guys
Speaker 1: really have stepped up on defense. I shouldn't forget Dwight Howard,
Speaker 1: of course, when you list defenders that are showing some
Speaker 1: of their best stuff over the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: But without Joel Embiads, someone had to pick up the
Speaker 1: slack on defense. And we've seen lots of players pick
Speaker 1: up that slack in a level that's maybe even higher
Speaker 1: than it was prior to the break. So defense on
Speaker 1: this team, offenses, beware when Joel comes back, if you're
Speaker 1: not already a little bit scared of what this team
Speaker 1: can off on that end. It's supposed to be the
Speaker 1: calling car for how they win this season, and they've
Speaker 1: kept it going and once again they've done it in
Speaker 1: a different way. You've seen a lot of more help.
Speaker 1: The switching has been there, of course, meeting at the
Speaker 1: room with Dwight Howard. A few blocks that stand out,
Speaker 1: like before he was ejected with the Montres Harold won
Speaker 1: against the Los Angeles Lakers. That one's highlighted and a
Speaker 1: few others. Julius Randall. Julius Randall's a block. But yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: So this has been a really good and I just
Speaker 1: keep stressing it just a team effort on how they
Speaker 1: got this one done, not just with the eight and
Speaker 1: three record overall, but just making sure that they clamped
Speaker 1: down defensively and just be those dogs out there that
Speaker 1: you need without that guy who's going to protect the
Speaker 1: paint the way that Joel Embi has, where he's talked
Speaker 1: about often as the one of the best two way
Speaker 1: players in the NBA. So I like what they've done.
Speaker 1: Dan Burke deserves a lot of credit, of course, and
Speaker 1: the defensive side of how he's changed things around a
Speaker 1: little bit with the team minus Joel Embiid. So they
Speaker 1: have to keep that going in order to get to
Speaker 1: where they want to go. Now we segue, and sooner
Speaker 1: rather than later. Joel Embiad figures me back in a
Speaker 1: seventy six ers uniform doing a little bit of a reset.
Speaker 1: Let's just show some hands here. I will report the
Speaker 1: tally because this is an audio medium, of course, show
Speaker 1: of hands. Joel Embiid MVP before he went down to injury. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, so that's a clean sweep. All three of
Speaker 1: us felt like Joel Embiad was the MVP of the
Speaker 1: league before his injury. What each of you can pick,
Speaker 1: maybe one thing stood out the most to you? What
Speaker 1: did you like the most about the way he was
Speaker 1: playing before he went down? Oh? Man, what didn't I
Speaker 1: like about the way he was playing before he went down?
Speaker 1: I think to me, I might have to take a
Speaker 1: page out of Tobias Harris and Ben Simon's book here,
Speaker 1: just the mentality that Joel has brought, because I don't
Speaker 1: know that he necessarily has played that much better objectively.
Speaker 1: I think he's done it for longer on a more
Speaker 1: consistent basis, and that's what's making him so dominant and
Speaker 1: that's just the commitment that he made earlier in the
Speaker 1: season or prior to the season, to dominate on a
Speaker 1: nightly basis for as many minutes as he's out there.
Speaker 1: His teammates have noticed, his teammates appreciate him for it.
Speaker 1: So to me, it has to just be that sustained intensity.
Speaker 1: We're used to seeing moments of greatness from Joel Embiid.
Speaker 1: We've seen multiple games of sustained greatness from Joel Embiid,
Speaker 1: and that's what was so exciting for me to watch
Speaker 1: in that first half of the season. For me, it
Speaker 1: was the decisiveness on the offensive vent where oftentimes even
Speaker 1: with Tobias Harris, where Doc Rivers has spoken about making
Speaker 1: the decision very quick. Not only was efforts byas Harris
Speaker 1: was also inbeed, especially when those double teams came on
Speaker 1: the low block. He wasn't indecisive. He made up his
Speaker 1: mind very quickly, whether it was faced up, back to
Speaker 1: the basket, getting rid of the basketball, repost, get the
Speaker 1: ball back and go to work. He had an idea,
Speaker 1: he had a plan and it worked. And that's why
Speaker 1: many have talked about him and him and you know
Speaker 1: him included where he would say, I just want to
Speaker 1: be dominant. He always talked about it, and after a
Speaker 1: while it was old, just go out there and be dominant.
Speaker 1: And that's exactly what he did because he was decisive
Speaker 1: with what he wanted to do with the basketball. He
Speaker 1: knew that his opponent, his opponent was going to suffer
Speaker 1: and it would ultimately help the team with the overall success.
Speaker 1: So that was it for me. Decisiveness and everything. Just
Speaker 1: as we talked about the defense and what it done,
Speaker 1: everything from the offensive end, just went right back down
Speaker 1: the other end of the floor and just helped out
Speaker 1: right there because he knew confident wise, confidence wise that
Speaker 1: he knew who he was, he knew what type of
Speaker 1: player he was, and he knew no one can do
Speaker 1: anything with him on either end of the floor. You
Speaker 1: want to come down here and get this work, come
Speaker 1: on down. You want to bring the ball in here
Speaker 1: and get it and get it blocked, Come on through.
Speaker 1: And that's what I loved about what we saw from
Speaker 1: him in the first half, which what happened choose him
Speaker 1: as the first half of the season went on. I
Speaker 1: didn't have him there first, but his level of play
Speaker 1: just kept going, kept going and kept going. And that's
Speaker 1: why I had him as the MVP in the first
Speaker 1: half of the season, and it was so much fun
Speaker 1: seeing him rise to the occasion, especially in high profile
Speaker 1: games and see that narrative pick up, particularly on a
Speaker 1: national level. There was that string of nationally televised games
Speaker 1: right before the All Star break where you heard the
Speaker 1: crew on TNT and ESPN start mentioning and really pushing
Speaker 1: the idea of Joel and recognizing just how great he
Speaker 1: had been during the first half of the season and
Speaker 1: referencing him as an MVP candidate, which I thought was
Speaker 1: totally well deserved. This award is going to go to
Speaker 1: Joel and beats averaging thirty and eleven. It's not played
Speaker 1: and simple for me, it would be Joel beat and
Speaker 1: beat himself is wearing to go if he is able
Speaker 1: to get back to action on Saturday. What does that
Speaker 1: do to the MVP race. Well, I think it brings
Speaker 1: the MVP race back to where it should be. Right
Speaker 1: you want agree with both of you guys, just the
Speaker 1: holistic essence surrounding him being in the first half of
Speaker 1: the season. I'm terrified to make this reference because I
Speaker 1: realized I might date myself, which is really frightening. It
Speaker 1: was like the Austin Powers where he's searching for his mojo.
Speaker 1: He's looking for the mojo. I felt last year was
Speaker 1: whatever number Austin Powers it was for Joel Embiid where
Speaker 1: he's searching for his mojo. I think that might have
Speaker 1: been the one when Goldfinger took the mojo. I can't remember.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm right on that. Someone can
Speaker 1: correct me if I'm wrong. I love the franchise, so
Speaker 1: keep going. Yeah, it was like last year Joel or
Speaker 1: maybe this off sne It was the pursuit of the
Speaker 1: mojo for Joel, and now he's got it back. He
Speaker 1: is a superpower once again. And I think, to me,
Speaker 1: one thing that if I'm looking at tangible things that
Speaker 1: he brought to the Sixers that obviously they haven't had
Speaker 1: as much of in his absence is the threat he
Speaker 1: presented of always being able to get to the free
Speaker 1: throw line and making his shots there. It should be
Speaker 1: the surprise of no one that the Sixers free throws
Speaker 1: collectively made an attempt to have dropped into the bottom
Speaker 1: third of the league with Joel Embiid being out, and
Speaker 1: that makes them all the more dangerous to me that
Speaker 1: you can count on him late in a game, clutch
Speaker 1: spot to get to the line do his thing. I
Speaker 1: think it's just one of the many, many critical factors
Speaker 1: that Joel Embid brings the table, and there was no
Speaker 1: doubt that he was probably the best player in the
Speaker 1: league at the time that he went out. If he's
Speaker 1: coming back, the Sixers say it is going to be
Speaker 1: for the long haul. I liked hearing this from Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers before one of the seventy sixers recent games that
Speaker 1: their philosophy organizationally is that they're not going to bring
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid back to play a game here. Rest him
Speaker 1: there another couple of games, give him some more rest.
Speaker 1: When they bring Joel back, it's going to be for
Speaker 1: what they hope is a sustained stretch moving forward. And
Speaker 1: I think that if you're a fan, that's exactly what
Speaker 1: you want to hear, no doubt about it. Especially as
Speaker 1: fans start to trickle back into the arena. I think
Speaker 1: they'll be thrilled to be able to get a little
Speaker 1: bit of Joel Embiid in their lives as they get
Speaker 1: a little bit more basketball in their lives. And then
Speaker 1: for fans watching at home as we have been while
Speaker 1: the team has been on the road. It'll it'll be
Speaker 1: a pleasure to watch him continue this run if he's
Speaker 1: able to come back at full strength the way that
Speaker 1: he was prior to the break. And like you said, Selts,
Speaker 1: all indicators say that when he does come back, it
Speaker 1: will be because he is ready and because he's prepared
Speaker 1: to meet the moment and to meet the upcoming series
Speaker 1: of moments. Let's rather say I'm looking forward to it
Speaker 1: as a fan of his, and I know a lot
Speaker 1: of people are as well well. Lauren, you know that
Speaker 1: he would want to see those fans too, so it
Speaker 1: goes both ways with the interaction there. So yeah, that's
Speaker 1: great to hear because typically we feel like they slow
Speaker 1: walk these things and get them back and allow them
Speaker 1: to get their legs no punt attendant underneath them, and
Speaker 1: give them that necessary work to get themselves back. But
Speaker 1: there's nothing like just getting back out there and getting
Speaker 1: into a game to get back into basketball shape and
Speaker 1: get ready for the speed of the game. There's no
Speaker 1: practice that can you can do anything for that. So
Speaker 1: that's great to hear. I hope that that is the plan,
Speaker 1: and if that's the case, then you know, back to
Speaker 1: backs and everything. I'm here for it because while as
Speaker 1: good as they are or haven't been without him, they're
Speaker 1: certainly at their best when he's out there on the floor,
Speaker 1: and they are a treat to watch when he's out there.
Speaker 1: As we begin, guys, to bring this conversation about Joel
Speaker 1: and his return full circle, we talked about the MVP push.
Speaker 1: I think that is such a big storyline still for
Speaker 1: his season. With him not being out there, there'll be
Speaker 1: some people who debate whether or not he'll have played
Speaker 1: the requisite number of minutes or games to qualify for
Speaker 1: the MVP award. I also think and this isn't something
Speaker 1: that again should catch people off guard. By him not playing,
Speaker 1: it's allowed other guys to creep into the MVP narrative,
Speaker 1: whether it's a player doing it himself like the guy
Speaker 1: in Brooklyn, or someone like nikol Leokich who continues to
Speaker 1: go out there and very workman like put together a
Speaker 1: terrific season. Do we think Joel can get back in
Speaker 1: the MVP conversation? Did he ever really leave? I think
Speaker 1: he can get back into the conversation. I do think that.
Speaker 1: I mean, according to the people that make the rankings.
Speaker 1: He did leave during this time to get healthy. I
Speaker 1: think it's interesting that Lebron James hasn't left the conversation
Speaker 1: out for a similar amount of time. I don't know
Speaker 1: what's going on there. I'm sure Joel doesn't know what's
Speaker 1: going on there. I'm sure Joel will want to be
Speaker 1: back in the conversation. So I look forward to seeing
Speaker 1: him play himself back into the conversation. I would be
Speaker 1: surprised if he did not. I believe he will play
Speaker 1: himself back into the conversation, and I also think it
Speaker 1: makes for a great conversation because when we look at
Speaker 1: what all NBA centers are going to be, it's always
Speaker 1: at the last couple of years, Yo kits him be
Speaker 1: in Gobar, right, So when we talk about that, and
Speaker 1: however they finagle things with Anthony Davis and Carl Anthony
Speaker 1: Towns too, but it's really those three guys. And while
Speaker 1: Mbia has been injured before that, it was the six Games,
Speaker 1: so he qualified technically and he was the leader for
Speaker 1: all of us. He was solely there. And now again
Speaker 1: if he puts up the numbers and he comes back
Speaker 1: and they maintain where they are, he's certainly going to
Speaker 1: be in the conversation. As great as James Harden has
Speaker 1: been in Brooklyn, it's kind of tough because the way
Speaker 1: he handled things with Houston. Do you want to reward
Speaker 1: something like that, even though he's doing he's playing phenomenal basketball.
Speaker 1: But yes, as as as a purist of the game,
Speaker 1: you know, wherever he ended up, it's just the way
Speaker 1: that it went. It wasn't great. And I think we
Speaker 1: forgot two. So the one guy in Portland who is
Speaker 1: often left out guilty, guilty, is charged. He's been amazing,
Speaker 1: he's been fantastic. And then the guy in Milwaukee, who
Speaker 1: you don't maybe not want to mention it, but they're
Speaker 1: still right there in the thick of things in the East,
Speaker 1: and his numbers are great again, and typically guys don't
Speaker 1: win three consecutive MVPs. But race and I can't wait
Speaker 1: to see how and Be now responds to all of this,
Speaker 1: with people maybe changing their minds if he's the MVP
Speaker 1: or not. James Harden has already come out and said that, oh,
Speaker 1: so there you go, right, there you go. Well, the
Speaker 1: sixes now have the best sales pitchment, if you will.
Speaker 1: And Daryl Morey when it comes to who should be
Speaker 1: the MVP, right, Lauren, you talk to him recently, so hey, yeah,
Speaker 1: I have a feeling we all know where his loyalties
Speaker 1: are gonna lie on this one. But I do agree.
Speaker 1: I think the lack of games is something that either
Speaker 1: voters are gonna be able to get past or they're not.
Speaker 1: And if they don't, I think you have to understand
Speaker 1: that based on some phenomenal seasons other players have had
Speaker 1: in recent history with injury absences. But I do think
Speaker 1: that Joel has come out all season. It's something to
Speaker 1: prove and it's never been that he's the MVP. It's
Speaker 1: about winning a championship, it's about winning Defensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year. I think those are the things that are
Speaker 1: going to continue to drive him. And if he can
Speaker 1: get back at least into the conversation for MVP, I
Speaker 1: think that's an accomplishment when you consider the fact that
Speaker 1: he did have to miss quite a few games to
Speaker 1: even still be a part of the conversation is a
Speaker 1: big deal. If he is forgotten in his own mind,
Speaker 1: I would love that going into the postseason. Okay, you forgot,
Speaker 1: Now let me show you. Let me make up for
Speaker 1: those fifteen games that I've missed with this run that
Speaker 1: I'm going to make through the through the Eastern Conference playoffs,
Speaker 1: let me make up for it, and then you'll have that.
Speaker 1: So that's my thinking there, along with Tobias Harris right
Speaker 1: for the All Star thing. Yes, I was going to
Speaker 1: say it's been a successful business model for Lebron James
Speaker 1: who's pretty consistently overlooked for MVP and then consistently finds
Speaker 1: himself in the finals as not necessarily as a result,
Speaker 1: but those things tend to happen with him, and he's
Speaker 1: made quite a living off of him. I like it.
Speaker 1: I do think it's going to make for great chatter
Speaker 1: on your show Divan on ninety seventy five. Certainly on
Speaker 1: the local level. Can Joel Embiid get back in the
Speaker 1: thick of the hunt for the MVP national level? You know,
Speaker 1: all the talk shows first take up first, first this,
Speaker 1: then that, whatever it is, they're all going to be
Speaker 1: talking about it. But I think the biggest storyline is
Speaker 1: will the seventy sixers be able to take this stretch
Speaker 1: that they've had for a couple weeks without Joel Embiid,
Speaker 1: during which they've gone on a really nice clip and
Speaker 1: apply that to his return and ultimately emerge as a
Speaker 1: more cohesive, well rounded team. They at some point have
Speaker 1: George Hill coming into the mix. You would think some
Speaker 1: point sooner rather than later. So do we think the
Speaker 1: Sixers at the end of the day could be in
Speaker 1: some ways better for having had to play a stretch
Speaker 1: without Joel Embiid and figure some things out without him.
Speaker 1: I think they would say that they are. I think
Speaker 1: they've been saying that all along. When you listen to
Speaker 1: their media post game win or loss, they've talked about
Speaker 1: how much they've learned in his absence, how guys have
Speaker 1: stepped up across the roster, whether it's a Tobias taking
Speaker 1: over in the fourth quarter or a fur Con forcing
Speaker 1: over time. Are these are experiences that have been really
Speaker 1: valuable for guys across the roster, And to have been
Speaker 1: eight and three throughout the experience that was looked at
Speaker 1: on the outset as an opportunity to learn more than
Speaker 1: anything is a huge accomplishment. And hopefully they'll take some
Speaker 1: of those lessons with them and add an MVP candidate
Speaker 1: to the pot and create something really cool. There's always
Speaker 1: something to learn from it and Unfortunately you don't want to,
Speaker 1: but there is that case. Look, there may be games
Speaker 1: where he gets in faltroum, and how do we respond
Speaker 1: to him missing some time where we don't want to
Speaker 1: lose ground in the first half or the same thing
Speaker 1: in the second half, and they can just go back
Speaker 1: to what they did during the time that he missed
Speaker 1: during these eleven games maybe twelve games here. So I
Speaker 1: think it's something that they can definitely learn from. Lauren
Speaker 1: just mentioned it. They've spoken about it themselves, and I
Speaker 1: think the coaches as well, seeing how they can maybe
Speaker 1: tweak things as well when he is not in the game.
Speaker 1: So sure you can take from it. And that's why
Speaker 1: we keep saying, this is why you have an MVP candidate.
Speaker 1: This is a team first and foremost. Well put, guys,
Speaker 1: always a pleasure diving deep. Thank you very much, thank you,
Speaker 1: Thank you guys. Before we get out of here, some
Speaker 1: programming notes for the days ahead here on the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers podcast network. On Monday, a new mail bag
Speaker 1: with myself and Lauren Rosen. No, it will not be
Speaker 1: another edition with a cat filter wearing Darryl Moury. But
Speaker 1: if you have not heard last week's episode of mail
Speaker 1: Bag Monday, with Lauren and Darryl Mourray going to our
Speaker 1: back catalog. Check it out. It is fantastic. On Tuesday,
Speaker 1: a new installment of Coach Check as we begin to
Speaker 1: wrap up the Bluecoat season with Matt Murphy, and then
Speaker 1: next Thursday, a brand new Tom's Talks with Tom McGinnis
Speaker 1: before Davon Lauren I returned with the Friday Deep Die
Speaker 1: All right, talk to you next time, see you