WEBVTT - Friday Deep Dive | Excitement Surrounding Joel Embiid's Return 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.640 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast network 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:09.280 search seventy Sixers Podcast wherever you get your pods. We 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:12.280 have heard the good word. It certainly looks like Joel 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:14.200 Embiad is going to be back in a seventy Sixers 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:17.279 uniform pretty soon. Joel catches it with his back to 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:20.240 the basket because those at ten hammer said, oh man, 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:24.680 what a flake, and Bead rested Rarer to go. The 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:28.360 big Fellow was certainly making an MVP case before his injury. 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.440 Can he still make a final push in the home 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:34.839 stretch of the season. He pirouetted the paint and laysing 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:39.320 it Joel embead with power and finesse all on one play. 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:42.519 But maybe even most important, how have the Sixers benefited 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.720 from learning how to win without him? I'm Devon Gibbons, 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.080 I'm Lauren Robin, and I'm Brian Seltzer on this week's 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:55.000 Friday Deep Dive the impending return of Joel Embiad. Guys 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.600 all signs pointing to the big man coming back, and 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:01.680 I will be honest and frank with you. When it 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:05.840 first happened against the Washington Wizards, my initial reaction was 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.160 not v good. I was a little bit concerned. It 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:11.880 was great to see him walk off under his own 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:13.920 power than the news that came out a few days 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:17.960 later that it was only a relatively minor issue. So 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:19.800 I'm just grateful that we're in a spot that we're 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:23.040 talking about Joel Embiid all signs pointing to him coming 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:26.360 back on a basketball court for this season. Well, what 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.480 we know for sure is that they're all going to 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.360 be thrilled to have him back whenever he can come back, 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.280 and that they're proud of what they've been able to 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.240 do in his absence three and two on the road 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:39.640 trip to start, three quality wins. That win that was 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:42.880 the night before the road trip started. At home, they've 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.360 really made the most of what looked like it could 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.400 be a pretty treacherous week and a half or two 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.440 weeks away from home. So I think the combination of 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.360 coming home and potentially having Joel be waiting for them 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:58.840 at home is really exciting to this group. And of 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:02.720 course Doc Rivers has expressed that he gets daily updates 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.880 about Joel Embiat's progress, that things have been going well 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:09.320 as he's ramped up on court activities, and we'll have 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:13.000 to see exactly how ramped up. Those activities have been 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:15.320 when the team is back for it's back to back 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:20.440 on Saturday and Sunday. So as the terrible injury athlete 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.880 of the podcast that I am and having dealt with 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:28.240 major injuries already, of course, when we see something like 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:31.079 that with the big guy like Joel embiad Is at 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:33.760 his size and the way that he went down, we've 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:35.960 seen him go down before, but this one just looked 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.880 a little different where the way he went down, and 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.799 we're all happy, and him first and foremost, he's happy 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.000 that it wasn't you know, the worst that was assumed 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:49.840 by many, and myself, you know, not being one of them, 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:54.000 but just again seeing it, seeing how he went down, 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:56.680 seeing how his leg went, but ultimately fun and out 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:58.400 that it was later a bone bruise out for a 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:00.919 couple of weeks. That was great. Now the only thing 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.280 with the bone bruise part, like self, this is the 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:09.160 week's version of how did it happen? Is? If you remember, 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.160 and Lauren, you weren't around when I when I almost 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:14.359 broke my ankle, but I had a bone bruise and 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:16.600 my ankle and I had a boot, had a walking 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.200 boot and while I am only five six and I 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.960 don't weigh as close to what Joel embiidways at the time, 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.520 my physician did say, I wish you would have just 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:30.239 broken your foot because it was an easier heel than 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.320 the bone. So I'm happy. I'm elated that things have 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:37.440 worked out the way that embiads injury has and the 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:40.840 recovery and the Sixers get him back for the stretch 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:42.880 front of the second half of the season while they 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.880 were about the seating and of course the playoffs in 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:49.279 the very very very near future. And for the uninitiated 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:54.200 out there, d you are recovering ACL patients almost a 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:55.800 year now, a little bit more than a year, a 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:57.920 little more than the year, almost two years. How about 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.880 that the pandemic just threw things off. It was May 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:05.200 of nineteen, late May of nineteen and surgery in June, 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:08.000 and of course I was rolling along. I had a 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:11.000 little setback where I had some some knee scrape that 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:12.880 had to go in there and some scar tissue on 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:16.400 my knee. I was also a little meniscus tear as well. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.560 So you know how we often talk about these things 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:23.040 and how things play out, and we never really know 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:26.239 what the injuries are. But now I know so bone 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:29.520 bruise and ACL tear that I did suffer at full 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.440 tear by the way complete tear that, yeah, you know 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.240 I did. I did fear a little bit when I 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.080 saw him go down the way he did because mine, 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:39.120 while it was contact, it wasn't anything that I did. 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.760 Someone ran into my knee and the same thing within 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.400 beat and how his knee buckled the way that it 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:47.880 did hyper extension. So that was great, and just happy 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.279 that he's good. And yes, I should be able to 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.440 play ball soon. So Joel and I'll be back out 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:54.360 there on the floor. Last time I was out there 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.520 on the floor with them was with fir con court plots. 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:58.360 He and I had a shoot out, so that was it. 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:05.039 That's right. I forgot about that. Yeah, tremendous. You know, 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.360 there are no locker rooms in the traditional sense this season. 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:10.640 They are only zoom rooms, and Lauren, you're in all 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:13.160 of them with the seventy sixers when they speak. Why 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:14.800 don't you bring us up to speed on what we 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.400 know at this point in time about Joel Embiid, what 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:19.800 Doc has said he's been up to, and how the 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.280 Sixers feel he's doing well. I remember when we went 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:24.800 into the break, we looked at the games that we're 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.320 going to follow that came right out after the break, 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.480 the stretch that the Sixers are now let's say halfway 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:32.359 through that terrible twenty days on the road out of 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:36.359 twenty three days. It's a really tough strength of schedule 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.440 these first few weeks back. And I think that if 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:40.680 you had told us that we were going to see 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:44.600 the Sixers come out five hundred halfway through that tough stretch, 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.200 I think we'd feel pretty darn good about it, maybe 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.120 even with Joel Embiid in the fold, considering how much 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.159 they were playing on the road, So for them to 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:55.840 have gone over five hundred, still jockeying for that first 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:59.560 seed in the East. In Joel's absence, I think he's 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:01.880 really presive, and I don't think enough people are talking 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.880 about it. Obviously, a couple of tough losses there on 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.280 the road that sort of tarnished the thing that they 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:09.200 had going, But when you zoom out and look at 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.839 what they've done since the break, especially without Joel, I 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.479 think it's been very impressive. Dyeah. I think if there's 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:17.720 any guy in the league, for better or worse, who 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.159 knows how to return from an injury. It's Joel Embid 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:24.040 And I probably should have looked up games of note 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:27.560 for Joel coming back off of injury absences, but the 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:29.840 first one that actually comes to mind was the game 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:33.200 against Detroit last year at the Center, right before the 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:35.719 shutdown when he came back. He didn't play during the 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.120 West coast trip, and he went out there against the 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.960 Pistons and had a fantastic game. It'd be compliments of 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:46.960 Milton about Joel Embid showing anything. No signs are rushed 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:50.800 after the five game absence thirty and twelve for him 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.239 in his return. He's a guy who's been through this before, 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:56.920 and incredibly, it seems like more often than not, at 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.640 least for what my gut is telling me, it seems 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:01.800 like you it doesn't show that much rust. Yeah, I 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:03.919 was about to say the exact same thing. No rust. 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.240 He typically comes back and has a big performance. So 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:10.080 maybe that's something that we can prepare ourselves for when 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.080 he does finally get back on the floor, whether it's 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:16.800 this weekend or starting next week, he definitely goes out 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:18.880 there and shows that he's ready to go. If I 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.320 know Joel Embie like YouTube do as well, and the 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.040 listeners the viewers is that he's been wanting to get 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:25.760 back out there on the floor, so he's chomping at 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:30.160 the bit. And if it is against Minnesota and Karl 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:34.000 Anthony Towns, or if it is against Jonah's Valancinis and 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:37.720 the Memphis Grizzlies, he definitely performs well against them. So 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:42.080 I think that where the team is right now, definitely 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:45.560 keeping their head way above water since in his absence 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.480 and now with him coming back, he's ready to go, 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:51.600 and I expect a big performance from him, and whether 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.120 there's minute restrictions or not, when he's out there, you 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:56.800 know he's gonna try to show that, hey, this injury 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:58.480 may have shut me down for a little bit, but 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:00.680 it didn't change who I am, and that is of 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:04.080 course still him understanding what's going on around the NBA 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.880 that I am still the MVP of this NBA. We're 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.240 going to get into that whether or not Joel Embiad 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.520 still has as good of an MVP chance as he 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.720 did before the injury, and also exactly what his return means. 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.200 But before we go too far down that path, I 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:19.040 wanted to ask you guys, how do you think the 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:22.400 Sixers have fared in his absence, and in his absence, 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:25.520 I'm taking that post All Star break in its totality 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:27.840 because he had to miss the first game back due 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.400 to health and safety protocols. He played only twenty minutes 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.680 against the Wizards, then went down with a knee injury. 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.800 So I'm looking at this whole post All Star break 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.800 stretch without Joel Embiad essentially as evaluating how we think, 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.560 quote unquote they've fared, Lauren, how do you think they've 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:44.719 done without him? Well, I remember when we went into 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:47.160 the break, we looked at the games that we're going 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:49.640 to follow that came right out after the break, the 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.040 stretch that the Sixers are now, let's say halfway through 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:54.960 that terrible twenty days on the road out of twenty 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:58.840 three days. It's a really tough strength of schedule these 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:00.800 first few weeks back. And I think that if you 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.560 had told us that we were gonna see the Sixers 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:07.320 come out five hundred halfway through that tough stretch, I 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.720 think we'd feel pretty darn good about it, maybe even 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.520 with Joel Embiid in the fold, considering how much they 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:15.560 were playing on the road. So for them to have 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:18.320 gone over five hundred, still jockeying for that first seed 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:22.600 in the East. In Joel's absence, I think is really impressive, 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.080 and I don't think enough people are talking about it. Obviously, 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:28.320 a couple tough losses there on the road that sort 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:30.439 of tarnished the thing that they had going, But when 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.520 you zoom out and look at what they've done since 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:36.280 the break, especially without Joel, I think it's been very impressive. 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:38.080 I mean, deed, the eight and three eight and three 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.240 is eight and three. That's a pretty darn good eleven 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.520 game stretch, no question about it. Going into it, As 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:45.400 you guys pointed out, you just looked at it and 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.760 you say, okay, and when we're looking at six game 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:49.920 road trip, that's going to be tough in another self. 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.840 But then for him to go down and have to 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.839 deal with everything before you even hit the road and 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:59.160 trek out west, they were winning. They were doing it 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:01.720 in different way, the different styles, and you had different 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:05.360 people standing up with the top performances, from Shake Milton 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.680 to Firkin quirkmas Tony Bradley who's now moved on, But 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:10.959 thank you Tony for all the great work that you did. 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:14.679 Dwight Howard and the usual suspects and Tobias Harris and 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:17.079 Ben Simmons as well, not to exclude Danny Green and 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.240 Seth Curry. But they did this as a team. This 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.520 was a complete team effort into making sure that again 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.240 they kept their heads way above water in his absence 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.199 with the best player of being out and maintaining that 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.640 number one overall seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn has 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.520 a half game up on the seventy sixers in the standings. 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:38.880 But that's pretty darn good considering that you just talked 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.559 about selves an eight and three record, and Lauren used 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:45.640 talking about splitting five hundred on this six game road 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.240 trip with the four out West. And while you have 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.760 had some things go your way with Golden State in 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:54.640 Los Angeles, Lakers missing their two best players in Steph 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:58.960 Curry and Lebron James. Sometimes that happens, and that's just 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:01.360 the nature of the schedule, will and how things play 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.920 out in an NBA season. So where they are right 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:07.040 now to be in the position that they have been 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.880 in without Joel Embiid eight and three selts, as you 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.560 pointed out, that's tremendous. I mean, this guy has been great, 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:15.079 so for them to play the way that they've been 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:18.800 playing without him. It works for me. This one works 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.280 for me. Now when he comes back and you have 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:23.920 these If he does come back over the weekend, you 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:25.520 have the two games at home, you have to go 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.360 back on the road for another four. Then we'll start 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:31.200 another you know, next six or next ten that we 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.360 look at in there and how we evaluate how we 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:36.880 want them to play over the next few weeks as 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.280 we prepare for mid May and started the playoffs. When 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:42.319 you look at that eight and three stretch without Joel 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:43.839 Embiid on the whole, there are a few things that 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.280 shoot out to me. One, I think there's some guys 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.320 who elevated their level of play from what we saw 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:50.160 before the All Star break, and we've talked about this. 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.760 Tobias Harris has maintained an excellent level of plays, averaging 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.120 twenty two points per games since the break. But then 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.120 there's also guys like Danny Green. I think at the 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:00.760 start of the road trip, the game again the Knicks, 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.480 the game actually before that against the King's Golden State, 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:06.080 a big late shot. Then obviously his twenty eight point 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.240 performance against the Lakers really helpful of the Sixers Batis 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.720 Thible doing a little bit more offensively, knocking down some 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.000 shots for Concorkmas scoring at a higher percentage. A good 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:18.280 game here and there from Shake Milton Dwight Howard, Yes 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.280 he's been ejected twice, but also dominating the glass, helping 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:25.720 the Sixers do something on the rebounding side of things. 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.040 In the absence of Joel Embiid, the Sixer I think 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.600 they've made their shots. They're the seventh best three point 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.280 shooting team since the All Star Break. But the biggest 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.480 thing is and this was something that Doc Rivers was 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:37.640 hoping to be part of the team's identity going back 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:39.160 to the beginning of the season and what he thinks 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:40.920 will ultimately help win them a title. I think Darryl 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.720 Moorey would say the same thing too. They're playing great defense, 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.200 so the number one rated defensive team in the league 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:49.360 since the All Star Break doing that without their anchor 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.959 Joel Embiid, and I think that is such a huge 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.760 reason and really encouraging to see that they haven't really 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.320 dropped off with the exception of save the Denver game 0:12:57.559 --> 0:12:59.320 on that end of the floor without him, and it 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.440 speaks to the improvement that the players around that anchor 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:04.880 have shown on the defensive end well, I guess the 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:08.280 stretch of playing without him, other guys kind of found 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:10.320 their niche a little bit. You know, when he's off 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:12.840 the floor, I think we'll have a better idea what 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:16.240 to run. Obviously, you know, having him inmates our second 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:20.080 unity deeper, so that will help as well. We talk 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:22.680 about Ben Simmons on defense, we talk about Matisse Thyble 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.880 on defense. I don't know if we talk enough about 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:27.040 how good Tobias Harris has gotten on that end, about 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.959 how good Danny Green remains on the defensive end. We've 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.760 seen good stuff from Seth, from fur Con. These guys 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:36.559 really have stepped up on defense. I shouldn't forget Dwight Howard, 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:38.960 of course, when you list defenders that are showing some 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.200 of their best stuff over the last couple of weeks. 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.880 But without Joel Embiads, someone had to pick up the 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.040 slack on defense. And we've seen lots of players pick 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.400 up that slack in a level that's maybe even higher 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:53.000 than it was prior to the break. So defense on 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:57.280 this team, offenses, beware when Joel comes back, if you're 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.680 not already a little bit scared of what this team 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:01.920 can off on that end. It's supposed to be the 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.680 calling car for how they win this season, and they've 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:06.679 kept it going and once again they've done it in 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.400 a different way. You've seen a lot of more help. 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.480 The switching has been there, of course, meeting at the 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.440 room with Dwight Howard. A few blocks that stand out, 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:18.319 like before he was ejected with the Montres Harold won 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:21.360 against the Los Angeles Lakers. That one's highlighted and a 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:25.360 few others. Julius Randall. Julius Randall's a block. But yeah, absolutely, 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:28.320 So this has been a really good and I just 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:31.320 keep stressing it just a team effort on how they 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.520 got this one done, not just with the eight and 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.320 three record overall, but just making sure that they clamped 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:39.880 down defensively and just be those dogs out there that 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:43.480 you need without that guy who's going to protect the 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.800 paint the way that Joel Embi has, where he's talked 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:50.280 about often as the one of the best two way 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:53.240 players in the NBA. So I like what they've done. 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:56.200 Dan Burke deserves a lot of credit, of course, and 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.600 the defensive side of how he's changed things around a 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:02.240 little bit with the team minus Joel Embiid. So they 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.120 have to keep that going in order to get to 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:08.160 where they want to go. Now we segue, and sooner 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.080 rather than later. Joel Embiad figures me back in a 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.120 seventy six ers uniform doing a little bit of a reset. 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.320 Let's just show some hands here. I will report the 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:20.320 tally because this is an audio medium, of course, show 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:26.880 of hands. Joel Embiid MVP before he went down to injury. Yeah, 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:28.800 all right, so that's a clean sweep. All three of 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:30.480 us felt like Joel Embiad was the MVP of the 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:34.160 league before his injury. What each of you can pick, 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.480 maybe one thing stood out the most to you? What 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.240 did you like the most about the way he was 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:42.440 playing before he went down? Oh? Man, what didn't I 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:44.840 like about the way he was playing before he went down? 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.120 I think to me, I might have to take a 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:50.840 page out of Tobias Harris and Ben Simon's book here, 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.520 just the mentality that Joel has brought, because I don't 0:15:54.560 --> 0:16:01.760 know that he necessarily has played that much better objectively. 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.880 I think he's done it for longer on a more 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:08.000 consistent basis, and that's what's making him so dominant and 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:10.800 that's just the commitment that he made earlier in the 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.840 season or prior to the season, to dominate on a 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:15.960 nightly basis for as many minutes as he's out there. 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.440 His teammates have noticed, his teammates appreciate him for it. 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.800 So to me, it has to just be that sustained intensity. 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:25.720 We're used to seeing moments of greatness from Joel Embiid. 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:29.600 We've seen multiple games of sustained greatness from Joel Embiid, 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.440 and that's what was so exciting for me to watch 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.520 in that first half of the season. For me, it 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:38.680 was the decisiveness on the offensive vent where oftentimes even 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:44.120 with Tobias Harris, where Doc Rivers has spoken about making 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.880 the decision very quick. Not only was efforts byas Harris 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.200 was also inbeed, especially when those double teams came on 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.680 the low block. He wasn't indecisive. He made up his 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.080 mind very quickly, whether it was faced up, back to 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:58.440 the basket, getting rid of the basketball, repost, get the 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:00.680 ball back and go to work. He had an idea, 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:03.920 he had a plan and it worked. And that's why 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.359 many have talked about him and him and you know 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.199 him included where he would say, I just want to 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.199 be dominant. He always talked about it, and after a 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:13.959 while it was old, just go out there and be dominant. 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:16.600 And that's exactly what he did because he was decisive 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.320 with what he wanted to do with the basketball. He 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:22.000 knew that his opponent, his opponent was going to suffer 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.320 and it would ultimately help the team with the overall success. 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.840 So that was it for me. Decisiveness and everything. Just 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:31.880 as we talked about the defense and what it done, 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.840 everything from the offensive end, just went right back down 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.320 the other end of the floor and just helped out 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:41.240 right there because he knew confident wise, confidence wise that 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.240 he knew who he was, he knew what type of 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:46.479 player he was, and he knew no one can do 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.359 anything with him on either end of the floor. You 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:51.320 want to come down here and get this work, come 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.199 on down. You want to bring the ball in here 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.800 and get it and get it blocked, Come on through. 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:58.440 And that's what I loved about what we saw from 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:02.800 him in the first half, which what happened choose him 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:05.320 as the first half of the season went on. I 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:07.880 didn't have him there first, but his level of play 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.480 just kept going, kept going and kept going. And that's 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.400 why I had him as the MVP in the first 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:16.360 half of the season, and it was so much fun 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.200 seeing him rise to the occasion, especially in high profile 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:22.639 games and see that narrative pick up, particularly on a 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:25.480 national level. There was that string of nationally televised games 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.840 right before the All Star break where you heard the 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:31.520 crew on TNT and ESPN start mentioning and really pushing 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.760 the idea of Joel and recognizing just how great he 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.080 had been during the first half of the season and 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:40.760 referencing him as an MVP candidate, which I thought was 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:42.760 totally well deserved. This award is going to go to 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:46.480 Joel and beats averaging thirty and eleven. It's not played 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:49.240 and simple for me, it would be Joel beat and 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.720 beat himself is wearing to go if he is able 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.359 to get back to action on Saturday. What does that 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.920 do to the MVP race. Well, I think it brings 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.480 the MVP race back to where it should be. Right 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.560 you want agree with both of you guys, just the 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.040 holistic essence surrounding him being in the first half of 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:07.760 the season. I'm terrified to make this reference because I 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:10.560 realized I might date myself, which is really frightening. It 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.919 was like the Austin Powers where he's searching for his mojo. 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:16.919 He's looking for the mojo. I felt last year was 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:20.240 whatever number Austin Powers it was for Joel Embiid where 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:21.840 he's searching for his mojo. I think that might have 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.200 been the one when Goldfinger took the mojo. I can't remember. 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.239 I don't know if I'm right on that. Someone can 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.760 correct me if I'm wrong. I love the franchise, so 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:32.639 keep going. Yeah, it was like last year Joel or 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.119 maybe this off sne It was the pursuit of the 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:38.159 mojo for Joel, and now he's got it back. He 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:41.720