WEBVTT - Mailbag Monday | About the Bench, Latest All-Star Odds 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.640 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:08.520 search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. The 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:11.000 seventy Sixers are wrapping up a long road trip with 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:13.080 a matchup against the best team in the NBA, the 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:15.720 Utah Jazz. We'll talk about what will take for the 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.159 squad to head back home on a good note. We 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:20.840 also check in on how Joel Ebid, Ben Simmons, and 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.840 Tobias Harris are doing with their All Star bids and spoiler, 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.320 we think they're doing pretty well. Your DMS, your calls, 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:32.280 we do it every week right here on Mailbag Monday. 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.520 We've had mighty Mailbag Monday's Lauren Rosen, I would say 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:41.360 the first almost two months of the season. But we're 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:42.839 going to try and do this week is have a 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:48.080 no melodrama Mailbag Monday, just given the circumstances as of 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:51.440 late surrounding the team two losses in the middle of 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.360 this four game road trip which wraps up later Monday 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:56.400 nights against the best team in the NBA right now, 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:00.720 these surging Utah Jazz. But I think before we dive 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:02.240 into the mail bag, who knows what We're going to 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:07.319 open up let's take a moment for perspective, peace, calm, serenity, 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:09.680 because I'm going to pull up the standings, and the 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:13.320 standings tell me the Sixers are eighteen and nine. That's 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:15.880 the best record in the Eastern Conference. And I also 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:19.880 see the number two in the GB column for the 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:23.520 second place team, Milwaukee Bucks, which means two games behind 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:27.679 the seventy Sixers. I'm okay with that. I think things 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:32.240 are still fine. As the meme says, yeah, I agree 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:33.600 with you, Seltz, and I think, look, it would have 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.840 been great to win these last two games in Phoenix 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.240 and in Portland. They were both winnable games. The team 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.039 was in the game the whole time. It's not like 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:42.959 they got rocked in either game. They're pretty clear reasons 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.280 why why things went the way that they did. So 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:47.120 I would be it doesn't have the same ring to 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.440 it as a mellow mail bag Monday. But I would say, 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:53.680 let's not overreact mail bag Monday. This happens. The team 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:57.400 is missing Shake Milton, who's one of their top offensive weapons. 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:00.120 There's just there's a lot going on right now. I 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:02.200 think everybody can just like take a beat, take a breath. 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.360 This is still the best team in the East that is, 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:07.080 in my opinion, at least in the first few months, 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.000 over performing from where we thought they might be at 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:12.080 this point. I think, listen, this is just my opinion, 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:17.320 only me speaking here. Philadelphia were a town, we love 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:21.480 the Eagles, We are passionate about football. There's sixteen games 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:25.480 in football this season, there's seventeen. There's seventy two games 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:30.000 in basketball. So while we may want to turn to 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:33.760 our natural football routing instincts and ride the highs and 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:35.799 lows of every single game, which is fun, which is 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.360 what you should totally do, I think what I'm going 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:40.040 to do here is like, right, like you said, let's 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:43.799 take a step back. If things continue, if we're looking 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.040 at a second straight mail mellow mail bag Monday this 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.000 time next week, maybe that's a different story. But one 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:51.280 week in the NBA, if you go through a rut, 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.360 it could feel like you're stuck in something and you 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.200 can't get out. But then you get to the next 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.200 week and things could be totally different. So I'm kind 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:00.960 of viewing these two games in particular It's Portland and 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:05.000 the Phoenix Suns as real opportunities to zoom in and 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:07.639 try and learn some more about the Sixers, like how 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.080 can we fact find use these road games as a 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.800 fact finding mission to see where the seventy Sixers might 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:14.960 need to shore some things up. Listen, first of all, 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.480 Portland and Phoenix two quality teams. I think one thing 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:20.840 that stands out to me is perhaps the Sixers. And 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:23.160 it's a tough balance because Joe has been so excellent, 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.840 but the volume of three point attempts for the seventy 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:31.280 Sixers is one thing that I look at that has 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:32.800 been an area at least the last two games that 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:34.560 have stood out to me. Despite the six Er shooting 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:37.400 the ball well from three and efficiently, where with more attempts, 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.240 perhaps that could counteract what some of the opposing teams 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:42.760 have done with the volume of three pointers that they've 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.200 knocked down, certainly, and I think that the team has 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.880 seen those statistics. Doc Rivers has seen those statistics. And 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:51.400 there are guys like Tobias Harris who were shooting more threes, 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.600 higher volume of threes earlier in the season, and he's 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.680 probably been told that it's time to let's crank it 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.280 back up again, and he's probably said, let's do it. 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:01.440 There's there's a lot of things that we can look 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:03.480 at that happened in the last two games that I 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.200 would imagine the team is going to adjust right away. 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:10.640 Danny Green after Saturday's game said that every team needs 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:12.840 wake up calls, and I think that this was an 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.680 example of Okay, we're not quite where we want to 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:17.400 be yet, which is something that the team knew. But 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:19.600 I think sometimes it takes a little bit of adversity 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.520 to really check in to where they can improve. And 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.840 I believe that they'll use these next few games now 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.160 we're getting close to that All Star break, but at 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.320 least a few quality opportunities to adjust some of the 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.960 weaknesses that they've found on this road trip. And the 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:35.760 other side of the coin, Larne is there's something going 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.200 on at the seventy six ers absolutely zero control over. 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.080 It's that Shake Milton is dealing with an ankle sprain, 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:43.680 and that takes fourteen points off your bench, a guy 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.280 who's shot really well all over the court and has 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.960 been playing increasingly better defense as well. Yes, indeed, I 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.520 think that Shake's absence, especially from that bench unit that 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:54.880 really did look pretty good, pretty solid, had a lot 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.640 of strengths early in the season, is missing him, and 0:04:57.680 --> 0:04:59.960 I think that that's okay. He was the most productive 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.000 scorer coming off the bench, not only on this team, 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:05.320 one of the most productive scorers in this league coming 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.320 off the bench, so naturally when he has to step aside, 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.960 it makes sense that their productivity might struggle a little bit. 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.320 So I know they'll be excited to get shake back 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:15.719 in the lineup and then something that I'm excited about 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:17.840 later on tonight, Lauren, the seventy Sixers have a great 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.640 opportunity where they can rebound, and they're going up against 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.679 the number one team in the NBA, the Utah Jazz, 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.200 and that presents an opportunity to bounce back and come 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.400 back home with a split, which would be nothing to 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:31.960 turn your nose up at. It would be a shame 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:34.440 to beat the best team in the league right now 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.120 and have to also take home two losses against teams 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:38.919 that aren't necessarily the best in the league. But I 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:41.039 do think the Sixers have a really good fighting chance 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.800 against the Jazz tonight. The Jazz won seventh straight, but 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:46.360 that doesn't mean that the Sixers are going to give 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:50.039 them their eighth. Ben Simmons after Saturday's game talked about 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:51.760 the fact that the Sixers need to now get used 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:53.960 to being the best in their conference and understand that 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:56.200 teams are going to bring their best punch to face 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.880 the Sixers on a nightly basis. And then he said 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:02.000 that he is looking forward to seeing another best team 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.919 in their conference because he believes that they will bring 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:06.599 their best punch. And he said that they have to 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:09.000 start bringing that best punch every single night. But I 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:10.560 do think Monday is going to be a really cool 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.240 opportunity for two teams to really dial in and bring 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.159 their best and see what happens. Let us do it 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:22.080 on this mail bag Monday. Open it up. You have 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.800 one new message. Hey guys, this is Dan. I was 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:29.560 wondering what your take is on Shake Milton's injury how 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:33.800 that has affected the team. Thanks a lot, timely question 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:35.960 right off the bat, Shake Milton's injury, how it will 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.279 affect the seventy sixers. I think we just touched upon 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.360 that a little bit. We've seen it in the last 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.599 two games and obviously removes fourteen points per game from 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:47.000 your bench, which has really helped the seventy sixers. I 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:49.680 think anyone who's watched this year has seen just how 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.440 vital shakes offensive threat has been for the sixers, and 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.040 it tightens up the rotation, takes away a key body. 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.400 But what does it mean is that guys on the 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:02.960 bench to get more opportunities right now, to get increased 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:05.360 minutes and listen, we might not see the returns on 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:09.039 that immediately today, but in the long run, you hope 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.400 that that can help and benefit them. Yeah, you can't 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.040 forget how productive Shake is for that bench. Not only 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:16.840 is he their scoring leader, but he is there, let's say, 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.320 like spiritual leader. He's the one that sort of sets 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.320 the tone for them, that keeps everybody involved. He's running 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.160 the offense most of the time in an all bench unit, 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.960 so more opportunity for Tyrese Maxie while he's away, which 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:31.560 is always something that's a pleasure to see. But keep 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:34.480 in mind, Shake being out of that second unit really 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.760 does make a bigger dent than maybe people are giving 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:40.200 it credit for. Plus Mike Scott coming back from missing 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:44.960 three weeks thirteen games, expect him to get a little 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.440 bit better than what we saw from Saturday's game, as 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:49.320 he was probably put into a situation where he was 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.200 playing maybe more minutes than he expected to in his 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.400 first game back. So yes, the bench hasn't had a 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.720 great week, but there are pretty tangible reasons why, and 0:07:57.760 --> 0:07:59.200 I believe that they're going to figure out how to 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:01.840 write that ship. And what you said, Laren about Mike Scott, 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.520 That's what I'm looking at, is that, hopefully, perhaps by 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:06.640 the end of this week, he'll get his game legs 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.040 back underneath him. Listen, four weeks to miss that's a 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.040 considerable period of time. But Mike's a veteran, we know 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.080 what he can bring to the table. It definitely fills 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.160 an area of depth that Doc Rivers has talked about 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.720 in the past. So I'm looking at Mike Scott and 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:21.560 I'm looking forward to seeing him get back into a 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.680 rhythm and a groove, hopefully and not too long a 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:29.040 period of time. You have one new message. Personally, I 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.280 think everyone in the country should believe the Joel and 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.400 Beach be an All Star because I personally think he's 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.600 playing an MVP caliber level. Now on to Ben Simmon, 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:41.040 the Tobias hair. Ben is he just said the other 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:43.720 day he believes he's one of the best defensive players 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.480 in the league. I think that's accurate. He's a huge 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:49.720 defensive president, he's a great playmaker, As for Tobias, you 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.320 put him in an ISO, He's gonna score for you. 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:57.319 Good defender too, great shooter is shooting numbers this season. 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.000 Percentages from a field, from three, and from free throw 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.360 been great. He's averaging over twenty points a game. And 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.280 this is not being the first option on the team. 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:07.960 He's doing all this. He's clutch. All three of them 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:11.160 should be in the All Star Game. Another voicemail, Dylan 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:15.240 giving us an opportunity to shift gears on our theme 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:18.680 of discussion so far, reminding us that yes, All Star 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.720 voting is still going on, and we have three seventy 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:25.000 sixers that we need to send to the All Star Game. 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.360 Of course there's Dwell and Bid who's been doing great 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:31.640 in the voting. Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris. Put all the 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.800 muscle of your fandom behind those two guys and rack 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:37.280 up those vote counts to try and get them to 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.120 the All Star Game. And I think this voicemail, Lauren 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:44.319 was all encompassing shouting out all of those three candidates. 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.319 And listen, I think that focusing in really on Ben 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:52.040 and Tobias. Some great points that Dylan made. Defense by Ben, 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:53.800 just look at what he did in the second half 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.680 against Damian Lillard, and then Tobias Harris evolving his game 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.719 and being so clutch certainly, and I think, look, it's 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:03.079 hard to get three players into an All Star Game, 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:04.800 but you've heard all three of them say that if 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:07.000 there's an opportunity to get three players in, it's because 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.600 you're leading your conference. And the Sixers are not only 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:11.920 leading the conference, but they have been for a while, 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:13.920 and I think that the All Star Game is an 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.920 opportunity to give those guys respect that are making those 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:20.240 wins happen. People will have things to say about the 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:24.720 statistical difference between let's say Ben and Tobias and maybe 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:28.320 the best players on lesser teams in the Eastern Conference 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:30.040 who might have a better shot at getting into the 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:32.240 All Star Game, But I personally would argue that the 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.440 teams that are doing the best work, that are leading 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:36.360 the conference are the best teams, and the guys that 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:39.400 are making that happen, even if their numbers aren't as 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:43.240 flashy as leaders on lesser teams, deserve a chance to 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:46.360 play in the All Star Game. So I'm biased. People 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:48.760 who listen know how I feel, but I do think 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:50.520 it would be great if we could sort of show 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:52.920 up and show out for those two guys, assuming that 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:56.199 Joel is already already a sure thing also of the Dylan, 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:00.600 clearly an avid consumer of seventy sixers content, brought up 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.160 the bite that Ben Simmons had after the game against Portland. 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:05.200 I believe it was the other day, that he believes 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.720 he's the best defender in the NBA. I thought that 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:09.839 was great to hear Ben say that and own that 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.680 and speak confidently about a statement that I'm not sure 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.160 he's wrong about. I mean, there's certainly an argument to 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.400 be made that he's the best defender in this league. 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.559 Nobody likes when Ben Simmons switches onto them. You see 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:23.920 a change in the way that offensive players have to 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:27.000 protect the ball and play when Ben Simmons is their defender. 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:30.680 I can't necessarily definitively name someone that is a better 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:32.440 defender than Ben. And I think what you said about 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.000 confidence is really huge. If he's willing to make that 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.240 type of statement, he knows he needs to back it 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:39.280 up now on the court. And I like the fact 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:41.440 that he's set that goal for himself and that he 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.440 sees himself as someone who can stop really anyone in 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:47.599 this league. It's it's a special thing. Could we possibly 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:52.640 see three of at least the five, perhaps most impactful 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.120 defenders on the court at the same time Monday night 0:11:55.640 --> 0:12:01.040 in the entire NBA. Definitely would we put those three guys, Ben, 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:04.080 Joe and Rudy in that category three the five most impactful. 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.640 I'm not saying best, I'm just saying maybe effective impactful 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:11.040 defenders in the entire league. Absolutely. I don't think it's 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.280 close to me those I mean, I guess Rudy and 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.000 Joel can't both be First Team All Defense in the 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:19.240 current setup, but I would. I would definitely put those 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:22.360 three in the top five. Yeah, I like it. One 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:25.040 of the subplots for a big Best in the East 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.200 verse Best in the West matchup on Monday. Thank you 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:32.000 Dylan for that. Voicemilk, you have one new message. We're 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.640 gonna run through. A couple Instagram submissions on a similar 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.680 topic about the seventy Sixers and their three potential All Stars, 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:43.160 Matthew Lowenstein says best record in the East if the 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:46.240 Nets Big Three at sixteen and twelve or All Stars 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:50.600 Sixers Big three are to the transitive property of All 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.600 Star candidacy. I like it. I like that argument as well. 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:55.560 I wish I had come up with it. That feels 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:58.679 like that feels like a really good way to explain 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:02.040 what's happening here. It's not necessarily fair for guys that 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.400 have more star power to get into the lead get 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.760 into the game over guys that are winning more, because 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.640 winning is the ultimate test of how good you are 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:13.880 and how good your team is. I love that. I 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:16.800 love the transitive property of all stars. I'm gonna maybe 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:19.760 start using that myself. Listen, we're just here to spread 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:24.720 things that help the cause. Thank you, Matthew Lowenstein, Alejandro 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:30.520 SGBO six Joe's MVP Simmons is good on all aspects 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:35.800 to bias fifty forty ninety potential. I think these are 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:40.840 all legitimate messaging points, talking points. I'm curious. I need 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:43.840 to look it up really quickly. Did Tobias get back 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.120 into that ninety range for his free throw shooting? I 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.480 know he was at eighty nine prior to Saturday's game, 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:50.680 and I'm not exactly sure how many he shots, So 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:52.560 I'm going to look that up while you talk. Seltz 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:57.320 four tenths, I got you covered. Podcasting partner four tenths 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:02.000 of a percentage point off of the fifty one one 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:05.320 ninety club, so close, and it was such a shame 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:07.920 to see Seth Curry miss his first free throw of 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:10.760 the year because he was headed towards the first ever 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:13.600 fifty fifty one hundred club, which would have just been 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:15.959 something very special and of course not necessarily something you 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.880 could expect out of anyone. Nobody's perfect, but it is 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:20.720 crazy to think about how far he got into this 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:23.960 season without missing a single foul shot. Some more rapid 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.720 fire from Instagram. You can look every Sunday for our 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:30.240 weekly question on at sixers on Instagram. Just type in 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.640 your response to the sticker on their story and we 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:35.760 will see them and read through them. On a mail 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:39.640 bag Monday, forty one dot ed Ben an All Star 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:44.200 because he does in all caps everything with five exclamation points. 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:47.320 He does. He does a little bit of everything, a 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:50.000 lot of it, or everything. It's true, very well, it's true. 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.160 I mean I don't think we already talked about it. 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.920 Is he the best defensive player in the league? Maybe? 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:57.920 Is he the best two way player in the league? Also, 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:01.000 maybe I'm not sure that someone can be as impactful 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.600 on both ends of the floor outside of maybe Joel 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.120 embiid as Ben Simmons can be in this league. One 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:11.240 more Instagram rapid fire mailbag submission. I don't know if 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:15.440 I'm gonna get this right. I'm Romeo, I'm Romeo. I'm 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:20.680 not sure, but I'm going to read your submission. Tobias 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.960 is averaging twenty on fifty one percent shooting. Come on, 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:28.000 you can't beat that. In fact, depending on how you 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:31.160 split up his numbers, you can slice him, indice him 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:33.960 a little differently. But in one way, if you look 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.840 at his splits in his shooting combos, it's only him 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.880 and Kevin Durant doing one thing. If you split the 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.240 numbers another way, it's only him and Nickela Yokich doing it. 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:47.400 So versatile is all about Tobias Harris this year. Yeah, 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:49.720 I got in a deep deep stats dot NBA dot 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.720 com hole the other day and I tweeted out some 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.600 of my findings. But like you said, his numbers are 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.400 comparable to only players like Kevin Durant, like Yokich. There 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.560 was another one where he was he was among just 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:03.960 Paul George and Chris Middleton. Okay, what do all four 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:06.440 of those players have in common. They're All Stars, and 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:08.160 they continue to be All Stars, and they will be 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:11.000 All Stars this year. So maybe that's the transitive property 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.840 of statistics. We have the transitive property of all stars, 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:16.920 transitive property of statistics. All signs point to Tobias Harris 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:18.400 should be an All Star this year, and I really 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:21.360 hope that he can get in back. It's the voicemail. 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.480 You have one new message TI. My name is Milton. 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.120 I would just calling to explain why Joe and Tobys 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.520 and Ben should be an All Star. And I'm saying 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:35.600 that Joe should be a All Star because clearly he's 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.800 been dominanting. He's like the next big man after shock, 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.320 to be dominating the game. It's crazy and the effective 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.920 that he could shoot do everything. You don't even know 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:49.000 what his next move is going to be. And Tobias 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:52.640 are his game divorced a lot man, like you know, 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.080 fully need him, Like if he's off, then he really 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.000 brings a lot with the team, and he really been 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.800 sipping up his whole game, and then you need a 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:03.560 point guard like that. Somebody that sighs is something he's 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:05.560 been doing. I know everybody was saying neither Shoe, but 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:07.840 I think he's perfect the way he is. You know, 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.240 he could get in the whole and going the restive. 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:14.000 He played defense, he played the lead defense, and I 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.119 think I think that's really all the only thing the 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.760 team needs. Those three guys have been on top of 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:21.440 the game, and you know, the rest of the team 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.560 to give everything that they got. I love that he 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:27.040 said Ben is perfect the way he is. I'm not 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.000 sure Ben would tell you he's perfect the way he is. 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:31.240 I'm not sure Doc Rivers would say that, but I 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:35.560 like to hear a member of the populace projecting that 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:39.080 sentiment that Ben, you know what, he's pretty damn good 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:41.960 as he is right now. I'm with it. That's something 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.200 that Doc Rivers has been saying a lot in his media, 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:46.560 that there is too much focus on what Ben doesn't 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:48.199 do and not enough focus on what he does do. 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.439 And you and I obviously like to focus on the 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:52.040 things that he does do, but it's cool to hear 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:54.040 other people sort of fall in that camp as well. 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:55.760 We've already talked about him being one of the most 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:58.720 impactful two way players in this game, and I think 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:00.600 to say that he's perfect the way he is is 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:03.560 just that's nice, and we should say that more about that. 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.880 What I'm really interested to see, Lauren, is how simmons 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:12.160 status among the media and coaches and players will affect 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:14.199 his All Star voting, because right now we know that 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.840 he's got an uphill climb for the fifty percent share 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.719 from the fan base. And when you look at his numbers, 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.760 this has been well documented. His shooting attempts per game 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:27.240 down by one per thirty six minutes compared to last year. 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.680 His free throw rate is about the same, His rebounding 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:32.840 is up per thirty six from last year. The same 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:37.520 goes for his assists the steals right around the same area. Listen, 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:41.639 I think that if it's not a coincidence that some 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.960 additional scoring talent comes in on the offensive end, there's 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:47.440 a new head coach, and the one thing that changes 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.840 is not Ben's defense or his defensive play, it's what's 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:53.639 happening on the offensive end. And oh, by the way, 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:57.159 he's tasked with responsibility of being the primary facilitator for 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.800 this team. To me, that's not surprising. So I think 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.160 at just looking at that number in a vacuum isn't 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.440 necessarily a fair way to analyze or evaluate what Ben 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:08.440 Simmons is doing in the effect that he's having this year. 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:12.040 I agree, And when you only evaluate players like Ben offensively, 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.280 you're missing a huge part of the story. The energy 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:17.679 that it takes to defend the other team's best player 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.760 is so much more energy expended. Like there's no way 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:24.919 to necessarily track that, but like net net, energy expended 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.040 by the player that's defending the opposing team's best player 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:30.679 is something that should be taken account into account. On 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:33.600 the offensive end, when you look at this league's best 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:37.120 offensive players, they're not wasting the energy that Ben Simmons 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.119 is wasting on defense. In fact, they're usually being hidden 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:43.600 on defense. So to only look at offensive stats, especially 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:46.240