WEBVTT - Getting a No. 1 Ranking! 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.800 The first week of the seventy sixers season was pretty good. 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:06.800 Betty in a slam, Richardson got its own, miss puts 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:11.160 it up in gosh, Richardson with a gutty basket. That's God. 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.640 The bias Harris puts the Sixers up by prey. You know, 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.279 in fact, the first week of the season was better 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:21.200 than good. It was perfect literally, and had put the 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:24.720 team atop the NBA dot Com Our rank. They're gonna 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:28.560 be monstrous defensively. There's enough offensive talent there. You know. 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:31.360 That's a formula for a team that can compete for 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.400 a championship. We touch base with John Schumann, the guy 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:38.440 who gave the Sixers number one billing on this episode 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:45.519 of the broadcast, the first team to four and currently 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:49.360 the only team two four that also does not have 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:53.000 a loss caveat very least at the time of the 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.960 taping of this podcast. How are you, Brian Seltzer back 0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:00.360 for another episode of the broadcast, And yes, this seventy 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:03.840 Sixers are indeed off to a four and oh start 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.319 for the first time since two thousand and two thousand 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.360 and one. We should all know, of course, where the 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.760 seventy Sixers ended up going that season, and the Sixers 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:14.679 are the only team in the NBA to get to 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.759 four wins while also not having a loss on their ledger. 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:22.880 The Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and a Utah Jazz all 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.399 go into the weekend with records of four and one, 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.720 but the seventy Sixers are the only perfect team left 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:31.919 out of thirty in the NBA, and for good reason. 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:36.600 They've been excellent on the defensive end of the courts. 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.480 Going into the weekend. They were number four in the 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.679 NBA in defensive rating, just under ninety seven points allowed 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:48.160 per one hundred possessions, their first in the league. In steals, 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:52.160 they are top five in deflections. They are best on 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:56.800 the boards rebounding the basketball, top three in block shots 0:01:56.800 --> 0:02:00.240 per game. They have been monsters in the PA ain't 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:05.720 scoring the ball, especially on second opportunities. Just phenomenal, phenomenal 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:09.280 and very encouraging stuff. We're going to talk to John 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.400 Schumann about ranking the seventy six ers number one in 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.760 the first edition of the NBA dot Com Power Rankings 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:16.760 for this season, but first want to remind you that 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:21.280 to subscribe to our podcast, search seventy Sixers Podcasts or 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:25.240 seventy six Ers Podcast Network anywhere where you get your pods. 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:33.240 It could be Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Google podcast, tune In, Stitcher, SoundCloud, wherever. 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.400 It's easy as typing in a few of those keywords 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:41.120 in your search and then subscribing to our feed. John 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:43.400 Schumann in a moment. But we've been doing this the 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:45.560 past couple of weeks. Now I hope you've enjoyed it 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:50.079 our opening tip segments, and for this week, we'll take 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:56.000 a trip down ninety five. The seventy six ers season, 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.280 as we know, is well underway. The team now headed 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.040 across the country to start a four game track against 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:06.720 some very good Western Conference clubs. But back east, there's 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.720 plenty of work being done as well. About thirty miles 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:14.280 south of Philadelphia in Wilmington, Delaware, at seventy Sixers Field House, 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.880 That is where a collection of nearly twenty or so 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.080 players spent this past week taking part in training camp 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:24.240 for the Delaware Bluecoats, the seventy sixers G League affiliate. 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.960 There were some noteworthy names in Coates camp. Mariol Shayak, 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.200 this year's second round pick out of Iowa State, Haywood 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.119 high Smith, one of these Sixers two way players last year. 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.240 Chris Camagi and Isaiah Miles are there as well, and 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.640 they were in seventy sixers training camp. But the most 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:46.080 prominent face of all was no doubt, Zaire Smith, the 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.200 sixteenth overall pick acquired by the Sixers in the two 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:53.720 eighteen draft. It's an intriguing story for sure. On the 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:56.280 heels of a strong summer during which he displayed a 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:58.960 lot of positives at Summer League, the twenty year old 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.440 Smith was a sign of the Blue Coats with two 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:05.960 goals in mind, to stay fresh and to continue to improve. 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:10.000 We're excited most of the up for the good and 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.360 getting ready here come out of plays in damage out 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:15.440 there do my minis just be a growthful play sing 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:20.800 shoot the ball by name. The Blue Coats are in 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.560 just their second season of existence. Prior to relocating to 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:28.200 Delaware's largest city a year ago, the franchise spent five 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.839 seasons playing in Newark as the eighty seveners. In addition 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:35.479 to twenty eighteen, marking the coach's first campaign in Wilmington, 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:38.400 it was also the first season that the GM head 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.679 coach tandem of Matt Lily and Connor Johnson worked together. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.120 Both guys aren't even thirty yet, and they boast really 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:49.080 impressive resumes. Lily has spent nearly a decade in the 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.720 G League, rising to a top front office position from 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.000 the ground up. He was Elton Brand's right hand man 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.719 in Delaware before eb got bumped up to the big 0:04:56.720 --> 0:05:01.320 gig with the Sixers. Johnson meanwhile played Amherst in Massachusetts, 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.120 worked for Jay Wright for a bid at Villanova, then 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:07.640 landed a spot on Brett Brown's staff as an operations assistant. 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.200 He proceeded to work his way up to Brown's director 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:14.000 of player Development and coaching administration, and ultimately was tapped 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:18.520 to become the coach's head coach. What did Lillian Johnson 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:22.839 accomplish in their first season simply put the duo fine 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.839 tune and infrastructure that facilitates development on all fronts. It's 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:30.400 good Milton nails a corner, three Simmons of the past 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.120 of Milton in the corner, and shake Milton gives us 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:38.960 six first from a player's standpoint. Shake. Milton finished second 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:41.120 in the G League in scoring, then had his two 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:44.120 way contract converted full time with the Sixers, hell with 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:48.120 another's slab at a Vala Detroit Norvelle Pell was named 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.360 to the All g League Defensive Team and earned a 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.840 two way contract this offseason. Highsmith, one of the two 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:57.600 way players last year, made great strides and Jared Brownridge 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:01.359 ended twenty eight nineteen as the lead leader in three points. 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.680 Also worth noting, for the past couple months, nearly it 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:10.159 doesn't bluecoat staffers, coaches to talent evaluators advanced their careers 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:14.360 either within the seventy sixers organization or elsewhere. So, yeah, 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.640 Million Johnson, they seem to have something cooking down in Wilmington. 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.120 We don't treat it as Sixer staff and bluecoat staff 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.000 like it's one organization that works together, the kind of 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:27.760 put together the plan for what path do we see 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:29.880 for this player? Are the what are the goals and 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.479 checkpoints we're kind of looking to check off along the way. 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.320 So I think it's it's really collaborative with myself, Connor, 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.840 everyone is kind of onboard with carbon out what does 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:40.480 the plan for this guy look like? What is our 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:42.080 vision and how can we how can we help them 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.160 get there? That was Lily Here's counter Johnson. The Sixers 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.880 have a strong culture since Brett came on board, and 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.680 that is something that we aren't the same team as 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.279 the Sixers, but at the same time, we value the 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:55.760 same things and we preach the same things to our players, 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.800 and I think that's another element of continuity that as 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:00.800 the players go back and forth they can see it's 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:05.400 progress that wouldn't be possible without committed, consistent support from 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:09.760 the seventy Sixers themselves, not just holistically but financially too. 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.480 This is Elton brand. We take pride in having the 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:16.480 Blue Coats, the ability to have the Blue Coats as 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.520 an extension of the Sixers. That's what the Blue Coats 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.040 stand for us. They're an extension of the Sixers. It's 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:26.440 not just the players, it's also for you know, staff, 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:30.400 myself starter, you know, as in a leader's true leadership 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:35.480 role as G League GM of the G League of 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.480 the eighty seven Ers, which are now the Blue Coats, 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.320 and it afforded me an opportunity to really grow and develop. 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:46.280 And we're looking to promote from within and give our 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.320 staff and the plays an opportunity to grow and that's 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.800 what's been taking place. But the top priority, make no 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.960 mistake about it, is to develop contributors to the seventy 0:07:56.000 --> 0:08:00.880 Sixers and their championship aspirations, whether that's a player who's 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.280 slated to be with the Blue Coats all season or 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:07.480 someone a little more established like Zaire Smith who's with 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:11.200 the Coats right now, to playing simple, get reps and 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.920 stay fresh. How do you guys like try and manage 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.280 that type of dynamic with them that it's really ultimately 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:19.960 only going to better them to just be playing actively somewhere, 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.960 regardless of where it is. There's nothing like the opportunities 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:26.840 to play in front of fans and have our great facility. 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:31.440 You can't replicate an actual game situation by practicing on 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:37.000 the side or scrimmaging, even if it's against pros, all 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:40.720 league NBA players being out there and actually, you know, 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:44.599 having that opportunity, so you know, the fieldhouse being developed 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:47.760 in the way it is Coach Johnson, the way he's 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:52.840 marrying his systems exactly with ours, Matt literally the GM 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.880 there making sure that the players know their roles not 0:08:56.960 --> 0:09:00.240 only to develop for the Blue Coats, but when they 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:03.720 have the opportunity with the Sixers. So it really helps 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:07.200 us as an entire organization. Again, Connor Johnson, there's no 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.760 break in what the player and get from whether it's 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:12.760 they're here or whether they're up and camped in with 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.040 the Sixers or playing in a game that they're getting 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:18.000 the same things that they need and they experience kind 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:22.280 of the same resources that they get either way. So 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.600 for as hype as you rightfully should be about the 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:29.599 seventy Sixers, do pay attention to what's going on in Wilmington. 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:32.960 The Blue Coat season opener is at home on November 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:36.600 ninth at seventy Sixers Field House, and odds are, whether 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:40.920 it's a player, coach, front office staffer, you might just 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:43.120 be seeing them at some point in not too distant 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:49.760 future with the Sixers. That was our opening tip, which 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:53.719 hopefully you've been digging. One thing I know you will 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:58.040 dig or you should is something the seventy Sixers have 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.760 planned for a couple of weeks from now. It's called 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:05.720 seventy six Ers Crossover, the art exhibition presented by Reebok 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:10.440 celebrating the creative crossover between basketball and the city of Philadelphia. 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.320 How awesome is that. Maybe you've seen some of the 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:18.240 teases of the artwork on social media or in arena 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:20.120 down at the Center. It's going to be a free 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:24.120 event open to the public from Saturday, November sixteenth through Tuesday, 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.480 November nineteenth at the Fittler Club in Philadelphia. That's on 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:31.920 twenty fourth Street, just south of Ludlow, right by Ranstad 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:34.400 and the event is going to explay more than two 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:38.600 hundred pieces of art produced by artists from thirteen different 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:43.360 countries amazing. Visit seventy six ers dot com slash seventy 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.880 six Ers Crossover and follow us on social media for 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:50.840 all the additional information you'll need on specific showtimes and 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.680 details for how you can enjoy this one of a 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:58.160 kind art exhibition at seventy six Ers Crossover, presented by 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:03.800 Reebok each and every week on Mondays on NBA dot com. 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.880 You can look forward to the release of John Schumann's 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.959 Power rankings, and following the first let's call it half 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:13.600 week of regular season play, the seventy Sixers were up 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.480 three spots from number four to number one. John was 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:19.680 at the Sixers game on Wednesday, the win over the 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:22.280 Minnesota Timberwolves, and prior to tip he and I had 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:25.400 the chance to catch up. John. There is a boiler 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:30.040 plates on your weekly power rankings column that reads, in part, 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:32.680 if you have an issue with the rankings or have 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:35.640 a question or comment for John Schumann, send him an 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.680 email or contact him via Twitter. How often does the 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:45.040 populace take you up on that offer? Pretty often? But 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.800 I don't take it too seriously because one, I don't 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:53.800 because one, you know, everybody that's doing that has their 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:59.160 own biases, and then two I don't personally, I don't 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:03.400 stress the actual rankings of the team very much. I 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:05.959 will tell you, I'll let you in on a secret 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:11.720 that of the work goes into what's written about the teams, 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.280 and then at the end I just put them in 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.960 some sort of order. Right, So, like I care about 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:21.720 when I write my Power rankings is if you're a 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.600 Sixers fan and you watch every single Sixers game all 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:29.520 eighty two, you can come to the Power Rankings on 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.760 Monday and maybe learn something that you didn't necessarily know 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.640 about them, like a stat or you know how a 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.480 particular lineup has done compared to the rest of the league, 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.880 how how they do in this particular category compared to 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.080 the rest of the league. Now, it's impossible for me 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:49.040 to do that for all thirty teams for all twenty 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:51.600 six weeks of the season, but that's sort of the 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.520 goal when I go into it. And so therefore, like 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:58.080 all the work or the bulk of the work goes 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:00.600 into what I write. I think bit more of as 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:04.640 a notebook than rankings to my as like a league 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.439 wide notebook. Then to rankings, and then sort of at 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.880 the end, I say, all right, who should be number one, 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:11.760 who should be number thirty? And how am I going 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.680 to sort them in between? And some weeks it's a 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:18.440 lot easier than others. Some weeks it's difficult. Even this 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:21.280 week after Week one, it was kind of difficult just 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:26.520 because there wasn't a team that we expected to be 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:30.400 really good that was really dominant in week one. You know, 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:32.560 the Sixers won their first couple of games, but it 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:36.760 wasn't the prettiest of weeks or or prettiest of basketball 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:41.600 that we saw. But you know, it has has to 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:43.200 do with a lot with how that team is doing, 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:45.200 and then how the teams around them are doing, and 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:47.000 sort of the teams that teams that there are in 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:49.520 the same tier and how they've been doing recently. Yeah, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.640 I'd have to think that some of the toughest situations 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:55.080 to rank the teams is when you've got a blank 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:57.240 canvas and how many times a year. Do you have 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:00.280 that essentially now? And that's about it the first two 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.000 weeks perhaps, and then also when there hasn't been much 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:06.160 movement in the standings on a league wide basis, right, 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:08.200 Like to me, that would be when when things are static, 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.040 that's when if I were doing it, that's when the 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.720 rankings would become difficult. There was a year, I guess 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:17.120 it was Michael Carter Williams's rookie year when the Sixers 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.840 were expected to be pretty bad and then they won. 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.600 They beat the Heat in week one, like in their 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:29.640 first game they started, and I put them number one 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:34.160 because if why not? You know it's week one and no, 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.480 they're not going to be number one forever, they're probably 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:38.960 not going to be number one again. And and I'm 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:42.520 sure they quickly fell off at after that. But what 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.320 I mean, like it's just rankings. It doesn't matter, Like really, 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.120 it doesn't matter. And hopefully, like I said, somebody comes 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:51.640 in there and can read it, and yeah, they may 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:53.520 not be happy with the way I ranked the teams, 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:55.800 but maybe there's something in there that they can get 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.640 out of it. So um, and like I said, like 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:02.200 if if you did that, if you just said if 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.480 you just ranked them on based on who you think 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:07.840 can win the championship at the in June. Then you know, 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.240 the Warriors would have been number one for five straight years, 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:13.320 you know, so what's the you know, not five straight year, 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.280 but then you know, you get the point, and so 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:18.320 you know, I try to have a little bit fun 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:22.280 with it too. Is there a basic criteria formula that 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:24.760 that you drop them upon and fall back upon? Yeah? 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:26.800 I think quality wins is a big thing to me. 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:29.520 A quality win is you know, a road team, a 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:31.400 road win over a good team, or just to win 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.360 over another good team. So obviously, when I was looking 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:37.720 at this week, the Sixers were two and oh, the 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:39.920 Nuggets were two and oh. And I had thought pretty 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:41.640 highly of the Nuggets, I had them ranked in the 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:45.280 top five even before the season started. But the Sixers 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:47.960 sort of win over the Celtics, and thinking that the 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:49.960 Celtics were a good team and knowing, you know, knowing 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:51.720 that they'd be a pretty good team. That sort of 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:57.720 made the difference in in ranking those two teams and 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.000 putting the Sixers number one. Like quality, like good wins 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:04.200 is matters to me, and so for instance, like the 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.760 Spurs were also two and oh, but just had beat 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.680 two sort of weaker Eastern Conference teams, and it was 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:13.080 fairly easy not to, you know, push them too high 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:15.480 because knowing you know who they had beaten, how much 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:18.600 they win by, and that type of thing. Before the 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:21.520 season started, you have the seventy six ers rank number four, 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:25.360 which is all things considered, top five, pretty good. What 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.040 has you so bullish generally speaking at the outside of 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:32.360 the year about the seventy six ers. I mean, they're 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.880 going to be monstrous defensively, and we know that and 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.800 they already have been. I mean their defense in Game 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:44.920 one was terrific and that is a great foundation to 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.960 start with. There are I think legit questions about their offense, 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:52.160 but they're still talent. I mean, there's still talent there. 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.160 Like you have Joel and beat, you have Ben Simmons, 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:59.160 who you know, as limited as his as he is 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:04.080 with his jump shot, can get downhill and get buckets. 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:06.520 We saw it in game one, I think get twenty 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.880 four or twenty six, I forget which what it was. Yeah, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:14.560 Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris. So there's enough offensive talent 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:18.240 there where they're going to be at worst average offensively. 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:21.240 And then with how good they are going to be defensively. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.560 That's you know, that's a formula for one of the 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:27.760 best teams in the league and a team that can 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.600 compete for a championship if everything comes together. Going back 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.680 reflecting on the summer thing about the moves transactions the 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:40.119 seventy six Ers and Elton brand made, do you remember 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.080 was there one? Was there too a few that kind 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:45.400 of made you pause, stopping your tracks and be like, wow, 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.520 I didn't see this coming. Ordin al Horford it's I've 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.080 thought the world of al Horford for a long time, 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:57.000 and I go back to two years ago in that 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:01.000 playoffs where Boston reached the conference finals basically without Kyrie 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:06.679 Irving and they beat Milwaukee in the first round and 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:12.560 al Horford was guarding Janisanto Tokumpo and did a fantastic 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.360 job on him. They went to seven games. Al Horford 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:19.560 was the best player in Game seven. And then they 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.159 played the Sixers in the second round and he outplayed 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:26.680 Joel Embiid. I mean, he guarded Joel Embiid. He even 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:30.160 guarded Ben Simmons at times, and he was he outplayed 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:35.119 them both. And I think he's just obviously he's talented, 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:38.440 but what I think about him is that he just 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.680 he executes the game plan to a t. Like he 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:47.040 knows the game plan and executes it perfectly on both 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.080 ends of the floor. He knows what he's supposed to 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.520 do offensively, he knows how his team can take advantage 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.680 of the other team offensively and then defensively. He knows 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:58.119 where to be and what to do, what his job is, 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:01.679 and like he is just sort of like I just 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:07.320 see him as the epitome of execution as a veteran player. 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:09.399 He has his limitations, of course, and he's not going 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:11.520 to have the best shooting games all the time. But 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:15.560 I feel like, you know, that was a huge coup 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:19.320 for the Sixers to get to, as Brett Brown has 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:21.320 said it, to get him and then to take him 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:24.080 away from the Celtics at the very same time. How 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:26.240 much have you found over your time covering the league 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:31.840 that as players get up there in years, how much 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.600 farther can IQ take you a savvy for the game 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:38.280 in all can that be a prevailing factor and prolonging 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:41.879 not just a career, but how effective you are in 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:45.560 this middle stage in terms of age of your career absolutely, 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.280 And you know, Al's a great example of that that 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:55.679 he you know, isn't the most athletic guy. You know, 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:59.720 isn't as obviously getting older and you know, doesn't move 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:03.760 his wa well, but just executes. A coach is going 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.359 to trust him all that, like, is always going to 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:08.800 trust him to do the right, to do what the 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:11.159 coach wants. And I think that's a huge part of 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:14.080 sticking in this league is just gaining the trust of 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.679 the coaches and then in the extension the front office 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:23.000 that's that that's making the personnel decisions. Um. You know 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.080 he shoot, look at TJ McConnell, like a guy like 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:30.040 that that just doesn't you know he I was talking 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:33.240 about him with somebody today. He's just amazing like that 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.000 this guy is in the league considering how small he is. 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:39.680 He's not that athletic and he really can't shoot outside 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:44.879 of seventeen eighteen feet, but he's tough and he's smart. 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:49.000 He knows what to do. Um And so like, there 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:50.960 are gout great examples of that, and a lot of 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:53.880 them came out of this organization when when when the 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:59.119 team wasn't winning, that just um didn't come in with 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:01.360 a ton of talent. It just knew what to do 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:04.520 and worked hard, and also you know, listen to their 0:21:04.560 --> 0:21:08.240 coaches and if they execute well, they can stick around 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:12.240 for a long time. You talked about how in your 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.040 power rankings you like to drop in a few nuggets 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:18.399 and each capsule about a team that might open fans 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:20.760 eyes to something else. And one that stood out to 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:24.600 me from the recent Power rankings and you're writing about 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.600 the seventy Sixers, is that the Sixers allow the Celtics 0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:30.600 to score just thirty seven points on fifty one possessions 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.879 with Joel Embiid on the floor. Obviously, that is telling 0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:36.960 of Joe's defensive impact, but it also makes you think 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:39.040 back to last year and how much of a subplot 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:41.760 it was, particularly in the Toronto series when the Sixers 0:21:41.760 --> 0:21:45.280 were eliminated, of what happened when Joel wasn't on the floor. 0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:47.760 And when I look at this year's Sixers team, it's 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:50.280 obviously different, especially on the offensive end, than it was 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.560 last year. There's no jj Reddick in particular, but when 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:57.200 Joel's not on the floor, this year you do have Horford. 0:21:57.240 --> 0:22:00.439 And for all the great things that Al does, I 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:03.520 think simply his presence of being available provided good health. 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:06.520 When Joel isn't available, whether it's for a substitution or 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:08.440 a game off here or there, I think that makes 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:11.840 the Sixers better. It should in theory, yes, yes, I 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:14.720 think that would like if you look at the Toronto series, well, 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:18.159 what went wrong, Well, we were I forget the plus 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:21.800 minus in how exactly how many minutes it was when 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:24.679 when mbid was off the floor, but it was staggering. 0:22:25.600 --> 0:22:30.320 And yes, and we know, speaking of staggering, Brett Brown 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:33.359 staggers the minutes of his starters. Now there's a plus 0:22:33.359 --> 0:22:36.600 in a minus that the plot. The positive is that 0:22:36.600 --> 0:22:38.760 you're always going to have two starters on the floor, 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:41.639 right and you have a talented starting lineup. If you 0:22:41.720 --> 0:22:43.880 have two of those guys on the floor at all times, 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:46.840 you can take advantage of the other team's second unit. 0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:49.600 And we saw in the playoffs last year him starting 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:52.840 the second and fourth quarters sometimes with the with the 0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:55.320 whole starting lineup on the floor, which was unique, and 0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:58.600