Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts day everybody,
Speaker 1: seventy six hunds without further ado, Good morning, everybody, Welcome
Speaker 1: back to another post Sixers win reaction. I'm Lauren Rosen.
Speaker 1: Matt Murphy is with me. We're going to jump straight
Speaker 1: into the box for first and foremost today just to
Speaker 1: get those questions coming in, those comments coming in. So
Speaker 1: as I go through this box for in our open,
Speaker 1: I would love to hear what you guys say standout performances,
Speaker 1: and then I'm gonna let Matt Murphy take it away
Speaker 1: with some analysis. So guys, let's get right into it.
Speaker 1: Joel Embiide back at it again. Miss the Sixers three
Speaker 1: game trip on which they went to and won one
Speaker 1: back to back games in Orlando rather not in a
Speaker 1: back to back to back at Orlando the day in between,
Speaker 1: and then we're able to win their third game in
Speaker 1: four days last night at home at the Center. Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid led the way in his return thirty points, eight rebounds,
Speaker 1: seven assists, two steals, two blocks, nine for eighteen from
Speaker 1: the field twelve or thirteen from the free throw line.
Speaker 1: That doesn't even begin to tell the whole story when
Speaker 1: you look at what he was able to do defensively,
Speaker 1: and those eleven final points for the Sixers all coming
Speaker 1: from Embid In that fourth quarter, Tobias Harris was excellent
Speaker 1: once again, twenty four points, ten rebounds and an assist.
Speaker 1: He shot ten for eighteen from the field, three for
Speaker 1: seven from three point range. Shake Milton also excellent once
Speaker 1: again twenty one points, five rebounds, seven assists. Matt He's
Speaker 1: becoming a little bit of a triple double risk, and
Speaker 1: of course more so when Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxie
Speaker 1: and James Harden aren't available. But Shake Milton remaining so
Speaker 1: productive with Joel back in the lineup is exciting to see.
Speaker 1: D Anthony Melton and George Niang contributed nine points, strong
Speaker 1: outing from Matisse Thyble, who also returned to the lineup
Speaker 1: last night for the first time about a week. He
Speaker 1: finished with four points in just eight minutes and had
Speaker 1: a steal. He looked good, Matt. He made both of
Speaker 1: his attempts for Concord Maas Paul Reid, Daniel House Junior PJ. Tucker,
Speaker 1: all also playing a role in this one. So any questions,
Speaker 1: any thoughts on those guys, please send them in, but
Speaker 1: without further a do Good morning, Matt Murphy. How are you.
Speaker 1: What did you think about last night's victory. It was
Speaker 1: a hard fought win for the Sixers to get to
Speaker 1: twelve and nine on the season. They've won three in
Speaker 1: a row. Impressive second win in Orlando, rolling that into
Speaker 1: the second half of a back to back where they
Speaker 1: traveled home taking on a Hawks team that played at
Speaker 1: in Atlanta the night before and was looking to bounce back.
Speaker 1: The Sixers and Hawks play these close games. I think
Speaker 1: for the Sixers too, As many of the players said afterwards,
Speaker 1: and we will hear from audio from some of them
Speaker 1: today during the show, they had to grind it out.
Speaker 1: They had to keep fighting. That was the message in
Speaker 1: the huddle, Fight, chip away, come back, And that's the
Speaker 1: number on the box score that stood out to me
Speaker 1: was the number sixteen. That was the biggest lead, sixteen
Speaker 1: points for the Atlanta Hawks. So the biggest comeback of
Speaker 1: the season so far for the Philadelphia seventy six ers.
Speaker 1: When you were going through the individual players and mentioning
Speaker 1: Shake Milton triple double watch in the past few games.
Speaker 1: With the seven assists zero turnovers, that's a number another
Speaker 1: number that stood out to me from the box score.
Speaker 1: A clean game from Shake Milton, who got it going
Speaker 1: as the game was progressing, just like Joel Embiid, who
Speaker 1: with him back in the lineup to do most of
Speaker 1: his damage when it mattered most, finished with thirty points,
Speaker 1: eight rebounds and seven assists himself key defensive play against
Speaker 1: Trey Young to seal the deal. But Shake got it
Speaker 1: going as well. They were playing off each other quite
Speaker 1: well when the game mattered most. And we can dive
Speaker 1: more into that. I want to hear from everyone as well,
Speaker 1: so we could sort through some of the messages and tweets.
Speaker 1: But yeah, the comeback effort, given the circumstances and it
Speaker 1: being a sixteen point comeback, was something that I was
Speaker 1: looking at for sure. Joel Embiid, of course the top
Speaker 1: story in his return to the court, but he understands
Speaker 1: that there were some other top stories going on this
Speaker 1: week and after the game, Joel gave a lot of credit,
Speaker 1: a lot of props to that group that went out
Speaker 1: on the road and did so well in the absence
Speaker 1: again of Joel of Tyrese and of James Harden during
Speaker 1: that time. Let's hear Joel immediately post game last night
Speaker 1: was made up his play out, I've been doing so good. Um.
Speaker 1: I think that just been you know, trusting each other. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, even before I got hurt. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: the way we were playing then, we were playing together,
Speaker 1: you know, just moving the ball, you know, making sure
Speaker 1: everybody touches the ball. And obviously the last four games,
Speaker 1: you know, that've been playing on another level and defensively
Speaker 1: and offensively. I think our offense has been so good
Speaker 1: because of our defense. So I think that's the reason
Speaker 1: why we've been winning all these games. The seventy sixers
Speaker 1: now have won seven of their last nine. They have
Speaker 1: won four of their last five, and three of those
Speaker 1: in a row. Matt the team leaving this afternoon to
Speaker 1: head to Cleveland, where they will face the Cavaliers tomorrow.
Speaker 1: But I love what Joel said about the way that
Speaker 1: the guys were able to sort of shoulder the burdens,
Speaker 1: step up and step in. That's what we heard all
Speaker 1: week long from those guys that were stepping up, and
Speaker 1: cool to see Joel give them props and then put
Speaker 1: the team on his back in that second half of
Speaker 1: a back to back, Matt, I think you might have
Speaker 1: had a better angle of the fourth quarter than I did.
Speaker 1: For those that don't know, I sort of move around
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter when it looks like the Sixers
Speaker 1: are going to take a victory. Did you see from
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid in that eleven point run in that final
Speaker 1: game saving steal. How did it feel to watch Joel
Speaker 1: in prime fashion last night in his return? You know,
Speaker 1: it's interesting because he only had two field goals made
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter, so he did the bulk of
Speaker 1: the scoring and the bulk of his scoring for that matter,
Speaker 1: in the second half in the fourth quarter. Much of
Speaker 1: that came on free throws. But his two field goals
Speaker 1: were as well timed as they could have possibly been.
Speaker 1: They cleared out the one side. He made something out
Speaker 1: of nothing, or so it seemed for the first one
Speaker 1: when he you know, he backed down Capella and scored
Speaker 1: and then on what turned out to be the game
Speaker 1: winning basket. That was an action with Shake Milton speaking
Speaker 1: of their two man game that Doc Rivers talked about
Speaker 1: a postgame as well. There was a question about it
Speaker 1: and just running that pick and roll at the elbow
Speaker 1: or pick and pop in this case, and when Joel
Speaker 1: pops out, Doc mentioned this and you can see it develop.
Speaker 1: The defense has a decision to make because they have
Speaker 1: to either choose to stop Shake from going all the
Speaker 1: way to the basket. If they do that, then he
Speaker 1: can pass it back out to Joel, who ultimately hits
Speaker 1: what proves to be the game winner. And then in
Speaker 1: that environment against these Hawks, this Hawks team with Trey Young,
Speaker 1: and to get a defensive stop where he baited Trey
Speaker 1: Young into throwing a lob. It was very, very impressive
Speaker 1: to see. You said it. Twelve and nine record, they've
Speaker 1: won seven of nine, they've won eight of eleven, and
Speaker 1: now it's kind of odd that they come home for
Speaker 1: this one game on the second half of a back
Speaker 1: to back, and now, Lauren, you're heading right back out
Speaker 1: on the road with the Sixers team for a tough
Speaker 1: stretch of games, a tough road trip at Cleveland, at Memphis,
Speaker 1: at Houston. So it was just a quick stop at home.
Speaker 1: But having him bid back, I think is going to
Speaker 1: just inject even more life into this team that had
Speaker 1: already been clicking. We heard him say it. He said
Speaker 1: his teammates have just been playing so well in the
Speaker 1: absence of such key pieces. Now they'll have to do
Speaker 1: it on the road again. It's a quirky little stretch
Speaker 1: for the seventy six ers. Matt. You mentioned it heading
Speaker 1: out on this road trip. I'm seeing some questions and
Speaker 1: comments about the injury report. We don't have a new
Speaker 1: one for today, but I can tell you what Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers said yesterday about his team. He said he was
Speaker 1: hoping that Joel would play. Joel did. Indeed, he said
Speaker 1: that he knows that James Harden is out on the
Speaker 1: court doing work on the court for the first time,
Speaker 1: but he didn't feel or not for the first time,
Speaker 1: but has been out on the court rather But he
Speaker 1: didn't feel that Tyrese Maxie was quite there yet. We
Speaker 1: did see Tyrese last night. He's no longer in the boot.
Speaker 1: That is, I guess a bit of an update in itself.
Speaker 1: But those guys, as you know, Matt, are itching, itching,
Speaker 1: itching to get back out there on the floor. So
Speaker 1: great to see Joel come back, great to hear the
Speaker 1: other two are progressing, and we will keep you guys posted.
Speaker 1: Sorry not to have a better answer about those injuries, Lauren.
Speaker 1: I think we can use that as an opportunity to
Speaker 1: go inside the locker room a bit because we were
Speaker 1: in there for pregame media availability prior to this Hawks
Speaker 1: game when Tyree came in no boot, and it was
Speaker 1: fun to see him interacting with his teammates and sort
Speaker 1: of greeting all of them and like tapping them on
Speaker 1: the shoulder and saying, hey, how's it going. Well, it's
Speaker 1: a tough stretch for a guy like Tyrese Maxie who
Speaker 1: loves being with his team so much. Right, we just
Speaker 1: saw the Sixers have a very long homestand there's another
Speaker 1: one coming up, but this is a really extreme stretch
Speaker 1: of being away. Matt. You mentioned that they came back
Speaker 1: into town just for thirty six hours in one game,
Speaker 1: and it means that Tyrese Maxie has been away from
Speaker 1: his teammates for quite a long time and it is
Speaker 1: about to be potentially away from them for another week
Speaker 1: or so. It's got to be tough for a guy
Speaker 1: that loves his teammates the way that he does and
Speaker 1: that loves being around. So it was cool to see
Speaker 1: him come back in and embrace the crew the way
Speaker 1: that he did, and they were all excited of course,
Speaker 1: to see him without the boot, because when the team
Speaker 1: left a week ago he was in that boot. He
Speaker 1: was moving very gingerly. Good to see him sort of
Speaker 1: moving a little bit like himself. Last night, Matt, I
Speaker 1: want to go to Tobias Harris now and hear from him.
Speaker 1: He discussed the fight. You mentioned it. They didn't stop,
Speaker 1: they didn't quit. That was the message in the huddle
Speaker 1: all night long, and Tobias talked about it postgame. Uh yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, all throughout the game we were
Speaker 1: saying just keep fighting. Obviously early on, you know, there's
Speaker 1: a couple a lot of times there where we called
Speaker 1: ourselves down ten points, thirteen points and whatnot. But we
Speaker 1: kept fighting all throughout the whole night, UM and were
Speaker 1: just able to create something towards the end of the game. Uh,
Speaker 1: get get some energy in that um towards the end
Speaker 1: of the third quarter to give us some life there.
Speaker 1: And once we were able to do that, were really
Speaker 1: able to just flow and you know, do what we
Speaker 1: do to close out, close out of a good home victory.
Speaker 1: You know, to have Joel back from the line up,
Speaker 1: a bunch of you making us before us, it was great.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, obviously, just his presence and his
Speaker 1: dominance is its huge for our whole group. Um, and
Speaker 1: I thought, you know, really, he did a great job
Speaker 1: of just involving everybody in the game. Seven assists is huge,
Speaker 1: and you know, his his ability to to take over games,
Speaker 1: especially in the fourth quarter. He's a big fuss and
Speaker 1: he just you know, did awesome. And you know, we
Speaker 1: were excited to have him back. You know, we would
Speaker 1: love to have him back earlier, but it was good
Speaker 1: to just get him back for tonight. That's Tobias Harris
Speaker 1: discussing the fight of his teammates, discussing Joel embiids come
Speaker 1: back and Matt when you think about what he came
Speaker 1: back from in that meantime period, Tobias Harris and Shake
Speaker 1: Milton really were tremendous for the seventy six ers. Shakes
Speaker 1: the one we haven't spoken about yet tonight, But I
Speaker 1: want to run back through his last couple of games. Matt.
Speaker 1: I know you've watched Shape closely for many many moons,
Speaker 1: and I want to hear your thoughts on what he's
Speaker 1: been able to do. Last night against Atlanta twenty one points,
Speaker 1: five rebounds, seven assists. Two nights ago, against Orlando twenty
Speaker 1: nine points, five rebounds, seven assists. That twenty nine point
Speaker 1: mark marked his new season high. A game before that
Speaker 1: twenty four points, nine rebounds and a career high ten assists,
Speaker 1: just one rebound shot of a twenty four point triple double,
Speaker 1: and then in Charlotte Shake had twenty two, seven and nine.
Speaker 1: So it's been quite a tear for young well maybe
Speaker 1: not so young anymore, Shake Milton. But Matt, what have
Speaker 1: you seen from him? And how have you seen him grow?
Speaker 1: Twenty six isn't young anymore? I'm just I mean, no, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: it is. But I think we say young, Shake Milton,
Speaker 1: But he's now one of the I mean really one
Speaker 1: of this team's veteran types, right, and he's one of
Speaker 1: the longest tenured sixers alongside for con Porkmas, who might
Speaker 1: not be considered young anymore either, Joel Embiid might somehow
Speaker 1: not be considered young anymore. That was actually, Matt, I
Speaker 1: want to hear your thoughts on Shake, But but that
Speaker 1: reminds me of something that Doc Rivers said last night.
Speaker 1: He feels it's a very mature team. Actually. Tyrese Maxie,
Speaker 1: by far the youngest of those getting a lion share
Speaker 1: of the minutes, and Tyrese of course, mature beyond his years.
Speaker 1: So really cool to see the way that these guys
Speaker 1: that we've considered young for a while are sort of
Speaker 1: coming into their own and becoming bona fide veterans in
Speaker 1: their own right. Matt Shake Milton certainly one of those
Speaker 1: what have you thought of what he's done lately? He
Speaker 1: is a mature player, and I think he he's had
Speaker 1: that from very early on in his career. I'm not
Speaker 1: just talking G League, but I think we've seen it
Speaker 1: in spurts over the years with the Sixers, and you're
Speaker 1: right when it comes to experience, he's been around, and
Speaker 1: he has played with Joel Embiid for multiple seasons at
Speaker 1: this point, and Embiid said quote, the NBA is all
Speaker 1: about opportunity in reference to Shake just last night after
Speaker 1: the game, So I think that's what it's been about
Speaker 1: for Shake Milton. He does play with that poise, that
Speaker 1: confidence to have zero turnovers with the seven assists, to
Speaker 1: pick up the scoring in the second half of a
Speaker 1: game when your legs might not be as fresh as
Speaker 1: they were during portions of that first three game road trip.
Speaker 1: While he's in the middle of this scoring tear, the
Speaker 1: scoring is always going to be there. I think he
Speaker 1: looks really comfortable in the offense. And sometimes basketball is
Speaker 1: a simple game giving your This was a theme of
Speaker 1: what came out of the postgame is just finding your
Speaker 1: best players in the spots that they like, giving them
Speaker 1: the ball where they like to receive the ball. And
Speaker 1: he has a knack for that right now with Joel Embiid,
Speaker 1: because they're two guys that know each other's games quite well.
Speaker 1: At this point. Speaking of mature, the person we just
Speaker 1: heard from was Tobias Harris, who has a very mature game.
Speaker 1: How about the shot at the end of the shot
Speaker 1: clock I thought was so huge and so much transpired
Speaker 1: after this point, But early in the fourth quarter, when
Speaker 1: the shot clock didn't reset, they were trailing, and a
Speaker 1: three bye Tobias Harris with one second on the shot
Speaker 1: clock as it was expiring, gave the Sixers a one
Speaker 1: point lead. And then a big basket followed that from
Speaker 1: Matisse Thible with the left hand, and the bench absolutely
Speaker 1: loved the Matisse Thible finished. Those were two big baskets
Speaker 1: in the win over the Hawks, for sure. Those two
Speaker 1: I think Matt made the comeback feel pretty real, and
Speaker 1: then Joel Embiad of course took it from there. But
Speaker 1: I like what you said about Tobias's maturity. He's so aware,
Speaker 1: he's so poised at all times, and that sort of
Speaker 1: confusing shot clock situation was a perfect example of Tobias
Speaker 1: taking the game into his own hands and understanding what
Speaker 1: the circumstances were and making it count. And then, of
Speaker 1: course you mentioned Matisse Thible with that lefty finish that
Speaker 1: if you want to check out the bench reaction to
Speaker 1: Matisse's lefty finish, which was almost more impressive than the
Speaker 1: finish itself. The Sixers have you covered on their Twitter,
Speaker 1: on their Instagram. It was awesome to see the way
Speaker 1: that Joel Abiad and Tyres Maxie in particular were so
Speaker 1: excited to embrace Matisse Thible after that finish in his
Speaker 1: first return back after he's been away dealing with some
Speaker 1: ankle pains. So, Matt, as we look ahead, what excites
Speaker 1: you about about the road ahead? What are you watching
Speaker 1: for before we wrap this one up? The first two games,
Speaker 1: the third game is Houston. They're obviously a young team,
Speaker 1: but Cleveland is going to be a test every night
Speaker 1: in the NBA is a tough tests, and I think
Speaker 1: the Sixers would rather be in this position right now
Speaker 1: where Joel Embiid plays a game and you have a
Speaker 1: chance to kind of reset and refocus. That was another
Speaker 1: big word that came out of this Hawks game. But
Speaker 1: the focus level, and it's got to be high. You
Speaker 1: have Joel Embiid returning to the lineup. They want to
Speaker 1: keep this positive, this trend of positive play going, maybe
Speaker 1: build out a win streak. They've won three straight, so
Speaker 1: they've got this game coming up at Cleveland to seven
Speaker 1: pm game on Wednesday, seven pm Eastern, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Speaker 1: ninety seven five. The fanatic. Cleveland's a really good team
Speaker 1: at home. They saw them in the preseason. Not that
Speaker 1: that's any indication the Sixers had a great preseason, but
Speaker 1: their home record in the regular season the Cavaliers is
Speaker 1: eight and one. Of course, they have Donovan Mitchell now
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, so I'm looking forward to see how they
Speaker 1: fare against Cleveland against Memphis, two teams that are on
Speaker 1: the upswing right now. When it comes to the NBA landscape,
Speaker 1: I would say I think those first two games of
Speaker 1: the three, not to discount the Houston game, but it's
Speaker 1: important to get off to a good start. They're going
Speaker 1: to be tested, yeah, no doubt about it, Matt. The
Speaker 1: Cleveland Cavaliers have won five of their last seven. They
Speaker 1: did fall in Toronto last night to the Raptors, but
Speaker 1: it's a fun team to watch. It's been really cool
Speaker 1: to see the way that Donovan Mitchell really has fitted
Speaker 1: pretty seamlessly. They hit a little bit of a roadblock
Speaker 1: losing five in a row, but since then they've been
Speaker 1: awesome and I'm really excited to see how the Sixers
Speaker 1: stuck up with someone that they could see down the
Speaker 1: road and into the playoffs. Lauren, since we didn't talk
Speaker 1: after the Orlando series the two game mini series, I'm
Speaker 1: sure we have some passionate Furcon Corkmas supporters in the
Speaker 1: space and listening after the fact on the seventy Sixers
Speaker 1: Insiders podcast feed, I think we need to talk about
Speaker 1: not only the Furcon end of the first quarter buzzer
Speaker 1: beater three George Niang had one of those against Atlanta,
Speaker 1: but also the behind the back relocate to the corner
Speaker 1: hit the three. It's good to see Korkmas back out
Speaker 1: there as well, playing with that Furkan swagger. I absolutely
Speaker 1: love that play. One of my favorites of the year,
Speaker 1: involving some of the span favorites on this team. Cool
Speaker 1: to see Furkan heating up. Cool to see him taking
Speaker 1: advantage of opportunities. Doc Rivers gave him a shout out
Speaker 1: last night for how competent he's been playing, despite the
Speaker 1: fact that he really had to earn these minutes and
Speaker 1: step up during a time when the team was so shorthanded.
Speaker 1: So cool to see Burkan Korkmas finding a bit of
Speaker 1: a stride. Great to see some international fans in this
Speaker 1: space right now. Perkon will come up against his Turkish
Speaker 1: friend in Cleveland in Chetti Osman in a couple of days,
Speaker 1: so Matt looking forward to that. Looking forward to hopefully
Speaker 1: speaking with you after another Sixers win in Cleveland. That
Speaker 1: would take us to Thursday morning. If I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 1: and you mentioned it. These first couple of games will
Speaker 1: be exciting ones to be sure. James Harden returning home
Speaker 1: to Houston also always exciting, and the team gets two
Speaker 1: days off on Saturday and Sunday, which will be so
Speaker 1: well deserved. It's been a crazy little stretch for the
Speaker 1: crew and looking forward to seeing how they're able to
Speaker 1: capitalize on the momentum they built MAP. I hope that
Speaker 1: you enjoy the extra day in your hometown of Houston, Texas,
Speaker 1: and if you will indulge me, I will close out
Speaker 1: with can I talk about Sabing Lee for a quick second,
Speaker 1: the newest How have we not done that yet? Please?
Speaker 1: Just the timing hasn't worked out. But Saban Lee, of course,
Speaker 1: now on a two way contract with the Philadelphia seventy Sixers,
Speaker 1: which means he can play for the Sixers he can
Speaker 1: play for the Delaware Bluecoats in the G League. He's
Speaker 1: a twenty three year old guard from Vanderbilt who I've
Speaker 1: actually seen a good amount in the G League because
Speaker 1: he's played eighty five now eighty six NBA games. He
Speaker 1: scored for the Sixers the other night in Orland in
Speaker 1: the thirty point win, but he's also played a lot
Speaker 1: in the G League as well. In the past couple
Speaker 1: of seasons. He actually had at Chase Fieldhouse in Delaware,
Speaker 1: he had a forty point game. He's a guy that
Speaker 1: gets to the free throw line a remarkable amount. Knows
Speaker 1: how to control his body and the paint and get
Speaker 1: to the line gets a lot of steals as well
Speaker 1: on the defensive end, and the forty point game against
Speaker 1: the Bluecoats was one of four forty point games that
Speaker 1: sabin Lee had in the G League last season. So
Speaker 1: the new Sixers two way guy, sabin Lee is a
Speaker 1: bucket getter. Looking forward to see him get some buckets
Speaker 1: forward the Sixers and for the Delaware blue Coats. For
Speaker 1: those of you that are unaware, Matt Murphy is our
Speaker 1: voice of the Delaware blue Coats and he's got quite
Speaker 1: a halfy schedule at ahead as well. So the Sixers
Speaker 1: will be back in action tomorrow nineteen Cleveland. Matt, you
Speaker 1: mentioned it. You can catch that on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Speaker 1: or on ninety seventy five The Fanatic on the radio. Matt.
Speaker 1: Looking forward to doing some more of these with you
Speaker 1: as this season goes along. If you want the last word,
Speaker 1: it's all yours. I don't have anything this time, Lauren.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Thanks everybody for listening. Again, check out the
Speaker 1: seventy six Ers Insiders podcast speed if you're not already
Speaker 1: following that, These go up outside of back to backs.
Speaker 1: These are in both places. So thank you everyone. Thanks guys,