Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers Podcast wherever you get your pods. The
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers are surging down the home stretch of the season.
Speaker 1: The number one seed in the East is within their grass.
Speaker 1: The Sixers now increase their lead in the East over
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets forty five and twenty one. They are
Speaker 1: winners of six in a row. We've seen a lot
Speaker 1: of good lately. Staff Curry has been on a tear
Speaker 1: and we discussed the team's overall chemistry. Bible blocks the shot.
Speaker 1: Simmons on the run against Porter goes right to the
Speaker 1: rim and ladies it in and I love what Matisse's
Speaker 1: Bible has been doing. And of course Ben Simmons impact
Speaker 1: has been big. I'm Lauren Rosen, I'm Devon Gibbons, and
Speaker 1: I'm Brian Seltzer. We are feeling positive about the seventy
Speaker 1: sixers chances. We talked about it all. You're on the
Speaker 1: Friday Deep Dive High times. Guys in seventy Sixers land
Speaker 1: right now, this squad isn't just winning games, winning in
Speaker 1: convincing fashion to steamrolling these opponents. Taking a very big
Speaker 1: advantage of a favorable schedule. Dare we say Lauren and
Speaker 1: Devon total driver's seat control of the number one seed
Speaker 1: right now in the Eastern Conference with about a week
Speaker 1: and a half to go. I am willing to say so, Yes, Selts,
Speaker 1: they wanted to control their own destiny with a little
Speaker 1: bit of help from a couple other rival teams in
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference and beyond. Actually, if you look at
Speaker 1: the Dallas MAVs win over the Bucks, or rather the
Speaker 1: Nets on Thursday night, they've They've got a little bit
Speaker 1: of help from other teams around the league, but still
Speaker 1: managed to get that one seed to be in control
Speaker 1: of their own destiny headed down the stretch, and the
Speaker 1: schedule is pretty favorable. So I'm with you. I think
Speaker 1: they're they're in control at least for now. Yes, they
Speaker 1: are smacking teams right now, as they should the way
Speaker 1: the schedule has played out, and a little you know,
Speaker 1: a little bumpy here and there where you allow the
Speaker 1: leads to you know, dwindle where it makes for an
Speaker 1: interesting finish, but overall they are in control of their
Speaker 1: own destiny with six games remaining, starting tonight against the
Speaker 1: New Orleans Pelicans. Back here, payback by the way, and
Speaker 1: just yeah, the favorable schedule. And I was one that
Speaker 1: when we were all talking about this weeks ago and
Speaker 1: looking at the favorable schedule, you just never know how
Speaker 1: things are going to play out, So I was a
Speaker 1: little reluctant to hold onto that. But the way that
Speaker 1: things have played out, I agree with you both that
Speaker 1: they are taking full advantage of the opportunity with the
Speaker 1: favorable schedule and six games and counting going into Friday's game,
Speaker 1: the Sixers obviously tying a season high. On this six
Speaker 1: game winning streak, they've outscored the opposition by a total
Speaker 1: of one hundred and thirty one points, and that's with
Speaker 1: one of the games being a two point overtime win
Speaker 1: against San Antonio, where if they didn't screw around with
Speaker 1: the game, that probably was on the way to being
Speaker 1: a fifteen or twenty point wins. So I think it's
Speaker 1: just been really impressive. I think we talked about this
Speaker 1: here last week, but to me, one of the most
Speaker 1: encouraging things is that I feel the way they've gone
Speaker 1: about these games, or flex the mindset of this team
Speaker 1: right now, how seriously they're taking it. They could rest
Speaker 1: some more guys than they have been they could try
Speaker 1: to manage their workload a little bit more, but they've
Speaker 1: really been going after that number one seed and I
Speaker 1: think they've regardless of the caliber of opponent on the
Speaker 1: other side, it seems like they are going about this
Speaker 1: in a very business on a mission fashion, at least
Speaker 1: to me, as they should. When you look at something
Speaker 1: like this and an opportunity like this that presents it,
Speaker 1: so you have to worry about yourself. You cannot worry
Speaker 1: about who else is right right behind you, right next
Speaker 1: to you, right in front of you. You You have to
Speaker 1: take care of business yourself and let it all play out.
Speaker 1: And as a result, as Lauren just pointed out, with
Speaker 1: now the Brooklyn Nets losing on Thursday night to the
Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks, it creates another opportunity for the Sixers two.
Speaker 1: I mean, they're humans, so it's not as if they
Speaker 1: don't know what happened on Thursday night and what is
Speaker 1: in front of them. But you handle your business and
Speaker 1: everything will fall into place. And then you look at
Speaker 1: the pathway that you have now created for yourself from
Speaker 1: all the hard work, from all the hard work through
Speaker 1: the season, with everything that has hit all the teams
Speaker 1: with COVID and players missing games, you still position yourself
Speaker 1: to be in the number one and if it does
Speaker 1: come down to a seven game, seventh game in any series,
Speaker 1: they have to play on your floor. And that's what
Speaker 1: you work so hard for to do. And if any
Speaker 1: of these teams want to feel overconfident and believe that
Speaker 1: they don't need that number one seed, well guess what.
Speaker 1: Maybe the Sixers don't need the number one seed, but
Speaker 1: it's great to have it and not have that conversation later.
Speaker 1: Even if it's only a couple percentage points, you gotta
Speaker 1: believe the odds increase in your favor if you do
Speaker 1: have that number one seed in subsequent home court advantage. Lauren,
Speaker 1: I really like one of the things that Doc Rivers
Speaker 1: said after the game I believe it was either before
Speaker 1: or after the game on Wednesday against Houston that he
Speaker 1: feels like the Sixers right now are playing against themselves more,
Speaker 1: if not the same amount then the opposition. I like that.
Speaker 1: I think that's a great way to frame things right now.
Speaker 1: Just try to beat yourself, play against yourself, be the
Speaker 1: best version of yourself. Well, it's interesting selves because Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid sort of echoed that point in his own way
Speaker 1: post game, saying that he wants to be playing some
Speaker 1: more contentious matchups heading into the playoffs. He wants to
Speaker 1: have to play heavier minutes to get ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 1: But due to the schedule, I mean tonight tonight against
Speaker 1: New Orleans could be a fun one, but the schedule
Speaker 1: hasn't been super challenging. The starters haven't really had to
Speaker 1: exert themselves in the second half. Even in that San
Speaker 1: Antonio overtime win that we talked about, they didn't play
Speaker 1: the whole second half ahead of having to pull it
Speaker 1: out at the end. So it is interesting to consider
Speaker 1: the idea that they're really playing against themselves and challenging
Speaker 1: themselves on a nightly basis if the opposition isn't giving
Speaker 1: them exactly what they want from a competitive perspective. I
Speaker 1: do want to get into something else that the Big
Speaker 1: Fella said after that game on Wednesday to start us
Speaker 1: off this week, talking about the pieces of the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers roster and how they're coming together, the team fits.
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of people don't talk about
Speaker 1: it enough. Just you know, the shooting and that was
Speaker 1: at it last year. We didn't have that the chord
Speaker 1: that was not in the space, and this shit having
Speaker 1: you know, Danny set Tobias has been improved. You know,
Speaker 1: God's coming off the match. Farkin. As men, you shape
Speaker 1: the cords way more space. So when it comes to
Speaker 1: the structure, I feel like it's not so much about
Speaker 1: being better. We just got a better suited team. I
Speaker 1: for one, would agree with that take from Joel emb
Speaker 1: that perhaps people aren't talking enough about just how well
Speaker 1: this roster fits together, especially the starting lineup. Listen, I
Speaker 1: think that this is not to take away from players
Speaker 1: elevating their games this season. I don't think that you
Speaker 1: could have watched this season and not have said that
Speaker 1: Joel's gone to a different place, Tobias Harris has gone
Speaker 1: to a different place. Spent defense especially continues to be excellent.
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers and the coaching staff, what they've done has
Speaker 1: been amazing finding the best way to utilize all this talent.
Speaker 1: But what Darryl Moorey was able to do and assemble
Speaker 1: some of these key pieces, namely Danny Green and Seth
Speaker 1: Curry adding them to the starting lineup, I think that
Speaker 1: that is as big a factor in why the Sixers
Speaker 1: have put up such good numbers and has had so
Speaker 1: much success this year. As anything else, it fits, and
Speaker 1: Joel has talked about that from the very beginning of
Speaker 1: the season. He said, from training camp, it just felt natural,
Speaker 1: The options felt natural. He feels confident in his teammates
Speaker 1: abilities surrounding him, and that allows him to be more
Speaker 1: confident down low getting doubled. He knows that he has
Speaker 1: good options in tricky situations, and we've only seen that
Speaker 1: grow as the season has gone on. So, like you said, Selts,
Speaker 1: shouts to the people that put this roster together, and
Speaker 1: then shout out, of course to the team for making
Speaker 1: it work once they got together, because this is still
Speaker 1: a very new team. I feel like we've said it
Speaker 1: all season long, but the main pieces on this team
Speaker 1: I haven't all played together prior to this season. A
Speaker 1: very unconventional season, a season that didn't have much of
Speaker 1: a postseason or an offseason rather, especially for Danny Green
Speaker 1: and Dwight Howard who kind of won a championship and
Speaker 1: then had to move to Philadelphia. And of course that
Speaker 1: championship mentality and experience has been huge for this team,
Speaker 1: but those guys had no time off. They had to adjust,
Speaker 1: so quickly, and they've done a tremendous job and the
Speaker 1: existing pieces Ben Simmons, Joel and bad Tobias Harris. They've
Speaker 1: done a really good job of bringing those guys in
Speaker 1: and making it all work so comfortably. It's been cool
Speaker 1: to see them sort of have this initial take of like, Okay,
Speaker 1: this team could work together, and then see it grow
Speaker 1: and be true as the season's gone on, and with
Speaker 1: that confidence. One thing that I like to see, and
Speaker 1: I know we've seen it in a live and I
Speaker 1: talk about it quite a bit, and I know you
Speaker 1: guys agree, is the when you look at the box
Speaker 1: score afterwards. You can see it throughout the game, but
Speaker 1: actually looking at the box and seeing the assists on
Speaker 1: may baskets for the team's always something that I focus on,
Speaker 1: and you see it where the trust and the confidence
Speaker 1: level is there where even with him be kicking the
Speaker 1: ball out, whether it's to the wing, the corner, at
Speaker 1: the top of the key and the ball just starts
Speaker 1: snapping around the perimeter, everyone trusts the next teammate right
Speaker 1: next to them because number one is a better shot potentially,
Speaker 1: but it's also just a confidence to know that that
Speaker 1: guy might have, you know, he's going to knock down
Speaker 1: that shot, or he's going to put himself in the
Speaker 1: position to put the ball on the floor. Drive, kick, drive, finish,
Speaker 1: whatever it might be, gets to the free throw line.
Speaker 1: It's a better overall possession and a better overall shot
Speaker 1: attempt for the team. And that's just for the overall success.
Speaker 1: So the way the team was built around, we knew
Speaker 1: it had to be that way, with not just in B,
Speaker 1: but with Simmons as well, with his ability and his
Speaker 1: mindset as a pass first type of player that you
Speaker 1: have to get that ball out. And when you do
Speaker 1: so with two shooters and Curry and Green Harris who
Speaker 1: can shoot and put the ball on the floor, we
Speaker 1: know what in B does. And then off the bench
Speaker 1: with Quirkmis knocking down his shots playing in a very
Speaker 1: nice streak right now, Milton able to hit open jump
Speaker 1: shots as well. And now you add George Hill to
Speaker 1: the mix and you have shot creators. So I think
Speaker 1: that while some might look and say it's not as
Speaker 1: sexy as other teams with certain pieces right personnel, this
Speaker 1: is a This is a really good team and they
Speaker 1: do it well. And it also plays off of what
Speaker 1: the defense does to lead to those opportunities on the
Speaker 1: offensive end. I like what you said, Devon about about
Speaker 1: the passing and about the defense. Just now, I watched
Speaker 1: Monday's game against San Antonio with a good friend of mine,
Speaker 1: Odara Cheatham. She's a professional basketball player. She's getting ready
Speaker 1: to play in the Olympics this summer for Nigeria, so
Speaker 1: shout out to her. But she has to watch the
Speaker 1: Sixers at all this season, and her first take when
Speaker 1: we were watching together is, Wow, they're moving the ball
Speaker 1: well and the defense is really comfortable with one another,
Speaker 1: relying on one another. And to me, for someone who
Speaker 1: hasn't watched this team play, to have those two takes
Speaker 1: initially gave me some confidence with what I had been seeing,
Speaker 1: with what we have been saying, with what the team
Speaker 1: has been saying. And always just cool to get someone
Speaker 1: else's perspect active on something. But I think we are
Speaker 1: so close to the situation that I want to see
Speaker 1: good passing right and I want to see good defense.
Speaker 1: So my eye is inclined to see that whether or
Speaker 1: not it's as good as I think that it is.
Speaker 1: So we got an outside take that can confirm what
Speaker 1: we've been saying all along. I feel like at some
Speaker 1: point in time, someone might have the discussion, if they
Speaker 1: haven't already done, so, would you rather have the run
Speaker 1: it back roster from twenty eighteen nineteen or what the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers have right now? And I think that just
Speaker 1: given where Ben Simmons has gone with his game and
Speaker 1: where Joel Embiid has gone with his game, minimizing turnovers,
Speaker 1: becoming a more improved passer, even more dynamic on offense
Speaker 1: now talking about Joel than he was two seasons ago,
Speaker 1: I really like this year's group. I think that Tobias
Speaker 1: Harris also in a totally different place in terms of
Speaker 1: his comfort and productivity with the Sixers now than he
Speaker 1: was during his first half season with the team. I
Speaker 1: just I really like it. I think that defensively, the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers are really really strong, that Seth Curry's shooting
Speaker 1: is especially right now at a different stratosphere than even
Speaker 1: what the likes of perhaps JJ Reddick was doing at
Speaker 1: that time. I mean, Seth has been just so automatic
Speaker 1: right now. And that's not to say that shooting it
Speaker 1: like almost sixty percent is going to carry over into
Speaker 1: the postseason, but I just think Curry fits into a
Speaker 1: really nice spot here and listen for the five man
Speaker 1: groups in the NBA that have played more than three
Speaker 1: hundred minutes this year. The seventy sixers starting five outscores
Speaker 1: the opposition by fifteen points per one hundred possessions. And
Speaker 1: the starting lineup for the Sixers has played together this
Speaker 1: year nearly six hundred minutes. There's only two other lineups
Speaker 1: that have played more starting lineups than that Sixers group
Speaker 1: Phoenix Paul Crowder, Booker Bridges eighton and the Pelicans Bledsoe, Adams,
Speaker 1: Ingram Ball and Williamson. In the seventy Sixers, their top
Speaker 1: five net rating is just you know, at wors three
Speaker 1: times better than the next closest team, which is from Phoenix.
Speaker 1: So I think that speaks to how well this group
Speaker 1: is gelled. And I do agree with Joe going back
Speaker 1: to what he said, don't talk about it enough. And
Speaker 1: I think that what they do, some of the things
Speaker 1: will translate to the playoffs, because that's a big question, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: no doubt will they translate. And not knowing Curry's been
Speaker 1: in the playoffs, we know what Green's resume is of
Speaker 1: course now and I've talked about this a lot when
Speaker 1: we speak about this team being put together and other
Speaker 1: names that were thrown around. Guys, don't forget failure, especially
Speaker 1: when you want to be great and in Bed and
Speaker 1: Simmons have had those second round losses that have really
Speaker 1: stuck to them, not just for them, but the things
Speaker 1: that they would hear, and they hear it. We know
Speaker 1: they do, and they want to overcome that. They want
Speaker 1: to finally get over that hurdle. And I've brought up
Speaker 1: the example of Michael Jordan having to get past the
Speaker 1: Detroit Pistons in the past to finally become a champion
Speaker 1: of the two thousand and one sixers. They struggled before
Speaker 1: that against the Indiana Pacers and Reggie Miller's team quite
Speaker 1: a bit, and when they finally did it, they got
Speaker 1: they got to the NBA Final. So you never know
Speaker 1: what will catapult a team to to getting to where
Speaker 1: they want to be, especially when we're talking about him
Speaker 1: beating Simmons with those second round losses to Boston and
Speaker 1: Toronto and how much they stung the way that they stung,
Speaker 1: especially that Toronto Raptors series with the shots. So I
Speaker 1: agree with you both and looking at things here, I
Speaker 1: am partial as you both know. I love JJ Reddick
Speaker 1: and what he was able to do here, so but
Speaker 1: Seth Curry the way he's shooting right now, and I've
Speaker 1: been tough on him sometimes with how things have played out,
Speaker 1: and I know him having to come back battling back
Speaker 1: from missing time due to the coronavirus. He's been shooting
Speaker 1: phenomenally as of late, and I hope he can keep
Speaker 1: this going and even putting the ball on the floor
Speaker 1: a little bit, getting in their floaters, tear drops, getting
Speaker 1: those intermediate shots. He's shooting with a high confidence level
Speaker 1: right now. I did want to get into Seth Curry
Speaker 1: a little bit more over the six game winning streak.
Speaker 1: He is shooting twenty for thirty four from outside the arc.
Speaker 1: Seth Curry with a step backshot. I marketed, Oh he's
Speaker 1: tucking tonight, Seth Curry, how's it going again? Billy d
Speaker 1: calls time out for Chicago and that's number one among
Speaker 1: all players with at least thirty three point attempts. Just
Speaker 1: can't argue with those numbers. And I think something that
Speaker 1: UD just mentioned is to me, when I look at
Speaker 1: what someone like Seth Curry brings the table, really stands
Speaker 1: out is what's his primary responsibility. Helps space the floor
Speaker 1: with three point shooting, but he can do other things.
Speaker 1: As we've seen throughout this year. If you need him
Speaker 1: to bring the ball up and initiating a pinch, he
Speaker 1: can do that. He can attack and create off the dribble.
Speaker 1: Earlier this week we saw that where he had a
Speaker 1: series of floaters and runners get himself going. So I
Speaker 1: think that he's versatile enough that he's not obviously just
Speaker 1: a one trick pony. And he even admitted him self
Speaker 1: right after the game the other night that he doesn't
Speaker 1: have to be a main guy. He's not even the
Speaker 1: third guy, but he's a guy who's there and he's
Speaker 1: been ready to deliver when they've needed him. And that's
Speaker 1: been the spirit of lots of players in this starting lineup.
Speaker 1: I mean, even Joel Embiid has talked about the fact
Speaker 1: that he wants to be there for what the team needs.
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons wants to be there for what the team needs.
Speaker 1: This collective mentality, this buy into the system that they
Speaker 1: have has proven really valuable and I think it's only
Speaker 1: going to become more valuable as this team heads into
Speaker 1: the playoffs. That unselfishness, that understanding you're shooting sixty percent
Speaker 1: from three, but you're okay being the fourth fifth option.
Speaker 1: That's fine, and that's something that takes some stripping of
Speaker 1: the ego and buy into your teammates and willingness to
Speaker 1: sacrifice all things that we heard Doc Rivers talk about
Speaker 1: long before he became the head coach of the Philadelphia
Speaker 1: seventy sixers. So it's cool to see that they've all
Speaker 1: really bought into this mentality. And whether you're a Seth
Speaker 1: or a Joel or a Matisse, you all have said
Speaker 1: the same thing in the last couple of days. I
Speaker 1: want to play my role. I'm bought into the system
Speaker 1: and I'm happy to do whatever's require of me, buy
Speaker 1: the system and buy my coach. And I think it's
Speaker 1: been cool to hear them all say that in different situations.
Speaker 1: I don't think they got together and huddled up about
Speaker 1: what exactly they were going to say about the buy
Speaker 1: in of the team. I think they all are saying
Speaker 1: it organically, and that points to the fact that they
Speaker 1: really need it. And again, that's guys across the roster.
Speaker 1: We've heard it all year long. When the system is
Speaker 1: working and the results are wins. It's hard to really
Speaker 1: scoff at what your role is and what you're not
Speaker 1: doing and the way we've seen this team throughout the season.
Speaker 1: While Embiid has been that level of player where we
Speaker 1: talk about him as an MVP and the key to
Speaker 1: what drives things offensively in some cases defensively as well.
Speaker 1: We know how Grady is there. There have been those nights, Lauren,
Speaker 1: where you've seen Cerry go off for twenty plus in
Speaker 1: a high number of twenties, Danny Greene, Ben Simmons goes
Speaker 1: for his to buy his Harris, the same thing, Shake
Speaker 1: Milton coming in furkon Korkmas, the exact same thing. We've
Speaker 1: seen it already where everyone has gotten the piece of
Speaker 1: the pie, they've had their their part in it, where
Speaker 1: they have been able to shine and team gets to win.
Speaker 1: So again, the results are there and it makes that
Speaker 1: it makes things that much easier overall. The only thing
Speaker 1: that I and I want Seth Curry, as you just
Speaker 1: pointed out, not being Selt the number two option to
Speaker 1: number three option, but being the fourth option. It's not
Speaker 1: a bad option to be when again, when you're winning
Speaker 1: and you're seeing the results the way that you are
Speaker 1: and the ball is coming to It's not as if
Speaker 1: they're not looking for him right. So he's getting his
Speaker 1: opportunity and with that, he's taking full advantage of it
Speaker 1: right now, and it's good to see. Sometimes he can
Speaker 1: over dribble a little bit when you get into a rhythm,
Speaker 1: it just happens. You just do a little bit too much.
Speaker 1: But I love the fact though that when they do
Speaker 1: things like that, they call themselves out, they hold themselves accountable,
Speaker 1: saying that wasn't a Sixers type of possession. I didn't
Speaker 1: need to do that. So as long as they know
Speaker 1: what their role is and they they see it, and
Speaker 1: if he's hot and Simmons is just it's laser focused
Speaker 1: on getting him the ball now because he can see
Speaker 1: that man is on fire. Let me get him the
Speaker 1: right then this team can go a long way. And
Speaker 1: with the way the defense, with the way the defense
Speaker 1: is playing and has played all season long, it's a
Speaker 1: recipe for success. For me, My biggest thing for Seth
Speaker 1: was just based on what he had to go through
Speaker 1: earlier this season. I really just wanted to see him
Speaker 1: in a good place, being productive, looking good, and comfortable
Speaker 1: physically heading into the home stretch going into the postseason,
Speaker 1: and I certainly think of the last six games he
Speaker 1: has done that and then some just really productive stuff
Speaker 1: for Seth. I know that we keep track on things
Speaker 1: such as poles and ladders that are curated around the NBA,
Speaker 1: and this past week the NBA dot Com Defensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year ladder. What representation from your team, your town,
Speaker 1: your seventy six ers on that one. Let's talk defense.
Speaker 1: So it's really cool to see three players from the
Speaker 1: same team all make that list. If you missed it,
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons was at the top of the ladder number one,
Speaker 1: Matisse Thybal broke into the top five for the first
Speaker 1: time at number five, and Joel Embid is in that
Speaker 1: five through ten lists that they don't put into any
Speaker 1: particular order. Personally, I think Joel is certainly in the
Speaker 1: top five. I understand it might be difficult to put
Speaker 1: three players from the same team in the top five,
Speaker 1: but really cool to see these guys who put so
Speaker 1: much effort, especially Matisse and Ben, who have really focused
Speaker 1: of course on defense, especially this season, but throughout their
Speaker 1: careers be rewarded or at least get a little bit
Speaker 1: of chatter for the work that they're doing. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure that Ben is going to win the award. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure that Matisse is going to make those all
Speaker 1: defensive teams. But I do think that they both certainly
Speaker 1: deserve heavy consideration for both of those awards. And it's
Speaker 1: cool that they're getting the buzz now now. It is great.
Speaker 1: And with Simmons specifically, Lauren, I agree with you. I
Speaker 1: don't know that he'll get the award. That award typically
Speaker 1: goes to a big man. And when you have somebody
Speaker 1: like Rudy Gobert who has not done anything to lose
Speaker 1: it right for with the cloud that he does have,
Speaker 1: it will be hard to overcome that. But but Simmons
Speaker 1: has done enough to be in that conversation. I think
Speaker 1: he'll be All first Team again, All NBA defense, first
Speaker 1: team wants again. The curious part will be Matis style
Speaker 1: will being a bench player. It goes along the lines
Speaker 1: of what we've seen from Marcus Smart, but Marcus Smart
Speaker 1: starts a little bit more whenever they need him to be.
Speaker 1: But the player that he is, Chris Dunne getting that
Speaker 1: type of attention in the past when he's with the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bulls as a reserve, it would be a big,
Speaker 1: big thing. And I love how the team pumps it up.
Speaker 1: I love how his teammates step out and campaign for him.
Speaker 1: The league knows, but for them to do that for
Speaker 1: such an achievement as a team overall, but with what
Speaker 1: he does individually in that short amount of time, it's
Speaker 1: great to see that. And I do hope Simmons wins
Speaker 1: it because he is that good defensively. But if he doesn't, again,
Speaker 1: you know, just like the MVP thing, just more motivation
Speaker 1: because you start to hear some of that stuff seep
Speaker 1: out before the regular season is over. They'll hear it
Speaker 1: in their circles or who's going to eventually win because
Speaker 1: we love the voting stops at the end of the
Speaker 1: regular season. And if that's the motive, extra motivation that
Speaker 1: they would like to use to go in, I'm all
Speaker 1: for it. I'm all for it. I think guys in
Speaker 1: speaking about Matisse Stable, first of all, the sequence with
Speaker 1: Larry Market in the Bulls game was just incredible and
Speaker 1: there's batistible in his first blot and he comes up
Speaker 1: with a stealer as well, believe, and usually people ease
Speaker 1: their way into it, and he literally just checked in
Speaker 1: the ball game, talk about being impatient. I love that kid,
Speaker 1: the call that marks Zoom I've had for that. The
Speaker 1: surprise in his voice seeing Matisse finish that play after
Speaker 1: getting the initial block was fantastic. I think one thing
Speaker 1: that Zoo in listening to some of the TV broadcasts recently,
Speaker 1: and of course we also listen Tom again US as well,
Speaker 1: of course, but I know that Zoo always references the
Speaker 1: steals for thirty six minutes for Matis and steals for
Speaker 1: forty eight minutes. How about just this. I think this
Speaker 1: is when number two is maybe even better than being
Speaker 1: number one. Batis is tied with Jim for second in
Speaker 1: the league in steals total steals. Okay, he's sixteen off
Speaker 1: the lead held by t J McConnell. You're giving the
Speaker 1: amount of minutes that Matis plays, that's insane. He's got
Speaker 1: a hundred steals on the season, ridiculous. I loved the
Speaker 1: graphic that they showed on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast
Speaker 1: on Wednesday saying that Matisse is top ten in steals.
Speaker 1: I believe he's twenty one in blocks, or he was
Speaker 1: at the time. Now he might be in that top twenty,
Speaker 1: but he's one hundred and seventy first in minutes played,
Speaker 1: the productivity in the amount of minutes that he plays,
Speaker 1: and I will be disappointed personally if the fact that
Speaker 1: he's been playing on such a good team now his
Speaker 1: entire career doesn't go into it doesn't get taken into
Speaker 1: account by voters, because if he was on another team,
Speaker 1: he would be playing heavier minutes. If we talk about
Speaker 1: this with Tyrese Maxie as well, when you come in
Speaker 1: as a rookie on a good team, you're not going
Speaker 1: to get that many minutes, and when you get them,
Speaker 1: you have to be pretty darn good if you want
Speaker 1: to make sure you don't get yanked. So the fact
Speaker 1: that he's had the opportunities that he's had and he's
Speaker 1: capitalized them on them at this level leaving the league. Also,
Speaker 1: in deflections per thirty six, he's been phenomenal all season long.
Speaker 1: He's fought for his spot throughout his entire career, and
Speaker 1: now to see that he's up there in per game statistics,
Speaker 1: playing a little more than half of some of the
Speaker 1: other competitors in those categories, it's it's incredible, and I
Speaker 1: think that if he doesn't make that all defensive team.
Speaker 1: It's going to be because of minutes, and I don't
Speaker 1: think that that's right. And he wasn't in the rotation
Speaker 1: at the start of the season. Well that was his
Speaker 1: fauld or it wasn't because he was banged up in
Speaker 1: training camp. He wasn't playing for the first couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: He had to wait for that whole stretch of guys
Speaker 1: going in and out to really jump back in and
Speaker 1: earn his time with a new head coach. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: was going to bring that up, yep. And he's taking
Speaker 1: full advantage of it and has never given up that
Speaker 1: spot again. And he missed time from health and safety protocols.
Speaker 1: So when you look at these total stats, it's something
Speaker 1: we talked about with Joel Embiad's MVP case two. You
Speaker 1: got to remember that Joel has missed games for injury,
Speaker 1: but he's also missed time because he two based on safety.
Speaker 1: Same thing happened with Matis two of them both competing
Speaker 1: in total stats in a lot of different categories despite
Speaker 1: playing total fewer minutes than guys that didn't have to
Speaker 1: sit out because of health and safety. I just think
Speaker 1: in general, I hope that the end of season awards,
Speaker 1: and this applies to Ben Joel Matise. I think those
Speaker 1: are the three that I would I say it applies
Speaker 1: to most. I hope that the minutes played and games
Speaker 1: played doesn't end up being as big of a factor
Speaker 1: this season as it has been in the past, because
Speaker 1: I don't think that that tells the whole story. And
Speaker 1: these awards would people look back on this season should
Speaker 1: represent who the best folks were, not the ones that
Speaker 1: had to take time off for whatever reason, whether it's
Speaker 1: injury or health in safety. I don't think that that's
Speaker 1: necessarily as fair of a metric as it often is
Speaker 1: in this season. Matisse Stybel. According to Basketball Reference dot Com,
Speaker 1: I either go STATSNABA dot com or Basketball Reference dot Com,
Speaker 1: depending which one shines more favorably. How they calculate their
Speaker 1: ratings on seventy six ers players. But mattis his number
Speaker 1: three in defensive rating in the league, Joel and Beat
Speaker 1: his number four. Can I have a mild take. I
Speaker 1: feel like people aren't talking enough about Joel's defensive impact
Speaker 1: the season. I know it doesn't have the numbers that
Speaker 1: you can quantify, but I don't think anyone can say
Speaker 1: reasonably that Joel is not one of the I don't
Speaker 1: know he was on the ladder, but a top ten
Speaker 1: defender in the league, or top ten defensive presence, however
Speaker 1: you want to frame it. That's why he's called the
Speaker 1: best two way big man in the league, because not
Speaker 1: only will we give you thirty, he will put you
Speaker 1: on your back too if you try to come into
Speaker 1: the paint and block your shot. The one season right
Speaker 1: before this when we talk about his numbers specifically, is
Speaker 1: when he averaged I believe it was twenty seven twelve
Speaker 1: and a half boards, but two and a half block shots.
Speaker 1: He's still that same type of player defensively, the impact
Speaker 1: is still there and not again just putting you on
Speaker 1: your back if he blocks your shot or sending out
Speaker 1: of bounds, whatever it is. He alters so many shots.
Speaker 1: He makes people rethink what they want to do when
Speaker 1: they get into the painted area. And it's always, it's always,
Speaker 1: always have fun watching him play, not just in the
Speaker 1: low block, but also what he does hedging out at times,
Speaker 1: digging in where he believes he's a guard, trying to
Speaker 1: stop another guard on the wing or whatever. He takes
Speaker 1: up that challenge and has success. Who's that against Drew Holiday, right,
Speaker 1: that one where he really got into it. So yeah,
Speaker 1: but we've seen it. We know what he thinks of
Speaker 1: himself defensively, and it is not talked about enough this season.
Speaker 1: But I think the reputation is already there. They know,
Speaker 1: fired up, I know where at the end, But I'm
Speaker 1: ready to go. Let's let's challenge those voters. That's right,
Speaker 1: you ready to lace them up and go play some defense.
Speaker 1: I can't believe it, guys, that this time next Friday
Speaker 1: will be our final Friday deep dive of the hole
Speaker 1: darn regular season. Amazing to me. Time has zip zappton zoomed,
Speaker 1: it has, it has. I'm thinking maybe we take polls
Speaker 1: on our favorite moments, just because it's what it's the
Speaker 1: thing to do when you come to the end of something.
Speaker 1: We'll cover our favorite moments, perform moormances highlights of the
Speaker 1: regular season, and hopefully then be in this for another
Speaker 1: eight to ten weeks or so. After that. I think
Speaker 1: I think we will be. Yeah, I think we will be.
Speaker 1: They have a very good chat, very good chat. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be fun. It's gonna be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: You guys, enjoy the weekend, you too, see you guys,