WEBVTT - Embiid Wins Scoring Title as Regular Season Wraps 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:03.480 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:15.360 search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts day Everybody, Yeah, 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:25.280 seventy six Ers. Send us a question or comment via 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:30.040 DM or a tweet on the Sixers tweet announcing the space, 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:32.520 however you want to do it. I'm Matt Murphy, joined 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:36.000 as always by Lauren Rosen and Divan Givens. The Sixers 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:38.599 coming off a one eighteen one oh six win on 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:43.920 Sunday in their final regular season game against the Detroit Pistons. 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:47.360 They'll be the number four seed in the East and 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:51.599 face the number five seed, the Toronto Raptors in the 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:55.720 first round, which begins for them on Saturday at six 0:00:55.800 --> 0:01:00.440 pm in South Philadelphia. But welcome back. We're going to 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:04.160 talk about the Pistons game, anything else you all want 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:06.240 to talk about. It's good to be back with everyone. 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.480 The six Ers finished the regular season fifty one and 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.880 thirty one. After the win over the Pistons, they won 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:16.720 the season series against them three one. There's also the 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:19.759 Joel Embiid factor, which we can get into as well. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:24.559 The scoring champ over thirty points per game. A historic 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:28.520 season for Joel embiid. So there's a lot of directions 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.360 that we can go in. What's up Miss Rosen, What's 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:35.880 up Divan Givens. Before we get too deep into analysis 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:37.480 from last night, I'm going to go through the box 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.399 score like usual, So as I do this as always, 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:43.960 this is the This is a group of veterans here 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:46.440 this morning. So hello to all the returning customers at 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:48.480 Twitter spaces. We love doing these with you guys. You 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:51.080 guys know the drill. As I go through the box score, 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:53.520 send me your thoughts, send me what you think about 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.400 each of the guys that was able to play last night. 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:58.320 And then of course once we go through these guys, 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.600 we're gonna do some talking about abead and the scoring title. 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:04.120 I see your questions, I see your comments, and absolutely 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:07.400 awesome achievement from Joel Ebid who did not play last night. 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.120 James Harden also did not play last night. George Niang 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.760 did not play last night, but fear not Sixers fans 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.440 those asking why they didn't play. These are the type 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:20.720 of maintenance games where Doc Rivers said it about George 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:24.640 Niang before Saturday's game, saying that the knee issue that 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:26.760 George is dealing with is not something that he would 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.000 be dealing with in this way should it have been 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.400 a playoff game. So those guys on the bench. The 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:36.000 starting lineup consisted of Tobias Harris, Danny Green, DeAndre Jordan, 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:40.160 Tyrese Maxie, and Matisse Bible. The leading scorer, though, came 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.160 off the bench. That was Shake, Milton Devon, you got 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:47.639 there right away. Thirty points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:50.840 and a block. Shake finished at plus twenty four. He 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.800 shot eleven for eighteen from the field. He made all 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:58.000 seven of his free throws. Second leading scorers came tied 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.360 and both came out of the same draft class, Tyrese 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.680 Maxie and Paul Reid with twenty five points a piece. 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:06.160 Read came off the bench, played just twenty one minutes, 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.919 but scored twenty five points, six rebounds, two assists, four steals, 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:13.359 and a block. He finished at a game high plus thirty. 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:17.760 He made twelve of his fourteen field goal attempts twelve 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:21.600 for fourteen from the field. For Paul Reid, Tyrese Maxie, 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:26.120 who was arguably a veteran in that starting lineup yesterday, 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.280 twenty five points, two rebounds, three assists. He shot nine 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:31.600 for fifteen from the field. He, like Shake, made all 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.760 seven of his free throws, and then DeAndre Jordan finished 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.720 with eight points in a team high eleven rebounds. In 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:42.040 the starting lineup, he was four for six from the floor. 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:46.600 For Concordmas scored nine, Isaiah Joe scored eight, Matisse Thibol 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:50.680 scored seven, Tobias Harris finished with six points, five rebounds, 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.040 six assists, and that rounds out all scorers from last 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:57.120 night's game. Lots of the starters didn't have to play 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:59.480 more than twenty three or twenty four minutes, which is 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.280 something that as you wind down the regular season you'll 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:05.400 love to see. The team was able to shoot fifty 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:07.880 two point three percent from the field, just twenty percent 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:10.360 from three, but still got the job done in the 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.880 one eighteen one oh six victory over the Detroit Pistons. 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:16.279 I'm seeing questions come in. I appreciate them. We're going 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:18.240 to get to them in a second. But before we do, 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.200 Matt Murphy, what stood out to you most? Maybe we 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.400 should go straight in on beball pond. Yeah. I teed 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:27.520 up Devon about Shake because that's how we ended our 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:32.320 last Twitter spaces. Looking ahead at this season, finale. But 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:37.279 Paul Reid beball. Paul followed up his performance against the 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:40.520 Pacers in a big way, a career night. We talked 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.880 a lot about the steals after the Pacers game, Well 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.839 he did that again. End more, Paul Reid with a 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.599 career high scoring performance. You just gave the numbers of 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:56.359 his twenty five, six and four steel line, the shooting 0:04:56.440 --> 0:05:00.520 numbers in twenty one minutes off the bench ball Paul 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:04.320 with twenty five right under tied with Maxi underneath Shake 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:08.159 Milton's thirty points. Those were the standouts from the final 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.000 game of the Sixers regular season, and Reid really did 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.200 his thing. He brought the energy, but to be that 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:19.240 efficient underneath, kind of ducking in and out underneath the defense, 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:23.320 scoring getting and ones. It was a strong performance and 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.040 that's that energy that he brings. But the scoring was 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:29.760 higher than you're used to seeing. Obviously playing some more 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:34.120 with players out after the game. Paul Reid on what 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.599 allowed him to have a strong game quote, I think 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.640 it was just my adrenaline was rushing and I was 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:46.040 being aggressive this dude, meaning Shake Milton to the right 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:49.320 of me, throwing me sweet dimes, alley oops and all 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:53.000 that pick and roll was something serious. So Paul Reid 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:56.039 always a good quote, always a good guy to talk 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:58.839 to after his good games, but working in the pick 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:02.000 and roll, working with an other former Bluecoat in Shake Milton, 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.880 for them to come off the bench and combine for 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.400 those fifty five points, that's how the Sixers were able 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:10.880 to get it done by twelve. I thought he did 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:13.400 a lot of really good things on both sides of 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.120 the ball, and really throughout the game, even in the 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:19.280 fourth quarter, his motor never stops, and in a game 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.520 like that, you needed to get to the finish line. 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:25.080 And Paul Reid was a big reason why. It was 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.440 really good to see that good energy. As we always 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:30.880 talk about, it's kind of easy to talk about him 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.279 because he just plays the same way every time out. 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:36.640 So the energy was there, the determination to get the 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.320 basketball was there, to finish the basketball play, whether it 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:45.600 was an offensive rebound or dribbling up the floor protecting 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.599 the basketball, not getting his stripped as well. And I 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.039 just thought he played a really good overall game. In 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:55.720 something of course that we can look into just in 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:59.320 case is we've talked about in the past where some 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.320 of the players off the bench, you know, it's not 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:04.240 just the five starters, it's the reserves as well. Who 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:07.039 can do what and what spot can you be put 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:10.600 in in any specific games. So he showed a lot 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.760 last night of what he's capable of doing. He's come 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.040 a long way as a pro and being able to 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.560 help out both on the offensive and defensive end, and 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.120 just I really liked the energy that he brought to 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.760 the team last night and just being NonStop, just just 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.320 relentless with what he was doing, and it was it 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.760 was really entertaining to see him go out there and work, 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.320 to see the crowd really get into it, especially towards 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.080 the end of the game where they started chanting his name. 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.440 I'm like, what is going on here? But it was 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.120 it was really fun night to see, you know, all 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.080 the hard work that they put in throughout the season, 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.240 going up and down being in the G League and 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.520 then coming up here again and just being rewarded with 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:55.840 that moment and coming through in the moment for the team. Hey, 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:59.680 it's Joe Conklin. Joined me for Conklin's Comedy United and 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:03.480 I'm one Casino with Pennsylvania and the official local casino partner. 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:06.520 If you are Philadelphia, seventy six ers. Tune into seventy 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:09.720 six ers games for special Parks Casino offers for fans. 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.000 Watch all the action on the big screens in the 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:14.600 Liberty Beal, Gastro Pop or the Beer Garden, and come 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.480 see me live with comedians from all across the country 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.760 in three to sixty Parks Casino. Visit Parks Casino dot 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:22.800 com for tickets. Must than plenty want to over game 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:28.120 the calphone Gamble. Before we get into some questions from 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.320 the listeners, I just wanted to add one more quick 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:32.600 thing about Paul Reid. And we can of course answer 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.640 anything Paul Reid related. If that's what you want to 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:37.520 talk about. Click on our avatars at the top, send 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:41.000 us at DM with what you're thinking. But actually two 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:45.199 quick things on Paul Shake. On Paul's improvement as a player, 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:47.760 Shake Milton said, I think he just has a better 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.480 understanding and feel of what coaches asking and what the 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.920 team needs. It's definitely different. I can relate going down 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:55.840 to the G League and kind of having a role 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:58.720 as free and you can be yourself. Then you have 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:00.559 to come up in here and you got to kind 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.240 of plug in and fit into a spot and then 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:05.960 Shake continued a little bit on about Paul, but I 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:09.520 wanted to add about Paul's rebounding. There was a Bluecoats 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.680 game that I referenced on the Last Spaces not too 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.280 long ago, only a few weeks ago, where Paul came 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.679 down and almost had a twenty twenty game. He played 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:20.839 like twenty minutes or something and almost had a twenty 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.839 twenty game, and one of his rebounds was on the 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.520 left side of the rim, full extension, left arm. I 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:29.040 don't even know if he came down with it, but 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:31.839 he threw it back up and in, and his wingspan 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:35.040 on the glass and his positioning. He is such a 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.000 talented rebounder, so if he does slot in for a 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:41.000 few minutes here and there in the playoffs, he knows 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:45.040 where to position himself to jump and grab rebounds. So 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:47.000 I think he could grab a bunch in a hurry 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:51.320 come playoff time if he gets some minutes. So we 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:53.160 shall see. I just wanted to add a little bit 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.480 more about what I've seen from him on the glass, 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.200 because he really is a great rebounder. We also talked 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:02.360 about those four steals for Paul Reid last night, and 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.960 Tobias Harris earlier in the season said something to the 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:07.360 effect of because I don't have the quote pulled up 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.680 that said that playing hard is a skill that doesn't 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:11.600 show up in the box score, but is needed on 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:13.480 the court and it makes a difference. And he was 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:16.040 referring to Paul Reid the way that he fights for 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.760 every loose ball. He fights for every ball that isn't loose. 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:23.000 He is always active, He's ready for any opportunity. He 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.480 likes to turn a fifty fifty ball into a sixers ball, 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.199 and he plays just extremely hard. And I think that 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:31.920 that was really clear fully on display. John says, love 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.319 seeing beball Paul gets some run last night, hoping to 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:37.720 see him more in the playoffs. Annie says it was 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.480 great to see his rather shake. Connie says Shake's confidence. 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:44.520 Great for Shake's confidence last night to boost his confidence 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:47.040 moving into the playoffs. I want to go ahead and 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:50.400 dive into some more questions. Davon curious what you think 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.720 about this one? Leam asked Hilaren, how do you feel 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.599 about the matchup against the Tall Rafters. I feel like 0:10:56.640 --> 0:11:00.160 the rebound battle will be crucial. Worth reminding everyone before 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.640 we dive into this one. Joel Embiid, in his final 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:05.640 regular season game of the year, finished with forty one 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.839 points and twenty rebounds. Of twenty rebounds were a season 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:12.840 high for Joel and then, of course the only player 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:17.120 this season to notch a forty point twenty rebound game. 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.679 And to get to William's question, obviously, yes, the rebounding 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.679 battle is going to be huge. The Raptors are long 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:27.360 and athletic, and they play really hard. That's somewhere Beeball 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:31.320 Paul could potentially factor in. Matt you mentioned Beeball Paul's 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:36.040 rebounding ability. Tobias Harris has had rebounding success this season. 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:39.360 I'm looking forward to seeing what adjustments the team is 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.840 able to make, having just seen the Raptors earlier this week, 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:46.160 and of course neither team at full strength in that matchup, 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:48.680 and not quite as much at stake as there will 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.680 be this weekend. So Devon, when you think about the 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.520 rebounding battle in particular, or what's going to happen on 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:56.880 the glass, what are you looking at you when you 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:01.240 think of this playoff series ahead. The one thing that 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.160 stands out to me with the rebounding is the offensive 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:07.560 rebounding the glass, you know, and what they're able to do. 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:11.760 There is something that really, you know, stands out there 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.240 because Toronto Raptors they want it, they go out and 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.080 get it, just like we talked about with Paul Reid 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:19.400 and his activity and just something the determination to get 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:23.920 the basketball. The offensive rebounding part of the Toronto Raptors 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.320 really stands out against the seventy six Ers. Specifically, I 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:28.640 remember it was I think it was sixteen in the 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.920 first game that they lost here in Philadelphia, the Raptors 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:35.680 beat the six or sixteen to nine was the offensive number. 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:38.240 And we all remember what happened in the last game 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:41.360 in Toronto where they lost that one. But the offensive glass. Again, 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:45.720 the long athletic guys that they have, we just have 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:47.520 to make sure when we look at the Sixers that 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:51.320 and I'm sure they'll stress this is the boxing out, 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:54.719 the simple things, the attention to detail of what you're 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.720 supposed to do when you're out there against the team 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:02.280 that's long athletic like the Toronto Raptors are. They're interchangeable. 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.560 They have guys as we talk about, six, seven, six, eight, six, nine, 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.319 all of them down the board, and they all know 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:12.800 what the Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse wants from them. 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:17.320 So for me, it's box out. You know, don't watch 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.360 the basketball when the ball is coming off the room, 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.480 Go get it, Go attack it. Don't don't imagine that 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.400 it's gonna fall into your hands. You go out there 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.080 and you get that basketball to allow yourself to have 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.160 that extra possession because too many times we've also seen 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:35.280 when we've looked at the box score after those sixteen rebounds. 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:39.200 Let's just say that game in particular, where the team 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.319 has shot let's say double digit more field goal attempts, 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.199 and that just gives you more opportunity to score the basketball. 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:48.600 So again the attention to detail, Go get the basketball, 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:52.520 don't watch it and want it more then then your opponent. 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:55.160 And I think the Sixes will be just fine because 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:57.280 we know they can score. But when you give up 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:00.200 offensive remails, it just gives you extra time to score 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:03.240 the basketball once again. And it's kind of deflating when 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:07.600 you when you play defense for twenty four seconds, they 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:10.800 get an offensive rebound and they get an extra fourteen seconds, 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.280 and then they get another offensive rebound on the same possession. 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:15.320 It's a little deflating and you kind of put your 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.080 shoulders down a bit and give up those two or 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:20.480 three points or maybe four at most on a four 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:24.960 point play in that case. So simple things when it 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.000 comes to rebounding, and they have to make sure that 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:29.600 they do that in order to beat this team. They're 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:34.080 a championship pedigree team, great coaching staff, they have a 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:36.720 lot of good players. Two All Stars in Siakaman van 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.640 Bleet for me, Lauren and for the listener, And the 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:43.160 question that is asked, that's that's my answer to that one. 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:47.920 The four or five game Game one between the four 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.000 seed the Sixers and the five seed, the Toronto Raptors 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:56.360 Saturday at six pm Eastern, a home game for the 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:59.520 Sixers as the four seed. The one seed is the 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:03.600 Miami Heat, the two seed the Boston Celtics moved up 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.920 the three seed Milwaukee Bucks jumping down past the Sixers. 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.240 Matchup Chicago is the six and then the play in 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:14.720 matchups are Brooklyn against Cleveland in the seven eight and 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:19.960 then Atlanta against Charlotte in the nine ten game. It 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:25.040 will be energetic for the Sixers to kick off the postseason. 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.720 This time of year in this area is always fun 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:33.040 when the playoffs get started and the city they rally 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:35.480 around the team all season, but especially this time of 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:39.080 year when it gets warmer outside, and I'm sure that 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:42.280 the energy is going to be crazy this weekend when 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:47.040 the Raptors come to town. Shane messaged me, asking are 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:50.440 we doing playoff beards? You would think in honor of 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.640 James Harden. I don't know if I can commit to 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.680 growing out a playoff beard, only because I'm not that 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.960 confident in what it would look like. I have not 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.840 made a final decision on the playoff beard, but I 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.160 think plenty of people will have the maybe the fake 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:11.480 beards in the crowd for Game one and beyond as 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.240 James Harden and Joel Embiid and the whole crew get 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.760 ready to take on the Raptors. But I'm not ready 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:18.640 to commit yet. I think we're gonna have more playoff 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:21.760 coverage leading in as the play in tournament comes and 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.800 everything like that, So guys, we can get back on 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:28.560 space as I'm sure and go full in depth game preview, 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:33.320 playoff talk, all of that. But so TBD on the 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:37.120 beard for me. But moving away from this for a 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.040 second is the scoring title talk, which I want to 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.000 get to because Ryan sent me a message about Joel 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:46.920 winning the scoring title. And there's some really crazy stats 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:50.920 about Joel Embiid and his thirty points six points per game, 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:54.120 and these come via seventy six Ers PR and the 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:58.320 Sixers postgame notes. I'll get us started with just one 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:03.440 of them. It's that Joel is the first center to 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.639 average at least thirty points since Moses Malone in nineteen 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.680 eighty one eighty two. And there's about three or four 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:10.800 more that we can get to. But a huge accomplishment. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:14.119 Big for Joel, big for the organization, for him too. 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:19.080 As the season finished yesterday when the NBA scoring title 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:21.439 over thirty points per game, that is not normal for 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:24.399 a center to do, and the crowd gave him a 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.719 nice ovation even though he wasn't playing last night, Lauren, 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:31.240 when they showed the graphic on the big board. Yeah, 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:33.840 really cool to see the crowd received Joel the way 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:36.560 that they have been receiving him all season long. Cool 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:38.879 to see Joel cheering on his teammates from the bench 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:41.360 with that smile that he's been showing a lot more 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.680 this year. I liked what Dwayne Casey, Pistons head coach, 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.120 had to say about Joel a Beats season before the game, 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:49.560 he said, he's been unbelievable for a big man. He 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:51.520 has the skills of a guard. A lot of wing 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:55.240 players wish they had Joel's shooting skills coming from where 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.320 he was. Coach Casey was referring to injury wise and 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.000 Joel's first couple of seasons in the NBA. I'm really 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.280 happy for him. It's good for the league and it's 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:07.120 good for him. Doc Rivers had similar thoughts talking about 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.280 Joel's MVP case. Prior to the game. He said, I 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:13.639 think Joel has campaigned enough for MVP with his play. 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.000 I don't think people realize how hard it is for 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.560 a center to lead the league in scoring, and he's 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:21.719 done it the right way. He's made all the right 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:26.679 passes and yet still leads us in scoring. He is dominant. Matt, 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.399 you and Doc on the same page there. It's so 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.760 challenging for a center to lead the league in scoring, 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.080 considering the way that the modern NBA is set up 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.080 offensively and defensively, the load that Joel has had to 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.840 carry offensively and defensively, and then still be the highest 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:47.080 scorer in the entire NBA while anchoring a defense that 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:51.000 has been pretty solid all season long. So absolutely awesome 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.240 to see that honor for Joel Embiid hopefully the first 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:59.760 of many Devon Yeer thoughts on Philadelphia's favorite player winning 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:04.720 the scoring title. Yeah, just a lot of people really 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.119 wanted to see that happen. Of course, the big award, 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.199 but to know that a center has not done this 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:14.199 since Shaquille O'Neill and the two I mean ninety nine 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.640 two thousand season, and for him to go out there 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:20.720 and just sustain that type of play throughout. And I'll 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.320 mention the games played, his sixty eight games, which is 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:25.880 a new career high for him, which is something we've 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:28.520 all wanted to see for him to play a full season. 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:30.440 We know he was only out due to the health 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:33.119 and safety protocol with the COVID list or early on 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:35.080 with the nine games that he missed and the three 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:40.440 just random games, but yeah, it's just phenomenal work and 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:43.520 to see and here Dwayne Casey, here other coaches speak 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:45.879 about how good he is, how great he is, and 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:48.000 the things that he's able to do. When we marvel 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:50.160 at some of the moves and the shots that he makes, 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:53.680 the defensive pleas that he makes as well, just again, 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.760 another to that testament to his growth as a player's 0:19:56.800 --> 0:20:00.800 growth as an individual, the maturity that he is put 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:04.040 on display. I even saw one a photo Lauren from 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:08.159 the Sixers twitter account at Sixers and I don't know 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:10.720 if it was Alex who took the picture or what, 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:13.520 but Joel having the camera and having fun with the 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:17.159 crowd during one of the timeouts, and you can just 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:19.399 see Joel just having a good time and just having 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.840 fun and as you said, putting that smile on display 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.280 for people to see and being there of course win 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:28.560 the game. He wasn't even playing and just still being 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:32.119 there and allowing everyone to still be around him and interact. 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:34.480 But it just goes to show what the season was like, 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.680 the level of play, knowing what his peers think about 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:41.760 him as a scorer and as a defender, the overall game, 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.240 and Lauren and Matt just taking it back to James 0:20:45.320 --> 0:20:48.440 Harton and Paul Millsap in their introductory press conference when 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:51.639 Harden talked about how really good of a player he was, 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:54.720 really good of a scorer he was, and how he 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.919 was able to, as a high level player, be the 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:00.840 guy that he is today in this league. So just 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.480 a remarkable way that he has carried on with his career. 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:06.560 I can't believe he's been around since twenty fourteen. Think 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:09.159 his head has been and here we are. He's one 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:12.160 of the best players in the NBA and great. Great 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:15.400 to see it as he is now the scoring champion 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:18.160 with over thirty points in night. Not easy to do 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:21.719 as a big guy, as the Wayne Casey said, Matt, 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:24.800 just to add onto what Tvan said, eight seasons in 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:28.600 the NBA, six playing seasons in the NBA, only eleven 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:33.440 years playing basketball. Joel Embiad had never watched a basketball 0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:35.480 game until he was fourteen years old. He had ever 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:39.640 played basketball until he was sixteen years old. He shared 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:42.640 a lot more about his journey. I've been alongside Joel 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:44.359 Embiid for four years and there's a lot I didn't 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:45.720 know about him, and he shared a lot more of 0:21:45.760 --> 0:21:48.800