WEBVTT - Deep Dives With Devon | After a Month, What's Real? 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.200 In any NBA season, it would be difficult to draw 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:07.480 hard fast conclusions after just a month. In this particular year, 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.120 with teams getting rock by players going in and out 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.320 of the lineup at a moment's notice, it's virtually impossible. 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:15.720 But that's not going to stop us from at least trying. 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:18.560 After a very weird week, luckily the team is getting 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:20.759 their folks back. Having seen the way the week went, 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:22.520 it's just to me, it feels too soon to make 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:24.520 any type of declaration about what's going to go on 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:26.240 in the rest of the season. But what I've seen, 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.000 I like what to make of the seventy six or 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:33.839 strong start, and in particular Dwell and Bead's MVP caliber contributions. 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.120 He has just shown a want to out there on 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:39.480 the floor to things that we've heard in the past 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:43.640 of being dominant, being the best player. He has been tremendous. 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:45.920 He has been in that conversation. He belongs in the 0:00:45.960 --> 0:00:48.040 conversation of the best player in the game. In our 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:50.640 first Friday Deep Dive of the season with Devon Gibbons, 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:54.920 we talk about teases, what's real and what isn't through 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:57.760 the first four weeks of the season. Here on the broadcast. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.000 I'm Brian Seltzer and I am excited. Lauren Rosen, we 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.320 are starting something new this week. I am super pumped 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.240 for the debut of our weekly Friday Deep Dive with 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:12.960 the one and only Vin Givens from ninety seventy five 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.280 The Fanatic, our flagship radio station for seventy six ers 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:21.160 basketball in the Delaware Valley. Divon what's up. It's great 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:23.680 to be speaking with you man. Oh, good to be back. 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:26.480 Good to be back with you both. It's fantastic to 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:29.720 be here starting off with the season where they are 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.800 and we know there have been some difficulties, but they're 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:37.600 still pushing through and it's great to be back with you. Guys. 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.720 I missed you, we missed you, we missed you, and 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:44.600 I just I'm pumped because we now can work this 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:50.440 into our regular weekly schedule, Friday's Divine Givens the deep 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.480 Dive of the week. Yes, indeed, look forward to it. 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:56.440 So I want to get into what we've seen so 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:58.560 far through the first month of the season in a moment. 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:01.600 But first, perhaps you can play a little bit of 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.720 a game, an icebreaker to start things off. I want 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.800 to ask each of you of your most memorable in 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:13.519 your mind sports teas non seventy six ers. It could 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:16.280 be the best sports tease you've seen, the worst sports 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:19.400 tease you've seen, but a sports tease. But the first 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:23.560 thing that comes to mind sports teas non seventy six ers, Lauren, 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:25.680 I see a look because I'm watching you through zoom 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.079 right now of flabbergast in your eye. I just don't 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:30.920 know where we're going with this. I'm looking forward to 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:33.720 what to basing whatever I say off of what you say. 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.679 So go ahead, okay, Divine, you want to go first, 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:38.400 I can go first. I have no problem going first, 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:43.360 non seventy sixers, any sport, Yeah, just most memorable sports teas. 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.640 Doesn't necessarily have to have a bad outcome, doesn't have 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.760 to have a good outcome. But a significant sports tease, 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:53.160 Oh wow, a significant sports tease. That is the one 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:58.040 that you threw on us, that now has me really thinking, 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:02.639 I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, and I'll 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:06.520 leave it sixers. But it's more of a it's more 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.360 on the side of it caused me a lot of 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:12.840 frustration because I thought it would go a certain way. 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:17.959 The teas was back in the in the I believe 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:22.720 it was the ninety man, I'm trying to think of 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:25.440 the draft. It was the draft with Chris Webber went 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:32.280 number one, Penny Hardaway Anthony penny Hardaway was also available. 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:38.000 The Sixers were at number two, the Warriors obviously selecting 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:42.400 Chris Webber, and right away that the whole teas the 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.040 entire time that the Sixers were on the clock, Oh 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:47.880 my goodness, They're about to get Penny Hardaway. And I'm 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.680 a big Memphis State. At the time, it was Memphis State, 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.720 not Memphis, and I was a huge Penny Hardaway fan. 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.480 And I'm thinking that he's coming to Philadelphia. And with 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:06.520 all due respect to Sean Brand, the teas dropped right there. 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:11.680 And it went from a jaw dropping moment at that 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.320 point and and and a big time tease and at 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:19.280 which turned into a lot of frustration for many years 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.640 watching seventy Sixers and then watching the Orlando Magic and 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:26.120 or Chris Webber since they were traded for one another, 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:30.000 and wondering what could have been. This is perfect, this 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:34.839 is exactly what I'm looking for. Infamous nineteen ninety three draft. Yes, 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.440 a tease, Lauren, you want some more time or do 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:39.239 you want me to jump in. I need more time. 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:43.880 Please please go ahead. Okay, I hate to throw what's 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:47.160 going to sound like some shade, but I'll go Philadelphia 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:53.120 Eagles starting quarterback of this season, Carson Wentz at this 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:55.880 point a little bit of a tease. I think personally, 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.800 for the record, he's going to be back, but we 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.080 got a little tease when he first started. Thing's been 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.200 up and down, and who knows what the end outcome 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.359 is going to be with him in the Eagles. So 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:09.680 maybe it's because it's freshened my mind, but to me, 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:14.880 that is another noteworthy non current seventy six ers teas. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.840 All right, Lauren, we can't delay any longer. I'm ready. 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:22.360 I'm sports tease. I'm just gonna go with one from 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:26.599 my own life because I figure that's probably the best 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.479 way to pick a sports tease. I think I have 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:34.840 to go with the twenty seventeen Duke basketball team, headlined 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.880 by none other than Jason Tatum. I was at Duke 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:42.800 at the time. I was working for the athletic department 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.040 on the sports media side, but I was also a cheerleader, 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.479 and that team lost in the NCAA Tournament in the 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.120 second round, which is the first weekend, and I remember 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.240 feeling like I was a senior, so there was like 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.240 a lot of nostalgia there, and I wanted to go 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.120 on this big deep run that everybody thought the team 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:00.120 was going to go on. And they lost to South 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:03.760 Carolina on the third day of the twenty seventeen NCAA Tournament. 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:05.400 So I'm gonna have to go with that one. I think. 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:06.920 I don't know if that's so much like a tease 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:08.640 as much as the downer, but I think the whole 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.200 season people thought they were going all the way and 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.320 they very much did not. So wow, there you go. Wow, 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.760 these were excellent. And I remember and I remember Jason 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.520 Tatum's first game. It was in the Madison Square Garden 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.279 when he came back from the injury. And I don't 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.520 remember the opponent, but I was like, oh, yeah, this 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:32.240 guy can go and you could hoop like from the jump. Yeah, 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.599 we knew he was good, but that that group really 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.279 underperformed in the tournament. The tournament's tough. I mean, it 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:40.279 was to just paint a little bit more of a picture. 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.520 It was a very weird day. They were playing in 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:47.120 South Carolina against South Carolina because it was the year 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:52.800 that we couldn't play tournament games in in North Carolina 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:55.960 because of what was going on politically, and then in 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.400 South Carolina, where were supposed to have home court advantage. 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.560 It was like a full house of Carolina fans. There 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:04.080 were some weird things going on. There were Confederate flags 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:06.360 in the parking lot. There was just some really weird 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.280 stuff going on in South Carolina that day. So the 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:13.840 juju was certainly off, honestly understandably, but they did lose. 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:15.080 So just to give it a little bit more of 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.200 a nuanced picture of what that game was actually like. 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.360 Looking back, I understand how they could have been thrown 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:25.160 off for sure, but it was zooming out, not the 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:28.880 way that they expected the season to end. So here's 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.960 the thing. I promised that there is some relevance to 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:34.600 this exercise. I think you guys did great, especially since 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:37.520 I put you on the spot. It's interesting the way 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:39.320 that we look at teases, because I tend to agree 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:41.160 with you guys more often than not. When you think 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:43.400 of a tease, you think of something that has initial 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.280 promise and that it doesn't necessarily work out. But I 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.400 would argue that a team like the two thousand two 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.679 one seventy six Ers. They teased you right off the start, 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.080 got off to a great undefeated beginning of the season 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:56.400 through their first ten games, and then they went on 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.680 to exceed expectations by making it all the way to 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.440 the NBA Finals. So I would venture to say, in 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:05.680 my opinion, teases aren't necessarily despite their regular stigma always 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:07.840 a bad thing. They just start to conjure up hope 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:11.080 and promise in the mind, which, in a very circuitous, 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.760 roundabout way, brings us to your two thousand, twenty two 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:19.360 twenty one Philadelphia seventy six ers. We're a month into 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:23.160 the season. The team is off to an encouraging start. 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.040 Individuals on the team have had an encouraging start this 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.480 season as well. So I want to unpack some of 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.440 what we've seen so far, what might be real, what 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:34.120 might be misleading, and what can we project because this 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:37.920 year has already a month in been so funky, Lauren, 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.000 Let's begin with you seventy six ers, top team in 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.960 the East, wrapping up their first month the season. Is 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:49.400 this something that you see as being sustainable? Yes, but 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.520 it's not quite as simple. As things aren't simple these days. 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.040 If we've learned anything. Yeah, if we've learned anything this week, 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.520 it's that a team can be thrown off for no 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:02.040 fault of their own. When you look at the injury 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:04.920 report over the last few games, there were a lot 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:07.839 of unavailable seventy sixers, and the fact that they're still 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:09.920 at the top of the conference is excellent. But we 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.079 don't know how many times that could continue to happen 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.560 to the Sixers, to other teams around the league. Will 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.480 there be postponements, will there be cancelations, Will the shortened 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.920 season get shorter? So I want to say yes, they'll 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.319 they'll stay among the top teams, for sure, but there 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.800 are too many intangibles, too many unknowns to necessarily say that. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.679 I feel super confident that everything's going to keep going 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:33.760 the way that it is. But that being said, after 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:36.559 a very weird week. Luckily the team is getting their 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:39.160 folks back, But having seen the way the week went, 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:40.960 it's just to me it feels too soon to make 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:42.920 any type of declaration about what's going to go on 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:44.640 in the rest of the season. But what I've seen, 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:46.920 I like that was a bit of a long way 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:51.960 to say yes, divon well, looking at the team, that 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.520 they currently have in a few surprises quite honestly, at 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:58.680 the way that things have gone with the roster overall. 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:01.640 And you know, as we go along with these visits 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.400 with you guys, we can get into the personnel, what 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:07.560 they've done, what they've done so well. Obviously Joel emb 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.679 will get to him how good he has been. I 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:14.520 do think it's sustainable because of the star power that 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.880 you do have and Joel and b the coaching staff 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.560 and what they are doing. The fact that you are seeing, 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:25.360 at least early on, that he can play a lot 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:29.880 of minutes, which is very encouraging on his body. Can 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:33.240 that go on? I would think the reason they're doing 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:37.000 it now it's to see how it plays out throughout 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:40.280 the entirety of the season. So looking at them right now, 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:43.240 at this particular record, the stage of the season, and 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.920 how good they have been despite some obstacles that they've 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:50.920 had to overcome, I actually do think it's sustainable for 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:55.280 them to continue on this path. I would agree with 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.200 parts of what both of you guys said. I think 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:02.000 that defining of what this is is very loose. The 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.360 Sixers are currently a top three team in the Eastern Conference. 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:08.800 Are they going to be able to maintain their perch 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:11.760 for number one, which is what they held for the 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.760 first two and a half weeks before the health and 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:16.720 safety protocols hit. I don't know if they can end 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.400 up as the number one seed. There's some even better 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.800 talent now in the Eastern Conference with the Houston and 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:25.560 Brooklyn trade that happened. But I think that what we 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:29.040 can probably conclude at this point is that the Sixers 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:31.880 of things level out, and barring anything that's too much 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:34.320 more crazy, they really have a good opportunity to be 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:38.000 a home court advantage team, whatever that would mean under 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:40.719 these current circumstances that we're living in. But I do 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:45.239 think that when you look at them under controlled conditions, 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:48.920 they could be as good as just about any team 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.120 in the Eastern Conference save for perhaps one or two, 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:55.040 and even those two teams, in my mind, have some 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:57.439 question marks. So I think that we are in relative 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:02.160 agreement that if control will factors exist, seventy six Ers 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.320 have a really good shot of being a top four 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:07.280 team in the Eastern Conference this year, and a lot 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.520 of that will have to do with Joel Embiid being 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:12.280 able to maintain the pace that he's currently at. It 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:14.400 beat has it against a Chewa. He shoots the top 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:16.959 of the key, shot up and good. With three seconds 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.640 ago it beat ties the game at one hundred and 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:23.840 twenty time out Miami. He's just been a beast. Guys. 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:27.840 I've been so encouraged by seeing what Joel Embiid has done. 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.120 I love the vibes, I love the body language. I 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:33.600 probably talk about intangibles too much, but I think in 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:37.319 this case it's relevant. He's just been phenomenal and he 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.000 is backing up a lot of the talk that we 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.840 heard at the end of last season, during the start 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.559 of training camp, and now to begin the year. Divine. No, 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.560 he absolutely has and I'm glad we're starting with this 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:54.920 because he is just shown again just a want to 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:58.320 out there on the floor to things that we've heard 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.680 in the past, of being down, being the best player, 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:05.040 having to put the team on his back, owing things 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.280 to the fan base. And while he's not done, while 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.560 the team is not done. We are only a few 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:13.280 games into the season. He has been tremendous. He has 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:15.920 been in that conversation. He belongs in the conversation of 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:18.439 the best player in the game right now with what 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:23.320 he has done and what I do like especially let's 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.360 go back to a game earlier in the week, the 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.200 first of the two back to back against the Miami Heat, 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:32.160 where they were not playing up to the standards that 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.600 you thought they should have been. Against the depleted Miami 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:38.000 he team, where the team got down him. He just 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:40.240 simply said, Okay, let's do it. Let's just put it 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.480 on my back. And he did just that. And we 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:46.240 saw it games before as well where they needed him. 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.480 Let's just go back to the opening against Washington when 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.920 it became a very close game, and down the stretch 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.480 of that one as well, Joel and b showed why 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:55.960 he is arguably the best big man in the game. 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.160 So I love exactly what he's doing. I think this 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:01.760 is sustainable and it's good to see us so early on. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.199 I'm a big believer of Lauren, and we've talked about 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.800 this in side chats a lot. It's not what they say, 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.120 it's what they do. At least that's a principle that 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.720 I try to live by when you're looking in attempting 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.280 to assess a situation. Joel Embiad has said that he 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.520 feels more comfortable. That's something that based on the eye test, 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.120 I believe it as well. He looks a lot more 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.320 comfortable out there on the court. I agree he talks 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.760 about wanting to dominate a lot. Dominate, dominate, That's a 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:29.760 word we hear from Joel over the years, and this 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:32.760 year he's really doing it. And I think look no 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:37.440 further than Devon mentioned Tuesday against Miami forty five points, 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:42.280 sixteen rebounds, four assists, a block, and five steals. That's 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:46.320 all align. Obviously that added overtime, but the team got 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.320 into the second half, it looked like maybe the game 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:50.000 was going to get away from them a little bit, 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:53.040 if not sort of come down to the wire, which 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.440 it did, and Joel said afterwards that he decided there 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:57.200 was no way they were going to lose that game. 0:14:57.280 --> 0:14:59.200 And to be able to see him lock into that 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:03.080 mentality score twenty points in the third quarter alone, guys, 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:05.960 that's insane, and then eleven in overtime, like he really 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.000 did decide we are absolutely not losing this game, and 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:11.440 he made sure that he did everything he could to 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:16.280 make that happen, despite some people fouling out, missing a 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:18.760 lot of people for the health and safety protocols, and 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.400 he gave props to his teammates post game and said, 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.120 you can't get anywhere without your teammates. He was really 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.120 proud of the way that the young guys stepped up. 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.200 But at the end of the day, the story Tuesday 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:30.200 was Joel and the way that he took that game 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:32.760 into his own hands and made sure the team was 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.720 not going to take a loss. And that's a great sign. Divin. 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.880 This is a conversation we've had amongst ourselves and on 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:42.520 the air a couple of times. Your favorite Joel embiid performance. 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.560 I know which way you go. I think I am 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:51.040 still December twenty nineteen, Thursday Night T and T at 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:53.840 TD Garden, but I might have to put the third 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:58.480 quarter of that game against Miami Heat right up there. 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.320 I think that's a top three, well regular season at 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:06.080 least performance. I agree with you. I was thinking about 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.600 that as Lauren was talking and just knowing that we 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.040 have had this discussion because we've seen so many great 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:14.800 performances from Juell and b over the years that he 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.240 is worn the seventy six is uniform. I have my 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:20.640 favorite in Los Angeles that Staples. You have yours in 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:26.000 Boston at TV Garden, and immediately I knew this one 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:30.360 was number two, right behind my favorite in Los Angeles 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:34.000 because the importance of it. Look and we know early 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:36.960 in the season it's only game number twelve, but when 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:40.120 you're so shorthanded, and as Lauren mentioned, with the foul 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:42.960 trouble that a few teammates got into and no longer 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.800 they're disqualified from the game, you needed is your best 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:48.360 player to do it. And not only did he do it, guys, 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.440 he did it knowing that still even though he gets 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.720 this from tip one, from right away minute one, all 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.360 the attention was going to be on him, and he 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:00.360 still was able to do it with the twenty points 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:03.160 in the third quarter that you both mentioned and thirty 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:08.680 five overall from the second half on, with what he 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.920 was able to do for this team, what they needed 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:15.159 and he uplifted them. They knew that they had to 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.639 do it. Doctor Rivers kept feeding him the ball. He 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.960 played forty minutes in an NBA game that went into overtime, 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.879 And to your first question about his availability and his 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:29.520 durability and something that's sustainable, it was great to see 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:33.160 that as an example and now us looking back later 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:38.040 on maybe a game number sixty two and saying, well, 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.200 I saw you do it in Game twelve. I know 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:42.960 you can do it now. I might actually, just because 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:44.960 I've never taken a stance on a favorite Joel and 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.520 B performance, I might go ahead and carve it in. 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:52.479 I think I'm gonna do it. Yeah. January twelfth, twenty 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.879 twenty one against Miami, And look, I think when we 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:56.560 look back, we're not going to say that this was 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.520 his most high achieving moment in terms of what the 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.560 opponent had available or what the context in this season was. 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:04.760 But I do think when you look at the external 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:08.320 factors half the team on the injury report, some of 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:11.640 the team fouled out for him to still come in 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:13.879 and really say, I don't care what the odds are, 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:15.760 I don't care what external factors are going on. We 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.440 are winning this game. To me, that was really really memorable. 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:20.720 I also was at that one as opposed to the 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:22.439 other two that you guys pick. So maybe it's like 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:25.000 recency bias, being in person bias, But I think I'm 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:27.159 gonna go ahead and carve this out as my favorite 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:30.119 Joel and Beat performance at least for the time being. Listen, 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:32.560 I will say that it could serve as something at 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.320 least right now that is seemingly minor. The way that 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:38.800 he handled that game, that could become a bigger supporting 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:41.840 piece of evidence the type of year that Joel has 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:43.760 this year. Because if you're talking about the next thing 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.840 I'm gonna bring up, you need like that leadership performance 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.560 when the team is up against it. It's shorthanded, your 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:51.719 other all stars having an off night. You need someone 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:54.119 to kind of rein it in and be the horse. 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:56.879 And that's the type of player he was in that 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.720 first game against Miami. It was awesome. It beats bringing 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:04.000 a horse again picked up by Strausson's Silva ghost baseline, spins, 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.760 backs up, shoots it. It's good. It being is dominating 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:12.399 MBP light status for the big fella. He's got twenty 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:15.920 points in this quarter alone. So what I'm alluding to 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:19.680 is the three words three letters, Well they could be 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:21.760 three letters the three words most Valuable Player or three 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.359 letters MVP, whatever you want to choose. Getting back to 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:26.840 this notion of what's real and what is And we've 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:29.359 heard chatter it's been brought up with Joel and some 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.720 press conferences, Joe as an MVP candidate a month into 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:36.040 the season. Divine, are you buying it. Yes, I am, 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.879 I am. He has been one of the best players 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:43.480 in the league. We know there are a few handful 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:46.639 of others that are in the conversation with him, but 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:49.320 he is definitely in there. He deserves to be any 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:51.560 of They have the best record in the Eastern Conference 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:55.560 and with him only missing I believe what two games 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:57.840 so far this season and still being able to post 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:01.720 the numbers that he has put up on the board already, 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:06.080 it's also real because of this we've seen him do 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:09.080 it before where he has been in those conversations, even 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:11.360 though he has made second team instead of first team 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:16.160 All MBA, the All Star Games, the defensive teams as well, 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:21.080 second in Defensive MVP voting Overall Player of the Year. 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:26.760 And that's why it's real. And if he is able 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.280 to continue along this path putting up posting these types 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:33.840 of numbers, the wins continuing to come if they can 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:37.080 somehow despite some changes in the Eastern Conference so far 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.840 with Brooklyn and knowing how good Milwaukee could be also 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.359 have to respect them in Miami as well, if they 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:46.560 can continue to be at the top of the Eastern 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:50.879 Conference led by his performances, He's absolutely going to be 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:54.200 in the conversation at the end of the regular season, 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.239 in the Most Valuable Player discussion if he keeps up 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.160 what he's doing on both ends the floor, I agree 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.160 with you, there's no chance he's left out of the discussion, 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:05.679 and he has a really good case to win. I mean, 0:21:06.160 --> 0:21:08.240 how often do you see a guy go for forty 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:11.320 five and grab five steals on the same night. I mean, 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:13.040 the only other types of players in this league that 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:14.639