WEBVTT - The BroadCast: Playoffs Pod - 5/7/2018 ~ A No-Margin-for-Error Chat with Devon Givens 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:05.960 It's time to talk Sixers, Baby bet seven between the 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:08.920 Lake and that he rocks the Realm. Here on the 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:13.720 broadcast the official podcast of Sixers dot Com. Here's the Steel, 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:17.160 Mike Pummington, three bottels of the year, pet God, Robert 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:24.560 Cumming getting parts in another three. Now here's today's episode. Okay, 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:29.720 here we go. Seventy Sixers gonna try and make some history. 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:34.320 Confronted with a tough, tough, tough deficit in their best 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.720 of seven Eastern Conference series with the Boston Celtics now 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:41.440 trailing three games to none after Saturday's overtime loss one 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:44.000 O one to ninety eight, Sixers are gonna do what 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.320 has never been done in an NBA postseason series before, 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:50.839 and net is to erase a deficit after dropping the 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:54.160 first three games. That is the task at hand as 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:57.440 the Sixers host the Boston Celtics in Game four later 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.560 on on Monday night. Brian Seltzer, Well, welcoming you back 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:03.800 into a postseason edition of the podcast. Thank you as 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.839 always for checking it out. On this episode of the pod, 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.080 I'm going to touch base with the man our guy, 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.960 Divine Givens, seventy six Ers insider from ninety seventy five, 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:18.560 the fanatic dot Com contributor to the Sixers Radio Network, 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.480 and a guy who in times like these, at least 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:26.319 for me, I feel like Devon brings always terrific perspective 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:31.640 and good wisdom to the table when it comes to 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.360 assessing the current state of affairs, which for the Sixers 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.800 they're going to try to improve in game number four 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.560 later on Monday, before we bring in Von, we will 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:44.800 remind you that to subscribe to the podcast, all you 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:48.840 gotta do is head to iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:52.920 a SoundCloud type in Sixers Podcast Network, and that should 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.120 take you to our feeds. We would love to have 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.680 you as a subscriber. If you are not yet a 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:03.280 subscriber to our feed already, we'll get playoff podcasts updated 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:06.640 automatically and also day after game rewind editions of the 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.680 pod as well. So yeah, if you're not on board, 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:12.959 we'd love to have you as a subscriber, so please 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:16.480 consider doing that. We're gonna get to Divon in just 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:19.440 a moment. Going to run back some sound setting the 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:24.200 scene for Game number four Sixers a stinging one on Saturday, 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:26.400 no doubt about it, a game in which it looked 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.920 like the Sixers had as good a chance as any 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:33.920 to potentially pull out both in regulation and then in overtime. 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.360 Could not get it done. Obviously, there were major breakdowns 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.960 and errors, lapses on the court and in between the 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.440 Ears two. But now it's just a matter of moving forward. 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:48.960 The seventy Sixers, they recognize the task at hand. You 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:51.720 know the stat involving the one hundred twenty nine teams 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:55.560 that have already had three nothing leads in NBA playoff series. 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:59.160 So no need to fully rehash that here, but Simmons 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.079 trying to shake off of what the Sixers went through 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:04.160 at the end of Game number three in overtime on Saturday, 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:08.280 trying to keep the focus forward looking there's a lot 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:13.240 of opposities, a lot of mistakes made. Um. It's frustrating 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.600 when you know what the mistakes are. But we gotta 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:17.560 we gotta come in really locking. It is going to 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:21.119 be very hard. Boston's a great team. They've been there before. 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:25.160 They've been in a situation where good close to that 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:28.760 next round, UM, and you know we want to get 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.160 that too. Obviously, it's gonna take a lot the reference 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.640 challenge as from inside the Sixers locker room on Saturday, 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:38.840 Ben Simmons, liking heavy minutes forty two of them, scored 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.920 sixteen points, eight rebounds, eight assists, did have four turnovers, 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:46.520 did have the putback attempt with nineteen seconds to go 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.320 in regulation, and obviously the bounce passed to the top 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.520 of the key to jo ellen Bid that was intercepted 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:56.040 by Al Horford. So for Simmons and his fellow young 0:03:56.080 --> 0:04:00.720 emerging star to ellen Bid, these are situations to grow from. 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:04.840 The Sixers are not pinpointing youth and an experience as 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.560 a factor, but certainly when you look at situations like that, 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:10.520 and we'll talk about this, I'm gonna bring it up 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.400 with divine but opportunities to learn and grow from, no 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:17.120 doubt about it. As for Embad, he and the Sixers 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.239 were back at the training complex and Camden on Sunday afternoon. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.680 They went through a workout that probably to no surprise, 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:28.599 was spirited and upbeats. As has been the case in 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:33.040 years pasted with teams coached by Brett Brown here in Philadelphia, 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:37.200 if you removed contexts, there'd be no way to really 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:39.760 tell just how much adversity the team was up against. 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.320 So the Sixers had some good vibes in the gym. 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:46.560 On Sunday, Joel Ebad spoke after practice, were okay, we 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:51.040 got we got it there. It's never been numbered for us. 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:55.560 All thanky body going news. You got I think it. 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:58.120 One day out of town, one game, him out of town, 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:04.200 one clat out of time, man second by second, minute 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:09.040 by minute, possession by possession, quarter by quarter, game by game. 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.000 No doubt, that's the mindset, in the attitude that the 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.200 seventy sixers are going to have to have. They're going 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:18.480 to successfully pull themselves out of this three games to 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.680 none whole. They do have two home games left out 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.680 of the four that remain, but Boston with at the 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.279 very most two opportunities to clench at home in Games 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:33.160 five in Games seven, if both games are necessary. What's 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:35.560 going through the mind of the head coach Brett Brown 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.920 certainly not the notion of being swept. That is the 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.320 farthest thing from what he is considering at this point 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.839 in time. He feels that the spirits of the seventy 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.760 sixers is good and that right now it's all a 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:52.159 matter of trying to take care of business at home. 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:55.200 We've jumped into this in a quicker way than any 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:58.039 of us probably would have guessed at the start of 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.520 the year. You know, we were all to hope and 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:04.240 to make the playoffs. Then we we've we got real 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:06.800 greedy and wanted to win fifty games, and then we 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.599 wanted to get a home court, and then we wanted 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:13.679 to beat Milwaukee and finished third, and we we've we've 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:15.880 done all that and then you know, we have a 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.640 great series against Miami and we win full one. And 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:22.400 so the table set, the expectations a set. You can't 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:27.560 redial that. And this is true, but to link it 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:32.520 where where you know it's connected to we don't want 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:36.240 to get swept, they're mutually exclusive to me. You know, 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.240 we don't want to get swept because we don't want 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.440 to get swept. And you know I've said, and I 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:43.760 stand by this, we we do have more to give. 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:47.279 We've stumbled on an incredibly hard matchup for us, there 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:52.000 is no doubt about that. But it's borne out of competitiveness, 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:56.279 not sort of the history to date that we've had 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:59.520 this season with this team. Bret Brand at the Sextus 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:03.919 training Plex on Sunday after practice. The idea of being 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:09.720 swept not amongst his foremost concerns to get into what 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.520 the seventy sixers should be looking at, trying to adapt 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.040 and adjust going into Game four, trying to crack this 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:19.600 puzzle that the Boston Celtics have presented. We're gonna bring 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.520 it our guy from ninety seven five, the Fanatic. You 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:25.560 can hear them always after games as a part of 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:29.880 his postgame show, sometimes on our postgame show on Sixers, 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:34.880 podcasts on Sixers and sixty everything in between. Divine givens 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.240 what's up, Divine? How you doing? I'm doing good. I'm 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:42.120 looking forward to see how the guys respond tonight against 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.400 the Boston Celtics and Game number four. They're at home, 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:46.080 they still have a chance, so I'm looking forward to 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:48.600 see what they do. Listen, I felt that on the 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.720 heels of Game three, if there were any person out 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.160 there with whom I could talk about in terms of 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:57.840 trying to solve the world's basketball problems, it would be you. 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.600 What have been your overalls to the first three games? 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.680 What's been going on that's allowed Boston to jump out 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:08.280 to this lead? Well, I think the overall defense of 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:11.520 the Boston Celtics had, while while we thought it was good, 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:14.840 it was much better than we expected, and the fact 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:18.800 that they've been able to harass the shooters out on 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:21.400 the perimeter. Give Ben Simmons a little bit of trouble, 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.000 which is a bit surprising due to the fact that 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:29.040 he's played eighty nine games before Saturday's game and successfully well. 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.600 Obviously with the season that he's had, historic season that 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.120 he's had, it's a bit surprising to see that. I 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:37.440 was a little a little taken it back by the 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:41.120 lack of points that Embiid had because he has some 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.800 really good looks and he's been he's been up and 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.480 down in the series, but putting up decent numbers overall, 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:48.120 and I thought that he would be able to really 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:50.400 get it going in the paint. He got into it 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:52.559 a little bit with Aaron Bains. I hope that didn't 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:54.920 throw his game off. But the other thing that people 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.680 don't realize as much as you get into the All 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:02.320 Star conversation, how is he making it over Ben Simmons 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:06.440 al Horford as a reserve and something like that, and 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:10.080 you get to see him for these last three games 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:13.160 that we've seen, and you understand I know you have, 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:16.360 and I know I have. You understand how good defensively 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.240 not just physically, but how smart he is at using 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.480 his body to go up against someone like Joel Ebid 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:26.160 who has this physical you would think this domination is 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.600 presence over him, but the smarts that a veteran like 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.480 Al Horford has had to play with over these years. 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.200 And then you look at it, you go back cells 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.760 to those Atlanta Hawk days where they had those teams 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.360 that made it to the Eastern Conference Semis and of 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.800 course the Eastern Conference Finals one time and losing to 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.439 Lebron James. Like most other East team does, he played 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:49.679 a lot of center and he had to play against 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.760 guys like Roy Hibbert just bigger. And you can say 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.880 what you want about the skill set being Roy Hibbert 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.960 versus Joel Embi, but the fact that he is that 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:00.360 much bigger and the way he's able to kind of 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.200 push and beat out a little bit too had forced 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:06.400 him to reset and maybe turn and face up more 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:07.960 than he wants them to, or have to put the 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.119 ball on the floor in the way the defense collapses. 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:14.319 They just play some really good overall health defense celts, 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.400 and I think that's really bothered the Sixers. And then 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:19.640 on the offensive end as well, when you look at 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:22.440 the Boston Celtics. Surprisingly, the way they've shot the ball 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:26.120 has been tremendous, and you see someone like Jason Tatum 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.199 rise right in front of your eyes, Jalen Brown playing 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.800 through this injury doing the same thing, and Terry Rosier 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:38.240 turning into a starting caliber guard in the NBA. It's 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:41.400 been interesting to see it. And that's why I said that, 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:44.240 being that we've seen what we've seen in these first 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:47.320 three games they've been in the last two, you can 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:49.280 argue that they should have won those they have not. 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.320 Here we are three zero. They are still in a 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.960 spot where I want to see as a team like 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:57.880 this that first time in the postseason, with all of 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:01.439 the pressure that's on them tonight six, see how they respond. 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.000 And they're led by their coach at Brett Brown. They 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:07.800 have some young players that also lead this team on 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:10.160 the floor, but they have a nice mix of veterans 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.280 and I really I'm really curious to see how this 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.920 team responds. I think they would respond well. I don't 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:17.240 think this would be one of those getaway games where 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.560 it was just okay, let's just pack it in that 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.840 we've we've been surprised by this Boston team. Let's get 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:24.960 ready to go home for the summer. I really do 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:26.720 believe we're going to get the best of the Sixers 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.520 tonight in game number four. It's funny I think that 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:33.120 if you were to ask coaches and players from both teams, everyone, 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:34.800 whether you're a member of the seventy six Ers of 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.640 the Boston Celtics, they tell you that the Sixers probably 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.920 should be up two games to one in this series. 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.640 It was that close in Game two and obviously what 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:46.040 we saw in Game three, and I know that Brett 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.400 Brown and the players didn't want to use youth as 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:51.160 an excuse. That was a big talking point after Game three. 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:54.560 But for me, it's hard not to see certain areas 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:59.559 where inexperience has reared its untimely head. And then when 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:01.640 you can try asked it with some of the guys 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:05.120 in the Celtics. Has Jason Tatum been there before? No, 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:09.480 But younger players like Jalen Brown went through the run 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.280 last year. He was thrust into extra duty in the postseason. 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.960 In twenty seventeen. Marcus Smart was a part of the 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.480 core and he's obviously made an impact. And Al Horford, 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:22.719 as we talked about, so steady. So for me, I 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:26.880 think you can't completely overlook that dynamic where for the 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.360 seventy sixers up against it, season on the line, potentially 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.000 in certain spots of that type of pressure. In Game 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:36.800 three in a hostile environment, big run Boston goes on 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.360 late in the first half Game two. For me, I 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:42.559 do feel like there have been times where the youngness 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.320 factor of the seventy six ers, well, it may not 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.760 be the prevailing issue, it has definitely been a factor. 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.600 For my money. Well, let's just take it back to 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.240 the shot wherein b took the shot. Ben Simmons gets 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:56.760 the rebound with under twenty seconds to play with the 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:01.560 one point lead, and maybe someone a little more sense 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:03.760 of being a veteran player would decide to pull the 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:06.480 ball out and try to run some clock and force 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:10.120 the Boston Celtics to foul. But instinctually it takes over 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:14.040 as a player like Ben Simmons is and he decided 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:17.000 to with a short shot, flip it up really fast 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.960 and maybe get a bucket and give them a three 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:22.720 point advantage, and it ultimately turns out to hurt them 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.640 in the long run in that game. So when you 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:27.400 talk about the youth, you can look at that play. 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.000 You could also look at the play where JJ Reddick 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:33.120 was throwing it to whether it was Ebid or Simmons. 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:35.640 We've seen it play forever, so I would like to 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:37.760 say it was Joelanbiad that he was trying to get 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.880 it to ole Ben Simmons was going off of Ebad's 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:44.600 pick before he popped out, making sure that you seal 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:49.280 off your man where and b make sure our Horford 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.520 is not to come around and anticipate that pass and 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:54.800 get a hand on it and then eventually get that 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:58.000 steal that he wound up getting. So youth does play 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.120 a factor. And of course, you know the argument is 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.560 always going to be, as you pointed out Jason Tatum 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.439 doing when he's doing, how can you use youth as that? Well, 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:08.440 as you pointed out, he has so many players on 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.280 the floor with him that are veteran players, and you 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:13.480 can include Terry Rosier and that as well. So it's 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.480 even in little minutes that he has gotten in those 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:18.720 playoff runs in the past, he has gotten him. So 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.720 you're absolutely right, youth does play a factor in it 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:25.280 at some point. And whether you want to say youth 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:28.960 is the reason of it, it's just youth as a 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:32.600 little component of the whole thing, in little intangibles of 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.240 the game that could cost you, especially in close ones. 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:38.720 Tatum is averaging just under twenty four and a half 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.440 points per game in the series. That's tied with Joel 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:45.120 Ebad for the highest average of any player. Jalen Brown, Yeah, 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.240 I mean it really is. Jalen Brown, as you said, 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.880 in the two games he's been back, has been fantastic, 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.440 a big spark off the bench. How much do you 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:58.320 think the athleticism that's being presented by those two guys 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.400 in particular, how much of it difference has that made? 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.920 And I guess you really zero in on Tatum. He's 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.080 been terrific. It's hard to overlook it because when you 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:10.000 look at someone like Robert Covington that we like to 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.280 say does have a sense of athleticism, and he's long 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.640 and he's range. He likes to get his hand on 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.920 the basketball to disrupt things, whether it's a dribble handoff 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.320 or simply when someone tries to dip their body into them, 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:24.600 he's able to use his length and maybe deflect the 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.680 basketball and take them off of their rhythm of trying 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:32.120 to use their offense as a weapon. And in this series, 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.760 you can just see the quickness the first step celts 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.240 off the ball, the length that they use even when 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:39.720 they pick the ball of maybe a tab it too early, 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.320 when they pick up their dribble to go for their shot. 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.080 They have been able to use that length to maybe 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.240 get a scoop lay up underneath an arm of a player, 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.040 a high bounce off the glass, to use their length 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.960 again to kind of shield their way from the defender. 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.600 And let's just use Robert Covington again as an example 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:00.640 with the six a frame and the long wingspan that 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.960 he has to make it difficult for Tatum Brown, but 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.480 they've been able to use that again to their advantage 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:09.240 to get a shot off. So I think it does 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:12.720 come into play. The one on one ability that both 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.160 of them do in fact have also plays a factor 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.000 in it. In the way that they use the backcuts, 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.600 similar to what the seventy sixers do to use the 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:23.760 backcuts and a lot of the cuts that they use 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:27.080 overall to get some of their players open. That's where 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.680 sometimes the athleticism does in fact come into play. So 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:33.840 you have seen it. It's something that's maybe going to 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:36.720 be addressed later on in the off season with this team, 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:40.600 and it has been it has been glaring, to say 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.560 the least, in these first three games. When you get 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.680 to this stage of the season, the playoffs in particular, 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.640 for teams to advance, sometimes it requires a club getting 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.360 more out of some guys than you would expect. I mean, 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.920 Terry Rossiero shooting fifty percent from outside the arc and 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.600 averaging over four made threes game, he stands out in 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.440 a big way. But I'd love to hear what you 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.040 think about even a guy like Aaron Baines. I mean, 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.880 I know he's not totally showing up in stat sheets. Yeah, 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:10.919 he's made more threes in the first three games of 0:17:10.960 --> 0:17:15.720 the series than he did all season, But his rugged presence, 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:17.720 I think, at least to the eye test, I don't 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.639 know how you'd measure it statistically. He did have double 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:24.040 figure rebounds in Game three. It seems like he's bothered 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:26.880 the sixers in the front court just enough to make 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.640 an impact. And I'm even thinking back to game too. 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:33.560 You know, you bring in someone like Greg Monroe and 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:35.840 throw him in there, and that seemed to like batter 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.840 down some stuff in the interior that opened things up 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.239 on the perimeter for Boston. To key the run, and 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:43.560 you're just thinking through stuff about what's made a difference 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.320 in this series, that Boston has gotten a little bit 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.080 more from some X factor guys, and for the Sixers 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:51.520 to try and come back, you'd think that some players 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:53.760 on their side might have to exceed some expectations of 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.240 their own. Sure, and you don't. Let's not exclude Shane 0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:00.520 Larkin for the that he's also gotten a player like 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:02.600 that where he's thrust into the role and we know 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:04.719 he was out of the league last year and with 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:08.080 Kyrie irving and out out and when Marcus Smart was 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.479 down for a bit, it was Rosier and Larkin manning 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:13.159 the point guard duty. So you're absolutely right. And what 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:14.920 Rosier has been able to do. The one thing that 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.399 impressed me the most sets about what Rosier has not 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.520 really everyone, And you mentioned Baines and Larkin and even 0:18:20.560 --> 0:18:23.920 Greg Monroe, it's their shot selection. They don't they don't 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:27.120 force shots. And even when Terry Rosier takes those long 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.040 twos or those long threes, some of them are off 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:32.760 the bounce because he has the necessary quickness to create 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:35.040 that separation. You can get the shot off, but the 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.080 others are just simply simply off of great ball movement 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.639 by the Boston Celtics. It swings back to him and 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:42.640 he has a good look and he takes it. Same 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:44.920 for Shane Larkin, where he may not shoot more than 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:47.600 three shots a game, but one of them maybe a 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:50.320 pull up, one of them maybe a catch and shoot three, 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:52.840 or another might be simply a layup off of a 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.639 back door cut that he makes into your point. In 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:58.560 game number two where Greg Monroe gave them two good 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:02.240 baskets over all, the one being during that run in 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.440 the second quarter that helped Boston get themselves back into 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:07.960 the game with that twenty to five run under five 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:12.359 minutes to play. Aaron Bains shooting whenever he needs to shoot, 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.760 necessarily those cornered three pointers, and you know, making two 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:20.040 or three of those, and you're right, they're just getting 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.320 those from them. And I'm sure that's where Brett Brown 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:23.919 is trying to get out of some of his players 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:26.160 as well. Maybe this is where we might have an 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:28.600 opportunity to see what the season on the line right now. 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:32.480 Does Justin Anderson come into play at some point? T J. 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.200 McConnell has given you good minutes. Do we see someone 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:37.359 like Markuel Falster to try to give you a spark 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:40.240 when Shane Larkin is going to floor. So they have 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:43.200 given them very good minutes when they've been in there. 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:46.320 Brand Stevens is pressing the right buttons with those players 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:48.280 and the best part of boys. We talk about the 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:50.840 culture with the seventy Sixers and how things have changed 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.480 this season with the fifty two win year, dancing to 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:56.440 the second round after winning the first against the Miami Heat. 0:19:57.160 --> 0:19:59.840 It's knowing your role and that's where a lot of 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:03.200 when the Sixers team have done all year, knowing their role. 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:05.080 And we're seeing the same thing from the other side 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:08.679 in the Boston Celtics. This is a Sixers podcast, so 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:11.080 I'm gonna stop talking about the Celtics in just a moment. 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:13.080 But they have set the tone in this series in 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.920 a convincing way. It's almost as if do you feel 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:18.560 like they have come out and really taken this hole? 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:21.720 You know what, You're not paying attention to us out there. 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:23.920 Do you think that we just kind of walked into 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:27.680 fifty five wins by accident? Okay, we see that, and 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:30.280 this is what We'll raise you. A three games to 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:34.080 none lead and we're missing our best two players, and 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.000 you can really say one because Gordon Hayward hasn't played 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:39.720 all season. Kyrie Irving now out for the remainder of 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:42.880 the year. So yeah, absolutely, they've they've taken that approach 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:46.680 of Okay, you want to overlook us, and you want 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:50.399 to elevate this team in our division ahead of us 0:20:50.520 --> 0:20:55.720 before they've accomplished anything. Certainly that plays into it. So yes, 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:58.360 and you know, there's this is the playoffs, so it's 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:01.760 going to be intense defense. This is gonna pick up tremendously, 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:04.600 which we've seen on both sides. You can talk about 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:07.639 how good the series is offensively, both teams really have 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.800 really dug in defensively. They've made it a point, they've 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:14.040