Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. The
Speaker 1: end of the regular season is almost here, so it
Speaker 1: is time for us to take some stock on the mailbag.
Speaker 1: Who's exceeded expectations the most? Harris Right's like Crusoe Hanks
Speaker 1: fire shoot that makes it and the Sixers beat the
Speaker 1: Lakers on a game winning shot by Tobias Harris. We
Speaker 1: got a lot of great responses from Tobias Harris to
Speaker 1: Dwight Howard and even a non player as well. Plus
Speaker 1: I'll give my take match again for three the logo
Speaker 1: He's got thirty nine your voicemails, DMS and mentions as
Speaker 1: always here on mail Bag Monday. A busy successful week
Speaker 1: it was for the seventy Sixers since last week Mailbag
Speaker 1: four wins in between last Monday and this Monday, and
Speaker 1: the seventy Sixers are on a great tear. Season high
Speaker 1: eight game winning streak continues Lauren Rosen. They get a
Speaker 1: nice little lull in the schedule before gearing up for
Speaker 1: their final four games of the season. They're in a
Speaker 1: good spot for the number one seed. I like where
Speaker 1: things are at I do as well. So its the
Speaker 1: magic number as of this taping on Monday is two
Speaker 1: wins to secure that one seed once and for all.
Speaker 1: But of course Brooklyn or Milwaukee or both could help
Speaker 1: out reducing that magic number of two, and based on
Speaker 1: the strength of schedule Indiana Miami two against Orlando shouldn't
Speaker 1: be too tall of an order. It's incredible. This is
Speaker 1: our second to last mail bag Monday of the regular season.
Speaker 1: It has zoomed on by this old twenty twenty twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one regular season, or has it? Has it zoomed
Speaker 1: or has it not? I think for me, midway through,
Speaker 1: I felt like this was the longest season that has
Speaker 1: ever existed, and now that we're on the end, I
Speaker 1: do feel like it's zoomed past. So it's been one
Speaker 1: of those long day's, short weeks types of seasons. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that made sense in my head. I'm not sure if
Speaker 1: it came out articulately, No, for sure. It's being honest
Speaker 1: and upfront, like I feel like there's been a lot
Speaker 1: this year, and there has been a lot. The games
Speaker 1: have been played so frequently, essentially every other night, except
Speaker 1: for a few breaks like the one the Sixers are
Speaker 1: in now. So in that sense, it does feel a
Speaker 1: little bit long, but right you look back at it
Speaker 1: and you think, well, Christmas wasn't that long ago. It
Speaker 1: wasn't that long ago that my kids were opening up
Speaker 1: a pink pony and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. That doesn't feel
Speaker 1: too long ago. And that's when the season started. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm with you, but I also do think like you
Speaker 1: have to take into consideration, obviously the state of the world,
Speaker 1: and so I think anything that's going on right now
Speaker 1: feels a little bit more labor intensive because of everything
Speaker 1: else that's going on. So it was a weird year,
Speaker 1: but luckily for Sixers fans it has been nothing short
Speaker 1: of an excellent distraction from whatever else is going on.
Speaker 1: All right, Lauren, what do we do for this week's
Speaker 1: mail bag Monday? Do we talk about which players have
Speaker 1: exceeded expects or do we focus on how flawed the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers have been during an eight game winning streak.
Speaker 1: It's a hard decision to make. I'm kicking it back
Speaker 1: and forth. I'm not sure which direction we should go in.
Speaker 1: I was wondering if you could help salts Wow. So
Speaker 1: early on a Monday morning, I'm okay with listen. I read.
Speaker 1: I read, I'm a consumer of respected beacons of media
Speaker 1: and journalism. So I saw that and I was like, well,
Speaker 1: maybe I need to just take a breath and reconsider
Speaker 1: what we're doing for the mail bag this week. Well,
Speaker 1: I'd be happy to just bring it home and say
Speaker 1: that genuinely, I would prefer to talk about players that
Speaker 1: have exceeded expectations this season. Yeah, we're the Sunshines and
Speaker 1: Rainbows Pod. That's what we are, and that's what we're
Speaker 1: gonna do. So let's get the mail bag going. You
Speaker 1: have one new message. How do we do mailbag Monday?
Speaker 1: It is quite simple. We encourage you to call the
Speaker 1: podline any day, anytime, whenever two four zero three seven
Speaker 1: six three seven two on five four zero three pods.
Speaker 1: Leave us your thought, take, inquiry, opinion, whatever it is
Speaker 1: about the seventy sixers. As long as it's kosher, we're
Speaker 1: going to play it and then we'll send you some swag.
Speaker 1: Or you can reach out to myself and Lauren Rosen
Speaker 1: on social I'm at Brian Seltzer on Twitter, Seltzer six
Speaker 1: or snaps on Instagram. Lauren Rosen makes it very easy
Speaker 1: for you, Lauren m Rosen. On both platforms, leave us
Speaker 1: a mention a DM and we'll run that off as well.
Speaker 1: We also have our Sunday sticker question on the at
Speaker 1: Sixers Instagram story, which this week was which seventy sixer
Speaker 1: this season has exceeded expectations? Before we really dive deep
Speaker 1: into the bag, Lauren, do you want to get us started?
Speaker 1: Do you have a player in mind? I do. I
Speaker 1: think I wonder if we're gonna have the same player.
Speaker 1: I mean, I have a few in mind, but I
Speaker 1: think right off the bat, someone who maybe hasn't gotten
Speaker 1: enough love lately or throughout the course of his career.
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna have to go with Tobias Harris.
Speaker 1: I think that we knew what Tobias could do, and
Speaker 1: people hoped that his reunion with Doc, the addition of
Speaker 1: more shooters some changes to the lineups would unlock another
Speaker 1: level for Tobias. But I'm not sure that people expected
Speaker 1: it too. And from the very beginning of the season
Speaker 1: all the way through, he's been nothing but solid. He's
Speaker 1: talked about wanting to be a closer. He's been a
Speaker 1: closer early in the season, late in the season, regardless
Speaker 1: of who's been available. He's been overall the durable Tobias
Speaker 1: Harris that we're used to seeing, but with more efficiency,
Speaker 1: a little more pop, a little more swagger, and I've really,
Speaker 1: I've really enjoyed. So I don't necessarily think that he's
Speaker 1: skyrocketed over expectations. Tobias. Luckily, you do know what you're
Speaker 1: getting with a player like him. But he has been
Speaker 1: I think more than people necessarily expected him to be,
Speaker 1: especially considering the other star power on his team. So
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with Tobias. It wasn't necessarily the I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go with Tobias, What about you? I also had
Speaker 1: to Bias number one on my list. I'm going to
Speaker 1: reserve my comments on it and I'll just try and
Speaker 1: sprinkle them in when we hear from other people, because
Speaker 1: they too, there was a lot of love for Tobias. Alrighty,
Speaker 1: let us get to our first entry in this week
Speaker 1: mail bag, and sure enough, John Nail's J fifty seven
Speaker 1: John Nellian on Twitter says, Tobias is the seventy sixer
Speaker 1: who has exceeded my expectations this season. Everybody was ready
Speaker 1: to trade him last season. This season he should have
Speaker 1: been an All Star and the guy it's like guests
Speaker 1: who didn't vote for Tobias. That's in my favorite game
Speaker 1: in the second half of the season to play because
Speaker 1: you can tell when he has that little extra gone.
Speaker 1: It makes you think, Billy Donovan, did that guy vote
Speaker 1: for Tobias? I don't know. The way Tobias played against
Speaker 1: the Bulls, seems like you had something to prove. I'm
Speaker 1: with you as well. I've enjoyed the fact that Tobias
Speaker 1: has a list of names that he's coming for. I
Speaker 1: think that it's been an interesting spite motivator, and I'm
Speaker 1: all about motivation. Hey, whatever you need to do. Ten
Speaker 1: seasons in this league, long season's, short seasons, condense season,
Speaker 1: spread out seasons, He's been through a lot. If that
Speaker 1: works for you, by all means, Tobias, go get him,
Speaker 1: prove him wrong. He's been doing it all year long,
Speaker 1: and I've appreciated it. Let's run a couple numbers here.
Speaker 1: Tobias's average for the season as of Monday, nineteen and
Speaker 1: a half points in thirty two and a half minutes
Speaker 1: per game, shooting just over fifty one and a half percent.
Speaker 1: That is a career high shooting over forty percent from three.
Speaker 1: This is the second time for a full season is
Speaker 1: his career that he's shot better than forty percent from three,
Speaker 1: nearly ninety percent from the free throw and he's just
Speaker 1: a bid over eighty nine right now. That is also
Speaker 1: a career high. And he's been doing great. Three point
Speaker 1: six assists, that's the best in his career. And also
Speaker 1: he's tying a career high with point nine steals per game,
Speaker 1: so just about a steal per game. But I think
Speaker 1: right numbers are one thing. You can look at that
Speaker 1: and they're really impressive. He's bidding for a potential twenty
Speaker 1: fifty forty ninety split season, which would be insane. But
Speaker 1: the eye test, I think is probably the most instructive
Speaker 1: here long. You can just look at him and where
Speaker 1: he's shown up in games, what he's done on the
Speaker 1: defensive end of the floor, some matchups he's excelled in.
Speaker 1: It's just been an all around awesome year for should
Speaker 1: have been an all start Tobias Harris and all of
Speaker 1: that without mentioning the fact that he is an excellent
Speaker 1: leader that does a really good job of taking young
Speaker 1: players and let's say mid veteran players alike under his wing,
Speaker 1: making sure they feel comfortable, making sure they understand the system.
Speaker 1: We heard in training camp that he was the Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers translator, helping guys get up to speed with Doc's style.
Speaker 1: We knew from the moment he got to Philadelphia that
Speaker 1: he was a big influence on young players. We saw
Speaker 1: it with Mattise Bible last season, We've seen it with
Speaker 1: Tyres Maxie this season. It's been a pleasure to watch
Speaker 1: him as a leader, and I think that this season,
Speaker 1: adding Danny Green, adding Dwight Howard, now adding George Hill,
Speaker 1: there are other leadership voices in the locker room. He
Speaker 1: doesn't have to take it on all by himself, and
Speaker 1: it means that we've gotten to see him have a
Speaker 1: little bit more fun with leadership. You see him cracking
Speaker 1: more jokes, you see him smiling during warmups. There's more
Speaker 1: joy coming from Tobias, and I think a joyous leader
Speaker 1: in Tobias is something that we maybe haven't quite seen
Speaker 1: yet because he takes his job so seriously and he
Speaker 1: should be commended for that. It's been cool to see
Speaker 1: him settle in and be comfortable and there's just a
Speaker 1: lot of joy there. And I really enjoyed watching that.
Speaker 1: I couldn't agree with you more. You can tell that
Speaker 1: he's found a great way to balance the serious side
Speaker 1: of things and in terms of just being able to
Speaker 1: continue wearing that leadership mantle, but he's also done a
Speaker 1: great job of mixing it up a little bit and
Speaker 1: having fun. When you dig deeper, Lauren, into some of
Speaker 1: these numbers, when you get into some of the quote
Speaker 1: unquote advanced metrics, that's when it reveals itself just how
Speaker 1: good of a season Tobias is having. And you can
Speaker 1: make the case that even though he's not averaging the
Speaker 1: highest point totally has in his career, that he's having
Speaker 1: the most efficient season of his career. His true shooting
Speaker 1: percentage is over sixty percent, his net rating personal net
Speaker 1: rating is in double figures right around there. So he's
Speaker 1: just been such a complete player this season and so
Speaker 1: much fun to watch. Our mail bag question who has
Speaker 1: exceeded expectations this season? A letter eleven on Instagram says,
Speaker 1: Tobias after a down year last year, he's been outstanding.
Speaker 1: Actually down the stretch, I think last year he had
Speaker 1: an okay season, a pretty good season in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I feel like That's what a lot of people were
Speaker 1: clinging onto that it was a tough playoffs, just like
Speaker 1: it was for the entire team, that Tobias ended the
Speaker 1: season on a tough note. But the one thing that
Speaker 1: A Letter eleven points out that, especially down the stretch,
Speaker 1: Tobias has been great. He has proven, like you said,
Speaker 1: Lauren a few minutes ago, to be a bona fide closer.
Speaker 1: Just look at what he did most recently in that
Speaker 1: Pelicans game, two go ahead baskets and the eventual game
Speaker 1: winner on the corner three to clinch the game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I know I say it a lot on this program,
Speaker 1: on our pregame show seven six Live, but it's something
Speaker 1: that he's expressed he's wanted to be able to do
Speaker 1: since he got to the seventy six ers now over
Speaker 1: two years ago. He's wanted to be that guy. He's
Speaker 1: set the bar for himself and he's finally reaching it.
Speaker 1: On a regular basis. You feel really comfortable with the
Speaker 1: ball in Tobias's hand late in games, and that's on
Speaker 1: a team that has Ben Simmons, has Joel Embiid, has
Speaker 1: some really good options. Danny Green has been great late
Speaker 1: in games for this team. But for Tobias to be
Speaker 1: a primary, secondary, third option in a late in game scenario,
Speaker 1: game on the line, you just trust him and that's
Speaker 1: what he's wanted and that's what he's accomplished. So all
Speaker 1: the credit to him for becoming that guy. For seventy
Speaker 1: sixers who play heavy minutes. The plus minus for Tobias
Speaker 1: and fourth quarters this season is second, just behind Shake
Speaker 1: Milton by a tenth of a point. Tobias behind Joel
Speaker 1: second on the Sixers and scoring in the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: averaging five and a half fourth quarter points per game.
Speaker 1: He's shooting fifty one and a half percent in fourth quarters.
Speaker 1: His three point percentage amazing, nearly fifty four percent. He's
Speaker 1: gotten to the line of bits, so he has been
Speaker 1: someone who has looked right at home taking big shots
Speaker 1: and also making them. I was just trying to think,
Speaker 1: Lauren and do an inventory of big fourth quarter games
Speaker 1: for Tobias. Obviously the winner against the Lakers. The Pelicans
Speaker 1: game was big early in the season. I kind of
Speaker 1: remember Boston, he showed up late the first might have
Speaker 1: been the first home game against Boston. I was trying
Speaker 1: to kick kick my brain. I mean, I'll pull up
Speaker 1: I'll pull up some metrics for the next pod, but
Speaker 1: I know for a fact as someone that does postgame recap, right,
Speaker 1: there have been a lot of times this season where
Speaker 1: the team scores ten, twelve, twenty four points in the
Speaker 1: final period and Tobias scores a majority of the team's
Speaker 1: points in the final period. I've written it a bunch
Speaker 1: of times, so I can go and find exactly when.
Speaker 1: But it's very common that he is upping or even
Speaker 1: if he has a slower start, he's upping his productivity
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. He's not maintaining what he's doing,
Speaker 1: He's doing more, and I think that that's really impressive
Speaker 1: and worth a shoutout and worth better statistics than what
Speaker 1: I was able to give you just now. I think
Speaker 1: Nick's game. In Nick's home game, I feel like he
Speaker 1: had a couple of big shots. Like bottom line is,
Speaker 1: we've seen enough to know in our gut, and then
Speaker 1: also citing some evidence, Tobias Harris has been big in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter and I think that bodeswell. Can't wait
Speaker 1: to see how that translates to the playoff. The Knicks
Speaker 1: home game was the I'm in All Star game. Yes,
Speaker 1: that's right, of course, and yes he was elite in
Speaker 1: that one down the stretch. How could we forget the
Speaker 1: meme now scene round the social world. He deserved it.
Speaker 1: Should have been an All Star next season, Yes, the
Speaker 1: season before the season I underscore Justin, I says, by
Speaker 1: far to Bias, is the sixer who has exceeded my
Speaker 1: expectations the most. He's become one of the most consistent
Speaker 1: and efficient players in the league, no doubts. Moving on,
Speaker 1: you have one new message, Jason underscore two hundred. Who
Speaker 1: has been the Sixer who's exceeded your expectations the most?
Speaker 1: I think, Well, I'll just say Joel Embiid was Jason's answer,
Speaker 1: having an MVP level year and helping his team to
Speaker 1: be a top five team in the NBA right now.
Speaker 1: I think that of all the players in the Sixers roster,
Speaker 1: the bar was set the highest by Joel coming into
Speaker 1: this season. But he has, to his credit, played at
Speaker 1: such a high level that I think Joel is a
Speaker 1: very fair answer for this. Joel can totally be an answer.
Speaker 1: I guess maybe the spirit of the question was thinking
Speaker 1: of some of the maybe non Joel, anyone but Joel.
Speaker 1: But I think Joel's a fair answer, because he's been
Speaker 1: so good well, and the more I think about it
Speaker 1: selfs the more I feel like there aren't many wrong answers.
Speaker 1: I think there are seven, eight nine players that could
Speaker 1: be correct answers to this question, and those that I
Speaker 1: didn't mention have also been very good. I mean, this
Speaker 1: is a team that's been holding down the one seed
Speaker 1: for the majority of this season. Whether or not they've
Speaker 1: gotten credit for that fact is up to other people,
Speaker 1: not up to us. But Joel, of course, has been
Speaker 1: the leader of it all. We knew that he had
Speaker 1: the potential to be this good. I don't know that
Speaker 1: people expected him to actually reach this level and then
Speaker 1: maintain it for a whole season, but he absolutely has
Speaker 1: so to me, I think the sustained productivity, the sustained
Speaker 1: MVP level play. We've seen flashes of excellence from Joel
Speaker 1: throughout his entire career, but being able to see him
Speaker 1: string an entire season together where he's been the good
Speaker 1: has been a pleasure, and I understand how that could
Speaker 1: exceed expectations just because of how long the streak has lasted,
Speaker 1: and he's not showing any signs of slowing down. It's interesting, Lauren,
Speaker 1: where last week when the winning streak started, there were
Speaker 1: a handful of games that you could look at and say,
Speaker 1: wasn't it awesome to see some other guys, with the
Speaker 1: exception of Joel, be the dominant primary forces in a game.
Speaker 1: And it's funny how we can talk about Let's say
Speaker 1: Joel having a seventeen seven and three block game against
Speaker 1: Atlanta is being pedestrian for him, or eighteen and six
Speaker 1: in the second game against Atlanta and say that's pedestrian.
Speaker 1: But the last three games, he scored one hundred points
Speaker 1: in eighty one minutes. That's nearly a point and a
Speaker 1: quarter per minute, and he has come back with inventions.
Speaker 1: Just to re mind everyone if they're contemplating talking about
Speaker 1: media members in the NBA who they're going to vote for,
Speaker 1: just how dominance and much of a force he can be.
Speaker 1: He's been awesome the last three games. Well, it's been interesting,
Speaker 1: Cells because his only complaint is that he hasn't been
Speaker 1: required to play more minutes. He hasn't needed to be
Speaker 1: out there long term in these lopsided victories. And I
Speaker 1: think if that's what you're complaining about, you're probably in
Speaker 1: pretty good shape. And as you said, the per minute
Speaker 1: numbers that he's been able to put up in the
Speaker 1: time that he has been a useful person on the
Speaker 1: court is certainly worth a little bit of praise. As
Speaker 1: of Monday, the player Impact Estimate rankings according to stats
Speaker 1: dot NBA dot com go as follows Joel Embiid right
Speaker 1: at the top twenty point eight, Nicola Yokich at nineteen
Speaker 1: point nine, Janis at nineteen point seven. So some good
Speaker 1: stuff right there. Joel the highest impact player in the league,
Speaker 1: and it's worth noting that he's the highest impact player
Speaker 1: on the best team of those that you listed, So
Speaker 1: let's just throw that out there. Yes, I think that
Speaker 1: is a great point. It is time to go to
Speaker 1: to the podline for the first time on the program.
Speaker 1: You have one new message. Hi, the question I had
Speaker 1: about a player exceeding their's expectations, it's real simple. It's
Speaker 1: Dwight Howard at the start of the season, and everybody
Speaker 1: worry about what type of players we get when we
Speaker 1: get the White Howard after we left Orlando, or will
Speaker 1: we get to Dwight Howard at the beginning of his
Speaker 1: career in Orlando. Well, we got a little bit of
Speaker 1: both this year and Thankfully we got a backup center
Speaker 1: that we could trust to help help Joe well during
Speaker 1: the season. He may have been the biggest acquisition so
Speaker 1: far of the year. Thanks Hi. I don't disagree with
Speaker 1: that lofty praise for Dwight Howard because what's been a
Speaker 1: theme that's recurred, unfortunately for the Sixers the past couple
Speaker 1: of seasons when they've gotten the playoffs. Who's backing up
Speaker 1: to L and B. To take nothing away from previous
Speaker 1: guys who are here, but Dwight has been playing at
Speaker 1: a different level than what the seventy Sixers had before,
Speaker 1: coming off one of his best and most productive games
Speaker 1: of the season again it's Detroit on Saturday with nineteen
Speaker 1: and fourteen. He has really turned it on Laine during
Speaker 1: the eight game win streak. The Dwight Howard experience has
Speaker 1: been nothing short of amazing. It's been really cool to
Speaker 1: watch him, obviously playing, like you said, playing some of
Speaker 1: the best basketball of his season, if not, let's say
Speaker 1: the latter half of his career. This maybe is the
Speaker 1: best basketball he's played during that sort of second act.
Speaker 1: He's been wonderful. He is You just feel really comfortable
Speaker 1: with him now backing Joel up no shade, of course
Speaker 1: to the likes of Greg Monroe, but that was the
Speaker 1: last time the Sixers had a long playoff run, and
Speaker 1: he was relied upon pretty heavily in that run. I
Speaker 1: take Dwight Howard happily as my option heading into this playoffs,
Speaker 1: and that's all without talking about the vibes, the leadership,
Speaker 1: the joy that he brings to the court every day
Speaker 1: that by all accounts, he brings to practice with this
Speaker 1: team every day. He's a source of light, of fun,
Speaker 1: and it's been really really cool to watch him make
Speaker 1: this team his own, coming off the heels of a
Speaker 1: really strenuous season in LA. He's just he's done everything
Speaker 1: asked of him and more, and I think it's been
Speaker 1: really cool to watch. He has looked as fresh as
Speaker 1: fresh could be for a guy who's thirty five and one.
Speaker 1: On that deep run last year, Nick underscore Buck zero two,
Speaker 1: zero five says Dwight's been in near prime form. Pe
Speaker 1: McCarthy seventy two says Dwight Howard's exceeded my expectations the most.
Speaker 1: A rebounding machine whose enthusiasm for the game is infectious. Vibes.
Speaker 1: Do you have a favorite Dwight Vibe moment this year,
Speaker 1: Lauren oh Man put me on the spot, why don't
Speaker 1: you think? I think for me, it has to be
Speaker 1: the early season that by all accounts was was shut
Speaker 1: down because they were working too hard. But Dwight coming
Speaker 1: out with the young guys to shoot postgame early in
Speaker 1: the year when he could have been exhausted from the
Speaker 1: season prior. He's taken all the young fellas under his wing.
Speaker 1: He's taken Ben Simmons under his wing, and seeing them
Speaker 1: put in an extra time together, especially working on parts
Speaker 1: of his game that Dwight at least doesn't really need
Speaker 1: to be working on, to be putting an extra time
Speaker 1: shooting and then just being with those guys. I know
Speaker 1: that that might not be like a specific Vibes moment,
Speaker 1: but I think it's set the tone for what was
Speaker 1: to come. And now you see young players really warming
Speaker 1: up to Dwight, and I think it's because of the
Speaker 1: tone he set early. Dwight doesn't have to be out
Speaker 1: there shooting around postgame, but he was doing it for
Speaker 1: those young guys, and I think that that left a
Speaker 1: lasting impact. More in the mail bag about who you
Speaker 1: think has exceeded expectations this season. You have one new message.
Speaker 1: You got a run on Matise Thible submissions. Nick Man
Speaker 1: twelve says, Matise for sure, his defense took a big
Speaker 1: jump and his elite doesn't commit fouls as often this season.
Speaker 1: Matisse is one of the most exciting players to watch,
Speaker 1: and it's all because of his defense. I feel that
Speaker 1: one hundred percent. I think people might have been a
Speaker 1: little concerned about Matisse's ability to grow off of where
Speaker 1: he started, not just because he started on such a
Speaker 1: high note in his first season, but because he now
Speaker 1: appears on opposing team scouting reports. Now people have to
Speaker 1: look out for him. He's not just this quirky rookie
Speaker 1: that comes in and reaks a little bit of havoc
Speaker 1: and then goes back to the bench. He's someone that
Speaker 1: they have to prepare for. And the fact that he's
Speaker 1: improved despite the fact that teams are ready for him,
Speaker 1: that might be the most impressive thing of all for me.
Speaker 1: When it comes to Mattie's season, I just don't understand
Speaker 1: and maybe it's a testament to how good he is,
Speaker 1: but it still seems even in the game against Detroit
Speaker 1: over the weekend, that teams aren't ready for him? How
Speaker 1: can he not be a focal point if you're scouting report,
Speaker 1: I think he has to be. Well, the question might be,
Speaker 1: how ready can you be for someone that's that good
Speaker 1: at what he does? How much can you prepare for it?
Speaker 1: If you don't have someone on your team that you
Speaker 1: can run a simulation with of Matisse's bibel defensive practice,
Speaker 1: you can't really prepare for it. Because of how unique
Speaker 1: he is. And of course this is a stat that
Speaker 1: we've been throwing around a lot this week. Matis now
Speaker 1: third overall in steals, behind only TJ McConnell and Jimmy Butler.
Speaker 1: Matise has one hundred and five steals this season, but
Speaker 1: he's played about four hundred fewer minutes than either of
Speaker 1: those guys. So the fact that he's hanging at the
Speaker 1: top of this list playing about twenty minutes a game
Speaker 1: continues to be incredibly impressive. Look no further than his
Speaker 1: per thirty six numbers, his per minute numbers, because he's
Speaker 1: leading the league in about all of the categories that
Speaker 1: he prides himself in. It's just been it's been a
Speaker 1: pleasure to watch. Bernie Ticeto on Instagram says matise first
Speaker 1: team All Defense, Thible, do we think first defense first
Speaker 1: team defense is going to happen. I feel like that
Speaker 1: might be a little bit of a stretch, but I
Speaker 1: do think all defense is not outside the realm of possibilities.
Speaker 1: I really do think that he could make those teams,
Speaker 1: and I think that if he doesn't, it's only going
Speaker 1: to be because of minutes, and I don't think that
Speaker 1: that's fair based on what we just discussed. I don't
Speaker 1: always listen to Bill Simmons podcast, but I did happen
Speaker 1: to listen to it this morning, and they were talking
Speaker 1: about Jimmy Butler's defense, and Bill Simmons, who has been
Speaker 1: in these conversations for years and years, so I'm willing
Speaker 1: to listen to his takes there, said that Jimmy Butler
Speaker 1: might be the third best perimeter defender in this league,
Speaker 1: behind only Simmons and Thible, and Bill Simmons, who watches
Speaker 1: the whole league, did mention that, and I did think
Speaker 1: that that was an interesting shout out for the two
Speaker 1: of them to get. And I do think it would
Speaker 1: be pretty cool for the Sixers to have at least
Speaker 1: two people on that first team All Defense. But my
Speaker 1: hope is that they'll have three between the two teams,
Speaker 1: and I do think that that's justified and reasonable. And
Speaker 1: I think, listen, if Matis can somehow break through for
Speaker 1: any one of the teams in his second season, I
Speaker 1: think that that is still a really impressive accomplishment given
Speaker 1: the minutes that he plays and that he is at
Speaker 1: this stage of his career. He's elite. He's a defensive specialist,
Speaker 1: and I mean that's what should be rewarded for those
Speaker 1: teams recognizing defense and defense alone. I think there's obviously
Speaker 1: some perennial names that appear on those lists at positions
Speaker 1: that Matisse plays that could make it certainly not impossible
Speaker 1: at all, but a challenge to break in. So I
Speaker 1: think that if you were to break in, which I
Speaker 1: do believe he will, there's something we said for that.
Speaker 1: I really do. I think that I think he plays
Speaker 1: first team level defense. But even if he does not
Speaker 1: get first team, that has nothing to turn your nose
Speaker 1: up at whatsoever. I figured I had to read this
Speaker 1: one right. Our social media coordinator Ali Pinter says Batist
Speaker 1: Stebel has exceeded my expectations. High Seltz and Lauren, there
Speaker 1: you go, thanks Ali for coming into the mailbag. You know,
Speaker 1: I love to see my six years ladies in the mailbag.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, I agree, there's there's no way
Speaker 1: around it. And Seltzi raised an interesting point the fact
Speaker 1: that he's already in the conversation for an All defensive
Speaker 1: team in just his second season, and we're seeing him
Speaker 1: continue to improve. So if he's already All defense worthy
Speaker 1: as a second year player, just imagine how much better
Speaker 1: he can continue to grow and how much is still
Speaker 1: there for him to develop. When you look at the
Speaker 1: blocked jump shots, I think is maybe the biggest area
Speaker 1: that this season has really become an item of finesse
Speaker 1: and an item of efficiency. Last season, he was getting
Speaker 1: fouled a lot, or he was fouling a lot trying
Speaker 1: to block jump shots, and this season it's he almost
Speaker 1: never fouls, it's almost always all ball, and it's almost
Speaker 1: every game. And so I think when we see him
Speaker 1: start to unlock even more levels to defensive game and
Speaker 1: his offensive game, he's only going to continue to get better.
Speaker 1: And it's been awesome to watch, good to see. Lots
Speaker 1: of deserved love for Matisse. Thybal you have one new
Speaker 1: message which seventy six or our mail bad question, has
Speaker 1: exceeded your expectation. I like, I love it when people
Speaker 1: zag a little bit. I always appreciate some zags. Stolt's fuss,
Speaker 1: Collins says Doc Rivers. Doc Rivers has exceeded expectations. Kevin
Speaker 1: Underscore has underscore Friends says Doc Rivers. The talent was
Speaker 1: always there, but he made embid and our team a condenser.
Speaker 1: I think Doc Rivers deserves the shout outs, of course.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, there were a lot of changes in
Speaker 1: the postseason, I think, and I don't want to misquote
Speaker 1: Daryl Morey, so I'm hoping that my memory is serving
Speaker 1: me correctly. But he did say that Doc Rivers could
Speaker 1: have been the team's most exciting offseason acquisition. That was
Speaker 1: something that was said right and that held up not
Speaker 1: his because some people said it was Darryl's acquisition, but
Speaker 1: Doc he came before Daryl, so Darrel, I think he
Speaker 1: quickly on his timeline said listen, that was a before
Speaker 1: me acquisition. So I'm not going to take credit for that.
Speaker 1: But he did say that he felt that it was
Speaker 1: the biggest acquisition, right, Okay, good. I just want to
Speaker 1: make sure my memory was serving me correctly. Cool to
Speaker 1: see that both of them came in and were able
Speaker 1: to make some really actionable and successful decisions, really really
Speaker 1: early on. So much change in the off season, but
Speaker 1: by all accounts thus far, they've all been pretty good decisions,
Speaker 1: and the system that's been put in place is working.
Speaker 1: So Doc Rivers of course gets a ton of credit
Speaker 1: for that. Kept it simple and effective. That's not to
Speaker 1: say that there aren't subtleties and sophistications within that, but
Speaker 1: in terms of the ask of players, I think it's
Speaker 1: been very straightforward. Joe, get down there and do your
Speaker 1: thing if you're single covered, but if you're double teamed,
Speaker 1: let's see what else is out there. He's becoming better passer.
Speaker 1: Joel has tobias. We talked about Ben Simmons really trying
Speaker 1: to channel Ben in the mindset of be a force,
Speaker 1: be aggressive, get downhill, and then let Ben do his
Speaker 1: thing defensively. I think he is Simples might not have
Speaker 1: been the right word. I think streamlining things and keeping
Speaker 1: it straightforward and finding the best ways to use guys
Speaker 1: definitely has been a strength of Doc Rivers. Without doubt.
Speaker 1: All right, let's try and get one more in here.
Speaker 1: From the mail bag, Callie Stack twenty one says, Beebaal
Speaker 1: Paul has exceeded expectations. I like that answer. I like
Speaker 1: that answer, Beeball Paul. Of course, the sixers third and
Speaker 1: final pick in this year's draft, you don't necessarily know
Speaker 1: what you're going to get from guys in that area.
Speaker 1: Daryl Morey called him quirky, like we weren't exactly sure
Speaker 1: what we were getting here. And the Beeball Paul experience
Speaker 1: has been another tremendous one. It's been really cool to
Speaker 1: see him grow in the limited opportunities as well that
Speaker 1: he was able to get. Of course, exceeded expectations in
Speaker 1: the Gubble, getting Rookie of the Year and MVP, so
Speaker 1: that must have been good for his confidence. And then
Speaker 1: to see him bring some of those skills that he
Speaker 1: developed there back to the team over the last couple
Speaker 1: of months has been really cool to see. Yeah, when
Speaker 1: he's gotten into games for the seventy Sixers, he's made
Speaker 1: effective use of his minutes. Sometimes he had ten and
Speaker 1: nine against Okac in the game that started this winning
Speaker 1: streak for the seventy sixers. So right, I think that
Speaker 1: there was a lot of reason based on what we
Speaker 1: saw in the preseason that things were quirky about him
Speaker 1: at times mine looked a little bit herky jerky, or
Speaker 1: that the game looked like it was moving at a
Speaker 1: very fast pace for him. But to his credit, he's
Speaker 1: used this season to get into a comfort level, a
Speaker 1: rhythm and a groove, and you can see undoubted potential
Speaker 1: surrounding Beeball Paul Paul Reid. So yes, a worthy, a
Speaker 1: worthy name to come up and we're talking about seventy
Speaker 1: sixers who've exceeded expectations. Oh, Lauren, I also I almost
Speaker 1: forgot this, but I think we have to include a
Speaker 1: voicemail when it is as wholesome and feel good as this.
Speaker 1: You have one new message. Hi, This is Shawnny from
Speaker 1: the block once in my first game to pass Friday
Speaker 1: and maybe a little close for comfort, but I have
Speaker 1: to say it was so electric in the center in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter, just based on Tobias Harris alone coming
Speaker 1: in clutch, hitting those threes. He's just been so amazing
Speaker 1: in clutch for us in the fourth quarter. Love to
Speaker 1: hear that fans having a great time back of the building.
Speaker 1: It's been awesome to have their energy back in the building.
Speaker 1: It's really interesting. As some of you guys know, I'm
Speaker 1: from Houston and I no shade to the Rockets organization,
Speaker 1: but they don't bring in fans the way that the
Speaker 1: Sixers are able to over and over and over again.
Speaker 1: And honestly, even at this limited capacity, the last couple
Speaker 1: of games have been louder than any Rockets game. I
Speaker 1: went to pre pandemic. That was my immediate tap feeling
Speaker 1: the energy and the vibes that the fans are injecting
Speaker 1: into the situation. Again, no shade to the Rockets organization,
Speaker 1: that's just my background. This is all the credit in
Speaker 1: the world to the Philly fans that are coming into
Speaker 1: the building, that are creating the atmosphere that they're creating.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. I know the team appreciates it. It's
Speaker 1: been a lot of fun to have them back. Huge
Speaker 1: shout out to our man Derek Hay's behind the scenes
Speaker 1: running game presentation for the seventy Sixers, Ryan Colletti, Christian Crosby,
Speaker 1: Archie Antoine Sixers E n T. Great vibes down there.
Speaker 1: The capacity went up by almost a thousand over the weekend,
Speaker 1: so nice to see a handful of fans in there
Speaker 1: and making it loud and bringing some good energy in there.
Speaker 1: Glad Shawnee from the block was able to experience that.
Speaker 1: And before we go just there were a couple more
Speaker 1: names that came up in our submissions for who else
Speaker 1: exceeded expectations that I also nearly forgot to highlight, but
Speaker 1: I think it's worth mentioning. Danny Green and Tyrese Maxie
Speaker 1: also both got a lot of love on the submissions
Speaker 1: for this week. I think Danny he's been really, really awesome,
Speaker 1: especially since the All Star Game break. He's shooting over
Speaker 1: forty percent from three point territory for the first time
Speaker 1: in two years. His three point production is as prolific
Speaker 1: talking about on a per game basis as it's been
Speaker 1: in a couple of seasons, ties a career high, matching
Speaker 1: what he did with the Toronto Raptors in their championship
Speaker 1: season in twenty eighteen nineteen. So Danny's been great. Danny
Speaker 1: has been great. Another one that's provided almost as much
Speaker 1: off the court as he has on the court, if
Speaker 1: not more. And then my only honorable mention I wanted
Speaker 1: to throw in was just to make sure Ben Simmons
Speaker 1: got a shout out somewhere on this podcast because of
Speaker 1: his play on the defensive end. We knew he was
Speaker 1: an excellent defender. I don't know if we knew that
Speaker 1: he was what seems like he should be a no
Speaker 1: doubt defensive player of the year this early in his career.
Speaker 1: Really cool to see him unlock that side or rather,
Speaker 1: should we say, really lock down that side of his game. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and then Tyrese Maxie when last we saw him twenty
Speaker 1: two points, second highest total of the season for him
Speaker 1: as a rookie. He also had five rebounds, four assists,
Speaker 1: had seven assists his game before that at Houston with
Speaker 1: a dozen points. So really, Lauren, looking back, he in
Speaker 1: I believe it's nine out of his last eleven appearances
Speaker 1: he has scored in double figures. So Tyrese finding his
Speaker 1: place as this season has moved along. Yeah, no doubt
Speaker 1: and cool to see Joel give Tyrese a lot of
Speaker 1: credit following that game talking about how impressed he's been
Speaker 1: with him all season and how much he thinks that
Speaker 1: Tyrese is going to continue to grow and deserves to
Speaker 1: be playing. We said it at the top of the pod.
Speaker 1: Could be a lot of candidates for seventy six ers
Speaker 1: who have exceeded expectations this season. A lot of good responses,
Speaker 1: a lot of valid names. Great year, a great season.
Speaker 1: Does that, agreed Salts. This was a fun one to do, Lauren.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much, appreciate its s and thank you
Speaker 1: to everyone out there who submitted responses on Instagram, Twitter
Speaker 1: and the voicemails voicemail callers. If we played your voicemail
Speaker 1: beyond the lookout in a couple of days, we will
Speaker 1: get in touch. And if there's any other voicemail callers
Speaker 1: who in recent weeks have not heard from us. Here's
Speaker 1: how it works. I go into the office to make
Speaker 1: these shipments about once every three to four weeks. I
Speaker 1: usually get in touch with people right before I go in,
Speaker 1: so it's the first thing in my emails and my
Speaker 1: texts or dms, so I don't have to sift and
Speaker 1: filter through everything. So if you've not yet heard from
Speaker 1: either me or Larn, do not worry. We keep copious
Speaker 1: notes about who calls because we do love and appreciate
Speaker 1: the voicemails, and we will be getting in touch with
Speaker 1: you soon. One more very final shout out. I feel
Speaker 1: I've been so shout out happy. This week, we got
Speaker 1: to do it our guy, Christian Crosby. He is performing
Speaker 1: the track you Hear under Us, written sung, produced by
Speaker 1: Christian Crosby. It is called Scrong. Search Christian wherever you
Speaker 1: stream or get your music these days, Apple, Spotify, wherever.
Speaker 1: He's a man of infinite talents. He is your entering,
Speaker 1: a seventy six ers host and budding musician extraordinaire. So
Speaker 1: strong than you, Christian, for our music. We'll talk to
Speaker 1: you next week. See you, m h m m m