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: abrupt stoppage of the NBA season left plenty of cliffhangers,
Speaker 1: and for the seventy Sixers, perhaps none was bigger than
Speaker 1: the fate of Ben Simmons and whether or not he
Speaker 1: would ultimately be able to help the team in its
Speaker 1: quest for a championship in twenty twenty. Ben Simmons looked
Speaker 1: like he is in a little bit of discomfort right
Speaker 1: now and he's going to be looked at by the
Speaker 1: team's athletic training staff, will get into the tunnel. Before
Speaker 1: being sidelined in that game Milwaukee, Simmons was enjoying the
Speaker 1: best all around season of his young career. As timing
Speaker 1: would have it, the Aussie gave a promising update about
Speaker 1: how he was feeling just hours before the Sixers took
Speaker 1: the floor for the final time before the hiatus. I
Speaker 1: have no pain. I feel very strong. You know everything
Speaker 1: going on right now. I feel got very confident. The
Speaker 1: suspension of the NBA season has totally reset the timeline
Speaker 1: for Simmons or turn to play and also has given
Speaker 1: the superstar chance to use his platform to do good.
Speaker 1: Based on the sounds of quarantine, Simmons seems pretty exciting.
Speaker 1: The one thing I need to say to get ready
Speaker 1: because once the season started back up with coming Back Straw,
Speaker 1: this is Posted Up with Ben Simmons. Welcome to the
Speaker 1: latest installment of Post It Up, a mini cast series
Speaker 1: here on the broadcast checking in on the seventy Sixers
Speaker 1: during the hiatus. Last we saw the Sixers, we didn't
Speaker 1: see Ben Simmons, at least in uniform. He was rehabbing
Speaker 1: a nerve and pingement in his back which he suffered
Speaker 1: in the Sixers February twenty second visit to the Box.
Speaker 1: So when we had the chance to connect with Simmons
Speaker 1: a few weeks ago, the first question we had to
Speaker 1: ask was obvious, how are you feeling. I'm good, I'm
Speaker 1: doing well, stay staying busy. Indeed he has been. Not
Speaker 1: only is Simmons continuing his training during the NBA suspension,
Speaker 1: he's also had some significant life changes. The twenty three
Speaker 1: year old recently moved and he's also welcome to new
Speaker 1: fur covered member to his family. That's been a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of my time with my dogs. Actually
Speaker 1: just got a new puppy, so that's given me by
Speaker 1: At the time we spoke, Ben hadn't yet settled on
Speaker 1: a name for a second dog. We do know it's
Speaker 1: a type of Italian mastiff and it's a sheet His
Speaker 1: other dog is a one hundred forty pound cane Corso
Speaker 1: Bain Maximos. What else has Simmons been up to? I
Speaker 1: played video games and work out, and I watched a
Speaker 1: lot of old games and footage. In terms of Simmons'
Speaker 1: own tape this season, there has been plenty to like.
Speaker 1: He continued to be the master of his offensive domain,
Speaker 1: a paint driver, post up powerhouse, cracking out over thirteen
Speaker 1: points in the lane per game, a major slam by Simmons. Simmons,
Speaker 1: of course, is a gifted facilitator. We know that he
Speaker 1: racked among the top five in the league and assists
Speaker 1: at the time of the hiatus. This year. He's also
Speaker 1: shown signs of improvement from the foulne and most notably
Speaker 1: of all, he was an enthusiastic all league caliber stopper
Speaker 1: from the jump of the season. His two point one
Speaker 1: steals per game remained at the top of the league,
Speaker 1: and a steel by Simmons scores at Ben Simmons the
Speaker 1: NBA later in steals with Joel Embiid in and out
Speaker 1: of the lineup for the Sixers. In the two months
Speaker 1: before the coronavirus outbreak, Simmons was at his peak the
Speaker 1: thirty four twelve twelve five Steel game at Brooklyn out
Speaker 1: that sis his big trip up by seven. Benny had
Speaker 1: Simmons scores it again. Simmons has got thirty four. They
Speaker 1: were also the back to back triple doubles he had
Speaker 1: had of his second straight All Star Game appearance. Simmons
Speaker 1: gets it. I'll actually say the lays it end. I'm
Speaker 1: pretty set up five ten Simmons. During simmons midwinter tear,
Speaker 1: there was one particular performance that stood out among the rest.
Speaker 1: Saturday night primetime spotlight on ABC, the league's biggest matchup
Speaker 1: of the week. South Philadelphia was the site, and Lebron
Speaker 1: James and the Los Angeles Lakers were in town, hooked
Speaker 1: away from behind by Simmons. I love Ben Simmons, who
Speaker 1: plays harder as a starter every night. Matt was a
Speaker 1: gushing Jeff Van Gundy on the ABC broadcast. In so
Speaker 1: many ways, that home game against the Lakers captured some
Speaker 1: of the best of Simmons in year three tone center, downhill,
Speaker 1: driving force, defensive, game changer leader. He had three steals
Speaker 1: in the first three minutes, all while guarding Lebron James.
Speaker 1: That's some impressive stuff, Ben and I look back on
Speaker 1: that night during our recent zoom chat. Personally, for me,
Speaker 1: he's going up against Lebrin every time I play. You know,
Speaker 1: I just want to compete at that level and try
Speaker 1: to that every night. So, you know, playing against a
Speaker 1: guy like that, you know, makes you step up, give
Speaker 1: it that little extra that you need, you know, in
Speaker 1: games like that, in situations like that, whenever you're competing
Speaker 1: against a great player or a team friend of you
Speaker 1: out there who might not remember the details from that
Speaker 1: January twenty fifth game. For as much as Simmons made
Speaker 1: his mark early with his defense, he left the last
Speaker 1: punishing impression in the second half. With his offense. Simmons
Speaker 1: exploded out of the gates in the third quarter. Then
Speaker 1: he proceeded to unleash more mean, mugging, rim attacking havoc
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter to clench the victors. Simmons with
Speaker 1: an outside right left hand dribble green right there, now,
Speaker 1: Ben turns the double goes in head lays it up
Speaker 1: pet god Bet Simmons on Danny Green he would not
Speaker 1: be denied, and the Sixers have built up a fourteen. Pointly,
Speaker 1: there's no better place to do something like that than
Speaker 1: the city of Philadelphia. That's what I missed the most,
Speaker 1: just playing in front of the fans. Honestly, that's so
Speaker 1: much fun, just, you know, having the support of Philadelphia
Speaker 1: and just playing a historic arena for a team like that.
Speaker 1: It's just incredible to me. Whether you're a franchise player
Speaker 1: or a season ticket member with seats at the top
Speaker 1: of Section two seventeen eight, Nostalgia is an understandable and
Speaker 1: relatable mood these days. Hearing Simmons speaks so affectionally, not
Speaker 1: just about seventy Sixers fans, but all of Philadelphia makes
Speaker 1: you pause for a moment and think about his relationship
Speaker 1: with the city. He's been here almost four years now,
Speaker 1: crazy right, and during this period no gesture has spoken
Speaker 1: to his commitment to the Delaware Valley more than the
Speaker 1: Philly Pledge. Simmons launched the nonprofit Social Awareness campaign shortly
Speaker 1: after COVID nineteen hit. I think it was just one
Speaker 1: of those things where I was just trying to see
Speaker 1: what I was able to do, what way I could help.
Speaker 1: So the Philly Pledge is set up based on pretty
Speaker 1: much easier for people to send their donations and make
Speaker 1: sure you know, things are going to the right places
Speaker 1: and the people of need. So the Philly Pledge is
Speaker 1: giving people the opportunities to do that and just you know,
Speaker 1: knowing it's the Philly Pledges is a part of this
Speaker 1: community and is going towards the right things for people
Speaker 1: is an amazing thing. Simmons rallied a slew of influencers
Speaker 1: with Philadelphia ties. Rheese Hoskins from the Phillies, Claude Drew
Speaker 1: from the Flyers, zach Ertz from the Eagles, his wife Julie,
Speaker 1: the accomplished soccer player. Simmons also got a handful of
Speaker 1: his teammates on board, as well as Julius Serving, Kevin
Speaker 1: Hard and Little Dicky. I'm glad there's a lot of
Speaker 1: people who joined onto the Pledge, which was great and
Speaker 1: it just shows, you know, a togetherness and that's how
Speaker 1: that's that's what Philly is. You know, since day when
Speaker 1: I've been here, Philadelphia embraced me and you know, I'm
Speaker 1: brace Philadelphia back in times of crisis. Simmons has acted
Speaker 1: quickly before, just as recently as January even it was
Speaker 1: around that time that wildfires swept throughout parts of Western
Speaker 1: Australia and other portions of the Australian coastline. Someone has
Speaker 1: to do it, you know, especially if you have the
Speaker 1: opportunity to do something to help people feed them, clothe,
Speaker 1: teach or whatever whatever people need, like the simple things
Speaker 1: in life that we take for granted a lot of
Speaker 1: the time. If we're able to give those back, it's
Speaker 1: it's huge, you know. It means a lot to people
Speaker 1: who are in need and who need, you know, certain
Speaker 1: things in their lives. Across the board, whether through words, actions,
Speaker 1: or how he was competing and conducting himself on the court,
Speaker 1: this season, Simmons showed evolution and growth. It's hard to
Speaker 1: just come into the against our leading. You kind of
Speaker 1: have to learn the ropes and figure a few things
Speaker 1: out before you can take a team a certain place
Speaker 1: on one and everybody to be on the same page.
Speaker 1: That comes with time. But I think my leadership has
Speaker 1: gotten a lot better. I think a lot of guys
Speaker 1: trust in me. It comes down to guy's expecting each
Speaker 1: other and listening to each other. How far could Simmons
Speaker 1: take the Sixers if you were able to finish out
Speaker 1: what's already been a career year at full strength. That's
Speaker 1: part of the story he's still hoping to write. I'm
Speaker 1: excited to get back. We're gonna be rolling against I'm
Speaker 1: looking forward to it. I can't wait to put in
Speaker 1: that jersey again, Philly. This has been posted up with
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons. Be sure to check out Lauren Rosen's article
Speaker 1: about Ben that's also part of our posted up Highest
Speaker 1: Content series, and if you missed our first installment last week,
Speaker 1: go back and check it out. It takes a look
Speaker 1: at Josh Richardson. Thanks to Lauren and Kristin Crosby for
Speaker 1: their help producing this episode. Next time we'll post up
Speaker 1: with Tobias Harris. We don't know if we're gonna be
Speaker 1: able to play in front of fans. If we can,
Speaker 1: that would be just amazing. If we can't, it would
Speaker 1: just be good to go out there and represent something
Speaker 1: that's ruined us. On from home from TV and I
Speaker 1: have a chance to win a championship. I'm Brian Seltzer.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. To be sure to search seventy six
Speaker 1: ers podcast Network for all your sixers podcasting needs wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podets. Before I get out of your hair,
Speaker 1: just one more thing I wanted to bring up. Novocare
Speaker 1: Rehabilitation is offering physical therapy from the comfort and safety
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Speaker 1: their services to you so you can heal, build strength,
Speaker 1: and get back to the things you love. Tell a
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Speaker 1: through web based technology that's hip A compliant. For more information,
Speaker 1: visit novacare dot com.