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: seventy Sixers had a challenging week. We sift through some
Speaker 1: of the things we saw, the bias, he's got a
Speaker 1: leg out everybody and he jams the ball, and now
Speaker 1: Mike Bootenholzer takes time out. We react to round two
Speaker 1: against the Bucks and break down what could be to
Speaker 1: come in round three. Here's Maxie in the name MAXI
Speaker 1: with the Night Poppa Gud, Tyrese, Maxie, Frida, Gavin Bucker
Speaker 1: and talk about some encouraging signs from a few guards
Speaker 1: off the bench, Tyrese, Maxie and George Hill. And speaking
Speaker 1: of George Hill, there's one of us here on the pod.
Speaker 1: Some people out there say he looks like all of that.
Speaker 1: On this week's Friday Deep Dive, Guys, I know what
Speaker 1: the reality is, but I have to ask, would it
Speaker 1: be too much for us to see some of these
Speaker 1: recent matchups with both teams at full strength. I don't
Speaker 1: mean to gripe or complain, but I want to see it.
Speaker 1: I felt like I had a tolerance and a threshold
Speaker 1: for it. The first couple of times I was like, Okay, Brooklyn,
Speaker 1: all right, Clippers, all right, this Eastern Conference stuff. I
Speaker 1: want to see it. I want to see it. I
Speaker 1: think it's hard when you get to the end of
Speaker 1: the season and you want to see good basketball, because
Speaker 1: I wonder sometimes how mutually exclusive end of season and
Speaker 1: good basketball are. I think obviously the Sixers took ownership
Speaker 1: over what's gone on these last three games, but I
Speaker 1: think you can't avoid the fact that games without Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons there's a huge hole. Games without Tobias Harris huge hole.
Speaker 1: Games on the second side of a back to back
Speaker 1: on the road against a rested team creates a hole.
Speaker 1: It just, yeah, it's been there's been a lot of
Speaker 1: build up for this period and then to not really
Speaker 1: get to see any of it at full strength on
Speaker 1: either side a bummer. A bummer, And what's the focus
Speaker 1: from either side when it comes to getting gearing up
Speaker 1: for the postseason? Knowing that for a majority of this
Speaker 1: year you've had people in another lineup, whether it was
Speaker 1: COVID related or just a simple injury illness, whatever it
Speaker 1: might be, the approach might be a little bit different
Speaker 1: for each game. And while as Lauren you just mentioned
Speaker 1: the second night of a back to back for your
Speaker 1: home team, and then the other team may be well rested,
Speaker 1: So there are a lot of different factors that play
Speaker 1: into it. I think I would have liked, YouTube would
Speaker 1: have liked to have seen them go up against someone
Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference at full strengths so you can
Speaker 1: get a better sense of who the teams are. But
Speaker 1: I guess we have to now wait until the postseason
Speaker 1: when they match up in the quarters, semis or Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference finals. I also want to make it totally clear.
Speaker 1: I get it. I tot it. If I were running
Speaker 1: a team, if I were a player and I saw
Speaker 1: some of the injuries as of late, it would be
Speaker 1: hard not to be a little bit spooked. Like it's
Speaker 1: crushing to see a Jamal Murray go down. Trey Young,
Speaker 1: thankfully for him, doesn't seem like it's a long term
Speaker 1: injury thing for Donovan Mitchell, I totally get it. I
Speaker 1: think it's just an unfortunate reality and dynamic of this season.
Speaker 1: I'm glad there's basketball first and foremost. I love that.
Speaker 1: I think this is just a first world problem of
Speaker 1: me complaining. I feel like I don't complain a lot.
Speaker 1: It's just longing and yearning for what could be. But
Speaker 1: the games have been entertaining for the most part still,
Speaker 1: It's not like there's been a lack of quality competitive games.
Speaker 1: I also think when it's your job to discuss what's
Speaker 1: going on and you don't get to discuss the storylines
Speaker 1: that are right there for you, you're more likely to
Speaker 1: have complaints. I think that's reasonable, But I do think
Speaker 1: we all agree sell to you alluded to it just now.
Speaker 1: The one seed doesn't mean a heck of a lot
Speaker 1: if you're not healthy. Neither does the two seed nor
Speaker 1: the three seed. And I think that all the teams
Speaker 1: that are currently jockeying or allegedly jockeying for that one
Speaker 1: seed would agree that health has got to be so
Speaker 1: much more important. And as long as the Sixers continue
Speaker 1: to prioritize that, I mean, you can't knock them for it.
Speaker 1: We take a look at the Bucks, and to me,
Speaker 1: this is such an intriguing team. I feel like they've
Speaker 1: been flying under the radar this season. Do you guys
Speaker 1: agree with that? Before we even get into anything else,
Speaker 1: they've kind of gone a little bit underdiscussed. Yeah, the
Speaker 1: storyline is not as exciting as the Brooklyn Nets, and
Speaker 1: they're three superstars that they have as symbol in Brooklyn
Speaker 1: and of course here in Philadelphia, with the fact that
Speaker 1: you have an MVP candidate and a team that surrounds
Speaker 1: him with an All NBA level player, all Star level player,
Speaker 1: and Ben Simmons and same for Tobias Harris, all Star
Speaker 1: caliber player and everyone else that's going around. New head coach.
Speaker 1: The storyline is just simply better with those two teams,
Speaker 1: and they've simply flied, flying under the radar, getting healthy
Speaker 1: and Drew Holiday also a new addition to their team,
Speaker 1: was out because of the COVID COVID nineteen and health
Speaker 1: and safety protocols, and now they're starting around in the form.
Speaker 1: So they've just quietly gone about their business and stayed
Speaker 1: within distance. As these last couple of weeks have become
Speaker 1: really really important with the seating well month really the
Speaker 1: last month that we have in front of US Milwaukee,
Speaker 1: you have to pay attention. They've had the best record
Speaker 1: in the East accomplish for the last two seasons. Seems
Speaker 1: like they've gotten better. Now how much better we'll find out.
Speaker 1: I do think that's part of why they've flown under
Speaker 1: the radar though right finishing at the top of the
Speaker 1: East the last couple of years, having the MVP the
Speaker 1: last couple of years, and then underperforming in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: It's something that the Sixers aren't a little bit unfamiliar
Speaker 1: with when you look at what they've accomplished in the
Speaker 1: regular season versus what they've accomplished in the postseason. I
Speaker 1: think maybe there's a little bit of regular season fatigue
Speaker 1: with the Bucks when it comes to national narrative and
Speaker 1: the way that people talk about different teams, and the
Speaker 1: Bucks probably like it that way. It's it's as Sixers
Speaker 1: fans and people within Sixers culture. No, it's not always
Speaker 1: great to have such high expectations, and I do think
Speaker 1: that the Bucks have been part of that mold for
Speaker 1: the last couple of years, and where they stand on
Speaker 1: the radar, as you said, Celts might be a result
Speaker 1: of that. Grip has made a great point after the
Speaker 1: game on Thursday, the seventy Sixers lost that one one
Speaker 1: twenty four, one seventeen. They've made it interesting down the
Speaker 1: stretch because of a lopsided fourth quarter after the Bucks
Speaker 1: blitz them right out of the gate, and Doc said
Speaker 1: that in a matchup against the Bucks, the absence of
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons defensively becomes even that much more glaring. And
Speaker 1: I would agree. So as far as how you interpret
Speaker 1: what the Sixers were able to do against the Bucks
Speaker 1: on Thursday, and who knows if Ben's going to play
Speaker 1: on Saturday, what to make of that, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think for me, very surface level, my takeaway from
Speaker 1: this two game series isn't even necessarily going to be
Speaker 1: who wins or who loses. It's going to be that
Speaker 1: the Bucks are a really good team. I think they're
Speaker 1: designed really well. I think they could present some matchup problems.
Speaker 1: They can really stretch the floor on offense. We saw
Speaker 1: that with what Brook Lopez did in the game on Thursday.
Speaker 1: And they've added some really really good pieces, and like
Speaker 1: Drew Holliday, he showed that even if he's not scoring
Speaker 1: a bunch, there's a lot of other stuff that you
Speaker 1: can do to impact the game. Absolutely, and I do
Speaker 1: think that they create some at least some intriguing matchup
Speaker 1: situations as far as the defensive assignments go. How much
Speaker 1: will the Sixers switch off and pass players to the
Speaker 1: next if Simmons is out there? How much of a
Speaker 1: difference does he make. I think he does make a
Speaker 1: huge difference. And we saw that Thursday night where maybe
Speaker 1: you would have liked to have seen him be on
Speaker 1: Jannis and instead sliding Ben Simmons over to brook Lopez,
Speaker 1: where you can close out a little harder. He's a
Speaker 1: little more under control, He's able to figure out different
Speaker 1: ways because brook Lopez is simply not going to put
Speaker 1: the ball on the floor. Ben Simmons is closing out
Speaker 1: on him. He's gonna now have to make a decision
Speaker 1: on where the ball is now going to be passed
Speaker 1: two or if he's gonna fire that shout up at all.
Speaker 1: So it is intriguing. I'm looking forward to now the
Speaker 1: adjustments that are made in Saturday's matchup Saturday afternoon. It's
Speaker 1: always tough to play a team the second time around
Speaker 1: the way that they shot the basketball. Can that be
Speaker 1: implicated because at the end of the day to six
Speaker 1: to shot the ball pretty well, it was the three
Speaker 1: point discrepancy that really hurt them in the long run.
Speaker 1: So how much of a difference to Simmons mate. Hopefully
Speaker 1: we found out on Saturday the offensive efficiency that the
Speaker 1: Bucks had in that game. Really it was insane. I
Speaker 1: mean they made the first shots. It was out of control,
Speaker 1: and I think that in the early going. Listen, when
Speaker 1: Jannis is out there, he's affecting a game because you
Speaker 1: have to pay attention to him. But it was some
Speaker 1: of the other guys for the Bucks that really stepped
Speaker 1: up and made an impact. Chris Middleton first quarter ten points,
Speaker 1: four for four from the field, Yanni scored eight. Brook
Speaker 1: Lopez made his impact and presence felt in the second quarter,
Speaker 1: and then you had Bobby Portis off the bench. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean Bobby Portis five or five from deep. Not
Speaker 1: exactly what you necessarily prepare for going into Milwaukee, and
Speaker 1: probably not sustainable Knockwood, of course with the team playing
Speaker 1: the team's playing again on Saturday. But the efficiency was
Speaker 1: through the roof. They were well rested. The Sixers were not.
Speaker 1: Of course, some of those things you can't sustain. But
Speaker 1: if the Sixers are without Ben Simmons again, they're going
Speaker 1: to be challenged again when it comes to stopping Jeannie.
Speaker 1: I look forward to another matchup between the two teams.
Speaker 1: I think it'll probably be a little bit closer than
Speaker 1: the first one was. But the Sixers still didn't really
Speaker 1: get a ton of rest before this one. Given the
Speaker 1: fact that it's going to be a day game, they
Speaker 1: can't really catch a break with the schedule this week.
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers alluded to it following Thursday's game. No coaches
Speaker 1: ever want to admit. I don't think to schedule losses.
Speaker 1: But I do think that that Doc has some ground
Speaker 1: to stand on when he talks about how difficult the
Speaker 1: schedule this week has been. And I know that it's
Speaker 1: a team that's going to look forward to coming right
Speaker 1: back home to Philadelphia, regardless of the outcome of Saturday's matchup. Sure,
Speaker 1: a tough one. They're in Milwaukee, and you're right, the
Speaker 1: turnaround is rather quick. And if you are now going
Speaker 1: to implement Simmons, if he's available to Saturday game two
Speaker 1: for Tobias Harrists, good to see him him back out
Speaker 1: here on the floor. So maybe his legs underneath him.
Speaker 1: He's a lot fresher, he said, he doesn't feel much pain.
Speaker 1: So that's great to hear right now as we get
Speaker 1: ready to gear up for this matchup one Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 1: So you're right, schedules, it's how it goes, right, it
Speaker 1: is how it goes. Thirteen games remaining after this one.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna say it's easy, but you can look
Speaker 1: at situations where they're winnable games for the team with
Speaker 1: the number one seeds still in sight in the Eastern Conference,
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. I think it was great to
Speaker 1: see Tobias, especially in the third quarter. Seemed like he
Speaker 1: really found his stride. Scored twelve points during the third.
Speaker 1: It's also been talking about a tough back to back
Speaker 1: given how the team's played him for Joel Ebid. Going
Speaker 1: up against Phoenix and then the Bucks, two teams that
Speaker 1: were so aggressive on him really didn't let up much
Speaker 1: at all, played him physical, played him tough. I think
Speaker 1: he still managed to hold his own in both those games.
Speaker 1: I mean neither of those teams made it easy on him.
Speaker 1: Again shorthanded without both Harris and Simmon against Phoenix and
Speaker 1: then coming back without Simmons, but Harris returning, having a
Speaker 1: good third quarter, but again getting his legs back underneath
Speaker 1: him after missing so much time MB was phenomenal. Of course,
Speaker 1: the thirty eight point performance was the twenty four on
Speaker 1: Thursday night against Milwaukee, So sure he's still gonna be himself.
Speaker 1: You need others to help out shake Milton with the
Speaker 1: twenty off the bench. In that game, Danny Green performed
Speaker 1: well against Phoenix and Matis style with Tyrese Maxie, but
Speaker 1: again just simply not enough when you are missing some
Speaker 1: key contributors to the team to take down these top teams.
Speaker 1: These are not just push over teams. These are teams
Speaker 1: that are still fighting four things. Phoenix is fighting for
Speaker 1: a top spot in the Western Conference overall in Milwaukee,
Speaker 1: as we talked about, they're creeping up in the standing
Speaker 1: still at number three. But as we stand here today,
Speaker 1: two and a half games from first place with the
Speaker 1: seventy six or so, everyone's fighting for something, whether they
Speaker 1: want to admit it or not. When you're out there,
Speaker 1: you're going to compete, and they're competing. I know people
Speaker 1: snickered at the comment that Jannis made post game on
Speaker 1: tant while people being people who follow the seventy sixers,
Speaker 1: when Yanna City treating it like a playoff game, I
Speaker 1: buy it. I kind of buy it. They have to.
Speaker 1: It's a big series win for them and now they
Speaker 1: have a chance. Just gained another game. I was cool
Speaker 1: with coming into it like a playoff game. My confusion
Speaker 1: came with it felt like a playoff game, because so
Speaker 1: as long as as long as it felt like it
Speaker 1: on the outset, I mean, the Sixers were way less rest,
Speaker 1: that doesn't happen in the playoffs. The Sixers were without
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons in all likelihood, that doesn't happen in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: So I'm not sure I was buying that the in
Speaker 1: game competition was very playoff like. But I do understand
Speaker 1: why the stakes felt high for the Bucks and Edits
Speaker 1: an achievement. Anytime you beat the top team in your conference,
Speaker 1: it's an achievement. Yeah, for them, maybe it was because,
Speaker 1: as you just pointed out, that that was their approach.
Speaker 1: Their approaches now get the home court advantage. If they
Speaker 1: could number one overall seed. Sure, you still have the
Speaker 1: leat Brook to get the Philadelphia and Philadelphia has to
Speaker 1: cooperate to lose that spot. But yeah, they have to
Speaker 1: and to take the season series, is Brian alluded to,
Speaker 1: that's important for them. I mean, hey, we wanted to
Speaker 1: see the Sixers split it last night to make sure
Speaker 1: that you set up Saturday's game for you to win
Speaker 1: that season series matchup as well. So I get it.
Speaker 1: I buy it, because let's not forget about the little
Speaker 1: little rivalry that is there between Jannis and either in
Speaker 1: Bed or Simmons with how he approaches things with those
Speaker 1: two teams. So so I buyed it a little bit
Speaker 1: because they are trailing and they're playing against the top dog.
Speaker 1: Looking back at a theme from this past week, something
Speaker 1: I did want to get into was the bench backcourts.
Speaker 1: Let's start with Tyrese Maxie. There are a couple of
Speaker 1: themes and storylines from the reserve backcourt. We'll get into
Speaker 1: George Hill in a little bit. Tyrese Maxie had some
Speaker 1: stuff to say this past week in terms of how
Speaker 1: he played on the court, very encouraging. I thought, yeah,
Speaker 1: no doubt. And Tyres is a guy that ask anyone
Speaker 1: and they'll say how he really has been putting in
Speaker 1: the work since the day he got to Philadelphia, since
Speaker 1: well before he got to Philadelphia. He works out on
Speaker 1: every off day, whether or not he played the day before.
Speaker 1: And to say that he's working out every off day
Speaker 1: this season is no small feat. With the incredible lack
Speaker 1: of rest time these guys have. He loves to hoo.
Speaker 1: He's in the gym early, he's in the gym late,
Speaker 1: and he's stayed ready for opportunities like the ones he
Speaker 1: had this week, and then he capitalized on them. And
Speaker 1: that's really all you can ask for from a rookie
Speaker 1: that's playing on a really, really good team. I was
Speaker 1: gonna say, does it look like he's put on weight
Speaker 1: to you a little bit in his upper body? Yeah,
Speaker 1: it looks like. It looks like he has added a
Speaker 1: little bit of muscle up there, and you know they're
Speaker 1: constantly working out. Sometimes you really can't see it throughout
Speaker 1: the season because of playing and then losing things. But
Speaker 1: the muscle mass it looks like there seems a little
Speaker 1: bit stronger. Obviously needs to get a lot more stronger
Speaker 1: as a young player coming out of Kyle and stepping
Speaker 1: into the NBA, but yeah, he does. I've noticed that
Speaker 1: the exact same thing, and for him to be ready
Speaker 1: when his number is called, knowing that he's been sitting
Speaker 1: for so long out of the rotation and to come
Speaker 1: in and now starting to again. As we talked about
Speaker 1: what Harris get his feet underneath him, now, Maxie is
Speaker 1: starting to get his feet underneath him. And the way
Speaker 1: I approach this is, while I don't know, I'm not
Speaker 1: sure how you to feel about this, or the listeners
Speaker 1: and the viewers. But there are times when coaches decide
Speaker 1: to go deep into their bench for spot minutes, and
Speaker 1: if the rotation is eight or nine, and of course
Speaker 1: you have that nine and ten that can still contribute.
Speaker 1: Maybe Maxie is showing Rivers and the coaching staff something
Speaker 1: where if he needs to call his number at some
Speaker 1: point in the first round and he performs well, then
Speaker 1: maybe the confidence is there for him to again call
Speaker 1: his number in the semifinals against a team that we
Speaker 1: would expect to be a little bit better. So for
Speaker 1: him to go out there and continue to be affectional,
Speaker 1: continue work when he's not playing, and now producing when
Speaker 1: he is out there on the floor, it's encouraging. The
Speaker 1: biggest thing for him right now is showing that he
Speaker 1: can be reliable, dependable, and I think for him, he's
Speaker 1: one of the guys who has the most at stake
Speaker 1: right now on this roster or the final three and
Speaker 1: a half to four weeks of the season. I feel
Speaker 1: like some other things are starting to fall into place.
Speaker 1: You can see who might be called upon and what
Speaker 1: spots in the postseason. But it seems like there could
Speaker 1: be an opportunity for Tairis because he's got a skill
Speaker 1: set that amongst the other guys playing that position they
Speaker 1: don't have. For the Sixers, no doubt, and he knows it,
Speaker 1: and he's not afraid of any matchup. And we said
Speaker 1: that from the beginning his first couple of games, it
Speaker 1: was clear that it didn't matter who the opponent was.
Speaker 1: He was ready to just go for it, drive through traffic,
Speaker 1: drive up against bigger guys. He's so unafraid. He's so
Speaker 1: willing to do whatever it takes, whatever the team needs,
Speaker 1: and his attitude is just excellent. It's been really cool
Speaker 1: to watch him grow a little bit and find his
Speaker 1: footing as the year has gone on. I'm not afraid
Speaker 1: he went right at Janis and made him up. Bobby
Speaker 1: Porters will be a Bobby Porters they get the block.
Speaker 1: He's not afraid. Again. He trusts what his skill set
Speaker 1: is and when he's able to get that that layoff
Speaker 1: package going high off the glass, or the one where
Speaker 1: he has a little bit of spin on it to
Speaker 1: you know, to bank it off the glass and end
Speaker 1: that that stuff works out. Now guys would be much
Speaker 1: quicker and more physical in the postseason. But if he
Speaker 1: can get that step on him. He may have the
Speaker 1: advantage if he's able to put his body into theirs
Speaker 1: and draw the contact in the foul because we know
Speaker 1: how tight things get in the half court in the postseason.
Speaker 1: A guy who I know that we've all talked about separately,
Speaker 1: who seemed like he could have been a weapon in
Speaker 1: breaking defenses down, just didn't happen last year because the
Speaker 1: series and the matchup didn't allow. But anything the type
Speaker 1: of presence someone like an Alec Burks could give you.
Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that Tyrease and Alec Burks are
Speaker 1: the same player, but there's no question that Tyrese in
Speaker 1: the half court can throw a defense off. He can
Speaker 1: find a way to hit a hole, get to a basket,
Speaker 1: makes something happen. I'd like to see him shoot it
Speaker 1: the way he did the game against the Box. He
Speaker 1: went two for four from three. He's now in double
Speaker 1: figures three straight games going to Saturday. That's his second
Speaker 1: longest double figure streak the season. He looks confident shooting
Speaker 1: that three two, which is cool. He was a little
Speaker 1: bit more reluctant to shoot him at the beginning of
Speaker 1: the season. Maybe he wasn't sure if that's what really
Speaker 1: he was going to be relied upon for. But whether
Speaker 1: or not he's shooting them at a higher volume, to me,
Speaker 1: it looks like he's shooting them with a lot more confidence,
Speaker 1: understanding that when he has the shot, he can take
Speaker 1: the shot and he can make the shot, and that's
Speaker 1: going to be huge for this team, whether it's now
Speaker 1: in a couple of months or in a couple of years.
Speaker 1: And even with the catch and shoot not creating for himself,
Speaker 1: but if someone is driving to the basket, whether it
Speaker 1: be Hill or Milton Simmons, and kicking a ball out,
Speaker 1: catching and shoot, catch ready, shot up, The shot is
Speaker 1: not flat, looks like a good amount of arc on it,
Speaker 1: and it's starting to go in. So that happens, as
Speaker 1: you know, you start to just regain that confidence, and
Speaker 1: that's good to see from a young player. In addition
Speaker 1: to the reemergence of Tyres Maxie this past week, we
Speaker 1: also saw the first emergence at least is seventy six
Speaker 1: er of George Hill. Great subplot. I liked it. I
Speaker 1: liked what I saw. Obviously, he seems to be knocking
Speaker 1: off more and more rust physically with each passing game.
Speaker 1: After missing more than about two months. But it looked
Speaker 1: really good in the game against the Suns on Wednesday
Speaker 1: night in the front of the back back. Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 1: I thought the quickness with which he got ready to
Speaker 1: perform as well as he did against Phoenix on Wednesday
Speaker 1: was really impressive that night. Of course, two for two
Speaker 1: from three, ended up with eleven points and two assists.
Speaker 1: But he looked really comfortable for a guy that had
Speaker 1: taken he calls it three months off, somewhere between two
Speaker 1: and three months off, and he looked very comfortable. It
Speaker 1: was very clear why he was added to this team
Speaker 1: on both ends of the floor. And I think people,
Speaker 1: of course were nervous about about how quickly he'd be
Speaker 1: able to come back from injury, and I think he's
Speaker 1: sort of put those stouts at bay rather quickly in
Speaker 1: these in these first three games. He just he's a
Speaker 1: consistent veteran. He's everything people said that he would be.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. Comfortable is key for me
Speaker 1: when you say that, Lauren, because not just comfortable for him,
Speaker 1: but comfortable for me when I'm watching, I feel like
Speaker 1: he's when he's out there on the floor, knowing that
Speaker 1: he's you know, he's under the controls of the offense,
Speaker 1: having the ball in his hands, and even comfortable defensively.
Speaker 1: So we have questions about anybody else defensively at the
Speaker 1: guard position, he's not one of them. And he's experienced.
Speaker 1: We've talked about all of this before, knows what it's
Speaker 1: like to play on a big stage. He's been in
Speaker 1: the title title games and he has performed well. So
Speaker 1: I cannot I can wait because I gradually want to
Speaker 1: see how it progresses. But it's good to see that
Speaker 1: they've added this type of veteran. This is what we've
Speaker 1: been talking about. This is what we wanted to see.
Speaker 1: And while we're not making them out for me, you know,
Speaker 1: the superstar player. We're talking about a team ball, and
Speaker 1: he fits into the team concept and with what they need.
Speaker 1: And his performance against Phoenix and even Milwaukee, albeit you know,
Speaker 1: some struggles and it kind of got out of hand
Speaker 1: quickly as we talked about, you can see it. I
Speaker 1: feel comfortable with him on the floor to Meet's intriguing offensively,
Speaker 1: because let's say you had him out there with another
Speaker 1: reserve guard, whether it's Tyrese Maxie or Shake Milton. I
Speaker 1: think with those guys, you know, if it's either George
Speaker 1: and Shake or George and Tyrese, either one could initiate
Speaker 1: if you wanted. Either one could play off the ball
Speaker 1: if you wanted. But going back to something that you
Speaker 1: referenced Divan, I think it's defensively. That's when you're like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I need a guy who's been through it to go
Speaker 1: up against Steph Curry for a little bit like what
Speaker 1: we saw in the game on Monday, Or I need
Speaker 1: him to take on a Drew Holliday or a Chris
Speaker 1: Middleton or a Devin Book or how Chris Paul, however
Speaker 1: you want to scheme it up wherever you think you
Speaker 1: need to put a more seasoned defendering exactly. Yes, I
Speaker 1: mean that's where it seems like defensively, where the Sixers
Speaker 1: can maybe try and neutralize what could have been potential
Speaker 1: matchup issues a little bit. And I'd just add, as
Speaker 1: I often do, clearly another great veteran leadership presence in
Speaker 1: the locker room. We heard guys talking about his vocal
Speaker 1: leadership or advice that he was giving on the bench
Speaker 1: way before he even joined the team. This week, Tyrese,
Speaker 1: Maxie Matisse, Thybel both gave him a lot of credit
Speaker 1: for being in their ear, helping them gain advantages in
Speaker 1: the games he wasn't playing in, and then how excited
Speaker 1: they were to add him to the rotation on the floor.
Speaker 1: So cool that he could come in at this point
Speaker 1: in the season, make a positive impression on the young
Speaker 1: guys and the veterans alike, and then make that positive
Speaker 1: impression on the court as well. I guess the big
Speaker 1: question that we cannot let go and answer, at least
Speaker 1: in this form is does George Hill look like Devon Givens?
Speaker 1: Is there some doppelganger activity happening? So typically, right when
Speaker 1: you when you're someone says you look like anyone you're
Speaker 1: You're like, nah, it don't look like me. Look I
Speaker 1: understand features, long face maybe, and facial hair and the
Speaker 1: light skin maybe, But I don't know. And I've heard
Speaker 1: this for over a year and a half now at
Speaker 1: the station, and now that he's actually here. So I
Speaker 1: sent you the when he first suited up for the team.
Speaker 1: I sent you the all the Twitter notifications that I
Speaker 1: received asking if it was me that was actually playing.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I guess, I guess we have to speak
Speaker 1: to Georgia. He and I gonna have to do it
Speaker 1: a little sit down side by side. Yeah, and just yeah,
Speaker 1: it's my new brother. I'm not sure if I could
Speaker 1: have seen it before. I might a little bit of it.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I sent it to my kids. They
Speaker 1: were like, I don't know that. I don't think so.
Speaker 1: So that's that's that's my that's my barometer right there, Lauren, Lauren,
Speaker 1: you're quiet on this. Yeah, I was gonna say, we're
Speaker 1: just ducking here. I think it's because I don't really
Speaker 1: see it good good, Not that I don't. I mean
Speaker 1: you you enumerated the features that you could draw comparison too. Sure,
Speaker 1: but I don't think I really see it. Maybe just
Speaker 1: because I was watching a lot of George Hill film
Speaker 1: over the last few days that I feel like I've
Speaker 1: now seen both of you enough times in close proximity
Speaker 1: that I don't see it. I mean, I don't hate it.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I just don't. I don't see it either. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you look bad looking guy or anything. So I'm flattered.
Speaker 1: But you know he should come one. That's right. I'm
Speaker 1: the oldest anyway, so you know he's he's the younger brother.
Speaker 1: I'll say this I think that if if the facial
Speaker 1: hair weren't there, and I'm not suggesting that you did
Speaker 1: your facial hair, I'm not sure if people would draw
Speaker 1: the connection as close of a connection. I think that's
Speaker 1: I would agree. I feel like that's kind of what's
Speaker 1: strong people in. Yeah, well, hey, six as folks, our
Speaker 1: family set this up. We can talk Georgia and I
Speaker 1: all right, Rob get on it. That's right, paging Rob King.
Speaker 1: We have to do it, Rob King. Yeah, all of
Speaker 1: you guys. Guys, we could spend I think forever talking
Speaker 1: about who doppelgangers are. My last question before we wrap
Speaker 1: it up for this week, Ben Simmons, Let's bring it
Speaker 1: back to him. Would we expect things to be different?
Speaker 1: How much? If so? Should he play in Round three
Speaker 1: between the Sixers and Bucks on Saturday. Well, Ben's been
Speaker 1: excellent against Yannis lately and that was the biggest hole
Speaker 1: to me. Seltie and I talked about it pregame last
Speaker 1: night or on Thursday night. Who was going to guard
Speaker 1: Jannis and who could do it an extended period of
Speaker 1: time and given the options, docer Verse didn't want to
Speaker 1: put Tobias on him right away, and his first game
Speaker 1: back Joel Embiid had playing in it back to back.
Speaker 1: There's plenty of bigs that he had to worry about.
Speaker 1: Ben's ability to slow Jannis down is the thing that
Speaker 1: I think the team missed most in that first game,
Speaker 1: and of course wouldn't miss should should Ben be available,
Speaker 1: But I think people can't forget that he was not
Speaker 1: available in that one, and if he is available and
Speaker 1: these teams do come together in the playoffs, it's going
Speaker 1: to be a totally different story. And keep in mind
Speaker 1: the first matchup, Joel Embiad didn't play, so we really
Speaker 1: haven't seen anything even close to what Sixers Bucks should
Speaker 1: look like. And maybe we'll get treated to it down
Speaker 1: the road. And not just that, of course, with Jannis
Speaker 1: being the key, also, as I mentioned earlier, a switchability
Speaker 1: with brook Lopez and also Chris Mills when certain matchups
Speaker 1: are out there, if if, if brook Lopez is off
Speaker 1: the floor, and maybe I'll go a little smaller, de
Speaker 1: Vincenzo come into the game apartment de vincenz has already
Speaker 1: gave Pat Corninson comes into the game, Brent Forbes. However,
Speaker 1: they decide to go Bobby Portness, even that Simmons can
Speaker 1: still maybe switch over and slow Middleton down as well,
Speaker 1: since he's such an important part. So around three Saturday,
Speaker 1: I hope we do see him. He's never on a
Speaker 1: minute's restriction, and I hope he has all of his fluids,
Speaker 1: you know, the illness that he has. Make sure he's
Speaker 1: good to go because it's going to be a matchup
Speaker 1: out there, and quite frankly, it would be nice to
Speaker 1: see them pick up a w against the Milwaukee Bucks
Speaker 1: because this will be the last time that we would
Speaker 1: see those these two teams face off until the postseason. Well,
Speaker 1: put per usual on all fronts, whether we're talking about matchups, doppelgangers,
Speaker 1: other things. Guys, thank you very much, Thank you all
Speaker 1: right this week for our self promotional send off coming
Speaker 1: up on Monday, per Usual Mailbag Monday with myself and
Speaker 1: Lauren Rosen. Believe will have a new episode of Coach
Speaker 1: Check with Matt Murphy next week as well, And if
Speaker 1: you didn't have a chance to listen to the latest
Speaker 1: edition of Tom's Talks with Tom McGuinness, be sure to
Speaker 1: check it out. He catch us up with Mike Green
Speaker 1: and Lisa Saulters of ESPN and has always be sure
Speaker 1: to follow us on the scoop our feed, your daily five,
Speaker 1: and an update on the seventy six ers. Just search
Speaker 1: seventy six ers scoop wherever you get your pods. Talked
Speaker 1: to you next week. See you