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: build up was big, the hype understandably huge, but the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers matchup with the Brooklyn Nets took a little
Speaker 1: bit of a left turn. It didn't have as much
Speaker 1: star power as we expected or hoped, but in the
Speaker 1: end didn't really matter. Say Brooklyn and take over first place.
Speaker 1: We've raked down the Brooklyn game and what the outcome
Speaker 1: means for the long term. I'm Lauren Rosen, I'm Devon Gibbons,
Speaker 1: and I'm Brian Seltzer. Plus we look ahead to some
Speaker 1: other important games in the next week here on the
Speaker 1: Friday Deep Dive. The seventy Sixers and Brooklyn Nets did
Speaker 1: indeed play game at the Center on Wednesday three one
Speaker 1: seventeen victory for the seventy Sixers over the Nets, A
Speaker 1: big one at that not quite the same way we
Speaker 1: envisioned this matchup playing out. Guys, what was your reaction
Speaker 1: when you found out the circumstances they were going to
Speaker 1: be surrounding the Brooklyn Nets heading into the game on Wednesday?
Speaker 1: How did you receive that news? My reaction was simple.
Speaker 1: It was let's go win this game. I mean, the
Speaker 1: win got easier to achieve. Of course for a spectacle,
Speaker 1: and as a fan, I would have loved to see everybody,
Speaker 1: but I have a feeling there will be more opportunities
Speaker 1: to see everybody. To me, my knee jerk reaction, and
Speaker 1: I'm sure that's not the takiest, most fun answer for
Speaker 1: a podcast, but was let's go win this game. It's
Speaker 1: a hard game that got a lot easier. Let's do it,
Speaker 1: and they were able to do it despite some struggles
Speaker 1: there at the end. I agree. The sentiment for me was, Okay,
Speaker 1: go get this w The number one seed is on
Speaker 1: the line. Every win counts. With as of Wednesday nights game,
Speaker 1: eighteen games remaining and you two teams tied right now
Speaker 1: for the top spot in the East, every win counts.
Speaker 1: And not only was it just that every win counts,
Speaker 1: this is also the season series breaker. So make sure
Speaker 1: you go out there and handle your business. If they
Speaker 1: want to do that, that's their prerogative, that you go
Speaker 1: handle your business and we'll figure it out later on
Speaker 1: and just let's just go out there and place in basketball.
Speaker 1: So that's why I was of course, I think, like
Speaker 1: a lot of people, was disappointed. I would have loved
Speaker 1: to have seen at least two of Brooklyn's Big three
Speaker 1: out there, just to get a sense of how the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers might scheme it up. But then after that
Speaker 1: initial disappointment wore off, I started thinking a little bit more.
Speaker 1: I was like, a great Brooklyn's conceding this, seventy sixers,
Speaker 1: we know you have a great home court advantage, might
Speaker 1: even be more fans in the building by the time
Speaker 1: the postseason rolls around, in particular an Eastern Conference finals matchup.
Speaker 1: We're in all likelihood these two teams would meet up again. Fine,
Speaker 1: go out and get it. And then I was also like,
Speaker 1: Brooklyn still has kind of a decent life. They still
Speaker 1: had a decent team that they were able to roll
Speaker 1: out there. It wasn't like it was going to be
Speaker 1: a walk in a park type situation. So I thought
Speaker 1: it was still a good test for the Sixers. I
Speaker 1: thought it was still a good tests, not the we
Speaker 1: all hope for. And I was like, fine, if you
Speaker 1: want to concede seventy six ers, make him feel the pain,
Speaker 1: make him regret it. Well. Kyrie Irving was still going
Speaker 1: to play. So if he was going to play, you're
Speaker 1: still talking about an All NBA All Star level player
Speaker 1: where you have to account for him. And not only
Speaker 1: that was the challenge defensively to stopping him and not
Speaker 1: letting him go off the way that we know he's
Speaker 1: capable of doing it. And DeAndre Jordan seeing the matchup
Speaker 1: with Joel Embiid once we realize that he was going
Speaker 1: to be available. I'm a Joe Harris, you know, fan
Speaker 1: from Afar where I enjoy his shooting, the way that
Speaker 1: he plays the game. So with that, as you said,
Speaker 1: so there were many there were more than enough weapons
Speaker 1: on that side for you to be worried about in
Speaker 1: respect the way that they play, where you have to
Speaker 1: go out there and make sure you lace up your
Speaker 1: sneakers and go play that game in order to get
Speaker 1: to w So I agree with you. I do think
Speaker 1: what you said d was one of the initial takeaways.
Speaker 1: Obviously a right Kyrie Irving's still playing at extremely, very
Speaker 1: high of the level, and then he minded everyone of
Speaker 1: that in the first quarter. He came out and he
Speaker 1: was pulling out all the tricks are being shaken. Bake
Speaker 1: against Bible. Any fans at all is so sweet. That's ridiculous,
Speaker 1: Like Bible is elite on the defensive end, and he
Speaker 1: just left him with his wig and right away you
Speaker 1: reminded just how talented he is. So I thought that
Speaker 1: whether it was a test for Ben Simmons or someone
Speaker 1: like Matisse Thible, good to have the opportunity to see Kyrie,
Speaker 1: who I think when he's been out there's been playing
Speaker 1: at a really high level this season. Yeah, and the
Speaker 1: Sixers hadn't seen Kyrie yet this season, so if nothing else,
Speaker 1: a good opportunity to see him once try to learn
Speaker 1: his tendencies, especially if you're someone like Matise who does
Speaker 1: not have that experience figuring out one of the best
Speaker 1: offensive players in the game. Really good to just get
Speaker 1: those first few reps under your belt because the butterflies
Speaker 1: will be there in the playoffs for anybody, and nice
Speaker 1: to at least have some hands on experience with someone
Speaker 1: that you could see down the road before we go
Speaker 1: any further. Before the game, Steve Nash was asked how
Speaker 1: he I think the way the question was phrased, And
Speaker 1: I know, Lauren, you were on the zoom availability, so
Speaker 1: you can remind me. Steve Nash was asked, how do
Speaker 1: you weigh short term April fifteenth verse longer term May fifteenth,
Speaker 1: the reporter implying that, hey, there's a game to potentially
Speaker 1: win right now for currently first place and a tiebreaker
Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference, or do you just try and
Speaker 1: make sure that your roster's healthy and ready to go
Speaker 1: by the time the postseason rolls around. And Steve Nash's
Speaker 1: response was, We're not trying to be cute. I'm honestly,
Speaker 1: we didn't think about it that deeply at all. Like
Speaker 1: you know, I think when you start to really try
Speaker 1: to be cute, you know and backfires most of the time.
Speaker 1: So for us, it was just, you know, it wasn't
Speaker 1: a strategic it was this is what this is the
Speaker 1: availability we have. That's simply what happened is that, like,
Speaker 1: let's not get cute and try to figure this out.
Speaker 1: Let's win the game in front of us, because as
Speaker 1: the season has shown, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow. Essentially,
Speaker 1: he was saying, don't read into this. There's nothing going
Speaker 1: on here, there's no gamesmanship, nothing to read into here.
Speaker 1: Not buying it. I'm not buying it, and I'm not
Speaker 1: buying the gamesmanship and all they went with it, because look,
Speaker 1: you know, with everything that happened in Minneapolis earlier in
Speaker 1: the week, you know, it was sad the year that,
Speaker 1: you know, all over again. And unfortunately with that, they
Speaker 1: had a day off and they were moved to the
Speaker 1: next day, which was Tuesday, to play the game. They
Speaker 1: had a decision to make where you decided to, say,
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant against the Minnesota Timberwolves, or you can have
Speaker 1: them come and play that game against the seventy sixers,
Speaker 1: which was a prime time game, a more important game
Speaker 1: in terms of the seeing that we mentioned at the top,
Speaker 1: and that's where they could have gone. But I think
Speaker 1: to your point again, Celts, a little it was they
Speaker 1: were digging a little deeper with that that gamesmanship there
Speaker 1: where well, hey, we've we as individuals, not yet as
Speaker 1: a team, have gotten to you know, the mountaintop and
Speaker 1: gotten to the Eastern Conference party, the Eastern the Western
Speaker 1: Conference finals, whether we're talking about Harden, Irving and Durant,
Speaker 1: and we've gotten there, with all due respect, you have
Speaker 1: not just yet. So while this is a really good
Speaker 1: story and we respect you, we respect you just enough
Speaker 1: that we will if we have to concede a little bit,
Speaker 1: and that gamesmanship that they would decide that at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, they're not worried later on once
Speaker 1: we meet in the postseason. So I'm not buying what
Speaker 1: Steve Nash was selling on that book. I think Steve
Speaker 1: Nash is a good guy. I'm willing to believe what
Speaker 1: he had to say as soon as he said it.
Speaker 1: For me, it was one of those moments of like,
Speaker 1: does he have another option? Like what was he going
Speaker 1: to say? Yeah, we are being cute, look at us, go,
Speaker 1: we're so smart and strategic, Like he only had one
Speaker 1: option of what to say, and he said, this is
Speaker 1: how the chips fell, and we're going to play with them.
Speaker 1: And I respect the way that he handled it, but yeah,
Speaker 1: I was with you guys immediately when I heard it.
Speaker 1: I was sort of like, I don't know, but but
Speaker 1: you know that that was the only way for him
Speaker 1: to answer the question, and who knows, maybe maybe it
Speaker 1: could come back to buy them down the road. It
Speaker 1: definitely was the only thing that he could say in
Speaker 1: that situation. But right I think there's something too what
Speaker 1: you pointed out, Divine, that there's an NBA champion on
Speaker 1: the roster and Kyrie Irving there's a champion on the roster,
Speaker 1: and Kevin Durant James Harden has been close. I think
Speaker 1: it plays into their psyche. The psyche they want to
Speaker 1: have is like, you know, what's six ers. If you
Speaker 1: want to talk all season long about wanting to win
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference, fine, go ahead do that. That's nice.
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, you've gotten as far as the
Speaker 1: second round. Okay, If you want to strive for the
Speaker 1: top of the conference, great, But we talking about those
Speaker 1: three players, particularly two of them in Irving and Durant,
Speaker 1: know what it's like to really be at the summit,
Speaker 1: the ultimate and I think that even how the game
Speaker 1: played out, and we're going to get into some more specifics,
Speaker 1: but how the game played out with their reserves, talking
Speaker 1: about Brooklyn making a run at the end, and seeing
Speaker 1: some of the gesticulating and mannerisms and demeanorisms on the
Speaker 1: sideline of the bench with Durants and Blake Griffin. That
Speaker 1: was kind of playing up to like where the older
Speaker 1: heads here. You know, this is just fun. Look at
Speaker 1: our younger guys making a game out of exactly exactly
Speaker 1: and that's exactly how I took it again. You you said, hey,
Speaker 1: we're not being cute here, Steve and Nash is saying it,
Speaker 1: but again coming from them, it was more, you guys
Speaker 1: are cute, and we respect you. We respect you as
Speaker 1: all stars. We see we enjoy that time together. But
Speaker 1: when we see you later on, you know, okay, okay,
Speaker 1: And but that look that goes with that. As you
Speaker 1: said so to Laura, it's the games, and it's the
Speaker 1: game within the game, and that's all right, because at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, how do you respond to that?
Speaker 1: So when you're a young team like Philadelphia is as
Speaker 1: far as playoff experience, get into the second round, but
Speaker 1: wanting to eventually get to that Eastern Conference Finals and
Speaker 1: then even further, these are the types of hurdles that
Speaker 1: you're going to have to overcome. And while Brooklyn is
Speaker 1: just coming together, and this might be the team, Milwaukee, Miami,
Speaker 1: whoever it may be. You you have your checkpoints that
Speaker 1: you have to cross off before you get to where
Speaker 1: you want to go. And maybe that is going to
Speaker 1: be the Brooklyn Nets and not the Boston Celtics or
Speaker 1: any other team. But I like it. I like the
Speaker 1: theater that now comes with this if if this is
Speaker 1: how it's looked at within the Sixers locker room, because
Speaker 1: it sets up a great part of the narrative. And
Speaker 1: if you're looking at this from a fan perspective, do
Speaker 1: maybe some of the antics of Brooklyn and how this
Speaker 1: all played out doesn't grind your gears a little bit?
Speaker 1: Of course, But that's what this is all about. It
Speaker 1: helps make a rivalry that hasn't really existed only in
Speaker 1: kind of theory. For everyone saying, well, this is where
Speaker 1: the six are gonna end up, and this is where
Speaker 1: the Nets are gonna end up, it adds something to
Speaker 1: it without some of those guys even playing in a game.
Speaker 1: So I think it just helps add another layer to
Speaker 1: a narrative that I think everyone's hopeful we get to
Speaker 1: see a couple more chapters of before the end of
Speaker 1: this summer, Lauren, I can I can tell you that
Speaker 1: real fast, based on the phone calls already that I've
Speaker 1: taken the Sixer fans Number one do not like the
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets. And number two, just to give the other example,
Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Bucks when Jannis hit the shot and sat
Speaker 1: down at mid court. All right, there you go. So
Speaker 1: that's exactly what we're talking about here. That's exactly what
Speaker 1: I was going to say. There's already a good deal,
Speaker 1: there's already a good deal of spice built up, and
Speaker 1: the playoffs are still a month away, and I love it.
Speaker 1: I also love that in this situation, the Sixers, despite
Speaker 1: leaving the East and now winning the season series with
Speaker 1: the Nets, are being considered the underdog among the two teams.
Speaker 1: Is that fair? Maybe I would rather be the underdog though,
Speaker 1: than be the team that could end up disappointing. And
Speaker 1: I think that the guys on this Sixers team will
Speaker 1: thrive in an underdog situation because they've noticed what people
Speaker 1: are saying about them, They've noticed how people come to
Speaker 1: play against them. This is a group that's looking forward
Speaker 1: to seeing this team again. They're probably looking forward to
Speaker 1: see Yannis again. The odds that you see both of
Speaker 1: them again unclear, but would be cool to see either
Speaker 1: of those matchups once again. Of course, visiting the Bucks
Speaker 1: later on this month, so they'll get their opportunity there.
Speaker 1: But after that game, Dwight Howard was super spicy this game.
Speaker 1: You could tell there was some spice on both sides.
Speaker 1: I really am looking forward to seeing how these playoffs
Speaker 1: shape up. I've heard a lot of people around the
Speaker 1: league complain about this season being of course too condensed,
Speaker 1: but maybe a little boring, a little predictable, or just
Speaker 1: like not a great NBA season. I don't know what
Speaker 1: they're talking about. As a Sixers person, having covered this
Speaker 1: team all year, I think this has been a great
Speaker 1: season and I'm only looking forward to what's to come.
Speaker 1: I am at a surprise some people out there. I'm
Speaker 1: not a politician, some may argue otherwise, I'm not an epidemiologist.
Speaker 1: I'm a human person. I'm all for fans in the
Speaker 1: building as long as it's done right. I think that's great.
Speaker 1: I'm totally on board with anyone and everyone making their
Speaker 1: own decision whether or not they feel comfortable being in there.
Speaker 1: I did love hearing some of the chants from the crowd,
Speaker 1: whether it was the MVP cheers for Joel Embiid, because
Speaker 1: that's not being piped in, you can tell that was
Speaker 1: real and it was fantastic. The chance directed at KD
Speaker 1: down the stretch of the game, adding flavor that has
Speaker 1: been lacking for like a year at Live Sporting events, Doris,
Speaker 1: this is the most fans in a building that I've
Speaker 1: filled a game you show. This is so much sucking
Speaker 1: of one of the best in all of post sports.
Speaker 1: But it's just so nice to feel miss buzz as
Speaker 1: Embead knocks down that shot. It was endearing. I liked
Speaker 1: hearing it, and I hope we get a chance to
Speaker 1: do it all over again in July, all over again
Speaker 1: and louder I think, bit by bit, I like hearing
Speaker 1: it as long as it's all being done right and
Speaker 1: everyone's doing it the right way. Yeah, just shout through
Speaker 1: your masks. You don't need to take your mask down.
Speaker 1: Just shout through your masks. I gotta be honest. I
Speaker 1: did like Kevin dury Its reaction though, because that did
Speaker 1: the chant like make any sense? No, it didn't, and
Speaker 1: his reaction of just like what is going on here?
Speaker 1: Like it was funny to me. So I appreciated Kevin
Speaker 1: for sort of just taking it in stride and and
Speaker 1: not getting too fired up about it or making it
Speaker 1: too much of a big deal. I thought it was
Speaker 1: an overall very bizarre but somewhat charming interaction between Kevin
Speaker 1: Duran and the sixerspiance. He's like, what did I do?
Speaker 1: He was just like y'all know I'm not playing. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: And also they're a little bored at that point. Maybe
Speaker 1: maybe I don't know. It took me a while because
Speaker 1: it was in the in the cadence of ref you suck,
Speaker 1: which you do here frequently, and so I thought that
Speaker 1: it was just like sort of like maybe muffled voices
Speaker 1: saying ref you suck. And then by the time I
Speaker 1: figured it out, I also was confused. So anyway, whatever,
Speaker 1: I was happy to have the energy in there. Clearly
Speaker 1: Joel and company were happy to have the energy in there,
Speaker 1: and if it gets a little weird, I'm all for it, right.
Speaker 1: I think this is the great thing about this potential
Speaker 1: matchup should have happen again between the Sixers and the Nets.
Speaker 1: We've gone about ten fifteen minutes so far, and we
Speaker 1: really haven't discussed much of the game. There's so much
Speaker 1: compelling material and so many compelling aspects about this that
Speaker 1: I just hope that they do get to see each
Speaker 1: other at full strength at some point down the road.
Speaker 1: As we dive back into the game, we talked a
Speaker 1: little bit about Kyrie Irving making his stamp in the
Speaker 1: first quarter went off early for the Sixers, they're two
Speaker 1: all stars got off to a really good start, Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons Joel Embiad combining for nineteen points out of the
Speaker 1: Sixers thirty two in the first quarter, and I thought
Speaker 1: that was great to see. I thought there was some
Speaker 1: good star power on display. And I feel like it's
Speaker 1: something that Doris Burke when she has Sixers games, She's always,
Speaker 1: I think, very consistent in talking about this, and I
Speaker 1: feel it's got to be right in line with the
Speaker 1: divine Givens school of thought about the seventy sixers. Doesn't
Speaker 1: matter if Ben's scoring. As long as Ben is aggressiving,
Speaker 1: we're in a good place. She always talk about it.
Speaker 1: They were talking about it again last night and they're right. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Once they mentioned it and they talked about it, you know,
Speaker 1: immediately I go to mine. You know what, I always say,
Speaker 1: aggressive Ben Simmons is the best Ben Simmons, but it
Speaker 1: doesn't always have to result in his bucket. It can
Speaker 1: result in him doing what he also does very well,
Speaker 1: putting that pressure in the defense and assisting on the
Speaker 1: may baskets that they do get. And we saw that
Speaker 1: early on. Now later on again we wish we would
Speaker 1: have saw it. I speak for myself, which I would
Speaker 1: have saw it a little bit more. And once they
Speaker 1: were going out of the game, and look, I understand
Speaker 1: that the game was a little bit lot decided at
Speaker 1: that point, but it kind of tailed off a bit.
Speaker 1: But when he is aggressively attacking the basket the way
Speaker 1: that he does, then I think that as great as
Speaker 1: Joel Embiad is as an MVP candidate, when he is attacking,
Speaker 1: he makes them complete on the offensive end with how
Speaker 1: he goes. We know about the shooting, we know he's
Speaker 1: very selective of when he wants to take his outside shots,
Speaker 1: his fadeaway shots and what have you. But the mindset
Speaker 1: and we saw it, and if he can continue to
Speaker 1: do that again now with seventeen games remaining, the next
Speaker 1: game tonight and I'm sure we'll get to the Clippers game,
Speaker 1: but he just continue to do that and they are
Speaker 1: at their absolute best with him doing that. Because if
Speaker 1: your shooters are struggling, what do you do best? Of course,
Speaker 1: your best players get opportunities for others, and your shooters
Speaker 1: are some of those others that are very good at
Speaker 1: what they do. You put the ball in their shooting
Speaker 1: pocket right where they need it, and they knock those
Speaker 1: shots down and everyone confidence rises. And that's the thing, Lauren.
Speaker 1: With the way the seventy Sixers were hitting threes in
Speaker 1: that first half, they were seven for twelve from deep Sixers,
Speaker 1: get it the Milt these wide open for three and
Speaker 1: it's good. The Sixers now with seven threes as shake Bilt,
Speaker 1: wide open and drill. I don't know how you stop
Speaker 1: them guys. When they're clicking like that offensively and they
Speaker 1: play the defense that they played, I think that they are,
Speaker 1: at least in the Eastern Conference, about as unbeatable as
Speaker 1: any team when they're making their shots and Ben and
Speaker 1: Joe are doing what they're supposed to be doing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they finished forty six point four percent from three on
Speaker 1: the night, which is great, especially when you hold your
Speaker 1: opponent to nineteen percent. Brooklyn was just four of twenty one.
Speaker 1: So even though it seemed like at times the Sixers
Speaker 1: were getting a little bit carved up, a lot of
Speaker 1: folks that spoke last night said that their defense wasn't
Speaker 1: where they really wanted it to be. Last night, the
Speaker 1: perimeter defense was on lock. The Sixers did a good
Speaker 1: job of hitting shots despite the fact that their two
Speaker 1: highest volume three point shooters in Danny Green and Seth
Speaker 1: Curry actually didn't have big offensive nights, so cool to
Speaker 1: see other guys get involved, see shots go down. I
Speaker 1: completely agree with you. When the Sixers are hitting threes,
Speaker 1: they're almost impossible to beat, right, and we also know
Speaker 1: that they're impossible to be just about when Joel Embide
Speaker 1: gets into the type of groove that he ultimately ended
Speaker 1: up getting in. And to start the game, DeAndre Jordan
Speaker 1: was able to bother him a little bit. Joel shot
Speaker 1: wasn't falling right off the bat, But I feel like
Speaker 1: this is I mean, he's Joel's shown this time and
Speaker 1: time again this season. You can really only keep him
Speaker 1: down for so long. He is now at the point
Speaker 1: with what he has in his tool set this year
Speaker 1: where he's going to get you at some point. Yeah,
Speaker 1: last week on our show here we talked about is
Speaker 1: he back yet? And Lauren and I both felt like
Speaker 1: based on what he was saying again against Boston and
Speaker 1: he was back, and we agreed. And when you pointed
Speaker 1: out you were the only one that went the other way,
Speaker 1: and you were also right with that because we really
Speaker 1: didn't see the Joel n B. Now we go back
Speaker 1: to Monday against Dallas where he goes off with thirty
Speaker 1: six and twenty six, and against the Nets he does
Speaker 1: it again with thirty nine in what less than thirty
Speaker 1: minutes again against the Brooklyn Nets before he had to
Speaker 1: come back into the game too well, shoots along too,
Speaker 1: just inside the top of the key, and that's good.
Speaker 1: So he's finding the rhythm and getting the touch back. Yeah,
Speaker 1: when he when he is on a roll like we
Speaker 1: have seen him all season long, which is why we
Speaker 1: continue to talk about his MVP candidacy, That's how they go.
Speaker 1: That's where it all starts with them. We speak about
Speaker 1: the opponents in the talent that they have that the
Speaker 1: Sixers need to defend. On the other end, they need
Speaker 1: to figure out how to defend him as well. While
Speaker 1: Jordan had some success early after that, it was lights
Speaker 1: out for the Brooklyn That's front court with how they
Speaker 1: tried to defend them, and they even had to get
Speaker 1: really creative late when they did come back in. He
Speaker 1: would catch the ball away from the paint along more
Speaker 1: along the sideline and with that they immediately swarmed him
Speaker 1: to try to, you know, not allow him to make
Speaker 1: a play. So he's been fantastic and I hope it
Speaker 1: continues and we get to see that carrying right through
Speaker 1: the playoffs. We saw after he dunked it in the
Speaker 1: first half, seemed a little bit wildly there for a
Speaker 1: few moments, missed a few shots. We know, Lauren from
Speaker 1: watching that he's trying to figure out the rights level
Speaker 1: of comfort with his knee brace. You're in all the zooms.
Speaker 1: How has he been managing all this? He doesn't love it,
Speaker 1: and he's been open about the fact that he doesn't
Speaker 1: love it. He's a guy that's worked so much on
Speaker 1: his body, on his agility, on his strength, on his endurance,
Speaker 1: and now he has this like kind of clunky thing
Speaker 1: strapped to his leg that he has to learn to
Speaker 1: deal with. And I think Joel has never You and
Speaker 1: I talked about this. I think yesterday sells Joel has
Speaker 1: never loved having to wear any sort of brace or
Speaker 1: having to add any type of equipment to his routine.
Speaker 1: So understandably a little bit frustrated. He says that it's
Speaker 1: making it harder for him to play harder. He says,
Speaker 1: he said a couple of games ago that it was
Speaker 1: cutting off a circulation. It just can't be pleasant. And
Speaker 1: I think you have to feel for him a little
Speaker 1: bit when you think about just how much work he's
Speaker 1: put in on his body, how much work he clearly
Speaker 1: was putting in while he was away to come back
Speaker 1: at the level that he's come back at. It just
Speaker 1: it's a bummer for him if he says he's uncomfortable.
Speaker 1: He's not the type of guy that's gonna lie. If
Speaker 1: he was comfortable, he wouldn't lie and say he was
Speaker 1: uncomfort ball, right, So it's a bummer to hear it
Speaker 1: that he's struggling with it. But it is cool to
Speaker 1: see that he's capitalizing on what's been a difficult situation.
Speaker 1: And even though he says he still has a distance
Speaker 1: to go, he's looked really good since he's been back.
Speaker 1: Still able to slash in eurostep and flush at the rim,
Speaker 1: which is insane. Is their favorite move of his that
Speaker 1: you guys have seen. The last couple games, I feel
Speaker 1: like he's had some really excellent I mean, he always
Speaker 1: has excellent individual plays, but there's been a couple of
Speaker 1: good ones during this stretch. Wow. Of course, that ball
Speaker 1: fake against Jordan on the left wing. Given the ball
Speaker 1: fake leading to that dunk, that was impressive. The few
Speaker 1: that he's had. I mean, he has so many of
Speaker 1: the eurostep against Dallas that was tremendous. There's step by
Speaker 1: it and be beautiful, shoving both bonds, able to recover.
Speaker 1: There's still a hand in his face and he makes it.
Speaker 1: He got a seven foot whatever, two hundred and whatever,
Speaker 1: just pulled the Euro, moved like a point. Incredible agility
Speaker 1: and it just the body control is he's seven two
Speaker 1: and you know, whatever his weight is, he's seven two,
Speaker 1: and he's not seven two with the smaller frame. He's
Speaker 1: seven two with that big frame. But yet the agility
Speaker 1: and how he's able to every time he does these things,
Speaker 1: I'm like, he's not supposed to be doing that. No,
Speaker 1: he's not supposed to do that, right, because he's so big,
Speaker 1: and that's that's a move that a wing player is
Speaker 1: supposed to be. That's Tobias Harris or Ben Simmons, that's
Speaker 1: not Joe ellen b But that's Joe ellen Bat. That's
Speaker 1: what makes him so special, and that's what makes him
Speaker 1: who he is, and that's what makes them who they
Speaker 1: are and are able to go because he can unleash
Speaker 1: different things, and of course it's instinctual. Sometimes you think
Speaker 1: about it. Of course, as a player, you're all right,
Speaker 1: I want to do this. They might take that away.
Speaker 1: What's your counter? His counter is all right, now I'm
Speaker 1: gonna eurostep and I'm gonna go the other way. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: where we would have seen it two years ago, where
Speaker 1: that may have been a charge, is no longer a
Speaker 1: charge to me. It was the fake on Jordan last
Speaker 1: night Drive Bam with a two hand chap. With the fake,
Speaker 1: he got DeAndre Jordan off balance a power dribble and
Speaker 1: a two hands stump. I thought that it was It
Speaker 1: was pretty cool. I think anytime there's nothing between Joel
Speaker 1: and the basket, I sort of shake my head a
Speaker 1: little bit and I'm like, how did you guys let
Speaker 1: that happen? I'm talking to the defense of course, in
Speaker 1: my head, and just that fake that really threw him
Speaker 1: off to no man's land. Joel had a clear path.
Speaker 1: It's like anytime Joel has a clear path to anywhere
Speaker 1: the other team is in trouble, and I've loved how
Speaker 1: creative he's gotten finding that path, and it was cool
Speaker 1: to see it happened last night. I totally agree with
Speaker 1: you two. Just so graceful for such a large human
Speaker 1: like I've never not amazed at the grace and the
Speaker 1: lightness in his game. I think that's the other thing.
Speaker 1: Sometimes to me, I'm as impressed by the simple moves.
Speaker 1: It could just be a straight up, straightaway three and
Speaker 1: transition that he for someone his size and build, makes
Speaker 1: look so easy. It's insane. Yeah, not to mention quickly
Speaker 1: the the fadeaways that he's doing this, even when he
Speaker 1: did against Dallas and he did did Dirk one lager
Speaker 1: and then looked at the floor or the bench, whatever
Speaker 1: he was doing. He did the one lager and again,
Speaker 1: this guy he comes. He's come so far with his
Speaker 1: game and the growth overall from Kansas to everything with
Speaker 1: the team rebuilding and him and battling these injuries to
Speaker 1: where he is right now, where he's just a different player.
Speaker 1: We've seen these things in him, but now it's he's
Speaker 1: a complete basketball player. Now here's a hot take. One
Speaker 1: other thing to add to the pot of things we
Speaker 1: like Joel doing. The way he shoots free throws, and
Speaker 1: obviously free throw shooting is not the sexiest part of
Speaker 1: the game. It's not the most exciting thing to watch
Speaker 1: him do. But the fact that he is his size,
Speaker 1: and he's shooting the most free throws in the league.
Speaker 1: He's shooting them at a historic rate, and he's making
Speaker 1: them at a historic rate. I'm not sure we talk
Speaker 1: about that enough. There are smaller guys. There are shooters
Speaker 1: in this league that cannot hold a candle to Joel
Speaker 1: in a free throw contest, and that is so, so,
Speaker 1: so impressive. Think about the other side around the league,
Speaker 1: the other centers in history, the excuses that have been
Speaker 1: made for those centers to not be able to shoot
Speaker 1: free throws. Joel doesn't see it that way. He sees
Speaker 1: them as free He's worked on it, and it's working
Speaker 1: ten for eleven last night. Consistently. It's almost rare that
Speaker 1: we don't see him shooting double digit free throws at
Speaker 1: this point. I'm really impressed with his work at the line.
Speaker 1: I gotta be honest. Yeah, does he have a new routine?
Speaker 1: We've always seen him at the free throw line. He
Speaker 1: blows into his hands right to get this, you know,
Speaker 1: moisture off his hands, make sure he's all good, and
Speaker 1: any kind of holds the ball in his right hand
Speaker 1: to his side. I don't know, I don't know. I
Speaker 1: don't know if that's new. He holds it out. I
Speaker 1: want to say, that's a new wrinkle. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: had various free throw shooting routines over my time with
Speaker 1: the Sixers, but I'm willing to let him do whatever
Speaker 1: whatever works, it works. I was just like, oh, that's new.
Speaker 1: All right. I'm just gonna say, I'm glad the pick
Speaker 1: has been retired. We didn't need the pick. Oh yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: I forgot about that. Yeah, forgot about that one. One
Speaker 1: of the many different, great different things about Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty, twenty twenty one versus twenty nineteen. He
Speaker 1: bored the compression shorts is what I want him to do.
Speaker 1: All right, So we know how the game end of
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers went up by twenty two. The reserves.
Speaker 1: We love the reserves, but on that particular night on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: they made it interesting. Seventy six Ers end up eating
Speaker 1: out a victory by the final of one twenty three
Speaker 1: to one seventeen. As you wrap this up, I guess
Speaker 1: what I want to know from you guys is, even
Speaker 1: if Kevin Durant and James Harden and Blake Griffin had played,
Speaker 1: would this game really have meant anything. I'll start. I'll
Speaker 1: give him. I don't. I usually let you guys give
Speaker 1: takes first, but I'll give mine to give a sense
Speaker 1: of where I'm going with this. I say that because
Speaker 1: to me, there's a lot of time between now and
Speaker 1: the end of June. We saw as recently as the
Speaker 1: bubble that if a team gets in to a postseason situation,
Speaker 1: it can find itself and get better. I'm thinking the
Speaker 1: Miami Heat one of the first teams that come to mind,
Speaker 1: a team that can find itself in the postseason, come together,
Speaker 1: grow and get better. And I do wonder if what
Speaker 1: we could ultimately see of Brooklyn, if they remain healthy,
Speaker 1: is going to be different from what the version of
Speaker 1: what we would have seen on Wednesday night, anyhow, would
Speaker 1: have been. I think you say the same for the
Speaker 1: seventy six ers. Maybe they find out a little bit
Speaker 1: more about themselves. Maybe both teams are gonna be completely different.
Speaker 1: Was it our fans side that was like, yes, there's
Speaker 1: this hype, there's a star power, have to see this side.
Speaker 1: How much of that was really relevant to what could
Speaker 1: ultimately project out to the playoffs, I guess is what
Speaker 1: I'm wondering I think I agree with you, Salt. I
Speaker 1: think there's a little bit of regular season fatigue when
Speaker 1: you get to this part of this season, and players, coaches, fans,
Speaker 1: maybe fans more so than players and coaches want to
Speaker 1: have games to look forward to. So people were looking
Speaker 1: forward to this one because it was supposed to be
Speaker 1: a preview of a potential playoff opportunity. But I totally
Speaker 1: agree with you. Both teams will likely look different skill wise,
Speaker 1: chemistry wise, but also intensity wise once the playoffs roll around.
Speaker 1: So did it mean that much? Was it necessarily that
Speaker 1: much of a barometer? Maybe not based on how much
Speaker 1: change both teams could undergo, But was it still important?
Speaker 1: I think absolutely. I think that tiebreaker is key for
Speaker 1: these seventy six ers. These two teams have been tied
Speaker 1: a few times over the last few weeks, so who's
Speaker 1: to say that that situation of going up, going down,
Speaker 1: and being tied isn't going to be the situation that
Speaker 1: they arrive on in the end. So from a tiebreaker perspective,
Speaker 1: I think it always mattered regardless of who was available.
Speaker 1: But from a personnel perspective, I totally hear you. Both
Speaker 1: teams will definitely look different in the playoffs, it will
Speaker 1: absolutely look different. When you talk about George Hill and
Speaker 1: what he could mean, and certainly the other two with
Speaker 1: Durant and hard and not available. Absolutely, But from a
Speaker 1: fan perspective and even from you know, just overall basketball,
Speaker 1: you want to weigh yourself. As you said a preview, Laaren,
Speaker 1: you want to weigh yourself against the best, and if
Speaker 1: this is a preview, you want to see how you
Speaker 1: match up against said team. And in this particular case
Speaker 1: here it was at Brooklynts. Will feel the same with
Speaker 1: the two games in Milwaukee, and we wanted to see
Speaker 1: that year when they played the Bucks just a few
Speaker 1: weeks ago. Joel and beat unavailable, but you still felt
Speaker 1: good about what you saw and trying to weigh things out.
Speaker 1: So I did think because of the tiebreaker nature, the
Speaker 1: number one seed overall, and the fact that how is
Speaker 1: it going to play, you know what could ultimately develop
Speaker 1: in this game between these two teams even though these
Speaker 1: players are not available, but you still do have some
Speaker 1: stars there. Are they going to look at it and say, oh,
Speaker 1: that's nothing compared to what we expect with the intensity
Speaker 1: of Laren as you mentioned later on. So I still
Speaker 1: think there was. There was a lot to take from it.
Speaker 1: There was a lot there a little disappointing, as we
Speaker 1: said at the top, because of the absence of a
Speaker 1: few players, but overall, yeah, it was still important and
Speaker 1: there was some still some things to be able to
Speaker 1: take away from it. And I mean just look at
Speaker 1: it right there, the games. I mean ship, maybe that
Speaker 1: wasn't there with a certain amount of games and the
Speaker 1: ship that you would have gotten if the players were
Speaker 1: all there together, but now with them not being there,
Speaker 1: now us thinking or outsiders simply pointing out that maybe
Speaker 1: Brooklyn just didn't really you know, not a big deal.
Speaker 1: But so things come out of these types of games,
Speaker 1: and I love it. So I think it was important
Speaker 1: to wrap it all the way around. I think it
Speaker 1: was still an important game to take away some things
Speaker 1: from last thing. Great news about the stretch of the
Speaker 1: seventy six ers. There are a boatload of intriguing matchups
Speaker 1: to come between now and the next time we dive
Speaker 1: deep Clippers, Warriors and staff and the run he's on
Speaker 1: right now, the Suns Milwaukee Bucks two game series on
Speaker 1: the road of those games between now and next Friday
Speaker 1: when we do this next which one are you most
Speaker 1: looking forward to, Lauren, we can start with you. I
Speaker 1: love watching Steph Curry play, so I think if Steph
Speaker 1: Curry is available, even if it's the weakest of the
Speaker 1: three teams based on the standings, I think I look
Speaker 1: forward to that one. I just have always been a
Speaker 1: fan of his as a player, as a human, and
Speaker 1: seeing him succeed at the level he has after the
Speaker 1: Warriors have had a rough season over the last couple
Speaker 1: of weeks has been nice to watch. Of course, I
Speaker 1: won't be rooting for him in the game, but I
Speaker 1: do really enjoy watching him play, So I think it
Speaker 1: has to be that one. But it's it's quite an
Speaker 1: embarrassment of riches. These next few games, they're going to
Speaker 1: be good ones. I will stay away from the obvious,
Speaker 1: and I will stay away from the obvious, and I
Speaker 1: will go with the Friday matchup at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Speaker 1: It's the second game, of course, of the season. Saw
Speaker 1: them a few weeks back on that West Coast road
Speaker 1: trip where they got the better of you. On that
Speaker 1: road trip, you took care of Golden State, you beat
Speaker 1: Los Angeles, you fell to the Clippers, and I don't
Speaker 1: know as of yet as we sit here today talking
Speaker 1: about this, if George and Leona will play. They did
Speaker 1: not play Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons in that
Speaker 1: one late victory due to Reggie Jackson's shot. So I
Speaker 1: think it's that one because not only is it a
Speaker 1: bit of a rematch there where maybe you'll have all
Speaker 1: hands on deck, it's also once again maybe a potential
Speaker 1: preview of what could could be in late July. So
Speaker 1: I think I'm looking forward to what the Los Angeles
Speaker 1: Clippers are. There's seven to oh with Region Rondo in
Speaker 1: the lineup now, so they're playing much better basketball where
Speaker 1: they were stumbling and now unfortunately with the injury to
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray in Denver, things are changing. Although you know,
Speaker 1: I still like what's going on with the number two
Speaker 1: seed abroad. It will see next Wednesday. This could be
Speaker 1: a preview as well. So that's that's where I'm going.
Speaker 1: I'll go on Friday against the Clippers. Van I will
Speaker 1: take your obvious answer and make it my answer. Can't
Speaker 1: wait for the Phoenix Suns game. I also want to
Speaker 1: see Steph right now. He's on a tear, dropped twenty
Speaker 1: nine threes over the last three games, that's never been
Speaker 1: done before. Just insanity. But Phoenix only one and a
Speaker 1: half games off the pace in the West, one loss
Speaker 1: in their last ten games, second best scoring differential in
Speaker 1: the whole darn league. I know everyone knew they were
Speaker 1: going to take a step. I thought they would take
Speaker 1: a step after how they went through things in the
Speaker 1: bubble and then adding Chris Paul some other pieces. But
Speaker 1: they've been so impressive and I think they're showing that
Speaker 1: they're for real. They just keep winning, So I am,
Speaker 1: for one, looking forward to that matchup. They beat the
Speaker 1: seventy six ers in Pho. That was a long time ago,
Speaker 1: but both teams got off to really great starts. If
Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken, that might have been the sixers first
Speaker 1: loss when they started all five of the regulars in
Speaker 1: a game. It was the ninth loss of the season,
Speaker 1: so if it wasn't the first, it was one of
Speaker 1: the first, maybe two or three losses they had in
Speaker 1: a game where all the starters played. So I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to seeing it. I am. I'm excited. This is
Speaker 1: a great stretch and with the exception of the two
Speaker 1: games at Milwaukee, it's all at home, so it should
Speaker 1: be fun. Looking forward to Wednesday, of course, so I'm
Speaker 1: not allowed to fist pump on this podcast, but do
Speaker 1: you know whatever you want, man, there are no restrictions
Speaker 1: in your deal. Hey, people know already. That's right. Should
Speaker 1: be a good game, Should be a good game. Maybe
Speaker 1: I'll come on the podcast. No, I can't do that either,
Speaker 1: That's right, all right, guys, Thanks always fun, Thanks guys.
Speaker 1: Coming up in the days ahead here on the seventy
Speaker 1: six podcast Network main feed Monday, next edition of Mail
Speaker 1: Back Monday. I think Lauren and I are going to
Speaker 1: have to do an official roll call and take a
Speaker 1: pull for what should be the official name of the
Speaker 1: fur Con stands. We've been a lot of activity and
Speaker 1: chatter surrounding that in the mansions, so perhaps I'll have
Speaker 1: to rally the fur Coon enthusiasts out in full force
Speaker 1: and make an official ruling. Also, the return next week
Speaker 1: of co check and I believe Tom's talks as well,
Speaker 1: Plus as we always do on Friday, our next Friday
Speaker 1: Deep Dive. And then there's the Scoop, our second feed
Speaker 1: for the Sixers podcast Network. Follow us, find us search
Speaker 1: seventy six Ers Scoop wherever you get your pods and
Speaker 1: You'll get daily five minute updates on your team, your town,
Speaker 1: your seventy six ers have a great weekend, enjoy the game.
Speaker 1: See