Speaker 1: The seventy Sixers had been battling shorthanded since the All
Speaker 1: Star break. When the current roster is at full strength,
Speaker 1: the ceiling pretty darn high. At least that's what one
Speaker 1: pre eminent basketball reporter thinks. The Sixers right now, at
Speaker 1: least in the Eastern Conference, have best starting five out
Speaker 1: there and probably the only other team that can really
Speaker 1: compete with them as a Warriors. If you don't recognize
Speaker 1: the voice, you certainly know the name. That is, of course,
Speaker 1: Adrian Wodronasky, and he was in town recently worked on
Speaker 1: a few projects. The ESPN Senior NBA Insider is one
Speaker 1: of our guests. Plus we'll hear from one of the
Speaker 1: newest members of the seventy Sixers Reserve Corps who's looking
Speaker 1: to carve out a niche on this episode of the broadcast,
Speaker 1: a short but hopefully pretty sweet quality over quantity edition
Speaker 1: of the podcast, not going to be the longest episode
Speaker 1: we've ever produced, but hopefully between a conversation with Adrian
Speaker 1: Mojanaski and new seventy Sixer James Ennis, you'll get some
Speaker 1: good knowledge, some good insights, some good perspective, and especially
Speaker 1: in the case of wo some national perspective on things
Speaker 1: surrounding the seventy six Ers, what the league thinks of
Speaker 1: the team, it's chances to contend for a title this year,
Speaker 1: and how well the Sixers are set up for the future,
Speaker 1: looking forward to playing in those conversations in a moment.
Speaker 1: But a reminder that to subscribe the podcast, you can
Speaker 1: go to a couple of places. In fact, you can
Speaker 1: go just about any place to subscribe to our feed
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, pocketcasts, tune in SoundCloud, anywhere.
Speaker 1: Just type in Sixers Podcast Network and that will get
Speaker 1: you to our show. And we'd love to have you
Speaker 1: as a subscriber. All right, let us get to playing
Speaker 1: you back some of these conversations. We'll get to James
Speaker 1: Ennis in a moment, but first let's hear from WOJ.
Speaker 1: Seventy Sixers going through a stretch right now. As I
Speaker 1: mentioned at the top, they are not at full strength.
Speaker 1: That of course means first and foremost Joel Embiid has
Speaker 1: not been playing since the All Star Game break, but
Speaker 1: also the Sixers trying to weather injuries recently to Boban Marnyanovitch.
Speaker 1: For the past week, Jonah Bolden missed a game because
Speaker 1: he wasn't feeling well. A mere Johnson hasn't been feeling
Speaker 1: one so especially at the five spot. The Sixers just
Speaker 1: trying to patch things together and make things work. Since
Speaker 1: the All Star Game break, they've gone four and three.
Speaker 1: The losses were to Portland, you know, no real shame
Speaker 1: in that, to Golden State, no real shame in that,
Speaker 1: And most recently on Wednesday, the Chicago Bulls. A tough one,
Speaker 1: especially because the Sixers were set up to win, but
Speaker 1: the second night of a back to back not an
Speaker 1: easy circumstance. It's the Sixers they've been trying to get by.
Speaker 1: But in speaking with Woad, who was at the Center
Speaker 1: last Saturday for the Golden State game working on a
Speaker 1: few things, the first thing I asked him was, let
Speaker 1: us put on our bright, shiny, huge glasses, dream of
Speaker 1: a world of unicorns and rainbows and idealistically think about life.
Speaker 1: The seventy sixers are healthy, I asked Woach, just how
Speaker 1: much of a threat can the seventy Sixers be. I
Speaker 1: think the Sixers right now, at least in the Eastern Conference,
Speaker 1: have best starting five out there, and probably the only
Speaker 1: other team that can really compete with them is a
Speaker 1: Warriors team that they play on Saturday Night. But this
Speaker 1: is a team certainly top heavy with talent, you know, great,
Speaker 1: you know, bringing in Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, two great
Speaker 1: perimeter defenders, certainly terrific offensive players. And if this is
Speaker 1: a team that can find the right chemistry, the right balance,
Speaker 1: you know, this is they can certainly beat anybody in
Speaker 1: the East. And we know these Eastern Conference playoffs are
Speaker 1: going to be h something like we haven't seen in
Speaker 1: this conference for I think a bunch of years. It's
Speaker 1: like about two of the newcomers to the starting five
Speaker 1: beginning first of the most recent guy in Tobias Harris.
Speaker 1: What type of player has he turned himself into over
Speaker 1: the course of his career. Tobias Harris is a great
Speaker 1: example of a player like that. You just in this
Speaker 1: league to not make judgments too quickly on who players are,
Speaker 1: to understand, especially when they've come out of college after
Speaker 1: one year, that there's a lot of room to get better.
Speaker 1: And you saw that. You know, for a player of
Speaker 1: his talent to have been traded several times already in
Speaker 1: his career, it's pretty remarkable. I think the fact that
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris has the temperament, he has, the personality, the
Speaker 1: kind of teammate he is. It was really the reason
Speaker 1: Philly could make this trade and bring him in along
Speaker 1: with Joe l Embiid and Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons,
Speaker 1: you know, great players, but also some big personalities that
Speaker 1: a little bit like Clay Thompson with the Warriors. When
Speaker 1: your third or fourth player has that kind of very
Speaker 1: even keeled and easy disposition, it can make it work.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if Philly could have done this
Speaker 1: deal if Tobias Harris had any different kind of personality
Speaker 1: than he has. When you look at Jimmy Butler, how
Speaker 1: well rounded is he for a player at his position. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean Jimmy Butler is listen on the court and
Speaker 1: what he does on certainly both ends of it. It's
Speaker 1: it's remarkable. I mean, he's as much of a like
Speaker 1: to buy his harrison a lot of ways, very much
Speaker 1: a self made player, late first round pick, junior college
Speaker 1: player to Marquette, and you saw who got better and
Speaker 1: better each year in the NBA. And he brings a toughness,
Speaker 1: a physicality to his position. He can defend bigger players,
Speaker 1: you can put him on smaller players, and I think
Speaker 1: for the city of Philadelphia, I think Butler, you knew
Speaker 1: it from the moment Philly made the trade that Jimmy
Speaker 1: Butler fits the city. He fits this fan base like
Speaker 1: you could imagine Jimmy Butler playing in Philadelphia, you know,
Speaker 1: for a very long time. And you know, certainly he
Speaker 1: gave them. I think with this team the star power
Speaker 1: power they needed, especially when they looked around the rest
Speaker 1: of the conference and felt that they weren't good enough.
Speaker 1: In Philadelphia, the team had to get more talented, and
Speaker 1: you know, bringing Jimmy Butler and allowed them to put
Speaker 1: a group on the floor that was as talented as
Speaker 1: anybody in the East. I don't want to put words
Speaker 1: in your mouth, but JJ Reddick it seems like he's
Speaker 1: only gotten better as his age has increased. At this
Speaker 1: stage of his career. What type of ingredients does he
Speaker 1: add to this starting five? How important is he making
Speaker 1: everything go? Yeah? I mean JJ Reddick is he is
Speaker 1: a player who's gotten better in his thirties, keeps himself
Speaker 1: in tremendous condition, and I think it's going to allow
Speaker 1: him play. It's going to allow Reddick to play well
Speaker 1: into his thirties, he's become a much better defender in
Speaker 1: the league. He'll he'll talk about the impact stanbian Gundy
Speaker 1: had on him very early in his career in Orlando.
Speaker 1: And you know, he played such an integral role on
Speaker 1: those Clipper teams with a lot of star players around,
Speaker 1: and his circumstances and a whole lot different in Philly
Speaker 1: than it was with the Clippers. And he's a player who,
Speaker 1: you know, he doesn't have to put it on the floor,
Speaker 1: you know, catch and shoot, and when defenses start to
Speaker 1: converge on the all stars on this roster, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, in a big spot, JJ Reddick, you know,
Speaker 1: is going to be able to make a shot for you.
Speaker 1: And I think for Philly, and I think this was
Speaker 1: true in LA and it's true here. He's really one
Speaker 1: of the underappreciated players in terms of role and impact
Speaker 1: in the league. And you know, there are a lot
Speaker 1: of teams in the league who would love a lot
Speaker 1: of contenders who'd love to have JJ Reddick on their roster.
Speaker 1: I know Philly feels pretty lucky that they've got them.
Speaker 1: Two of the men at the leadership home for the
Speaker 1: seventies Sixers, Brett Brown, and Elton Brand. Can you talk
Speaker 1: about the type of reputation they've earned for themselves, Well,
Speaker 1: Elton obviously in a very short period of time as
Speaker 1: a GM, but Brett now the last six seasons here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Brett Brown, You know, I think what's a
Speaker 1: pretty good mark for a coach in this league are
Speaker 1: how what players say about them when they're gone and
Speaker 1: they're not with him anymore. And you talk to players
Speaker 1: who are with Brett Brown at all different stages of
Speaker 1: the Sixers rebuild, and guys who played big roles, guys
Speaker 1: who didn't play a whole lot, and what they'll always
Speaker 1: tell you is I always thought he was honest with him.
Speaker 1: He was fair, and he coached him hard. And one
Speaker 1: thing about Brett Brown, and you taught, whether it's the
Speaker 1: guys he competes against other coaches executives in the league,
Speaker 1: they talk about his honesty. And I've talked to agents
Speaker 1: and free agency who talk about or in the buyout
Speaker 1: market who will talk to Brett Brown about what their
Speaker 1: player's role might be with the Sixers, and they'll go
Speaker 1: back and tell you what Brett Brown told us it
Speaker 1: was going to be is exactly how it was a
Speaker 1: lot of coaches will sell bigger roles than the players
Speaker 1: actually going to see and that goes a long way
Speaker 1: in this league. And I think there's an appreciation for
Speaker 1: what he's been through in Philly, what he led the
Speaker 1: organization through, and I think he gives hope to a
Speaker 1: lot of coaches in the league who are in rebuilding
Speaker 1: situations that they can see it through the way Brett
Speaker 1: Brown was able to see it through in Philly. And
Speaker 1: I do think it's changed the way executive look at
Speaker 1: rebuilding processes that it isn't always just about having a
Speaker 1: guy to get you through the rebuild and then we're
Speaker 1: gonna bring another guy in when we want to be
Speaker 1: a playoff team. That the coach can grow with the organization.
Speaker 1: And I think Brett Brown has done a lot for
Speaker 1: the coaching profession with how he's handled this job. And
Speaker 1: Elton brand listen, I think from the very beginning here
Speaker 1: he brought instant credibility. It is not easy to become
Speaker 1: a gem in this league so quickly removed from your
Speaker 1: playing career, as a few guys who've done it well,
Speaker 1: Joe Dumars did it and Detroit built a championship team.
Speaker 1: But you don't see it as much in the modern era.
Speaker 1: And I think what Elton Brand has done a really
Speaker 1: good job of is knowing where his strengths were initially,
Speaker 1: his ability to lead, to oversee the locker room, the
Speaker 1: coaching staff, interact with other executives in the league. But
Speaker 1: you don't get a sense other gems think they can
Speaker 1: get over on Elton Brand because he's new to it.
Speaker 1: He went through some tough negotiations with some of the
Speaker 1: trades they made, and he's certainly, I think, had the
Speaker 1: respect to people around the league. I think it's he
Speaker 1: gained even more so with how he's handled a job.
Speaker 1: But I think as much as anything, I think Elton's
Speaker 1: willingness to lean on. You know, he has a really
Speaker 1: good staff in Philadelphia front office of really experienced guys
Speaker 1: who you know, some of whom he came up with
Speaker 1: here the last couple of years. And I think he
Speaker 1: allows everyone to do their jobs. And I think he's
Speaker 1: learning from the people around him. And I think that's
Speaker 1: a big part of this job, is figuring out as
Speaker 1: you go along and leaning on the people who can
Speaker 1: help you get smarter at it. And I think, you know,
Speaker 1: he's done that and I think it speaks to, you know,
Speaker 1: the success he's had a pretty short time here. Great
Speaker 1: stuff from majoran Wojanavski, ESPN senior NBA insider, not that
Speaker 1: you'd expect anything less. I did want to ask him
Speaker 1: about Joel Embie and Ben Simmons. I realized it was
Speaker 1: probably a little bit conspicuous that I didn't, but we
Speaker 1: were limited on time. Wach obviously and extremely busy dude
Speaker 1: didn't want to keep him too long, and honestly, I
Speaker 1: feel and this is this really is more complimentary than
Speaker 1: anything else. Ben and Joe get such deserving love. Get
Speaker 1: talked about a lot that I really wanted to dive in,
Speaker 1: specifically on the two new editions to the roster and
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler to Bias Harris, and then get some thoughts
Speaker 1: from Rhojo on JJ Reddick, who I still feel and
Speaker 1: I admit I've said this before, We're going to say
Speaker 1: it again. I am as guilty as anyone. I just
Speaker 1: feel like JJ Reddick, it's almost like we take for
Speaker 1: granted what he does and is expected to do, even
Speaker 1: though he does it at such a high level. So
Speaker 1: I just wanted to check in and get Wog's thoughts
Speaker 1: on JJ Reddick in the type of season JJ has
Speaker 1: been having. Good to see him bounce back the last
Speaker 1: two games for the Sixers in the win over Orlando
Speaker 1: and the loss of the Chicago Bulls. The loss of
Speaker 1: the Bulls was indeed a toughy and we're going to
Speaker 1: talk about that a little bit more right after this.
Speaker 1: And here from James Ennis, who was a bright spot
Speaker 1: for the seventy Sixers in that game on Wednesday at
Speaker 1: United seven. But first I have to I want to
Speaker 1: I need to tell you about the fourth Annual Sixers
Speaker 1: Youth Foundation Gallup, presented by vip Wireless. It is this
Speaker 1: Monday at the Fillmore, Philadelphia, fantastic venue right off of
Speaker 1: Columbus Boulevard and Frankfort Avenue as you get into Fishtown.
Speaker 1: Going to be a great night, it always is, if
Speaker 1: you've gone before, if you've heard about it, if you
Speaker 1: know people who've gone, if you've seen some of the
Speaker 1: stuff we've posted on social about it. There's gonna be players,
Speaker 1: there's gonna be coaches, there's gonna be alums, members of
Speaker 1: the front office, all of the Fillmore for a great
Speaker 1: night of fun as everyone works together to create brighter
Speaker 1: futures for the leaders of tomorrow from right here in
Speaker 1: the Delaware Valley. If you're interested about finding out more
Speaker 1: or how you might be able to attend or to
Speaker 1: purchase tickets, you can go to Sixers Youth Foundation dot org,
Speaker 1: slash gallup Strong Youth, Strong Communities, promising futures. That is
Speaker 1: what six or Strong is all about. And I'm telling you,
Speaker 1: I know that you've probably been to charity events and
Speaker 1: fundraisers before. The gala is an entirely different deal, just
Speaker 1: an awesome night. Fourth annual Sixers Youth Foundation Gala presented
Speaker 1: by VIP Wireless this coming Monday, Fillmore, Philadelphia, once again
Speaker 1: the site for tickets Sixers Youth Foundation dot org slash
Speaker 1: Gala and on the website right now the live auction
Speaker 1: is underway. Great items for you to bid on, classic things,
Speaker 1: things you can't get anywhere else, things like being a
Speaker 1: guest on the broadcast. All right, we'd love to have you,
Speaker 1: so yeah, please do. That's item number one twenty eight
Speaker 1: if I'm not mistaken, But yeah, please support the cause
Speaker 1: if you can. It certainly goes to a worthwhile, valid purpose. Sixers.
Speaker 1: We're right now recording this podcast middle of the road trip.
Speaker 1: Now they're going to play the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Speaker 1: They lost at Chicago on Wednesday by point one eight
Speaker 1: one o seven. That was a tough one, no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. Bizarre, quirky ending with half a second to go, once,
Speaker 1: half a second to go twice. Sixers not able to
Speaker 1: get the job done. But a guy who did get
Speaker 1: the job done, who played really well, I thought off
Speaker 1: the bench in seventeen minutes. James Ennis, relative newcomer to
Speaker 1: the Sixers, picked up the day of the deadline about
Speaker 1: a month ago from the Houston Rockets. The Sixers and
Speaker 1: Rockets exchanged the rights to swat picks in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1: But against Chicago on Wednesday, Ennis went for eleven points,
Speaker 1: five of seven, seven rebounds. The eleven points seven rebounds
Speaker 1: both highs with the Sixers two block shots as well,
Speaker 1: showed up big in the fourth quarter and gave some
Speaker 1: nice lift off the bench. So after the game, inside
Speaker 1: a Sixers locker room that was understandably disappointed with the defeat,
Speaker 1: had the chance to grab a few minutes with James Ennis,
Speaker 1: and here's how the conversation went. Tough LOSSIRA veteran member
Speaker 1: of this team. What do you try to do to
Speaker 1: regroup after a game like this? Let's just go back
Speaker 1: and watch the phone and watch the mistakes. You know,
Speaker 1: it's a back to back. I feel like our energy
Speaker 1: was a little down today, but you know we just
Speaker 1: go back, go back and watch film and you know,
Speaker 1: learn from that. You did supply some good energy in
Speaker 1: your minutes. What did you make your performance? Statistically speaking?
Speaker 1: It was your highest and pact game with the team
Speaker 1: since the trade. We lost today. You know, Um, it
Speaker 1: sucks to lose, but you know, I'll just try to
Speaker 1: do so as much as i can want the opportunity
Speaker 1: I get, you know, because I never know if I'm
Speaker 1: a player or not. But you know I'm always ready
Speaker 1: when my numbers called. Have you gone about just trying
Speaker 1: to find your comfort here? Establish a rhythm with a
Speaker 1: new team? Um, you know, put an extra work after
Speaker 1: practice at night. You know, that's what keeps you, keeps
Speaker 1: your mind into the game and keep you and keeps
Speaker 1: you ready. And that's what I've been doing. And tonight,
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's good to see the ball going
Speaker 1: finally since I've been there. So I've been working really hard.
Speaker 1: You know, it's funny you have a locker at least
Speaker 1: here in Chicago next to John Simmons and Brett Brown's
Speaker 1: talked about this mini tournament among some of the reserve guys,
Speaker 1: but it seems like there's a good camaraderie with some
Speaker 1: the bench and thereserve players too. Yeah, you know whatever,
Speaker 1: you know, get along, run here. You know, it's just
Speaker 1: a good environment and that's what that's what you want,
Speaker 1: you know. I'm really happy to be along with this team.
Speaker 1: Your next game is Houston. What was that experience like
Speaker 1: playing with them? And hows it feel knowing that you're
Speaker 1: going back there now with another squad. I had a
Speaker 1: good experience, you know, playing with UM, playing with James,
Speaker 1: Chris Ball, you know, UM, growing against them, I can't wait.
Speaker 1: You know, just you know, get actor, you know, compete,
Speaker 1: and that's that's what always want. Funny games. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you had plenty of reps and opportunities in practice,
Speaker 1: but what what's the key to trying to slow down
Speaker 1: players of that high caliber like that? Trying to get
Speaker 1: the bat at James James's hand and just make it
Speaker 1: tough rum last thing. I mean, you've been around in
Speaker 1: the league for a while. You've seen good teams. What
Speaker 1: do you think you have with this core here when
Speaker 1: you guys are fully healthy. You know, we had like
Speaker 1: five alsos on this team, you know, and U just all.
Speaker 1: We have role players also too that can play also,
Speaker 1: so the whole the whole fifteen. So the first player,
Speaker 1: we all we're all good enough to to help this
Speaker 1: down one. You know. I always think that's nice for
Speaker 1: a player, especially for one who's going back against an
Speaker 1: old team after a trade, specifically when that deal is
Speaker 1: still fresh, when you can come in with a little
Speaker 1: shot in the arm, a little boost, pep in the step,
Speaker 1: and that'll be the situation for James Ennis the third
Speaker 1: on Friday, when the seventy six Ers visit the Houston
Speaker 1: Rockets at Toyota Center for an eight o'clock Eastern game.
Speaker 1: That's on NBC Sports Philadelphia, on ESPN if you're out
Speaker 1: of markets, and of course, in the Sixers radio network.
Speaker 1: The Sixers handled the Houston Rockets the first time around
Speaker 1: pretty convincingly. Chris Paul did not play in that game
Speaker 1: at the Center about a month and a half ago,
Speaker 1: but Chris Paul is playing now on the season, averaging
Speaker 1: sixteen points eight and a half assists, two steals per game.
Speaker 1: Back out there with James Harden. Harden is just you know,
Speaker 1: he's had so many runs over the course of his career,
Speaker 1: but right now averaging forty and a half points his
Speaker 1: last thirty eight games. Might see that type of output
Speaker 1: over a five game stretch, a ten game stretch, I
Speaker 1: would say a fifteen game stretch would be pretty heady
Speaker 1: to put up that type of scoring average. But thirty
Speaker 1: eight games, that's more than half the Rockets season. Insane.
Speaker 1: Houston's twenty seven and eleven in those games. By the way,
Speaker 1: Harden is shooting ninety one percent from the line over
Speaker 1: his past twenty four games, and he's one of four
Speaker 1: players with over six thousand free throw at tens in
Speaker 1: his career who shoots eighty five percent or better from
Speaker 1: the free throw line. Just insanity. You know another guy
Speaker 1: who the Sixers did not have to face the first
Speaker 1: time around when they defeated the Houston Rockets one twenty
Speaker 1: one ninety three on January twenty first, the center was
Speaker 1: Clinton Capella. But he's back and as a result, the
Speaker 1: Houston Rockets are late in the season rising up the
Speaker 1: rungs of the Western Conference standings. So much was put
Speaker 1: on and pinned on the Rockets at the start of
Speaker 1: this year. Could they get back to the Western Conference finals?
Speaker 1: Could they maybe make the push into the finals? And
Speaker 1: they got off to a bumpy start. But Houston right now,
Speaker 1: they have ripped and surged and vaulted their way up
Speaker 1: to the third seed right now in the Western Conference.
Speaker 1: They've won six games in row going in a Friday's game.
Speaker 1: That's the longest active winning streak in the NBA. And
Speaker 1: they've been really good at home twenty two and nine.
Speaker 1: So the Sixers going to be tough, you would figure,
Speaker 1: especially since you know Houston is not going to forget
Speaker 1: the Sixers had a pretty easy time with them, regardless
Speaker 1: of whether or not they were without a few key
Speaker 1: starters back in January. All Right, that'll do it for
Speaker 1: this episode of the podcast. Really appreciate Adrian Wodanowski carving
Speaker 1: out some time when he's at the Center last weekend
Speaker 1: to speak also James Ennis inside the locker room at
Speaker 1: the United Center the other nights. Thank you as always
Speaker 1: for listening. We love having you on board with the podcast,
Speaker 1: and we'll talk to you next time. Here onto the broadcast.