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Speaker 3: week's sixers and sixty, a live show from the Center
Speaker 3: in South Philadelphia. Prior to the seven hosting the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker 3: I'm Matt Murphy, our fanatic basketball insider. This week is
Speaker 3: none other than d Lineum, D how are you doing?
Speaker 1: Great?
Speaker 4: Beautiful day?
Speaker 5: Yeah, wrapping up the regular season.
Speaker 4: It's all good.
Speaker 3: Three home games for the Sixers to wrap up the
Speaker 3: regular season, and the rundown tonight includes a conversation towards
Speaker 3: the end of the show with Ricky Counsel, the fourth
Speaker 3: of player that you and I both know quite well
Speaker 3: as part of his two way contract between the Sixers
Speaker 3: and the Delaware Blue Coats this season. If anyone has
Speaker 3: missed our Sixers player and coach interviews throughout the season,
Speaker 3: you can search for the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast.
Speaker 3: There are a number of questionable players before this Pistons
Speaker 3: game on the Sixers side, but that is actually sort
Speaker 3: of good news in a way because some of them
Speaker 3: have been straight listed as out yeah for much of
Speaker 3: this season. So Anthony yeah, that we'll start there, because
Speaker 3: that was one of the updates a moment ago from
Speaker 3: coach Nick Nurse in his pregame media availability and de
Speaker 3: Anthony Melton, who he came back for a couple of
Speaker 3: games in February, but really he's been out for more
Speaker 3: than two months, like mid January. The Anthony Meltain he
Speaker 3: was a starter for this team.
Speaker 1: So it's good that.
Speaker 3: He was upgraded to questionable and as we speak right now,
Speaker 3: we don't know his status. Nick Nurse seemed pretty optimistic
Speaker 3: that if it's not tonight, it probably will be this week.
Speaker 3: I'm not speaking trying not to speak for him, but
Speaker 3: it's encouraging the way the tone that he was using.
Speaker 3: And what does that mean for the Sixers.
Speaker 5: Well, it's another perimeter defender for sure. I think though
Speaker 5: the last time he came back and correct me if
Speaker 5: I'm wrong, I think it only lasted two or three games.
Speaker 3: It was three three and in those games it was
Speaker 3: not more than about twenty minutes in any of them.
Speaker 5: And the back is, you know, it's a tough injury
Speaker 5: for people.
Speaker 4: And you mentioned that he is a starter for this team.
Speaker 5: I do not think that will be the role that
Speaker 5: he has when he comes back. But I think any
Speaker 5: perimeter defender, and I think he puts a lot of
Speaker 5: energy into that side of the ball, is just added
Speaker 5: depth that you're grateful to have. So I think Deannthony
Speaker 5: knows that his role will be different at this juncture,
Speaker 5: but I think that he will be a willing participant
Speaker 5: in whatever role.
Speaker 4: Nick Nurse asks of him.
Speaker 1: We know that he'll take threes.
Speaker 3: He's thirty six percent and he's played less than forty
Speaker 3: games this season. He's also a big reason why this
Speaker 3: Sixers team started out so hot on steels and deflections,
Speaker 3: but they.
Speaker 1: Have maintained that ranking.
Speaker 3: Have you seen Nick Nurse's imprint on that stylistically with
Speaker 3: the defense, because the Sixers for much of this year,
Speaker 3: if not all of it, have been first in steels
Speaker 3: per game, still first at eight and a half. And
Speaker 3: then deflections is sixteen point two, tied with Memphis here
Speaker 3: on April ninth, for the most deflections per game in
Speaker 3: the NBA, which we know has become a stable coaches
Speaker 3: really care about and in the Blue Coats and the
Speaker 3: Sixers too, but coaches really care about that number in
Speaker 3: Melton is only going to help them stay at the top.
Speaker 4: I think so. I think what it says.
Speaker 5: You know that they want to get in passing lanes,
Speaker 5: they use their length, and they have some guys that
Speaker 5: can do that. And then because you have a rim
Speaker 5: protector in Embiid, you can take a few more chances
Speaker 5: because he makes up for a lot of mistakes.
Speaker 4: If you don't get that deflection or that steal.
Speaker 3: It's such a simple concept to have your arms out
Speaker 3: on defense and or arms up. But right when Nick
Speaker 3: Nurse got here, everyone started, we all started hearing this
Speaker 3: language or this phrase Eagles, and that's what they call
Speaker 3: just spreading your your wings on the defensive end. And
Speaker 3: it's simple because they're professional players.
Speaker 1: But you'll fire some Matt. Yeah.
Speaker 3: You'll often hear the bench and the and their teammates
Speaker 3: yelling out Eagles, Eagles, and it just means have your
Speaker 3: arms out on defense. And that is something that you
Speaker 3: know they're reminded of on a regular basis. They are
Speaker 3: forty four and thirty five. I want to talk embiid MAXI,
Speaker 3: the Spurs game, all of that, but before we go there,
Speaker 3: just these standings in general. I mean, there's seven after
Speaker 3: the win over the Spurs to ump Miami for the
Speaker 3: time being, and obviously one through six they're in the
Speaker 3: playoffs guaranteed. The play in tournament is seven through ten.
Speaker 3: Seven gets the home game and the right to win
Speaker 3: that at home to get the official seven seed. But
Speaker 3: I've heard you on the Fanatic diving into the Eastern
Speaker 3: Conference and really explaining it. Well, so where is your
Speaker 3: mind at right now when it comes to the Sixers
Speaker 3: place in the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 5: So you don't have the tiebreaker with Indiana. And I
Speaker 5: know some people were like, who should I pull for
Speaker 5: yesterday between.
Speaker 4: Miami and Indiana.
Speaker 5: I think the right thing happened with Miami losing that
Speaker 5: game because I don't think you can just focus on
Speaker 5: trying to.
Speaker 4: Get the sixth seed.
Speaker 5: I think hosting the play in game on your home
Speaker 5: floor is absolutely important as well. So for them to
Speaker 5: knock Indiana out, they're gonna have that forty seven wins,
Speaker 5: which they can if they run the table. They've had
Speaker 5: a five game winning streak with three to play, so
Speaker 5: it would be an eight game winning streak and more
Speaker 5: important than that, Matt, even if Indiana ends up with
Speaker 5: forty seven and you lose that battle, but you end
Speaker 5: up with the seventh, you're heading into the postseason playing.
Speaker 4: Great basketball, and that to me matters.
Speaker 5: You got your guy back, you're winning, and people are
Speaker 5: afraid of you.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So even above Indiana, things have the potential because Cleveland
Speaker 3: has dropped three in a row, down from three to
Speaker 3: five yep, and Orlando has shot up to three. That's
Speaker 3: who the Sixers will see on Friday night, but they
Speaker 3: have that tie breaker. So Orlando is one of the
Speaker 3: teams that technically the Sixers could still pass in the standings,
Speaker 3: even though they're up at number three right now. So
Speaker 3: maybe that is a young team that comes crashing down
Speaker 3: because they play the Bucks twice before the end.
Speaker 5: Well, right now, the Bucks are they're fulling on hard
Speaker 5: times there.
Speaker 4: They've lost four in a row.
Speaker 5: I don't know if you caught Doc Rivers pres conference
Speaker 5: the other day, man which one, Oh my goodness, right exactly,
Speaker 5: he's going through a tough time right now.
Speaker 1: And no one's going to catch Boston.
Speaker 3: And then obviously Sixers fans are hoping for probably the
Speaker 3: six for the extra week off, but the seven as
Speaker 3: well because you avoid the Boston side of the bracket.
Speaker 1: Seems like a pretty good thing.
Speaker 4: I think the root for.
Speaker 5: Yeah, But I mean you are correct, Like the Milwaukee
Speaker 5: I thought for the longest time was going to be
Speaker 5: the second seat. I mean that's not a given right now.
Speaker 5: So I mean you have Orlando a game back of them,
Speaker 5: and then the Knicks are tied with the Magic I
Speaker 5: didn't do a deep dive into that tiebreaker, and then
Speaker 5: you have the Calves only a half game out of
Speaker 5: those two who are sixteen. Thats so I think that
Speaker 5: on Sunday there could be movement that maybe a month
Speaker 5: ago you would not have anticipated.
Speaker 4: In the East.
Speaker 3: Sixers do have the lowest opponent winning percentage coming up
Speaker 3: for the remainder of their regular season, but some of
Speaker 3: it is a little out of their hands. Matt Murphy
Speaker 3: and d Line, I'm here on Sixers in sixty and
Speaker 3: we do have some news to report about this Pistons game.
Speaker 3: That both Kyle Lowry and Tyrese Maxey are out tonight.
Speaker 3: So Maxi had been on the injury report a couple
Speaker 3: of times, missed a couple games with the hip, but
Speaker 3: played through the hip a couple of times as well
Speaker 3: for fifty two points and he played fifty four minutes.
Speaker 3: So because of the left hip titan as he is
Speaker 3: out and Kyle Lowry left knee of fusion, they're just
Speaker 3: trying to get him right. And the two days coming
Speaker 3: up that are off before the Orlando game is something
Speaker 3: that Nick Nurse just referenced to us as well.
Speaker 1: But that puts a lot of pressure on the Sixers.
Speaker 4: Well, you might have your.
Speaker 5: Guy that you said as a starter, d Anthony Melton
Speaker 5: might go right back in there as a starter.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so no official ruling yet on Melton as out,
Speaker 3: but he was questionable sometimes guys you know, are questionable
Speaker 3: all the way up until the starting lineup a half
Speaker 3: an hour before. But we do have word about Lowry
Speaker 3: and Maxie being out a special game for Tyrese.
Speaker 5: I'm guessing that then that would go if we go
Speaker 5: a couple back when Tyresee did not play, campaign was
Speaker 5: in that starting lineup, that there's a good chance that
Speaker 5: would be the case here today.
Speaker 3: He's played really well as a starter as well, and
Speaker 3: someone with playoff experience, which I want to get your
Speaker 3: X factor for the playoffs. In a moment before that,
Speaker 3: the fun double overtime game on Sunday against San Antonio.
Speaker 3: What were some of your takeaways from that?
Speaker 5: My first takeaway was that Tyrese Maxi was not going
Speaker 5: to let them lose that game, just flat out.
Speaker 4: I mean, he put them on his back.
Speaker 5: My other takeaways would be I thought Ricky Counsel in
Speaker 5: the second overtime was outstanding. kJ Martin in the first
Speaker 5: overtime gives you a couple of buckets. So to have
Speaker 5: guys that you've developed and come through in a moment
Speaker 5: like that, because really we're not talking about the sixth
Speaker 5: seed being possible today if they don't pull that game
Speaker 5: out out. So those two things stood out to me
Speaker 5: in particular. But Tyrese's play. This guy he's just so
Speaker 5: fun that he's so humble, and he's super super talented.
Speaker 3: One turnover in the fifty four minutes. I know that was,
Speaker 3: of course because of the two overtimes, a career high
Speaker 3: for minutes. He edged out his career high, scoring a
Speaker 3: fifty one with the fifty two.
Speaker 5: And I said, and I felt bad saying it in
Speaker 5: a report ahead. The only thing he didn't do well
Speaker 5: he didn't shoot the three ball. Yeah, he was two
Speaker 5: for ten, but nineteen of forty one from the floor,
Speaker 5: seven assists only the one turn in fifty four minutes?
Speaker 4: Are you kidding me?
Speaker 3: But it's still good to see him take the ten
Speaker 3: and make all the other drives and off angle of
Speaker 3: shots and things.
Speaker 4: It keeps the defender honest.
Speaker 3: Now, outside of Maxi and Joel Embiid, when it comes
Speaker 3: to looking ahead, who is a player doesn't even have
Speaker 3: to be a player, could be the coach who.
Speaker 1: That's my X factor, Nick Nurse.
Speaker 4: Nick Nurse is my Can I tell you why?
Speaker 5: Yes, Because I love the way his brain works. I
Speaker 5: love his creativity, and I always say to people the
Speaker 5: rotation shrinks in the postseason.
Speaker 4: I don't think so for Nick Nurse.
Speaker 5: I think that he will use matchups that are to
Speaker 5: his advantage. And I think even in listening to him
Speaker 5: last week when the OKC game, that he's scheming differently
Speaker 5: or trying things because he has not had the opportunity
Speaker 5: to see embid with Lowry. He talked about Lowry and
Speaker 5: what a great screenery is. He talked about Colin Lowry
Speaker 5: into his office and say, you know, hey, e Bead's
Speaker 5: playing tonight, and Lowry said to her, I don't know
Speaker 5: what to do with that dude.
Speaker 4: And then He's like, he's gonna be in this space.
Speaker 4: He's gonna be He's like, oh, like surge and Nick's like, yeah,
Speaker 4: like surge.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 5: So I just think Nick Nurse, I really enjoy watching
Speaker 5: the different things that he and his staff come up with,
Speaker 5: and I think we're gonna have We're gonna see some
Speaker 5: of that in the postseason.
Speaker 3: And a perfect example of going with maybe just a
Speaker 3: different option was Ricky Counsel the fourth not playing in
Speaker 3: the first three quarters against San Antonio and then not
Speaker 3: coming out from the fourth quarter through the overtime. So
Speaker 3: that's just another example.
Speaker 4: And I think Batoum is another one.
Speaker 1: Like you bound specialist.
Speaker 5: Yeah right, And I also think that he will flip
Speaker 5: if he thinks Batoomb gives him size that he needs
Speaker 5: in his starting lineup.
Speaker 4: He'll bring Kelly off the bench.
Speaker 5: But either one of the batom came off the bench
Speaker 5: a couple of games ago and played thirty minutes, and
Speaker 5: then he's been in there when somebody's been out, like
Speaker 5: a Maxi or Tobias. So I think the one thing
Speaker 5: Nick keeps everybody all hands on deck at all times.
Speaker 3: Well, the Sixers coaches and the head coach, Nick Nurse,
Speaker 3: will have to get creative ahead of this Pistons game
Speaker 3: without Lowry and Maxie available, they have been ruled out.
Speaker 3: We will hear from Lauren Roseen, the Sixers team reporter,
Speaker 3: next and Ricky Counsel, the fourth later in the show.
Speaker 3: But d line Um, our fanatic basketball insidner, thank.
Speaker 1: You so much.
Speaker 4: Absolutely always a pleasure.
Speaker 3: Mat More Sixers and sixty coming up on ninety seven
Speaker 3: to five the Fanatic, and we are back with more
Speaker 3: Sixers in sixty from the Center before Sixers Pistons. Matt
Speaker 3: Murphy now joined by Sixers team reporter Lauren Rosen, and
Speaker 3: we'll soon be joined by our pal Nick Stauskas as well.
Speaker 3: But Lauren, Hello, welcome to tonight's show.
Speaker 2: Matt Murphy. What's going on? Thrilled to be here last
Speaker 2: week of the regular season.
Speaker 3: I know you brought a lunchbox to the game tonight.
Speaker 3: That was a big pregame update, so I sure did listen.
Speaker 2: You're never too old for a lunchbox. Let's get into it.
Speaker 3: For the record, I voted yes, I would carry a
Speaker 3: lunchbox instead of having warm food.
Speaker 1: So there we go.
Speaker 3: That's that's what people tune in for Sixers coverage. You
Speaker 3: get lunchbox talk to producer tonight thanks to Matt Manarik,
Speaker 3: thanks to our engineer Marty Dickerson. The Sixers prior to
Speaker 3: the Pistons game at forty four and thirty five seven
Speaker 3: in the Eastern Conference, and let's bring in Nick Stauskas
Speaker 3: on the Comcast Business Hotline. Sixers with three games left
Speaker 3: in the regular season, and Nick Stauskas, they're playing the Pistons.
Speaker 3: So my first question is, I know you've done a
Speaker 3: lot of college basketball talk, could you con beat the Pistons? No,
Speaker 3: I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding, but I am. I
Speaker 3: am curious your thoughts on just the Since you obviously
Speaker 3: excelled at Michigan and played in the NBA and had
Speaker 3: a great career, So the difference is between college and
Speaker 3: pro ball. What are some of the biggest adjustments for
Speaker 3: players and in your case as well.
Speaker 7: Well, you know, first of all, let's give a shout
Speaker 7: out to the to the Yukon huskys man. What an
Speaker 7: absolute domination just clinic they put on over the last
Speaker 7: two seasons. We've never really seen anything like that, So,
Speaker 7: you know, hatch off to them. Well, to the same token,
Speaker 7: there's just no chance that a college team could beat
Speaker 7: an NBA team. And you just have to remember that
Speaker 7: every single player that is on an NBA roster was
Speaker 7: at one point, you know, the best player on their
Speaker 7: college team or one of the best players on their
Speaker 7: college team. So you know, to throw out that statement
Speaker 7: is a little.
Speaker 1: A little premature, but say that they would.
Speaker 7: No, no, well it's not you. I know, people in
Speaker 7: general have been talking about that, which is you know,
Speaker 7: I think it's a little, uh, it's a little premature,
Speaker 7: but hey, if stirs the stirs the pot, you get
Speaker 7: the conversation going. But I think for the Sixers right now,
Speaker 7: switching gears, you got three games less than the season.
Speaker 7: You got the Pistons tonight, and we talked about it
Speaker 7: all year, but it's just one of those time periods where,
Speaker 7: especially in seventh place, trying to get out of seventh
Speaker 7: and not have to play in the playing games, you
Speaker 7: got to win the easy ones. And not that any
Speaker 7: game in the NBA is easy, but you know, the
Speaker 7: Pistons are one of the more beatable teams, So it's
Speaker 7: one of those games that you've got to come in
Speaker 7: with a professional mindset and just handle your business.
Speaker 6: It's interesting, Nick Dawskis, and I wonder if you can
Speaker 6: relate to this, But speaking of college teams versus NBA teams,
Speaker 6: et cetera, the popular debate that I agree with you
Speaker 6: should be pretty null and void anytime you bring the
Speaker 6: NBA into it. But I sat down with Tyrese Maxey
Speaker 6: this weekend in Memphis for a long form interview that's
Speaker 6: available on the Sixers YouTube Channel course at Comparisons presented
Speaker 6: by Nerd Whallet, and Tyree's had an interesting nugget that
Speaker 6: he shared. I asked him what the peaks and valleys
Speaker 6: were of each season in his NBA career, and we
Speaker 6: talked about his rookie season.
Speaker 2: The valley he chose for.
Speaker 6: His rookie season was the first time that he was
Speaker 6: dressed for a basketball game that he did not play in.
Speaker 6: And Nick, the story that he told that I'm wondering
Speaker 6: if you can relate to, was the idea that on
Speaker 6: every team he had ever been on, he was the
Speaker 6: best player on the team, even at Kentucky when he
Speaker 6: might not have been the consensus best player on his
Speaker 6: team in that season, at any given time, there was
Speaker 6: never a time where he dressed and didn't play, And
Speaker 6: he talked about how hard that hit him to experience
Speaker 6: something like that for the first time as an NBA player,
Speaker 6: And then, of course you have to look at how
Speaker 6: much he's grown in the time, since I don't think
Speaker 6: there will ever be a time in the rest of
Speaker 6: Tyrese Maxie's career where he dresses and does not play,
Speaker 6: but it was interesting to hear him talk about the
Speaker 6: way that on every team growing up AAU middle school,
Speaker 6: high school, through college. To join a team where you're
Speaker 6: accustomed to playing every single time you put your uniform on,
Speaker 6: and then experience not playing for the first time. Stauskis,
Speaker 6: do you have similar memories?
Speaker 7: Oh, my goodness, very very similar memories. I had a
Speaker 7: coach my rookie year. He goes by the name of
Speaker 7: George Carl and he just did not like to play
Speaker 7: rookies very much. And you know, Kobe Carl is now
Speaker 7: his son, part of the Sixers organization, and Kobe was
Speaker 7: around us a lot kind of as like almost a
Speaker 7: practice player at that time, and I have a great
Speaker 7: relationship with him. But man, I just did not play
Speaker 7: at all. You know. I think the first five or
Speaker 7: six games that George Callet took over, I just DNP
Speaker 7: And that was a tough pod to swallow, and you know,
Speaker 7: just goes to show you that you could be great
Speaker 7: at the college level. But there is an adjustment period.
Speaker 7: And I'll go as far to say that as dominant
Speaker 7: as this Yukon team is, the guys that leave and
Speaker 7: go on and get drafted this year, you know, I
Speaker 7: would venture to say that none of them will go
Speaker 7: on and be starters their first year on what you know,
Speaker 7: whichever team they're on. It's just how the NBA is.
Speaker 7: There's so many good players worldwide. There's so much talent,
Speaker 7: and obviously when you're eighteen, nineteen, twenty years old competing
Speaker 7: against guys that have been doing this professionally for ten
Speaker 7: fifteen years, there's there's a little bit of a learning
Speaker 7: curve and you know, the physical jump as well that
Speaker 7: comes along with it. So they're all good experiences though,
Speaker 7: like you know, getting humbled early on in your career,
Speaker 7: like you know, I'm sure that moment for Tyrese was
Speaker 7: a moment where he's like, man, I got to get
Speaker 7: in the gym and work harder. And the guys that
Speaker 7: can use that as fuel to get better are the
Speaker 7: guys that tend to succeed in this league.
Speaker 3: Nick Dauskis, you talk about the Sixers potentially avoiding the
Speaker 3: play in tournament all together, and at face value, that
Speaker 3: means a top more time off before the playoffs. So
Speaker 3: if things break their way other teams lose, they win
Speaker 3: all three this week at home, there are a number
Speaker 3: of scenarios possible, but potentially heading into the playoffs with
Speaker 3: extra rest and an eight game winning streak would be
Speaker 3: quite nice. But how much given your NBA experience, how
Speaker 3: valuable would that time off be compared to playing Tuesday
Speaker 3: or Wednesday, potentially again Friday, and then entering the playoffs
Speaker 3: right after that? What are the pros and cons of
Speaker 3: that situation?
Speaker 1: The pros?
Speaker 7: Number one, you know, your best player is coming off
Speaker 7: of a surgery and coming off of a knee injury,
Speaker 7: so any rest period is something that will be more
Speaker 7: beneficial to the Sixers more than almost anyone else, just
Speaker 7: because of Joelle's health over the last couple of months.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 7: You could also make the point that you know, continuing
Speaker 7: that momentum of the winning streak and you know, being
Speaker 7: in rhythm in game shape could be a positive. You know,
Speaker 7: we've seen a number of times throughout the playoffs of
Speaker 7: you know, teams that sweep you know in the first
Speaker 7: round and then have to wait a week or two
Speaker 7: to play you know, the next round. You know, they
Speaker 7: sometimes look a little lax daisical after that time off.
Speaker 7: So you could argue in either way. But I think
Speaker 7: for the Sixers right now and just the season they've had,
Speaker 7: I think the time off would be huge for them,
Speaker 7: and also most importantly, just not risking, you know, losing
Speaker 7: that play in game and then and then having your
Speaker 7: season in jeopardy, having.
Speaker 3: Mb'd back Nick. What have you seen, what have you liked?
Speaker 3: What might be some challenges for you know, working a
Speaker 3: guy back in that is is the focal point of
Speaker 3: the whole thing.
Speaker 7: Well, you know what, let me start off by saying this, Matt,
Speaker 7: I was I was really flustered when Joell scored thirty
Speaker 7: points in twenty three minutes the other night and then
Speaker 7: had the audacity to say that he was he was
Speaker 7: playing sloppy out there as a guy that played six
Speaker 7: years in the NBA and never scoring thirty points. I
Speaker 7: found that comment to be very offensive by Joelle. So no,
Speaker 7: I mean, I think I think it's one of those
Speaker 7: things where you know, you just need to give it time. Obviously,
Speaker 7: he has, you know, the highest standards for himself, and
Speaker 7: we've all seen that when he's healthy and in a
Speaker 7: good rhythm, he's very arguably the best player in the
Speaker 7: entire world. So he's going to continue to hold himself
Speaker 7: to those standards. And I'm sure for him he maybe
Speaker 7: feels a little out of rhythm. But I mean I
Speaker 7: think it's you know, it's shown that in the limited
Speaker 7: you know time that he's been out there, he's still
Speaker 7: doesn't effect and obviously been a huge catalyst for the
Speaker 7: pictures beating some really good teams and finishing the season
Speaker 7: on a good winning streak. So, you know, for him,
Speaker 7: I think it's just the perfect balance right now of
Speaker 7: getting those reps, playing minutes, but also not exerting yourself
Speaker 7: and you know, risking any fatigue or reinjury in any
Speaker 7: kind of way as they head into the playoffs.
Speaker 3: I will say the Memphis scorekeepers gave Joel eight turnovers
Speaker 3: in that game, and he said he didn't think that
Speaker 3: he had that many. And Memphis is the place where
Speaker 3: Jaron Jackson's block shots were under investigation in recent years
Speaker 3: for maybe getting some extra ones in the official book.
Speaker 3: But I think he was upset because he knows he
Speaker 3: was didn't play a perfect game against the Grizzlies, and
Speaker 3: it was good that he got the rest because the
Speaker 3: result was in hand, But he didn't think he had
Speaker 3: that many turnovers, so I think that's what he was
Speaker 3: talking about. And then of course it's just in general
Speaker 3: just getting comfortable again with MAXI so with Tyrese Maxi
Speaker 3: and that Spurs game. What is and was your reaction
Speaker 3: to Maxie scoring a career high fifty two with only
Speaker 3: two three pointers, playing fifty four minutes and shooting nineteen
Speaker 3: of forty one from the field.
Speaker 7: Well, one, it's one of those It's one of those
Speaker 7: things with Maxi where you know, with him beat out,
Speaker 7: you love to see him take the initiative of taking
Speaker 7: forty one shots, like a lot of guys are uncomfortable
Speaker 7: doing something like that because it may come off as oh,
Speaker 7: you know, you're selfish, you're not passing your teammates. No, no, no,
Speaker 7: this team needs Tyres to be that guy, even sometimes
Speaker 7: when Joel is playing. They need him to be that guy.
Speaker 7: Just his you know, his aggressiveness going to the rim,
Speaker 7: the craftiness of his finishes, you know, kind of going
Speaker 7: up and under finishing around contact, through contact, high off
Speaker 7: the glass, floaters, you name it. His bag of tricks.
Speaker 7: Finishing at the rim has been something that's just, in
Speaker 7: my opinion, a little underrated. And you know, we know
Speaker 7: how fast he is, but man, his ability to get
Speaker 7: downhill to his right hand is something that just can't
Speaker 7: be stopped right now. And you know, He's playing with
Speaker 7: such confidence, and you know, I know all the teammates
Speaker 7: and coaches are, you know, giving him that confidence and
Speaker 7: encouraging him to continue being aggressive because in order for
Speaker 7: this team to be successful, they need that from him.
Speaker 3: Matt Murphy and Lauren Rosen joined by Nick stauskis and
Speaker 3: in real time before the Pistons Sixers game in Philadelphia.
Speaker 3: A positive development after earlier on our Sixers and Sixties
Speaker 3: show tonight, Kyle Lowry and Tyrese Maxi were ruled out
Speaker 3: for this game. D Anthony Melton will make his return
Speaker 3: and Lauren that could be a good candidate for a
Speaker 3: question that we went over with de Linum that we
Speaker 3: will pose to Nick Stauskas about X factors other than
Speaker 3: Embiid and Maxie for this team as they roll into
Speaker 3: the postseason. D Anthony Melton coming back it is great
Speaker 3: news for the Sixers. He hasn't played very much over
Speaker 3: the last two plus months of this season because of
Speaker 3: the back injury, So I'm not saying that would be
Speaker 3: my X factor pick, but thoughts on Melton's return and
Speaker 3: an X factor heading into the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Murph, Melton hasn't played well.
Speaker 6: He took He was away from January twelfth until February
Speaker 6: twenty third, and then he returned between the twenty third
Speaker 6: and twenty seventh. Has not played since February twenty seventh,
Speaker 6: but is available to return tonight. Joell and B to
Speaker 6: Tobias Hair has also made available against Detroit. You mentioned
Speaker 6: it Tyres Maxie and Kyle Lowry are out for this one,
Speaker 6: but you mentioned d Anthony Melton what he provides. There
Speaker 6: was a while where where the Sixers were improving defensively,
Speaker 6: making big strides defensively, and Nick Nurse gave them a
Speaker 6: ton of credit for doing so without perhaps three of,
Speaker 6: if not their three best defenders on the team in
Speaker 6: Joel and B, d Anthony Melton, and Robert Covington. Covington
Speaker 6: of course remains out, but d Anthony Melton returning perhaps
Speaker 6: your best on ball defender, one of the best defenders
Speaker 6: in the league at times, leading the league in deflections
Speaker 6: at times, and someone that's just challenged a lot of
Speaker 6: the best guards in the NBA when he's been available
Speaker 6: to so to be able to have a weapon like
Speaker 6: d Anthony Melton, who of course has scored in the
Speaker 6: twenties and thirties many times as well. Due to his
Speaker 6: three point shooting and the way he can work as
Speaker 6: a scorer. He brings a lot to this team on
Speaker 6: the bench, in the lineup, in the starting lineup, coming
Speaker 6: off the bench, in the locker room. He's someone that's
Speaker 6: pretty beloved by his teammates as well.
Speaker 2: So I know in that.
Speaker 6: Locker room right now, there are a lot of guys
Speaker 6: embracing him, really excited to welcome d Anthony Melton.
Speaker 2: Back into the fold.
Speaker 6: How he figures to enter the playoff rotation, that is
Speaker 6: up to Nick Nurse, but he's going to have sort
Speaker 6: of a good problem to have, right adding the Anthony
Speaker 6: Melton he's already added. Kyle Lowry. Kelly Ubre has been
Speaker 6: so excellent. Campaign hasn't missed in weeks, and.
Speaker 3: He's had good playoff games in recent years.
Speaker 6: He has had great games in the playoffs, Buddy healed.
Speaker 6: Of course, we're forgetting about in this whole conversation one
Speaker 6: of the best shooters to ever play for this team, right, so,
Speaker 6: sort of an embarrassment of riches for those last couple
Speaker 6: starting spots and first couple spots off the bench. As
Speaker 6: Nick Nurse decides who's gonna fit into each of these
Speaker 6: important games down the stretch into the playoffs.
Speaker 3: And I know it's been a little while since Kelly
Speaker 3: Ubray Junior has played in the playoffs, But why would
Speaker 3: you consider him an X fact?
Speaker 6: Yes, you asked me earlier who my X factor would
Speaker 6: be outside of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. And the
Speaker 6: reason that I chose Kelly Ubray Junior is because he
Speaker 6: is so excited to be playing in these games and
Speaker 6: to enter the playoffs with a competitive team. It's something
Speaker 6: that he said way back on media Day. Part of
Speaker 6: the calculus that went into his free agency and joining
Speaker 6: the seventy six ers was the opportunity to play for
Speaker 6: a team that was gonna compete for a championship, that
Speaker 6: was going to fight in and around the playoffs. That's
Speaker 6: something that he's been lacking, you mentioned since twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6: And this is someone who's proven himself to be a
Speaker 6: great scorer in this league. He's done so off the
Speaker 6: bench and in the starting lineup for the Sixers. After
Speaker 6: the Sixers win in Miami this past weekend, he talked
Speaker 6: about how much fun he's having shout out to play
Speaker 6: by play voice on television of the seventy six Ers
Speaker 6: Kate Scott and NBC Sports Philadelphia. She actually asked the
Speaker 6: question to Kelly Ubray Junior, how much fun are you
Speaker 6: having competing in all these meaningful games? And Kelly just
Speaker 6: lit up about how excited he is, not just for
Speaker 6: the playoffs, but for each of these games down the stretch.
Speaker 6: And then of course the Sixers go to Memphis, go
Speaker 6: to San Antonio, play a tough, gritty back to back
Speaker 6: in which Kelly figured to play a large role and
Speaker 6: did play a large.
Speaker 2: Role in those victories.
Speaker 6: So I'm looking forward to Kelly showing what he can
Speaker 6: do in the playoffs because of how much Kelly is
Speaker 6: looking forward to showing what he can do in the
Speaker 6: playoffs match.
Speaker 3: There are a lot of new faces on this year
Speaker 3: Sixers group as they wind down the regular season, and
Speaker 3: whoever the matchup is, whatever round we're talking, they're ready
Speaker 3: to go.
Speaker 1: They're looking forward to it.
Speaker 3: Nick Stauskas, who are you looking forward to seeing as
Speaker 3: an X factor?
Speaker 7: And why, Well, I don't want to be a copycat,
Speaker 7: but man, Kelly Ubre the way he's been playing recently,
Speaker 7: his last five games, just under twenty four games, he
Speaker 7: said sixteen threes over those five games, and again you
Speaker 7: mentioned the hunger that he has to and compete at
Speaker 7: that level in the playoffs. And I'll tell you a
Speaker 7: lot of guys in the league, I think they get
Speaker 7: a little disrespected when they put up numbers on a
Speaker 7: bad team and then people dismiss their talent or you know,
Speaker 7: competitiveness or whatever it might be. They they kind of
Speaker 7: dismissed it because, oh, you know, you did it on
Speaker 7: a non playoff team. And so for Kelly Lauren, as
Speaker 7: you mentioned, you know, making the decision in free agency
Speaker 7: to join the playoffs contender, like he's got to be
Speaker 7: licking at chops right now, just excited for this opportunity
Speaker 7: to be a part of something special and then also
Speaker 7: individually to prove himself and show what a valuable piece
Speaker 7: he is to this team. And you know, talk about
Speaker 7: playing some of your best basketball at the right time.
Speaker 7: You know, Sixers are going to need some big scoring
Speaker 7: games out of him, especially coming into the playoffs a
Speaker 7: teams really focusing on Joelle and Tyres on the scouting report.
Speaker 3: Nick Staskas, we always appreciate your time. Thank you for
Speaker 3: giving a to us on six Ers and sixty. We
Speaker 3: appreciate you man.
Speaker 1: Thanks thanks for having me on.
Speaker 7: I miss you guys and hope to see you soon.
Speaker 3: Yes, sir, that's Nick Staskis on the Comcast Business Hotline.
Speaker 3: The NBA vent Lauren Rosen cool rendition of Here Come
Speaker 3: the Sixers just played. I don't know if people hear
Speaker 3: a little bit of that going, but some instrumental music
Speaker 3: going down we were about to hear from Ricky Counsel.
Speaker 3: The fourth came on in a big way in that
Speaker 3: Spurs game. You got a front row seat for it.
Speaker 6: What was your reaction, listen, I was so happy for
Speaker 6: Ricky Counsel the fourth. It's not often that you check
Speaker 6: into a game for the first time in the fourth quarter,
Speaker 6: mind you, twelve minutes max, and end up playing over twenty.
Speaker 2: Minutes in that game.
Speaker 6: And that, of course was because Ricky didn't check in
Speaker 6: til the fourth quarter.
Speaker 2: Then he played both of.
Speaker 6: The team's two overtime periods, minutes that he earned on
Speaker 6: both ends of the floor. He said after the game
Speaker 6: that coach asked him to bring the energy in the
Speaker 6: fourth quarter. Sure enough, his name ended up on the
Speaker 6: white board in the fourth quarter checking in for.
Speaker 2: The first time. He mentioned, of course, that he had
Speaker 2: been traveling.
Speaker 6: Back and forth with the Blue Coats and the Sixers
Speaker 6: for the last week and a half. There's been tons
Speaker 6: of travel for the Sixers alone. Ricky Counsel, the fourth
Speaker 6: that's been playing for two teams at once. He said
Speaker 6: he was exhausted. He said he actually wasn't feeling great,
Speaker 6: but when his name was called, he wanted to make
Speaker 6: sure that he did exactly what he's done every time
Speaker 6: he's had an opportunity this season. Matt bring energy, bring defense,
Speaker 6: bring offense. We saw him bring some elite passing. I
Speaker 6: will tell a quick story that he shared with me
Speaker 6: in the locker room prior to tonight's Sixers Pistons matchup. He
Speaker 6: said that Joel Embiid came into the locker room and
Speaker 6: said that he was just one of three players that
Speaker 6: could make a pass like that in the NBA today,
Speaker 6: I'm gonna make everybody stick around for halftime to hear
Speaker 6: who the other two are. But to get that type
Speaker 6: of praise from Joel Embiid, who of course did not
Speaker 6: play in that game in San Antonio, the double overtime
Speaker 6: thriller that featured a career high performance from Tyrese Maxey
Speaker 6: for Ricky Counsel the Fourth to play such a pivotal
Speaker 6: role down the stretch three times, just awesome to see
Speaker 6: from a kid that works his tailoff, has done so
Speaker 6: all season, and was rewarded with some pretty cool happiness
Speaker 6: and good vibes from his teammates, coaches, et cetera. In
Speaker 6: the minutes and days that have followed since that win.
Speaker 3: Lauren Rosen, thank you so much, seventy six ers rookie
Speaker 3: Ricky Counsel the Fourth, and I sat down in late
Speaker 3: February and adjusting to the NBA is where we start
Speaker 3: right here.
Speaker 8: I mean, at times, I mean being a two way player,
Speaker 8: I've heard is probably the hardest job in NBA, just
Speaker 8: being down with the coach and then getting caught up.
Speaker 8: It can happen in a matter of hours, it can
Speaker 8: happen a day before. You just never know. It's been
Speaker 8: pretty smooth later because I've been with them pretty much
Speaker 8: the whole New year. But yeah, it can get tough
Speaker 8: at times, but you always gotta stay mentally ready and
Speaker 8: mentally prepare so you know it's been good though.
Speaker 3: And you eventually did get the game ball from Joel MBI.
Speaker 3: I know your guy it's for Quaveon Smith. You both
Speaker 3: you know, scored your first points, but I thought.
Speaker 9: I was going to get it that game. I don't
Speaker 9: want to go out and hit five threes in a row.
Speaker 3: So it's all good life of a two way contract
Speaker 3: player when you do have to scramble to pack in
Speaker 3: a moment like that.
Speaker 1: Is there a certain pair of.
Speaker 3: Shoes or something you need for the games that you're
Speaker 3: going to first to make sure you have regardless of
Speaker 3: anything else in the suitcase.
Speaker 9: Well, forget the clothes.
Speaker 8: I don't really be putting it all like that anyway
Speaker 8: for it to like walk through and stuff. But things
Speaker 8: I need my tooth brush, my lotion, things like that,
Speaker 8: My speaker and headphones and charger. That's the things I like. Yeah,
Speaker 8: let me put that in the bad first before I
Speaker 8: walk on and forget it. As far as shoes, like
Speaker 8: I said, I don't really trip too much on that.
Speaker 8: I might put my my Travis Scott's, the black ones
Speaker 8: go anything and then and.
Speaker 1: The game shoes might be taken care of.
Speaker 9: The not a game shoes. Yet they always take care
Speaker 9: of all that. So that's the easy part.
Speaker 3: This year with the Sixers, there's been all these high
Speaker 3: scoring games. I mean, Tyrese has two fifty point games,
Speaker 3: Joelle Embiid has a seventy point game against the Spurs.
Speaker 3: Has there been a favorite seventy six Ers memory, just
Speaker 3: watching your teammates or something that's happened so far this
Speaker 3: year that's been your favorite?
Speaker 9: The seventy point game. Light, that's that's crazy.
Speaker 8: I'm on a bench, like seeing sixty eight, sixty five,
Speaker 8: really even fifty on a when you look up at it, John,
Speaker 8: we're trying to see in that beside my name is crazy.
Speaker 8: But then when you saw seventy is light. That's insane.
Speaker 8: And then Reache's two fifty point games. I mean, I'm
Speaker 8: hype every game if y'all see it or not, but
Speaker 8: I mean those three for sure.
Speaker 3: If you could have a skill from one of your
Speaker 3: teammates on the court, what would you want to add
Speaker 3: to your game?
Speaker 8: Surprisingly, I would say melts, defensive sneakness, and instincts.
Speaker 3: Is there a skill or a hobby off the court
Speaker 3: that you want to not from a specific teammate, but
Speaker 3: something you would like to be able to do or
Speaker 3: learn away from the game of basketball? M all basketball
Speaker 3: all the time?
Speaker 8: Yeah, literally telling you I don't do too much outside
Speaker 8: of basketball, go straight on.
Speaker 3: I feel like your answer to this might be Turquavion
Speaker 3: because you guys travel a lot together, so maybe take
Speaker 3: him out of the equation. Who are you closest with
Speaker 3: on the Sixers team, Paul.
Speaker 1: Why?
Speaker 8: I mean, that's probably who I talked to the in Tyrese.
Speaker 8: It's been talking to him a lot more lately. I mean, like,
Speaker 8: like I said, I tell you all the time, I
Speaker 8: really stay out the way, like my job as a
Speaker 8: rookie do I need to do?
Speaker 9: Get out, stay out the way, don't do too much like.
Speaker 8: I mean, somebody want to take me under their wing,
Speaker 8: which I feel like Tyreson some of those guys have,
Speaker 8: so I wouldn't. I wouldn't really call this like outside friends,
Speaker 8: but you know and cool people.
Speaker 3: What was your favorite subject when you're in school? Gym class,
Speaker 3: gym class, least favorite, least favorite?
Speaker 8: Oh easy, chemistry. That was like the one science class.
Speaker 8: I was like, first of all, I'm not ever going
Speaker 8: to need this, and it was super hard, like.
Speaker 10: Crazy, you got through it. Actually, I actually got lucky.
Speaker 10: Our teacher just disappeared. Who was watching movies the rest
Speaker 10: of the year.
Speaker 8: That's funny because we didn't have to take the what's
Speaker 8: MC call the exam.
Speaker 3: I remember in a physics class, the whole project was
Speaker 3: to build a roller coaster throughout the whole semester, and
Speaker 3: then all of a sudden they were like, we're gonna
Speaker 3: let the seniors out graduate early or stop classes early
Speaker 3: before graduation. So that roller coaster project, if you did it, great.
Speaker 3: If you didn't do it yet, like you're good to go.
Speaker 3: And I was like sweating this roller coaster project for
Speaker 3: physics and we never had to do it.
Speaker 9: So lucky you out for both of us.
Speaker 1: Yeah we did.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you've had any of these gifts yet,
Speaker 3: but like, what's your if you have one, a favorite
Speaker 3: gift that you've gotten for someone else, so like that
Speaker 3: you've thought for someone else, No, just in life, favorite
Speaker 3: gift that you've ever given to someone or received or received.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 8: I was about to say I'm not a big gift
Speaker 8: giver yet maybe in the near future because I'm actually
Speaker 8: getting a little money now.
Speaker 9: Fairy gift I received may have to be this right here.
Speaker 4: Simple.
Speaker 8: It's a bracelet. My mom gave it to me on Christmas.
Speaker 8: We didn't really do gifts, gift of ch exchanging growing up.
Speaker 8: She gave it to me this Christmas and I never
Speaker 8: take it off except for games in practice. Every time
Speaker 8: I take it off, a kids of twice think about
Speaker 8: her and yeah, I love it. Never says Ricky four
Speaker 8: six is number sixteen.
Speaker 9: Simple,