Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome
Speaker 1: back to the seventy Sixers Insiders podcast. I'm Lauren Rosen
Speaker 1: here with Matt Murphy ahead of the Sixers Round one
Speaker 1: opener on Saturday the fifteen. Matt Murphy, here we go.
Speaker 1: The playoffs are here, the Nets are in town. How
Speaker 1: are you feeling feeling great? This is a sort of
Speaker 1: a natural rivalry as well, really looking forward to it.
Speaker 1: Nothing like a seven game series in the NBA playoffs,
Speaker 1: although they used to be five in this round. I
Speaker 1: don't know that was like the early two thousands. My
Speaker 1: dad still thinks they play five games in the first round.
Speaker 1: That's like an old head take. But seven games, you know,
Speaker 1: the adjustments that get made. Coaching battle between Doc Rivers
Speaker 1: and Jack Vaughan. A team full of Nets who are
Speaker 1: all seemingly six foot seven, and we get into that
Speaker 1: with our guests in a little bit talking about how
Speaker 1: their roster has changed over the course of this season.
Speaker 1: And then the Sixers team that has had so much
Speaker 1: continuity and has eyes on a big prize at the
Speaker 1: end of this postseason you mentioned continuity. That's something that
Speaker 1: the team was really looking forward to. I remember back
Speaker 1: on media day in the fall, the team talking about
Speaker 1: how much they were looking forward to going to Charleston,
Speaker 1: South Carolina for training camp as a unit, having James
Speaker 1: Harden in those training camp huddles, PJ. Tucker in those
Speaker 1: training camp huddles, and then getting a full season together.
Speaker 1: And by and large they've had that opportunity. Of course
Speaker 1: with some late adjustments to the roster in the latter
Speaker 1: half of the season, but overall, this is the team
Speaker 1: when you look at these two teams matching up in
Speaker 1: this series, the Sixers are the team with the continuity,
Speaker 1: with the steadiness, and with the understanding of one another,
Speaker 1: and of course with a lot of movement across the roster.
Speaker 1: Over the last few seasons, the Sixers I haven't had
Speaker 1: the opportunity to be that team with a better understanding
Speaker 1: perhaps of itself than its opponent. And so cool for
Speaker 1: the Sixers to have the opportunity to go in there
Speaker 1: sort of a complete unit. And Matt not very often
Speaker 1: that this team has four consecutive practice days either heading
Speaker 1: into any matchup. So a little mini training camp this
Speaker 1: week in Camden, New Jersey has been awesome and just
Speaker 1: feeds more into that continuity theme that this Sixers team
Speaker 1: is able to bring into this Round one series. They're healthy,
Speaker 1: they're rested now with some extra rest with the play
Speaker 1: in tournament and all of that. I'm curious to hear
Speaker 1: what maybe your biggest takeaway or takeaways from this week
Speaker 1: of practice heading into the playoffs have been for me?
Speaker 1: And we're going to get to I think an X
Speaker 1: factor in this series here, I'm you mentioned PJ Tucker.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna come out and say he's not going to
Speaker 1: be my pick for X factor versus Brooklyn, but I
Speaker 1: think he's just the X factor for the entire however
Speaker 1: long this run happens. It's it's hard to pick him
Speaker 1: for an individual matchup because he told us in our
Speaker 1: player interviews, which if you haven't listened, we sat down
Speaker 1: with about half the roster heading into the playoffs, mostly
Speaker 1: talking off court stuff. So if you want to get
Speaker 1: to know the likes of PJ Tucker and Tyrese Maxie
Speaker 1: a little bit more questions that they don't typically answer,
Speaker 1: go back on our feed here listen to those conversations
Speaker 1: PJ talked about how something misunderstood about him is maybe
Speaker 1: how he adapts his game, and it's not always what
Speaker 1: you see is what you get With PJ. Tucker. He
Speaker 1: adapts his game based on the opponent. So I think
Speaker 1: we're going to see that throughout the playoffs, regardless of
Speaker 1: who the opponent is. Of course, Brooklyn is up first.
Speaker 1: You have to take care of business. But then if
Speaker 1: it's the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks after that,
Speaker 1: he might play an entirely different way. So he won't
Speaker 1: be my X factor pick. But when it comes to
Speaker 1: practice this week, a lot of talk about three point shooting,
Speaker 1: corner threes, the Nets added shooting in their trades, and
Speaker 1: wing players who can defend and can't shoot the three ball,
Speaker 1: and Doc Rivers and some of the Sixers players have
Speaker 1: talked a lot about limiting looks from the corner, limiting
Speaker 1: three point shooting because they high percentage. But what I
Speaker 1: want to point out is that the Sixers finished the
Speaker 1: regular season as the best three point shooting team in
Speaker 1: the NBA by percentage, So it could to make miss League.
Speaker 1: It could come down to whose guards and wings make
Speaker 1: more shots. But I think the new look Nets, in
Speaker 1: particular have gotten even better at shooting the basketball, so
Speaker 1: Sixer's defense is going to have to be on point
Speaker 1: in that area. You mentioned PJ Tucker, and he, of
Speaker 1: course has been such an X factor for this team
Speaker 1: throughout the season, regardless of what the stats have necessarily
Speaker 1: said about what he's been able to do. George Niang
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, Matt talked about the fact
Speaker 1: that the difference between this Sixers team last season and
Speaker 1: this season, of course George's two seasons with the team
Speaker 1: last year and this year, the biggest difference in this
Speaker 1: year's team's ability to get to a fifty four win season,
Speaker 1: to win games at the end, and to figure out
Speaker 1: ways to come back. George says the biggest difference has
Speaker 1: been PJ. Tucker, his presence either on the court or
Speaker 1: in the huddles, and the way that he's challenged the
Speaker 1: guys to be better or shown them exactly how to
Speaker 1: be better in these different matchup He of course has
Speaker 1: an illustrious playoff history. He is an NBA champion, so
Speaker 1: looking forward to seeing how he can impart some wisdom
Speaker 1: from having been to the top of the mountain onto
Speaker 1: this team. And you can't help but remember Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: after Game six against Miami last season saying that he
Speaker 1: wished that this team had somebody like PJ Tucker in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Congratulations, Joel Embiid, you have PJ Tucker in
Speaker 1: the playoffs headed into this series that starts on Saturday. Matt,
Speaker 1: you mentioned three point shooting as well. You asked about
Speaker 1: how this week at practice has looked, so one of
Speaker 1: my more memorable moments from practice this week thus far.
Speaker 1: Tyrese Maxie finishes the season as the regular season three
Speaker 1: point shooting leader for these seventy six ers, And there
Speaker 1: was sort of an internal tournament going on between the
Speaker 1: likes of Tyrese Maxie, George Niang, James Harden, Tobias Harris,
Speaker 1: and a lot of good three point shooters on this team.
Speaker 1: This team ended up being one of the better three
Speaker 1: point shooting teams in the NBA this season, but Tyrese
Speaker 1: Maxie comes out on top. He ends up the fifth
Speaker 1: best shooter in the entire league from deep and the
Speaker 1: best shooter on the Sixers from deep system. Some cool
Speaker 1: banter back and forth though between someone like George who
Speaker 1: really has built an entire NBA career based on how
Speaker 1: well he shoots the three ball. Tyrese Maxie to come in.
Speaker 1: The knock on his game when he came into the
Speaker 1: league less than three years ago was that he couldn't
Speaker 1: shoot threes. Well, well, well, how wrong has he proven, folks?
Speaker 1: So that to me has been one of the better takeaways,
Speaker 1: and it's sort of emblematic of what this team is
Speaker 1: looking like lately. They're having sort of playful competition amongst themselves.
Speaker 1: They're enjoying each other's company, but they're being really competitive.
Speaker 1: Cool to watch them compete with one another out there
Speaker 1: on the floor as well. All week. It's been a
Speaker 1: good week, and I think they're ready to play Maxie
Speaker 1: saying that George Niang felt pretty good at one point
Speaker 1: this year about his chances when Maxie was injured and
Speaker 1: coming back from injury, and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: his couple point lead and three point percentage started to
Speaker 1: dwindle as the season went along, because basically, Tyrese Maxie
Speaker 1: rarely missed threes after returning from his injury, and he
Speaker 1: did win that little healthy competition that they had going
Speaker 1: on between a team full of good shooters. So can't
Speaker 1: talk enough about how great of a shooting season and
Speaker 1: shooting career so far in the NBA that Tyrese Maxie
Speaker 1: has had, and we know that the playoff stage will
Speaker 1: not be too bright for him or too big for him,
Speaker 1: I should say, because he was making some pretty crazy
Speaker 1: threes in past playoffs, including getting off to an amazing
Speaker 1: start in last year's playoffs with one of his best
Speaker 1: games of his career. So by all accounts, he should
Speaker 1: be ready to go his career high at the time.
Speaker 1: And Matt, we talk about this the way that career
Speaker 1: stats in the playoffs aren't considered career stats, right because
Speaker 1: his career hot, his playoff career high, and his regular
Speaker 1: season career high are the same forty four points. Do
Speaker 1: you think that's right? Do you think you should just
Speaker 1: combine them? I almost. I also think it's harder to
Speaker 1: succeed in the playoffs. People just forget about the playoffs entirely.
Speaker 1: We should talk to in any case, Tyrese Maxie, you
Speaker 1: mentioned it as a rookie who wasn't in the rotation
Speaker 1: all season long, came in, won a game for this
Speaker 1: team last season, of course, was in the rotation and
Speaker 1: in the starting line up all year, but came in
Speaker 1: won multiple games for this team. He has a very
Speaker 1: illustrious playoff resume for someone who's only played in two
Speaker 1: playoffs and getting ready for his third. You mentioned it.
Speaker 1: Health also a major theme for this team. Good to
Speaker 1: see them getting ready for the playoffs healthy. You look
Speaker 1: at this Brooklyn Nets opponent now, Matt and this is
Speaker 1: an opponent that the Sixers have swept in the regular season.
Speaker 1: That's four wins over the Brooklyn Nets. And we're going
Speaker 1: to talk about our guest in just a second, who's
Speaker 1: going to shed some more light on these Brooklyn Nets.
Speaker 1: But that first meeting came on November twenty second. That
Speaker 1: was a one fifteen one oh six victory over the Nets.
Speaker 1: Is shorthanded victory to Bias. Harris led the way in
Speaker 1: that one. Then January twenty fifth, one thirty three, one
Speaker 1: one thirty seven, one thirty three win, tyrese leading the
Speaker 1: way in that one one oh one to ninety eight
Speaker 1: a little closer on February. Scoring this new version of
Speaker 1: the Nets doesn't score as much as they did when
Speaker 1: they had some of the best players in the league. Obviously,
Speaker 1: and that game, of course was the first game that
Speaker 1: the Nets played after the trade deadline and mcalbridge's first
Speaker 1: game as a Brooklyn Net, and he was absolutely phenomenal,
Speaker 1: especially down the stretch in that one. Jack Vaughan, their coach,
Speaker 1: said that that might have been the best game that
Speaker 1: they played as a group because it was their first
Speaker 1: game and they weren't trying to do too much. They
Speaker 1: played as free as he saw them all season in
Speaker 1: that very first game together, which happened to be against
Speaker 1: the Sixers. And then, of course the final game of
Speaker 1: the regular season on April ninety three to one oh five.
Speaker 1: Mac McClung the leading scorer in that one, nearly a
Speaker 1: triple devil. But if you look at if you look
Speaker 1: at the Sixers leading scorers throughout this regular season series,
Speaker 1: that doesn't even come close to holding a candle to
Speaker 1: what these Brooklyn Nets have gone through this season, multiple trades,
Speaker 1: a coaching change. We're gonna have Megan Triplett on in
Speaker 1: just a second. She's going to talk to us about
Speaker 1: what it's been like to experience that from the inside.
Speaker 1: Their sideline reporter and a friend of mine. It's been
Speaker 1: awesome to watch her. She was with the Memphis Grizzlies
Speaker 1: for many years before moving over to the Brooklyn Nets,
Speaker 1: so she has a history with d Anthony Melton as well.
Speaker 1: She actually shared some stories with me about d' anthony
Speaker 1: when d' anthony first joined the Sixers. So it's always
Speaker 1: cool to be able to connect with people and sort
Speaker 1: of cross the strings that tie everyone together in the NBA.
Speaker 1: And there are plenty ties between these two teams of
Speaker 1: course as well. Is d Anthony Melton your X factor
Speaker 1: for the first round series? D Anthony is not the
Speaker 1: X factor that I chose, but he's proven that he
Speaker 1: can be an X factor in any game he plays in,
Speaker 1: but perhaps not mine in this one, because we know
Speaker 1: that we can always get something from him, regardless of
Speaker 1: whether it's on the offensive end the defensive end, shutting
Speaker 1: down someone like a mccal bridges, who he's certainly going
Speaker 1: to get some reps guarding in the series, but also
Speaker 1: shooting the three ball really well throughout this season. Excited
Speaker 1: to see d' anthony in his first playoffs as a
Speaker 1: seventy sixer. But my X factor actually are two returners.
Speaker 1: We talk a lot, of course about the NBA's leading
Speaker 1: scorer in Joel Embad. Couldn't decide, well, I'm just you'll
Speaker 1: see I'm going somewhere with this. Joel Embiid and James Harden,
Speaker 1: the NBA's leading scorer and a sister, respectively. If you
Speaker 1: are playing this Sixers team, if you're game planning against
Speaker 1: this Sixers team, those are options one and two, and
Speaker 1: you've got to figure something out for how you're going
Speaker 1: to contain and slow down Joel Embiid, how you're going
Speaker 1: to make it harder on James Harden to share the
Speaker 1: ball at the rate that he does to score as
Speaker 1: well as he has from multi level over the last
Speaker 1: couple of months since he's been looking super healthy and sharp.
Speaker 1: So if you're slowing down those two guys successfully, you've
Speaker 1: made it a competitive series, right, And that means that
Speaker 1: the Sixers are going to rely on Tyrese Maxi and
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris to get it done when a Joel Embid
Speaker 1: or a James Harden is stopped or slowed down. So
Speaker 1: to me, if you're getting great productivity from Tyrese, Tobias
Speaker 1: or both Tyres and Tobias, the other team is going
Speaker 1: to have big time problems. So for me, every night,
Speaker 1: you know you expect a lot from James and Joel
Speaker 1: throughout the playoffs as hopefully they go on a deep, deep,
Speaker 1: deep run. You hope that you're going to see a
Speaker 1: lot from those two guys for Shore two MVPs. But
Speaker 1: they can't do it alone, and if the other team
Speaker 1: is playing well, it means that those guys probably are
Speaker 1: slowed down a little bit. So make them beat you
Speaker 1: with their other options. Those ones of course Tyrese, Maxie
Speaker 1: and to buys Harrispoort the seventy six. There's great other
Speaker 1: options to have and looking forward to seeing how they
Speaker 1: rise to the occasion in this series. On the defensive end,
Speaker 1: when it comes to Maxie, Brooklyn's got these big guards,
Speaker 1: these big wings, and at practice Doc Rivers has said
Speaker 1: that when Tyrese picks up full court that he's quote
Speaker 1: seven feet tall in their back court, and further they
Speaker 1: get down court, the size mismatches come into play a
Speaker 1: little bit more when they get into the half court.
Speaker 1: So Tyrese on the defensive end, a little bit of
Speaker 1: insight from the coach there. I'm going to go with
Speaker 1: James Harden as my X factor in a series where
Speaker 1: switching is going to come into play so much because
Speaker 1: everything kind of centers around Joel embiid the MVP front
Speaker 1: runner and why wouldn't it and Nick Claxton and the
Speaker 1: NETS defense is going to do their best, but when
Speaker 1: they switch, is hardened in that attack mode? Is he
Speaker 1: causing the defense to collapse on him? And finding these
Speaker 1: shooters that kind of brings us back full circle to
Speaker 1: the ability to make three point shots and I think
Speaker 1: Harden is the X factor in that scenario. But really
Speaker 1: enjoyed our conversation with Meghan Triplett as well get the
Speaker 1: NETS perspective on the week and the season and everything
Speaker 1: that went on with them. It was a pleasure. Here's Megan.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening as always, guys, and if you're not already,
Speaker 1: if you if your content plate isn't full enough, make
Speaker 1: sure when this one ends that you listen to those
Speaker 1: podcasts that Matt just mentioned. Get to know the likes
Speaker 1: of PJ. Tucker, Tyrese, Maxie Shake, Milton D. House. Who
Speaker 1: am I forgetting Paul Reid. It was a crew that
Speaker 1: came and talked to us ahead of the playoffs, So
Speaker 1: if you're looking for more content, you're going to find
Speaker 1: it as soon as this episode ends. Thanks as always,
Speaker 1: guys for listening, and here's our chat with Megan. If
Speaker 1: you want to be a well informed viewer of this series,
Speaker 1: she's going to help you out. So thanks as always
Speaker 1: for listening and thanks to Megan. I hope you guys
Speaker 1: enjoy this chat. We welcome out Meghan Triplett, who is
Speaker 1: a sideline reporter with the Brooklyn Nets and has been
Speaker 1: absolutely crushing the coverage in what has been a crazy
Speaker 1: season for you guys. So first of all, Megan, how
Speaker 1: are you How good does it feel to finally arrive
Speaker 1: at the playoffs? Yeah, it's I'm doing great. You know,
Speaker 1: it's been a wild adventure. I think for you guys,
Speaker 1: can you know relate to this. I feel like the
Speaker 1: eighty two games went by slow but also very fast,
Speaker 1: and then back to being slow again, and then when
Speaker 1: you add what all of you know, the Nets organization
Speaker 1: has gone through, the team wise, it has just felt
Speaker 1: as if it's been like two or three years combined
Speaker 1: into one season. But we are here and it feels
Speaker 1: as if a new chapter starting when it comes to
Speaker 1: the playoffs, Like you can kind of forget, like all
Speaker 1: the things that has happened in the past right now
Speaker 1: it's a new day and like you're starting a whole
Speaker 1: new book. It's so true because when I think about
Speaker 1: the four meetings that we've had between the Sixers and
Speaker 1: that's this season, it was almost like playing four different
Speaker 1: teams each time, the Sixers and Nets based off. So
Speaker 1: if you don't mind giving Sixer Spans sort of an
Speaker 1: introduction to the Nets at present on April fourteenth. They
Speaker 1: might have seen one version in the fall and another
Speaker 1: version in the spring. But what can they expect from
Speaker 1: this team that, by the way, seems to have some
Speaker 1: really good vibes, seems to really like each other based
Speaker 1: on what we saw in Brooklyn last week? What is
Speaker 1: the what is the group like that you guys have
Speaker 1: arrived at the playoffs with? Yeah, this Nets team, it's
Speaker 1: kind of where you kind of have to start with
Speaker 1: like that mid February, because that's when I think this
Speaker 1: team kind of came about after that trade deadline and
Speaker 1: you made all those various changes and when you add
Speaker 1: the four new pieces on and getting basically a whole
Speaker 1: new you know, starting rotation. This is a group that
Speaker 1: has formed identity, and their identity is based around their
Speaker 1: defense and their three point shooting. You have guys who
Speaker 1: are very defensively focused like Dorian Finney Smith who came
Speaker 1: from Dallas. You have the Kelly Bridges, who was a
Speaker 1: defensive guy with Phoenix signs and who has set into
Speaker 1: show he can do a whole lot more than just
Speaker 1: this defense, but he his offensive capability and things rely
Speaker 1: on the defensive play of this team. They are a
Speaker 1: group of people who've had to rush and like form
Speaker 1: a quick connection in chemistry and at times when you
Speaker 1: thought could they do it? Can they do it? Is
Speaker 1: it going to happen? You've seen it kind of come
Speaker 1: all about Jack Bond the Booklyn nets Head coach has
Speaker 1: like led the charge and he's been that guy who's
Speaker 1: just very authentic and very real and very honest. And
Speaker 1: it seems as if like all the other play all
Speaker 1: the players has adapted to that. It's been like that
Speaker 1: the entire season. But this, this new group of this
Speaker 1: new team has kind of just like all kind of
Speaker 1: fallen into place, and you know, it happened very quickly.
Speaker 1: It happened very very fast. But it seemed that as
Speaker 1: you mentioned, there are there are truly honestly, like really
Speaker 1: really good vibes with this group. This is a group
Speaker 1: that just really wants to win and really wants to
Speaker 1: play hard and wants to win for each other. They
Speaker 1: they're well aware of what the team has gone through.
Speaker 1: They're not They're not gonna like sugarcoat it. They've gone
Speaker 1: through a lot, but now they want to form something new,
Speaker 1: to form a new chapter and say, hey, that was
Speaker 1: the past and here's our future. Megan, thanks so much
Speaker 1: for being with us. As Lauren brought up the four
Speaker 1: regular season meetings and how different they all where I
Speaker 1: can't believe you guys think that the last regular season
Speaker 1: game isn't going to be what we see in the
Speaker 1: playoffs and those rosters that we saw in that game.
Speaker 1: Of course, a lot of guys got opportunities when the
Speaker 1: regular season came to an end. But when you talk
Speaker 1: about obviously we're discussing that Kevin Durant trade and the
Speaker 1: Kyrie Irving trade and the pieces that the Nets have
Speaker 1: assembled now towards the end of the season and into
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Of the new additions, who or what about
Speaker 1: them has kind of stood out to you the most?
Speaker 1: And when you saw me about the new additions, all
Speaker 1: four have been like great new pieces. But you can't
Speaker 1: not start with mckel bridges. He's been a guy who
Speaker 1: he saw what he was capable of in Phoenix when
Speaker 1: he was like stepping in for Devin book or Devon
Speaker 1: Booker is hurt and you've seen what he's being able
Speaker 1: to do in the playoffs. You know, the last couple
Speaker 1: of years before Phoenix, as they had this whole building
Speaker 1: process you look at from the bubble until the two
Speaker 1: years after that, Mickell Bridges has been that stut. But
Speaker 1: now he's come into this Brooklyn Nets team and he
Speaker 1: is the main focus point. He is the main boocal point.
Speaker 1: Even mckel has said before, you know that if he's
Speaker 1: not knocking down shots, like the more shots he's making,
Speaker 1: the more he's leading this charge that is just a
Speaker 1: kind of a domino effect to the other team, into
Speaker 1: the other guys. And so when you scout this brooklyn
Speaker 1: Nette team, McKell Bridges is the guy that you have
Speaker 1: to like start with because of everything that he's stepped into.
Speaker 1: Um Not only availability has been key for him because
Speaker 1: he does not miss a game he plays. He's he's
Speaker 1: a very passionate player. He plays hard every single night
Speaker 1: and offensively, it's just the way that he's been a
Speaker 1: leader in his shot making ability, the shots that he
Speaker 1: is making We already knew he had that mid range jumper,
Speaker 1: but now he's like, you know, he's he's incorporating knocking
Speaker 1: down threes. And so Jock Bond said that McKell bridges
Speaker 1: has always been that guy, but it's just this Brooklyn
Speaker 1: Next team is just kind of spot, you know, shining
Speaker 1: a light on what he's been able to more capable
Speaker 1: of doing. And then Spencer Dinwayney. Spencer Dinwayney is a
Speaker 1: guy who's been here before, played a couple of years here.
Speaker 1: As he said, he's grown. He grew up here Brooklyn.
Speaker 1: Brooklyn is his home, but now his game has changed
Speaker 1: as the time that he loved like his game has
Speaker 1: evolved from Washington the Wizards and then the Dallas Mavericks,
Speaker 1: but coming in here he has been a the floor general.
Speaker 1: He has been able to create and facilitate. He can
Speaker 1: give you a double digits, you know, the assist numbers,
Speaker 1: and you've kind of seen it grow as more games
Speaker 1: that got under their belt, they kind of just learn
Speaker 1: how to play with each other. During Phinney Smith, when
Speaker 1: he can knock down threes, he is just amazing defensively,
Speaker 1: He's a great defensive guy. He's a great wing player.
Speaker 1: Cam Johnson too, you know him and Mcaelberd has had
Speaker 1: that connection already and he has slowly found his groove
Speaker 1: and you know, his shot is just a beautiful shot.
Speaker 1: And you add that with Nick Claxton into the starting group,
Speaker 1: it has just been a really, really great like combo.
Speaker 1: The starting five has been a really great combo. Especially
Speaker 1: in this last couple of games. They've kind of found
Speaker 1: They've found each other. Nick Claxton has been just an
Speaker 1: amazing player all season. He's just grown so much since
Speaker 1: he came in and Wash was drafted with Brooklyn, but
Speaker 1: now he's just really kind of stepped in. So there's
Speaker 1: a lot of there's a lot of things that stand out,
Speaker 1: and that's kind of like the order of kind of
Speaker 1: how I what has been really really amazing to scene.
Speaker 1: Lots of connections to between this team and rather your
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets, our Philadelphia seventy six ers over the years.
Speaker 1: You mentioned mcal Bridges, someone that people absolutely love in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: So I know there are going to be folks that
Speaker 1: are conflicted in the building that remember watching him in
Speaker 1: that building and hearing for him, so looking forward to
Speaker 1: seeing what he's able to do. Of course, we don't
Speaker 1: expect to see Ben Simmons in a series, but we
Speaker 1: do expect to see Seth Curry in this series. I'm
Speaker 1: curious what it's been like to work with Seth. It
Speaker 1: seems like he's one of those ones that when he
Speaker 1: comes back to Philly, people don't have have an issue
Speaker 1: rooting for him, which is really nice. Um And so,
Speaker 1: of course, regardless of what his availability ends up being
Speaker 1: sort of in your rotation, what has it been like
Speaker 1: to work with Seth? Seth is great? You know, Seth
Speaker 1: is a very like, he's very focused workface. He comes
Speaker 1: in and he's kind of like, he's kind of the
Speaker 1: quiet guy. And when it comes to like being on
Speaker 1: the court, you already know what he can do when
Speaker 1: he when he gets his chance and when his shot
Speaker 1: is slowing, you're like, oh wow. You know, like the
Speaker 1: something about them hurries that it is just in their blood.
Speaker 1: But he's so driven and very focused, very quiet, very
Speaker 1: matter of fact, and like I said, every he's he's
Speaker 1: he's the guy that's seen it all a lot of
Speaker 1: guys who haven't been able to see at all, but
Speaker 1: he's a guy that's seen it all throughout this year
Speaker 1: and so he's just very driven and just very focused
Speaker 1: on like the kind that the task at hand. He's
Speaker 1: very well aware of what kind of like what's been
Speaker 1: sacked up against them, but he's kind of come in
Speaker 1: and been that leader because he's been he's been one
Speaker 1: of the guys who's throughout the entire season has been
Speaker 1: able to kind of see what all the new changes
Speaker 1: that has happened, because you know, we talked about the trades,
Speaker 1: but we don't like you for you sometimes forget which
Speaker 1: you if you really sit down and focus on media
Speaker 1: day for us where we had Steve Nash as are
Speaker 1: a head coach, and you know we had questions then
Speaker 1: about what the dynamic was going to be like, and
Speaker 1: then you had a rough start and then you started
Speaker 1: to kind of get things going. Then you get then
Speaker 1: you have Jock become you know, Steve Nash and them
Speaker 1: part ways, and then Jock becomes interim head coaches, becomes
Speaker 1: the official acting head coach, and then you have still
Speaker 1: rumors of such that you have injury, then you have trade.
Speaker 1: So like he's been so Seth Curry has gone through lot,
Speaker 1: He's seen a lot, but he's very very focused on
Speaker 1: kind of like this, like a matter of fact, you
Speaker 1: know task at hand, what we have to do to
Speaker 1: achieve our goal that's always been make it to the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers has talked about trying to get the scouting
Speaker 1: report from his son in law, Seth Curry whenever he
Speaker 1: sees him leading up to and during this first round
Speaker 1: playoff series. It's interesting because he said he's he's coached
Speaker 1: his son, He's coached his son in law in big games,
Speaker 1: but never really coached against them in a playoff series.
Speaker 1: But I wanted to go back to Nick Claxton because
Speaker 1: Seth Curry is a shooter, Joe Harris shooter. All these
Speaker 1: shooters on the Nets, and obviously there's going to be
Speaker 1: a look at the six or shooters and who can
Speaker 1: knock down shots around Joe l Embiid, but also around
Speaker 1: Nick Claxton for the Brooklyn Nets in that particular matchup.
Speaker 1: What are you looking for from Claxton versus Mbiid in
Speaker 1: that matchup? Because I think back to the third game
Speaker 1: or the second game overall in Philly and how they
Speaker 1: were in each other's faces, literally no space between their faces,
Speaker 1: jawing at one another. It's interesting because Nick was asked
Speaker 1: about that at practice this week about kind of the
Speaker 1: dynamic of you know, Joelnbi he talks a lot and
Speaker 1: you know like no knock for it, I'm all here
Speaker 1: for it. I love it. Nick Claxton said the same thing.
Speaker 1: He was like, that's fun for me. He was like,
Speaker 1: I'm here for a little trash jock. He said, we
Speaker 1: have some conversations out there a mc court. He wouldn't
Speaker 1: share what is like really really sad, but he's like
Speaker 1: he's he's ready for it, and so I think it
Speaker 1: just makes for a good game for a little a
Speaker 1: little I'm not gonna say trash shock and I have
Speaker 1: the word trash, but just like some talking, you're just
Speaker 1: having a conversation out there. Whether whatever direction it goes into,
Speaker 1: you know, we're all gonna be like our ears are
Speaker 1: gonna be like why opened it to hear? But he's
Speaker 1: looking forward to that matchup and when it comes to
Speaker 1: kind of how it plays out, I think Game one
Speaker 1: is gonna be very telling, but kind of like always
Speaker 1: in game one when it comes into a series, you're like,
Speaker 1: all eyes want to kind of figure out how that's
Speaker 1: got to report will look like, especially from the Brooklyn
Speaker 1: at the same point because they have gone small at
Speaker 1: sometimes as well. That's been a kind of like a
Speaker 1: secret keep for them. Will Jock Bond do that again?
Speaker 1: Well that secret but you know it's been like it's
Speaker 1: been a thing that they've been able to do against
Speaker 1: other teams, and so will that be a case here?
Speaker 1: Droyland Beat is very very different, so you have to
Speaker 1: kind of like scout that differently because of what he's
Speaker 1: able to do on the court. But Nick Lackson has um.
Speaker 1: He's that guy who can grab you a rebound. He's
Speaker 1: shown that he's got this mid range jumper too, and
Speaker 1: you're like, okay, Nick, let's see what you got um.
Speaker 1: And he's a guy that's like where he's like young
Speaker 1: in the league, but he's showing that he can be
Speaker 1: this dynamic big. But he can do so much and
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting to kind of see because Nick
Speaker 1: is you know, Nick is more, it's probably quicker with
Speaker 1: his feet than Dwelling Beat. So how can Nick use
Speaker 1: that and capitalize off of that rung up against Roland?
Speaker 1: Joel Ebiad is a bigger big, So what what can
Speaker 1: happen with Nick is also not just Nick Clackson I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna take a whole entire team to go
Speaker 1: up again strolling and beat. How many different looks are
Speaker 1: you going to give duel and be to make it difficult.
Speaker 1: We've seen other teams do that, and I think that's
Speaker 1: gonna be key. But I'm interested to see how kind
Speaker 1: of game one goes off, like figuring out some type
Speaker 1: of like game plane that they will do. But I
Speaker 1: think Nick nick a Loge conversation is on drieling be
Speaker 1: rightfully so. But I do think that Nick has some
Speaker 1: secret weapons that he can use, that he can showcase
Speaker 1: that can work it against you all. It's such a
Speaker 1: cool place for a young player to be too, because
Speaker 1: everybody knows what you expect from at the very least
Speaker 1: an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid, perhaps the MVP going
Speaker 1: into a playoff series. It's kind of nice to be
Speaker 1: the guy on the other end of that where the
Speaker 1: expectations are a little lower. You're a little bit younger,
Speaker 1: and it's your job to just go in there and
Speaker 1: try to slow him down and shock the world. And
Speaker 1: I know that you mentioned the way that they were
Speaker 1: talking back and forth to each other, but Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: respects that, like he likes someone that can sort of
Speaker 1: give it back, whether it's with their play or trying
Speaker 1: to play the mental games together. So I'm looking forward
Speaker 1: to that matchup as well. Sixers and Nets, of course,
Speaker 1: tips off on Saturday the fifteenth, Depending on when you're
Speaker 1: listening to this, maybe tomorrow, maybe today at one pm
Speaker 1: Eastern to make sure you're up early and ready to
Speaker 1: celebrate game one opening the playoffs for both teams. Game
Speaker 1: two will be played Monday at seven thirty Eastern. Then
Speaker 1: the series shifts to Brooklyn Thursday at seven thirty Eastern
Speaker 1: and Saturday at one pm Eastern. Games five through seven
Speaker 1: are yet to be determined in terms of times and
Speaker 1: whether or not they'll happen and where, well, no, we
Speaker 1: know where they'd be. Megan's like they're happening. They're happening.
Speaker 1: But how happy are you that the weekend games are early?
Speaker 1: I'm excited about it, Like I have a day game.
Speaker 1: I love a day game. I love a little sunlight.
Speaker 1: I think fans are like fresher too. In the day
Speaker 1: you get you have more kids usually come out. So
Speaker 1: I'm used to like my old job. I'm used to
Speaker 1: having the night like the late games being in the
Speaker 1: Western Conference. But like now it's like these, like these
Speaker 1: daytime games I'm all here for. I think there's more
Speaker 1: hype centered around it. And when you have a little
Speaker 1: I know some people are not calling it a rivalry,
Speaker 1: but when you have a lot of history against each other,
Speaker 1: when you have a little history like this, day games
Speaker 1: are gonna be exciting. I would imagine too, there's gonna
Speaker 1: be a lot of fans of both teams in both
Speaker 1: arenas because of the proximity. People forget it takes less
Speaker 1: than two hours. If you're living in Brooklyn and you
Speaker 1: want to come to Philly. If you're living in Philly
Speaker 1: you want to go to Brooklyn, you can do it,
Speaker 1: especially if it's during the day. So when you find
Speaker 1: those environments, for sure, I asked Jory and Finny Smith
Speaker 1: because he's used to being in Dallas throughout all of
Speaker 1: this NBA career, and he's like, you know, when you're
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference, your youth the potentially flying you
Speaker 1: know to another time zone that you know that you
Speaker 1: could have even in that first round. So to have
Speaker 1: to have situation where you can just drive your family
Speaker 1: can get there so easily. You have the capability of
Speaker 1: going back home, depending on how many days you have
Speaker 1: in between games, if you can go back home. It
Speaker 1: doesn't it does. It doesn't always feel like you're a
Speaker 1: way when you have to play. When you have might
Speaker 1: have home court advantage. And we know that Brooklyn Brigade
Speaker 1: always comes to Walls Fargo Center. I mean it's not
Speaker 1: you know, I know it's not. They're not as loud
Speaker 1: as the Philly fans, but still you'll still have fans
Speaker 1: that will travel. I am very much looking forward to
Speaker 1: seeing that. Yeah, Matt Gut, I'm going to disagree for
Speaker 1: the sake of disagreeing here with your guys conversation about
Speaker 1: the day games. There will be some night games of
Speaker 1: course in the series. But and there are some perks
Speaker 1: for the players and people working the games. But I
Speaker 1: think from the fan perspective, give me the whole day
Speaker 1: of building up before a matchup, before a night game
Speaker 1: of prime time I'm game something like that. So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna take the side of I'm not as big of
Speaker 1: a fan of the one on Saturday on a Saturday
Speaker 1: like like I think, like, okay, yes, on a weekday,
Speaker 1: you want the nighttime. Obviously you're in a nighttime game
Speaker 1: on the weekdays, on the weekend, on the Saturday that
Speaker 1: like early, you're getting up, it's sunny, Like I just
Speaker 1: think there's a there's an excitement because you're waking up exciting.
Speaker 1: You're like gotta go, we gotta go. It gets on
Speaker 1: you so quick though, like the fans are gotta get up,
Speaker 1: get their coffee. Like next thing you know, the game
Speaker 1: is tipping off. See, I don't like to be teased,
Speaker 1: so I'm I like things to just like happen. So
Speaker 1: that's all I'm I'm gonna say to me. A day
Speaker 1: game really makes me feel like a regular person because
Speaker 1: we all work such crazy hours in this industry. Like
Speaker 1: the fact that when we have a day game, we
Speaker 1: get in there around nine or ten in the morning
Speaker 1: and then we leave around four or five six pm.
Speaker 1: You go outside there it's still light out. That's what
Speaker 1: regular people experience every day. I really love a day game,
Speaker 1: but I love a private So if your team wins,
Speaker 1: you have like you have like from six to ten
Speaker 1: to like call make phone calls, go out, still celebrate.
Speaker 1: You don't have to go, do you know how word
Speaker 1: it's like to be on such a high and just
Speaker 1: to go home and go to sleep like that's not fun,
Speaker 1: Like you want to be on this high where you
Speaker 1: need to go home and celebrate with your with your
Speaker 1: people and still carry it throughout the entire day. Mats,
Speaker 1: you still have all day, but your team has to
Speaker 1: win to have all day. So that is the key.
Speaker 1: That's true. If you lose, it's easier to just go
Speaker 1: to bed and try against tomorrow. So anyway, there will
Speaker 1: be day games, there will be night games, there will
Speaker 1: be wins, there will be losses. If you're into any
Speaker 1: of those things, this is the series for you. Megan.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for coming on today. We've loved
Speaker 1: chatting with you and we will look forward to continuing
Speaker 1: to chat throughout the series. Thank you so much, Do
Speaker 1: all things. Thanks again to Megan Triplet, the Brooklyn Nets
Speaker 1: sideline reporter for the Yes Network. Ahead of Sixers Nets,
Speaker 1: which begins Saturday the fifteenth. It's kind of a natural
Speaker 1: cadence or a haydence you can familiarize yourself with in
Speaker 1: this series. Saturday the fifteenth, Monday the seventeenth, both in
Speaker 1: South Philadelphia, and then it is Thursday Saturday. Okay, so
Speaker 1: it's not that natural. I thought it was like Saturday.
Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm trying to say, but the
Speaker 1: Saturdays are at one and the Saturday got into a
Speaker 1: bit with Megan when it comes to day games versus
Speaker 1: night games. But this first game a day game, one pm,
Speaker 1: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN ninety seven five, the fanatic Game
Speaker 1: one between the third seeded Sixers and the sixth seeded
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets. Thanks everyone for listening, and Lauren Rosen, thanks
Speaker 1: to you for being here as always. Thanks guys, C