Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast Network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. It's
Speaker 1: been a tricky balance for the seventy Sixers managing injuries
Speaker 1: while getting ready for the playoffs. But with the seating
Speaker 1: schedule winding down, there have been some promising signs. Josh
Speaker 1: Richardson will step back fifty quarter, hier Archer, it's up
Speaker 1: and good head. The Sixers have their first lead of
Speaker 1: the night. Herford's for three. Yes, Oh Horford coming off
Speaker 1: lard With Ben Simmons and Joel embad out, other guys
Speaker 1: have been forced to step up. We'll talk about who
Speaker 1: needs to do what in order for the Sixers to
Speaker 1: make a push in the postseason. I feel like it's
Speaker 1: an opportunity to galvanize the team and look at the
Speaker 1: team respond I got great confidences. I'm Lauren Rogan, I'm
Speaker 1: Divine Givens, I'm Brian Seltzer and this is the broadcast
Speaker 1: from the seventy Sixers Podcast Network. We're back. You know,
Speaker 1: the NBA took it's hiatus, not that it wanted too.
Speaker 1: For four months. We felt at some point the three
Speaker 1: of us were entitled to a mini hiatus. We took
Speaker 1: one last week, but we are back raring to go.
Speaker 1: Seeding game schedule for the seventy six ers winding down.
Speaker 1: The playoffs are going to start next week. Lauren Devon,
Speaker 1: Great to be with you again. Tell meselfing new about yourself.
Speaker 1: What's different since the last time we spoke fourteen days ago? Well,
Speaker 1: so this is my first remote recording of the podcast.
Speaker 1: Oh tell us more. Took a little trip down to
Speaker 1: my old stomping grounds in Durham, North Carolina, having some
Speaker 1: family time, got to walk around, have some fresh air.
Speaker 1: I love Philly. I love Philly, but it is nice
Speaker 1: to be somewhere a little bit more spread out. It
Speaker 1: was my first time leaving Philadelphia since the hiatus began.
Speaker 1: Now stomping grounds, your true stomping grounds are not Durham,
Speaker 1: North Carolina, of course true. I am from Houston, Texas,
Speaker 1: but I went to college here in Durham, and it's
Speaker 1: nice to just be back somewhere a little warmer, with
Speaker 1: a little more space and fresh air. Divine, have you
Speaker 1: ever heard of a college in Durham, North Carolina? They
Speaker 1: have a school down there, I believe. So. Yeah, A
Speaker 1: couple of short letter words and you know, nice, nice place,
Speaker 1: and absolutely so it's good to see Lauren taking that
Speaker 1: trip back down to Durham, North Carolina and settling in
Speaker 1: getting that fresh air. Absolutely, Durham State University. That's the one, right,
Speaker 1: that's what I thought. That's what about you, d Well.
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, I'm dealing with the heat. Lauren has
Speaker 1: that nice heat down in North Carolina, but here in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: the heat wave is still pushing along. I got a haircut,
Speaker 1: feeling good, and we have summer basketball. How about that?
Speaker 1: It's tremendous. I too, got a haircut. People can't see it,
Speaker 1: but Divine, you're looking fresh. I guess maybe maybe you
Speaker 1: guys can tell you that. Yeah, if I take my
Speaker 1: headset off, you can kind of see that. Maybe it's
Speaker 1: not quite as whispy or curly in the back. Not
Speaker 1: to get too follically in depth on this podcast, asked Divan,
Speaker 1: but did you have I'm going to describe an issue
Speaker 1: I had right after my haircut, and I want to
Speaker 1: ask you if you experience something similar. My scalp was
Speaker 1: hitching for probably forty eight hours after I got my
Speaker 1: hair cut. It had been that long my last haircut
Speaker 1: was in the middle of January. So this for me
Speaker 1: has been about long since were gone nearly seven months,
Speaker 1: and for about forty eight hours straight, I just couldn't
Speaker 1: stop scratching the itch. No, actually no, you know, you
Speaker 1: get the haircut, wash the hair, treat it how you
Speaker 1: need to treat it right away, and so I didn't
Speaker 1: have that problem. Also, my last one was in March,
Speaker 1: right before we did our final show from the Center
Speaker 1: before the hiatus. And yeah, so I guess I had
Speaker 1: a few months on you, and I actually made sure.
Speaker 1: I just went and washed the old hair and made
Speaker 1: sure everything was all good, and I was straight. I was.
Speaker 1: But I'm glad you're feeling better now, Yeah, needed some time,
Speaker 1: need some time. Yeah, but I'm good. Good. This is
Speaker 1: why the people are here, of course, this is why
Speaker 1: the pets, right, they want to hear this type of conversation. Hey,
Speaker 1: we're not the only ones, okay. Yeah, we've seen plenty
Speaker 1: from the players, from listeners, from social media, people who
Speaker 1: reach out. Everyone was going through this with the haircut,
Speaker 1: so of course they're into this absolute We're just trying
Speaker 1: to relate everyday experiences during a pandemic into the podcast
Speaker 1: forum as it pertains to seventy Sixers basketball. That's right,
Speaker 1: not an easy task. Three people have to do it.
Speaker 1: That's us. I want to get this out of our
Speaker 1: system right away. There are two players who are currently
Speaker 1: unavailable for the seventy Sixers, Ben Simmons with a left
Speaker 1: knee injury, Dwell Embiid with a left ankle injury. So
Speaker 1: the Sixers, we don't know how long we're gonna have
Speaker 1: to go without them. And you just can't snap your
Speaker 1: fingers and replace two all stars. I think that's a
Speaker 1: reality that we all certainly need to acknowledge. You try
Speaker 1: to go through something like they're about to four seating
Speaker 1: games remaining, a part of me three seating games remaining,
Speaker 1: and then you look at the postseason. You want your
Speaker 1: two best players out there, as good as the team
Speaker 1: might be field together. You go as far as your
Speaker 1: two stars go, your two all stars, and Joel Embiad
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons, so wish them make speedy recovery, hopefully they're
Speaker 1: back sooner rather than later, and get this push going. Yeah, Devine,
Speaker 1: you never want to lose your two all stars, two
Speaker 1: players that have such a high upside like a Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons or a Joel Embiid. However, against the Trailblazers, it
Speaker 1: was good to see a guy like Josh Richardson heat up.
Speaker 1: We've seen good performances from Al Horford and Tobias Harris,
Speaker 1: so while their silver linings will be few and far
Speaker 1: to come by without those two, it was good to
Speaker 1: see those guys heat up, and as long as we
Speaker 1: are without Ben Simmons Joel Embiid, hopefully they can continue
Speaker 1: to build on what they've started in Orlando. As much
Speaker 1: of a bummer as those two's injuries were and are.
Speaker 1: The other thing is the seventy six ers. I feel
Speaker 1: like they have a been resilient b up until the
Speaker 1: game against the Trailblazers. They had been winning. They won
Speaker 1: three in a row, that was the longest winning streak
Speaker 1: inside the Bubble save for the Phoenix Suns, and they
Speaker 1: gave Portland a real run for their money in the
Speaker 1: game on Sunday night, and that was a game where
Speaker 1: even though they fell behind by seventeen points in the
Speaker 1: first half, to me, it felt like it might as
Speaker 1: well have been seventeen hundred points. It was just one
Speaker 1: of those games where it seemed like they were out
Speaker 1: of early they want to buy six late just couldn't
Speaker 1: hold off Dame Lillard and the rest of the Blazers,
Speaker 1: a team that has a lot to play for, but
Speaker 1: they have shown some determination, which I know that's a
Speaker 1: kind of moral victory esque storyline to focus on, but listen,
Speaker 1: you gotta start somewhere. If you don't have two of
Speaker 1: your best players, then you're going to need that type
Speaker 1: of effort from the rest of the roster, and hopefully
Speaker 1: that will produce performances from other guys who the seventy
Speaker 1: sixers will need to get great performances from. I know
Speaker 1: you don't like to focus on moral victories, like you said,
Speaker 1: but I agree. In that first quarter, it kind of
Speaker 1: seemed like the Sixers were maybe just going to be
Speaker 1: down and out for the rest of the game. They're
Speaker 1: playing against a team that had everything to gain in
Speaker 1: fighting for the playoffs. They're super motivated, they had a
Speaker 1: tough loss just the day before, and feisty Damian Lillard
Speaker 1: is never going to be easy to contain. So in
Speaker 1: that first half it did seem maybe like the Sixers
Speaker 1: were going to just let that game get away from them,
Speaker 1: and instead they showed a lot of fight. They showed
Speaker 1: a lot of heart, They showed a lot of grit,
Speaker 1: and they almost won a game that I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people might have said that they had no
Speaker 1: business winning. I actually looked at that once they got
Speaker 1: down seventeen and bead hurt. I thought it would be
Speaker 1: a tough client for them to come back, and for
Speaker 1: them to fight back the way that they did, it
Speaker 1: was good to see. And if Embiad is not available
Speaker 1: for the next game that they have and that's something
Speaker 1: that the coaching staff and the players also can playoff
Speaker 1: of and look back at from Sunday's game and try
Speaker 1: to now set the game plan up to the event
Speaker 1: and knowing that again they had a tough matchup, a
Speaker 1: tough assignment against Damian Lillard and company, and still found
Speaker 1: a way to make it a game. At the very end,
Speaker 1: Joel Embiad has been the seventy six Ers leading score
Speaker 1: side the bubble, just under twenty four and a half
Speaker 1: points per game, one of the top rebounders in the
Speaker 1: NBA at eleven and a half per game. Right behind
Speaker 1: Joel on the offensive side is Tobias Harris around twenty
Speaker 1: two and a half points per game, shooting forty three
Speaker 1: and a half percent overall, just under forty one percent
Speaker 1: from three point territory. What I want to do, guys
Speaker 1: moving forward for the rest of our deep dive segment
Speaker 1: is kind of like going through a checklist of sorts
Speaker 1: for different members of the roster and what the seventy
Speaker 1: sixers might need from them in the absence of Ben Simmons,
Speaker 1: we know for a period of time Joel Embiide, we
Speaker 1: don't know for how long. But regardless of that, everyone's
Speaker 1: got to be on heighten alert with the playoffs coming.
Speaker 1: So what do we need from Tobias Harris Divan Now
Speaker 1: that the seventy sixers are in the current situation, they
Speaker 1: are elevated scoring production, and we know he's been thirty
Speaker 1: twenty five HI HI twenties overall, he's played very well offensively.
Speaker 1: I thought that they could have used him a little
Speaker 1: bit more in the Portland loss. There there were some
Speaker 1: times where it looked like there was a moment where
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris could step up and really take over, but
Speaker 1: the lid was on the basket forum for the most part.
Speaker 1: He had a tough night. So going forward, he is
Speaker 1: going to be the featured offensive scorer for this basketball team.
Speaker 1: So what you need is some elevated scoring play, some
Speaker 1: efficiency as well, get to his spots, find his spot,
Speaker 1: to get to those spots, and make sure that these
Speaker 1: are good looks because every possession is crucial for the
Speaker 1: Philadelphia seventy sixers going forward with no Indeed and no Simmons,
Speaker 1: he's always been the second or third option with those
Speaker 1: two out there on the floor. He's not gonna be
Speaker 1: focs first, so he's going to be the focal point
Speaker 1: of the defense. Can you get some consistent scoring punch
Speaker 1: from him, some efficiency as well, and if the double
Speaker 1: team does find him, is he able to get out
Speaker 1: of that double team and find his teammates to get
Speaker 1: a better look overall? So I look for those things
Speaker 1: from Tobias Harris, at least going from the next game
Speaker 1: that they have against the Phoenix Suns and moving on. Well, look,
Speaker 1: we know Tobias could have given and more to that
Speaker 1: to the Blazers game. He could have been more productive offensively,
Speaker 1: more accurate from the field. But he's also been very
Speaker 1: vocal about the fact that he wants to be the
Speaker 1: guy that can step up in those situations. He's shown
Speaker 1: his intention to do it. He said he wants to
Speaker 1: be able to be that guy that takes over. So
Speaker 1: I would imagine that in these next few games coming up,
Speaker 1: he's going to give it another shot. He's going to
Speaker 1: commit to what he's already said that he really wants
Speaker 1: to do and make good things happen for the team offensively.
Speaker 1: So I think we're in for some good performances from
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris. Sixers big possession. They lead by one shake
Speaker 1: built with a buff a screen by to Bias Milton.
Speaker 1: I'll top to it, beat inside feed at the Bias
Speaker 1: he taps it up and he didn't even captured. He's
Speaker 1: had it with the right hand, with his back to
Speaker 1: the basket and scores the ball for me. Two things
Speaker 1: I'm looking at is he's got to continue to rebound
Speaker 1: the basketball really well. Obviously, if the Sixers didn't have
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons, they would need to Bias to pick up
Speaker 1: a little bit more, but certainly with that Joel Embiid.
Speaker 1: And another thing is Tobias could find himself in a
Speaker 1: spot now where he might be asked to do a
Speaker 1: little bit more defensively on opposing wings. Some of the
Speaker 1: most dangerous scores in the NBA. So I think defense
Speaker 1: overall and obviously rebounded the basketball in addition to that
Speaker 1: primary need of scoring. Like Devon and Lauren, you guys said,
Speaker 1: certainly on the to do list. Four Tobias Harris about
Speaker 1: ball with the four and o' clock goes out, the
Speaker 1: Richards up for three and it's good. Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1: Josh richards who will beyond the arc over the outstretched
Speaker 1: arm of c J. McCollum and Richards and now with
Speaker 1: six threes at thirty four points? All right? Next up
Speaker 1: Josh Richardson, coming off of a really great performance against
Speaker 1: the Trailblazers that almost was enough to get the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers of victory. Thirty four points was a sixer
Speaker 1: high for him since he joined the Sixers, going back
Speaker 1: to last summer, and he tied a season high with
Speaker 1: six to three pointers. He had a really balanced game
Speaker 1: against the Blazers. He was in a good groove. He
Speaker 1: was in a really good groove against the Portland Trailblazers
Speaker 1: and they needed every bit of those thirty four And
Speaker 1: when we talk about him and possibly being the fourth
Speaker 1: and fifth option in this offense, Josh Richardson, and we
Speaker 1: know about his two way ability. This is what you
Speaker 1: can get from time to time. Now if you are
Speaker 1: able to get something a little more consistently from him
Speaker 1: instead of the fourteen close to fourteen points on the
Speaker 1: season average, maybe fifteen to seventeen where he gives them
Speaker 1: that extra offensive punch that they need, that would be good.
Speaker 1: But to see him do what he did against the
Speaker 1: Portland Trailblazers, knowing that again in bid was out, Tobias
Speaker 1: Harris is struggling. You get something from Alec Burks. He
Speaker 1: grabbed the reins early and kept on going throughout the
Speaker 1: entirety of the game. They are always those questions of
Speaker 1: when are we going to get that Josh Richardson game.
Speaker 1: Outside of the thirty two against the Miami Heat earlier
Speaker 1: in the season, the nineteen point quarter that he had
Speaker 1: in a victory as well, those were all at home.
Speaker 1: So it was great to see those and know that
Speaker 1: it's in there. But how often can we get that
Speaker 1: from him? And for me, it's got to be the threes.
Speaker 1: You guys both mentioned the threes, but for Josh to
Speaker 1: hit six threes against the Blazers the same amount he
Speaker 1: hit against Miami in that first big breakout game he
Speaker 1: had at home. If he can get the threes to fall,
Speaker 1: that's going to be absolutely huge for this team. I
Speaker 1: know we talk about it all the time, but when
Speaker 1: the threes are falling, this six Ers team is really
Speaker 1: hard to beat because we know they're strong in other
Speaker 1: areas of their offense. So if Josh can keep throwing
Speaker 1: them up from deep, then they can keep going in.
Speaker 1: That's going to be absolutely huge down the stretch. We
Speaker 1: know that he can do stuff when he's got the
Speaker 1: ball in his hands. And one thing that I really
Speaker 1: liked about the game against the Blazers as far as
Speaker 1: his performance was concerned, in that third quarter, when he
Speaker 1: started to pick up more attention, he started dishing the
Speaker 1: ball out a little bit and making things happen for
Speaker 1: his teammates. I thought that was good to see show
Speaker 1: the versatility of his game. And again, defensive end, when
Speaker 1: he takes someone like Ben Simmons out and you factor
Speaker 1: in the type of players that Ben Simmons might be
Speaker 1: asked to guard. Josh Richardson. We saw against the Blazers
Speaker 1: he was on Damian Lillard a lot. He's gonna really
Speaker 1: need to key in on that end of the floor.
Speaker 1: As well. Absolutely, he's the number one perimeter defender at
Speaker 1: this point. Matista wil comes off the bench in that
Speaker 1: starting role. Josh Richardson is the one again as a
Speaker 1: two way player with a reputation already for being a
Speaker 1: strong defender in this league. He's absolutely gonna have to
Speaker 1: take on those tough responsibilities going forward. And Devin Booker
Speaker 1: is up next. Horford with it again, goes right around
Speaker 1: Gary Clark and jams it at the radio man not
Speaker 1: the only guy seeing the mismatch there. Sixers go right
Speaker 1: to him a pirouette down low right and Horford with
Speaker 1: a jam. He's got six timeout Orlando. Steve Clifford's got
Speaker 1: to figure out who's gonna guard big Al. Mister. Al
Speaker 1: Horford is the next player on our list, a guy
Speaker 1: who I think is getting more and more recognition for
Speaker 1: the high quality of play he has been giving the
Speaker 1: Sixers in Orlando. And it's funny I think back to
Speaker 1: one of the first zoom media sessions that Al Horford did.
Speaker 1: I think it was even when the Sixers were still
Speaker 1: in Amen before they left, someone asked about how he's
Speaker 1: approaching all of this, and my takeaway from his comment
Speaker 1: was you know. I'm a veteran, I've been around a while.
Speaker 1: I'm going to get down to Orlando. I'm going to
Speaker 1: use the scrimmages and even the seating games to build
Speaker 1: myself up and make sure I'm ready to go once
Speaker 1: the playoffs roll around. I think it's been the exact
Speaker 1: opposite for me. From the jump. He has looked like
Speaker 1: he's been locked in, focused, playing really at a high
Speaker 1: intensity level and physically, which are certainly from the physicality standpoint,
Speaker 1: something the seventy six ers need. We've been talking about
Speaker 1: physicality with Al Horford a lot this weekend. It's something
Speaker 1: that his head coach, Brett Brown spoke about prior to
Speaker 1: Friday's game. The way that Al's defense has been strong,
Speaker 1: his offense has been strong, but the intangibles, his physicality,
Speaker 1: his spirit has been the biggest thing that he's added
Speaker 1: to this group, particularly when you're losing other stars. That's
Speaker 1: what you need from a veteran like Al Horford is
Speaker 1: to bring that intensity, to bring that physicality, to bring
Speaker 1: that no quit attitude that we've seen from him since
Speaker 1: he got to Orlando. Yeah, he's been very good. Especially
Speaker 1: when Ben Simmons went down, he had to step in
Speaker 1: into that starting role and he gave you a very
Speaker 1: very good game. I believe it was twenty one and
Speaker 1: nine in that game, and it was good to see
Speaker 1: him back out there. Seemingly that he when he had
Speaker 1: his issues during the season and he was relegated to
Speaker 1: the bench, and you know, no disrespect and when I
Speaker 1: say relegated, he was a team guy. He did what
Speaker 1: was asking him and he played his role. And the
Speaker 1: thing was, this guy didn't forget how to play basketball,
Speaker 1: and now that you see him back out there, you
Speaker 1: start to remember and just go back to or ask
Speaker 1: him being a veteran, the guy that we're talking about
Speaker 1: in the past that has had playoffs successes, All Star
Speaker 1: success and so on, and right now we're seeing at
Speaker 1: al Horford again where he's just going out there making
Speaker 1: the right plays, whether it's defensively, scoring or passing. Al
Speaker 1: Horford has been playing some really good basketball so far
Speaker 1: inside the bubble. When you don't have Joel Embiid, you
Speaker 1: don't have one of the best rim protectors in the game.
Speaker 1: But like you just said, Divine, there are other things
Speaker 1: that al Horford can do that makes suffer that whether
Speaker 1: it's positioning his physicality, how he attacks the glass. I
Speaker 1: don't like to go too far into making a ton
Speaker 1: out of numbers like this, because I'm not sure I
Speaker 1: don't necessarily think that they paint the entire picture. But
Speaker 1: the on off court numbers for al Horford, they're the
Speaker 1: best out of any sixer who's played substantial minutes since
Speaker 1: the team got into Orlando. And I do think that
Speaker 1: that's a stat that's indicative the way that he's been
Speaker 1: playing in the impact that al Horford's had on the team. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: undred percent. I agree with you and the impact that
Speaker 1: you can see it now and that leadership with he
Speaker 1: and Tobias Harris out there. That's why we still believe
Speaker 1: that at the very least, you know they're gonna be competitive,
Speaker 1: they won't give up. They're gonna go out there and
Speaker 1: they're gonna fight and try to get everything out of
Speaker 1: themselves and their teammates. Knowing that, indeed, and Simmons, at
Speaker 1: least for the short term, we're not out there. Alec
Speaker 1: Burke's with a ball, crosses over on his Zonnya makes
Speaker 1: it another boom and he gets it n a foul
Speaker 1: and as Zonia got him with the body, so it
Speaker 1: changed job directions. A double crossover there at Burks will
Speaker 1: go to the line for what could be an old
Speaker 1: fashioned three point play. Alec Burks, guys, he's been another
Speaker 1: one who's been a revelation in Orlando. He is on
Speaker 1: a great run right now, back to back twenty point games.
Speaker 1: He hasn't done that since he was with the Utah
Speaker 1: Jazz back in twenty seventeen. He's really looked lively. He's
Speaker 1: looked more comfortable. We've talked about that a little bit,
Speaker 1: but I think the last two games, especially without Ben Simmons,
Speaker 1: from start to finish, he's shown that he can be
Speaker 1: an asset at the point of attack for sure. Saltzan
Speaker 1: we talked yesterday with coach Brett Brown about the fact
Speaker 1: that he can play on or off the ball pretty well,
Speaker 1: and we've seen that from him in these last few games.
Speaker 1: I think with a guy like Alec Burks who joins
Speaker 1: the team at the trade deadline, it's always going to
Speaker 1: be a little bit of a rush to get ready
Speaker 1: for the playoffs. Now you add in a four month
Speaker 1: hiatus away from the team after he only was able
Speaker 1: to play a few games with them following that trade.
Speaker 1: To see him heat up. The way that he is now,
Speaker 1: I think is really promising for what he can do
Speaker 1: for the Sixers the stretch, and that's what they're going
Speaker 1: to look for from him. Someone who's gonna come off
Speaker 1: the bench and be productive immediately, whether he's backing up
Speaker 1: Shake Milton at point guard or whether he's waiting for
Speaker 1: other guys to find him for big shots. He's shown
Speaker 1: that he can do both and I think that's going
Speaker 1: to be really big for this group. And he knows
Speaker 1: his role, he knows what's asked of him. He's gonna
Speaker 1: come in, he's gonna be a score. Yes, we'll we
Speaker 1: have the ball from time to time, and being that
Speaker 1: backup point guard if you will, sure, But at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, Alec Brooks, Seltz and Lauren, he
Speaker 1: is a scorer. And if he's going to come off
Speaker 1: the bench and they need a boost off the bench,
Speaker 1: that's the one that's probably gonna give it to you.
Speaker 1: And so far, so good with his showing, getting over
Speaker 1: twenty plus minutes, the twenty points that he's putting out
Speaker 1: there on the box score, he's been tremendous and he
Speaker 1: has so many different things to his game. It's a
Speaker 1: much needed boost, if we say that again, to the
Speaker 1: team overall, because outside of Simmons and some creatibility as
Speaker 1: well from Richardson and Harris even Shake, I like what
Speaker 1: Alec Burks does with the ball in his hands. I
Speaker 1: feel like part of being a score is not to
Speaker 1: sound totally clichede having that score his mindset, but beyond that,
Speaker 1: the score is assertiveness and confidence. And I just feel
Speaker 1: like when you watch Alec Burks now there's that dynamic
Speaker 1: that we didn't quite see from him when he first
Speaker 1: came over from the Golden State Warriors in the trade
Speaker 1: back in February, that he does now have that confidence,
Speaker 1: in that sense of self belief about him. And it's
Speaker 1: been really nice to see because, yes, the seventy six
Speaker 1: ers without Ben Simmons, and if they're without Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: for a period of time, they're gonna need some more
Speaker 1: peeps to put the basketball in that bucket, and Alec
Speaker 1: Burks is a guy who can do it. Here's a
Speaker 1: long shot by Ross blocked by Batise. Now they thrown
Speaker 1: ahead to Thible in the late thible Ducks in with
Speaker 1: two hands, he made the play on terrace. Ross got
Speaker 1: it back in Champions but Peace Thible time out Orlando
Speaker 1: batists Thible flipping things over to the defensive end of
Speaker 1: the floor. You talk about who's gonna pick up the
Speaker 1: slack without Ben Simmons. Now on the defensive end, Matisse
Speaker 1: Stybel has got to be someone, despite being a rookie,
Speaker 1: that you look first to. Right. Yeah, he brings energy.
Speaker 1: He brings that energy and when you see him out
Speaker 1: there consistently, he's always making plays some way, somehow, he's
Speaker 1: whether it's in the passing lane, is back his turn,
Speaker 1: he still does the fundamentals of sticking his hands out
Speaker 1: and the next thing you know, there's a deflection and
Speaker 1: the team is going the other way. So he definitely
Speaker 1: does do that filling the lane. When he does create
Speaker 1: some turnovers, he doesn't just stand there. He turns the
Speaker 1: other way and goes. It's now that shift from defense
Speaker 1: the offense. And while you may not see much from
Speaker 1: him in a half court set and when they're running
Speaker 1: the plays and devising things for him and transition, he's
Speaker 1: very good with his finishing. And it all starts with defense.
Speaker 1: And that's exactly what he brings when he comes off
Speaker 1: that branch, that defense, that energy and that that quickness
Speaker 1: that he has with his hands. His hands are always
Speaker 1: moving down stop. I love watching him with his angles
Speaker 1: of stopping the defenders and getting around those screens and
Speaker 1: things of that nature. Still a very good player to watch.
Speaker 1: He is a rookie, so I still wonder how much
Speaker 1: he will play and what coach Brett Brown will use
Speaker 1: him in certain situations. But when he is out there,
Speaker 1: he never fails that he does something well defensively, and
Speaker 1: I think we have to give Matis a lot of
Speaker 1: credit for the way he played against Portland. He had
Speaker 1: thirty three minutes, which is by far the most minutes
Speaker 1: he's played since they arrived in Orlando. He showed that
Speaker 1: his fitness level is up there. He was able to
Speaker 1: get up and down the court with intensity throughout every
Speaker 1: minute of those thirty three and he had a season
Speaker 1: high nine rebounds two in that game, which I think
Speaker 1: is pretty big. And obviously more minutes means more opportunities
Speaker 1: for boards, but his previous high was five, so jumping
Speaker 1: from five to nine is pretty solid. Knowing that he
Speaker 1: can get offensive and defensive rebounds. And then the final
Speaker 1: thing I'd like to give him props for we knew
Speaker 1: we were going to see some looks for him against
Speaker 1: c J McCollum Damian Lillard, especially in the absence of
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons, but down the stretch in that game, he
Speaker 1: defending some guys that are larger than he is, and
Speaker 1: we're not really used to seeing Matisse defending anyone other
Speaker 1: than those quick guards that he's been assigned to all season.
Speaker 1: But seeing him doing his best to body a guy
Speaker 1: like Carmelo Anthony down lower on the floor was really
Speaker 1: cool to see for him because it's something that shows
Speaker 1: a little bit of versatility, maybe something else that he's
Speaker 1: going to be able to add to his sort of
Speaker 1: already impressive defensive chest of awards or whatever you want
Speaker 1: to call it. I think the way that he played
Speaker 1: against Portland was very promising for this group. He showed
Speaker 1: a lot of fight. It's clear he's an irritant and
Speaker 1: he bothers guys and throws them off. You guys can
Speaker 1: correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty certain he
Speaker 1: was on Lillard at the top of the three point
Speaker 1: arc in the final minute and he forced a miss
Speaker 1: and the Sixers then got the ball back when they
Speaker 1: were still down by possession. Though he helped force a
Speaker 1: miss on a guy who was hot like Low. That
Speaker 1: gave the seventy sixers and opportunities to possibly steal that game.
Speaker 1: Didn't happen. But I agree with everything you guys said.
Speaker 1: He is able to do a lot of different things,
Speaker 1: and he is someone who without question brings important intangibles
Speaker 1: to the court. Whenever he's out there on the defensive end,
Speaker 1: they're looking to throw it in. Milton goes to Horford.
Speaker 1: Horford back to Shake Milton for three shot up. Thank
Speaker 1: god he bade It was six seconds to go and
Speaker 1: the Sexers have taken the lad He stepped right into
Speaker 1: a tray. Well beyond the art, shake Milton, what do
Speaker 1: we need from a shake? Just some steadiness? Run the team.
Speaker 1: You need somebody out there to run the team. When
Speaker 1: you have the ability to have an all star such
Speaker 1: as Ben Simmons out there as a primary ball handler
Speaker 1: for the last three seasons, you're expecting certain things now.
Speaker 1: In this particularly case with Shake Milton, the young player's
Speaker 1: second year man, you're not gonna get that outburst like
Speaker 1: you saw against the Los Angeles Clippers every time. So
Speaker 1: run the team, makes smart decisions, take good shots, and
Speaker 1: protect the basketball, and that's what he has done so far.
Speaker 1: He has protected the basketball. We have not seen those
Speaker 1: big numbers into twenty plus points or even getting into
Speaker 1: the thirties. But just be consistent, smart with the ball,
Speaker 1: run the team, set the guys that perfectly, make sure
Speaker 1: that they're in their spots. Even as veterans, command that
Speaker 1: respect out there on the floor. And I think Shake
Speaker 1: Milton will you know when you look at him overall
Speaker 1: with the evaluation you you will feel pleased with what
Speaker 1: you see at the end of the game if those
Speaker 1: things happen, and defensively as well. And I think that
Speaker 1: steadiness is super key. When we talked about Shake, it's
Speaker 1: something that we've gone back to a few times. But
Speaker 1: you got to remember that this is his first year
Speaker 1: really playing heavy minutes in an NBA rotation, and the
Speaker 1: way that he's been able to stay level headed. He
Speaker 1: likes to say that he won't get too high or
Speaker 1: too low when he's playing out there. We saw that
Speaker 1: for sure after that first performance against the Pacers where
Speaker 1: he struggled a little bit. He's come back since then
Speaker 1: and in every outing he's been durable. He's shown grit
Speaker 1: and it's great to see him be able to rebound
Speaker 1: from a difficult performance and show his stuff as a
Speaker 1: young player. YEP, certainly a lot of members of the roster.
Speaker 1: The seventies sixers will be looking to get the max
Speaker 1: from as they move forward in Orlando, with seating play
Speaker 1: beginning to wrap itself up and the playoffs starting in
Speaker 1: less than a week potentially depending on when the seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers play their first game. That is our deep dive
Speaker 1: for this week, and coming up in about twenty seconds,
Speaker 1: we do our weekly segment did you hear, where we
Speaker 1: uncover some more subtle, yet significant subplots surrounding the seventy
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Speaker 1: virtually bring their services to you so you heal, build strength,
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Speaker 1: novocare dot com. Did you hear? I don't know. We're
Speaker 1: gonna find out Maybe you did. Maybe you didn't, but
Speaker 1: we're going to bring to the forefront some important fodder
Speaker 1: that might get into the more granular and nitty gritty
Speaker 1: pertaining to the seventy sixers. May could be something like
Speaker 1: Mike Scott playing the five and the production the seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers got out of that fur con Cork Mas needing
Speaker 1: to get more out of him with his three point shot,
Speaker 1: Norvelle Pelle getting somebodys against the Trailblazers, Glenn Robinson the
Speaker 1: third returning. They're all candidates. But I will leave the
Speaker 1: floor and form right now to Lauren Rosen, I think
Speaker 1: and our informal rotation, it is your turn to go
Speaker 1: first in the Weekly Did you hear segment? Well, I'm
Speaker 1: never too hungry to go first, but I can this
Speaker 1: time set for me the quote that most stuck out.
Speaker 1: After the Trailblazers game, I asked Josh Richardson what he
Speaker 1: thought about Matis Bible's defense, considering the fact that the
Speaker 1: two of them were largely sharing the defensive duties on
Speaker 1: Damian Lloyd An C. J. McCollum, and Josh Richardson said,
Speaker 1: let's kind of getting thrown in the fire as a rookie,
Speaker 1: you know, having to get your first big minutes in
Speaker 1: a while. It's you know, a score attendem like that,
Speaker 1: and I think that I think he did a good job.
Speaker 1: You know, I'll take him in that matchup ten times
Speaker 1: to attend. So he's a guy that I definitely wanted
Speaker 1: my foxhole. I think that's high praise for a guy
Speaker 1: like Matisse Bible, who we continue to forget is just
Speaker 1: a rookie. The fact that he's already gained trust of
Speaker 1: guys like Josh Richardson, veterans that are even further along
Speaker 1: in their career like Tobias Harris or Al Horford. The
Speaker 1: fact that those guys trust matis a rookie is a
Speaker 1: really big deal. So he will be in the foxhol
Speaker 1: with them, and it'll be good to have a defender
Speaker 1: like Matise. Divan, as you project out, do you have
Speaker 1: a future comp for Matisse stable defensively? That's a great question.
Speaker 1: Um wow. You often hear someone like Bruce Bowen for
Speaker 1: someone like Matist, I will more athletic. But to be
Speaker 1: able to just hey, go get that guy and stop him,
Speaker 1: shut him down, make things difficult, make his life difficult.
Speaker 1: That's the reputation that Bruce Bowen had. And I know
Speaker 1: oftentimes we use the example of the San Antonio Spurs
Speaker 1: and when you have Brett Brown and his team here
Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, But I just look at that when right
Speaker 1: now that would probably be if I had to go
Speaker 1: off the top of my head, someone like that, where
Speaker 1: you still want to see the three point shot develop
Speaker 1: ultimately get there. He's just a young player. He's a rookie,
Speaker 1: so you expect that to development. As Lauren a is
Speaker 1: talking about your trust and the faith that his teammates had,
Speaker 1: the work ethic is there. He's going to work to
Speaker 1: improve on any weakness as he has with the outside shooting.
Speaker 1: So right now, I would say Bruce Bowen defensively for
Speaker 1: Matisse Styble. I like the comp and I like the
Speaker 1: quote from Josh Richardson about Matisse after that narrow loss
Speaker 1: to the Portland Trailblazers. All right, divine, what quote of
Speaker 1: notes stood out to you? Well, for me, the quote
Speaker 1: of note that stood out was Alec Brooks speaking on
Speaker 1: the team and himself taking things day by day. It's
Speaker 1: like a day by day, game by game, day by day,
Speaker 1: practice by practice. Things change cooking this league so I'm swing,
Speaker 1: stay levelhead and see how I go, taking things day
Speaker 1: by day. You know, it's great to hear what he
Speaker 1: has to say, simply because this league is ever changing,
Speaker 1: and who knew that Ben Simmons of course would have
Speaker 1: an injury that required surgery that would have him out
Speaker 1: for a period of time. Then Joel and b takes
Speaker 1: a step away because of an ankle injury. We hope
Speaker 1: that that is something once again, sooner rather than later.
Speaker 1: So taking things day by day. When we spoke about
Speaker 1: Alec Brooks a little bit earlier, it's the nature of
Speaker 1: the sport and the league in general where you never
Speaker 1: know when your number is going to be called. So
Speaker 1: taking things day by day, remaining ready and able to
Speaker 1: go when you are called upon, and then going out
Speaker 1: there and performing and delivering and taking it day by
Speaker 1: day in the moment at that time against that opponent
Speaker 1: and do your job. And he has done just that
Speaker 1: right now. He is in, as you pointed out earlier,
Speaker 1: a good rhythm, a good pace where he has confidence,
Speaker 1: so day by day, carrying that one thing to the
Speaker 1: next to the next, and remembering what happened in the
Speaker 1: last game the last time out. That's something that you
Speaker 1: want to hear, especially from a score who never loses
Speaker 1: his confidence. For me, I'm going to turn to Al
Speaker 1: Horford and him discussing a particular type of demeanor that
Speaker 1: he wants to bring to the court. We're at this
Speaker 1: point of the season where we're getting ready to get
Speaker 1: the start, get the playoffs started, and you know we
Speaker 1: need to set the tone. You know, coach has been
Speaker 1: talking about it all year, and you know we need
Speaker 1: to make sure that you know we're coming out and
Speaker 1: that we're setting the tone from the beginning. Those are
Speaker 1: types of things you need more of, and certainly Al
Speaker 1: Horford has proven over time, not just with the seventy Sixers,
Speaker 1: but earlier in his career in Atlanta and Boston that
Speaker 1: he can do just that. As we referenced earlier, some
Speaker 1: of the numbers have been really good for Horford inside
Speaker 1: the bubble. He's been part of nearly fifty different lineup
Speaker 1: combinations since the seventy Sixers got to Orlando. Now granted
Speaker 1: only about a fifth of them as he played more
Speaker 1: than five minutes with but the fact store remains when
Speaker 1: he is on the court, out of any of the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers regulars whether in the starting lineup or coming
Speaker 1: off the bench, the Sixers have outscored the opposition by
Speaker 1: nearly ten and a half points per one hundred possessions
Speaker 1: with Al Horford out there, the best stat in that
Speaker 1: category in terms of net rating on the team. I
Speaker 1: like it. I think there's validity to it. I think
Speaker 1: it's a real number. So Al Horford, did you hear?
Speaker 1: He wants to bring some more intangibles in addition to
Speaker 1: skill to the court. Went out there for the seventy
Speaker 1: sixers and that wraps up this week's did you hear?
Speaker 1: And that seguates US two are around the league segment.
Speaker 1: The Phoenix Suns are a story. They happen to be
Speaker 1: next up on the schedule for the seventy Sixers, and
Speaker 1: we have to start devon. Not to make much of
Speaker 1: your connection there, I feel like you handle it in
Speaker 1: a really professional and appropriate way. But there is a
Speaker 1: connection that you have, and the Phoenix Suns do happen
Speaker 1: to be playing spectacularly well in the bubble. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: the people who don't know the first time listeners. Michael
Speaker 1: Bridges is my younger cousin and of course support his
Speaker 1: career all the way from a young guy to where
Speaker 1: he is now in the NBA, and they are five
Speaker 1: and oh currently well, pardon me. As of Sunday Monday,
Speaker 1: they were five and oh with the game against the
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City Thunder and then in Philadelphia seventy six ers
Speaker 1: on Tuesday. They are at the hottest team in the
Speaker 1: league right now, a slim chance of making the postseason,
Speaker 1: and they've just reeled off some really good basketball so
Speaker 1: far in the bubble. They're led by Devin Booker and
Speaker 1: his scoring, as we know, one of the best young
Speaker 1: scores in today's game. They also feature a big man
Speaker 1: in DeAndre Ayton's second year player who is just coming
Speaker 1: into his own, not only offensively, but also defensively as well.
Speaker 1: And then they feature a bunch of other players that
Speaker 1: provide different things, from former Sixadario Sharich to Ricky Rubio
Speaker 1: is steady point guard as we know for many years
Speaker 1: in the league, Javan and Carter off the bench as
Speaker 1: a bulldog defender who can get hot as well. Cam
Speaker 1: Johnson the first round pick, a surprising first round pick
Speaker 1: where he was taken for the Phoenix Suns in the
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen draft, and of course Michael Bridges a due
Speaker 1: at all player for the Phoenix Suns who gives it
Speaker 1: to you defensively, and I'm expecting to see a lot
Speaker 1: of them on Tobias Harris with absent Ben Simmons out
Speaker 1: there on the floor. So I'm assuming a lot of
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris, Michael Bridges matchups and just a variety of
Speaker 1: different things. And they are ultimately led by former Sixers
Speaker 1: assistant Monty Williams, who have helped turn that culture around
Speaker 1: in Phoenix where they're believing right now. So they're still
Speaker 1: in the playoff hunt. There are a few games back
Speaker 1: of the Memphis Grizzlies for that final spot in the
Speaker 1: eighth seed in the Western Conference, and we know about
Speaker 1: that eight nine playing as well, So there are a
Speaker 1: lot of things up on the table for them right
Speaker 1: now in terms of scenarios, and it's going to be
Speaker 1: a very good game when the six take on the
Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns. They're a very very good team both offensively
Speaker 1: and defensively right now since they've returned Devon Meyer. Around
Speaker 1: the league is adjacent to your as you mentioned that
Speaker 1: play in game, and unfortunately for the Memphis Grizzlies, they
Speaker 1: had a bit of a tough start inside the bubble,
Speaker 1: losing some of their key contributors, including Jaren Jackson, who
Speaker 1: they've announced is out for the season, and because they've
Speaker 1: struggled a bit and Portland has been so good, we
Speaker 1: now know that there will be at least a play
Speaker 1: in game involving the Grizzlies, well, in all likelihood involving
Speaker 1: the Grizzlies and the Blazers. So that's something that's new
Speaker 1: and different. And we've had play in games by default
Speaker 1: recently in recent years, but this is the first one
Speaker 1: inside the bubble. There's going to be high stakes. Obviously,
Speaker 1: those are two teams, one more of a veteran presence
Speaker 1: type team. We just saw the Blazers play against the Sixers,
Speaker 1: and obviously the Grizzlies, despite their losses, are young and hungry.
Speaker 1: So if that is the play in game that we
Speaker 1: get to see, it's going to be an exciting one.
Speaker 1: But no matter what the fact that we do have
Speaker 1: a play in game inside the bubble, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: something exciting and something unique. Guys, it was great to
Speaker 1: see Zion Williamson and the young Pelicans the little taste
Speaker 1: of this competition inside the bubble. But a not so
Speaker 1: young member of the roster, sees a great run come
Speaker 1: to an end. Our near and dear friend, JJ Reddick
Speaker 1: will be out of the playoffs for the first time
Speaker 1: in his now fourteen year NBA career. I think JJ
Speaker 1: is certainly a valuable piece you could have anywhere for
Speaker 1: what he does on the court and his professional demeanor
Speaker 1: inside the locker room. But I think we appreciate for
Speaker 1: a moment at least, I'm going to take this opportunity
Speaker 1: to appreciate for a moment a streak of thirteen straight
Speaker 1: playoff appearances for one JJ Reddick, a run that will
Speaker 1: now come to an end this year with the Pelicans
Speaker 1: being officially eliminated from postseason play down at Disney and
Speaker 1: JJ Reddick, of course a member of the broad podcasting
Speaker 1: family and now to his new podcast, The Old Man
Speaker 1: in the Three and as of today, the newest episode
Speaker 1: is going to feature the seventy six ers very own
Speaker 1: LMBID and obviously the two of them have a special relationship.
Speaker 1: I'm playing together, so perhaps something that we could all
Speaker 1: listen to after we finished listening to this episode broadcast.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to them pumping up the broadcast on
Speaker 1: that episode of the Old Man in the three. I'm
Speaker 1: sure they're going to do that too, right, I've heard
Speaker 1: it's the thing they're going to talk about the most
Speaker 1: actually great, excellent as they should. All Right, guys, well,
Speaker 1: it was great to get back in the saddle. Do this.
Speaker 1: Next time we're gonna be talking. It's going to be
Speaker 1: looking ahead to the playoffs. Next week, either on Monday
Speaker 1: or Tuesday, our episode will be an official playoff primer
Speaker 1: postseason round table. I still kind of can't wrap my
Speaker 1: head around that fact, but it's coming, ready or not.
Speaker 1: I can't believe that we're actually getting playoff basketball in
Speaker 1: the year twenty twenty. Obviously, with so much tragedy going
Speaker 1: on around the world, we can't forget about that. But
Speaker 1: it is nice to see some basketball. It's great to
Speaker 1: have the NBA back, the NBA pushing some really important
Speaker 1: messages too. So it's a unique year. It's one we're
Speaker 1: going to remember forever, for better or for worse. Well said,
Speaker 1: the NBA has done a fantastic job in Orlando. They
Speaker 1: continue to do a great work that The games have
Speaker 1: been entertaining, they've been competitive despite not being able to
Speaker 1: have the fans in there all be a virtual which
Speaker 1: is also cool to see. They've done a fantastic job,
Speaker 1: so I appreciate what they've done, and you guys are right.
Speaker 1: Next week and when we get back together, we'll be
Speaker 1: talking about a playoff preview of the sixers and set
Speaker 1: opponent starting next week. Thank you, Lauren and Von, Thank
Speaker 1: you out there for listening. We will talk to you
Speaker 1: next Monday or Tuesday with our playoff primer here on
Speaker 1: the broadcast Sea