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Speaker 1: This time on Mailbag Monday. Last week we said what
Speaker 1: if we could just have a relatively normal week to
Speaker 1: react to the next time we do Mailbag Monday. And
Speaker 1: while I'll say, Lauren, all the games on the schedule
Speaker 1: for the seventy sixers were played, I don't know if
Speaker 1: you could say this was a normal week because it
Speaker 1: was so darn good for the Philadelphia seventy six Ers.
Speaker 1: It was an excellent week to now debrief fund for
Speaker 1: this week's edition of mail Bag Monday. I feel you.
Speaker 1: The last few mornings, it has felt really good to
Speaker 1: wake up and be someone who covers or roots for
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in any way. Always good
Speaker 1: to be on top of the East. Always good to
Speaker 1: be winning your games, regardless of who the opponent is.
Speaker 1: Cool to see the team win a home away back
Speaker 1: to back, because that's something that's hard on any team,
Speaker 1: regardless of what your history is playing on the road.
Speaker 1: So I agree with you. A lot of good to
Speaker 1: talk about this week, maybe even better than we thought
Speaker 1: it might be. Perhaps the best thing that at the
Speaker 1: time of taping this edition of mail Bag Monday, your Team,
Speaker 1: your Town, You're seventy Sixers, number one in the Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference with a record of twelve and five, second most
Speaker 1: wins in the entire league, behind the two squads in
Speaker 1: la the Lakers and the Clippers, and that is pretty
Speaker 1: damn good. Riding high with three straight wins sweeping the
Speaker 1: Celtics could go for a sweep against the lowly Pistons.
Speaker 1: Love seeing what happened, especially Lauren in that series against Boston.
Speaker 1: You know, the Sixers went into that trailing Boston in
Speaker 1: the standings, and I think that they made an early
Speaker 1: season statement. I hear you obviously know Jason Tatum in
Speaker 1: that series, but the Celtics have given the Sixers problems
Speaker 1: over the last few years, with or without Jason Tatum,
Speaker 1: with or without Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, etc. So it
Speaker 1: was cool to see the Sixers take the opponent that
Speaker 1: they had and really just put the pedal to the
Speaker 1: metal and get it done. I was heartened for sure
Speaker 1: by that series, and then heartened again to see the
Speaker 1: team go out and of course not the prettiest against
Speaker 1: Detroit on Saturday, but they all count as wins, and
Speaker 1: I was happy to see the team get it done
Speaker 1: under those circumstances. We're going to dip into the mailbag
Speaker 1: in a moment, but I want to give a little
Speaker 1: take based on what you just said. I'm not getting
Speaker 1: caught up in quality wins necessarily in terms of like, oh,
Speaker 1: they played this team without that player, or they had
Speaker 1: to sneak by Detroit in the closing minutes to pull
Speaker 1: out a win in the sixty world full strength and
Speaker 1: Detroit didn't have Blake Griffner Deeric Rose. It doesn't matter
Speaker 1: to me. This season is so crazy right now. You
Speaker 1: don't know who's going to play game in game out
Speaker 1: to stockpile your wins. And I would also say that
Speaker 1: really good teams win a lot of games. And I
Speaker 1: guarantee if you watched every single Laker game last year,
Speaker 1: or every single Clippers game this year, or whomever, not
Speaker 1: every game is going to be perfect. So part of
Speaker 1: being a really good team is finding ways to eke
Speaker 1: out wins and get by and survive when you have to.
Speaker 1: And I thought that was part of what we saw
Speaker 1: in the win over Detroit on Saturday. That's exactly what
Speaker 1: I was going to say, good teams find a way
Speaker 1: to make it work. And there have been a few
Speaker 1: times that you and I have discussed this, I think
Speaker 1: outside of the podcast, but I've discussed it with a
Speaker 1: few of the other people that work around or cover
Speaker 1: this team, and it feels like when this Sixers team
Speaker 1: goes into halftime close or behind, they still can win
Speaker 1: the game. And that's not a way that I think
Speaker 1: we've felt as much, at least over the last few years.
Speaker 1: This team specifically has proven early that a five point,
Speaker 1: seven point ten point deficit does not mean the team
Speaker 1: is going to lose. In fact, based on the record,
Speaker 1: it means they're probably going to win. And I like
Speaker 1: having that confidence of knowing this team can gut it out,
Speaker 1: can make it happen, can find a win regardless of
Speaker 1: the opponent, even if they struggle in the first half
Speaker 1: or struggle in the second quarter, whatever it is, they've
Speaker 1: found a way to get it done. And I think
Speaker 1: that's a really good sign for a team that is
Speaker 1: still very new together to already have that quality of
Speaker 1: being able to find wins and make them happen this
Speaker 1: early in the season. Sorry, that was a bit of
Speaker 1: a ramble, but I am really excited about this whatever
Speaker 1: this is called, this intangible quality of just being able
Speaker 1: to win. I like it. I like it a lot,
Speaker 1: A very relevant pression ramble. I like it. We accept
Speaker 1: those here on Mailbag Monday. Thank you. Speaking of which,
Speaker 1: what is Mailbag Monday? If you're a first timer to
Speaker 1: listen to a Mailbag Monday edition of the pod? Pretty simple.
Speaker 1: You hit myself or Lauren Rosen up on Twitter at
Speaker 1: Brian Seltzer at Lauren m Rosen or on The Graham
Speaker 1: at Seltzer six or snaps at Lauren m Rosen. You'll
Speaker 1: leave us a question, a comment to take a thought
Speaker 1: about the sixers over the course of the week, or
Speaker 1: you give us a shout on the seventy six ers
Speaker 1: pod line two four zero three seven six three seven.
Speaker 1: That's two on five four zero three pods. See what
Speaker 1: we did there, We try, We try. Thank you Almont
Speaker 1: and I for making that happen. So yeah, that's how
Speaker 1: you get in touch. And then we gather the best
Speaker 1: of our responses and submissions of the course of the
Speaker 1: week and we play them back here on the Mailbag
Speaker 1: and if we read your response, you then put into
Speaker 1: the random name picker generator in a couple of days
Speaker 1: and if your name is selected from that random picking process,
Speaker 1: you win a seventy Sixers swag bag. So it's that simple.
Speaker 1: And with that, let us dive into the mailbag. We're
Speaker 1: going straight to the voicemail. After a big week for
Speaker 1: the Sixers, you have one new message. Boil m B
Speaker 1: is the MVP firm runner. Joel m B is the
Speaker 1: MVP Firmunner. I just can't believe it at all. For
Speaker 1: the past four years, everybody was saying, oh, once a
Speaker 1: bekis in shape, previstoppable, beas and shape previustypable, And now
Speaker 1: look he's in shape and he literally looks like I
Speaker 1: don't even know what to say, Like he's a combination
Speaker 1: of a King the lodging more Dirk with the fade
Speaker 1: away Shock with the insight forsta King with the defense
Speaker 1: and the footwork, Like what more do you want? He
Speaker 1: is the MVP, he's a big man, he's doing it
Speaker 1: all and he's carrying the city on the shoulders right now.
Speaker 1: Who knows, maybe it takes feel to the finals World
Speaker 1: Leader Games to MVP. Let's go. Of course, we have
Speaker 1: to lead off with a Joel embiid voicemail. How could
Speaker 1: you not? He was amazing this past week and I
Speaker 1: love that calling. Listen, we want to give you credit
Speaker 1: by names, so be sure when you leave your message
Speaker 1: in certain instances. Sometimes your name comes up on our
Speaker 1: caller ID system. Sometimes it doesn't, so leave your names.
Speaker 1: We know how to give you credit. But talking about
Speaker 1: Joel showing flashes of a team, Dirk Shack that caller
Speaker 1: called in after the big game against the Boston Celtics
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, when Joe dropped forty two points. But yes,
Speaker 1: I think this notion of Embed carrying the Sixers on
Speaker 1: his back right now to a certain extent, possibly showing
Speaker 1: the form of a player who could carry this team
Speaker 1: to the finals. I agree with it all. I am
Speaker 1: here for it. Obviously. The stats speak for themselves. Averaging
Speaker 1: close to thirty points. He's fifth in the league with
Speaker 1: twenty seven point seven points per game right now, actually
Speaker 1: as of last night. Maybe I should brush up on
Speaker 1: that stat and make sure. But either way, he's scoring
Speaker 1: among an elite group of players in this league, scoring
Speaker 1: higher than any other center in this league. And he's
Speaker 1: getting it done on the boards. He's playing great defense,
Speaker 1: He's really doing it all and Selts. The thing that's
Speaker 1: impressed me the most is his spirit. And I know
Speaker 1: that that might sound a little bit corny to draw
Speaker 1: attention to this early, but it seems like he's having
Speaker 1: a really good time out there. He's bonding with his teammates,
Speaker 1: he's gushing about them post game, he's smiling on the court,
Speaker 1: he's being demonstrative, he's gesturing to a non existent crowd.
Speaker 1: And Joel has told us over the years that when
Speaker 1: he's playing his best basketball, he's having fun, and I
Speaker 1: think that that is wonderful. I think that that's a
Speaker 1: great way to look at your job as well, and
Speaker 1: he's certainly having fun this year. I'm sure you've noticed it.
Speaker 1: I know we've talked about it, but I think it's
Speaker 1: something that just can't be undersold, is how important it
Speaker 1: is to see Joel embiad have fun for whatever reason, Lauren,
Speaker 1: when he speaks in leadership tones in terms these days,
Speaker 1: it sounds like he really means and believes what he's saying.
Speaker 1: And that's not to say that his comments in the
Speaker 1: past that were along the lines of lu hip comments
Speaker 1: weren't genuine or sincere are authentic in intent, but it
Speaker 1: really feels like he is talking about this team, taking
Speaker 1: ownership of this team in a way that he believes it,
Speaker 1: that this is his team, that he knows what he
Speaker 1: is capable when he's playing at this level of being
Speaker 1: able to do and the success he's being able to spark.
Speaker 1: Like the one quote he had and I know that
Speaker 1: you put it up on your Twitter just where he
Speaker 1: literally went through the laundry list of guys on the
Speaker 1: team and shadowed them at about the way they're playing.
Speaker 1: I thought it was great. Shows the sign of a leader.
Speaker 1: Can I read the quote? Would that be okay too? Please? Yes?
Speaker 1: Absolutely would love. Let me pull it up. That one
Speaker 1: really stuck out for me as well. I know we
Speaker 1: talked about it on seven sixth Live a couple nights ago.
Speaker 1: That's our live pregame show. If anyone doesn't tune in,
Speaker 1: you should about ninety minutes before every game, Selton I
Speaker 1: break it down, Please join us. This is maybe my
Speaker 1: favorite Joel and Bide quote all season, because there's no
Speaker 1: denying that he is sort of the biggest thing on
Speaker 1: this team, if not in the league right now. He's
Speaker 1: really making it happen. But when he talks about the
Speaker 1: team six as he takes the opportunity to attribute it
Speaker 1: to his teammates. So here's what he said about Ben Simmons.
Speaker 1: I love playing with Ben. That fourth quarter he was
Speaker 1: a monster. This is against Boston. He had a lot
Speaker 1: of steels, he was attacking, he was aggressive. I don't
Speaker 1: even know how to explain it. It's just been fun.
Speaker 1: Ben has been amazing all year. Then he talked about
Speaker 1: Seth Curry. Seth has been huge for us. He looks
Speaker 1: like he hasn't missed a beat again after missing sixteen
Speaker 1: days with health and safety protocols. He helps us all
Speaker 1: because you have to guard him. Then he moves on
Speaker 1: to the rest of the roster, and this is all sequential.
Speaker 1: He talked about Ben in one question, but then he
Speaker 1: did the whole almost the whole rotation. In another question.
Speaker 1: He said, we have a bunch of great shooters. To
Speaker 1: Bias has been playing at an all star level. We've
Speaker 1: got Shake coming in, who could be a sixth Man
Speaker 1: of the Year. We have shooters all over the place.
Speaker 1: Danny Green, great defender who can knock down shots. You've
Speaker 1: got Dwight Howard coming off the bench being a monster
Speaker 1: on the offensive and defensive. Glass you've got Matisse, who
Speaker 1: also has a potential to be an All Defensive team
Speaker 1: or Player of the Year or Defensive Player of the year. Rather,
Speaker 1: we've got a great group of guys. We're only going
Speaker 1: to get better. And the fact that he was able
Speaker 1: to just sort of go through the roster in his head,
Speaker 1: Dick And obviously there are a couple of people that
Speaker 1: I'm sure he would have loved to add to the list,
Speaker 1: but I thought this was an impressive list in it
Speaker 1: of itself, giving very specific and honestly big compliments to
Speaker 1: his teammates. He's already thinking about awards for these guys.
Speaker 1: What are we a fourth of the way through the season.
Speaker 1: It's almost like Joe's version of the Oprah Meet and
Speaker 1: you get a postgame press conference shout out, and you
Speaker 1: get a postgame press conference shout out, and you and
Speaker 1: you and you and you and you and Lauren you're
Speaker 1: a great reporter, and you know great, you know all
Speaker 1: that stuff. He seems to be obviously in a terrific place.
Speaker 1: Just looking back at the three games he played going
Speaker 1: into this week forty two and ten Game one against
Speaker 1: Boston thirty eight and eleven, Game two against the Celtics
Speaker 1: thirty three and fourteen in the opener of the two
Speaker 1: game series against the Pistons. During that time, he's just
Speaker 1: been such a force from the free throw line, just
Speaker 1: obviously such a high caliber MVP level of play for
Speaker 1: Joel and b And it seemed to me, Lauren that
Speaker 1: around midweek last week, after the Boston game, that's when
Speaker 1: some of the national media started picking up the narrative of, well,
Speaker 1: is this an early season MVP candidate in Joel Embiid?
Speaker 1: And then he did nothing to change that in the
Speaker 1: follow up nationally televised game on Friday against the Celtics,
Speaker 1: and then backed it up in the second game of
Speaker 1: a back to back, no less Saturday against the Pistons.
Speaker 1: He has been fantastic. Can I add one more thing,
Speaker 1: Celts before we moved to the next thing, all I
Speaker 1: wanted to say, love your Oprah reference. That's exactly how
Speaker 1: it felt. He was just dishing out the compliments to everybody.
Speaker 1: But when we talk about Joel speaking positively about how
Speaker 1: the season is going and speaking positively about his teammates,
Speaker 1: we know that it's genuine And that's something that I
Speaker 1: wanted to say because I think there's a lot of
Speaker 1: pressure on players to just sort of give props to
Speaker 1: their teammates, not take credit for wins, etc. But Joel
Speaker 1: Embiad is so honest when he speaks. When he's unhappy,
Speaker 1: he tells you. When he's happy, he tells you. So
Speaker 1: I feel like when he gives compliments out to other people,
Speaker 1: they're really genuine. They hold a lot of weight, and
Speaker 1: I love the fact that he is giving out these
Speaker 1: compliments and you know that they're real. So that's all
Speaker 1: I'll say about the quote. We can move on, but
Speaker 1: it was important to me to hear because you know
Speaker 1: he's telling the truth. I think we could go on
Speaker 1: for multiple mail bags about how great Joel Embiid has
Speaker 1: been playing as of late. We're gonna stick with the
Speaker 1: podline and the voicemailbox. You have one new message, So
Speaker 1: Joel indeed, what makes him the MVP? Funny enough, I
Speaker 1: don't think he's just the MVP. I believe he's the
Speaker 1: MVP and the defensive player of the league, of the
Speaker 1: league for plenty of reasons, and beads last three games
Speaker 1: for example, which is straight up dominating. And I don't
Speaker 1: mean that lightly. Lake is used insane numbers totally agree.
Speaker 1: What should not be lost in the chatter about Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid making a bid for MVP is that he could
Speaker 1: also be in the running for a Defensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year as well. And it was interesting, Lauren that
Speaker 1: voicemail was left after or the first Boston game I believe,
Speaker 1: or maybe it was a second Boston game, and the
Speaker 1: call are referred to what Joe did in Game one
Speaker 1: against the Miami Heat. Lest we not forget forty five points,
Speaker 1: sixteen boards, four assists, five steals. So really, if you
Speaker 1: take away the nine point game he had in Game
Speaker 1: two against Miami, Joe's last four games that he's played
Speaker 1: in have just been insane, Like he's almost averaging thirty
Speaker 1: seven points during that stretch. If you go back to
Speaker 1: the first Miami game, a walking double double machine and listen.
Speaker 1: I think that things don't always have to be one
Speaker 1: thing or the other, black or white. I think that
Speaker 1: Joel could have really enjoyed his time with Brett Brown
Speaker 1: and the staff the last couple of years, but also,
Speaker 1: like some other players, could have benefited from some fresh
Speaker 1: air and a new perspective and just a change in
Speaker 1: the off season. I don't think it has to be
Speaker 1: one or the other. I believe him when he said
Speaker 1: when he talked to us in the off season that
Speaker 1: he loved his time with Brett and the way things
Speaker 1: were going then. But sometimes you get a fresh set
Speaker 1: of eyes, fresh set of minds come in and things change.
Speaker 1: And I feel like the Sixers have made this about
Speaker 1: getting Joel the ball on offense and seeing what happens
Speaker 1: from there, and so far the results have been great
Speaker 1: for him and the rest of the team. I'm with you,
Speaker 1: we need to look past just this week. It really
Speaker 1: has been such an impressive start to the season for
Speaker 1: Joel when he plays alongside the rest of the starters.
Speaker 1: This team has not lost yet. That's how good. That's
Speaker 1: how well it is going. That's how good Joel Embiid is.
Speaker 1: And you mentioned that nine point game against Miami. And
Speaker 1: when you look back at MVP campaigns for some of
Speaker 1: the greatest players in the league, whether you're looking at
Speaker 1: a Lebron or a Chawhi or and Anthony Davis, those
Speaker 1: guys don't all score thirty points a game. Sometimes it's
Speaker 1: important to look at those games where you scored nine points,
Speaker 1: like Joel did in that second game against the heat
Speaker 1: and see that shake. Milton scored thirty one that night.
Speaker 1: The other starters all scored in double figures that night,
Speaker 1: So really, Joel didn't need to go crazy that night.
Speaker 1: His teammates had his back, they got the win. Maybe
Speaker 1: he could have put his foot on the gas a
Speaker 1: little more if he needed, but he didn't need to,
Speaker 1: and that's okay. He doesn't have to score thirty five
Speaker 1: every night when he's on a team that's as good
Speaker 1: as this Sixers team is. So I think Joel has
Speaker 1: just been phenomenal, and even in the nights where he
Speaker 1: isn't quite in the crazy stat line category, he's still
Speaker 1: doing good things. And it's important to remember that Joel
Speaker 1: doesn't have to score forty every night for this team
Speaker 1: to keep winning. I have one more thing I want
Speaker 1: to talk about with Joel embian in a second. God
Speaker 1: remind you that when the seventy Sixers win, you need
Speaker 1: to go to pat Parks Casino dot com and enter
Speaker 1: the promo code posted on our seventy Sixers social feeds
Speaker 1: after games the Sixers win to earn free play on
Speaker 1: the Parks Online Casino app. Terms of conditions apply. You
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Speaker 1: got to be twenty one or older. If you've got
Speaker 1: a gambling problem, call one eight hundred Gambler. Also soon,
Speaker 1: I haven't been pointed an exact date yet, but soon
Speaker 1: the Scoop, our new daily five minute seventy six Ers
Speaker 1: update pod, will be shifting exclusively to its own feed.
Speaker 1: Right now, we sprinkle in some episodes on our main feed,
Speaker 1: which is where you hear the broadcast and Tom's talks
Speaker 1: and coat check, but it's got its own feed. Search
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Speaker 1: and get five minute updates about your Sixers every day. Okay,
Speaker 1: i'd someone slither into the mansions on Twitter, and I
Speaker 1: want to make it clear I'm okay with slithering into
Speaker 1: the mansions on Twitter and provided a counterpoint. I think
Speaker 1: I must have tweeted something about Joe making a case
Speaker 1: for MVP a month into the season, and this person said, well,
Speaker 1: what about Nicola Yokich. He's averaging a triple double. He's
Speaker 1: doing things with his facilitating that no big man has
Speaker 1: ever done. I think Yoki is awesome, he's great, He's excellent.
Speaker 1: But when you look at MVP, you should be taking
Speaker 1: I think, the whole picture into account, and what Joe
Speaker 1: is doing defensively, Yoki can't even touch that. I mean
Speaker 1: the defensive impact that Joel Embiid has had defending at
Speaker 1: the rim. The Sixers numbers with him on the or
Speaker 1: I think a nice important stat to look at is
Speaker 1: the NBA the stats on NBA dot com stat about
Speaker 1: the player impact estimate. Joel's number one in the league.
Speaker 1: I just think, overall everything Joel has been doing, his
Speaker 1: offensive efficiency and his defensive ripple effects and the rest
Speaker 1: of the roster, you can't ignore what the guy's doing.
Speaker 1: And look, the Nuggets got off to a slower start.
Speaker 1: They've won their last three in a row, but they're
Speaker 1: still the fifth seed in the West right now. They
Speaker 1: are not the best team in their conference the way
Speaker 1: that the Sixers are, And so when you do look
Speaker 1: at MVP candidates, you have to look at how the
Speaker 1: team is doing. I'm sorry, that's how I've always felt.
Speaker 1: I am not a voter, but if I was, I
Speaker 1: would want to make sure I'm voting for a guy
Speaker 1: whose team is performing really well. Because that's what makes
Speaker 1: you the most valuable player. The Sixers are performing better
Speaker 1: than anyone in their conference, and it's because of how
Speaker 1: well Joel Embiid has led this team, and that makes
Speaker 1: him a more valuable player in my eyes. Am I biased? Yes?
Speaker 1: Do I think I'm right? Yes? I think you're right too.
Speaker 1: For the record, whatever that's worth, Thank you Saltz. Two
Speaker 1: excellent voicemails to get mail bag Monday going what's up next?
Speaker 1: You have one new message? We'll shift over to our
Speaker 1: social mentions on IGS A couple arm will do rapid
Speaker 1: fire about the other all star on the seventy six
Speaker 1: ers who has been playing like one as of late.
Speaker 1: For certain awesome to see a resurgence from Ben Simmons
Speaker 1: in Game two against the Celtics and the opener against
Speaker 1: the Detroit Pistons. I asked on IGS a few days ago,
Speaker 1: Ben simmons last couple games have got you feeling like what?
Speaker 1: And Miles Whaley says, ring ready, I love that enthusiasm.
Speaker 1: I do as well. I think Ben has brought this
Speaker 1: attitude this year to the table, that he's going to
Speaker 1: make an impact wherever he is needed to make an
Speaker 1: impact and he's really stood by that, and then the
Speaker 1: last few games he's also been scoring really well and
Speaker 1: the team has needed him too, And so I think
Speaker 1: Ben giving this this vibe of I'm going to do
Speaker 1: whatever it takes to help the team win, and then
Speaker 1: backing it up. Especially in the last few games, he
Speaker 1: has been phenomenal. I'm really just like sort of crowd
Speaker 1: to watch him, especially coming back from an injury and
Speaker 1: having a sort of up and down beginning of the season.
Speaker 1: It's really cool to see him put his head down
Speaker 1: and say, you know what, I'm an All Star, I'm
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons. I am here and I'm gonna get it done.
Speaker 1: And that's what we've seen over the last few games,
Speaker 1: and I'm hoping that it's the Ben Simmons we're going
Speaker 1: to continue to see as we move forward, and not
Speaker 1: to one single sniff seemingly allowing any outside noise to
Speaker 1: throw him off track. If anything, it appears as if
Speaker 1: it might have emboldened him, which I think is a
Speaker 1: terrific sign of professionalism and maturity. Thank you. Myles Whale
Speaker 1: On igs him. Kim love hearing from him. Kim. She
Speaker 1: checks him pretty regularly when we have our Mailbag Monday Callouts.
Speaker 1: How you feeling about Ben Simmons last couple of games?
Speaker 1: She says, glorious, never had any doubt from day one,
Speaker 1: and to a certain degree, I agree with that sentiment.
Speaker 1: I felt the first couple of weeks of this season
Speaker 1: were excellent for Ben. I thought he was selflessly taking
Speaker 1: a step back in terms of looking for his own scoring,
Speaker 1: making sure other guys were getting involved, and his defense
Speaker 1: laaren As the numbers been bearing out, especially in some
Speaker 1: of these key matchups as of late, has been tremendous.
Speaker 1: And at the first team all league level that Ben
Speaker 1: showed last year, I mean that that's side of the floor.
Speaker 1: He has been dominant, absolutely all defensive team member last season.
Speaker 1: Looks like he's on pace to do it again. And
Speaker 1: I think that you do a really good job of
Speaker 1: discussing the fact that when people talk about Ben Simmons,
Speaker 1: they always talk about what he's not, but they don't
Speaker 1: talk about what he is, and he is so much,
Speaker 1: especially over the last week or so, I appreciate the
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons faithful who have never had any doubt since
Speaker 1: day one, like the person who entered this question or
Speaker 1: this response rather, but yeah, Ben has just been been phenomenal,
Speaker 1: and like you said, on the defensive ends, there's almost
Speaker 1: nobody like him in this league. And I feel very
Speaker 1: confident when you have a Joel embiid at Ben Simmons
Speaker 1: leading your defense, if you're a team that wants to
Speaker 1: lead with defense, things are going to go pretty well
Speaker 1: for you. One more Ben Simmons related to social media
Speaker 1: submission for rapid Fire on Ben Jammin Chris mcl underscore Cree.
Speaker 1: The team and fan who actually watch the games know
Speaker 1: how special Ben Simmons is and how important it is
Speaker 1: to the squad. When Ben and b played together this year,
Speaker 1: the Sixers have only suffered one loss. Safe to say
Speaker 1: they can play together. I would agree with that. I
Speaker 1: think the coming into the season, Doc Rivers obviously felt
Speaker 1: that way too. But what's been neat to see is
Speaker 1: how Doc has taken on the challenge of figuring out
Speaker 1: how to get Ben and Joel to play better together.
Speaker 1: And I think we're seeing that, whether it's midpost rub
Speaker 1: pick and rolls, other side action, i think we've seen
Speaker 1: an ability for Ben and Joe to have a great
Speaker 1: partnership in the court grow even more and it was
Speaker 1: really heartening to hear Joel talk about that after the
Speaker 1: win over the Celtics in Game two last Friday. I
Speaker 1: am with you, Celts, and I think we also can't
Speaker 1: forget that the supporting cast around Ben and Joel this year,
Speaker 1: I think makes it easier for the two of them
Speaker 1: to coexist really well because they don't necessarily have to
Speaker 1: rely on each other in every action that maybe people
Speaker 1: want to put pressure on them to do. I think
Speaker 1: they feel a lot of confidence in Tobias Harris, who's
Speaker 1: having arguably his best season in the league so far,
Speaker 1: no argument Curry his best season. Tobias Harris is playing
Speaker 1: like the best he's ever played, Seth Curry also playing
Speaker 1: the best he's ever played. Danny Green has been a
Speaker 1: great supporter for them. When Shake Milton is out there,
Speaker 1: he's easing a lot of offense, taking on a lot
Speaker 1: of offensive loads. So I think the fact that the
Speaker 1: supporting cast makes a lot of sense around both of
Speaker 1: them helps the two of them then interact better together
Speaker 1: on the court when they have to because there's not
Speaker 1: as much pressure on their two person game. I guess,
Speaker 1: let's say, does that make sense totally? Absolutely? And I
Speaker 1: think that it's understandable why people look at this through
Speaker 1: an offensive lens so often talking about the Ben Joe partnership,
Speaker 1: because right spacing, all of that is essential. But let
Speaker 1: us not forget how important they are and how well
Speaker 1: they fit seemingly on the defensive end of the floor,
Speaker 1: because Joel can stay back at the rim if you
Speaker 1: need too, and then you can just shoot Ben up
Speaker 1: to anyone on the wing or in the backcourt. As
Speaker 1: we know, he's capable on taking on a variety of
Speaker 1: different offensive threats. So I think defensively, the two of
Speaker 1: them together also obviously a vital pairing. Thank you Chris,
Speaker 1: thank you Himie, Kim and Miles for some Ben Simmons
Speaker 1: related submissions on social Back to the pod line voicemail,
Speaker 1: you have one new message. I think the most encouraging
Speaker 1: thing about this season has to be how much better
Speaker 1: the roster is compared to last year. And now we
Speaker 1: just come in here. We have Danny Green, Seth Curry,
Speaker 1: all these guys. And even if Danny Green is a
Speaker 1: knock you down the shot, he has that ability because
Speaker 1: he is a shooter after all, So we can't leave
Speaker 1: him open the spaces before for the entire team. I mean,
Speaker 1: I know Romney like what sixteen games in? Fifteen games in,
Speaker 1: But I haven't gotten stressed nearly as much. To the
Speaker 1: point like last year when I was just stressed all
Speaker 1: the time watching this team, I can have an enjoyable experience.
Speaker 1: I can lay back and watch the Sixers play basketball. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be listening to the pod, so have a
Speaker 1: nice Mike Pickers. I love the glimpse lareen into the
Speaker 1: psychology of some fans. You can relax now, take it easy,
Speaker 1: enjoy games less stressful perhaps than years passed. And yes,
Speaker 1: I think that anyone who's watching, even based on an
Speaker 1: eye test before you dive into some of the numbers,
Speaker 1: this is a more natural fit the design of particularly
Speaker 1: the starting five for the Sixers team. I don't know
Speaker 1: about you, Selta, and maybe this fan and I have
Speaker 1: something in common here, but ball movement, really I find
Speaker 1: it calming, Like I love watching plays with multiple passes
Speaker 1: and whether or not they end in the basket. This
Speaker 1: is something Doc Rivers has talked about. As long as
Speaker 1: it ends in a good shot, it's satisfying to watch.
Speaker 1: And I feel like there has been so much more
Speaker 1: of that. And then you couple it with the fact
Speaker 1: that this team has come from behind or come from
Speaker 1: close to notch a few impressive victories this year makes
Speaker 1: you know that they can do it. So it is
Speaker 1: a more calming, a more zen experience to watch these Sixers,
Speaker 1: and I am here for it. I think, too, something
Speaker 1: we've talked about in the past that I feel continues
Speaker 1: to be born out as the season moves along, as
Speaker 1: how the pieces of the bench fit together as well.
Speaker 1: I know the Sixers are really hopeful to get Mike
Speaker 1: Scott back at some point soon and add depth to
Speaker 1: the fourth spot, but all in all, I feel the
Speaker 1: pieces of the bench work together well, and that's why
Speaker 1: I feel like we've seen so many bench heavy groupings
Speaker 1: over the course of the first month or so of
Speaker 1: the season. Times when all five players in the court
Speaker 1: might be reserves. Times when Doc feels comfortable sitting both
Speaker 1: Ben and Joel, which is something that hadn't happened in
Speaker 1: seasons past. So I think across the board there's been
Speaker 1: a really nice balance of shooting so far and then
Speaker 1: force the Sixers can get from guys like primarily Ben
Speaker 1: and Joel. I feel that, for sure, there was that
Speaker 1: stretch in the second Boston game where Tobias Harris was
Speaker 1: out there with and I'm scared I might botch this now,
Speaker 1: but it was. It was Dwight, Matise, Shake and Furkhon
Speaker 1: or Tyrese, but it was. It was Tobias and reserves. Yes,
Speaker 1: and the group did a really good job of holding
Speaker 1: it down. And Doc Rivers then said that that was
Speaker 1: the most important stretch in the game because they kept
Speaker 1: it where he kept. They kept the game where they
Speaker 1: wanted it to be, and that was largely due to
Speaker 1: the play of the reserves and to bias leadership of
Speaker 1: that group. So I feel you. I think the bench
Speaker 1: looks better, the starters look better. It is a very
Speaker 1: cohesive set of a pair of units. I guess that
Speaker 1: has looked quite good thus far. Again, to everyone who
Speaker 1: hit us up on the pod line two and five
Speaker 1: four zero three seven, six three seven, thank you love
Speaker 1: the voicemail submissions this past week. You have one new
Speaker 1: message hashtag Richard on Twitter. The Sixers, he says, look
Speaker 1: like they're enjoying themselves more to love the character and
Speaker 1: a bit of crazy that Howard, Curry, Green and Maxie
Speaker 1: bring to the group. Loosen them up, but tighten things
Speaker 1: up around the floor. Making space and shots. We've talked
Speaker 1: Lauren on the pod before, how one of your subbeats
Speaker 1: is pregame warm up interactions and wholesome content capture. Give
Speaker 1: us the latest on that subbeat please. I think it's
Speaker 1: my favorite beat to cover is pregame vibes, and no
Speaker 1: one asked me to cover that beat, but it's one
Speaker 1: that I've invented and really taken on and I will
Speaker 1: continue to do so. This is a group that looks
Speaker 1: like they're having fun together. I wish fans could be
Speaker 1: there to see it. I think the way that Dwight
Speaker 1: and Danny lead them out of the tunnel and get
Speaker 1: the non existent crowd involved is really really delightful. And
Speaker 1: then to see in the last few games there's been
Speaker 1: a moment for Tobias Harris, Joel Embiad and Dwight Howard
Speaker 1: who does not know the song at all, to rap
Speaker 1: computers together. And that's a song shout out to DJ
Speaker 1: Ghost that plays before every Sixers game at home, and
Speaker 1: it has in my whole time with the Sixers. But
Speaker 1: the whole singing it together thing, or at least demonstratively
Speaker 1: singing it together thing, is new, and it's delightful, and
Speaker 1: it's been on my Twitter, It's been on Kyle Newbeck's Twitter.
Speaker 1: A lot of people have seen it. Tobias Harris shared
Speaker 1: Nick McCain are Nick McCain's cut of the Singing Adventure
Speaker 1: on his Instagram. So look, the pregame vibes are elite.
Speaker 1: Those vibes carry on to the bench. We've talked about
Speaker 1: the fact that the that the bench spends a lot
Speaker 1: of time on its feet, not just in the preseason,
Speaker 1: not just in the first game of the season. This
Speaker 1: is a bench that's really engaged, that's watching, that's excited
Speaker 1: when their teammates make big plays. I have loved watching
Speaker 1: the chemistry of this team develop as quickly as it has,
Speaker 1: and I think it's a really really good sign for
Speaker 1: what is to come. Does that cover the beat? We
Speaker 1: cannot have enough of the wholesome content, good vibes. Subbeat
Speaker 1: might be a primary beat and not too long from
Speaker 1: Lauren Rosen. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that
Speaker 1: hashtag Richard, thank you on Twitter. You have one new
Speaker 1: message sticking with Twitter, Alex Lowe, long way to go
Speaker 1: and the playoffs will tell all. One thing I've liked
Speaker 1: is that the Sixers tend to stay in games, even
Speaker 1: though through stretches of several minutes without their best basketball.
Speaker 1: If they're within seven or eight points by the start
Speaker 1: of the fourth quarter, the defense gives them a big chance.
Speaker 1: There is a lot that I agree with within that submission.
Speaker 1: Alex loves some of those takes and thoughts. Lauren, I'll
Speaker 1: let you go first, and then I'll unpack whatever's left.
Speaker 1: I think you guys know how I feel. We talked
Speaker 1: about it a little bit at the top of the pod.
Speaker 1: But when this team is down by single digits, even
Speaker 1: down by ten or eleven, you feel like they're still
Speaker 1: in the game. There's no sense of, Oh, the Sixers
Speaker 1: are out of this, Oh, here we go. There's a
Speaker 1: sense of, Okay, we're going to get back into this game.
Speaker 1: And that's something that I've felt almost every time that
Speaker 1: I've watched this group. And I think that that is
Speaker 1: something that is relatively new, certainly heartening, and I'm happy
Speaker 1: to hear that fans like Alex Lowe have picked up
Speaker 1: on it as well. I like Alex agree and I'm
Speaker 1: trying to couch everything that I'm seeing and some of
Speaker 1: the enthusiasm and optimism with the fact that yes, it's
Speaker 1: still only a month into a season that I just
Speaker 1: kind of in my gut feel might have not necessarily
Speaker 1: for the Sixers, but league wide have a few more
Speaker 1: unpredictable twists and turns. Who knows what's going to happen
Speaker 1: day to day, minute to minute, test by test, But
Speaker 1: the killer instinct the seventy sixers have shown, going back
Speaker 1: to what we talked about at the top of the program,
Speaker 1: has been fantastic, refreshing, encouraging in a dynamic that I
Speaker 1: don't think the Sixers have displayed in the past. I
Speaker 1: ran some of these numbers on and before we started
Speaker 1: looking at the seventy six Ers in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: Let's start there. Number one in the league in net
Speaker 1: rating the fourth quarter nearly a twelve point differential per
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions. Number one defensive rating in the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: just over ninety seven points allowed per one hundred. Again,
Speaker 1: if you calculate it out to per one hundred possessions,
Speaker 1: the Sixers or number one clutch wins, which are games
Speaker 1: that the NBA defines as within five points at any
Speaker 1: point over the final five minutes of regulation, seventy six
Speaker 1: ers or seven and one in those games and a
Speaker 1: net rating of thirty three in clutch game situations. So
Speaker 1: killer instinct from the squad, and I think that that
Speaker 1: speaks to what Alex brought up. You still feel like
Speaker 1: if they fall behind, they've got a chance to make
Speaker 1: a comeback bid because they've got firepower off the bench
Speaker 1: with a guy like shake, and then obviously they're starting
Speaker 1: lineup when it's at full strength. Speaks for itself. I
Speaker 1: hear you, I love it, and I hope that it
Speaker 1: maintains and that that skill, that killer instinct you're talking about,
Speaker 1: continues to get sharper as the season goes along. I
Speaker 1: think we ended on that in this was great good Vibes.
Speaker 1: I think this podcast goes into the good vibes beat
Speaker 1: because you and I are relaxed and enjoying having this conversation.
Speaker 1: So look the good vibes they permeate, They permeate throughout
Speaker 1: the organization, throughout the city. I'm looking out the window.
Speaker 1: Everything looks beautiful here in Philadelphia. I think it all
Speaker 1: starts with good pregame vibes and it ends with us
Speaker 1: doing this podcast with smiles. I think it is not
Speaker 1: a mistake that in my opinion, with all due respect
Speaker 1: to previous week's mail Bag Monday submissions, there are no
Speaker 1: bad submissions for Mailbag Monday. I just love the energy
Speaker 1: of this week's mail bag. We might have to go
Speaker 1: in and for the first time ever select the multiple
Speaker 1: swag bag recipients. I'm here if you might have to
Speaker 1: be handpicked as well. I thought there were great submissions
Speaker 1: this week on social and the podline. Thank you to
Speaker 1: everyone out there. Yes, thank you guys so much. We
Speaker 1: love doing this and we love hearing your thoughts, so
Speaker 1: please keep them coming. Lauren Rosen, thank you. Looking forward
Speaker 1: to another week of coverage from you, and we will
Speaker 1: do it again on Friday for a weekly deep dive
Speaker 1: with our guy, Divine Givens. We have new episode of
Speaker 1: Tom's Talks with Tom McGinnis coming out on Thursday, so
Speaker 1: look out for that on the main feed as well,
Speaker 1: and of course, subscribe to the Scoop Search seventy six
Speaker 1: or Scoop wherever you get your pods for a new
Speaker 1: daily five minute update feed. See you