Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. There
Speaker 1: was a lot of stuff going on this past week,
Speaker 1: from career games to noteworthy milestones. Simmons cool solo. He's
Speaker 1: got a career high forty two here. It is the
Speaker 1: first career fifty point game for the Dominie Joel mb
Speaker 1: We recap the latest from Ben Simmons and Joel Embip
Speaker 1: and look ahead to Round two against the Raptors. Your calls,
Speaker 1: your DM's, your chance to win some swag. We do
Speaker 1: it every week on mail Bag Monday. Yes, a lot
Speaker 1: to cover and discuss on this week's edition of the
Speaker 1: mail Bag. Lauren, it was a busy, active week when
Speaker 1: we spoke this time last week, seventy Sixers. We're getting
Speaker 1: ready to wrap up a four game Western Conference trip
Speaker 1: with the best team in the league, the Utah Jazz.
Speaker 1: Little did we know that Ben Simmons would go off
Speaker 1: for a career high forty two points. He would then
Speaker 1: miss the next two games, a span during which his
Speaker 1: fellow All Star teammate Joel Embiid would not only be
Speaker 1: named to another All Star Game as a starter, but
Speaker 1: explode for a career high fifty points of his own
Speaker 1: against the Chicago Bulls, and then the seventy Sixers come
Speaker 1: back for the start of a two game road trip
Speaker 1: against conference rival Toronto. A spirited, competitive game down in
Speaker 1: Tampa didn't go the seventy Sixers way. I feel like
Speaker 1: I'm forgetting something. Oh yes, Doc Rivers named for the
Speaker 1: third time in his career as the head coach in
Speaker 1: an All Star Game. So yes, a lot of stuff
Speaker 1: happening over the past week. Yeah, some good stuff, Like,
Speaker 1: let's not forget there was some good stuff that happened
Speaker 1: this week. Yeah, always tough to tape this podcast review
Speaker 1: the day after a more difficult evening, which certainly Sunday
Speaker 1: in Tampa was. But I do like the idea of
Speaker 1: the team getting a second swing at them tomorrow night,
Speaker 1: Tuesday night in Tampa. Once again, this is a team
Speaker 1: that has a press that they don't ever want to
Speaker 1: get in the habit of multiple losses in a row,
Speaker 1: and because that happened rather recently, you'd hope that they
Speaker 1: bring a little bit more fire, a little more fight
Speaker 1: on Tuesday night. That is a cool thing about this
Speaker 1: whole getting to play teams multiple times in a row,
Speaker 1: thing that honestly, I'd be cool with doing again next year.
Speaker 1: I think this should be a thing, no doubt. I
Speaker 1: think there's a lot of logic that you can apply
Speaker 1: to it. One, it makes things more efficient on the
Speaker 1: travel schedule. And then two, right, especially when you have
Speaker 1: these series against conference and division rivals, it adds that
Speaker 1: much more to it. I'm with you. I am so
Speaker 1: pumped for the fact the seventy sixers have an opportunity
Speaker 1: to get right back at it against Toronto on Tuesday.
Speaker 1: See if there's so many adjustments in the span of
Speaker 1: three days that Doc and the coaching staff can make
Speaker 1: and help the seventy sixers get on the right side
Speaker 1: of things after that one ten one h three loss.
Speaker 1: Before we dip into the mailbag for this week, I'm
Speaker 1: going to go into the Brian Seltzer personal mailbag. And
Speaker 1: I'm not typically one to opine strongly or give takes
Speaker 1: or perhaps share my innermost deepest feelings, but i will
Speaker 1: say there was something about the game on Sunday night
Speaker 1: that just kind of sat with me. And I think
Speaker 1: it's because the loss was to Toronto and psychologically for
Speaker 1: me and optically, it's like again with these guys, it's
Speaker 1: like for the last seven years, for the better part
Speaker 1: of the regular season, they've just had the Sixers number.
Speaker 1: And personally, I don't put any stock whatsoever in the
Speaker 1: stat that everyone was throwing out after the games. Well,
Speaker 1: it's sixteen regular season road losses to Toronto, doesn't matter
Speaker 1: if it's in Canada or Florida, like, Okay, fine, the
Speaker 1: streak is the streak, But rosters change every year and
Speaker 1: sometimes from month to month within a season, so I
Speaker 1: don't really buy too much into the streak. But there
Speaker 1: was just something about the fact that it was the Raptors.
Speaker 1: It seemed like they made the Sixers a little bit
Speaker 1: uncomfortable in that game on Sunday. And I'm also respectful
Speaker 1: of the fact of a they always seem to play
Speaker 1: with an edge and B they develop the heck out
Speaker 1: of their players. That's not to say the Sixers don't,
Speaker 1: but just look at some of the guys that Toronto
Speaker 1: has rolled through in recent years. It really helps them replenish.
Speaker 1: Despite who comes and goes long winded, I'm done, and
Speaker 1: scene you've got to respect the way that that team
Speaker 1: plays in general, the way that they stay relevant, they
Speaker 1: stay good, They're always a competitor in the way that
Speaker 1: they play the seventy Sixers. What I'll say is listening
Speaker 1: to you talk about the Let's I mean, I think
Speaker 1: it's a rivalry at this point between two teams. Listening
Speaker 1: to you talk about it makes me happy to have
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers in the fold because Doc Rivers probably isn't
Speaker 1: super keen on the whole. The Sixers don't get up
Speaker 1: for the Raptors. The Sixers can't beat the Raptors. That's
Speaker 1: not something that he's super familiar with, so he's not
Speaker 1: going to let that become a thing, even if some
Speaker 1: of the guys on the roster might feel it a
Speaker 1: little bit. So I like the idea that Doc Rivers
Speaker 1: is probably huddling up with them just coming up with
Speaker 1: a way to win the next game, as opposed to
Speaker 1: laboring on it the way that you or I might
Speaker 1: because I totally hear you. I like though, the idea
Speaker 1: that the guy that's in charge probably doesn't feel what
Speaker 1: we feel right now. And I think one of those games,
Speaker 1: at least for me, where it's observations to be filed
Speaker 1: away for later, like is their panic is there even
Speaker 1: concern No. As I said, it was just something where
Speaker 1: I woke up Monday and I'm like, man, okay, there
Speaker 1: are a few things here there love to see clean
Speaker 1: up for round two, which could happen. But again, given
Speaker 1: the opponent, I'm like those rafters. And I'll also say,
Speaker 1: what are the odds that, in my opinion, the three
Speaker 1: guys who you most rely on for their shooting, which
Speaker 1: would be Joel, Tobias, and Seth, are gonna go combine
Speaker 1: sixteen for forty nine and four for nineteen from deep Again,
Speaker 1: I just don't see that happening often. I hear you.
Speaker 1: I think that that was I mean, that was the
Speaker 1: consensus certainly in media. Last night. We heard from Doc,
Speaker 1: we heard from Ben, Joel, and Tobias, and they all
Speaker 1: sort of came away with the same thought. They did
Speaker 1: like the looks that they got, which I'm willing to
Speaker 1: agree with. They they didn't fall, and sometimes that does happen,
Speaker 1: So as long as it doesn't happen again on Tuesday,
Speaker 1: I am willing to believe that they liked their looks.
Speaker 1: They just didn't fall. And this is a team who
Speaker 1: has gotten good looks all season long. They've done a
Speaker 1: good job of making their shots, finding each other, figuring
Speaker 1: out what types of shots one another likes. And they
Speaker 1: still figured it out on Sunday, they just didn't fall.
Speaker 1: I'm willing to listen to that. I'm willing to sort
Speaker 1: of drink that kool aid if that's really how those
Speaker 1: guys are feeling. No, And I think some of the
Speaker 1: numbers if you look into the advanced box scores about
Speaker 1: contested and uncontested shots, I think that would support what
Speaker 1: players and doc rivers from the Sixers were saying after
Speaker 1: the game. All right, let us officially move on from
Speaker 1: at least in terms of our thoughts and opinions Sunday's game,
Speaker 1: and we'll start to open up the mailbag in a moment.
Speaker 1: But if you are a first time listener to Mailbag
Speaker 1: Monday and you're wondering how does this all work, it's
Speaker 1: pretty simple. You can find Lauren and myself on Twitter
Speaker 1: or Instagram. For me, it's at Brian Seltzer on Twitter
Speaker 1: at Seltzer six or snaps on i G. Lauren is
Speaker 1: at Lauren m Rosen, making it one stop shopping for
Speaker 1: both Instagram and Twitter. Hit us up with your thoughts opinions,
Speaker 1: takes with a D or a message or the preferred method.
Speaker 1: We'd love to hear from you on the pod line
Speaker 1: two five four zero three seven six three seven two
Speaker 1: on five four zero three pods. All right, let's get
Speaker 1: it going. You have one new message from the always
Speaker 1: thoughtful Vinnie Picaro measured thoughtful insights that he hits us
Speaker 1: up with On Twitter, he said about the game on Sunday,
Speaker 1: difficult loss against a Surgeon Raptors team. Yes, Toronto playing
Speaker 1: very well over the last month and a half. Ben
Speaker 1: was sensational on both sides of the court. Joel was
Speaker 1: able to still score twenty five, but handed by Aaron Baines.
Speaker 1: This game certainly had a playoff atmosphere from the start.
Speaker 1: I don't think I disagree with any of those thoughts
Speaker 1: from Vinny larn I am with it as well. We
Speaker 1: should talk about how good Ben was, especially after missing
Speaker 1: two games with that non COVID illness. Over the two
Speaker 1: game homestand last week. All the days are running together,
Speaker 1: but the two games prior to this one, Ben was
Speaker 1: not available and it was cool to see him come back.
Speaker 1: He did not miss a beat. He looked good, he
Speaker 1: looked aggressive, He looked confident. He did not look like
Speaker 1: someone who had to shake off any rust. So props
Speaker 1: to Ben for being able to get up and really
Speaker 1: get out there quickly, even after spending a little bit
Speaker 1: of time away. I thought that was certainly the biggest
Speaker 1: positive takeaway from Sunday next game. I think one of
Speaker 1: the big questions after last week was, Okay, we saw
Speaker 1: Ben have his career high forty two against Utah without
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid. We then saw Joe have his career high
Speaker 1: fifty on Friday against the Bulls without Ben Simmons. What's
Speaker 1: it gonna look like when the two of them now
Speaker 1: play together after those big games Sunday against the Raptors
Speaker 1: and if Joe knocks down some shots, which again, if
Speaker 1: I had shekels to wager, I would wager on him
Speaker 1: knocking down those shots next time around, the numbers for
Speaker 1: both of them would have been off the charts together.
Speaker 1: Ben twenty eight points against the Raptors over his last
Speaker 1: four games. Lareen here's the breakdown, averaging nearly twenty eight
Speaker 1: points per game, shooting sixty nine percent from the field.
Speaker 1: His free throw numbers, He's thirty one for thirty nine
Speaker 1: over the last four games. That equates out to nearly
Speaker 1: eighty percent, almost nine rebounds, seven and a half assists,
Speaker 1: one and a half steals. And that's just on the
Speaker 1: superficial tangible stats and not even getting into some of
Speaker 1: the eye test stuff we've seen with all the tough
Speaker 1: defensive assignments he's had to take on. Yeah, Doc Rivers
Speaker 1: challenged him to take ten free throws a game at
Speaker 1: the beginning of the season, and I think to a
Speaker 1: lot of people that felt like it was going to
Speaker 1: be a lot to see him regularly shooting ten, twelve,
Speaker 1: fourteen free throws, shooting them confidently ten for fourteen last night.
Speaker 1: That's a really positive sign for Ben Simmons. He's not
Speaker 1: afraid to draw the contact and Doc Rivers said in
Speaker 1: the postgame that he loved it, that he loved that
Speaker 1: Ben was being aggressive, that he was getting to the
Speaker 1: line more often. That's something that could be so key
Speaker 1: for this team down the stretch, especially in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: You already have the league's leader in free throws attempted
Speaker 1: and free throws made in embeed. If Ben is getting
Speaker 1: to the line consistently as well, it is going to
Speaker 1: annoy the heck out of some other teams. That's all
Speaker 1: I have to say. Vinnie Picaro is one of our regulars.
Speaker 1: Always love hearing him chime in on Twitter after games
Speaker 1: with thoughtful stuff. Thank you Vinnie. You have one new message, Hey,
Speaker 1: Bend Lauren just call him into the mail bag to
Speaker 1: kind of gets on the fixer's bench struggles and the
Speaker 1: idea of looking for a stretch four behind who we
Speaker 1: shoot the balls later on the postseason, or promoting Paul
Speaker 1: Reid for a little bit before the trade dead. I'm
Speaker 1: who's killing it in the G League in to see
Speaker 1: if he could provide a lift to maybe to acquire
Speaker 1: somewhere else with the assets. So you have thanks, guys,
Speaker 1: have a good one our first voice mail Always love
Speaker 1: hearing from the podline and the people who chime in.
Speaker 1: There a couple different thoughts to respond to their Lauren.
Speaker 1: The first about the bench and then also about this
Speaker 1: notion of a possible stretch four or five, and then
Speaker 1: bring up the name from the G League from the
Speaker 1: Bubble Bluecoats, Paul Reid, who is yes crushing it. Let's
Speaker 1: go to the bench. And I think Doc Rivers revealed
Speaker 1: an interesting nugget after the game on Sunday, suggesting that
Speaker 1: at least four the time being, he's opened the idea
Speaker 1: of playing Isaiah Joe Moore, which pay for a young,
Speaker 1: aunted rookie. I'm curious to see what Joe might be
Speaker 1: able to do with those minutes. Yeah, good for him
Speaker 1: and why not. By all accounts, it seems like his
Speaker 1: head coach his teammates have been impressed with the way
Speaker 1: that Isaiah has stayed ready, stayed willing to make an
Speaker 1: impact wherever it is, whether it's in the final minutes
Speaker 1: of a win, whether it's when teammates are out due
Speaker 1: to health and safety protocols. This is a guy that
Speaker 1: stayed ready, stayed up for any opportunities, and so it's
Speaker 1: cool to now see him get rewarded. I think as
Speaker 1: far as the rest of the bench goes, there have
Speaker 1: been some difficulties in that unit, but this is a
Speaker 1: unit that started out really strong Celts, and to be honest,
Speaker 1: I'm not willing to overreact about what's going on with them.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of guys are just a little
Speaker 1: bit cold right now. Shake is still shaking off the rust.
Speaker 1: We know what for Concorkmas can do. He'll find his
Speaker 1: rhythm Matisse Thyble has shown glimpses of being a really
Speaker 1: good offensive player and looks like he's getting a little
Speaker 1: bit more comfortable. Of course, it would be great to
Speaker 1: see all those guys round into form at the same time.
Speaker 1: I didn't even mention Tyrese Maxie, who scored thirty nine
Speaker 1: points just a few weeks ago. These are guys that
Speaker 1: are going to find their rhythm. They're going to figure
Speaker 1: it out. I'm not super concerned about this bench unit
Speaker 1: because the way that Doc Rivers has been talking about
Speaker 1: it is he's not going to use all of them
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. So as long as they can help
Speaker 1: this team through the regular season that they can help
Speaker 1: be a little bit more productive off dot bench. I
Speaker 1: just don't think they can all stay cold on the
Speaker 1: offensive end for much longer. I'm also believe a Lauren
Speaker 1: that Mike Scott could help and contribute. Going back to
Speaker 1: the point about the stretch four or five, we know
Speaker 1: that when Scott was out for a big chunk of time,
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers was talking about how thin the Sixers' depth
Speaker 1: is at that spot, so I'm sure that's something that's
Speaker 1: on their mind. But yeah, Mike missed a lot of time.
Speaker 1: We know that he can win this team games. We've
Speaker 1: seen it their games when he can get really hot,
Speaker 1: and he's someone who can provide that presence at the
Speaker 1: stretch spot. And I'd love to see Mike have an
Speaker 1: opportunity to get back into a groove of sorts and
Speaker 1: then see where he's at. But I do really appreciate
Speaker 1: that Paul Reid's name was even brought up. I think
Speaker 1: people are paying attention to the coach. There's seven to
Speaker 1: oh and beball Paul is out of control. Got to
Speaker 1: love beball Paul. Beball Paul has been called quirky by
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers. Daryl Morey told said that he was one
Speaker 1: of the biggest steals in this draft. I do think
Speaker 1: this is a guy that has a ton of potential,
Speaker 1: and it's so clear in the bubble, in the gubble
Speaker 1: as we're calling it, that he is just doing a
Speaker 1: great job. He is absolutely eating down there. And you
Speaker 1: have to wonder if this wasn't a bubble situation, would
Speaker 1: Paul Reid have more opportunities in the next few games
Speaker 1: to maybe try to get his footing out there alongside
Speaker 1: the other guys. So as soon as as soon as
Speaker 1: those guys are back, Obviously, I don't know how it
Speaker 1: works when exactly they'll be back. If Paul Reid could
Speaker 1: even be plucked out of that bubble situation where he's
Speaker 1: clearly thriving and learning a lot, I don't know. Is
Speaker 1: he going to factor it in the playoffs? Probably not?
Speaker 1: But do you want to see him continue to seize
Speaker 1: the opportunities that he gets, whether he's in the G
Speaker 1: League bubble with a Blue Coats or once he's back
Speaker 1: with the Sixers. Absolutely, what a pleasure, What a privilege
Speaker 1: it's been to just watch Paul Reid thrive. Listen to
Speaker 1: this line helping the Blue Coats to a seven oh
Speaker 1: start in the bubble, averaging twenty two and a half
Speaker 1: points per game, shooting sixty percent from the field, thirty
Speaker 1: seven and a half percent from three, taking nearly three
Speaker 1: and a half triples per game, seventy five percent from
Speaker 1: the line, nearly twelve and a half rebounds, two and
Speaker 1: a half steals, one and a half blocks. Tremendous for
Speaker 1: B ball, Paul the eighth pick in the draft, tremendous.
Speaker 1: Love to see it back to the bag. You have
Speaker 1: one new message. Chris del Kond of saying Shake is
Speaker 1: the help, referring to the bench. He's out, it is
Speaker 1: what it is. Well, he was back on Sunday, so
Speaker 1: that's good. And I don't want to make it sound
Speaker 1: too simplistic, but we've talked about this before, Lauren. I
Speaker 1: can't remember if it's been on a mail bag Monday,
Speaker 1: a Deep Dive Friday, a seven to six live count
Speaker 1: depresented by Tso we talk a lot, and we've talked
Speaker 1: about the fact that when Shakemilton was out, the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers obviously took a big hit in their per
Speaker 1: game scoring average for the bench. So now that Shakes back,
Speaker 1: I would expect to see things start to get a
Speaker 1: little bit more back in order with the bench, at
Speaker 1: least from a scoring standpoint, no doubt about it. I
Speaker 1: would say the same thing I said for the last question.
Speaker 1: We got to just be patient with this group of
Speaker 1: bench guys, young guys that have all shown that they
Speaker 1: can be super productive in their roles. They're guys that
Speaker 1: know their roles. Let's give them a minute to find
Speaker 1: their stride. Especially Shake, who missed five games and dealt
Speaker 1: with that injury. That must have been difficult because he
Speaker 1: had he did have such a strong start the season.
Speaker 1: He was being relied upon fifteen points a game. No,
Speaker 1: that's not nothing. So I would love to see Shake
Speaker 1: just have a little bit more of an opportunity to
Speaker 1: just heat up, warm up, get back to what he
Speaker 1: was doing at the beginning of the season, and I
Speaker 1: think it'll make a huge difference for that entire bench unit.
Speaker 1: Time for another voicemail, you have one new message. I
Speaker 1: think that people are starting to overreact to some losses,
Speaker 1: and I know they're important to build a stammera and
Speaker 1: to help people pay attention to the sixtions. But I
Speaker 1: think that Darrel Lorie is a good person to have
Speaker 1: the hands as a team inner. I think that she'll
Speaker 1: make decisions when he needed to love on a mail
Speaker 1: bag Monday following a loss, a very measured and composed
Speaker 1: call on the podline. Yes, I tend to agree that
Speaker 1: perhaps some people overreact a bit to certain losses, depending
Speaker 1: on who the opponent is and how the games go down.
Speaker 1: And listen a lot of faith in Daryl Morey, and
Speaker 1: I think, yes, in Daryl, we trust, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: This is one of the guys with the most consistent
Speaker 1: track record as an executive in this league, maybe the
Speaker 1: most consistent track record as an executive in this league.
Speaker 1: He's someone you have to trust with the keys, with
Speaker 1: the launch codes, if you will. He's the type of
Speaker 1: guy you want to have in charge making these big
Speaker 1: decisions when it's time for them to be made. And
Speaker 1: I like the fact that there haven't been too many yet.
Speaker 1: I like that Daryl made some big moves in the
Speaker 1: offseason brought in the type of shooting that Joel Embiid
Speaker 1: has consistently praised him for bringing in. I think that
Speaker 1: this is a group that looks good together. We forget
Speaker 1: pretty quickly that they're still leading the Eastern Conference. They
Speaker 1: are still the number one seed and have been for
Speaker 1: a really long time now. I like, I'm very confident,
Speaker 1: like our callers like you, that Darryl Moorey is going
Speaker 1: to make good decisions for this team, and only when
Speaker 1: it's time to make good decisions for this team. It's
Speaker 1: good that we're not. We don't have someone who's gonna overreact,
Speaker 1: and we don't have someone who's gonna underreact either. How
Speaker 1: many general managers out there in any sport can quote
Speaker 1: Sondheim in reference Cosette and Javert while also pulling the
Speaker 1: strings for a number one seed, absolute legend, absolute legend.
Speaker 1: We might have to do you know what sells. I've
Speaker 1: been thinking about it since he got here. At some
Speaker 1: point we're gonna have to do a deep dive pod
Speaker 1: with Daryl Morey, but about musical theater, not about basketball,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna make it happen. I think that that's
Speaker 1: definitely something to put on the list. And why not.
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, we need to showcase diversatile, diverse personalities
Speaker 1: of all these great people, no doubt about it. We
Speaker 1: have players with awesome off court interests that sometimes we
Speaker 1: have the privilege of highlighting. Let's do it for Darryl
Speaker 1: Morey too, love it, move it on. You have one
Speaker 1: new message? Gee John Jones Jonesy underscore Whales on Twitter.
Speaker 1: He says, I know MUSSOFTI but I really like this
Speaker 1: team and staff as humans. They have a positive vibe
Speaker 1: and likable guys who do a ton of good I
Speaker 1: love it, love the seth doc dynamic dot coaching in
Speaker 1: the All Star Game. This is really good stuff. Thank
Speaker 1: you Jonesy Whales for that ray of sunshine on yet
Speaker 1: another snowy morning in the Philadelphia area after a tough
Speaker 1: loss to Toronto. That's the type can we get a
Speaker 1: vibe check Lauren Rosen, because that is your subbeat specialty.
Speaker 1: That's the type of energy we need. I think I
Speaker 1: feel that one percent. It really has been a pleasure
Speaker 1: to watch the way that these guys have started to
Speaker 1: get along and developed chemistry encourt off court. They've been
Speaker 1: on their feet cheering for each other as a bench
Speaker 1: since the preseason. It's just clear that this is a
Speaker 1: group of guys that really enjoys one another. They got
Speaker 1: back from a difficult road trip on the West Coast,
Speaker 1: they did lose three straight, and they came into the
Speaker 1: Wells Fargo Center. They came into their first warm up
Speaker 1: on their home court with great vibes, and I really
Speaker 1: appreciated that. That's the kind of thing that I look
Speaker 1: out for. You don't want to see a group of
Speaker 1: downtrodden people getting ready to play a game, getting ready
Speaker 1: to try to win, and this is a group that
Speaker 1: knows how to keep the vibes up. I would shout
Speaker 1: out Vibe Captain's Danny Green Tobias Harris that those two
Speaker 1: might be the Vibe Captains. They do a really good
Speaker 1: job of bringing everybody else into the vibes and then
Speaker 1: the other guys are willing to accept the vibes and
Speaker 1: be a part of it. I'm just watching these guys
Speaker 1: interact pregame, watching them interact on the bench. I completely
Speaker 1: agree with our caller here. I think that this is
Speaker 1: a group that does a really, really good job keeping
Speaker 1: the vibes high. I forgot about how long Danny Green
Speaker 1: has had a track record for bringing the said good
Speaker 1: positive vibes. I was working on a project for one
Speaker 1: of our Black History Month inspiration pieces. Check it out,
Speaker 1: Nick McCain behind the sticks on the video edit. We
Speaker 1: also have a bonus episode here on the seventy six
Speaker 1: ers podcast network Feed, a narrative pot about Danny Green
Speaker 1: and his journey. I totally forgot about Danny being like
Speaker 1: the insane jump around hype man for UNC when he
Speaker 1: was at Carolina for those four seasons, like the pregame
Speaker 1: jump around crazy dance that he did, And I saw
Speaker 1: some old footage of that, and I had totally forgotten
Speaker 1: about that whole thing. And it's cool now to see
Speaker 1: adult grown Danny Green still bringing that energy, still being
Speaker 1: the guy that helps hype up a Tyrese Maxie, who's
Speaker 1: the young guy that Danny green Ones was at UNC.
Speaker 1: I just love his presence with this group. I love
Speaker 1: the way that he's clearly making an effort to make
Speaker 1: sure that everybody feels welcome, feels encouraged, feels happy, feels
Speaker 1: the vibes, and shout out to Tobias Harris, who's also
Speaker 1: been doing the same since he got here. Now over,
Speaker 1: has it been over two years for Tobias with the Sixers? Yes,
Speaker 1: we have crossed the two year mark earlier this month.
Speaker 1: It's crazy. I'll say this about the vibes. I know
Speaker 1: that some people might say, well, what does that do
Speaker 1: as far as long term will it get you wins?
Speaker 1: And that sort of thing. I will say, Listen, the
Speaker 1: Sixers have hit a couple bumps in the road the
Speaker 1: past few weeks compared to how it went for the
Speaker 1: first six weeks the season, and I like hearing the poise, reassurance,
Speaker 1: confidence coming from some of the players after the Sixers
Speaker 1: run into a roadblock, like after the game against Toronto.
Speaker 1: Didn't sound like there was any worry or true concern.
Speaker 1: It was just like, hey, we understand what some of
Speaker 1: the issues were. Some of it was self inflicted. Let's
Speaker 1: diagnose the problem, let's get right back at it. And
Speaker 1: I think that's where if you're trying to apply some
Speaker 1: significant meaning to some of the Kumbayas stuff that we
Speaker 1: like to talk about, I think that's where you can look. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's no shade, there's no blame after losses. And I
Speaker 1: think that while there should never be probably in the
Speaker 1: NBA shade or blame after losses, the six or team
Speaker 1: is certainly not doing that. They are very supportive of
Speaker 1: one another, and that stretches across the entire roster. I mean,
Speaker 1: look no further than what Joel Embiad has said about
Speaker 1: his teammates after wins after losses. He's always willing to
Speaker 1: give props, whether it's your number two or three guy
Speaker 1: like a Ben Simmons or a Tobias Harris, or it's
Speaker 1: the rookies. Joel Embiad has been really really engaged with
Speaker 1: the way that his teammates have been doing and he's
Speaker 1: been very supportive, very complimentary all along. I really appreciate
Speaker 1: the way that they talk to one another and the
Speaker 1: way that they talk about one another. I think that
Speaker 1: that is something that can't be undervalued, especially when you're
Speaker 1: going to go to battle together in the playoffs, which
Speaker 1: this is something that this team is already looking ahead
Speaker 1: at all. Right, let's wrap it up with some rapid fire.
Speaker 1: You have one new message. We will scroll through some
Speaker 1: of our Twitter mentions. Two of the seventy six ers
Speaker 1: All Stars, Joel Embiad and Ben Simmons, had some of
Speaker 1: their best performances ever since we last did a mail
Speaker 1: bag Monday. Joel embeat of course the fifty McNugget piece
Speaker 1: on Friday versus the Bulls. Tony's Pep says, other than MVP,
Speaker 1: there's nothing else to say at this stage of the season.
Speaker 1: I would say perhaps maybe an Eastern Conference title, and
Speaker 1: who knows more than that? Maybe if I'm getting greedy,
Speaker 1: But yeah, I totally agree, Like, what else can you
Speaker 1: say about Joe at this point? I asked him a
Speaker 1: tease bible, what it's like to be Joel Embiad's teammate
Speaker 1: when he's going out there scoring fifty, scoring forty, with
Speaker 1: these crazy, crazy double doubles, nearing triple double. Mattie said
Speaker 1: that he is not surprised in any way that Joel
Speaker 1: Embid is an All Star starter. And that the group
Speaker 1: is just waiting for him to be named MVP. They
Speaker 1: feel that at this point it should be a foregone conclusion.
Speaker 1: So I feel that Jim Russo, who shot Jr. Fourteen,
Speaker 1: as I've said in the past, Joel the most dominant
Speaker 1: player in the league right now. I love watching him play.
Speaker 1: I've heard a couple of people say this. I know
Speaker 1: that ala Abelnaby mentioned it on the NBC Sports Philly
Speaker 1: broadcast on Sunday. Tom McGinnis has talked about it, and
Speaker 1: I think that Lauren, you and I have spoken about
Speaker 1: it as well, like this is one of those times,
Speaker 1: given the way and level at which Joe is playing,
Speaker 1: where you really got to step back. I'm sure you
Speaker 1: can get caught up in the minutia of games and results,
Speaker 1: but just to appreciate what we're seeing and knowing that
Speaker 1: for a very special player, this is clearly a special
Speaker 1: time in what is hopefully a long, great, successful career.
Speaker 1: But just going into every game and being like, hey,
Speaker 1: this is one of the best players on the planet
Speaker 1: and having that excitement to see what he gives you
Speaker 1: feel that, and it's clear that the other Sixers feel
Speaker 1: that it's been cool to watch the way that they've
Speaker 1: all embraced the fact that they are playing with someone
Speaker 1: who's doing some pretty historic stuff right now. A couple
Speaker 1: more rapid fire from Twitter. Raphael and Ralph twenty three
Speaker 1: says Ben is a consistent jumper away from dominating the
Speaker 1: league many MVPs if he ever works on it. I
Speaker 1: think Ben is showing exceptional work on the floor of
Speaker 1: the last couple of games. I love that the consistent
Speaker 1: thing has Ben Laaren his aggressive, go to the rack mindset,
Speaker 1: and I think when that happens, other good things happen.
Speaker 1: And he's showing that while playing the strengths of his game.
Speaker 1: Right now, you can do a lot of good from
Speaker 1: self and the Sixers, no doubt about it. I think
Speaker 1: he said it all with that one. But it has
Speaker 1: been a pleasure to watch the way that we now
Speaker 1: have a few players that are capable of taking over
Speaker 1: and making sure that this team gets wins when those
Speaker 1: guys are super dialed in and firing. Love it. One
Speaker 1: more on Ben Simmons book. This photographer Trev the Owner
Speaker 1: says on Twitter, this is the Ben Simmons been telling
Speaker 1: you all about. He has arrived. I think I'd be
Speaker 1: willing to say that Ben Simmons planted his flag about
Speaker 1: his landing on the Sixers planet before this past week,
Speaker 1: But no, I think that. You know, some people might say, well,
Speaker 1: what's the Sixers record the last four games the band
Speaker 1: has played and all that. I understand those numbers. They
Speaker 1: are what they are. But the point is is this
Speaker 1: is an encouraging trend that you hope is something that
Speaker 1: Ben can continue to move forward. I think that part
Speaker 1: of this year has been a feeling out process for him,
Speaker 1: most notably on the offensive end, and within that his scoring.
Speaker 1: I think every other part of his game has not
Speaker 1: dipped at all. You can make the argument that it's
Speaker 1: been elevated this year. He continues to rebound, he continues
Speaker 1: to facilitate and pass, push the pace, and obviously on
Speaker 1: the defensive end do what he does. But I think
Speaker 1: it's just been him trying to find his spot in
Speaker 1: terms of scoring and that whole thing. And listen, can
Speaker 1: you fault a guy for trying to involve too other?
Speaker 1: I say too, but there's a lot of other guys
Speaker 1: on this team who could use the ball and get
Speaker 1: their touches to score. Well. Look, Ben, we've talked a
Speaker 1: lot about his confidence all season long, and his confidence
Speaker 1: on the defensive end is clearly there when he says
Speaker 1: that he thinks he's the best defensive player in the league,
Speaker 1: and then he's able to back it up defending quality opponents,
Speaker 1: and then on the offensive end. I appreciate the way
Speaker 1: that all season long he's kind of said, Look, it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter how many buckets I score, as long as
Speaker 1: the team is winning. It doesn't matter what my scoring
Speaker 1: total is, as long as I'm creating opportunities for other people.
Speaker 1: But in the absence of Joel Embiad against Utah, we
Speaker 1: saw him sort of back that up and say, but
Speaker 1: if you need me to score, here's forty two points.
Speaker 1: And I appreciated that because I think that'll also be
Speaker 1: good for his confidence. I feel like he is very
Speaker 1: much at peace with how this season has gone for himself,
Speaker 1: he said after that Utah game, Right, I don't necessarily
Speaker 1: need to drop a high volume point total to know
Speaker 1: that I've affected and dominated a game. So I think
Speaker 1: that his mindset is in a healthy place. And I
Speaker 1: think that when people might ask, well, we still need
Speaker 1: Joe to score this amount and get this many shots,
Speaker 1: what does that mean for Ben and how is he
Speaker 1: still going to get his I think the key is
Speaker 1: kind of what we saw in that game on Sunday
Speaker 1: getting to the free throw line. And you said, Lauren,
Speaker 1: the magic number is ten what Doc Rivers wants to
Speaker 1: see in terms of attempts per game from the stripe.
Speaker 1: So I feel like the more that Bank can get
Speaker 1: to the line and continue to build on what is
Speaker 1: hopefully something that can be sustained in this improved free
Speaker 1: throw shooting, that's going to make him that much more dangerous.
Speaker 1: Feel that, no doubt, hope he continues to be as
Speaker 1: aggressive as he's been in getting to the line because
Speaker 1: it can be such a weapon for this group. All Right.
Speaker 1: As we said at the start, there was a lot
Speaker 1: of material and noteworthy developments to cover on this week's
Speaker 1: Mailbag Monday. Thanks to everyone for chiming in, Lauren, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you. So here's what to look for the rest
Speaker 1: of this week. On the seventy Sixers podcast network, we
Speaker 1: will have a new episode of co Check with Matt
Speaker 1: Murphy reporting from the Bubble in Orlando, giving us the
Speaker 1: latest on the at least at this point in time,
Speaker 1: still undefeated at Delaware Bluecoats, A couple new installments in
Speaker 1: our Black History Month inspiration series, so look out for that.
Speaker 1: And there's always five minute updates on the seventy six
Speaker 1: Ers the morning of and after every game. That's on
Speaker 1: a separate speed for the Scoop to search seventy six
Speaker 1: Ers Scoop wherever you get your pods. We'll talk to
Speaker 1: you next time see it.