Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. Day Everybody, Yeah,
Speaker 1: seventy six Yes Sixers Twitter Spaces. Welcome everyone. Matt Murphy
Speaker 1: and Lauren Rosen here with you. Switching it up a
Speaker 1: little bit scheduling wise for us, but a day game
Speaker 1: Eastern time for the Sixers against the New York Knicks
Speaker 1: at Madison Square Garden. Welcome into another Sixers Twitter spaces.
Speaker 1: We do these after wins. The Sixers are now thirty
Speaker 1: seven and twenty three after the one twenty five one
Speaker 1: o nine win on the road against the Knicks, who
Speaker 1: are twenty five and thirty six. If you are new here,
Speaker 1: we like to jump into the box score. You also
Speaker 1: probably heard Lauren say we like to answer your questions,
Speaker 1: read your comments, where you're listening from, etc. Etc. So
Speaker 1: do all of those things, send us dms, and send
Speaker 1: us questions in those dms or comments about the game.
Speaker 1: But we usually start with the box score and then
Speaker 1: we work our way through so we can get into that.
Speaker 1: Lauren James Harden triple double twenty nine, ten, sixteen and
Speaker 1: five and Joel Embiid had a game high thirty seven
Speaker 1: points with a career high twenty three free throws. Made
Speaker 1: worth repeating twenty three free throws. It was a good
Speaker 1: one at the Garden, a setting that of course leads
Speaker 1: to some of the game's greatest games, and today the
Speaker 1: Sixers kit got off to a hot start, struggled a
Speaker 1: little there in the third quarter, but pulled away in
Speaker 1: the fourth, had a really strong finish in just James
Speaker 1: Harden's second performance as a seventy sixer. So let's get
Speaker 1: through the nitty gritty. Hopefully going through this box score
Speaker 1: will inspire some questions, so please, please please send them
Speaker 1: as they pop into your head. Matt Murphy said it.
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid led the way with thirty seven points, nine rebounds,
Speaker 1: three assists, four blocks at a steal twenty three for
Speaker 1: twenty seven from the free throw line. James Harden twenty
Speaker 1: nine point, ten rebound, sixteen assist triple double, his first
Speaker 1: triple double as a seventy six er, plus five steals.
Speaker 1: He was a perfect ten for ten from the free
Speaker 1: throw line. Also perfect from the free throw line was
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris four for four from the free throw line.
Speaker 1: A slower start, but finished with twelve points, five rebounds,
Speaker 1: two assists, a block, and arguably one of the most important,
Speaker 1: if not the most important three pointers in this game
Speaker 1: to help the Sixers clear the Oh sorry, I heard
Speaker 1: a weird piece of feedback, Matt. Can you still hear me? Yes? Indeed? Okay,
Speaker 1: sorry yes. Tobias Harris with that big three in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter to help the Sixers get past the New
Speaker 1: York Knicks. Tyrese Maxie finished with twenty one points, seven rebounds,
Speaker 1: three assists, and two deals. Matisse Thyble rounded out the
Speaker 1: starting five eight points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
Speaker 1: Matisse shot four for six from the field. Paul Millsave
Speaker 1: and George Niang each added six points off the bench.
Speaker 1: Matt Murphy, what stood out to you? I want to
Speaker 1: start by giving credit to Austin who replied to the
Speaker 1: tweet and said that at the end of the third
Speaker 1: quarter there was a lab passed by Fournier that hit
Speaker 1: the rim and Ebid got the ball. It was credited
Speaker 1: as a steal, but should be a rebound. Please look
Speaker 1: into and give our king a double double he deserves
Speaker 1: so right now, and Bade comes up one rebound short
Speaker 1: of a double double with the thirty seven points, but
Speaker 1: certainly worth looking back at that one. What stood out
Speaker 1: other than potential double double there? I think it has
Speaker 1: to be the free throw shooting. I mean the Harden
Speaker 1: triple double. Yeah, but Harden was ten for ten at
Speaker 1: the line, and then Joel with the twenty three for
Speaker 1: twenty seven, thirty nine for forty four as a team,
Speaker 1: that is, thirty nine is the most makes in a
Speaker 1: single game at the line by any NBA team this year.
Speaker 1: Forty four ties the most attempted, so eighty nine percent,
Speaker 1: with Mbid and Harden leading the way. Going thirty three
Speaker 1: for thirty seven has to be the primary surface level takeaway,
Speaker 1: and the two of them in their first two games
Speaker 1: together fifty two for fifty nine from the free throw line.
Speaker 1: And of course there's already been some chatter about what
Speaker 1: it's going to look like to watch teams shoot more
Speaker 1: than thirty free throws a game pretty regularly. But Matt,
Speaker 1: if you're a Sixers fan, I don't think you mind,
Speaker 1: especially when the guys are shooting as efficiently from the
Speaker 1: line as they have in these first two games. To me,
Speaker 1: something that's coming up into questions and we'll dive in
Speaker 1: there in just a second. Is early chemistry. That's something
Speaker 1: we talked a little bit about after the win over
Speaker 1: the Timberwolves, and we'll talk again about when we discuss
Speaker 1: this win over the New York Knicks. But early chemistry
Speaker 1: looking about as good as it could possibly look. Between two,
Speaker 1: I would like to say two MVPs in Joe el
Speaker 1: Embiid and James Harden. It's been really cool to watch
Speaker 1: them learn one another, to watch the rest of the
Speaker 1: team learn what James Harden is able to do and
Speaker 1: how he's able to set them up. That has maybe
Speaker 1: been the biggest thing that we should discuss over these
Speaker 1: last few days and these first couple performances from James
Speaker 1: Harden sixteen assists, shared and did it rather quietly, not
Speaker 1: necessarily something that people think of immediately when they think
Speaker 1: of James Harden, or at least over the last few years,
Speaker 1: and that should not be the case. He's one of
Speaker 1: the league's best distributors, second in the league in assists
Speaker 1: per game this year, and today he showed exactly why again.
Speaker 1: Twenty nine points, ten rebounds, sixteen assists for the New
Speaker 1: Sixer and five steals, a sneaky good defensive performance from
Speaker 1: James Harden today as well. Matt. With that, shall we
Speaker 1: dive into questions? Can I have the first question? Please?
Speaker 1: I want you to answer it or give your thoughts.
Speaker 1: I want everybody else to give their thoughts. You can
Speaker 1: click on our icons, send me or Lauren Rosen a
Speaker 1: DM with your answer or maybe another question. But whether
Speaker 1: or whether it's a play from the game a celebration,
Speaker 1: what was your favorite part of this six Ers win?
Speaker 1: Something I'm genuinely curious about. Everyone is so excited about
Speaker 1: this team. They're two and oh with James Harden playing,
Speaker 1: they win at the Garden Garden James Garden Garden party. Harden,
Speaker 1: all of the plays on words, I'm here for them all.
Speaker 1: I love it. But what was everyone's favorite part of
Speaker 1: the game. I Am going to start us off by
Speaker 1: saying it was the Tyrese Maxie step back three late
Speaker 1: in the game. I like the Tyrese Maxi pick. Matt Murphy,
Speaker 1: I will also go with the Tyrese Maxi moment. To me,
Speaker 1: it had to be him slapping the floor after receiving
Speaker 1: that Matisse Thybil assist that afterwards. As we saw Matisse
Speaker 1: thybal miked up today was unsure how Tyrese was able
Speaker 1: to get his hands on that pass from Atz on
Speaker 1: the break, but was able to do so, able to
Speaker 1: finish and then hit the floor pretty emphatically. It's been
Speaker 1: a pleasure to watch Tyrese Maxie, get excited, continue to
Speaker 1: grow and gel with his teammates. It's been a great
Speaker 1: week for him on top of a great season for
Speaker 1: the rising star. So both of us going with big
Speaker 1: Tyrese moments for our favorites of the game today. I
Speaker 1: think that was my runner up selection. I will sort
Speaker 1: through any messages that come in or tweets and share
Speaker 1: anyone else's thoughts about their favorite part of today's one
Speaker 1: twenty five one o nine win for the Sixers against
Speaker 1: the Knicks, So keep those coming if you'd like, keep
Speaker 1: other questions and comments coming as well. The Maxi celebration
Speaker 1: was my runner up selection. It was surpassed by the
Speaker 1: step back three, Joel's joy surrounding that, Tyrese's general joy
Speaker 1: just playing basketball. He is shooting around forty percent from three.
Speaker 1: That can't be stressed enough. I always say some things
Speaker 1: can't be talked about enough. That's one of them, in
Speaker 1: my opinion. His growth as a shooter. He looks so
Speaker 1: confident with it, and you have to be ready to
Speaker 1: shoot the ball when James Harden is dishing out twelve assists,
Speaker 1: sixteen assists and today Maxie with the twenty one points,
Speaker 1: Hardened with the twenty nine, ten and sixteen plus the
Speaker 1: five steals, and embed with the thirty seven points leading
Speaker 1: the way for the sixers, leading the way for all scorers.
Speaker 1: But let's dive in if you have a question pulled
Speaker 1: up on your end, Lauren, for sure, Sal, before we
Speaker 1: get too far ahead, Sal agrees with me. Tyrese slapping
Speaker 1: the floor was the best moment of the game tonight.
Speaker 1: Aaron says that it was either the celebration between Maxie
Speaker 1: and Thiable or the one between Harden and Embiid. After
Speaker 1: embiads and one, we saw James Harden looking pretty excited
Speaker 1: out there, maybe for the first time as a seventy six,
Speaker 1: or at least with a demonstrative celebration, it says. My
Speaker 1: favorite was the Hardened bounced past to the Mbiad dunk.
Speaker 1: TGF says Joel's slam in the fourth quarter and his
Speaker 1: blocks in the fourth are probably tied for my favorite
Speaker 1: moments that didn't include Tyrese in this game. Love those
Speaker 1: as well. Some really strong play down the stretch for
Speaker 1: the seventy six Ers in the fourth quarter, and of course,
Speaker 1: again Matt, we already said this, but it got a
Speaker 1: little closer than they would have wanted it too towards
Speaker 1: the end. But good teams know how to finish, finish
Speaker 1: on the road, finish in hostile environments. And this is
Speaker 1: a team that is new to one another and still
Speaker 1: found a way to get it done, which I really
Speaker 1: enjoyed watching. And another one that I wanted to call out.
Speaker 1: This one comes from Emily who said, not a question,
Speaker 1: but I'm so proud of Sixers fans. I went to
Speaker 1: the game and I thought we were in South Philly.
Speaker 1: Energy is sky high. Lots of MVP chants for Joel
Speaker 1: embiid away from the center this season. Today was no exception.
Speaker 1: Great to hear that Emily enjoyed this one. I am
Speaker 1: diving into questions. Thank you, thank you, thank you to
Speaker 1: everyone who is sending lots of questions. Harden's deep three
Speaker 1: to hold off the Knicks run was Jack's favorite moment
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Speaker 1: twenty one or over. Game Gambler, I hope we don't
Speaker 1: get much overlap here because I want to shout people
Speaker 1: out as well, because there are a number of responses
Speaker 1: for favorite moment of the Sixers win against the Knicks, Lauren.
Speaker 1: But to add to the point about the atmosphere in
Speaker 1: a road game, Zach checks in and says, this was
Speaker 1: a Sixers home game. Went with a few friends and
Speaker 1: the cheers were louder for the Sixers than anyone. So
Speaker 1: a firsthand account for Zach. We love when people check
Speaker 1: in with stuff like that, but pretty amazing. And you
Speaker 1: said this last episode or last show, whatever you want
Speaker 1: to call it that this is February in the NBA,
Speaker 1: and the electricity around this team, it's pretty amazing. It's impressive.
Speaker 1: At this juncture of an NBA season, the city and
Speaker 1: the fan base worldwide is a buzz around this Sixers team,
Speaker 1: and there's so much regular season to go and then
Speaker 1: the playoffs and what is all of that going to
Speaker 1: look like and sound like in social media. It's exciting
Speaker 1: and it's already started, which is crazy to me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we talked about it last time, Matt. But some teams,
Speaker 1: when you look at chatter surrounding some of the Sixers rivals,
Speaker 1: these are the dog days of the NBA season, and
Speaker 1: sometimes it's hard to get up for these games. Eighty
Speaker 1: two games is a lot. It's a lot of energy exerted.
Speaker 1: Teams coming back from the All Star breaks sometimes having
Speaker 1: a harder time getting their feet under them. Not the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers. They have a challenge ahead of them that
Speaker 1: they want to accomplish, goals that they want to accomplish.
Speaker 1: When it comes to chemistry, not a lot of time
Speaker 1: to do it and a lot of motivation to do
Speaker 1: it at a high level. So a really cool way
Speaker 1: for the Sixers to channel their energy in this last
Speaker 1: third of the season. I like this question and this
Speaker 1: user name Matt from Push and P who says, can
Speaker 1: we really get better from here? How will we? What
Speaker 1: can we look for? Those are three very good questions.
Speaker 1: The first one, can we get better from here? Yes? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: This is just the first two games that these guys
Speaker 1: have shared with one another. James Harden, in his media
Speaker 1: availability post game already discussed the fact that he doesn't
Speaker 1: feel that he's fully physically healthy. Says that he's in
Speaker 1: a great place, but of course spent a couple weeks sidelined,
Speaker 1: So even from a health perspective, if this is what
Speaker 1: James Harden is able to do, not quite at full strength,
Speaker 1: he said he's looking forward to having a little bit
Speaker 1: more bounced. He looks pretty bouncy, pretty healthy out there
Speaker 1: already again, twenty nine points, ten rebounds, sixteen assists, not
Speaker 1: at full strength. So I would imagine that that might
Speaker 1: be an area that you can look for a little
Speaker 1: bit more, especially when you think about how comfortable he
Speaker 1: can get. If you can share sixteen assists with guys
Speaker 1: that you've never played with before, things are looking pretty good.
Speaker 1: As you continue to develop that type of chemistry and
Speaker 1: what can we look for Matt For that question, I
Speaker 1: would answer Tobias Harris, who found his stride in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter of this one, but has had a quieter
Speaker 1: couple of games since James Harden joined the team. And
Speaker 1: of course James's addition takes a lot of pressure off
Speaker 1: of Tobias offensively. He's been good defensively, and he's found
Speaker 1: his spots. He's shot more from three than what we've
Speaker 1: seen earlier in the season. Took five this evening or today,
Speaker 1: rather took six a couple days ago, and Tobias a
Speaker 1: good three point shooter, So look for those numbers to
Speaker 1: stay high but continue getting higher. I really liked what
Speaker 1: James Harden said. I'm seeing a lot of questions about
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris, so glad we can address these altogether. I
Speaker 1: liked what James said during his introductory press conference. He
Speaker 1: said he believes that Tobias Harris is someone who can
Speaker 1: get you twenty points a night on a regular basis,
Speaker 1: as Sixers fans have seen over the last couple of years,
Speaker 1: and it's James's job to make sure he can do that.
Speaker 1: And more so, when you look at the existing chemistries
Speaker 1: that are developing between James Harden, Joel Embiid, Matisse Thible,
Speaker 1: even Tyrese Maxie and Tobias Harris. There's room for growth
Speaker 1: among them. All. The Embiid Hardened pairing, the Hardened Maxi
Speaker 1: pairing are jumping off the page right away. But even
Speaker 1: those are going to get better again only two games
Speaker 1: under their belt. So, Matt, when you think about these questions,
Speaker 1: this group of questions about improvement, what are you looking
Speaker 1: for most? There's a lot there, and let's not forget
Speaker 1: just because I mean Harden, Embiad and even Tyrese Maxie
Speaker 1: have kind of stormed out of the gates here with
Speaker 1: this new look Sixers team as a trio scoring wise
Speaker 1: and really all around performance wise. But look for the shooting,
Speaker 1: like you were touching on, to come from others. They're
Speaker 1: more shots will be had by this entire Sixers roster.
Speaker 1: There's also a lot of regular season games, so just
Speaker 1: a lot of the young guys, a lot of the
Speaker 1: guys that haven't played as many minutes in the previous
Speaker 1: two games, including this one against the Knicks. There's so
Speaker 1: many regular season games for young players or guys. A
Speaker 1: little further down the bench right now where I think
Speaker 1: their opportunities will come. No Paul read in this one,
Speaker 1: No Isaiah Joe, no Willie Collie Stein, who's on a
Speaker 1: ten day shake Milton played seven minutes, Paul millsat played twelve.
Speaker 1: So I think there's going to be opportunities for some
Speaker 1: of those guys as we move along with the regular season,
Speaker 1: as the Sixers play more games. Just right away, don't
Speaker 1: I wouldn't overreact to what we've seen through two games.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's great to see the success that those
Speaker 1: top guys are having, but look for development elsewhere, and
Speaker 1: you touched on a lot of these things as well.
Speaker 1: Defensive improvement as well is certainly an area that the
Speaker 1: Sixers are going to continue to focus on in defense.
Speaker 1: I hate using cliches mats. I'll try to limit it
Speaker 1: to just this one on this Twitter space. But defense
Speaker 1: wins championships. And this is a team that has two
Speaker 1: All League defenders in Joel Embiid and Matisse Thyble. Danny
Speaker 1: Green has been an All League defender, and James Harden
Speaker 1: improving he can defend at a high level. Let's not
Speaker 1: forget what Tyrese Maxie has been able to do stealing, deflecting, blocking,
Speaker 1: talking about how much he's learned from Matisse thible and
Speaker 1: showing it out on the floor. One of the questions
Speaker 1: that came through from Muhammad, who says, Hi, Lauren from Nigeria.
Speaker 1: As always shout out to our international listeners. We love
Speaker 1: you guys, and we love hearing where you're from, so
Speaker 1: keep telling us. But the question was, what's your take
Speaker 1: on james defensive efforts thus far? I feel like it's
Speaker 1: being overlooked. That's a fair question, and this, of course
Speaker 1: is not necessarily James Harden's primary skill talking about defense,
Speaker 1: but a game high five steals today for James Harden,
Speaker 1: who has looked just tremendously dialed in throughout each of
Speaker 1: his thirty nine minutes tonight, throughout each of his minutes
Speaker 1: against the Timberwolves, it's been a pleasure to see what
Speaker 1: he's been able to do. You talk about improvement, That's
Speaker 1: an area he talks about striving to improve. So I
Speaker 1: would be willing to say that, yeah, that is an
Speaker 1: area that's been a little bit overlooked and somewhere that
Speaker 1: he's going to continue to focus on along with the
Speaker 1: rest of the team as they head down the stretch
Speaker 1: and into the playoffs, Matt for sure. Clutch Chris checks
Speaker 1: in with some more Tobias Harris talk, referencing plus minus
Speaker 1: and how Game one as a new look team, Harris
Speaker 1: was plus twenty four plus twenty five. Next, talking about
Speaker 1: impact outside of scoring, Clutch Chris says, his presence alone
Speaker 1: seems to be helping. So we kind of we've touched
Speaker 1: on that. We touched on that in the last space
Speaker 1: as well. I can list out a couple more favorite
Speaker 1: moments from listeners from the game before we get too
Speaker 1: far A point a game high plus twenty five from
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris today. So again, when you have scorers that
Speaker 1: can score at the level of a James Harden or
Speaker 1: a Joel Embi, two of the best in the league,
Speaker 1: if not the best, two of the best ever, someone
Speaker 1: like Tyrese Maxie who's growing as a scorer, Tobias Harris
Speaker 1: has never been one who has needed the offense to
Speaker 1: revolve around him. So the challenge now, of course, is
Speaker 1: to get him more touches and find him more buckets
Speaker 1: where he's comfortable. But his presence, like you said, you
Speaker 1: have to give him attention. Right as a defense and
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers really look to him as a leader
Speaker 1: on the floor, off the floor, as a communicator in
Speaker 1: the locker room. So his impact being felt, even though
Speaker 1: they've been two quieter games for Tobias Harris and Worth
Speaker 1: noting he was playing the best basketball of the season
Speaker 1: thus far headed into the All Star break, his spirit
Speaker 1: has been high, his vibes have been high, and we
Speaker 1: can expect that to continue as folks that follow this team.
Speaker 1: So looking forward to seeing what James Harden is able
Speaker 1: to unlock in Tobias Harris. But like you said, plus
Speaker 1: twenty four in the first matchup against the Timberwolves, plus
Speaker 1: twenty five today for Tobias Harris. So the final lines
Speaker 1: don't always tell the entire story. Go ahead, Matt, tell
Speaker 1: me about some more favorite moments from the game. You
Speaker 1: and I Lauren Rosen had maxi moments as our favorites.
Speaker 1: Sam says the hardened pass for the embiid slam at
Speaker 1: the end of the game and Bead looks happy, bawling.
Speaker 1: Avery says, m Bead and Harden pick and roll. There's
Speaker 1: a few others will sprinkle those in. Now everyone's eyes
Speaker 1: are on James Harden's home debut as a Philadelphia seventy
Speaker 1: six Ers, which everyone can't wait for. That. It was
Speaker 1: exciting to hear what James said about Sixers fans when
Speaker 1: he was introduced to the Philadelphia media for the first time.
Speaker 1: He said, Sixers fans are crazy. He said, he's excited
Speaker 1: to have them on his side, and this is an
Speaker 1: opportunity for Sixers fans to get crazy on his side.
Speaker 1: That'll be Wednesday at the Center in South Philadelphia. If
Speaker 1: you're listening and you're a local, would love, love love
Speaker 1: to see you there. It's gonna be It's gonna be loud. Matt.
Speaker 1: I am very very much looking forward to hearing the
Speaker 1: building on Wednesday night. James calls the fans crazy, I
Speaker 1: call them passionate, I call them loud, and I think
Speaker 1: this is going to be the loudest we've heard the
Speaker 1: Center in quite some time. Very much looking forward to
Speaker 1: that one. Not that the Knicks are really firmly in
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference playoff picture, because they're down after this
Speaker 1: currently at twelve at twenty five and thirty six. The
Speaker 1: Sixers are thirty seven and twenty three after the win,
Speaker 1: currently third in the East. But the idea of the
Speaker 1: Sixers and the Knicks meeting in back to back games
Speaker 1: when you are more familiar with the recent play of
Speaker 1: certain players on both teams. I think that even adds
Speaker 1: to the hype around Wednesday's game, so everyone's really looking
Speaker 1: forward to that. What else do we have in the
Speaker 1: questions department? A lot of my feedback is favorite moments,
Speaker 1: which will get to more of those. Like I said,
Speaker 1: as we go, but keep the questions coming if you
Speaker 1: have them, click on our avatars and send us a
Speaker 1: DM with any questions about the game or the Sixers
Speaker 1: or like we like to say, Sixers adjacent topics. I
Speaker 1: have a couple more. Let me see where I want
Speaker 1: to go next. This one comes from number one Thible fan.
Speaker 1: What do you think about Matisse's open looks since having
Speaker 1: James Harden on the floor. It was cool to hear
Speaker 1: Doris Burke sort of talk about what she was seeing
Speaker 1: from Matise Thible today on the ABC broadcast. Very interesting
Speaker 1: to think about who's out on the floor with Matisse
Speaker 1: when he starts right. When you think of offensive threats
Speaker 1: like a James Harden, like a Joel Embiide, like a
Speaker 1: Tyrese Maxie and a Tobias Harris Matisse Thible has never
Speaker 1: been relied upon for heavy offensive contributions, or at least
Speaker 1: heavy volume in his offensive contributions. But because of the
Speaker 1: way defenses have to account for a Joel A James
Speaker 1: A Tobias A Tyrese, Matisse ends up uncovered quite a bit.
Speaker 1: Good to see him and shoot when he was open
Speaker 1: from three, but also really cool to see him cutting
Speaker 1: into open space today and James Harden. Of course, with
Speaker 1: the attention Matisse Thible was already growing as a cutter
Speaker 1: and finding those open spaces, especially with Joel Embiid ahead
Speaker 1: of the acquisition of James Harden. Now he is taking
Speaker 1: even more attention away from a guy like Matise Thible.
Speaker 1: So cool to see him out there figuring it out
Speaker 1: and then of course making the defensive contributions that we
Speaker 1: are accustomed to. But Matt, what have you thought about
Speaker 1: Matis's first couple of games alongside James Harden. It's been interesting.
Speaker 1: It's been a topic that everyone is interested in the
Speaker 1: starting lineup and who's out there in the bigger minutes
Speaker 1: and all of that. Matisse finished four of six from
Speaker 1: the field, but over two from three eight points six rebounds,
Speaker 1: two assists, three steals against the Knicks. I think he
Speaker 1: provides a pretty important skill set for that group. With Harris, Embiide,
Speaker 1: Maxie and Harden, I think just generally, ball movement with
Speaker 1: Harden has been really good, and Matisse and others are
Speaker 1: going to continue to benefit from that. Looks wise, I
Speaker 1: thought early in this game when Harden was off the
Speaker 1: floor of the ball movement suffered a little bit. But
Speaker 1: that kind of is not directly talking about the starting group,
Speaker 1: but just generally, you would like to see Matisse probably
Speaker 1: like a lot of these guys, take and make a
Speaker 1: few more three pointers, just shoot the ball with confidence.
Speaker 1: But a lot of the guys who came off the bench,
Speaker 1: I would say the same thing about That's what everyone's
Speaker 1: going to talk about is shooting, and when you're playing
Speaker 1: with James Harden is shooting, catching and shooting. Marcus asked
Speaker 1: Matt what we thought about the bench performance today. A
Speaker 1: quieter outing from the bench overall, but probably because they
Speaker 1: weren't relied upon quite as much with staggered lineups as well,
Speaker 1: more starters sharing the floor with the bench. We've seen
Speaker 1: a lot of commentary about that. Doc Rivers, of course,
Speaker 1: set forth the intention to tinue playing James Harden and
Speaker 1: Joel embiide one or the other at most times, or
Speaker 1: are pairing of James, Tobias Tyrese and Joel at as
Speaker 1: much throughout as much of the game as possible. So
Speaker 1: that means that the guys that are coming off the
Speaker 1: bench aren't going to be relied on for quite as
Speaker 1: much or at quite as high of a volume. I
Speaker 1: liked what I saw today though from George Niang at
Speaker 1: the gate. He made his first two threes. He missed
Speaker 1: his next three, but because of the threat he is
Speaker 1: from beyond the arc, that's another player the defenses have
Speaker 1: to account for, regardless of who is out there on
Speaker 1: the floor. So to answer this one, I'm going to
Speaker 1: say that I liked what George Niang was able to
Speaker 1: do early. I like the way that he kept shooting throughout.
Speaker 1: I think that that pairing, the George Niang James Harden pairing.
Speaker 1: We've heard them talk about it already, especially George talking
Speaker 1: about his excitement to play alongside alongside James Harden. I'm
Speaker 1: really looking forward to watching that chemistry continue to develop,
Speaker 1: and then of course seeing the two of them get
Speaker 1: hype is another thing that we can continue to watch. Matt,
Speaker 1: what else are you seeing? I can keep rolling as well.
Speaker 1: The hype is real. It was a it was a
Speaker 1: hype game. Apologies if I repeat any if people messaged
Speaker 1: both of us from the beginning, But a lot of
Speaker 1: these moments are worth circling back to. Favorite moments from
Speaker 1: the Sixers win over the Knicks, a play, a celebration,
Speaker 1: whatever the case. Straps said the hardened reaction after ambiads
Speaker 1: and one Jack says the mbiad slam, Aaron says, love
Speaker 1: the team having fun. Favorite moment when Harden drove to
Speaker 1: the lane late in the game and had the space
Speaker 1: to easily make a floater but decided to lob it
Speaker 1: to Joel instead. So a ton of great moments from
Speaker 1: this one. And again I don't have a ton of
Speaker 1: questions the people. I mean, we've talked Tobias Harris a
Speaker 1: lot already. The people are just celebrating right now. And
Speaker 1: why wouldn't you, I agree, Matt Murphy, why wouldn't you.
Speaker 1: I've seen a lot of positivity. I wanted to shout
Speaker 1: out disgraced Space Force lieutenant first saying let's talk about
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris a little bit more. He had the best
Speaker 1: plus minus on the team today. I think this question
Speaker 1: rolled in before we talked about it. How does Tobias
Speaker 1: fit in this offense? We again, we've talked about this already,
Speaker 1: but Tobias Harris had the best plus minus on the
Speaker 1: team today plus twenty five plus twenty four last time.
Speaker 1: So to me, that's not somebody that I worry about
Speaker 1: finding his opportunities, especially when James Harden has expressed that
Speaker 1: it's going to continue to be a priority. And where
Speaker 1: as to where people fit in this offense. Again, the
Speaker 1: fact that the opposing defenses have to account for so
Speaker 1: many threats at so many different times throughout the game,
Speaker 1: not just with the starting lineup. We haven't even talked
Speaker 1: about what Danny Green is able to do as a
Speaker 1: threat off the bench. He's been coming off the bench
Speaker 1: the last few games. But some really threatening, menacing options
Speaker 1: when you when you have to think as a defense
Speaker 1: about what you are going to do. Tobias Harris, of course,
Speaker 1: is a huge part of that. Joel and B nine boards.
Speaker 1: A lot of questions about that tenth board, Matt. So
Speaker 1: we'll keep you guys posted. If people if the people
Speaker 1: at the league. The folks at the League decide to
Speaker 1: grant Joel Embiid his tenth rebound. Another shout out for
Speaker 1: the Harden Mbiad celebration, and this is a good one.
Speaker 1: This one's from Kate, who says it looks like Embiad
Speaker 1: was trying to match Harden's celebratory motion. Again, it's just chemistry.
Speaker 1: They're learning to develop chemistry together. The good thing about
Speaker 1: the Joel rebound in question and getting him do a
Speaker 1: double double is that the streak that he's on, or
Speaker 1: the main streak of focus right now in road games
Speaker 1: is just twenty five plus points. So that streak continues
Speaker 1: because he had thirty seven in large part due to
Speaker 1: the twenty three free throws, extending his franchise record streak
Speaker 1: of consecutive twenty five point games on the road to
Speaker 1: eighteen in a row. So the rebound doesn't really factor
Speaker 1: in there. But of course you want Joel Embid to
Speaker 1: rack up another double double this season. I think we've
Speaker 1: we've talked a lot about the bench lawn. I think
Speaker 1: a question that you could pose is which player or
Speaker 1: two kind of gets into a rhythm gets hot the
Speaker 1: soonest in this time period with the seventy six ers.
Speaker 1: Niang had a couple of threes early. We've talked about
Speaker 1: I think Shake Milton as he continues to work his
Speaker 1: way back. They played three guard lineups at times. I
Speaker 1: think he's a player to watch, so I would probably say,
Speaker 1: like a Shake Milton, who played seven minutes in this game,
Speaker 1: was two for three from the field. I think he
Speaker 1: might be my pick on like who gets going the
Speaker 1: soonest or figures it out the quickest playing with a
Speaker 1: new teammate or two. And of course worth noting that
Speaker 1: Shake Milton has been recently sidelined due to that back confusion.
Speaker 1: So great to see him back out on the floor,
Speaker 1: but of course now trying to get back up to
Speaker 1: speed with a new teammate as well. So shout out
Speaker 1: to Shake Milton for getting healthy and making his minutes count. Matt.
Speaker 1: Of course, we can't forget about a guy like for Concorkmas,
Speaker 1: who has been through a bit of a shooting slump
Speaker 1: this season, but has also shown up in a big
Speaker 1: way in a few of the Sixers games. I'm thinking
Speaker 1: most notably about their win in Milwaukee just over a
Speaker 1: week ago. And I think when you talk about the
Speaker 1: bench you got to consider the fact that when a
Speaker 1: trio of players is able to reach about ninety points
Speaker 1: in your starting lineup, you're not going to be relied
Speaker 1: upon for tremendous volume from your other options. But what
Speaker 1: you do need to rely on is a threat from
Speaker 1: those options, and these seventy sixers have shown that there
Speaker 1: is no shortage of threats across the roster. Matt, do
Speaker 1: you have other questions. I'm trying to find that I
Speaker 1: got a lot at the beginning, and I don't want
Speaker 1: to miss anybody. I have a lot of comments about
Speaker 1: the no look pass early in the game from James
Speaker 1: Harden to Joel In transition, Mary identified that as a
Speaker 1: top moment, favorite moment. John says favorite moment hard and
Speaker 1: no look to Joel dunk in the first half. That
Speaker 1: was All Star game, Like we say it a lot,
Speaker 1: like these are NBA All Stars multiple time, five time
Speaker 1: for Joel, ten for Harden in a regular season game
Speaker 1: doing these types of things and Harden kind of leaning
Speaker 1: into the defender. I believe it was RJ. Barrett and
Speaker 1: dropping it off for MBAD. I'll drop that play at
Speaker 1: the top of the space in our game reaction space
Speaker 1: right now, you can click on the Sixers tweet. I
Speaker 1: love that about spaces you can kind of navigate around,
Speaker 1: keep us on, get your questions in, and listen for
Speaker 1: the answer. But that play was pretty cool. As a
Speaker 1: Sixers supporter, I think most would say totally legal of
Speaker 1: James to kind of push into the defender a little
Speaker 1: bit and lead block for Joel that that was a
Speaker 1: fun one. Jay and T both asked me the same
Speaker 1: exact question, a question I've never gotten before, Matt, and
Speaker 1: I'm curious to hear what you think again. Shout out
Speaker 1: to Jay and JOHNNYT for a very funny one for me.
Speaker 1: Are actually sorry, Jay and MVP Jalen my bad. How
Speaker 1: bored do you get watching the games? What an interesting
Speaker 1: question to get twice today. I have not been bored
Speaker 1: whatsoever over these past couple of games, especially watching new rotations,
Speaker 1: new combinations of players. That's sort of one of my
Speaker 1: favorite things to watch is chemistry developing and guys maybe
Speaker 1: failing in moments and then figuring out how to learn
Speaker 1: from those failures or learn from those missus or miss ques.
Speaker 1: That's something that I'm going to continue to enjoy throughout
Speaker 1: the rest of the regular season. Not Unlike Matt, what
Speaker 1: we've talked about with the players, Usually there's a little
Speaker 1: bit of a lull in the regular season towards the end.
Speaker 1: I am not feeling that whatsoever. I feel like there's
Speaker 1: a lot to watch, a lot to be excited about,
Speaker 1: and a lot to learn when it comes to James
Speaker 1: Harden's game and the way that he changes everything about
Speaker 1: this team's game. Matt, to you ever get bored watching
Speaker 1: the games, Lauren, you cut out there a little bit
Speaker 1: at the end. But I heard the question. That question,
Speaker 1: and the fact that you've got it multiple times has
Speaker 1: to be because of all the free throws, right? Is
Speaker 1: that what's being implied? So? I would have imagined so.
Speaker 1: But they don't bother me whatsoever. It gives me a
Speaker 1: second to look down at the stats and figure out
Speaker 1: what else is going on. Thirty nine for forty four
Speaker 1: from the line the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in the
Speaker 1: one twenty five one O nine win over the Knicks
Speaker 1: thirty seven and twenty three record Now for the Sixers,
Speaker 1: the thirty nine made free throws the most for any
Speaker 1: any NBA team in a single game so far this season.
Speaker 1: Forty four attempts ties the most taken by a team,
Speaker 1: So no, I don't get bored during these games. You
Speaker 1: never know what James Harden's going to do. You never
Speaker 1: know what Joel Embiid's gonna do. Tyrese Maxie always has
Speaker 1: a smile on his face. Watching them develop as a
Speaker 1: group is going to be must watch TV for the
Speaker 1: regular season and beyond. I think with the free throws,
Speaker 1: if anything, it gives you a chance to kind of
Speaker 1: take a breath. I like that in an NBA game.
Speaker 1: I look forward to timeouts. Not that the pace is
Speaker 1: always super high in these sixers games, but just generally,
Speaker 1: if you want to catch up on tweets, or you
Speaker 1: want to like viewing tweets, or you want to do
Speaker 1: something cut a highlight or make a graphic, or think
Speaker 1: about what tweet you want to send out on your own.
Speaker 1: I think the more trips to the line, Sure the
Speaker 1: game might last longer, but you can kind of reset,
Speaker 1: and there's so many people locked into every play of
Speaker 1: these games. I think more resets are a little bit better.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's a perk, Matt, you and I might need
Speaker 1: to purchase some real estate in this spin zone of
Speaker 1: what it means to have players going to the line
Speaker 1: as frequently and as heavily as they are going to
Speaker 1: This is Hey, this is from a G League broadcaster
Speaker 1: who They only take one free throw per trip in
Speaker 1: the G League, and it counts for two or three
Speaker 1: points unless it's an and one opportunity. So we don't
Speaker 1: even have time to put up graphics on the telecast
Speaker 1: when players are at the line because their trips are
Speaker 1: so short. So maybe that's part of the reason why
Speaker 1: I'm soaking these free throws. In a comment on the
Speaker 1: free throws from clown Baby, you guys are cracking me
Speaker 1: up with these names. Today, clown Babies Sixers made their
Speaker 1: free throws, the Nix didn't. That's a key point as
Speaker 1: to how the Sixers were able to win. People might
Speaker 1: hate on it, but it's important that we have guys
Speaker 1: that can consistently knock them down. It's a great point.
Speaker 1: Shooting over eighty percent from the free throw line in
Speaker 1: both of the first two games with James Harden, notably
Speaker 1: today eighty eight point six percent from the line four
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers thirty nine for forty four from the
Speaker 1: free throw line in this game. Such a great point.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that one and Matt I think it's interesting
Speaker 1: to also consider what this means about the way that
Speaker 1: the change in pace is really going to continue. The
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers among the top free throws shoot teams in
Speaker 1: the league, but the Houston Rockets were the leading free
Speaker 1: throw shooting team thus far this season. They averaged twenty
Speaker 1: five a game. Again, the Sixers today forty four free throws,
Speaker 1: and that of course is a little bit higher than
Speaker 1: what they were able to do in James Harden's first
Speaker 1: contest as a Sixer, but they still shot thirty six
Speaker 1: against the Minnesota Timberwolf. So definitely something to watch and
Speaker 1: whether you love it or you hate it, it is threatening,
Speaker 1: it is menacing, It is going to drive other teams crazy,
Speaker 1: and if you're a Sixers fan, you got to be
Speaker 1: excited about that. The most exciting part for Jersey Rain
Speaker 1: was watching Maxie step back three. Says, I really enjoy
Speaker 1: watching him play in his more natural position. Maxie has
Speaker 1: been getting buckets in the first two games alongside James Harden.
Speaker 1: That wasn't their comment. That was my own little ad
Speaker 1: in there at the end. But favorite part for Jersey
Speaker 1: Rain was the Maxie step back three. That was also
Speaker 1: my favorite moment, Homie. Samuel favorite moment of the game
Speaker 1: had to be that big dunk in the fourth quarter
Speaker 1: when Harden and Embiid ran the court and Joel was
Speaker 1: swinging on the rim. Thanks for all the input here.
Speaker 1: Love all of this and another takeaway, Lauren, A little
Speaker 1: under the radar that I'm gonna put on the table.
Speaker 1: I still have to work on my research when it
Speaker 1: comes to Tyrese Maxie's performance in City Edition uniforms, but
Speaker 1: I feel like he scores scores better in the City Edition,
Speaker 1: and then it was the first look that this is
Speaker 1: one of your things, and he was really I mean,
Speaker 1: Maxie was really on pace for a big scoring day.
Speaker 1: Maybe netting out to twenty one doesn't help my research
Speaker 1: all that much because it's not that far off his
Speaker 1: overall scoring average, but it was the first look at
Speaker 1: James Harden playing in this year's Sixer's City Edition. I
Speaker 1: think it suits him quite well, and he had a
Speaker 1: triple double, so he's off to a good start statistically
Speaker 1: in the spectrum themed uniforms. Matt, I'm gonna be honest,
Speaker 1: if you're going to keep alluding to this elusive step,
Speaker 1: you might actually have to do some research on it,
Speaker 1: and I would be very curious to see what you
Speaker 1: would find because I'm starting to notice the trend. I'm
Speaker 1: starting to make that same connection that you had. So Matt,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna wait for you. But the end of the season,
Speaker 1: is that the deadline? Sure, I'd love to hear. I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear anytime between today and the end of
Speaker 1: the season, and I look forward to hearing what you
Speaker 1: were able to find this question or rather a comment
Speaker 1: from Carol from Nairobi. Again, shout out to the international listeners.
Speaker 1: You guys are the best lots of Australia presence, even
Speaker 1: though the Australians told us after the last game that
Speaker 1: a day game was going to be challenging because it
Speaker 1: is the middle of the night there. So if you're
Speaker 1: still listening, shout out to the Perth squad. We really
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys. And a reminder that this will be
Speaker 1: available on the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast feed as well,
Speaker 1: So if you want to go to bed, if you're
Speaker 1: listening that internationally and you're worried you're going to miss out,
Speaker 1: you're not. It's gonna be okay. Matt Murphy does an
Speaker 1: amazing job up keeping the seventy six ers Insiders podcast feeds,
Speaker 1: so make sure you're following that wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Almost all of these spaces end up there at some point.
Speaker 1: But anyway, back to Carol from Nairobi, I loved watching
Speaker 1: the game more because it was actually at nine PM
Speaker 1: my time, the opposite of what I just said. I'm
Speaker 1: so hyped by the win and it's one am and
Speaker 1: I'm still awake watching highlights and listening to this space.
Speaker 1: Thank you for staying awake and listening to this space.
Speaker 1: My best moments were many, but I loved the Maxi
Speaker 1: celebration and the m Beard celebration when mbid got the
Speaker 1: N one Matt, I think I'm all in on m Beard.
Speaker 1: I don't mind that whatsoever. All in on what was
Speaker 1: that on Mbard? The nickname emb e a r D
Speaker 1: for James and Joel. Your thoughts. I like it. I'm
Speaker 1: not over the moon with it. I guess it has
Speaker 1: to grow on me. I do like It's not bad,
Speaker 1: but so thanks for that. I think we might not
Speaker 1: be able to get to everybody's favorite moment today, but
Speaker 1: a couple days without a game to sort of reminisce
Speaker 1: on these moments and see what people had to say.
Speaker 1: We can always carry them over to the next spaces.
Speaker 1: We do these after Sixers wins, trying something a little
Speaker 1: different instead of the morning following the game, going with
Speaker 1: the immediate reaction to the Sixers win in New York
Speaker 1: against the Knicks that got them to thirty seven and
Speaker 1: twenty three. They'll have the Knicks again, but in South
Speaker 1: Philadelphia on Wednesday at seven thirty Eastern. Any final closing
Speaker 1: thoughts from you, Lauren. I'm just excited about what's to come,
Speaker 1: Matt Murphy and and how could we not be really cool?
Speaker 1: First two appearances for James Harden one thirty three to
Speaker 1: one o two against the Timberwolves for the first stop
Speaker 1: of this two game road trip. On the second stop
Speaker 1: one twenty five to one oh nine over the New
Speaker 1: York Knicks at the Home and Home. As you mentioned,
Speaker 1: so the Knicks now join the Sixers on their way
Speaker 1: to South Philadelphia. You'd imagine the Sixers will get here
Speaker 1: a little bit quicker, of course, but that one will
Speaker 1: be on Wednesday night at the Center. Matt, I will
Speaker 1: see you there. I'm hoping to see lots of listeners
Speaker 1: there as well. I'm so looking forward to what is
Speaker 1: to come. There will be challenges, there will be ups
Speaker 1: and downs, but this is exciting. It's an awesome time
Speaker 1: to be a Sixers fan or to be part of
Speaker 1: the Sixers family. I look forward to doing more of
Speaker 1: these you, Matt Murphy again, for those listening. We do
Speaker 1: these after every Sixers wins. We will hope to do
Speaker 1: quite a few more throughout the regular season, into the
Speaker 1: playoffs and beyond. Follow the seventy Sixers Insider Feed. If
Speaker 1: you're not already follow The Big Niang Theory. I know
Speaker 1: I've heard at seeing all your questions about whether or
Speaker 1: not James Harden is coming on The Big Niang Theory.
Speaker 1: It's a great question. It's a question I share, and
Speaker 1: it's a question that I am hoping to answer expeditiously
Speaker 1: for you guys. But that's George Niang's podcast, The Big
Speaker 1: Niang Theory. He does a great job on that feed
Speaker 1: right now. There are long form interviews, will work on
Speaker 1: Quartermath Tires, Maxie Matistible and of course George Kings as well.
Speaker 1: So it's interested in learning more about your favorite Sixers,
Speaker 1: make sure you do that. We're hoping to report a
Speaker 1: couple more in the next couple of weeks with some
Speaker 1: highly requested guests. That's all I would say, but looking
Speaker 1: forward to sharing more of those stories with you guys.
Speaker 1: Matt Murphy, thank you for doing this as always. Thank
Speaker 1: you too, Julian Becca, our social team that keep the
Speaker 1: train on the tracks for these Twitter spaces. Matt, I
Speaker 1: think that's all I got. That's all we got. James Garden,
Speaker 1: Harden at the Garden, whatever you want to say, triple
Speaker 1: double four James Harden and in the Sixers win over
Speaker 1: the Knicks. We look forward to talking with everyone again
Speaker 1: after the next Sixers win. Thanks for being here live
Speaker 1: or in podcast form, if that's how you're hearing this
Speaker 1: right this very second. Appreciate everyone out there as always
Speaker 1: for rocking with us on six Ers Twitter spaces. Appreciate
Speaker 1: Lauren Rosen and our whole team. I'm Matt Murphy. We
Speaker 1: will talk to you next time.