Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. The
Speaker 1: seventy sixers are back from the All Star Break at
Speaker 1: they seem ready to make a push down the home stretch.
Speaker 1: Can go off to a great start with an inspired
Speaker 1: winn in Chicago, and you look ahead at what's to
Speaker 1: come the rest of the way. Plus we talk about
Speaker 1: the Blue Coats and the significance of having a good
Speaker 1: G League team. I'm Lauren Rosen, I'm Devon Gibbons, and
Speaker 1: I'm Brian Seltzer. It's a Friday, so we're gonna dive deep.
Speaker 1: That's what we do on the seventy Sixers Podcast Network. Guys,
Speaker 1: great to be talking with you. I feel like it's
Speaker 1: been much longer than a week off. I'm ready ready
Speaker 1: to dive into the second half of the season. Roll call,
Speaker 1: How are we doing? Let's start with you, Devon, what's up?
Speaker 1: Give me something that went on good for you during
Speaker 1: the All Star break? Oh, great to be back with you,
Speaker 1: guys doing the All Star break. I'll tell you what
Speaker 1: was fantastic. The rest that that's what was fantastic for me,
Speaker 1: the rest being able to kind of kick back and
Speaker 1: just enjoy everything, whether it be college basketball, get ready
Speaker 1: for the All Star weekend. But it was really the
Speaker 1: rest that stood out for me. So yeah, that's exciting
Speaker 1: for me in my world. I think Doc Rivers talked
Speaker 1: about this, and it's true. You don't necessarily even need
Speaker 1: to be away physically. It's if your mind can kind
Speaker 1: of take a break. And I'll say it, at least
Speaker 1: from my standpoint, what I do comes nowhere near close
Speaker 1: to the stress level of probably what Doc Rivers does.
Speaker 1: But just knowing that there were like six straight days
Speaker 1: in the schedule where I didn't have to think about
Speaker 1: much or be up a little bit late, whatever it was,
Speaker 1: it was nice. I felt refreshed. I feel refreshed. I
Speaker 1: may not look at or sound you should, but I
Speaker 1: feel it. You look great, you look great. I do appreciate.
Speaker 1: I will take those warm fuzzies. Okay, whenever they come, Lauren,
Speaker 1: what about you? Highlights from your break? The listener can't
Speaker 1: see me. I don't look as refreshed live. I did
Speaker 1: a lot. I actually worked pretty hard on a feature
Speaker 1: over the break that ended up taking up a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of my time, and I was very
Speaker 1: excited about it. So if you're listening and you're interested
Speaker 1: in the vibes, I would encourage you to head to
Speaker 1: sixers dot com, um poor to my Twitter and check
Speaker 1: out the feature that we were released today, because it
Speaker 1: was really cool to learn some behind the scenes stuff
Speaker 1: that's going on this year, especially when we don't have
Speaker 1: a lot of opportunities as media to see what's going
Speaker 1: on behind the scenes. And there's a lot of good
Speaker 1: stuff going on behind the scenes. So while I didn't
Speaker 1: get as much ressed as I wanted to, I was
Speaker 1: really happy to crank that out and I hope everybody
Speaker 1: enjoys it. We've discussed this before. Lauren Rosen is unquestionably
Speaker 1: the undisputed expert of the seventy sixers vibe beat, and
Speaker 1: there is no bigger story about Sixers Vibes than the
Speaker 1: new feature that Lauren just referenced, good vibes only it's awesome.
Speaker 1: Tell the audience a little bit more, Larne. I know
Speaker 1: you gave a little multies before we dive in on
Speaker 1: this Friday deep dive. Give us a little bit more
Speaker 1: of what we can expect from this feature. Sure, So,
Speaker 1: I guess all you really need to know is is
Speaker 1: that obviously, due to health and safety protocols, this team
Speaker 1: doesn't have a lot of opportunities to bond off court
Speaker 1: and NBA teams traditionally have the opportunity to have team dinners,
Speaker 1: to spend time at each other's homes, to celebrate wins,
Speaker 1: to discuss losses, and all of that has pretty much
Speaker 1: been eliminated this year because of health and safety protocols
Speaker 1: and how little time these guys can spend together. But
Speaker 1: these are This is a group of guys genuinely really
Speaker 1: enjoys each other and and something that proves how much
Speaker 1: they're enjoying each other is the concept of the postgame party,
Speaker 1: which is what they do after wins. It is It
Speaker 1: sounds like a party, It might kind of smell like
Speaker 1: a party, but really it's it's a session in the
Speaker 1: weight room where the guys just go let off steam
Speaker 1: after games and enjoy one another's company, listen to music,
Speaker 1: and get better. They're lifting weights, but they're they're turning
Speaker 1: it into a party. They call it the postgame party.
Speaker 1: I did not name it that. This is something known
Speaker 1: as the postgame party. And at the party, they compete
Speaker 1: for the big energy chain. There are some photos now
Speaker 1: circulating of Isaiah Joe and Danny Green, the first two
Speaker 1: winners of the Big Energy chain. So if you're interested
Speaker 1: in good vibes postgame parties, the VIP section that Danny
Speaker 1: Green has, the VIP section that Joel Embiid has at
Speaker 1: the postgame party, definitely check it out. It's tremendous. I
Speaker 1: like that analogy that the smells are probably similar between
Speaker 1: the seventy six ers weight room party and just a
Speaker 1: general party that you might go to. I can I
Speaker 1: want to say, I can see that, but I can
Speaker 1: smell that. I get your old factory implications. I mean,
Speaker 1: if I'm being honest, if you walk in there and
Speaker 1: close your eyes right, it could be a party, and
Speaker 1: it's It was really cool. I talked to guys sort
Speaker 1: of across the roster, the three guys featured predominantly in
Speaker 1: this one or Danny Green, Isaiah Joe, and Matisse's Bible,
Speaker 1: all of whom have very different roles in the team.
Speaker 1: They represent different spec places rather on the age range
Speaker 1: of this team, and they all have really different personalities
Speaker 1: as well, and so it was cool to hear from
Speaker 1: all three of them that are all enjoying this thing
Speaker 1: that they're doing together despite having different personalities, different likes
Speaker 1: and dislikes, and different vibes, but they all feed into
Speaker 1: the good vibes that this team is really relying on
Speaker 1: this year. We're definitely going to dive into what the
Speaker 1: second half of the season has in store, at least
Speaker 1: what we presume the second half of the season has
Speaker 1: in store for the seventy six ers, and talk about
Speaker 1: what it means to have a successful G League program
Speaker 1: based on the great season that the Delaware Bluecoats had.
Speaker 1: I don't want to spend too much time on this.
Speaker 1: I feel like we have to address it because who's
Speaker 1: not addressing it. It's now three hundred and sixty six
Speaker 1: days since the NBA season was suspended and virtually the
Speaker 1: entire country went into a lockdown, shut down, our new
Speaker 1: pandemic life operating on Zoom, socializing and interacting virtually all
Speaker 1: that stuff. Do you guys, have any thought, a thought
Speaker 1: about anything related to what your last year has been
Speaker 1: like since all this happened. I mean, you know what,
Speaker 1: I'll be honest. I'll start this off. I was on
Speaker 1: the air when the announcement was made, and I don't
Speaker 1: remember anything about I remember what I was feeling when
Speaker 1: that news broke the NBA season was being suspended. I
Speaker 1: don't necessarily remember what I said or anything like that.
Speaker 1: I was like, should I go back and listen to that?
Speaker 1: I was like, Yeah, what's the point? I mean, we
Speaker 1: all know this was kind of a I could use
Speaker 1: a lot more like honest and authentic chords here, but
Speaker 1: I'm gonna use air quotes. Not great year for a
Speaker 1: lot of reasons, And I think my takeaway is like,
Speaker 1: I've just tried to look forward, ma'am. You know, just
Speaker 1: keep it, keep it moving forward. You know, I'm fortunate
Speaker 1: that I've not been affected as severely as perhaps some
Speaker 1: people out there by all of this. But I think
Speaker 1: it's just all about looking forward for me, focusing on
Speaker 1: the basics. Like one thing I've tried to say throughout
Speaker 1: the last year is like, if people say, hey, how
Speaker 1: are you doing, I'm like, I'm living, breathing, I'm employed,
Speaker 1: and my wife and kids tolerate me. So that's it.
Speaker 1: I'm not asking for much more, so I'm just looking forward.
Speaker 1: That's it. I want to look keep it moving forward.
Speaker 1: You know. I actually went back on Wednesday before I
Speaker 1: did my show, on the year and kind of reflected
Speaker 1: on the year, and so it's part of the thing
Speaker 1: that I did was to re air the first minute
Speaker 1: of your postgame show by Pistons to night here at
Speaker 1: the Center in South Philadelphia, one twenty four to one
Speaker 1: oh six. I'm Brian Seltzer. But literally within the last minute,
Speaker 1: we have breaking news. This is official from the NBA
Speaker 1: from their public relations official Twitter account. The NBA is
Speaker 1: suspending the season following what happened tonight in Oklahoma City.
Speaker 1: Here's the background. This is from an official release from
Speaker 1: the end. When the news came down. You read the
Speaker 1: press release from the league stating what was going on
Speaker 1: in Oklahoma City and what needed to happen for the
Speaker 1: remainder of the night. You and I were doing this
Speaker 1: from inside the arena pregame. We talked about it in
Speaker 1: the final segment just a little bit. And if you
Speaker 1: also remember Ben Simmons was just dealing with the back injury, right,
Speaker 1: so he was out and we were wondering, well, I
Speaker 1: openly wonder if you know, a week or two shut
Speaker 1: down the NBA season to get this thing under control
Speaker 1: wouldn't be too bad to make sure that we're ready
Speaker 1: for the postseason run. A little did we know that
Speaker 1: we would have to reconvene inside of a bubble in
Speaker 1: Orlando and fans would no longer be in the building.
Speaker 1: The final thing I remember in Laren I'm sure you
Speaker 1: remember this too, is we talked about, all right, they're
Speaker 1: on the road on Friday, after this Wednesday game against
Speaker 1: Detroit Saturday, we had already started to hear there's a
Speaker 1: chance that there would be no fans in the building.
Speaker 1: But the game where we played on Saturday, sous I
Speaker 1: remember saying to you, man, I think I might want
Speaker 1: to come just to see what it's like in an
Speaker 1: NBA game. And we did not have a chance at
Speaker 1: that time, but we had a chance this season as
Speaker 1: we started off with no fans in the building. So
Speaker 1: that's what I remember. I don't like it, and I
Speaker 1: can't stand that we're here, but hopefully we get things
Speaker 1: back to normal. Was close to normal was possible very soon.
Speaker 1: So those are my memories starting from March eleventh, which
Speaker 1: was a Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. I remember the
Speaker 1: first few weeks of content that we had to do
Speaker 1: during the shutdown, so probably between March eleventh and March
Speaker 1: twenty fifth. I remember saying that I was struggling to
Speaker 1: wrap my head around everything that was going on. Like
Speaker 1: that felt like the best way to articulate how I
Speaker 1: was feeling that I couldn't wrap my head around what
Speaker 1: was going on. And now we're a year into it,
Speaker 1: and I still really can't wrap my head around everything
Speaker 1: that's gone on, honestly, and I admire both of you
Speaker 1: for all positivity that you're bringing to the table. Selt,
Speaker 1: especially you, and I spoke a little bit earlier about
Speaker 1: about maintaining a positive attitude and how important that is
Speaker 1: during a time like this. I don't think I've handled
Speaker 1: it quite as well as you guys have. I really
Speaker 1: miss what life looked like before this. I miss my
Speaker 1: family is in Houston. My closest friends are far west
Speaker 1: from from where we are right now, So I just
Speaker 1: miss seeing my people. Professionally, I miss seeing my people.
Speaker 1: I love getting to interact with our players and our
Speaker 1: coaching staff and my colleagues. I mean, I haven't even
Speaker 1: met this coaching staff in person, which is crazy when
Speaker 1: you look back at what my job looked like a
Speaker 1: year ago, to have never met I mean, I met
Speaker 1: Dave Yeager over zoom with thirty other reporters last night
Speaker 1: in Chicago because he was filling in for a non
Speaker 1: COVID related illness sale doc rivers and that was really interesting.
Speaker 1: I mean, this staff has been in place for almost
Speaker 1: six months now and we haven't met them, so I
Speaker 1: really miss seeing people in person. I wish that the
Speaker 1: three of us could do this in person. I feel
Speaker 1: that the light at the end of the tunnel has
Speaker 1: been turned on, which is such a relief. I don't
Speaker 1: know how quickly we're approaching it, but for a while
Speaker 1: it wasn't even turned on. And I'm glad that it
Speaker 1: looks like things are starting to trend in a positive
Speaker 1: direction after what's just been a really awful year for
Speaker 1: a lot of people. But I am glad that that
Speaker 1: we get to share this time and that we get
Speaker 1: to work in jobs that are so much fun as
Speaker 1: opposed to I mean this year especially, you see the
Speaker 1: people that have real careers, right, the folks that are
Speaker 1: that were on the front lines while while I was
Speaker 1: covering the bubble. I mean, like it really puts things
Speaker 1: in perspective. So shouts to those people. Gratitude to those people,
Speaker 1: Gratitude to you guys, and hopefully we can start moving
Speaker 1: towards that light. The one thing that's amazing is how
Speaker 1: quickly and devon you touch upon this. It went from
Speaker 1: maybe this is only going to be a shutdown for
Speaker 1: a week, couple weeks, maybe a month, to yeah, when
Speaker 1: is it ever going to end? What is the end
Speaker 1: of this tunnel? But somehow there are parts of life
Speaker 1: that did resume and have been carried out differently but
Speaker 1: still giving us something. And I think, depending on how
Speaker 1: you look at things, the NBA and professional sports is
Speaker 1: one of those things where for people who do have
Speaker 1: to deal with and I'm only speaking for myself, a
Speaker 1: lot more serious stuff on a day to day than
Speaker 1: I do, this game sport can be a diversion, a distraction,
Speaker 1: and I definitely feel like the longer all of this
Speaker 1: lingered and hung over us, the more necessary it was
Speaker 1: to have these sorts of things in our lives we
Speaker 1: can look forward to and feel good about and listen,
Speaker 1: I think I do think that we're just only speaking
Speaker 1: as far as like NBA stuff here on this podcast,
Speaker 1: But like all right, players in the league, sixer is
Speaker 1: like shout out, like I'm saying, I know they get
Speaker 1: paid a lot, but like this is human issue stuff.
Speaker 1: Good for the players, the coaches, everyone, like they've put
Speaker 1: themselves at risk, especially in this restarted the start to
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty twenty one season differ than the bubble
Speaker 1: traveling around all that stuff. Like everyone's for the most part,
Speaker 1: had to make sacrifices regardless of what it is that
Speaker 1: you do. And I think that you can point to
Speaker 1: examples in every professional walk of life and certainly local
Speaker 1: to the NBA and the seventy six ers itself. Yep.
Speaker 1: I never thought we would be in this position for
Speaker 1: this long and just having to live through it. And
Speaker 1: trust me, Lauren, You're not alone with how you were feeling.
Speaker 1: It's just kind of accepted for what it is and
Speaker 1: just try to keep pushing forward because of the other part,
Speaker 1: which is the personal part of it, and obviously so
Speaker 1: many people that have been affected by the professional side
Speaker 1: of things as well. So I'm glad that we have
Speaker 1: still been able to do this despite the fact that
Speaker 1: we are not able to be face to face, but
Speaker 1: I look forward to the time that we are able
Speaker 1: to gel back in there and through these face to
Speaker 1: face Yeah, it's interesting. I feel like my perspective on
Speaker 1: everything has changed over the last year or so. But
Speaker 1: it's really hard to balance optimism and gratitude for all
Speaker 1: that we can still have as as people with jobs
Speaker 1: and with homes, And I mean like that I can't
Speaker 1: express my gratitude enough while also understanding how hard this
Speaker 1: has been for people, for people's physical health, for people's
Speaker 1: mental health. You want to be optimistic, you want to
Speaker 1: be positive, but you also need to be understanding of
Speaker 1: what people have gone through. I mean, again, I said
Speaker 1: it already, but like, it's just so hard to wrap
Speaker 1: your head around everything that's happened and how it's impacted
Speaker 1: every individual person on this planet literally. So yeah, now
Speaker 1: we're getting a little far from the Sixers for my liking.
Speaker 1: But but I appreciate you guys being willing to have
Speaker 1: a talk like this, no doubt. Yeah, I was scrolling
Speaker 1: through my phone and I'd forgotten that I took a
Speaker 1: video of I think it was the final seconds of
Speaker 1: the game they played against the Pistons. Who can forget
Speaker 1: at the great dunk that Mike Scott had in that game,
Speaker 1: But yeah, I recorded, I guess for whatever reason, probably
Speaker 1: anticipating that it might be the last time we'd be
Speaker 1: in the building for a while with fans just the
Speaker 1: final twenty seconds this time around off the clock from
Speaker 1: the win over the Pistons last March eleventh, And it's
Speaker 1: amazing how I did remember feeling like there were so
Speaker 1: few fans relative to the sellout after sellout after sellout
Speaker 1: crowds the Sixers brought in and seeing the building half full,
Speaker 1: and it was like, Wow, I haven't seen that since
Speaker 1: like maybe the ten win season. But then looking at
Speaker 1: it now and being like, geez, that would be consider
Speaker 1: a sellout of all sellouts under our current worldview, you know,
Speaker 1: to have that many people in there. But I am
Speaker 1: happy for the fans that they've had this to look
Speaker 1: forward to. And I know that for some fans it's
Speaker 1: going to be a really big deal to get back
Speaker 1: into the Center on Sunday when the Spurs come to town.
Speaker 1: I know there's probably a school of thought that's like, well,
Speaker 1: how loud can three thousand, one hundred fans b But
Speaker 1: I would put my money on the seventy six Ers
Speaker 1: fans being the most energized and engaged thirty one hundred
Speaker 1: or fifteen percent capacity of a building that you could
Speaker 1: find in the NBA, So I think that'll be a
Speaker 1: really neat dynamic on Sunday. Moving on, we dove deep.
Speaker 1: That was deep, like that was it was the deep
Speaker 1: that might be some of the deepest of the deep.
Speaker 1: I felt cleansing in part for me somewhat. Mostly it
Speaker 1: was helpful, you know, else was helpful seeing the great run.
Speaker 1: How about this the old pandemic segue into talking about
Speaker 1: the G League bubble. It's a podcasting fundamental skill that
Speaker 1: you have to have. Segueing from pandemic to G League talk.
Speaker 1: Delaware Bluecoats had a great run in Orlando. Awesome to
Speaker 1: follow that filled some nights from me during the All
Speaker 1: Star break. That might be too revealing of an insight
Speaker 1: into what type of life I have, even when the
Speaker 1: sport is supposed to be on break. But it was
Speaker 1: really enjoyable seeing the boost Isaiah Joe gave the squad
Speaker 1: and listen. I think that when you look at what
Speaker 1: a development program is supposed to be, the most important
Speaker 1: thing is development. But if you can win while also
Speaker 1: doing that, then that's the holy Grail and the Blue
Speaker 1: Coach were able to strike that balance in a great
Speaker 1: way over the last couple of weeks down in that
Speaker 1: Orlando bubble. Yeah, that is and to see, as you said,
Speaker 1: Isaiah Joe just to go fit in seamlessly with the team,
Speaker 1: Paul Ree MVP level play as they talked about there,
Speaker 1: the coach that coach Connor Johnson, the work that he's
Speaker 1: been able to do, and just implementing everything with all
Speaker 1: of those players and they have the team has different
Speaker 1: types of players, so it all just blends very well.
Speaker 1: And once you start winning, as we know, the thing
Speaker 1: just becomes contagious and you buy into your roles and
Speaker 1: you understand what needs to happen. And even when Isaiah
Speaker 1: Joe comes to the team and he joins in the bubble,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure he wanted to, you know, but he
Speaker 1: got to work in. He wanted to be with the
Speaker 1: big club, but he got to work in. It really
Speaker 1: miss any time. So that's what was important. And for
Speaker 1: them to make the run that they have in Orlando
Speaker 1: and build their chemistry and the camaraderie that they've had,
Speaker 1: it's really good to see and it only helps with
Speaker 1: the overall program, the organization of the seventy sixers and
Speaker 1: what the lower tier players could eventually turn into with
Speaker 1: smaller things when they look back to a situation in
Speaker 1: a place like this. So good on them for the
Speaker 1: work that they did. And they entertained this as well,
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. And it was really cool to
Speaker 1: see Isaiah Joe go down there, really cool to see
Speaker 1: Paul Reid just absolutely dominate the G League bubble or
Speaker 1: the gubble as they're calling it. It's been awesome. And
Speaker 1: then I'll add it was really cool to ask both
Speaker 1: Daveyager and Danny Green. I asked them about it on
Speaker 1: Wednesday night in Chicago, and they said that they're watching,
Speaker 1: They're excited for these guys. They've they've enjoyed watching them succeed.
Speaker 1: I know that Isaiah and Paul and probably Rajon Tucker
Speaker 1: as well, but Isaiah and Paul specifically still in the
Speaker 1: group chat with the upper team, I guess you'd say.
Speaker 1: And it's been cool to see how these teams really
Speaker 1: do support each other and how successful this system that
Speaker 1: the team has really put a lot of emphasis on
Speaker 1: over the last few years, how successful this system has become.
Speaker 1: The impressive thing is is that, yes, to win at
Speaker 1: the level of the Blue Coats sit down there, it
Speaker 1: requires team basketball and you need to play team basketball.
Speaker 1: But I also feel like a lot of these G
Speaker 1: League teams, the Blue Coats being one of them, they
Speaker 1: don't make a secret about who some of the top
Speaker 1: priority guys are. And of course you're talking about two
Speaker 1: way players like Read and Ray John Tucker. And when
Speaker 1: you send Isaiah Joe down there, he's taken someone's minutes.
Speaker 1: He's in there, and he is a featured part of
Speaker 1: what the Blue Coats are doing, So he's taking someone
Speaker 1: minutes away. Yet at the same time they were able
Speaker 1: to come together and go on this great push towards
Speaker 1: a championship. As far as Paul Reid is concerned, obviously,
Speaker 1: the question everyone asks, if he puts up numbers like that,
Speaker 1: what can you do at the NBA level? What do
Speaker 1: you think? I'm still a little unsure as of right now.
Speaker 1: He did struggle a bit when he had the opportunity
Speaker 1: to play early on in the season, when so many
Speaker 1: players miss time due to the coronavirus. You know, Hitt
Speaker 1: in the locker room, there are a few weeks back.
Speaker 1: It's encouraging to see him play. I just don't I'm
Speaker 1: just not sure until we actually see him do it
Speaker 1: on the NBA level, I still have, you know, just
Speaker 1: a little bit of questions. He's still a young player.
Speaker 1: There's a lot to it. We're talking about a second
Speaker 1: half run with the top team in the Eastern Conference
Speaker 1: where you want to see the number one seed lockdown.
Speaker 1: You don't want to fall too far down in the
Speaker 1: event that it does happen to go on a backwards
Speaker 1: slide a bit, so I a little bit of a
Speaker 1: cop out answer. I don't know yet when it comes
Speaker 1: to Paul Reid, the energy, the things that he brings
Speaker 1: to the table, sure it can help. How much of
Speaker 1: that has changed. How much of that experience is now
Speaker 1: going to just bust out there and burst onto the
Speaker 1: scene on the NBA level when he does, in fact,
Speaker 1: if he in fact gets the call up to the
Speaker 1: big squad. I think for sure you can make the
Speaker 1: case that the G League is the second best and
Speaker 1: closing in perhaps in the second best professional league in
Speaker 1: the world over in Europe EuroLeague ACB really good. G
Speaker 1: League is attracting and bringing in more and more talent.
Speaker 1: You know, the NBA is investing in the G League,
Speaker 1: trying to make it the second best league in the world.
Speaker 1: With what they did with that G League Ignite team
Speaker 1: that was down there in the bubble. But it is
Speaker 1: a totally different game between the NBA and the G League.
Speaker 1: And I think, more than anything, Laaren, one of the
Speaker 1: obstacles for Paul Reid to get some minutes to the
Speaker 1: Sixers is, even though it's only been half a season
Speaker 1: and a shorter half season than what a traditional year
Speaker 1: would be, there are some things that are in place
Speaker 1: for the Sixers. We know what the Sixers are gunning for,
Speaker 1: and if any moves come down the pike in ten
Speaker 1: days to two weeks, that player is going to be
Speaker 1: the one who's priorities whatever minutes are left over. And
Speaker 1: I just think that, maybe to no fault of Paul
Speaker 1: Reid's own, the Sixers are set up for situation where
Speaker 1: they're making a run at something and it might be
Speaker 1: hard to give someone like Paul red despite how much
Speaker 1: promise he showed, the leash to figure it out at
Speaker 1: the NBA level. I could be wrong. Part of me
Speaker 1: hopes so I'm wrong. I think be great for him
Speaker 1: to get some minutes and he could come in and
Speaker 1: if he gets a shot, he could set the world
Speaker 1: on fire. But I just think it might not even
Speaker 1: be a hymn thing, it might be a team dynamic
Speaker 1: and mission thing this year. Yeah, I'm with you, Selt.
Speaker 1: It's something that we've actually gone back to as a
Speaker 1: bit of a theme when we talk about young players
Speaker 1: on this Sixers team over the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: We talked about it with Matisse Thyble, We've talked about
Speaker 1: it with Tyrese Maxie, We've talked about it with Isaiah
Speaker 1: Joe this year. It's hard for young guys to come
Speaker 1: into a team with championship aspirations and grow because there's
Speaker 1: not a lot of space for error. And that's why
Speaker 1: these opportunities with the Bluecoats are so important, because that's
Speaker 1: where they really can grow and thrive and take risks
Speaker 1: and try new things and play heavy minutes. We saw
Speaker 1: it from Shake Milton. It's another perfect example. So if
Speaker 1: these guys can go down to the Bluecoats, have a
Speaker 1: great experience there, grow there, and bring back what they've
Speaker 1: learned to their more limited minutes with the Sixers, I mean,
Speaker 1: it's only going to do good things for them. But
Speaker 1: I do agree with you. I mean, you have to
Speaker 1: wonder what would it be like for a Paul Read
Speaker 1: for an Isaiah Joe for any of those young guys
Speaker 1: that I mentioned to be starting on a team that
Speaker 1: isn't starting as in beginning their careers on a team
Speaker 1: that isn't of the caliber of the Sixers, and you
Speaker 1: have to imagine that they'd get more opportunities there. But
Speaker 1: I mean, there's no way that this is a bad
Speaker 1: thing for Paul read, there's no way that this is
Speaker 1: a bad thing for Isaiah Joe. And it's been cool
Speaker 1: to see them succeed in this situation. And listen, they're
Speaker 1: guys who have had legit runs in the NBA. Just
Speaker 1: look at that Rafters nine oh five team that we're
Speaker 1: playing down in that G league bubble. And I think
Speaker 1: the good news if you're rooting for someone like a
Speaker 1: Paul Reid or a Ray John Tucker or Isaiah Joe
Speaker 1: is that they stood out in games that featured guys
Speaker 1: who had more than just a cup of coffee in
Speaker 1: the NBA. So to me, I don't know, Devin how
Speaker 1: you feel about this, but to me, that shows that
Speaker 1: they can hang for sure and make an impact at
Speaker 1: the G league level and that they're kind of not
Speaker 1: unlike some guys who have gone on to have great
Speaker 1: careers that are currently with the Sixers, by the way,
Speaker 1: like this early on in their career, they might be
Speaker 1: in this tween stage, you know, where they they've shown
Speaker 1: they can cut to the G league level, and now
Speaker 1: it's taking things that they can do there and refining
Speaker 1: it and continuing to wrap it and develop it to
Speaker 1: get them into a regular rotation NBA level. I thought
Speaker 1: the exact same thing as the example of the nine
Speaker 1: oh five Raptors and the names that we've seen in
Speaker 1: the past that have worked out on the NBA level.
Speaker 1: And I just only hope that these players don't get
Speaker 1: discouraged if they don't get the minutes that they want
Speaker 1: and see the opportunity passing them by. They can have
Speaker 1: a very long career. This is a strong room learn
Speaker 1: as you know, Celts, and I would only think that
Speaker 1: they will make sure that they understand that, hey, your
Speaker 1: time will come and your number may be called at
Speaker 1: some point where Doctor Rivers might need five minutes from
Speaker 1: Paul Reid. With the hustle of the offensive rebounding, we
Speaker 1: may not need just scoring tonight. We need everything else,
Speaker 1: the little things, the intangibles that helps the team win.
Speaker 1: So stay I hope that he just simply stays encouraged
Speaker 1: the other players as well, Joe and Tucker if and
Speaker 1: when they are up here on this level, and just
Speaker 1: be ready. That's the thing. So there are too many examples.
Speaker 1: The G League exists for a reason because these things,
Speaker 1: these examples are there. So as long as they know
Speaker 1: that they understand the pathway and know that there is
Speaker 1: a pecking order and things will get to you when
Speaker 1: time does get to you, when it caused your number,
Speaker 1: just be prepared. And there are three great examples living
Speaker 1: right in front of them with the Sixers right off
Speaker 1: the top of my head in shake Milton and people
Speaker 1: are mentioning in the breath of six men of the
Speaker 1: Year converse stations, Danny Greene, a three time champion, and
Speaker 1: then Seth Curry, one of the best three point shooters
Speaker 1: in the planet. All of them had considerable time spent
Speaker 1: in the G League before making an impact on the
Speaker 1: NBA level. A very good locker room, and those guys
Speaker 1: have lived it, they can speak on it, and you
Speaker 1: just hope that they absorb that information and understand that
Speaker 1: their time will come. So for the seventy sixers, as
Speaker 1: they get back to it to start the second half
Speaker 1: of the season. That certainly is one subplot. Will we
Speaker 1: see some of the guys who made an impact on
Speaker 1: the G league level surface with the Sixers at some
Speaker 1: point the second half. But yeah, we've got thirty six
Speaker 1: games essentially, well thirty five after the game in Chicago
Speaker 1: on Thursday to go and to me, Lauren, the one
Speaker 1: thing that jumps out is just how furious of a
Speaker 1: pace this second half of the season is going to
Speaker 1: go at. I mean, I thought the first half was
Speaker 1: insane because there were only maybe two or three times
Speaker 1: where there were consecutive days without a game. Second half
Speaker 1: of the schedule seems totally nuts. Yeah, it's pretty brutal.
Speaker 1: I don't I don't know what else to even add.
Speaker 1: I know that the guys have reservations about it. Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers has had reservations about it. I mean, luckily, the
Speaker 1: team did a really good job of tackling the challenges
Speaker 1: in the first half of the season, and hopefully they
Speaker 1: can use that experience to inform this second half. But
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what, when the NBA schedule goes back
Speaker 1: to normal, we are going to feel so fun and
Speaker 1: fancy free. It is going to feel so laid back
Speaker 1: and slow and relaxed, because this season has been a marathon,
Speaker 1: and the marathon is not over. It's not even close,
Speaker 1: so it'll be interesting to see how the group hopes.
Speaker 1: I mean, we talk about health and safety protocols and
Speaker 1: the potential for guys to miss time to due to
Speaker 1: COVID contact tracing, but there's the potential for guys to
Speaker 1: miss time due to injury because of how congested the
Speaker 1: schedule is. I know that's one of Doc Rivers' primary concerns.
Speaker 1: So I mean, my hope is that they all get
Speaker 1: through it with positive attitudes, with good vibes, but most
Speaker 1: of all get through it healthy and at least I mean,
Speaker 1: plenty of entertainment to go around around the league at
Speaker 1: this pace. But it is a little bit daunt a
Speaker 1: little bit scary for sure. Have you guys ever heard
Speaker 1: of the HNI? And it's okay if you haven't, it
Speaker 1: would be me like asking you before our previous episode,
Speaker 1: have you heard of the game Answers or Samesy's So
Speaker 1: that didn't exist before our last episode. H and I
Speaker 1: the Human Nature Index, And to me, when I look
Speaker 1: at the second half of the season, my gut tells
Speaker 1: me that perhaps for some teams in the league, the
Speaker 1: H and I is going to start to increase, at
Speaker 1: least for a period of time over the next four weeks,
Speaker 1: perhaps a little bit longer for the teams that are
Speaker 1: on the cusp of the top eight in each conference.
Speaker 1: At this point in time, I see the human Nature
Speaker 1: Index being We see that there is going to be
Speaker 1: a finite end of this. We are starting the second
Speaker 1: half of the season. Perhaps there might be some more
Speaker 1: urgency from teams that are a couple games out of
Speaker 1: the race but might have enough to get in, especially
Speaker 1: now with that playing game in play. So I look
Speaker 1: at teams like the next the Bulls, the Spurs, just
Speaker 1: some of the first teams the six is half right
Speaker 1: off the bat, and you would have to believe that
Speaker 1: those teams particularly would like to start the second half
Speaker 1: of the season strong to try and catapult them towards
Speaker 1: a potential push for a playoff spot. Absolutely, even Washington
Speaker 1: not too far back, ass as tough as their season
Speaker 1: has been. With the East on that bottom, with the
Speaker 1: seventh through ten play in tournament that we're talking about,
Speaker 1: there are a lot of teams that are going to
Speaker 1: be trying to find themselves into the postseason. So you're right,
Speaker 1: that index that you just share with this is definitely
Speaker 1: in play. There are a lot of games that I
Speaker 1: looked at on the schedule, as you guys have as well,
Speaker 1: starting with the first six, the first two on the
Speaker 1: road last night in Chicago and tonight of course with Washington,
Speaker 1: and then the next four at home, starting with the
Speaker 1: Spurs and Sunday. I try to look at them in
Speaker 1: tears because then after that, guys, you know, the six
Speaker 1: game road trip that is there for you starting in
Speaker 1: New York, Any and Cleveland, but four games out west
Speaker 1: once again, and you want to try to you hope
Speaker 1: that they continue to just stay at the pace that
Speaker 1: they were on, hopefully in those six game increments that
Speaker 1: you have four and two records or five and one records,
Speaker 1: where they stay at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be tough, a lot of games and a
Speaker 1: certain amount of days squeezed in there, and I'd like
Speaker 1: to see how they respond. And I actually think this
Speaker 1: team will respond well to the challenge either two. I
Speaker 1: feel like they've played with a freshness and urgency about themselves,
Speaker 1: certainly a level of seriousness that we haven't seen in
Speaker 1: the past throughout the first half of the season, and
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any reason to expect when the
Speaker 1: roster is at full strength, why that approach wouldn't hold
Speaker 1: up going into the second half of the season. Because
Speaker 1: right the schedule this first part beginning the second half
Speaker 1: of the season is crazy busy between the first five
Speaker 1: games and seven days in the long road trip. Then
Speaker 1: in the middle of April they come back and there's
Speaker 1: a good cadence of home games spread out over two
Speaker 1: to three weeks. But then the final two weeks Lauren
Speaker 1: are a crush as well. When they're on the road again,
Speaker 1: they have a couple, they have three back to backs
Speaker 1: in two weeks. I'll be interested to see how it
Speaker 1: plays out. Yeah, it's intriguing, and I mean you look
Speaker 1: at those lists of who has the toughest strength of
Speaker 1: schedule or the weakest strength of schedule, and the Sixers
Speaker 1: allegedly have an easy schedule. If this is what an
Speaker 1: easy schedule looks like in this NBA, Like, how crazy
Speaker 1: is the second half of the season going to be.
Speaker 1: I think those long road trips, You're right, will be
Speaker 1: a test, especially without the ability to socialize like normal,
Speaker 1: or to go sightseeing or whatever may be being gone
Speaker 1: and being from hotel room to hotel room for ten eleven,
Speaker 1: twelve days. I mean, that's a lot for anybody. So
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting to see how this team responds to
Speaker 1: those types of situations, how they play at home with fans.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a lot of change coming. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of intriguing storylines, for sure, but you can't not
Speaker 1: be a little nervous when you look at just how
Speaker 1: congested this second half of the season is going to
Speaker 1: be before we start to wrap this up. I wanted
Speaker 1: to ask you guys, because we kind of talked about
Speaker 1: this the last time we did one of these, but
Speaker 1: any I asked for both. I think we talked about
Speaker 1: bold predictions the last time. Anything that you feel could
Speaker 1: be a surprise, a surprise good for the Sixers and
Speaker 1: the second half of the season. Anything that you think,
Speaker 1: whether it's something about the way the team plays or
Speaker 1: a particular player or who's you know that's ready to
Speaker 1: kind of go to a new level, that's a great question.
Speaker 1: I could take that on. Yeah, go for it. I'm
Speaker 1: intrigued by the existing Whatever the day is March eleventh
Speaker 1: bench unit and reserve unit. I think that because of
Speaker 1: the condensed schedule, because they're going full speed towards the playoffs,
Speaker 1: because of health and safety protocols and potential injuries, there
Speaker 1: will be a lot of opportunities for those bench guys
Speaker 1: to play heavier minutes. Even if all the starters are
Speaker 1: healthy and playing and available, they'll have to play heavier
Speaker 1: minutes together. I think you see in a lot of
Speaker 1: strong performances across that bench unit for Concorkmas Dwight, Howard,
Speaker 1: Shake Milton obviously, Matisa Tybel, Mike Scott. They've all had
Speaker 1: their nights, and I think they're going to find a
Speaker 1: way to all have their nights on the same nights.
Speaker 1: The more that they that they get to play together,
Speaker 1: the more that they find that find that continuity. And
Speaker 1: I do think some of those guys are going to
Speaker 1: start stepping up in a bigger way as they're asked
Speaker 1: to step into the starting lineup, perhaps on occasion. So
Speaker 1: I have my eye on that bench unit. I think
Speaker 1: we might be disappointed by how often the bench might
Speaker 1: have to step up because of the schedule and because
Speaker 1: we might see guys not be able to play every
Speaker 1: single night. But I am excited to watch them embrace
Speaker 1: that challenge and I think that they will. So I
Speaker 1: guess I answer both questions with one answer. I'll go
Speaker 1: I'll go with the H and I theory here where
Speaker 1: you look at as you talked about the strength of schedule,
Speaker 1: you also with the human nature index. Actually can't help here, Yes,
Speaker 1: thank you, you can't you can't help. But hear as
Speaker 1: you talk about, Lauren, the strength and schedule where the
Speaker 1: excuses are being made for the seventy sixers and the
Speaker 1: first half of the season as to why they're there
Speaker 1: at the top of the Eastern Conference during the All
Speaker 1: Star break. So the human nature index, where you have
Speaker 1: an MVP candidate, too, defensive Player of the Year candidates
Speaker 1: are frustrated, I would think missed All Star appearance by
Speaker 1: one of your third star if you will, for your
Speaker 1: basketball team, and that the surprise for me is they're
Speaker 1: going to be motivated, not just because of in house
Speaker 1: and what they know they have to do and try
Speaker 1: to keep pace of what they wanted to do their goals,
Speaker 1: but just to show everyone else that, Okay, you can
Speaker 1: talk about these other teams around the Eastern Conference, but
Speaker 1: sleep on us if you will, and we'll be right
Speaker 1: there in the mix at the very end, like we
Speaker 1: were after thirty six games in the first half of
Speaker 1: the season, and when you're talking about us after seventy
Speaker 1: two games, you're going to understand why you're still talking
Speaker 1: about seventy two games. So I think they're gonna really
Speaker 1: in a good way, get their backs up because of
Speaker 1: the human nature index, and push forward through these thirty
Speaker 1: sixty games and find themselves in a very good spot
Speaker 1: by May. I'm gonna go micro for a macro here,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna say I think Matisse thyble when he's
Speaker 1: in the corner or on the wing and the ball
Speaker 1: finds him, I think he's gonna knock a few more
Speaker 1: of those down. I like that, I think he is.
Speaker 1: I'm not I don't know how much, but I think.
Speaker 1: I think we saw it in flashes last year. I
Speaker 1: think that Matisse has trended upwards just in general, like
Speaker 1: how he's been into it throughout the first half of
Speaker 1: the season. Started slow obviously, then solidified a spot in
Speaker 1: the rotation. I like the fact that he's been chucking
Speaker 1: it up there a bit. I think some are gonna
Speaker 1: start falling for him. That's gonna be my my positive
Speaker 1: hopeful micro for a macro subplot. No hesitation and half
Speaker 1: fire it up. Yeah, fire it up. Just because I've
Speaker 1: become the vibe check person and the postgame party person.
Speaker 1: I believe Matisse thybel four went for gone, four went yeah.
Speaker 1: Four went a postgame party a few games ago to
Speaker 1: shoot postgame after he played pretty heavy minutes. And so
Speaker 1: he's putting in the work. We've seen him do it before,
Speaker 1: and I think anytime you know that a player is
Speaker 1: putting in the work, good, good things are going to come.
Speaker 1: He's he's attending optional shooting, he's shooting postgame by himself.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's something that he's focused on. He knows
Speaker 1: what he's got to do, and he's a good work ethic.
Speaker 1: So I feel it all right. Great, I'm looking forward
Speaker 1: to next week. I feel like I feel like this
Speaker 1: was just a get back into it for the start
Speaker 1: of the second half of the season. I think we'll
Speaker 1: be able to sink our teeth into more definitive, less
Speaker 1: ethereal subject matter next week. Oh, we have a good
Speaker 1: week ahead of us. Yes, guys, thank you very much.
Speaker 1: As always, thank you everything from pandemic shutdown, reflections to
Speaker 1: a great run by the Delaware Bluecoats, and looking ahead
Speaker 1: to the second half of the season. Our programming here
Speaker 1: on the seventy Sixers podcast network main feed will resume
Speaker 1: as normal next week. That means Mailbag Monday with myself
Speaker 1: and Lauren Rosen on Monday, and that'll be followed by
Speaker 1: an episode of Coach Check on Tuesday, debriefing and recapping
Speaker 1: their season, and later on in the week it'll be
Speaker 1: Tom's Talks with Tom McGinnis and then back with another
Speaker 1: Friday Deep Dive with myself, Lauren and Devon. And a reminder,
Speaker 1: follow the Scoop, our brand new feed. Search seventy six
Speaker 1: Ers Scoop wherever you get your podcasts for daily five
Speaker 1: minute pods about your team, your town, your seventy sixers.
Speaker 1: Dick