Speaker 1: It has, by all accounts, been a fantastic preseason for
Speaker 1: the seventy six ers top pick in this past year's draft.
Speaker 1: Matisse Ball fake three ball, Bible shot is good. Nicely,
Speaker 1: we talk about Matisse Thible's impressive start and plenty of
Speaker 1: other things, including dance moves with NBC Sports Philadelphia's Serena Winners.
Speaker 1: They can be the best defensive team in the league,
Speaker 1: have all the tools, The length is ridiculous. I really
Speaker 1: think they can't be the best of best team that's
Speaker 1: coming up on this episode of the broadcasts. I am ready.
Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I'm ready. I feel
Speaker 1: like I was saying the same thing three weeks ago
Speaker 1: when training camp the preseason. We're just about ready to start.
Speaker 1: But now after a scrimmage and four preseason games, you know,
Speaker 1: I am I'm going to even say I am beyond
Speaker 1: ready to get rolland with regular season basketball next week.
Speaker 1: But for now, what do we have some very positive
Speaker 1: encouraging signs to reflect upon from the exhibition addings the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers have played to date and what that could
Speaker 1: mean for the regular season. What's going on? I'm Brian Seltzer.
Speaker 1: Apologies for a little bit more of a nasal delivery
Speaker 1: for this episode of the podcast, fighting an early fall cold,
Speaker 1: best to get it out of the system. Now are
Speaker 1: reminded that if you are not a subscriber to our podcast,
Speaker 1: you can become one instantly or just about by going
Speaker 1: to any of your favorite podcast hosting platforms. We just
Speaker 1: got on Pandora this past week. On Spotify, Apple Pods,
Speaker 1: Google Pods, wherever, type in Sixers podcast network and then
Speaker 1: we'll take you to where you need to go. There
Speaker 1: has indeed been a whole lot to like about the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers preseason so far. At the time of taping
Speaker 1: this episode of the podcast, the Sixers are four to
Speaker 1: oz and they've compiled that record convincingly. Collectively the team
Speaker 1: with the top net rating in the NBA in the preseason,
Speaker 1: number one rebounds per one hundred possessions, number one in
Speaker 1: points scored per one hundred possessions, and inside the top
Speaker 1: three in points allowed points defense per one hundred possessions.
Speaker 1: These are all really good signed for a seventy Sixers
Speaker 1: team that rightfully and understandably has high aspirations. Ben Simmons
Speaker 1: has looked strong to Bias Harris playing tough. Josh Richardson
Speaker 1: has been great. But as we try out something new
Speaker 1: for this episode of the podcast, I think I'm gonna
Speaker 1: keep it as a regular segment. Each week we'll do
Speaker 1: our opening tip, which will be like kind of an
Speaker 1: audio essay commentary style segment. And to me right now,
Speaker 1: with the regular season about to start, in the preseason
Speaker 1: winding down, there has been one main breakout headline and
Speaker 1: player that we'd have to focus on for the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers, right, and it's this guy, Fatis Thibal, trap
Speaker 1: and get a steel. Here's a lot of Thible jams
Speaker 1: in about that. Here's a duck Pike Thiable. He breaks
Speaker 1: free of Quinn with a pass and Batie Stible with
Speaker 1: a one hand slam in the Fatis with another Steel
Speaker 1: Simmons with a low lookdition. Mike Scott throws it down
Speaker 1: as Batie Stible with a block from behind and on
Speaker 1: the other end Mike Scott with a jail. If you've
Speaker 1: been following along even just a little bit the last
Speaker 1: two weeks, hearing him out these types of plays and
Speaker 1: highlights has become pretty commonplace. Yeah, Fatis Stival has been
Speaker 1: a machine, a menace, a most exciting revelation. The twenty
Speaker 1: nineteen number twenty pick, whom these seventy six is acquired
Speaker 1: from the Boston Celtics in a draft Knight trade, has
Speaker 1: delivered as advertised. He's been a terror defensively, and that's
Speaker 1: putting it mildly. I think he's been getting up in
Speaker 1: guy's grills, provoking turnover, snatching up balls, generating deflections, and
Speaker 1: a whole lot more. Heading to the Sixers preseason finale
Speaker 1: on Friday versus the Washington Wizards, Thible had twelve steals
Speaker 1: on the preseason. That's the most of any player in
Speaker 1: the entire NBA. He also boasted the second best plus
Speaker 1: minus rating in terms of total points for any rookie
Speaker 1: in the preseason. For a prospect the Sixers front office
Speaker 1: has long had their eyes on. Thible has burst onto
Speaker 1: the scene, most auspiciously against the Detroit Pistons earlier this week.
Speaker 1: He got a little bit of a promotion and finished
Speaker 1: with seven points, six rebounds, four steals, and two block shots.
Speaker 1: He started your first NBA game tonight, how field your
Speaker 1: name called out there. It's pretty special. I mean, for me,
Speaker 1: it's been it's been amazing just to be able to
Speaker 1: get on the court of this level, but you know,
Speaker 1: to get a start this early, it was great. I
Speaker 1: was just glad to get out there and do my job. Well,
Speaker 1: I've got to ask you. You've told me before the
Speaker 1: game you hadn't talked to your family yet or your
Speaker 1: dad about starting. What do you think your family would
Speaker 1: have to say tonight. I think there's gonna be a
Speaker 1: lot of texts in all caps, so I'm excited to
Speaker 1: see that to say, and for good reason. That was
Speaker 1: Thible's postgame interview with Serena Winners, who will join us shortly.
Speaker 1: By this point, you're probably familiar with Thible's background. Born
Speaker 1: in Arizona, moved to Australia when he was young, then
Speaker 1: relocated to Seattle, where he went to both high school
Speaker 1: and college. He spent four years at the University of Washington,
Speaker 1: said the program's all time steel's record, and was named
Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen Naysmith National Defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 1: Thibel held his own at Summer League. Here he goes
Speaker 1: with the steel still and that's what he does. The
Speaker 1: steel the runout in the jam, that's exactly what he does.
Speaker 1: And if you talk about being on that shortlist with
Speaker 1: guys like Gary Payne and himself, But it was his
Speaker 1: insane effort the seventy six ers Blue and White scrimmage
Speaker 1: early this month that really opened eyes, at least for
Speaker 1: the public, for fans and media members too. Britt Brown
Speaker 1: estimated that the twenty two year old had sixteen deflections
Speaker 1: during the scrimmage. Sixteen. That is crazy. So just for
Speaker 1: some context, the Oklahoma City thunder led the league in
Speaker 1: deflections last season and they averaged fifteen and a half
Speaker 1: per game. So sixteen deflections in any type of NBA setting, Yeah,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, that's outrageous. This was from right after
Speaker 1: the scrimmage at seventy six Ers field House in Wilmington, Delaware.
Speaker 1: And what was your impression in the tea scene, especially
Speaker 1: in the first half. He's so far, he's been amazing,
Speaker 1: his length, just the way he plays the game. You
Speaker 1: can run the floor, makes the river. Who can play
Speaker 1: you know? The right way is no watching offices to league,
Speaker 1: is no tri ordained thought process that I had tried
Speaker 1: to coming into camp. I've said to them, I've said
Speaker 1: you the gym will speak, they will tell me, And
Speaker 1: so far he has spoken loudly for that reason, he's
Speaker 1: earned the right to play and play a little bit more.
Speaker 1: And you know, right now he's in a pretty good
Speaker 1: place as it relates to my praise for him and
Speaker 1: where I think he can help this team. And as
Speaker 1: we know, when it Jim speaks, Brown listens attentively. As
Speaker 1: for what's aladmatistible to figuratively and literally jump right into
Speaker 1: the mix this fall. There's of course an aspect of
Speaker 1: this that is germane to the person skill set that
Speaker 1: he's developed before getting here, is God given abilities and talent,
Speaker 1: his intellect and his maturity. But there's also another factor
Speaker 1: at playing this equation. Thible made a point of getting
Speaker 1: himself settled in Philadelphia towards the end of August, and
Speaker 1: he started working out at the training complex in Canada
Speaker 1: almost right away. The result what's so far has been
Speaker 1: a pretty smooth transition. Started um, like right before training,
Speaker 1: Like when I started were playing pick up and that
Speaker 1: guy's just and the guys all around I started playing
Speaker 1: with him, and I guy chance to be on the
Speaker 1: court with them. I started to realize that they I
Speaker 1: kind of belong here, and like having that realization, it's
Speaker 1: pretty huge to me just even going into training camp.
Speaker 1: So then from then it just built up of that
Speaker 1: one as Matiss impressed you beyond what you would have expected.
Speaker 1: And I think what it is more than anything is
Speaker 1: when you get a vetter, when you get a four
Speaker 1: year college guy, it does stand out. There's an expedited
Speaker 1: growth that is reflected in his birth certificate. Matiss does
Speaker 1: things instinctively defensively that that are unusual for a rookie.
Speaker 1: I have learned with him. He can make up for
Speaker 1: a mistake and like still get back to where he
Speaker 1: should have been, and he just is ahead of the
Speaker 1: sort of learning curve defense as it relates to most
Speaker 1: rookies that I have coached. When asked about that comment
Speaker 1: from Brown about being able to make up for a mistake,
Speaker 1: Thible it is smooth, matter of fact, humorous. Way laughed
Speaker 1: it off and said, I make a lot of mistakes,
Speaker 1: but there's no mistaking this. If the preseason is any indication,
Speaker 1: moving up to get Thible in the draft has been
Speaker 1: nothing short of a well thought out, sound decision. We
Speaker 1: sit down with Serena Winners from NBC Sports Philadelphia. Next.
Speaker 1: You know, at this stage of the game, when the
Speaker 1: start of the regular season is so close and you
Speaker 1: might not have ticket plans for this year down at
Speaker 1: the Center, I could totally get if you're like, how
Speaker 1: am I going to get in to a game? There
Speaker 1: aren't many options, but there is one partial plans with
Speaker 1: the seventy six ers, and they're on sale now. A
Speaker 1: limited number of partial plans have been reserved for the
Speaker 1: general public, and now is the chance to get yours.
Speaker 1: Do not miss out. Enjoy a discounted ticket pricing and
Speaker 1: interest free monthly payment plan, playoff priority, and a whole
Speaker 1: lot more. For more information, go to Sixers dot com.
Speaker 1: Slash partials Email tickets at seventy six ers dot com
Speaker 1: are called two one five, three three nine seven six
Speaker 1: seven six. What happens when you pack a couple hundred
Speaker 1: elementary school kids in a room tell them they're about
Speaker 1: to receive new free winner coats from an NBA All Star.
Speaker 1: You can only imagine what the vibe is like as
Speaker 1: students eagerly and boisterous ling awaited the arrival of Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons for a second annual Coats for Kids events at
Speaker 1: the famed Henry Lee Elementary School on forty seventh the
Speaker 1: Locust in West Philadelphia. There was plenty of excitements, cheering
Speaker 1: and yeah flossing. Inside the gym, there was a dance
Speaker 1: showcase of sorts as well, and that brings us to
Speaker 1: our guests. We got a lot to catch up on,
Speaker 1: but first and foremost, we can hear the audio. You
Speaker 1: gotta set the scene for us. What was going on
Speaker 1: at Lee Elementary School in West Philadelphia earlier this week?
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, Well, let me just say, you know,
Speaker 1: it was a sweatshirt morning. I thought I was just
Speaker 1: going to get to go out to the elementary school
Speaker 1: enjoy some kids, watch Ben Simmons handout coats for a
Speaker 1: great cause. And you know, Archie's up there doing his thing,
Speaker 1: making sure the kids are entertained, and I'm enjoying it,
Speaker 1: clapping along. Then he sees me, Archie make eye contact,
Speaker 1: and I can see it in his eyes. He's about
Speaker 1: to ask me to get up on that stage and dance.
Speaker 1: There are certain interactions in life that you know what
Speaker 1: is about to come. Yes, And when you're put in
Speaker 1: the uncomfortable dancing situation, you can feel building, you can
Speaker 1: feel it coming. It's one of those things, and a
Speaker 1: sweatshirt was a poor choice because I was sweating. Let
Speaker 1: me tell you, when I knew that I was not
Speaker 1: going to be get out, be able to get out,
Speaker 1: I was trying to tell Archie no, But then he's
Speaker 1: getting the kids to chant my name and he's bringing
Speaker 1: me in, and I just know there is no telling
Speaker 1: Archie no. And I had to get up there. I
Speaker 1: had to get up there and embarrass myself and do
Speaker 1: my thing, because you do it for the kids. The
Speaker 1: kids loved it, though, they responded, but yeah, yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't think you embarrassed yourself. I thought it was very
Speaker 1: fluid and smooth. It seemed like you knew the scenario
Speaker 1: and the circumstances. It probably was not on your to
Speaker 1: do list to get out there and dance in front
Speaker 1: of the kids. Was not. By comparison, our guy Alex Subers, Yes,
Speaker 1: photographer to the Stars. See, you just got to embrace
Speaker 1: the moment. I think you clearly you embraced the moment comfortable,
Speaker 1: not you embraced it, And I think that showed Alex.
Speaker 1: You could tell he wanted no part of it, and
Speaker 1: he was not willing to surrender to the flow, so
Speaker 1: to speak. Subs was not happy about it. Now. He
Speaker 1: did not want to get up there and dance. I
Speaker 1: was actually surprised that even though it was very short
Speaker 1: and fleeting, you know, maybe about a four second I
Speaker 1: don't know what you call what he was doing with
Speaker 1: his feet up there, a little dance movement, if you
Speaker 1: can call it that, I was. I was impressed that
Speaker 1: he at least was up there for four seconds. It
Speaker 1: was some combination that looked like to me between a
Speaker 1: Fortnite dance move and a rocking horse. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but the kids responded to you, and you could tell
Speaker 1: the kids they were they were not entirely impressed with supers.
Speaker 1: Did you have a at any point in time, is
Speaker 1: there a go to serena Winter's dance move? Maybe it's
Speaker 1: at weddings these days or back in the day at
Speaker 1: the barn bought Mitzvah circuit in southern California. Well, I
Speaker 1: think you saw the go to move today, baby, and
Speaker 1: it has put your hands up and it is just
Speaker 1: do your thing and vibe with the music as best
Speaker 1: as you can. I mean, back in the college days,
Speaker 1: there there are some dance moves that you know they're
Speaker 1: they're college dance moves. Sure you just leave them there.
Speaker 1: You see see a Barbara go Gauchos. My wife and
Speaker 1: I were at a wedding last weekend and we're our
Speaker 1: mid thirties now, and the crowd was maybe six or
Speaker 1: seven years younger, and we're talking. We're like, we feel
Speaker 1: I don't know how it happened. We have devolved the
Speaker 1: point where we're like doing our parents dance moves like
Speaker 1: it's like the skin of a rinky dinky dink. The
Speaker 1: awkward clap, the snap the fingers, put the hands somehow,
Speaker 1: getting somehow. It usually goes back to get your hands
Speaker 1: in the air. I gotta tell you that because they
Speaker 1: caught me on video and I put it up because
Speaker 1: I put some video up of supers dancing, so I had,
Speaker 1: you know, I had to embarrass myself as well. It's
Speaker 1: not fair to call somebody else out, so I put
Speaker 1: I put my video up there as well. And I
Speaker 1: will tell you my first thought, Oh my god, my mother,
Speaker 1: my mother does that dance move? We become our parents
Speaker 1: at some point we do sad thing or you just
Speaker 1: embrace it. I'm sure people would just love for us
Speaker 1: to continue bantering about that. I don't think so. I
Speaker 1: think they probably want to hear us talk about the Sixers.
Speaker 1: They don't want to hear about the dance moves next track,
Speaker 1: But I gotta ask you first, how's your summer? What
Speaker 1: did you do any highlights? Summer was great, man. I
Speaker 1: went to Peru for ten days, and you know what,
Speaker 1: I can actually tell you a great story about Peru
Speaker 1: that is is so incredible and so Sixers. I was
Speaker 1: at a restaurant in Peru, very nice restaurant that somehow
Speaker 1: I'm forgetting the name, Oh Central, then the restaurants Central,
Speaker 1: one of the top restaurants. And the person that was
Speaker 1: waiting on us a giant Ben Simmons fan. Really at
Speaker 1: a restaurant in Peru. I get to sit there and
Speaker 1: chat with a giant Sixers fan that serving me like
Speaker 1: knew everything about Ben, everything there is to know about Ben,
Speaker 1: knew his whole bio. I mean, just got into it.
Speaker 1: And it just goes to show what a brand he's built,
Speaker 1: the Sixers have built, and it's just pretty incredible. You
Speaker 1: try to go on vacation and you try to, you know,
Speaker 1: disconnect a little bit from what you do, but to
Speaker 1: have that happened was was really neat. How did this
Speaker 1: conversation come about? Did you recognize you. How did the
Speaker 1: conversation come about? Yeah, yeah, I think that is exactly
Speaker 1: what happened. Well, that's crazy too, because like Ben in
Speaker 1: the day, you know, like if you're watching a broadcast
Speaker 1: on TV, like you have these regional sports networks, and
Speaker 1: even like ten or fifteen years ago, there was still
Speaker 1: a very localized scope that a local broadcast could reach.
Speaker 1: But now it's like throw on your NBC Sports live
Speaker 1: stream app or a league pass and like the world
Speaker 1: knows and a waiter in South America knows all about
Speaker 1: the Sixers and Ben Simmons. Pretty incredible, that's awesome. Yeah,
Speaker 1: what did you tell him? Because Ben Simmons, of course,
Speaker 1: as we look ahead of this year and you think
Speaker 1: about the seventy six misfortunes, he as much as just
Speaker 1: about anyone, is going to be a part of that.
Speaker 1: That he seems to. I mean, people use a word
Speaker 1: Jim Ratt, like Tobias Harris has he used that word right,
Speaker 1: because he's worked down with Ben in the summer and
Speaker 1: he seems like such a guy that has just been
Speaker 1: ready to come out with a vengeance this year. Don't
Speaker 1: don't you look at him, Brian and just kind of
Speaker 1: see something different. I don't even know if you have
Speaker 1: to look at him. I think you can listen to
Speaker 1: him and hear him, and you can tell there's a
Speaker 1: difference about his vibe and Azora, And to his credit,
Speaker 1: that was one of the lasting things right that he
Speaker 1: talked about in his exit interview press conference the day
Speaker 1: after the game seven lost in Toronto, like feeling that
Speaker 1: he grew a little bit as a leader but wants
Speaker 1: to do more. And I know, I know guys say that,
Speaker 1: but it really does feel like there's something, there's some
Speaker 1: intangible thing happening where you can feel like this is
Speaker 1: something that is in the works and is maturing involving
Speaker 1: before our eyes. When we were at the Blue White scrimmage,
Speaker 1: something else I noticed. You know, there's there's some guys that, Okay,
Speaker 1: it's a scrimmage or just practice, no big deal, And
Speaker 1: then there are some guys and Ben is one of
Speaker 1: these guys where I could tell he loved the scrimmage,
Speaker 1: like he truly just wanted to get out there and play.
Speaker 1: And I'm there is just something something to him this
Speaker 1: season that I can't I can't wait to see how
Speaker 1: he progresses and looks. He's so young, he's in a
Speaker 1: leadership role and there's just something exciting about it. This season.
Speaker 1: All the guys too, Going back to that Blue and
Speaker 1: White scrimmage, I mean that was less than a week
Speaker 1: into the preseason or training camp or whatever you want
Speaker 1: to call it, and the vibes were all good with
Speaker 1: them too. They looked out of the bench getting along,
Speaker 1: real good smiles, body language upbeat. It seems like um
Speaker 1: And again it's it's really really early that from a
Speaker 1: holistic makes sense. There's a fit personnel. I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people are even seeing through a handful of
Speaker 1: preseason games that there could be a fit provided everyone's
Speaker 1: full health. But the personalities seemed to be meshing together too,
Speaker 1: and it's so important. Look, don't you don't have to
Speaker 1: all be best friends. That's not what meshing on a
Speaker 1: team means. I mean, I think back to all the
Speaker 1: teams I played on, and you weren't best friends with anybody,
Speaker 1: with everybody, But if everybody could respect each other and
Speaker 1: liked each other in some capacity, it just brings a
Speaker 1: bond that is so much deeper. And you can feel
Speaker 1: that from the start, and I think there's something to
Speaker 1: knowing that. Okay, this is a group that we're going
Speaker 1: to have this season. We can build it from the beginning,
Speaker 1: not build it two thirds the way through the season.
Speaker 1: And I mean you hit it on the head there.
Speaker 1: I mean it is it's it genuinely seems like these
Speaker 1: guys cannot wait to get out there and play together.
Speaker 1: Something else that's stood out to me, too, is that
Speaker 1: it seems like, and this is more talking about the
Speaker 1: starting five and some of the top guys who would
Speaker 1: think of off the bench, is everyone seems to know
Speaker 1: what their lanes are, what the roles are, right Whereas
Speaker 1: last year it was a really interesting dynamic because less
Speaker 1: than a month into the season, here comes a multiple
Speaker 1: time All Star in Jimmy Butler, and then a couple
Speaker 1: months later you throw in Tobias Harris, and you've got
Speaker 1: all this talent that in the thick and heat of battle,
Speaker 1: they're trying to figure out their roles. You know, there
Speaker 1: was something the Sixers talked openly about last year, but
Speaker 1: this is an opportunity from the very beginning, having a
Speaker 1: clean canvast to work on defining roles early on, and
Speaker 1: it seems like everyone knows what their lanes supposed to be.
Speaker 1: That's what Brett said heading into training camp was that
Speaker 1: his biggest goal for training camp was to make sure
Speaker 1: that everybody on this team knows what their role is.
Speaker 1: And I think when you talk to guys, be it
Speaker 1: a starter or being a guy like Kylo Quinn who
Speaker 1: will tell you that he knows what his role is
Speaker 1: and he's going to stay in that role. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think that's that's huge to know. And it's not just
Speaker 1: with basketball. I mean think about if you're listening out there,
Speaker 1: whatever job that you have, how much better you feel
Speaker 1: at that job when you are equipped and you know
Speaker 1: what your role is to that company or on that team.
Speaker 1: I mean, it really can can transgress to different different
Speaker 1: areas totally. What have been the other storylines that have
Speaker 1: statue from training camp. I'll let you lead the direction
Speaker 1: on this one. I mean, come on, you know, it's
Speaker 1: matist table has to be right, it has to be
Speaker 1: has to be the number one story at a training camp.
Speaker 1: And I think it is as much his talent and
Speaker 1: his determination and watching him have a nose for the
Speaker 1: ball as it is for being around him, because he's
Speaker 1: such an easy guy to be around. He's you know,
Speaker 1: he's a good person, he's kind, he's all the things
Speaker 1: you want, and then you watch him out in the
Speaker 1: floor and you can tell. I mean, I don't know
Speaker 1: if I've seen somebody love playing defense as much as
Speaker 1: this guy loves playing defense. He's just so fun to
Speaker 1: what I find myself when he is in the game
Speaker 1: just watching him because he's so active and he just
Speaker 1: has a nose for the ball. He just knows where
Speaker 1: it's going to go. It's amazing the hands that he
Speaker 1: gets on these balls. And on top of that, like
Speaker 1: thinking back to that Blue White scrimmage that we talked
Speaker 1: about when he was defending Ben Simmons, and Ben after
Speaker 1: the scrimmage jokes around saying I hate him on defense.
Speaker 1: I hate him. You know that is a good thing,
Speaker 1: right that you have that type of camaraderie, and Brett
Speaker 1: keeps on saying it's a great point is how he
Speaker 1: can cover up mistakes on defense because he is so quick.
Speaker 1: And it's funny because when he talked to Matisse about that,
Speaker 1: because he was asked the other night about kind of
Speaker 1: what that means him covering up mistakes, He's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I make mistakes all the time, and so that's why
Speaker 1: I have to come back and have a steel or
Speaker 1: a block or whatever it is. But he's just been
Speaker 1: so much fun to watch. He's got this whole wholesome
Speaker 1: thing about him where it's like it's taking everything in stride,
Speaker 1: very grounded with his perspective on things, and it's refreshing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's like he talks about a matter of factly.
Speaker 1: It's like, you know, like, yeah, I'm nowhere where I
Speaker 1: know that I could eventually get to at some point,
Speaker 1: but yeah, I feel like I belong. Like he doesn't
Speaker 1: say it in like in a bragging type way or
Speaker 1: inflated confident way, but yeah, it's just very matter of fact,
Speaker 1: And I think I don't know how it is for you,
Speaker 1: but I like, especially in the preseason and even in
Speaker 1: the regular season. Sometimes now as we've had the last
Speaker 1: few years, the benefit of seeing how basketball changes in
Speaker 1: the playoffs, you temper some of the things that you see.
Speaker 1: You try to put a filter on it and project
Speaker 1: out like how would this look at a more intense
Speaker 1: and significant time of year. But I You're like, we've
Speaker 1: seen enough good things consistently from atisse, or at least
Speaker 1: for me, it's like, all right, there's there's something there,
Speaker 1: and clearly there's something that the Sixer's front office saw
Speaker 1: on him to make the aggressive push to trade up
Speaker 1: for him in the draft this past year. Right, thank you,
Speaker 1: Elton Brand. Yeah, is that what you say right about here? Well,
Speaker 1: it's just like you know what it's I mean, it
Speaker 1: was clear then that the Sixers had a guy, and
Speaker 1: so far the reasons they said that Matisse was their guy,
Speaker 1: those reasons are proving to be pretty legitimate as to
Speaker 1: why he was their guy. And I think that even
Speaker 1: if I think expectations for him coming in, they weren't
Speaker 1: necessarily high. So I think that because we can see
Speaker 1: him out there and it's clear already that he has
Speaker 1: a fit and that he can get minutes as a rookie,
Speaker 1: that it makes a little bit different because you go, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, it's not going to be I mean, yes,
Speaker 1: it's a year of growth. Everything's a year of growth,
Speaker 1: but it's not just a year of growth. This seems
Speaker 1: like somebody that can really contribute. And I think that
Speaker 1: Brett Brown is treating it as such because when he's
Speaker 1: talking to us and when he's got guys sitting, he's
Speaker 1: putting motise in the starting lineup. He always has this
Speaker 1: phrase of the gym will speak to me right when deciding,
Speaker 1: you know, whatever's coaching decisions are, and the gym speaking
Speaker 1: where did you say the other night? And not just
Speaker 1: speaking loudly loudly, yes, speaking loudly. He ain't line. It's
Speaker 1: just been great stuff from a TIS so far, and
Speaker 1: I'm sure for you this is the case too. Like
Speaker 1: I love this time of year because you really get
Speaker 1: to start to get a sense of what some of
Speaker 1: the new members the roster are all about their personalities
Speaker 1: obviously what they do on the court, but away from
Speaker 1: the game as well. And Josh Richardson another guy who
Speaker 1: just seems like great human being and more important for
Speaker 1: the Sixers championship aspirations. He's got a fit like he
Speaker 1: was clearly very good in Miami, but in the situation
Speaker 1: he's in with the seventy Sixers right now looks like
Speaker 1: a match. He really does. And I mean defensively. People
Speaker 1: know who he is, and because this team's defense or
Speaker 1: identity is clearly defense, not only does he fit right in,
Speaker 1: but then you see him and what he can do offensively.
Speaker 1: Because a lot of people talk about the Sixers losing
Speaker 1: some offense right and some shooting and obviously without JJ,
Speaker 1: but Josh, Josh is going to be good. He's gonna
Speaker 1: be really good on this team. And going back to
Speaker 1: just the human component of it and the being around
Speaker 1: him and making everybody better and he is just a
Speaker 1: good human. Philly is gonna love him. One of my
Speaker 1: favorite things that he said the other day was something
Speaker 1: like he's not going to be the guy that's cute
Speaker 1: or cool on the floor. He's just going to play nasty.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's Philly, it is, and it's he's backed
Speaker 1: that up. I mean we've seen like, I mean the
Speaker 1: Orlando well, really all the preseason games come to mind.
Speaker 1: There was the dunke he had the other night against
Speaker 1: the Pistons, but like, he's not afraid to get in
Speaker 1: there and make something happen, whether he's taken it in
Speaker 1: the basket for a score or in the situations where
Speaker 1: he's got the ball in his hands, drawn the defense
Speaker 1: dish it out like he I think he brings that
Speaker 1: attitude to both sides of the court. And Brett talked
Speaker 1: about from the beginning that backup point guard spot, especially
Speaker 1: as the Sixers will move closer to the end of
Speaker 1: the season and the playoffs. Obviously we're just in preseason now,
Speaker 1: but seeing him in preseason running the point with Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons out and getting him kind of in that flow early,
Speaker 1: I think is great because why wait till you know
Speaker 1: it comes playoff time to get him adjusted and acquainted
Speaker 1: to that if that's what Brett decides to do, and
Speaker 1: that position he's very comfortable with. And as everybody knows,
Speaker 1: the playoffs you shrink your rotation and you just kind
Speaker 1: of figure out ways to play your best guys. And
Speaker 1: he's so versatile. So yeah, I mean, I he's great.
Speaker 1: I love Josh. I've been trying to think of what
Speaker 1: the preseason slug or headline is for Joel Embiid, and
Speaker 1: I feel like he's just been really business like, kind
Speaker 1: of under the radar, right, yeah, like, and I think
Speaker 1: that's almost like an extension of what it felt like
Speaker 1: his offseason was, like he was doing stuff, but wasn't
Speaker 1: posting a lot on social or anything like that. And
Speaker 1: so far in the three preseason games he's played and
Speaker 1: it's just been a gradual progression. I thought, I don't
Speaker 1: know if you felt this way. Detroit was probably his
Speaker 1: best preseason game. Granted he wasn't going up against Andre Drummond,
Speaker 1: but yeah, he just seems to kind of gradually be
Speaker 1: working his way towards the point that he needs to
Speaker 1: be at. I would say that's accurate. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: he's he's also slimmed down. Yeah, And I think Brett
Speaker 1: said the other night he did think that he was
Speaker 1: tired a little bit towards the end of the game
Speaker 1: with Joel. But business like is how i'd describe him this,
Speaker 1: at least for training camp in preseason. Is we've been
Speaker 1: talking about all the other guys, right, whether it's the
Speaker 1: new guys or Ben's leadership or but Joe's kind of
Speaker 1: just sit under the radar and I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1: And he's talked a lot about maturing after last year.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's a new side to his demeanor. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: all about maturity, right. It's also the preseason. I could
Speaker 1: totally see a situation first game of the year against
Speaker 1: the Celtics where something happens and he's like going crazy
Speaker 1: over stuff. But there's like with him now, he's shown
Speaker 1: if there's no reason expect that when the lights turn on,
Speaker 1: he's not gonna be there or anything like that. I
Speaker 1: just can't wait to see him an Al more because
Speaker 1: I think it's only been two games in the preseason
Speaker 1: that they've played together out of the four, right guan
Speaker 1: Zoe and Orlando didn't happen against Detroit, But that's something
Speaker 1: I'm really excited to see this year, the two of
Speaker 1: them as teammates. I think everybody is. Yeah, everybody is.
Speaker 1: And what's neat is when he talked to Al about him,
Speaker 1: he sounds so genuinely excited to be able to play
Speaker 1: alongside him, and Al said that he thinks that Joel
Speaker 1: is the best big man in the NBA right now.
Speaker 1: I think figuring out the spacing could take some time,
Speaker 1: so I would, you know, just caution fans and viewers
Speaker 1: to be patient with that. But man, it's going to
Speaker 1: be That's gonna be fun to watch. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: so weird on Opening night seeing Al Horford and Joel
Speaker 1: be in the same uniform playing Boston. I know it's
Speaker 1: so stale, but the Spider Man meme comes to mind.
Speaker 1: Did you see the video the other day of Marcus
Speaker 1: Smart practicing his Al Horford jumper a Celtics practice. I
Speaker 1: did not see that. It was kind of like, Yeah,
Speaker 1: he had a really wide gate and he just kind
Speaker 1: of like sprung up in one motion and shot a
Speaker 1: jumper like Al Horford. That's a great question. I was
Speaker 1: so focused on the form I must have gone in.
Speaker 1: It probably would have made it social if you missed
Speaker 1: the shot. But yeah, Al like just having him also
Speaker 1: as the backup per se to Joel is huge. He
Speaker 1: can play the four or the five. He can when
Speaker 1: Joel needs rest in time, and they've also got to
Speaker 1: figure out Al Horford's gonna need. Just like you get
Speaker 1: to manage Joel, you got to manage Al as well, right,
Speaker 1: because he's for an NBA guy, you know, third in
Speaker 1: your vet. He's up there in some years. But then
Speaker 1: they've got Kyle O'Quinn to have some of those minutes
Speaker 1: as well. But that's gonna be fun. And I think
Speaker 1: that what this, at least in the front court circles
Speaker 1: back to is something that the team has been talking
Speaker 1: about since the start of the preseason and training camp
Speaker 1: is to get to where they want to go. Defense
Speaker 1: is going to be such a huge part of it,
Speaker 1: and I think that from a collective standpoint, the one
Speaker 1: thing that we've seen and We've obviously like danced around
Speaker 1: this talking about Maatise and Joel and what Ben brings
Speaker 1: to the table. But this defense seems like it can
Speaker 1: be for real, Like it's I just have had so
Speaker 1: much fun watching it. They can be the best defensive
Speaker 1: team in the league, have all the tools, The length
Speaker 1: is ridiculous. I mean, I really think they can't be
Speaker 1: the best defensive team in the league. Offense is probably
Speaker 1: going to be a little bit different at times this
Speaker 1: year because of obviously who's not here and then some
Speaker 1: of the personnel they've brought in. But you know what
Speaker 1: if if it's maybe a couple less made three pointers
Speaker 1: in a game, and how that translates like the defense
Speaker 1: should be able to make up for it. I mean,
Speaker 1: think about you've got and I love that that Ben
Speaker 1: said he wants to be defensive player of the Year
Speaker 1: and he hopes that everybody on his team. Here's that
Speaker 1: because he hopes that everybody on the team wants to
Speaker 1: be defensive player of the year. But you've got Ben,
Speaker 1: who is so gifted athletically, I don't think he's even
Speaker 1: remotely been even near the ceiling of what he can
Speaker 1: be defensively, and he can already guard one through five. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and he's not even I don't think close to being
Speaker 1: there in terms of his potential defensively, and he's already
Speaker 1: that good. You have Joel Embiid, Who's I mean, do
Speaker 1: I need to say anything about him? On defense? Josh
Speaker 1: Richardson is such a good defender and he's so scrappy
Speaker 1: and he cares, he's got the heart fort Do I
Speaker 1: need to say anything about Al Horford? I think all
Speaker 1: Sixers fans are very acquainted with him defensively, and then
Speaker 1: he've got to bias who he has a ways to grow,
Speaker 1: But from what I hear in terms of a commitment
Speaker 1: to that and what he's done over the summer, that's
Speaker 1: been his number one goal, and so much of defense
Speaker 1: is just the effort and wanting to do it. I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously there is an athletic side to it, but he's
Speaker 1: been working on those things. That's incredible. It almost seems like,
Speaker 1: you know, he came in, got his feet wet last year,
Speaker 1: got a sense of what Brett Brown's point of emphasis
Speaker 1: was all about. Knew this year defense was going to
Speaker 1: be the point of emphasis. And it's like, you know
Speaker 1: what they say about your work in the summer, like
Speaker 1: obviously being the stepping stone guiding your path to your
Speaker 1: regular season, and if that's what he worked on all
Speaker 1: summer long, terrific And I just think that, Look, we've
Speaker 1: been saying, the defense really excites me, and we were
Speaker 1: even talking about this before we started recording. It's you
Speaker 1: almost see again it's early, but this like infectious, contagious
Speaker 1: element to the way the team has played defense from
Speaker 1: the starting group to the reserves even when they come in,
Speaker 1: and you need that because that's what holds guys accountable
Speaker 1: defensively when maybe you're a guy that doesn't love to
Speaker 1: play defense, right, but you feel bad because you missed
Speaker 1: a coverage because you've got other guys that are holding
Speaker 1: you accountable that want to be playing defense. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's huge. Any storylines among the reserves that have
Speaker 1: caught your eye or your ear, I would say James Ennis.
Speaker 1: I don't know about you, Brian, but being around him
Speaker 1: last season to this season, there's something. There's something or
Speaker 1: a wise that's different, and I don't know if it's
Speaker 1: a you know, a consistency thing, which is huge because
Speaker 1: he knows he's here, he knows the Sixers want him here,
Speaker 1: he wants to be here, he gets to start fresh.
Speaker 1: But there's something different about him that just makes me
Speaker 1: so so excited to see what he's going to do.
Speaker 1: And I think he was the one who coined the
Speaker 1: phrase with bulldogs or something like that for the bench
Speaker 1: internet as well. It was him. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think he's just I think he's a I think
Speaker 1: he's gonna have a good year. So he has stood
Speaker 1: out and he probably had other opportunities elsewhere in the
Speaker 1: off season, and being here, I think that that speaks
Speaker 1: to his mindset that he's bringing in this year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just like I like the whole feel all the
Speaker 1: way around because it's it's crazy, it's gonna be interesting.
Speaker 1: Decent number of road games start the season. Yeah, that'll
Speaker 1: be interesting stretch it is. But I think all around,
Speaker 1: um so far signs appointed to a reason for promise.
Speaker 1: Like you can talk about that as much as you want,
Speaker 1: but I think we're we're seeing the evidence for it.
Speaker 1: I'm interested interested to see how or where fur Con
Speaker 1: winds up rotation wise. Yeah, because Bret Brett has talked
Speaker 1: a lot about this, you know, wing tournament for the
Speaker 1: reserves and puts fur Con in there and Matise and Shake. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm curiously where he winds up and Shakes looks pretty
Speaker 1: good too. He has, he has. Yeah. I talked to
Speaker 1: him after the game the other night and and he
Speaker 1: just says he's becoming more comfortable out there. Game slowing
Speaker 1: down still a bit for him, and um, he's like,
Speaker 1: I'm just trying to to not mess up on defense.
Speaker 1: And I think if Brett had mentioned something today at
Speaker 1: practice about that's how he's going to find minutes is
Speaker 1: if Shake plays defense, that's the short answer. And Shake
Speaker 1: knows that. So he's working his tail off on that end.
Speaker 1: Goes back to what we're talking about players understanding what
Speaker 1: the roles are. Whereas it might be for Shake coming
Speaker 1: in providing defense, for Con might be a guy where
Speaker 1: before defense means you to come in and make some shots.
Speaker 1: Some shots he knocks them down against Detroit, he did. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I think it'll be neat for him and
Speaker 1: his now third year with the team where he falls in.
Speaker 1: I still for me personally, and by no means I'm
Speaker 1: a talent evaluator. I still felt like going into this
Speaker 1: year like there's more than I wanted to see from him.
Speaker 1: You know, you see flashes every now and then you
Speaker 1: see what he does the international competition. I think he's
Speaker 1: excited to be back too. He is, Yeah, I've talked
Speaker 1: to him about that, and he feels like he's got
Speaker 1: a little bit more opportunity to show what he can
Speaker 1: do this season and excited to show it. I can't
Speaker 1: believe it's taking me nearly twenty eight minutes to ask
Speaker 1: you about this. What was it calling Ben Simmons my
Speaker 1: first career three pointer of any kind? I think I
Speaker 1: blacked out, Brian like during the call. I don't think
Speaker 1: you were the only one. I think there were other people,
Speaker 1: maybe fifteen to twenty thousand people who are in the building.
Speaker 1: Oh man, it's incredible. I mean, you know I I honestly,
Speaker 1: I guess I didn't think it was going to be
Speaker 1: as big of a deal as it was. And in
Speaker 1: terms of a lot of people have asked me about
Speaker 1: how it was to call it, but I feel fortunate
Speaker 1: to have had the opportunity, and honestly, it was just
Speaker 1: great to feel all the energy and the arena, and
Speaker 1: I remember when the fans are all on their feet
Speaker 1: and cheering for him, to shoot it, and I remember
Speaker 1: just thinking to myself, is he gonna do it? Is
Speaker 1: he gonna do it? And when the ball left his fingertips,
Speaker 1: I just kept I know we're supposed to I know
Speaker 1: we're supposed to be unbiased, but I have to admit
Speaker 1: I was saying in my head, please go in, Please
Speaker 1: go in, Please go in. And then it went in
Speaker 1: and he just feed off the crowd and then the
Speaker 1: thing I remember most is Joel's reaction like sprinting off
Speaker 1: the floor and grabbing Ben, an all time moment in
Speaker 1: seventy six Ers preseason history. Serena, thanks so much. Always enjoyable,
Speaker 1: always great stuff with Serena Winners. One of the things
Speaker 1: I most enjoy about the season starting up again you
Speaker 1: get to catch up with people you haven't seen in
Speaker 1: a while. Serena is one of those peeps always like
Speaker 1: being able to pick her brain about what she's observed
Speaker 1: reported on insights she's gathered about the Sixers, especially now
Speaker 1: with the regular season so close. Thanks so much for
Speaker 1: checking out this episode of the podcast. We'll have an
Speaker 1: official regular season opener preview early next week, so be
Speaker 1: on the lookout in your feeds. Talking next time, here
Speaker 1: on the broadcast