WEBVTT - Serena Winters Evaluates the Preseason 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:04.800 It has, by all accounts, been a fantastic preseason for 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.960 the seventy six ers top pick in this past year's draft. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:11.719 Matisse Ball fake three ball, Bible shot is good. Nicely, 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:15.760 we talk about Matisse Thible's impressive start and plenty of 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:20.919 other things, including dance moves with NBC Sports Philadelphia's Serena Winners. 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:23.640 They can be the best defensive team in the league, 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:29.600 have all the tools, The length is ridiculous. I really 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:31.760 think they can't be the best of best team that's 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:42.040 coming up on this episode of the broadcasts. I am ready. 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.840 I don't know about you, but I'm ready. I feel 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:49.240 like I was saying the same thing three weeks ago 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.800 when training camp the preseason. We're just about ready to start. 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:58.520 But now after a scrimmage and four preseason games, you know, 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:00.360 I am I'm going to even say I am beyond 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:05.000 ready to get rolland with regular season basketball next week. 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.759 But for now, what do we have some very positive 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:13.280 encouraging signs to reflect upon from the exhibition addings the 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.479 seventy sixers have played to date and what that could 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:20.399 mean for the regular season. What's going on? I'm Brian Seltzer. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.399 Apologies for a little bit more of a nasal delivery 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:27.000 for this episode of the podcast, fighting an early fall cold, 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.480 best to get it out of the system. Now are 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:32.759 reminded that if you are not a subscriber to our podcast, 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:36.319 you can become one instantly or just about by going 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.920 to any of your favorite podcast hosting platforms. We just 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.840 got on Pandora this past week. On Spotify, Apple Pods, 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:47.320 Google Pods, wherever, type in Sixers podcast network and then 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:51.240 we'll take you to where you need to go. There 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.360 has indeed been a whole lot to like about the 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.600 seventy Sixers preseason so far. At the time of taping 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.600 this episode of the podcast, the Sixers are four to 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:05.680 oz and they've compiled that record convincingly. Collectively the team 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.840 with the top net rating in the NBA in the preseason, 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.880 number one rebounds per one hundred possessions, number one in 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.480 points scored per one hundred possessions, and inside the top 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:20.240 three in points allowed points defense per one hundred possessions. 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.080 These are all really good signed for a seventy Sixers 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:28.440 team that rightfully and understandably has high aspirations. Ben Simmons 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.720 has looked strong to Bias Harris playing tough. Josh Richardson 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:35.760 has been great. But as we try out something new 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:37.880 for this episode of the podcast, I think I'm gonna 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:41.200 keep it as a regular segment. Each week we'll do 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:43.680 our opening tip, which will be like kind of an 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.840 audio essay commentary style segment. And to me right now, 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.280 with the regular season about to start, in the preseason 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:55.959 winding down, there has been one main breakout headline and 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:59.000 player that we'd have to focus on for the seventy 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:03.799 six ers, right, and it's this guy, Fatis Thibal, trap 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.480 and get a steel. Here's a lot of Thible jams 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:10.480 in about that. Here's a duck Pike Thiable. He breaks 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.560 free of Quinn with a pass and Batie Stible with 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:17.080 a one hand slam in the Fatis with another Steel 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.720 Simmons with a low lookdition. Mike Scott throws it down 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.519 as Batie Stible with a block from behind and on 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:27.079 the other end Mike Scott with a jail. If you've 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:30.119 been following along even just a little bit the last 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.080 two weeks, hearing him out these types of plays and 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:39.120 highlights has become pretty commonplace. Yeah, Fatis Stival has been 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:44.920 a machine, a menace, a most exciting revelation. The twenty 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.880 nineteen number twenty pick, whom these seventy six is acquired 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.040 from the Boston Celtics in a draft Knight trade, has 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:55.080 delivered as advertised. He's been a terror defensively, and that's 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.720 putting it mildly. I think he's been getting up in 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:03.560 guy's grills, provoking turnover, snatching up balls, generating deflections, and 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:07.040 a whole lot more. Heading to the Sixers preseason finale 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:11.800 on Friday versus the Washington Wizards, Thible had twelve steals 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.760 on the preseason. That's the most of any player in 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:18.599 the entire NBA. He also boasted the second best plus 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:22.239 minus rating in terms of total points for any rookie 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.560 in the preseason. For a prospect the Sixers front office 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:29.760 has long had their eyes on. Thible has burst onto 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.960 the scene, most auspiciously against the Detroit Pistons earlier this week. 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:36.720 He got a little bit of a promotion and finished 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:42.560 with seven points, six rebounds, four steals, and two block shots. 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:47.000 He started your first NBA game tonight, how field your 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:50.440 name called out there. It's pretty special. I mean, for me, 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:52.160 it's been it's been amazing just to be able to 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:53.920 get on the court of this level, but you know, 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:56.359 to get a start this early, it was great. I 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:58.600 was just glad to get out there and do my job. Well, 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:00.320 I've got to ask you. You've told me before the 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:02.520 game you hadn't talked to your family yet or your 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:04.800 dad about starting. What do you think your family would 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:07.279 have to say tonight. I think there's gonna be a 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.480 lot of texts in all caps, so I'm excited to 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:14.040 see that to say, and for good reason. That was 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.400 Thible's postgame interview with Serena Winners, who will join us shortly. 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:22.760 By this point, you're probably familiar with Thible's background. Born 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:26.440 in Arizona, moved to Australia when he was young, then 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.840 relocated to Seattle, where he went to both high school 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:33.680 and college. He spent four years at the University of Washington, 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.600 said the program's all time steel's record, and was named 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:40.920 the twenty nineteen Naysmith National Defensive Player of the Year. 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:44.640 Thibel held his own at Summer League. Here he goes 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.839 with the steel still and that's what he does. The 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:51.480 steel the runout in the jam, that's exactly what he does. 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:54.080 And if you talk about being on that shortlist with 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:58.360 guys like Gary Payne and himself, But it was his 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.880 insane effort the seventy six ers Blue and White scrimmage 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:05.000 early this month that really opened eyes, at least for 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:09.520 the public, for fans and media members too. Britt Brown 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:13.160 estimated that the twenty two year old had sixteen deflections 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:19.159 during the scrimmage. Sixteen. That is crazy. So just for 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.760 some context, the Oklahoma City thunder led the league in 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.080 deflections last season and they averaged fifteen and a half 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:31.680 per game. So sixteen deflections in any type of NBA setting, Yeah, 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:35.400 in my opinion, that's outrageous. This was from right after 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:38.320 the scrimmage at seventy six Ers field House in Wilmington, Delaware. 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:40.880 And what was your impression in the tea scene, especially 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:48.039 in the first half. He's so far, he's been amazing, 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.120 his length, just the way he plays the game. You 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:54.520 can run the floor, makes the river. Who can play 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:59.039 you know? The right way is no watching offices to league, 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:03.119 is no tri ordained thought process that I had tried 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:06.080 to coming into camp. I've said to them, I've said 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.679 you the gym will speak, they will tell me, And 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:13.600 so far he has spoken loudly for that reason, he's 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:15.760 earned the right to play and play a little bit more. 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:18.200 And you know, right now he's in a pretty good 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:21.680 place as it relates to my praise for him and 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:25.920 where I think he can help this team. And as 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:31.360 we know, when it Jim speaks, Brown listens attentively. As 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:36.800 for what's aladmatistible to figuratively and literally jump right into 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.760 the mix this fall. There's of course an aspect of 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:42.840 this that is germane to the person skill set that 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.600 he's developed before getting here, is God given abilities and talent, 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:50.920 his intellect and his maturity. But there's also another factor 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:54.119 at playing this equation. Thible made a point of getting 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:57.640 himself settled in Philadelphia towards the end of August, and 0:07:57.760 --> 0:07:59.920 he started working out at the training complex in Canada 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:03.800 almost right away. The result what's so far has been 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:07.720 a pretty smooth transition. Started um, like right before training, 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:10.480 Like when I started were playing pick up and that 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.200 guy's just and the guys all around I started playing 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:15.360 with him, and I guy chance to be on the 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:17.520 court with them. I started to realize that they I 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:20.640 kind of belong here, and like having that realization, it's 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:22.800 pretty huge to me just even going into training camp. 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:24.680 So then from then it just built up of that 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:28.080 one as Matiss impressed you beyond what you would have expected. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.320 And I think what it is more than anything is 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:35.000 when you get a vetter, when you get a four 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:39.280 year college guy, it does stand out. There's an expedited 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:43.960 growth that is reflected in his birth certificate. Matiss does 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:49.080 things instinctively defensively that that are unusual for a rookie. 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.080 I have learned with him. He can make up for 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:54.679 a mistake and like still get back to where he 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.880 should have been, and he just is ahead of the 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.920 sort of learning curve defense as it relates to most 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.360 rookies that I have coached. When asked about that comment 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:08.760 from Brown about being able to make up for a mistake, 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:13.800 Thible it is smooth, matter of fact, humorous. Way laughed 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.120 it off and said, I make a lot of mistakes, 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.199 but there's no mistaking this. If the preseason is any indication, 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.000 moving up to get Thible in the draft has been 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:31.959 nothing short of a well thought out, sound decision. We 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:36.200 sit down with Serena Winners from NBC Sports Philadelphia. Next. 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:39.679 You know, at this stage of the game, when the 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.440 start of the regular season is so close and you 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:45.240 might not have ticket plans for this year down at 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.280 the Center, I could totally get if you're like, how 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:51.760 am I going to get in to a game? There 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.480 aren't many options, but there is one partial plans with 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.719 the seventy six ers, and they're on sale now. A 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.599 limited number of partial plans have been reserved for the 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:04.960 general public, and now is the chance to get yours. 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.199 Do not miss out. Enjoy a discounted ticket pricing and 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:12.160 interest free monthly payment plan, playoff priority, and a whole 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.880 lot more. For more information, go to Sixers dot com. 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:18.760 Slash partials Email tickets at seventy six ers dot com 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:22.120 are called two one five, three three nine seven six 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:31.000 seven six. What happens when you pack a couple hundred 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:33.240 elementary school kids in a room tell them they're about 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:37.240 to receive new free winner coats from an NBA All Star. 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:45.160 You can only imagine what the vibe is like as 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:48.880 students eagerly and boisterous ling awaited the arrival of Ben 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:52.120 Simmons for a second annual Coats for Kids events at 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.040 the famed Henry Lee Elementary School on forty seventh the 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:59.079 Locust in West Philadelphia. There was plenty of excitements, cheering 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:03.600 and yeah flossing. Inside the gym, there was a dance 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:07.760 showcase of sorts as well, and that brings us to 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:25.160 our guests. We got a lot to catch up on, 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:29.120 but first and foremost, we can hear the audio. You 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.200 gotta set the scene for us. What was going on 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:34.960 at Lee Elementary School in West Philadelphia earlier this week? 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.560 Oh my goodness, Well, let me just say, you know, 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:41.360 it was a sweatshirt morning. I thought I was just 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.200 going to get to go out to the elementary school 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:48.520 enjoy some kids, watch Ben Simmons handout coats for a 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:52.960 great cause. And you know, Archie's up there doing his thing, 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:57.000 making sure the kids are entertained, and I'm enjoying it, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.880 clapping along. Then he sees me, Archie make eye contact, 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.760 and I can see it in his eyes. He's about 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.120 to ask me to get up on that stage and dance. 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.560 There are certain interactions in life that you know what 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.160 is about to come. Yes, And when you're put in 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.800 the uncomfortable dancing situation, you can feel building, you can 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.559 feel it coming. It's one of those things, and a 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:24.400 sweatshirt was a poor choice because I was sweating. Let 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.000 me tell you, when I knew that I was not 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.240 going to be get out, be able to get out, 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.719 I was trying to tell Archie no, But then he's 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.440 getting the kids to chant my name and he's bringing 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.280 me in, and I just know there is no telling 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.439 Archie no. And I had to get up there. I 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:41.600 had to get up there and embarrass myself and do 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:43.800 my thing, because you do it for the kids. The 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.040 kids loved it, though, they responded, but yeah, yeah, I 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:48.880 don't think you embarrassed yourself. I thought it was very 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.040 fluid and smooth. It seemed like you knew the scenario 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.679 and the circumstances. It probably was not on your to 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.719 do list to get out there and dance in front 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:59.880 of the kids. Was not. By comparison, our guy Alex Subers, Yes, 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.160 photographer to the Stars. See, you just got to embrace 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:06.000 the moment. I think you clearly you embraced the moment comfortable, 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:08.520 not you embraced it, And I think that showed Alex. 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:11.880 You could tell he wanted no part of it, and 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.120 he was not willing to surrender to the flow, so 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:18.320 to speak. Subs was not happy about it. Now. He 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:19.680 did not want to get up there and dance. I 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:23.600 was actually surprised that even though it was very short 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.280 and fleeting, you know, maybe about a four second I 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:27.720 don't know what you call what he was doing with 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:30.640 his feet up there, a little dance movement, if you 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:33.600 can call it that, I was. I was impressed that 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.920 he at least was up there for four seconds. It 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:38.880 was some combination that looked like to me between a 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:43.760 Fortnite dance move and a rocking horse. I don't know, 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:45.800 but the kids responded to you, and you could tell 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:49.000 the kids they were they were not entirely impressed with supers. 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:50.400 Did you have a at any point in time, is 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.880 there a go to serena Winter's dance move? Maybe it's 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:56.800 at weddings these days or back in the day at 0:13:56.840 --> 0:14:00.600 the barn bought Mitzvah circuit in southern California. Well, I 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:02.719 think you saw the go to move today, baby, and 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:04.600 it has put your hands up and it is just 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.080 do your thing and vibe with the music as best 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.440 as you can. I mean, back in the college days, 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:14.720 there there are some dance moves that you know they're 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:16.920 they're college dance moves. Sure you just leave them there. 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:20.840 You see see a Barbara go Gauchos. My wife and 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.200 I were at a wedding last weekend and we're our 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:26.440 mid thirties now, and the crowd was maybe six or 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.600 seven years younger, and we're talking. We're like, we feel 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:32.480 I don't know how it happened. We have devolved the 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.080 point where we're like doing our parents dance moves like 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.640 it's like the skin of a rinky dinky dink. The 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:41.080 awkward clap, the snap the fingers, put the hands somehow, 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.480 getting somehow. It usually goes back to get your hands 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.320 in the air. I gotta tell you that because they 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.160 caught me on video and I put it up because 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:51.360 I put some video up of supers dancing, so I had, 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:53.160 you know, I had to embarrass myself as well. It's 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:55.600 not fair to call somebody else out, so I put 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:57.080 I put my video up there as well. And I 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.400 will tell you my first thought, Oh my god, my mother, 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.720 my mother does that dance move? We become our parents 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:07.480 at some point we do sad thing or you just 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:10.520 embrace it. I'm sure people would just love for us 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:12.960 to continue bantering about that. I don't think so. I 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.560 think they probably want to hear us talk about the Sixers. 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:19.520 They don't want to hear about the dance moves next track, 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:21.640 But I gotta ask you first, how's your summer? What 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:23.880 did you do any highlights? Summer was great, man. I 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.960 went to Peru for ten days, and you know what, 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:29.320 I can actually tell you a great story about Peru 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:35.160 that is is so incredible and so Sixers. I was 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:43.320 at a restaurant in Peru, very nice restaurant that somehow 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.640 I'm forgetting the name, Oh Central, then the restaurants Central, 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:52.760 one of the top restaurants. And the person that was 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:58.200 waiting on us a giant Ben Simmons fan. Really at 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:02.520 a restaurant in Peru. I get to sit there and 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.360 chat with a giant Sixers fan that serving me like 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:09.320 knew everything about Ben, everything there is to know about Ben, 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.120 knew his whole bio. I mean, just got into it. 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.840 And it just goes to show what a brand he's built, 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:18.360 the Sixers have built, and it's just pretty incredible. You 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.360 try to go on vacation and you try to, you know, 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.200 disconnect a little bit from what you do, but to 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:27.040 have that happened was was really neat. How did this 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.600 conversation come about? Did you recognize you. How did the 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.400 conversation come about? Yeah, yeah, I think that is exactly 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:35.480 what happened. Well, that's crazy too, because like Ben in 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.400 the day, you know, like if you're watching a broadcast 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.880 on TV, like you have these regional sports networks, and 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:43.800 even like ten or fifteen years ago, there was still 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:48.080 a very localized scope that a local broadcast could reach. 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:51.160 But now it's like throw on your NBC Sports live 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:54.000 stream app or a league pass and like the world 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.320 knows and a waiter in South America knows all about 0:16:57.400 --> 0:17:02.080 the Sixers and Ben Simmons. Pretty incredible, that's awesome. Yeah, 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:03.920 what did you tell him? Because Ben Simmons, of course, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.159 as we look ahead of this year and you think 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:08.719 about the seventy six misfortunes, he as much as just 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.320 about anyone, is going to be a part of that. 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:18.320 That he seems to. I mean, people use a word 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:20.560 Jim Ratt, like Tobias Harris has he used that word right, 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.360 because he's worked down with Ben in the summer and 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:27.280 he seems like such a guy that has just been 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:30.160 ready to come out with a vengeance this year. Don't 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:31.720 don't you look at him, Brian and just kind of 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:35.119 see something different. I don't even know if you have 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:36.600 to look at him. I think you can listen to 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:38.960 him and hear him, and you can tell there's a 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.760 difference about his vibe and Azora, And to his credit, 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.040 that was one of the lasting things right that he 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.600 talked about in his exit interview press conference the day 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.720 after the game seven lost in Toronto, like feeling that 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.120 he grew a little bit as a leader but wants 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.480 to do more. And I know, I know guys say that, 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.119 but it really does feel like there's something, there's some 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:59.159 intangible thing happening where you can feel like this is 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.960 something that is in the works and is maturing involving 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.480 before our eyes. When we were at the Blue White scrimmage, 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:11.440 something else I noticed. You know, there's there's some guys that, Okay, 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:13.919 it's a scrimmage or just practice, no big deal, And 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:15.919 then there are some guys and Ben is one of 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:19.440 these guys where I could tell he loved the scrimmage, 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.240 like he truly just wanted to get out there and play. 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:27.560 And I'm there is just something something to him this 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:29.879 season that I can't I can't wait to see how 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.240 he progresses and looks. He's so young, he's in a 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:38.639 leadership role and there's just something exciting about it. This season. 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:41.320 All the guys too, Going back to that Blue and 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.000 White scrimmage, I mean that was less than a week 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:45.960 into the preseason or training camp or whatever you want 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.520 to call it, and the vibes were all good with 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.640 them too. They looked out of the bench getting along, 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:57.160 real good smiles, body language upbeat. It seems like um 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.600 And again it's it's really really early that from a 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.280 holistic makes sense. There's a fit personnel. I think a 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:04.680 lot of people are even seeing through a handful of 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.439 preseason games that there could be a fit provided everyone's 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:10.520 full health. But the personalities seemed to be meshing together too, 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:13.879 and it's so important. Look, don't you don't have to 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:17.439 all be best friends. That's not what meshing on a 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:20.119 team means. I mean, I think back to all the 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.400 teams I played on, and you weren't best friends with anybody, 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:27.159 with everybody, But if everybody could respect each other and 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:31.880 liked each other in some capacity, it just brings a 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.280 bond that is so much deeper. And you can feel 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:37.920 that from the start, and I think there's something to 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.119 knowing that. Okay, this is a group that we're going 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.600 to have this season. We can build it from the beginning, 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.879 not build it two thirds the way through the season. 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:49.240 And I mean you hit it on the head there. 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:53.359 I mean it is it's it genuinely seems like these 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.399 guys cannot wait to get out there and play together. 0:19:57.080 --> 0:19:58.960 Something else that's stood out to me, too, is that 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.639 it seems like, and this is more talking about the 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:04.040 starting five and some of the top guys who would 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:07.159 think of off the bench, is everyone seems to know 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:09.960 what their lanes are, what the roles are, right Whereas 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:12.680 last year it was a really interesting dynamic because less 0:20:12.680 --> 0:20:15.240 than a month into the season, here comes a multiple 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:17.840 time All Star in Jimmy Butler, and then a couple 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:21.040 months later you throw in Tobias Harris, and you've got 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:23.960 all this talent that in the thick and heat of battle, 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:26.040 they're trying to figure out their roles. You know, there 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:28.199 was something the Sixers talked openly about last year, but 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:31.919 this is an opportunity from the very beginning, having a 0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:35.440 clean canvast to work on defining roles early on, and 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:37.919 it seems like everyone knows what their lanes supposed to be. 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:40.639 That's what Brett said heading into training camp was that 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:44.560 his biggest goal for training camp was to make sure 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:48.119 that everybody on this team knows what their role is. 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:50.000 And I think when you talk to guys, be it 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:53.200 a starter or being a guy like Kylo Quinn who 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:56.280 will tell you that he knows what his role is 0:20:56.480 --> 0:21:00.399 and he's going to stay in that role. Yeah, I 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:03.879 think that's that's huge to know. And it's not just 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:06.440 with basketball. I mean think about if you're listening out there, 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:11.320 whatever job that you have, how much better you feel 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:14.840 at that job when you are equipped and you know 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:18.399 what your role is to that company or on that team. 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:22.920 I mean, it really can can transgress to different different 0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:26.399 areas totally. What have been the other storylines that have 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:29.520 statue from training camp. I'll let you lead the direction 0:21:29.520 --> 0:21:31.560 on this one. I mean, come on, you know, it's 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:33.840 matist table has to be right, it has to be 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:37.160 has to be the number one story at a training camp. 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:43.520 And I think it is as much his talent and 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:48.199 his determination and watching him have a nose for the 0:21:48.200 --> 0:21:52.440 ball as it is for being around him, because he's 0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:55.959 such an easy guy to be around. He's you know, 0:21:56.560 --> 0:21:58.800 he's a good person, he's kind, he's all the things 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:00.840 you want, and then you watch him out in the 0:22:00.880 --> 0:22:05.080 floor and you can tell. I mean, I don't know 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:09.520 if I've seen somebody love playing defense as much as 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:13.760 this guy loves playing defense. He's just so fun to 0:22:13.800 --> 0:22:15.680 what I find myself when he is in the game 0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:20.520 just watching him because he's so active and he just 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:23.200 has a nose for the ball. He just knows where 0:22:23.240 --> 0:22:26.480 it's going to go. It's amazing the hands that he 0:22:26.480 --> 0:22:29.239 gets on these balls. And on top of that, like 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:32.480 thinking back to that Blue White scrimmage that we talked 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:37.000 about when he was defending Ben Simmons, and Ben after 0:22:37.000 --> 0:22:41.000 the scrimmage jokes around saying I hate him on defense. 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:45.120 I hate him. You know that is a good thing, 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:50.320 right that you have that type of camaraderie, and Brett 0:22:50.960 --> 0:22:52.680