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 in the playoffs and that is
Speaker 1: something worth talking about, and the seventy Sixers secure a
Speaker 1: playoff berth for the fourth consecutive year. We ask is
Speaker 1: it too soon to look ahead and forecast some early
Speaker 1: postseason storylines and get excited about Ben Simmons return and
Speaker 1: the addition of George Hill. He'll tell them land in
Speaker 1: the chap who knew George Hill? Touch the ball? Thirty
Speaker 1: five and a right hand flush. I'm Lauren Rosen, I'm
Speaker 1: Devon Givens, and I'm Brian Seltzer. Plus we recafe a
Speaker 1: star crossed week on social media for one of our
Speaker 1: panelists coming up on the Friday Deep Dive. Seventy Sixers
Speaker 1: are rolling two dominant victories to aren't the week biggest
Speaker 1: two game points spread from margin of victory in franchise history?
Speaker 1: Lauren and Devon. There's also a playoff berth that has
Speaker 1: been secured. These are good times for the Sixers. Lo
Speaker 1: and behold less than a week after what many would say,
Speaker 1: at least in the context of this season was the
Speaker 1: darkest of times. Turned it around quickly, indeed, so it's
Speaker 1: good to see the team get back together. I mean,
Speaker 1: we can't go on without talking about the fact that
Speaker 1: nearly everyone, if not everyone, has been available in the
Speaker 1: last two games, and that certainly makes a large difference.
Speaker 1: When some of the folks unavailable were guys like Ben
Speaker 1: Simmons or Joel embat It tracks that the team would
Speaker 1: have a good experience against inferior opponents, fully loaded at home,
Speaker 1: and it was good to see them capitalize on all
Speaker 1: of those characteristics of the last couple of games. I agree,
Speaker 1: it always feels good when you lock in a playoff
Speaker 1: berth and especially with the expectations that come along with
Speaker 1: this season of how good they have been, how things
Speaker 1: seem to be more wide open, where there's a real
Speaker 1: opportunity to have a chance to stand up at the
Speaker 1: very end in July. So to see the team fully
Speaker 1: loaded as best as weekend, what is it, twenty five
Speaker 1: games for the starters, guys twenty one and four, the
Speaker 1: record that's encouraging, and now starting to implement some of
Speaker 1: the newer pieces and everyone's role starting to be established
Speaker 1: and maybe even not seeing a few other players that
Speaker 1: may be trying to push their way into a rotation.
Speaker 1: It just makes for great competition and at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, with the playoffs on the horizon, with
Speaker 1: ten games remaining, it's a good place to be right now,
Speaker 1: especially after a tough week. Those happened in the course
Speaker 1: of a long season, and they were able to bounce
Speaker 1: back so far earlier in the week and I'm sure
Speaker 1: they look to close things out even better as they
Speaker 1: keep things rolling Oklahoma City. The Atlanta Hawks has constituted
Speaker 1: on Wednesday night, they probably are not going to be
Speaker 1: competing for a championship this year, so the seventy six
Speaker 1: just took care business, which I thought was hardening to
Speaker 1: see given that it felt last week like the energy
Speaker 1: just wasn't there. Maybe the Sixers with guys in and
Speaker 1: out of the lineup, hit a wall. So I really
Speaker 1: love seeing the purpose and focus that the Sixers came
Speaker 1: back with to start this week. I also think when
Speaker 1: you step back and look at the big picture, there
Speaker 1: is so much and the Sixers are not alone. Every
Speaker 1: team in the league has had to navigate uncharted territory
Speaker 1: this season, but still putting that within the conversation of
Speaker 1: what the Sixers have accomplished this year. Doc Rivers was
Speaker 1: hired two months before training camp, Daryl Morey came in
Speaker 1: a few weeks before the draft, and the Sixers were
Speaker 1: able to build collectively a team that's been one of
Speaker 1: the best consistently night and nine out in the NBA
Speaker 1: this season. And I thought it was appropriate and the
Speaker 1: right way for the Sixers to talk about the playoff Berth.
Speaker 1: I was expected to clinch playoffs. You know, we would
Speaker 1: have loved to be the first in clinch the playoffs,
Speaker 1: you know, but it's kind of where we're at now.
Speaker 1: So we're not. Um, we're not we're not dwelling on that.
Speaker 1: But um, no, Philadelphia basketball greatness is you know, really, um,
Speaker 1: something that is expected from our fans, is expected from
Speaker 1: us as a group, and it's one of our goals
Speaker 1: day in and day out. So you know, we understand that.
Speaker 1: You know, we're not a team in the locker room
Speaker 1: celebrated for Clinton playoffs right now. We want to celebrate
Speaker 1: when we're able to win and win big in this postseason.
Speaker 1: That's our goal. Tobias Harris said, we're not celebrating anything.
Speaker 1: Joel Ebid talked about the long road ahead. That's exactly
Speaker 1: what they should be saying. They want to win a title.
Speaker 1: They're not trying to just get him the playoffs. But
Speaker 1: I think it is noteworthy it's still with two weeks
Speaker 1: two and a half weeks to go, six Ers have
Speaker 1: their spot all secured and wrapped up. Well, they're looking
Speaker 1: ahead too. I think the importance of the one seed.
Speaker 1: They wanted the one seed at the beginning of the season,
Speaker 1: but I don't know if at the beginning of the
Speaker 1: season everybody knew what a three horse race this would
Speaker 1: be in the Eastern comp prints and what that one
Speaker 1: seed would mean in terms of your path to the finals.
Speaker 1: I think they're all starting to understand that now. I
Speaker 1: think maybe playing Milwaukee a couple times made them realize, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is actually a pretty formidable opponent. And of course
Speaker 1: the Sixers didn't have their full punch available when they played,
Speaker 1: but maybe being there sort of was like an okay moment,
Speaker 1: we don't really want to have to play Brooklyn and Milwaukee, Like,
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and really pursue this one seed. And
Speaker 1: that's something that Doc and the players all discussed last night.
Speaker 1: It's nice to make the playoffs. But they don't want
Speaker 1: to just make the playoffs. They want to make the
Speaker 1: playoffs in a convenient, luxurious fashion, and that would be
Speaker 1: with the one seed. And maybe even looking at last
Speaker 1: week is something that did open their eyes a little
Speaker 1: bit and understanding that this is not going to be
Speaker 1: an easy path. Not that they had that mindset before,
Speaker 1: but certainly looking at how things are where you do
Speaker 1: lose the games that you did, you go in a
Speaker 1: four game skid, and you want that number one seed,
Speaker 1: It's not going to be easy. And knowing what the
Speaker 1: playoffs are in front of you, something like this could
Speaker 1: possibly boil well for them as they start to look ahead.
Speaker 1: So the approach I like it. I like the fact
Speaker 1: that they're saying what they're saying about they're not done
Speaker 1: the ultimate goals the championship. When you brought Danny Green
Speaker 1: and Dwight Howard in, who just won titles last season
Speaker 1: with Los Angeles, you brought them in here because again,
Speaker 1: your eyes, your eyes were set on the big prize
Speaker 1: and these two come in, They're not coming in, you know,
Speaker 1: not making you know, big money if you will. For
Speaker 1: Dwight Howard in his case, and while Danny Green is
Speaker 1: still on his same contract. He has one of the
Speaker 1: last two titles, and he'll tell you about them. And
Speaker 1: so that's the right mindset I believe for them to
Speaker 1: have fans. I think they also feel the same way.
Speaker 1: Fifty wins it's a it's a it's something that is
Speaker 1: a milestone of course each season, but it's no longer
Speaker 1: about that because we've seen that for the past few
Speaker 1: seasons with this basketball team where they've had fifty plus wins,
Speaker 1: and this year we'll see where they ultimately get, sitting
Speaker 1: at forty one and twenty one right now before the
Speaker 1: next game against Atlanta. But yes, it's it's about the playoffs.
Speaker 1: It's about all of that. Fifty wins is fantastic, but
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you want those sixteen
Speaker 1: in the postseason to wrap the entire thing up. The
Speaker 1: team four. This week's Friday Deep Dive is going to
Speaker 1: be is it too soon? We're going to dive into
Speaker 1: that in a second. First of all, two housekeeping items.
Speaker 1: Number one, I always think you guys sound great and terrific.
Speaker 1: I am loving the way you are sounding on this
Speaker 1: particular episode of the Deep Dive. Big shout out to
Speaker 1: our friends at road Microphones, no doubt, road thank you.
Speaker 1: Thank you a quality sponsorship component that I'm not aware
Speaker 1: of here, there is not. We just have to shout
Speaker 1: them out because their product is so terrific and seamless
Speaker 1: and easy to use. Another great thing. I know my
Speaker 1: set was easy, Lauren. I'm sure yours was as well,
Speaker 1: So thank you, Rode one of several great things associated
Speaker 1: with the seventy six ers based in Australia or from Australia.
Speaker 1: But yes, Lauren's sounding great on your new road pod
Speaker 1: mic divin sounding terrific on your road mini USB microphone,
Speaker 1: and we use the Roadcaster. Again, they're not paying for this,
Speaker 1: but I have to recognize innovation and ease of access
Speaker 1: when it's out there, so that's why I'm doing it.
Speaker 1: So that's housekeeping item number one. Housekeeping item number two.
Speaker 1: We have a development and for this developments, we need
Speaker 1: to check in in our nation's capital. We have to
Speaker 1: go to the social media desk in Washington, DC, and
Speaker 1: for that, I'm going to turn it over to Divine Givens. Divine,
Speaker 1: what's the latest news bolting out of the nation's capital. Oh,
Speaker 1: the latest out of the nation's capital is that Lauren
Speaker 1: is super famous, you don't say, really really famous. We
Speaker 1: had to take some time, We had to change our
Speaker 1: schedules a bit because we had to speak to her
Speaker 1: people and the speak to you know, the other people,
Speaker 1: and just checking with all the people because when you
Speaker 1: were as famous as Lauren as you have people. So
Speaker 1: Lauren has people now because she is super famous now
Speaker 1: that Jake Tapper, wow, yes you heard me, correct Jake
Speaker 1: Tapper now quote tweeting Lauren Rosen about basketball. And we
Speaker 1: saw that itself. All right, this is a new level
Speaker 1: of fame for Lauren now. And I don't know that
Speaker 1: we can keep up. I didn't first of all, I
Speaker 1: never thought we were famous. I always thought Lauren had
Speaker 1: this fame because she'll tweet out this is for Sixers
Speaker 1: fans and sixty fans only after every win every morning,
Speaker 1: and look at the standings. They're still in first place,
Speaker 1: and all of these people just like and retweet everything.
Speaker 1: Lauren dess. I'm like, you know, so she's really famous.
Speaker 1: I don't know how long is this is gonna last?
Speaker 1: And then boom Jake Tapper CNN. I don't know, so Celts,
Speaker 1: I think we have it for the remainder of the season,
Speaker 1: and then we're gonna have to talk to her people again.
Speaker 1: This is quite the accomplishment, Lauren. Jake Tapper engaging with
Speaker 1: one of your tweets. Well, what's crazy is that Jake
Speaker 1: Tapper has three point three million followers, and I'm one
Speaker 1: of them. But I didn't realize his audience was quite
Speaker 1: that wide. I've had so many people from different like
Speaker 1: walks of my life that definitely followed Jake Tapper and
Speaker 1: definitely don't follow the Sixers or listen to what Joe
Speaker 1: ell Embiid has to say, get really excited about this.
Speaker 1: I'll be honest. I've had some I've had some cool
Speaker 1: folks engage with me, especially this season. I'm very lucky.
Speaker 1: The engagement has only come because I'm covering a team
Speaker 1: that's been so successful and that does such lovable things,
Speaker 1: and I'm I'm lucky. The content is easy. All I'm
Speaker 1: doing is putting it out there. Cool people have engaged.
Speaker 1: Jake Tapper is up there. I gotta be honest. I
Speaker 1: felt pretty I mean, that was my guy during the election,
Speaker 1: Like Jake Tapper was like in my ear for like
Speaker 1: a week, just really cool to you know, be able
Speaker 1: to pay him back, you know, for all that that
Speaker 1: he did for me. Who else is on this list
Speaker 1: of dignitaries who've engaged with your content? Oh, now you're
Speaker 1: gonna put me on the spot. I wouldn't say dignitaries.
Speaker 1: Jake Tapper is the first, probably like non Sixer, non
Speaker 1: Philadelphia area influencer vibe, like the folks that engage with
Speaker 1: are folks that engage with the Sixers. This was this
Speaker 1: was different, okay, but we are aware that Jake Tapper,
Speaker 1: he does have a connection to the area, a big
Speaker 1: local product, grew up in and around the area. M
Speaker 1: And now he's on Lauren's list or part of you.
Speaker 1: Lauren's on his list? Now? Yes? So she one day
Speaker 1: is Darryl Moorey, right, president of basketball operations for the team.
Speaker 1: I don't know Daryl Morey. I'm one of his team's
Speaker 1: podcast but I don't know. And Laurens is you know,
Speaker 1: Lauren's all plugged in with these people. So so I
Speaker 1: think we're rubbing elbows with the right person. So we'll
Speaker 1: see where it all ends up. All right, this has
Speaker 1: got to stop. My face is so rad right now.
Speaker 1: We need to move on. Well, he'd be on the
Speaker 1: float with us when they win a championship. Jake Tapper
Speaker 1: does he on our float? All right? I would invite him.
Speaker 1: Let's send him a DM over with the glasses. Let's
Speaker 1: do it there. Space for everybody, tremendous. Thank you, Vin
Speaker 1: for checking in from our Washington d C Social media desk.
Speaker 1: No problem, thank you. I'm dead that you had the
Speaker 1: music celts like that was evil. The fact that you
Speaker 1: surprised me with the with the patriotic music roadcaster. What
Speaker 1: can I say? If we didn't have the roadcaster, we
Speaker 1: couldn't get some John Phillips SUSA pumping in here. All right,
Speaker 1: we gotta move on. I'm gonna get I'm just gonna
Speaker 1: forget how to speak. So let's Is it too soon
Speaker 1: to move on to actual basketball talk here on the
Speaker 1: Friday Deep Dive? Is it too soon? That's going to
Speaker 1: be the theme for the show. We are heading into
Speaker 1: the home stretch, the true home stretch. I feel like
Speaker 1: we've been talking about the home stretch for weeks upon
Speaker 1: weeks now, but we are down to about two and
Speaker 1: a half weeks left. Seventy sixers. As we mentioned, they
Speaker 1: are the second team in the East to clinch playoff spot,
Speaker 1: fourth straight season for the Sixers in the postseason. Something
Speaker 1: to be said about that. So my first is it
Speaker 1: too soon? Question? Is is it too soon? And I
Speaker 1: usually don't like to play games like this, but because
Speaker 1: there are somehow two weeks we have to get through,
Speaker 1: I'm going to is it too soon to look ahead
Speaker 1: at a potential playoff opponent? Devon Givens, What do you
Speaker 1: say and what do you think about a potential first
Speaker 1: round matchup for the seventy sixers. Wow, well, first, of course,
Speaker 1: we have to get through the play in tournament. That
Speaker 1: will be fun. The new wrinkle that the league has
Speaker 1: implemented with the play in tournament in both the East
Speaker 1: and the West, It's gonna be fun, man, because a
Speaker 1: lot of times you see teams just kind of take
Speaker 1: it easy the final weeks of the season. But there's
Speaker 1: so many teams that are now in play for a
Speaker 1: playoff berth for the seventh or eighth seed that right
Speaker 1: now I'm looking at is it too soon? No, it's
Speaker 1: not to look at Miami Charlotte around there seeing where
Speaker 1: and how the seventy sixers will match up with those teams.
Speaker 1: Because playing against the Miami Heat with their reinforcements that
Speaker 1: they have back. Now everyone's return has returned, adding Trevor
Speaker 1: Ariza and Victor Oladipo to the squad, and the returning
Speaker 1: players of course, led by Jimmy Butler, Bam out of
Speaker 1: Bayo and so on. It's a really good basketball team.
Speaker 1: And that's not a team that I expected to face
Speaker 1: in the first round if you're at the top of
Speaker 1: the conference, So that will be interesting. And Charlotte just
Speaker 1: the way that James Barrego has that team playing, and
Speaker 1: even with LaMelo Ball going down, many felt like they
Speaker 1: would take a step back, but they still play some
Speaker 1: really good basketball. Gordon Hayward also went down. They're playing
Speaker 1: really good basketball Defensively, they're playing you know, inspired basketball
Speaker 1: on that end as well, and they have so many
Speaker 1: pieces that are very in The Sixers won the season series,
Speaker 1: and it looked really good against the Charlotte Hornets. But
Speaker 1: is it too soon, No, especially when you're trying to
Speaker 1: look at a pathway in order for you to get
Speaker 1: to the Eastern Conference finals and ultimately the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1: So I don't think it's too soon to look at
Speaker 1: those teams specifically. Anything can happen. Washington is playing much better.
Speaker 1: They just had their eight game winning streaks snapped. New
Speaker 1: York is playing really good basketball. They've moved up in
Speaker 1: the standings. It's going to be it's gonna be fun
Speaker 1: these the last two and a half weeks that you
Speaker 1: speak of, where we get a chance to really start
Speaker 1: to pay attention to who the opponent could be. Who
Speaker 1: do you want to face less, right, who do you
Speaker 1: want to face more? What's the easier way to get
Speaker 1: to the NBA Finals. So I don't think it's too soon.
Speaker 1: It's really all about the path. And that's why I
Speaker 1: think for the seventy six ers the focus on the
Speaker 1: one seed is so important right now, or for anyone
Speaker 1: who can get the one seed, especially in the East.
Speaker 1: But it seems like after incredibly the Knicks right now,
Speaker 1: certainly after the Bucks, but probably after the Knicks anywhere
Speaker 1: after four that could be in play between Atlanta, Boston,
Speaker 1: Miami and Charlotte, maybe Indie, possibly the Wizards could shuffle
Speaker 1: in and around there. Because Boston and Miami right now
Speaker 1: are essentially neck and neck. Boston Lauren could be in
Speaker 1: a play in situation, which, of course, as Sixers fans,
Speaker 1: there's a little I don't want to butcher the pronunciation,
Speaker 1: but a little bit of schaden freud in that situation, right, Okay.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, first of all, I have two takes.
Speaker 1: My first take is that I am so excited about
Speaker 1: the play in tournament. I think this has completely changed
Speaker 1: the way that the league functions, and I hope that
Speaker 1: they continue to do it. I mean, the amount of
Speaker 1: teams that are still in play at this point versus
Speaker 1: last year, it's so much fun on both sides of
Speaker 1: the bracket. I'm really looking forward to those few days
Speaker 1: and just like sitting back and watching it's going to
Speaker 1: be like watching college basketball, but it's the NBA, and
Speaker 1: it's teams you've played all season, and it's guys like
Speaker 1: Steph Curry like they are superstars that are going to
Speaker 1: play in these play in games. Jimmy Butler could be
Speaker 1: in a play in game, Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beale.
Speaker 1: That leads me to my second take. You got to
Speaker 1: give a quick shout out to the Washington Wizards. I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody thought that the Wizards would win nine
Speaker 1: in a row at the end of the season. I mean,
Speaker 1: good for them. They are playing their way into the
Speaker 1: conversation potentially into that tournament. Tenth sorry, the tenth game
Speaker 1: that they ended up losing was in overtime. So they
Speaker 1: won nine in a row, and then they went to
Speaker 1: overtime against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. I mean, oh,
Speaker 1: pretty solid, right, I'll be honest. Washington is for me.
Speaker 1: If I were involved with the team that was in
Speaker 1: a play in situation, that would be a team that
Speaker 1: scares the you know what, Adaman, I'd say that regardless
Speaker 1: of whether or not they had won nine in a row,
Speaker 1: because you have two guys on that roster in Bale
Speaker 1: and Westbrook, who in a one game situation could go
Speaker 1: absolutely crazy. They might not be able to sustain it
Speaker 1: for a seven game series, but could go nuts in
Speaker 1: a game and win you a game. If you just
Speaker 1: need to get one, I'm sorry to cut you off. Sets.
Speaker 1: They won eight in a row, then they lost to
Speaker 1: the Spurs. Then they beat the Lakers, so they won
Speaker 1: nine out of their last ten. I'm sorry that I
Speaker 1: counted them wrong, but they beat the Lakers. They beat
Speaker 1: a couple good teams in this run. I mean they
Speaker 1: played the Thunder twice in that run, but I mean
Speaker 1: they beat the Warriors, they beat the Pelicans, they beat
Speaker 1: the Jazz. Pretty impressive stuff from the Washington Wizards. And
Speaker 1: that's why I'm so excited about this play in tournament though,
Speaker 1: because you put a guy like Russell Westbrook in a winner,
Speaker 1: go home situation, you don't know what he's going to do,
Speaker 1: even if the team he's playing against is a team
Speaker 1: that's better, and then all of a sudden, the Wizards
Speaker 1: get to have a playoff run. I mean, I'm just
Speaker 1: really excited. I think it's hopefully going to be something
Speaker 1: that stays in the league for years to come, and
Speaker 1: there will be cool Cinderella type stories about the teams
Speaker 1: that get in via the play in Tournament. And I'm
Speaker 1: glad the Sixers don't have to participate, or likely don't
Speaker 1: have to participate, but I'm looking forward to seeing who does.
Speaker 1: I don't think to your point, Lauren, I don't even
Speaker 1: know if Russell Westbrook knows what he would do in
Speaker 1: a one game win or go home play in situation. Scary.
Speaker 1: I don't want to be the other team. No, even
Speaker 1: if I'm Lebron James, and of course Lebron James and
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook, they're not going to play each other. But
Speaker 1: I don't want to be I don't want to be
Speaker 1: on the opposite end of that. No, thank you, No,
Speaker 1: not at all. Thirty twenty and twenty he's putting he's
Speaker 1: gonna hang that on someone in a one game series,
Speaker 1: I mean one game elimination game. Absolutely, yep. I am
Speaker 1: not particularly concerned about whomever the seventy six ers match
Speaker 1: up with in the first round, any of those teams
Speaker 1: that we mentioned, whether it's the Hawks, the Celtics, Heat,
Speaker 1: Hornet's Pacers, Wizards, those are the guys in the conversation
Speaker 1: right now. Maybe outside shot for the Bulls. I just
Speaker 1: think for me, what I look at in those situations
Speaker 1: is right. You don't want to get too worn out
Speaker 1: your first as you obviously want the easiest path, the
Speaker 1: easiest road, and Miami I think could be a battle.
Speaker 1: We know why Boston Celtics. Part of me thinks for
Speaker 1: them they might be able to find another gear once
Speaker 1: they just get there. This has been a really bad
Speaker 1: season for them obviously, just in terms of consistency. I
Speaker 1: don't know, But to go back to the original question,
Speaker 1: definitely not too soon for me at all to start
Speaker 1: playing the game of who you could go up against
Speaker 1: and had with the matchup work and all that. I'll
Speaker 1: be honest, I am so grateful and happy that NBA
Speaker 1: basketball is back, with the exception of the Miami game
Speaker 1: in the final week of the season, keep checking the
Speaker 1: games off, let's keep going, stay healthy when let's keep
Speaker 1: it moving. Absolutely yep, and including that game, because in
Speaker 1: the event that you do have to face them, you
Speaker 1: want to let them know, not that they don't know.
Speaker 1: They know how good the seventy sixers are. One player
Speaker 1: particular knows for sure how tough they are. You want
Speaker 1: to make a statement against them as well. So even
Speaker 1: if you are doing your part and keeping them out,
Speaker 1: then you do your part in keeping them out. So
Speaker 1: with the amount of games remaining and looking at where
Speaker 1: they are, I don't think it's too soon. It's human nation.
Speaker 1: We're not the players. We're not. We can look and say, yeah,
Speaker 1: I want to stay away from them and see how
Speaker 1: they perform against Charlotte. Maybe we like that. Well, maybe
Speaker 1: you don't want to go there. So I don't think
Speaker 1: it's too soon, not at all. Our next item is
Speaker 1: it too soon? Pevski goes by, still looking, but he
Speaker 1: steals it. He's got Betty Simmons at the end of
Speaker 1: the half. Yeah too, half camp for a second to
Speaker 1: go steal, run out, slap and the Sixers go up fifty.
Speaker 1: Is it too soon to say, guys, that these seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers could be, if fully healthy, one of the best,
Speaker 1: if not the best, defensive team in the playoffs this year? Yes,
Speaker 1: confident quick response, I like it. If yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: you said, if fully healthy? Yeah. Absolutely. Doc Rivers said
Speaker 1: that he believes that this team has three of the
Speaker 1: top ten, perhaps five defenders in the league, certainly in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. And then the addition of George Hill has
Speaker 1: been really really cool to watch. I think that's something
Speaker 1: that we heard was going to be big. We saw
Speaker 1: was very big last night, or rather Wednesday night, Monday night.
Speaker 1: He's been really good with that second unit, bringing a
Speaker 1: very steady presence on the offensive end and the defensive end,
Speaker 1: and cool to have pretty much at all times at
Speaker 1: least two elite defenders on the floor. That's that's without
Speaker 1: mentioning Danny Green in the work that he's done all season,
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris, who's become certainly a plus defender in this league.
Speaker 1: So yeah, absolutely. The question is could they be the
Speaker 1: best if healthy. The answer is yes, certainly, could absolutely
Speaker 1: when you have two first teamers for sure defensively that
Speaker 1: you can think of with hib and Simmons, and we'll see,
Speaker 1: of course how those are a play out at the
Speaker 1: end of the season. But you addam Atistible who is
Speaker 1: also fantastic, looking at what George Hill can also bring
Speaker 1: as a versatile defender on the wing, Dwight Howard coming
Speaker 1: in off the bench, Danny Green with experience as a
Speaker 1: defender in the postseason. Also, you have the necessary components
Speaker 1: to be that defensive team that we're talking about. And
Speaker 1: by the way, we've seen it in the regular season
Speaker 1: as well, so we know things are going to slow
Speaker 1: down in the playoffs. And yeah, well there will be
Speaker 1: those offensive nights where the numbers are really really crooked.
Speaker 1: It's just the way that basketball is, and it's fantastic.
Speaker 1: But I do think they have the chance to be
Speaker 1: a really good defensive team because at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, that's where it's gonna lie for them. In
Speaker 1: order to win. Sure, the points are gonna matter, whoever
Speaker 1: has one more point than the other is gonna win.
Speaker 1: But defensively, that's how this particular team really gets rolling
Speaker 1: defense leading to offense. They seem inspired by that when
Speaker 1: they have their defense clicking like that, getting in the
Speaker 1: open floor, getting easy transition buckets. So I agree. I
Speaker 1: think Lauren is absolutely right on this one. They do
Speaker 1: have that opportunity to do so with their defense. Here's
Speaker 1: what the numbers say as of Thursday going into Friday,
Speaker 1: the seventy six Ers less than a half point per
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions behind the Lakers for the top also
Speaker 1: known as lower defensive rating in the league. Impressive that
Speaker 1: the Lakers have been able to sustain that without Lebron James. Sixers, though,
Speaker 1: have had their guys go in and out of the
Speaker 1: lineup as well, so there's that in the number two
Speaker 1: defense in the league. They are tied with the Indiana
Speaker 1: Pacers for most blocks per one hundred possessions, and they
Speaker 1: are a tenth behind off the lead for steals per
Speaker 1: one hundred possession, trailing only the Memphis Grizzlies. So essentially
Speaker 1: you're looking at a top two team in overall defense
Speaker 1: steals and blocks. They have been tenacious. I definitely think
Speaker 1: that this group has the potential when it becomes more
Speaker 1: and more a half court game, particularly in the playoffs,
Speaker 1: to be the best defensive unit in the season. And
Speaker 1: if that's the case, if they play that way, I
Speaker 1: really like their chances a lot. I think we all
Speaker 1: agree that was easy easy, all right, check that box
Speaker 1: are related? Is it too soon or perhaps we could
Speaker 1: better say might it be too late to conclude without
Speaker 1: perhaps too much debate, that Ben Simmons really helps this
Speaker 1: team in the late Ben Simmons Simmons at the rim,
Speaker 1: and he scores it chapters with his back to the
Speaker 1: basket in mid air and lays it in Simmons three
Speaker 1: for three. Can that be unanimous decision? In general? I
Speaker 1: don't think we don't even to dive into layers. But
Speaker 1: building off that notion that Doc Rivers talked about, I'm
Speaker 1: sure a lot of fans out there heard this quote
Speaker 1: from Doc where he said that he was speaking with
Speaker 1: a coach recently and the coach said, I can't believe
Speaker 1: you get asked about Ben Simmons to show film the
Speaker 1: last four games. Ben's been back two games and the
Speaker 1: results have been pretty pretty emphatic. I mean, it was
Speaker 1: interesting to hear Doc Rivers basically say that the Sixers
Speaker 1: did a better job of finding ways to win without
Speaker 1: Joel than they were able to do without Ben. And
Speaker 1: that doesn't necessarily indicate anything about how they match up
Speaker 1: as players or how important they are to this team,
Speaker 1: but I think it does go to show just how
Speaker 1: much Ben does for the offense, for the defense, and
Speaker 1: how much the team struggles without him there. It was
Speaker 1: an interesting point to make because Joell Emade of course,
Speaker 1: is an MVP candidate, and you wish the Sixers wouldn't
Speaker 1: have had to play as many games as they did
Speaker 1: without him, but they found a way to make it work,
Speaker 1: and without Ben they struggle a little bit, and it's
Speaker 1: I think that's sort of the ultimate testament to how
Speaker 1: important he is. Even if, again we've been saying it
Speaker 1: all season, the stats don't necessarily tell the whole story
Speaker 1: with Ben Simmons. In fact, I would argue that they
Speaker 1: never do, and he's been pretty excellent in the limited
Speaker 1: minutes that he's played this week because he hasn't had
Speaker 1: to play more minutes this week. Yeah, again, not to
Speaker 1: dock too deep into it, because we certainly could. They
Speaker 1: are just an overall better basketball team. He's out there
Speaker 1: both defensively and offensively. You see the open shots that
Speaker 1: the shooters are able to get the attention that he
Speaker 1: draws in transition, even in half court once the ball
Speaker 1: is in his hands because of the passing ability and
Speaker 1: finding the shooters and putting the ball in their hands
Speaker 1: in the right places to get those easy shots, but
Speaker 1: they don't have to work too much to get their
Speaker 1: shot off. And then defensively, again we've talked he's the
Speaker 1: first team All Defensive player last season and that is
Speaker 1: could again be true this season as well based on
Speaker 1: what we've seen so far through the sixty two games
Speaker 1: that they've played, so clearly not too soon once again
Speaker 1: to talk about how important he is. If they have
Speaker 1: any chance to win, he has to be out there
Speaker 1: on the floor, and I think we've seen in the
Speaker 1: two games that he's stepped back out there with the team.
Speaker 1: No doubt love the way he's approached, especially the start
Speaker 1: of those games, really aggressive, setting the tone, jumps starting
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers in big ways, and wins over OKSE
Speaker 1: and the Atlanta Hawks. Is it too soon? I ask
Speaker 1: you guys to be excited about George Hill when he's
Speaker 1: back and hopefully in full form. It is not too soon.
Speaker 1: And even in the short amount of time that we've
Speaker 1: seen him, I feel a comfort level. I've seen him
Speaker 1: as we all have from Indiana, Well, San Antonio, Indiana, Cleveland, Milwaukee.
Speaker 1: There's just a comfort level with him out there on
Speaker 1: the floor. And I don't mean any disrespect to any
Speaker 1: of the others, but it's like that it's the adult
Speaker 1: in the room to handle certain things, but the adult
Speaker 1: on the floor to handle certain situations. There was this
Speaker 1: one play, if you guys don't mind that. I don't
Speaker 1: even remember if it resulted in the basket, but he
Speaker 1: was the Atlanta Hawks were in his zone, he was
Speaker 1: in the corner. He was in the right corner. Dwight
Speaker 1: Howard's posting and oftentimes Dwight doesn't get the ball on
Speaker 1: the little block to do his work. He's offensive rebounds,
Speaker 1: a quick hands off for a layoup or a dunk
Speaker 1: or a lib that will in the dunk, or some
Speaker 1: free throws, and Dwight Dwight Howard was posting, trying to
Speaker 1: find a spot down there on the low block as
Speaker 1: his zone is in play. George Hill catch the ball
Speaker 1: in the corner, assesses the situation. Dwight is waiting for
Speaker 1: someone at the top of the key to get the
Speaker 1: ball to make that entry from the high post into
Speaker 1: the low easier angle. So what George Hill does instead
Speaker 1: of doing that and getting the ball to the middle
Speaker 1: of the floor, he slides up more towards the wing
Speaker 1: himself and has confidence enough and his big man to
Speaker 1: throw it over the man who's fronting Dwight Howard, giving
Speaker 1: him an opportunity to jump up, cash the ball and
Speaker 1: then turn and make a play and basket or not.
Speaker 1: Just the IQ of the point guard right and trusting
Speaker 1: his big man. When you do something like that for
Speaker 1: you a big man, even though it's a tough spot
Speaker 1: like that, your big man is not going to trust
Speaker 1: you and do more for you, even on the other
Speaker 1: end defensively to help clean up something that you may not,
Speaker 1: or he's going to go harder at the past. Once again,
Speaker 1: that may not be the easiest pass to catch, He's
Speaker 1: gonna do that because he sees that you have faith
Speaker 1: in him. And when George Hill made a simple pass
Speaker 1: like that, it wasn't easy to get it lobbed over
Speaker 1: the man who's fronting Dwight Howard and allow him to
Speaker 1: catch that ball. It wasn't an easy pass, but again,
Speaker 1: it was just something like that that I haven't seen
Speaker 1: from anyone on the roster so far, and for him
Speaker 1: to do something like that, and I think Danny Green
Speaker 1: could do that. And we know Ben Simmons has great
Speaker 1: passing ability, but sometimes be passing it's a little too
Speaker 1: off the mark a little bit every now and them
Speaker 1: just because of how how perfect his are where you
Speaker 1: know he has to get it in their perfect way.
Speaker 1: But even something as subtle as that, for me, said
Speaker 1: a lot about George Hill. And then to watch him
Speaker 1: three for seven from the floor, I didn't care what
Speaker 1: the percentage was because I saw how the game was
Speaker 1: played and the impact that he had both offensively and defensively.
Speaker 1: Another simple play, catching the ball in the left wing,
Speaker 1: left corner partment, the ball swung around snap right to him.
Speaker 1: He was in shooting motion and shooting pocket catches it,
Speaker 1: goes up, shoots it and I'm like, yeah, that's exactly
Speaker 1: what you're supposed to do, right, And he didn't hesitate,
Speaker 1: he didn't think about it. It was shoot go. We
Speaker 1: know quick releases are there for Seth Curry and Danny
Speaker 1: Green and even Shake Milton Furkin Quork Miles as well.
Speaker 1: With the unorthodox shots that he can make also, But
Speaker 1: just to see something like that with a player who
Speaker 1: has only been with you for a short amount of time.
Speaker 1: But it's the IQ. It's the amount of years that
Speaker 1: he's had in the NBA, the understanding and already just
Speaker 1: being a part of this team and knowing what his
Speaker 1: role is so far. And I don't want to take
Speaker 1: it too over the top, but they needed someone like
Speaker 1: this on their roster, and I don't think we can
Speaker 1: overlook the importance of him in the postseason and these
Speaker 1: final games of the regular season because it's not too
Speaker 1: soon for me. I'm sorry, I just had to go
Speaker 1: on that whole thing there, but hey, I loved it.
Speaker 1: I would just quickly shout out his dunks, like we
Speaker 1: got to see George Hill get up. Yeah, he has
Speaker 1: fresh lights. A lot of people in the league right
Speaker 1: now have fresh legs, so that's a little underrated component
Speaker 1: for George Hill. The only thing I wanted to add
Speaker 1: to what you had to say Devon, which I agree
Speaker 1: with all of the veteran leadership. It's something that I
Speaker 1: talk a lot about on this program. It's something that
Speaker 1: the players talk a lot about and have all season long.
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers says that this is a very young team,
Speaker 1: and Doc Rivers is correct, especially when your two leaders
Speaker 1: are Ben and Joel, who are still so young in
Speaker 1: their careers and often don't get enough credit for how
Speaker 1: young they are and what they're doing. But especially when
Speaker 1: you look at that second unit that's sometimes headlined by
Speaker 1: shake for conmatise, that's a young that's a young group
Speaker 1: of guys. And to add George Hill to the equation,
Speaker 1: he brings this calm like you feel you trust him.
Speaker 1: When he's on the floor, you feel very I feel
Speaker 1: very safe watching George Hill. You know he's going to
Speaker 1: do the right thing. He's very communicative, which I think
Speaker 1: is really cool and something we saw before he even
Speaker 1: started playing, being very communicative on the bench while he
Speaker 1: was rehabbing from that thumb surgery. So cool to think
Speaker 1: about the fact that in both the first unit and
Speaker 1: the second unit there are some really solid veteran leaders.
Speaker 1: You add Dwight Howard of course in that second unit,
Speaker 1: Dwight and George. All of a sudden, the second unit
Speaker 1: has a lot of experience there when you look at
Speaker 1: the other three who have very little experience, you still
Speaker 1: feel pretty comfortable with that group of five, and then
Speaker 1: you look at the first unit and you can't skip
Speaker 1: over Danny Green to Bias Harris, maybe add Seth into
Speaker 1: that mix. There are some really solid leaders who have
Speaker 1: been through some stuff and seen some stuff in this
Speaker 1: league in both units, and I think that that's really important.
Speaker 1: And George really to me, sort of pushes it over
Speaker 1: the edge with that veteran leadership and that just solid,
Speaker 1: safe vibe he brings to that second group. He's mister Mellow,
Speaker 1: it seems like to me. In further consideration of the
Speaker 1: topic that we discussed last week, is George Hill adoppelganger
Speaker 1: for Devon Givens. I'm fully in the camp that physically, no,
Speaker 1: I don't see it anymore. If I saw it, it's gone.
Speaker 1: I do think he's like Devon gives is that he's mellow.
Speaker 1: He seems to project very mellow composed vibes, which I
Speaker 1: think is great. And yeah, I think that you can
Speaker 1: see evidence, like you pointed out, that he thinks the
Speaker 1: game in a great way and he's going to make
Speaker 1: the right play. And to your point, Larn, to me,
Speaker 1: I thought one of the great things from the game
Speaker 1: on Wednesday against Atlanta was physically. To me, he obviously
Speaker 1: looked like he was just at a different point or
Speaker 1: felt more confident doing things than he had in his
Speaker 1: first couple games back in that first week with the Sixers.
Speaker 1: Last week, so I thought for him, really encouraging game
Speaker 1: against the Hawks. Played twenty two minutes, seven points, six rebounds,
Speaker 1: three assists, just one turnover. Fully in agreement with you, guys,
Speaker 1: not too excited, not too soon to be too excited
Speaker 1: about George Hill. I think the Sixers are really excited
Speaker 1: about him as well. Our final is it too soon
Speaker 1: or not too soon item on the docket at least
Speaker 1: for me, I can open up the fourth the end
Speaker 1: if you guys would like. Is it too soon to
Speaker 1: presume that Doc Rivers is going to have a tight
Speaker 1: playoff rotation? Maxe on the by one man and he
Speaker 1: Champson whoa by on John Collins and sores of the
Speaker 1: room with a two hand jam. I think right now
Speaker 1: I could see at least in the early rounds, maybe
Speaker 1: nine or ten guys possibly. I mean, I'm with you,
Speaker 1: I think it is too soon to say that he'll
Speaker 1: have a tight playoff rotation. And Doc is someone who
Speaker 1: has historically liked to play two full separate units, which
Speaker 1: isn't necessarily something you see a ton in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: But when you look at the options that the Sixers have,
Speaker 1: I just listed off the group that he sort of
Speaker 1: intends based on based on what he said after the
Speaker 1: Wednesday game against Atlanta that he tends to run. That
Speaker 1: he intends to run as a second unit is Dwight
Speaker 1: and the four Wings, Matisse, Shake fur Con and George Hill.
Speaker 1: So when you think about it that way, who among
Speaker 1: those five are not going to play? And that's without
Speaker 1: mentioning Tyrese Maxie and Mike Scott, who both serve very
Speaker 1: specific purposes and could be really useful in a playoff
Speaker 1: series depending on your match, depending on how things are going.
Speaker 1: So that's twelve guys that reasonably could see minutes. It
Speaker 1: speaks to how good the bench has become, how depthy
Speaker 1: the bench has become for the Sixers team. I would
Speaker 1: not be surprised at all, at least in a certainly
Speaker 1: in a first round series, maybe even in a second round,
Speaker 1: to see a ten man rotation for this team. I
Speaker 1: don't think it's too soon. As far as the first
Speaker 1: round goes, you'll see how things are playing out if
Speaker 1: you are who we think you are against whatever, whoever
Speaker 1: the opponent is. There will be those times that Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers decides that maybe I can extend my rotation. The
Speaker 1: normal eight will be George Hill, Dwight Howard and in
Speaker 1: search a third whether shake Milton or tease Thible and
Speaker 1: then the others, and the others serve or purpose to
Speaker 1: what you're trying to do. You can't discount foul trouble.
Speaker 1: You can't discount just poor play in that moment, and
Speaker 1: you can't discount And we've been talking about this for
Speaker 1: a minute now since Tyrese Maxi has been back in
Speaker 1: the rotation. There maybe just at that time of the
Speaker 1: game with Doc Rivers or one of his assistants see
Speaker 1: something and says, I need this right now, even just
Speaker 1: for two minutes, I need this, and that two minutes
Speaker 1: can be impactful, could turn into five minutes, and maybe
Speaker 1: it's only five minutes for the entire game. But at
Speaker 1: the end of the day when we're all doing our
Speaker 1: postgame shows and we're talking about it, do you remember
Speaker 1: when Tyrese Maxie did this for four minutes and forty
Speaker 1: eight seconds. So I don't think it's too soon for
Speaker 1: a first round matchup. We'll get to the second round
Speaker 1: and analyze it at that point, but right now I
Speaker 1: think it is I think his rotation will be extended
Speaker 1: until he absolutely has to set it at his shorter
Speaker 1: rotation I do now. I do think the starter's minutes
Speaker 1: will increase, but the rotation overall, I think he'll figure
Speaker 1: all that out once they finished things up with the
Speaker 1: first round. You guys might disagree with me. I feel
Speaker 1: like perhaps the two bench guys who could be most
Speaker 1: on the bubble right now, look numbers could be perhaps
Speaker 1: and he's playing so great Firk, depending on what the
Speaker 1: situation calls for. And then, like you guys mentioned Tyrese,
Speaker 1: but I also see situations where it's like you get
Speaker 1: situational run like you were just talking about Divan. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's there's no doubt. I think that Furkan has shown
Speaker 1: that if the situation warrants someone with some firepower from
Speaker 1: outside the arc and you need that, you bring him in.
Speaker 1: He's been through it enough, he knows what postseason basketball
Speaker 1: is like. And right with Tyrese, if things are clogging
Speaker 1: the half court and you're not getting space and you
Speaker 1: need someone to break things down. Yeah, he's the guy
Speaker 1: who's probably got one of the best abilities, if not
Speaker 1: the best, on the team to create off the dribble
Speaker 1: out of the backcourt. So I think the good news
Speaker 1: is there's options, And I think that for those guys
Speaker 1: in particular, I mean, listen, I think that the track
Speaker 1: record for the regulars, the starters, it speaks for themselves.
Speaker 1: We pretty much know what we're going to get out
Speaker 1: of those guys. But for these final few games, just
Speaker 1: the more that some of those bench guys who can
Speaker 1: fill roles can get more reps and build confidence, I
Speaker 1: think the mortal do for them. Because right now, I
Speaker 1: think that Furkan is playing great. He's had an awesome season.
Speaker 1: I've really loved what he brought to the table. And
Speaker 1: then you're talking specialists. Furkon is known for his offense.
Speaker 1: Can you contribute defensively to keep him on the floor,
Speaker 1: Tyrese Maxie the same thing Matista will defensively. Can he
Speaker 1: contribute offensively, at least in a half court, I mean
Speaker 1: in the transition and the open floor. Can he get
Speaker 1: you a few buckets as well? Maybe if things are
Speaker 1: breaking down offensively in the ball swings to you, can
Speaker 1: you knock down on an open shot. So I think
Speaker 1: those are also some things that we have to pay
Speaker 1: attention to when we talk about the rotation and how
Speaker 1: things are set. I was intrigued by Doc Rivers also
Speaker 1: saying that he does intend to play Matisse at the
Speaker 1: four a little bit more, because it's not something we've
Speaker 1: seen a ton this season, but given the opportunity to
Speaker 1: go toe to toe with a guy like Gallinari, with
Speaker 1: a guy like Blake Griffin who could be seen down
Speaker 1: the road, Matisse has done an excellent job against guys
Speaker 1: that are much larger than he is with his length,
Speaker 1: with his quickness, with his IQ. It's interesting to hear
Speaker 1: that Doc intends to use him there a little bit more,
Speaker 1: especially when you think about the matchups that could come
Speaker 1: down the road, and putting him there, maybe you don't
Speaker 1: have to put as much pressure on his three point
Speaker 1: shooting if he's going to spend a little bit more
Speaker 1: time inside. I don't I don't hate that idea. I'm intrigued.
Speaker 1: I like it. Yeah, And as you said, Gallinario. On Wednesday,
Speaker 1: Chris Dunn, he had four different players that he was
Speaker 1: trying to defend. Lou Williams out there on the floor.
Speaker 1: He was all over the place on Wednesday night, So
Speaker 1: that four is intriguing. I like that and the ever
Speaker 1: expanding list of NBA staples who are irritated by Matisse
Speaker 1: Thyble's existence. It's it's fun to watch that list grow.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's the last. Is it too soon? Is it
Speaker 1: too soon to say? Move along? Mister Dunn? That was wild? Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I think that blowout had a lot to do with that, too. Relax,
Speaker 1: you calm down. Frustrated, frustrated, I talk way too much,
Speaker 1: you guys. If anything before we wrap this up, any
Speaker 1: any other is it too soon inquiries? M hmm. I
Speaker 1: think we're I think we're good. Is it too soon
Speaker 1: to call it a show? It ain't the beauty of
Speaker 1: this medium. When it's done, it's done, do you and
Speaker 1: end done? See now we really have to go see
Speaker 1: this is what we were talking about a little bit earlier,
Speaker 1: when you were on that level. It's true certain things
Speaker 1: like that we were there. We'll give Lauren her own
Speaker 1: outro music. How does that sound? I'm literally gonna leave.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be the one walks off of the Friday
Speaker 1: Deep Dive set. I think it is. She can do
Speaker 1: our podcast hit with Jake Tapper about the Address to
Speaker 1: the Joint Sessions of Congress the other night. Everybody needs
Speaker 1: to stop. We're done, So Jake, we said hello, Hi
Speaker 1: will thank you all right, guys, Darrel Mori too, Hi, Darrel.
Speaker 1: Keep racking up those engagements. We'll revisit who engaged with
Speaker 1: Lawrence Content next week