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Thoughts on the Sixers Opening night win · The Cooldown Report

0:01
SPEAKER_00: Alrighty, we just ended a three-game slate for NBA opening night.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: The Pistons walk away with a win.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: The New Look Sixers get a win.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: And Oklahoma City gets vengeance for Game 7 of the NBA Finals from last year.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: And they walk away with a win inside San Antonio.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: What's up, guys?
0:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm Ethan.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: And we're here, we're going to talk about these games, opening night.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: So excited to have basketball back, man.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: Like, it's the dark ages when we don't have basketball.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, we got football, we got baseball, love those sports.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, we get to do all those other things, but basketball, where is it?
0:42
SPEAKER_00: Where it's at?
0:43
SPEAKER_00: You guys know that.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: So, as a Sixers fan, we will jump into the Sixers game.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: First,
0:50
SPEAKER_00: the new look 76ers get a win inside Madison Square Garden on opening night for
0:58
SPEAKER_00: the Knicks ring ceremony.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: You know,
1:00
SPEAKER_00: they're defending 2025-2026 NBA champions,
1:04
SPEAKER_00: got their rings,
1:05
SPEAKER_00: put the banner up,
1:06
SPEAKER_00: but it's LeBron, it's VJ, it's Tyrese, it's Joel, it's Jalen Brown.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: They go inside and get the W106-100.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest with you guys,
1:19
SPEAKER_00: you know,
1:20
SPEAKER_00: coming into this season for the Sixers,
1:22
SPEAKER_00: the thing that I was the most worried about was the Sixers defense.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: You know, in the preseason, it didn't look great.
1:28
SPEAKER_00: Like, let's keep it real.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: It just didn't look good.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: You know, Joel Embiid, he looks slow.
1:33
SPEAKER_00: And if you guys have watched the Sixers,
1:35
SPEAKER_00: you know, Joel, he doesn't necessarily look his best early in the season.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it takes a couple games for him to get his legs underneath of him and everything.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, he just didn't look good in the preseason.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: He looked good today.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: Had three blocks, you know.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: Played really,
1:50
SPEAKER_00: really good defense,
1:51
SPEAKER_00: but it was the team defense that I was the most impressed with from
1:55
SPEAKER_00: the Sixers today.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: Tyrese guarding the ball well.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: Vijay guarding the ball well.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Brown guarding the ball really, really well.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: LeBron giving effort on defense.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Joel, like I said, with those three blocks, when he was in the game, he was a defensive force.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Even though he doesn't really have his verticality anymore
2:13
SPEAKER_00: or is still getting his legs underneath of him and everything like that, he was a...
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Difference Maker on the defensive end.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: Start here with Tyrese Maxey, 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks for Tyrese.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: Amazing,
2:30
SPEAKER_00: he had like a chase down block that LeBron,
2:33
SPEAKER_00: he was literally LeBron didn't end up going to go get it.
2:37
SPEAKER_00: Tyrese was able to go get it and make a transition play.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: The Sixers really,
2:42
SPEAKER_00: really impressed me on the defensive end,
2:43
SPEAKER_00: but it was Tyrese who led them on the offensive end and the offense for the Sixers.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: You know, not necessarily the greatest today.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: You could tell it was a little bit clunky.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: You could tell they still have a lot to really work on.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: Like LeBron said in his postgame interview,
3:00
SPEAKER_00: he really only played for about two and a half weeks today.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: It's going to take a while for this team to kind of build up
3:06
SPEAKER_00: that offensive chemistry,
3:07
SPEAKER_00: but you can just see the talent on the floor and how they communicated on
3:10
SPEAKER_00: the defensive end, and that really encourages me as a fan of the team to
3:28
SPEAKER_00: Believe in their defense come postseason time.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: And I know it's literally game one.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, we still have 81 more games to go.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: If they get there, they have to stay healthy.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: You have LeBron, who's going into his age 42 season in December.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: Joel Embiid is, I guess you would say, past his prime.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: You have Jalen in his prime, Tyrese in his prime, Vijay, he's only 20, 21 years old.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: These guys, they have to stay healthy throughout the season.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: They don't really have the deepest of benches.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: We saw that with their center rotation, wasn't necessarily the greatest outside of Joel Embiid.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, you have a Dembona come in, and of course, Huck Porte, he has his Achilles injury.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: He'll be out for the year,
4:15
SPEAKER_00: so it's primitive or imperative for the Sixers to go out and get
4:19
SPEAKER_00: a center this offseason.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, the defense...
4:24
SPEAKER_00: Looked good.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: Really, really did look good.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: Held the Knicks to 100 points.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: 37% from the field, 33% from three, only hit 11 of them.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, forced 14 turnovers from the Knicks.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: The Knicks just kind of look sloppy here today.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's game one of the season.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: It happens.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: But I'm not going to say the Sixers didn't have good defensive possessions in there.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: You just don't hold the champs to 100 points by luck.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: Even if it is game one of the season, you have to have a good defense due to that.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: And the Sixers definitely came out, showed out, did that.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: They did their thing.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, Jalen Brunson, he wasn't able to close.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: Um, we've seen Jalen Brunson time and time again,
5:07
SPEAKER_00: especially in last year's playoffs, be able to close the deal.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: And in that fourth quarter, he comes alive.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: He wasn't really able to come alive today.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't able to save, save the Knicks.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, a typical game from him outside of his fourth quarter,
5:22
SPEAKER_00: but you know, he ends up one for three from three, six for 19 from the field.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, You know, 31%, not his best game, but credit the Sixers' defense.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: Tyrese Maxey did a good job.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: Vijay did a good job.
5:37
SPEAKER_00: And the minutes that Anthony Simons had on him, he did a good job.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Brown, when he got switched on him, did a good job.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: Embiid in his moments when he got switched on him.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: Embiid in the playoffs last year when he got switched on.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Brunson was just not good.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: It was a hard,
5:53
SPEAKER_00: hard watch to see Joel Embiid just get toasted over and over again and pick and roll
6:01
SPEAKER_00: by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks guards.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: Joel Embiid clearly was not 100% ready for that last season, but he stood his ground.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: The Masters made a defensive switch around,
6:20
SPEAKER_00: I believe it was the middle of the third quarter to put Joel on Josh Hart
6:25
SPEAKER_00: or whoever their worst shooter was out there.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: They had LeBron James guarding Karl-Anthony Towns in the minutes that he was out there.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Karl-Anthony Towns only played 24 minutes due to his foul trouble
6:36
SPEAKER_00: and that's something that Joel did do well today.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: He got caught foul trouble very, very early.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: He went out with about less than four minutes to go in the first quarter.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: And Andre Drummond put in some really good minutes there as his backup.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: Important pickup for the Knicks.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the Sixers defensive rotations were just really, really good.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: I was just really impressed with what they were able to do on that end.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: And like I said,
7:04
SPEAKER_00: it just inspires confidence that if they can keep this up,
7:07
SPEAKER_00: You know,
7:07
SPEAKER_00: like I said,
7:08
SPEAKER_00: they just have to stay healthy,
7:09
SPEAKER_00: but if they can keep this up moving forward throughout the regular season,
7:13
SPEAKER_00: and obviously not to this level,
7:14
SPEAKER_00: because if you guys watched, it looked like a playoff game out there.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: A lot of fouls, a lot of sloppiness.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: Missed shots, good defense from both sides.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, just that playoff intensity.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: It was ring night.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: You know, you got all the celebrities out there in New York.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: So, you know,
7:30
SPEAKER_00: it's hard to keep that up, especially as an, I'd say, an older team for the Sixers.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: Two of your guys are injury prone and one of them is 42.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you it's hard to keep that up throughout an 82 game regular season.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: But if they can stay, you know, on this level.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: They'll be in for a good regular season on that defensive end.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about offense.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: They were 41% from the field.
7:55
SPEAKER_00: Couldn't buy a three.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: My goodness, they couldn't buy one.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: I believe they were like three for 19 at one point, end up 11 for 40, 27%.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: Got to the free throw line a lot.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: Joel Embiid, of course, gets to the free throw line a ton.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: Tyrus Maxey got to the free throw line.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: Had 10 turnovers this game,
8:17
SPEAKER_00: but like I said,
8:19
SPEAKER_00: good rebounding,
8:20
SPEAKER_00: 45 rebounds,
8:23
SPEAKER_00: 10 blocks between the team, six of them from Joel Embiid and Tyrus Maxey.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was just...
8:29
SPEAKER_00: It was a sloppy offensive game.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Sloppy offensive game from the Sixers, but like I said, that'll come with time.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: As for the new additions, got Jalen Brown.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: He was getting his touches.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: LeBron found him a couple times in that dunker spot.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: He got a lot of post touches.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: I like seeing that from Jalen.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: I like his aggressiveness.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: I think he got some good looks up there that he could have made.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: It's game one, but I think he got some good looks in there.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: You know, Jalen's going to be good for us.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Jalen will be up there with one of the two best Sixers players as Embiid starts
9:07
SPEAKER_00: to kind of ramp up.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: LeBron, kind of old man LeBron game, man.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: 34 minutes, 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, a block, a steal.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't think he,
9:19
SPEAKER_00: yeah, didn't make any of his three-pointers, 513 from the field, struggled shooting.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, he played his LeBron role.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: This is something that the Sixers needed.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: You can see right where LeBron fits into this team as a passer and playmaker.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: That is just something the Sixers really haven't had since James Harden was on the team.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: And this is souped up James Harden.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: This is the best passer and playmaker that you can get in the league outside
9:46
SPEAKER_00: of Nikola Jokic right now.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: He was doing his thing.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Anthony Simons came in that late third quarter,
9:54
SPEAKER_00: mid third quarter, kept the Sixers afloat as they were down.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: He made three three-pointers, had 13 points in 25 minutes.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: KCP came in and played 26 minutes, had 10 points.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: Everyone kind of got their shots.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: You can just see that this team is ultra talented.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: And when the game got close towards the end, you know, they're playing in crunch time.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Sixers are up six.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, the Sixers were able to execute in the late game.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Tyrese Maxey getting doubled in pick and roll with Joel Embiid.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: Joel Embiid finding...
10:29
SPEAKER_00: Vijay Edgecombe in the dunker spot, I believe, three separate times.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: Once for a foul, once for a dunk.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, two separate times.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: And then one time, found LeBron on the wing.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: He swung at the Jalen Brown, who ended up turning the ball over.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: But it was a good look from him.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: And you could just see that they're just really, really talented.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: They have a good bench.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: KCP played well.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Anthony Simons played well.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: Dean Wade.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: You know,
10:56
SPEAKER_00: didn't play today,
10:58
SPEAKER_00: dealing with some ankle stuff, but he'll be back and he's a good player.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: They just desperately need another five.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: They need another five really, really bad.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: We'll move on to the Knicks side of things.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, Cat, like I said, in foul trouble, just has a history of...
11:17
SPEAKER_00: Committing bad fouls needs to be better with that,
11:21
SPEAKER_00: but as we've seen throughout his career, he hasn't really gotten better at that.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Picked up four of them,
11:27
SPEAKER_00: sat out for half the game,
11:28
SPEAKER_00: while Andre Drummond in that first half, genuinely, he kept the Knicks afloat.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: He kept the Knicks afloat while they were struggling on offense.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: He was able to grab a ton of rebounds,
11:44
SPEAKER_00: 14 rebounds for Andre Drummond,
11:46
SPEAKER_00: including seven of them, seven of them being offensive rebounds.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: Huge, huge pickup when you lose Mitchell Robinson in the offseason.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: That's tough.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: You love to have a guy like that on your team.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: I watched him last year with the Sixers.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: He was great.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: And he was amazing for them in that first half
12:09
SPEAKER_00: while Carl Anthony Towns was stealing foul triple.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Honestly,
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Cat probably could have came in a little bit earlier than he ended up doing
12:14
SPEAKER_00: by Andre Drummond's playing so well that he didn't need to sub him in
12:17
SPEAKER_00: and risk Carl Anthony Towns picking up another foul.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: But other than that, the Knicks really just, they struggled shooting the ball today.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: Landry Schammett didn't play his best game.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: Jose Alvarado,
12:29
SPEAKER_00: he was pretty good in his minutes, but OG,
12:32
SPEAKER_00: some bad minutes from OG Ananobi,
12:35
SPEAKER_00: he was a minus 20 from the floor in his 32 minutes,
12:39
SPEAKER_00: 3 for 12 from the field, and 1 for 9 from three-point range.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Mikael Bridges also really,
12:47
SPEAKER_00: really struggled in his 33 minutes,
12:49
SPEAKER_00: 4 points,
12:51
SPEAKER_00: 0 for 2 from 3,
12:52
SPEAKER_00: 2 for 8 from the field,
12:53
SPEAKER_00: and a minus 15 from On the field and in his minutes,
12:58
SPEAKER_00: you know,
12:58
SPEAKER_00: just tough outing shooting from outside of pretty much Jill and Brunson
13:03
SPEAKER_00: and Carl Anthony Towns with his 19 and 12.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: You know, the Sixers, this is a big, big win for them.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is a team that You're going to have to see down the road.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: They're the champs.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: You're going to have to see them down the road if you want to make a run.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: And to get a win like this against them just proves that this team has a lot of heart.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: Like I said,
13:27
SPEAKER_00: able to compete on the defensive end at a high level against
13:30
SPEAKER_00: a really good defensive team,
13:32
SPEAKER_00: a team that was able to stifle the Spurs last year and pretty much every other team
13:36
SPEAKER_00: that they played last season in the playoffs.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Just a really big win for Philly.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: They move on to Cleveland in their next game in their home opener.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: Maybe, maybe not be there.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: We'll see about that.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the Sixers, they pick up a really, really, really big win.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: As for New York, you know, they're the champs.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: They'll be all right.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: It's game one.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: It's ring night.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: You know, you got the nerves.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: You come out sluggish.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: You don't end up against a win with a projected to be really good team.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Happens.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, the Knicks will be fine.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: I don't think there's really any need to panic about that whatsoever.