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All The Pieces Are Here: Are The Sixers Ready? (PST Episode 687) · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:02
Speaker 1: Thank you. welcome to the philadelphia sports table podcast show
0:44
Speaker 1: the longest running weekly philly sports podcast show in the
0:47
Speaker 1: world over 13 and a half years strong we got
0:50
Speaker 1: a great show as we always do coming to you
0:53
Speaker 1: this week i'm jeff warren here with my buddy len
0:56
Speaker 1: hunsicker how you.
0:56
Speaker 2: Doing pal good to see you i'm i'm doing well
1:00
Speaker 2: um yeah nothing nothing crazy going on tired i've had
1:03
Speaker 2: a long day running around a lot today but um
1:05
Speaker 2: but yeah no it's it's it's an exciting day i
1:08
Speaker 2: mean we're gonna We're going to get into the Phillies here,
1:10
Speaker 2: but that was definitely, seeing them bounce back today was
1:13
Speaker 2: a jolt in the arm, for sure.
1:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, like Len said, we're going to get into some
1:16
Speaker 1: Phillies talk. And I know that when a lot of
1:17
Speaker 1: people are listening to this particular episode, we're going to
1:21
Speaker 1: know who wins this Braves-Phillies series, this wildcard series. So
1:26
Speaker 1: we're going to talk about reflections on the first couple
1:29
Speaker 1: of games. From there, we're going to get into some
1:31
Speaker 1: Eagles talk as well. Team is 2-1, but they don't
1:35
Speaker 1: seem like they're a 2-1 team for sure.
1:37
Speaker 2: It doesn't feel like it, does it?
1:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. My gosh. Philadelphia Flyers season has started. They
1:42
Speaker 1: got blown out tonight by the Pittsburgh Penguins, dear freaking Lord.
1:47
Speaker 1: Going to give our thoughts on this upcoming season, regular
1:49
Speaker 1: season predictions, and whether there are any postseason predictions here.
1:53
Speaker 1: And then we're going to get into some Philadelphia Union talk,
1:56
Speaker 1: and we're going to conclude with some Sixers talk. You know,
1:59
Speaker 1: seeing the photo, Len, of this game, team, the starters
2:04
Speaker 1: from media day. It's just like, I, I, I'm trying
2:08
Speaker 1: to take it in. I'm like, I cannot believe this
2:09
Speaker 1: is happening with all of this amazing talent on this team.
2:13
Speaker 2: It's one of those things where like, you know, okay.
2:15
Speaker 2: You know, you, you, you saw the news stories and
2:18
Speaker 2: you know, it's real, you know, it happened, but now
2:21
Speaker 2: seeing them there on uniform next to each other, you're like, Oh, Yeah,
2:26
Speaker 2: that's right.
2:27
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly.
2:28
Speaker 2: This is happening.
2:29
Speaker 1: This is happening.
2:29
Speaker 3: Yep.
2:30
Speaker 1: And we're going to talk to our good friend from LibertyBallers.com,
2:33
Speaker 1: Harrison Graham. He's going to jump on to talk about
2:36
Speaker 1: some storylines we're following as Sixers camp is getting started
2:41
Speaker 1: here and the regular season is going to be here
2:43
Speaker 1: before we know it. But Len, some quick thoughts as
2:46
Speaker 1: we're starting off the discussion here about the Philadelphia Phillies
2:50
Speaker 1: and about this wildcard series. I mean, they limped. into
2:53
Speaker 1: the postseason for sure. But I got to tell you,
2:57
Speaker 1: after game two and what Andrew Painter specifically did, look,
3:02
Speaker 1: three and a half months ago, he couldn't do a
3:06
Speaker 1: thing on the mound. He struggled to keep his outings
3:10
Speaker 1: from spiraling. He had at that point a 7.06 ERA,
3:15
Speaker 1: was sent down to AAA, and then he returned over
3:18
Speaker 1: a little month or a month later and saw a
3:23
Speaker 1: chance to grow from there. And we kind of saw
3:26
Speaker 1: that manifest over the course of the starts when he
3:30
Speaker 1: came back from being in AAA Lehigh Valley. And then
3:33
Speaker 1: with regard to this post-season appearance that he made, uh,
3:38
Speaker 1: Andrew Painter, I think, has revived himself, I would venture
3:42
Speaker 1: to say, in a way where I didn't necessarily think
3:45
Speaker 1: was possible. But I think, again, in this second game
3:50
Speaker 1: of the postseason, I think there's hope for Andrew Painter here.
3:53
Speaker 1: That part of the season where he was sent down
3:58
Speaker 1: to figure things out, it seemed like he was able
4:00
Speaker 1: to grow from it. And I think that is a
4:02
Speaker 1: very good sign.
4:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he's definitely, you know, revived, I think,
4:07
Speaker 2: people's perception of what he could be. Like you said,
4:12
Speaker 2: the first half was abysmal. I mean, before he got
4:15
Speaker 2: sent down.
4:15
Speaker 3: Yeah.
4:16
Speaker 2: I mean, there were people that I heard say, I've
4:19
Speaker 2: given up on this kid, like, which seemed a little
4:22
Speaker 2: premature to me. But, you know, listen, he went down.
4:26
Speaker 2: He kind of maybe found something in what he was
4:30
Speaker 2: doing that was wrong. made some fixes, got himself right mentally,
4:34
Speaker 2: came back up. And I'm not going to say he was,
4:36
Speaker 2: you know, awesome in the second half, but he was good.
4:38
Speaker 2: He was passable. He was decent, which, you know, for
4:42
Speaker 2: a rookie pitcher is, I don't know. I don't really,
4:46
Speaker 2: I guess, look for too much more than that. Just,
4:49
Speaker 2: you know, I know you're not going to come in
4:51
Speaker 2: and light the world on fire, but just be someone
4:54
Speaker 2: that I can dream on in terms of, you know,
4:56
Speaker 2: being a future big part of this rotation. And the
4:59
Speaker 2: second half of the year, he's done that. And today,
5:01
Speaker 2: I mean, he was phenomenal. I mean, even when he
5:05
Speaker 2: did allow a base runner, he got himself out of
5:07
Speaker 2: those jams. And he really kind of, I think, put
5:10
Speaker 2: himself back on the map with this appearance and with
5:14
Speaker 2: the second half of the year. And, you know, it's
5:16
Speaker 2: no small thing. You know, this is your first playoff
5:18
Speaker 2: appearance ever. You're getting thrown in the deep end of
5:21
Speaker 2: the pool on the road against your division rival. If
5:26
Speaker 2: you don't come through, the season's over, and you're basically
5:32
Speaker 2: in the end of the game. You're going to do it,
5:36
Speaker 2: or the season's over. And that's a hell of a
5:38
Speaker 2: spot to put a kid in, and he flourished with it. Yeah,
5:43
Speaker 2: it's really hard not to be impressed with what he's done.
5:45
Speaker 2: And now that allows you to think about the future
5:48
Speaker 2: of like, okay, Zach Wheeler is not going to be
5:51
Speaker 2: here forever. What does the rotation look like in the future?
5:55
Speaker 2: And now, you know, obviously you've got a number one
5:57
Speaker 2: piece in Sanchez. And, you know, okay, maybe Painter can
6:02
Speaker 2: eventually be a front of the rotation guy as well.
6:05
Speaker 2: So it's something you can at least– think about. I'm
6:09
Speaker 2: not saying he's going to be there. I'm not saying
6:10
Speaker 2: he's going to contend for the Cy Young next year,
6:14
Speaker 2: but it's at least something you can... He's not like, oh,
6:19
Speaker 2: they blew that pick.
6:20
Speaker 1: Exactly.
6:21
Speaker 2: It's not that anymore.
6:22
Speaker 1: Right. We saw growth during his rookie year. I think
6:25
Speaker 1: that's what we all would want to see. At the
6:27
Speaker 1: end of the day, that's what we want to see.
6:29
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. How much more you can ask for that? Exactly.
6:32
Speaker 2: And it was nice to see them after that crushing
6:34
Speaker 2: defeat yesterday, you know, with first game, I mean, yeah, I,
6:40
Speaker 2: these bullpen guys, they can't go more than an inning.
6:43
Speaker 2: I mean, I know, I know what they were trying
6:45
Speaker 2: to do with their on, but as soon as he
6:46
Speaker 2: went back out there for the eighth, I started getting
6:48
Speaker 2: nervous and I wasn't surprised when he gave up that
6:51
Speaker 2: home run. And then he put it, then you put
6:52
Speaker 2: your team in a situation where he can't pitch in
6:55
Speaker 2: game two. So, They were really lucky to get the
6:59
Speaker 2: good start they did out of Sanchez. And they were
7:02
Speaker 2: really lucky that Painter came in and did what he did.
7:05
Speaker 2: And now that that'll make, you know, Duran available in
7:08
Speaker 2: game three.
7:10
Speaker 1: When they put when he when Mattingly put Duran in,
7:13
Speaker 1: I thought to myself, OK, is this Mattingly just not
7:16
Speaker 1: trusting anything going on with the bullpen right now? Or
7:20
Speaker 1: is it Mattingly not trusting himself? That's what I was thinking.
7:24
Speaker 1: You know, there's trust issues going on somewhere, but who
7:27
Speaker 1: is not being trusted here? And maybe it's a combination
7:30
Speaker 1: of both.
7:31
Speaker 2: And that's the thing, you know, the, the sending him
7:33
Speaker 2: out for a second inning is a question that I
7:36
Speaker 2: have that I think was wrong, but in a big
7:39
Speaker 2: spot where you need your best guy, um, that you're
7:43
Speaker 2: going to use in there and to Mattingly's, you know, to,
7:46
Speaker 2: to his point, Who else are you going to put
7:49
Speaker 2: out there? And I think that is the first part
7:52
Speaker 2: of what you said. He doesn't have a lot of
7:54
Speaker 2: options in that bullpen that he trusts, and I don't
7:58
Speaker 2: blame him. I don't trust a lot of the options
8:00
Speaker 2: in the bullpen either. So, yeah, I mean, anybody questioning
8:05
Speaker 2: him going out again in the eighth, I agree. If
8:08
Speaker 2: you're questioning him putting out there in the seventh in
8:10
Speaker 2: a big spot against a big part of the lineup,
8:12
Speaker 2: I have no problem with that because this is the
8:15
Speaker 2: only guy that you– really seem to trust out of
8:17
Speaker 2: that bullpen. So you had to make that move.
8:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. And look, before we move on to some
8:22
Speaker 1: Eagles talk here, land, I have one name that I
8:26
Speaker 1: just want to mention on this Phillies team and boy,
8:30
Speaker 1: there's going to be a lot of talk about this guy,
8:33
Speaker 1: Alec Bohm, my gosh, 10th inning. He steps up to
8:37
Speaker 1: the plate against a, a very hard throwing right-handed, uh,
8:43
Speaker 1: Dider Fuentes with two outs in the 10th inning were
8:46
Speaker 1: in extra innings at this point. He worked a one
8:49
Speaker 1: one one count before getting a ninety nine mile per
8:53
Speaker 1: hour fastball from Fuentes right over the head of Ronald
8:56
Speaker 1: Acuna in right field. I think it was I think
8:59
Speaker 1: on the broadcast they said it was only the second
9:01
Speaker 1: time this season that he actually hit a home run
9:04
Speaker 1: in the very few home runs that he's had. I
9:06
Speaker 1: think he's had 15 or so.
9:07
Speaker 2: During the regular season.
9:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, during the regular season that he hit it in
9:11
Speaker 1: right field.
9:12
Speaker 2: And just amazing.
9:16
Speaker 1: Poise, amazing baseball from a guy named Alec Bohm, who
9:21
Speaker 1: everybody just wanted him to get the hell out of here.
9:24
Speaker 1: And a lot of people have for a lot of years.
9:27
Speaker 1: But the dude came through, man. And, you know, he
9:31
Speaker 1: is a free agent after this season. This could very
9:34
Speaker 1: well be his swan song with the Phillies.
9:35
Speaker 2: But it is funny. You know, we just mentioned two guys, awful, awful,
9:40
Speaker 2: awful first halves. And then they came around in the
9:43
Speaker 2: second half of the season in, in, in her and boom.
9:45
Speaker 2: So yeah. And then boom did that is kind of weird.
9:47
Speaker 2: They were talking about it on the broadcast. Um, Schwarber
9:50
Speaker 2: and Harper went back to back, um, against the guy
9:53
Speaker 2: that gave up zero home runs to lefties all year long. Yep.
9:57
Speaker 2: And then boom, hits a home run off a guy
9:59
Speaker 2: that hasn't given up a home run to a righty
10:02
Speaker 2: all year long.
10:03
Speaker 1: It's crazy.
10:04
Speaker 2: Baseball is just weird like that.
10:06
Speaker 3: It is.
10:06
Speaker 1: It absolutely is.
10:07
Speaker 2: All right.
10:07
Speaker 1: Anything else, buddy, before we get to some Eagles talk, actually,
10:10
Speaker 1: I think we're going to go to a break and
10:11
Speaker 1: then get to some Eagles talk here. What do you think?
10:13
Speaker 2: Sounds good. Yeah, let's do it.
10:14
Speaker 1: All right. We're going to take a break, folks. We
10:16
Speaker 1: get back. We're going to talk about this freaking Eagles
10:18
Speaker 1: team here. Stick with us. All right, we are back,
10:24
Speaker 1: and we're going to get into this Philadelphia Eagles team now.
10:29
Speaker 1: There is trouble. There is trouble here during this 2026-2027
10:33
Speaker 1: Eagles season. It's manifesting itself after three weeks. Question is,
10:38
Speaker 1: what's the biggest issue? And there's a lot of issues.
10:41
Speaker 1: There's a lack of a real pass rush. The safety
10:43
Speaker 1: position is, Well, my gosh, Eric and I talked about
10:46
Speaker 1: it on the postgame show. Just absolutely atrocious. The offensive
10:52
Speaker 1: line just falling flat during it. I should say the
10:55
Speaker 1: interior of the offensive line just completely falling flat. I
10:58
Speaker 1: should say Drew Kendall not playing bad football. It's really
11:00
Speaker 1: the two guards just not playing well at all. And
11:03
Speaker 1: then the offense in general completely falling flat. In the
11:07
Speaker 1: third quarter, every game for the past year and a half,
11:10
Speaker 1: that has become the norm here, Len Smith. it is
11:14
Speaker 1: really disheartening to see. And the Eagles got the Rams
11:17
Speaker 1: coming to town this week. And that's a Rams team
11:20
Speaker 1: that has been stinking it up as well. Go back
11:23
Speaker 1: folks and listen to the opposition territory pod and the
11:25
Speaker 1: Eagles Rams preview show. I mean, the Rams aren't looking
11:29
Speaker 1: like a great team either, but I mean, getting back
11:31
Speaker 1: to the Eagles here, Len, I mean, we are talking
11:35
Speaker 1: some piss poor stats, fourth fewest sacks in the league.
11:40
Speaker 1: And I'm telling you, let's just go with, you know,
11:42
Speaker 1: let's just go with some defense here right off the bat.
11:46
Speaker 1: Worst pressure rate, I believe, at this point, that out
11:49
Speaker 1: of a single turnover, the only team in the league
11:51
Speaker 1: not to have a turnover, and this defense gives up
11:55
Speaker 1: third down more than any other team in the NFL.
11:59
Speaker 1: Huge problems, man. Huge problems.
12:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not a recipe for success. I mean, not
12:06
Speaker 2: having a single takeaway so far this year, you know,
12:10
Speaker 2: with a defense that has Quinion Mitchell, Dejean, you know,
12:15
Speaker 2: two good linebackers in Vaughn and Campbell, you should be
12:20
Speaker 2: getting pressure up front with those defensive tackles they have.
12:23
Speaker 2: I mean, how this team hasn't, you know, forced a
12:27
Speaker 2: takeaway so far, I don't understand it. There's just so
12:32
Speaker 2: many other options. Defensive end, they're not getting any pressure
12:36
Speaker 2: off the edge. The defensive tackles aren't doing what you
12:42
Speaker 2: thought you would get out of Jalen Carter and Jordan
12:46
Speaker 2: Davis and a Jomo as well. I don't know. I
12:50
Speaker 2: expected more. The fact that we're not getting it, this
12:53
Speaker 2: is one major issue but it's one of a host
12:59
Speaker 2: of major issues. And that, that's the kind of thing
13:02
Speaker 2: where it's just like, it's a two in one team yet.
13:06
Speaker 2: It feels like the sky's falling. I hate, I hate
13:09
Speaker 2: to be that panicky kind of fan, but it's just,
13:13
Speaker 2: you look at the myriad of issues that they have
13:15
Speaker 2: and it's just like, Oh my God, like what's the
13:18
Speaker 2: rest of the season going to be like?
13:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. Look, there is a, there's a member of
13:22
Speaker 1: this Eagles defense who has missed 30 tackles so far
13:27
Speaker 1: leading the NFL. And his name is Andrew Makuba, somebody
13:31
Speaker 1: who we were saying needed to really break out and
13:34
Speaker 1: come out during his sophomore season. Yes. He had the
13:37
Speaker 1: injury last year, kept him off the field may have
13:39
Speaker 1: hindered development a bit perhaps, but 30 missed tackles leading
13:45
Speaker 1: the NFL. It's just completely unacceptable. You're talking about fundamentals here.
13:50
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's something you're, you're taught tackling, you know,
13:54
Speaker 2: in pop Warner football. I mean, it's, it's yeah. I,
13:58
Speaker 2: And I know you're going up against the best of
14:00
Speaker 2: the best in the NFL, but you are also supposed
14:04
Speaker 2: to be one of the best of the best being
14:05
Speaker 2: in that league.
14:06
Speaker 1: Yep.
14:06
Speaker 2: So I expect you to be able to make some plays. So, yeah.
14:11
Speaker 2: I mean, that back end of that secondary is a
14:14
Speaker 2: glaring issue. I don't know if Blankenship was making that
14:20
Speaker 2: much money or if he's going to be making that
14:22
Speaker 2: much money. They felt that they could let him walk away,
14:25
Speaker 2: but I mean– Could use them right now, couldn't they?
14:27
Speaker 1: Absolutely. And look, I don't think 31-year-old Kenny Moore II
14:32
Speaker 1: is really going to have that much of a dramatic
14:35
Speaker 1: impact in the backfield. I really don't at this point.
14:39
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a reason why he was released. And again,
14:42
Speaker 1: 31 years old. You know, we thought we thought Marcus
14:46
Speaker 1: Epps was going to be serviceable and he's been absolutely terrible. Also,
14:50
Speaker 1: I just I it's really bad. I expected more.
14:54
Speaker 2: I expected more out of Makuba than I did Epps.
14:57
Speaker 2: I thought Epps was kind of just a guy. Yeah,
15:01
Speaker 2: I expected because I thought Makuba was decent last year.
15:05
Speaker 2: So I expected some level of growth there. And we
15:09
Speaker 2: just haven't seen it.
15:09
Speaker 1: Yeah. Last thing with the Eagles for me that I
15:13
Speaker 1: want to mention, and I mentioned it a little bit earlier, Len,
15:16
Speaker 1: is this, you know, and how many times we use
15:18
Speaker 1: the phrase on the show, a tale of two halves
15:20
Speaker 1: when you're looking at this Eagles team and specifically the offense.
15:25
Speaker 1: The first half of this Philadelphia Eagles team this year,
15:28
Speaker 1: they are ninth in success rate, 11th in EPA per drive.
15:33
Speaker 1: You take a look at the second half, 32nd in
15:37
Speaker 1: success rate, and 30th in EPA per drive. That is
15:42
Speaker 1: a dramatic. We are falling off a cliff in the
15:45
Speaker 1: second conditioning thing. I don't know. I really don't know
15:49
Speaker 1: what it is, but it seems like it's a coaching
15:50
Speaker 1: thing to me because this is continuing to persist for
15:54
Speaker 1: a year and a half. When you take a look
15:57
Speaker 1: at the Eagles drives to start the second half this season,
16:00
Speaker 1: our good friend of the show, Shane half Washington in
16:04
Speaker 1: that game, Three straight three and outs to start the
16:07
Speaker 1: second half. The Titans, they went three and out. Then
16:11
Speaker 1: they did get a first down on the next drive.
16:13
Speaker 1: Then another three and out. On the Bears on Monday
16:16
Speaker 1: Night Football this past week, three straight three and outs.
16:20
Speaker 1: It's just horrendous how they are coming out of the
16:23
Speaker 1: second half and just falling off this cliff. They're not
16:29
Speaker 1: making adjustments. Or if adjustments are being made, they're not
16:33
Speaker 1: working because we are continuing to see that horrendous, horrendous
16:39
Speaker 1: Mackay lemon screen out of the backfield that is consistently
16:43
Speaker 1: getting negative yards is.
16:44
Speaker 2: Is shocking. Like, honestly, I'm, I'm at a point where
16:47
Speaker 2: they need to put some kind of shock collar on Mannion. Yeah.
16:51
Speaker 2: And every time he calls it, he just gets zapped.
16:54
Speaker 2: I mean, it's that the time has come. And that's
16:57
Speaker 2: the thing, you know, you talk about the second half,
16:59
Speaker 2: but like, and I did look it up then when
17:01
Speaker 2: we were starting the show, I was going through the
17:03
Speaker 2: box scores of the three games so far, so far
17:06
Speaker 2: in the first quarter, the Eagles have scored as many
17:08
Speaker 2: points as you and I have scored in the first quarter, none,
17:11
Speaker 2: which is to say zero.
17:13
Speaker 4: Yeah.
17:13
Speaker 2: Yeah. So you're, you're, you know, you're talking about, Oh,
17:16
Speaker 2: the second half, they suck, but they're not starting off
17:19
Speaker 2: the game as a qualifier either.
17:21
Speaker 3: True.
17:21
Speaker 2: So like what, what, you know, I don't know. I
17:25
Speaker 2: don't know what the answer is, but yeah, so far.
17:27
Speaker 2: And I was having this, I was talking to my
17:30
Speaker 2: brother about this today. Like I don't want to be
17:33
Speaker 2: instantly like, Oh, Manion sucks.
17:35
Speaker 1: I'm out on him. Blah, blah, blah.
17:36
Speaker 2: Cause it's been literally three games, but the clock is
17:40
Speaker 2: kind of ticking. I need to start seeing something here.
17:44
Speaker 1: Yeah.
17:45
Speaker 2: And yeah. And that if you keep running that screen,
17:49
Speaker 2: when you know they can't block on the outside, um,
17:53
Speaker 2: And it's not just Makai Lemon. It's anytime they run
17:55
Speaker 2: anybody on that screen. It's the same thing. It happened
17:57
Speaker 2: with Bigsby. It's happened with Barkley. Anytime you run somebody
18:00
Speaker 2: on that screen, it gets blown up. Stop frigging running it.
18:05
Speaker 1: If your receivers cannot block, what are you doing?
18:11
Speaker 2: Is that not being coached? Are they not doing that
18:16
Speaker 2: as a fundamental drill in training camp? So if they're
18:19
Speaker 2: not doing these drills in training camp, And they're not
18:22
Speaker 2: playing games in training camp. what are they doing in
18:27
Speaker 2: training camp? Right.
18:28
Speaker 1: Exactly.
18:30
Speaker 2: I think that's a question that bears asking.
18:32
Speaker 1: Well, here's the thing in training camp. Yes. The starters
18:35
Speaker 1: are practicing, but in real time games, those three preseason games,
18:39
Speaker 1: you're not seeing the starters out there. You're not seeing,
18:42
Speaker 1: they're not getting real football reps. They're not getting real
18:45
Speaker 1: football reps in practice. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look
18:48
Speaker 1: like they're practicing the block. Well, yeah, that's true.
18:50
Speaker 2: Yeah.
18:51
Speaker 1: Yeah.
18:52
Speaker 2: I mean, from the, from the, the way the results
18:54
Speaker 2: have bared it out. Yep.
18:56
Speaker 1: It's it's it's enraging. Let us know your comments below
18:59
Speaker 1: or let us know in the comments below what your
19:01
Speaker 1: thoughts are with this Eagles team here, specifically with the
19:03
Speaker 1: offense and just how they drop off a cliff during
19:06
Speaker 1: the second half. But you got anything before we head
19:09
Speaker 1: to some flyers talk here as the.
19:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, the offensive line is also bad. Oh, yeah. Nick
19:15
Speaker 2: Sirianni should go to. Jeff Stoutland's house with a boom
19:20
Speaker 2: box playing baby come back by player or hard to
19:24
Speaker 2: say I'm sorry by Chicago.
19:25
Speaker 4: Yes.
19:26
Speaker 2: And just hold up a big, big Dom can be
19:28
Speaker 2: there with a sign that says, I'm sorry, I was wrong.
19:32
Speaker 2: They should do that now because this line sucks. So
19:36
Speaker 2: not good. That's also my thought on that.
19:40
Speaker 1: Jordan, my Lada, Lane Johnson. And there was one, Oh,
19:44
Speaker 1: it was Quinn on Mitchell were the only, three eagles
19:48
Speaker 1: that had like over seven, uh, over like a 72 grade.
19:53
Speaker 2: That's it.
19:54
Speaker 1: Like it was between like 72 and 76 grades. Everybody
19:58
Speaker 1: else was under that. We're talking about the pro football
20:00
Speaker 1: focus grades that it's pro football focus. We get it,
20:03
Speaker 1: you know, but still horrendous okay even not good for
20:08
Speaker 1: lane not good for jordan my lot yeah and yeah
20:12
Speaker 1: i mean the line stinks it's.
20:14
Speaker 2: Really real they're the drop off that should be studied
20:18
Speaker 2: yeah it's really bad.
20:20
Speaker 1: Cam jurgen stinks He actually stinks.
20:25
Speaker 2: Maybe Kendall's more comfortable at center.
20:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think he is.
20:29
Speaker 2: Why are you moving a guy out of position to
20:32
Speaker 2: put a backup in? That's something I haven't understood from
20:37
Speaker 2: the jump since it's happened. And maybe there's a good
20:40
Speaker 2: reason for that. I just don't know what it is.
20:42
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's contractual. Maybe
20:45
Speaker 1: there's some contractual stuff. He's getting paid a decent amount
20:47
Speaker 1: of money. Put him out there. I don't necessarily think that's...
20:50
Speaker 1: That should be the right thing to do, especially when
20:52
Speaker 1: you've got this line that is playing as poorly as
20:55
Speaker 1: it is on the interior. I'm not 100% sure, but.
21:00
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald could have something to say this coming week
21:03
Speaker 1: when it comes.
21:03
Speaker 2: To these guys. God, he's got to be licking his chops.
21:07
Speaker 1: Exactly. I mean, look, he's not having the greatest season
21:10
Speaker 1: after being out of the league for two years, getting
21:12
Speaker 1: back into the swing of things.
21:14
Speaker 2: He's been out of the league for two years.
21:15
Speaker 1: Right, right. Exactly. So he might just eat this coming
21:20
Speaker 1: week against this Eagles interior.
21:22
Speaker 2: And by the way, Aaron Donald at 70% of what
21:24
Speaker 2: he is now. Is going to destroy the interior of that.
21:29
Speaker 1: Oh, God. Sweet Jesus.
21:30
Speaker 3: All right.
21:31
Speaker 1: Well, folks, we're going to take a break here. When
21:33
Speaker 1: we get back, we're going to have some Flyers talk
21:35
Speaker 1: coming your way. Stick with us.
21:39
Speaker 3: All right.
21:40
Speaker 1: The Philadelphia flyer season has officially started and boy, did
21:44
Speaker 1: they get their asses handed to them by the Pittsburgh?
21:48
Speaker 2: Did anybody tell the flyers that their season has started?
21:50
Speaker 1: Cause I thought it was a football game. It was
21:52
Speaker 1: a seven, nothing score.
21:54
Speaker 2: It didn't look like they were aware that it had
21:55
Speaker 2: started tonight.
21:56
Speaker 1: Seriously. Dan Vladar. I mean, he got the start in
21:59
Speaker 1: net tonight and like, I didn't look all that great. Oh,
22:04
Speaker 1: I was like, Oh boy. Got that contract. Didn't look
22:06
Speaker 1: all that great. But look, Just wanted to talk about
22:09
Speaker 1: this season, what the expectations are, you know, give our
22:12
Speaker 1: regular season prediction and whether we think this team is
22:15
Speaker 1: actually going to get back into the playoffs. Because, look,
22:18
Speaker 1: at the end of last year, it was kind of
22:19
Speaker 1: gravy for not only the team, but it was gravy
22:22
Speaker 1: for the fan base, too. And what they did in
22:24
Speaker 1: the first round of the playoffs, do we think that's
22:27
Speaker 1: maybe going to happen again? But I think first, you know,
22:29
Speaker 1: it's important to talk about where Rick Tockett could potentially
22:33
Speaker 1: take this team. and where the development needs to happen,
22:36
Speaker 1: specifically with Matvei Michkov, and what that top line may
22:41
Speaker 1: or may not do as well, how these defenders are
22:44
Speaker 1: going to end up playing as well. So I don't
22:47
Speaker 1: know if you wanted to get the discussion started here, Len,
22:50
Speaker 1: because at the end of the day, all eyes on Michkov,
22:53
Speaker 1: how he's going to develop. what the relationship between Rick
22:57
Speaker 1: Tockett and him are going to be this year, given
23:00
Speaker 1: the tension that was there, of course, last year that
23:02
Speaker 1: was reported on. But I think that's probably the biggest
23:05
Speaker 1: storyline really heading into this season.
23:07
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, based on all indications from training camp and,
23:13
Speaker 2: you know, just media stuff, I mean, everybody seems thrilled
23:17
Speaker 2: with what he did in the offseason.
23:19
Speaker 1: Yeah.
23:20
Speaker 2: Tockett has been on board as saying he's thrilled with
23:22
Speaker 2: the way he looks. Apparently, you know, in camp he
23:25
Speaker 2: looked awesome. He did a press conference in complete English
23:30
Speaker 2: the whole time, which he could not do last year. Yep.
23:33
Speaker 2: he's clearly been on Babel or one of those language
23:37
Speaker 2: learning sites or whatever, which is great, which, you know,
23:41
Speaker 2: if he, you know, I think a big part of
23:43
Speaker 2: the problem with him and talk it last year was
23:46
Speaker 2: maybe there were things that were getting lost in translation.
23:49
Speaker 2: It's like, you know, he can deduce from Tockett's tone
23:53
Speaker 2: that Tockett's not happy with him. Maybe he doesn't understand
23:55
Speaker 2: what the hell he was saying. So if that is
23:58
Speaker 2: improved this year, it's going to help with that. It's
24:01
Speaker 2: going to help with the other guys in the room,
24:03
Speaker 2: the camaraderie, all that stuff. So I think he's going
24:08
Speaker 2: to– he's definitely going to bounce back. I think he's
24:11
Speaker 2: going to have a good year this year. I would
24:13
Speaker 2: be very surprised if he does not. If he flounders
24:17
Speaker 2: again– Quite frankly, I'm going to be shocked.
24:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
24:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.
24:20
Speaker 1: And look, we're going to be getting into a lot
24:21
Speaker 1: more Flyers talk next week with our guest on the pod. But,
24:26
Speaker 1: you know, I think I think I think the expectation
24:29
Speaker 1: game is kind of all over the place, too. So
24:31
Speaker 1: I don't know if you want to talk about what you're.
24:34
Speaker 1: regular season prediction is for this team. Do you have
24:37
Speaker 1: anything else before we get into like possible predictions?
24:40
Speaker 2: I mean, I look, there are, there are certain games
24:42
Speaker 2: that could be made. I mean, if I don't, I
24:45
Speaker 2: don't expect, you know, if you extrapolate what Martone did
24:48
Speaker 2: last year over a full, I guess, 84 games this year,
24:51
Speaker 2: they added two games. But I don't, I don't think
24:55
Speaker 2: he's going to be a point per game player. I
24:57
Speaker 2: think he's going to be a good player. Maybe like,
25:00
Speaker 2: sixties or seventies point wise, but I don't think he's
25:03
Speaker 2: going to be a point per game player. He's going
25:05
Speaker 2: to run into his, his own, you know, bump in
25:09
Speaker 2: the road there and where he's going to hit a wall. But, um,
25:11
Speaker 2: I think he's going to, he's going to add, um,
25:14
Speaker 2: Mieczkow is, is back. I think he's going to be better.
25:16
Speaker 2: So I think the overall talent level is starting to rise.
25:19
Speaker 2: I think Denver Barkie can do some good things, uh,
25:23
Speaker 2: bump as well. I mean, they have some decent talent now,
25:27
Speaker 2: whereas before, uh, You know, it just looked like an offense.
25:30
Speaker 2: It was completely like bereft of talent. So I think
25:34
Speaker 2: they can be better. What scares me is that, you know,
25:39
Speaker 2: there are going to be some people. that made the
25:41
Speaker 2: playoffs last year that won't this year, Florida, who did
25:45
Speaker 2: not make the playoffs last year because of all those
25:47
Speaker 2: injuries is back and they've got everybody. They've got Barkov back.
25:52
Speaker 2: They've got, um, you know, a full, you know, Matt,
25:54
Speaker 2: Matthew Kachuk is back. Both those guys are back from injury. They, um,
25:58
Speaker 2: got Brady Kachuk from Ottawa. So they're, uh, going to
26:02
Speaker 2: be a juggernaut. Um, you've got Carolina who won the
26:05
Speaker 2: Stanley cup. So, I mean, there's, um, There's going to
26:08
Speaker 2: be teams that bounce back a little bit. I think
26:10
Speaker 2: Toronto might as well. I hope not because I think
26:13
Speaker 2: the Flyers have their pick next year, and I want
26:15
Speaker 2: them to suck as bad as possible. So it's as
26:17
Speaker 2: high a pick as possible. But they still have Austin Matthews.
26:21
Speaker 2: They got Gavin McKenna in the draft. They just traded
26:23
Speaker 2: for Kirill Marchenko from Columbus. So there's going to be
26:27
Speaker 2: some teams that were there that if the Flyers aren't
26:30
Speaker 2: careful and don't get one of those top three spots
26:33
Speaker 2: in the Metro– If they're banking on a wild card spot,
26:36
Speaker 2: it might not be there. So I think it's very
26:39
Speaker 2: important for them to get one of those top three
26:41
Speaker 2: spots in the Metro just to make sure they lock
26:44
Speaker 2: themselves in for.
26:45
Speaker 1: A playoff spot. Yeah, very good points, too. And just
26:50
Speaker 1: really quick before we get into regular season predictions, too,
26:53
Speaker 1: and this may be beating a dead horse, but my question,
26:56
Speaker 1: and we're all going to be watching it closely, is
26:58
Speaker 1: will the power play actually show some tangible results improvement.
27:04
Speaker 2: It would be nice.
27:05
Speaker 1: It really would. I mean, I seriously, even a handful
27:09
Speaker 1: of power play goals could be the difference in a
27:11
Speaker 1: handful of wins and losses. for this team at the
27:13
Speaker 1: end of the day, it really could. And that, I mean,
27:16
Speaker 1: that's a, that's a huge storyline too, even aside from,
27:19
Speaker 1: you know, whether Porter Martone can become the Flyers, you know,
27:23
Speaker 1: first ever Calder trophy winner or Meechkov's development, this power
27:27
Speaker 1: play needs to show tangible improvement because you can't fall
27:31
Speaker 1: out of a basement window. Then again, this Flyers team
27:34
Speaker 1: may just, may just prove me wrong with that, you know?
27:39
Speaker 2: If it does tangibly improve, I think they are a
27:42
Speaker 2: playoff team. If it doesn't, then things get dicey again
27:46
Speaker 2: because we're all in this mode as a fan base
27:49
Speaker 2: now of, okay, the rebuild's over. We got our guys,
27:53
Speaker 2: and this is what we're going with in the future. So, okay,
27:57
Speaker 2: the expectations are there. This fan base has had a
28:00
Speaker 2: taste of the playoffs now, so you better come through
28:04
Speaker 2: because if this backslides at all, There's going to be
28:08
Speaker 2: a lot of questions for Danny Breer. There's going to
28:10
Speaker 2: be a lot of questions for Rick Tockett. People are
28:13
Speaker 2: going to be pissed. I mean, you've told people that
28:17
Speaker 2: the rebuild is over. It's time to have expectations again. Well,
28:21
Speaker 2: you better deliver on those expectations.
28:23
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Well, leads us to our predictions here, Len. I'm
28:27
Speaker 1: thinking that this team is going to go 43, 34,
28:29
Speaker 1: and 7. 93 points on the season. Third place....
28:36
Speaker 2: I don't have a record per se that I'm thinking of,
28:45
Speaker 2: but I think that they are going to be good
28:49
Speaker 2: enough to– I mean, I think Carolina wins the Metro
28:51
Speaker 2: hands down. Yes. I– I don't see any reason why
28:55
Speaker 2: the Flyers can't be in that second or third spot.
28:59
Speaker 2: There's nobody looking through the conference or through the division
29:02
Speaker 2: that really, like, okay, Pittsburgh, yes, and then break game tonight.
29:06
Speaker 2: And I think that if you're looking at Carolina, Pittsburgh, Philly,
29:11
Speaker 2: in some order, as those top three in the Metro,
29:14
Speaker 2: I think that's probably a pretty good guess. I mean,
29:16
Speaker 2: Jersey always seems to fall apart. Columbus just traded one
29:20
Speaker 2: of their better forwards. Washington, you know, we don't know
29:23
Speaker 2: what we're going to get out of them. The Rangers
29:25
Speaker 2: were terrible last year. Islander kind of had a backslide.
29:28
Speaker 2: So it's there. I mean, it's there for the taking.
29:33
Speaker 2: I'll be disappointed if they don't make the playoffs. If
29:35
Speaker 2: they don't get at least third in the Metro, which
29:38
Speaker 2: is We're on predictions. them as well, I'm going to
29:41
Speaker 2: be pretty disappointed.
29:43
Speaker 1: Okay, very good. What are your thoughts on where the
29:45
Speaker 1: Flyers are going to end this regular season? If you're
29:47
Speaker 1: watching on YouTube, leave us your thoughts in the comments.
29:51
Speaker 1: We'd love to hear from you. We are going to
29:53
Speaker 1: take a break. When we get back, we are going
29:55
Speaker 1: to be talking about the Philadelphia union and an incredible,
29:59
Speaker 1: an incredible past how many games here and what they
30:02
Speaker 1: are doing. My God. I mean, they, they are a
30:04
Speaker 1: team that needs to be talked about more in the
30:07
Speaker 1: city of Philadelphia. Well, I should say in, in, in
30:10
Speaker 1: Chester County, I should say, however, well, we're going to, yeah, exactly.
30:16
Speaker 1: So now we're going to get into some Sixers talk
30:17
Speaker 1: to stick with us. We're going to be right back.
30:22
Speaker 1: getting to this Philadelphia union team. My gosh, look, they
30:26
Speaker 1: lost three young players to international duty recently, including, uh,
30:31
Speaker 1: Kevin Sullivan, but they are still pushing forward. Basically a
30:36
Speaker 1: top five team in major league soccer, at least in
30:39
Speaker 1: the power rankings here. At this point, we've had another
30:42
Speaker 1: match where we saw a hat trick this past week.
30:45
Speaker 1: I think it was when they were playing Orlando, right?
30:47
Speaker 2: Holy cow. Yes.
30:50
Speaker 1: Jesus, it's amazing what this team is doing, Len. And again,
30:55
Speaker 1: especially not having Sullivan there. This team has stepped it up.
31:00
Speaker 1: So many guys have stepped it up.
31:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's important. Just to show that you've got
31:06
Speaker 2: some level of depth is huge. Being able to get
31:10
Speaker 2: out to a good lead against Orlando and then hold it.
31:14
Speaker 2: after you had a huge comeback against um kansas city
31:17
Speaker 2: um you know where they were down three nothing by
31:20
Speaker 2: the way yeah i mean they're they're winning in different
31:23
Speaker 2: ways whether it's blowouts whether it's getting out to a
31:26
Speaker 2: good lead and then imagine hold on whether it's comebacks
31:28
Speaker 2: i mean they're doing it every single way you can
31:31
Speaker 2: do it um and it is impressive um you know
31:34
Speaker 2: you you don't have um um, Sullivan or Neil Pierre
31:37
Speaker 2: there right now. Um, yeah, I, I mean, it's, it's,
31:41
Speaker 2: it goes to show that, you know, the pieces that
31:43
Speaker 2: they had there all along were, were decent pieces, I guess,
31:47
Speaker 2: but they coaching, they, they just needed a different voice
31:51
Speaker 2: and then different tactics.
31:52
Speaker 3: Yep.
31:52
Speaker 2: And, uh, ever since, you know, this world cup break,
31:56
Speaker 2: they've been on absolute fire.
31:58
Speaker 1: Absolutely. And look, I mean, certain guys are getting the
32:01
Speaker 1: job done when they need to get the job done.
32:03
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, even, even, Even Mark McKenzie,
32:07
Speaker 1: the club made a splash by reacquiring him as a defender,
32:12
Speaker 1: his return to Philadelphia. And again, even though Sullivan is
32:18
Speaker 1: so young and so good, and even though he's not
32:21
Speaker 1: on the team right now, do we have any reservations
32:24
Speaker 1: about where they may be going over the course of
32:26
Speaker 1: these next few weeks here?
32:29
Speaker 2: I mean, now is the time to strike.
32:32
Speaker 3: I mean, you've got.
32:34
Speaker 2: you've got players that, you know, um, as far as like,
32:39
Speaker 2: you know, when you look at next year, I think
32:41
Speaker 2: McKenzie is coming back. Um, because I think Neil Pierre is,
32:45
Speaker 2: is going to Europe next year. I think he's, uh, I,
32:48
Speaker 2: I think people are all over him over in Europe
32:50
Speaker 2: and he's gonna, he's gonna get his shot in, in a,
32:53
Speaker 2: in a higher, uh, league, higher level competition.
32:56
Speaker 3: Yeah.
32:57
Speaker 2: Um, Kevin Sullivan, once he moves on to, uh, once
33:00
Speaker 2: he turns 18, he can move on to Manchester city. So,
33:05
Speaker 2: Now's the time. I mean, you know, it's not like
33:08
Speaker 2: when those guys leave, you're not going to have anybody left. But,
33:10
Speaker 2: you know, while these guys are here and while you've
33:12
Speaker 2: got these exciting young players, I mean, I want to
33:16
Speaker 2: see them make a genuine run. I mean, I know
33:18
Speaker 2: Nashville is pretty much running away with the East. New
33:22
Speaker 2: England's a good team. Miami, as long as they have
33:25
Speaker 2: Messi there, I mean, they're always, you know, going to
33:28
Speaker 2: be you know, in contention. So, I mean, that, so
33:31
Speaker 2: that top three might be a little bit tough to crack,
33:33
Speaker 2: but I mean, just get in there and they're currently
33:37
Speaker 2: sixth and be a team that everybody else is like,
33:40
Speaker 2: Oh God, I didn't want to get them in the
33:42
Speaker 2: first round. You know, that, that kind of thing. And
33:45
Speaker 2: that's something that, you know, with the way they're playing
33:47
Speaker 2: right now, I'd want to avoid them at all costs.
33:49
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Len, let's finish the discussion here with regard to
33:53
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia 76ers. They had their media day this past week.
33:58
Speaker 1: And man, again, it was just a sight to behold
34:02
Speaker 1: when you have Joel Embiid, Vijay Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brown,
34:07
Speaker 1: and of course, LeBron James, all in that photo that
34:11
Speaker 1: the Sixers put out on social media. And I saw
34:13
Speaker 1: it and I'm just like, I can't believe this is happening.
34:17
Speaker 1: Like I cannot believe that this is happening. And LeBron
34:19
Speaker 1: specifically saying at the presser, I didn't leave my family
34:24
Speaker 1: to lose in the second round. I mean, I, in
34:27
Speaker 1: my opinion, taking the expectation level up so many notches
34:33
Speaker 1: by specifically saying that, um, There is no other place
34:39
Speaker 1: for our Sixers hearts to go at this point from
34:43
Speaker 1: an expectation level than just absolutely through the roof, Len.
34:47
Speaker 1: And it's an amazing feeling. Is it all going to
34:50
Speaker 1: come together? We, of course, don't have a crystal ball.
34:52
Speaker 1: We don't know. But the vibes are so good right
34:55
Speaker 1: now as we're getting ready to see what happens in camp.
34:59
Speaker 1: And hopefully everybody stays healthy during camp and what the
35:02
Speaker 1: regular season is going to look like, man. Like expectations
35:04
Speaker 1: are so high.
35:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they should be. You got, in my mind,
35:12
Speaker 2: a top 15 player in the entire league that you
35:14
Speaker 2: brought in in Jalen Brown to add to a guy that,
35:17
Speaker 2: to me, is quite possibly top 30 in the league
35:20
Speaker 2: in Maxey. You've got Embiid, who, when healthy, has still
35:24
Speaker 2: shown he can be a dominant force. You've got LeBron,
35:27
Speaker 2: who's still you know still can do a lot of
35:31
Speaker 2: things he's still top i would say maybe a top
35:33
Speaker 2: 50 or 60 player in the nba so and that's
35:36
Speaker 2: that's all the same roster you you've strengthened your bench
35:38
Speaker 2: with kcp with with wade um you know they are
35:43
Speaker 2: top to bottom with the exception of maybe backup center
35:47
Speaker 2: which you know could be a thing if mb you
35:48
Speaker 2: know misses a good amount of time yeah um you
35:51
Speaker 2: know it's it's a it's an impressively put together roster.
35:56
Speaker 2: And it's, it's really, it's hard to fathom that. And,
35:58
Speaker 2: and I want to mention, cause I mentioned in bead, like,
36:00
Speaker 2: I mean, he looks noticeably thinner. I don't know if
36:03
Speaker 2: you saw him in the, in the, in the press conference.
36:06
Speaker 2: He looks like he's dropped some, some LBs. Cause I
36:09
Speaker 2: think he knows like if it's going to happen, it's
36:13
Speaker 2: going to happen in these next two years or else
36:16
Speaker 2: it's not going to happen. So I think he is
36:18
Speaker 2: going to be, you know, not that he, not that
36:20
Speaker 2: I'm saying he's wasn't motivated in the past, but I
36:23
Speaker 2: think he is going to be as motivated as he
36:26
Speaker 2: can possibly be to, to make this happen in this window.
36:30
Speaker 2: Cause after this, you know, who knows? Um, so, uh, yeah,
36:34
Speaker 2: I mean, the, the, the vibes are great. Um, the,
36:36
Speaker 2: the roster looks incredible. Again, Mike Gans, he's done a
36:40
Speaker 2: hell of a job. Um, But I guess really the
36:44
Speaker 2: only thing for me that could be a stumbling block
36:47
Speaker 2: is early in the season, everybody just figuring out roles.
36:50
Speaker 2: And that's going to be really the most exciting thing
36:53
Speaker 2: to watch with this Sixers team in the early going
36:57
Speaker 2: is maybe not, you know, oh, you know, how do
36:59
Speaker 2: all these stars, you know, look at all these stars
37:02
Speaker 2: on the team, but it's how do they play together?
37:04
Speaker 2: Who defers to who, who's got the ball at certain
37:07
Speaker 2: points in the game? You know, are, are some of
37:10
Speaker 2: these guys, you know, I know Jalen Brown said he's
37:13
Speaker 2: going to bring his hard hat to the defensive end.
37:16
Speaker 2: You know, are, are there maybe certain guys in that
37:18
Speaker 2: group that are like, this is what I'm going to
37:20
Speaker 2: bring to this team. This is what I'm going to
37:21
Speaker 2: focus on. Yeah. You know, and, and that, that's an
37:25
Speaker 2: important thing, especially, you know, you've got LeBron who's, one
37:29
Speaker 2: of the best passers in league history in terms of vision,
37:32
Speaker 2: in terms of basketball IQ. Then you've got Maxie who
37:36
Speaker 2: can handle the ball. You've got guys that are used
37:39
Speaker 2: to having the ball in their hands. So that first
37:41
Speaker 2: couple of weeks, if there was a stumble and if
37:45
Speaker 2: they lose some games that maybe they shouldn't lose, I
37:47
Speaker 2: could see that being the reason why, because they just,
37:50
Speaker 2: I think they may have stuff early on that they're
37:53
Speaker 2: going to have to figure out. And I think once
37:54
Speaker 2: they do that, then, you know, assuming health, which is always,
37:58
Speaker 2: you know, something you can't bank on. But I mean, I,
38:02
Speaker 2: once they kind of get their roles figured out and
38:05
Speaker 2: all that stuff, and hopefully they do sooner rather than later,
38:07
Speaker 2: I think the sky's the limit for them.
38:09
Speaker 1: I'm going to be mentioning this Lynn to our guest
38:12
Speaker 1: Harrison in just a little bit, but you know, it's
38:15
Speaker 1: something I've just been thinking about with regard to Embiid
38:19
Speaker 1: because like, look, he has been everything to this team,
38:22
Speaker 1: you know, now going into his 13th year, with this organization.
38:28
Speaker 1: And I think what this roster gives the team, the
38:32
Speaker 1: front office, and certainly us fans who are watching is
38:35
Speaker 1: there's like the baseline competence is no longer dependent on
38:41
Speaker 1: whether or not Embiid is on the floor every night
38:43
Speaker 1: of the regular season. And like, that is the greatest
38:46
Speaker 1: feeling going into this season. It's a fantastic feeling. It
38:51
Speaker 1: really is because of the, the, the talent that was
38:54
Speaker 1: brought in and what Gansey did during this off season.
38:57
Speaker 1: It's amazing.
38:57
Speaker 2: One, 1 million percent agree. Yeah. There were, there were
39:00
Speaker 2: times in the past few years where it's like, Oh,
39:03
Speaker 2: Embiid's out for a while. Well, they're, they're gonna, they're
39:06
Speaker 2: gonna lose some ground in the standings here, but you know, yeah. Now,
39:09
Speaker 2: I mean, Not that you want that to happen because
39:11
Speaker 2: you still do need to have a presence at center,
39:15
Speaker 2: and I don't know what they would do if he's
39:16
Speaker 2: out for an extended period of time. But it's not
39:20
Speaker 2: all gloom and doom. You've still got a really talented roster,
39:23
Speaker 2: you know albeit with a big hole but you know
39:26
Speaker 2: um still a really talented roster should that happen.
39:29
Speaker 1: Yeah absolutely all right great uh great way to end
39:31
Speaker 1: this and uh segue into our discussion with harrison grim
39:36
Speaker 1: from libertyballers.com we're gonna get to that in just a
39:38
Speaker 1: bit buddy i'm gonna let you go you got anything
39:40
Speaker 1: else here uh before we head.
39:42
Speaker 2: Out Go Phil's. I guess we'll know by the time
39:45
Speaker 2: any of you are watching this or listening.
39:48
Speaker 1: Exactly.
39:49
Speaker 2: One way or the other.
39:50
Speaker 1: We will. Oh boy. And we'll certainly be getting into
39:52
Speaker 1: some Phillies talk one way or another next week on
39:54
Speaker 1: the show. So buddy, I'm going to let you go.
39:57
Speaker 1: Always appreciate you doing the show. And I want to
40:00
Speaker 1: say this too. Today's international podcasters day. Thanks for sticking
40:04
Speaker 1: with the show, buddy.
40:06
Speaker 2: I did not know that.
40:07
Speaker 1: It's been years and years. You've stuck with the show.
40:10
Speaker 1: We're still here, buddy. Still here. We're here. I love it.
40:15
Speaker 1: All right, folks, we're going to take a break. When
40:17
Speaker 1: we get back more Sixers talk coming your way. And
40:22
Speaker 1: now on the table. To get into this Philadelphia 76ers
40:28
Speaker 1: team this upcoming season, what we are going to be
40:32
Speaker 1: seeing from this team, it really is surreal. We've got
40:36
Speaker 1: our good friend Harrison Grimm from libertyballers.com. My friend, thanks
40:41
Speaker 1: so much for taking the time here. I cannot believe
40:44
Speaker 1: that this season is almost upon us. I cannot believe
40:47
Speaker 1: that this team is now constructed the way that it is, man.
40:50
Speaker 1: Like I said, it's so surreal, so bizarre that we
40:53
Speaker 1: are in this situation here.
40:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, it really is.
40:56
Speaker 4: And this is the first time I think in my lifetime,
41:00
Speaker 4: other than maybe Allen Iverson, where the city is really
41:03
Speaker 4: looking at the Sixers. They aren't looking at the Eagles.
41:06
Speaker 4: I mean, the Eagles are good in their own right.
41:08
Speaker 4: I don't mean to necessarily poop on them, but the
41:11
Speaker 4: city's paying attention to the Sixers right now. LeBron James
41:14
Speaker 4: is a Sixer. Jalen Brown is a Sixer. There's so
41:18
Speaker 4: much to look forward to with this team, and the
41:20
Speaker 4: excitement level is off the charts, and there's just so
41:23
Speaker 4: much to talk about with this team, so let's get
41:25
Speaker 4: into it.
41:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's get into it, buddy. Look, the Sixers, they
41:28
Speaker 1: had their media day this week. It was just something
41:31
Speaker 1: to behold. It was something to see, of course. LeBron
41:34
Speaker 1: James in a Sixers jersey, and of course, the one
41:38
Speaker 1: quote that got a lot of attention that really put
41:41
Speaker 1: this upcoming season from an expectational perspective into full scope
41:47
Speaker 1: It was when LeBron said, I didn't leave my family
41:51
Speaker 1: to lose in the second round. Now, my buddy Len
41:54
Speaker 1: and I, you know, my co-host and I were just
41:56
Speaker 1: kind of discussing this a little bit as well. That
41:59
Speaker 1: quote really takes the expectations game and just drives it
42:03
Speaker 1: through a wall, in my opinion. Expectations are huge now
42:08
Speaker 1: this year. Probably the highest that we have ever seen
42:12
Speaker 1: during the course of, you know, I would obviously say
42:14
Speaker 1: the past, you know, 15 years, of course.
42:17
Speaker 3: Yeah.
42:18
Speaker 1: Yeah.
42:19
Speaker 3: I think you said it best.
42:20
Speaker 4: Like this is LeBron James and in the name alone
42:24
Speaker 4: carries so much weight and you honestly have to tip
42:26
Speaker 4: your cap to him because this route that he chose,
42:30
Speaker 4: whatever you might think of it as a Sixers fan,
42:32
Speaker 4: as an NBA fan for it against it, like this
42:35
Speaker 4: is a winner's type of move. This is a move
42:39
Speaker 4: that he's trying to put something on the line and
42:42
Speaker 4: cement his legacy. And It's a really fascinating thing to
42:47
Speaker 4: see play out from an NBA standpoint, let alone a
42:51
Speaker 4: Sixers fan standpoint, where you have the Sixers who have
42:54
Speaker 4: been this irrelevant franchise for so long.
42:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, they have had amazing players.
43:01
Speaker 4: Yes, they've had highs, but they haven't gotten over the
43:05
Speaker 4: hump in so long.
43:06
Speaker 3: Yeah. there's just so much going into this season. There's
43:09
Speaker 3: the LeBron aspect.
43:10
Speaker 4: There's the Sixers franchise aspect. There's so many other angles
43:14
Speaker 4: that the Jalen Brown thing that somehow got lost in
43:17
Speaker 4: all of this.
43:18
Speaker 1: Like we're going to get to that. Yeah.
43:20
Speaker 2: So much.
43:21
Speaker 1: Yeah.
43:21
Speaker 3: There's so much with this team. It really is. There's expectations,
43:25
Speaker 3: as you said, are through the roof and.
43:27
Speaker 4: It's going to be fascinating to see how the team
43:29
Speaker 4: handles it.
43:30
Speaker 1: Absolutely. And look, I want to put something to rest,
43:33
Speaker 1: just at least from this podcast shows perspective, uh, The
43:37
Speaker 1: narrative of LeBron taking the helicopter to and from New York,
43:42
Speaker 1: I couldn't give a shit. I honestly couldn't give a shit.
43:45
Speaker 1: Are you kidding me? People complaining. And it really started,
43:49
Speaker 1: I think it was last week when it was Howard Eskin.
43:52
Speaker 1: I saw a clip of Howard Eskin and Angelo Cataldi
43:55
Speaker 1: talking about it just too fast. I'm sorry, I'm swearing
43:59
Speaker 1: here because like just two fucking old men who just
44:03
Speaker 1: are out of touch, not understanding the moment, obviously, or
44:08
Speaker 1: just saying what they're saying to simply get clicks and
44:11
Speaker 1: to get views and banter going online. I just. I
44:15
Speaker 1: couldn't care less if he, if he takes a seven
44:19
Speaker 1: 47 and tries to land it right next to the
44:21
Speaker 1: Xfinity mobile arena. I don't care if he's doing that.
44:24
Speaker 1: I mean, what are your thoughts on it? I mean,
44:26
Speaker 1: you may think differently, but that that's where I'm at.
44:29
Speaker 3: No, no, no. I'm with you on that. I just
44:33
Speaker 3: think it's ridiculous.
44:34
Speaker 4: Like this idea that like the, the Sixers have had
44:38
Speaker 4: players commute from New York city in the past with
44:40
Speaker 4: JJ Redick.
44:41
Speaker 3: So there's that.
44:42
Speaker 2: Yes.
44:43
Speaker 3: Also, this is LeBron James that we're talking about.
44:45
Speaker 4: Billionaire, like, has too much money, like, as is, like,
44:50
Speaker 4: the idea that he is only going to have a
44:53
Speaker 4: house in New York City and not Philly is just
44:56
Speaker 4: crazy to me.
44:57
Speaker 3: Like, why would he not?
44:58
Speaker 4: Right.
44:59
Speaker 1: Exactly. Exactly. All right. We'll put that one to rest.
45:04
Speaker 1: But as we're moving along here, okay, this is the
45:08
Speaker 1: 13th year, this upcoming season, the 13th year with Joel Embiid.
45:13
Speaker 1: on the Sixers team. I mean, he has been the
45:16
Speaker 1: pinnacle of Sixers basketball and what we have all known
45:20
Speaker 1: as fans for well over a decade here. I mean,
45:24
Speaker 1: everything has rested on his shoulders, and that's what I
45:26
Speaker 1: mean by that. Everything's rested on his shoulders. Season after season,
45:30
Speaker 1: he's been an MVP within this league. Yet, as we know,
45:34
Speaker 1: the injuries constantly are there, they're prevalent, he's constantly nursing injuries,
45:40
Speaker 1: and of course it's frustrated him, it's frustrated the front office,
45:43
Speaker 1: frustrated us fans as well. But the beauty of this roster, Harrison,
45:49
Speaker 1: is that Their baseline competence is no longer dependent on
45:53
Speaker 1: whether or not Joel Embiid is on the floor every
45:56
Speaker 1: night of the regular season. And they don't need to
45:58
Speaker 1: live and die by Joel Embiid anymore. And as a fan,
46:02
Speaker 1: I'm sure the front office loves it. And even Joel
46:05
Speaker 1: may as well, given where he's at with his age.
46:08
Speaker 1: And again, nursing injury after injury, year after year. What
46:13
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on just where he's at in his
46:15
Speaker 1: career and what this new roster actually gives Joel Embiid
46:19
Speaker 1: heading into this 2026-2027 season?
46:23
Speaker 3: Yeah.
46:23
Speaker 4: So for the Sixers to win a title, they're going
46:26
Speaker 4: to need Joel Embiid healthy when it matters. And that's
46:28
Speaker 4: going to be in May and June and so on
46:31
Speaker 4: and so forth. So how do you get Joel to
46:35
Speaker 4: the postseason healthy? You add a bunch of talented guys
46:38
Speaker 4: around him who can create their own shot, play, make,
46:41
Speaker 4: and do that type of thing. Like just do everything
46:44
Speaker 4: in the wheelhouse and I think the Sixers are set
46:48
Speaker 4: up well from a roster standpoint in terms of Joel and, um,
46:54
Speaker 4: how he can kind of, uh, mesh with this roster or,
46:58
Speaker 4: or gain some cohesion.
46:59
Speaker 3: Uh, that's going to be interesting to see.
47:02
Speaker 4: And it's going to be a lot of the areas
47:03
Speaker 4: that I've talked about in the past with him before,
47:06
Speaker 4: where he has to embrace doing a He's just frankly
47:11
Speaker 4: going to have to be a better defensive rebounder with
47:13
Speaker 4: this team. LeBron James is a good rebounder. However, he's
47:16
Speaker 4: getting older. Jalen Brown, I think, is a fine rebounder.
47:19
Speaker 4: Vijay is a good rebounder for a guard and so on.
47:21
Speaker 4: But Joel is going to have to just be better
47:24
Speaker 4: at that end. He's going to have to be. uh,
47:26
Speaker 4: tap into more of his defensive skills. And yeah, like
47:29
Speaker 4: there are mobility concerns, but I still think Joel, uh,
47:33
Speaker 4: potentially when scaled down can be a capable defensive player
47:37
Speaker 4: and the numbers are still good. Uh, when he's on
47:39
Speaker 4: the floor, he's affecting shots around the rim and people
47:42
Speaker 4: are missing from even farther out. So, um, Joel is
47:45
Speaker 4: really going to have to tap into doing the finer things.
47:50
Speaker 3: Rebounding.
47:50
Speaker 4: Yeah.
47:51
Speaker 3: Um, even playmaking.
47:53
Speaker 4: I think Joel has potential as a table set. And
47:56
Speaker 4: I think there was even some half court sets that
47:58
Speaker 4: the Olympic team, uh, ran with, uh, Joel and LeBron where, uh,
48:02
Speaker 4: they ran LeBron on like a back backdoor screen on
48:05
Speaker 4: the baseline and Joel hit him with a bounce pass.
48:07
Speaker 4: So like you can do cool stuff with this team. Um,
48:11
Speaker 4: And hopefully we see some of that. And it seems
48:13
Speaker 4: like all the guys are on the same page with that.
48:15
Speaker 3: So there's ways for Joel to still be Joel, the
48:19
Speaker 3: Joel that we know, the one that can post 20
48:21
Speaker 3: points and his rest really.
48:24
Speaker 1: Yeah.
48:25
Speaker 3: But he's going to have to embrace doing some of
48:27
Speaker 3: the smaller stuff.
48:28
Speaker 4: And so on or so far into the preseason, it
48:32
Speaker 4: looks like he's for it. He looks amazing. Nick Nurse
48:36
Speaker 4: has praised them. Tyrese Maxey has praised them in some
48:39
Speaker 4: of the practices. So it's really going to be a
48:42
Speaker 4: fascinating year to see from Joel.
48:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, it will because he's just not going to have
48:47
Speaker 1: to do it all again. Like I said, it's not
48:49
Speaker 1: just going to have to be on his shoulders here.
48:53
Speaker 1: The amount of talent that is on this team. I
48:56
Speaker 1: would have to imagine that having that weight lifted here.
48:59
Speaker 1: really means something to him going into this season where
49:03
Speaker 1: that pressure isn't 100% there. It might be 75% there
49:09
Speaker 1: and that, that, that not having that 25% on you
49:11
Speaker 1: all the time that can make all the difference in
49:13
Speaker 1: the world.
49:15
Speaker 2: Yeah.
49:15
Speaker 4: And I think even if you watch like some of
49:17
Speaker 4: the six years content and like some people might think
49:20
Speaker 4: that's like puff pieces puff content but like just joel's
49:24
Speaker 4: demeanor right now seems really positive like he he looks
49:28
Speaker 4: happy it looks like he's having fun doing like media
49:31
Speaker 4: day stuff which In the past, we haven't really seen
49:34
Speaker 4: too much from him from media day. So that's kind
49:38
Speaker 4: of a change. But he looks like he's in a
49:40
Speaker 4: good headspace, and he should be. He's got LeBron James.
49:43
Speaker 4: He's got reinforcements. This is the best chance as any
49:49
Speaker 4: for him to win a championship.
49:51
Speaker 1: Yep, absolutely. All right, folks, we're going to take a
49:53
Speaker 1: quick break. And when we get back, we've got more
49:55
Speaker 1: Sixers talk coming your way. But beforehand... Again, Harrison is
49:59
Speaker 1: over at LibertyBallers.com. Him and his colleagues do a fantastic
50:02
Speaker 1: job over there. Where else can they find you on
50:04
Speaker 1: the interwebs if they want to connect with you, Harrison?
50:06
Speaker 4: Yeah, like you said, you can find me on Twitter,
50:09
Speaker 4: Harrison underscore Grimm. You can also find me over on
50:13
Speaker 4: Blue Sky. Same name, just search me up. Otherwise, all
50:17
Speaker 4: my work you'll find at Liberty Ballers.
50:19
Speaker 3: Awesome.
50:20
Speaker 1: All right, we're going to take a break. When we
50:21
Speaker 1: get back, more Sixers talk coming your way. All right,
50:26
Speaker 1: we're back again with Harrison Grimm from LibertyBallers.com, and it
50:32
Speaker 1: is hard to believe Tyrese Maxey is already heading into
50:35
Speaker 1: his seventh season here. I can't believe it. I feel
50:38
Speaker 1: like it might only be like his fourth season here,
50:40
Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, heading into his
50:42
Speaker 1: seventh season, the guy is always working hard year after
50:47
Speaker 1: year after year to improve his game, Harrison, and Last year,
50:52
Speaker 1: being a first All-NBA star, also having a career year
50:57
Speaker 1: as well, I wonder if he can actually take his
51:00
Speaker 1: game to another level this season. Hard to believe that
51:04
Speaker 1: he can, but I don't know. If so, what do
51:07
Speaker 1: you think that would actually look like this coming season?
51:12
Speaker 4: Yeah. I think at this point it would be crazy
51:14
Speaker 4: to say Tyrese Maxey can't be better.
51:16
Speaker 3: Than what he already is.
51:18
Speaker 4: He's still pretty young for NBA standards and hypothetically should
51:22
Speaker 4: have his best years ahead. But in terms of how
51:25
Speaker 4: he can actually take that next step, uh, the Sixers
51:28
Speaker 4: have the personnel to really kind of unlock Maxey. And again,
51:32
Speaker 4: this is going to fall on Nick nurse. This is
51:33
Speaker 4: going to fall on their big name stars to, uh,
51:37
Speaker 4: share the ball, share playmaking responsibilities. Um, Tyrese, from a
51:43
Speaker 4: statistical standpoint, is a better, more efficient player when it
51:48
Speaker 4: comes to scoring, shooting from the perimeter. It's just better
51:53
Speaker 4: if he's off the catch than off the dribble. And
51:56
Speaker 4: that's the case for most players, but it has always
51:58
Speaker 4: been the case for him.
51:59
Speaker 3: So.
52:00
Speaker 4: Guys like Jalen Brown, uh, obviously LeBron James, I think
52:04
Speaker 4: is going to be the point guard, uh, to say
52:07
Speaker 4: for this team. I know, uh, they might not necessarily
52:11
Speaker 4: want labels out there, but I think that's where LeBron
52:13
Speaker 4: really is going to make people shine and he's going
52:16
Speaker 4: to make Joel shine, make the other guys shine.
52:19
Speaker 3: I think that's what he's going for. But going back
52:21
Speaker 3: to Maxie, um, yeah, he's going to be run off
52:25
Speaker 3: all a lot more.
52:26
Speaker 4: Um, Look for Vijay Edgecomb to have on-ball reps. I'm
52:30
Speaker 4: sure they're going to play him with LeBaron Phylon, who
52:33
Speaker 4: seems to be in the second unit, just going off
52:38
Speaker 4: of what they're posting on social, so that's kind of interesting.
52:42
Speaker 4: There's so many ways to use Tyrese Maxey off the
52:46
Speaker 4: ball now, and I think you're going to see his
52:48
Speaker 4: efficiency climb. I think you'll also see his scoring potentially climb,
52:53
Speaker 4: despite his usage going down.
52:55
Speaker 2: Yeah.
52:56
Speaker 1: Look, you mentioned one particular gentleman who I want to
52:59
Speaker 1: get into next, and that's Vijay Edgecombe. All of us fans,
53:02
Speaker 1: we're going to be watching and looking at how Edgecombe
53:06
Speaker 1: really takes those next steps as well. Hopefully a bigger
53:09
Speaker 1: leap coming this season. I mean, there is a ton
53:12
Speaker 1: of opportunity for growth during this upcoming sophomore season for
53:17
Speaker 1: Vijay Edgecombe. How do you see this manifesting itself when
53:21
Speaker 1: it comes to Edgecombe, what his role is going to
53:24
Speaker 1: be how do you see him taking those next steps?
53:28
Speaker 4: Yeah.
53:28
Speaker 3: I mean, it's a great question.
53:30
Speaker 4: And I think that was like one of the first
53:32
Speaker 4: kind of gut reactions to the LeBron news is like,
53:37
Speaker 4: this is terrible for VJ. Like his usage is going
53:40
Speaker 4: to go down. He's never going to touch the ball.
53:42
Speaker 4: And I think that's ridiculous one, but like two, I
53:47
Speaker 4: think it's also going to be a really good thing
53:49
Speaker 4: for him. Like this is a guy that thrives in transition.
53:52
Speaker 4: He's a lob threat in transition. LeBron can throw lobs.
53:55
Speaker 4: LeBron can obviously work well in transition is one of
53:59
Speaker 4: the best transition players in the league. So that alone,
54:03
Speaker 4: like I think VJ edge comb is going to walk
54:05
Speaker 4: into a lot of easy baskets. And I think you'll
54:07
Speaker 4: see his efficiency climb as well, just from transition opportunities and,
54:13
Speaker 4: And I think defensively, he's going to be a really,
54:16
Speaker 4: really important piece for this team. Jalen Brown probably being
54:21
Speaker 4: the other one for perimeter. Obviously LeBron, despite like being,
54:24
Speaker 4: he's still an incredible player.
54:27
Speaker 3: It's kind of slipped defensively. I think Tyrese max, he's okay. Defensively.
54:31
Speaker 3: You can go back and forth.
54:32
Speaker 4: On him, but yeah, Like VJ is so important to
54:36
Speaker 4: this team. He's going to be important on both ends.
54:38
Speaker 4: And I think he's really going to find ways to shine.
54:40
Speaker 4: His perimeter shooting, just again, from the practice footage that
54:46
Speaker 4: we've seen, it looks like he's kind of cleaned up
54:48
Speaker 4: his mechanics a little bit. It seems like it's a
54:50
Speaker 4: bit of a quicker release. I'm really excited for VJ Edgecombe.
54:55
Speaker 4: I think if he's hitting threes and just getting out
54:58
Speaker 4: in transition, he's going to be just incredible for a
55:02
Speaker 4: year or two coming up.
55:04
Speaker 1: And the fact that aside from Vijay, you have other
55:07
Speaker 1: talent on this team that it's going to make a
55:09
Speaker 1: difference defensively. I mean, it's something that like, I mean,
55:13
Speaker 1: I've just been, I've been like yelling about it for years,
55:16
Speaker 1: just how important defense, and we know where the NBA
55:18
Speaker 1: has gone, you know, over so many years, all about scoring,
55:21
Speaker 1: not as defensive concentrated, but with the talent on this team,
55:25
Speaker 1: we are going to see some pretty amazing defensive play
55:28
Speaker 1: this year, Harrison.
55:30
Speaker 4: Yeah. And, and I think even if you go like
55:32
Speaker 4: deeper beyond the bigger names, like I talked about VJ,
55:35
Speaker 4: Jalen Brown, I think is going to be really important
55:37
Speaker 4: in terms of being an on-ball defender. We saw in
55:40
Speaker 4: that final series where he really took that Luca assignment
55:43
Speaker 4: and held his own. So that's going to be a
55:46
Speaker 4: key area to watch. But if you go down the roster,
55:48
Speaker 4: like you got Dean Wade.
55:50
Speaker 3: Who we haven't really talked about.
55:51
Speaker 4: Yep. He's getting a ton of praise already. I think
55:54
Speaker 4: Tyrese Maxey said he's like already a great teammate. Yeah.
55:59
Speaker 4: just doing all the things you want from a role player,
56:02
Speaker 4: you know, being a glue guy, which is his MO.
56:05
Speaker 3: So the reviews are good there.
56:07
Speaker 4: And, and even when you go down the roster, you
56:10
Speaker 4: got guys like KCP, who I went back and watched
56:14
Speaker 4: some of his tape from last season. He was on
56:17
Speaker 4: Memphis and they were tanking. So it wasn't really meaningful basketball,
56:20
Speaker 4: but it looks like he can still move defensively. And
56:23
Speaker 4: he's another guy where early on, the reviews are good
56:27
Speaker 4: of him being a good defender. And, you got the
56:29
Speaker 4: bigs then Bona and Huck Porty being rim protectors. There's
56:34
Speaker 4: a lot to work with there. And there's Barlow too.
56:36
Speaker 4: Like there's people I'm forgetting. So the Sixers have options.
56:41
Speaker 4: It's going to be exciting to see how Nick Nurse
56:43
Speaker 4: uses them.
56:44
Speaker 1: Absolutely. And, you know, you've mentioned this gentleman and we're
56:47
Speaker 1: going to end with him. And it's Jalen Brown because,
56:51
Speaker 1: and look, I'll say one of your colleagues over at
56:53
Speaker 1: Liberty Ballers, I'm forgetting who it was, recently wrote about
56:57
Speaker 1: how and why Jalen Brown is just the perfect fit
57:00
Speaker 1: for Philly. I mean, he has a knack for cutting
57:03
Speaker 1: off ball and this should be. a point of emphasis, frankly,
57:07
Speaker 1: for the Sixers. I mean, he's been a consistent wing
57:10
Speaker 1: defender as well. And as we know, he also has
57:14
Speaker 1: that championship and postseason leadership and experience that I think
57:18
Speaker 1: this team obviously needs. And because of LeBron, he's not
57:22
Speaker 1: really getting a ton of attention really at the moment
57:25
Speaker 1: as this season is right around the corner. It's just
57:28
Speaker 1: so bizarre, again, how this team is so stacked and
57:31
Speaker 1: where we're all concentrating. How do you see Brown being
57:35
Speaker 1: that perfect fit for Philly this year to close us
57:38
Speaker 1: out here, buddy?
57:40
Speaker 4: Yeah, there's certainly areas to be skeptical on. I think
57:44
Speaker 4: his assist to turnover ratio isn't great. Some of his
57:48
Speaker 4: playmaking hasn't been... I think it's okay. I don't want
57:53
Speaker 4: to crap on him too bad.
57:55
Speaker 3: But.
57:56
Speaker 4: Like with Jalen, he's going to be really important to
58:00
Speaker 4: this team and he's really going to be needed on
58:04
Speaker 4: nights where guys like LeBron and Joel Embiid, like those
58:07
Speaker 4: two are going to be load managing some back to back.
58:10
Speaker 3: It just is what it is.
58:11
Speaker 4: Right.
58:12
Speaker 1: Yep.
58:13
Speaker 3: So Jalen Brown's going to need to scale up. They're
58:15
Speaker 3: going to need to.
58:15
Speaker 4: Call his number and they're going to lean on him
58:17
Speaker 4: to produce in terms of being a perfect fit though.
58:21
Speaker 4: A lot of it again goes back to the transition.
58:24
Speaker 4: He was one of the best transition players in the
58:26
Speaker 4: league last year. He can get down the court. He
58:28
Speaker 4: can finish around the rim and he's a really tall
58:32
Speaker 4: and big and strong score where he just overpowers people
58:36
Speaker 4: over and over. So I think in transition with Max,
58:40
Speaker 4: he was Edgecombe and LeBron, and you could throw Joel
58:44
Speaker 4: in that as a trailer potentially.
58:47
Speaker 3: There's so much to like there.
58:49
Speaker 4: He's also a phenomenal off-ball cutter. That's something where Joel
58:55
Speaker 4: can potentially be at the top of the key, which
58:57
Speaker 4: opens up some stuff in the lane. LeBron can also
59:00
Speaker 4: backdoor cut. Anybody can backdoor cut, really.
59:03
Speaker 3: On this team.
59:05
Speaker 4: Jalen's going to be so important. I think he's a
59:08
Speaker 4: phenomenal fit. Um, I do think there's areas of concern
59:12
Speaker 4: and I think you'll see it some nights, some nights
59:14
Speaker 4: it might be clunky. Some nights he might shoot too much.
59:17
Speaker 4: They just got to feel things out. They got to
59:18
Speaker 4: feel things out, develop chemistry and they'll get there. Um,
59:22
Speaker 4: but I do think it's crazy to say Jalen Brown,
59:27
Speaker 4: the Boston Celtic got traded to the Sixers and like,
59:30
Speaker 4: we barely talked about it.
59:32
Speaker 3: It's Yeah.
59:34
Speaker 1: I got rid of that contract.
59:35
Speaker 2: Yes.
59:36
Speaker 3: Yeah.
59:37
Speaker 1: Yeah.
59:37
Speaker 3: Paul George is assaulted. Like unreal. It's just been such
59:40
Speaker 3: a crazy summer, man. It has.
59:42
Speaker 1: It absolutely has folks head on over to Liberty ballers.com.
59:45
Speaker 1: Always great content over there. Great guys. Great group of folks.
59:49
Speaker 1: And Harrison, man, thanks so much for taking the time.
59:53
Speaker 1: Always appreciate it. Let's let's talk more ball in the future.
59:56
Speaker 1: I'd love to have you back on the show, my friend.
59:59
Speaker 3: Sounds good, man. Let's do it.
1:00:01
Speaker 1: And that's going to do it for us this week.
1:00:03
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1:00:06
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1:00:08
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1:00:19
Speaker 1: taking the time to join us every week to help
1:00:21
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1:00:24
Speaker 1: And ultimately we appreciate you take care and have a
1:00:28
Speaker 1: great week and we'll catch you next time.
1:00:41
Speaker 4: Thank you.