Fanatic About the Playoffs | A Bonus Mailbag With Devon

love the voicemails. You know, Let's do it, man, we love the voicemails, all right, seventy six Ers, we know this. Hosting the Atlanta Hawks at one o'clock on Sunday afternoon to open up the second round series, their third second round appearance in the last four years, which is great. Some of these calls came in after the Game five clinch over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, so let us get to the pod line right away. That was a great game by the Sixers tonight. They took care of business.

Seth Curry like unbelievable game from him. Ben Simmons with triple double, like amazing, amazing, Tobias Harris, great game. First half looked a little ugly, but they closed it out. They finished the game, ended the series, bringing the Atlanta Hawks. I hope Joel is able to play in that series. If not, I think the Sixers still pull that one off sixers and five against Atlanta. Let's go, Eastern Conference Finals. Let's go Sixers, Let's go, let's go. That's the team

of the call. I guess let's go right, Let's go. Let's go. Seth Curry with the thirty points that he dropped in the close out game, Tobias Harris with his twenty eight as well, and individually, you cannot, as the caller just mentioned, you cannot leave out the triple double performance for Ben Simmons, and as he alluded to, the second half is really where they turned it out, not just individually but the team defense, scoring the thirty eight

in the third quarter and thirty one from Washington. But I looked at Celts the free throws, where Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beale were just parading to the free throw line in the first half of the game, and six Is yet up by two, sixty five, sixty three. But in the second half, in total, they only shot I believe six total between the two after just parading to the free throw line, where they both ended up with

ten free throw attempts on the night. So I thought that the individually the points that they put up Seth Curry what I believe was twelve in the third quarter, But the defense in general also really did a fantastic job team defense coming together and really closing out that game in a game without Joel Embiid. That is precisely the type of defense that we saw in the second

half that the seventy sixers needed to play. I do think the whole idea of it's a team win, it's a team effort kind of gets overplayed, but in a game like that, they had to have it in the second half, and really going back towards the end of the first half, we saw that there were guys who logged extended minutes, who did a little bit here, a little bit there. I mean, obviously Seth Curry did a lot by comparison Ben Simmons to Bias Harris, but even Danny Green setting the tone at the end of the

second half, second quarter I thought was really important. That's the way the Sixers half to play if joellenbad is not going to be out there, Ny Green getting the strip of Russell Westbrook right as he inbounded the ball, trying to size him up and figure out Westbrook where to go, and Danny Green waited patiently, reached at the right time, got the ball and still was able to convert the layup, and then although it didn't lead to

another basket, the offensive foul, the frustration that Russell Westbrook at that point was showing he flat out and pushed Danny Green at that spot because he was he was just hounding him and couldn't get the ball as easy as he wanted too. So you're right from the end of the second quarter going into the third quarter, where a great offensive performance from Seth Curry, but then the defense in general putting it all together in the second half and ending up of course with the seventeen point

win and close out and gave him a five. We'll talk more about the Atlanta Hawks before this bonus pod Our Mailbag edition is done, but I do think that if the seventy sixers play that type of defense in a series against Atlanta, whether Joel and beats there or is not, things could work in the seventy sixers favor. All right, let's hear from Rita. I don't think we can talk about how great the first round without talking about Seth Curry. I think that man is on fire

and other teams that are watched out. Seth Curry stepped up when the seventy Sixers needed him, and he's had a bit at times of an up and down here. I think generally he's been outstanding. And by up and downs, I'm referring more to availability trying to get back into a rhythm after the positive COVID test in January. But he was outstanding in that close out against the Wizards. Rita, I thought he was fantastic. And then just thinking about eleven for seventeen from the floor, three or six from

behind the three point line. And the other thing that really stood out to me was two things. Actually, Selton Rida. It was the fact that he got to the free throw line seven for seven from the free throw line and made all seven. That is not surprising. It's the volume in which he got there and seven is a little surprising for me because we think of him more as a perimeter player. But also once he got going,

he saw how netto opposite him. He saw from time to time it was a bigger defendive like Hachimura or Daniel Gafford. But he wasn't worried, he wasn't deterred, and what he wanted to do about putting the ball on the floor and getting those opportunities getting to the basket. And we know he has a very good touch around the basket with the floater and also from the angle where he banks it off the glass, uses his angles properly.

He was tremendous, and while I was focused on someone else, whether it be Simmons or Harris, even though those two individually had fine games and there were others that stepped in as well and had great performances in him for that type of performance we've seen. I saw a twenty eight point performance from him earlier in the year, and he was great. But to only make three three pointers but still reach the thirty point total the seven points at the free throw line, I think Red is right

on point with this one. I know he didn't play a ton of ton of minutes depending on the series at different times, but he had a substantial role the last couple of years. Seth Curry. This is something I didn't talk about. I'll admit if you the first two minute didn't talk about a lot going into the playoffs.

He's a guy who has had playoff experience. He's been in the postseason each of the last two years with Portland with Dallas, who was a part of the run the Western Conference Finals with Portland where they ultimately got swept by his brother in Golden State in two nineteen. So he's a guy who is familiar with this stage. And I thought by and large, he had a really

solid series. He had the o Fur game from outside the Ark, and Game four, the Sixers in general were off, and then he came back and like many of his teammates, had a great effort closing things out in Game five. Absolutely a good rhythm, and that's something that you want to see because now they give you that faith overall.

While you trusted him in the regular season and he's had some good games in the first series, there to the way that he closed out and left us with that lasting impression now of what we saw in Game five, and also what that could mean for the next round against the Atlanta Hawks and the type of defense that they play and whoever they decide to use as their defensive assignment on Curry and what he could do. So good showing and hopefully it carries over. We know the Hawks,

they can shoot the three. Seventy six ers, we know can shoot the three. So with the team that's got the potential firepower like Atlanta, always that much more important when you've got someone like Seth Curry. Absolutely, absolutely as far as that goes with between Curry and Green and even Harris. She saw Harris getting the mixed with the two May threes himself and George Hill, while he did not, She didn't even attempt the field goal and game him five and three. He played a very good floor game

and defensively helped out as well. But the fact that in game number I believe it was game the four where he hit a couple of three pointers. Also, you're going to have to knock down shots sometimes you're not gonna stop everyone. So there may be a night in this next series where Atlanta is really knocking down their perimeter shots. Can you match those? And that's going to

be something that we feed off of. And now, in last Saturday's game when they played the Washington Wizards and game numb at three hitting the three point at the clip that they were selves. That was a tremendous display. Can they do that again? I don't know. I don't know, but at least we saw to know that at least it might be in them to put that type of

fricking number up there from behind a three point line. Again, about those Atlanta Hawks, Hey, John calling a huge victory last night, Goes sixers super pump for the Hawks series. I want to know your thoughts on what we do against Cappella. He's a rebounding machine. The whole team is top five and rebounding this season, and Trey Young has really played well against us. You can almost bank on

him to get twenty five to thirty every night. What do we do against him, especially if if in bed down a little bit longer and you know, they do the Hackaben type stuff again? All right, goes six or super punk for Sunday. Yes, I think everyone is eager to see can the seventy sixers get past the second round in this iteration and era of the team. Clint Capella, I think his influence, his significance, He's always going to be there because he's a very solid player, but obviously

divine this isn't going out on the lamb there. If Joel and Beat is not out there at any points, Capella and his potential for a threat changes. John is right, double double machine. He's been great the way that he's been playing that really the second half of the season. So as far as the rebounding aspect goes at John through at Ustair, so it's I think it's simple. It's the principles of know your personnel and then also help

help rebound team rebounds. In this case, we've seen it where yes, Dwight Howard can get some really big numbers off the bench rebounding, but also when in Beat is out, one guy always focus on is Tobias Harris. He finds a way to crash the glass and get some really good numbers on the defensive glass and the offensive as well.

Ben Simmons is another candidate to be able to once again get in there, get get dirty a little bit and grab some rebounds and not allow those extra offensive possessions to happen for the Atlanta Hawks because he is very capable of Cappella of doing that and have success.

Clearly that happening, and also with Cappella got to be careful of those pick and rolls because he picks, he rolls, he dives, and the allou the tandem between he and Trey Young with how they execute that play is really effective. So that's another thing that they're going to have to focus on for sure. With Clint Cappella, it is pretty amazing.

D the turnaround the Hawks went on. They picked up the third most wins in the NBA after March started, which is when they made their coaching change from Lloyd Pierce, who he knows with the Sixers as an assistant to the veteran, the proven Nate McMillan. They actually finished with one more win in the seventy sixers over the final two and a half months of the season. They're legit. And I think that Trey Young, he's obviously talented, but he can back it up man and he's not afraid

to put it out there. We saw that in the series against the Knicks, and I just think that whereas with the Wizards you have two All Stars and a former MVP in Westbrook and Bale. You know, for Atlanta, they've got Trey Young and he is their star. But the teams surrounding him. I think the roster is really a much more deep and balanced roster than what Washington

was throwing out there. The piece is fit much better with Atlanta, and to me, that's almost more of a concern because you can see how it's supposed to work, and they've made it. By and large, there's a system there that works. Totally agree. We know who Trey Young is, an All Star point guard, All Star Live a point guard in his young career now year number three. He's

really talented. He has twenty nine points in that series against New York, and on a big stage like New York where everyone was coming down on him, they took two games. While inside Madison Square Garden. The team overall self there alone. They're athletic, they're deep, from Bogdanovitch to Collins DeAndre Hunter, the Philadelphia native back in town for

this series of course, Clint Capella. Then you go to the bench and you look at with Kevin Hurder and his size, Danilo Gallinari as well, and even Lou Williams just being a veteran presence in the playoffs. For these players, it will be a challenge. It will be a challenge for the seventy Sixers against this athletic team. Defensively, they indeed have stepped up since Nate McMillan has taken over.

That has always been a calling cardiff his from his playing days to his coaching days, both with Portland and Indiana, and that has clearly shown in his time now and since taken over as head coach for the Atlanta Hawks. So the Sixers will have to be ready, and I think Doc Riverson's coaching staff know that they've had the

advanced scouting already taking care of. They're watching the film, they're communicating, the game plan is pretty much set at this time of what they want to do, especially based on the things that they last saw against the New York Knicks. So this will be an entertaining series. He's gonna be a challenge in these series for both sides. With the seventy six is still being the clear top

team between the two. Certainly would expect it to be more of a challenge for the seventy Sixers, regardless of the status of Joel Embiid. Feel like the Hawks are a totally different type of team than the Washington Wizards. Paying us two pictures divine before we wrap up this bonus mailbag edition of Fanatic about the playoffs Game one

with Joel Embiid and Game one without Joel Embiid. Game one with Joel Embiid will be a victory for the seventy sixers, but obviously I think the first five minutes will be key for all of us viewing that game and wondering how he's going to be feeling in those first five having some time off since last Monday on Memorial Day and not playing a live game in an actual game, I'm not sure what's been going on behind the scenes if he's able to run up and down

the court and fives and get some work in, so if he's ready to go, I think we will still see that same type of Joel Ebad, maybe a little cautious as I said, in the first few minutes, and then getting his feet and his legs underneath him and hopefully the conditioning will catch up and he'll be fun. They're gonna have to defend him the right way. Quinn Capella can defend him, yes, but he's not a big body guy that can man up on and beat. He's more of a weak side shot blocker. To help defend

that painted area and that rim. So I'm looking at that and I think that the seventy sixers should still have their success. Who's going to who is Trey Young going to defend? That's my question. So with all the length that they have with Hunter Collins and even Capella, the good things that they do defensively, Bogdanovis is a bigger player six four sixty five, who is he going to defend? And certainly who is Trey Young going to defend?

Because if it is Seth Curry, then I'm doing everything I can to again make him run around quite a bit, maybe slow him down on the other end because of how much he's running, chasing Seth Curry and even hunting him out and getting some mismatches where they're now going to have to find out if they're going to one of double team him as well. Whoever, if it's Tobias Harris hasn't won the low block, hasn't want to hit, it's in that double team, Okay, then are you gonna

double team Joel Embid? So that's the one scenario, and then more of a challenge if MBD is not out there, but still the pieces because they've been there already in playing without MB throughout the season, twenty games, twenty plus games without MB during the campaign, and while they were more closer to five hundred than anything they've been over with their their record, this is not going to be

a big surprise. They're not going to be looking over their shoulder selves looking to see if he's gonna come in and save the day. They know he's not playing, so I think it would be more of a challenge, but still they could prevail in that Game one without MD. Well put, as always, we would expect nothing less from the one er only. Divine Gibbons always available. Summoned into mail bag duty for this edition of Fanatic about the playoffs.

Thank you as always, my man, my pleasure always all right, next episode coming your way Monday, after what we hope is a successful and positive Game one. Talk to you all then,