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Sixers and sixty.
The seventy six Ers Insiders podcast live from the Center in Philadelphia. Matt Murphy joined now by Larn Rosen, speaking ahead of the Sixers thunder game and Lauren what is going on on the court right now as we speak.
I was gonna say, Matt, I think we got to set the scene.
A little bit visually. Play by play.
Joel Embiid getting loose still at the time of this broadcast. Questionable tonight versus Oklahoma City, but it's his It would be his first game since January thirtieth, when he had that left niemniscus surgery shortly after rather January thirtieth, but a lot of people in this building and in and around Philadelphia hungry to see this return. Campaign this morning talking about how hungry the team is to see this return, Matt, I know you and I are excited to see this return.
So whether or not that news drops in the next few minutes, he's well on his way to a return. And the site we're seeing right now is just such a welcome one to anyone that's loved Joelle, loved the Sixers, or loved the game of basketball.
He was just taking some straightaway three pointers now, stretching out at mid court. When he came out, you might have still been back of house, but he was getting some MVP chants from the fans as they file in.
At that point, it was still forty five fifty minutes fill up on the warm up clock here in Philly, but just a jolt of energy surrounding a team that has been without the MVP for two months now, two months and it's hard to believe that he was averaging thirty five point three points per game, eleven point three rebounds, five point seven assists, and that he hasn't played with a few of these new Sixers. It's a new ish group. Was that one of your takeaways from Coach Nurse pregame?
Yeah?
Absolutely, And just catching up with some of the guys in the locker room pregame, Buddy healed. One of those guys among Campaign and Kyle Lowry as well, who have not played with Joelle in competitive action thus far, again the trade deadline, Kyle Lowry coming in as a buyout guy. None of them were on the team when Joel played his last minutes in January. Buddy said, he's excited to
get those reps. I think a lot of Sixers fans and seventy six Ers alike are sort of salivating at the idea of a Joel MB Buddy healed, pairing similarly with Kyle Lowry, Joel sort of has this illustrious history of building chemistry with guards. Of course, Kyle and Buddy have two totally separate games. When you think back to the players that Joel has played so well with in the past, Seth Curry, JJ Reddick, they have a lot of the characteristics that Buddy Heeld has in his game.
Buddy might be the best shooter of the three, So really looking forward to seeing exactly how that pairing looks. Nick Nurse talked about it pregame a huge part of what's going to happen in Joel's first game back, whether it's against the Oklahoma City Thunder or later on in the games ahead. One of the biggest things this team needs to do is learn to play with him, because
they've learned a lot over the last two months. Nick Nurse notably talked about the defense and all the improvements they've made on that end in the absence of Joel, but now learning to play with the MBA, learning to play with someone that contributes thirty five points a night. They've missed those thirty five points.
You and I talk about how many points.
It's so many points.
Tyrese Maxey said it post game, where were we.
Lay scoring duo and they've been without it for most of the season, and it's interesting.
I know that this sounds like I'm oversimplifying the game, and some people aren't gonna love this take map, but the way that I've conceptualized it throughout this last couple of months without Joelle, thirty five points is a ton of points, and anytime they lost by fewer than thirty five points, they did a pretty good job at what they needed to do.
Right.
So, when you're losing games against good teams by two, by three, by four, as this Sixers team has done, they've covered for thirty or so of Joel's points. Now, to get even part of those back as Joel continues to ramp up is gonna be just massive for this team that has made a lot of progress in his absence.
With some of the new players.
What's the first thing that they've told you and me in recent weeks about Joel Embiid returning to the practice floor.
It's about the double.
Teams right on a space that a guy like Tyrese Maxy who has been ruled out he's dealing with a hip situation. Over these last couple of games, tyres will not play against the Oklahoma City Thunders. I know you already mentioned, but even thinking about the way that Tyrese is gonna be freed up, he's been dealing with doubles. He's been blitzed constantly over these last couple of weeks, watching the two of them together in the early practice reps that Joel has had, Tyres is so happy to
just have some space. He's so used to seeing at least one, if not two, bodies, and now sometimes he's not gonna see any because they're all worried about Joel embiid Right, So Tyrese is gonna get a ton of space. Buddy Heeld's gonna get a ton of space. Kyle Lowry's gonna get a ton of space, Tobias Harris, anyone that shares the court with Joel that's been out there over these last couple of months, being defended hard by good defenses, They're gonna have simply fewer people on their bodies at
all times when Joel is on the floor. It's just such a luxury to have. We can't understate it. I feel like I'm oversimplifying, But when someone is that good and calls that much attention to himself, it is pretty simple.
Again, we are overlooking the home court watching Joel mb go through his pregame warm up against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has played thirty four games this year. The first game the Sixers played without him was that Tyrese Maxi fifty one point game on February first, the first game they played without him because of the meniscus injury this season. He had missed a handful of games before that, but
the team has been grinding ever since. Matt Murphy and Sixers team reporter Lauren Rosen with you here on Sixers in sixty. I think back to the Clippers road game, which was one of the impressive victories in Mbid's absence, and there was a question asked of Tyrese Maxi about consecutive three pointers during a winning time run and sequence, and he said, well, I had one guy on me, so when that happens without Mbid, I'm going to shoot it.
And that has been rare without Joel Embiid, who just flung a shot over his head from mid court and sprinted into the locker room to an applause.
He missed the shot.
It hit the top of the backboard, but there was a high degree of difficulty on it from mid court.
So the energy is building.
Before this game against the Thunder and Lauren, the Sixers were just on a well they've been away from home for a lot of March. How was it to have Joel Embiid join the group on the most recent road trip.
Oh, I mean, it adds just, first of all, a ton of energy. It gives the guys hope that the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned on. Having Joel among them, having the MVP among you, It gives a gravity to any room that you're in, any busts that you're on, any playing that you're on. His presence is so notable, right and that's before he's even played a minute. So great to see him join the
team again. For those that don't know, in Cleveland and Toronto, the most recent road trip that the Sixers had, he did not play, but he was able to practice. He was able to get in those much needed five on five reps that were a part of the progression back to playing in a competitive situation. So great to have him back, and the guys are energized by it. We've
heard it all week long. It's just it's it's an anxious anticipation to use the words of campaign to get this all time great player back in the fold.
You know who's back, Tom said, this is Sixers and sixty and this is great timing for the starting lineup for the Sixers to drop against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's Cameron Payne, Kyle Lowry, Tobias Harris, Kelly ou Bray junior end Joel the process. Embiid is available and starting his first game in more than two months comes against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There it is the big news that everyone had been waiting for.
Absolutely massive stuff. You'd just love to see it. Joel Embiid the leading scorer in the NBA over these last couple of years. He and Tyrese Maxie were the leading scoring duo this year as recently as January thirtieth, when Joel last played. And if you're just catching up, you heard Matt say it. Now Tyres Maxie out versus the
Oklahoma City Thunder, but Joel Embiid back in. So you'll have to wait for the reunion of your your favorite duo if you're a Sixers fan, but Tyres and Joel chopping it up in the locker room before this one. They've been each other's biggest supporters really over these last few years. It's been such a pleasure to watch them grow together. But Matt, I mean listen, I know some people are going to listen to this tomorrow on the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast and they will know what
happened tonight. But I at this point am just so excited to see Joel back, to see him healthy. This is someone Matt, we almost don't talk about it enough who's really been through so much throughout the course of his career, culminating of course in his first MVP this season, hopefully culminating in what could be his first healthy playoff run as well. So really looking forward to seeing what these next couple weeks and months have to offer for the process.
I'm just thinking about the five point seven assists per game and the fact that he did that without the three new players in Pain, Healed, and Lowry, who were all big parts of the team, making a franchise record twenty four three pointers, without the attention that Joel Embiid commands in the most re in game as we currently give our instant reaction to the Joe l Embiid return.
One oh one ninety nine, Lowry across mid court, hands off to Ubre. They're gonna play middle pick and roll with a bad Ubre bounces to Joel Duell from fourteenth straight away.
Fucking it's good tie game one on one, one on one.
Josh getting guarded by him be head beat stole the ball, he drives Pulpgrin's back there and be goes up collision foul blocking call. Joel Ebiid stole the ball and drove three corners a length of the court and then collides with Check Holmgren and a blocking call on Holmgren.
And we're joined by Cameron Payne. Cam.
We're not as close as we were the other game, but wow, what a game. Uh unbelievable. Cali, Ubra and Joel help you guys to victory lane. But just your your experience playing for the first time with Joel and watching his presence and how he helped your team with everybody else, get you in the win.
Com up and man MVP, that's what they call him. He makes the game easy for us. We can throw it into him. They gonna double. He generates open shots for us. What do you have eight assists.
Seven assists.
Man, that's another point guard on the floor. That's that's a big time help. He does an amazing job getting everybody involved. But he also does this thing too. That's a big time first game back for us.
For sure.
It's almost it was amazing really to watch how well he played. And he played almost thirty minutes. And you've been out there with a player like Joel or Joel and that is when you're driving. All of a sudden what might be you know, like a six foot runner and you're like, well, wait a minute, big guy lurking. That happened a lot. Yeah, you see where they during the corner, Like, huh, tell us a little bit about that. When you see a player liking beat defending in the middle.
No, it's huge for us. We get beat off the drive. That's something that I mean, Mobamba been there. But man, people, when people see him be, they might not take their lay up. He may keep dribbling, mashing it. It definitely helps our defense out where his presence down there.
It's big Tom and the.
End of the game, crowd on its feet, one possession game and it was what you compete for, right.
It was like a playoff game out here tonight, Wasn't it?
Absolutely? Man definitely had playoff vibs.
But hey, I feel like it's gonna be like that every time you see twenty one out there. So man, hope that he stays healthy and hope that we can came out there.
On the floor.
Camp.
Thanks, congrats, Thank you, man, appreciate it.
Cameron Paine.
He had ten points and ten assists, No, ten rebounds and five assuits.
Matt Murphy with Tom McGuinness the Sixers win. In em Beid's return, he gets twenty four points, six rebounds, seven assists, made all twelve of his free throws and some clutch ones down the stretch in the four point victory and Tom win aside and Beads return.
How do you think it went?
It went great. He was amazing, you know. I think there was maybe a couple of rusty spots as you could imagine, No doubt he was, you know, kind of at times gasping for breath. But there's no way to mimic the intensity of playing twenty nine minutes in an NBA game with a physicality, how much he gets pressured and doubled, you know, no matter how much he worked
over the last few weeks to get here, right. I mean, he was just amazing and to make all the foul shots with the game on the line, to go twelve for twelve, just incredible, like in that sense. And guess what he's going to be ramping up during these games and getting better. Now, who knows what the plan is, you know, like would he play back to back? Probably not over the weekend, but when he play in the
next game, it's it's Thursday. I don't know that they haven't made that known understandably so, but the point is he's going to get, you know, some of these games under his belt before the end of the regular season, and obviously you get Maxi back and you know it's going to take some time.
But it's a whole new ballgame.
I mean, like the coach, like coach said, we're not going from zero to one hundred in terms of he was asking how much Joell was gonna play, And like the Sixers, chances don't go from zero to one hundred, but they go from you know, zero to fifty. It looked like zero to sixty tonight, you know, just kind of making it up as we go along. But oh my gosh, like it just you look at how it went and you know the defense and just you know obviously, so it's going to be a work in progress here.
But yeah, I mean, like you know, we've seen teams I e. Miami last year go from eight to you know, the conference championship, So we'll see. But it definitely changed it the dynamic. And Hope is alive, right.
One oh nine, one oh five, Sixers beat the Thunder. Hope is absolutely alive and Beid comes back for the Sixers. Shake Gilders, Alexander and Jalen Williams did not play for them, but Tyreese Maxi did not play for the Sixers, and Bid did. It is a April second. He had did not play a game in February or March, which is a remarkable way to return tonight. The crowd was into it from the jump, and then Kelly Ubray Junior really
energized them in the fourth quarter. I mentioned, no, Maxie, how have you seen just the adaptability of Kelly Ubra Junior to take on different roles this year? He scored seventeen of his game high twenty five in the fourth quarter.
Yeah, for sure, And you know you heard what coach said, like they this is what I love about Nick Nurse too, Like he all of a sudden he started having Ubreak come off the DHO with Joelle. They were playing the pick and roll in the middle because, as he said, you know, Uber can turn the corner. And the more actions you have, the more playmakers you have. And with Embied, you've you've got a guy who can do it. Like they were asking about Buddy Healed and obviously you're gonna
watch Kyle and he Maxie and he like that. You know, it's especially with Maxie and tonight, Ubra is an opposing team defensively, who you gonna guard, Well, you're gonna come. You're gonna get the guy coming off and leaving beat a little bit, you know. So that's that's where you put the pressure on the defense. And Ubra, like coach said, he kind of just rose up and started banging in threes. And you know some of them were well guarded. The
one was for sure really contested. And you know he is he's been again, great start, almost like he had a chip on his shoulder in that he was signed just two weeks before the season, and then he gets hurt and he has a little bit of a dip and then you know, maybe not the best in the weeks thereafter, but boy, he's come back and he's been
a pivotal player. And guess what if the Sixers postseason hopes are as we say, you know, Hope is a live, exciting whatever, He's gonna play a big part because he's been a terrific player for the Sixers, and not just offensively, but you know it's been a better rebounder than you would have expected. He's been tonight he was if Shay would have played, I think Kelly Uber was he was
going to be assigned that matchup. So, uh yeah, the game lost a little bit of luster with those two guys not playing with the Tyres out, but obviously Joelle coming in, and I mean you felt it, Matt. It was an atmosphere here prior to the game when he came out. I don't know I gave you that little note.
It was Willis Reid esque.
Now, granted that was a championship game where a championship was won, but he literally came down the hallway. They showed him on the jumbo drown and it was like a cockering hero returning to the field of battle and he came out here and the crowd really loved it. It was it was a cool moment.
And Embiid's record is good with the Sixers this year, so a lot of his teammates have good records when they're in the lineup with him, But Ubray and Embiid had some overlapping time out, so them together, they're twenty two and five Withubray and Embiid in the lineup together this season. And the Sixers beat the thunder tonight. What a game seventy six it was for the seventy six ers to beat Oklahoma City one oh nine, one oh five.
There are six games left in the regular season for this group to gel together with Joel Embiid, and it starts again Thursday night against Miami.
Well, and the other thing, I'll say, you know, like to me in a way, you wanted to get to that Miami game where and it could look yes, it's just it's a game. It's the potential of even in the series. And there's still going to be what five or six games after that, five more after that, yeah, five more after so it still could change. But again it's and then Indiana's slipping a little bit, but standing's you know, not you know, the absolute focal play. You
want to prove that you can beat Miami. You want to go down there and prove you could beat them in their arena, which has always been tough, right.
And if you did that, you would be the seventh seed. If it was the play in situation and the Milwaukee Bucks, the two seed just lost to the Wizards tonight, just throwing that out there.
Anything can happen in one game.
Right, But you wouldn't be the seventh seed now because we're down in a game and a half.
Well, if you played the seven seed Miami and beat them at their place, you'd be the seven in the playoffs. You just have to beat them once for the seventh seed, so they would enter the playoffs as the seven if they beat them in the play in tournament.
Oh right game, yes, yep, yeah, yeah, I was talking about that. I got way ahead of myself.
We got we got sure.
But that's what I mean, like that that had the head competition, and I think it matters, Like I think Miami could come they could come in here and win. It's not but that would be obviously it's an important game.
Period.
But I think to me, because you didn't play that well on Christmas, Joel didn't play, Maxie really struggled down there in that game. So either way, I mean, Miami is still a factor. No matter there's seventh, eighth, whatever it's gonna be, that's gonna be an interesting game. I know Coach loves going down there. He's talked about the battles you know that he's had over the years with Spolstra in the heats. So it should be exciting, that's for sure.
We will be locked in. Tom McGinnis, thank you so much, all right.
Murp Sixers beat the Thunder one oh nine, one oh five, Ubra with twenty five and Bead with twenty four in a four point Sixers win over the now fifte twenty three ok C Thunder. The Sixers beat them both times this year, and the Sixers are forty one and thirty five