The BroadCast: 12/29/2017 - Catching Up with Gonzo

of rest relaxation, some seventy sixers basketball. Brian Seltzer bidding you hello once again and thanks as always for it checking out the podcast. And on this edition we're going to speak with our good old buddy who is now of the transplant variety, John Gonzalez of The Ringer. Stay tuned for that conversation in a moment before we get started. Reminders that to subscribe to the podcast, you can do a couple of things. You can head to either iTunes,

Google Play or Stitcher. Type in Sixers podcast Network that will take you to our feed. You can also go to our SoundCloud page at SoundCloud dot com. Backslash Sixers Tough One for the seventy Sixers On Thursday night, indeed one fourteen one ten loss to the Portland Trailblazers. Things were looking great midway through the third quarter, and then all the mojo, all the momentum, evaporated down the stretch

as Portland came back to win it. And also difficult for the Sixers that they were not able to build upon at least on Thursday, the momentum that they generated back up in Monday's Christmas Day win against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. A man who knows his seventy Sixers is John Gonzalez. He was in the area, of course, for a while at the Inquirer NBC Sports Philadelphia, and now he is back on the NBA scene at

the Ringer. So let's fire up the good old Skype machine and go back to a conversation recorded Thursday morning before the Sixers played the Portland Trailblazers with John Gonzalez. Yeah, John Gonzales, first and foremost, we need you for those of us back here in the del Or Valley too. Please transport us in our minds from frigid Philadelphia to the southern shores the Pacific. It's got to be nice. It's wonderful body. How's things with you there? Are you? Like?

Do you have little heaters for your sweatshirt and your shoes and stuff? You get those little heating packets at CBS. What's going on over there? I'm trying to think of what would be the analogous situation in southern California. Maybe you have some rooms in your place that are cooler than others when the weather gets hot. Here in Philadelphia, it's like, we have some rooms that are just like sweltering, disgustingly warm when we ramp up the heat, and that

others that are like an ice box. We can't regulate the climate in the selter house. Ushold. It's a challenge. No, it's bad news. I don't miss any of that at all. I have We have my lovely wife, and I have two dogs, and much to my consternation, they still require me to take them out every single day, several times a day. And here in southern California not nearly as bad as you know. January February March in Philadelphia, this

would be the tough time for sure. Back I go back there, I assume that you'll walk them for me, of course, only if you're north of Spring Garden Street and south of Gerard those would be bad conditions. I can't believe that you just gave your location on the podcast. Now you're gonna have a bunch of fans outside your

doors seeking autographs. Well, I was hoping that without constricting myself to eastern and western boundaries, that would create maybe a forty block radius That would require some extra work. But yeah, I guess if people went north south they could begin to pinpoint things. There's no stopping the Seltzer fan base. It's if we counted among the parental units and the and the wife, then you may be right, Yes, you might be correct. How are you doing? This has

got to be fun for you. I would think if the good old ringer a lot of NBA focal points that you get to zero in on now, especially this time of year, things on the professional front enjoyable, I would assume, Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think for anybody that's a basketball fan, this is a great time. The league is as healthy and fun as it's been in

you know, a long time. You're notwithstanding the fact that we know that we're battling towards you know, the Warriors and probably the Calves yet again, who knows, might be Warriors in Celtics Ers if we get really lucky, the Warriors and the Sixers. Who knows but the Warriors and somebody. But that aside the rest of the league. I really enjoy basketball at large, and there's a lot of fun storylines and yeah, and the Ringer blessed the Ringer's heart. Man.

They that whole site is NBA focus, So we get quite a lot of conversations and it's wonderful. Do want to ask you about some NBA stuff before we're done, But of course we'll zero in on the good old seventy Sixers. And we've actually had the great pleasure of seeing you around, not only in Philadelphia, but also in the Sixers were out on the West Coast for the first time. All things considered, as we veered towards twenty eighteen, things right now right around where they should be. What

are your thoughts on where the Sixers are at this point? Yeah, I think for on the whole, you know, maybe slightly slightly off from from what we thought. I mean, you know, they obviously had, you know, a recent stretch there that wasn't what anybody probably hoped. What two and eight in the last ten. That was a little bit of a tough stretch there where they sort of fell out of the current playoff picture. But that said, I think some things to be hopeful about, right, I mean, Ben Simmons

has looked absolutely amazing. When Joel is out there, he's looked fantastic, And those two guys together are the future and we're seeing that that right now in real time. So while they had you know, a couple of stumbles here and there, you know, building around those two guys,

there's so much to be hopeful about. I guess it is hard at times, and you can probably say this about any NBA team or any team in professional sports to separate what you're seeing when you don't have a fully healthy squad versus what you're seeing when all the

pieces are there. Because that game Monday at Madison Square Garden on Christmas, it's just like, Okay, you know, you throw Joel and b jj Reddick back out there, right boom, nearly half the points the team scored and a lot of other great things they do, and it makes quite the difference. Yeah. No, I mean that's true for any team, right.

I mean, like when the sixers are healthy. Of course they're better, you know, and hopefully you get markul Foltz back out there and your shoulder is better and he's working on a shot, and then all of a sudden, you know, you're starting to see things come together and click. But look at the grizzly Is. I mean, Mike Conley goes down and the whole thing craters, right, I mean it's Porzingis goes down for a little while, and all

of a sudden the Knicks stumble. It's true really of any team, like you lose one or two of your best players and then all of a sudden things get difficult. And Seltzer, let's not forget either. Like I think that the expectations got really ramped up this year because you know, we were going to have Simmons out on the court, and we get to watch him, and you know, ostensibly unbeat is healthy and he'll be out there and you've got faults. But these are guys who haven't played professional

basketball together. It takes time, no question about it. Yet there they were in the midst of the Ringers top twenty five through twenty five games ish, both of them right there. I think what was what was Simmons he was top fifteen and Bead was ten. Yeah, I think right around there. I don't have it, And this is, you know, to my great this is a great failing of mine. I have not kid admitted the list of memory. When they find out, they'll probably fire me, and they

should anyway. But yeah, they had two guys on there that was you know, you probably know this, certainly anybody who reads the Ringer knows this. We have a ton of Sixers fans on our staff. So the Simmons and mb both landed in the top fifteen, not a surprise. Does that create for any tensions or hostilities at time?

We're just good office banter. Given the level of interest in the Sixers, that's there, a little bit of a little bit of b I would say, like it feels at times like eighty percent of our conversations in NBA Ringer Slack are about either the Sixers or the Celtics. The Celtics for obvious reasons, and the Sixers because we'll just keep hiring Philadelphians. But also it can be a little trolley sometimes seltzer, like when Mark hell Foltz stuff happens.

The non Sixers fans get into NBA Slack and you know, get after us a little bit and all of a sudden, Chris Ryan and I, the executive editor for The Ringer, have talked about starting a Philadelphian's Only Sixers slack as an offshoot where we can just go. It would be like our safe space. That's awesome, man, it's great. I mean, it really is hard to have a conversation as easy as it may seem, about the Sixers without really spending a good deal time on Joel and Benn and what

they've done so far. What do you think we've learned through two and a half months about each guy at this point. Well, I mean let's start. I mean you start with Simmons. He's the runaway Rookie of the year favorite. He's been fantastic for as good as Donovan Mitchell has been. And I know this gets me in a lot of trouble with Sixers Twitter, but Jason Tatum is fantastic and anybody who's honest with themselves about his ability would admit that.

I mean, like, if you took your Sixers fandom hat off and just watch that guy play basketball, you would say he's been fantastic. Now, all of that aside, Ben Simmons is the guy, and he's the guy even without a jump shot, and if he can eventually add that, and you know, there's been a lot of talk about his hand, which should be shooting with God, the sky's the limit for that guy. But even without it, right now, we see how talented he is. I mean, how he can get into the paint at will, and he can

do so many things when he gets there. And then beyond that, his court vision, his ability on the break, his rebounding, you know, his size relative to other guys who are trying to defend him, even when you know they'll switch on to bigger guys. Were you convinced Gonzo or sold initially on the idea of Simmons as the

true point man for the Sixers? Oh? I mean, look, I love the idea of him running the point because he creates so many matchup problems and like you see, you see, like you know, no matter who they switch onto him, either the bigs aren't quick enough to stick with him, or the traditional point guards aren't big enough really to handle you know, the sorts of things he can do once he gets into the lane. So I

love it. I mean, he's fantastic. His court vision when he's running the break is just fascinating, and you know, and it opens up the foreign ways that you wouldn't expect. Even though that he even though he does sort of have things that he still has to work on with

his shot. This may not be a popular view to take, but for me, just stepping back and observing his evolution, I think it's going to be neat to see how he adjusts to teams adjusting to him as the season goes along, because it seemed like, you know, first month the season, driving lanes might have been a little bit more open than what we've seen as of late, and that's it's going to be a big part of it. Seeing how he can counter too when the opposition counters

on him. Yeah, I mean there's stuff that he has to he has to still figure out, right, I mean, like you said, there's going to be Look, the NBA is a really not surprising development. It's a smart league, right,

Like coaches adjust, they see what guys can do. The second time you see a player or a team is different than the first time, and it's different, you know, if you're on the in the same conference the third and fourth time, Like they adjust and they and they create problems, and so you know, can Simmons figure that

stuff out? And a lot of that is going to have to do with in the offseason when he's working on his jumper, right, I mean, like if he can add and slowly start to move farther and farther from the basket, the guy's going to be a monster. He already is a monster even without that. So I think he's going to continue continue to figure it out and he's going to be more of a problem for opposing

teams and the other way around. We've seen the Twitter sphere populated with stumping for All Star candidacy for Simmons and Embiid. Simmons a little bit less at least time overall in the league, and you know that might be a slight uphill client for him. Do you think embiad has a shot? Yeah? I do. I do. I mean, I think like when you look at the Bigs in the Eastern Conference. You know, Al Horford has been really

good for the Celtics. You know, Andre Drummond we've seen with the Pistons, But but Embiid put it on him when they played. Um, you know, Miles Turner has been good, but Oladipo has really been the guy there. So I think like part of the problem is going to be that, you know, you're voting front court spots rather than traditional centers, because once you get into front court spots then it becomes a little trickier. You know, you've got Janius and

Lebron as starters immediately and then what right? So, but yeah, I do I think I think embiad has a good shot. We of course, are waiting and eagerly anticipating to see what the next step is for markl Foltz, at least in these parts of the NBA world. What do you think we might be saying about Markel comes season's end. I think we're going to say that he got out there, he worked on his game a little bit. Maybe it wasn't the rookie season that we had expected or wanted

for the first overall pick. But let's not forget he's what, he's still nineteen, right, Saltzer, isn't he? Isn't he still nineteen? Or is did he turn twenty already? Let's go to the tape. Let's go to the tape. He's right. He's young, is what we need to know. Just can't give any false nineteen nineteen nailed it all right, he's nineteen years old, and I think, like, you know, we see first overall Peck and then immediately we go, well, you know, he's got to be amazing, and he's got to be amazing

right out of the gate. And I think sometimes we forget that they're kids and it takes time to ackle me. So at the end of the season, if we can say that he was part of the group, he was out there consistently, he was healthy, and he was learning. Given how the season started, I think that'd be a win.

It's gonna be interesting to see where the Sixers are at when he comes back, because you almost get the vibe, based upon how Brett Brown has discussed his impending return at some point that when he's out there, the tone in some ways is almost out of necessity going to have to change a bit to being a little bit more patient, letting him work through some things. Whereas now, given on who's available, there's some veteran guys that if you need death in the backcourt, you go to to

try and win games immediately. But it does seem like there's a realistic outlook for what might be the dynamic once Faults comes back. Yeah, I mean that's something that fit is a thing. It's a thing that you have to think about it. It's a thing that you have to consider, and it was a thing before they drafted Faults, and it was certainly a thing at the beginning of the year because people wanted to know, well, who's going

to be the point garden? As we mentioned, Simmons looks really good, as you know, the point forward, the point big. Now what happens now? What happens with a guy who you know, hopefully is healthy when he returns, but also had some questions about like how he was playing, So how do they deploy him? Where does he go? Can he shoot the three when he returns, because it's really I think it would be really tough to play them side by. It would be next to impossible to play

them together. If neither one of them is shooting at three and we know Simmons isn't going too so then you have to stagger their minutes and then who starts and who doesn't. So all this is a lot for Brett Brown to consider. But as problems go. I think this is sort of like a pleasant problem to have because you get your number one overall picked back, as opposed to just having him on the shelf and him

convalescing like you'd much rather have him out on the floor. Indeed, something on the horizon for the head coast to consider in addition to early morning cold walks with the Gonzales dog. Do you miss Brett Brown? I feel like you two have a very nice rapport When you two are around each other, good vibes always seem to be there, and more than that, just a nice healthy respect between John Gonzales and Brett Brown. Yeah. I mean I wrote twenty

five hundred three thousand words about Brett Brown. I saw you guys and you in Sacramento when you guys are in Sacramento, and then we all came back to La together and we hung around here Santa Monica High School and they were working. And like I've said this to Brett, I said it in the piece. I'm sure i've said it to you previously. I know I've said it to zoom Off. Like I've covered a lot of people, not just in the NBA, but throughout my career in like

you know, major League Baseball or the NFL. And the thing that I don't need you to like me. I just need you to be professional. Right. Can we have a conversation? Can we be adults? And sometimes like us doing our job and them doing their job gets in the way of that, right, Like it becomes like some sort of formulaic and there's not just like an actual conversation, like when you and I see each other, when we catch up and how are thingk. Bret's like that, And

that's why I like Brett. He doesn't always have to give you what you want. Sometimes I'll tell you, like I've asked him questions and he's been like, you know, God, so you sound like an idiot. But at least it's a conversation and we treat each other like humans. And that's why I really like Brett. And that's why I think his players like them, because you can have a conversation with him and you know, it's an adult discourse. The article is great if anyone has not read it.

The process is Longe Survivor about a month and a half ago on the head coach of the Sixers. What do you think is the I don't know if it's the biggest symbol or a testament or first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the job Brett's done, how he's handled the last four plus years. I mean, how hard that had have been for Brett Brown.

I think it is like pretty obvious. And I was worried that we know how fickle the NBA, the NFL, major League Baseball, hockey, whatever sport you're in, it's a fickle business, right like, if you're not winning right now, there's a ton of turnover. And that's true for the front office, and it's true for the team with the players, and it's true for coaches especially, And I was worried that maybe he wouldn't get time to prove himself with an actual team. And now we're starting to see, you know,

what he can do. And for everybody, like I think six or Twitter loses its mind after a loss and throws it at the coach. And that's not surprising giving like, you know, I am a Philadelphia and I understand how it works. This is the job. Brett Brown gets it too. But as I said earlier, these are guys who have not played basketball together. They are young, they are nineteen twenty you know, in Mbiad's case, twenty three years old hasn't played a full season yet. They have to figure

it out. Similarly, while Brett Brown is you know, his coaching pedigree is long and impressive, he's working with a new unit, like a functionally new unit. Give the guy and give the team some time before we all decide

to pass judgment on what it is or isn't. It's easy for the Sixers dot Com digital reporters say, but it'd be like, all right, I'm just removed the delete key on the board for a second, and then, oh, by the way, the cursor only works sporadically too, Like, you know, you might have all the thoughts in your head to put out there and write, but you can only do so much when you're not at full strength. I would say, yeah, absolutely, the delete key is the perfect analogy. I am a big fan of that key.

It's my favorite. If it wasn't for that key, I would be doing something else. But it certainly isn't what I do now. Yeah, Brett Brown doesn't have that luxury. Neither did the players. They're young. It's a young team. Let's give it a second before we freak out. We waited this long, right, can wait a little longer, very quickly. Before we wrap this up, just some brief global NBA things I wanted to bring up with you. He had something about the Eastern Conference young stars on the rise.

What do you think we're seeing in the East at the current moment? I love it as somebody who spent most of his formative years on the East Coast, grew up in Philadelphia, went to school in Philadelphia. I saw a house in Philly, and then I lived in Boston for four years. You know, the Eastern Conference was on hard times for a decade. And now it's not just

the Sixers. I mean, we see what we see with the Sixers and their young you're with their young core is fantastic, but there are other teams trying to do sort of the same thing. You know, You've got the Box in Jannis, and you saw Oladipo and Turner in Indiana. The Pistons has some nice young pieces. The Knicks have Christaps for Zingis. The Brooklyn Nuts are sort of like the the Island of Miss Vaitoys in the NBA. But

they're interesting, and that's right. Like at the very least the NBA, you know, I'm not sure how competitive it would be relative to like if you just put it in the head to head every time with the Western Conference, but at least in terms of narratives and storyline, Celts are like every night, I'm going, oh right, this team in the East is young and fun. I'm going to watch them. Along those lines, Brett Brown had this take last week. He feels we are not talking about the

Toronto Raptors enough. Would you agree the Raptors are fine? Okay, all right, No, that's fair. I think that's fairs. This could just be one of the ebbs and flows of the season where you know things are going well and then you know it's still you gotta wait, I guess till April and May. I look, every year I like the Raptors, and every year I am reminded that they are not the Calves. Right, so they're not the Calves, and you know what, like they're not the Celtic. Probably

aren't to say yeah, yeah, yeah, they're fine. They're good. They're good basketball team, and they're a professional professional basketball team. They hang around. We can at least say that, um, Oklahoma City top four team in the Western Conference when it's all said and done, at the end of the regular season, I think, oh god, that's kind of crazy, isn't it. But yeah, because right now they're they're five

in the Western Conference. They've they've gone eight and two over their last ten, they've won six in a row. They're killing it. The thing that's interesting to me about that soundser is that their defense has been good all year long. Yeah, that has been the problem there. They've been a top five defensive unit all all season long. The problem has been consistently their offense. Their offense is starting to climb there. I think they're fifteenth now and

in uh in offensive raiding per one hundred prossessions. But like that three, that group of three, you would think would go, oh right, they should be a much better offensive team. So maybe they's I mean that's where I said about the sixers, like you got to give a time. They've they've never played together, foard. They have to figure out where to go on the floor and what to do before we can go. Yeah, this is or is a market. So yeah, I think probably top four. What

do you think I would say? Top four? I feel like the other teams either directly above them or behind them might be a little too not quite as experienced yet. I think there's and also there's the town factor too. I just feel like that will ultimately maybe get okay seen in the top four. Although Minnesota intriguing. Yeah, I like Minnesota, But if I had a pick between those two, i'd probably because I'm looking I mean, like, for sure,

I still like the Warriors, Rockets, and Spurs better. But just to me on paper, if you look like I probably like the thunder better than the Timberwolves, just because they're so young. Agreed lastly on April twelfth, finished the phrase on April twelfth, the seventy six ers will on April twelfth, as I assume that's the day the season ends. Yes, really try to get real with the phrasing of that question. How to get me on the on the NBA calendar. In my head, I think they're going to go to

the playoffs. I do. I think they're going to figure I mean the Eastern Conference when we look at it, I think they're gonna be prepping for the playoffs. I'm still I know the Pistons are you know, considerably ahead of the Sixers, what four games something like that? Right now, I'm still not sold on them. The Wizards, it's all about health. The Pacers. Fine, I like the Bucks quite a bit, but that a spot is wide open between the Heat, the Knicks, and the Sixers. So yeah, I

think they're going to be in. I do all right, Gonzo. This has been enjoyable, very much appreciative. You got to finish the sentence. Good. We gotta share here. It's quid pro quo. What do you think right the Sixers dot com guy is going to say anything other than on

April that's twelve, the seventy Sixers will be in the playoffs. Yeah, I think you know what, It's interesting, So just looking at some of the Knicks stuff going into that game on Monday, they have not played a a lot of road games, and b have not been very good at all on the road. So just I don't know, you just I guess because you followed enough, you've become familiar with things like just how often the Sixers have played

on the road. They've not only been on the road a lot, They're going to finish their Western Conference obligations by the turn of the calendar year, so I think that stuff like that bodes in their favor. You know, the worm has to come around every now and then it does. Indeed, well, a happy new year to you, m Man, to the rest of the household, Colleen and the pooches, and enjoy a great start to twenty eighteen. Thanks brother, this was fun. Happy new year, indeed, thanks man.

All right. If we can't see guns in person on a regular basis, at least very nice to be able to hear him and of course read them at the Ringer. Thanks to John for taking a few minutes to chat. Thanks to you for listening. We'll have a rewind edition of the podcast coming up on Sunday morning after the seventy six ers came against the Denver Nuggets nine o'clock on Saturday night as they looked to bounce back from

Thursday's defeat at Portland. Until then, enjoy the rest of the good old Holley week see him