The BroadCast: 3/11/18- Rewind vs. Nets

team tonight, and that would be Brett Brown. Thursday's game in Miami, in the midst of a real road heavy stretch of the seventy sixers schedule. Certainly across the board you could see maybe it looked like the team not quite as sharp as it typically is. From the outset tonight, they were excellent and they carried that tone all the way through to the finish for a big twenty three point win over Brooklyn. More details on that in a

moment right now. The head coach, Brett Brown, just to hold that team to thirty seven second half points, fourteen in the fourth period. They're hard to guard. They're really hard to guard, and I think that that excites me probably the most. Our second half defense turnovers tonight, you guys took care of the basketball and also want to brought up you will give them thirty seven points and the second I half had to give them sixteen the

first What was worrying you guys tonight? I mean, just trying to improve on the things we know are gonna matter if we're fortunate enough to play in postseason. You know, we turnovers are always on our mind. We play, you know, with the fourth fastest pace or whatever it is. We got a young point got a rookie point guard, and

they come. You just hope to reduce them and hope that the the flavor of turnovers reckless passes, you know, more than illegal screen so like back stepping out of bounds, Like there's different species of turnovers that really are upsetting. I thought that we did a better job of not like the sloppy passes, and I think that the sting and defense and especially the attention that we had to give to the three point line um was was good for the most part, excellent. At times, I thought we

were pretty good I give us a B plus. I think that like that thing at the start of the third period where they, you know, had a little flurry of threes and you know you feel it. It's uh, anytime we connect the dots of how leads evaporate, it's the same thing. You know, you foul too much, you turn it over, they go on a three point flurry, and so those three areas like when you're holding a lead, you're always trying to you know, be aware of and uh.

I think for the most part, they only got up I think twenty eight threes like they've been averaging forty and and the lessons. I think February one, a Christmas Day or something, you know recent my analytics people tell me, but to to just reduce them, let alone get to them. Uh, was was our game plan. And I thought, I guys did a pretty good job performance. I thought he was dominant, you know, like they he's a hard matchup for this team.

They they opted to go a little bit smaller, a little bit more mobile, you know, the young draft pick I think plays with high energy sort of reminds me of like a you know, New Orleans was for us in the first few years. I thought he was extremely aggressive. I love when he tries to get deep catches in the paint and just you know, find that balance of bulling his way into the game. I thought he had some big passes out of the post, really sophisticated passes.

We're always like mindful that he's going to get the ball a lot. I think he gets the most NBA touches in the in the league at a post, and so like, what do you do with it once you get it? The combination of him scoring and him passing out of the post, I thought he was pretty special tonight. Indeed, Joel Embiid was, and indeed were the seventy six Ers

one twenty to ninety seven over the Brooklyn Nets. So yes, the Sixers seem to get their spirit back tonight after a tough loss, especially one that got away from them Thursday in Miami. Joel Embiid he drew a lot of attention from fans and perhaps some medium members as well

in recent days. Looking a little bit fatigued, he brushed off talk of that, so did Brett Brown, both of them saying that really it was more of a collective thing, and tonight, collectively the Sixers able to see their way through to one twenty ninety seven win over the Brooklyn Nets. This team with two way spirit from the start of

tonight's game. They defended terrific. They forced turnovers, eighteen of them on the nets while committing just ten themselves, a twenty two to nine advantage in points off turnovers that a key part of the game. The Sixers were balanced, they shared the ball tremendous effort all the way around tonight, as eight different Sixers scoring double figures. Joel embiad led

the way with twenty one points and eight rebounds. T J McConnell in each individual category might not have the most eye popping nights statistically, but he was exceptional and as important as anyone. We'll get into that with Tom mcginnison just a moment in terms of the final outcome of tonight's game. He really seemed to embody the spirit

that the Sixers were looking for tonight. Ben Simmons steady JJ Reddick two and Robert Covington with a very good flash of contributions both in the second and third quarters tonight and Dario Scharitch just mister consistent for the seventy Sixers down the stretch of the season. One seven seventy Sixers over the Nets. Tom mc ginnis is next on the postgame show on the Sixers Rating Network, seventy Sixers and the Brooklyn Nets at Barclay Center for the second

and final time this season. One twenty ninety seven. The score Sixers getting back into the win column. Most importantly, they are holding a grip on sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. With the lost night, they could have perhaps slipped behind Miami for seventh place in the East, but a very convincing, well rounded effort by the Sixers tonight. Defensively,

they were stout. They held the Brooklyn Nets to thirty eight point eight percent shooting while Brooklyn hit ten three pointers. It was more about the volume of threes that Brooklyn was not able to put up in tonight's game, and they held the Nazis Brett Brown talked about to just twenty eight three point attempts. It's a team that entered the evening second in the NBA in total three pointers made on the year, Sixers commanding in the paint plus

twenty in points scored there. And they also, as we mentioned, did a great job converting turnovers in to scoring opportunities. There were some junctions of the game where a couple of Brooklyn's more important pieces were able to shake loose. D'Angelo Russell early on the third quarter left his mark. He finished with twenty six points. But aside from that, Brooklyn just never really able to get going for a

sustained stretch. Yes, they hung around the Sixers. It was a single digit margin pretty much on the way through the middle portion of the third quarter. But after that the Sixers shifted into high gear. Their bench was so productive a total team effort in tonight's one twenty ninety seven win. We're gonna step aside real quick. Note we have him, we have Tom Againnis he is with us

up to Brooklyn. We go Tom. A nice effort by the Sixers tonight, And this really was what it was all about that the players and the head coach were talking about the last thirty six hours after that game in Miami. Everything seemed to come together. And you could also tell quick there's going to be a different type of effort from the Sixers tonight. Well, I thought so again.

I mean I felt that my own self, just to be able to get two days you know, you gotta understand, you go all the way to Florida and you know, like and there's certainly being in South Florida. It's just you know, granted it was seven. He said, what are

you talking about. You're tired. Well, you get tired when you're on the road like that, when you're going to bed at four o'clock, five o'clock, even when you come back from Miami and your home, so be able to rest up, restore and get recrupitative in terms of, you know, your energy back. And it showed. And I think they were disappointed with how they finished that game down there and again like and be like Brett Brown said, and you commented too, a special unbelievab bull in a lot

of aspect. But I thought McConnell really gave them the jump with those steals and that effort like we're not And I think they also must have you know, you never in the NBA like there's they don't say there's no refrenge games. But I thought for sure the way they played, they definitely did not like the way they played here and lost here last time. So it was

it was there was a sense of urgency. That's the team we've become accustomed to watching this year for the Sixers, and it showed with the result Sixers topple the Brooklyn Nets one twenty two ninety seven. Let's digging h McConnell a little bit more. Tonight was vintage TJ. He was

dialed in on the offensive end, dealing with six assists. Defensively, he's just a terror in transition and really so much of the damage he does, it seems Tom comes between the baseline and the mid court line on inbound opportunities for the opposition. It's amazing. Yeah, no sneaky one man press, and and then it's just tenacious defense too. He's one

of those guys that kind of gets after ucanus. Assume that you're just gonna walk the ball, and nobody walks it across anymore, quite frankly in the NBA, but you know, he gets after it. He puts pressure on the basketball, and again that type of energy and that effort that's contagious. That that's when you see your teammate playing all out like that, diving scraping for the basketball, you almost feel

compelled to play that way too. So he adds a lot of spirit and fight for the ball club, something they'd become accustomed to. And that's how he is too. I mean he's not you know, he's a very likable guy, but he's irascible. He's not gonna he's not gonna steady a take for you know, the common thing. He gets after it a good bit. So he played well and as you said, Dario has been so consistent, you know, Ben, I thought they did a pretty good job of covering Simmons.

He had nine shots in the game, but still affected it with six boards and six assists. And Covington came back. How about that, you know, three points no field goals in Miami tonight three three six of ten, four free throws, five rebounds, four assists, nineteen points, had a great driving play and quite frankly, one of his best all around games of late. Sixers dropped the Brooklyn Nets one twenty

to ninety seven. I think you said a time towards the end of the game, how about that or something like finally a home game on the horizon for the Sixers, and they've got a really key one on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers. Pacers taking on the Boston Celtics to night and when you know, they beat them at ted Garden ninety seven, so that'll set up some stakes for the Sixers to possibly climb a little bit higher in

the standings. But all in all, really nice that after tonight's game, there's only one more stretch at the end of this month Atlanta and Charlotte where the Sixers play more than one game consecutively on the road, and it'll

be just a pretty modest two game trip. Now, absolutely, this has been a wild you know, I mean, you look at the schedule and this stretch was crazy, and Brett Brown was saying, you know, by the people that measure some of those things that this has been the most that the Sixers have played, you know, minutes they use that load management exactly sure what that means, but I could just tell you they've been gone for like

twelve of the last fourteen days. So to come back and play Indiana with rest and like another major head to head game, I mean in Miami, you know, the Sixers don't have the tiebreaker, they're now just a game behind the Sixers. The Sixers with the win here to create a game separation. So they're in six Miami and seventh, and you know Indiana had with Washington. I felt like the last time the Sixers rout in Indianapolis, it was part two of a back to back, didn't really have

the juice. So this shapes up to be a good season. And remember, you know, we go all of them back to the summer, they trade Paul George. It looks like it's going to be a rebuilding year. When you're when you're assessing the Eastern Conference, you didn't figure that Indiana would be fifth. They're right in the mix. Well they are all the Deepo's having a career year, so Bonus is playing well that everybody they have is really stepping

it up. So that shapes up to be a really exciting, big time game for the Sixers on Tuesday at the Center against the Pacers. Sixers over the nets, one twenty to ninety seven. Tom enjoy the train ride back. You got it. Thank you Sixers with a welcomed win tonight, getting back on track and splitting the four game road trip two up, two down. We'll get into some of

the sounds of tonight's game with Tom's highlight calls. On the other side, it's the postgame show and the Sixers Rader Network finally the end of a week long four game road trip for these seventy sixers. Brian Seltzer with you from Sixers dot com. It was a positive outcome for the Sixers tonight. We will tell you that much. Ask for the details. Here's how tonight's game sounded. The one only Tom McGuinness with the radio calls two points early for the Brooklyn Nets, the next ten to the

visiting team. Simmons across mid cord. He's got Dario, but he'll keep it. And now back out to a bad Joel top of the arc for three and that's good. So ten straight points by the Sixers. Joel started the game three for three, so did Ben Simmons. Sixers showed early they were in a groove and got some of that spirit back that they were looking to reclaim after going two days without a game on the heels of thursdays lost in Miami heat. So some nice energy at

the outset of the opening quarter tonight. And then also that was the case at the end of the first Sixers ball Reddick with it two seconds to go, fires for three. Day j Reddick come oh, coming in Brooklyn. He nails at three with point three to go in the opening quarter and the Sixers by a dozen. Yeah, they couldn't miss thirty seven twenty five sixers after twelve

minutes of play. In the second quarter. Robert Covington, who was a little bit off the mark, to say the least, Thursday in Miami after big game Tuesday in Charlotte, well he was back on again tonight. Over to Covington for three. That's good, oh, for ten in Miami, eleven points here in the opening half against Brooklyn, Robert Tubby did his three for three, and in that stretch in particular, he

scored eleven out of thirteen points for the Sixers. That basket made it fifty four to thirty three, seventy sixers. We're up ten, seventy two sixty at the break. This was the third time on the road trip, in fact, that the Sixers reached seventy points by halftime. That is pretty good considering where this team had been in the past in terms of its offense. Third quarter, Danzel Russell made a couple of baskets in the opening minutes, Brooklyn

got back to within single digits. They were looking for someone or something to stem the tide then get the energy back on their side. TJ McConnell was great in the first half and he had an all around terrific night. As this play demonstrated Holmes and McConnell two man game. On the right side. TJ crosses over on count half, shoots it from the wake and end slis port McConnell at the Sixers pitch. It is celebrating as they should have.

Sixers were backup eighteen ninety to seventy two. They led by thirteen did the Sixers going into the fourth ninety six eighty three. Not too long after that, the Sixers lead would be in the twenties for the rest of the night. Tend to shoot to beat guarded by DeAngelo Russell outside right, and they switched. He passes the Covey duty drives at Ardheadscoop is good. Robert Comington primy nominal nineteen points, Robert Covington a balanced Knight himself. Seventy Sixers

a balanced night all the way around. Final notes from the final stat sheet in this evening's game. These second and final stop the Sixers make on the year at Barclay Center. Sixers fifty two and a half percent from the field. Brooklyn held to thirty eight point eight percent shooting defense, defense, defense. It's obviously a calling card the Sixers hang their hat on. They also wanted to get back to doing good things defensively tonight, and that's one

statistic that would indicate that they did. Sixers nine to twenty six from outside the arc. Brooklyn was twenty eight. But as we talked about, this was more about quantity of opportunities from the outside in terms of what Brooklyn had and based on what they do on a game in game out basis, tonight not quite up to the same volume of three pointers that that takes, so a success for the Sixers in that department. Sixers outrebounded the

Nets by six overall in the game. They really picked up their efforts on the glass in the second half. All around, a very good game. From the turnover standpoint for the Sixers, they only committed ten while forcing Brooklyn into eighteen. As a result, the Sixers finished with a twenty two to nine advantage in points off of turnovers. Some individual notes. Joel Embiid back to his very dominant form tonight twenty one points, eight rebounds, three assists, a

block shot. Sixers were plus nineteen with him on the floor for only twenty six minutes, so he came. He saw, he conquered in a very brief period of time, nine of seventeen from the field for embiid Robert Covington with nineteen points. He scored six field goals, half of which were from the inside and half of which were from the outside of the arc. He was also four to six from the free throw line, five rebounds, four assists, two block shots in a steel He was plus thirteen

for the game. Dario charts with eighteen points, six bounds, and three assists plus two block shots twelve for JJ Reddick. He had a nice first half. Ben Simmons steady with eleven points, six boards six times. But let's talk about the bench. Tremendous tonight, beginning with t J McConnell five of nine for him ten points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals. He was tenacious in transition defensively in particular, he was plus sixteen in the game, thirty nine bench

points for the Sixers. That's really good. Marco Belinelli with thirteen six of ten from the field. Erson Iliasova a double double with eleven points and thirteen rebounds plus three steals. Job well done by Erson Iliasova. Tonight, seventy six Ers with the win improved to thirty six and twenty nine to now one and one on the year versus Brooklyn. Brooklyn drops the twenty one and forty six on the season, and the Sixers with the victory, they remain in the hunts. Well.

They're obviously in the hunt, but still very much within striking distance of the Indiana Pacers Indie winning tonight at Boston ninety nine to ninety seven. They'll be at the Center on Tuesday. Going into today, two games separated the Sixers and the Pacers in the standings for fourth place, which is occupied by Indie, arguably one of the most surprising teams in the NBA this season. That'll be a key game Tuesday night at the Center at seven o'clock.

Pregame coverage on some of our Sixers radio network affiliates begin at six fifty. Big thanks to everyone involved tonight's broadcast. Alan Yates, Jay Gray back at the studio and after the radio voice of the seventy six Ers Tom mc ginnis Brian Selzer sang so long for now one final time. The final score seventy six Ers one twenty Brooklyn Nets ninety seven of a great rest or Sunday night from

all of us here at the Sixers Radio Network. Following the Sixers win, Tom mcguinnis had a chance to catch up with one of the players afterwards, joining us courtside been Tom mcguinnis, thank you we're up here, was like, congratulations, great all around play. I thought TJ McConnell really helped your bench very efficient up and donald line up in a nice win here in Brooklyn for you guys. Yeah, we needed this one, um, to get back on track.

I think everybody really played well. Uh. T just stepped up, UM and we played solid game overall. It seemed like two days of rest was really what the doctorate order before you guys got out here against the nes right. I think so maybe, uh maybe it's a you know, I new winning strategy, but um, I think we've been really lucking in and focusing in the film room. Now you come back and you start some of the home games. You'll be back here against the Nix later in the week.

But you got Indiana who beat Boston tonight, and it shapes up to be a good one. Tuesday definitely definitely. You gotta get back to feeling and prepared for that. It's gonna be a tough game, um, but you know we're definitely ready for it. Last up, but your folks are here. I saw your brother here. What's it like to have your family coming on the road to watch you so often? It's awesome. It's funny because you know, my dad's right there, my grandpa, my uncle, and my

mom and I got a few friends here. So it's just good having my family out here and I want to have that support. Great, Happy for you. Thank you, Ben apprecid, Congratulations Ben Simmons, our guest court side sexust Win one twenty to ninety seven and back with more postgame coverage after this on the seventy six Ers Radio Network