This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast network Search seventy six Ers podcast wherever you get your pods. This time on Mailbag Monday. Last week we said what if we could just have a relatively normal week to react to the next time we do Mailbag Monday. And while I'll say, Lauren, all the games on the schedule for the seventy sixers were played, I don't know if you could say this was a normal week because it was so darn good for the Philadelphia seventy six Ers.
It was an excellent week to now debrief fund for this week's edition of mail Bag Monday. I feel you. The last few mornings, it has felt really good to wake up and be someone who covers or roots for the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in any way. Always good to be on top of the East. Always good to be winning your games, regardless of who the opponent is.
Cool to see the team win a home away back to back, because that's something that's hard on any team, regardless of what your history is playing on the road. So I agree with you. A lot of good to talk about this week, maybe even better than we thought
it might be. Perhaps the best thing that at the time of taping this edition of mail Bag Monday, your Team, your Town, You're seventy Sixers, number one in the Eastern Conference with a record of twelve and five, second most wins in the entire league, behind the two squads in la the Lakers and the Clippers, and that is pretty damn good. Riding high with three straight wins sweeping the Celtics could go for a sweep against the lowly Pistons.
Love seeing what happened, especially Lauren in that series against Boston. You know, the Sixers went into that trailing Boston in the standings, and I think that they made an early
season statement. I hear you obviously know Jason Tatum in that series, but the Celtics have given the Sixers problems over the last few years, with or without Jason Tatum, with or without Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, etc. So it was cool to see the Sixers take the opponent that they had and really just put the pedal to the
metal and get it done. I was heartened for sure by that series, and then heartened again to see the team go out and of course not the prettiest against Detroit on Saturday, but they all count as wins, and I was happy to see the team get it done under those circumstances. We're going to dip into the mailbag in a moment, but I want to give a little
take based on what you just said. I'm not getting caught up in quality wins necessarily in terms of like, oh, they played this team without that player, or they had to sneak by Detroit in the closing minutes to pull out a win in the sixty world full strength and Detroit didn't have Blake Griffner Deeric Rose. It doesn't matter to me. This season is so crazy right now. You don't know who's going to play game in game out to stockpile your wins. And I would also say that
really good teams win a lot of games. And I guarantee if you watched every single Laker game last year, or every single Clippers game this year, or whomever, not every game is going to be perfect. So part of being a really good team is finding ways to eke out wins and get by and survive when you have to. And I thought that was part of what we saw in the win over Detroit on Saturday. That's exactly what I was going to say, good teams find a way
to make it work. And there have been a few times that you and I have discussed this, I think outside of the podcast, but I've discussed it with a few of the other people that work around or cover this team, and it feels like when this Sixers team goes into halftime close or behind, they still can win the game. And that's not a way that I think we've felt as much, at least over the last few years.
This team specifically has proven early that a five point, seven point ten point deficit does not mean the team is going to lose. In fact, based on the record, it means they're probably going to win. And I like having that confidence of knowing this team can gut it out, can make it happen, can find a win regardless of the opponent, even if they struggle in the first half or struggle in the second quarter, whatever it is, they've
found a way to get it done. And I think that's a really good sign for a team that is still very new together to already have that quality of being able to find wins and make them happen this early in the season. Sorry, that was a bit of a ramble, but I am really excited about this whatever this is called, this intangible quality of just being able to win. I like it. I like it a lot, A very relevant pression ramble. I like it. We accept those here on Mailbag Monday. Thank you. Speaking of which,
what is Mailbag Monday? If you're a first timer to listen to a Mailbag Monday edition of the pod? Pretty simple. You hit myself or Lauren Rosen up on Twitter at Brian Seltzer at Lauren m Rosen or on The Graham at Seltzer six or snaps at Lauren m Rosen. You'll leave us a question, a comment to take a thought about the sixers over the course of the week, or you give us a shout on the seventy six ers pod line two four zero three seven six three seven.
That's two on five four zero three pods. See what we did there, We try, We try. Thank you Almont and I for making that happen. So yeah, that's how you get in touch. And then we gather the best of our responses and submissions of the course of the week and we play them back here on the Mailbag and if we read your response, you then put into the random name picker generator in a couple of days and if your name is selected from that random picking process,
you win a seventy Sixers swag bag. So it's that simple. And with that, let us dive into the mailbag. We're going straight to the voicemail. After a big week for the Sixers, you have one new message. Boil m B is the MVP firm runner. Joel m B is the
MVP Firmunner. I just can't believe it at all. For the past four years, everybody was saying, oh, once a bekis in shape, previstoppable, beas and shape previustypable, And now look he's in shape and he literally looks like I don't even know what to say, Like he's a combination of a King the lodging more Dirk with the fade away Shock with the insight forsta King with the defense
and the footwork, Like what more do you want? He is the MVP, he's a big man, he's doing it all and he's carrying the city on the shoulders right now. Who knows, maybe it takes feel to the finals World Leader Games to MVP. Let's go. Of course, we have to lead off with a Joel embiid voicemail. How could you not? He was amazing this past week and I love that calling. Listen, we want to give you credit by names, so be sure when you leave your message
in certain instances. Sometimes your name comes up on our caller ID system. Sometimes it doesn't, so leave your names. We know how to give you credit. But talking about Joel showing flashes of a team, Dirk Shack that caller called in after the big game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, when Joe dropped forty two points. But yes, I think this notion of Embed carrying the Sixers on his back right now to a certain extent, possibly showing the form of a player who could carry this team
to the finals. I agree with it all. I am here for it. Obviously. The stats speak for themselves. Averaging close to thirty points. He's fifth in the league with twenty seven point seven points per game right now, actually as of last night. Maybe I should brush up on that stat and make sure. But either way, he's scoring among an elite group of players in this league, scoring higher than any other center in this league. And he's getting it done on the boards. He's playing great defense,
He's really doing it all and Selts. The thing that's impressed me the most is his spirit. And I know that that might sound a little bit corny to draw attention to this early, but it seems like he's having a really good time out there. He's bonding with his teammates, he's gushing about them post game, he's smiling on the court, he's being demonstrative, he's gesturing to a non existent crowd. And Joel has told us over the years that when he's playing his best basketball, he's having fun, and I
think that that is wonderful. I think that that's a great way to look at your job as well, and he's certainly having fun this year. I'm sure you've noticed it. I know we've talked about it, but I think it's something that just can't be undersold, is how important it is to see Joel embiad have fun for whatever reason, Lauren, when he speaks in leadership tones in terms these days, it sounds like he really means and believes what he's saying.
And that's not to say that his comments in the past that were along the lines of lu hip comments weren't genuine or sincere are authentic in intent, but it really feels like he is talking about this team, taking ownership of this team in a way that he believes it, that this is his team, that he knows what he is capable when he's playing at this level of being able to do and the success he's being able to spark.
Like the one quote he had and I know that you put it up on your Twitter just where he literally went through the laundry list of guys on the team and shadowed them at about the way they're playing. I thought it was great. Shows the sign of a leader. Can I read the quote? Would that be okay too? Please? Yes? Absolutely would love. Let me pull it up. That one really stuck out for me as well. I know we talked about it on seven sixth Live a couple nights ago.
That's our live pregame show. If anyone doesn't tune in, you should about ninety minutes before every game, Selton I break it down, Please join us. This is maybe my favorite Joel and Bide quote all season, because there's no denying that he is sort of the biggest thing on this team, if not in the league right now. He's really making it happen. But when he talks about the team six as he takes the opportunity to attribute it to his teammates. So here's what he said about Ben Simmons.
I love playing with Ben. That fourth quarter he was a monster. This is against Boston. He had a lot of steels, he was attacking, he was aggressive. I don't even know how to explain it. It's just been fun. Ben has been amazing all year. Then he talked about Seth Curry. Seth has been huge for us. He looks like he hasn't missed a beat again after missing sixteen days with health and safety protocols. He helps us all
because you have to guard him. Then he moves on to the rest of the roster, and this is all sequential. He talked about Ben in one question, but then he did the whole almost the whole rotation. In another question. He said, we have a bunch of great shooters. To Bias has been playing at an all star level. We've got Shake coming in, who could be a sixth Man of the Year. We have shooters all over the place.
Danny Green, great defender who can knock down shots. You've got Dwight Howard coming off the bench being a monster on the offensive and defensive. Glass you've got Matisse, who also has a potential to be an All Defensive team or Player of the Year or Defensive Player of the year. Rather, we've got a great group of guys. We're only going
to get better. And the fact that he was able to just sort of go through the roster in his head, Dick And obviously there are a couple of people that I'm sure he would have loved to add to the list, but I thought this was an impressive list in it of itself, giving very specific and honestly big compliments to his teammates. He's already thinking about awards for these guys. What are we a fourth of the way through the season.
It's almost like Joe's version of the Oprah Meet and you get a postgame press conference shout out, and you get a postgame press conference shout out, and you and you and you and you and you and Lauren you're a great reporter, and you know great, you know all that stuff. He seems to be obviously in a terrific place.
Just looking back at the three games he played going into this week forty two and ten Game one against Boston thirty eight and eleven, Game two against the Celtics thirty three and fourteen in the opener of the two
game series against the Pistons. During that time, he's just been such a force from the free throw line, just obviously such a high caliber MVP level of play for Joel and b And it seemed to me, Lauren that around midweek last week, after the Boston game, that's when some of the national media started picking up the narrative of, well, is this an early season MVP candidate in Joel Embiid?
And then he did nothing to change that in the follow up nationally televised game on Friday against the Celtics, and then backed it up in the second game of a back to back, no less Saturday against the Pistons. He has been fantastic. Can I add one more thing, Celts before we moved to the next thing, all I wanted to say, love your Oprah reference. That's exactly how it felt. He was just dishing out the compliments to everybody.
But when we talk about Joel speaking positively about how the season is going and speaking positively about his teammates, we know that it's genuine And that's something that I wanted to say because I think there's a lot of pressure on players to just sort of give props to their teammates, not take credit for wins, etc. But Joel Embiad is so honest when he speaks. When he's unhappy, he tells you. When he's happy, he tells you. So I feel like when he gives compliments out to other people,
they're really genuine. They hold a lot of weight, and I love the fact that he is giving out these compliments and you know that they're real. So that's all I'll say about the quote. We can move on, but it was important to me to hear because you know he's telling the truth. I think we could go on for multiple mail bags about how great Joel Embiid has been playing as of late. We're gonna stick with the podline and the voicemailbox. You have one new message, So
Joel indeed, what makes him the MVP? Funny enough, I don't think he's just the MVP. I believe he's the MVP and the defensive player of the league, of the league for plenty of reasons, and beads last three games for example, which is straight up dominating. And I don't mean that lightly. Lake is used insane numbers totally agree. What should not be lost in the chatter about Joel Embiid making a bid for MVP is that he could also be in the running for a Defensive Player of
the Year as well. And it was interesting, Lauren that voicemail was left after or the first Boston game I believe, or maybe it was a second Boston game, and the call are referred to what Joe did in Game one against the Miami Heat. Lest we not forget forty five points, sixteen boards, four assists, five steals. So really, if you take away the nine point game he had in Game two against Miami, Joe's last four games that he's played in have just been insane, Like he's almost averaging thirty
seven points during that stretch. If you go back to the first Miami game, a walking double double machine and listen. I think that things don't always have to be one thing or the other, black or white. I think that Joel could have really enjoyed his time with Brett Brown and the staff the last couple of years, but also, like some other players, could have benefited from some fresh air and a new perspective and just a change in the off season. I don't think it has to be
one or the other. I believe him when he said when he talked to us in the off season that he loved his time with Brett and the way things were going then. But sometimes you get a fresh set of eyes, fresh set of minds come in and things change. And I feel like the Sixers have made this about getting Joel the ball on offense and seeing what happens from there, and so far the results have been great for him and the rest of the team. I'm with you,
we need to look past just this week. It really has been such an impressive start to the season for Joel when he plays alongside the rest of the starters. This team has not lost yet. That's how good. That's how well it is going. That's how good Joel Embiid is. And you mentioned that nine point game against Miami. And when you look back at MVP campaigns for some of the greatest players in the league, whether you're looking at a Lebron or a Chawhi or and Anthony Davis, those
guys don't all score thirty points a game. Sometimes it's important to look at those games where you scored nine points, like Joel did in that second game against the heat and see that shake. Milton scored thirty one that night. The other starters all scored in double figures that night, So really, Joel didn't need to go crazy that night. His teammates had his back, they got the win. Maybe he could have put his foot on the gas a little more if he needed, but he didn't need to,
and that's okay. He doesn't have to score thirty five every night when he's on a team that's as good as this Sixers team is. So I think Joel has just been phenomenal, and even in the nights where he isn't quite in the crazy stat line category, he's still doing good things. And it's important to remember that Joel doesn't have to score forty every night for this team to keep winning. I have one more thing I want
to talk about with Joel embian in a second. God remind you that when the seventy Sixers win, you need to go to pat Parks Casino dot com and enter the promo code posted on our seventy Sixers social feeds after games the Sixers win to earn free play on the Parks Online Casino app. Terms of conditions apply. You have to see the website for more details, and you've got to be twenty one or older. If you've got
a gambling problem, call one eight hundred Gambler. Also soon, I haven't been pointed an exact date yet, but soon the Scoop, our new daily five minute seventy six Ers update pod, will be shifting exclusively to its own feed. Right now, we sprinkle in some episodes on our main feed, which is where you hear the broadcast and Tom's talks
and coat check, but it's got its own feed. Search seventy Sixers Scoop wherever you get your pods to download and subscribe to our new feed specifically for the Scoop and get five minute updates about your Sixers every day. Okay, i'd someone slither into the mansions on Twitter, and I want to make it clear I'm okay with slithering into
the mansions on Twitter and provided a counterpoint. I think I must have tweeted something about Joe making a case for MVP a month into the season, and this person said, well, what about Nicola Yokich. He's averaging a triple double. He's doing things with his facilitating that no big man has ever done. I think Yoki is awesome, he's great, He's excellent. But when you look at MVP, you should be taking I think, the whole picture into account, and what Joe
is doing defensively, Yoki can't even touch that. I mean the defensive impact that Joel Embiid has had defending at the rim. The Sixers numbers with him on the or I think a nice important stat to look at is the NBA the stats on NBA dot com stat about the player impact estimate. Joel's number one in the league. I just think, overall everything Joel has been doing, his offensive efficiency and his defensive ripple effects and the rest of the roster, you can't ignore what the guy's doing.
And look, the Nuggets got off to a slower start. They've won their last three in a row, but they're still the fifth seed in the West right now. They are not the best team in their conference the way that the Sixers are, And so when you do look at MVP candidates, you have to look at how the team is doing. I'm sorry, that's how I've always felt. I am not a voter, but if I was, I would want to make sure I'm voting for a guy whose team is performing really well. Because that's what makes
you the most valuable player. The Sixers are performing better than anyone in their conference, and it's because of how well Joel Embiid has led this team, and that makes him a more valuable player in my eyes. Am I biased? Yes? Do I think I'm right? Yes? I think you're right too. For the record, whatever that's worth, Thank you Saltz. Two excellent voicemails to get mail bag Monday going what's up next?
You have one new message? We'll shift over to our social mentions on IGS A couple arm will do rapid fire about the other all star on the seventy six ers who has been playing like one as of late. For certain awesome to see a resurgence from Ben Simmons in Game two against the Celtics and the opener against the Detroit Pistons. I asked on IGS a few days ago, Ben simmons last couple games have got you feeling like what? And Miles Whaley says, ring ready, I love that enthusiasm.
I do as well. I think Ben has brought this attitude this year to the table, that he's going to make an impact wherever he is needed to make an impact and he's really stood by that, and then the last few games he's also been scoring really well and the team has needed him too, And so I think Ben giving this this vibe of I'm going to do whatever it takes to help the team win, and then backing it up. Especially in the last few games, he
has been phenomenal. I'm really just like sort of crowd to watch him, especially coming back from an injury and having a sort of up and down beginning of the season. It's really cool to see him put his head down and say, you know what, I'm an All Star, I'm Ben Simmons. I am here and I'm gonna get it done.
And that's what we've seen over the last few games, and I'm hoping that it's the Ben Simmons we're going to continue to see as we move forward, and not to one single sniff seemingly allowing any outside noise to throw him off track. If anything, it appears as if it might have emboldened him, which I think is a terrific sign of professionalism and maturity. Thank you. Myles Whale On igs him. Kim love hearing from him. Kim. She checks him pretty regularly when we have our Mailbag Monday Callouts.
How you feeling about Ben Simmons last couple of games? She says, glorious, never had any doubt from day one, and to a certain degree, I agree with that sentiment. I felt the first couple of weeks of this season were excellent for Ben. I thought he was selflessly taking a step back in terms of looking for his own scoring, making sure other guys were getting involved, and his defense laaren As the numbers been bearing out, especially in some of these key matchups as of late, has been tremendous.
And at the first team all league level that Ben showed last year, I mean that that's side of the floor. He has been dominant, absolutely all defensive team member last season.
Looks like he's on pace to do it again. And I think that you do a really good job of discussing the fact that when people talk about Ben Simmons, they always talk about what he's not, but they don't talk about what he is, and he is so much, especially over the last week or so, I appreciate the Ben Simmons faithful who have never had any doubt since day one, like the person who entered this question or this response rather, but yeah, Ben has just been been phenomenal,
and like you said, on the defensive ends, there's almost nobody like him in this league. And I feel very confident when you have a Joel embiid at Ben Simmons leading your defense, if you're a team that wants to lead with defense, things are going to go pretty well for you. One more Ben Simmons related to social media submission for rapid Fire on Ben Jammin Chris mcl underscore Cree. The team and fan who actually watch the games know how special Ben Simmons is and how important it is
to the squad. When Ben and b played together this year, the Sixers have only suffered one loss. Safe to say they can play together. I would agree with that. I think the coming into the season, Doc Rivers obviously felt that way too. But what's been neat to see is how Doc has taken on the challenge of figuring out how to get Ben and Joel to play better together.
And I think we're seeing that, whether it's midpost rub pick and rolls, other side action, i think we've seen an ability for Ben and Joe to have a great partnership in the court grow even more and it was really heartening to hear Joel talk about that after the
win over the Celtics in Game two last Friday. I am with you, Celts, and I think we also can't forget that the supporting cast around Ben and Joel this year, I think makes it easier for the two of them to coexist really well because they don't necessarily have to rely on each other in every action that maybe people want to put pressure on them to do. I think they feel a lot of confidence in Tobias Harris, who's having arguably his best season in the league so far,
no argument Curry his best season. Tobias Harris is playing like the best he's ever played, Seth Curry also playing the best he's ever played. Danny Green has been a great supporter for them. When Shake Milton is out there, he's easing a lot of offense, taking on a lot of offensive loads. So I think the fact that the supporting cast makes a lot of sense around both of them helps the two of them then interact better together on the court when they have to because there's not
as much pressure on their two person game. I guess, let's say, does that make sense totally? Absolutely? And I think that it's understandable why people look at this through an offensive lens so often talking about the Ben Joe partnership, because right spacing, all of that is essential. But let us not forget how important they are and how well they fit seemingly on the defensive end of the floor, because Joel can stay back at the rim if you need too, and then you can just shoot Ben up
to anyone on the wing or in the backcourt. As we know, he's capable on taking on a variety of different offensive threats. So I think defensively, the two of them together also obviously a vital pairing. Thank you Chris, thank you Himie, Kim and Miles for some Ben Simmons related submissions on social Back to the pod line voicemail, you have one new message. I think the most encouraging thing about this season has to be how much better the roster is compared to last year. And now we
just come in here. We have Danny Green, Seth Curry, all these guys. And even if Danny Green is a knock you down the shot, he has that ability because he is a shooter after all, So we can't leave him open the spaces before for the entire team. I mean, I know Romney like what sixteen games in? Fifteen games in, But I haven't gotten stressed nearly as much. To the point like last year when I was just stressed all the time watching this team, I can have an enjoyable experience.
I can lay back and watch the Sixers play basketball. Yeah, I'm gonna be listening to the pod, so have a nice Mike Pickers. I love the glimpse lareen into the psychology of some fans. You can relax now, take it easy, enjoy games less stressful perhaps than years passed. And yes, I think that anyone who's watching, even based on an eye test before you dive into some of the numbers, this is a more natural fit the design of particularly
the starting five for the Sixers team. I don't know about you, Selta, and maybe this fan and I have something in common here, but ball movement, really I find it calming, Like I love watching plays with multiple passes and whether or not they end in the basket. This is something Doc Rivers has talked about. As long as it ends in a good shot, it's satisfying to watch. And I feel like there has been so much more
of that. And then you couple it with the fact that this team has come from behind or come from close to notch a few impressive victories this year makes you know that they can do it. So it is a more calming, a more zen experience to watch these Sixers, and I am here for it. I think, too, something we've talked about in the past that I feel continues to be born out as the season moves along, as how the pieces of the bench fit together as well.
I know the Sixers are really hopeful to get Mike Scott back at some point soon and add depth to the fourth spot, but all in all, I feel the pieces of the bench work together well, and that's why I feel like we've seen so many bench heavy groupings over the course of the first month or so of the season. Times when all five players in the court might be reserves. Times when Doc feels comfortable sitting both Ben and Joel, which is something that hadn't happened in
seasons past. So I think across the board there's been a really nice balance of shooting so far and then force the Sixers can get from guys like primarily Ben and Joel. I feel that, for sure, there was that stretch in the second Boston game where Tobias Harris was out there with and I'm scared I might botch this now, but it was. It was Dwight, Matise, Shake and Furkhon or Tyrese, but it was. It was Tobias and reserves. Yes, and the group did a really good job of holding
it down. And Doc Rivers then said that that was the most important stretch in the game because they kept it where he kept. They kept the game where they wanted it to be, and that was largely due to the play of the reserves and to bias leadership of that group. So I feel you. I think the bench looks better, the starters look better. It is a very cohesive set of a pair of units. I guess that
has looked quite good thus far. Again, to everyone who hit us up on the pod line two and five four zero three seven, six three seven, thank you love the voicemail submissions this past week. You have one new message hashtag Richard on Twitter. The Sixers, he says, look like they're enjoying themselves more to love the character and a bit of crazy that Howard, Curry, Green and Maxie bring to the group. Loosen them up, but tighten things
up around the floor. Making space and shots. We've talked Lauren on the pod before, how one of your subbeats is pregame warm up interactions and wholesome content capture. Give us the latest on that subbeat please. I think it's my favorite beat to cover is pregame vibes, and no one asked me to cover that beat, but it's one that I've invented and really taken on and I will continue to do so. This is a group that looks like they're having fun together. I wish fans could be
there to see it. I think the way that Dwight and Danny lead them out of the tunnel and get the non existent crowd involved is really really delightful. And then to see in the last few games there's been a moment for Tobias Harris, Joel Embiad and Dwight Howard who does not know the song at all, to rap computers together. And that's a song shout out to DJ Ghost that plays before every Sixers game at home, and
it has in my whole time with the Sixers. But the whole singing it together thing, or at least demonstratively singing it together thing, is new, and it's delightful, and it's been on my Twitter, It's been on Kyle Newbeck's Twitter. A lot of people have seen it. Tobias Harris shared Nick McCain are Nick McCain's cut of the Singing Adventure on his Instagram. So look, the pregame vibes are elite.
Those vibes carry on to the bench. We've talked about the fact that the that the bench spends a lot of time on its feet, not just in the preseason, not just in the first game of the season. This is a bench that's really engaged, that's watching, that's excited when their teammates make big plays. I have loved watching the chemistry of this team develop as quickly as it has, and I think it's a really really good sign for what is to come. Does that cover the beat? We
cannot have enough of the wholesome content, good vibes. Subbeat might be a primary beat and not too long from Lauren Rosen. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that hashtag Richard, thank you on Twitter. You have one new message sticking with Twitter, Alex Lowe, long way to go and the playoffs will tell all. One thing I've liked is that the Sixers tend to stay in games, even though through stretches of several minutes without their best basketball.
If they're within seven or eight points by the start of the fourth quarter, the defense gives them a big chance. There is a lot that I agree with within that submission. Alex loves some of those takes and thoughts. Lauren, I'll let you go first, and then I'll unpack whatever's left. I think you guys know how I feel. We talked about it a little bit at the top of the pod. But when this team is down by single digits, even down by ten or eleven, you feel like they're still
in the game. There's no sense of, Oh, the Sixers are out of this, Oh, here we go. There's a sense of, Okay, we're going to get back into this game. And that's something that I've felt almost every time that I've watched this group. And I think that that is something that is relatively new, certainly heartening, and I'm happy to hear that fans like Alex Lowe have picked up
on it as well. I like Alex agree and I'm trying to couch everything that I'm seeing and some of the enthusiasm and optimism with the fact that yes, it's still only a month into a season that I just kind of in my gut feel might have not necessarily for the Sixers, but league wide have a few more
unpredictable twists and turns. Who knows what's going to happen day to day, minute to minute, test by test, But the killer instinct the seventy sixers have shown, going back to what we talked about at the top of the program, has been fantastic, refreshing, encouraging in a dynamic that I don't think the Sixers have displayed in the past. I ran some of these numbers on and before we started looking at the seventy six Ers in the fourth quarter.
Let's start there. Number one in the league in net rating the fourth quarter nearly a twelve point differential per one hundred possessions. Number one defensive rating in the fourth quarter,
just over ninety seven points allowed per one hundred. Again, if you calculate it out to per one hundred possessions, the Sixers or number one clutch wins, which are games that the NBA defines as within five points at any point over the final five minutes of regulation, seventy six ers or seven and one in those games and a net rating of thirty three in clutch game situations. So killer instinct from the squad, and I think that that
speaks to what Alex brought up. You still feel like if they fall behind, they've got a chance to make a comeback bid because they've got firepower off the bench with a guy like shake, and then obviously they're starting lineup when it's at full strength. Speaks for itself. I hear you, I love it, and I hope that it maintains and that that skill, that killer instinct you're talking about, continues to get sharper as the season goes along. I think we ended on that in this was great good Vibes.
I think this podcast goes into the good vibes beat because you and I are relaxed and enjoying having this conversation. So look the good vibes they permeate, They permeate throughout the organization, throughout the city. I'm looking out the window. Everything looks beautiful here in Philadelphia. I think it all starts with good pregame vibes and it ends with us
doing this podcast with smiles. I think it is not a mistake that in my opinion, with all due respect to previous week's mail Bag Monday submissions, there are no bad submissions for Mailbag Monday. I just love the energy of this week's mail bag. We might have to go in and for the first time ever select the multiple swag bag recipients. I'm here if you might have to be handpicked as well. I thought there were great submissions this week on social and the podline. Thank you to
everyone out there. Yes, thank you guys so much. We love doing this and we love hearing your thoughts, so please keep them coming. Lauren Rosen, thank you. Looking forward to another week of coverage from you, and we will do it again on Friday for a weekly deep dive
with our guy, Divine Givens. We have new episode of Tom's Talks with Tom McGinnis coming out on Thursday, so look out for that on the main feed as well, and of course, subscribe to the Scoop Search seventy six or Scoop wherever you get your pods for a new daily five minute update feed. See you