The BroadCast | Mailbag Monday - Recapping Week One

In twenty twenty, any opportunity to hear from people that aren't myself during the day is phenominal. I can't wait. You're not talking to a wall anymore, or to me. No variety gives it some extra context, Spice. I should also say it is terrific. It's always terrific to hear you and speak with you. But for this episode of the pod, brand new CRISP crystal clear audio coming from

Mission control. Rosen to everyone else's ears. I love it. Yes, indeed, I hope it sounds better for everybody that's listened to us thus far. This is going to be the new standard. So hope I sound clear speaking of things that are new and standards. I'm not quite sure what type of

standard we will be able to hold. Mailbag Mondays too, that's what we're gonna call We're gonna call it Mailbag Mondays, not Mailbag Monday, a new segment every Monday, Lauren and I will take questions, thoughts, ideas, inquiries from you, the seventy six ers faithful out there. We'll call them out on our social feeds at Brian Seltzer, at Lauren m Rosen and ask you what's on your mind about your team,

your town, your Philadelphia seventy six ers. And then on the Monday edition of the pod, this said Monday Mailbag edition of the pod, we'll address all of your comments, concerns, praise, promising thoughts, those sorts of things. That's the concept. It's a great concept. Please, whenever you're thinking of the Sixers, think of us, reach out. Let us know what you're thinking,

let us engage with you. I say this to people all the time, and those of you who don't know me, that our listeners might not know that I'm not from Philadelphia. I'm from Houston, Texas. That will always be my home. But Philadelphia sports fans are so smart and so engaged and they teach me things, and I love being on sixers Twitter and looking at the way the fan base is feeling. So the fact that you guys can now call in directly and chat with us makes me really excited. Yes,

that's a good podcast. Teas a nice way to segue into how you can interact with us, because if you do not see on either of our social feats, there's a couple ways that you can reach us for mail Bag Mondays. Number one, hit us in the mansions. It's that easy. Number two, at least for now, you can go to anchor dot fm slash seventy six ers and

leave us an actual voicemail recording. We love to hear from you in the figurative sense, we love even more hearing from you in the literal sense, and we'll play some voicemails on this episode as well, and then the final and third option coming soon hopefully fingers crossed by next week. A hotline for mail Bag Mondays save this number. It's up and running. A voicemail message has been recorded two on five four zero three. Ready for it pods

two five four zero three pods love it. I'm saving it to my I'm saving it right now, adding it to my favorites in my contacts. All you gotta do if you call the voicemail number is leave your full name your Twitter handle so we can dmu. Why do we want to DMU? Well, because if we read your comment or play your voicemail on the pod, that means you will be eligible by some random configured mechanism that we come up with to win a piece of swag.

How great is that? I think it's great. I love it any The six Ers swag also is always pretty elite, like there's always something coming out that I see on the site that I want. Takes a lot of willpower not to just order things constantly. So if I was a listener, I would want to be entered into whatever swag sweepstakes that you've got going over their cells. Amen

to that. So we'll have giveaway items each week if you are a participating listener and either hit us in the mansions or drop us a line through the voicemailbox. This week, we're gonna go away a nice double lined blue seventy six Ers Circle of Stars New Era winner nit cap get us started with that it's cold outside. You need that I was outside I've been doing daily walks for those of you who aren't to wear. I moved to Old City recently. I love my new neighborhood

and my daily walks. The only problem is how cold it is right now. So I'm exploring the city. I'm loving seeing new things every day, but my ears get really cold. So this is this is one that I would want to enter for sure. Tremendous. So that's it. That's how you get in touch with us for mail Bag Mondays. That's what it's all about. It only took us about five minutes to articulate and explain this very basic fundamental concept of audio content and how people can

get in touch with us. Let's dive in let us but before we hit our first mail Bag Monday segment, we have some breaking news today. Batis Thible's team option exercised the third year on his rookie deal. That's nice. Feels like a no brainer. I'm biased, but feels like a no brainer. Yeah, we know what Matis is capable of.

There was not a lot of good to take away from the Sixers one sided loss, shorthanded we should add at Cleveland on Sunday, but I thought it was good for Matisse's thible to get some run, the most run he's had all season, get the sea legs as it were, back underneath him. And that applies for him and some of the younger guys as well. And of course there's been plenty of chatter about Matisse when you're on the scroll, but it's important to keep in mind what Doc Rivers

has said. Matisse was in He took a little bit longer to get into training camp than his fellow Sixers might have. Doc Rivers says his current situation is nothing to read into and that he's looking forward to seeing more from Mattisse Bible. Yes, that man certainly showed what he is capable of doing in a terrific rookie season last year. All Right, we cannot put it off any longer. We have built up or built down the anticipation for our first ever mailbag Monday. Let us get to it.

You have one new message. Our first message, Lauren, comes from Twitter. Lexie underscore buckets. The ball movement, Lexie says was wild, referring to that sequence where Danny Green hit a corner three against the New York Knicks in the Sixers win on Saturday, is that something we can expect to continue or was it just because the Sixers were playing the Knicks. Law that is law, there's some law there. First of all, when it comes to the mailbag, we

love questions with character. I appreciate the subtle commentary there, and I think the answer is yes and yes. I mean, obviously, when you get an opponent that you have an advantage over, it's easier to move the ball, it's easier to find your rhythm. But what we saw in that matchup on Saturday, I thought was very special. Ben Simmons afterwards said it felt like they were the Harlem Globetrotters, which is a

moment I appreciated from Ben. They really were moving the ball right, and that highlight that you talked about with Danny, there was another one with Seth that ended up in a Seth Curry three. Those were all over Bleacher Report House of Highlights, and anytime those major outlets are saying good things about the Sixers, it's a pretty good sign. I was happy to see it, and hopefully it's something that they'll be able to continue building on, especially with

Joel back in the post as the season continues. Our man Paul Hudrick, who covers the Sixers for ninety seven three ESPN, had a great tweet after that play, and I don't remember it precisely, it was something the effect. I know he definitely said he thought that was the best offensive possession in the Sixers first two games of the season. He might have stretched out even farther back and was like maybe the last couple of years, it

was a great offensive possession. I'm not sure if you're gonna be able to get something that exceptional of a look with all that passing every single time down the floor, that might be a little bit unrealistic, But in a perfect world, I think yes. Doc Rivers has talked about wanting to see pace on offense, and pace, as he has said, does not mean a race. I think pace can be applied to just simply how you get into your actions and how you move the basketball, and that's

certainly right there. It was a great example of it, I thought, all in all, a really nice, patient offensive game for the Sixers in that twenty point win on the road against the next on Saturday night. It wasn't easy in the beginning. The Knicks hung around, but the Sixers stuck with it. And then they opened things up down the stretch, no doubt about it. That was a

really good way to start out their road season. And again, obviously Sunday night more difficult, but worth noting without Joel Embiid a late scratch, which is something that Doc Rivers discussed after the game. They didn't have a lot of opportunity to prep for a game without Joel, and unfortunately, sometimes well fortunately or unfortunately, experience is the best teacher. And at least now they know what they're going to be dealing with if they're absent Joel in future games.

Lexie underscore Buckets on Twitter, Thank you very much. Next up, you have one new message, Lauren Brian Seth Curry just two games into a seventy sixers career, but I'd loved who I've seen out of him thus far. Curious your thoughts on whether or not he can be the missing piece to help this team get over the hump. Yes, our first ever, We can say it definitively now history made. Our first voicemail message for mail bag Mondays comes courtesy

of Jake. I like it. Bring up Seth Curry. Seth Curry a man who perhaps does not get as much attention as some of the other members of the starting lineup, but as we certainly saw through the first two games, a vital contributor. He helped set up the Sixers for some crunch time plays, including that jam to Ben Simmons against the Washington Wizards, and then he just shot the unoad out of the ball at the Garden on Saturday

against the Knicks. He sure did. Set Seth looked really comfortable on Saturday night, and it's good to see him getting into a rhythm. Shooters shoot. He's going to keep shooting. I'm excited to have Seth on this team. His teammates have beamed about what it's like to play with him. He says he leads by example. Joel Embiid says that they're developing good chemistry, and we've seen Joel work well with shooters like Seth in the past, so look for

that chemistry to continue developing. I think it's going to be a big year for Seth, who we can't forget is statistically one of the best shooters of all time, no doubt about it. I think that just the type of threes he makes ultra difficult, but he makes them look easily probably something that you would not expect anything less of someone with his surname. How about what a

weekend for the extended Curry family. I mean, you had a family holiday gathering in New York because Austin plays for the Knicks and Seth of course is married to Doc's daughter Callie, and then Damian Lee of the Golden State Warriors knocking down a game winning three over the weekend. And Damian Lee is married to Siddel Curry. Correct, what a family to be part of. Look, I love my family, I love my family, but that is a heck of

a family, period. Yeah. A lot of hoops, a lot of talent, a lot of talent around the dinner table. Doc said he doesn't really care about seeing his kids as much, whether it's Austin or Callier, his in laws. He wants to see the Garrett grandkids. And I can tell you, as a father of two and a half year old twins, your parents you are just you are a facilitator. You are there to shepherd and hurt along the young children, leave them in the stead of the grandparents,

and then get out of the way. And those grandkids are going to be hoopers too. There's no way, even if they choose not to be and choose to follow a different path, as all children should choose their own path. They've got the genes for it, so they might as well at least give it a little bit of a shot. Jake, thank you for the voicemail. We appreciate it history made. You are the first voicemail ever on mail bag pundits. You have one new message. Back to Twitter we go

blogs of stuff tweeted? Am I crazy or is it rare to play a full five bench set of players at once. We've seen that a couple of times for the first three games of the season, well we should say two when the Sixers were fully healthy. We have and dare I say not necessarily rare, but it's not something we've seen from the Sixers in recent years. It is something that Doc Rivers has expressed that he plans to continue doing when he can. And that bench unit

looks really solid. They pack a punch, whether it's shake Milton for a concorkmaz Dwight Howard. They're developing really good chemistry as a unit, and they have a lot of weapons. So I would expect to continue seeing that line up quite a bit at least during the regular season. I don't know about you, Seltz, Yeah, I think that what that speaks to is the fact that not only are the individual pieces of the bench solid, but they fit

really well together. Because you can have Shake and Maxie in the backcourt, you can put Furcon on the wing. You can throw Mike Scott at the four, Dwight Howard at the five. I mean, that is a lineup that, by the measures of some teams in the NBA, could hang with a team's top unit. I mean, I think it's just a five player group that fits really well together.

So that could be another reason why it's not just plugging and playing a reserve that has a skill set that mirrors who he's coming in for in the starting lineup. It's a five man group that plays well together. That is a complimentary skill set. And sadly, we haven't been able to witness quite as much practice this year as we are used to outside of the pandemic. But according to sources within the team, namely Tobias Harris, it gets

pretty testy between the two units. And one is the blue team, one is the White team, and they say that each team thinks that they're the better team, whether they're the starters or the reserves. It seems like there's been some really healthy competition between units one and two, So to be a fly on the wall in the gym must be a lot of fun, and I would imagine that they're going to continue pushing each other as the season continues. Thank you, blogs of stuff, great point

on Twitter. Back to the voicemail box. You have one new message. Hey, Brian Laaren, This is Doug. My question for the podcast is, if the Sixers were going to make the trade before the deadline at some point this season, what do you think the best deal would be for them to make X Doug Love Fans like Doug. We're three games into the year and we are already talking about the trade deadline, which does not take place until

March twenty fifth. Listen. I think that the most at least I feel like I can say and deduce from what we've heard, is that Daryl Morey, Elton Brand, Doc Rivers, they believe so much Lauren in the group. And that's not just the starting group, the group the Sixers have right here right now that they want to see what

it's got. And I can't blame him you've got a new person at the top of basketball ops, if you had a new head coach, new coaching staff, and there's talent here, so why not see how it plays out? And keep in mind we talk about the move for Doc Rivers, the move for Daryl Morey to come and work with this team, and they both cited the opportunity to work with this specific roster when they made their decisions to come to Philadelphia. And I'll just tear a

page out of Doc rivers book. He was on First Take, I believe, a couple days ago, and he said that he believes that he can win with this specific group and he wants to see how they look. He wants to let it ride. And of course, like you said, anyone that's in the front office is always going to be keeping their options open, making sure they have a pulse around the league, as we know that the Sixers

front office does. But I personally agree with Doc. Excited to see what this team has to offer and excited to watch it for as long as I can. Thank you Doug for hitting us up on the voicemail. One last note to pull out of our first ever mail back Monday, you have one new message and that comes from the Twitter sphere. KRD Sixers one two three. This might seem like minutial, armed I'm gonna bring it up because maybe some people out there aren't aware of it.

Do the Sixers practice today? Mind, you were taping on a Monday. Just curious if Joel Embiid practices. If they do three games and four nights, how's he holding up. Of course, Joel did not play on Sunday due to some tightness in his back. Well, to answer the question first, KARD six Ers one two three, No, the Sixers did not practice on Monday. League protocol is you don't practice no mandatory team activities the day after or back to back.

That's what the Sixers had, So that is that. So regardless of what Joe's status is for Tuesday's game against Toronto, there was no practice on Monday. But listen, I don't think it sounded like Doc Rivers was too concerned about Joe's status afterwards. And listen, we're literally not even through the first week of the regular season. No need to push it. I just think about how darn good this

team look with Joel out there. Though. I say that, and then I will also say that I think it is necessary, as Doc Rivers, I believe, would tell you the same thing for this team to have to play without Joel and you know, figure what that's what that's like. And I think they got jumped by a young, scrappy and up and coming Cleveland team on Sunday And worth noting Dwight Howard obviously stepping into the starting lineup on

Sunday night at the last minute. And Dwight has been phenomenal since he started with the Sixers, got into a little bit of foul trouble as the starter, but wasn't aware that he was going to be starting until right before the game. Actually didn't start more than a couple times last season in LA. So I would imagine that that backup center, backup starter role for Dwight is something that he'll just continue growing into. It's something that he'll get a better handle on as the season goes along,

whenever he needs to do it. And you got to give props to Dwight for the way he's looked his body of work. Let's say, since the Sixers season got underway, let's wrap it on this. This is not a mail bag question that we got, but something I think is worth mentioning if you're looking to take a through line from the back to back road trip away from what we saw against the Knicks and the Cavaliers, Tobias Harris

seemed to get into a pretty good rhythm. That seemed to be one of the buzzwords from him after the game on Sunday at Cleveland. A nice shooting rhythm for Tobias Harris to come away from the weekend with absolutely Doc Rivers has not been shy saying that he wants to Bias to make quicker decisions. It looked like he did just that over the weekend, and Tobias is one of the most reliable, most durable players in this league. Go check out his stats over the last few years

for proof there. I'm not going to try to convince anyone. The math speaks for itself, so expect to Bias to continue growing, continue finding this rhythm and being a really solid, consistent piece as the season goes along. And in the feel good story of the weekend department, Young Dakota Matthias, two way player for the Sixers, Ohio native at Rocket Mortgage field House, subs in within seconds knocks down his first career triple in his first career NBA regular season game.

Love it. He looked comfortable, He looked happy to be there. Plenty of his teammates have mentioned what a pleasure it's been to play with Dakota thus far. So you love to see him getting some minutes, his first NBA minutes, his first NBA buckets, looking confident. The jumper looked quite damp, if I do say so myself. So excited to see how he grows as a member. Obviously a two way player of the Delaware Bluecoats and the seventy six ers

this season. All righty, that's it, we can disconnect the line. Our first mail bag Monday is in the books. Thank you to everyone who jumped in the mansions sent in a voicemail. We will notify you. This may change. We're kind of doing some of this on the fly. We will notify you directly if you are the winner of some swag this week. I don't know how we're gonna pick it. I think we're gonna have to do a random name generator, and if this gets controversial, we might

have to film. Have it be something transparent. I'm cool, I'm cool with randomizing it. And yes, Thank you so much to everybody that is engaging with us, whether it's here, whether it's on seven six Live Countdown presented by Tisso it feels like the seventy six ers fans are with us, and I just want you to know that it is appreciated. Please keep engaging, send your voicemails. We're nice people. We

want to hear from you, so don't hold back. I always forgot there is actually one more voicemail that we have to play. Let's get to it right now. You have one new message. Hey, Brian Lauren. Love the work that you do. Love the entire Sixers podcast network is fantastic. Cannot wait to hear the next episode and everything that you guys are doing. I did have one question though, whatever happened to that guy Divine Givens that you have one every now and then. God like what he does,

pretty good stuff that he does. I'm just curious wondering what's going on? Thanks for listening. Happy holidays. Yes anonymous call or you're correct, we did have a guy named von Gives on the podcast frequently for a while. What did happen to him? I miss Hi, Laaren? How about you? What happened to that guy. You know, that's a great pertinent question, and it is. We started this podcast with breaking news about mail Bag mon Monday's and Matisse Thyble.

So let's end this podcast with some breaking news Divine givens. Starting after this Friday, which is New Year's Day, We're gonna give everyone some time. Divin's gonna join us on Friday's fanatic Fridays with Devon the one and only love Divine can't wait for that. That was a great caller, whoever that caller was. Thank you, Yes, thank you, sounded like a familiar voice, excited to hear from him to say the least. Okay, that was a real corny gag.

Let's end this mail Bag Monday's finished done. Thank you everyone, Thank you an thank you. Talk to you guys a week from today, which is Monday, for the next episode of the broadcast. Happy New Year, Happy New Year, Indeed,