The BroadCast | Setting the Stage for the Celtics

bubble in the opening round. There's plenty of talent on both sides. We certainly have our eyes settle on Joel and be at what type of force he can be in this series repeat against smart spins, couples with the right hand gets free and Ammerson hope right do. We'll also talk about the importance of Tobias Harris, Josh Richardson, Al Horford and the rest of the roster. Horford gets position, bakes upt, Tice goes up Horford. That stars now Horford put him into the way back machine. He's used it

all kinds of food. I'm I'm Devon Gibbons, I'm Brian Seltzer, and this is the broadcast first round preview from the seventy six Ers podcast network. The Playoffs, The Playoffs, Finally, at long last, about three months later, the NBA Playoffs are here. Seating games, guys. I enjoyed them. They were fun. We'll even throw the scrimmages in there too. However, I'm ready for a change of scenery and significance when it comes to the impact and meaning of these NBA basketball

games we're watching inside the bubble. Yeah, the stakes are high now. Every minute, every quarter, every play, it all counts, and it's kind of exhilarating to be back in that playoff mindset. It's been what fifteen months, which is kind of insane. This is exactly what the restart was for to crown the champion, to get to playoff basketball, to see the best of the best in the NBA at the top of their games. So I'm really looking forward to everything that the NBA has instored. Of course, certainly

here in Philadelphia. Listen, guys, we know that this is not the conventional arrangement. You put twenty two teams inside a bubble, you'll let them duke it out. You get to sixteen for the cutoff for the postseason. But I'm with you, guys. I think it is going to be nice and it'll bring some closure to the fact that even though this is an untraditional arrangement, there is going to be a champion for the two, nineteen two and twenty season, and I think that there is importance to that,

and I'm glad we're going to see it. So far, so good, right, and we've seen some very good basketball. We've seen some people step up that maybe we didn't expect once this bubble was upon us, and looking at the top people and understanding how different teams we're going to approach games as well. So this has been, as you said, the most unique situation that we've seen in

professional sports in a long time. But for all of us to get back together to give this the sport back to us, to take a peek at it and enjoy some basketball from one o'clock in the afternoon all the way to one o'clock in the morning, whatever it is, it's been fantastic. And now we get the actual playoffs to go along with it. And seriously, a moment of appreciation for the league too. Devan. You just alluded to it.

But the fact that they've pulled this off and now they're getting ready to play a full playoffs with the vast majority of the league's key players healthy in terms of the pandemic and in terms of their health they've gotten back to credit to all the players as well. But the fact that this is actually happening, I think is just huge, and there are a lot of people that deserve a lot of credit. It is the oldest

rivalry in the sport. The seventy Sixers and the Boston Celtics were doing it again for the second time in three years. The cast of characters obviously different for the Sixers, nucleus for the Boston Celtics, still intact. Before we deep dive into all the different layers of this matchup, guys would have put you on the spot the vine. We'll start with you. Do you think this is the matchup we would have seen had the regular season not been interrupted back in March? Is this how we would have

ultimately ended up? Was it meant to be six three six or Celtics? I actually don't because I do feel at some point that the seventy six Ers, despite the up and down nature of the season the discrepancy from home and road records. There were enough home games and they would have probably moved up, in my opinion, to a higher seat, whether it be four or even as high as as Harmony, whether it's five or even as

high as four. I just think that at some point they would have made enough of a push to get back even though Ben Simmons was not available during the end of the regular season as we knew it back in in the spring, I believe that they would have moved up at least one spot higher than the sixth seat. Right now, but as you said, so this is what it was before the season was put on hold, this is what it is right now as they get ready

to start this game number one. And you said it arguably the best rivalry in sports, best rivalry in basketball, and I'm here for it all. I agree with you, Divon. I think that if they had played out the full season, they would have found themselves in that five or that four spot facing Miami or Indiana. Like he said, a lot of home games were left, and the strength of

schedule was just not there. They were playing a lot of teams in those last few games that were already eliminated back then, or not necessarily officially eliminated, but teams that weren't going to be contenders, teams that weren't going to put up much of a fight, even when the Sixers visited them on the road. So I do think if they had played out the rest of the season, they would have had more wins, they would have found themselves in a higher seed, but the same situation obviously,

sadly for Ben Simmons. He was out then and he's out again now, and that's just such a shame for Ben personally. He worked so hard to get back, but now it means that the lineup now is probably what it would have been then. I too, agree with both of you guys. I do feel the Sixers were probably going to move up at some point, doing part of

the fact that I thought they were Listen. I know the record didn't show for it, but I thought they started to play better on the West Coast, and then they played great in that game against the Detroit Pistons. So I kind of felt like the mojo was moving in the right direction right around the time the suspension happened. Will we ever know how it would have ended up?

Of course, we won't but what we know now is it's the Sixers and Boston going up against each other Atlantic Division rivals in the opening round of the playoffs. The Sixers, they finished four and four during seating play, they blew out the Houston Rockets. I was initially surprised with the extent of action that some of the top guys for the Sixers got in that seating game finale

against Houston. I was also surprised that so many of the Rockets top guys played for as long as much as they did, But I think that was a good way for the Sixers to springboard in the postseason on. Thankfully, they got out of the game without any incident in terms of injury, and they were able to knock off their rust as a top group one more time, which

I think there's something to be said for that. Yeah, it's the second largest margin of victory that the Sixers had all season, and obviously the second half wasn't necessarily indicative of how great either team is, but they really got off to a hot start and just stayed hot the whole time. I think if I remember correctly, eight Sixers in double figures. That's obviously huge and again a result of the heavier minutes, and some of those bench

guys did play. But like you said, in terms of a springboard, beating a good team by such a steep margin has to feel good as you enter these couple days before the intensity begins, I too was surprised that

the amount of time that they played. Certainly, I have to be honest with you, I didn't think many of them would even play in the game at all, just get ready for the practice during their off days and starting for the game number one against the opponent which was already known to be the Boss and Celtics, I was surprised. And then for them to come out and perform at the level that they did despite not having

Russell Westbrook for the Houston Rockets, James Harden, PJ. Tucker, Eric Gordon, Robert Covington, they all came to play and they took the game seriously, and the Sixes did come out on top. They beat the starters. James Harden's James Hardy, he does what he does. That's gonna happen. But Sixes were able to, despite some very very good runs by the Rockets, hold them off and come away later on with that victory. So a good way for them to get ready for the start of the postseason, knowing how

serious things are when they get underway. In game number one, I hear you somewhat on the surprise of the amount of minutes that the starters played on Friday, But you have to think about this playoffs scenario, with no travel days, the fact that they only have one day off between each game, and the fitness level, an endurance level that

that's going to require. You have to wonder if putting the starters in that game on Friday breaks up what could have then been five days off before starting the playoffs. Maybe it helps a little bit with the fitness level, with getting in the rhythm. So that was the only reason that I wasn't super surprised to see those guys getting some significant run in because you don't want them to be caught off guard on Monday when things are

really in test. Despite the fact that he played, I mean regardless of whether or not he had played, just merely the fact that Joel Embiid was available was good news. Finished with fourteen point six rebounds in that game. Another strong showing from it to Bias Harris on both ends of the floor and a lot of guys were able to build more and more confidence going into the playoffs

and we're gonna get to Boston. But I think before we shift the conversation to this series, to me, there are a couple of guys who you might not put in that same tier as certainly Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons if he were healthy, or some of the starters, but some guys who when you're thinking about the playoffs and whether or not it's the Celtics the Sixes are going up against in the first round or knock on wood, it's later on in deeper rounds of the playoffs, but

guys who will need to step up and give you something more than perhaps you might of your standard baseline level of expectation for. And I think those are guys like and Alec Burks for con Corkmise Matisse Styble. We're talking about some of the bench players. Certainly who will Nato, who used when, who knows when or how often he's going to be used. But there are some guys who really build up some justifiable confidence I think based on

how they played in the bubble during the seating games. Sure, and I would certainly start with Alec Brooks to continue play that he had where he would put up those twenty points easily on these given nights, three straight twenty plus point games. He missed the game, then he came back and he performed well once again. And just to be able to have that type of punch coming off the bench for you, the scoring load that he might have to pull for this basketball team when he does

come in, providing that spark for the team. Knowing that now that you have someone as good as good defensively the offensive punch overall the Boston Celtics have, but now the defensive acumen of someone like Marcus Smart coming off the bench who plays started minutes alis, I believe he is going to be a key contributor to this basketball team in this series because of all the things I've just mentioned for the opposition, and knowing that with no

Ben Simmons, while others may pick up their play offensively in the starting five, you're gonna need that also from the bench unit as well. So being able to see Alec Burks do what he did, I agree with you one cells that some of these games for some people really helped out. And he's number one for me and especially since the health status of someone like Glenn Robinson, the third another veteran bench option, is somewhat murky right

now with this left tip injury. Absolutely absolutely, he was one that I thought that with the amount of wings that the Boston Celtics have, that Glenn Robinson would would ring key in this particular series because of his two way play, his defensive ability at least be able to match up with Hayward Tatum and Brown as well. Lauren, Yeah, I mean, I agree with both of you. Obviously, Alec

Burks has kind of been a revelation. Maybe he shouldn't have been based on how good he was Olden State, but I think what a pleasure it is to see someone perform at a level that you were hoping that they would perform when they first came to Philadelphia. And obviously with that trade, you didn't know exactly how he was going to fit into this lineup, and it took

him a little bit to get warmed up. But to see him producing at this high clip now in the year twenty twenty, it's nice to see something live up to or even exceed expectations the way that Alec Burks has. So I love that he's doing well. I love that he's getting credit for doing well, and hopefully he can keep riding this way and helping the team in a

big way in these playoffs. I think if something's good by normal standards in the year twenty twenty, we can automatically qualify it as an exceptional rating or something like that. You know, it comes beyond great in twenty twenty. All the bonus points for just performing how you're supposed to do, all right. So the Sixers, they went four and four in the bubble, finished the regular season plus the seeding games forty three and thirty, the Boston Celtics forty eight

and twenty four. Between the regular season and seeding games, they went five three inside the bubble. I look more, guys at their five and two record before they played a meaningless game against and already eliminated Washington Wizards team in their finale, they played some really good teams. They had a challenging schedule. In their seating games. Talking about Boston, they lost to Milwaukee by three and their opener. They then beat Portland. They lost by six to Miami, another

top seat out of the East. They beat Brooklyn Handley, they got past Toronto Handley beat the Orlando Magic the eighth seat out of the East and overtime, and then they knocked off Memphis by fifteen. I mean, those are all teams that, with the exception of their finale against Washington, could have been at some point in time during the bubble in position to move on to the playoffs. So that's something that I do take note of sure, and knowing that it's the one that really stood out to

me was that Toronto game. And I understand that there were games for all of these twenty two teams where certain players star level were key important players for their teams. Set out that being said, Boston just kept riding at a very high level steadily throughout the entire time that they were there inside that bubble against their opponents. So Cells, I, I I agree with you one percent with that five

and two record. It was real. They were very good and you saw some of their players, the key players in Brown, Tatum, even Hayward Walker when he was out there. While the point production may not have been as high, you know he's probably going to be ready to go

for the postseason. Those two in particular, with Tatum and Brown taking those necessary steps every time out, just hitting those those benchmarks, if you will, for young players, and they were really, really good in those seven eight games for the Boston Celtics. Yeah, Tatum d average around twenty two and a half points per game. He shot terrific from the outside, just under forty five percent. You mentioned Kemba. His offensive numbers didn't jump off the page during the

seating phases, around fourteen points per game. But I kind of looked right at that three point shooting percentage, which was roughly forty three percent. So yeah, I think to me, I test passed actually based on how he did. And quickly remember the very first game that Tatum played. I don't remember if it was a scrimmage or the first game of the seating games, where he was terrible. He performed terribly and you know, make fun of the haircut or whatever it was, right, we had to shave his

hair and get back to his normal self. But once he got back to his normal self, that's when we saw him start to become the All Star Jason Tatum that we were accustomed to see him throughout the season, except for when they played the seventy six or during a regular season. Yeah, that first game against the Bucks. I don't think was super indicative of what Jason Tatum

has been doing and can do. He's been such a revelation and it was cool to hear Al Horford talk about the way that he's seen Tatum grow even in the time that Horford has left the Celtics. That's someone that he says he took under his wing while he was in Boston. So separate as much as we can separate the Celtics from the Celtics that we're playing in

the playoffs. Jason Tatum has been fantastic and he's going to be someone that the group is going to have to contain, especially, like you said, while Kemba Walker's numbers are a little lower, obviously we have to consider the fact that he's playing without nagging knee injury. But Kemba is someone that does rise to the occasion, and as we all talked about a little bit earlier today, he's hungry. He's looking for an opportunity now that he's in Boston,

now that he's playing with a serious contender. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Kemba show some really special stuff once the playoffs begin. Guys, I'm gonna switch some things up on the fly to let the people in out there with some inside or insight. On our pre podcast production meeting, I was like, well, do we go position by position in sequential order and take a look

at the series through that lens? Do we then run down the Sixers players, give some reason of them individually, and then do the same for Boston scrapping both those ideas, Let's just focus on what the key storylines are for this series and I have the utmost confidence in the two of you that we will be able to cover all of the aforementioned material. I just said, so I love it. Biggest storyline I think is the big Man. Is there anyone on the Boston Celtics who can contain

Joel Embiid? Daniel Tys is a very good defender for who he is, and I give him credit of course, being the way that they are built the Boston Celtics. He fits with what they do, very low maintenance in terms of wanting needing the basketball to be have an impact and be successful for what they do. But defensively, yes, this is his role to defend Joel Ebid. When we talk about in bid though as good as Tys may be as a defender for the team, and they're gonna

do it as a team collectively. It's not just gonna be Daniel Tys and its cancer. You will see a lot of double teams come the way, come the way for Joel Eenbid. That being said, he has had some great success against them this season. He is the best player in the series in this series against the Boston Celtics, and I expect him at his best to give us exactly what we want to see from your franchise player in a seven game first round matchup against a team

that you know very well. They know you very well from playing in the same division. They will throw some different looks at him, but I still ultimately believe that he will have enough success for him individually to impact the game, where the Sixes then have to do other things to come away with the victories. Well, Javan, you narrowly beat me to the punch there. But Selts ask can anyone defend Joel Embiid And my answer was also going to be negative. We know that Joel is hungry.

If we look back at the last ending of the playoffs, obviously it's still painful to remember Kawai's shot and the way that Joel took that shot personally, But he's hungry. He's ready to prove himself in this type of situation. So, as we discussed before the Bubble Games even started, if Joel is healthy and hungry, the Celtics are going to have problems. He's had success against Tice. Like you said, Robert Williams hasn't been a good match for him, and

it's Cantor hasn't been a good match for him. And they're going to throw all those guys together separately at Joel Embiid and try to make something happen. But if Joel is firing, they're not going to have an answer for him. So hopefully Joel can come in and be that guy that plays with the chip on his shoulder, that plays wanting to sort of avenge last season's ending, and Celtics are going to have a lot of problems

if he does. Guy. It's one of the many things that I love about the playoffs is that it's truth sermon time. We find out if all the things we've heard about and discussed and seen from the regular season actually translates, and going back to you would probably be able to find evidence of this even before the Sixers gathered for training camp. What was the regular season all about for Joel Embiid? It was about getting him ready

for the playoffs. So between the different stuff that he has talked about as far as his own mental psyche during the regular season, when the switch was on when it might not have quite been there. It's the playoffs now, and now we're going to find out if the holistic approach for the Sixers was what Joel needed to get ready for the playoffs. And I think that's going to be fascinating to see. This is a rivalry right off the bat where I think he should be pumped up for.

I know this is something to divide. We could probably do a podcast d about this subject entirely. Maybe we can set the date on the calendar and do it on the anniversary of one of these two games. What has been the best game in Joel Embiad's career? I know you say, I think it was November seventeenth, two thousand and seventeen, whatever it was at Staples Center against Characters. I might I go back and forth, but I think that I would put it if I had to give

it the edge December December twelve, Thank you. I was going to guess either second or twelve. I knew there was a two in there. December twelfth, a TD garden where Joel was just getting bashed and thrown around by Charles and Kenny the NBA on TNT. He was put on the spot by the media talking about his leadership and his engagement before the game of the Garden, and then he came out and he helped lead the Sixers to a six point road win at Boston, and he

finished with thirty eight thirteen and six. Yep, No, a tremendous game for him individually. Defensively, they did your part as a team, Ben Simmons as well, where they're four key scorers twenty nine for Kimba Walker, but you're talking about nineteen for Hayward, fifteen Tatum, eight for Jalen Brown on another tough shooting night, three of nine from the floor. But yes, thirty eight, thirteen and six in that game, that victory on the road in a tough environment in Boston.

We've seen them struggle, We've seen him struggle, and he came away very very impressively in that game. So I agree with you now we know there is no TV garden. The only thing that we're going to see are the things that of course going to be on that big screen surrounding the arena in the bubble, and the logos on the floor that will say whatever they say, Boston and whatever their sponsor is at this point. But you're right, man,

he was fantastic in that game. And while we can go through the Laker game in twenty eighteen, and we can go through this Celtics game here in nineteen, but this is the type of performance that we are expecting or wanting to at least see Joel and B. This is on him number one, because he's the franchise player.

You number two guy is. He's not there anymore, so all eyes will be on him and he will certainly get not only a lot of attention from us on the outside, but on that floor in between those lines at ninety four feet, there will be a lot of attention surrounding Joel and B. Let's see if you can put up some dominating numbers. Again, we mentioned the absence

of that number two guy. It's worth noting that on December twelfth, the six or second most productive player was Tobias Harris, and he had a great game, finishing with twenty three, eight and seven, which sort of seems just like clockwork for Tobias at this point, he's always somewhere in that range. When we think about the fact that now he's going to have to continue being that second leading score, there's a lot of pressure on Tobias Harris too.

I'm sure that's another topic that we're going to cover in a little bit, but I just thought it was worth noting that Joel and Tobias played really well together in that big game. And like you said, Selts, that was the game where Charles Barkley, the national media a lot of people giving Joel a lot of flack, and as we know, the media likes to kick up more of a storm as we do as well for the playoffs. So what I have to say is I hope the media keeps it coming for Joel because he feeds off

of that. He wants that, he needs that. So if anyone wants to throw stones, now is the time, because Joel Embiid will respond to the way that he did when they played in Boston on December twelve. I mean to admit something, there's a part of me that really loves going on the road and knock on wood been fortunate enough to do this a couple of times and being in the road element, especially obviously for the postseason. But the atmosphere in Boston, much like it is in

Toronto even in the regular season. It's outstanding, and I am grateful that there's going to be basketball. I am also really going to miss the fact that this series can't be played in front of the fans. So I just hope that all that like juju that everyone out there wants to feel if you wish you could go to a game or go to a watch party, somehow in your own special way, you're able to recreate that, because I mean, we know how awesome this would be

if fans were involved. You can comment on that and if you want. But before we move off, Joel and Bead, I'm gonna throw this out there and anyone can respond to this. Would you be surprised if, at some point this series we saw perhaps in his Canton or get put into the Boston starting lineup, depending I don't want to get too far ahead, depending on how things go with Daniel Tis. I mean Cana. I mean I think back to that game of the Garden a few years ago when Canneron and Bead went at it. They had

a pretty good matchup. Would we be surprised to see that development at all, or even if Tye stays as a starter, that Cannor gets heavy minutes on Joel not at all. Celts that's some and its Cantor has given Joel problems here and there in the past, and that's a weapon that they have if things aren't going well with Tyson. We have to consider the fact. But they're going to see a lot of looks with Joel and beat and alf Warford out there together, so you never

know what they're going to do. Obviously, you don't expect Boston to totally reconfigure their starting lineup. That's worked quite well for them at this point. But you never know if they're going to throw it another big body out there to try to come out the Sixers size if they eat it. I agree with you, Lauren and the

part of it. I don't remember how long or if the Sixers played the Portland Trailblazers when Cantu was there, but from the Celtics time this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder run of course during his career there with Oklahoma City, he has caused some problems, some fits. If you will afford dwell MB, and we know it's not necessarily defensively, it's offensively where he has great footwork, he has great touch. His offensive rebounding is tremendous. His rebounding overall against him

has been very good. So if they struggle, which it will see because they have a lot of really good scores, if they struggle with that starting lineup of their four guys plus Daniel Tye and they're scoring is an issue with the starting group, then maybe quite possibly will see that Robert Williams will they do something there, even though MB will simply overpower him, but moving up and down the floor, this guy's like a gazelle at the center position,

Robert Williams running and rim the rim and being able to fill that lane get into position for lobs or layups as well. So curious to see what Brad Stevens would do there. And I also wanted to say this

about him be before we move on. Is that speaking to you guys on sixers dot Com during the hiatus where he said, you know, this is my time and right now This is certainly his time, So whether it's the opposition making changes because of him, or figuring things out how to defend the team, overall, this is certainly going to be Joel and Bad's time, and those words cannot be truer than right now. Completely agree with you

guys on off fronts, but especially on that point. Divine the next big storyline, of course, I think you have to go to Jason Tatum from the Boston Celtics and what the seventy Sixers will do against him. We have talked a lot already and you certainly won't be able to ignore. It's going to be something that's probably gonna be referenced throughout the series, depending on how it goes.

The fact that the Sixers will not have Ben Simmons Jason Tatum before the restart, averaging around twenty three and a half points per game shout forty five percent from

the field. Ben Simmons guard him for about twenty five total minutes over the four games the Sixers and the Celtics played with each other, and during those stretches, according to this is to the NBA dot Com stat data, Tatum was held to five or sixteen, which says something, but I think if you watch those games, you could just see how effective Ben Simmons was in defending Jason Tatum taking the lead on that And now, as we discussed, it might probably be someone like Tobias Harris who's going

to be called into duty on that front. Well, and luckily, Tobias has been so focused on defense this year and defending Tatum it almost feels like one of those matchups where you can't stop him, but you can slow him down. And Tobias is taking a lot of pride in the way that he's defending, so hopefully this is an opportunity for him to showcase those skills. Brett Brown also mentioned that there will be a rotation of folks that are

assigned to defending guys like Jayson Tatum Jalen Brown. So obviously we're going to be looking for big performances from a guy who obviously a little bit smaller, but a great defender like Josh Richardson or Matisse Stible with that length that he has. So it's probably, I think, going to be defense by committee, but like you said, a lot of that the leader of that committee might end up being Tobias Harris. Who has worked really hard on

this craft, specifically for these moments. Yeah, this is a step that he's talked about from the off season when he resigned with the seventy six ers, stating that defensively, he didn't want to be just a guy out there. He wanted to prove that yes he can score, but he can also defend and not be the one that everybody searches for on that end. And now that Ben Simmons is out, He's going to take on that key responsibility probably of either Brown or Tatum and see where

things go from there. So this is a matchup that I'm going to have my eye on as well, just like you two guys are. And look, no one wants to see anyone get injured. But if Jason Tatum is being honest, he's wiping his forehead saying, man, I get away from from Ben Simmons for a series. Is It's not a bad thing because Simmons did a tremendous job on Jason Tatum. When I just look at the first three wins that they had, Tatum was eight of twenty two in Game one, five of eighteen in Game two,

and four of thirteen in Game number three. All wins for the seventy six is the Celtics picking up the final victory in their fourth game this season, and he did a fantastic job against him, Lauren, As you mentioned, you can't stop these type of players. You can only hope to slow them down and just make things difficult for them, not allow the looks to be so easy for them out there on the floor. So Tobias Harris has a big challenge against him, and let's see what

he has defensively in store for Jason Tatum. I mean what you just talked about Devon. That was kind of thing in the Toronto series last year, right in respect to Kwhi Leonard, you couldn't totally slow him down. But I think at the end of it, regardless of the numbers that Kawai put up, everyone said that Ben Simmons

totally acquitted himself defending a player of Kawai's caliber. So I think for me, when I'm looking at this, at least through the defensive lens, for what Tobias Harris can do in this series or whoever ends up on him, regardless of who's out there on the floor, just obviously make it as difficult as you possibly can, and not let him get into a groove unearned, make him earn whatever rhythm or groove that he could get into because

he is that good. Is there any area that you guys have seen out of him where you feel like he's talking about Tatum taking his game to a different level this season defensively, defensively being in conversation for an All NBA defensive team coming in again, He's a scorer, That's what he is. And yes he can be a mid range killer. He has certainly improved his range from behind a three point line. But I think one of the things that under has not looked at as one

of his strengths now is his defense. He has improved in his time in the NBA now as a defender. So I know most people are going to go offense, but for me, guys, I'm going to go defense. Then, when speaking about offense on the offensive side of the ball, for Tobias Harris, bring the conversation back to him. Sixers, leading scorer in the bubble, just over twenty one and a half points per game, shot forty six and a half percent from the field. Three point numbers were really strong.

He was forty one percent out there increasingly got the line down the final few games, rebounded really well distributed. I thought he played on balance, very solid basketball in the seating games. He got a vote for the All Seating Game team, for whatever that means. But Tobias this is and I agree with you, guys, I think that

he would tell you the same thing as well. This is a big moment for him, not just defending Jason Tatum, but in a series with Ben Simmons being down, you have Joel Embiid, which we've established, but after that, people are going to look at Tobias Harris well. In the last few years set even before Tobias joined the seventy six ers, he's been really committed to proving himself, to betting on himself, just proving to everyone that he can show up that he is a All Star caliber player.

So I would argue maybe he should already be an All Star. And this is the perfect opportunity for Tobias to step up in the way that he wants to, especially without Ben Simmons, to show that he is that All Star, that he is, that max player that he

knows he is. It's just time to show the world and this is the perfect, perfect chance for him to do it, and last season joining the club after the trade with Butler, Reddit Harris Simmons and Harris will look at it and probably think, of course, some people that you know he was more of the fifth option. This role wasn't necessarily established. He was too good to be a fifth option, Lauren, as you talk about betting on himself.

And now the role is clearly defined. He's the second guy that you're going to look too offensively for the seventy sixers. You may go Horford second to and be defensively, but he has a big, big responsibility on his hands defensively. But now the role is cemented as to what he is for this team on the offensive and it has

flat out score the basketball. So if he wants to continue that trend of the twenty one and a half that he's averaging side the bubble, this is now the time to do that and up with a few more point we sentage points as well. There are plenty other talented players in this series with talking about We will do that in just a moment, but before we do, listen, if you want to win, there's only one place to go.

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You've got to be twenty one or older to play. If you've got a gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler, it's PA dot Parks Casino dot com. Parks Casino, the official winning partner of the seventy Sixers. When we think, guys, about the different things that make a rivalry great, there's the pedi you are there for the Sixers and the Celtics. That's already been built up by the forefathers of today's

NBA players. But what's making this even better this year is that, much like the case two years ago, you do have star power on each of these teams that only heightens the intensity. You would think of rivalry and there's so many talented players in this series. And a new entry to the mix who was not with Boston a couple of years ago, was of course All Star Kemba Walker. This is his shot, his chance kind of in the same vein to a certain degree as Tobias Harris,

where now you're on a legit contending team. You've talked about wanting to deliver in the playoffs. This is your opportunity. And I think Kim is really good guys, not that it means much coming from me, but he has obviously got a lot of talent. This was a great acquisition in the offseason by the Celtics, someone who is and Lauren, you can say, lad, I don't want steal anything that you said earlier show pre podcast taping about the guy

just being a great teammate. And he has had some time with these players before the season got underway at the Olympics for Team USA. He had, of course the season overall another All Star appearance for him, and the knee injuries started to nag him. But when the lights are on, we've seen it through college, his professional career, and this guy can play. This guy is really really good. One of the top point guards in the game, one of the top scoring point guards as well in the game.

And he may not have to shoulder the load like he had to before and his former home of residence with the Charlotte Hornets, but right now, yeah, you have to definitely pay attention to what he does on the offensive end as a scorer for the Boston Celtics. This guy can get it up. He can fill it up

at any given time. We saw it with the Charlotte Hornets last season, not this season, last season eighteen nineteen when he erupted for what was it sales sixty points against the Sixers and almost had fifty and another one. So yeah, he has success against his basketball team. And you even think of the second and third games between these two teams this year when Kemba went for twenty nine and he had eight assists in Game two, and then he and Josh Richardson had a pretty good back

and forth in Game three. Kemba finished with twenty six Richardson with twenty nine points in that game. So even

this season, we certainly saw his firepower on full display. Well, Celts, it's exactly the game that I was going to cite the way that he went back and forth with Josh quite a bit, and that's something that we could see again, there's never been a better time for Josh to be recently coming off of a tying a season high or no, it was a season high his season high game with the Sixers thirty four points against the Portland Trailblazer, So that'll be something interesting. But I just wanted to chime

in real quick about Kemba. Obviously, I am loyal to the Sixers, and I hope I don't have to say that at this point on the podcast, But Kemba deserves a lot of credit for just being such a stand up guy. He has one of the best reputations in the league. He stays after he signs autographs. He was in a tough situation with Charlotte, and he never talked about how tough that situation was. So credit where credit is due to Kemba for just keeping his head down,

working hard, being productive even on a bad team. And now, like you guys said, on a good team. This guy's kind of the limit. For this guy, and he also not, unlike Joel Embiid, is going to come into this series with something to prove. So He's definitely someone to look out for. If I had to guess, I'd say he's going to be dangerous. But luckily, the Sixers have some pretty good defenders on their roster, even in the absence

of Ben Simmons. So I think this is going to be a really key matchup when we look to try to defend Kemba Walker as a Sixers team. And I saw the quote from him, I believe it was Saturday where he pointed out, Hey, I just cannot get rid

of Josh Josh Richardson. He's speaking of you know where they played the Charlotte Horners will play the Miami Heat in the postseason, and they've had their battles, of course playing over the years, and I'm sure we'll see plenty of those two guys paired up against one another throughout

this series. Big series obviously for Josh Richardson, two new spot with seventy Sixers, and I would think you guys can correct me if you think I'm wrong, but he will probably at least in the beginning draw the lines share of the defense on Kemba Walker. Maybe we'd see Shake Milton on someone else, perhaps a Gordon Hayward that sort of thing. But Josh Richardson, I think he had a solid few games inside the bubble and this is this is going to be an important time for him

as well. I think the Sixers come into this year really valued his fit, what he could do on both ends of the court. And we know that he has had playoff experience with Miami Heat in the past, but not quite at this level, and he's going to be

thrust in the spotlight in a big prime matchup. Well, it's interesting what Devon said about Tobias Harris last year, how we ended up sort of back fourth or fifth option, didn't quite get enough touches to really shine in the situation that Tobias was in last year, And it's almost like found himself in a similar situation. He's a new guy on the team. We know he can be productive, we know how good he was in Miami, but he's playing sort of behind a lot of primary options. So

obviously we've said this a million times. You never want to lose Ben Simmons, But in losing Ben Simmons, it's opened the door for Josh Richardson to get some more touches, to have some plays run, for him to really show

what he's got on a big stage. So I almost see Josh this year in the same situation that Tobias was in last year, and hopefully he can rise to the occasion and work off that momentum that he started to build in these seating games, and hopefully these games that he's had the outburst that he had against the Portland Trailblazers, playing steady offensively will give him not only him the confidence to go out there and again try to duplicate what he did in that way, maybe not

to the tune of thirty four but efficiently good shooting confidence, but also the coaching stand to draw those to call his number when the opportunity presents itself for him to also continue if he gets hot with a few of those jump those layups and gets into free to a line as well finishing in transition, that they call his number and give him some opportunity because they're gonna need every bit of scoring possible losing the seventeen and of

course the assist from Ben Simmons and every outing. So this is why you got him in the deal in the off season to come out here not only defensively, but now when the opportunity is presented himself offensively as well. Yeah, the best part about this series is like, well, we talked about this guy, that guy, the other guy. Oh, and there's still so and so and so and so

and so and so who we haven't discussed yet. And some of those so and sos are Jalen Brown for the Celtics and Gordon Hayward and for the seventy Sixers. You throw al Horford's name in there, absolutely and shake Milton. He's going through something like this for the first time in his elevated rolebot. Let's let's go back to Jalen Brown and Gordon Hayward for the Celtics. What to expect from them? I mean, Jalen did not play well against the Sixers until that final game in the four game

series that Boston won at TD Garden. Through his first three games, he only scored a combined twenty two points and he seemed totally out of it. Yep, eight points,

eight points and six points. Couldn't find it. And a lot of that was due to the defense team defensively as well, for sure, but definitely al Horfor with what he was able to do defensively against Jalen Brown, and he played very well inside the bubble also, so you would have to think confidence wise with somebody who has some momentum coming into the start of their playoff series.

He's gonna come out here and yeah, they'll point out the bad things that he did against the team during the regular season, but they're going to focus on what he has done as of late, and he has performed very very well. This matchup I have my eye on as well because pride wise, as someone especially Al horfor being a former teammate, he knows their games. So knowing their games, how much is that going to help? They've

developed and improved from a year ago? Those players, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, So what does that do for Al Horford? He knows their tricks, but they may not have new tricks now. So watching film is going to be important. The coaching, the assistant coaches that have the knowledge and the scouttering report of course, is what these players do well and what they have done so far very well

is going to be key for their success. And Jalen Brown has turned himself into a very very good player that just coming in being an athlete and defender, he can now score at a very high clip, and the Sixers did a really good job against Jalen Brown in those first three games. But it's also worth noting that Jalen really found his stride towards the end of the season, and the Sixers haven't played the Celtics since February first.

That's just wild. And obviously the hiatus affects every matchup that's going into these playoffs, but a lot can change in six seven months, so to a certain extent, we're still yet to see exactly how these teams match up six months later. I mean we saw it obviously, Bensimon is no longer in the lineup, but we've seen a lot of guys. Bodies change and their skills are changing. Some of them are getting better, some of them look winded, and so you never know how that matchup is going

to shift all this time later. But yeah, Brown is not to be underestimated. He was so good at the end of the season, and I don't know he could give some trouble to these Celtics have a lot of weapons, like you said at the very beginning of the show, and emiliary guys of Gordon Hayward. He had a couple of good games against the Sixers the start of the season. His last two weren't quite at the same level as the first two games in the regular season series, but

he played well in the seeding games. He played all but one of them, and there's a lot of things that he does well and divine. We were talking about this before we hit record on the old podcast, but it's like, you know, there's certain guys that perhaps draw your first line of attention, your primary attension, and then well oops, if there's someone like Gordon Hayward who's just they're waiting in the wings, I mean, he's he's excellent, you know, And that's like I kind of felt the

start of his time with Boston. The national view is like, well,

when are you going to see the payoff? And I feel like, while the numbers may not be explosive, that he puts up kind of what at the level we saw when he left Utah, he still fills the gaps and that's probably doing him in disservice really really well and can jump in where you need him depending on what's going on and the attention being drawn by the other guys who are out there, You're a problem to have, right to have a former All Star on your team, and we know that things change once he had the

devastating injury to start off his Celtics career in Cleveland with the leg problem that has now existed, and he's overcome that and he's trying to really get back into that form. But we've seen that form quite a few times, like the twenty five points that he had in Game one, even though it was the Sixers win, he played well. Game two, as you said nineteen, he still played well and struggled down the stretch. Now when you look at that one in the matchup with the Sixers, who's it

going to be? Is it going to be someone like Shake Milton? If Josh Richardson is going to be defending Kemba Walker, does that cross match now mean that Shake Milton is going to be on Gordon Hayward? Are his eyes going to light up with a young player opposite him defensively and maybe not even known really as a defender, albeit the great wingspan six four or six five in height. Gordon Hayward is going to be someone again on that scattering report that we're going to have to pay attention

to and see. You cannot let him get going, because if he gets going and the others are getting going, it could be a long night for the opposition. So, yes, a good problem to have for the Boston Celtics when you have that level of talent so far down the line, if you will, with all due respect in terms of the focus of the offensive output. Having worked through now, the Boston starting lineup is Gordon Hayward the X factor

to you, guys, great question. Yes, okay, all right, so there's an answer which kind of segues into the next point I was going to bring up when we start talking about a few of the reserves that these teams have. I feel like Boston almost has like a six man starting lineup because Marcus Smart is someone who can jump in there if needed, depending on scenario or depth player health, and I would put I think, for me, it's either Gordon Hayward or Marcus Smart when I look at X factors.

That's my kind of non committal answer to your question, But go ahead, d The only reason I would lean the only reason I would lean Hayward is because I think that Marcus Smart's role is clearly more defined as the sixth man, and that sixth starter knowing who he is and what he provides for you. I mean, this guy is a All NBA defender, first team as the reserve, and that's because he's that sixth starter, and that is basically because you have to have a big man in

the starting line. We know if it was just what it was and they went to Houston Rockets route, that Marcus Smart will be starting for the Boston Sucks because that's how important he is. So I think his role is way more defined where the flow of the game dictates what Gordon Hayward's role is on any given night, because he is such a good score. Because the importance of him coming in via the free agency, a big

freezer to pick up the injury that follows. That's why I lean more Gordon Hayward because first and foremost is going to be stopping Tatum Brown Walker and then you get to Gordon Hayward again, no disrespect, that's just how it is. That's how stacked they are offensively for this team.

I think something too, is when we're talking about someone like a Marcus Smart, he's a guy who is certainly a little bit farther along and being established where you could describe him in terms of being like a sixth starter, where I think there are some guys in the sixers right now who maybe this time next year or the year after that could fall into that category, whether it's someone like a fur Con cork Mase or a Matisse Styble, but just maybe aren't quite far along as some of

the members of this Boston courre. And the thing about Smart is like when you look at his numbers, he shoots below the league average, but as we saw even this season, when he catches the wave, it can go and he could win you a playoff game potentially. And I think to the sixer side of that, we've seen two guys in Alec Burks and Furkon Korkmis who could also fill that same type of role where I think hopefully for them they can build upon the good that

they did yes during the regular season. For Burke's whether it was in Golden State where he was having a career year or when he joined the seventy sixers, or fur Coon Korkmise, who took another step this year, that those are two guys where if you if you're getting what you get out of the guys, you know what you typically get from that those are two guys, and talking about Burks and Korkmas for the Sixers that you know that they give you something a little bit more

and that could put you over the hump in a game. That's for sure ourselves the Sixers sort of six the man by committee situation that they've had is going to be really interesting. And over the last few games, of course, it's looked like Alec Burks is the guy that's going to be that spark plug off the bench that comes in and just makes magic happen. But we saw Kurkon Quorkmase do the same thing this year, even Mattie Stibel

a little bit. So it's nice to see that the Sixers have a group that can contribute that sort of thing.

But you want to make sure you can count on that group if it's going to be a by MIDI situation for the Reserves, you want to make sure that it's a group that's being consistently productive and is put in a position to highlight their strengths, because obviously, when you talk about those three in Burke's Quirkmisin Bible, they all have different strengths and they can all be really useful in a series like this, So it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out minutes wise among that group.

That's a really great player, all of them combine Burke's quark, mos stiable right, the shooting, the defense, the ball handling and scoring punch. That would be fantastic to get the best of each one of those those players when they do come in, And you're right, Lauren, the options that Brown has this is going to be very very telling because Quirk Moiles is going to come in with his skill set of shooting, some playmaking. How will he fare

on the defensive end when Alec Burks comes in. Let's say if he is the first one to come in, he paired up with Marcus Smart, how that's going to play out with the top defender with the defend Alec Birks with one of his strengths, and certainly the Tista was a young player. Yes he's gotten this bubble experience. But playoffs of the playoffs, and I know the playoffs are the playoffs is self mentioned earlier outside of the TV Garden, But the playoffs are the playoffs in the

intensity really really picks up. How is he going to respond? Will he be able to knock down some shots to go along with his defensive acumen that we already know, and maybe maybe maybe playoff of the confidence and success that he had against the Celtics throughout the year with what he did defensively and not get rattled. Absolutely devon.

But I also want to say no disrespect we talk about Bible, corks, burks, sort of those first three options as it seems today, whatever day it is, August sixteenth, But that's no disrespect to a guy like Glenn Robinson the third who's been dealing with that hip pointer, to a guy like Mike Scott and even Howell Netto who

were both so good in those seating games. So I don't know if it's if it's an embarrassment of riches or if it's a problem to try to figure out how to whittle down that group, but it'll be interesting to see. I know we probably want to get a little deeper on a guy like Burkes. Talk more about Bible, talk more about cork munks, but shout out to those guys too, because they really did prove themselves in these seating games as available options that can be productive in

a bind producing this one thing. It's also then showing that you are ready, and I think that not to boil it down to something even more simplistic. When there was a need there for them in the seating games, Brett Brown went to them and they did what they did. They produced, which, going back to what we talked about at the start, all the more reason for them to feel confident in the Sixers, to feel confident in them

going into the playoffs. I think we are nearing the end of our checklist for different layers of the series. I do think that whole Nato has earned the opportunity to be given a look at some point if needed. I'm not necessarily sure how high you should be in the rotation, but he's piqued interest enough and he performed well enough that I think if you're in a certain type of spot, maybe you give him a shot. See what he can do lightning in a bottle situation, anything else.

I'm going to yield the floor to you, guys that you think we have not given enough attention yet as we begin to wrap up our dissection of all things Sixers and Celtics Celts, do you feel that we gave enough time or credit to the difference that Al Horford can make in this series. No, I'm glad you mentioned that because I do have one item circled on my sheet right here, and it's Al plus Joe together circle.

And I think that that was something that really became It was obviously a question that underscored the entire season, but when Ben Simmons went down with his injury in the bubble, what would it look like with the two of them together. I think by all accounts they did pretty well together in appairing and also when playing separately.

And yes, the seventy sixers part of their investment, A large part of their investment, I would think in al Horford was what you're going to do this time of year, How is his veteran savviny experience going to play at this time of year? And wouldn't you know it's his old team for the last three years that he's going

to go up against in that first round. Well, what I was going to say about al Celts is he looks better now than he has all season, I think, and I don't think that that's really up for debate. He is rounding into form and he's even said it himself, this is the healthiest he's felt this is the sharpest he's felt since being in Philadelphia. So all signs point to the fact that he is going to peak this season in the playoffs, which is what we're accustomed to

seeing from a guy like Al Horford. And then we have to talk about the fact that he's a bit of insurance when Joel is off the court. Obviously, if they start together, we might not see that quite as often. But as we talked about, with a guy like Mike Scott really rounding into form, you never know when you're going to see them get separated and have Al Horford come in as that backup for Joel Embiid, which is what the Sixers were really lacking in the playoffs lack season.

So you would hope that they'll continue to play well together, but in relief of Joel as well. That gives second units a lot of problems. If Al Horford is going to come out sharp and play against perhaps not your starting lineup if you're the Celtics, and being that it is his former team, the little subtle nuances of what the Celtics do. They're going to change a lot of things, of course, but they are who they are and he was there for a lot of they are who they are,

so he'll still know some things that they do. They'll change some of those things around, of course, but at the end of the day, it is basketball. He knows them very well. What's the counter going to be if he needs some help things of that nature, how is it going to flow? What's you know, can he get in the head of if you will, Brad Stevens and those guys and then cause them some problems just because of his great IQ of the game and the great

IQ of the Boston Celtics. Just simply pointing out again little subtle things that will be a benefit for the seventy Sixers and hopefully a negative for the Boston Celtics. Yeah, even just as like a fan of the game myself, I'm so curious about how Al Horford's relationship with Brad

Stevens can move in the sixers favor in this series. Obviously, I've never played in the NBA for a multitude of reasons, but you have to imagine that if you play under someone like Stevens, and I think that it's it's pretty clear that Horford and Stevens had a good relationship and even collaborated together in a lot of big moments such as the playoffs. How much can that sort of sway the Sixers advantage when it comes to plays after time out,

it's plays late in games. Does Al Horford know sort of where Stevens is going to lean in certain situations? I think that could be a really interesting sort of sub storyline in this series, Like if you have one team who had a player with his foot on the line in the corner and a long jump shot and then you need an inbounds play to win a game to take a commanding advantage of the series, those types of situations. Oh yeah, good time. All right, We do it on the podcast here each and every week. Did

you hear? As we begin to wrap up this series preview episode between the seventy Sixers and the Celtics, I will say as we segue and combined our two segments, the first one and this one, Lauren someone who I feel like we did not give enough attention to young Watise Thyble, So I will yield to you and set us up for did you hear? Sure? Soful? My? Did

you hear? This week? Was Brett Brown talking about Matisse's Bible following the team's last Seaton game against Houston, I asked coach Brown how useful Matifs can be in Ben Simmons's absence and how much he trusts Matif after he's shown the growth that he's shown so far this season. The aspect of his game defensively that has impressed me the most is there is I think I labeled him a reckless thief at the start of the year as the season has unfolded, and that now is the playoffs

are right in front of us. Just the crazy swipes and a foul being lifted off the floor with just a subtle up fake and Matisse jumps and some really good player like jumps into him and gets three free throws. He hasn't been doing that, Like his heart is completely in the right place. And then you take the physical gifts in his length, in his instants, and if you combine that with like intellect of NBA sort of scouting,

you got it all. And I feel like he has really settled down as far as being able to be bounced around. To Jim, I think that he's he's been leveled and he's thinking he's not as emotional and he's going to be huge. He really can't. I can't understate that he is going to be huge as a defensive requirement, especially since you don't have been with the great wing plays the Celtics have in the upcoming series, he's going

to be He's going to assume a massive role. So, like Coach Brown said, especially when you don't have been, a guy like Matise can play a really big role. Obviously, we see his steals. We've almost become used to him getting two three steals at night and that'll be crucial against the Celtics team. But those deflections too, He's consistently the leader in deflections. He's so pusky he can get

under even really good player's skin. And it'll be interesting to see how he's grown since that first matchup against

the Celtics on October twenty third. Mattie still calls that his favorite or most memorable game of his rookie season, and a lot of that is due in part to the back and forth that he had with Kemba Walker and the way that Kemba was able to get him to bite and makes them maybe not I don't want to say immature, but like younger fouls, younger mistakes that Brett Brown has talked about, and then as the game went on, Matisse was able to get him back with a couple blocks and they had a bit of an

exchange of words together. And Matisse really really respects Kemba, He respects the situation, he respects the game. So this should be a really cool opportunity for him to show that growth that Brett Brown is really proud of. I'm excited. I'm excited to see what Matisse Thyble as he wraps up his first full professional season does on the playoff stage. He obviously has a tremendous head on his shoulders, and I'm really looking forward to see how he factors into

the series. See what'd you hear? What I heard was from Tobias Harris during the final games of the Bubble, speaking about the chemistry and the camaraderie that the team has built, of course during this time and seeing the difference in these guys together both off the floor and on the floor. I think our chemistry is, um, you know, really good right now, an all time high. Um. We're here, We're around each other daily, you know, every every day we pretty much get to see one another. Um, and

when we're playing, we're continuing to find our flow. I think, you know, we played in games where we've had some guys we haven't you know, even um last game we had with myself, Joel al and Jay rich sitting out. You know, we're coming together. We're seeing different guys step

up because we know we're gonna need everyone tonight. Um, you know, whether it's us out, they're playing fourth quarter, we're letting the second unit kind of handle business, and you know, we we're just bonding and that's a great thing about this time together as team, and we truly understand that when playoffs come, you know, with our team and our depth, that's going to be needed throughout throughout

our run. And that's important. Even when Ben Simmons went down, Especially when Ben Simmons went down, I noticed a lot of communication from We've seen it from Tobias Harris, Al Horford, even Josh Richardson doing a regular season, but Joel Embid, just as we talked about small, little subtle things, whether it be Al Horford with a quick touch pass, receiving the ball at a high low trying to hit him Bed who was being fronted by his defender to get

a quick catch. So the double team is not allowed to come over for a layup or dunk, foul, whatever it might be. There was one that pointed out against the Houston Rockets where the ball was sailed out of bounds, but instead of seeing and be frustrated maybe sulking or upset with the fact that it was a turnover and missed opportunity for him to get a bucket, he looked at him, pointed at Al Horford patted himself when the chest,

basically saying, I see what you did there. So those little things like that are going to be very important for this basketball team to not blame one another. Turnovers happened. Their turnover numbers have been down, which is tremendous. Love

to see it. But things like that are going to happen, especially with a good defensive team like the Boston Celtics, and for them to have that and a leader liked to Bias Harris to openly shared that with the rest of us, that their communication and their chemistry overall has has picked up being inside the bubble because this is all that they have. I love to hear that, and I hope that that carries over into the first round

of the playoffs and beyond what did I hear? I heard Al Horford looking ahead to a postseason matchup against his now second former team, the Boston Celtics. It's part of the business, you know, obviously, it's you know, we've already played them plenty of times this year, so that effect is kind of out of the way, so now we can just you know, go out during compete and

should be a fun series. We can all agree that Al Horford is a valuable player who does valuable things, and it's understandable why any team on the NBA would want to have him. I was really encouraged by some of the stuff that we saw in the bubble after Ben Simmons went down to injury. I thought Al played really really well, shot terrifically from outside the arc. So pick and pop. You look at Al Horford right there,

he seems to be in a rhythm. I think he showed more than at least to what I thought based on his comments going into the bubble kind of made it sound initially like he was just going to gradually

get ready for the time the playoffs started. I thought he was ready to go from the jump, and he helps set the tone for the Sixers and as we've all seen firsthand going back to two years ago, he can do things defensively that take away a really good scoring option on your team, and the Sixers will need that type of presence as they go up against Boston. So I'm excited to see how al Horford plays into

the series. I think it'll just add yet another subplot to it is already a great rivalry last but not least around the league. Any final closing thoughts on something I don't know. It could be something related to the

sexture that we haven't talked about yet, or something else. Well, look, every time we've gone around the league, I've gone with the bottom of the West, and the bottom of the West is now set, obviously, with the Portland Trailblazers fighting and calling their way into the first round matchup against the Lakers, which honestly could be a little bit more interesting than maybe your average one eight matchup with the weeks or series of games that Damian Lillard has had.

But I think this week I'd like to give credit where credit is due to a team like the Memphis Grizzlies, who way overperformed expectations in the regular season, fighting their way into that eight seed before the hiatus, and then obviously into the play in game that was on Saturday. And then I'd also like to give some credit to the Phoenix Suns who came to the bubble and did

absolutely everything they could do. You can't do better than eight and o inside the bubble, and they were this close to controlling their own destiny, but not quite there. And I think between teams like the Grizzlies and the Suns, there are a lot of fun young teams out there in the league that are going to be contenders for

years to come. So even if it was just an appetizer to sort of see what's to come from teams like the Grizzlies like the Suns, it was really cool to see them sort of show out as much as they could. Obviously, the Grizzlies during the regular season and the Suns in the bubble. So props to those two teams. And we'll see what happens with the Blazers moving forward, because it's been Dame time for about a week and a half now. Yes, I have to have a conversation

with Karis la Bert. I don't know I was I have to have a conversation why not take them off the dribble. You have the you're rolling last shot. But yeah, I hear you, so sales of you don't mind if I can jump in and give my what we heard, of course from around the league. I'll stick with the Western Conference and have to give credit to the NBA number one with the work that they've done inside the bubble, the zero positive test for the coronavirus since they've been there,

which is amazing and we love to see. This is why i wis were able to have the sport, but also getting it right where on the last day, if you will, Technically Saturday was the last day with the playing game, but leading up to the playoff game was that Thursday where you had four games that meant something with the Portland Trailblazes, Phoenix Suns, sant Antonio Spurs, and the Memphis Grizzlies all playing important games and putting themselves in a position to play in for that play in game,

whether it be one or two games. We saw the Blazers already won it, so they only needed to won games to knock off one game to knock off the Memphis Grizzlies. That was theater that was fantastic. I was looking forward to that. Once we knew what the scenario was, I could not wait to watch it. And of course I had a vested interest in the Phoenix Suns. But overall, they got it right and this is something that could potentially be a conversation for the NBA down the line

in future playoffs if you will. For should the NBA have a play in game in each of the conference? Is because of how this whole thing played out. So it was fun, it was fantastic. Obviously disappointed in the result, but the future for the Phoenix Suns, of course is very bright. Same for the Memphis Grizzlies. And hats off to the San Antonio Spurs for ending a great, great playoff running over twenty plus years in the playoffs. It was amazing, no question about it. That is some feat.

I mean, that's like bridging multiple generations. I'm gonna stick with you guys. I'm going to stay in the Western Conference. I don't think I'm ashamed to admit this. It's just a revelation. It may change people's opinions of me I when it comes to the potential, at least in my opinion, greatness factor in sports. I am drawn to following things like that, and I kind of want to see it played out to its fullest potential. For instance, Chicago Bulls

in the nineties going for two three peats. I didn't care about seeing the Utah Jazz win. I wanted to see how great Michael Jordan and the Bulls could be. I'll be honest, not that I was the team, but the Yankees in the mid nineties late nineties, Like I wanted to see how great that team could be. Could we see something special that we might only see once in a generation. The Patriots do not fall into that

category for a number of reasons. But I look at the West and the top of the West, and I see the Los Angeles Lakers, who did not have a great seating round in the bubble Lebron James. You know, people already starting to sew the seeds of doubt in terms of the national narrative with him and the LA Clippers. I'd love to see those two teams make it as far as they can in the West. And I'd love to see one of those two teams come out of

the West. I'm just intrigued, obviously by the strides the Lakers made this year compared to last year with Anthony Davis and the LA Clippers bring in the two free agent acquisitions the headliners in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

So as we get ready for the postseason, I personally it may be not that exciting, It might be predictable, but I want to see those two teams on a collision course in the Western Conference and one of those two teams come out to the West, because I think that's the best of what that conference has to offer. I don't know that might disappoint some people. Should be fun, should be fun. I'm intrigued by the Avery Bradley absence, especially as Lauren mentioned in that first round, with Damian

Lillitt playing at such a high level. CJ McCollum with his twenty nine or thirty one in the play in game, just I'm curious to see how they decide to defend those two since they are the head of it and Carmelo Anthony Lebron James as you just said, so seventeen years, two of the closest friends in the league and they get to go at it in the postseason. Should be a tremendous start. To the playoffs. It does feel though, like it's about that time, like right before the playoffs,

that people start doubting Lebron James. And if you've been watching the NBA in the last seventeen years, specifically maybe more in the last nine or ten years, you know that that's a mistake. So maybe this time the doubters will be correct about Lebron and his so called decline. But I think anytime Lebron is playing in the playoffs, as we've seen over all his consecutive finals runs, it's gonna be mus CTV, it's gonna be exciting, Dame playing

better than ever. So I'm on that series two for sure. But I also always have to question people when they start doubting Lebron James. It's just a bad idea. Agreed, Well, guys, we did it. I think we topped an hour if I'm looking at my stop watch correctly, an accomplishment, but the scene, that's right. We have to set the stage and if it takes an hour, gosh darn it, it's going to take an hour, and hopefully we'll be able to set the stage for a series again before this

twenty twenty postseason comes to an end. What we will do is we are going to effort a brand new, fresh episode of the broadcast, not just with us, but with guests as well, the day of So check your feeds the day of each game in the series, the day after every game, morning after you'll find Rewind breaking down the game with Tom Againnis divided myself. The morning of each game in the series, a new episode of the broadcast with the three of us. So that is

what we're gonna try to do. Guys, thank you very much, thank you, thank you, Selz and Lauren. Let's go playoffs. Amen to that. We'll talk to you next time. See you