Another Joel Embiid injury update, Maxey’s MVP case & McCain’s Heat check | Sixers Talk

Another Joel Embiid injury update, Maxey’s MVP case & McCain’s Heat check | Sixers Talk

Yeah. Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. Any Tool Time fans out there? Remember that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Remember that? Okay, good. Welcome to What was the neighbor’s name? What’s the neighbor’s name? Wilson, right? Wilson. Yeah, you can only see Yeah. Uh, welcome to the Sixers Talk Pocket. Look at the light hitting Noah’s eyes right there. Oh, it’s nice. Did you plan that, Noah? Look at Noah. Golden hour they call it. It is the golden hour. Golden hour at 4:26. Sun is setting. He’s ready for his closeup with that. Um, good to see you guys. Welcome to the Sixers Talk podcast. Always always ready to have a good time here. We’re brought to you by Wilmington University, William Works, Danny Pal, Noah Lev, Amy Fidel. Noah enjoying the golden hour as well as fresh off the Sixers practice facility where we have a few injury updates. Of course, the Sixers, a couple wins, couple losses, a bit on the seesaw here, but um Joel Embiid, Noah, we haven’t seen him since November 8th. Another really point per minute, 29 point outburst from him, but we are still trying to figure out this right knee soreness. Of course, it was his left knee, which was uh scoped back in the spring and had some surgery done on it, but the right knee is what’s given him trouble and has kept him out since November 8th. Can you give us the latest uh from the Sixers practice facility in the mouth of Nick Nurse? Yeah, it was a bit of an unusual scene today. Long long time until the media was allowed in for practice and then we get in there and there’s no basketball happening. It’s just Tyrese Maxi and Joel Embiid and a couple other folks talking. So vibes were kind of odd. Uh, we did get to hear from Tyrese Maxi who said he had that shoulder issue pop up last game, but said he’s he’s feeling great. I’m not sure how sincere those words were, but definitely didn’t sound like someone who expects to miss time. So, that’s that’s a plus. But, yeah, as far as Joel Embiid, Nick Nurse just doesn’t have have much to say at this point. It’s like when when the doctors give him the go-ahad, he’ll be on the court. Embiid again was a full participant in practice which has been the case on multiple occasions since he’s been sidelined but nurse did acknowledge I believe a few days back that there were still some soreness and some pain there. So obviously if if either of those things are present Joel Embiid’s not going to play. So yeah, it’s been quite a while as you noted. I believe we’ve got seven games that he’s missed now. Could very well be eight tomorrow. And the Sixers keep going with that day-to-day designation. So, as of now, the the insistence on their end is that there hasn’t been any structural damage observed and that Joel Embiid um is is trending toward a return. But obviously everyone is very believe it uh when we see it with with his health nowadays understandably has just the six games under his belt this season just the 19 last year and this is another extended frustrating stretch for him on the sidelines. So we shall see when he’s back but as of now he’s at least good enough to practice which tells you something. Uh but as of you know this afternoon, the Sixers haven’t cleared him yet to uh return to game action. Amy, I’ve been bumping into these melt montages on Twitter specifically of Joel Embiid just putting in crazy work. Fans is longing for him to come back uh reflecting on his peak and how good he was. And he’s still good. He still has those uh qualities. It’s just how long in a season can he sustain those things? And it’s frustrating because here we are almost at the quarter point of the season, 16 games in and they still haven’t had the full complement of guys available. Uh we’ll talk a little bit more about Jared McCain, BJ Edcomo missing in his first game as well, but just uh getting Embiid, George McCain, like all the guys together to develop some rapport and some continued presence, you know, on the court together and how these pieces will work interchangeably. It’s frustrating as a Sixers fan, but um do you feel like that soon? Do you feel like that might happen before the year is over? Let’s give it 30 days. It’s wild because the was it I think it was the Raptors game. You saw him warming up beforehand. You thought, “Oh, this is going to be a good sign. He’s warming up.” We knew he wasn’t playing in that game. They had already made that announcement, but you saw him out there warming up, uh, taking jumpers and, you know, doing some work on the court and I thought, “Wow, that must be like that he’s coming very close.” And then you heard the, as Noah mentioned, the the full participation at practice. Okay, also good. Still dayto-day. Listen, I mean, these are all very positive things and yet we’re still waiting for an exact update. And I obviously, as frustrated as we are in the media, uh the fans are equally frustrated and Joel Embiid is frustrated. The front office is frustrated. The coach obviously is frustrated because uh it’s out of their control. It’s just something that happens. And it’s I believe it when I see it is exactly the the mindset I think a lot of people are. Uh it’s, you know, we we walked into the season thinking if you got 40 games, you know, about half a season with the full compliment, that would be a real win. I mean, and that’s where we are in Philadelphia, right? You’re thinking you get maybe half a season with the full compliment of your players. And now I’m thinking I don’t know if that number is too high. It might be too high. You might be looking at like 25 to 30, which is incredible. That’s incredible to think about. But there’s just something about this team. I just you get one, you lose another. Oh. Oh, did you want Joel and B? We got You don’t get Jared McCain or Paul George. You don’t get them both at the same time. So, yeah. I don’t I don’t know. I would think that number is is under 40 now for me for having the full compliment fully healthy. It’s under 40. Are we at a new normal here, guys? Is this just what you got to just take it or leave it? Huh? It’s better than last year. Okay. Yeah. Listen, they started two and 12, Daniel. Correct. Two and 12. Right. Okay. Um I think uh for me though it’s like listen I I get it. Um but you know Rust is going to start being a factor if you’re going to keep missing games like this with Embiid because what we’ve seen has been promising and encouraging and it’s been you know like woo like he still he still has it that that there’s still something in there that he can explode with and control the game and dominate and things like that. how he fits in the up style tempo, you know, for a full game kind of stuff. You saw it in the Raptors game that he did play in his last game. I think you saw some of that. He ran the court pretty well and it was one of his better games as far as seeing him look like he could blend into this offense, but yeah, I mean, you you don’t know because you haven’t seen him out there. You haven’t seen him out there with Paul George and VJ Edgum and Jared McCain. You just it’s a giant question mark. Noah, um we have been encouraged by what we’ve seen from Paul George. Um, and listen, um, you know, if he’s going to score the first 11 points of every game, we we’ll take that. But, uh, definitely a guy who’s going to show up and bring what he has, it seems like this season. Uh, were you surprised at all? There was some criticism about, oh, Paul George, how will he fit in in flow of of what the Sixers bring? But that that has not been an issue at all. You know, if you want to point out things, sure. But him fitting in and this uptempo style and being able to share the ball and things like that has not been an issue. Uh well, he’s had two bad shooting games out of three, so uh that’s I think notable, but the Milwaukee was fantastic and they don’t win that game uh without him being so great. Obviously, Tyrese Maxi uh the headliner with 54, but Paul George scored in the first 11 and uh just really good on both on both ends. But, you know, he’s got a two for nine and a three for 10 in there. So, the tor date sort of games, uh, the Sixers will hope those become a little less regular as he gets more minutes under his belt. But, yeah, not not surprised that stylistically it’s looked like a smooth adjustment. I think Paul George has always been huge on trying to let the game come to him. He even said after his debut that that was a little awkward for him because he knows he has this minute restriction and maybe he wants to try to force it a little more just knowing um that he has limited time on the court. But I think regardless his default mode is to try to mesh into whatever the team is doing. Uh and I think he has a great intuit intuitive understanding of of how he could help a really high basketball IQ guy in that regard. So that’s all been positive. But again, I’ll note like he needs to be a better shooter and if down the line the Sixers are fortunate enough to be in the playoffs and Paul George has multiple two for nine, three for 10 games, he’ll, you know, receive just criticism for that because he needs to be better than than that in in high stakes moments. But obviously now we’re in just this period where he’s he’s trying to get his feet under him and um adjust to basketball at at age 35 and o overall I’d say it’s it’s been positive even if uh the shooting consistency is is not yet where we’d want it to be. Yeah, a little bit of the luster has come off this Sixers team here. They are nine and seven of course the hot start. They came back to earth a little bit. But um in all of that, we have gotten a Jared McCain game that we can really kind of enjoy here. Alth although it did come in a loss. Um before we get to his health status, uh was there any update on VJ at um and his left calf tightness who missed his first game here in this last matchup against the Heat? Again, I mean nothing new on Edgecomb as of 4:30. will get an injury report at 5:30 when this podcast is probably out. Nick Nur said as precautionary, just something that Edgecomb reported at the end of the Milwaukee game. So, I think it would be surprising if it’s an extended absence for him, but of course, he had tons and tons of minutes under his belt as a rookie and something was bound to pop up sooner or later. So, yeah, it was, you know, the Sixers were in a tough spot. I think kind of wild to just realize how much they rely on this 20-year-old rookie, but you could tell how much was different and Quinton Grimes had to get his first start of the year and then Grimes got into foul trouble against Miami and that really hurt the Sixers. So, uh, they will be happy whenever he’s back and I would assume that soon barring, you know, some unexpected downturn. So, I I would think they’ll have him back um against the Orlando Magic and yeah, they’ll they’ll definitely be be happy to be able to start him again and have some simpler decisions with that guard rotation. Amy, uh Jared McCain with his best game since returning from injury. So, no edge come, maybe more minutes and opportunity in that regard in 26 minutes of action for Jared McCain. Of course, we know he played the two uh G-League games. Um, it seems like the rust has been shaken off for him a bit, particularly with the way he looked against the Heat. There were step back threes, there were runners, there was catch and shoot opportunities. He ends up five of 11, three for four from three, a rebound, an assist, two assists, and a steal. Um, did you look at that as great, something for him to build on moving forward or did you feel like it was a role that he might not have and minutes he might not have gotten had Edgecom been available? Yeah, it’s interesting. Nick Nurse said before the game against the Heat that the minutes restriction was was lifted a bit. you know, a little bit longer time out there for Jared McCain and you wondered if it was because McCain was ready for it, you know, health-wise and rust wise or if it was because there was no VJ edge come and the answer is probably yes uh to both of those. But yeah, I mean I would think he’s going to be in that probably under 26 minutes between 20 and 25. But yeah, I mean the minutes game for these guards is something that is going to be watched when you have VJ VJ Edge come back. Uh Quinton Grimes averages, you know, about 33 minutes, 32 to 33 minutes or so. So, there’s a lot of of um competition, I guess, at that spot. It was fun to see McCain obviously back in somewhat of the form that we saw at the beginning of last season. I think also uh he enjoyed the pace of that Heat game. That was a frenetic uh game. That game was all about rebounding and running and it was it was it played into what he liked to do certainly, but the Sixers just ran out of they ran out of gas. I mean, there’s no other way to say it. It would have been nice to have VJ Edgeham’s defense, but I thought Jerem Kane did a really nice job uh both on defense and offense. Offensively, his shot looked better. Uh his first game back after the G-League Senate still wasn’t quite there. So, maybe it’s just extended minutes for him. He just needs to get a little bit more under his belt. But going forward, you wonder there are certain matchups that can dictate that you can run more guards out there and so you have more playing time for those guys and in other matchups it doesn’t. So it’ll be interesting to see going forward against some of the rangier and longer teams how they try to combat that uh against the Magic are an example. Obviously they’re very long and and have some real size um in their four and their five and their three um for that matter and their two. They have some size. I just was going through their their roster on that one. It’s kind of like the Raptors, but they have a little bit more of a uh some size down low. So, it’ll be interesting going forward. I I I want to see Jerry McCain get back to where he was. The guy was the the front runner for rookie of the year before his season got derailed with and he was fun and engaging and it’s just when these guys, you know, and I I joke about it, but it really is true. The vibes in that locker room are a little bit better. It would have been weird. Noah mentioned that they would came out. So, when usually when you walk into the practice facility, they’re still shooting around. Guys are shooting everywhere. There’s all kinds of baskets obviously, right? So, there’s people working on three-pointers, people shooting free throws, and so it would have been very strange to walk out today, and I’m sure Noah felt it to walk out and be like, “There’s no one doing anything like you guys just stopped. You don’t want us to see anything, which is fine, whatever. You don’t see much of those things anyway.” But I I would have I would that would have been very odd because I think the vibes this year have been very good because guys like Jared McCain have been back and VJ Edgecom I think brings that too and obviously Tyrese Maxi being healthy. It’s It’s disappointing. Um, you want him to do well. So, I want you Jared McCain to do well. You just hope that he’s going to be able to get the time on the court. Yeah. No, I think it was a I mean, it was a real significant step for him. I think a lot of it honestly just boils down to trust in his knee. I mean, he’s been as candid as it gets through this entire process about, you know, when when he started out, he felt shaky. He felt like he was going to fall over. Now he doesn’t have to deal with the bulky brace. He just has that sleeve on his knee, feels more mobile. He said his like his bump mid-range is a shot that he really loves and he’s feeling more confident in that again. So I think a lot of it we don’t really need to overthink. It’s just the knee is feeling better and he is remembering what it’s like to to do things without any hesitation or any pain or or uh any doubt in himself. And I think his confidence is obviously a huge part of what makes him great when he’s flowing. He believes that everything he puts up is going in. Um, and he gets gets in that state where he’s he’s kind of unstoppable as a scorer. So, he feels like he’s moving back in that direction. And I think it’s it’s very nice for him to actually see some tangible results suggesting that indeed he still has that ability. Uh, and sooner or later it’s all going to start clicking a little bit better for him. So yeah, we’ll we’ll keep tabs on on those minutes. I I think it feels like there should be some logical solutions here where Jared McCain playing a little better should mean a little bit of a lighter load for Tyrese Maxi and VJ Edgecomb, but obviously Nick Nurse is big on gametoame decision-m and also just being pretty ruthless about whatever it takes to win each game. So, uh, if McCain continues playing well, he’ll absolutely continue getting significant minutes, but I think it becomes a little trickier if he does not. And that’s where uh there’s there’s more of a spotlight on Nick Nurse and his decision-m. And there Jared McCain was finding himself caught in the middle of Scotty Barn’s signature move, the blow a kiss, fast break dunk. um Jared McCain was and then I’m like uh after the game I’m like son he did something I couldn’t quite figure it out and then ball his life had a compilation from high school all the way through Scotty Barnes Scotty Barnes blowing kisses to guy I think I’d seen it before but I didn’t know it went back to high school my boy I definitely listen when you got to move petty petty gota move um Jared McCain got swept up in that um that was on the day of our our last podcast but uh pretty funny all the same. Uh we will talk more about what is going on with these 76ers and we have buried the lead a little bit because Tyrese Maxi went and fuego against the Bucks and rubbed it in Doc Rivers’s face as much as Mark Jackson and I were like how’s no one pointing this out? Like I would look at Doc the entire time. He said he can’t wait to talk about that the next time they get together. But let’s show some love to our title sponsor Wilmington University. They’ve been with us here every step of the way. December open house. Chat, browse, and apply at Wilmington University’s virtual open house on December 3rd. Details at willmu.edu/openhouse. Spring classes start January 12th. Register today. Man, having kids in college and thinking about those days of I don’t I don’t know if I I quite I don’t I don’t I don’t lament not being in school anymore, but shout out to those who are. You’re getting ready. You’re on break. You have another break coming up. Finish strong, everybody. Finals are coming up. Um my just like Danny did. He always finished strong with his finals. My youngest daughter uh just ran the Philly half marathon. Uh shout out to her. She Bella, she worked seven straight days leading up to the marathon. Now she’s off for seven straight just around the house. Just just she earned it. Daniel walked in, she’s sleeping on the couch. Do you remember those days? Oh. You know what? Um, yeah. Actually, I don’t know. Like, our parents didn’t let No, there was there was I saw something the other day and someone was just like, “Why, you know, our generation, whatever. I don’t know what Gen Z, whatever we are.” Um, it was like Gen X, I guess. And it was or millennials. And there was like, oh, you uh, we used to always talk about how you drank from the hose. Like, why couldn’t you use a faucet? Cuz we weren’t allowed inside. Yeah. Once we weren’t allowed inside. Came back inside. You had to stay inside. Yeah. That was it. You’re going to find something to do in here and you’re not going to like it. So, you But you stay outside. We were not allowed inside. It’s a completely different thing. They’re like, “Why could you use the faucet?” I’m like, “Cuz cuz you were outside.” She was like, “Dad, you got in a little late last night.” I was like, “Mind your business.” Like, yo, I’m here I’m here late doing after Sunday night football. You got in a little late. She keeping tabs on you. Turn about fair play, Bill. 21 year olds keeping tabs on me. But, um, all the same, shout out to our 20-year-old, uh, Sixers Allstar, uh, or MVP candidate, Tyrese Maxi. A 54 point eruption, um, against the Bucks. And this is our first time to talk about it all together, guys. But, man, how fantastic was it to watch the torch he had out there? Um, and one particular move was the step back uh three he had with uh who so who was in his face? Was it um Poris? Poppy Poris. Yeah. Yeah. Uh there we go. So uh the step back three from the logo. He had a couple of logo shots. But man uh just very reminiscent of Allen Iverson, man. I But the efficiency was way way better. Way better. I think 18 of 30. Is that what it was? Yeah. Mhm. In in defense of Allen Iverson, the three wasn’t the it’s people didn’t shoot the three like they did when he was playing. So, I’m sure his would have been. Any goosebumps watching that guys? Do you get like that like man like the hair on the back of your neck type? How is he at? Right. Cuz I was kind of like you looked at like how many is he at? And then you thought, wow, he’s over 35 and and they needed all of them. They needed all of them over his 54. They needed all of Paul George’s first 11. You needed every single bit of those. But yeah, when a guy’s on a heater like that, it’s so easy to get caught up. You kind of don’t realize it. And I think it was after the second logo three and I was like, “What’s he shooting?” And then I was like, “Yo, you guys know where he’s at right now points-wise.” It was almost like you you wanted to say it, but you didn’t want to say it because you knew he was coming. It’s like a guy with a no hitter, right? Yeah. It’s like it’s a career high and you’re going for it, but as soon as you soon as you make that Google search like what’s Tyrese Maxis career high and you press, you know, enter to try to look it up, I feel like I was going to jinx him, but luckily I didn’t have to do that. It was already shouted out like 85 times in the newsroom. So 12 of 14 from the free throw line and only two were misses early. Oh, give Oh, the Will Chamberlain stat. Amy, what’s the the Will Chamberlain stat? You ready for this? So, there’s only two players in Sixers history that have had 50 or more points and nine or more assists. Two Wilt in 1968, March of 1968. And then Tyrese Maxi the other night. And there’s only one person on set that would have seen both of those, and that would have been Jim Lin. Siobhan would have been a witness to both. What a legend. Oh, incredible. That’s an incredible stat. And this the whole stat line though, Daniel. Yeah. He’s the only player to do that with the 54 U, the nine, the maid, the steals, the blocks, all of that. He’s the only player ever uh to have created that stat line because most of the time if you’re shooting 50, I mean, if you’re making 50 buckets or whatever, scoring 50 points, you’re not also having nine assists. And you’re probably also not doing much work on the defensive end either. But he’s it three blocks, three steals, 54 points, nine assists. No one’s ever done it. He’s also playing a ridiculous amount of minutes, 40 plus minutes. I mean, is is the guy being overworked a little bit in this time or shoulder? Yeah. How how are we feeling about I mean, we talked about it in previous podcasts. We know Nick Nurse’s MMO from his experience with the Raptors and Van Vleet and um uh Kyle Lowry and etc. But listen, I mean, these minutes, the amount of shots he’s putting up, it’s a lot. Yeah, he’s just playing basketball, a quote we’ve heard Tyrese Maxi say in the past, but um are you worried about him being overworked at all? Uh, I mean it’s it’s not my worry to have, but yeah, like it’s very like logical to think that someone who’s playing, you know, three minutes per game more than anyone in the NBA is going to have a higher injury risk. There’s obviously like the fluky stuff seemingly like the this shoulder little issue that popped up in the Heat game. He said he was just reaching out for a steal and then it wasn’t comfortable the rest of the game. And then there’s the soft tissue workload kind of problems. I do think of course it’s notable that he’s very well equipped to mitigate the risk there because he’s probably the best condition athlete in the league. So it seems like in terms of what he’s able to do up until the point of fatigue, it’s almost infinite, right? So that there’s not problems where maybe the stride becomes a little different or you know some of those I don’t know biomechanical risks um pop up that that lead you to become a little more likely to to get injured when you’re wiped out near the end of a game. That just doesn’t seem applicable to him, which is incredible. But yeah, if we’re just talking about the reality of of how this tends to go, there’s a risk here and and the Sixers are hoping that nothing bad happens and kind of crossing crossing their fingers in in that regard. But look, obviously we remember um with that Knicks team um a couple years back where it felt like there was just a deluge of injuries all at once. Um and that can that can happen when when there’s a huge minutes load. So yeah, not trying to be a downer at that, but just like trying to give a realistic assessment. I think that’s all all reasonable to note, but um but yeah, like in the moment just him doing his thing is is fantastic to watch these days. And yes, this was a heater, but I think it feels somewhat typical now when he’s at that 35 40 40 mark and that’s Joel Embiidish that the consistency has been outstanding which is even more astounding to me given that he’s 6’2 and prior to this year he wasn’t great at drawing free throws and coming off a year where where not getting the whistle below average from from three-point range you know albeit for many good reasons, including uh that finger injury near near the end of the year, but uh yeah, just so many so many factors that that make this extraordinary. Um and certainly mean he’s yeah, one of one of the best players in the league thus far and he’s going to keep hearing those MVP chants at the foul line. So, better get used to those and and better start making them. Joel Embiid’s going to be on his on his case about that. Yeah. And it’s crazy how guys play at this prolific rate uh just based on NBA history and then 50 40 90 season like you what like you’re in here out here scoring 40 and 50 point games and finishing with those type of percentages which Tyrese Maxi is clawing around those edges but still just to think like a season with Durant like that or uh Dirk or you know guys that perform Larry Bird like with that type of clip of efficiency and have the game-winning shots and team leaning on them in crunch time and things like that. So, there is definitely levels to this thing, man. There are levels and Tyrese Maxi is scratching the very tippy top of it. Um, so very fun to watch. Exciting to have him on the team. And, uh, I’m curious, guys. Here we are, a couple games coming up. Um, Orlando and Brooklyn, NBA Cup stuff. Are Sixers fans interested in that? is they haven’t performed well in the NBA Cup based on, you know, past experience, injuries and, uh, tough losses, etc. But, um, how should fans take the NBA Cup? Is is is now the time to get into it? Will the Sixers be relevant? They’re not in the NBA Cup. They will not be in the NBA Cup, right, this year? No. They’re participating in it. Yes. They will not be. They will not be in the the knockout rounds or they will not be continuing on in the NBA cup. people in that long you still have to play well they put games in you still you still play basketball games people most of the people that I talk to and and so you guys see it whether it’s on social media or you see them out and about they don’t know it’s an NBA cup game until they tune in and they look at the wonky court court yes that’s it and they’ll be like oh there you go I didn’t hear more complaints about that court well nothing will beat the Timberwolves court that is the worst court it’s an assault on the eyeballs the color of the court was reflecting on faces and all of course like in TV all we can think about is like using that video for like, you know, something else like later. You can’t use it. It’s unusable video because it’s going to look so strange and you’re having to explain why it looked like that and you it’s one of those things like what what’s happening. But I I feel like the NBA Cup is I like it. It’s in its like, you know, kind of nebulous. Yeah. Like, oh, whatever. But it’s never really translated as well as I think it could. I think it’s still very confusing for people how love pool play. Yes. some listen there’s some people that like it was some player I clicked on it was like a random Heat player of course it was because it’s some guy that we didn’t know anything about and then he goes up and you know probably torched the Sixers for 20ome points but I was before the game and I clicked on his page and it had like the cup NBA cup champion uh I think the year the Bucks won it and I was like good for you because that was like a really good payday for that guy it was like a gentleman who was a two-way player and I can’t remember who it was but I randomly clicked on it I was like I don’t think that like Giannis is putting that on his Wikipedia page, but I do understand it is important for some of the players and it is a payday and I like the idea behind of having some some interest early on, but the Sixers have not ever been in in the NBA Cup. Uh they’ve always been eliminated from they don’t play from the 7th to the 19th. Well, they will play, Daniel. We already have those games. They they put So, you don’t have the updated schedule. So, Noah and I can tell you they’ve got some games that will either happen on the 12th or the 14th. probably the 12th or the 14th because 13th would be an NBA knockout game and so they want to make sure that everybody that’s playing on the 13th is an NBA Cup game. So they’ll play on the 12th and the 13th and there’s another one. So they you still have 82 games. So should fans pay attention? Should it be It’s still a game. You still need to win games. Still need to get So whether it’s NBA cup or not, whether they’re in the money, whether they’re going to Vegas, whether they get they’re not going to they’re not they’re they’re 0 and2. They’re not they cannot get there because the it’s the top teams from each pod and then there’s point differential for the other teams and the Sixers though have a small point differential. They don’t have a single win yet. So they they’re not going to be in there. But you should still pay attention. It’s still basketball. Still regular basketball. Still counts. Yeah. I mean there’s some, you know, extremely unlikely scenario, right? Yeah. where uh they win, you know, the Orlando game by 40 points, they win their final cup game by 50 points, and that means they have the best point difference of a non group winner in the Eastern Conference. Yeah, they’re not technically eliminated. I think they would be firmly firmly eliminated with a loss tomorrow. I was even jokingly asking today like could they play spoiler? Is there some sort of angle there? I I don’t think that’s really the case yet. um they’re at the very bottom of their group as as things stand and yeah, the cup just has uh not worked out in their favor thus far. I do think it’s the kind of thing though where if it happens to be the year, you know, the ball bounces your way in the cup. It see seems like individual fan bases are enthusiastic about that as they should be. I’m sure that would be the case in Philadelphia, but as I think it feels safe to say, this is not the six years and their final two cup games are basically just regular season basketball games, which is fine. They all they all count at the end of the day. And obviously, as we’ve talked about, uh does not seem improbable that the East is very tight at the end of the year and there could be, you know, a game or two separating the second seed and the six seed or what have you. So, uh, and certainly with the Sixctors coach, they’re not going to be treating any individual game lightly. They’re going to be going as hard as they possibly can to to try to win all of these. And finally had one that didn’t go down to the very very wire against Miami. But obviously, the vast majority of games this season have been ones just again from a neutral standpoint that are interesting in the sense of you have no idea what the outcome’s going to be with with 30 seconds left. So that seems to be the norm for the Sixers team, right? You add in the Milwaukee when like all the games have been the the half down 10 going into the fourth. We got this. Don’t you worry about it. Bad third quarter check. Actually, the Heat game was one of their better third quarters. They only lost it by two, which was impressive because I don’t think they score for the first four minutes of the third. So that’s saying something. That’s where we’re at uh with the third quarter, which is just confounding. And I you talk to the players afterward, they’re like, we actually we don’t know. We don’t know why we can’t come out in the third. But they do and it’s consistent. They’ve been changing the starting lineup, I think, now for Yeah. four games in a row to start the third quarter. I think it’s been definitely effective in one of the games, I believe. I think it was the Detroit game, right? Where um Barlo came in there and then Uber was also in, you know, in forced absence because of injury. Outside of that, that hasn’t done the trick. I think it’s been a decent idea, but yeah, Nick Nurse is is running through some ideas here and and nothing seems to stick as an effective solution in the third quarters. I think there’s obviously some randomness to it as we’ve talked about, but parts of it uh yeah, still seem to be kind of mystifying that it’s it’s just still this large of a problem almost every every single game. It’s it’s kind of wild. Sixers are on NBC tomorrow. That’s right. So, are you doing pre and post or what’s the No, we don’t do pre and post. I’ll be here. I might go down. I don’t know. I’m supposed to do birds huddle, but depending on when Nick Nurse I I would love to. I never get to go to the press conferences because I’m always doing pre and post. Well, thank you. Maybe I’ll see Noah there if I’m allowed to go. They might not let me out. See, generally, I try to stay in this little square box. I go over to the the practice facility. I’m always like, “Oh, look at this. So nice to be outside.” Prime time though. Um but um let’s hope the Sixers get back on Black Friday with Daniel. You’re the host. Oh, I will be. Yes, I will be the host as the Sixers and the Brooklyn Nets get it on. Um we will hope that that is a Sixers win and they can string a couple W’s here together after losses uh in the Raptors game as well as the Miami Heat. An OT win against Milwaukee. Let’s get some regulation easy breezy win. Yeah, there we go. We’re hoping for that. Um, we’re out of time here on the Sixers Talk podcast brought to you by Wilmington University. Wilmu works for Amy Fidul and Noah Levik. I’m Danny Pomel’s. Check out Noah’s work on NBCportsia.com. Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We’ll see you next time.

Happy Monday, the Sixers Talk crew is here to break down the latest Sixers news after an eventful weekend for the team. #Sixers

0:00 – Joel Embiid injury update
7:08 – Paul George getting his feet under him
10:00 – McCain has best game of the season against Heat
20:00 – Tyrese Maxey is a STRONG MVP candidate
27:00 – NBA Cup chances

🛫Book Phillies Spring Training Now! ⚾

NBC Spring Training 2026

📢 Subscribe NOW to get the latest Eagles, Sixers, Phillies & Flyers news: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXenWaHGZz4Ey4BObUUIyZQ?sub_confirmation=1

NBC Sports Philadelphia serves Philly sports fans 24/7 with the latest news on the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers. Watch live games and insightful analysis from our experts on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Subscribe to our channel for the latest Philly sports news and highlights!

» Visit NBC Sports Philadelphia: https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/
» Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NBCSPhilly/
» Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBCSPhilly
» Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nbcsphilly/

📱NBC Sports Philadelphia App
Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nbc-sports-philadelphia/id1619828302
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nbcuni.rsn.philadelphia

🔉Podcasts:

🦅 Eagle Eye Podcast:
📺Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6V7cA-emquiNikHFK30J3frlemIGC54q
🎧Listen: https://eagleeye.simplecast.com/

🏀Sixers Talk Podcast:
📺Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6V7cA-emqujJlOU6cnV0N8fB8kbDtyYq
🎧Listen: https://sixerstalk.simplecast.com/

⚾Phillies Talk Podcast:
📺Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6V7cA-emquhZ-FtzalleXcMhb1XdUH1N
🎧Listen: https://philliestalk.simplecast.com/

🏒 Flyers Talk Podcast:
📺Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6V7cA-emqujC-LFcMH2Uy48LYOXyq5pH
🎧Listen: https://flyerstalk.simplecast.com/

🛫Takeoff with John Clark Podcast:
📺Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6V7cA-emquheK9GDXwpqCyy-L2y6I822
🎧Listen: https://takeoff.simplecast.com/