Tough Cover Show -- 11/18/23

Sean Barnard and Jeremy Horwoth take over the reigns this week as they dive heavily into the #Sixers and #NBA. Mark Henry Jr. still has his #CollegeFootball and #NFL picks for the weekend, though!

@RBPhillyTake joins Sean and Jeremy in Hour 1 to talk all things #Sixers!

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
To get ready for the day's action, from the sides to the totals and
everything in between. Nobody does itbetter than the top cover with Mark Henry
right here, I'm the gambler.What do you see? The contams,

(00:42):
Kennedy, they the Colt personality,the contity and what is going on in
the city of Philadelphia. No MarkHenry Junior today, but my name is
Sean Bernard and me and Jeremy poorWath will be into filling it and break
things down here. Yeah, yes, sir, We're gonna kick things off,

(01:04):
talk a little NFL for the firsthalf hour, and then joined by
my guy RB from RB philiate takeand the Out the Mud podcast with Paul
Reid to break down everything going onwith these six Ers right now. Jeremy,
as we were talking before this,Sixers may be the most entertaining and
exciting team in the city right now. Do you agree with that? Oh?
I do. It's so much funto watch the Sixers, so much
going on, Tyree Smaxy playing outof this world, Tobias Harris playing so

(01:27):
well, Joel Embiid doing Joel Embiidthings. I love it. I think
they are the most exciting team inJili here absolutely, and we will wrap
things up with a little blast fromthe pass and take a look at James
Harden getting off the snide with agame winning four point play for the Clippers
last night. So I would beremiss we did not mention that and bring
that up at the end. ButI do want to begin today if by
mentioning that Mark Henry Jr. AsI said, will be out. But

(01:49):
don't worry. We do have hispicks for you guys that will be played
at the tail end of this halfhour before the first break, So make
sure you were staying and waiting aroundfor that one. But Mark Henry Jr.
Has been around the world. We'veseen him in Chicago, We've seen
him in Charlotte. And guess wherehe woke up this morning? In the
mud in right there in Twitter.I woke up this morning, my alarm
goes off. I take a lookat my phone. Not even seven am

(02:12):
yet, and I'm already seeing MarkHenry debating people online. And I do
want to have his back a littlebit here because some wild tweets and wild
takes, and I mostly agree withhim on everything. Here, I'll begin
by saying, when I think aboutthe most overrated player in the NFL.
Ryan Fitzpatrick not quite the first namethat pops my mind, but that is
what Mark Henry is saying. AndI want to start with his original question

(02:35):
here and I'll kick it to youfirst. Jeremy Josh Dobbs has been the
story of the NFL of late thepassion out, which is an awesome nickname.
One is the smartest players in theNFL. Very impressive the way he
has no clue the playbook, learningon the fly, getting the job done,
and leading this Vikings team to win. So two separate takes here.
We'll start off with the Ryan Fitzpatrick. Is it disrespectful to call Josh Dobbs
the next Ryan Fitzpatrick? How doyou feel about that? That's that's wrong.

(02:59):
I don't know. I mean,they're coming from different situations, but
Josh Dobbs being that backup quarterback andjust excelling in every way, but they're
doing it in different ways. RyanFitzpatrick was putting up those numbers, you
know what I mean, he wasputting up three hundred and fifty yard passing
games and you know, just somestuff like that. Josh Dobbs is coming
in here, and winning games.He's not just putting up good numbers.

(03:21):
He's winning games for the most randomteams. So I don't know if I
always say it's disrespectful, but ohman, Josh Dobbs is awesome. I
love the story. I'll be honest. I think you could make the argument
that it is disrespectful to Ryan Fitzpatrick. This guy was like the prototypical backup
quarterback forever. Two very smart guys. By the way, we've got Harvard
Gravid. He got a NASA employeeon Josh Dobbs. And just to run

(03:43):
through Josh Dobbs. He has beenaround, been in the league since twenty
eighteen, played for the Steelers,played for the Titans, even was cut
by the Jaguars, didn't officially makethat squad. And then this year we
saw him with the Cardinals and thennow with the Minnesota Vikings. Some very
impressive stuff from Josh Dobbs. Theother take that Mark Henry through out here
was Josh Dobbs might be more dangerousthan Kirk Cousins with this Vikings offense.

(04:03):
Your thoughts on that one. That'swhy. Okay, Now I love Josh
Dobbs again. We love the storyKirk Cousins. I mean, I get
I guess it's something different. KirkCousins the guy you know what you're gonna
get out of him. You knowyou're gonna have a good season, But
he's he really gonna be that guyto take you over the top. Maybe
not. Is Josh Dobbs really youranswer, though, I mean it's fun

(04:24):
and everything. I wouldn't say JoshDobbs is better with his Viking teams than
Kirk Cousins. But I see wherehe's coming from. I see where he's
coming from. Yeah, Kirk Cousinsis a weird one. That Kirk Cousins
is like the James Franklin Penn Stateera football. I can tell you the
wins and losses, the games thathe's not gonna be able to come up
big time when you enter the season, but you can't deny some of these
stats that he puts up, someof the production, and a guy that

(04:46):
everyone seems to respect and genuinely like, which I do think matters in the
context, especially at a position likequarterbacks. So I'm not gonna be digging
on Kirk too much for that.There was one last take that this one
a little bit away from football.I didn't even want to throw this one
on you ahead of time, butI fully agree with Mark here. Thanksgiving
food is the most overrated food inthe planet. I'll even go a little
far that. I think Thanksgiving isa holiday. It gets a little overrated.

(05:08):
What are your thoughts on that churn? I know, okay, so
I saw the tweet. It wasabout stuffing, correct, it was.
I wanted to extend it here.Stuffing alone, I think is garbage.
Yes, I want to eat onThanksgiving, but yes, I think Thanksgiving
food is a little bit overrated.I think Thanksgiving is fun because of family
and football and stuff like that.I think it's a little bit overrated.
A lot of people like putting itabove like Christmas and stuff like that.

(05:30):
I think is absolutely wild. Butyeah, Thanksgiving food, it's just turkey,
stuffing and mash tatoes every single time. If it was that good,
we would eat it other times ofthe year. That is how I don't
need that cold turkey that's been sittingout. That is, by the time
it's carved up, you can't getit high. You gotta throw gravy on
it. All this stuff and stuffingis just not good, period. Oh,
I can't get it down. Soyeah, I like that Mark went

(05:53):
out on that limb. Not aThanksgiving food guy. I even think that
I see no flag on the playoff. People want to make an adjustment like
steak on thanks like that sounds amazing. It does, so I would have
no issue with that. But Iwas happy to see him go out on
that limb. We do have threegames of football on Thanksgiving this year as
usual, well, there will bethe three traditional games for Thanksay all get

(06:13):
too ahead of ourselves diving into it. We'll begin with this week's slate.
But I want to kick things offof the biggest news for the NFL,
which of course is watching that Thursdaynight him try and throw that ball on
the sideline and very clearly like cripplingin pain grabbing it. A very bizarre
injury. And then now they're tyingin the whole investigation as far as why
wasn't he listed on these scouts orthe injury report, what was on his
hand when he came off this plane? A ton of weird stuff there.
I've seen these class action lawsuits callingout for people being concerned their bets and

(06:38):
all these things. What's your thoughtson the Joe Burrow situation as a whole,
and how much do you think thischanged things for not just Cincinnati but
the NFL as a whole. Itchanges everything. Joe Burrow, you know,
we know he's just that guy.He comes out, he's the biggest
part of the Bengals. Bengals seasonis over. They should not have any
more expectations. I do. Ithink that's pretty obvious to say. And

(06:59):
it just ravens your clearcut favorites forthe AFC North Now how much more like
how important is that gonna be?How much is that gonna change the landscape
of the AFC. It's it's gonnaaffect it a lot. Yeah, and
I think it's gonna help the Ravensout the most. That's how I'm gonna
view it. Yeah. And JakeBrowning, the backup quarterback for Cincinnati,
not a guy that I will hangmy hat in, has the juice to

(07:21):
bring him over. Really didn't seemuch from him in that Thursday night game.
After that, he did come infor that that second half and just
may as Joe Burrow, I thinkthat's a safe take that we can ride
with. And just to look atthe AFC picture as a whole. Kansas
City Chiefs number one with a sevento two record, leading the AFC West,
then the Baltimore Ravens at number twoand eight three record first in the

(07:41):
AFC North. As you mentioned,they're kind of path to win that division
pretty clear now. Jacksonville Jaguars sixand three, Miami Dolphins six and three,
Pittsburgh Steelers six and three, ClevelandBrowns at six and three, and
the Houston Texans at five and four. If the season ended today, that
would be the playoff cutoff. Howdo you feel about the Houston Texans.
I know you're c straud guy.It's tough not to be at this point.

(08:01):
How impressed if he's been week inand week out. We have to
consider them as legitimate contenders in thisAFC. This ship, I mean,
I don't know necessarily about legitimate contenders, but because the AFC you do have
those top teams. I guess withJoe Burrow being out it makes it a
little bit more interesting. But yeah, when you have teams like like like
the Chiefs and the Dolphins, Idon't see the Texans being anywhere near them.

(08:26):
I think they're a great New Yorgreteam and they have exceeded expectations.
See de Straud is not was notsupposed to be as good as he is
right now. You can actually involvehim in the MVP conversation at this point.
Really, it's so wild to saythat we didn't think much of this
Texans team coming into it. Imean, at least I didn't. I
saw this being a two or threewin team. And you know, someone
that was on them really early wasactually Mark Henry Junior. He's been all
over Straud, all over the Texans, been betting them week in and week

(08:48):
out, and they are so muchfun to watch. I don't see him
being legitimate contenders, but throughout thesenext couple of years they got they have
like they had the foundation and they'rejust like continue getting even better. They're
fun, They're so much fun towatch. Yeah, and it's kind of
like this phrase gets thrown around toomuch, but I think they're playing with
house money this year that they havea chance to by default kind of be

(09:09):
in the hunt. So if theycan show up, if they can carry
this into the playoffs, and theworst case scenario is this is an incredible
growing experience for c dey Stroud,for Dmiko Ryans is the first year head
coach who should be in the Coachof the Year. I would believe front
runner at this point in time theway he plays. But yeah, it
really is concerning when you look atthe AFC how open it is. Even
looking at the teams on the bubblenow, Cincinnati's sitting at five and five,

(09:30):
the Bills at five and five,who have looked bad, Chargers at
four and five, Jets at fourand five, a lot of teams that
just haven't put it together. Doyou think the AFC fully runs through Kansas
City? Are you giving Baltimore atleast a fair shot or even them the
edge? I mean, I wouldstill give Kansas City they are up top,
But Baltimore they're interesting. Man,They're a little bit more scary than
then. We'd also think for suredefense is a real deal. Defense is

(09:54):
so good, Lamar Jackson having agreat season as well, so much fun
to watch. I don't see anyoneelse really contending with them. I think
it's the same way in the NFC. It's like Eagles and Eagles and forty
nine ers pretty much, you knowwhat I mean. I think at this
point it's kind of just like Chiefsand Ravens. I don't see anyone else
really having a decent shot at it. Yeah, that's fair, and I
want to dive into this Chiefs teama little bit. We know we have

(10:16):
the Monday night matchup between Kansas Cityand the Eagles, the Super Bowl rematch
of last year, a potential SuperBowl preview of this year as well,
and the game that I believe willgo down as the most viewed regular season
NFL game of all time for starters, A Monday night football game, a
primetime slate, a super Bowl rematchthe Chiefs and Eagles already going to be
a massive draw. And then youadd the Taylor Swift that is, with

(10:37):
t Swizzle coming all the way backto the States, hopping in the booth,
apparently both sides of the family onthe Kelsey and the Swift, we
might see less football than the TaylorSwift cam, which is gonna be frustrating
to anybody. But I do thinkthis game has a chance to have the
highest viewings of any game ever.That'st thing. It should be that way,
even without Taylor Swift and all ofthat other shauma coming into and then

(10:58):
you get the Kels. He's facingoff it's it's gonna be an all time
fun game and Taylor script. Sure, if you're gonna get some more fans
in the NFL and make it moreinteresting, sure, why not. I
don't hate it, but it's Idon't think it's crazy to say that it's
gonna be one of the most washedNFL games. I think that's very true.
Yeah, absolutely, And how doyou feel about the game specifically?
So the Chiefs are coming in asthree point favorites, the over under set

(11:18):
at forty nine and a half orforty five and a half in this one,
Eagles plus one twenty four on themoney line. What's your outlook for
this game as a whole. Soit's it's really interesting because these are both
teams that are so different than howthey were last year. Yeah, you
know, Mahomes has slowed down alittle bit and being I wouldn't call him
a game manager at any at anypoint, but he's not going out and
just destroying teams, having four hundredyard passing games over and over. He's

(11:43):
just he's game managing and just gettingthe win. Same thing as Jalen Hurts
in the Philadelphia Eagles. They're doingthe exact same thing. You'll see blowouts
happening with either one of these teamslike you did last year, and now
you have two teams that have beenplaying a little bit conservative. Are they
both gonna come out aggressive this timeagainst the other top team in the other
conference. Hopefully that'll make the gamea lot more interesting. It's it's gonna

(12:05):
be a close game. I'm hopingthat the home field advantage is gonna work
out in the eagles favor and Ithink that they can pull out the win.
But either way, I don't thinkit's a bad thing if we get
like a small loss. I mean, you're facing the other best team in
the league. And again, justlike how you brought up with the Texan,
it's gonna be like it's like alearning experience. This is like scouting
how this could be in the SuperBowl. So I think the Eagles will

(12:28):
pull out a very very close winjust because of the home field advantage.
Yeah, And I have no issuewith even if the Eagles do lose this
one that I don't think we shouldpanic by any means that this is a
game that will be I even thinkthere's a chance that Nick Sirianni and the
Eagles played a little bit close tothe vest and not reveal some of their
tricks to the trade, and I'dbe okay with that. Yeah, I

(12:48):
have no issue with it. Andto touch on the Chiefs, like they
very clearly are buying into the mindsetof Patrick Mahomes can make anyone around him
greater, and they're really pushing theenvelope and that one receiving core this year,
guys like Sky Moore, Cadarius Tonyjust not really weapons that strike fear
into an opponent. And not thatthey missed Tyreek Hill as a whole.
I mean they obviously do, becausehe's incredible, one of the best wide

(13:09):
receivers in the league. But Ifeel like they overlooked it to a point
of you still got to have somebody'sthere. And we've seen it time in
and time out, year in andyear out with different organizations. Think about
like the Patriots them pulling out theguys like Chris Hogan and Wes Welker and
Danny Immndol and these guys Julian Edelmanthat you have no clue of. There's
teams that are able to pull outthese undrafted guys that go onto the radar.

(13:30):
I don't think the Chiefs have hitthe nail on the head with kind
of going with this tactic, andthey've also really bought in of kind of
a defensive approach that that defense isthe real deal, probably the best that
we've seen in the Patrick Mahomes era. I think that's gonna push this Eagles
team a little bit. And I'llalso say on the Philadelphia side of things,
the bye we came at the absoluteperfect time. Yeah, that Jalen
Hurts having a chance to finally puthis knee up, put some ice on

(13:50):
that thing. He's got no bracecoming back this week, and I think
there's a chance that he can berejuvenated. I was really concerned with the
version of Jalen Hurts we saw inthat final game how he played, because
he actually played pretty well still,but he just clearly looked in pain,
was not moving around. And whatmakes him special as a football player is
when he is that true dual threatcaliber player where he can take a guy
on with his legs, pick upa first down with that and still sit

(14:13):
in the pocket, be composed,and just pick a defensive part when everything
is working for him. He cando both of those things. I think
that knee was holding back to apoint where he couldn't. I don't need
to see that Monday night, butI would like to see just a pain
free game and him looking in bettershape. Yeah, I totally agree,
and I think something else for theEagles. I means it's very obvious.
But Travis kelce we talked about,we talk about how we don't the Chiefs

(14:35):
don't have the best receivers. Myhome isn't throwing to the best guys.
But you still have that Travis kelcePTSD. Travis, he just balls out
every single game. You know he'sgonna want to do it against his brother.
Who are they with his girl inthe crowd, with his girl in
the crowd around their family? Who? What are some things that the Eagles
can do to try to stop Traviskelcey. Who are they going to put

(14:56):
on him most of the time?What are kind of your view and how
they can stop him? Yeah,I wish I had a better answer for
what the correct move is for that. Just to look at some of his
props over under for receptions is atseven and a half, at plus one
ten seventy four and a half foryardage, which I actually unfortunately like the
over of both those things that Ido think they're going to force feed him
pretty heavily that we will see whatthis kind of looks like. From the

(15:18):
Eagles perspective, they very much seemto be both with Jonathan Gannon last year
and now with Sean Dezi, we'restill seeing this bend but don't break strategy,
which unfortanately unfortunately opens the door forTravis Kelsey to get all he wants
under the middle. So I wouldlike to see some adjustments throughout the game.
He's a guy that is going tobe the featured piece of their offense
and is on all week by weekbasis. But yeah, I'm concerned with

(15:39):
what they can even do. Andhe's leading the pack where touchdown Odd's minus
one ten on any time touchdown,Pat Checko right behind him at plus one
ten and Mark Henry Junior's favorite betand one then he will be mentioning when
we go to the pick section,Jalen Hurd it's up to plus one twenty
five on anytime touchdown. So surprisingto see that value kind of swing the
other way that that's creeped all theway down to minus one ten at one
point and I don't know if it'sthe knee that they're kind of buying into

(16:02):
of taking that back a little bit, but I think that is good value
this week. And Jalen Hurts,I mean the last time that they played
the Chiefs, Hearts had three rushingtouchdowns on the ground. So I like
that number quite a bit. Ifif I'm remembering correctly, I remember Mark
tweeted out a couple of days ago. I believe he got at plus one
fifty on a sports book that courtingmarketing a junior, no free ads.

(16:22):
He got at plus one fifty.It is absolutely insane. This is what
he this is what Jalen Hurts does. We're not expecting him to go out
and make a toy and I geta twenty yard rushing touchdown. They get
down to the one yard line everysingle game and you get at least one
brotherly shove a game for Jalen Hurstto score a touchdown. And if you
when you get up plus one fifty, odds he's going to hit. It's
going to happen again. I don'tcare about the knee thing. He's still

(16:45):
Oh he has a knee issue.Oh my bad. Maybe he's only squat
in five fifty instead of six hundred. Now, Oh, but who's still
there? Jason Kelsey is still undercenter. We got this entire offensive line
still there. Jalen Hurts is gettinga touchdown again. I can't believe how
disrespectful they are for Galen Hurst anytime touchdown? Yeah, absolutely, and
any other games you think jumping outto you a couple specific that I'll kind

(17:06):
of read off and that I like. The Texans is minus six against the
Cardinals. As I mentioned, Ithink the Texans are the real deal that
I think this is another CD shroud. I know Kyler Murray has brought some
juice back into that Arizona organization asa whole, really, but I do
think the Texans can come and takecare of business there. The Jaguars minus
seven against the Texts against the Titansintrigues me as well. Jaguars is a
little bit of a put up andshut up time for me that if they

(17:29):
want to be considered this AFC threat, which they were hyped up to be
coming into the year, and now'sthe time put your foot on the gas
and prove it. So I likethat matchup as well. Titans not really
going anywhere the Commanders and Giants Commanderseight and a half point favorites. There
Anything jumping out to you, Ohwhat? Something out to me? Is
Bill's Jets. These guys still fightingfor their AFC East Bill's at five and
five, Jets at four and six. The Jets can sneak into that second

(17:52):
place spot and be possibly a gameor two behind the Dolphins. Just like
that and the other one we knowme. Mark already texted about it earlier.
Seattle Seahawks are playing football tomorrow fourtwenty five against their Rams, and
you bet I am all over theSeahawks, Mark, You're welcome. Love
it. But Seahawks versus Rams anothergame that I'll be tuning into being a

(18:12):
secondary Seahawks hen at this point.Love it. I also like the Vikings
plus two on the spread plus onetwenty on the money line. The Sunday
night football game against the Denver Broncos. This could be an ugly Sunday night
game. We're talking Josh Dobbs versusRussell Wilson. But I do think that
the Vikings are cooking. Yeah,yeah, And I will say in the
Broncos defense, they are coming offback to back wins. They do look

(18:34):
like they're playing football now. Nevermind the fact that if the Bill has
just put eleven men on the fieldfor that final kick, that I'm not
speaking as positively about them. Butthey are in the hunt and still open
for the takings, so they couldabsolutely get a win and try and make
a statement there. I think Ilean towards the Vikings in this one.
It should be a good week offootball, and we're starting to get down
to this home stretch where each gamematters, the playoff pictures being painted,

(18:56):
and we're kind of have an ideaof where which of the cream is rising
to the top, which of theseteams are pretenders, which is cool.
I think we can slide over itand give Mark Henry. Let Mark Henry
list off his picks here, andwe're gonna go to break after this.
On the other side, we're goingto be joined by RB philly Take to
talk all things Sixers, excited topick his brain and talk a little bit.
You know him from the Run ItBack or RB philly Take on Twitter.

(19:18):
He also does the Out the Mudpodcast with Paul Reid. Excited to
get his thoughts, But first let'shear Mark Henry's picks right here. What's
up to Browne As you're listening toTalco radio show Sean Bernards filling in for
me admirable belief, and I justwanted to call in real quick and get
you my picks for today in collegefootball. I'm gonna run through these really
fast. My better today's Crystal Carolinaminus three for five units. I like

(19:42):
Louisville and to pick them against Miamifor three units, Arizona and a pick
them against Utah for four units,Georgia minus ten for two units, UNLV
plus three and a half against AirForce for one unit, Notre Dame minus
twenty four and a half against WakeForest unit Oregon State minus one for four

(20:03):
units against Washington to pull off theranking upset and knock the spread upset Missouri
minus ten and a half against Floridafor two units, Texas minus seven and
a half against Iowa State for threeunits, and at ten thirty that flows
it out. I like the overfifty six in New Mexico Fresno State.
Looking at the NFL board, Ihave about ten to eleven picks that I

(20:26):
like a couple anytime touchdowns that Ihad added recently. I like the Cowboys
minus ten and a half at theCarolina Panthers. They'd take care of business
against bad teams. Jake Ferguson anytimetouchdown plus two thirty against Carolina the Steelers
plus two. I grabbed that earlyin the week. I'd still take it
on the money line right now atthe Browns in that game. I also
like Koreem Hunt anytime touchdown score plustwo to seventy. And I like Drian

(20:48):
Thompson Robinson anytime touchdown score plus fivefifty. Commanders minus eight and a half
versus the Giants at one o'clock theChargers minus three at the Packers the Jets
plus seven at the Bills. JoshAllen anytime touchdown plus one forty five,
Vikings plus two and a half.Josh Dobbs anytime touchdown plus two seventy five.

(21:10):
Jalen Hurts anytime touching down plus onefifty. Of course, is the
best bet of the week. Theteaser of the week is Cowboys minus one,
Commanders plus one and a half fortynine Ers minus one and a half.
That's gonna do it from my portionof the show here, enjoy Shambernard
on the top of radio show forthe rest of the texts The Gambler,
Philly's home for all things sports gambling. First day's first recipe stuck a pail

(21:56):
for Frail. Then we are backon this side with the Tough Cup Radio
show. Back to talk some Sixersand with me to do that, with
me and Jeremy to do that.I have a very special guest. He
is RB Philly Take. You knowhim as the CEO and seventy six Ers
content creator of Philly Take with RB. He's also the host and Eagles content
creator for A to Z Philly aswell as started the Out the Mud podcast

(22:18):
with the Philadelphia seventy six Ers veryown Paul Reid. So a guy that
is killing it on every level,has been running the YouTube game for quite
some time now, and a guythat I am happy to call a friend
of mine. So, RB,appreciate you for joining me tonight. How
are we doing, Sean? Appreciateyou having me on man. Excited to
be here and chop it up.Yeah, absolutely so it is good vibes.
It feels a little better talking aboutthe Sixers these days than some of

(22:38):
the other times that we have beenthrough, for sure. So I want
to kick things off talk a littlebit about last night's game against the Hawks,
a one twenty six to one sixteenvictory, Sixers moved to nine and
three on the season, sitting atsecond place in the East. What's it
out to you about last night's victoryspecifically, RB. I just thought that
this was another game on the eightytwo schedule, the nd season tournament.

(22:59):
What really stood out was that glaringcourt that looked like they were playing on
a glacier. My eyes are stillhurting from last night. But the Sixers
just took over in the second half, and once again, this team finds
ways to win games. You know, it was sloppy, it was pretty
ugly for i'd say seventy percent ofthe game, but just the way this
team's able to will themselves together.Joel Embiid taking the ball down the stretch,

(23:22):
a couple clutch buckets, and Ithink this team just knows how to
win better than prior Sixer teams.And it's not like the Hawks are,
you know, some championship level team, but on the road in season tournament
a little more to play for.I thought the Sixers did a good job
closing it out at the end.Yeah, absolutely, I thought it was
a nice mature victory by the Sixeres, and that's kind of a theme that
I'm seeing is they feel like they'retaking care of business in a way that

(23:45):
I have not seen from them inpast years. That it always felt like
there were these random games where theyjust kind of did not show up,
and now they're coming off two performancesagainst the the Paces and the Celtics,
which they did not play their bestfor sure, but there's a lot of
games to be played. I thoughtlast night was an example of a game
that good teams win, and theyfound a way to do that. I
also like that they acknowledged the ndseason tournament, that they considered it and

(24:06):
must win. I think it's coolthat they did that. What are your
thoughts on the N season tournament asa whole? RB? Are you in
on this idea? Are still skeptical? I think I'm on the side of
let's wait it out and see.I'm still a little confused on the overall
incentive. I know there's financial playin it, but other than that having
a tournament earlier in the season,I get what they're trying to do,

(24:27):
but it's not really similar to mewhen it comes to the play in because
that's literally to get into the playoffs. There's a lot more on the line.
I just feel like guys have tobe incentivized. And I think some
of these younger teams, ones thatare probably out of it by you know,
mid December January, those teams willplay very hard. I'm not still
sold on, you know, someof the championship level teams going all in

(24:49):
twenty games into the season or theten to fifteen games in. Yeah,
it is going to be interesting.And I think my greatest point in theme
on my take on things is Ithink the coolest parts of this tournament are
still to come. That once weget past the group stage and start to
see these elimination matchups, we willfeel the intensity. But I like that
the NBA is trying something different andit is cool to see. I agree
the courts are a little much.The sixers one specifically, it was painful

(25:12):
in the eyes a little bit,But you know what, We'll take it
where we can get it. Andas far as the game itself. Last
night, so Joel and Be leadingthe way with scores thirty two points,
eight assists, seven rebounds. Thateight assist is something that really jumps out
to me that we've kind of talkedfor years about where can Joel continue to
grow as a player. That we'veseen him be this dominant force defensively,
we've seen him lead the league inscoring for two straight years, but it

(25:33):
is that playmaking leap that we're seeingfrom him. Do you agree with that
and where where do you think thatis coming from? Is that a credit
to Nick Nurse as far as theoffense, Is that on Joel specifically or
what are you seeing in that area? RB? Yeah, honestly, I
think Joelle has hit that level ofhis career, that maturity stage as you
mentioned earlier, where you know,it's all or nothing at this point.
As great as a talent as Joelis, and I'm all in on him

(25:56):
as a player, you know,he needs to perform down the stretch in
the playoffs, obviously staying healthy,but this team can't get over the hump.
They have not gotten over the hump, and part of that is due
to Joel, you know, notbeing more versatile in other areas. So
yeah, I think it stems downfrom Nick Nurse and having a chance to
talk with him this past week,I can just tell he's so much more

(26:18):
focused on the team aspect, andI think you're seeing that with this team
relay down to certain areas. There'sno ego on this team. It has
to be me, this snighter,it has to be him that night.
You know, Joel's spreading the wealth. Ty Reese is spreading the wealth.
He's been called a few games,but even the way Tobias Harris is playing,
There's so many guys on this teamcontributing, and I think it's just

(26:40):
different from the past. You know, Joel has always been superior, but
now he's putting more trust in hisguys and I think that really just is
the tone that's said at the top. Yeah. Absolutely, And as you
mentioned, you did sit down withNick Nurse this week on the ALP the
Mud podcast with Paul Reed. Hesaid a lot of interesting stuff in that
and we talked a little bit aboutthat the defense. There less than fifty

(27:00):
percent of their defensive sets have beenput in place, that they still plenty
to learn. They're kind of addingthings to the playbook as the season progresses.
And one of the things that hesaid in that interview that was very
cool to me is he's like,it depends on the matchup for what we
learn like if something's working, wechange on the fly, adjust to that,
and then that's something that we nowadd to our playbook or we have,
you know, in the cards topull out when necessary. When talking

(27:21):
with Nurse, what was kind ofone of the biggest takeaways that you had
from him? Obviously he talked alot about the both personality side of things
coaching, but what was your justfeel for what he's bringing to the Sixers
team and your overall optimism for him. Well, before I say that,
one thing I want to add onto what you just said is I think
that showed in a para fashion lastnight. Right they go with Jaden Springer,
Yeah, and he ends up playingtwenty two minutes last night, But

(27:45):
why did he stay in? Becausehe was making such an impact on the
defensive end. Even a guy likeDaniel House who's been up and down through
his career here in Philadelphia, youknow, he goes for fourteen last night,
Nick Nurse stayed with what worked.And I think that's one of the
glaring differences that we have seen thisyear as opposed to prior years. You
know, Doc Rivers would always havehis certain rotations, his certain minutes,

(28:07):
and guys would get subbed out nomatter the circumstance. And I think now
you're seeing Nick Nurse kind of ridewith what works and it's been huge for
this team. But as it relatesto Nurse, I think one thing I
really picked up one not even juston the basketball floor, but in general,
is that he's very humble man.He's very appreciative of his opportunities,
whether it's coaching overseas or sticking inthe G League for ten years. Nick

(28:30):
Nurse is appreciative of every opportunity.And I think you kind of see that
in this Sixers team identity. Youknow, they go out and they fight.
They fight every night, even ifit hasn't looked the best the last
couple of games. You know,they're scrapping down to the final possession.
It's not a what we would callscheduled loss in prior years. This team
goes out, they fight, andI think, you know, really they're

(28:51):
trying to get it out the mud. Literally every single night they're going,
they're working, and they just don'tgive up. And I think that's really
one of the main diffferences, andI think it stems from Nurse and really
his coaching style. Yeah, absolutely, and that is infectious. And there's
a lot of cool stuff that youdove into in that interview and just cool
things about Nick Nurse as a whole. I find something really valuable and kind
of his whole upbringing and path tobecoming the coach that he has coaching in

(29:15):
different leagues at different levels, havingunique circumstances that are thrown at you that
you need to adjust to. Forexample, when he's coaching at that point
the D League level, when heis all of a sudden has his two
best players called up to the NBAand he's got to figure out how can
I manufacture offense? Those kind oflessons stick with the guy, and I
think he's very clear about having thatjust in his mental capacity. And you're

(29:36):
right, he is very humble throughouteverything. One of the cool questions in
that interview that was actually the finalquestion asked by Paul is yes, what's
your why? And I thought thatwas a cool answer by Nick Nurse,
just kind of speaking about how he'shere to compete every day when every day
talked about his upbringing with his familybeing a big family and all those things.
So it's really cool that he's kindof instilling this in the team,
and I think you hit the nailon the head with the just adaptability and

(29:59):
right with the hot hand and away. Jaden Springer specifically, is a guy
who's now played twenty minutes in backto back games after really being buried in
the rotation and getting some dnps fora good part of the season. Do
you think Springer is in it tostay or do you think that's an answer
to some of their defensive concerns.I definitely think he will be a part
of this rotation moving forward. Ithink Nurse is going to assess this team

(30:21):
over the next month or two.And it's really why I haven't been,
you know, too much inclined totalk about, Oh, should the Sixers
get another star or should they stickwith their deaths and go for role pieces.
I think there's a lot that hasto play out. I think you
have to kind of wait and see, you know, which guys step up.
And I think it's almost like Sixerfans in the past are worried because

(30:41):
Doc Rivers would never do he wouldhave his set guys, he wouldn't adapt,
he wouldn't give young guys playing time. But Nurse is going to really
kind of stick out and give guyscertain opportunities and see what sticks, you
know, throw it at the wall. And I think Springer is definitely going
to be a huge impact piece onthis team. Honestly, not guy I
would have expected a few years ago, but he's definitely made some strides in

(31:03):
his game. The shot looks better, and we know what he can do
defensively. Yeah, and I totallyagree about the This is the period of
evaluation for the Sixers team, andprobably the guy at the epicenter of that
conversation is Tyrese Maxi. We've seenhim score fifty points, We've seen him
have tennis as zero turnover games,showing that he's capable of being a point
guard eleven as SIS game. He'sthe only player in the NBA to have
multiple games with tennis is zero turnoversthis season. What's your outlook for Tyrese

(31:29):
Maxey. I know Paul on thepodcast said that there is no limit or
there is no ceiling to his limitas a player. What are you seeing
from him and how high do youthink he can truly grow as a player
This season? Man, I meanthis season and going forward, I think
Tyree's is going to be a star, not even just a star, a
superstar. And I think we're seeingthat maturity leap this year, even though

(31:49):
he's been a little bit, youknow, off the last couple of games.
The confidence hasn't been there early.Just the way he can heat up.
I mean, we can talk abouthim all day, the talent,
the speed, everything he can do, but I think the number one thing
that has improved is his outlook onthe floor. He's not turned the ball
over, he's getting guys involved,and the confidence factor has been huge,

(32:12):
Like he's willing to take the balllate in games and go take over.
And I don't think that's something heever had a chance to do previously.
But in terms of the leap forthis season, I think that's honestly the
number one factor that will determine howthis Sixers team plays it out in terms
of a roster construction, Because ifMAXI can take that leap and you truly
have that dynamic duo with Joel andTyresee and a guy like Tobias playing a

(32:35):
lot more freely, etc. Whydo you need to go out and get
another guy who's going to have totake twenty shots tonight. It wouldn't make
much sense. I think Tyres isjust going to grow and nurture, and
I think Nurse truly believes in TyreseMAXI. He said it from day one
when he got hired. We needto put the ball in ty Resee's hands
more. Even you know, fouror five games ago, when Tyrese had

(32:57):
a really productive game, he said, we still need him to be twenty
five percent more aggressive. And Idon't think he's gonna let up. I
think Tyres will solidify himself as probablyone of the premier guards in the league
this season, and I think he'sgoing to be an All Star. Yeah,
I one hundred percent agree, andI think he's gonna be in the
All NBA conversation. To take ita step further and just to look at
his stats as a whole on theseason, having twenty six point nine points

(33:21):
per game, six point eight assists, which is a massive leap from the
three point five y average last year, one point five turnovers compared to the
one point three that he averaged lastyear, which to me is incredibly impressive
considering how many more passes and howmuch more he's been asked to do without
these additional turnovers and then the threepoint percentage still forty three point three percent.
That's probably my biggest critique of Tyreeso far is I want more volume

(33:42):
from the three point line. Ialso do want to give him credit that
as a defender, I think he'simproved miles since when he first came into
the NBA. So I'm totally withyou that I think this is the guy.
I think this is the Jowel Embiidco star that we've been waiting for
that I've gone on here multiple timesand said, I believe the two man
game between Tyrese Maxi and Jowell Embiidis more dangerous than the two man game
between James Harden and Jowell Embiid.And the reason that I say that is

(34:04):
because James Harden's incredibly elite at thethings that he does, but he's very
limited in the things that he cando. When you bring a guy like
Tyrese Maxi with this useful energy,with this pace, with the shooting ability,
the movement that you can bring in, you can mix in so much
more. Whether it is a traditionalpick and roll, which Maxie showed the
ability to hit that pocket pass inan advanced way. He also is capable
as a spot up shooter, aguy that can do the dribble, handoffs.

(34:27):
There's plenty more that you can justjuice out of it. So how
do you feel about that take RB. Do you think this Maxi and Embid
duo can be more dangerous than theHarden and Mbiid duo? Yeah? Absolutely,
And as crazy as it may sound, I think ty Reese is still
scratching the surface because I think oncehe gets to that level of confidence where
he's ready to do it every night, I think you can say goodbye to

(34:49):
the rest of the league, becausehow are you going to stop ty Reese,
especially when he has a partner likeJoel Embiid who demands so much attention,
so much, you know, somuch on the court. Ty Reese
is unbelievable as a talent and theone thing in terms of shooting the deep
ball that we wanted to see improved. I mean, he's done it beyond
expectation. The guy is now shootingover forty two percent from deep three years

(35:14):
in a row, and it waseffortless. He's only twenty three. He
just turned twenty three. Imagine whatthis guy can be two years down the
line, three years down the line, four years down the line, I
think this duo is going to beone of the best in the league for
years to come. Yeah. Absolutelylove to hear that. And yeah,
I've given up putting a limit onwhat he can be because he just continues

(35:35):
to blow past the ceiling that Iand everyone else have put on him.
Whether it is as a playmaker asa shooter, it is terrific. Now,
as we've spoken about, this iskind of the evaluation period for the
Sixers. There's plenty more sample sizethat we're going to gain as these games
go on. We've seen a lotwe haven't seen many of these premier matchups.
Yes, they've played the Celtics twice, they've played the Bucks already,
but there's plenty more games that Ihave circled that I want to note as

(35:55):
far as how this team matches up, looking at it as it's currently construy
did how do you feel about thisteam playoff outlook? RB? How close
do you think they are too?Well, say, the Celtics are the
Bucks or the top tier of contendersas they're currently as this roster currently looks,
well, I think they're an unfinishedproduct and first and foremost I want

(36:15):
to say this for the people hittingthe panic button out there because they lost
to the Celtics. Okay, theybeat the Celtics fully healthy the week before,
so that's one thing. In additionto that, what like what percentage
I would say of people out therehad the Sixers starting nine to three in
their first twelve games and also rallyingeight off in a row like this Sixers

(36:37):
team, to me, it's notreally that they've won nine games, it's
how they have won these games,putting teams away early in the second half,
being able to rest your well embid. There have been a lot of
games this season they have dominated,and they held it close to Milwaukee.
You could argue maybe a couple callscould have sent the game in the other
direction. Boston they beat once.Sure it was a bad loss a couple
of nights ago. But to me, this six team has competed probably in

(37:00):
every single game. And I thinkanother important factor to keep in mind is
that the two wings that they haveon this team are the two guys that
can play the three comfortably. AndKelly Ubray and Nick Batoon, you know,
have been out. They've been out, and when they've been in this
team has looked drastically different, soI think they're an unfinished product. But
I think this team is levels beyondwhat they were in the past. I

(37:22):
think it stems down from the identitythat Nick Nurse is put into this team.
I don't think they will stop workingas they go through the season.
You know, every game is importantand looking towards some of the big dogs
in this league, to me,the East is not impressive at all.
I mean, Milwaukee's struggling to kindof find their identity. Not a big
believer in Miami, and we knowthe Celtics will be there. So really,

(37:44):
in my mind, the Sixers haveone team to kind of push through,
and they've already beat them once thisyear. I'm really not that concern
right now. I think this teamcould get over the top, especially now
that they have ammunition to go outand add more at the deadline. Yeah.
I love that optimism and totally agree. Yeah, and I like this
approach of sitting back, continuing toevaluate, and striking when the time is

(38:04):
right. And as you mentioned,both Kelly Ubre and Nicholas Batum have not
been with this team this past coupleof games. Two guys that are gonna
be probably twenty five plus minute pergame guys when they are in the final
rotation and when things are fully swinging. Both have been terrific. Ubre has
been awesome as a scoring punch,a guy that hopefully he heals up and
that whole situation resolves itself. TheSixers are absolutely missing himself, missing him
on the floor. And Nicholas Batum, I think is terrific. It's just

(38:27):
a connective passer, a guy thatdoes all the little things. And the
Sixers team feels loaded with guys dojust the little things, the hard working
things what translates to winning in away that I don't think this roster has
had in years past. Now,one guy that I do want to touch
on or go ahead, is itDo you have a thought on that or
bit? Yeah? I was justgonna say, what has this team missed
in prior years? You know,they missed production from the small forward position.

(38:52):
I mean they had zero point Tuckerlast year, who literally was a
donut in almost every single game.Yeah, and when they add those guys,
when you add a sixteen point forgaining Keilly Ubray, you just see
the drastic difference and having that outlet, you know, for Joel when he's
double team to kick it out toa willing shooter, it just makes a
world of difference in my eyes.Yeah, absolutely could not agree more there.

(39:15):
And I just I feel bad pilingon and kind of talking about this
guy negatively because I do really likehim, but the Anthony Mountain's become a
point of concern for me with thisteam, and I do think he's a
useful player. I would like keepinghim around, but I don't think that
you win a championship with Danthony Mountainas you're starting shooting guard. And what
really is kind of perplexing me isthis that shout out Tarl bro dude for
tweeting this out d Anthony Melton atthe rim this year between zero and three

(39:37):
feet is shooting twenty two point sevenpercent compared to his three point percentage which
is forty one point nine percent.That's just an absurd difference. And he
truly feels like such a reckless finisherand very just strange player that he has
such important strengths when you talk abouthis defensive ability, his ability as a
shooter as kind of a floor spacer, he's a willing catch and shooter,

(39:57):
but he also struggles as a guythat can create offense. Rather, the
Sixers have kind of tried him asthis backup point guard role has not fully
worked. He's shifted to more ofan off guard role with even with the
second unit, they've kind of handedthat responsibility over to Pat Bev. Now,
but what do you feel about theAnthony Mountain. Do you think that's
an area where the Sixers need toupgrade or Originally I liked him as a
compliment to Maxie, but I'm kindof walking that back a little bit.

(40:19):
So how are you feel about Meultainso far this year? Yeah, honestly,
he's probably been one of the biggestweaknesses of the team. And I
also really liked him, especially asa kind of three and D guy.
We saw how much he produced lastyear. I just think he's much better
suited off the bench. I'm thinkingabout a bench of potentially Kelly ubre In
as your sixth man and the AnthonyMelton right behind him, and I think

(40:40):
that provides a lot more productions ofthe bench who has been weak in some
games this year, And honestly,I'd probably say that's their biggest area of
need at this point, maybe atwo, a combo guard, or maybe
just a guy that can play offof Maxi, because I've also noticed that
at points, especially in the firstquarter of games, it's like Maxi doesn't
really have the ball in his handsa lot, and sometimes it feels like
Melton is the guy handling the rockand it just doesn't really make a lot

(41:05):
of sense. I don't think he'sbeing optimized in his best role right now,
so I would much rather see himoff the bench, and I do
think the Sixers Darryl Morriy will lookto address that area of need. I
think it's a huge one right now. Yeah, I totally agree there,
and the trade conversations are going tobegin to get louder and louder as we
approach the deadline. I think theSixers did the best thing possible with this

(41:27):
Clippers deal, not only for endingthe James Harden issue, but to stock
the closet with assets just be ableto take a step back, look at
this team and then strike when theiron is hot. The biggest name out
there right now is currently Zach Lavine, and there's been a ton of buzz.
There is the connection with the Sixers, both in the Tyrese Maxie standpoint
that he's a new balanced guy anda clutch sports guy as well as the
Joel Embiid guy. That Zack Lavin'sa Drew Handlon guy as well. He's

(41:47):
trained with Jowell quite a bit.Do you have any interest in Zach Levine
to the Sixers RB? I do, but I also don't at the same
time. And what I mean bythat is, I just think it needs
to play itself out. I thinkhe need to see one if Tyrese Maxi
truly is taking this leap into thatnext tier, and two if Tobias Harris

(42:09):
can continue to keep up this production. Because you know, as much as
we've talked about ty Reeves and Joe, Well, let's not forget Tobias Harris
Man. This guy has been stuffedinto many different roles. He's been a
great veteran locker room guy, andwhen it boils down to it, Tobias
has been one of the most consistentplayers this year. Even last night the
way he stayed physical going to therim. He's averaging twenty a game.

(42:30):
If these three guys can continue toaverage above twenty points per game, it
almost makes me feel like going toget a Zach Levine would be a waste
unless you're playing him primarily off ball. I think that really the Sixers just
need to upgrade the ancillary pieces findthe right role players as of right now,
but then again, that could changein a month a month and a
half. So I like Levine.I think, you know, people get

(42:53):
him a bad rep sometimes in termsof his attitude and his defense, but
honestly, I just don't think thefit has ever been there with Chicago,
with the Marta Rozen I never reallyliked that combination. I think he'd be
great here in Philadelphia, but it'sall about what the Sixers team needs,
and I think you just have toevaluate that as you look forward the next
month or two. Yeah, andthat's an excellent point as well, and

(43:15):
it is nice to not have thisrush that they're not searching for the deal
or still trying to make a JamesHarden trade. I do agree with you.
I think Levine gets a worse repthan he deserves. That he is
pretty efficient as an off ball shooter. I think he bought into the role
of being that third piece next toTyrese Maxi and Joel Embiid that I would
love how it looked in Philadelphia orhow it would look with this team.
But I think my greater concern isstill in the defensive end, which he

(43:35):
would not be an asset. That'swhere I still kind of circle and sitting
back is if they do need anog nnobi Arc type of player, even
a Pascal Siakam like I still rememberJason Tatum dropping fifty on us in the
playoffs and that ending our season,and I still haven't seen a clean fix
for how that can get better.So I think I lean towards the defensive
side of the ball being a littlebit more of the priority. But also

(43:57):
it's very clear that they do needa secondary ball handler to extent. So
how do you feel about that?You would you weigh defense a little more
or would you say a Zach Lavinetype or that style of player. It's
something you'd be more interested at thispoint. Don Now, I'm in agreement
with you there. And even goingback to something that Nurse said on the
interview on the podcast, he said, you know, we don't have truly
a lockdown guy. Yeah, Andeven Daryl Morey has spoke recently saying in

(44:22):
the playoffs you need two way lockdownplayers. You need guys that can do
it on both sides of the floor. And when you get to the playoffs,
when the bright lights are on,you need a guy you can stick
out there and have, you know, really a lot of certain confidence that
that guy can go and lock upthe Jason Tatums of the world, or
you know, the Jimmy Butlers orthe Gyays or whoever it may be.

(44:44):
So I agree, I think theSixers need to go out and honestly,
you know, prioritize defense in theplayoffs as long as they have a healthy
ubre coming back and if a tuneguys that can knock down shots, they
need a lockdown defender, and theyalso will need some help at the backup
one. They will need some moreball handling. And honestly, a guy
that kind of fits that archetype rightnow who's been hot on the trade rumors

(45:06):
is Alx Caruso. I know it'searly, but you know a player like
that who I also think would fitNick Nurse's system perfectly, be able to
switch a lot and really just havethat hunger in terms of attacking the ball,
especially on the perimeter. Yeah,that's awesome, man. A ton
of reasons to be optimistic about theSixers team. It truly does feel like
better vibes than some of the timesthat we've been through. Hopefully more to

(45:27):
come. RB. I appreciate youtaking some time to chop it up with
me today. I know I mentionedyou got the Out the Mud podcast with
Paul Reid, plenty of other bigthings with the Sixers world and with the
the YouTube stuff you got going on. Just take me through everything you got
on your plate as far as contentright now. Yeah, man, So
you can find all my sisters contenton YouTube Philly take with RB. You
can find my Eagles coverage on Ato Z Philly on YouTube as well.

(45:51):
I have the Out the Mud podcastwith b Ball Paul, We'll have some
special guests coming up on there,and really you can just find me on
Instagram and Twitter. I'm always onthere, active and you know, just
putting out as much content as possible. Awesome. I appreciate you hopping on
today. We're going to take abreak here with the Tough Cover radio show.
On the other side, we dohave to address the James Harden game
winner last night and everything that wentdown with that game. Well, RB,

(46:13):
thanks once again for hopping on today. We'll be with you on the
other side facs. She like squideverybody. The game started my new boot
hoop in at night and he saidhe played it guarded. He said,
if I ain't watching in that namestarted. She pointed a guy that she
talking about it, and it's JamesHarden. Damn lost show lost show Girl

(46:35):
of the Snipe. Huh thirteen lostyour girl to the Sniper. Shout out
to Drake for a little James Hardendropping that and James Harden taking these souls
of the Houston Rockets last night,that one had to feel good for him.
So I got home. We hada nice broadcast on Manny Unk last
night, presented by my Philly House. Watched the Sixeries game with Sean Brace

(46:57):
and then Gerald Colton for a littlebit after I get home for the tail
end of this game, and Isee James Harden just absolutely snatching the soul
of the Rockets with a step backthree pointer or a four point play.
He needed that so badly and hegot it. We have the audio that
we're gonna play right here, andI want to talk a little bit about
it. Jeremy Clippers, who arein bonus part Leonard nine to shoot.

(47:27):
Pardon this is for the lead,My goodness, vintage James Harden right there
with the step back three. Ihad a surprising feeling when he hit that,
Jeremy, you know what. Ifelt good for James Harden that he
hit that, And I can't believethat I had that in the tank after
all this, but I really didfeel that way that he desperately needed to

(47:51):
see one go through. As muchas this Clippers team has been a mess,
and I still doubt that they haveany potential to fully get it to
a true championship contender, They're notas bad as they've been playing. They
will figure this out to some extent. So how do you feel about this
Clippers team as a whole now thatthe dust has settled a little bit.
What's your kind of feeling on JamesHarden right now? Kind Of like what
you said, how like you're alittle bit happy for him. I feel
like he's been going it's been goingthrough so much as of recent stuff that

(48:15):
he created for that he created.For sure, James Harden was one of
my favorite players, and it justseems like I just despise him now.
But it was kind of refreshing tosee James Harden actually get a win on
this Clippers team. I mean,it took five games to finally do it,
but they did it, and we'llsee how the rest of the season
goes. There's a lot of alot of different dramas still going on there.

(48:36):
Russell Westbrook now being asked to comeoff the bench, by the way,
yeah, and I actually respect thatout of rust. So do Russ.
You can have your complaints and doubtsthat he can ever contribute to a
championship contender, or that his playstyle at this point in career can really
translate to winning. Those are allfair. But the thing that I'll say
about Russell Westbrook is I have aton of respect for the way he's swallowed
his pride. He adapts to whateverteam he's on. He wants to win,

(48:59):
and he leaves it out there onthe floor every single night that he
competes hard. He plays hard.None of his issues are due to effort
or energy level or unwillingness to playa certain way. That's not Russ.
Now. He's not a great shooter, he turns the ball over too much.
There's things to point out with hisplay, absolutely, but I do
have a respect for Russ that Idon't think I had a couple of years
ago. So I do think it'scool, and I think it's the right

(49:20):
basketball man for him to come upthe bench for this team. I don't
think we saw it coming. Imean, seeing how he was no case,
he just putting up triple doubles overand over, being that kind of
player. We didn't see him.I would never guessed that he was going
to be in this type of role. And it's nice that even he notices
it and he knows what he's doing. He's been a good team player.
And by the way, the otherguy in that trade, PJ Tucker right
there fifteen minutes last night zero points, zero rebounds, zero sists, zero

(49:43):
steals, zero blocks, was aminus twenty four on the game in fifteen
minutes of play, and James Hardento give him his full level on the
night, by far his best gamewith the Clippers twenty four points and thirty
four minutes. Also added nine rebounds, seven assists, shot eight of eleven
from the field, and two forfour from three. That's the James Harden
that they expecting to get in thisdeal. You can really make a compelling
case that James Harden helped the Sixersteam, if you really want to go

(50:05):
there, that he a got doctRivers fired. That was the leading part
in that he'd be brought back thesetalented players in the trade like Nicholas Patom,
like Robert Covington, Marcus Morris whois unfortunately cooked and not gonna bring
him the kJ Martin I like andhave not seen enough of yet. Also
added these draft picks which put whichlead to the Sixers to have these potential
moves to make in the future.So I think I'm viewing James Harden a

(50:28):
little more positive light than I thinkI did, and that is mostly due
to the leap, the tyrees maxhe's making, the way the sixties team
is still playing well, and theseare as I mentioned issues that James Harden
created. It's not like he's thevictim in any of this. But it
is kind of cool that he isfinding his stride a little bit with the
Clippers that he had that moment.I think he and Clippers Nation as a
whole needed that more than any regularseason win of anybody all year, the

(50:49):
zero to six kids since he gotthere. So cool to see him knock
that down there. Yeah, Imean in something else with James Harden,
it was just that is he did. He just really needed that. Yeah,
he just really needed that kind ofgame. And cool that Kawhi deferred
to him on the play too,that we saw Kawhi like kind of playing
it up and then more energy thanI've seen from Kawhi in a celebration like
ever, Like I've seen that guynot being as expressed, show as much

(51:10):
expression when he won the championship.It's James Harden hitting that shot. So
I do think these guys are constantlytrying to make it work. I'm happy
that this is not a team thatI have to follow on a day to
day basis or a report about watch, but it is an interesting little experiment
that we're going to be watching fromAfar, and I will absolutely be paying
attention to so Clippers sitting at fourand seven on the year. The other
game that jumped out last night thatI caught the tail end of when I

(51:32):
got home was that Phoenix Song's gameKevin Durant down the stretch. It was
Phoenix Sons versus Utah Jazz. KevinDurant down the Stretch just showed that he
is still that dude. We've yetto see the Big three of Bradley Beal,
Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant stepon the floor together. It was
supposed to be last night and thenit got pushed back once again. I
think they're gonna have an issue buildingsome chemistry with the fact that we have

(51:53):
not seen him yet. And Istill don't see how these guys are all
gonna play on the same floor atthe same time. Yeah, because they're
all like I don't want to seevery similar players, but they're all shooters,
you know what I mean. Theytake the ball, they have their
own control, and it's gonna beweird trying to see them build that chemistry.
And I totally agree with you.Yeah, And Bradley Beal's probably the
biggest question mark for me there thatthere was a point in Bradley's Bill's career

(52:15):
where he was the real deal.He was a scorer, he was that
guy he could defend at a highlevel, and then he kind of went
through these years where some of itwas absolutely effort, some of it was
not having motivation because the Wizards weresuch a nothing organization for several years,
but he really just kind of lostthat drive after he was a scoring champion
for a period of time. Hehad these accolades individually, and there was

(52:35):
a stretch in the John Wallday wherethey were competing in the playoffs and really
a fun team to watch. AndI'm curious what version of Bradley Beal still
exists. Is he still that guyin there and just did not care these
past couple years. And Kevin Durant, as I mentioned last night, thirty
eight points, nine rebounds, nineassists, fifteen of twenty two from the
field at six of eight from threeis ridiculous. I just want to give
some love to Devin Booker, who'sreally taken on the playmaking, just responsibilities

(52:59):
for this team. He finished lastnight with twenty four points and fifteen assists.
That's pretty nuts from Devin Booker rippinga fifteen assists game. I think
he's the guy that gets underrated inthe conversation for how good he is too.
He truly is up there in theone A star category in my opinion,
and I don't think he gets thatkind of love. Yeah, I
mean, so, the thing isone of these guys had to be that
playmaker or the facilitator because you can'thave all three of them being their shooters

(53:21):
and seeing Devin Booker be the guyto actually do it. His entire career,
we've seen him as the shooter,you know, the guy to drop
all drop so many points and makeso many three pointers in the game.
He was just the shooter for theSuns for the longest time, and we
didn't really know how much of afacilitator that he could be, and it
turns out he's He's really good atit. Yeah, So I'm excited when
Bradley Beal comes back, maybe hecan still have that role of just being

(53:43):
that shooter and maybe he doesn't haveto facilitate as much. And I think
it's be really interesting. Devin Booker, heavily underrated, a lot more respects
me to putting his name now andhopefully he can came up with the keep
up with the playmaking. Yeah,and I do think you will, and
he's going to have to for thatteam to function as properly construct I'll also
give a little shout out to EricGordon, who's been very good as well.
He's a guy that has some juiceleft in the tank. Is not

(54:06):
He's past his prime for sure,but he can still play and still has
legs. He still moves at alevel which I didn't wasn't really sure he
still had. So shout out toEric Gordon for being a little bit of
a glue guy for that team,and just to look at these standings as
the hole. It's obviously still veryearly in the NBA season, but we'll
start at the Western Conference. DenverNuggets leading the way, tied with the
Mavericks with a nine to three record, Both those guys tied for the first
seed. The Timberwolves have moved upto eight and three, sitting at third.

(54:29):
They've played some really good basketball thisyear. Anthony Edwards looks like he's
taken another leap. Jade McDaniels isthe real deal. Rudy Gobert looks like
a competent basketball player. Again.I don't know what happened last year,
but he leases providing value to thatteam. The Oklahoma City Thunder is sitting
at eight and four, the SacramentoKings at seven and four in the fifth
seed. There the Houston Rockets atthe sixth seed at six and four.

(54:49):
So I'm going to bring up thesethree teams and put them in a little
category Jeremy. So we got theOklahoma City Thunder, the Sacramento Kings,
and the Houston Rockets, all teamsan interesting I guess pass an organization,
if you had to pick one ofthose out of those three teams, which
of those do you think end theseason highest in these Western Conference rankings.
So I can't involve the Rockets inthere, as much as I'd want to.
I just don't see them keeping upthe success they have right now.

(55:14):
So I think it has to bebetween the Kings and Thunder. I think
it's gonna be very close to therest of the season, but I think
I'm gonna go with the Kings atthis point. I think it's Darn Fox's
time. He's finally going to belike that star star player. And with
Sabonis over there too, I thinkthat they're just gonna be a team that
is gonna be able to compete inthis Western Conference. Not saying an think
we're from the Thunder. I mean, I think they're still going to be
a very good team, but Ithink the Aaron Fox is really going to

(55:36):
take that next level step. Yeah, that's fair. And then the team
that had the most success last year, Sacramento finished as a three seed last
year, Darren Fox leading the leagueand fourth quarter scoring and clutch time scoring
last year. Sabonis has looked veryeffective again this year, triple double kind
of machine on a nightly basis.So they got a lot of good going
on there. I will say Ithink this Rockets team is around for the
long haul a little more than Ithink a lot of people do that.

(55:57):
The way they're playing, I thinkemi Udoka made a terrific coaching decision in
making Alpa and shinghu In the primaryplaymaker. Is Yeah, he's so fun
to watch, but I had someserious issues with Jalen Green as the guy
that was a primary distributor. Ijust don't like his decision making his basketball
player and Jabari Smith, who's attheir other top three pick that they have,
is this core is really not capableof putting the ball on the floor
and creating whatsoever. So by givingshingu In these responsibilities, and he was

(56:22):
a guy who kind of was inthe dog pound and not getting out of
the cage last year, he's gettinghis full opportunity and making the most of
it. So I like the waythat things are functioning. There's a lot
more off ball motion. They're oneof four teams in the top ten and
both offensive and defensive rating actually downto three teams now because the Sixers fell
out of that conversation after that Pacersgame so cool that the Rockets are still
sticking with that and the Oklaho,Oklahoma City Thunders, I think will be

(56:45):
my answer to that trio there.I just think Sga is the real deal.
I think he's the best player outof all three of these teams,
and a guy that is continuing toget better. So very exciting stuff.
And just to dive through the restof the West. The Lakers at seven
and six in seventh place, Pelicanat six and six at eighth, then
these Sons, the Warriors, theClippers, and then Jazz Spurs, Trailblazers,

(57:05):
and Memphis Grizzlies down at fifteen,two and nine. We know the
John Morant suspension. How much shouldthey be hitting the panic button right down
right now, Jeremy, I thinkthey have to, regardless, I know
John Ran, how long is heout for? Twenty five games? Twenty
five games suspension? I think thathas to be a lot of panic there.
If you're two and nine already,what is your record going to be
looking like at that twenty five gamemark? Is John Morant really going to

(57:27):
be that amazing of a player toreally push for a playoff run when you're
already twenty five games in this season, I think it's already time to be
a little bit panicky. I wouldn'thave a lot of faith in that team.
Yeah, And Marcus Smart just goingon the injury report with an ankle
thing, He's the guy that Ihave my eyes on. If that they
get impatient want to move a guy, Marcus Smart would be a welcome piece
to play next to TYRESMAXI that isthe type of upgrade over Danthony Mountain that

(57:51):
I'm talking about. Yeah, thatwould be great. Yeah, So that's
something I definitely have my eyes on. To shift over to the Eastern Conference
before we wrap things up here.Got the Celtics at ten and two,
leading the Pack Sixers at nine andthree in second. The Milwaukee Bucks have
climbed up to tie with the Heat, each with an eight and four record,
tied for that third seed. AndI guess what gives me the most
optimism about the Sixers team is I'mgonna list off all these teams right now,

(58:13):
and tell me if a single oneof them you think are even remotely
close to these Sixers. So Iwould consider the Celtics by far the number
one team in the East right now. I'll give you the Milwaukee Bucks as
the number two, just because Giannisand Dame Duo has that potential. And
then I put the Sixers firmly asthree, with the Miami Heat, Indiana
Pacers, Orlando Magic, New YorkKnicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks,

(58:34):
Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, ChicagoBulls, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards,
and Detroit Pistons. None of thoseteams are nearly as good as the Sixers.
And that is what gives me hopeabout the Sixers team is, yes,
they have some flaws, Yes they'restill figuring things out, but I
think there are stones throw away fromthe top, and that there's plenty that
they can still do to get there. Yeah. They And the thing is
that we are twelve games into theNick Nurse era. Yeah, and there's

(58:58):
a lot of people stressing out aboutit. And one of the teams named
the Pacers. We lost to thePacers a few days ago. But this
team is really good. Yea likethey are exceeding expectations again. Twelve games
into the year. They're doing betterthan the Milwaukee Bucks with Dame Lillard and
Giannis, they got a better recordthan them. I have a lot more
faith than I guess a lot otherfans. But they look really good.

(59:21):
The only team that and I wouldn'teven say is really that worrisome is the
Pacers and Heat. It's really justthose two. But the Pacers got to
die down at some point. They'rescoring an insane amount. They have to
die down them where there's just noway. And the Heat are just gonna
be that fine number four seed.I think they're gonna sit there the rest
of the time. And I don'tsee anyone that's having competition besides the Celtics
and the Bucks. Yeah, andplaying to be excited about. The Sixers

(59:42):
will be back in action tomorrow atthree o'clock against the Nets, and then
have their final n Season Tournament GrooveStage matchup against the Cavaliers on Tuesday,
so make sure you are locked inand ready for that. Also got the
Eagles Monday night game against the Chase. All eyes on, and we have
some Villanova football right here on Foxone of two five the Gambler that will
be coming up, So we're gonnahand off the rains to Villanova football at
this point in time. Make sureyou tune in for the pregame show as

(01:00:05):
well as the game in itself.Those be popping on the airwaves next Thanks
so much for listening on the ToughCover Radio Show. Mark Henry Junior will
be back next week, but fornow, Tough Cover Nation, Let's ride