Takeaways from Doc Rivers’ return to Philadelphia | PHLY Sixers

Takeaways from Doc Rivers’ return to Philadelphia | PHLY Sixers

Kyle newbeck joins us live from the arena following the press conferences of the Bucks and the Sixers and Kyle as we uh just finished talking about the great Bagels that you often get from bagels and Co um you know the this was a tough one this afternoon against Milwaukee we knew

It was already going to be a difficult one because of how good Milwaukee is the struggles that the Sixers have had but you weren’t going to win this one when you shoot as poor as they did this afternoon and the Bucks shooting as hot

As they did yeah I just have a couple of observations listening to you guys first of all number one Derek I don’t know that you realized this you had a nice little Freudian slip in there you said I’m trying to think of nice things to

Say about Tobias and you said he did a good job of Defending Tobias which I do agree with that he did a great job of defending himself he is the best person in a league to shut down Tobias that’s absolutely true I take nothing back or

Defend him in general so that was right on the money he a good second thing and he has a good hairline you guys were talking about the headbands and you said that Ben Simmons was not one of the headband guys Ben Simmons was the guy who determined who did or did not wear

The headbands because he and Jimmy Butler back in the day were the headband Bros right I remember Jimmy yeah that predated tobias’s arrival they had bets about deflection Steals and blocks it was the whole thing I wrote an article about it so just want to make sure we’re

Clear on that it’s been a long time I’ve gone through some so some things have gotten jumbled in my brain I listen I’m just giving you a hard time obviously I after the game while we’re on the the subject of Tobias I I think roughly 75 to 80% of the questions asked

To Nick nurse were about Tobias and this is not a dig at nurse because I don’t know what else he’s supposed to do in this spot his answers were basically a collective shoulder shrug right like he he gave credit to Milwaukee showing them length and this and that and but I just

I don’t know that they see they they’ve said they need to be more organized as a group Tyrese Maxi when asked about it after the game said you know he has to that part of that is on him getting Tobias more volume Tyrese has got to organize guys and what have

You I don’t know how much organizing you need when this guy’s supposed to be one of your three most important players on the team when you’re all healthy right now he should be I don’t know if it’s fair to call him a co-star but at least

Like the number two to Tyrese Max he’s number one something close to that and I said it in the recap the thing that’s really striking is is not that he’s inefficient it’s that he’s just kind of sleepwalking through these games like I don’t see any form of urgency out

Of him right now and set aside what the team needs this is a contract here like you would think even just from a self-centered I need to go prove myself I need to go get the bag all that that there be this level of urgency that

We’re not seeing and that to me is the most confusing part I could get like look you want to fit in be part of the team whatever bunch of new guys but at some point he’s gonna have to unless he has Troy Weaver on standby ready to give

Him a stupid contract which hey maybe he’s going I mean we’s done some stupid Dumber things have happened in Detroit like I I get it but you would think he that even Troy Weaver watches basketball from time to time so and he might not be employed by the time free

Agency opens in July so yeah just completely mystifying even as someone who’s been a vocal critic or skeptic however you want to say about Tobias this has been just rough to watch last couple of weeks what did you uh what did you make of Paul Reed’s roller coaster night

Afternoon yeah so you’re right that g it listen once we’re in the arena people get me all the time I’ll write night and it’s like a 1:00 3:00 whatever I was joking done that so many times in the past T I don’t care man we were actually

Saying in the locker room it’s like going to Vegas once you’re inside the casino like forget about it well especially those ones where it’s like you’re walking through like the the what was it m the the M shop place I forget what it’s called it’s blank going now

But like everything looks like it’s daylight the time it’s horrible it’s the same to us no matter so I’m okay with saying Knight even though it’s factually incorrect here that’s my I’ll push back there uh Paul Reed I didn’t think defensively was that bad like I I thought obviously fouled too much and

The one that he really you can’t foul 85 feet from the basket right like those are the ones you can’t take bang bang plays yeah some bang bang plays at The Rim when you’re playing against Giannis is fine and frankly like look I actually asked Tyrese and DeAnthony about this

Today but I thought they played reasonably well against Giannis specifically you know Giannis made a bunch of free throws credit to him got to his numbers but I think he ended up having five or six turnovers and they forced him to be a decision maker and a

Passer quite a bit and I’d rather that than him just steamrolling Tobias and Paul and so I think Paul played a part in that in slowing him down at least a little bit I think the issue right now is that Paul whether it’s because he’s trying to

Do too much or because he’s being asked to do too much because other guys are abdicating responsibility he’s taking some shots that you know I said it and Derek I think you were still there at the game at this point he can’t be taking mid-range jumpers with 18 seconds on the

Shot clock you don’t like fade aways from Paul Reed I I do not like onelegged fade aways from Paul and like it’s it’s not in his wheelhouse when Paul is a downhill roller when Paul is trying to finish around the basket he’s made real significant strides there and is pretty

Good there the other thing I would say the other thing I would say that I didn’t love and they corrected this somewhat in the second half they’re using him as a drop Defender I Know Rich Hoffman pointed this out on Twitter as well they’re using him far too often as

A drop guy that is not his strength as Defender when he’s in actions with their wings which admittedly they don’t have a ton of them these days just switch it like don’t ask him to be playing two on- ones against Dame Lillard and Brook Lopez or Dame Lillard and Giannis is

Even worse where he’s either got a play up on Dame and then Giannis is rolling to the basket or he’s got to sink back and drop and Dame is walking into you know easy pullup threes Dame has had a tough year at least like 2024 January 1st onward but if you’re giving him

Basically practice shots like they did today in the first half he’s gonna get it going he’s too good he’s too skilled to do that so I didn’t like the approach there but I don’t think that’s necessarily Paul’s fault it’s how they’re using him as expected with Doc

Rivers coming back for the first time and everything that has happened since he is left um of course the crowd reacted appropriately when he was introduced and pregame U but what was uh some of the thoughts that you took away from you the pregame availability uh

When you guys were in there and Doc was speaking Yeah I mean look I think doc mostly said he got asked a bunch of like what’s your legacy here you know takeaways from the Celtics series things like that and he mostly said well it’s not really for

Me to decide and then of course people lost their minds a little bit because he had had to sneak in the well Joelle didn’t get the ball enough in game six and there’s a whole lot of like we’re all trying to find the guy who did this

Like you know it’s you had no responsibility for that obviously like you know that sort of deal but I didn’t think it was you didn’t say anything particularly crazy I think he also said enjoyed his time here I think the thing that and Derek pointed this out as we

Were discussing it after his pregame press conference I think the one thing that still drives me nuts and he’s done this from the moment he got here keep going when he’s like oh they lost in they got swept in the first round before I got here it’s like yeah they got swept

In the first round in the bubble with the most disastrous roster that they’ve had and with their second best player at the time out for the season like I who cares like that doesn’t mean anything well especially so like 2019 they they lose on the final shot against

The eventual Champion Raptors 2020 okay bubble they get swept in the first no Ben Simmons by the way with Ben Simmons injured and then they come out and lose the freaking Atlanta Hawks and he wants a goddamn Victory Tour because they got to the second round and lost to the

Inferior team like are you kidding me are painting that as a successful turnaround when they were a better team two years prior is freaking maddening yeah like to to come out and say like oh people didn’t look at us as contenders before and they did after it’s like they

Were literally two years ago they’re literally the same place that it’s so I don’t know there’s just a lot of revisionist history there otherwise I didn’t think anything he said was too crazy opinions will vary on that one but in terms of the uh excuse making tour

He’s been on for the last uh month or so pretty mild stuff today I would say it seems like he was at least semi-prepared for this because he showed up about 15 minutes late for his own press conference oh man well listen man for for a day like this and you know tough

Game overall one thing that stood out to me it was nice to see them in the home white uniforms again instead of all these weird colors at home and I I feel like such an old man that I would just love home teams to wear their white

Jerseys all the time it’s all these you have so many additions and they change every year it’s like come on man like if you’re at home wear the whites on the road wear the color jersey like whatever I don’t that’s my crotchety old man yells at the cloud uh take on that for

Sure hey I’m with you man I’m with you where the other ones away maybe occasionally the city Edition because you want to sell them that’s fine but generally home whites man home whites we allting like the mayor

Kyle Neubeck checks in from the Wells Fargo Center following a rough loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and shares his takeaways from Doc Rivers’ pregame press conference, thoughts on some key player performances, and more in this clip from the PHLY Sixers podcast.

Watch the full episode here!: https://www.youtube.com/live/s_fIsNXhSvg?feature=shared

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