I want the course way.

Just gotta keep rolling with the punches.

Kind of have flashbacks of being back in college.

It's a really cool feeling.

Cousins gets the basket courtesy of Mr Do.

You have to make a lot of decision.

We run pick and roll.

That's a brother for life.

I'm extremely excited to be on the floor.

This year is all about being the best player in the league.

Down the lane.

First Lady Simmons Black history.

One is all 12 months from its way.

Celebrate black excellence every single day of the year because there's certain things that are elders went through that we've never experienced.

You gotta keep teaching one another and understand that how in the world can you know where you're going?

If you don't know the past in the history, you have to see it.

I feel like I haven't said this on the show yet.

So happy Black History Month.

We got the Rockets versus the 70 Sixers.

That's at 7 30 PM on E.

S, P m and two talk ESPN, ESPN to talk about that game.

We're gonna welcome in our good sis rise, gold on wood and rise.

I'm gonna start on the 76 or side.

Ben Simmons made headlines late last week because, he said, I feel like I'm the best defender in the NBA.

He made the NBA all defensive team last season, and he was fourth and defensive player of the year voting.

What do you think is he do for that award?

I think he needs to be at the top of the list in this conversation.

And I'm really glad to see that Ben Simmons spoke up and made this really bold kind of statement, because what it's going to do is bring attention to his game, then eyes to it.

And you need that because, typically, guys with the defensive player of the Year award, the flashy, eye catching stats are who's leading the league in blocks?

Who's leading the league in rebounds?

But to truly appreciate the full impact of all that Ben Simmons game can do, you've really gotta watch it toe, understand how his effort might change the momentum of a game, or how his length and his size and his speed all combined to help him with versatility so that in one game you may see him lock up possessions in a row against Damian Lillard.

And then in another game, Joel Embiid is out.

Well, cool.

Ben Simmons is matched up against Rudy Gobert.

You see that versatility?

And if you are somebody who needs stats, you know Ben Simmons is top five in the league and steals.

He's absolutely active getting deflections, and he needs to be at the top of these conversations for defensive player of the year.

But you gotta watch to see it now.

His point guard counterpart in John Wall has been on a revenge tour of source We saw Monday night put up 29 despite 12 point lost, Uh, but still, he believes that the Rockets have a chance at the postseason.

So what do you believe?

Houston's chances are forgetting to the dance at the end of this Look, I'm never just gonna say never also, because the season is very young and this Rockets team has already overcome a lot.

But I don't I don't at this moment see them making the playoffs.

Perhaps they're just not good enough, but also because the teams ahead of them are just better positioned.

I feel to make a playoff push.

You know, You look at the Rockets right now, they're 13th in the West.

They've lost six games in a row.

All two teams that air sub 500 you know, And and they've been banged up.

You know, they've been without Christian.

Would they've been without Victor Oladipo?

But you look at the West.

You know, there have been other teams, like the Trailblazers that have still been able to come up with winds even without their full roster.

And don't forget, the Rockets may have more changes coming, maybe active before the trade deadline, further shaking up already tumultuous season for them.

Look coming out of the All Star break.

I see the Warriors, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Grizzlies, all of them making strong pushes for the playoffs.

Further boxing out the Rockets on the flip side of that Roz.

Unless something catastrophic happens with the Sixers, they are sitting comfortably atop the East and a lot of credit.

Most of the credit, all of the credit going to the synergy now of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

We're talking about him defensively.

Now We're flipside, uh, talking about offensively.

Everybody, for the longest time was like they can't coexist.

They can't coexist.

I want to give a lot of credit to Doc Rivers, but the synergy is finally there.

Is this the ceiling that we've finally seen from them?

They've been together now full time, four seasons.

It's definitely not the ceiling, but I'll also say, I do see the synergy there.

I I don't I think they're still growing together.

It's not done yet, But this is the best iteration so far.

And I think it starts with the fact that both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are having stellar individual seasons.

And then it also was coming together and working because of the cast around them.

And, you know, look at the top.

I think Doc Rivers has had a tremendous impact on this team mentally as well.

And you look at how he might have impacted a player like Tobias Harris, who has never looked more comfortable, confident, aggressive that he has this season as a 76.

You know, you look at this team and they've they've added some answers to How can you create spacing for Ben Simmons and Joel and be to play together.

Well, you know you got Steph Curry.

You got Danny Green.

Whether they're hitting the three or not, they're creating spacing now.

The main key, though, is that this 76 year team continued to improve over the course of the season.

So over this last road trip, where they lost three or four, they learned they need more production out of their bench.

Their bench just had come up short for them.

Um, they also are not realizing their full defense of potential.

This 70 Sixers roster could be so good on defense.

They have so many interval individual players who have a lot of defensive potential.

And then look, it is the modern N b A.

And as a team, you know, they could be more powerful from the three point line.

So rides.

We found out that Benton is actually out for the matchup tonight.

What do you think that means for the 70 Sixers?

Well, I think that that means that you know, you're gonna have to get more production creating for each other.

And one of the issues with that second unit actually was the ball movement.

You know, and this is gonna further exasperate that problem, moving the ball, playing with pace and creating shots for each other.

One of the things that make spends him and so valuable is not just the points he's putting up, but how he creates pace off of a rebound and how he makes offense easier for everyone else around him.

I want to go back to the Rockets really fast because you mentioned earlier how Victor Oladipo has been banged up for the Rockets.

He obviously got to Houston in January, and the trade deadline, I believe, is about five weeks away now.

So do you feel like Oladipo is going to be in a Rockets jersey at the end of all of this?

That's an interesting question.

And I see Victor Oladipo being a great asset on a team that is much closer to being a contender than the Rockets are currently, and whether the Rockets want to say this out loud or not.

They're in a rebuild, you know they're accumulating draft picks and their timeline is just simply not for right now.

It's for way further in the future and you look at Victor Oladipo, who's on an expiring contract who has been rumored tohave other destinations that he favors.

He's going to be, Ah, hot commodity in this free agency class, which the top players of this free agency class many of them have already committed to extensions before this season.

So I would imagine that the Rockets try to get as much as they can before the trade deadline.

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