This Has Taken an Interesting Turn for the Sixers...

This has taken an interesting turn for the Sixers. This week, we start our first matchup of the NBA Cup as we take on the Knicks. And lo and behold, we might not be in the group of death anymore. Now, I know on this episode of Sixers Digest, we're going to be talking about something that some of you... Oh, also, what's up? Christian Pedersen. Another episode of John and I Daily Content. Like, subscribe. But the NBA Cup is something that I know that some of you are still out on it, meaning anything. Like, that runs the full gambit. It's only the second year of it happening. It is a financial incentive. It doesn't give us draft picks or anything like that. But at the same time, in-season tournament, a little bit of hype, heart, opportunity for some money. It is big games. For me, I'm at least on the positive side of things. I would rather see us win it if we have the opportunity to win it. I dare say that the Knicks won it last year, and look how things ultimately turned out for them. While I'm sure it's not going to be a perfect bellwether for whoever wins the NBA Cup, it's going to end up being the favorite for the Larry O'Brien. When this grouping came out, I think a lot of us were like, this is going to be tough sledding and is going to be hard, if you will, and it's going to be a big challenge for us. Like I said, taking on the Knicks the second time this season, this week, and it just bared a looking at again, because yes, these are all teams that still think that we owe a modicum of respect to, but I would say that we have a sample size now of looking. Maybe we also look at this. Maybe we squint when we look at this, and hey, there's always this, and I get that as we ebb and flow through the season, we're not going to see everybody at the same time with the same injuries. And this isn't a tournament that is played in like a linear two weekend format where you just got to be like, okay, we got everyone healthy right now. Let's bang, bang, bang, bang. bang Fine. Cool. But are you as scared of this grouping as we used to be, or was, were two, three, four weeks ago? Because I kind of feel like. We got a really good feel for what everybody on this list is or was other than obviously having not played the Heat yet, but I will remind you all if we take a look at the overall standings of the East. Anybody see the Heat? Nah, they want it more right now. And again, that's where I get like, by the time we get around to playing the Heat for the NBA Cup games, they could all figure it out, but it generally feels like they may have oversold the farm for the Giannis deal. So, and looking at all this, the numbers, I think, are pretty fantastic. Speaking of good numbers, the numbers for us to win the NBA championship on the Kalshi markets have us at the third favorite team ever. As always, say thank you to Kalshi for sponsoring this channel. And as a reminder, if you want to use the code DIGESTNBA and the link that we have for you when you sign up, they'll give you $55 when you trade your first $25 in options. Okay, so we can talk specifically about the Knicks, and that's more that tomorrow I will have a deeper dive into that game. But we beat the Knicks the first time through at MSG in dramatic fashion. Now they are coming here to play on our turf. And even with some reports now that potentially Jalen Brown is going to be questionable for the game, we are still in the first of a back-to-back that I think matters more than a game against Charlotte. So it would not surprise me if we see Embiid and LeBron, or at least Embiid play in this one, and sit LeBron potentially. I don't know. Interesting curiosity to see maybe the intensity of the team and the level to which Nick Nurse takes this seriously as just a part of, hey, it's game six of the season. We are getting into our rhythm and our flow versus, hey, this is an in-season tournament game and we've got to put our big dogs out there and it's the Knicks again and they're coming for blood and it's at our turf now. Questions to be asked and answered about all of that. But now that we have a feel also looking at In the bigger picture, all of this, having played the Cavs, you know, that one was close, and it certainly required a bit of a comeback, if you will. I think that we are only going to get better between now and the next time we play the Cavs. And I don't know how much more ceiling the Cavs have left to climb up to. Maybe James Harden does a couple less turnovers. They kind of... They returned so many pieces from last year that they don't have much more in terms of like, oh, we got to gel together and all this kind of stuff. Indiana last night, obviously, sans Halliburton and a couple of other key pieces. I don't want to diminish them and be like, oh, let's just dismiss them as they're trash and we're going to beat them silly all season long. But it would surprise me if they gave us a run for their money in the tournament. And then finally, again, the heat. Maybe it was reductionist of me in the offseason to be like, oh, this sheer presence of Giannis makes that just a team that Giannis and Bam alone are going to be dangerous and yada yada. Maybe there is something to be said about there's still a lot of season left to go, and I would probably be, if we were 1-4 right now, saying, oh, let's not panic, let's not panic. We've got a lot of room left to grow. But if you look at the way in which they are 1-4, They are really fundamentally struggling to be close in games, to get scoring going, and it looks kind of mirror image of where Giannis ended up with the Bucks at the very end. I think that it's going to require a little bit of time beyond, like, free agency time or melding time. I think it's going to be another season. For the Heat to go and get some draft picks, get some people in the door to actually build around the two of them as opposed to just being like, oh, we got to have them figure out how to do the pick and roll, etc, etc, etc. So to me, this has kind of changed from being the like group of death to being something that now we actually know what the product is for the Sixers and have a direct sample size against a lot of this. Yeah, I'm happy. The only team that we lost to is not in this bracket. We didn't lose to, you know, Detroit. Yes, you know, maybe like learn some stuff from that game and yada yada, but I think this is really interesting. Again, I can close out with saying I will, except that if any of all of you want to argue with me in the comment section about saying, oh yeah, the NBA Cup doesn't matter. These guys don't need the 500 grand. They're not going to take it seriously. I think at the same time, this is something that is a point of pride and a point of competitive You know, edge. You get guys at this level who are successful people who want to win, and they want to win. And whether that's win a regular season game, a regular season tournament, or a postseason tournament. I kind of feel like this is a good chance for us to test our mettle a little bit. So I would like to see the Knicks game be taken very seriously and get off to a good start in this tournament. But also, I'm feeling like this has shifted around from being something where I'm like, okay, well, let's let that happen. Then whatever happens, happens to me. I'm like, dang, man, we're really in control here. Let's get a dub and let's win this NBA Cup. That's what I got for you on this episode. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in to my little bit of a rant. and rave on this one. As always, drop a comment, like, subscribe, follow, share, all those other YouTube-y buttons. Until next time, go Sixers. Have a great rest of your day, and we'll talk to you soon.