The Opening Tip
Greetings, salutations and everything in between good people. It's the corner three from your guy (me). It's Thursday of a late July heatwave (pretty sure it's July), I'm moving in 3 weeks, Ben Simmons is a power forward, let's get this shit on.
This week the NBA reported zero new cases of Covid-19 amongst the 300 or so players present at the greatest AAU tournament this century. I'm seriously hoping and praying the trend continues in the positive. If players and coaches and staff are going to make the sacrifice you atleast want them to be able to see how this thing plays out and who gets crowned champion of It's a Small World All.
I didn't watch The Challenge this week, I did however, go down a rabbit hole of classic movie soundtracks so in no particular order, here are some you need to know and be ready to discuss with me, Boomerang, Above the Rim, Sunset Park, New Jack City, Deep Cover, Boyz N the Hood, Menace 2 Society. There's more but I'll let you catch up first.
Oh Yeah, Here's Some Merch
There it is, the "Only Orlando Hostage Podcast" t-shirt, in all its glory. Will you look at this damn thing, gorgeous. Get the shirt here. Also, shop here for a gallery of on sale stuff that will never see production again once its gone (discount won't work on these items but trust me, you won't mind once you see what it is).
MERCH PROMO CODE: MACKOSHWAL10 (this is for 10% off any non-sale item in the Merch Store. It's good till 7/29 when it changes again to keep you on your toes).
This Week In The Pod
In this week's "wtf even is this pod?" the guys welcomed Andrew Yang and Chuck Klosterman. They talked Hinkie, politics, Bill Simmons and Grantland respectively. I found both pods especially interesting because I admittedly only knew about these two guys from afar. It's always interesting to hear back stories on how people got to where they are in life, what their current views on certain things are and how they feel about a certain GM who did not get to see his plan through to fruition, but I digress.
Tune in this weekend when Spike and Mike chat with Sam Hinkie BFF, huge Sixers Adam guy and Houston Rockets GM, Daryl Morey. You read that correctly.
Charity Spotlight
Got a ton of personal messages about this place over the past week so I'll run this back again for anyone who'd like to help an organization helping kids be their very best on and off the court. Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) is on a mission to help young people be the best students, athletes, and leaders possible, and they could use our help! Read more about how to donate and get involved here.
Oh Yeah,The Sixers
Basketball is definitely back. LOL. Yesterday the Mickey Invitational kicked off the first in a series of scrimmages this week, to help teams ramp up for the eventual mad dash to end the regular season and start the playoffs.
The Fighting Marial Shayok's tip of tomorrow against MY Rookie of the Year, Ja Morant and the Grizzlies. Sunday they get to dance with my second oldest, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Thunder and wrap up scrimmage szn against Luka and Bobi and the Mavs next Tuesday. Early returns from the first few games are alot of rust and some summer league twang, so naturally I'm dialed in baby.
I wouldn't take these scrimmages as death and taxes for what the finished product will look like but there's still a few things I'll be keeping an eye out for:
The rampup in general. How will the team look in terms of cohesion and conditioning. Yes, they're shaking off 4 months worth of chilling but we should know right away how serious Brett was when he said everyone came back in great shape.
Sniper Shake. I just want him to look comfy and cozy and play like he belongs. No pressure, just frustration of a fanbase that hasn't seen the NBA Finals in 19 years.
Horford and Jo. Brett Brown when asked about Al Horford mentioned that him and Joel Embiid had not played a single minute together in practice as of yet, so naturally they'll probably see 15 minutes of the floor in tandem on Friday.
The FOUR. Big Benny, the 4, running off ball and stepping right into some three's and elbow j's, sending me into euphoric bliss. (I hope, please man, fuck)
The Rest From The Best
Mike O'Connor bringing the heat again this week and making it very clear that this team and its makeup is Brett Brown's to figure out. I couldn't agree more. Right or wrong, and we'll debate that as we debate everything in this fanbase, whatever this team turns out to be in Orlando will have been directly from Brett Brown's doing. Strap in.
Gassed up about the Sixers in July is very normal. Adding that to anticipation of a season that begins in 8 days is not. Andrew Unterberger, is trying to decide how gassed up he is about the restart and for good measure, here's how much he believes in Ben Simmons' most recent empty-gym jumpers.
We have a Ricky Orlando Hostage pool sponsored by DraftKings Sportsbook! Totally free, enter here. Also, if you're scared (you should be, it's the Sixers) Sixers Adam, NBA Insider and mortal enemy of any Colangelo that ever existed, has you covered with this guide on how to pick.
Speaking of Adam, in preparation for the restart to end all restarts, our resident future TU Owl hosted a 6 question roundtable with writers who cover the teams the Sixers will be competing with for the next few months. Fantastic stuff and some great insight from folks who make it clear that in some form or another their respective teams have questions to answer as well.
Peace, Love and Process
That's my time for the week, gang. Stay cool, stay distant and re-watch the Wire. Be good.
-Zo