Appendicitis & Play-In Syndrome

In this episode of Second Round Syndrome, hosts DJSportsZone and Jordan Sabel break down a pivotal moment in the NBA season as the Philadelphia 76ers secure the 7th seed with a 126–106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The win should be a reason for celebration—but the mood quickly shifts after the shocking news that Joel Embiid is out indefinitely following surgery for appendicitis in Houston. With the postseason beginning and the Sixers’ superstar sidelined once again, the hosts debate whether this team has any realistic path forward.

Inside the Sixers’ Play-In Push:

The Magic Matchup:
The Sixers now prepare to host the Orlando Magic in a win-or-go-home Play-In showdown. The hosts analyze Orlando’s puzzling late-season loss to a depleted Boston Celtics roster and question whether stars like Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Desmond Bane are truly ready for the playoff spotlight.

The Embiid Injury Loop:
From Bell’s palsy to lingering knee issues and now appendicitis, the discussion turns to the brutal run of bad luck surrounding Joel Embiid. The hosts share both frustration and sympathy while debating whether the Sixers can compete in a potential first-round matchup with the powerhouse Boston Celtics without their MVP center.

Role Players Rising:
With the spotlight shifting away from the injured superstar, the hosts highlight key contributions from Andre Drummond, whose 13 rebounds anchored the win over Milwaukee, and rookie Justin Edwards, who added 17 points in the finale. The episode also touches on the Sixers converting Dalen Terry to a standard contract as the team looks for any spark heading into the postseason.

Around the NBA:

The Doc Rivers Fallout:
Breaking news shakes the league as Doc Rivers steps down as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks following a disappointing 32–50 season. The hosts revisit his turbulent tenure with the Sixers and Los Angeles Clippers, questioning whether his time as an NBA head coach may finally be coming to an end.

A Farewell to a Philly Voice:
The episode closes with a tribute to longtime Matt Cord, the legendary public address announcer who just called his final regular-season game for the Philadelphia 76ers. From “The Process” introductions to unforgettable playoff moments, the hosts reflect on the voice that defined an era of Sixers basketball.

A mix of analysis, reactions, and bold takes, this episode explores the uneasy balance between optimism and uncertainty in Philadelphia—where a playoff opportunity awaits, but the Sixers once again find themselves asking the same question: Can they survive without Joel Embiid?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to second round two. Round two. Welcome on into second round syndrome, your talk for the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA. I'm your host, DJ Sport Zone. With me is my co-host, Jordan Stable. Jordan with the 126-206 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers are now entering the plane as the seventh seed. They will face the Orlando Magic. The Magic, they just lost to the Boston Celtics, who are playing literally nobody. It's an exciting time. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 0:45

I'm doing well. And yes, I tuned into the they kind of had all the games going on at the same time. That's uh I love that type of stuff. That was so much fun to watch. But um, yeah, like you said, the magic, I don't know how they couldn't like they were not being competitive at all with the Celtics till the end and got close, and Luca Garza hit this crazy three with a player in his face. But yeah, um, on top of that, the Sixers took care of business against the Bucks, and uh on the way out, Doc Rivers also said goodbye to, which we'll we'll talk about that later in the show as well. But um, yeah, there's a lot of optimism going forward right now. I'm excited and um looking forward to this game where we're gonna host the magic sometime this week. But yeah, how how'd you see the game, DJ?

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Well, first of all, I I don't even understand how the Magic lost this. This is kind of at least where my confidence level goes into with this playing game. I believe we're gonna play it on Wednesday. That's my theory because on Tuesday the Philadelphia Flyers do play at home. So my assumption is they'll play Wednesday night at 7:30. I believe it's on Amazon Prime, if I'm correct. Um, it's so he here is what what the Celtics were dealing with: no Jason Tatum, no Jalen Brown, no Derek White, Peyton Pritchard, Nicola Vucevic, Sam Hauser. I mean, these are so just a few of the guys, Namias Cada, those were the guys the Celtics were playing without. The Magic had pretty much their entire roster. I think the only two guys they were missing were like Jet Howard and Jonathan Isaac. But you still had Paulo Bencaro, Franz Wagner, who he's been dealing with injuries all year, but he finally returned, Desmond Bain, Jalen Suggs, they weren't able to get it done. I mean, just looking at that game specifically, like they let Ben Shireman, who was like a late first-round pick two years ago, he scored 30 points, eight of 20 from the field, six of 14 from three. And you're a big Dylan Harper fan. His brother Ron Harper Jr. scored 27 points, 10 of 20 from the field, five of 12 from three. Luka Garza, who you just brought up, 27 points as well. I mean, that's crazy. And then you look at the magic side of things. I mean, Desmond Bain, he only played 17 minutes. I'm not sure what that was about. I mean, he only had eight points, and Paulo Bancaro, he struggled this season. He did have a triple-double, 23 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, but he shot seven of 22 from the field. That's not good at all. He's struggled for the most part this season. I mean, Jalen Suggs had 23, Wagner had 20, and then Anthony Black had 13. But the fact that you lost that game, and specifically in the third quarter and Sixers, that that's a familiar territory for the Sixers, they got outscored 42 to 20. Like they deserved that loss just because of that. And in terms of the Sixers, they took care of business against the Bucs. Uh, as you mentioned by the end of the game, Seam Sharania posted that Doc Rivers has stepped down. I don't know if he was fired, maybe it was a mutual decision. I assume since Doc was pretty much making decisions with the Milwaukee Bucks front office, I think it was a mutual decision, probably for the best on both sides. But either way, I mean you had the Bucs playing without once again, all of their players, Giannis Ansatacumpo, Bobby Portis, Gary Harris, Kyle Kuzma, Ryan Rollins, Miles Turner, Gary Trent Jr., Pete Nance, Sixers legend. Um, they were playing without all those players. Now the Sixers, it's tough to know where the Sixers move forward because Joel Embiid is out indefinitely. For those who have been living under a rock, Joel Embiid is once again out for the hundredth time. This time to appendicitis, which is just insane to me at this point. And I feel so bad for Joel just because I want to be very clear and it's so funny just watching people's comments. Now, before the Houston game, they ruled Joel and Bede out with an illness, and as a lot of people do, unfairly, they criticize Joel for doing it on purpose. I didn't think that was the case, it just was another one of those. Here we go again. Now, I could have named you a thousand things that could have happened. I don't think appendicitis would have been on my top 100 list of possibilities. And I it's just it's so shocking at this point. And it's not the first time something random has popped up. I mean, Joel dealt with Bell's palsy two years ago when he was already dealing with knee injuries. I mean, he he had surgery during the season. He came back for like what the last eight games, then was playing in that first round series against the New York Knicks on one leg and half a face due to that Bell's palsy, you know, dealt with those knee injuries all throughout the next season. And then this season, it's just been knee injuries, left knee, right knee soreness. It's been an oblique injury, it's been illness, and now appendicitis. I mean, like, where does it end here? I don't know what part of Joel and Beat hasn't been injured. I mean, he's dealt with knee injuries, a broken face. It's everything has happened to Joel. I feel bad. It's not his fault. He wants to be out there, but now he's out indefinitely. He did have surgery in Houston that day. It was a successful surgery, which is good, but there's no timetable for his return, which makes me very worried as a Sixers fan. Because let's just assume they beat the Orlando Magic in that play-in game, which they do host, which is great. Let's assume they win that. That means they're gonna face the Boston Celtics in the first round, which they're a tough team. They're arguably the biggest threat in the entire Eastern Conference, if not the entire NBA. With Joel, maybe they would have had a shot to win one or two games in a series. Without Joel, I would be very worried. What are your thoughts on Joel being out, us going into that game against the Magic, and possibly facing the Boston Celtics in a first-round series?

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Losing Joel again. I think a lot of Sixers fans just share uh a sense of disappointment and how just every single time we're getting into crucial stages of the season, um, we we just lose him. And I I understand that obviously the health things and it's it's not great, but um it's just the fact that it's just so disappointing to lose him at this time of the season, especially the before the last couple games when could have could have won that Houston Rockets game if MD was playing, um and could have won the Spurs game too. But like we are it's just it just really sucks to have to lose him at this point. And I'm glad that his surgery went well. But like you just mentioned the timetable, we don't know where we don't know next steps, and we have this play-in game coming up this week as well. We're gonna be without him then, and we're probably gonna be without him for the first round, and uh there's no guarantees, like you said, we're gonna even be competitive against the Celtics team. Look what they did, look what the Celtics team just did to the magic. We've talked about it. Bunch of uh all of their bench players, pretty much minimal starters at all for the Celtics. If they can put that out with their bench players, they add in their star players, and like we've talked about in previous shows, they bring back in a Tatum, a Jason Tatum, who is really coming back into great fitness and form after um that's terrible injury at the in the playoffs. He's gonna be primed and ready for a push in the playoffs. They're gonna be pro they are probably the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. I would take them over Detroit any day of the week. Um, and it's gonna be a really hard competition for us. Um now that's where the Sixers have to, I guess, play these things out. Do they want to so I would want them to win the magic game just to make it to the playoffs? But then we play the Celtics, and that's like you know, you have to weigh the the balances here. Do we want to tempt and lose the magic game and then go into the next play-in game and try to, you know, force our way in against the Pistons? Uh that's something to think about. What do you think about that, DJ? Do you think that's a viable option?

SPEAKER_00 8:59

So it's so tough because I think with that embied, you lose either series, whether you're talking about against the Celtics or against the Pistons. Because when you're talking about against the Celtics, you obviously have the two Jays, Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown. I mean, Jalen Brown is carrying that team. I've said it a thousand times since we started the show of Jalen Brown did a great job carrying this team. The Celtics, I thought, were going to be terrible this year. They're, as I said, one of the best teams in the entire NBA. And then you get Jason Tatum back, who is now that second option. Maybe you can say he's a 1B this season while he's still coming back from that Achilles injury. And then you have these other players, Derek White, Peyton Pritchard. Nime Asceda has played so well, in particular, even against the Sixers. And then you add Nikola Vucevic, who has it he has had his way against the Sixers as well. You could say he's a defensive liability, but he's coming off the bench. So, I mean, how much of a liability is Vucevic gonna be? So, like, if you have Tyrese Maxi and Vijay Edgecombe constantly getting to the rim against Vucevic, you know Joe Mazzula is just gonna pull him out and put Keda back in the game. Again, Garza can play decent defense as well. I'm very worried about that. But on, but then on the other hand, you go against the Pistons, you have to deal with Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart. And now Cade Cunningham is back as well. That is a very tough matchup as well. So I don't know what the right answer is. Now, if you lose that game, then you have to play another play-in game, which at least luckily, if there's any positive side to it, the Sixers would host that game as well. And you would have to go against either the Charlotte Hornets, who, yes, you did beat about a week or two ago, but you had Joel Embiid. So there is the Charlotte Hornets, but they're very, they're very good. And then the Miami Heat, which the Sixers have struggled against the Heat this season as well. I don't think the Heat are that good, but when you don't have Joel Embiid and you have to rely on so many other guys, I think the Sixers could lose to anybody. I mean, it's very possible the Sixers could lose to the Magic. I don't think it's gonna happen just because the Magic are very flawed. They haven't played. I think they said on the broadcast, those four guys may have played 18 games together this season, whether you're when you're talking about Paulo Bencaro, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bain, you know, Wendell Carter Jr. is not a great big man, but I don't know. It's so tough to say, and you're putting so much at risk if you do lose that game, because then you got to play again on Friday. And I don't know what's gonna happen in that case scenario. And the problem with the Sixers, I mean, there's many problems with the Sixers, but like in particular, is who's gonna step up when Joel and beat his out? I mean, Paul George, he had 11 points in this game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and that all came in the first quarter. He didn't score at all in the second quarter, he didn't score at all in the third quarter, and then he didn't play obviously in that fourth quarter. Tyrese Maxy had a bad first half, and I kept hearing Kate Scott and Allah Abdelnabi the last several games making excuses about his pinky injury that he suffered weeks back of maybe the pinky still bothering him. We keep seeing maybe him re-aggravating that injury in certain games. That's a worry. I mean, he shot, I believe it was one of five from the field in the first half. Now we did end with 21 points. I mean, he eight of 13 from the field, two of five from three. That's not bad. I mean, he didn't play in the fourth quarter either. But you got to really rely on Tyrese Maxie to carry you. VJ only had nine points. He actually had a double double, surprisingly, uh, nine points and 11 assists. He's kind of playing more into that point guard role recently, which is kind of neat. But you need VJ to step up, you need Kelly Ubre to step up, you need Quentin Grimes to step up. I mean, he's been pretty good the last one or two games. Granted, you did play the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers. He did have 20 points, four of six from three, seven of thirteen from the field. I also do want to give a shout-out to a player which I've been really hard on him all season. I don't think he's gonna make too much of a difference in the playoffs. Maybe he will against the Orlando Magic, who knows? But I will give a shout-out to Andre Drummond. I think he's been pretty good for the Sixers, both offensively and defensively. I mean, in this game, uh he had 12 points, 13 rebounds, which is great. And then against the Indiana Pacers, 10 points, 16 rebounds. And also, by the way, in that Milwaukee game that they just played tonight, six offensive rebounds. Against the Indiana Pacers, seven offensive rebounds, which is huge because the Sixers have not been a good rebounding team in general. So to have somebody finally, which Andre Drummond's been known to be a great rebounder, might not have been shown to be like that this season so far, but I think he's been doing a great job on the board. If you could get that from Andre Drummond, both offensively and defensively, maybe you get somewhere this season, especially in the playing game in particular. I still don't know if that will win you the first round against the Celtics. I just don't know about that. But I do want to give a shout out to Drummond because that's huge. I mean, he was a plus 26 tonight. That that's great. Um, and then on top of that, like maybe you get something from Justin Edwards. He had 17 points tonight. I mean, he he was been hooped in the last several games. And then after that, I don't know. Um, the Sixers did make a move a week ago. I don't think it's gonna turn into anything. I mean, they did wave campaign because he's been dealing with a hamstring injury, and I guess they think that he's not gonna come back anytime soon. And they can converted Dalen Terry's contract, he was a two-way player, they converted his two-way contract to a standard contract. I don't think that means he's gonna get much run in the rotation, but that is just some another thing to look at when you're talking about this roster. So overall, the Sixers have a lot of flaws. I think they could still beat the Magic, but would it shock me if they lost to the Magic? No. Whether or not they face the Celtics or the Pistons, I think it's the same result either way. I mean, it wouldn't shock me, Jordan, if they got swept by either the Celtics or the Pistons.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

I don't think a sweep. I think we'll be able to pull one or two maybe at home.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

I said shock me. It wouldn't shock me. I'm not saying it's gonna happen. I said it wouldn't shock me.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Fair enough, fair enough. I don't think we'll get swept. I I just think that the team playing at home, and it will get two games guaranteed, unless they do sweep us, then we lose both those two games. But I do think we can maybe pull one out at home. And you never know in the playoffs. Just who knows? This team can is unpredictable at points, even with without Embiid. Um, so it's it's a toss-up. I mean, I'd I'd like to to see how that how it goes. Obviously, win win the games, win the play-in games. Let's let's just take care of business at first and then give it a shot against the Celtics.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

Yeah, I think the Sixers are gonna try to give it their all, and maybe that's something we haven't seen in many games this season without Embiid. Maybe you've seen the Sixers give up. It's tough because they've been so inconsistent, they just can't stay healthy. And again, I feel bad for Embiid. Like, yes, I understand that he makes uh a crap ton of money. I understand that he's been injured his whole entire career. I mean, he missed his first two seasons, right? And then even his rookie season, I mean, he only played 20-something games, and then since then, once again, it's like he's had every injury on planet Earth. I mean, it's crazy how dealing with a broken face injury once, he dealt with it twice, right? And none of it was his fault. The first time was because of Markel Foltz, and the second time was because of Pascal Siakam. So, like, you never know. Like what the first time it was his own teammate, the second time it was Siakam in that first round series against the Raptors. It it's crazy, and I don't know if we're gonna see Embiid again this season, and it sucks because when Embiid has been on the floor, he's been so good. And the Sixers have shown when he's on the floor that they could be a real threat in the Eastern Conference, but because he's never healthy, I mean Joel this season has played how many games has Joel played? He's played 38 games. Jordan, did you know that's even less than two seasons ago? He played 39 games, right? That was the season where he started on that MVP run, then Jonathan Kaminga fell on his leg and he was out pretty much for the rest of the season until those last eight games. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

I I actually didn't know that. I didn't know that. I didn't I figured I mean I guess it makes sense thinking about thinking back about it now, but like I figured he had played a decent number of games, but I didn't think that little, but and obviously his numbers are lower than that season because as I said, he started on an MVP run.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

I mean, if he stayed healthy that season, he probably would have won it his second year in a row. This season, I get all-star-level numbers. I mean, 27 points per game, 49 from the field, 33 from three. Not great, but like, you know, 7.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 blocks. Those are still solid numbers for a guy that's consistently injured, comes on the floor and stays productive. But now we're kind of in a pickle of we don't know what's gonna happen. Obviously, Daryl Mori and the Sixers, they're not gonna tell us because if they say, hey, Joel's not coming back until I it he could say, Okay, Joel could come back if the Sixers make it to the Eastern Conference Finals or the finals, but that only means so much. I mean, I'm not a doctor, I don't know how long it's gonna take to return from appendicitis. I've read that it has taken weeks for certain athletes to come back. Uh, one case that I saw was OG Ananobi. I mean, he didn't come back until the Raptors were in the NBA finals, so we don't know now. And Joel's usage rate is way higher than what OG's was back on that Raptors team, right? That was before OG was the OG Ananobi that he is today. So, and even OG now is not the player Joel is like it's it's just two different apples and oranges, really, or elephants and microwaves. You know, that's that's how different it is. So I don't know what the fate is gonna be. And in my opinion, I don't think this it doesn't really matter because without Joel indeed, I don't think the Sixers go far at all. The Eastern Conference, it is wide open, and with all the games today, now that now we know that the Toronto Raptors are the five seed, they will be facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, meaning that the Atlanta Hawks, they are now the sixth seed, they're gonna face the New York Knicks in the first round. I mean, and and that's not a good matchup for the Knicks. They they should be very scared to face the Hawks there. Anything could happen. The Sixers could find a way to get past the Celtics. I just don't see it, and I'm very worried about it, Jordan.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

I don't see it at all. And I'm just uh hoping and praying get through the Orlando game, and um maybe this team can pull off a shocker at home and it can maybe bring them, bring it on the road at the TV garden, but ultimately I just think Boston overpowers us pretty much every position. Um, and it sucks to say that as a diehard Philly fan. Uh, I hate the Celtics, I'm not a big fan of Boston and general sports teams. So um, yeah, let let's see what can happen. Anything can happen on any day of the week.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Yeah, it was funny that I actually had to kind of root for the Celtics a little bit because they had to beat the magic in order for the Sixers to host that game. I don't know if it really would have made a difference if the Sixers were hosting it or on the road because the Sixers, I don't think they've been the best home team this season, but I'd rather be at home than on the road. Because the last time that happened, the Sixers were at home against the Miami Heat, and it was so exciting watching Nico Batum going off in that playing game. So, I mean, it would be very exciting to at home seeing Tyrese Maxie go off, seeing VJ Edgecombe going off, Paul George, whoever the case might be. And also another great reason is for those that don't know, this was Matt Cord's final regular season game, being the PA announcer for the 76ers. So, because the game is at home, he gets another opportunity to showcase his amazing talents to this fan base. I mean, I I got to listen to it on NBC Sports Philadelphia. They actually like broadcasted him uh announcing the starting lineup, and every time like I hear it, like I just get chills, like it's so good. I don't know who's gonna replace him, and Matt Court is gonna be missed. I I just don't think who anyone that replaces him is gonna have the same effect. I'm sure they're gonna do a great job, but there's only one Matt Court. I mean, it it can happen. Um, but I'm I'm very happy that he had a great, long, successful career. I'm very excited to see kind of what he does in the future. But it's not the first time. I mean, we we've seen Mark Zumoff retire, Kate Scott took over. I think. She's done a pretty decent job so far. Now, now we're we're losing that court. It's sad, but at least we get to hear him at least one more time. And even if they lose it, we get to hear him one more time after that. So, you know, I I guess there is another positive in there, Jordan.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

There is, yes. Uh, he's had a great career as a Sixers PA announcer. Um, I always loved the Joel process, embiad, and then they have the reverb embiad, embiad, and beat. Like that is the greatest part. His starting lineup announcements at X Fanny Mobile Arena, Wells Fargo Center, Wachovia Center, like whatever it's been called uh in previous years, he has always been a staple of Sixers games throughout my childhood and into adult life. Whenever I go to games, he is always someone that will address himself to the crowd and like make big moments, be even bigger with his voice. And he's just uh he he's incredible, and he will be missed uh at the end of the season. But like you said, we get him at least one more time, and yeah, it's exciting.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yeah, and then the last thing I want to talk about before we go here, uh it's gonna be a short show this week. We'll definitely come back after the playing games happen. Jordan's actually going on vacation. I was kind of on my spring break this past week, but we will definitely make sure to have another show next week. So just make sure you follow and subscribe to Second Ron Syndrome. Turn on that notification bell so that way you never miss an upload. Um, so Doc Rivers, he is no longer gonna be the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. I mean, Sham Sharani posted that Doc Rivers is departing as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. After a 32 and 50 season, the Bucks will embark on their third coaching search in the last three years. A summer of change begins for the Bucks as Doc Rivers exits as 97 and 103 across three seasons in Milwaukee, two first-round exits and missing the playoffs and the play-in this year. The Bucs will pay out Rivers on his eight-figure salary for the final year of his deal in 2026 to 2027. That was what Schamps posted. Now, Jordan, before I make my spiel, the reason why I definitely want to talk about the Doc Rivers thing, obviously, is just because of his ties to the Sixers. But do you think at this point Doc is done coaching the NBA? Because I think it's time.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

I agree. I think he'll probably go the route of whether that be on the set of some major sports network. I think when he was with the Sixers, he spoke pretty well, if I remember correctly, on a lot of things. Um, I do think he probably has the best like foot forward in the media realm next uh for his next steps of his career. But I just gotta say, isn't it great to be uh a coach that gets fired or laid off? You get these great salaries, like the they have to pay out the contract, and you get like a you said you said eight-figure salary, right? Yep. Is that that what challenge reported? Yeah, eight-figure salary. I I don't think another team is gonna take another shot uh with Doc, but I'd be surprised. NBA teams can kind of pick uh pick coaches out of out of a hat sometimes. So maybe he does get another chance, but I um I don't believe so.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

Yeah, the only way I would see Doc getting hired again in the NBA is if a team is desperate, and there's always a desperate team. The Bucs were one of them. I mean, they fired Mike Budenholzer, who I thought shouldn't have been fired in the first place, to be quite honest with you. Um, and then they bring in Adrian Griffin and they kind of fire him mid-season when I mean I think the record was really good. If I if I remember it was like 33 and 13, they fire him halfway the through the season, they hire Doc Rivers, which I don't know how much Giannis had to do with that. I mean, it it was tough, it was a desperate move, and clearly it didn't pay off. I mean, Doc Rivers, I think he's had an incredible career both as a player and as a coach, but on the other hand, he hasn't won anything since 2008, back when he was on the Celtics, the coach of the Celtics, and they had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray John Rondo, right? Ray Allen. They had a great roster over there, and he hasn't done anything since. I mean, they couldn't they couldn't repeat as champions with Boston. He couldn't do anything with the Clippers, whether you're talking about when he was with the Lob City era, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, JJ Redick. Couldn't do anything with them, couldn't do anything even with Paul George and Kwai Leonard's first year. Then he comes to Philly, Ben Simmons, Joel Indeed, that didn't work out, right? James Harden, that didn't work out. So, I mean, and then you go to Milwaukee when you have Giannis on Stecumpo, Damian Lillard, Chris Middleton, can't find a way to make that work. And then for whatever reason, they still tried to do something this season. I mean, they tried to convince Giannis that waving and stretching Dame and signing Miles Turner to an insane contract would somehow do something and they would be contenders. I mean, I didn't think it would work the moment I saw that. I almost like fell out of my chair of they really think they could replace Damian Lillard with Miles Turner. And again, who was their second best player? Was it Turner? No. Was it Kyle Kuzma? No. I mean, Kevin Porter Jr. No. I mean, it was pretty much like Bobby Portis, maybe. I I don't know. Ryan Rollins. I mean, they didn't have a great roster to work with. Um, but I don't think any team, unless they're desperate, is gonna hire Doc Rivers again. I think it's over. He's had a great run, and we know he's been great with the media in the past. I mean, that little break in between Philly and Milwaukee, he did uh he did call a couple games on ESPN, so I'm sure he'll be invited back to do that because I think he was pretty good at it overall. I mean, I know Austin Rivers is I believe he's with NBC and Peacock, if I'm correct. I I think the Rivers family, I think they're pretty good with the broadcasting side of things, they're great with the media. I I think Doc will have a place there. So I I don't see a realm where he's back as a coach, but it's not gonna be the last time where we see Doc Rivers around the NBA. We we definitely got a lot of things to look forward to. The Philadelphia 76ers are gonna be hosting the Orlando Magic, most likely Wednesday night. I mean, this episode should be out before then, so please make sure to tune in. I'm very excited to see that. And assuming they can beat the Orlando Magic, we will be seeing them face the Boston Celtics in the first round. If they lose the Orlando Magic game, then they got to play either the Miami Heat or the Charlotte Hornets, depending who wins that 9-10 seed game, to potentially face the Detroit Pistons in the first round. I don't know exactly what the schedule is gonna be yet, but I'm excited to find out. We're definitely gonna be covering it for as long as the Sixers are in the playoffs. And even if the Sixers get eliminated, we're still gonna cover the NBA because we love watching playoff basketball. We want to talk to you about playoff basketball. So please make sure to check us out Apple, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Amazon. Follow, like, share, subscribe, do all those wonderful things. Leave us a five-star review. We want to hear all your thoughts and feedback to make second round figure better every single time. You can find me at DJ Sports Dump on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook. I'm everywhere. I'm DJ Sports Dump. We got George Dimble here in the doorways. We will see you next time.