The Devon Givens Show

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 27: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at Wells Fargo Center on February 27, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A solid bounce-back win for the 76ers following a tough two-point loss to this same Miami Heat team on Monday night. An impressive 23-point victory, 119-96. Over a good Heat team that the Sixers should’ve taken care of a few days ago. Nevertheless, they got it done in game two of this two-game series. They have hit the 40-win mark 61 games into the season. What made this victory even more impressive was getting done with All-Star center Joel Embiid missing the game due to left foot soreness.

Here’s what stood out: 

  • The pace of the game the 76ers played served to be a winning formula in this one yet again. We’ve seen them play this way and succeed many times but we don’t see it enough. Yes, they have arguably the most dominant big man in the sport. He needs his touches. However, there’s a way for the team to find a nice balance of him being the focal point of the offense while mixing this brand of play in. It’s clearly effective. The Sixers won the fastbreak category 26-7. 
  • Part of the pace that played a part in the win was having speedy guard Tyrese Maxey back in the starting lineup. Maxey finished with a game-high 27 points on 10 for 17 shooting. 4 for 7 from behind the three-point line. He also added a game-best seven assists. Much has been made of him starting or coming off the bench. He needs to be back in the opening five for this type of impact to begin the game and jump on the opponent. 
  • Paul Reed finished with a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 14 boards. Five came on offense. He played his best brand of ball in quite some time with a ton of energy. The question is: how consistent can he be? If he can keep this level of play going, he’ll certainly be well on his way to securing the backup five minutes behind Embiid or at the very least, simply earning the trust from head coach Doc Rivers for spot minutes based on the other team’s personnel. 

Next up will be game two of a back-to-back for Philadelphia as they face off tonight against the Dallas Mavericks (32-31). 

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The 8 Phillies Players Participating in the World Baseball Classic

We are a little under a week from the start of the World Baseball Classic. Most of the best players from around the world will take the baseball field for their home country. Festivities kick off on Tuesday, March 7th, and will wrap up on Tuesday March 21st. This of course means any player participating will miss two weeks of Spring Training.

It will feature 20 teams, split up into 4 different groups. The United States are the defending Champions from 2017 and will be in Group C. Joining them are Mexico, Great Britian, Columbia, and Canada. Group A features Cuba, Italy, Netherlands, Chinese Tapei, and Panama. In Group B two time champions Japan, along with Korea, China, Chezch Republic, and Australia. And in Group D will be the 2013 Champions Dominican Republic, along with Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and Isreal.

It is the 5th edition of the World Baseball Classic. These games were supposed to take place in 2021. But the World Pandemic pushed the qualifying games and the actual World Baseball Classic back to 2023.

Where Do the Games Take Place?

Games will take place across 4 different fields. Two in the United States, 1 in Japan, and 1 in Taiwan. Arizona’s Chase Field and Miami’s Loan Depot Park are the two American Fields hosting games. The Tokyo Dome, obviously from Tokyo, will host the games in Japan. And the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium will host the games played in Taiwan. The United States will play its group-stage games in Arizona. The top 2 teams from each group advance to the tournament. The Quarterfinals games take place in Tokyo or Miami. And then the Semi-Final games and the Finals all take place in Miami.

8 Phillies, and several former Phillies, are competing in the World Baseball Classic. Who are they, and what teams are they playing for? Here are all the Phillies’ connections in the World Baseball Classic.

[Source: Wikapedia.com]

  • Former Phillies In The World Baseball Classic

    Eight  Current Phillies are playing, but there are also 7 former Phillies players taking part in the games.

     

    Team Canada- Nick Pivetta, Phillippe Aumont, Scott Mathieson and Adam Loewen

    Team Dominican Republic- Hector Neris and Jean Segura

    Team Mexico- Jojo Romero

     

    Other than Neris and Segura, not exactly a group of names the Phillies are looking forward to seeing again. It’s either guys who barely played here or in Pivetta’s case, flamed out here.

  • Kyle Schwarber- Team USA

    Kyle Schwarber

    (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

  • Trea Turner- Team USA

    Trea Turner

    (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

  • JT Realmuto- Team USA

    JT Realmuto

    (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

  • Gregory Soto- Team Dominican Republic

    Gregory Soto

    (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

  • Ranger Suarez- Team Venezuela

    Ranger Suarez

    (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

  • Jose Alvarado- Team Venzuela

    Jose Alvarado

    (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

  • Taijuan Walker- Team Mexico

    Taijuan Walker

    (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

  • Garrett Stubbs- Team Israel

    Garrett Stubbs

    (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)