Hardwood Knocks

Dan is joined by Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) from Liberty Ballers, Forbes, FanSided AND Bleacher Report for a deep dive into the 2025-26 Philadelphia 76ers. FOLLOW HIS WORK AT LIBERTY BALLERS HERE. TIMESTAMPS⤵️0:00 - INTRO3:17 - End of the Quentin Grimes saga / The offseason11:59 - What is the Sixers’ direction?15:50 - Expectations for Joel Embiid19:06 - The Sixers’ play style moving forward23:20 - Three-guard and four-guard lineups28:16 - Impact of VJ Edgecombe33:48 - Continued development of Jared McCain36:56 - Future of Justin Edwards39:58 - The secondary big man rotation 41:26 - Continued development of Adem Bona46:08 - What is the Sixers’ urgency level on the trade market?49:48 - Is Paul George underrated?53:54 - Joel Embiid’s offensive role55:54 - Sixers biggest needs57:41 - Under-the-radar storylines58:44 - Top-10 rotation 1:00:49 - Go-to crunch-time lineup1:01:58 - Weirdo lineups we want to see1:04:12 - Kyle Lowry + NBA positivity 1:08:24 - PREDICTIONSSUPPORT THE SHOW BY PURCHASING HARDWOOD KNOCKS MERCH