Colin Cowherd and 'First Things First' Co-Host Danny Parkins react to the latest in the NBA. They start with Kevin Durant and how his exits from teams are terrible and how that will impact his legacy. What is the future for KD? Draymond Green & Austin Rivers are in a feud but whose side are Colin & Danny on? Will Wemby be the face of the league and who will win Spurs-Timberwolves? Are the Knicks good or just good because they are in the East? They also give some of their favorite over unders in the NFL.
TIMELINE
00:00 Kevin Durant
10:23 Draymond Green & Austin Rivers
15:11 Victor Wembanyama, Spurs, Timberwolves
24:57 Knicks
30:22 NFL Over/Unders
44:09 DTF ST LOUIS
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix are putting on their first
ever MMA fight, a triple main event. Fan favorite fighters
go head to head live on Saturday, May sixteenth. Main event,
it's Ronda Rousi. She's back to shake up the world
of combat sports with her first fight in nearly a decade.
She's fighting against fellow women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano, who
(00:24):
was one of the first combat sports stars to cross
over into the entertainment industry after going on a remarkable
MMA tear Then, Nate Diaz against Mike Perry is a
matchup that pits two of the sports toughest competitors. Diaz
is long known for his relentless pressure durability, dude is
just tough, and Perry's a knockout artist whose aggressive style
(00:45):
has earned him the nickname King of Violence. For the
other main event, we have Francis Nagano, who is widely
regarded as the hardest punisherm in MMA history, going up
against Felipe Linz, who combines a high level ground game
with significant knockout power. Don't miss it a blockbuster triple header.
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix are putting it on Ron
(01:06):
de Rousi against Gina Carono live only on Netflix Saturday,
May sixteenth, at nine pm Eastern Standard time six pm
Pacific time. We try to bring him on at least
once once a month. I mean, I think that's reasonable.
I mean, he's he's a spot starter.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Come on, this is what having a buttering up your guests.
I'm available weekly. I'm still waiting for the regular rotation.
I'm not saying I'm an ace, but I'm a I
can I can start game three of a playoff series.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Come on, absolutely you can't. So I was just talking
about you to somebody in the industry. I'm not even
gonna get into it, but it was very complimentary.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
There's a lot of peripheral things going on in basketball.
One of them we've talked about is Kevin Durant, and
I've always believed this to be true. Judge a person
by how relationships end, not how they start. Guys have
great opening lines at the bar, and then they don't text,
(02:18):
or they text when they break up. Like our President's boy.
They've got a great mission statement going into a war.
We can never get out of it, right, Like It's
just guys are really good with entrances and awful with exits.
I can argue now after the burner phone incident, which
is alleged but seems to be true, Kevin Durant's exit
(02:41):
in OKC, Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix, and Houston over five,
he's like bad break up boyfriend, Like there is something
to be said that. And this is the Aaron Rodgers
vibe I've always had. I know, most athletes aren't great lead,
but there is kind of an understanding. If you're the
(03:02):
best player on a team, you gotta kind of own
some of it. You just can't be guy who shows
up and hits buckets and watching. You know, Kevin Durant,
and it's almost like he the net rating was better
when he didn't play for Houston. And I've got to
be honest with you, it does affect the way I
(03:24):
look at him. It does ding his legacy.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
A little bit to me, of course. I mean, listen,
I think that KD has a legit gripe with the
media for creating rings culture, him leaving and going to
Golden State winning rings and then us being like, yeah,
but those rings aren't that impressive, Like I get why
(03:47):
that would piss him off, and I do think that
that seemed to be some sort of breaking point with like,
all right, now I'm going to just really engage and
be very online and like kind of push back a
narrative stuff that he doesn't like. But sorry, Like I
don't hold those rings in as high of a regard.
You joined a super team that had already won, like
(04:09):
it's you were great, but like Janni's is more impressive,
Jokic's is more impressive. Like we've talked about that before.
He's gonna make All NBA this year, which is what
I think really does compliment complicated. He is going to
be now sixty five game rule, a little contribution to it,
but not really like that guy's a hooper. He showed up,
(04:30):
he played, and one hundred media members are going to
vote him as either being a top ten guy this
year or a top fifteen guy this year, depending on
if he makes second or third team. So if it
is done in Houston over the burner stuff, I will
get it because of chemistry. But I don't think this
is like Houston will be better without Kevin Durant. I
(04:51):
don't believe even though they were, they were better for
a couple of games against the Lakers in the playoffs.
I don't he is still an awesome basketball but maybe
he's a mercenary. Maybe he needs to go to Detroit
where it's like clearly Kid Cunningham's team, Like Kate Cunningham
max contract guy. He might be the starting point guard
(05:13):
for Team USA at the twenty twenty eight Olympics, Like
no one would be really looking to KD to be
the leader of that team. Goes to Minnesota, that's Ann
Edwards's team, Like goes to New York, that's Jalen Brunson's team.
In Houston, it was always going to be his team
because she goon by his own admission, language barrier, more
(05:34):
of a lead by example. Guy van Vliet, great player,
but point you can't lead from street clothes. Right, He's
out the whole year, So if he moves on, I
don't think Houston gets better. They made their locker room
gets better. And he's got to be thinking, all right,
it's five franchises rings that people don't really hold in
(05:57):
high regard, and he's going to go down maybe scoring
more points than Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Like it's a weird
legacy for a top twenty all time player in the
history of the sport. He's probably the most complicated guy
in the top twenty. To really pin down it exactly
what he is.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, Carmelo Anthony's another guy, like not really a winning player,
didn't play defense often, not in the best shape, but
a great basket. I mean, and I think Carmelo's legacy
is popular. Was he a winning player? Russell Westbrook's legacy
Hall of Famer? Was he a winning player? You know,
it's basketball. I tend to give basketball players a little
(06:38):
bit of a break because it's the most artistic of sports. Yeah,
like people have signature shoes and signature moves.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
You know.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's like nobody in baseball really has a signature shoe.
That's not a thing. And so like I kind of
give basketball players a little bit of a break. I
mean I was a kid. I liked World b Free.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Oh yeah, I mean yeah, just.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
A ridiculu list gunner. Not a winning player. But I
remember when he would play like once a year the Sonics.
I was fascinated by. Maybe it was the name. So
I tend to give Katie a break in that it's basketball.
He's a little bit of an artist, you know, not
everybody is like Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Denzel,
really good with a business and a great artist like
(07:21):
Mick Jagger and Bono. Some artists they trash hotel rooms
and get married four times, Like I still like their art.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Well, listen and KD, if he was listening to this,
he'd probably be like, I've made hundreds of millions of
dollars from investments, Like he actually is a pretty good businessman,
you know, Like Yeah, And I think that Kadi is smart,
and I think that KD is I think he's eccentric.
You know, people have made yeah, you know, they've made
the Aaron Rodgers comp. Maybe you've made the Aaron Rodgers comp.
(07:51):
I think it's pretty spot on, Like Aaron Rodgers could
have been a better leader, should have more rings, but
he's universally regarded as an all time and it complicates
his legacy because of all of the other stuff I think.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I think eccentric is a great way to put it.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah. Yeah, And he's and because he's about my age,
he's a couple of years younger than me. He is
very millennial. And I say that with just the amount
of judgment that I can say as a millennial, Like
like I went to college and my freshman years when
Facebook became a thing, so like I got to meet
(08:31):
people uh like after high school before college like that
were in my dorm via Facebook, but you were still
like going to parties and like maybe posting pictures on
the internet, but we weren't all on our phones all
of the time. Like that kind of blew up after
my college experience, whereas like my younger sisters, they've had
(08:52):
smartphones since they were in grade school. And I do
think there's a difference, and that like Kadi, he's very online.
He's just he's I bet you his screen time is eight, nine,
ten hours on his device, like he is. And so
when you do that and you give all of these people,
not just people like you or people like me who
(09:15):
at least try to have some sort of like consistency
with our opinions and watch the games and talk to
people whatever, but like literally, like nets Fan forty two,
when you give all of those people access to your
pocket and your brain and your consciousness, not everyone can
separate it. And I think Kady clearly has he like
(09:42):
he wants to be able to have a voice in
front of a microphone and in a boardroom, but he
also wants to have a voice with nets Fan forty two.
And it's like, buddy, you're Kevin Durant. You have to
be above it. Like the fact that it appears that
he was the guy talking track on all of his
teammates is so embarrassing, Like it's such an embarrassing scandal.
(10:07):
But I think it is like only the type of
thing that could happen to a millennial gen Z era
person who was like looking for currency and validation online.
But it's so embarrassing for a person of his stature.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
So I'm a boomer, So a lot of a lot
of sex, yeah, a lot of drinking, and eventually a
lot of money.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah. You guys crushed it. Yeah, yeah, no, you crushed it.
You guys were able to go to college for like
forty eight bucks, buy a house for buy a house
for thirty two hundred dollars that maybe the government subsidized.
And then you're like, I have at my house this
person who I will not name, who I met through
(10:51):
my job in New York. Not a famous person, but
just like a person, and they were like when I
moved out here, They're like, you should buy my house.
I'm getting ready to downsize. So I was like, oh yeah,
she's like yeah, Like I'm I'm going to list it
for like two million dollars. I'm like, oh, good, good
for you. And she's like, I bought it for one
(11:12):
hundred and sixty thousand dollars. So I was like, great,
that opportunity is not available to the millennials that graduated
college in the housing crisis of eighth nine and then
have through whatever the hell of the last twenty years
have been. But I'm really happy for all of you guys.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Okay, let's get a pivot to Let's pivot to Draymond Green.
Oh yes, so turn So he used to be at
the volume. I liked him.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I thought he cut through.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
So basically, Draymond Green came out and said, you know,
Steve Kerr may have gotten in the way of my career.
And then Austin Rivers is like, bro, you're the luckiest
guy in the history of the league. And then Draymond
and Austin Reeves Rivers, Austin Rivers have exchanged unpleasantries. So yeah,
I liked Draymond. I would say this is where I
(12:02):
think Draymond lacks the little self awareness. So his high
school coach in Saginaw, Michigan was a guy named Lou Dawkins,
Hall of Famer. He eventually get Steve Kerr, hall of Famer.
That's after Tom Izzo, who will be a Hall of Famer.
He's never had a bad coach. Lebron's had like four
(12:23):
Like I mean, Mark Jackson, by the way, was very effective.
Kerr was just better and it was trally transitioning to
a very offensive three point league, and Kerr was a
long range shooter. So the culture sort of moved away
from market into Steve. And that's what I would say obviously,
Austin Rivers, I mean, we don't. I mean it was
a disappointing career whatever. But I can simultaneously think Draymond's
(12:46):
the best defensive player ever and better offensively because he's
a catalyst than people give him credit for. But then
part of me is like bro. That would be like
me having three bosses, all of them the best in
either their state, region, or industry. I've said this forever
for young broadcasters, don't chase money, chase management. There's a
sea of money in anything. There's a finite number of
(13:10):
really shrewd, sharp, visionary bosses like I've had maybe three
in a forty year career. Where do you land on Draymon?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Draymond is an amazing basketball player, But if he thinks
that if he was on the Pelicans, he'd be a
first ballot Hall of Famer, he's out of his mind,
like respectfully, because he is an incredible defensive player. He's
a four time champion, he's a four time All Star
(13:45):
who averages nine points a game, like Dyson Daniels is
an amazing defensive player. Like if you're watching the Hawks,
you're kind of locked in on Dyson Daniels, but like
he's not on a Hall of Fame trajectory like you.
You have to win for to be a player like Draymond,
(14:06):
for you to beyond Turner, to be on the volume,
for us to care about you.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Now, can I argue this?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Though?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Rodman played for the Spurs, Chuck Daily and Phil Jackson,
and the truth is smart people understood the value of them.
And then the thing I would argue with Draymon is,
despite his idiosyncratic personality, Kerr would never let him go.
It was basically a Steph Draymond team. And so like Rodman,
(14:35):
you can say, oh, he wanted a good teammate. You
then why did Popovich, Chuck Daily and Phil Jackson all
speak glowingly? There is value in Draymond retaining a contract
with maybe the smartest coach in the league.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Oh but okay, so maybe I didn't. I don't. I
don't think we're disagreeing here. Like Draymond is a winning
basketball player. I think Draymond absolutely had a tremendous amount
of value to the to the Warriors dynasty. I am
merely saying that. Like if Draymond Green was on the
Pelicans or the Hawks, or the Bulls or whomever, he
(15:14):
is not, they're not creating. He's not the one who
created the dynasty. Steph Curry is right, like, you can
be a winning player and Dennis Rodman was amazing, but
that was still more because of Isaiah than Dennis Rodman.
It was more because of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
than Dennis Rodman. He was just a He was excellent
(15:35):
at his role, and then the winning that came partly
because of him and partly with him is what elevates
him all time. There are a lot of great rebounders
and defensive players that if they don't have a lot
of rings, we don't really care about you. So I
think that. But Draymond it's also it makes sense why
he has a little bit of an overinflated sense of self.
(15:56):
Like Steph Curry loves him, Ron loves him. He's got
titles and a gold medal, and like doing it his
way has made him obscenely wealthy and obscenely famous. So like,
there's no reason for him to change and stop being
who he is. But I don't think that Draymond Green
would be regarded as an all time player if he
(16:17):
had been drafted into a different situation.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
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All right, whimby topic.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So, the first time I watched the NBA was in
the early seventies. It was like nineteen seventy two. I
can remember watching the Washington Miami Super Bowl on a
black and white TV in my bedroom, and I remember
watching a CBS NBA game. Brent Musburger was calling the
play by play. It was the Lakers, like with Wilt Chamberlain,
old Wilt lumbering up the court with the head band
(18:19):
against the Blazers.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
And yeah, it was in Portland, and that Portland came
back to beat the Lakers. They were down like twenty
and came back. I've looked it up and I can't
find the game. So Wilt Chamberlain was a remarkable basketball player,
but a bit too flaky to be the face.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Of the league.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And Kareem abdol Jabbar was too stoic and prickly and
was never the face of the league, and Elijah Want
and Tim Duncan weren't the face of the league. And
Kobe's signature shoe at Nike was a bigger deal than Shack,
so Shack was never really the face of the league.
Shoe sales sort of matter of that stuff. Is that
as much as we look at Wemby's face of the league,
(18:59):
he's Internet national. He's seven to four. Alien is a compliment,
but it's not terribly relatable as a nickname like the
Doctor is or Momba is. Alien is frightening and otherworldly.
And I'm watching him against Minnesota in that game. In
(19:21):
my take is his game is fascinating. He's he's he's
basically a disruptor on defense and a finisher on offense.
But he's not a creator like Jokic or Kobe or
Michael or Doctor J or Steph or Lebron. He's not
a creator. And mostly our faces of the league have
been creators and finishers. And I think he's just gonna
(19:43):
go down as more of the all time great players.
But I don't know if he is faced of the league. Guy,
he's pretty thoughtful. He is, he very he gets, he
gives very interesting answers which I which I ask, and
I do think will help him in like the media ecosystem,
people are gonna want to continue to talk to him,
so I will.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Give him that. I do think that winning is a
big piece of Duncan won a lot, but wasn't face.
It wasn't face of the league. To your point, it
does tend to go to guys who have the ball
in their hands as guards. But he might just change everything.
Like I, just as you were talking about it, I googled,
you know, just top selling jerseys, and this is an
(20:24):
article Stephen Curry leading way in jersey sales so far
for twenty twenty five twenty twenty six season. So I
don't see a date on this post from NBA.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
That came out not that long ago jersey sales came out.
I think Aunt was shockingly low at five. But Minnesota
had a really weird regular season. Yeah, I mean, but
so this is from like earlier in this season. Oh okay,
here we go. Updated January twentieth, so four months ago.
But from this season, Steph Curry won Luca two, Brunson three,
(20:57):
WEM before Lebron five, ANT six. So if you're fourth
in jersey sales. And that's before you really enter the
MVP conversation, before you became the first unanimous defensive Player
of the Year, and before you had even played in
a playoff game.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
And you're twenty one, twenty two years old. I have
to be open to the possibility that that guy can
be the face of the league. What you're saying historically
is accurate about big guys, but I think we are
like everything about Wemby has to be taken with like, yeah,
but the alien might be different. It just you know,
he might just break all of the rules. And again
(21:42):
fourth in jersey sales. Purely anecdotally, I have seen kids
in Wemby jerseys, not saying a ton. I see more
Yankees jerseys on kids where I live, but I have
seen some. So I think he is such a singular
talent that I do think it is possible. And that game,
as we record this on a Tuesday, that game last
(22:03):
night was a weird one. Oh what a weird basket game.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
So I had said this the day before. I'm like,
Minnesota's a pain in the ass. Oh, you play and
unbelievable fourth quarter team the way Chris Chris Finch experiments
and then when games matter, they're really good. I mean
they're fourth quarter scoring. I mean the minute that game
went the fourth and they took a four point lead,
I'm like, the game is over.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Darn Fox was terrible, Castle, Stefan Castle was in foul trouble,
and Julius Randall. Julius Randall is one of the more
underretted players because the analytic mavens don't love him. But
he's a walking nineteen nine and he bullies Wemby. But
I watched I watched that game and I was as
he was zero for eight. I'm watching Wemby and I
(22:53):
think he's a fascinating disruptor. Defensively, I don't really love
watching his game. Offensively, he's you can knock him off
his spot. He's off balance a lot, he hits the
floor a lot. He's not a great passer or initiator.
He's a very good closer. But I don't find I
mean again, I didn't find Lebron's game that appealing his
(23:14):
first two to three years. As he developed as a
perimeter player, I found it more engaging. Then after the
Dallas disaster in the finals, he developed. I thought his
game had he kind of finished his game. It was close,
he finished it. And I still think MJ's more fun
to watch than Lebron, and I think Kobe was more
fun to watch. I don't know, I'm just and I'm
(23:34):
not trying to be a critic. I hope Wenby wins.
He's just a really thoughtful, smart guy and he's really
good with the press. But as I watch him, I
don't I'm not captivated by his offensive game, and that
usually feels like it. I've said this about Jason Tatum. Sometimes, Tatum,
I'm like, is he playing?
Speaker 3 (23:51):
What? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Where is he?
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Yeah? I mean, listens, last night was five of seventeen
and oh of eight from threes, and you're like, that's
that's a that's a game that seven foot five guys
should not have. But you know, to your point about Lebron,
You're like, he didn't love it early. It wasn't totally refined.
He had to develop. He came it a league at
eighteen years old. But right, like, you know, we have
to kind of remember like Victor Wemnyama is by far
(24:16):
the best defensive player in the sport, and at least
on a per thirty six minute basis, a pretty damn
good offensive player. Also, he didn't play a ton of
minutes this year, which I think was smart given the
health issues and the size and how young he is
and all of that. And we'll see what happens. Like,
I am totally open to the possibility that his offensive
(24:36):
game will will keep developing and small pivot. But Minnesota, god,
are they fun. Like so Chris Finch. We profiled him
a bit in our book Pipeline of the Pros because
he went to Franklin and Marshall and he was multiple
two time All American. But like the stories people would
(24:57):
tell about him was just like just kind of like gritty, nasty,
really physical, like the best rebounder of the program I've
ever seen. And it's it's a it's so instructive when
you think about Minnesota. There they're so tough and they're
they're so fear like, like Randall's just like bodying people
(25:20):
and go Beard is not nas reed. Terrence Shannon his
Illinois kid, Illinois kids, Chicago tough and he comes in
and he you know, he gets blocked two times in
like the first minute of the game, and then the
first minute he's on the floor. It's blocked three times
by Wemby. He's asked about it afterwards and he's like, yeah,
(25:41):
I told him he better, he better. He's gonna need
to block me every single time because I'm gonna drive
to the hoop. I'm gonna come at him every time.
I'm not gonna stop coming down the lane. Like. They
are just fearless and really physical and really scrappy and
really tough, and so I just I don't know who
will win that series, but I think we have to
(26:02):
let it. I just I respect the hell out of them.
They overachieve in the playoffs, back to back trips to
the Western Conference finals, got crushed for the go Bear
trade that has worked out for them, obviously crushed in
the for the Cat Julius Randall trade, which I think
has been at least a draw win win for both teams.
Just a really interesting team. And if they knock Wemby out,
(26:26):
man like, we're gonna have to put a lot of
respect on them.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So we'll edit this back in the NBA group. You
live in New York, now, oh okay? Yeah, And I've
found that the Eastern Conference is hard for me to
figure out. I mean, Detroit finished as a number one
seed and they have one score. Last year Charry Reese
Halliburton in Indiana suddenly were dynamic. We're like, how the
(26:52):
hell is this happening? Is Cleveland good? I don't think so.
Philadelphia we sort of gave up on and then they
beat the Celtics. And my point is with the knickses,
it's the East, like I know, Minnesota, San Antonio, Oklahoma City.
I see the rosters and they're going up against each other,
(27:13):
like Denver's a good team they got extinguished. Are the
Knicks good?
Speaker 3 (27:19):
I don't know. I think it's totally fair. I they
were really inconsistent over the course of the year, and
so I just.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
They had locker room issues, like there were reports they
didn't like each other.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
So I didn't believe in them, and it's and I
also didn't believe in them because of their own standards,
like they fired Tibbs for you know, make it to
the Eastern Conference finals, and James Dolan went on the
radio and it was like, finals are bust. Okay, I
don't think you're a finals or bust team. So anything
short of making the finals is a disappointment. And now
they are on a run. The last four games, it's
(27:57):
been absurd. Now you can say it's caliber of opponent.
But if all of the teams in the East are
flawed and you're the team that's playing the best at
the moment, maybe you're gonna win the East. And if
you win the East, you can win the Finals because
you don't have to get through the gauntlet that Minnesota
is gonna have to get through. Like I think Oklahoma
(28:17):
City is the best team. I thought they were the
best team last year. Indiana took him at game seven.
So if you make it and you're hot, and Brunson
can win any game by himself, like I have to
be open to the possibility that the Knicks can win
the title. And Karl Anthony Towns, he is what.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Was worse, significantly worse this year. Bridges was significantly worse.
Not that dynamic of bench. I mean, it's a weird team.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
It is, but like Towns is at least trying on defense,
and Ogion Andobi is playing great right now, like he's
great and heart plays his ass off, and so I
just listen, I picked him and lose to Atlanta. Knicks
fans do not like me right now, but they are
playing an incredible, incredibly high level of basketball. Did you
(29:06):
see the stat going around today that it has never
happened in the history of the playoffs with three straight
wins of twenty five or more and then.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
They're shooting sixty percent in their last three games. Listen,
it's like a scrimmage. It seems completely unsustainable. But Cad
is the entirety of the Pistons offense. The Calves, I
think they're the most talented team, but they just seem
impervious to all playing well at the same time.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I'm like, why can't you guys have a good game together.
If you all had a good game at the same time,
I think that they would be the best team in
the East. But they it just seems like it's an
impossibility for them. And Boston shot themselves out of the playoffs,
and Philly can you possibly trust and be to stay
healthy for the whole thing even though he is spectacular
(29:52):
and they looked non competitive. So yeah, I think the
Knicks are hot right now. My pick was the Calves,
but I didn't feel great about it, and so they are.
The East is really weird and really flawed, and we're
going to go into the NBA Finals just like we
went into the Super Bowl, and we're gonna say that
the Western Conference Finals are like the NFC Championship Game.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Well, that's right, Seahawks Rams, we're ten to zero against
the AFC corre and the Thunder and Spurs are like
forty nine and eleven against the East.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
I mean, it's clear, yes, so we're all gonna have
the same take. And then in the back of at
least my mind, I'm gonna be like, but Tyrese Haliburton
took the Thunder to seven, like that, that is why
they play the games. And I do have I haven't
had our researchers run the data on it yet, and
I don't think we have enough of a sample of it.
But I do think there is so much talent and
(30:47):
now these guys are so good at shooting the three
and the three ball, adding more variance to the sport
that I do think we're gonna I'm not positive that
ten years from now we will look back at thecers
and be like, well, that was a one of one outlier.
Like I don't think we're going back to an era
where it's just ones and two seeds to make it
to the finals every year, Like I think that there's
(31:10):
teams are kind of playing possum in the regular season,
just trying to be healthy, get hot at the right time.
Like Minnesota can make the finals, they're a six seed.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Like it.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I think that we're just there's so much talent in
the league now, and I think we have to be
more open to the possibility that the lower seed can
pull off the quote unquote stunning upset, But it's not
really all that stunning because they also have an awesome team.
Just think about Philly's roster Max. They have four guys
(31:40):
who can score the ball and like Mbed, MVP MAXI,
All NBA, Paul George, a handful of All Star teams
like Edgecomb Sick Player, Like they're a really talented team,
but they are a seven seed, Minnesota a six seed.
Like there's just so much damn talent in the league
now that I don't think we can be as shocked
(32:01):
by upsets if they happen.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Okay, I want to do over unders in the NFL.
I'm gonna ask you over under and you have to
give me a paragraph why.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Okay, I mean, man, we're doing this before the sequence
of the schedule is out. I love it okay, let's
do okay.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
The schedule release is next week, so.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
I love schedule release. People make fun.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I'm saying why people. First of all, New England got
to a super Bowl for two reasons, easy schedule and
Boonix got hurt. The Niners were twelve and five for
one reason the schedule. They couldn't score a touchdown the
last two games against Seattle with Kyle Shanahan. So it's
like Washington the year before gets has successful really light schedule.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of course it matters, of course, of course it matters.
But like what the critics would say, like, well, we
know the opponent's right, now, what is the order matter?
I'm like, a, it's just fun, Like don't hate on
fun and do a lot of just people, real people,
not people like you and me and I are Ivory
towers of media. They go to like one road trip
(33:08):
a year, like it's fun to know, Like when Vegas
is on your team's NFL schedule, it's like, when do
we get to go to Vegas to see our team play?
Speaker 2 (33:18):
Well?
Speaker 3 (33:18):
When am I going to Lambeau for Bears Packers? Oh?
My team gets to play at Arrowhead this year? Like
it's it's the sequencing of it in doing the whole
SNL like Week one Lions win, like it's it's fun
to do the whole thing well.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
And the other thing is it does matter Andy Reid
in September. Yeah, Denver in the high altitude at home
in September. Miami don't want to play okay, Miami until
like October tenth, Ye, Buffalo, Baltimore, New England. Rather not
play a roadie in December, Like, folks, if you're a
dome team or a warm weather team, you don't want
(33:53):
to go north after like December third.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Yeah, when is your bye? Would you? How are you
handling your international trip? Is it early?
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Lads? You have the buye after your international trip. It's
it's great, It's great.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Okay. So one of the best bets, I think. So.
The Cowboys last year faced eight teams with winning records
and went one in seven. And they, more than any
team in the league go from last year, I think
the third easiest schedule to one of the toughest. They
(34:28):
have the biggest pivot easy to hard. And if you
start looking at their schedule, look at the teams Dallas plays. Dude,
it's I mean, it's a lot of Jaguars, and you know,
it's it's like teams with a good offensive coach. And
now I do think they've upgraded defensively, but they're an
eight and a half and that is the biggest sucker
bet ever. Everybody's going to bet the over on this.
(34:51):
And my take is the Giants are going to be
much better. The Commander's Jaden Daniels healthy is going to
be much better. And schedule, folks, look it up, it's
just land mine after land mine. That's one of my
favorite unders is Dallas under eight and a half.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
Yeah, so they get so they have NFC West and
AFC South. AFC South is obviously a pretty good draw.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Well, but Daniel Jones and the Colts early last year
were fantastic.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yeah. Well, and what I was gonna say is is,
like you you want you also want the tougher teams
obviously to be at home for bigger chances of upsets,
and they got a pretty bad draw with that. Like
their their road their road games in those divisions at
Houston at Indie, at the Rams, at the Seahawks. Yeah,
(35:41):
that's brutal, that's very difficult. And last year that's.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
They played Gino and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Now,
they did beat Mahomes, but he had four touchdowns, no
picks in a passer rating of one thirty, so he
literally ate them alive. I think the best under bet
is Dallas eight and a half. All right, so I'm
gonna give you I'll start with you, Dallas. I'm kind
of setting you up here. I think Dallas unders to play. There.
Your thoughts on Dallas eight master.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Yeah, listen, I agree with you because I have not
committed all of the division opponents to memory yet, so
you're I'm going to be kind of doing this on
the fly. But what I would say about Dallas is
it seems almost impossible that they will get that George
Pickens season again. That seems very unlikely. He was second
team All Pro.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
So I'm not in a good mood with a franchise tack.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Yeah, and whatever the franchise tag component is going to
be there. However, their defense can't be worse. They use
their highest pick on a defensive player since twenty twelve.
They gave out the biggest contract to a defensive player
for them since twenty twelve. The four of their first
(36:48):
six picks run on the defensive side of the ball,
including two first round picks Caleb Downs, obviously everybody loves.
We'll see how Malachi Lawrence does like new defensive coordinator,
which I do think can be like a new there's
just a bumping effort. So if their defense can be
the seventeenth rngths defense in the league and they get
(37:10):
offensive health, they definitely can be the best offense in
the league with dak CD and pick ins and they
found a bit of a running game last year. But
those are two huge ifs, so I understand why you're
going under. That schedule is brutal.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
One of my favorite overs is the Lions ten and
a half, which seems like a lot, but they have
the easiest schedule in the league, massive upgrade and offensive coordinator,
and they solved their left tackle issue. So I think
a lot of people are I mean, listen, we love
their GM. Yep, we really like the coach and the quarterback.
(37:56):
They have most of the elements, but over the last year.
They had to address their offensive line last year in
the draft, very young interior. Now they're going to have
a young left tackle, but one of the more talented ones.
Go look at the Lions schedule. So if I stay
over ten and a half, it's like, folks, it's a
seventeen game schedule, so eleven and six I and so
(38:18):
I'm giving them a lot of weak like Arizona's on
the schedule.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
They got their road games. They've got easy road, easy
road game in Arizona, easy road game in Miami, easy
ish road game in Carolina's that's a pretty good roads.
And you also want to look now, since it's an
unbound schedule, like you said, do you have more home
games or road games? And they have more home games
(38:42):
than road games, So yeah, they do have perry on
paper easy schedule jets.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
One of my favorite unders is the Cowboys, one of
my favorite over the Lions. So now I'm just gonna
go and let you take over. Okay, Bears nine and
a half schedules tougher Bears nine and.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
A half, So listen, people will call me a homer,
that's fine. I do think this is an over because
I don't see why the Lions, Packers, and Bears don't
all have the same over under. I don't think they're
in the Lions and the Packers are ten and a
half and the Bears are nine and a half. I
don't understand. It's a very, very very difficult division and
(39:23):
the regression for the Bears will have. They will not
lead the league in takeaways this year. They will not
lead the league in fourth quarter comebacks this year. Eighty
percent of their offensive line last year played in over
ninety percent of the snaps. Left guard, center, right guard,
right tackle. We're all remarkably healthy. That's already not going
to happen because of the Drew Dolmens surprise retirement at center,
(39:45):
even though they addressed it with the Bradbury trade and
the second round pick. However, we see when special quarterbacks
are paired in good systems, their second year in the
system is when they take the lead. It's what happened
for Mahomes, It's what happened for Lamar Jackson, like we've
seen it time and time and time again. I believe
(40:08):
kayleb Williams and Ben Jonson are special, and he has
unbelievable weapons, and all of those young guys get to
take that same second year in the system lead Donsay
Burden Loveland. So I think the offense will be a
top ten offense, maybe even a top five offense. I
know they think they can be the best offense, so
(40:31):
I think their offense is going to bring them to
double digit wins this year.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
Packers at ten and a half.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
So that one again Packers says, you're just a hater.
I think that the Packers, and I want to pull
up the schedule to see who their home road splits are.
So I'm gonna do this with you on them.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
They're in a really interesting spot where I got it.
So I you know, Gary and Kenny Clark, don Micah
Offen injury, not good against the run. They plan a
division now with some really lively offenses and creative people,
and I just will they and Jeff Halfley leaves I
have questions about I don't ever question their draft and development.
(41:14):
I think they have really nice weapons. I how good
is their defense?
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Yeah, I think it was when Micah was there, it
was pretty good, and then everything fell off a cliff
when when he got hurt. Schedule, you know, at the
Rams is obviously brutal, At the Patriots, the rest of
it's pretty Saints, Jets, Bucks, that's a pretty that's a
pretty tame road schedule. Actually, if you if you comparatively,
(41:41):
I think that the Packers. You said it was ten
and a half. Yeah, yeah, again, I think so, I'm
I would small disagree with you on Detroit, And I
just think all of those teams are like in the
nine to ten range. So for the Bears at nine
and a half, they'd be my over, and for the
Lions and Packers at ten and a half they would.
I'd lead under because I think that they're all basically
the same, all have one or two big flaws, but
(42:05):
then the rest of the team is really good and
the coaching is really good in that division. And I
don't know if you have Minnesota on your list, but
now if they have Kyler Murray, it's just such a
like I could see last place in the NFC North
being an eight win team. I don't think that there's
any easy out in that division. So I think I'll
(42:25):
just lean unders on the two teams with the highest
win total.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
Okay, I want to go AFC. This is interesting. I
think the Raiders are going to be much more competent.
I think Denver has the best roster and division, and
I think Justin Herbert will finally have an offensive line.
Kansas City, I think is going to make a lead
ten and a half to meets the under and I
(42:51):
think I just look at that division now and I'm like,
if Clint Kubiak is good, the coaching is really good.
The personnel, Like when you let go of Trent McDuffie,
I wish him the very best on their rookie, but
Trent mcnephew was like the second best corner in the league.
(43:11):
Chris Jones relative to Chris Jones was not terribly productive.
I think their offense will mostly be solved with Kenneth Walker,
and I do think Josh Simmons they like a lot
at left tackle, and Mahomes will be healthy. But you know,
Rashi Rice, do we trust him? Travis Kelcey age. I
(43:35):
think Kansas City's going to be good.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
But remember when.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
The Rams, everybody thought they win the Super Bowl next year.
Stafford gets hurt, They're bad, and then they bounce back.
They have a bounce back here and they signed one
Kevin Dotson one acquisition offseason, and then they had like
Puka Young, Kobe Turner. They hit on three draft picks,
but they weren't Philadelphia. They didn't another draft in free eight.
(44:01):
That's what Kansas City is. So I think they had
three great draft picks Kenneth Walker, but it's hard to
find when you look at that defense you're relying on
a couple of rookies to deliver. I think Kansas City
will be good, but I don't think you can go
from what they were last year to a super Bowl team.
I think that that is all pretty sound. Andy Reid
has hit the over in I think, all but two years.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
Since he's been there. It's just stupid. It's a remarkable
run for that guy he has if you give him
healthy quarterback play, he just represents such a insanely high floor,
and obviously with Mahomes it's been a pretty high ceiling.
They also, as I just man, having Seattle and the
(44:48):
Rams on your schedule as road games is just that
is a that is a really, really, really tough break
to not get one of those games at at Arrowhead
this year, given how good Seattle ended up being, so
that is very tough. I just I loved the Kenneth
Walker additions so much for them, they have had one.
They haven't had a one thousand yard running back since
(45:10):
twenty seventeen, So you give Mahomes the best running back
he's ever had, because I think Kareem Hunt had a
very nice season, but I do think Kenneth Walker is
a better player than Kareem Hunt was. So Rashi Rice
also at this moment in time, it looks like everything's
(45:30):
going to be fine, but like who knows, because he is,
he does get into trouble off the field and there
have been issues. But like if Rashi Rice is a
number one, and when he is healthy, Mahomes treats him
like a number one. Worthy is a guy who got
better year, went on in a very fun weapon and
the addition of Kenneth Walker, I do think they have
the opportunity to be a really damn good offense this year.
(45:52):
So I'm not in the business of betting against Andy
Reid with healthy Mahomes.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
We'll end with this. Have you seen Saint Louis?
Speaker 3 (46:01):
I have not. Okay, I've heard you reference it and
I see you tweet about it, and I, oh, my god,
I know, like I know just enough to be dangerous.
And I find it amazing that you love and watch
the show. So I don't know, But I don't know.
I can't name a character I've never seen an episode.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Okay, it's just it's the best acting I've ever seen.
Everybody's sensational. The acting is sensational, and like The Wire
with Baltimore or Breaking Bad with Albuquerque, Saint Louis is perfect.
It's a boring suburb town. It's kind of square, it's
not exactly a hip city, and they find these three
(46:43):
people with incredibly mundane, boring middle class I guess lives
and it is. I mean, you got to suspend some belief.
It's it's based loosely on a true story on a
New Jersey, but they tried to. They didn't get quite
as kinky as the story really was.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
It is.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
You have to watch the last second.
Speaker 3 (47:07):
Oh so weird.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
I mean, I shouldn't love it. I told and I said,
it's sticky. You couldn't turn it off. I'm like, I
got to see another episode. These people are so freaking
bizarre it I called it. I have one buddy in
LA that's like a producer. I'm like, how do people
do this?
Speaker 3 (47:27):
How do you write that?
Speaker 2 (47:29):
And he's like, you know what? And he's been in
Hollywood for forty years, he two and a half men,
he was, you know, made his fortune there. And he's like, listen, man,
there are people in our industry that see things that
we can. Some people see ghosts, some people see stories.
And it's like I said, you have got to watch that.
I think it's one of the best things I've seen.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Ozark is my all time favorite. Narco's and Ozark are
my favorite streaming shows ever. It's on a short list
of with Minehunter. Mine Hunter's way up there as well.
Speaker 3 (47:58):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
I liked it much like, Oh, it's just it's got
some sexual weirdness. And I am America's honesty broker and
I wear zip hops, so it just not of me.
Speaker 3 (48:16):
I I just I love it. I haven't seen any
of it, but that that that review from you and
how like you're squirming a little bit and blushing a
little bit. Just it's very it's very it's very endearing.
Like I I will, I will watch the show. Uh.
These NBA playoff games, man, they ended like one in
(48:37):
the morning on the Eastern time, because brutal. It's outrageous
and no one wants to feel bad for us for
the job. But like my guy, it's my least.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
I'm so touching when they when I lived, when I
was at ESPN and the heatles were a thing. Yeah,
I mean, and would go to bed at like ten.
I'm like, I'll see in about two and a half hours.
I didn't sleep. I used to say, May is the
worst month of the year when you have a really
fascinating NBA team and the heatles, like you had to
watch every second of the game, like Mike and Mike
(49:07):
and I mean, to their credit, they would read the
packet in the morning, but there's no possible way they
watched it because I had to get up.
Speaker 3 (49:13):
But three hours later, ye and I had.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
You know, for me, I had a little bit of
a break because their show was on first and I
and I, you know, I was a basketball guy and
like kind of Lebron guy, so it's like, all right,
I'll stay up. May was awful, and now Chicago's slightly better,
but not much.
Speaker 3 (49:29):
Yeah, it's about an hour better. It's about it's about
about exactly. It's about one hour better. Uh yeah, but yeah,
these games ended. I'm just like, Okay, again, I don't
have to be I don't have to be on the
air until five pms. Like, but I'm still dragging my
ass across the across Midtown talking about these games. But yeah,
(49:50):
the NBA Playoffs are great. It's a good problem. But
I will put the show on the list for when
the playoffs conclude. Good stuff, Bud all right man, good
to see you. Thank you. You shoot your shot.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
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Bet is Florida's only legal way to bet the NBA teams, players.
Speaker 3 (50:12):
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The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix are putting on their first
ever MMA fight, a triple main event. Fan favorite fighters
go head to head live on Saturday, May sixteenth. Main event,
it's Ronda Rousi. She's back to shake up the world
of combat sports with her first fight in nearly a decade.
She's fighting against fellow women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano, who
(00:24):
was one of the first combat sports stars to cross
over into the entertainment industry after going on a remarkable
MMA tear Then, Nate Diaz against Mike Perry is a
matchup that pits two of the sports toughest competitors. Diaz
is long known for his relentless pressure durability, dude is
just tough, and Perry's a knockout artist whose aggressive style
(00:45):
has earned him the nickname King of Violence. For the
other main event, we have Francis Nagano, who is widely
regarded as the hardest punisherm in MMA history, going up
against Felipe Linz, who combines a high level ground game
with significant knockout power. Don't miss it a blockbuster triple header.
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix are putting it on Ron
(01:06):
de Rousi against Gina Carono live only on Netflix Saturday,
May sixteenth, at nine pm Eastern Standard time six pm
Pacific time. We try to bring him on at least
once once a month. I mean, I think that's reasonable.
I mean, he's he's a spot starter.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Come on, this is what having a buttering up your guests.
I'm available weekly. I'm still waiting for the regular rotation.
I'm not saying I'm an ace, but I'm a I
can I can start game three of a playoff series.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Come on, absolutely you can't. So I was just talking
about you to somebody in the industry. I'm not even
gonna get into it, but it was very complimentary.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
There's a lot of peripheral things going on in basketball.
One of them we've talked about is Kevin Durant, and
I've always believed this to be true. Judge a person
by how relationships end, not how they start. Guys have
great opening lines at the bar, and then they don't text,
(02:18):
or they text when they break up. Like our President's boy.
They've got a great mission statement going into a war.
We can never get out of it, right, Like It's
just guys are really good with entrances and awful with exits.
I can argue now after the burner phone incident, which
is alleged but seems to be true, Kevin Durant's exit
(02:41):
in OKC, Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix, and Houston over five,
he's like bad break up boyfriend, Like there is something
to be said that. And this is the Aaron Rodgers
vibe I've always had. I know, most athletes aren't great lead,
but there is kind of an understanding. If you're the
(03:02):
best player on a team, you gotta kind of own
some of it. You just can't be guy who shows
up and hits buckets and watching. You know, Kevin Durant,
and it's almost like he the net rating was better
when he didn't play for Houston. And I've got to
be honest with you, it does affect the way I
(03:24):
look at him. It does ding his legacy.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
A little bit to me, of course. I mean, listen,
I think that KD has a legit gripe with the
media for creating rings culture, him leaving and going to
Golden State winning rings and then us being like, yeah,
but those rings aren't that impressive, Like I get why
(03:47):
that would piss him off, and I do think that
that seemed to be some sort of breaking point with like,
all right, now I'm going to just really engage and
be very online and like kind of push back a
narrative stuff that he doesn't like. But sorry, Like I
don't hold those rings in as high of a regard.
You joined a super team that had already won, like
(04:09):
it's you were great, but like Janni's is more impressive,
Jokic's is more impressive. Like we've talked about that before.
He's gonna make All NBA this year, which is what
I think really does compliment complicated. He is going to
be now sixty five game rule, a little contribution to it,
but not really like that guy's a hooper. He showed up,
(04:30):
he played, and one hundred media members are going to
vote him as either being a top ten guy this
year or a top fifteen guy this year, depending on
if he makes second or third team. So if it
is done in Houston over the burner stuff, I will
get it because of chemistry. But I don't think this
is like Houston will be better without Kevin Durant. I
(04:51):
don't believe even though they were, they were better for
a couple of games against the Lakers in the playoffs.
I don't he is still an awesome basketball but maybe
he's a mercenary. Maybe he needs to go to Detroit
where it's like clearly Kid Cunningham's team, Like Kate Cunningham
max contract guy. He might be the starting point guard
(05:13):
for Team USA at the twenty twenty eight Olympics, Like
no one would be really looking to KD to be
the leader of that team. Goes to Minnesota, that's Ann
Edwards's team, Like goes to New York, that's Jalen Brunson's team.
In Houston, it was always going to be his team
because she goon by his own admission, language barrier, more
(05:34):
of a lead by example. Guy van Vliet, great player,
but point you can't lead from street clothes. Right, He's
out the whole year, So if he moves on, I
don't think Houston gets better. They made their locker room
gets better. And he's got to be thinking, all right,
it's five franchises rings that people don't really hold in
(05:57):
high regard, and he's going to go down maybe scoring
more points than Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Like it's a weird
legacy for a top twenty all time player in the
history of the sport. He's probably the most complicated guy
in the top twenty. To really pin down it exactly
what he is.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, Carmelo Anthony's another guy, like not really a winning player,
didn't play defense often, not in the best shape, but
a great basket. I mean, and I think Carmelo's legacy
is popular. Was he a winning player? Russell Westbrook's legacy
Hall of Famer? Was he a winning player? You know,
it's basketball. I tend to give basketball players a little
(06:38):
bit of a break because it's the most artistic of sports. Yeah,
like people have signature shoes and signature moves.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
You know.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's like nobody in baseball really has a signature shoe.
That's not a thing. And so like I kind of
give basketball players a little bit of a break. I
mean I was a kid. I liked World b Free.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Oh yeah, I mean yeah, just.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
A ridiculu list gunner. Not a winning player. But I
remember when he would play like once a year the Sonics.
I was fascinated by. Maybe it was the name. So
I tend to give Katie a break in that it's basketball.
He's a little bit of an artist, you know, not
everybody is like Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Denzel,
really good with a business and a great artist like
(07:21):
Mick Jagger and Bono. Some artists they trash hotel rooms
and get married four times, Like I still like their art.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Well, listen and KD, if he was listening to this,
he'd probably be like, I've made hundreds of millions of
dollars from investments, Like he actually is a pretty good businessman,
you know, Like Yeah, And I think that Kadi is smart,
and I think that KD is I think he's eccentric.
You know, people have made yeah, you know, they've made
the Aaron Rodgers comp. Maybe you've made the Aaron Rodgers comp.
(07:51):
I think it's pretty spot on, Like Aaron Rodgers could
have been a better leader, should have more rings, but
he's universally regarded as an all time and it complicates
his legacy because of all of the other stuff I think.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I think eccentric is a great way to put it.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah. Yeah, And he's and because he's about my age,
he's a couple of years younger than me. He is
very millennial. And I say that with just the amount
of judgment that I can say as a millennial, Like
like I went to college and my freshman years when
Facebook became a thing, so like I got to meet
(08:31):
people uh like after high school before college like that
were in my dorm via Facebook, but you were still
like going to parties and like maybe posting pictures on
the internet, but we weren't all on our phones all
of the time. Like that kind of blew up after
my college experience, whereas like my younger sisters, they've had
(08:52):
smartphones since they were in grade school. And I do
think there's a difference, and that like Kadi, he's very online.
He's just he's I bet you his screen time is eight, nine,
ten hours on his device, like he is. And so
when you do that and you give all of these people,
not just people like you or people like me who
(09:15):
at least try to have some sort of like consistency
with our opinions and watch the games and talk to
people whatever, but like literally, like nets Fan forty two,
when you give all of those people access to your
pocket and your brain and your consciousness, not everyone can
separate it. And I think Kady clearly has he like
(09:42):
he wants to be able to have a voice in
front of a microphone and in a boardroom, but he
also wants to have a voice with nets Fan forty two.
And it's like, buddy, you're Kevin Durant. You have to
be above it. Like the fact that it appears that
he was the guy talking track on all of his
teammates is so embarrassing, Like it's such an embarrassing scandal.
(10:07):
But I think it is like only the type of
thing that could happen to a millennial gen Z era
person who was like looking for currency and validation online.
But it's so embarrassing for a person of his stature.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
So I'm a boomer, So a lot of a lot
of sex, yeah, a lot of drinking, and eventually a
lot of money.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah. You guys crushed it. Yeah, yeah, no, you crushed it.
You guys were able to go to college for like
forty eight bucks, buy a house for buy a house
for thirty two hundred dollars that maybe the government subsidized.
And then you're like, I have at my house this
person who I will not name, who I met through
(10:51):
my job in New York. Not a famous person, but
just like a person, and they were like when I
moved out here, They're like, you should buy my house.
I'm getting ready to downsize. So I was like, oh yeah,
she's like yeah, Like I'm I'm going to list it
for like two million dollars. I'm like, oh, good, good
for you. And she's like, I bought it for one
(11:12):
hundred and sixty thousand dollars. So I was like, great,
that opportunity is not available to the millennials that graduated
college in the housing crisis of eighth nine and then
have through whatever the hell of the last twenty years
have been. But I'm really happy for all of you guys.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Okay, let's get a pivot to Let's pivot to Draymond Green.
Oh yes, so turn So he used to be at
the volume. I liked him.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I thought he cut through.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
So basically, Draymond Green came out and said, you know,
Steve Kerr may have gotten in the way of my career.
And then Austin Rivers is like, bro, you're the luckiest
guy in the history of the league. And then Draymond
and Austin Reeves Rivers, Austin Rivers have exchanged unpleasantries. So yeah,
I liked Draymond. I would say this is where I
(12:02):
think Draymond lacks the little self awareness. So his high
school coach in Saginaw, Michigan was a guy named Lou Dawkins,
Hall of Famer. He eventually get Steve Kerr, hall of Famer.
That's after Tom Izzo, who will be a Hall of Famer.
He's never had a bad coach. Lebron's had like four
(12:23):
Like I mean, Mark Jackson, by the way, was very effective.
Kerr was just better and it was trally transitioning to
a very offensive three point league, and Kerr was a
long range shooter. So the culture sort of moved away
from market into Steve. And that's what I would say obviously,
Austin Rivers, I mean, we don't. I mean it was
a disappointing career whatever. But I can simultaneously think Draymond's
(12:46):
the best defensive player ever and better offensively because he's
a catalyst than people give him credit for. But then
part of me is like bro. That would be like
me having three bosses, all of them the best in
either their state, region, or industry. I've said this forever
for young broadcasters, don't chase money, chase management. There's a
sea of money in anything. There's a finite number of
(13:10):
really shrewd, sharp, visionary bosses like I've had maybe three
in a forty year career. Where do you land on Draymon?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Draymond is an amazing basketball player, But if he thinks
that if he was on the Pelicans, he'd be a
first ballot Hall of Famer, he's out of his mind,
like respectfully, because he is an incredible defensive player. He's
a four time champion, he's a four time All Star
(13:45):
who averages nine points a game, like Dyson Daniels is
an amazing defensive player. Like if you're watching the Hawks,
you're kind of locked in on Dyson Daniels, but like
he's not on a Hall of Fame trajectory like you.
You have to win for to be a player like Draymond,
(14:06):
for you to beyond Turner, to be on the volume,
for us to care about you.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Now, can I argue this?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Though?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Rodman played for the Spurs, Chuck Daily and Phil Jackson,
and the truth is smart people understood the value of them.
And then the thing I would argue with Draymon is,
despite his idiosyncratic personality, Kerr would never let him go.
It was basically a Steph Draymond team. And so like Rodman,
(14:35):
you can say, oh, he wanted a good teammate. You
then why did Popovich, Chuck Daily and Phil Jackson all
speak glowingly? There is value in Draymond retaining a contract
with maybe the smartest coach in the league.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Oh but okay, so maybe I didn't. I don't. I
don't think we're disagreeing here. Like Draymond is a winning
basketball player. I think Draymond absolutely had a tremendous amount
of value to the to the Warriors dynasty. I am
merely saying that. Like if Draymond Green was on the
Pelicans or the Hawks, or the Bulls or whomever, he
(15:14):
is not, they're not creating. He's not the one who
created the dynasty. Steph Curry is right, like, you can
be a winning player and Dennis Rodman was amazing, but
that was still more because of Isaiah than Dennis Rodman.
It was more because of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
than Dennis Rodman. He was just a He was excellent
(15:35):
at his role, and then the winning that came partly
because of him and partly with him is what elevates
him all time. There are a lot of great rebounders
and defensive players that if they don't have a lot
of rings, we don't really care about you. So I
think that. But Draymond it's also it makes sense why
he has a little bit of an overinflated sense of self.
(15:56):
Like Steph Curry loves him, Ron loves him. He's got
titles and a gold medal, and like doing it his
way has made him obscenely wealthy and obscenely famous. So like,
there's no reason for him to change and stop being
who he is. But I don't think that Draymond Green
would be regarded as an all time player if he
(16:17):
had been drafted into a different situation.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
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All right, whimby topic.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So, the first time I watched the NBA was in
the early seventies. It was like nineteen seventy two. I
can remember watching the Washington Miami Super Bowl on a
black and white TV in my bedroom, and I remember
watching a CBS NBA game. Brent Musburger was calling the
play by play. It was the Lakers, like with Wilt Chamberlain,
old Wilt lumbering up the court with the head band
(18:19):
against the Blazers.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
And yeah, it was in Portland, and that Portland came
back to beat the Lakers. They were down like twenty
and came back. I've looked it up and I can't
find the game. So Wilt Chamberlain was a remarkable basketball player,
but a bit too flaky to be the face.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Of the league.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And Kareem abdol Jabbar was too stoic and prickly and
was never the face of the league, and Elijah Want
and Tim Duncan weren't the face of the league. And
Kobe's signature shoe at Nike was a bigger deal than Shack,
so Shack was never really the face of the league.
Shoe sales sort of matter of that stuff. Is that
as much as we look at Wemby's face of the league,
(18:59):
he's Internet national. He's seven to four. Alien is a compliment,
but it's not terribly relatable as a nickname like the
Doctor is or Momba is. Alien is frightening and otherworldly.
And I'm watching him against Minnesota in that game. In
(19:21):
my take is his game is fascinating. He's he's he's
basically a disruptor on defense and a finisher on offense.
But he's not a creator like Jokic or Kobe or
Michael or Doctor J or Steph or Lebron. He's not
a creator. And mostly our faces of the league have
been creators and finishers. And I think he's just gonna
(19:43):
go down as more of the all time great players.
But I don't know if he is faced of the league. Guy,
he's pretty thoughtful. He is, he very he gets, he
gives very interesting answers which I which I ask, and
I do think will help him in like the media ecosystem,
people are gonna want to continue to talk to him,
so I will.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Give him that. I do think that winning is a
big piece of Duncan won a lot, but wasn't face.
It wasn't face of the league. To your point, it
does tend to go to guys who have the ball
in their hands as guards. But he might just change everything.
Like I, just as you were talking about it, I googled,
you know, just top selling jerseys, and this is an
(20:24):
article Stephen Curry leading way in jersey sales so far
for twenty twenty five twenty twenty six season. So I
don't see a date on this post from NBA.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
That came out not that long ago jersey sales came out.
I think Aunt was shockingly low at five. But Minnesota
had a really weird regular season. Yeah, I mean, but
so this is from like earlier in this season. Oh okay,
here we go. Updated January twentieth, so four months ago.
But from this season, Steph Curry won Luca two, Brunson three,
(20:57):
WEM before Lebron five, ANT six. So if you're fourth
in jersey sales. And that's before you really enter the
MVP conversation, before you became the first unanimous defensive Player
of the Year, and before you had even played in
a playoff game.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
And you're twenty one, twenty two years old. I have
to be open to the possibility that that guy can
be the face of the league. What you're saying historically
is accurate about big guys, but I think we are
like everything about Wemby has to be taken with like, yeah,
but the alien might be different. It just you know,
he might just break all of the rules. And again
(21:42):
fourth in jersey sales. Purely anecdotally, I have seen kids
in Wemby jerseys, not saying a ton. I see more
Yankees jerseys on kids where I live, but I have
seen some. So I think he is such a singular
talent that I do think it is possible. And that game,
as we record this on a Tuesday, that game last
(22:03):
night was a weird one. Oh what a weird basket game.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
So I had said this the day before. I'm like,
Minnesota's a pain in the ass. Oh, you play and
unbelievable fourth quarter team the way Chris Chris Finch experiments
and then when games matter, they're really good. I mean
they're fourth quarter scoring. I mean the minute that game
went the fourth and they took a four point lead,
I'm like, the game is over.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Darn Fox was terrible, Castle, Stefan Castle was in foul trouble,
and Julius Randall. Julius Randall is one of the more
underretted players because the analytic mavens don't love him. But
he's a walking nineteen nine and he bullies Wemby. But
I watched I watched that game and I was as
he was zero for eight. I'm watching Wemby and I
(22:53):
think he's a fascinating disruptor. Defensively, I don't really love
watching his game. Offensively, he's you can knock him off
his spot. He's off balance a lot, he hits the
floor a lot. He's not a great passer or initiator.
He's a very good closer. But I don't find I
mean again, I didn't find Lebron's game that appealing his
(23:14):
first two to three years. As he developed as a
perimeter player, I found it more engaging. Then after the
Dallas disaster in the finals, he developed. I thought his
game had he kind of finished his game. It was close,
he finished it. And I still think MJ's more fun
to watch than Lebron, and I think Kobe was more
fun to watch. I don't know, I'm just and I'm
(23:34):
not trying to be a critic. I hope Wenby wins.
He's just a really thoughtful, smart guy and he's really
good with the press. But as I watch him, I
don't I'm not captivated by his offensive game, and that
usually feels like it. I've said this about Jason Tatum. Sometimes, Tatum,
I'm like, is he playing?
Speaker 3 (23:51):
What? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Where is he?
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Yeah? I mean, listens, last night was five of seventeen
and oh of eight from threes, and you're like, that's
that's a that's a game that seven foot five guys
should not have. But you know, to your point about Lebron,
You're like, he didn't love it early. It wasn't totally refined.
He had to develop. He came it a league at
eighteen years old. But right, like, you know, we have
to kind of remember like Victor Wemnyama is by far
(24:16):
the best defensive player in the sport, and at least
on a per thirty six minute basis, a pretty damn
good offensive player. Also, he didn't play a ton of
minutes this year, which I think was smart given the
health issues and the size and how young he is
and all of that. And we'll see what happens. Like,
I am totally open to the possibility that his offensive
(24:36):
game will will keep developing and small pivot. But Minnesota, god,
are they fun. Like so Chris Finch. We profiled him
a bit in our book Pipeline of the Pros because
he went to Franklin and Marshall and he was multiple
two time All American. But like the stories people would
(24:57):
tell about him was just like just kind of like gritty, nasty,
really physical, like the best rebounder of the program I've
ever seen. And it's it's a it's so instructive when
you think about Minnesota. There they're so tough and they're
they're so fear like, like Randall's just like bodying people
(25:20):
and go Beard is not nas reed. Terrence Shannon his
Illinois kid, Illinois kids, Chicago tough and he comes in
and he you know, he gets blocked two times in
like the first minute of the game, and then the
first minute he's on the floor. It's blocked three times
by Wemby. He's asked about it afterwards and he's like, yeah,
(25:41):
I told him he better, he better. He's gonna need
to block me every single time because I'm gonna drive
to the hoop. I'm gonna come at him every time.
I'm not gonna stop coming down the lane. Like. They
are just fearless and really physical and really scrappy and
really tough, and so I just I don't know who
will win that series, but I think we have to
(26:02):
let it. I just I respect the hell out of them.
They overachieve in the playoffs, back to back trips to
the Western Conference finals, got crushed for the go Bear
trade that has worked out for them, obviously crushed in
the for the Cat Julius Randall trade, which I think
has been at least a draw win win for both teams.
Just a really interesting team. And if they knock Wemby out,
(26:26):
man like, we're gonna have to put a lot of
respect on them.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So we'll edit this back in the NBA group. You
live in New York, now, oh okay? Yeah, And I've
found that the Eastern Conference is hard for me to
figure out. I mean, Detroit finished as a number one
seed and they have one score. Last year Charry Reese
Halliburton in Indiana suddenly were dynamic. We're like, how the
(26:52):
hell is this happening? Is Cleveland good? I don't think so.
Philadelphia we sort of gave up on and then they
beat the Celtics. And my point is with the knickses,
it's the East, like I know, Minnesota, San Antonio, Oklahoma City.
I see the rosters and they're going up against each other,
(27:13):
like Denver's a good team they got extinguished. Are the
Knicks good?
Speaker 3 (27:19):
I don't know. I think it's totally fair. I they
were really inconsistent over the course of the year, and
so I just.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
They had locker room issues, like there were reports they
didn't like each other.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
So I didn't believe in them, and it's and I
also didn't believe in them because of their own standards,
like they fired Tibbs for you know, make it to
the Eastern Conference finals, and James Dolan went on the
radio and it was like, finals are bust. Okay, I
don't think you're a finals or bust team. So anything
short of making the finals is a disappointment. And now
they are on a run. The last four games, it's
(27:57):
been absurd. Now you can say it's caliber of opponent.
But if all of the teams in the East are
flawed and you're the team that's playing the best at
the moment, maybe you're gonna win the East. And if
you win the East, you can win the Finals because
you don't have to get through the gauntlet that Minnesota
is gonna have to get through. Like I think Oklahoma
(28:17):
City is the best team. I thought they were the
best team last year. Indiana took him at game seven.
So if you make it and you're hot, and Brunson
can win any game by himself, like I have to
be open to the possibility that the Knicks can win
the title. And Karl Anthony Towns, he is what.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Was worse, significantly worse this year. Bridges was significantly worse.
Not that dynamic of bench. I mean, it's a weird team.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
It is, but like Towns is at least trying on defense,
and Ogion Andobi is playing great right now, like he's
great and heart plays his ass off, and so I
just listen, I picked him and lose to Atlanta. Knicks
fans do not like me right now, but they are
playing an incredible, incredibly high level of basketball. Did you
(29:06):
see the stat going around today that it has never
happened in the history of the playoffs with three straight
wins of twenty five or more and then.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
They're shooting sixty percent in their last three games. Listen,
it's like a scrimmage. It seems completely unsustainable. But Cad
is the entirety of the Pistons offense. The Calves, I
think they're the most talented team, but they just seem
impervious to all playing well at the same time.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I'm like, why can't you guys have a good game together.
If you all had a good game at the same time,
I think that they would be the best team in
the East. But they it just seems like it's an
impossibility for them. And Boston shot themselves out of the playoffs,
and Philly can you possibly trust and be to stay
healthy for the whole thing even though he is spectacular
(29:52):
and they looked non competitive. So yeah, I think the
Knicks are hot right now. My pick was the Calves,
but I didn't feel great about it, and so they are.
The East is really weird and really flawed, and we're
going to go into the NBA Finals just like we
went into the Super Bowl, and we're gonna say that
the Western Conference Finals are like the NFC Championship Game.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Well, that's right, Seahawks Rams, we're ten to zero against
the AFC corre and the Thunder and Spurs are like
forty nine and eleven against the East.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
I mean, it's clear, yes, so we're all gonna have
the same take. And then in the back of at
least my mind, I'm gonna be like, but Tyrese Haliburton
took the Thunder to seven, like that, that is why
they play the games. And I do have I haven't
had our researchers run the data on it yet, and
I don't think we have enough of a sample of it.
But I do think there is so much talent and
(30:47):
now these guys are so good at shooting the three
and the three ball, adding more variance to the sport
that I do think we're gonna I'm not positive that
ten years from now we will look back at thecers
and be like, well, that was a one of one outlier.
Like I don't think we're going back to an era
where it's just ones and two seeds to make it
to the finals every year, Like I think that there's
(31:10):
teams are kind of playing possum in the regular season,
just trying to be healthy, get hot at the right time.
Like Minnesota can make the finals, they're a six seed.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Like it.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I think that we're just there's so much talent in
the league now, and I think we have to be
more open to the possibility that the lower seed can
pull off the quote unquote stunning upset, But it's not
really all that stunning because they also have an awesome team.
Just think about Philly's roster Max. They have four guys
(31:40):
who can score the ball and like Mbed, MVP MAXI,
All NBA, Paul George, a handful of All Star teams
like Edgecomb Sick Player, Like they're a really talented team,
but they are a seven seed, Minnesota a six seed.
Like there's just so much damn talent in the league
now that I don't think we can be as shocked
(32:01):
by upsets if they happen.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Okay, I want to do over unders in the NFL.
I'm gonna ask you over under and you have to
give me a paragraph why.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Okay, I mean, man, we're doing this before the sequence
of the schedule is out. I love it okay, let's
do okay.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
The schedule release is next week, so.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
I love schedule release. People make fun.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I'm saying why people. First of all, New England got
to a super Bowl for two reasons, easy schedule and
Boonix got hurt. The Niners were twelve and five for
one reason the schedule. They couldn't score a touchdown the
last two games against Seattle with Kyle Shanahan. So it's
like Washington the year before gets has successful really light schedule.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of course it matters, of course, of course it matters.
But like what the critics would say, like, well, we
know the opponent's right, now, what is the order matter?
I'm like, a, it's just fun, Like don't hate on
fun and do a lot of just people, real people,
not people like you and me and I are Ivory
towers of media. They go to like one road trip
(33:08):
a year, like it's fun to know, Like when Vegas
is on your team's NFL schedule, it's like, when do
we get to go to Vegas to see our team play?
Speaker 2 (33:18):
Well?
Speaker 3 (33:18):
When am I going to Lambeau for Bears Packers? Oh?
My team gets to play at Arrowhead this year? Like
it's it's the sequencing of it in doing the whole
SNL like Week one Lions win, like it's it's fun
to do the whole thing well.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
And the other thing is it does matter Andy Reid
in September. Yeah, Denver in the high altitude at home
in September. Miami don't want to play okay, Miami until
like October tenth, Ye, Buffalo, Baltimore, New England. Rather not
play a roadie in December, Like, folks, if you're a
dome team or a warm weather team, you don't want
(33:53):
to go north after like December third.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Yeah, when is your bye? Would you? How are you
handling your international trip? Is it early?
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Lads? You have the buye after your international trip. It's
it's great, It's great.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Okay. So one of the best bets, I think. So.
The Cowboys last year faced eight teams with winning records
and went one in seven. And they, more than any
team in the league go from last year, I think
the third easiest schedule to one of the toughest. They
(34:28):
have the biggest pivot easy to hard. And if you
start looking at their schedule, look at the teams Dallas plays. Dude,
it's I mean, it's a lot of Jaguars, and you know,
it's it's like teams with a good offensive coach. And
now I do think they've upgraded defensively, but they're an
eight and a half and that is the biggest sucker
bet ever. Everybody's going to bet the over on this.
(34:51):
And my take is the Giants are going to be
much better. The Commander's Jaden Daniels healthy is going to
be much better. And schedule, folks, look it up, it's
just land mine after land mine. That's one of my
favorite unders is Dallas under eight and a half.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
Yeah, so they get so they have NFC West and
AFC South. AFC South is obviously a pretty good draw.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Well, but Daniel Jones and the Colts early last year
were fantastic.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yeah. Well, and what I was gonna say is is,
like you you want you also want the tougher teams
obviously to be at home for bigger chances of upsets,
and they got a pretty bad draw with that. Like
their their road their road games in those divisions at
Houston at Indie, at the Rams, at the Seahawks. Yeah,
(35:41):
that's brutal, that's very difficult. And last year that's.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
They played Gino and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Now,
they did beat Mahomes, but he had four touchdowns, no
picks in a passer rating of one thirty, so he
literally ate them alive. I think the best under bet
is Dallas eight and a half. All right, so I'm
gonna give you I'll start with you, Dallas. I'm kind
of setting you up here. I think Dallas unders to play. There.
Your thoughts on Dallas eight master.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Yeah, listen, I agree with you because I have not
committed all of the division opponents to memory yet, so
you're I'm going to be kind of doing this on
the fly. But what I would say about Dallas is
it seems almost impossible that they will get that George
Pickens season again. That seems very unlikely. He was second
team All Pro.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
So I'm not in a good mood with a franchise tack.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Yeah, and whatever the franchise tag component is going to
be there. However, their defense can't be worse. They use
their highest pick on a defensive player since twenty twelve.
They gave out the biggest contract to a defensive player
for them since twenty twelve. The four of their first
(36:48):
six picks run on the defensive side of the ball,
including two first round picks Caleb Downs, obviously everybody loves.
We'll see how Malachi Lawrence does like new defensive coordinator,
which I do think can be like a new there's
just a bumping effort. So if their defense can be
the seventeenth rngths defense in the league and they get
(37:10):
offensive health, they definitely can be the best offense in
the league with dak CD and pick ins and they
found a bit of a running game last year. But
those are two huge ifs, so I understand why you're
going under. That schedule is brutal.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
One of my favorite overs is the Lions ten and
a half, which seems like a lot, but they have
the easiest schedule in the league, massive upgrade and offensive coordinator,
and they solved their left tackle issue. So I think
a lot of people are I mean, listen, we love
their GM. Yep, we really like the coach and the quarterback.
(37:56):
They have most of the elements, but over the last year.
They had to address their offensive line last year in
the draft, very young interior. Now they're going to have
a young left tackle, but one of the more talented ones.
Go look at the Lions schedule. So if I stay
over ten and a half, it's like, folks, it's a
seventeen game schedule, so eleven and six I and so
(38:18):
I'm giving them a lot of weak like Arizona's on
the schedule.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
They got their road games. They've got easy road, easy
road game in Arizona, easy road game in Miami, easy
ish road game in Carolina's that's a pretty good roads.
And you also want to look now, since it's an
unbound schedule, like you said, do you have more home
games or road games? And they have more home games
(38:42):
than road games, So yeah, they do have perry on
paper easy schedule jets.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
One of my favorite unders is the Cowboys, one of
my favorite over the Lions. So now I'm just gonna
go and let you take over. Okay, Bears nine and
a half schedules tougher Bears nine and.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
A half, So listen, people will call me a homer,
that's fine. I do think this is an over because
I don't see why the Lions, Packers, and Bears don't
all have the same over under. I don't think they're
in the Lions and the Packers are ten and a
half and the Bears are nine and a half. I
don't understand. It's a very, very very difficult division and
(39:23):
the regression for the Bears will have. They will not
lead the league in takeaways this year. They will not
lead the league in fourth quarter comebacks this year. Eighty
percent of their offensive line last year played in over
ninety percent of the snaps. Left guard, center, right guard,
right tackle. We're all remarkably healthy. That's already not going
to happen because of the Drew Dolmens surprise retirement at center,
(39:45):
even though they addressed it with the Bradbury trade and
the second round pick. However, we see when special quarterbacks
are paired in good systems, their second year in the
system is when they take the lead. It's what happened
for Mahomes, It's what happened for Lamar Jackson, like we've
seen it time and time and time again. I believe
(40:08):
kayleb Williams and Ben Jonson are special, and he has
unbelievable weapons, and all of those young guys get to
take that same second year in the system lead Donsay
Burden Loveland. So I think the offense will be a
top ten offense, maybe even a top five offense. I
know they think they can be the best offense, so
(40:31):
I think their offense is going to bring them to
double digit wins this year.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
Packers at ten and a half.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
So that one again Packers says, you're just a hater.
I think that the Packers, and I want to pull
up the schedule to see who their home road splits are.
So I'm gonna do this with you on them.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
They're in a really interesting spot where I got it.
So I you know, Gary and Kenny Clark, don Micah
Offen injury, not good against the run. They plan a
division now with some really lively offenses and creative people,
and I just will they and Jeff Halfley leaves I
have questions about I don't ever question their draft and development.
(41:14):
I think they have really nice weapons. I how good
is their defense?
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Yeah, I think it was when Micah was there, it
was pretty good, and then everything fell off a cliff
when when he got hurt. Schedule, you know, at the
Rams is obviously brutal, At the Patriots, the rest of
it's pretty Saints, Jets, Bucks, that's a pretty that's a
pretty tame road schedule. Actually, if you if you comparatively,
(41:41):
I think that the Packers. You said it was ten
and a half. Yeah, yeah, again, I think so, I'm
I would small disagree with you on Detroit, And I
just think all of those teams are like in the
nine to ten range. So for the Bears at nine
and a half, they'd be my over, and for the
Lions and Packers at ten and a half they would.
I'd lead under because I think that they're all basically
the same, all have one or two big flaws, but
(42:05):
then the rest of the team is really good and
the coaching is really good in that division. And I
don't know if you have Minnesota on your list, but
now if they have Kyler Murray, it's just such a
like I could see last place in the NFC North
being an eight win team. I don't think that there's
any easy out in that division. So I think I'll
(42:25):
just lean unders on the two teams with the highest
win total.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
Okay, I want to go AFC. This is interesting. I
think the Raiders are going to be much more competent.
I think Denver has the best roster and division, and
I think Justin Herbert will finally have an offensive line.
Kansas City, I think is going to make a lead
ten and a half to meets the under and I
(42:51):
think I just look at that division now and I'm like,
if Clint Kubiak is good, the coaching is really good.
The personnel, Like when you let go of Trent McDuffie,
I wish him the very best on their rookie, but
Trent mcnephew was like the second best corner in the league.
(43:11):
Chris Jones relative to Chris Jones was not terribly productive.
I think their offense will mostly be solved with Kenneth Walker,
and I do think Josh Simmons they like a lot
at left tackle, and Mahomes will be healthy. But you know,
Rashi Rice, do we trust him? Travis Kelcey age. I
(43:35):
think Kansas City's going to be good.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
But remember when.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
The Rams, everybody thought they win the Super Bowl next year.
Stafford gets hurt, They're bad, and then they bounce back.
They have a bounce back here and they signed one
Kevin Dotson one acquisition offseason, and then they had like
Puka Young, Kobe Turner. They hit on three draft picks,
but they weren't Philadelphia. They didn't another draft in free eight.
(44:01):
That's what Kansas City is. So I think they had
three great draft picks Kenneth Walker, but it's hard to
find when you look at that defense you're relying on
a couple of rookies to deliver. I think Kansas City
will be good, but I don't think you can go
from what they were last year to a super Bowl team.
I think that that is all pretty sound. Andy Reid
has hit the over in I think, all but two years.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
Since he's been there. It's just stupid. It's a remarkable
run for that guy he has if you give him
healthy quarterback play, he just represents such a insanely high floor,
and obviously with Mahomes it's been a pretty high ceiling.
They also, as I just man, having Seattle and the
(44:48):
Rams on your schedule as road games is just that
is a that is a really, really, really tough break
to not get one of those games at at Arrowhead
this year, given how good Seattle ended up being, so
that is very tough. I just I loved the Kenneth
Walker additions so much for them, they have had one.
They haven't had a one thousand yard running back since
(45:10):
twenty seventeen, So you give Mahomes the best running back
he's ever had, because I think Kareem Hunt had a
very nice season, but I do think Kenneth Walker is
a better player than Kareem Hunt was. So Rashi Rice
also at this moment in time, it looks like everything's
(45:30):
going to be fine, but like who knows, because he is,
he does get into trouble off the field and there
have been issues. But like if Rashi Rice is a
number one, and when he is healthy, Mahomes treats him
like a number one. Worthy is a guy who got
better year, went on in a very fun weapon and
the addition of Kenneth Walker, I do think they have
the opportunity to be a really damn good offense this year.
(45:52):
So I'm not in the business of betting against Andy
Reid with healthy Mahomes.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
We'll end with this. Have you seen Saint Louis?
Speaker 3 (46:01):
I have not. Okay, I've heard you reference it and
I see you tweet about it, and I, oh, my god,
I know, like I know just enough to be dangerous.
And I find it amazing that you love and watch
the show. So I don't know, But I don't know.
I can't name a character I've never seen an episode.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Okay, it's just it's the best acting I've ever seen.
Everybody's sensational. The acting is sensational, and like The Wire
with Baltimore or Breaking Bad with Albuquerque, Saint Louis is perfect.
It's a boring suburb town. It's kind of square, it's
not exactly a hip city, and they find these three
(46:43):
people with incredibly mundane, boring middle class I guess lives
and it is. I mean, you got to suspend some belief.
It's it's based loosely on a true story on a
New Jersey, but they tried to. They didn't get quite
as kinky as the story really was.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
It is.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
You have to watch the last second.
Speaker 3 (47:07):
Oh so weird.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
I mean, I shouldn't love it. I told and I said,
it's sticky. You couldn't turn it off. I'm like, I
got to see another episode. These people are so freaking
bizarre it I called it. I have one buddy in
LA that's like a producer. I'm like, how do people
do this?
Speaker 3 (47:27):
How do you write that?
Speaker 2 (47:29):
And he's like, you know what? And he's been in
Hollywood for forty years, he two and a half men,
he was, you know, made his fortune there. And he's like, listen, man,
there are people in our industry that see things that
we can. Some people see ghosts, some people see stories.
And it's like I said, you have got to watch that.
I think it's one of the best things I've seen.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Ozark is my all time favorite. Narco's and Ozark are
my favorite streaming shows ever. It's on a short list
of with Minehunter. Mine Hunter's way up there as well.
Speaker 3 (47:58):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
I liked it much like, Oh, it's just it's got
some sexual weirdness. And I am America's honesty broker and
I wear zip hops, so it just not of me.
Speaker 3 (48:16):
I I just I love it. I haven't seen any
of it, but that that that review from you and
how like you're squirming a little bit and blushing a
little bit. Just it's very it's very it's very endearing.
Like I I will, I will watch the show. Uh.
These NBA playoff games, man, they ended like one in
(48:37):
the morning on the Eastern time, because brutal. It's outrageous
and no one wants to feel bad for us for
the job. But like my guy, it's my least.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
I'm so touching when they when I lived, when I
was at ESPN and the heatles were a thing. Yeah,
I mean, and would go to bed at like ten.
I'm like, I'll see in about two and a half hours.
I didn't sleep. I used to say, May is the
worst month of the year when you have a really
fascinating NBA team and the heatles, like you had to
watch every second of the game, like Mike and Mike
(49:07):
and I mean, to their credit, they would read the
packet in the morning, but there's no possible way they
watched it because I had to get up.
Speaker 3 (49:13):
But three hours later, ye and I had.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
You know, for me, I had a little bit of
a break because their show was on first and I
and I, you know, I was a basketball guy and
like kind of Lebron guy, so it's like, all right,
I'll stay up. May was awful, and now Chicago's slightly better,
but not much.
Speaker 3 (49:29):
Yeah, it's about an hour better. It's about it's about
about exactly. It's about one hour better. Uh yeah, but yeah,
these games ended. I'm just like, Okay, again, I don't
have to be I don't have to be on the
air until five pms. Like, but I'm still dragging my
ass across the across Midtown talking about these games. But yeah,
(49:50):
the NBA Playoffs are great. It's a good problem. But
I will put the show on the list for when
the playoffs conclude. Good stuff, Bud all right man, good
to see you. Thank you. You shoot your shot.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
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