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Nick Wright reacts to LeBron James' return to the Los Angeles Lakers and how LeBron's role alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves may be different than anything we've seen before. Later, Nick reacts to Shedeur Sanders' rocky debut for the Cleveland Browns in their 23-16 loss to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 of the NFL season. Nick breaks down why the media has lost all credibility when it comes to discussing Shedeur and shares what's next for Cleveland's rookie QB who will be making his first start against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12. Then, Nick shares his five best bets for Week 12 of the NFL season featuring Caleb Williams' Chicago Bears hosting Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Jets coming in as massive underdogs to Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens, and Shedeur Sanders making his first start of his NFL career for the Cleveland Browns vs. Geno Smith's Las Vegas Raiders, and more! #Volume
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Best of the Week for What's Right
with Nick Right, the best takes and moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. For one of the first
times in this show's history, we are going to start
with Shadoor Sanders, but we're not actually starting with Shador,
(00:22):
and so that sounds silly, but here's the point I'm making.
So Shoudor came in, he obviously was terrible. He was
four of sixteen. It's the worst completion percentage by a
guy who threw at least ten passes in four years
in the NFL. It was a game that the Browns
could have in. One would correctly argue what even should
(00:45):
have won with just typical bad quarterback play. Instead, Gabriel
was terrible, and then Shador came in and was somehow worse,
and they lose and the Ravens escape with a win
they didn't not really deserve, despite Miles Garrett, who might
get twenty five sacks this year, just playing at an
(01:09):
all time level. But the reason I'm starting with Shador
is because this morning Twitter was down for a bit,
and I think Twitter has I want to make sure
(01:30):
I use the right word warped. People's brains and ability
to discuss Chador Sanders in a way, it's such an
what you have and what Twitter has rewarded from content
(01:51):
creators is the most idiotic Chadore Sanders takes being so
amplified and being so force fed to anyone who has
any type of sports algorithm that you have folks who
(02:16):
know better, or at least should know better, polluting the
public discourse with just nonsensical misinformation. And so you've got
and it's on. And this is one of the rare
things where it is really a both sides problem. You
(02:38):
have folks who gain traction and get engagement by finding
anything imaginable to criticize Shador for up to an including
where he's sitting on the bench during and after a game,
because that gets in engagement. And then you have on
(03:03):
the other end of it, folks acting as if it
takes a grand conspiracy for a fifth round pick, third
string quarterback to not have reps with the starting offense,
when it is totally reasonable that during training camp a
(03:24):
guy who was not actually ever maybe you think he
should have been competing for the starting job he wasn't
the Browns. Again, you can make the argument that the
Browns simply don't know what they're doing. I don't know
what the biggest Shador fans out there how they they
(03:45):
can make that argument. I don't know how they square
the fact that the entire league said he's not worth
a first, second, third, or fourth round pick, and I
understand it. There was some league wide conspiracy talk. It's
all so stupid, but set all that aside. In training camp,
(04:09):
the Browns looked at Joe Flacco as their starter and
Dylan Gabriel of the two young guys, as the higher
priority because he was the higher draft pick. That's how
that works. And then once Dylan Gabriel became the starter,
they looked at their third round rookie as a guy
(04:30):
who needed as much practice reps as possible, so they
were not splitting practice reps, which is totally and completely reasonable.
Life is a fifth round pick in this league is hard.
It is supposed to be hard, and it's not always fair.
(04:51):
You get thrown into action and you have to look
better than Shador did, and it feels like, deep down,
people who know better know that, but deep down folks
also know, oh my god, this really gets people going,
and it's just so dumb. And so now what we
(05:14):
will get is this week Schador is gonna get a
real look. He will be the starter against the Raiders.
He will get the full week of practice, he will
get a game plan to his strength, you know, catered
(05:39):
to him, and we'll see what he looks like. And
typically in sports, if you're good enough, none of the
other stuff really matters, and you don't have a lot
of as a fifth round quarterback, you're not gonna have
(06:01):
a ton of better opportunities than this one. Knowing you
are the starter all week long, going against a bad
team that is on a shorter week themselves, and an
opportunity to remake at least temporarily that Brown's quarterback discussion,
(06:27):
because Gabriel has been really bad and if Shodor goes
out there in balls, maybe he gets another week. But
the my colleagues in the media that know it's not
at all outrageous for should or to have no reps
(06:50):
with the ones and implying or outright saying differently because
either they want to be in good with Prime, or
it's what they think their particular fans or followers will appreciate,
(07:14):
or just because they think it'll get the most motion
on the Internet. It's so bad and it really is
a good example of this is a real example of
social media at times making the discourse dumber. And so
(07:36):
that's why I want to spend a few minutes on it.
Off the top, we don't have to spend more time
on it. We will see what he looks like against
the Raiders. I think Dylan Gabriel has been the worst
starting quarterback in the league this year. And the only
reason that you wouldn't bench Gabriel for Shador is if
(07:59):
when he has a full week of reps in practice
and is ready to go against the Raiders, he looks
at all like he looked in that Ravens game. Because
in that Ravens game, he looked like a guy who
was wholly unequipped for the job. And I didn't listen.
I didn't love him coming out of school, but I
(08:22):
certainly liked him more coming out of school than Dylan Gabriel,
and in that game, he looked like a guy that
was a ways away from being a ways away. And
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New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia. Lebron's back and I
have a lot of takes. So no athlete in my
(10:38):
lifetime has generated more idiotic and immediately self refuting opinions
than Lebron. And it's because I think it's because he's
been for basically as long as daily sports television has existed,
(11:03):
Lebron has been one of, if not the main character.
And because he has played, you know, throughout the entirety
of this medium, and because he has been at the
eye of the NBA storm, which while the NBA has
(11:23):
never in his career been the country's most popular sport,
but it has been at various times in his career
the country's most talked about sport When it comes to
sports debate and sports TV and sports talk radio. Lebron
is the Lebron commentariot has spawned just some truly ridiculous
(11:54):
and upon reflection, hilarious moments. And these are from for me,
friends and alike. I mean, we are twelve twelve, Is
that right? No, it's not right. Thirteen years ago, my
(12:16):
dear pal Dan Lebotard announced Lebron was on the downside
and Miami had gotten the best of him. That was
thirteen years ago. And I'm going to talk about guys
that I love and adore, so it doesn't seem like
I'm trying to take cheap shots here. Famously, the owner
(12:39):
and founder of this company, my mentor Colin, eight years
ago said Lebron, hanging up whenever you want, We've got
the NBA's got it from here. It was actually nine
years ago, and that that's an all time clip. A
(13:02):
because Lebron would go on to win multiple championships after that,
but b because he was saying that Ben Simmons is
gonna take over. I listen, Colin, I was as high
on Ben Simmons as about anybody. I have to hold
that l as well. And there, of course is all
the Skip stuff with the clutch, and then the latest
steven A stuff with the real personal I don't like
(13:25):
that cut so much of it just outright silliness. And
then we got an unexpected dose of it in the
week's lead in the week or so leading up to
Lebron making his debut, which was, hey, will Lebron be
(13:45):
able to fit in with the Lakers? Even though we
saw Luca and Lebron and Austin Reeves play together last year? Hey,
will Lebron actually make the Lakers worse? Screw up what
they have going on? These were real conversations, real discussions
(14:06):
about the most malleable, most flexible as far as how
he can help your team player in NBA history, about
arguably the only guy in the history of the league
(14:29):
that can legitimately and has literally made an All NBA
team at all five positions on the court. Check his
Basketball Reference for that was an All NBA center one
year for the Lakers and an All NBA point guard
(14:50):
the year after that for the Lakers late stage. Lebron
was an All NBA shooting guard as a young player
early and then obviously All NBA small forward and power
forward throughout his career. That that guy that can play
all five, and certainly the younger version of him, and
(15:12):
to a degree, the older version of him can guard
all five, that that guy was going to screw up
a team. And then Lebron comes in keeps his double
digit point streak alive, which is going to be a
very fun and funny thing to watch this year because
(15:37):
it's obviously an untouchable record and we'll get more on
the Lebron untouchable record stuff in a moment. But he
wants to keep it going. But he is, I believe,
going to play a very different style this year. That
(15:58):
game to Tuesday Night, that's the fewest shots he's ever
taken in a game he didn't leave with injury. And
speaking of the double digit point streak, one of those
games that he left with injury, because there's only been
two games in his career he took fewer than seven shots,
(16:19):
which is what he took Tuesday Night. One. He didn't
play the second half because he took an elbow from
to Kim Big Matumbo and one he left early when
Solomon Hill fell into his ankle and derailed the Lakers
title defense in the twenty twenty one season. But that
(16:41):
game involves one of my favorite Lebron moments of all time,
which is Solomon Hill falls into his ankle, Lebron recognizes
he has suffered the first truly significant end of his
entire career up to that point and is going to
(17:08):
be out months and is sitting at seven points and
the streak is dead, and despite suffering an injury that
is going to knock him out for the next two months,
he pretends he's not hurt badly, stays in the game,
(17:32):
gets the ball, takes a corner, three hits it keeps
the double figure point streak alive, and then is out
for the majority of the rest of the season. But
that's sidebar Lebron being dropped in as a team's ultimate
(17:55):
Swiss army knife and Lebron taking pride in that ability,
and Lebron then saying after the game with a smile, Yeah,
I heard what was being said. I've been you know,
you could put me on any team and I would
(18:15):
make it work. Is just obviously true. And people's you know,
people say that about Kevin Durant all the time, like, oh,
you just drop him in anywhere, And yes, that's true
about other players, great players, You drop them in and
(18:37):
they would make any team better. The distinction is, can
you drop a player in and can they instantly do
at a high level the exact thing that team needs
them to do. This Lakers team right now might need
(19:01):
to be more facilitator, cutter, screener than scorer. Unlike some
of the other great players in this league. He has
the skill set at forty in year twenty three to
(19:21):
be excellent all at anything. Now, is he the best
player in the league anymore? Of course, not see a
top five player in the league anymore. No, But is
he still have a legitimate shot at being right around
top ten And is he, assuredly when he's healthy, still
(19:43):
a top fifteen guy in the league. Yes? And that
guy with that malleability helps any team in the history
of basketball. Now, is it all right? Now? A moot
point for the whole NBA because of who and what
(20:04):
OKC is. Maybe everybody might be playing for second this year,
but we'll see things happen, and there's an element of
I don't want to say lack of appreciation, but numbness
(20:32):
to what we are seeing at this moment. And this
is something that you know I've said before, but I
don't know that people like fully take it in. And
especially because you know Steph is playing at such a
(20:53):
high level at an advanced age. Durant is playing at
such a high level at an advanced age. But see
whether you want to focus on the age forty part
or the year twenty three part. The it being without
(21:18):
precedent is such a wild understatement. Like Kobe Bryant, the
late great Kobe Bryant. How old do you think Kobe
was when he played in his final playoff game with
(21:38):
the Lakers. I'm gonna give it a pause so you
can actually think about it. How old was Kobe in
his final career playoff game? Are you shocked when I
tell you the answer to that is thirty two. Kobe
(21:59):
Bryant did not play in a playoff game with the
Lakers after the age of thirty two. Like a little
context to that, Lebron joined the Lakers when he was
(22:26):
thirty four, So obviously, Jordan Fit, you know, stopped with
it was done with the Bulls at thirty five, thirty six. Obviously,
we've never seen a player play in a year twenty three,
and the only one to get to a year twenty
(22:48):
two was Vince It's I said this a couple of
years ago and people laughed. I think we are now
seeing it in real time. He'll simply never be bad,
and he could easily play at again, not an MVP level,
(23:12):
but a high level throughout his forties. Barring again, barring,
you're always at this age of a catastrophic injury away.
But he's ducked that up to this point in his career,
and people can have the argument about the greatest player
(23:34):
of all time that is going to age so well
on my end and so poorly for so many other folks,
because it is when it does come to and this
isn't the whole discussion, but it is at least a
piece of it. The record books. With the way things
(23:55):
are going right now as far as injuries, load management,
guys not being able to make it through a full season,
Lebron's longevity records are going to when people look back
on him in forty years, it's going to be like
(24:16):
if you look at complete games in baseball right now
and you're like, wait, a guy had forty in one year.
Like all of these games, minutes, points, the playoff records
are going to be Chamberlain esque, untouchable and farcical in
(24:40):
the numbers to future generations. And I'm very, very interested
to see the full role bron takes on with the Lakers,
because in game one of year twenty three, he was like, Okay,
(25:03):
I'll be late stage Magic Johnson. And that's pretty damn good.
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mobile dot Com. Terms of course do apply. There's one
other Bron adjacent thing I wanted to talk about, and
this is one of those things that I imagine will
(26:06):
do well on social media or YouTube or and might
cause me a little grief, but I just I can't
leave it unaddressed, and I don't. I'm not I'm not
(26:27):
trying to start anything, but this is so it was
maddening when I heard it. So the greatest sports podcaster
of all time, the guy who in some ways invented
the medium, and a guy I like a lot, Bill Simmons,
(26:51):
brought the mail bag back, which is awesome. It's vented Simmons.
It's part of the reason that he's who he is,
and it's awesome, And because I'm a fan who's listening,
And he gets asked about the biggest sliding doors moments
(27:14):
in NBA history, and he goes to the Draymond Groin
shot of Lebron in Game four of the twenty sixteen Finals,
which is a legitimate sliding doors moment, there's no doubt
(27:38):
about it. And he talks about how if the Warriors
win that title, Durant can't go, you know, to Golden State.
So then who wins the next two? Does Lebron ever
win in Cleveland? Does Lebron ever go to the Lakers?
There's that is you know, what does it mean for
Steph back to back Champ and Chips, he and Lebron
(28:01):
Then at that moment would have been two to two.
He would have had back to back league and MVPs,
including a unanimous There are it's He's Simmons talks about
all of it, and he's correct about that being a
sliding doors moment. But there's two pieces of that commentary
(28:23):
that are just one is enraging and it's not about Bill,
and the other one is, I he just must talk
to very different NBA people than me, because what Bill
said was the conspiracy theory that people believe more than
(28:48):
any other conspiracy is that the NBA suspended Draymond because
they wanted Cleveland to win the title. And I've literally
never heard that. Now. I certainly have heard the conspiracy
(29:08):
that they suspended Draymond because they hoped the series would
go longer than five. But the idea that in real time,
anyone outside of the Calves locker room, me and Zach Lowe.
(29:31):
We're all on the record during this everyone's doing media.
Nobody else when that suspension came down said oh, well,
now I think the Calves are gonna win. That Warriors
team was considered the greatest team of all time and
(29:51):
had dominated the Calves through the first four games of
that series. So the first point is the idea that
it is widely thought in NBA circles that the Draymond
suspension was going to lead to the Calves winning the championship.
(30:16):
We were all there in real time that was not
a thing. And then and then to the opinion piece
of it, nothing is more maddening for me as a
(30:36):
Bron fan then the fact that when that happened, and
then the Calves win Game five by fifteen and Lebron
scores forty one points, the entire media asserts that would
(31:09):
have never happened if Draymond was there. The Calves winning
by double digits and Lebron scoring forty plus never happened
if Draymond's there. And then in Game six, when Draymond
is there, Lebron scores forty one and the Calves win
(31:34):
by fifteen points. Game five of those finals, no Draymond
Bron scores, Bron gooes. I'll give you his exact stat line,
just so we all are on the same page. Forty one,
sixteen and seven on fifty five percent from the field,
sixty three percent from three and the Calves win by fifteen.
(31:59):
So again, forty one sixteen seven fifty five sixty three splits,
fifteen point win. Game six of the Finals forty one
eight eleven on sixty five seventy five splits and the
Cavs win by fourteen. Like, what are we talking about?
(32:27):
What are we talking about? Oh? Hold on, I gotta
do that, because I'm sure I have to fix that.
I have to fix that. I apologize. I gave you
the wrong field goal percentages. Let me let me do
that again, because I want this to be accurate. I
gave you so Game five of the Finals, No, Draymond
(32:49):
forty one, sixteen and seven on fifty three fifty splits
in a fifteen point win. Game six of the Finals
with Draymond forty one to eight to eleven on fifty
nine fifty splits in a fourteen point win. It's just
(33:14):
revisionist history. And it's the only other reason that's relevant
to me right now is that game happened ten seasons ago,
(33:39):
and this guy's still playing. It's just a a career
that will never be even remotely approached. And it's if
you're if you're listening to this right now and a
(34:00):
sports fan of this era. The fact that we got
to experience Tom Brady going more than twenty years of
elite in the mix every single year, ten super Bowl
(34:26):
appearances across multiple teams, while experiencing Lebron doing the exact
same thing in the NBA. It's just unreal, just unreal.
(34:47):
Five games and a reminder, all of these lines are
from our friends at hard Rock BET. I am rolling
with Chicago laying two and a half at home against Pittsburgh.
I just you are either going to get Mason Rudolph
or you're going to get Aaron Rodgers with a broken wrist.
(35:08):
I don't I don't understand how this game is not
three and a half. It feels like a Bear's ugly
three point win. Also for Ben Johnson, this kind of
you get a lot of internal credit with the fans
in the organization for beating Aaron because in everybody's mind
(35:33):
he's still a Packer. I think Chicago is right now
a the exact same caliber of team as Pittsburgh, but
one team's quarterback has a broken wrist and the other
team's quarterback doesn't, and Chicago's at home. All take Chicago
(35:54):
minus to two and a half. The Jet yes getting
thirteen and a half at Baltimore. This is an ugly one,
I will admit. However, Lamar now is on the you know,
mispractice again this week. Last week was for a knee,
(36:17):
this week is for an ankle. He has not looked
like Lamar since he came back from his injury, and
he is refusing to run the ball, which is super
noteworthy because that has a knock on effect on how
on his passing and on the team's overall efficiency. Also,
(36:39):
I think the Jets are starting their best option at
quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. For all those reasons and the
fact that I get nearly two full touchdowns, I will
take the thirteen and a half points while I will
lay the thirteen and a half points with Seattle. Seattle
(36:59):
is at Tennessee. What that defense is going to do
to cam Ward is going to be borderline criminal. I
do not see how Tennessee can get to ten maybe ten,
(37:25):
but not thirteen, and so can Seattle get to twenty four?
Huge spot for Seattle after the very disappointing loss to
the Rams bounce back, I still think they're an excellent team.
I understand I am laying thirteen and a half points
(37:45):
on the road, but Seattle prior to that Rams game
had won ten in a row on the road. Tennessee's
the worst team in the NFL. I will take Seattle
laying the thirteen and a half Arizona getting three at
home against Jacksonville. Arizona has not been good. Jacksonville has
(38:09):
been okay, But they are coming off Jacksonville their best win,
their most dominating performance of the year. I should say
their best win wis kons City. This is their most
dominating and they are a very up and down team.
We've seen it throughout the year that the Jags are
(38:31):
not really able to build on successes. They beat the Chiefs,
then immediately lose back to back to the Seahawks and Rams.
They beat the Raiders in you know, not miracle, but
the Raiders have a two point conversion in overtime to
beat them. They then respond by blowing a horrified by
(38:55):
blowing a nineteen point fourth quarter lead to the Texans.
They blow out the Chargers. They're now on the road,
going cross country to the Cardinals, and I'm getting three
whole points. I will take Arizona plus three, and then,
in a game that might shock the audience that I
am including Cleveland in Shador's first start, getting three and
(39:22):
a half at the Raiders. This is very simple. That
Raiders offensive line against that Browns defensive line is the
single biggest mismatch of the week. I do not care
who is playing quarterback for Cleveland. Miles Garrett could set
(39:43):
the single game and single season sack record in this game.
The all time sack record for a game is seven
Derek Thomas, late Great kansaity chief. The all time sack
record for a season is twenty two and a half.
So if Miles Garrett got eight, he would set the
season and game record. He could do that against this
(40:06):
Raiders offensive line. I will take Cleveland plus the three
and a half. So my five picks this weekend are
the Bears laying two and a half at home against Pittsburgh,
the Jets getting thirteen and a half at Baltimore, Seattle
laying thirteen and a half at Tennessee, Arizona getting three
against Jacksonville, and Cleveland getting three and a half at
(40:30):
the Las Vegas Raiders
Welcome to the Best of the Week for What's Right
with Nick Right, the best takes and moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. For one of the first
times in this show's history, we are going to start
with Shadoor Sanders, but we're not actually starting with Shador,
(00:22):
and so that sounds silly, but here's the point I'm making.
So Shoudor came in, he obviously was terrible. He was
four of sixteen. It's the worst completion percentage by a
guy who threw at least ten passes in four years
in the NFL. It was a game that the Browns
could have in. One would correctly argue what even should
(00:45):
have won with just typical bad quarterback play. Instead, Gabriel
was terrible, and then Shador came in and was somehow worse,
and they lose and the Ravens escape with a win
they didn't not really deserve, despite Miles Garrett, who might
get twenty five sacks this year, just playing at an
(01:09):
all time level. But the reason I'm starting with Shador
is because this morning Twitter was down for a bit,
and I think Twitter has I want to make sure
(01:30):
I use the right word warped. People's brains and ability
to discuss Chador Sanders in a way, it's such an
what you have and what Twitter has rewarded from content
(01:51):
creators is the most idiotic Chadore Sanders takes being so
amplified and being so force fed to anyone who has
any type of sports algorithm that you have folks who
(02:16):
know better, or at least should know better, polluting the
public discourse with just nonsensical misinformation. And so you've got
and it's on. And this is one of the rare
things where it is really a both sides problem. You
(02:38):
have folks who gain traction and get engagement by finding
anything imaginable to criticize Shador for up to an including
where he's sitting on the bench during and after a game,
because that gets in engagement. And then you have on
(03:03):
the other end of it, folks acting as if it
takes a grand conspiracy for a fifth round pick, third
string quarterback to not have reps with the starting offense,
when it is totally reasonable that during training camp a
(03:24):
guy who was not actually ever maybe you think he
should have been competing for the starting job he wasn't
the Browns. Again, you can make the argument that the
Browns simply don't know what they're doing. I don't know
what the biggest Shador fans out there how they they
(03:45):
can make that argument. I don't know how they square
the fact that the entire league said he's not worth
a first, second, third, or fourth round pick, and I
understand it. There was some league wide conspiracy talk. It's
all so stupid, but set all that aside. In training camp,
(04:09):
the Browns looked at Joe Flacco as their starter and
Dylan Gabriel of the two young guys, as the higher
priority because he was the higher draft pick. That's how
that works. And then once Dylan Gabriel became the starter,
they looked at their third round rookie as a guy
(04:30):
who needed as much practice reps as possible, so they
were not splitting practice reps, which is totally and completely reasonable.
Life is a fifth round pick in this league is hard.
It is supposed to be hard, and it's not always fair.
(04:51):
You get thrown into action and you have to look
better than Shador did, and it feels like, deep down,
people who know better know that, but deep down folks
also know, oh my god, this really gets people going,
and it's just so dumb. And so now what we
(05:14):
will get is this week Schador is gonna get a
real look. He will be the starter against the Raiders.
He will get the full week of practice, he will
get a game plan to his strength, you know, catered
(05:39):
to him, and we'll see what he looks like. And
typically in sports, if you're good enough, none of the
other stuff really matters, and you don't have a lot
of as a fifth round quarterback, you're not gonna have
(06:01):
a ton of better opportunities than this one. Knowing you
are the starter all week long, going against a bad
team that is on a shorter week themselves, and an
opportunity to remake at least temporarily that Brown's quarterback discussion,
(06:27):
because Gabriel has been really bad and if Shodor goes
out there in balls, maybe he gets another week. But
the my colleagues in the media that know it's not
at all outrageous for should or to have no reps
(06:50):
with the ones and implying or outright saying differently because
either they want to be in good with Prime, or
it's what they think their particular fans or followers will appreciate,
(07:14):
or just because they think it'll get the most motion
on the Internet. It's so bad and it really is
a good example of this is a real example of
social media at times making the discourse dumber. And so
(07:36):
that's why I want to spend a few minutes on it.
Off the top, we don't have to spend more time
on it. We will see what he looks like against
the Raiders. I think Dylan Gabriel has been the worst
starting quarterback in the league this year. And the only
reason that you wouldn't bench Gabriel for Shador is if
(07:59):
when he has a full week of reps in practice
and is ready to go against the Raiders, he looks
at all like he looked in that Ravens game. Because
in that Ravens game, he looked like a guy who
was wholly unequipped for the job. And I didn't listen.
I didn't love him coming out of school, but I
(08:22):
certainly liked him more coming out of school than Dylan Gabriel,
and in that game, he looked like a guy that
was a ways away from being a ways away. And
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with it. Gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois,
New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia. Lebron's back and I
have a lot of takes. So no athlete in my
(10:38):
lifetime has generated more idiotic and immediately self refuting opinions
than Lebron. And it's because I think it's because he's
been for basically as long as daily sports television has existed,
(11:03):
Lebron has been one of, if not the main character.
And because he has played, you know, throughout the entirety
of this medium, and because he has been at the
eye of the NBA storm, which while the NBA has
(11:23):
never in his career been the country's most popular sport,
but it has been at various times in his career
the country's most talked about sport When it comes to
sports debate and sports TV and sports talk radio. Lebron
is the Lebron commentariot has spawned just some truly ridiculous
(11:54):
and upon reflection, hilarious moments. And these are from for me,
friends and alike. I mean, we are twelve twelve, Is
that right? No, it's not right. Thirteen years ago, my
(12:16):
dear pal Dan Lebotard announced Lebron was on the downside
and Miami had gotten the best of him. That was
thirteen years ago. And I'm going to talk about guys
that I love and adore, so it doesn't seem like
I'm trying to take cheap shots here. Famously, the owner
(12:39):
and founder of this company, my mentor Colin, eight years
ago said Lebron, hanging up whenever you want, We've got
the NBA's got it from here. It was actually nine
years ago, and that that's an all time clip. A
(13:02):
because Lebron would go on to win multiple championships after that,
but b because he was saying that Ben Simmons is
gonna take over. I listen, Colin, I was as high
on Ben Simmons as about anybody. I have to hold
that l as well. And there, of course is all
the Skip stuff with the clutch, and then the latest
steven A stuff with the real personal I don't like
(13:25):
that cut so much of it just outright silliness. And
then we got an unexpected dose of it in the
week's lead in the week or so leading up to
Lebron making his debut, which was, hey, will Lebron be
(13:45):
able to fit in with the Lakers? Even though we
saw Luca and Lebron and Austin Reeves play together last year? Hey,
will Lebron actually make the Lakers worse? Screw up what
they have going on? These were real conversations, real discussions
(14:06):
about the most malleable, most flexible as far as how
he can help your team player in NBA history, about
arguably the only guy in the history of the league
(14:29):
that can legitimately and has literally made an All NBA
team at all five positions on the court. Check his
Basketball Reference for that was an All NBA center one
year for the Lakers and an All NBA point guard
(14:50):
the year after that for the Lakers late stage. Lebron
was an All NBA shooting guard as a young player
early and then obviously All NBA small forward and power
forward throughout his career. That that guy that can play
all five, and certainly the younger version of him, and
(15:12):
to a degree, the older version of him can guard
all five, that that guy was going to screw up
a team. And then Lebron comes in keeps his double
digit point streak alive, which is going to be a
very fun and funny thing to watch this year because
(15:37):
it's obviously an untouchable record and we'll get more on
the Lebron untouchable record stuff in a moment. But he
wants to keep it going. But he is, I believe,
going to play a very different style this year. That
(15:58):
game to Tuesday Night, that's the fewest shots he's ever
taken in a game he didn't leave with injury. And
speaking of the double digit point streak, one of those
games that he left with injury, because there's only been
two games in his career he took fewer than seven shots,
(16:19):
which is what he took Tuesday Night. One. He didn't
play the second half because he took an elbow from
to Kim Big Matumbo and one he left early when
Solomon Hill fell into his ankle and derailed the Lakers
title defense in the twenty twenty one season. But that
(16:41):
game involves one of my favorite Lebron moments of all time,
which is Solomon Hill falls into his ankle, Lebron recognizes
he has suffered the first truly significant end of his
entire career up to that point and is going to
(17:08):
be out months and is sitting at seven points and
the streak is dead, and despite suffering an injury that
is going to knock him out for the next two months,
he pretends he's not hurt badly, stays in the game,
(17:32):
gets the ball, takes a corner, three hits it keeps
the double figure point streak alive, and then is out
for the majority of the rest of the season. But
that's sidebar Lebron being dropped in as a team's ultimate
(17:55):
Swiss army knife and Lebron taking pride in that ability,
and Lebron then saying after the game with a smile, Yeah,
I heard what was being said. I've been you know,
you could put me on any team and I would
(18:15):
make it work. Is just obviously true. And people's you know,
people say that about Kevin Durant all the time, like, oh,
you just drop him in anywhere, And yes, that's true
about other players, great players, You drop them in and
(18:37):
they would make any team better. The distinction is, can
you drop a player in and can they instantly do
at a high level the exact thing that team needs
them to do. This Lakers team right now might need
(19:01):
to be more facilitator, cutter, screener than scorer. Unlike some
of the other great players in this league. He has
the skill set at forty in year twenty three to
(19:21):
be excellent all at anything. Now, is he the best
player in the league anymore? Of course, not see a
top five player in the league anymore. No, But is
he still have a legitimate shot at being right around
top ten And is he, assuredly when he's healthy, still
(19:43):
a top fifteen guy in the league. Yes? And that
guy with that malleability helps any team in the history
of basketball. Now, is it all right? Now? A moot
point for the whole NBA because of who and what
(20:04):
OKC is. Maybe everybody might be playing for second this year,
but we'll see things happen, and there's an element of
I don't want to say lack of appreciation, but numbness
(20:32):
to what we are seeing at this moment. And this
is something that you know I've said before, but I
don't know that people like fully take it in. And
especially because you know Steph is playing at such a
(20:53):
high level at an advanced age. Durant is playing at
such a high level at an advanced age. But see
whether you want to focus on the age forty part
or the year twenty three part. The it being without
(21:18):
precedent is such a wild understatement. Like Kobe Bryant, the
late great Kobe Bryant. How old do you think Kobe
was when he played in his final playoff game with
(21:38):
the Lakers. I'm gonna give it a pause so you
can actually think about it. How old was Kobe in
his final career playoff game? Are you shocked when I
tell you the answer to that is thirty two. Kobe
(21:59):
Bryant did not play in a playoff game with the
Lakers after the age of thirty two. Like a little
context to that, Lebron joined the Lakers when he was
(22:26):
thirty four, So obviously, Jordan Fit, you know, stopped with
it was done with the Bulls at thirty five, thirty six. Obviously,
we've never seen a player play in a year twenty three,
and the only one to get to a year twenty
(22:48):
two was Vince It's I said this a couple of
years ago and people laughed. I think we are now
seeing it in real time. He'll simply never be bad,
and he could easily play at again, not an MVP level,
(23:12):
but a high level throughout his forties. Barring again, barring,
you're always at this age of a catastrophic injury away.
But he's ducked that up to this point in his career,
and people can have the argument about the greatest player
(23:34):
of all time that is going to age so well
on my end and so poorly for so many other folks,
because it is when it does come to and this
isn't the whole discussion, but it is at least a
piece of it. The record books. With the way things
(23:55):
are going right now as far as injuries, load management,
guys not being able to make it through a full season,
Lebron's longevity records are going to when people look back
on him in forty years, it's going to be like
(24:16):
if you look at complete games in baseball right now
and you're like, wait, a guy had forty in one year.
Like all of these games, minutes, points, the playoff records
are going to be Chamberlain esque, untouchable and farcical in
(24:40):
the numbers to future generations. And I'm very, very interested
to see the full role bron takes on with the Lakers,
because in game one of year twenty three, he was like, Okay,
(25:03):
I'll be late stage Magic Johnson. And that's pretty damn good.
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get started delivery available for select devices purchased at boost
mobile dot Com. Terms of course do apply. There's one
other Bron adjacent thing I wanted to talk about, and
this is one of those things that I imagine will
(26:06):
do well on social media or YouTube or and might
cause me a little grief, but I just I can't
leave it unaddressed, and I don't. I'm not I'm not
(26:27):
trying to start anything, but this is so it was
maddening when I heard it. So the greatest sports podcaster
of all time, the guy who in some ways invented
the medium, and a guy I like a lot, Bill Simmons,
(26:51):
brought the mail bag back, which is awesome. It's vented Simmons.
It's part of the reason that he's who he is,
and it's awesome, And because I'm a fan who's listening,
And he gets asked about the biggest sliding doors moments
(27:14):
in NBA history, and he goes to the Draymond Groin
shot of Lebron in Game four of the twenty sixteen Finals,
which is a legitimate sliding doors moment, there's no doubt
(27:38):
about it. And he talks about how if the Warriors
win that title, Durant can't go, you know, to Golden State.
So then who wins the next two? Does Lebron ever
win in Cleveland? Does Lebron ever go to the Lakers?
There's that is you know, what does it mean for
Steph back to back Champ and Chips, he and Lebron
(28:01):
Then at that moment would have been two to two.
He would have had back to back league and MVPs,
including a unanimous There are it's He's Simmons talks about
all of it, and he's correct about that being a
sliding doors moment. But there's two pieces of that commentary
(28:23):
that are just one is enraging and it's not about Bill,
and the other one is, I he just must talk
to very different NBA people than me, because what Bill
said was the conspiracy theory that people believe more than
(28:48):
any other conspiracy is that the NBA suspended Draymond because
they wanted Cleveland to win the title. And I've literally
never heard that. Now. I certainly have heard the conspiracy
(29:08):
that they suspended Draymond because they hoped the series would
go longer than five. But the idea that in real time,
anyone outside of the Calves locker room, me and Zach Lowe.
(29:31):
We're all on the record during this everyone's doing media.
Nobody else when that suspension came down said oh, well,
now I think the Calves are gonna win. That Warriors
team was considered the greatest team of all time and
(29:51):
had dominated the Calves through the first four games of
that series. So the first point is the idea that
it is widely thought in NBA circles that the Draymond
suspension was going to lead to the Calves winning the championship.
(30:16):
We were all there in real time that was not
a thing. And then and then to the opinion piece
of it, nothing is more maddening for me as a
(30:36):
Bron fan then the fact that when that happened, and
then the Calves win Game five by fifteen and Lebron
scores forty one points, the entire media asserts that would
(31:09):
have never happened if Draymond was there. The Calves winning
by double digits and Lebron scoring forty plus never happened
if Draymond's there. And then in Game six, when Draymond
is there, Lebron scores forty one and the Calves win
(31:34):
by fifteen points. Game five of those finals, no Draymond
Bron scores, Bron gooes. I'll give you his exact stat line,
just so we all are on the same page. Forty one,
sixteen and seven on fifty five percent from the field,
sixty three percent from three and the Calves win by fifteen.
(31:59):
So again, forty one sixteen seven fifty five sixty three splits,
fifteen point win. Game six of the Finals forty one
eight eleven on sixty five seventy five splits and the
Cavs win by fourteen. Like, what are we talking about?
(32:27):
What are we talking about? Oh? Hold on, I gotta
do that, because I'm sure I have to fix that.
I have to fix that. I apologize. I gave you
the wrong field goal percentages. Let me let me do
that again, because I want this to be accurate. I
gave you so Game five of the Finals, No, Draymond
(32:49):
forty one, sixteen and seven on fifty three fifty splits
in a fifteen point win. Game six of the Finals
with Draymond forty one to eight to eleven on fifty
nine fifty splits in a fourteen point win. It's just
(33:14):
revisionist history. And it's the only other reason that's relevant
to me right now is that game happened ten seasons ago,
(33:39):
and this guy's still playing. It's just a a career
that will never be even remotely approached. And it's if
you're if you're listening to this right now and a
(34:00):
sports fan of this era. The fact that we got
to experience Tom Brady going more than twenty years of
elite in the mix every single year, ten super Bowl
(34:26):
appearances across multiple teams, while experiencing Lebron doing the exact
same thing in the NBA. It's just unreal, just unreal.
(34:47):
Five games and a reminder, all of these lines are
from our friends at hard Rock BET. I am rolling
with Chicago laying two and a half at home against Pittsburgh.
I just you are either going to get Mason Rudolph
or you're going to get Aaron Rodgers with a broken wrist.
(35:08):
I don't I don't understand how this game is not
three and a half. It feels like a Bear's ugly
three point win. Also for Ben Johnson, this kind of
you get a lot of internal credit with the fans
in the organization for beating Aaron because in everybody's mind
(35:33):
he's still a Packer. I think Chicago is right now
a the exact same caliber of team as Pittsburgh, but
one team's quarterback has a broken wrist and the other
team's quarterback doesn't, and Chicago's at home. All take Chicago
(35:54):
minus to two and a half. The Jet yes getting
thirteen and a half at Baltimore. This is an ugly one,
I will admit. However, Lamar now is on the you know,
mispractice again this week. Last week was for a knee,
(36:17):
this week is for an ankle. He has not looked
like Lamar since he came back from his injury, and
he is refusing to run the ball, which is super
noteworthy because that has a knock on effect on how
on his passing and on the team's overall efficiency. Also,
(36:39):
I think the Jets are starting their best option at
quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. For all those reasons and the
fact that I get nearly two full touchdowns, I will
take the thirteen and a half points while I will
lay the thirteen and a half points with Seattle. Seattle
(36:59):
is at Tennessee. What that defense is going to do
to cam Ward is going to be borderline criminal. I
do not see how Tennessee can get to ten maybe ten,
(37:25):
but not thirteen, and so can Seattle get to twenty four?
Huge spot for Seattle after the very disappointing loss to
the Rams bounce back, I still think they're an excellent team.
I understand I am laying thirteen and a half points
(37:45):
on the road, but Seattle prior to that Rams game
had won ten in a row on the road. Tennessee's
the worst team in the NFL. I will take Seattle
laying the thirteen and a half Arizona getting three at
home against Jacksonville. Arizona has not been good. Jacksonville has
(38:09):
been okay, But they are coming off Jacksonville their best win,
their most dominating performance of the year. I should say
their best win wis kons City. This is their most
dominating and they are a very up and down team.
We've seen it throughout the year that the Jags are
(38:31):
not really able to build on successes. They beat the Chiefs,
then immediately lose back to back to the Seahawks and Rams.
They beat the Raiders in you know, not miracle, but
the Raiders have a two point conversion in overtime to
beat them. They then respond by blowing a horrified by
(38:55):
blowing a nineteen point fourth quarter lead to the Texans.
They blow out the Chargers. They're now on the road,
going cross country to the Cardinals, and I'm getting three
whole points. I will take Arizona plus three, and then,
in a game that might shock the audience that I
am including Cleveland in Shador's first start, getting three and
(39:22):
a half at the Raiders. This is very simple. That
Raiders offensive line against that Browns defensive line is the
single biggest mismatch of the week. I do not care
who is playing quarterback for Cleveland. Miles Garrett could set
(39:43):
the single game and single season sack record in this game.
The all time sack record for a game is seven
Derek Thomas, late Great kansaity chief. The all time sack
record for a season is twenty two and a half.
So if Miles Garrett got eight, he would set the
season and game record. He could do that against this
(40:06):
Raiders offensive line. I will take Cleveland plus the three
and a half. So my five picks this weekend are
the Bears laying two and a half at home against Pittsburgh,
the Jets getting thirteen and a half at Baltimore, Seattle
laying thirteen and a half at Tennessee, Arizona getting three
against Jacksonville, and Cleveland getting three and a half at
(40:30):
the Las Vegas Raiders
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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