January 2, 2026 • 40 mins
Adam Ausland continues his Week 18 matchup power rankings including the state of the NFC South where the Bucs & Panthers play for the division...kind of. Also, NBA writer for The Athletic Law Murray joins the show.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Adam Ashley, It's true. I'm in for big Ben Maller.
Appreciate you guys. Eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox
is the phone number you can also get to me.
I follow out of ay. Tell me what you think
of my theory about Stranger Things. Maybe I'm giving the
Duffer Brothers too much credit, Netflix too much credit. I
don't know. I feel like the Duffer brothers are so
big time now they can do whatever they want. Are
(00:22):
they going to do Marvel stuff?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Next?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
We'll see coming up next on this show lot Murray
of the Athletic will be here talking about my guy
Kawhi Leonard dropping another forty five spots tonight against the
Utah Jazz. Okay, I know it's just Utah, but they
needed it. It was a close game late in the
fourth quarter and he had twenty of his forty five
points there. Murray just leaving into a dome. Plus, we'll
(00:47):
talk Lakers Yannis, who's being traded. But first I want
to try something out. I think this is the third
time I've done it, and I develop this doing these
solo shows, and I call it Adam's NFL ranking matchups
something like that. I don't know. I want to go
back in time here, long before we had the benefit
(01:08):
of the NFL Red Zone or NFL Sunday ticket, Back
before we could watch any game we wanted, Back when
we had to be patient. Life wasn't your personal Coca
Cola three sixty freestyle machine where you could have every
option at your fingertips. Back when you were forced to
watch whatever regional NFL game happened to be on your
local Fox or CBS station. You were at the mercy
(01:32):
of your program director like you are now. And whatever
local team was nearby that didn't have blackout issues because
their games actually sold out, you probably were watching their games.
These were primitive times. Dinosaurs roam the earth. I think
Loraina called, did you say that Ben ben Maller is
(01:52):
a dinosaur of sports radio? What type of dinosaurs? A raptor?
It's got to be a t rex. It's got to
be a t I think of like try Seratops or something.
He's a gentle giant. But back in the day, like
you couldn't choose any game you wanted to watch in
the NFL world, the world was not your oyster. There
(02:15):
was no octo box, where on red Zone you got
eight games going at once. That's a new sea change
in technology. So you didn't have the ability to have
it your way, like as burger king or whatever, and
it made things very difficult. You had to choose between
games you wanted to watch, and then sometimes they didn't
(02:35):
give you a choice. But if you had a choice,
how would you do it? How would you rank the
slate of matchups? From least interesting contest to you know,
I'd miss my firstborn son's you know birth like to
watch this football game? That type of thing. You can
(02:56):
base it on whatever criteria you want. Base it off.
The teams you love or you hate, the time of
day when the game is being played, who you think sucks,
who you think is great? Who's good? You just don't
enjoy watching them? Who's bad? But you actually think it's
fun to watch them? Let's power rank the matchups for
Week eighteen of the twenty twenty five NFL season. Do
(03:18):
we have Ben Maller to an autumn wind as a pirate?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Is that real autumn wind is a pirate blustering in
from sea with a rollicking song. He sweeps along, swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash
with a silver a hat about his head and a
bristling black mustache.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
That's pretty good. Le we keep going, Yeah, go ahead,
he grow Actually I don't want what we're going I
just want the music in the background. No, that is
pretty good. Was he a broadcaster or something or is
this his show? Let's rank them? Week eighteen Power Rankings.
So it's the final week of the season. We got
thirty two teams in the league, sixteen games. I'm gonna
(04:03):
start with my sixteenth least interesting matchup for me, This
game that I least care about this weekend. And you
might be so shocked by this, but I'm ranking this
the sixteenth best matchup or worst. It's my list. I
can do whatever I want. It's actually Carolina in Tampa
(04:24):
Bay taking on the Buccaneers. Winner wins the NFC South.
Kinda more on that coming up. There'll be the fourth spot,
the fourth seed in the NFC. The loser is out
kind of even though both teams are really losers because
like for them to have a chance to win this division.
It is one of the worst divisions in sports. I
(04:46):
dread this game though, and it's on Saturday, so we're
gonna get it out of the way quickly one thirty
pm Pacific kickoff. I think I'm a Panthers fan, that's
the problem here. And I know Payinne and I know
horrible soul crushing losses, and I expect my Carolina Panthers
to let me down one more time. Do y'all remember
(05:08):
the Cleveland Browns fan named Scott Ensminger who requested his
pallbearers to wear Brown's uniforms and gear when they lowered
him into his graves so the Browns could technically let
him down one last time. Wow, that was a big deal.
That was in twenty thirteen now, But my Panthers, that's
(05:31):
my life. I've been living in hell the past ten years,
especially ever since Cam Newton ran away from jumping on
his own fumble in the Super Bowl, which was kind
of the beginning of the downward spiral into the depths
of the fiery abyss that Panthers fans call home at
Bank of America Stadium, this nightmare. We've adjusted to the
heat of our hellish fate over the years, kind of
(05:54):
like how you adjust to moving to a warmer climate.
But I don't know if I can bear to watch
them loose to the Buccaneers, who have been going the
wrong way for months. They've lost seven of eight, yet
somehow they get a victory over the Panthers, and the
Saints beat the Falcons, and Tampa Bay is in like,
(06:14):
do you know how pathetic this is? The Panthers are
considered to be having their greatest stretch of football since
twenty seventeen, and yet a team that has completely fallen
apart in the Bucks like they're walking the plank themselves
the ready to jump. They still can win the NFC South.
The Panthers' best season in almost a decade is a
down year, a disappointing one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
(06:37):
but that's the state of the Division two. I'm not
gonna let the Panthers affect my mental state, though I
refuse to let myself be hurt again, So I'm just
assuming they're gonna lose, and therefore this, to me, is
the least interesting game on the docket in Week eighteen,
and the NFC South can only be decided on Saturday
(07:00):
if Carolina beat Tampa Bay. I think Aaron and the
other guy earlier were talking about this. Jason Martin on
who has to win and who can still win the
division in the NFC South. So it's like this, If
Carolina beat Tampa Bay, they're in. But because Atlanta took
(07:22):
down the Rams, that means the Panthers Buccaneers matchup isn't
quite winner take all. If Carolina wins, yes, they would
secure the division title. But if the Buccaneers win, they
still need the Falcons to lose or tie the Saints
on Sunday because if it's a three way tie between
three eight to nine sorry teams, Carolina has the tie breaker.
(07:46):
So if you're a Buccaneers fan, like not only do
you need to win, you need to be rooting for
the Falcons to lose the Saints or tie them. All right,
I'll move on to my next matchup number fifteen in
my matchup rankings the weekend. We might as well blow
out the NFC South teams right now like a cannon
ball coming out of the Buccaneers pirate ship at Raymond
(08:07):
James Stadium at Buccaneer Cove. Let's get all four out
of the way. You just heard me rip the teams
at the top of the NFC South. So what do
you expect me to do? With the teams at the
bottom New Orleans Atlanta, they're closing out the season in
a matchup. This isn't some happy surprise like at the
bottom of your fry bag. Now this bag has a
hole in it as big as the hole on both
(08:29):
these teams. Rosters and the fries have all fallen out,
and you're left with a fried brain having watched these
two teams play football all year. Sorry, Brewbery, I know
you're a Saints fan. You remember the old this is
your Brain on drugs ad campaign where the guy cracks
the egg that represents your brain and fries it, which
is how I actually like my eggs sung your side up.
(08:49):
But the Saints and Falcons fans, they haven't seen the
sun or the bright side of things all year and
probably feel like well done. Their brain has been scrambled
by watching these under five hundred football teams. Even with
the Falcons beating the Rams on Monday night, I know,
whoo did he do? The Saints have actually won four
straight and they still only have six wins. Tyler Shuck
(09:14):
Shook whatever it's false Hope. I mean, he had a
nice season all things considered, but he's a twenty six
year old rookie. He can run a car, but the Saints,
I don't know if they should be giving him the
keys to the franchise. He's still got nine touchdowns to
five interceptions. He's been serviceable. It could be a mistake
(09:34):
once defenses actually get tape on him, and you know
they're game planning for him next year. I have no
interest in watching him battle it out with the Falcons,
who are so convinced many people were they'd be good
this year. They were so convinced they traded their first
round pick to the Rams for edge rusher James Pearce,
who's actually been pretty good lately. But I'm not convinced.
(09:57):
Michael Pennix is the QB move forward who's been doing
some moving himself on a TikTok dance recently, even though
he just had a reconstructed ACL. I guess the Falcons quarterbacks,
you know, they've done worse things than they're off time
in the past, and thankfully he doesn't need his legs
as much as Michael Vick did. But I don't think
(10:18):
if either the Saints or the Falcons, well, they can't
give me a reason to watch this game. And that's
why I got number fifteen, number fourteen in my matchup
rankings for week eighteen that would go to the Cowboys
in New York Giants. And speaking of torn acls, I mean,
did the Cowboys get out while the getting was good
(10:40):
with Michaeh. Parsons and not giving him one hundred and
eighty eight million dollars. Probably, I don't know if he'll
ever be the same, considering his entire game is built
upon his speed, his explosiveness, his athleticism. But he is
twenty six. He'll probably at least be eighty five percent
of you know what he was given my amateur medical
background in kinesiology. The Cowboys, though, ended up having a
(11:04):
gap year during a prime year for Dak Prescott? Was
that Jerry? Was he trying to speak to me from
the grave? Oh, it's actually a genie speaking to you
from her grave. Is she one of the callers here? Yes?
All right, we'll get to your phone. Calls coming up.
Don't worry, I ain't gonna be too harsh. Lines are
lighting up.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I guess it's a good subject.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I hope you guys treat me nice too. And for
Ben Mallarch, tonight, what do you want the Cowboys, though,
like you waste a year like this from Dak with
him leading the league in passing yards as they passed
on being a competent enough defense in time to match
their offense. Meanwhile, the Giants, they wasted part of their
season still trying to see if they could be competitive
(11:46):
enough under Russell Wilson. That was a great call. Would
they pay him ten million dollars? They eventually figured it out.
Turned to Jackson Dart when you could throw a Dart
at a board and have as good of a guest
in which direction they're going to go in the draft,
even with his promising rookie year. If it's me and
(12:06):
I have a chance to draft Fernando Mendoza, I'm taking
him anyways, because Jackson Dart, like this guy thinks he's
a crash test dummy out there with some of the
stuff that he does. It's not very very wise to
take on NFL linebackers. Do not attempt to grow a brain.
You're probably at some point I gonna need another quarterback
(12:29):
because Jackson Dart is that reckless. And I know he
rushed for two touchdowns last week against the Raiders.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Great.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
They literally are trying to lose. They're trying to get
Fernando Mendoza and probably will Dante Moore, maybe Ty Simpson,
who knows more, might not even come out yet. I'm
not sure what the draw is in this particular game
between the Cowboys and Giants outside of Jackson Dart, I
guess trying to ball out to prove that he's the
(12:56):
future and they can use picks to build around him.
Reports say they're open to taking a quarterback, so this
performance could lose loom large in which way they go.
Dart better shows something against them Boys, because I think
the Cowboys defense is given up just under thirty points
per game. It's bad. All right, we'll put this on pause.
(13:22):
We'll come back. I got La Murray from the Athletic
and joining me after he was covering the Clippers tonight
and Kawhi Leonard dropped forty five. But we can talk
all things NBA and we'll get back to the NFL
later in this hour. The top of next hour, back
to my rack matchup rankings. I should say, I'm Adam
Mosland in for Big Ben Mahler here on Fox Sports Radio,
(13:46):
Adam Ashley.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
the same tired narratives down your.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Throat every day.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sportsbook, and all the best guests. Do yourself a
favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
On your good job, Adam Ashland, welcome back in. I'm
Adam oslin in for Big Ben Mallard. Tonight going to
be with you guys. Eight seven seven ninety nine on
Fox is the phone number. We're brought to you by
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(14:51):
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buying should be. Cavin Up. I'll get back to my
NFL Week eighteen matchup rankings, but join the show right now.
Is a good friend, but an even better reporter does
(15:11):
it for the NBA? Does it here in Southern California
where I'm at covering both teams in LA, it's law
Murray of the Athletic at Law Murray v. Nu Is
where you find him. Yeah, and we even have the
judge dread drop for you tonight, law La, thanks for
doing this here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Thank you. Man.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
That does is crazy.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
We're like that here, Lorena is at least let's talk
about what happened tonight kind of crazy the last two
weeks from Kawhi Leonard where everybody's wondering where's this resurgence
coming from? Where he's had three forty point games over
the last ten days, including forty five tonight, ad into
a dome as they pulled away late to put the
Utah Jazz away. What are you seeing from co Why?
(16:00):
What has changed? What should people know about this Clippers
team nationally?
Speaker 3 (16:04):
I'm saying it's a frame level magnet ball Like he's
give him four quarters, and he is finding a way
to make shots at a level that he works on,
and that work is never a question with me. The
question is how much do you get it? Both in
(16:26):
general as far as him actually being able to play
games and play his minutes, and then the quality of
it right, Like he is shooting more and that is scary.
He's That was my favorite part of what he said
over the weekend, Like he's never had to do this before.
He's never been on teams that required him to play
(16:48):
like this for his team to succeed. You know, like
all those San Antonio's first teams. We why didn't come
into the NBA being asked to be a bucket And
even when he got to the point where he was
an All Star, this was a finals MVP before he
was an All Star, right, And like those teams had
future Hall of famers on it that were still capable
(17:10):
in very different ways of charying offense. He came into
the league with Ten Duncans, Tony Parker, monug Nobody, those
three dudes very different. Even LaMarcus Audridge was on the
San Antonio Spurs before any of those dudes let the team, right,
Kawhi took the mantles playing the right way. We hear
(17:31):
that term a lot, and it's not that he's not
playing the right way now, but he's playing in a
way that if you want wins, this is how you
get them. And I think it's a huge credit to him.
It's a huge credit to that team that they still
care enough to try and make something of what was
an awful start to their season. And now they've gone
(17:51):
from an F team to a C minus team, and
that should scare people because the rust of the Western Conference,
there no one's you know, in terms of like the
top six or the top ten. The Clippers are going
to be relevant. And as long as they avoid any
more rakes to.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Step on, yeah, injury rakes as well, we know how
it goes with the Clippers. Unfortunately, what about the other
team in Los Angeles where the Lakers I believe, have
lost four of their last five and look like one
of the worst defenses in the league over the last month. Now,
while the Brooklyn Nets have been one of the best,
the Lakers have dropped to bottom three or somewhere in
(18:32):
that range. And a lot of people, of course, it's
low level, it's surface level. They say, well, Lebron's back,
They're not winning anymore. What's the big picture of you
on this Lakers team and Lebron and if he and
Luka doncis because you've been tracking his net rating going
back to last season and just how things have changed
since he's gotten older with Lebron, But can he work
with Luca and can he still be a winning, impactful
(18:54):
player on this Lakers team.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
That's the thing. It's like, you know, you got people
who were super happy to vote for Lebron James as
an MVP candidate, We're an All NBA candidate because they
see what he's doing, they see what he's doing at
the age that he's doing it, and they see the
team that he plays for, and they want to be
attached to that. And you know that's goal. Like Lebron
(19:17):
is still a good basketball player. He's still a great
basketball player. He's still able to make shots, to make
passes and don't want Luke Bournette like Lebron can do
those things. Is it leading to advantages in games? That's
the biggest thing that I looked at last year. I
couldn't say that two years ago, when Darvin Ham was
coaching the team, Lebron being on the floor still led
(19:41):
the Lakers to wins as far as you know, outscoring
opponents while he's on the floor, Like that's an objective measure.
You know, I broke it down every way that I
could before Luca. After Luca got there in the playoffs, like,
the Lakers were not a winning team with Lebron on
(20:02):
the floor, but they were when Lebron was off the floor.
And so like they were not good this time last year,
they were outscored by seventy seven points even though they
had a record that was four games over five hundred
at this point last year, them starting fifteen and five
was huge, but it also established where the Lakers were
best as a team, and that was with Luca and
(20:23):
Austin playing off of each other. Those two dudes complement
each other in a way that we are not seeing
the same synergy when it's just Luca and Lebron, and
they have to figure that out. Because the Lakers are
at their work this season as far as lineups with
Luca Dongics on the floor with one other guy. They're
(20:43):
at the worst when it's Nika and Lebron. They're at
their best when it's Nika and Austin. We saw a
version of the Lakers that was really good, and you
can talk about their schedule, you can talk about whatever.
I've seen. The Lakers lose some bad teams and lose
some good teams. Okay, so it's Lebron. We have to
be able to say two things at once. Lebron is
(21:06):
still a good basketball player. Okay, Well, Lebron is not
a player that the Lakers at this time are playing
their best basketball with while he's on the floor. And
if that doesn't change, then the Lakers are going to
continue to slip in the sandwich.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
NBA reporter extraordinaire La Murray from The Athletic is joining
us here. I'm at a Moslin in for big Ben
Maller on Fox Sports Radio atl Murray the U was
where you finds him on x SO law. Why do
I feel like we could be days away from jannis
Adena Koumpo trade. It just feels inevitable. He keeps being
asked about it. He likes to deflect, He likes to
(21:43):
say I'm here, but that doesn't mean he's going to
be here within the next couple of months. And they
just lost to the Washington Wizards. How do you see
this playing out with Milwaukee right now?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah, I mean it's not the first time that they
lost to the Wizards either, you know, And it's I
don't want to disrespect the Wizards, because the thing about
the Wizards bad team with a bad record, but they
have throws on that team, and they have they have
guys who if you're not prepared to play as well
(22:14):
as you need to play as if it's any average team,
then they will beat you and it will feel embarrassing.
And Doc Rivers pointed that out when they lost on
New Year's Eve. Doc said they did not deserve to
win the game. I have another team that I cover
in LA where I've heard a very similar way of
(22:36):
saying things like that, And so I don't look at
Giannis being a guy who gets traded in the matter
of days like this is something where you know, January
is going to change lives in the NBA. So how
well the Bucks play is going to have a big
impact on the viability of Yannis staying there. But also
(22:59):
it's not up to Nis all the time. It's not
even up to the Bucks. Like the Bucks can say
they're open to something, but if the appropriate deal isn't there,
Then that's it. You have a bunch of these editors
and visual you know, companies who covered a sport of basketball,
and they're giving you a taf dozen trades they like
(23:23):
to see. They'd like to see him because they want
to be GM's. Like the reality is John Horse has
his job and his job isn't too trade Giannis. His
job is to find way to have the Bucks be good.
And we'll see how January goes in that endeavor.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Well, one of the teams that people have talked about
trying to make a move for Yiannis would be in
Atlanta and they got a guy in Trey Young, who
I don't think would be included in that trade package.
I'm not sure what Milwaukee would want that for, but
it seems like trays days are numbers in the atl
Do you see it like that? Obviously there's a contract
decision coming up.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you what, And Adam, I
really appreciate you let me do this while I take
my bus ride home from Englwood. Like, I feel like
when it comes to someone like Trey, he did had
some situation because Trey hard have played well. He hasn't
played well, he hasn't been available. This team has arguably
(24:20):
been better with talented even though this team is not
good enough to just say, hey, we don't play trade
man good. And I think that's a scary thing. For
the amount of hose. It's definitely unsettling for Trade Young.
I think the best thing about Ray Young is the
fact that he had the fire ups so he doesn't
get traded or if he gets traded to some place
(24:41):
he doesn't like. He controlled at least a year of
his teacher in terms of that. But I think the
most simple thing with Trey is more teams would want
him if he was still playing at the level that
he should be in terms of the days of his
career that he did, and that's just not happening. He's
he's always been a die who's is shooting is more
(25:04):
dangerous because of his range, not necessarily because of his efficiency.
He's small, so you're never going to be good defensively
within on the floor, and now that loader that such
a weapon for him. He's not beating guys, he's not
scoring like you shut and all these things make it
to where he's a lot closer to the average point
guard if he ran up all the starting point guards
(25:26):
at him, there's very our closed shuit average is very
young instead of a guy who you know gets into
the All Star Game after someone gets hurt.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yeah, he's not high on my list anymore. A lot
of the advanced numbers say he's getting worse with his
efficiency too, right, and and.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
That's and that's the thing. It's like very young. The
Valiants three has always been like a guy who can
create offense for himself, for his teammates, and as the
shooting of efficiency has been fined from everywhere and the
turnover zone necessarily getting better, and now he's a guy
(26:06):
there's Atlanta have so many other guys who can play
with ball in their teams, and three often at least
stray kind of in a weird spot and Flint Snyders
talk there's other guys. They don't necessarily need him to go.
But if he's want to go forward, you got from
the balls he's not versatile fires and teams have to
(26:29):
acknowledge that. It may be so excited for a very
young stream, but why are you giving up to get
Tree young on your team and then say that your
team is better? That is very difficult questioning configure right now.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
The show's better when Lamery is on at La Murray
the n you covers the NBA for the athletic does
it here in Southern California? Closely attached to the Clippers
and the Lakers. Thanks for joining me, Thanks for joining
me on Fox Sports Radio tonight, my friend, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I appreciated.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Coming up next, we will get back to my NFL
matchup rankings. But eighty seven seven ninety nine on Fox.
I know people are calling in. I know it's a
color driven show here on the Ben Mallor Show. Come,
let's try Gunner calling in from Minnesota. Gunner, what's up?
Is this Gunner from X Welcome?
Speaker 4 (27:26):
Yes it is man. How's it going?
Speaker 1 (27:28):
You know it's all right outside of the Carolina Panthers
probably losing on Saturday and ruining my weekend in life?
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Oh come on, Benjie, remember you know the conspiracencory right
all three Ohio State wedns. Year before Jah, we played
Jaguars and Go Super fifteen. Oh have to win? We
played Jaguars Go super Bolt.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
What's happening this year? Oh?
Speaker 3 (27:53):
I say won? Last year we played the Jazz in
Super Bowl facts.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Do you think Brian has a chance of leading a
team to the Super Bowl in a quarterback driven league?
I can't get with that. I'm sorry, Gunner.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
I have the think here we if we have the
high game or no by three points, have the ball
driving on the field last couple of minutes, we can
be anybody.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
I see it.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
How let's a goal We're gonna go to the NFC
so and both in the NC win this division, and
where's in the ANC? It has no chance to insist
because they haven't played this. Nobody's division play this at
this point.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Look, look, you gotta walk before you run. Let's just
see if they can beat Tampa Bay this weekend and
get into the playoffs, and then we can talk about
matchups and if the Carolina Panthers really have a chance,
even though they probably play in the worst division in sports.
But I love you, Gunner, and I'm glad you're keeping
the hope alive, because I did say I was going
to be more positive in twenty twenty six, and look
(29:00):
the bright side of things. So I'm on my way.
As long as you keep tweeting at me, I might
become a full blooded Carolina Panther. Fan again soon, hope
face all that stuff. It's I'm really close to jumping
in with you. Kind of appreciate you. Uh you know
what before we break?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Dwayne Wade. Dwayne Wade calling from Hawaii, Little Dwayne, Dwayne
Rock Johnson, Little tunci O, Little Dwayne. What's up?
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Hey? I a man, Little Dwayne. What's up over there?
I'm calling from Hawaii. I just wishing everybody happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Is everybody involved in shoe yo? Happy New Year?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
And a shout out to.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
My boy door goes. You know what I'm saying. And
I was all over a little miss, so old miss.
You know what I'm saying. Oh miss, from the get go.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Right, you made a little bit of scratching you bet
on ole miss.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I want to admit it. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
It's practically legal everywhere. Now, don't worry about it, even
in Hawaii.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
My pocket something in my pockets, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (30:14):
They had more dog in them than Georgia. I guess.
In the end, it was interesting to see it. That
was a big time. You gotta be happy about that.
Some people were saying with the kicker, it's not all miss,
It's all make now because he hit that forty seven yard.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah you know that, you know that, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
And what else?
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Well, Dwayne, how many my ties? How many my ties?
In Hawaii? Oh?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
I about four goal? You know it's over here?
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Oh I bet? I bet. You guys were last to
celebrate the New Year with being three hours behind us,
so you gotta still be celebrating out there. Appreciate you,
Lil Wayne litl Dwayne. Be good, Okay, be careful. I'm
at a maslin in for Ben Mahler Adam Ashley coming
(31:13):
up next, more of my NFL rankings. Matchup you're listening
matchups you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Hi, Adam Ashley, Welcome back in. I'm at am moslin
in for Big Ben Mahlor here on Fox Sports Radio.
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year. Coming up, more of the same.
It's the NFL as king for a reason, So yeah,
we're gonna talk a lot of NFL here, and I
(31:54):
package it like this that's not sexual I have an
NFL matchup rankings list. Yeah, it's crazy to do lists
on the Ben Maler Show. It's not a list. It's
not like, is Michael Jordan the goat or is Lebron
the goat. It's not like that. It's just I ranked
the matchups for Week eighteen, which is kind of a
(32:17):
big deal because it's the last week at the NFL
season and there's all this stuff on the line. So
I'll get to my thirteenth ranked, best rank matchup or
worst for me, it's the Patriots hosting the Dolphins. I
know we have some playoff implications here, and we'll outline
those as we go along and what it all means.
(32:38):
And I will wait for my autumn as a pirate
or wind of a pirate music here, Larreeda. But I
already know the Pats they're winning this game because they
already have the AFC East locked up and they can
still get the number one seed if the Chargers win
in Denver. It could happen. The Dolphins, though, might be
(32:59):
in the worst spot a dolphin's been since echoed. The
Dolphin lost his pod back in that video game for
the Sega Genesis, so sad his whole family just went
up in like a tornado or something. Now, I don't
know what the Dolphins are doing. Is Tua gone? Can
they trade them? Do they have to release him with
that contract? Is Mike McDaniel coming back? Quinn Ewers the
(33:23):
guy who just beat Tampa Bay somehow? And yet the
Panthers still haven't won the division yet. The Dolphins, they
will not pick high enough to get a top quarterback.
So what do they do? Like they're gonna end up
seven through ten in the draft after the Pats beat
them down, unless the Pats call off the Dogs because
(33:44):
they see Denver's crushing the La Chargers and they already
would have the number one seed locked up in the AFC.
Like whoever the Dolphins GM should be? You know, whoever
that guy was that put together this hellish roster was
zero direction who probably should be fired by now. Okay,
(34:05):
I guess he was back in October. Chris Greer was
that guy's name. They fired him, they did it, But
good luck to whoever takes over in the interim, because
that seat it's probably hot already, it's at least lukewarm,
and the cupboard is bear like more bear than Marino's
Super Bowl Trophy case. He wore number thirteen. Maybe that's
(34:27):
why I had the Dolphins Patriots game as my thirteenth
best matchup this weekend.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Also of note, in this game, this may matter to
some of you who hate athletes and how much money
they make. Here's a guy who has some money on
the line, playing with my money. It's like playing with
my emotion. No, not big worm, not big perm Stefan Diggs.
He needs thirty yards in this game to earn a
(34:53):
five hundred thousand dollars bonus, because it would get him
to one thousand yards on the season.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
I'm just gonna go find the cash machine.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
He already got half a mill for his bonus for
just having eighty catches. That hit last week. Number twelve
in my most intriguing game this weekend. In the NFL,
it actually goes with the Denver Broncos, who are hosting
the Chargers. As mentioned, Denver wins. They're the number one
seed regardless of what the Patriots do. The Chargers, though,
(35:24):
they can still be all kinds of wild card seeds,
like they can be fifth, they could be sixth, they
could be seventh. Like my relationship status it's complicated. Here's
how it works. The Bolts would get the number five
seed with a win and a Texans loss to the
Colts in Week eighteen, regardless of the Bill's outcome against
the Jets. As for the number six seed, the Chargers,
(35:48):
they could get that. At least they could be the
number six seed. They would be guaranteed that if they
win in Denver. However, if the Chargers lose to the
Broncos and the Bills win again the Jets, then the
Bolts would be the seventh seed, which would have them
going to New England. Because if Denver wins, they're number one.
(36:08):
New England is number two. Here's a reason to watch
the game, though. Keenan Allen is six receptions away from
getting a contract bonus of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Sheep that change of filthy animal.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
That's kind of a big deal. I like Keenan Allen.
I don't know how he's stilled this good with all
the torn acls he's had over the years. My eleventh
best matchup in Week eighteen, that would go to the
Bears hosting the Lions. You might be wondering why I
have it here since there's not a lot to be determined.
The Lions are out of the playoffs, They're right back
where they normally are. The Bears they've already won the
(36:48):
NFC North and will either be the number two or
the number three seed in the NFC based off this.
If they beat the Lions the two seed they lose,
and Philly wins against the Commanders the three seed, they
both lose. Bears are the two seed because they have
the same record as the Eagles and they beat them
head to head. Here's why I have this ranked as
(37:09):
high as eleventh. I want to see if Dan Campbell
is still about that biting kneecaps life, because that's all
the Lions have left. Pride, that's just pride effing with you.
They are back where he started with the team, when
they were losing, when they were out of the playoffs,
and Dan Campbell came in and he tried to build
(37:31):
a physical brand of football and a different culture in Detroit.
And they're still built upon that no matter the stakes, right,
even if they can't win and make the playoffs this season. Now,
remember they lost their OC, their defensive coordinator, and now
they're missing the playoffs. Maybe they're missing their identity. I
(37:52):
don't know. Are they still built to kick you in
the teeth, to punch you in the back, and then
you're gonna smile at them? Supposedly, you remember that Dan
Campbell press conference. I don't know if anyone is smiling
right now in Detroit. But they do have the pistons
and they're pretty good, although my Clippers just beat them.
(38:12):
My tenth best matchup of the weekend, that would go
to Kansas City in Las Vegas, where two once proud
franchise is won very recently, one fifty years ago. Like
they're fighting for the AFC West pride. Kevin always says
the Chiefs are the team he hates the most. I
don't know if that's how they feel about the Raiders.
(38:35):
I don't think so, because the Chiefs have beaten them
the last twenty one of twenty five meetings, and you
would think the Raiders would take this opportunity to kick
them while the Chiefs are down. But the Raiders, they
would be kicking their own ass in the grander scheme
of things, because they want that number one pick. They
need that in the draft, and to just see how
many guys they rested against the Giants, including their best
(39:00):
player in Rock Bowers. But like the dead giveaway they
were tanking in that game was because they actually played
Geno Smith. Yeah, we wrote you off, Geno, and you
wrote back. All right, it just got intercepted or lost
in the mail. Ha haa. Everyone makes that job now.
Actually I got the message back from Gino. It said
two words, the same two words most Raiders say after
(39:22):
their first year with the organization. Kill me. Raiders fans, though,
probably would respond with say less they hate Geno Smith.
But I don't think it's Geno Smith's fault. The offensive
line is awful. No one would perform behind that offensive line.
That's not just Swiss cheese, like it's Swiss cheese if
(39:43):
you put it through a paper shredder. So why do
I have this Chiefs Raiders matchup ahead of six other
games on my Best Matchups this weekend? Because I'm I'm
curious to see how far the Raiders will take this
tank job. Like if Ashon Gente was going in for
a game winning touchdown, is Mark Davis just gonna run
him over with an actual tank to make sure they
(40:06):
secure that number one pick? They seem very committed, not
committed to excellence, committed to tanking. That's where the Raiders
are at. And I know I'm kicking them while they
are down because it's fun and everybody does it.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
The Raiders suck, The coaches suck, the players suck.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Everybody in that build they suck.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
And I'm pissed.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Off even former players like Bill Romanowski there. But come on,
like this level of an aptitude that we have been
seeing now since rich Gannon was in that neck brace,
It's unheard of. They can't help themselves. They move to Vegas,
they make more money. Al Davis is no longer there,
rest in peace. They're still bad. More NFL matchup rankings
(40:48):
coming up next. I'm Adam Oslin in for Big Ben
Mallor on Fox Sports Radio
Adam Ashley, It's true. I'm in for big Ben Maller.
Appreciate you guys. Eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox
is the phone number you can also get to me.
I follow out of ay. Tell me what you think
of my theory about Stranger Things. Maybe I'm giving the
Duffer Brothers too much credit, Netflix too much credit. I
don't know. I feel like the Duffer brothers are so
big time now they can do whatever they want. Are
(00:22):
they going to do Marvel stuff?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Next?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
We'll see coming up next on this show lot Murray
of the Athletic will be here talking about my guy
Kawhi Leonard dropping another forty five spots tonight against the
Utah Jazz. Okay, I know it's just Utah, but they
needed it. It was a close game late in the
fourth quarter and he had twenty of his forty five
points there. Murray just leaving into a dome. Plus, we'll
(00:47):
talk Lakers Yannis, who's being traded. But first I want
to try something out. I think this is the third
time I've done it, and I develop this doing these
solo shows, and I call it Adam's NFL ranking matchups
something like that. I don't know. I want to go
back in time here, long before we had the benefit
(01:08):
of the NFL Red Zone or NFL Sunday ticket, Back
before we could watch any game we wanted, Back when
we had to be patient. Life wasn't your personal Coca
Cola three sixty freestyle machine where you could have every
option at your fingertips. Back when you were forced to
watch whatever regional NFL game happened to be on your
local Fox or CBS station. You were at the mercy
(01:32):
of your program director like you are now. And whatever
local team was nearby that didn't have blackout issues because
their games actually sold out, you probably were watching their games.
These were primitive times. Dinosaurs roam the earth. I think
Loraina called, did you say that Ben ben Maller is
(01:52):
a dinosaur of sports radio? What type of dinosaurs? A raptor?
It's got to be a t rex. It's got to
be a t I think of like try Seratops or something.
He's a gentle giant. But back in the day, like
you couldn't choose any game you wanted to watch in
the NFL world, the world was not your oyster. There
(02:15):
was no octo box, where on red Zone you got
eight games going at once. That's a new sea change
in technology. So you didn't have the ability to have
it your way, like as burger king or whatever, and
it made things very difficult. You had to choose between
games you wanted to watch, and then sometimes they didn't
(02:35):
give you a choice. But if you had a choice,
how would you do it? How would you rank the
slate of matchups? From least interesting contest to you know,
I'd miss my firstborn son's you know birth like to
watch this football game? That type of thing. You can
(02:56):
base it on whatever criteria you want. Base it off.
The teams you love or you hate, the time of
day when the game is being played, who you think sucks,
who you think is great? Who's good? You just don't
enjoy watching them? Who's bad? But you actually think it's
fun to watch them? Let's power rank the matchups for
Week eighteen of the twenty twenty five NFL season. Do
(03:18):
we have Ben Maller to an autumn wind as a pirate?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Is that real autumn wind is a pirate blustering in
from sea with a rollicking song. He sweeps along, swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash
with a silver a hat about his head and a
bristling black mustache.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
That's pretty good. Le we keep going, Yeah, go ahead,
he grow Actually I don't want what we're going I
just want the music in the background. No, that is
pretty good. Was he a broadcaster or something or is
this his show? Let's rank them? Week eighteen Power Rankings.
So it's the final week of the season. We got
thirty two teams in the league, sixteen games. I'm gonna
(04:03):
start with my sixteenth least interesting matchup for me, This
game that I least care about this weekend. And you
might be so shocked by this, but I'm ranking this
the sixteenth best matchup or worst. It's my list. I
can do whatever I want. It's actually Carolina in Tampa
(04:24):
Bay taking on the Buccaneers. Winner wins the NFC South.
Kinda more on that coming up. There'll be the fourth spot,
the fourth seed in the NFC. The loser is out
kind of even though both teams are really losers because
like for them to have a chance to win this division.
It is one of the worst divisions in sports. I
(04:46):
dread this game though, and it's on Saturday, so we're
gonna get it out of the way quickly one thirty
pm Pacific kickoff. I think I'm a Panthers fan, that's
the problem here. And I know Payinne and I know
horrible soul crushing losses, and I expect my Carolina Panthers
to let me down one more time. Do y'all remember
(05:08):
the Cleveland Browns fan named Scott Ensminger who requested his
pallbearers to wear Brown's uniforms and gear when they lowered
him into his graves so the Browns could technically let
him down one last time. Wow, that was a big deal.
That was in twenty thirteen now, But my Panthers, that's
(05:31):
my life. I've been living in hell the past ten years,
especially ever since Cam Newton ran away from jumping on
his own fumble in the Super Bowl, which was kind
of the beginning of the downward spiral into the depths
of the fiery abyss that Panthers fans call home at
Bank of America Stadium, this nightmare. We've adjusted to the
heat of our hellish fate over the years, kind of
(05:54):
like how you adjust to moving to a warmer climate.
But I don't know if I can bear to watch
them loose to the Buccaneers, who have been going the
wrong way for months. They've lost seven of eight, yet
somehow they get a victory over the Panthers, and the
Saints beat the Falcons, and Tampa Bay is in like,
(06:14):
do you know how pathetic this is? The Panthers are
considered to be having their greatest stretch of football since
twenty seventeen, and yet a team that has completely fallen
apart in the Bucks like they're walking the plank themselves
the ready to jump. They still can win the NFC South.
The Panthers' best season in almost a decade is a
down year, a disappointing one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
(06:37):
but that's the state of the Division two. I'm not
gonna let the Panthers affect my mental state, though I
refuse to let myself be hurt again, So I'm just
assuming they're gonna lose, and therefore this, to me, is
the least interesting game on the docket in Week eighteen,
and the NFC South can only be decided on Saturday
(07:00):
if Carolina beat Tampa Bay. I think Aaron and the
other guy earlier were talking about this. Jason Martin on
who has to win and who can still win the
division in the NFC South. So it's like this, If
Carolina beat Tampa Bay, they're in. But because Atlanta took
(07:22):
down the Rams, that means the Panthers Buccaneers matchup isn't
quite winner take all. If Carolina wins, yes, they would
secure the division title. But if the Buccaneers win, they
still need the Falcons to lose or tie the Saints
on Sunday because if it's a three way tie between
three eight to nine sorry teams, Carolina has the tie breaker.
(07:46):
So if you're a Buccaneers fan, like not only do
you need to win, you need to be rooting for
the Falcons to lose the Saints or tie them. All right,
I'll move on to my next matchup number fifteen in
my matchup rankings the weekend. We might as well blow
out the NFC South teams right now like a cannon
ball coming out of the Buccaneers pirate ship at Raymond
(08:07):
James Stadium at Buccaneer Cove. Let's get all four out
of the way. You just heard me rip the teams
at the top of the NFC South. So what do
you expect me to do? With the teams at the
bottom New Orleans Atlanta, they're closing out the season in
a matchup. This isn't some happy surprise like at the
bottom of your fry bag. Now this bag has a
hole in it as big as the hole on both
(08:29):
these teams. Rosters and the fries have all fallen out,
and you're left with a fried brain having watched these
two teams play football all year. Sorry, Brewbery, I know
you're a Saints fan. You remember the old this is
your Brain on drugs ad campaign where the guy cracks
the egg that represents your brain and fries it, which
is how I actually like my eggs sung your side up.
(08:49):
But the Saints and Falcons fans, they haven't seen the
sun or the bright side of things all year and
probably feel like well done. Their brain has been scrambled
by watching these under five hundred football teams. Even with
the Falcons beating the Rams on Monday night, I know,
whoo did he do? The Saints have actually won four
straight and they still only have six wins. Tyler Shuck
(09:14):
Shook whatever it's false Hope. I mean, he had a
nice season all things considered, but he's a twenty six
year old rookie. He can run a car, but the Saints,
I don't know if they should be giving him the
keys to the franchise. He's still got nine touchdowns to
five interceptions. He's been serviceable. It could be a mistake
(09:34):
once defenses actually get tape on him, and you know
they're game planning for him next year. I have no
interest in watching him battle it out with the Falcons,
who are so convinced many people were they'd be good
this year. They were so convinced they traded their first
round pick to the Rams for edge rusher James Pearce,
who's actually been pretty good lately. But I'm not convinced.
(09:57):
Michael Pennix is the QB move forward who's been doing
some moving himself on a TikTok dance recently, even though
he just had a reconstructed ACL. I guess the Falcons quarterbacks,
you know, they've done worse things than they're off time
in the past, and thankfully he doesn't need his legs
as much as Michael Vick did. But I don't think
(10:18):
if either the Saints or the Falcons, well, they can't
give me a reason to watch this game. And that's
why I got number fifteen, number fourteen in my matchup
rankings for week eighteen that would go to the Cowboys
in New York Giants. And speaking of torn acls, I mean,
did the Cowboys get out while the getting was good
(10:40):
with Michaeh. Parsons and not giving him one hundred and
eighty eight million dollars. Probably, I don't know if he'll
ever be the same, considering his entire game is built
upon his speed, his explosiveness, his athleticism. But he is
twenty six. He'll probably at least be eighty five percent
of you know what he was given my amateur medical
background in kinesiology. The Cowboys, though, ended up having a
(11:04):
gap year during a prime year for Dak Prescott? Was
that Jerry? Was he trying to speak to me from
the grave? Oh, it's actually a genie speaking to you
from her grave. Is she one of the callers here? Yes?
All right, we'll get to your phone. Calls coming up.
Don't worry, I ain't gonna be too harsh. Lines are
lighting up.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I guess it's a good subject.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I hope you guys treat me nice too. And for
Ben Mallarch, tonight, what do you want the Cowboys, though,
like you waste a year like this from Dak with
him leading the league in passing yards as they passed
on being a competent enough defense in time to match
their offense. Meanwhile, the Giants, they wasted part of their
season still trying to see if they could be competitive
(11:46):
enough under Russell Wilson. That was a great call. Would
they pay him ten million dollars? They eventually figured it out.
Turned to Jackson Dart when you could throw a Dart
at a board and have as good of a guest
in which direction they're going to go in the draft,
even with his promising rookie year. If it's me and
(12:06):
I have a chance to draft Fernando Mendoza, I'm taking
him anyways, because Jackson Dart, like this guy thinks he's
a crash test dummy out there with some of the
stuff that he does. It's not very very wise to
take on NFL linebackers. Do not attempt to grow a brain.
You're probably at some point I gonna need another quarterback
(12:29):
because Jackson Dart is that reckless. And I know he
rushed for two touchdowns last week against the Raiders.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Great.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
They literally are trying to lose. They're trying to get
Fernando Mendoza and probably will Dante Moore, maybe Ty Simpson,
who knows more, might not even come out yet. I'm
not sure what the draw is in this particular game
between the Cowboys and Giants outside of Jackson Dart, I
guess trying to ball out to prove that he's the
(12:56):
future and they can use picks to build around him.
Reports say they're open to taking a quarterback, so this
performance could lose loom large in which way they go.
Dart better shows something against them Boys, because I think
the Cowboys defense is given up just under thirty points
per game. It's bad. All right, we'll put this on pause.
(13:22):
We'll come back. I got La Murray from the Athletic
and joining me after he was covering the Clippers tonight
and Kawhi Leonard dropped forty five. But we can talk
all things NBA and we'll get back to the NFL
later in this hour. The top of next hour, back
to my rack matchup rankings. I should say, I'm Adam
Mosland in for Big Ben Mahler here on Fox Sports Radio,
(13:46):
Adam Ashley.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
the same tired narratives down your.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Throat every day.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sportsbook, and all the best guests. Do yourself a
favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
On your good job, Adam Ashland, welcome back in. I'm
Adam oslin in for Big Ben Mallard. Tonight going to
be with you guys. Eight seven seven ninety nine on
Fox is the phone number. We're brought to you by
tire Iraq. For over forty years, tire i Raq has
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(14:51):
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buying should be. Cavin Up. I'll get back to my
NFL Week eighteen matchup rankings, but join the show right now.
Is a good friend, but an even better reporter does
(15:11):
it for the NBA? Does it here in Southern California
where I'm at covering both teams in LA, it's law
Murray of the Athletic at Law Murray v. Nu Is
where you find him. Yeah, and we even have the
judge dread drop for you tonight, law La, thanks for
doing this here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Thank you. Man.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
That does is crazy.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
We're like that here, Lorena is at least let's talk
about what happened tonight kind of crazy the last two
weeks from Kawhi Leonard where everybody's wondering where's this resurgence
coming from? Where he's had three forty point games over
the last ten days, including forty five tonight, ad into
a dome as they pulled away late to put the
Utah Jazz away. What are you seeing from co Why?
(16:00):
What has changed? What should people know about this Clippers
team nationally?
Speaker 3 (16:04):
I'm saying it's a frame level magnet ball Like he's
give him four quarters, and he is finding a way
to make shots at a level that he works on,
and that work is never a question with me. The
question is how much do you get it? Both in
(16:26):
general as far as him actually being able to play
games and play his minutes, and then the quality of
it right, Like he is shooting more and that is scary.
He's That was my favorite part of what he said
over the weekend, Like he's never had to do this before.
He's never been on teams that required him to play
(16:48):
like this for his team to succeed. You know, like
all those San Antonio's first teams. We why didn't come
into the NBA being asked to be a bucket And
even when he got to the point where he was
an All Star, this was a finals MVP before he
was an All Star, right, And like those teams had
future Hall of famers on it that were still capable
(17:10):
in very different ways of charying offense. He came into
the league with Ten Duncans, Tony Parker, monug Nobody, those
three dudes very different. Even LaMarcus Audridge was on the
San Antonio Spurs before any of those dudes let the team, right,
Kawhi took the mantles playing the right way. We hear
(17:31):
that term a lot, and it's not that he's not
playing the right way now, but he's playing in a
way that if you want wins, this is how you
get them. And I think it's a huge credit to him.
It's a huge credit to that team that they still
care enough to try and make something of what was
an awful start to their season. And now they've gone
(17:51):
from an F team to a C minus team, and
that should scare people because the rust of the Western Conference,
there no one's you know, in terms of like the
top six or the top ten. The Clippers are going
to be relevant. And as long as they avoid any
more rakes to.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Step on, yeah, injury rakes as well, we know how
it goes with the Clippers. Unfortunately, what about the other
team in Los Angeles where the Lakers I believe, have
lost four of their last five and look like one
of the worst defenses in the league over the last month. Now,
while the Brooklyn Nets have been one of the best,
the Lakers have dropped to bottom three or somewhere in
(18:32):
that range. And a lot of people, of course, it's
low level, it's surface level. They say, well, Lebron's back,
They're not winning anymore. What's the big picture of you
on this Lakers team and Lebron and if he and
Luka doncis because you've been tracking his net rating going
back to last season and just how things have changed
since he's gotten older with Lebron, But can he work
with Luca and can he still be a winning, impactful
(18:54):
player on this Lakers team.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
That's the thing. It's like, you know, you got people
who were super happy to vote for Lebron James as
an MVP candidate, We're an All NBA candidate because they
see what he's doing, they see what he's doing at
the age that he's doing it, and they see the
team that he plays for, and they want to be
attached to that. And you know that's goal. Like Lebron
(19:17):
is still a good basketball player. He's still a great
basketball player. He's still able to make shots, to make
passes and don't want Luke Bournette like Lebron can do
those things. Is it leading to advantages in games? That's
the biggest thing that I looked at last year. I
couldn't say that two years ago, when Darvin Ham was
coaching the team, Lebron being on the floor still led
(19:41):
the Lakers to wins as far as you know, outscoring
opponents while he's on the floor, Like that's an objective measure.
You know, I broke it down every way that I
could before Luca. After Luca got there in the playoffs, like,
the Lakers were not a winning team with Lebron on
(20:02):
the floor, but they were when Lebron was off the floor.
And so like they were not good this time last year,
they were outscored by seventy seven points even though they
had a record that was four games over five hundred
at this point last year, them starting fifteen and five
was huge, but it also established where the Lakers were
best as a team, and that was with Luca and
(20:23):
Austin playing off of each other. Those two dudes complement
each other in a way that we are not seeing
the same synergy when it's just Luca and Lebron, and
they have to figure that out. Because the Lakers are
at their work this season as far as lineups with
Luca Dongics on the floor with one other guy. They're
(20:43):
at the worst when it's Nika and Lebron. They're at
their best when it's Nika and Austin. We saw a
version of the Lakers that was really good, and you
can talk about their schedule, you can talk about whatever.
I've seen. The Lakers lose some bad teams and lose
some good teams. Okay, so it's Lebron. We have to
be able to say two things at once. Lebron is
(21:06):
still a good basketball player. Okay, Well, Lebron is not
a player that the Lakers at this time are playing
their best basketball with while he's on the floor. And
if that doesn't change, then the Lakers are going to
continue to slip in the sandwich.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
NBA reporter extraordinaire La Murray from The Athletic is joining
us here. I'm at a Moslin in for big Ben
Maller on Fox Sports Radio atl Murray the U was
where you finds him on x SO law. Why do
I feel like we could be days away from jannis
Adena Koumpo trade. It just feels inevitable. He keeps being
asked about it. He likes to deflect, He likes to
(21:43):
say I'm here, but that doesn't mean he's going to
be here within the next couple of months. And they
just lost to the Washington Wizards. How do you see
this playing out with Milwaukee right now?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah, I mean it's not the first time that they
lost to the Wizards either, you know, And it's I
don't want to disrespect the Wizards, because the thing about
the Wizards bad team with a bad record, but they
have throws on that team, and they have they have
guys who if you're not prepared to play as well
(22:14):
as you need to play as if it's any average team,
then they will beat you and it will feel embarrassing.
And Doc Rivers pointed that out when they lost on
New Year's Eve. Doc said they did not deserve to
win the game. I have another team that I cover
in LA where I've heard a very similar way of
(22:36):
saying things like that, And so I don't look at
Giannis being a guy who gets traded in the matter
of days like this is something where you know, January
is going to change lives in the NBA. So how
well the Bucks play is going to have a big
impact on the viability of Yannis staying there. But also
(22:59):
it's not up to Nis all the time. It's not
even up to the Bucks. Like the Bucks can say
they're open to something, but if the appropriate deal isn't there,
Then that's it. You have a bunch of these editors
and visual you know, companies who covered a sport of basketball,
and they're giving you a taf dozen trades they like
(23:23):
to see. They'd like to see him because they want
to be GM's. Like the reality is John Horse has
his job and his job isn't too trade Giannis. His
job is to find way to have the Bucks be good.
And we'll see how January goes in that endeavor.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Well, one of the teams that people have talked about
trying to make a move for Yiannis would be in
Atlanta and they got a guy in Trey Young, who
I don't think would be included in that trade package.
I'm not sure what Milwaukee would want that for, but
it seems like trays days are numbers in the atl
Do you see it like that? Obviously there's a contract
decision coming up.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you what, And Adam, I
really appreciate you let me do this while I take
my bus ride home from Englwood. Like, I feel like
when it comes to someone like Trey, he did had
some situation because Trey hard have played well. He hasn't
played well, he hasn't been available. This team has arguably
(24:20):
been better with talented even though this team is not
good enough to just say, hey, we don't play trade
man good. And I think that's a scary thing. For
the amount of hose. It's definitely unsettling for Trade Young.
I think the best thing about Ray Young is the
fact that he had the fire ups so he doesn't
get traded or if he gets traded to some place
(24:41):
he doesn't like. He controlled at least a year of
his teacher in terms of that. But I think the
most simple thing with Trey is more teams would want
him if he was still playing at the level that
he should be in terms of the days of his
career that he did, and that's just not happening. He's
he's always been a die who's is shooting is more
(25:04):
dangerous because of his range, not necessarily because of his efficiency.
He's small, so you're never going to be good defensively
within on the floor, and now that loader that such
a weapon for him. He's not beating guys, he's not
scoring like you shut and all these things make it
to where he's a lot closer to the average point
guard if he ran up all the starting point guards
(25:26):
at him, there's very our closed shuit average is very
young instead of a guy who you know gets into
the All Star Game after someone gets hurt.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yeah, he's not high on my list anymore. A lot
of the advanced numbers say he's getting worse with his
efficiency too, right, and and.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
That's and that's the thing. It's like very young. The
Valiants three has always been like a guy who can
create offense for himself, for his teammates, and as the
shooting of efficiency has been fined from everywhere and the
turnover zone necessarily getting better, and now he's a guy
(26:06):
there's Atlanta have so many other guys who can play
with ball in their teams, and three often at least
stray kind of in a weird spot and Flint Snyders
talk there's other guys. They don't necessarily need him to go.
But if he's want to go forward, you got from
the balls he's not versatile fires and teams have to
(26:29):
acknowledge that. It may be so excited for a very
young stream, but why are you giving up to get
Tree young on your team and then say that your
team is better? That is very difficult questioning configure right now.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
The show's better when Lamery is on at La Murray
the n you covers the NBA for the athletic does
it here in Southern California? Closely attached to the Clippers
and the Lakers. Thanks for joining me, Thanks for joining
me on Fox Sports Radio tonight, my friend, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I appreciated.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Coming up next, we will get back to my NFL
matchup rankings. But eighty seven seven ninety nine on Fox.
I know people are calling in. I know it's a
color driven show here on the Ben Mallor Show. Come,
let's try Gunner calling in from Minnesota. Gunner, what's up?
Is this Gunner from X Welcome?
Speaker 4 (27:26):
Yes it is man. How's it going?
Speaker 1 (27:28):
You know it's all right outside of the Carolina Panthers
probably losing on Saturday and ruining my weekend in life?
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Oh come on, Benjie, remember you know the conspiracencory right
all three Ohio State wedns. Year before Jah, we played
Jaguars and Go Super fifteen. Oh have to win? We
played Jaguars Go super Bolt.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
What's happening this year? Oh?
Speaker 3 (27:53):
I say won? Last year we played the Jazz in
Super Bowl facts.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Do you think Brian has a chance of leading a
team to the Super Bowl in a quarterback driven league?
I can't get with that. I'm sorry, Gunner.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
I have the think here we if we have the
high game or no by three points, have the ball
driving on the field last couple of minutes, we can
be anybody.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
I see it.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
How let's a goal We're gonna go to the NFC
so and both in the NC win this division, and
where's in the ANC? It has no chance to insist
because they haven't played this. Nobody's division play this at
this point.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Look, look, you gotta walk before you run. Let's just
see if they can beat Tampa Bay this weekend and
get into the playoffs, and then we can talk about
matchups and if the Carolina Panthers really have a chance,
even though they probably play in the worst division in sports.
But I love you, Gunner, and I'm glad you're keeping
the hope alive, because I did say I was going
to be more positive in twenty twenty six, and look
(29:00):
the bright side of things. So I'm on my way.
As long as you keep tweeting at me, I might
become a full blooded Carolina Panther. Fan again soon, hope
face all that stuff. It's I'm really close to jumping
in with you. Kind of appreciate you. Uh you know
what before we break?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Dwayne Wade. Dwayne Wade calling from Hawaii, Little Dwayne, Dwayne
Rock Johnson, Little tunci O, Little Dwayne. What's up?
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Hey? I a man, Little Dwayne. What's up over there?
I'm calling from Hawaii. I just wishing everybody happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Is everybody involved in shoe yo? Happy New Year?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
And a shout out to.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
My boy door goes. You know what I'm saying. And
I was all over a little miss, so old miss.
You know what I'm saying. Oh miss, from the get go.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Right, you made a little bit of scratching you bet
on ole miss.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I want to admit it. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
It's practically legal everywhere. Now, don't worry about it, even
in Hawaii.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
My pocket something in my pockets, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (30:14):
They had more dog in them than Georgia. I guess.
In the end, it was interesting to see it. That
was a big time. You gotta be happy about that.
Some people were saying with the kicker, it's not all miss,
It's all make now because he hit that forty seven yard.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah you know that, you know that, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
And what else?
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Well, Dwayne, how many my ties? How many my ties?
In Hawaii? Oh?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
I about four goal? You know it's over here?
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Oh I bet? I bet. You guys were last to
celebrate the New Year with being three hours behind us,
so you gotta still be celebrating out there. Appreciate you,
Lil Wayne litl Dwayne. Be good, Okay, be careful. I'm
at a maslin in for Ben Mahler Adam Ashley coming
(31:13):
up next, more of my NFL rankings. Matchup you're listening
matchups you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Hi, Adam Ashley, Welcome back in. I'm at am moslin
in for Big Ben Mahlor here on Fox Sports Radio.
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year. Coming up, more of the same.
It's the NFL as king for a reason, So yeah,
we're gonna talk a lot of NFL here, and I
(31:54):
package it like this that's not sexual I have an
NFL matchup rankings list. Yeah, it's crazy to do lists
on the Ben Maler Show. It's not a list. It's
not like, is Michael Jordan the goat or is Lebron
the goat. It's not like that. It's just I ranked
the matchups for Week eighteen, which is kind of a
(32:17):
big deal because it's the last week at the NFL
season and there's all this stuff on the line. So
I'll get to my thirteenth ranked, best rank matchup or
worst for me, it's the Patriots hosting the Dolphins. I
know we have some playoff implications here, and we'll outline
those as we go along and what it all means.
(32:38):
And I will wait for my autumn as a pirate
or wind of a pirate music here, Larreeda. But I
already know the Pats they're winning this game because they
already have the AFC East locked up and they can
still get the number one seed if the Chargers win
in Denver. It could happen. The Dolphins, though, might be
(32:59):
in the worst spot a dolphin's been since echoed. The
Dolphin lost his pod back in that video game for
the Sega Genesis, so sad his whole family just went
up in like a tornado or something. Now, I don't
know what the Dolphins are doing. Is Tua gone? Can
they trade them? Do they have to release him with
that contract? Is Mike McDaniel coming back? Quinn Ewers the
(33:23):
guy who just beat Tampa Bay somehow? And yet the
Panthers still haven't won the division yet. The Dolphins, they
will not pick high enough to get a top quarterback.
So what do they do? Like they're gonna end up
seven through ten in the draft after the Pats beat
them down, unless the Pats call off the Dogs because
(33:44):
they see Denver's crushing the La Chargers and they already
would have the number one seed locked up in the AFC.
Like whoever the Dolphins GM should be? You know, whoever
that guy was that put together this hellish roster was
zero direction who probably should be fired by now. Okay,
(34:05):
I guess he was back in October. Chris Greer was
that guy's name. They fired him, they did it, But
good luck to whoever takes over in the interim, because
that seat it's probably hot already, it's at least lukewarm,
and the cupboard is bear like more bear than Marino's
Super Bowl Trophy case. He wore number thirteen. Maybe that's
(34:27):
why I had the Dolphins Patriots game as my thirteenth
best matchup this weekend.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Also of note, in this game, this may matter to
some of you who hate athletes and how much money
they make. Here's a guy who has some money on
the line, playing with my money. It's like playing with
my emotion. No, not big worm, not big perm Stefan Diggs.
He needs thirty yards in this game to earn a
(34:53):
five hundred thousand dollars bonus, because it would get him
to one thousand yards on the season.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
I'm just gonna go find the cash machine.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
He already got half a mill for his bonus for
just having eighty catches. That hit last week. Number twelve
in my most intriguing game this weekend. In the NFL,
it actually goes with the Denver Broncos, who are hosting
the Chargers. As mentioned, Denver wins. They're the number one
seed regardless of what the Patriots do. The Chargers, though,
(35:24):
they can still be all kinds of wild card seeds,
like they can be fifth, they could be sixth, they
could be seventh. Like my relationship status it's complicated. Here's
how it works. The Bolts would get the number five
seed with a win and a Texans loss to the
Colts in Week eighteen, regardless of the Bill's outcome against
the Jets. As for the number six seed, the Chargers,
(35:48):
they could get that. At least they could be the
number six seed. They would be guaranteed that if they
win in Denver. However, if the Chargers lose to the
Broncos and the Bills win again the Jets, then the
Bolts would be the seventh seed, which would have them
going to New England. Because if Denver wins, they're number one.
(36:08):
New England is number two. Here's a reason to watch
the game, though. Keenan Allen is six receptions away from
getting a contract bonus of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Sheep that change of filthy animal.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
That's kind of a big deal. I like Keenan Allen.
I don't know how he's stilled this good with all
the torn acls he's had over the years. My eleventh
best matchup in Week eighteen, that would go to the
Bears hosting the Lions. You might be wondering why I
have it here since there's not a lot to be determined.
The Lions are out of the playoffs, They're right back
where they normally are. The Bears they've already won the
(36:48):
NFC North and will either be the number two or
the number three seed in the NFC based off this.
If they beat the Lions the two seed they lose,
and Philly wins against the Commanders the three seed, they
both lose. Bears are the two seed because they have
the same record as the Eagles and they beat them
head to head. Here's why I have this ranked as
(37:09):
high as eleventh. I want to see if Dan Campbell
is still about that biting kneecaps life, because that's all
the Lions have left. Pride, that's just pride effing with you.
They are back where he started with the team, when
they were losing, when they were out of the playoffs,
and Dan Campbell came in and he tried to build
(37:31):
a physical brand of football and a different culture in Detroit.
And they're still built upon that no matter the stakes, right,
even if they can't win and make the playoffs this season. Now,
remember they lost their OC, their defensive coordinator, and now
they're missing the playoffs. Maybe they're missing their identity. I
(37:52):
don't know. Are they still built to kick you in
the teeth, to punch you in the back, and then
you're gonna smile at them? Supposedly, you remember that Dan
Campbell press conference. I don't know if anyone is smiling
right now in Detroit. But they do have the pistons
and they're pretty good, although my Clippers just beat them.
(38:12):
My tenth best matchup of the weekend, that would go
to Kansas City in Las Vegas, where two once proud
franchise is won very recently, one fifty years ago. Like
they're fighting for the AFC West pride. Kevin always says
the Chiefs are the team he hates the most. I
don't know if that's how they feel about the Raiders.
(38:35):
I don't think so, because the Chiefs have beaten them
the last twenty one of twenty five meetings, and you
would think the Raiders would take this opportunity to kick
them while the Chiefs are down. But the Raiders, they
would be kicking their own ass in the grander scheme
of things, because they want that number one pick. They
need that in the draft, and to just see how
many guys they rested against the Giants, including their best
(39:00):
player in Rock Bowers. But like the dead giveaway they
were tanking in that game was because they actually played
Geno Smith. Yeah, we wrote you off, Geno, and you
wrote back. All right, it just got intercepted or lost
in the mail. Ha haa. Everyone makes that job now.
Actually I got the message back from Gino. It said
two words, the same two words most Raiders say after
(39:22):
their first year with the organization. Kill me. Raiders fans, though,
probably would respond with say less they hate Geno Smith.
But I don't think it's Geno Smith's fault. The offensive
line is awful. No one would perform behind that offensive line.
That's not just Swiss cheese, like it's Swiss cheese if
(39:43):
you put it through a paper shredder. So why do
I have this Chiefs Raiders matchup ahead of six other
games on my Best Matchups this weekend? Because I'm I'm
curious to see how far the Raiders will take this
tank job. Like if Ashon Gente was going in for
a game winning touchdown, is Mark Davis just gonna run
him over with an actual tank to make sure they
(40:06):
secure that number one pick? They seem very committed, not
committed to excellence, committed to tanking. That's where the Raiders
are at. And I know I'm kicking them while they
are down because it's fun and everybody does it.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
The Raiders suck, The coaches suck, the players suck.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Everybody in that build they suck.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
And I'm pissed.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Off even former players like Bill Romanowski there. But come on,
like this level of an aptitude that we have been
seeing now since rich Gannon was in that neck brace,
It's unheard of. They can't help themselves. They move to Vegas,
they make more money. Al Davis is no longer there,
rest in peace. They're still bad. More NFL matchup rankings
(40:48):
coming up next. I'm Adam Oslin in for Big Ben
Mallor on Fox Sports Radio
Host
Ben Maller
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