In The Zone: The Future of CP3 and Giannis

The FAN's Dave Sinykin and Trent Tucker are back talking some Wolves and Gopher hoops, NBA news, and they preview Vikings Commanders.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's eight oh one on a Saturday morning. You know
what that means.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
You're in the zone on the fan. Happy Saturday, everybody.
I am Dave Sinnecon. He is the professor of hoopology.
Of course, he's a Gopher legend. He's an NBA champion.
He's my partner low these many decades. He is double

(00:24):
t Trent Tucker in the house.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Good morning, sir, Good morning, Davy. How are you. I'm
well good.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's a big weekend. So here's weekend for you. It is.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's a big weekend for the boys from ty to Town, USA.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well, yes, I got a big game tonight on my
mind as well as the Big Ten championship game is
on my mind, as well as my Woogiers are participating.
If you're a if you're a college sports fan, today
is like Christmas Day, Thanksgiving.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Day in the New Year's Day, Christmas colors on.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Do I Yeah, I do. I have the red. Yeah,
I got the red Indiana and the Green Green Bay.
I got my teams represented today on my body, I
mean heavily represented.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yes. Yes, is it a ray Nisky hat.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
It is a Ray Nitchki hat because it's bears week,
and you know, I feel like the last time a
Bears Packers game meant this much, Ray Nichki was on
the field. Maybe it only seems that way, but it's
been a while. Ray Nisky, you know, one to all
the time.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Great, Yes he is, And I still have a jersey.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
The only real jersey I'll ever wear these days is
a sixty something dude is my Ray Nichki jersey. Okay,
because he would still be older than me if he
were still on this planet. Check out the slate if
you're a college fan today, Let's start with basketball.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
On the hardwood today.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
If you love college hoops, you get number ten Iowa
State against number one per Due. You get number four
Duke against seven Michigan State. You get number six Louisville
against my Hoosiers, who are ranked for now, but the
Gophers probably knocked them out of the rankings. More on
that later, and you get number fourteen Illinois gains number
thirteen Tennessee. So some really fun early season interconference college

(02:05):
hoops games. And then of course you've got the four
college football conference championship games today. The big one this
afternoon is always Georgia Alabama SEC. The big twelve one
starts it out BYU Texas Tech, where Tech's fourth in
the country and will keep by if they win BYU
looking to crash the party. And then tonight you've got

(02:26):
Ohio State Indiana one versus two, the two unbeaten teams
going head to head for this week's biggest game of
the century. And of course when the playoffs start, that'll
all change. But yeah, it's gonna be nuts in Indie tonight.
I can't wait to see if Indiana can compete for
sixty minutes because I'm stunned that the line opened up

(02:51):
as a five and a half point spread, Ohio State
by five and a half bigger. I thought it would
be about a touchdown or so, but this morning the
line is three and a half, which means that the
money is coming in on Kurtz Signetti's boys, and I'm
just surprised by that. I figured most of God's football
world would think, well, look what they did last year
against Ohio State. Look at the Buckeyes' defense. They have

(03:13):
a Q quarterback, and actually the Heisman Trophy is probably
on the line in this game tonight too. Right, the
two quarterbacks are battling and likely the one who performs
better tonight also walks off with the Heisman Trophy.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
So here's the deal.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
The last time Indiana beat Ohio State, I was getting
ready for my fifth birthday. Okay, that's not exactly true. No,
that's actually not true. That was the last time Indiana
won the Big Ten. Nineteen sixty seven, The last time
Indiana won the Big Ten, the last time they beat
Ohio State. Those thirty years, they're own thirty nineteen eighty seven,

(03:47):
So that's more than thirty years. My math is terrible
this morning, but they're own thirty the last thirty times
they've played Ohio State. So it's uh. What happens has
not been a rivalry. It has not been kind to eye.
And I'm just really just hopeful that.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
It's great for It's great that you guys are in
this game, you know, and and the only way you
can win championship you already have to be in the
championship game. And Indiana has found a way to get there.
It's it's remarkable.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
And you know, I just got a text from Jake
and Egan, and this is the mindset I was kind
of expecting around the country, you know, at the risk
of sounding like a casual. There is zero chance that
Indiana covers today. Ohio State is miles better, and I
know he had a great season. They beat Oregon, but
there is zero chance that the talent on Ohio State
allows for Indiana to cover today. That's the mindset I

(04:38):
thought most of the country would have, misguided as it
might be. Indiana's defense has been better than Ohio State's
all season. They've been more explosive offensively than Ohio State.
But that I mean, they've got first round draft picks
up and down the roster. I get that that defense
that Matt Patricia is running, well, you get in the
red zone, you basically have no chance to score a touchdown.

(04:59):
There just remarkable defensively, and I've seen Indiana get up
to very slow starts. Offensively, They've averaged forty four points
a game. But I see the offense struggling against that
defense tonight, and they're gonna need big plays out of
their passing game. They've got two really good receivers, not
in the stratosphere of the Buckeyes Jeremiah Smith, but two

(05:20):
really good wide receivers. I'm just fascinated by what this
game will be like and again, I'm just hopeful that
in the fourth quarter it's a one score game and
it's in doubt and let the chips fall from there.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
I mean, you had that same thought process earlier in
the season when your team made a trip to Eugene
and then they came out on top. And you know,
I think the most important thing for Indiana, you know,
to to believe that they can stay in a game,
they have to get off to a good start. You know,
they have to build some early confidence, and they have

(05:54):
to be able to run the ball. You know, if
it's Matt Patricia's defense can make you one to you know, Dan,
it's going to be very hard to find success. But
if you can, if you can push them back just
enough and forced them to guess about what you're going
to do, you know, now you can you might be
to five some success and be in this game and

(06:16):
right at the end where one player can make a difference. Yeah,
that's kind of what I'm hoping for. It's it's likely
that regardless of what happens borrowing a complete meltdown like
a fifty to nothing game, both teams are going to
get buys in the playoff that there's not a huge
amount on the line in this game, except obviously the
number one seed, the number one ranking in the country

(06:37):
win in the Big Ten Championship. But it's very likely
both these teams are top four seeds. In fact, it's
possible if BYU upsets Texas Tech today, then Oregon could
jump into the top four as well. We could have
three Big Ten teams in the top four are getting
buys well. In the beauty of a game of this
nature is that, you know, what can you take away

(06:59):
from this game? You know, into the you know, into
the playoffs, you know, can you can you feel good
about yourself as you move forward and say, hey, you know,
we we we took the number one team in the
country right down to the wire. We played very well
against him. Maybe we didn't come up with the win,
but but we like we like how this game ended.

(07:20):
You know, there may be a few things here that
we can clean up. And if you can leave this
game a win would be fantastic. But if you can
leave this game with that mindset going into the playoffs,
all of a sudden, now you you have a sense
of belief that you can win the whole thing.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, no, you're exactly right.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
I just I can't wait to see how it all
plays out. Adam from the Lutech's in he thinks the
reason that the line is dropping is that the money
is coming on IU because Brian Hartlined, the Ohio State
offensive coordinator who is sort of the wide receiver guru
who turns all the wide receivers who come into Ohio
State into superstars, just took the South Florida head coaching job.

(07:58):
And he says, rumors is that the buckeye'es kids are
upset that he's leaving. That's from Adam and Plumber Minnesota. Maybe,
I mean, I can't imagine maybe that upset that it
would derail their season. Maybe there's a little shock this
week and they're not as focused.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
I mean, but coaches moving around, I mean, this is
a nature of the game. I don't think that should
upset the court. Now will he question will be will
he by him taking a new a job, will he
be allowed to coach?

Speaker 1 (08:26):
You know, unless they get into the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Yeah, if he's not around come playoff time, maybe you
know that can can call some concerns among the Y
seven record.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
But I don't think it's going to be a major problem. Ye,
you may be right, just something to keep an eye on.
It's that's the game tonight, seven o'clock. Gus Johnson on
the call with Joel Klatt the Fox game tonight.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Those two guys are very good together.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think Gus's best days are
behind him. I love Gus for so long. He's a
little it's a little over the top these days, but
he's still in entertaining and I enjoy the way he
calls a game that will be fun that The other
games are all on ABC or ESPN. Bama George is
interesting because Kirby Smart can't beat Alabama. He's one in

(09:07):
seven the last seven or eight years against Alabama. Bama
beat him at the beginning of the season, and Bama
needs this desperately to assure a spot in the playoffs.
Georgia perhaps jumps into that top four likely if bamoth
right now, I think so, something like that nine or ten.
But they had a couple of dad losses this year.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, but you know, this game should the SEC championship
game should not decide whether you make the playoffs or that.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
I mean, if you get to this game, it's a
bonus game. They should be a bonus game.

Speaker 2 (09:40):
Look at Texas A and M's the best team in
the conference and they're not even in this game.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
Right, So I'm in this game, and if I lose,
I could be on the outside looking in.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah, that would be a tough pill to swallow.

Speaker 3 (09:52):
If you're Alabama, I'm guessing, well, you know, we we
thought it was a Nick Saber thing, but it just
must be an Alabama thing.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
For Georgia, it could be. They could just be the
Colors as.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Far as having a tough time trying to find a
way to beat beat Alabama. And he's hoping that if
if both teams somehow some way find their way into
the playoffs, he doesn't have to see Alabama again exactly.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
The last game or the other game I think it's
tonight is the ACC game, which is Duke against Virginia,
and that's the game that has chaos written all over
it because Duke has five losses, okay, and if they
were to win that game, they won't make the playoffs
even though they win, because it's just lost eight and five.
And so then the Notre Dames, the miamis the byus.
The teams that are hopeful, are hoping Duke can spring

(10:37):
the upset against Virginia and an open enough cast. Even
James Madison has a chance to jump in wow with
a win last night. So four fun championship games. You
can hear a couple of them on our station. We'll
have the SEC championship game on the fan at three
o'clock this afternoon. If you want to listen to the
Big Ten Championship game, that'll be on Kfan Plus, which
is ninety six point seven on your FMI. They're also

(11:00):
both available on the iHeart app. So if college football
is your day, is your game, you'll want to definitely
find those two games there we will have. I think,
why is we have wild hockey on the fan Tonight's
not correct, mister Blake Moore. I believe so Vancouver wild.
Vancouver is wild. Try to get off the mat after man,
all they do is lose. What happened Thursday night to

(11:21):
your boys, They had a great game in Edmonton.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
I'm just McDavid and Leon drysarlough and one nothing game.
It's not bad at all. At some point in time,
you know you're going to have a slip up here there.
Now it's just time to dust off the boost once
again and get and get back on the horse.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
And they just couldn't break through zero for five on
the power play. And then once the damn broke it
was it was all over in Calgary.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
So the Canucks in town tonight at the Grand Casino
Arena seven o'clock.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
You hear the game right here on the fan.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Uh. The Wolves are back at action tonight. I probably
won't catch a lick of it because my focus will be.

Speaker 1 (11:55):
Attention on it's your favorite team, the Big Ten Championship.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
I will DVR the game and you know, worst case scenario,
if things are not going any inas way, at least
I have a fallback option to watch Wolves Clippers. The
Wolves had won four straight. Lots of chat about their
week started out with a bang, kind of ended with
a whimper, though they won all four games to get
to fourteen and eight. Let's chat some Timberwolves basketball the
week that was. When we roll on in the zone.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
Have you ever said and God did your un what's God?

(13:03):
Figure round the downy to work it out? We are
back eight nineteen.

Speaker 2 (13:11):
You're in the zone cleaning up my misinformation while on
the road tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. That's a nine
o'clock ice drop in British Columbia in the British Columbia
Lovely Vancouver, Grace City nine o'clock on the fan. Tonight,
you'll hear the Wolves on the dedicated Timberwolves channel on
the iHeart app seven o'clock tip off the Target Center tonight.

(13:35):
The LA Clippers, who made some news this week, are
in town tonight. We'll get to that news in a moment.
Interesting week for the Timberwolves. Double tea four and o
week is always nice. And we finally started out the
week with a couple wins over teams with winning records,
knocking off the Celtics and the Spurs, oh, both of

(13:56):
whom have been playing well. The Spurs had won five
of six. Did win we play when we did not play? Okay,
but they've been winning.

Speaker 3 (14:04):
You know, Jason Tata, Okay, we'll take it without Yeah,
we didn't face the superstars on either team. But as
I said, both those teams were playing winning basketball. And
you know, the Spurs game was interesting because the Wolves
were down for the first three quarters and needed a
thirty six nineteen fourth quarter, which was probably the best

(14:24):
certainly the most entertaining quarter I've seen of Timberwolves basketball
all season. And it was interesting because Rudy Gobert didn't
see the court for the last seventeen minutes or so
of that game. Finchy and the coaches decided to go small.
Didn't like the defense with Gobart in there. The Spurs
were getting whatever they wanted, so he goes small with

(14:46):
kind of a two to one to two zone with
Jade McDaniels sort of trying to make sure the Aaron
Fox didn't completely destroy this team as he had done
for three quarters. But it was beautiful basketball. I think
I think Randall had seven assists in the four quarter,
and they really made their run with Ant on the bench,
and came in midway through the fourth quarter and the
tide had really turned.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
It was just an interesting decision. It worked.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
Wonders took the Spurs out of their game and they
ended up winning a laugher over the Spurs by mixing
things up and keeping go Bear on the bench because
it just it looked like it didn't work.

Speaker 3 (15:19):
I mean, that wasn't gonna work. They got behind and
they had to speed the game up. So now you
have to make some adjustments and some personnel changes. And
if you have the personnel to make those adjustments, that's
a good thing. And that's why the Wolves will last
two years. You know, I have taken some big steps
at playoff time. Is because the teams they had to

(15:41):
beat to get to the first round, they had to
make those personnel adjustments so that they would have a
chance to win those matchups. And but that's what coaching
is all about, you know, recognizing, you know who's on
your team, what's on your team, and every night your
philosophy may not be the right way to go, and
coaches have to be able to make those adjustments, especially

(16:03):
if you have the personnel to do it exactly right.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
And I've been you know, a little harsh I think
on some of Finch's decision making of late.

Speaker 1 (16:10):
Some of the you know you and Minne others.

Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah, I'm not the only one, but there's been just
been some things that make us scratch your head. And
then this case, h he dialed the right buttons pushed
the right you know levers. Maybe it's the other way around,
but you don't what I'm talking about. He did the
right things. He had a good sense of what was
going to work, and the guys responded to just a
really it just a real entertaining brand of basketball. It

(16:33):
was really fun to work. Go have a big game
in New Orleans one night. Yeah, he did, he did.
He has the second game, I think it was Thursday's game.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
I think it was. He was twenty six and thirteen.

Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, I mean, you know, and you know each night
sometimes the matchup can present a different challenge, and you
have to be able to read the game and have
a feel for the game and say that, you know,
we like to play this way, but at this particular time,

(17:02):
this way a plan is not going to give us
a chance to win. And you have to be able,
you know, to sense that and say we got to
do something different. But then you can't be afraid to
do something different. And that's what head coaching is all about.
You know, when you get all the praise when when
things go well, and or the players got all the

(17:23):
praise when things go well, and you take all the
you know, the bad shots when when things don't go good.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
That's how that works.

Speaker 2 (17:31):
So they come off those two wins and they had
the New Orleans for a pair of games against the
Pelicans in New Orleans and you know, I like many
Wolves fans though, all right, so how do you take
care of business? This is the team that you've got
to get up for because you're not gonna have a
lot of interest. You're playing the team without half of
their starting rotation, No Williamson and go down the line.
You know, McCollum whatever was on the setting the Pelicans

(17:55):
easy because woh my goodness, they were so in The
Wolves were so fortunate to even get that game into overtime.
The fact that you're playing this is that galls me
the most. That you're playing a team that I think
was what like three and eighteen, that's got all their
preferred players out in street close and it's a night
where Anthony Edwards ends up playing forty seven minutes that

(18:16):
you need to expend that kind of energy across the
board to need to beat a New Orleans Pelicans team
and played the entire second half and overtime in that
Tuesday night game. Did not want to come out to
start the fourth quarter like he usually does, and the
Wolves needed every minute. I mean, they start out first quarter,
they look good, they're up six or seven, just like

(18:38):
you'd expect. And then in the second quarter, they give
up forty three points to a Pelicans team where I
hadn't heard of half the guys that were on the court.
They always have that pesky Alvarado kid, but they've got
some rookie that Jeremiah Fears looks like a real player,
Derek Queen, who they gave up next year's number one four,
which is going to be a disaster in the long term.

Speaker 1 (18:58):
He needs to be great. He was very good.

Speaker 2 (19:01):
He has looked very good. But to give up forty
three points that he left them one, that's bad. I mean,
it was a lot of transition stuff. It was just
like off made baskets. They're getting transition hoops, Like what
are we doing here? It's like they just they get
they even said it. They get bored, you know, and
you know you can't get bored.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
Well, they're not good enough to be bored. They haven't
won enough to be bored. Now.

Speaker 3 (19:22):
You know, teams that have won, you know, multiple championships
or back to back championships or in the position to
win three in a row, you might put that tag
on them. But the Wolves don't have that luxury to.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
Have that tag.

Speaker 3 (19:35):
No, no, and it's it's concerning I mean, no, you
know that that's what that's the wrong. I mean, I
don't know what they got that mindset from. They haven't achieved.
And not to say that we are bored with the
regular season. It's it's almost it's like, keep that to yourself.
If that's how you it does not play well to
anybody who hears it, like, because for them, every game matters,

(19:56):
especially against the teams that you you are supposed beat,
because they struggled against the better.

Speaker 1 (20:03):
Team so far this year.

Speaker 3 (20:05):
And if and if you bring that mindset in against
the teams that you should beat well at the end
of the season, you you may find yourself nothing in
in in in the playoff position at all if you're
not careful.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
Right, I mean, to their credit, they have beaten virtually
all the bad teams they played this year.

Speaker 1 (20:22):
They're fourteen and eight. Yeah, that's what you have to do, the.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
Type of the third best start in franchise history. But
doesn't feel like so where they like, wow, what a
great start. There's six in the conference. There you go,
I mean, so you have six in the conference. How
can you how can you tell me that you are
board with the regular season now? That's that that that
type of language right there is unacceptable because this team
has not done enough throughout the history of their franchise,

(20:48):
you know, to carry that label. Yeah, I mean, how
do you knock that out of them? How do you
knock that out and say, look, every team can beat
you no matter who's on that court.

Speaker 3 (20:55):
You sit down and talk to them like you and
not talking to each other. You know, you know, you
haven't earned you haven't earned you know that that type
of label to say that we are bored with the
regular season just because you go into back to back
Western Conference finals. No, you haven't done enough yet to
even believe that you can have that thought process.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
No doubt.

Speaker 2 (21:15):
And through the forty seven minutes scored forty four points
in that game. On Tuesday night mentioned Rudy in thirty
eight minutes was twenty six and thirteen nine for ten
from the field. So then comes Thursday night and it's
the similar story. It's the game's in doubt into the
fourth quarter. Now, to the Wolve's credit, they handled their business,
didn't need overtime, and they got it done. On Thursday,

(21:37):
Randal had twenty eight. The interesting weirdness of that game
was Ant was kind of well, he got in foul trouble,
but he was kind of detached. He took six shots
the entire game, He had eleven points. He drew his
fourth foul early in the third quarter, so he didn't
get his usual minutes. And it's just unusual to see
a game like that where Ant was a complete non factor.

(21:58):
And you know, to the Wolve's credit, they want they
beat a team that you absolutely have to beat and
and move on now to play another team tonight who
they'll also absolutely have to beat in the La Clippers,
who are a disaster this season.

Speaker 3 (22:10):
Well you know, you know, they're a nice when you
just don't play well, you know, but and that just happens.
I mean, you know, you can't play well every night,
you know, but as long as you got the right
mindset when you come to the arena, you know, that's
that's what every coach is hoping that the players bring
on a nightly basis. You know, you're going to have

(22:30):
some games where you're just not there. We all know that,
and you're hopefully you're hoping that my team is deep
enough where players can step in and make sure that
we don't lose a game. Of this nature, you know,
but you know, coming in with them with with that,
with that mindset that we were bored, that's that's that's not.

Speaker 1 (22:47):
A good mindset.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
I think it was NASA's quote that I saw where
you said that I want to talk a minute about
my concern for this team, and that is the kind
of lack of pop they're getting off the bench right
now that that you know, the five starters have been terrific.
I think Dante has exceeded my expectations. McDaniels has exceeded
my expectations. Aunt Is aunt Those starting five have been

(23:09):
very good. I think it's been one of the most
effective five man units as far as net rating when
they're on the court together and nas is really picked
up the last couple of weeks and it looks like
nas again off the bench, but after that, you know,
it's yes. Jalen Clark has been kind of a revelation
and he needs to me to get more minutes, more

(23:31):
minutes than Conley, more minutes than Shannon, more minutes than Dillingham.
The Wolves are eleven to zero when he plays fifteen
minutes or more. So it seems like an easy, easy
thing to describe to him every night, like, all right,
Clark needs to be on the court at least fifteen minutes.

Speaker 1 (23:44):
But the fact that they've gotten very little from the
other guys.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
Shannon has shown some glimpses of late, but does not
has not provided that that jump that I think a
lot of us thought he would get with again it
was injured early. I think it's taken him a while
and he's shown us some flashes, but they've not been great.
When he's been on the court. Conley and Dillingham are
not giving them much, and I just I worry about
a rotation that right now, Finch's playing ten guys like

(24:09):
he's He even said it after the New Orleans gave
He even sounded like, yeah, I've got to give these
guys minutes.

Speaker 1 (24:14):
You know, I can't burn my starters out. Yeah, I
can't burn mine. But I'm not sure he can afford
to go ten deep right now either.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
And that might be he's trying to find something, Yeah,
and maybe he's looking to see But I'm not surprised
that the bench is having a lack of production because
you know, you know, Shannon is a guy, He's an
energy guy, and he's come in over the last few
years and certain and certain moments and showed great spark offensively.
But now his role has expanded. You know, what Nikhil

(24:45):
Alexander Walker was asked to do, you know, was play
a major role on this team. And all of a sudden, now,
when you've been just a one dimensional guy who comes in,
you know, every now and then and provides, you know,
a to the team in certain situations, when we ask
you now to expand beyond that one dimensional thing that

(25:06):
we have counted on for so many years, can you
step up to the plate and add those things.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
Are you a good defensive player? You know? Can I
use you in these situations?

Speaker 3 (25:15):
Can you make the right play at the right time
with the past more so than trying to just to
provide a spark offensively. So I think it's going to
take him some time or the coaching staff to figure
out exactly who he is as a player and what
he can bring to this team.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
Yeah, I'm not saying it's not going to happen.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
I still have really high hopes for Shannon, and I
think we've seen as I said, he had the ankle
injury earlier, the foot whatever it was, and we've seen
sparks since he's come back, and I still think there's
a real high ceiling for him. But right now Nas
and Clark are just the two guys you count on,
and I think for a second, you know, we kind
of forget about what a nice, pleasant surprise Jalen Clark
has become, right. I mean, he was an end of

(25:54):
the draft pick, and he missed his whole first year,
you know, because he was injured at the end of
his career UCLA. He has become He's not gnaw. I
don't think he ever maybe will be, but he provides
something that nobody else can, and that's that real defensive
intensity when he comes in.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
And he's become such a confident shooter.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
I mean against New Orleans, first two threes he took,
he knocks down like without hesitation, gets the ball and
catch and shoot. I think he missed his next four,
but he's a willing three point shooter. And he said,
I think he's averaging thirty six thirty seven percent from three,
not bad at all. So he's not just a defensive stopper.
He's become, you know, gnaw light. I think there's still

(26:33):
a runway for him to be better and I think
the Wolves need to experiment more with minutes for him because.

Speaker 3 (26:39):
They just play well when he's out there well because
Nikil Alexander Walker brought a whole lot to this team
and everyone nice when it come playoff time. You know,
he got twenty plus points in certain situations, he might
go he had games where he might go eight for nine,
you know what, nine forty eleven and play good strong
defense against one of the players and pick up rebounds

(27:01):
and get assists and some nice play the point guard position.

Speaker 1 (27:04):
And just because he had to step up and do.

Speaker 3 (27:07):
That, do they have another player on their team come
playoff time is able to field that role. And you
know Clark is going to be asked if he's going
to be in that seven to eight man rotation come
playoff time. You know, his role is going to expand
he's he's gonna he's going to have to be, you know,

(27:30):
counting on you know, more than just playing coming in
and playing defense and spot minutes here or there. And
the question becomes, is he ready to step into that
role because that role is going to become a whole
lot much bigger come playoffs.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
No question about it.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
I think what maybe what concerns me the most is
you're looking at the last few games and guys like
Shannon Dillingham, who are all hoping can take a step up,
they're getting seven or eight minutes a game.

Speaker 1 (27:53):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
And when you're playing New Orleans back to back, you know,
those are the kind of games you maybe think, all right,
we can we can give these guys some runway, give
him fourteen seventeen minutes, because when you're playing seven as
a guy hoping to crack a rotation of a playoff
caliber team, you got to prove it right. And if
you're only getting seven or eight minutes, though, can you
get into any kind of a rhythm that I mean,

(28:14):
you're getting two, three or four minute ships. Is that
enough for you to feel comfortable to get.

Speaker 3 (28:19):
Out there your team is behind by ten points, no,
which you're on the floor. You know you can't you know,
you can't be a minus. You have to be a positive. Yeah,
And we're still going back to that that famous question
that you and I you know, asked and talked about
at the start of this year. When were the Wolves

(28:39):
address that point guard situation? I mean, the writing is
on the wall, you said, Mike Conye Jr.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
Is age. You know, you can't ask him, you know,
to be to Mike Conye junior. He was five years ago.

Speaker 3 (28:55):
Rob Demingham, you know, so far, has not been able
to give you steady point guy played because I don't
think he is that type of a point guard. So,
you know, going into a playoff type situation with the
Western Conference being as tough as it is, and we
all know how important you know, that position means to
any team, the Wolves still have not been able to

(29:16):
address that situation.

Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, and that's gonna be the open question whether Tim
Connolly and his staff decide to make a move during
this season. There is a point god who's available. Chris
Paul has been asked to no longer play for the Clippers.
He won't be in town tonight. He's older than Conley,
but he's available. Let's chat about the future of CP three.
Let's chat about what Giannis might be doing in the
next month and change where he might be playing. Let's

(29:40):
talk about Lebron's double digit scoring streak ending some NBA Nuggets.
Next segment, when we return in the zone, we are

(30:17):
back eight forty one on a Saturday morning. You're in
the zone Tucker Sinnecon Blake Moore hanging out till ten
Beyond the Pond follows us. If you're not getting enough
hockey talk, they will take care of business from ten
to noon today again. Wild Hockey tonight at nine on
the fan Wild at Vancouver Wolves Clippers. Available on the

(30:37):
iHeart Radio app Timberwolves channel to catch all the action
tonight from Target Center. As I mentioned, double t the
Clippers in town. Just a disaster season for an organization
that expected to be up there among the halves of
the Western Conference.

Speaker 3 (30:54):
And it is the team somehow, so we always find
a way to make a run. I know you're not
going to quit the Clippers part of this at a
second half of the season. There's so much talent, but somehow,
some way, kawh Lenis is healthy and he plays the
last Twinning game and he looked like the best player
in the league.

Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Well, they're digging a hole to climb out of at
this point. And as we mentioned, the Thunder have their
draft picks. So it's just typical the way things go
for the Thunder these days that this is the year
the Clippers bottom out because the Thunder owned their draft pick.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
So I have the thunder still only lost one game.
They are twenty two and one. They have won fourteen straight.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
They knocked I didn't write it down. Are the eighty
games this year?

Speaker 2 (31:34):
I don't know that seventy five's out of the question
at this point, because, as we've said, they haven't even
had a full compliment of players for the majority of
the season. But meanwhile, the Clippers did make news by
dismissing Chris Paul from the team. Reported that his style
was clashing with Tyron Leu, that he was demanding to
hold players accountable. He was really being tough on what

(31:57):
he's watching and not being silent about it, as you'd
expect from the point god a forty year old that
is going to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame
whenever he has done. He's still on the team, he's
still on the roster, but they basically sent him home
and said you're not going to play for us any longer,
which begs the question for a team that's dying for
any kind of point guard leadership does first of all,

(32:20):
I don't think you're gonna have to give up anything
for Chris Paul my hunches. Eventually, this will be a divorce,
it'll be a buyout and he'll be available. You're not
gonna have to trade for Chris Paul. I don't believe
he may have to wait a little bit. But does
a forty year old Chris Paul now again, let me
first couch this with he at this age, I don't

(32:41):
know that he's interested in moving too far from LA
where his family is. He's been very vocal about that's
why he wanted to be in LA was his family's there.
He wanted to be close to home. So we'll just
assume that for this conversation that if a Houston or
a Minnesota comes calling, which I think are two teams
that are playoff contenders that desperately could use some point
card help, would Chris Paul come, We're just going to

(33:02):
take that side of it off for a second. From
my basketball standpoint, would Chris Paul add anything to this
roster at this point in his career? Because for me,
if there's five minutes left in a game, in a
close game, and I've got Chris Paul and my roster
to be out there settling things down and running the show,
and doesn't need to play more than twelve minutes, a night,

(33:23):
But in a close game, I want him out there
more than Mike Conley. Right now, in the final five minutes,
I think he has more to offer. I'm all aboard.
I would take a shot.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Now.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
There might be other point guards. I'm going to give
you a list of guys that we might look at
as the season goes on, but just Chris Paul for nothing?

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Do you want them? How do you feel do you
have anutilistic guys on your list?

Speaker 3 (33:43):
Well?

Speaker 2 (33:43):
I do, but those are all guys you have to
trade for. I will get to those in a second,
but let's just say I gave you the whole break.
As you walk the halls of iHeartRadio to think about this.
Do you think there's enough left in the tank? Does
it move the needle at all on this roster to
add Chris Paul.

Speaker 1 (33:59):
To the team. Not for me.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
You're not excited because I've seen over the last four
or five years how he has been in that leadership
position and his team has not been able to get
over the hump and the things that you're asking him

(34:22):
to do at the age of forty, I just don't
think he can do that for a large portion of
the game.

Speaker 1 (34:27):
But again, if you're only looking for, you know, twelve minutes.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
At playoff time, you can't get to twelve minutes without
a quality point guard. That guy is going to have
to play thirty five to forty minutes and well he's
not that.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
He's not that. So to me, that's the only reason
why I will say, no, you want a bigger swing,
you want a guy that can give you a.

Speaker 3 (34:48):
Minute, because I know when Chris Paul was in Phoenix
and they were, you know, in that window of playing
for a championship. You know, Chris Paul went to Phoenix
to play a large portion of the game.

Speaker 1 (35:03):
He was going to be the leader.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
He was going to be the guy that was going
to start and finish the game thirty five to forty
minutes a night come playoff time. I just don't see
him being that player physically, you know, at the age
of forty. You know, the Wolves need a much much bigger.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
Piece than that.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
Okay, yeah, I mean I understand that mentality that if
you're going to get a point guard, let's get a
guy that can be a part of this team through
Ant's prime, you know, for the next four or five.

Speaker 3 (35:30):
If you if you were saying that I can use
him as a backup, you know, to a quality point guard.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
Oh yeah, I could.

Speaker 3 (35:37):
I could do that because now those twelve to fifteen
minutes you were talking about, you know, we are good
enough for him to get to that point where he
can help us.

Speaker 2 (35:47):
Okay, I understand what you're where you're coming from. I
wouldn't be stunned if the Wolves made a play, if
it's a freebie, take a swing. Not to say that's
going to end their hopes of finding another point guard.

Speaker 3 (35:58):
But yeah, I mean, like I said, if you using
Chris Paul as a as an off the Bess guy
twelve to eighteen minutes a game and playoff a playoff
type situation where he might every now and then be
able to go beyond.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
That, yeah I could.

Speaker 3 (36:13):
Yeah, but as long as somebody is there in front
of him, you know that can carry the heavyweight.

Speaker 1 (36:20):
Gotcha? All right? Well let me so.

Speaker 2 (36:24):
Quickly, because we could do a point guard conversation and
do a two hour show on it. The two huge
swings would be John and Trey Young. Those are the
two that would cost you a whole lot to move
those kind of players. So we'll put those two aside
because for those two aside, that's a big swing. I
know Trey Young is your dream, he's a point guard. Yeah,

(36:45):
teaming up Trey and Ant in your back court does
sound kind of fun. And the Hawks prove this year
while he's been out that they could win games. They
have so much young talent. Although that a lot of
that young talent might be offered to Milwaukee for a
Janis deal.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
I want to chat about that.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
But let me throw eight or nine names at you, Okay,
varying degrees of cost to acquire, but I have a
feeling that all these guys are guys you could go
get if you want them, Okay, Jade and Ivy, Kobe White,
Drew Holliday, Colin Sexton, Kyrie Irving, Darius Garland, Davion Mitchell,

(37:20):
TJ O'Connell, O'Connell. So that's a wide range there of
like backup guards like O'Connell, who's you know, when he's
out there for the Pacers, he's shown how good he
can be, but they're going nowhere. He's on the other
side of thirty, I think, so he's cheap. Kyrie Irving
obviously has missed the season, and Dallas the season has
gone on the tank. Maybe he could pry him away,

(37:40):
but that might cost you a lot because the salary
match is going to be difficult.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
And I can't trust I can't trust it. You know,
well this body hold up physically, now, all right, that
would scare me. Any of those names you said, Garland,
I did have Darius Garland on there. He might be
the one of that might I would take a look
at her. I mean, if you're taking Trey Young and
John off the table, I'm taking those two off the table.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
And for me, Garland's in my next Garland, Colin Sexton,
and Kolbe White all really interests me. I love all
those three guys I think on a good team could really.

Speaker 3 (38:15):
I think Garland would is the one that would move
the needle for me if I'm taking the other two
off the table.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
And Cleveland's had kind of a disappointing season and in
comparison to what they did last year, which would have
been tough to match anyway. And he hasn't been completely
healthy either. Jade and Ivey's a guy that you know
I've loved. He hasn't played in the year. He doesn't
fit that bill for me. No, I mean that's a
real roll of the dice because he has just not
been able to stay healthy.

Speaker 3 (38:42):
I think he's one of those guys when he's at Purdue, right, Yes,
I think he was more of a combo guy who
just happened to play the point guard position.

Speaker 1 (38:49):
But he's not a real true point guy. I agree
with that.

Speaker 2 (38:53):
What about Drew Holliday, who's languishing in Portland and obviously
back end, he's got to be what thirty fourth five
at this point, but championship medal, you know, winning rings
in Milwaukee and Boston, not to mention he's one of
my all time favorite players.

Speaker 3 (39:07):
Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't you know, for one year? I mean,
how many more years does he have on his contract?

Speaker 1 (39:15):
You see?

Speaker 2 (39:15):
You know the fact that you think I have that
at the top of my head scares you know, you
did basketball Google.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
I don't know. I think he has signed for a
couple more years, though, but he's getting up there.

Speaker 3 (39:26):
If it's one year, I could, yeah, but if he
has multiple years of a big number, that would scare me.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
Yeah, I hear you. Well, keep all those names in check.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
I have to think the Wolves are having conversations internally
about who might fit this roster and what it might
cost a couple other quick NBA nuggets for you. Okay,
Lebron James streak of scoring in double digits ended a
couple of nights ago.

Speaker 1 (39:51):
It goes over eighteen years. Now, this is just a
regular season.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
He did have a couple of playoff games in the
past where he didn't get to ten points. But twelve
hundred and ninety seven consecutive games of scoring in double
figures and I think double Michael's record that he had
before that, is it safe to say that is a
record that will not be broken. Twelve hundred, thirteen hundred games.
That's you know, fifteen years of basketball basically, if scoring

(40:17):
ten points or more every single night. Obviously, it's kind
of like the Cal Ripkins streak, where you know, did
you get hit by pitch once you're gonna miss a game.
He never got hit by a pitch that cost him
a game. You think, Lebron, you know, twist your ankle
early once and you're out and now you're there goes
your streak. That never happened to him.

Speaker 3 (40:36):
I think in today's game it could be broken. Really Yeah, wow,
I just some guys who get ten points in they sleep,
I know, but thirteen hundred games double tee think about that.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, I mean, if you play. I mean, but guys
are playing much longer today.

Speaker 3 (40:52):
It's because they you know, they have so many you know,
off the court health things that they can do eased
them healthy longer, and they played into their forties. So yeah,
I could see that streak being broken at some point
in time. I don't think it's going to you know,
multiple guys are going to do it, but I think
that might be a guy who can do that. But

(41:12):
the cal Ripken thing, now, I don't see that being broken.
Nored percent, that's one. I don't see that being broken.
It's it's I don't remember know what the final number
was in that game. In the fifty six game Hidden
Street by Jordan Maji, that's another one that stood the
test of time. Right, guys have gotten into the forties,
I think, But no one was the last one right

(41:33):
at forty four.

Speaker 1 (41:34):
Yeah he was.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
I know Maltor had one that might have been in
the forties as well. Maybe there's been a couple others since.
But yeah, the guys just don't play enough. The other
one baseball that I always think about is Cy Young's
total wins. Yeah, five hundred and eleven wins as a
starting pitcher. I mean joking.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
I mean, that's no one more than that who didn't
have all the day written down. That's probably true. That
might have been other guys back then that that got
to that. Now, So Yannas strains his calf the other night.
He's out for a month, and there had been reports
before that. That's a day or two before that that
there have been conversations started about Gianni's camp, saying it

(42:12):
might be time to start searching beyond Milwaukee for home
his future, which I all right. I was very vocal
that I thought the Bucks should move on us last offseason.
Once Damian Lillard blew out his achilles, it was over.
There's no way that Bucks were going to be in
championship contention. It was time to move honest. But they
just the organization just cannot part with the guy who.

Speaker 1 (42:33):
Is the city. So it's hard. They get off to
a good start this season.

Speaker 2 (42:37):
Then we remember talking to you, they're eight and five,
and the players they brought in around Giannis were complimenting
him well, and then Yannis missed a couple of weeks.
They lost four or five games and now suddenly they
don't look so good and now suddenly yeah, well, I
mean I'm just thinking like this, right, why now then
things not look good? Because the team can't win when

(42:57):
you're not on the court. So here we sit, and
this will be the talker now in the NBA for weeks,
if not months, depending on how long the saga goes on.
It's a trade deadline, right yeah, until the trade deadline,
and the way the league works is a whole bunch
of players will become trade eligible here in about a week.
I think December fifteenth is a date for guys that
were free agents or move teams that are now eligible

(43:18):
to be moved. And then there's another one in January
which another bucket of players become available. And so you know,
there are the usual names you hear, though, here's my
question for you. There are reports that Giannis asked the
Bucks to explore a trade to New York. This is
in the summer, okay, And my thinking is, well, a

(43:41):
of the Knicks have absolutely nothing Milwaukee would want. You know,
you know you're talking about you'd have to move Karl
Anthony Towns in the deal. Well, the Bucks, you're looking
to If you're moving Giannis, you're not looking to contend.
You're look at the bottom out and get draft picks
and maybe a young player you can grow with. I
think if they were to make a deal with New
York and get Cat, they would probably move Cat to
another team to a choir picks. The Knicks don't have

(44:02):
the assets. To me that would look at all that.
They have no picks. They gave them all up in
the McKell bridges deal. So should they If if Janna
says I want to play in New York, should they
listen to that or should they say we appreciate that.
Yanis And you know you're gonna have a statue if
you don't already, I think he already does.

Speaker 3 (44:19):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (44:19):
You will be at all time the all time greatest Buck.
But we're gonna do it's best for an organization. We'll
try to find a place where you can play meaningful
basketball and contend. But I'm not listening to where you
want to play. I'm going to the place you're gonna
send you to the place where I'm going to get
the biggest haul. Isn't that the way the Bucks have
to look at it? Or do you just say you've
been our organization for the last ten years. We're going

(44:40):
to do you a solid, maybe take a little less
and send you where you want to go. I can't
listen to it. It depends on the thought process in
Milwaukee about are we looking to start over or or
do we want to stay in this window of contention.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
So you have there is no contention with that yiannesty nothing.

Speaker 3 (45:02):
If they trade it, if they traded for the Knicks,
and who's coming back from the Knicks. The Knicks going
to give you multiple players who can play the playoff
level right now.

Speaker 2 (45:12):
Well, the idea of bringing in Giannis is they want
to contend for a title. They're not going to break
up their core. You're gonna get But then you can't
bring it honest to New York. I don't I don't
know what you could give Milwaukee.

Speaker 3 (45:20):
You're gonna keep brunsing, right, you're gonna keep bridges, and
you don't keep crawling as in town.

Speaker 2 (45:24):
You're well, I don't know. I think they would have
to move town. I don't think they would be I
think they'd be okay with moving town.

Speaker 3 (45:29):
Okay, but but if you get towns, then you in Milwaukee,
you're saying that that we still think that we can
make the playoffs, or.

Speaker 2 (45:36):
You're thinking somebody else will take Towns off our hands
and give us three number one picks.

Speaker 1 (45:41):
Now, and I don't, I don't see that happening.

Speaker 3 (45:43):
So if if you're looking, it all depends on you know,
what they're thinking is moving Yannis. Are we looking to
rebuild and try to take the Oklahoma City route or
to be blue. We believe by moving Yannis we can
get some quality players in return, earn and keep us
in this playoff pitcher because the Eastern Conference some of

(46:04):
the top teams. We said, Cleveland's not playing as well
as they did a year ago. Yes, Boston is injured,
with you know, losing Jason Tatum, they're not the same
team they were over.

Speaker 1 (46:15):
The last few years. And so in Indiana's dead and
is out.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
And so if you're the Milwaukee Bucks, if you get
two key players back in the Yannis trade, all of
a sudden, now you say, hey, we're still a playoff
type team, and we can believe that with the Eastern
Conference being the way that it is, we might be
able to make a run.

Speaker 1 (46:36):
And then we can add a piece of here there
going forward, next year.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I just there's too
many good teams. You look at Detroit, you look at
the Magic. H there are a lot of teams in
the East that are loaded, but those teams. But you know,
but the Magic is a young team. They don't have
a lot of playoff experience in terms of winning, they don't.
I mean, so come playoff time, all of a sudden,
now you're not playing the bottom you just in the

(47:00):
Eastern Conference.

Speaker 1 (47:01):
Here's here's my fear to me.

Speaker 2 (47:05):
Teams like Houston and San Antonio are the teams that
would make the biggest swing because they know what they're
up against with OKC and they know that. You know,
if san Antonio could add Giannis to pair with Wemby,
and they're still gonna have to Aaron Fox.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
But they're gonna have to give up so much of
the young talent.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
Well some you know, yeah, you probably have to give
up Harper or Castle. You know, they're two Rookie of
the Year guards. I think one of those two guys
in vassal And and a whole lot of picks. I mean,
I think Milwaukee would listen to a package like that
that brings them a couple of young guys that have
all star potential.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
But the Senate. But now you got to ask the question,
does san Antonio want to do that?

Speaker 2 (47:42):
I agreed. I don't know that they want to break up.
They're playing very well with what they have and maybe not.

Speaker 3 (47:46):
But I think Houston they have playoff team right now. Yeah,
they're the four or five without Wenby. So if you
go to Houston, what are you going to give up? Oh,
Houston has a lot of young talent. Well, they're not
giving up a mental I don't think if you don't.

Speaker 1 (48:00):
Have to be in the deal.

Speaker 3 (48:02):
If you're the Milwaukee Bucks, Okay, Kevin Durant, you give
him seon the Bucks on the star player. The Bucks
are going to ask for the world as they should,
right you know, they don't want Kevin Durant because at
this stage, you know he's and he's too old to
carry a team by himself.

Speaker 1 (48:20):
And I.

Speaker 3 (48:23):
Mike concerned about Giannis has always been this, he's a
he's a super talent, but if you trade him to
a team like listen, the Houston Rockets with Kevin Durant,
is Joannis and Kevin rent a good fit because Jannis
likes to have the ball in his hands. He wants

(48:45):
to be the playmaker at the end of the game.
He wants to do things that he believes that he
needs to do to win the game. And is that
a good fit? And I think for Giannis, if he
wants to be traded and if he has the you know,
the luxury of picking his own team that he wants
to go to, he needs to sit down with his

(49:06):
with his representation and say, this is the best fit
for me. Now, can they win a championship with me?
Or can they stay in that window or trying to
win a championship with me? Those are the questions now.
I think that he has to sit down with his
people and begin to answer.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
I'm sure they're having those conversations. I just think the
Bucks don't have to listen to that. They say, I
know that's where you want to go. I said, if
he has the luxury to do that, yeah, okay, I
hope he does not. That's but because the Bucks has
got to think about the future, just because you know
that I want to move Giannis, but also I got
to think about what kind of team are we going
to have five to ten years from now? If we

(49:42):
make this move, we know at some point in time
Giannice is going to get on the other side of greatness,
and then are we in a situation now where we
can stay, you know, in contention of making deep playoff
runs once Jihannie gets on the other side of greatness.
And what the Bucks have done over the last four
or five years is go all in. They have zero

(50:02):
draft picks for the next six years, so they as
they navigate this, they need to get a whole lot
of picks back. And even like a deal with Atlanta,
which has young talent that could certainly make a deal.
They own a couple of Bucks picks in the next
few years, and the Bucks have a chance to get
those picks back as well as other draft capital Atlanta has.
That's another team to me, Atlanta, san Antonio, Houston as

(50:25):
a guy who grew up a Bucks fan, are the
three teams that could give Milwaukee the kind of trade
package that could look give them a chance to be
relevant five years.

Speaker 3 (50:33):
Because you how old is John is now thirty one
thirty one and Kevin Durant is what close closing.

Speaker 1 (50:40):
Forty Yeah, he's just got to be thirty seven thirty eight.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
I think yeah, if you if if you're the Milwaukee Bucks,
yeah you want you know, you want that young talent
out of out of Houston.

Speaker 2 (50:50):
Yeah, I mean if that if that's on the tape, right,
and you'd rather move him to the West than keep
him in Atlanta or place.

Speaker 1 (50:55):
In the east.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
If you give him the young talent and it's say,
you know, just just for the sake of this conversation,
Sengoon and what's the other kid named, Thomas Thompson, Amen Thompson. Yeah, yeah,
the Bucks are going to ask both of ask both
of them, just for the sec of this conversation.

Speaker 1 (51:12):
I'm in, I'm in.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
Let's do it. Give me a couple of packs on you.
If you're the Milwaukee Bucks, you say yes. But if
you're the Houston Rockets, you say no, Yeah, that's too much.
But they've got other young talent, Reached Shepherd, the lottery
pick of year. Those two guys are the core. Yeah,
because Kevin Durant is going to get on the other
side as well. And when he is, no, when he's
no longer able to be I don't think he's the

(51:34):
number one option in UH in Houston at this stage, right.
So if you give up the young talent with you
know that you believe is going to be your one
two punch going forth for the next five to eight years.
And you give the way knowing that Giannis and Kevin
Durant in two years from now are not going to
be the same players.

Speaker 1 (51:51):
That's that would be a bad move for the Houston Rockets. Agreed.

Speaker 2 (51:55):
I think Ianas will be the same guy in a
couple of years, but you never know. He's breaking down
a little bit. All right, we got a pause. We're
late for a break. I've got you for one more
segment before you have to go deal with hockey stuff
as a hockey dad. I know you're excited at Sky
Yu Ma your Gophers, I can't no. Now, well we
can talk a little about that too, but your your
Gophers put on quite a performance against my Hoosiers at

(52:16):
the Barn. Opened up a lot of eyes. I want
to get your thoughts on that. And JJ's back. The
Vikings are back in town. It's Jayden Daniels against JJ McCarthy.
Your thoughts on the week fourteen matchup at us Bank Stadium.
Lots of NFL conversation dominating our number two in the zone.

Speaker 1 (53:00):
Wed fuck I do. I'd be looking to don't no
longer to catch my eye. And then we are back
nine to nine on a Saturday morning. You're in the zone.

Speaker 2 (53:20):
Trent Tucker and Dave Sen again. I just have double
T for one more segment. He's got to get this
young son off to hockey. Uh So double T. In
our final segment, I want to talk about a couple
of your favorite teams, beginning with the Golden Gophers, who
had their opening Big Ten game against the twenty second
ranked and unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers the other night at a
very raucous it looked like barn.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
Was it barn full? I don't know if it was.

Speaker 2 (53:44):
If it sure sounded sounded good. I mean the students
were out and uh and they were treated to a
nice win. Really, I think somewhat unexpected win. Indiana was
a ten point favorite, nine or ten point favorite going in.
It was Indiana's first true road game of the year.
They had gone to the United Center and blown out
Marquette I think by twenty three points. So I was

(54:05):
really interested to see how Indiana handled a road environment,
and they didn't handle it well. And for me on
my side of it just concerning because while I mean
the Gophers and Hoosiers have very parallel situations, new coaches
entire new rosters. Indiana has dotted its roster with a
bunch of veterans. I mean they brought in transfers, Sun
Belt Player of the Year, Southern Conference Player the Year,

(54:26):
all these guys that have played three, four or five years,
you know, Tuckers, Devreez, the coach's kids is sixth year.
You went a former Missouri Valley Conference. So they all
these guys that are battle tested. So I thought, first
road test of the year that that shouldn't bother this team.
But many they could not shoot. They've been a very
good three point shooting team. Their offense has been a

(54:46):
joy to watch. Minnesota really disrupted them defensively and basically decided,
all right, you got two really good scoring threats, and
Devrees and Lamar Wilkerson, we are going to take the
ball out of those two guys' hands. Like anybody there,
you go knocked down threes and no outside of you know,
Taydan Connorway was a nice young point guard from Troy
who had a nice game. They had nobody able to

(55:09):
step up, and I was really impressed with the tenaciousness,
tenacity that the Gophers played with, because you know, from
a talent standpoint standpoint, I don't think it matches up.

Speaker 1 (55:21):
Indiana. I think has more talent on that roster. Play hard.
Gophers show that that does not matter when when you
have a game plan and you play hard. Crocker Johnson,
that kid, I mean, he fights underneath. Indiana is a
bit challenged size wise and strength wise, and I think
the Gophers took advantage of it that Grayson Kidd was
he when he raced down the floor and blocked a

(55:44):
slam dunk by Devrees and then came down the other end.
I mean, he just showed like they wanted more than
Indiana does. And I think that's a tribute to Nico's
coaching staff to have those guys ready for a game,
because we hadn't seen a whole lot from the Gophers
leading into that game to make you think they were
ready to play a you know, marginally ranked Big ten team.
I mean you have to play hard.

Speaker 3 (56:04):
I mean you have to get to loose balls, you
have to make hustle plays, and I think in all sports,
you know, hockey, basketball, football, you know, you know you
have to. You have to win those fifty to fifty battles.
And when when you play hard, you may not have
as much talent as an other team, you know, but
if somehow someone you can get those extra possessions and

(56:27):
you play with a lot of energy and a lot
of passion, you know, you can you can find yourself
on you know, on the right side at the end
of the night. And you know, congrats to the golfers
for getting off to a good start. Yeah, fantastic start.

Speaker 2 (56:39):
And you know, they haven't played a real robust schedule yet,
so they hadn't really been tested. Yeah, Missouri Cal. But
you know, so many of these Big ten teams play
you know, lots of really challenging non conference games that
haven't had a whole lot of that. So I didn't
know if they were ready to step up. Yeah, yeah,
I mean this one got them ready because their next
big game and their next game is that uh is

(57:02):
that Maci Arena When I think it's Wednesday night against
the number one team in the country, number one team
in the land, Uh, the pretty boiler Makers and their
magnificent point guard Braden Smith.

Speaker 3 (57:11):
That's a tough place to play. Yeah, I mean you know,
for me as a college basketball player, I've played in
some very difficult environments, but Macki Arena was not one
of my favorite places to play. I for some reason,
it was just like you struggled, I struggled. I struggled
against preduing mac Arena.

Speaker 1 (57:30):
You know.

Speaker 3 (57:30):
You know, thank goodness, we had Darryl Mitchell in nineteen
eighty two who played well in Macki Arena and made
some big free throws. He went to the free throw
line with no seconds on the clock in a one
on one situation for the win.

Speaker 1 (57:45):
I mean, my heart would be beating outside my chesse,
you know.

Speaker 3 (57:48):
And that and at that particular time, you know, with
with the amount of talent that we had on I team,
he was the only guy in that moment I believe
that could be in that situation because he was playing
really good basketball, you know, you know, doing that stretch
of the season, and you know, he was our best

(58:10):
and most consistent player, you know, as we closed out
the Big Tens regular season, you know, he just made
some big plays, big free throws, and that's what you know,
that's what you need when you're talking about a team
coming together and trying to win the championship.

Speaker 1 (58:26):
No doubt.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
Yeah, it's It's always been a house of horrors for
teams to go in and play. It's one of the
great home court advantages mac Arena. The seats that don't
quite face center, like you're always kind of at an angle.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
It's a little different in there.

Speaker 3 (58:40):
And for me, I felt like, and probably because I
couldn't play well in mac Arena, was just in my
head that I thought that for some reason, the backboard
was crooked, you know, if I shot the ball from
just because of the floor, it just felt like that
that side of the back board was in front and
I was shooting on an angle. It probably was just
my imagine because just because I was I couldn't play

(59:04):
well in that building. But I said, like I said,
you know, thank goodness, I had some good teammates that
was able to help me get up at home.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
Every now and then. You got to lean on your teammates.
That's just not your place, you know.

Speaker 3 (59:14):
My old basketball camp partner used to always tell me
basketball is a group activity.

Speaker 1 (59:20):
I've heard that it's definitely true.

Speaker 2 (59:23):
So obviously a very difficult test to see if the
Gophers could follow up, but I'm sure they were boosted
with a nice shot of confidence knocking off the unbeaten
Hoosiers at home. Now they head to the road for
their toughest test before they'll play some Patsy's here around
the holidays.

Speaker 1 (59:37):
And it was nice.

Speaker 3 (59:38):
You know, it's nice to build some really confidence and
you know, winning a big ten game and you know,
getn't that first win is is hard to do. But
you know, if you can get that first win in
the first game of the season, all of a sudden,
now you know that anxiety and that pressure is.

Speaker 1 (59:56):
Off of you.

Speaker 3 (59:57):
You know that, Hey, you know, we've shown that we
can play against big tan competition. And now as we
go throughout this season and we continue to build, you know,
we're just working on the things that we need to
get better at on a daily basis.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
Yeah, for sure, I'm curious to see how Indiana responds.
As I mentioned, they've got to play six Frank Louisville
this afternoon. The Louisville's coming off their first loss of
the year at Arkansas by nine points on Wednesday night
as well, So two teams coming off their first losses,
and I'm going to see how Indiana responds and will
be their toughest non conference test. They've got Louisville today
and then a week from to day they got Kentucky.

(01:00:34):
I forget where that's that might be in India, so
I think it's it's not a home court for you.
It's not a neutral somewhere. Do you here who was
announcing that game Indiana Kentucky. I doubt you have, and
I don't remember who the play by play guy is.
It doesn't matter. Two analysts Dick Vital and Charles Barkley
together calling Indiana Kentucky next sep.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Well, they won't be talking much about the game. No,
probably not.

Speaker 3 (01:00:56):
I'll just be talking about you know, you know, all
the other stuff that most we may not care about it.
I think it'll be entertaining.

Speaker 2 (01:01:03):
And you know, Charles is part of the NCAA Turner coverage,
and I think it's good that they're going to watch
some game down. No, maybe not, but yes, entertainment value
should be SKYHT So that'll be fun to listen to
in a week. All right, last few minutes for you.
Week fourteen is upon us. It began Thursday night Detroit
getting back on the right side of things. So the
win over Dallas is Dallas the playoffs. Now on the playoffs,

(01:01:26):
hunt or run or whatever, they're probably still going to
be on the right side of that graphic that says
in the Hunt at six six and one, you know,
the most they can get to is ten wins. I
think it's going to take eleven wins to make the
playoffs in the NFC. Because you're saying that you believe
the Eagles are going to win three more games. Yeah,
I think the Eagles will win three more games. They've

(01:01:48):
got the Commanders twice. I know they got Jayden Daniels back.
More on that in the second, but yeah, I think
Dallas is going to be on the outside looking in.
I think Detroit still needs some work they got. I mean,
there's all only three wildcard teams, right and we know
that Seattle or the Rams, whoever doesn't win that division,
is going to get one. We know that Green Bay
or Chicago likely, yes, could the bottom fallout for the

(01:02:11):
Bears with a tough schedule.

Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
Maybe.

Speaker 2 (01:02:14):
I don't think the bottom falls out for my team,
of course, but likely Green Bay in Chicago get two.
So that's one spot left four San Francisco, which would
have the upper hand right now because they're still in
the mix for the West wildcard, for a wild card,
or Detroit and or maybe you know the Carolina Tampa
Bay runner up. If those two teams get hot down

(01:02:34):
the stretch. So it's gonna be tough for Dallas.

Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
So help me understand how this thing works.

Speaker 3 (01:02:37):
So if for division winners, yeah, they don't get a
buy right, just the number one seed gets about number one?

Speaker 1 (01:02:43):
Okay, all right? Got so?

Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
And right now that's the Chicago Bears, who if they
lose to Green Bay to Mars, will drop to the
seventh seed. They will go from the one to the
seven if they lose at lambeau Field on Sunday. But
I don't want to talk about that game with you.
I'm guessing Blake Moore and I will have a runway
once a year.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
Give me, give me thirty second, give me a thirty
second in recap, ll turn on the phone, your radio,
and you get in the cars. You got to do
that too.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
I think we're both feeling pretty confident about Green Bay's chances.
I don't want to dive too much into it because
we're gonna do enough of that in the next half
hour to board annoy people. You know, I just want
to give you guys, y'all space. I appreciate that. We
know it has not been much of a rivalry. You
know what the record is since Brett Faire became starter

(01:03:29):
in Green Bay.

Speaker 1 (01:03:29):
Since Gaale Sales left. No, that was fun before that, but.

Speaker 2 (01:03:34):
Since ninety two, the Packers are fifty one and sixteen
against the Chicago Bears. Since Press Stars became quarterback. That's
pretty close to that. Yeah, I want to get your
thoughts on your team. We know how ugly it was
in Seattle. We don't go into that at all, but
you get j. J. McCarthy back tomorrow against the Washington Commanders.
I mean two teams last year who were the biggest

(01:03:57):
stories in the NFC, right, I mean two teams that
they were an unexpected success, and now both teams.

Speaker 1 (01:04:03):
They were consistent at the quarterback position.

Speaker 3 (01:04:05):
Yeah, that has not been the case. Stayed healthy and
Jade McDaniel state healthy throughout.

Speaker 2 (01:04:09):
The That's part of it. They also had more competent
quarterback play when when he was healthy. Obviously, I am
of the opinion that this is a get right game
for the Minnesota Vikings, and I understand that Jayden Daniels
is back, and that certainly makes the Commanders dangerous for sure.
I don't think they're quitting. They've got important games left,

(01:04:30):
as we mentioned too, against the Eagles.

Speaker 1 (01:04:32):
And Nigas Roye season.

Speaker 2 (01:04:33):
They can they can, and playing against Jaden Daniels presents
all kinds of problems. But he hasn't played in quite
a while. Will he be as mobile and willing to
run as much as he can be? He should be fresh,
He should be fresh, but how sharp will he be?
He hasn't really thrown to Terry McLaurin since Week two,

(01:04:53):
And I just think this The Vikings defense was not
the issue last week. It's still playing at a high level.
It's healthy for the most part, and I think they're
going to do They're going to make it very difficult
for Washington to score. It's whether the offense, now after
being blanked in Seattle, can look more like a functional offense,
and I think they will. Washington's defense is terrible, and

(01:05:15):
you can you can throw the ball on them. I
just have a sense we see a capable performance by
JJ McCarthy. I think Jefferson's going to get his yards.
I'm giving your boys a very good chance to win.
But I'm curious how you're feeling about your score.

Speaker 3 (01:05:29):
Well, the key is, I think for the rest of
the season for one, is keeping JJ McCarthy healthy and
then and then see how he progressed over the next
four or five games as we go into the offseason. Yeah,
because you you want to go into the offseason, you know,

(01:05:50):
with an answer is he the guy or not? And
I you know, and I think they have to give
him a chance to show that we can go into
the off season with some hope that, Okay, we have
a guy that we believe that can play this position.

Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
It's important obviously for the trajectory of this organization, but
it's also really important for the trajectory of Justin Jefferson.
And that's you know, obviously going to be something Vikings
fans are concerned about, like it is he going to
have the patience to ride this thing through and if
he sees progress from mcarthy over these last five weeks,
if things start to look better, that's not going to
be a talker. They're gonna be all right. It was

(01:06:26):
a rough season, but we see signs and McCarthy's going
to be the guy who at least, if not be
the starter in twenty six he'll be, you know, competing
with whoever they bring into to challenge him. And they
do believe they're going to have to bring somebody in
on some level to challenge McCarthy no matter what happens
these last five weeks. But the how Jefferson feels inside

(01:06:48):
is also going to be a talker, and I think
it all gets tied into what those two guys can
do together these last five games.

Speaker 3 (01:06:54):
Yeah, you know you got to put him out to
if he's healthy. He has to play. He has to be,
no question uestion. Yeah, you know it can't say, well,
the season is over, the last season. We're not a
playoff team, so we're going to protect him. No, he
has to play, I believe because he has to show.
He has to show what he can do and give

(01:07:15):
us a sense as we move into the off season,
you know that we can believe in him that he
could be the guy going forward. Yeah, that's what the
season is now for the Vikings. Yeah, what do you
see we got to find out. Okay, we go into
the off season, do we need to look for another quarterback?
We need to bring somebody in, you know, throughout what
training camp or whatever they go through mini camps or

(01:07:37):
however they set these things up once the offseason begins
to say, hey, you know we're going to open this
things up for quarterback competition.

Speaker 1 (01:07:46):
It is because right now we don't have that guy.

Speaker 2 (01:07:48):
And do you have the assets to trade for a
mac Jones? Who do you want to give up draft
capital when you've got ten picks. That's a lot of picks,
But do you trust that you're going to make the
right picks? The last few drafts have not been successful.
There's a lot to unpack as we move along. But
I think that as you say, the next five weeks
are all about McCarthy. Can he show progress in these

(01:08:09):
last five games? The offensive line has to protect him. Yeah,
there's no doubt the.

Speaker 3 (01:08:13):
Defense has been good. I mean, I know if the
offense will have shown any sign of hope. Maybe they
stayed in their game against Seattle.

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
Yeah, well they were in the game. It's three nothing,
late second quarter until the disasters down and you.

Speaker 1 (01:08:28):
Throw a pass that you know that a four year
old should make.

Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
Well, you blame the coach for even calling that play
to put Brosmer in that spot. I mean, but don't
roll out on fourth down and put the ball in
your first year undrafted rookies hands.

Speaker 1 (01:08:43):
But against that defense, I know.

Speaker 3 (01:08:45):
But everybody who's playing in the National Football League is
at the quarterback position, should should know you just eat it,
Just eat the ball, Just take the sack and get
off the field.

Speaker 4 (01:08:56):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:08:56):
You don't make a you don't take a bad play
and make it worse. That was disaster.

Speaker 3 (01:09:01):
Yeah, I mean, you know, because whatever you were trying
to do or whatever you thinking that you could do,
it was not good. No, there was nothing good about
what you was thinking that was going to happen in
that moment. There was nothing good about that. No, it
was it was disaster. The game ended on that place
for purpose, that was ten points. Yeah, I don't see

(01:09:22):
us get into ten. All right, you've got a fly,
You've got hockey dad stuff to do.

Speaker 1 (01:09:28):
You do that. Good luck?

Speaker 3 (01:09:29):
I know.

Speaker 2 (01:09:29):
Uh, high school hockey today, high school hockey today with
the older brother younger brothers still.

Speaker 1 (01:09:34):
Up in Edmonton, Edmonton, and man, it's it's good to
be you.

Speaker 2 (01:09:39):
Hockey dad deciding what part of the world he should
be in to watch his kid on this on this weekend.
So good luck to William Jesse today. We will see
you next Saturday morning and as we will dive into
all that happens this week in the world of sports.

Speaker 1 (01:09:53):
Have a great day.

Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
We will break here David Blake Moore and I will
finish about the last couple of segments. NFL heavy, I
won't all be Packers Bears, don't worry. But it's plenty
of Week fourteen stuff coming up in the Zone.

Speaker 1 (01:10:31):
It's in the Zone on the.

Speaker 2 (01:10:32):
Fan final a couple of segments before we make way
for Beyond the Pond, fondless Mikeeletti talking Wild, talking Gophers, hockey,
and whatever else puck related things come to their minds.
That's tend to noon on the Fan Today. We'll have
Wild Hockey tonight at nine while in Vancouver to take
on the Canucks. They'll drop the puck shortly after nine

(01:10:54):
on the Fan. Zach Peresi opens the show Beyond the Pond. Yes,
Zach Perezy, hmm.

Speaker 1 (01:11:00):
In studio. I don't think so. Probably not. That's exciting,
but he's on the show. Hey.

Speaker 2 (01:11:05):
Anytime they can bring in a guest that I've heard of,
I know that's they've got a guy, so they follow us.
We'll also have Wolves tonight on the iHeartRadio app just
find the Timberwolves channel. Alan Horton on the call, Wolves
Clippers as Minnesota looks to make it five straight.

Speaker 1 (01:11:22):
They won't play again. We didn't talk about this with Trent.
We won't.

Speaker 2 (01:11:24):
They'll play Monday against Phoenix and then they're off till
Friday because it's NBA Cup stuff. So Friday and Sunday
are the two games they added to the schedule. They'll
be at Golden State Friday and then the Kings come
back Sunday for like the eighteenth time. The Wolves and
Kings will already play this season. So I guess point
is a schedule yet to really turn two difficult. Phoenix

(01:11:45):
is playing well, but the Clippers, the Warriors are starting
to stumble. The Kings are not playing well. So a
chance to maybe pad to this streak just a little bit,
built some momentum before a game with the thunder coming
up here a couple weeks down the road. Meanwhile, we're
in week fourteen. The fan has learned that's called the
stretch run in the NFL. The final five weeks of

(01:12:08):
the regular season. We touched on Vikings Washington of course
on the fan tomorrow ten am pregame noon kickoff from
US Bank Stadium the Boom PA Burstitch cast of thousands.
You get the bit full day of Vikings coverage on
the fan. Tomorrow Bump will of course have Sunday sermons
at nine. We will have Packer Preview at eight eight

(01:12:29):
our new start time now the rest of the way,
Now that the Gopher football season is over, JG gets
to sleep in. No Gopher football Sunday Packer Preview moves
to eight am tomorrow morning for the rest of the season. Yes,
we all appreciate that those of us that yes do
not enjoy the six am wake up call, especially we
get to move it to seven.

Speaker 1 (01:12:49):
At least I do.

Speaker 2 (01:12:50):
You may get up a little earlier than that, right
close to that. Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that one
in a bit. The Packers Bears. What's fun about this
time of the year the way they schedule the NFL
is there are so many division games and just great
matchups every week now the rest of the way. I
looked at all the schedule the rest of the way.
Every week right now it looks like they're going to
be a half a dozen games that are all really interesting.

(01:13:12):
And this week you know we already had the Dallas
Detroit which featured basically a playoff game, right that was
like a Thursday night, Week fourteen playoff game, winners basically
still holding on loser likely out. The Lions emerged victorious
behind Jamir gives three scores, but they lost Brian Branch.
See that torn achilles terrible? I mean, I don't love

(01:13:35):
the way Brian Brian Branch conducts himself on the field,
along with Kirby Joseph, who's also missed most of the
season for the Lions. But you don't wish a torn
achilles on any athlete, no matter how much you dislike them.
That's a terrible injury. It's going to take him a
long time to come back, and it's a devastating blow
for that Lions defense, which has been without Terry and Arnold,
Kirby Joseph, now Brian Branch. So yes, they won the

(01:13:57):
game to stay in the playoff hunt. I believe the
Lions will be in the outside looking in once this
thing all gets played out.

Speaker 1 (01:14:06):
With rats, by the way, just a shame. It is
a shame.

Speaker 2 (01:14:10):
The Lions too, are going to make the playoffs and
they'll start to talk about the window, Like, yeah, the
windows seemed wide open last year.

Speaker 1 (01:14:17):
What were they?

Speaker 2 (01:14:17):
Fifteen to two, number one seed and they go out
in the first round. But hey, the window's open because
look at this talent. We've got the young offensive line
and these playmakers, and now suddenly Gof's going to be
a year older, they don't have cap space. Branch now
likely to miss much of next season. So yeah, I mean,
the window, it's crazy. You think it's open, but that

(01:14:40):
wind comes in and shuts that thing really quick.

Speaker 4 (01:14:42):
So I'm well enough to remember when it was set
on these airwaves a couple of weeks ago that they're
still the class of the division.

Speaker 1 (01:14:49):
It wasn't that long ago.

Speaker 2 (01:14:50):
No, not long at all, and here Thanksgiving kind of
shut that down just a little bit. Well four touchdowns
later exactly, But fun games tomorrow. Steelers Ravens, Now, those
are two mediocre team. They're both six and six. It's
one of the great rivalries obviously in the NFL the
last twenty years, and it's sort of a playoff game.
I mean, yeah, they're tied, so it's just a one
game lead. Whoever wins obviously has the edge. But now

(01:15:12):
you're six and seven. The Ravens are dealing with a
Lamar Jackson who's nowhere near what he typically is, dealing
with a foot slash toe injury. So that's got big
time playoff implications. Tomorrow AFC South title on the line
with Colts and Jaguars. The Jags are coming, the Colts
are stumbling with Daniel Jones dealing with a leg injury.

(01:15:34):
That game has huge implications. Houston and Kansas City Monday night, No,
that's Sunday night, Sorry, Sunday night. You know, the Chiefs
basically have to win. Even with a win, I mean,
think about that. Kansas City and Detroit, two teams that
looked like they were just going to be there all
the way. Kansas City could very well be in the

(01:15:54):
outside looking in even with a win.

Speaker 1 (01:15:56):
Tomorrow night.

Speaker 2 (01:15:57):
They're three three and a half point favorites against the
Texans team. It's one four straight and they've beaten good teams.
They know they've knocked off you know, Buffalo knocked off
Indie last week on the road, and they've got a
defense with those pass rushers that's going to give Patrick Mahomes.
I think a lot of questions, and the Chiefs are
down at least two offensive line starters. So I I think,

(01:16:20):
you know, most people would think, Wow, the Chiefs primetime
home game December have to have it. It's Patrick Mahomes time.
It's a tough game. I'm really interested to see how
Casey handles Houston's defense and whether Houston can score on
case because they're gonna have to put some points up.

Speaker 4 (01:16:36):
Well, he's been roughed up a lot of Mahomes in
the last handful of games. He's taken like three sacks
in every game in the last five or so. The
thing that in Houston's defense and pass rush keeps them
in games. That's the only reason they're winning. Because Davis
Mills is just fine and yes, but just their run
of recently, it's been their defense. The crazy thing to

(01:16:58):
me is, I can't if I would have told you
week one that in December Colts Jaggs would decide the
division and have playoff implications with both of them in it.
It's just a silly sentence.

Speaker 2 (01:17:12):
To say, yeah, And I could follow it up by
saying if I had told you that in week fourteen,
by the end of the weekend, there is a chance
that Kansas City, Baltimore and Buffalo are all on the
outside looking in at the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:17:24):
I would have laughed in your face, and it's like, no,
it's a three team race in the AFC this year.

Speaker 2 (01:17:28):
It's Kansas City, Buffalo, and Baltimore and you're on your
own from there, and they could all miss. Now, Buffalo
is likely to get in, and they've got a tough
game against Joe Burrow at home tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (01:17:38):
You know that they're a different team at home. I
get that.

Speaker 2 (01:17:41):
But Cincinnati at four and eight, they actually look at
the math and say, if we were on the table,
we're probably in the playoffs. At nine and eight, we'll
probably win our division at nine and eight if we
run the table. And I don't ever count Joe Burrow out.
So it's not going to be easy. I expect Buffalo
to win, but you know that's not an easy game.
And then even Monday Night Eagles Chargers has interest. How

(01:18:02):
do the Eagles come back from maybe the most surprising
fall in your face performance of the season against the
Bears at a Chargers team that should have Justin Herbert,
who had surgery on his non throwing hand this week
yet thinks he can play now. I don't know if
you will and that obviously changes everything. The Eagles lost
Jalen Carter for a number of weeks. That's a massive blow.

(01:18:24):
And I'm guessing he was playing very hurt against the Bears,
because again we talk about questions. If you would have
told me, if you had have told me the Bears
were going to run for almost three hundred yards on
the Eagles at Philly. No that a week ago, I exactly,
I wouldn't have said it as they were kicking off.
Now tell you how Jalen Cart's playing hurt and still
I just that performance by Chicago was eye opening, and

(01:18:47):
that's why it's got a lot of eyes to see
how they follow up at lambeau Field tomorrow. Let's chat
about that game in our final segment when we come back.
It's the oldest rivalry in the NFL. It hasn't meant
something for about thirteen fourteen years.

Speaker 1 (01:19:01):
It's a big one.

Speaker 2 (01:19:01):
It's the first of two meetings in the next thirteen
days between these rivals. We will chat about that as
a prelude to packer preview when we come back in
the Zone quarter Back final segment. In the Zone, we

(01:19:23):
were talking last segment about playoff implications this weekend for
some of these matchups. Just to give you a quick demonstration,
the Chiefs right now have a fifty one percent chance
to reach the playoffs if they win tomorrow. If they lose,
it's eleven percent. Right now, it's thirty seven, but a
win will boost it to a fifty to fifty shot
if they win. If they lose, eleven percent chance case

(01:19:45):
makes the postseason. The Steelers, if they go into Baltimore
and win tomorrow, will have a sixty four percent chance
to make the playoffs. If they lose eighteen percent and
Ravens too. Ravens win the game, hold serve they're up,
they have a seventy six percent chance to dance to
win the North. If they lose tomorrow to Pittsburgh, they
have a thirty percent chance.

Speaker 1 (01:20:06):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:20:06):
As far as the Packers and Bears, right now, both
teams are ninety percent plus to make the playoffs. If
either loses, they'll still have it better than seventy percent chance.
Tomorrow's game is more about the division chances. If the
Bears going to Green Bay and win, they'll have a
sixty nine percent chance to win the division. If they lose,
it's down to twenty five percent, and same for Green Bay.

(01:20:27):
They win seventy one percent chance if they lose twenty
five percent. So not necessarily hyperbotolic to say that the
NFC North title might be on the line tomorrow, mister Blakemore,
even though the two teams are going to meet again
thirteen days later on a Saturday night in frigid Soldier Field.

Speaker 4 (01:20:42):
Oh, if you want to win a home game, if
you want to have a home game in the playoffs,
you don't want to go to Philly or La. It
just even one week, maybe two. If the Rams keep
deciding to lose that you have to win this game,
and you have to win the division. That's why it's
so important. Obviously, you want to have the shirts of
the you know, we don't hang division banners in Green Bay,

(01:21:03):
all that, YadA YadA.

Speaker 1 (01:21:04):
But it's still fun to have the division title.

Speaker 4 (01:21:06):
But I'm more worried about let's get at least one game,
because you know, what, was it seventy plus chance, I've
got seventy five If the Packers lose, they make the playoffs.
But you'd like to have at least one at Lambeau
and get the frozen tundra going.

Speaker 2 (01:21:19):
Right, You have to win the division for that to happen.
So look, there's lots of interesting storylines. Obviously, the Bears
coming in winners of what five in a row, six
in a row, whatever, it is, nine of ten. But
their point differential on the season is plus six, and
it was down. It was negative going into Philly. They
were an eight and three operation and negative and point differential.

(01:21:40):
Why how is it even possible? Turnovers? That's what's fueled
this Bear's run. Now, are they getting better played from
Caleb Williams, Yes, he's getting more comfortable. Ben Johnson he
is pushing the right buttons and Caleb, while he'll make
a few throws that make you scratch your head in
the fourth quarter, he will make a couple of plays
that just make it go wow, especially when he's on
the move outside of the pocket. But they feasted on turnovers.

(01:22:03):
They have twenty six of them, twenty six takeaways. They
are plus seventeen in the giveaway takeaway The next best
team is plus nine. There's three of them who are
plus nine. So you say, well, these things tend to
even out. But I mean they're riding a wave right now,
and they're catching a Packers team that have turned the
ball over the fewest times in the NFL, just seven
giveaways all seasons. So you know, you'd think that that

(01:22:27):
formula that's fueled Chicago is likely to going to come
to a complete stop at least the way history is gone.
Green Bay, especially come December, tends to be really good
at home. Malaflour's twenty and four in the month of December.
He's eleven and one against Chicago, the one loss coming
in Week eighteen last year. As Bears fans like to
throw out the Caleb Williams is undefeated at lambeau Field.

(01:22:49):
I want to know, maybe forgetting the fact that Jordan
Love got knocked out of the game in the second quarter,
Emilik Willis took over and then took a last second
field goal in a game where yes, the Packers wanted
to win, obviously, but they were in the playoffs winner lose.
It just mattered do you play Philly or Washington. And
as it turned out, Washington was the team to miss

(01:23:10):
last year because they were the hot team. Obviously, Philly
ended up winning it, but you know what I mean,
it wasn't a huge difference. Both of those places would
have been difficult for green Bay to play. So here
we are at lambeau Field. The big injury news no
Roma Dunze for the Bears. That's a big loss. Obviously
for that passing game, they're gonna have to rely on
Luther Burden, the rookie, and their tight end Coaston Loveland.

(01:23:32):
I think when when a Dunze miss his time, they
play a lot of twelve personnel, two tight ends, so
Comet and Loveland, and they're just gonna try to run
the ball down green Bay's throats. That's got to be
the formula Brett. I mean, two hundred and eighty yards
against Philly. Green Bay has been kind of up and
down against the run. They held Gibbs, they held Barkley,
but they also let Rico Dial run wild. So they're
gonna look at green Bay and say, oh, DeVante Wyatts

(01:23:53):
out for the season. You just had to sign two
defensive tackles nose tackles, one off practice squad forget who
had them, the Giants maybe and Jordan Riley. And then
they added a guy off waivers from Seattle yesterday, a
big three hundred and sixty pound guy. They know they
got to play the Bears twice the Ravens, even Denver

(01:24:14):
will run the ball a bit. That's the key, besides turnovers.
If Chicago's able to run the ball down green Bay's throats,
they're in that game for sixty minutes.

Speaker 1 (01:24:23):
If they're not, it make it ugly the other way.

Speaker 4 (01:24:26):
On my scale of confidence, I wouldn't say I'm confident,
but I'm optimistic. And the one thing that keeps me
from going full on confident we're just going to roll
over them is that run game. If they chew up,
Let's say they take the ball and they chew up
eight minutes a clock and get in the end zone,
it just throws everything off. And if they it's that's
been the formula that teams have used to beat Green

(01:24:47):
Bay is to just keep love off the field as
long as humanly possible and don't care if you get
three yards of carry over and over and over and
over again. And the Bears are They're well better than
three yards agame Harry, especially last week in Philly. So
that's my biggest concern. Halfley talked about it more on
that tomorrow morning. But if they cant stopped the run,

(01:25:10):
they're gonna win the game comfortably. If they can't it's
going to be a nail blighter.

Speaker 2 (01:25:13):
Yeah, And I'm just I think comfortable that I think
they're going to Green Bay might be without Javon Bullard.

Speaker 1 (01:25:17):
They're a really nice slock corner.

Speaker 2 (01:25:18):
That's a guy who misspracticed Thursday Friday, but they haven't
ruled him out yet. I'm going to watch that carefully
because that's a big loss for the Packers defense. But
I just it's Toyota than season. Jordan Love likes to
cook in December, but Packers have been so good at
home in the month of December, and obviously so good
against the Chicago Bears that in this one. You can
read my preview as always at zonecoverage dot com. It's

(01:25:39):
up right now. I feel good about it. It might
be close late, like seventeen thirteen late, and the pack
scored to win at twenty four to thirteen. I do
think they cover the six and a half. I think
they handle their business now. In two weeks it might
be a completely different story. But I'll be really surprised
if Chicago, who's made their living beating quarterbacks you've never
heard of. Yes, they beat Philly last week, but the

(01:26:02):
four or five games before that, you get the backup.
In Pittsburgh, they played a number of backup quarterbacks. I
think the luck runs out on Sunday at lambeau Field,
they should have got swept by the Purple.

Speaker 4 (01:26:12):
Yeah, they were a miracle and that was an ancient
history Week two, like the first game was in Soldier Field, that.

Speaker 2 (01:26:18):
Was a couple of weeks ago. They've had so many
of those, just magical ending games. I think three or
four like Washington last year. Yes, miracle endings like a
kick return that suddenly takes the ball to midfield. Now
they can score and win. It's crazy that the four
leaf clover to me gets stamped on Tomorrow at lambeau Field.
Much more Tomorrow morning, eight o'clock Packer Preview. Might just

(01:26:42):
hear Lavelli Neil join us for a segment to give
his confidence level for his beloved Chicago Bears. That's Packer
Preview tomorrow morning at eight o'clock.

Speaker 1 (01:26:51):
Stay tuned.

Speaker 2 (01:26:52):
Beyond the Pond is next for all your puck needs.
Wild hockey tonight at nine, Wolves basketball on the iHeart
app at seven, and a full day of NFL tomorrow
on the fan, beginning with our show Packer Preview at
eight Sunday Sermons at nine and then Vikings NFL Sunday
at ten, getting U set for Vikings Commanders. I think
the Vike's going to w tomorrow. I think janj actually

(01:27:13):
looks fairly competent against that defense.

Speaker 1 (01:27:16):
Should be fun.

Speaker 2 (01:27:17):
Enjoy your weekend and try to watch that big ten
championship game and maybe cheer in your hearts for the
Cream and Crimson the Cinderella to crash the ball.

Speaker 1 (01:27:26):
Have a great weekend.