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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.

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Speaker 1: Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox

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Speaker 1: Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to

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Speaker 1: noone Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at

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Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every

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Speaker 1: day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio

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Speaker 1: or FSR.

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Speaker 2: This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver

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Speaker 2: on Fox Sports Radio.

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Speaker 1: All Right, here we go. It is a Tuesday. We

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Speaker 1: are ready to roll live in Los Angeles. Sits the Herd.

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Speaker 1: Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for making How's part of your day? Nick right

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Speaker 1: one hour from now, My buddy John Middletop is joining me. Yesterday,

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Speaker 1: today and tomorrow. John, we had a great show yesterday.

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Speaker 1: It flew by. There's a lot of things going on.

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Speaker 1: The draft is tomorrow. Rick Patino's gonna join us, which

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Speaker 1: is sway is how lucky are we? Really? Smart guy

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Speaker 1: and a great personnel guy. Rick Patino joins us tomorrow

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Speaker 1: and we're gonna go through the top eight or nine picks.

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Speaker 1: Smarter than a Rick on all this stuff. He faceful

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Speaker 1: lot of those guys, But John did you enjoy your

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Speaker 1: first and in the chair.

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Speaker 3: I did.

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Speaker 4: I was surprised my key card work this morning, but

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Speaker 4: I'm here, so I hit the building.

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Speaker 1: If king card worked again. So I saw this story.

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Speaker 1: The draft is tomorrow and Cooper Flag is going to

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Speaker 1: go number one. So he played at Duke So obviously you,

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Speaker 1: me and our dogs watched Cooper Flag play a few

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Speaker 1: times and he was in the tournament. He's a great player.

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Speaker 1: I think he's a better version eventually, not now, but

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Speaker 1: eventually have like a Jason Tatum, Brian Scalabriney who does

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Speaker 1: a really good job. He's a broadcaster in Boston. You

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Speaker 1: we've had him on the show before. He was talking

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Speaker 1: about what is game? What? What? What? What? Cooper Flag's

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Speaker 1: game is.

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Speaker 5: Like Lebron has scored fifty thousand points, doesn't have a

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Speaker 5: go to shot. I'm not sure he has a go

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Speaker 5: to shot. It's just a basketball player that makes things happen.

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Speaker 5: Lebron's a freak of nature. Defensively, he's a freak of nature. Defensively,

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Speaker 5: Lebron can run point. He can run point sixty eight

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Speaker 5: point guards sixty eight point guard like like.

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Speaker 1: That. I have never been into guys with an absolute

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Speaker 1: go to move. The best restaurants I've ever been at

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Speaker 1: don't have a signature dish. They just do everything well.

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Speaker 1: You can get a cob salad, you can get a

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Speaker 1: chicken palm. The cocktails are good, so are the desserts.

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Speaker 1: Everything's good. That's a good restaurant. And I always remember

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Speaker 1: this when I was in college. Might When I was

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Speaker 1: in college, I wanted to be a baseball announcer. I

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Speaker 1: wanted to be like a you know, like a Vince

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Speaker 1: Scully or something right, or a Dick Enburg. And I

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Speaker 1: remember everybody had a home run call. Everybody had a

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Speaker 1: home run call. And the two favorite guys when I

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Speaker 1: was in college, my two favorite broadcasters were a young

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Speaker 1: Bob Costas and a young al Michaels. And they didn't

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Speaker 1: They didn't need a gimmick. I didn't need a fly

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Speaker 1: ball to left, followed by get out through Spats, Little

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Speaker 1: Graham all we're making fried potatoes and ash just call

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Speaker 1: the game. Be good at everything. I don't need a

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Speaker 1: signature home run call. He started watching UFC twenty years ago.

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Speaker 1: Every fighter had like one style. They were a kickboxer,

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Speaker 1: a wrestler, or a boxer. Now, the best fighters can

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Speaker 1: do everything. Quarterbacks. I want mobility. I want you to

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Speaker 1: be good in the pocket. I want you to be

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Speaker 1: good pre snap. Jaden Daniels is good at everything. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I he can run. He's great in the pocket. He's smart,

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Speaker 1: he's good pre snap, he's good early in games. He's

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Speaker 1: good in the two minute drill. Like, I'm not looking

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Speaker 1: for specialization. I don't need a bag. James Harden's game

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Speaker 1: feels shicky. He'll finish as one of the great scorers

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Speaker 1: of all time. Carmelo Anthony would never take two steps

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Speaker 1: back and hit a three, like he didn't play defense.

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Speaker 1: I think he'll be a good broadcaster, but his game,

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Speaker 1: I don't need definition on one move if you have

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Speaker 1: one like Kareem Well, Colin, what about Kareem? Yeah, but

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Speaker 1: Kareem wasn't a ball handler. He wasn't a playmaker. He

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Speaker 1: didn't have the ball in his hands much. Back in

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Speaker 1: his era, the point guard ran the show and always

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Speaker 1: had the ball. You would never let the center or

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Speaker 1: the power forward touch it until they got the ball

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Speaker 1: down low. So Kareem had to develop a signature move

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Speaker 1: and it was great for him. But the best guys

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Speaker 1: now like Wemby Wemby can put it on the floor,

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Speaker 1: he can shoot at three, he can drive, he can

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Speaker 1: do everything. And that's Cooper Flag. I look at it

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Speaker 1: this way. If I want specialization, it'll be for a surgeon,

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Speaker 1: a heart surgeon, a brain surgeon. But I want my

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Speaker 1: basketball players to be like a general practitioner. I got

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Speaker 1: poison ivy. I broke my wrist, can you help me

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Speaker 1: with both? I got a rash, help me fix it?

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Speaker 1: I broke my ankle, can you mend it. That's what

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Speaker 1: I'm looking for, So I don't need a go to move.

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Speaker 1: I think Cooper Flag is a more aggressive version of

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum. And what if I always said about Jason Tatum,

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Speaker 1: he's an A player. If he was more aggressive, he'd

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Speaker 1: be an a plus player. So that's what I think

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Speaker 1: he's going to be. I don't need a signature dish

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Speaker 1: at a restaurant, and I don't need a signature move.

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Speaker 1: Kareem had to have one. But in today's basketball, Lebron

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Speaker 1: James led the NBA last year. Think about this. Lebron

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Speaker 1: James at his age led the NBA in getting a

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Speaker 1: bucket in the fourth quarter, and the knock on Lebron

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Speaker 1: is well, he doesn't have a signature move. That's because

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Speaker 1: he's a better ball handler than Michael Jordan or Kareem

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Speaker 1: He's a better ball handler. He elevates others, He's smart.

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Speaker 1: Lebron always gets a really good shot when you need

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Speaker 1: him to get a good shot. He's not limited or

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Speaker 1: boxed in or marginalized by having to go to a

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Speaker 1: signature move. So I think Cooper Flag is going to

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Speaker 1: get drafted. I think he's going to average almost twenty

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Speaker 1: a game as a rookie. I think he's going to

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Speaker 1: have a great back wall of defense in Dallas and

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Speaker 1: their bigs behind him. And the thing I like most

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Speaker 1: about him, he doesn't have a go to move. He's

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Speaker 1: not concerned about having a bag. And now this story,

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Speaker 1: and I feel like it's the thirteenth time I've done

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Speaker 1: this story. The Boston Celtics worked another NBA team on

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Speaker 1: a trade as soon as the season ended. Between Danny

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Speaker 1: Ainge and Brad Stevens, they seemingly work every team. It's

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Speaker 1: like Howie Roseman and the Eagles don't pick the phone up,

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Speaker 1: just don't pick it up. So Drew Holliday, I've always

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Speaker 1: liked Drew Holiday, but he got really old, really fast.

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Speaker 1: And the Celtics have new owners and their books are

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Speaker 1: all messed up. They gotta go work on their cap sheet.

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Speaker 1: So yesterday they called Portland. Portland took his monstrous contract

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Speaker 1: and he's not the same player. He didn't make an

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Speaker 1: All defensive team last year. And this happens with guys

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Speaker 1: that played defense at a high level. You can age

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Speaker 1: very quickly. Defense is hard. Defense becomes injuries. Defense you're

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Speaker 1: on the floor. Defense is hard work. And Drew Holiday

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Speaker 1: has been a great defensive player and for five years

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Speaker 1: I think it was all defense. Right, he didn't make it.

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Speaker 1: He didn't make it last year and he looked suddenly

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Speaker 1: kind of old. So the Celtics have to clean up

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Speaker 1: their books. They move him, and they get and they

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Speaker 1: get a younger player, a cheaper player, a better offensive

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Speaker 1: player from Portland, and Forrety Simons, who they're going to

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Speaker 1: rent for one year because Tatum's gone and they need

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Speaker 1: his scoring and then he's out. Now, Simon's doesn't really

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Speaker 1: necessarily fit Boston's culture. He's not a great defender, he

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Speaker 1: doesn't elevate others, but he can shoot threes, and nobody

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Speaker 1: shoots more threes. Than Boston, so he'll be a good fit.

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Speaker 1: But mostly what they did is got Drew Holiday off

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Speaker 1: the books. They got second rounders in this deal, a

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Speaker 1: couple of them. They got a younger, cheaper player with

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Speaker 1: an expiring contract. How do they do it? But I'll

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Speaker 1: tell you what's happening in the NFL and in the NBA.

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Speaker 1: It's not just the big swing. You got to win

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Speaker 1: on the margins because you know, the salary cap in

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Speaker 1: the NFL is pretty tight. And with the new aprons

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Speaker 1: and CBA. In the NBA, Phoenix went big with Katie

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Speaker 1: and Bradley Beal and it was a disaster. Dame Lillard

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Speaker 1: Milwaukee didn't work. But look at what Indiana did with

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Speaker 1: Obi Toppin for a couple second round picks. That was

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Speaker 1: a great move. TJ McConnell, and go look at Sam

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Speaker 1: prest He's getting Isaiah Hartenstein or Alex Caruso. It's winning

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Speaker 1: on the margins. Now you are limited on the big swings.

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Speaker 1: And I said this yesterday. Most of our lives in

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Speaker 1: the NBA, we knew, like Jerry West was a general manager,

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Speaker 1: or pat Riley became a GM. N talk GMS. When talk,

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Speaker 1: I mean one of the great gms in league history.

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Speaker 1: Ninety percent of sports fans wouldn't know whose San Antonio's

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Speaker 1: GM was. R. C. Buford. He was like the Howie

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Speaker 1: Roseman of the NBA. We wait hadn't talk about it. Now,

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Speaker 1: figure out who the gms are. You have got to

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Speaker 1: make the the smart moves. Remember Denver wins a title

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Speaker 1: a couple of years ago, and I fell for it.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, Yo Kich is the best player in

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Speaker 1: the world. Gordon's a great defensive player. By the way,

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Speaker 1: Gordon was one of those margin moves. But all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden they lost KCP. Well, KCP was their shot

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Speaker 1: maker late of if Yo Kitch wasn't and they lose

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Speaker 1: it was it Bruce Brown. They lost another and you

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Speaker 1: start losing those guys. Well, Yo Kich is still great,

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Speaker 1: Gordon's still great, Porter, still Porter, Jamal Murray still Jamal Murray,

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Speaker 1: Malone can still coach. It was the guys on the

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Speaker 1: edges they got bad. They got worse defensively, they became

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Speaker 1: too yokicch dependent. If Murray got hurt, they didn't have

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Speaker 1: another shot creator. So it is now becoming a margins league.

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Speaker 1: And this is what Boston just did. They got a

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Speaker 1: guy who's aging off the books. They get draft picks

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Speaker 1: busted O's against multiple draft picks. They get a younger,

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Speaker 1: cheaper player with an expiring contract who can shoot a

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Speaker 1: bunch of threes the day the season ends. The minute

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Speaker 1: the season ends. They don't do it during like Phoenix,

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Speaker 1: they don't do it. You know, Houston and Phoenix, they're

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Speaker 1: doing it day of the finals. Lee does not like that.

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Speaker 1: The minute the season ends. Brad Stevens oooh, next day,

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Speaker 1: got a deal, draft picks younger chiefer player off the

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Speaker 1: books in the year as Tatum's hurt. So you can

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Speaker 1: go big game hunting. And I'm not opposed to big

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Speaker 1: game hunting, but I don't consider Katie the Houston big

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Speaker 1: game hunting. Jannie is big game hunting. But when I

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Speaker 1: look at KD, you are accentuating a strength, you move

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Speaker 1: some pieces, but you don't have to pay a five

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Speaker 1: year max for KD. That doesn't feel like big game hunting.

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Speaker 1: It's smart hunting. But boy, Boston does it. Danny Ainge,

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Speaker 1: Brad Stevens, it's got This is what the NFL is

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Speaker 1: really all about, you know. It's like, that's why I

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Speaker 1: kept saying for Chicago, they went and got DJ Moore,

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Speaker 1: didn't win any more games. Watched Joe Tooney, Drew Dollman,

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Speaker 1: the center, Joonah Dak all those interior offensive linemen feel

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Speaker 1: more like, well, kind of marginal moves. We don't talk

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Speaker 1: guards on this show. Watch Chicago improve dramatically. It's not

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Speaker 1: just the wide receiver, the left tackle in the quarterback.

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Speaker 1: So the Celtics do it again. You know you you

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Speaker 1: know this as a former you work for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Speaker 1: You know this is that the media, myself included, we

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Speaker 1: love the big swing, but a lot of times it's

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Speaker 1: it's fixing your guard center guard combination. And then the

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Speaker 1: NBA it's it's getting that first guy off the bench

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Speaker 1: and adding depth. It's becoming a depth league because you

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Speaker 1: can't stack your roster.

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Speaker 4: I was with the Eagles when they signed Non the

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Speaker 4: awesome Wah didn't go well last last year. How he

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Speaker 4: signed Zach Bahn, all Pro Super Bowl Special Teams guy,

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Speaker 4: four million dollars. You know that's that.

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Speaker 1: That that it's a remarkable how this stuff works so

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Speaker 1: good for Boston. We got a lot of stuff today.

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Speaker 1: Caitlin Clark smartly turns down an offer. We find out today,

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Speaker 1: draft tomorrow, and one play I think is pulling a

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Speaker 1: little bit of a Shador Sanders and I don't love it.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk about that.

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Speaker 2: Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays

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Speaker 2: and neon Eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio

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Speaker 2: FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

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Speaker 4: Hi, this is Jay.

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Speaker 6: I'm the producer of the Paula and Toni Fusco Show.

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Speaker 6: Usually in these promos they ask you to listen to

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Speaker 6: the show. I'm here to ask you please, don't listen

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Speaker 6: to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons who

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Speaker 6: have the dumbest takes on sports, imagicable. Don't listen to

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Speaker 6: the show so it can get camps.

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Speaker 3: What the hell are you doing our studio get him?

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Speaker 5: Paula, Ignore that fool. Listen to the Pauline Tony Fusco

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Speaker 5: Show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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Speaker 2: He's still Moving.

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Speaker 4: Sunday on Fox with the Gold Cup quarterfinal as the

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Speaker 4: US men's national team takes on Costa Rica. No Easy Pat,

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Speaker 4: No Second Chances. Coverage begins Sunday at six pm Eastern

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Speaker 4: on Fox.

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Speaker 1: Nick Wright joining us top of next hour, so a

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Speaker 1: lot of things going on. Rick pit Tino will join

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Speaker 1: us tomorrow. I am told it is a very good draft.

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Speaker 1: Last year was very international. You know my take on this,

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Speaker 1: I think going forward, college basketball players will mostly dominate

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Speaker 1: the draft, where it's been very internationally driven many times.

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Speaker 1: And my theory is is that the NIL, not that

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Speaker 1: it saved college basketball, but it has made college basketball

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Speaker 1: much better. NIL. Now American colleges are able to go

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Speaker 1: buy the best European players at eighteen, and there's been

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Speaker 1: stories that they may consider shuddering the Spanish League because

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Speaker 1: American colleges now with the NIL, are buying up their

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Speaker 1: best players. So they come over here and play, they

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Speaker 1: get excellent coaching. Also, the G League, which I've always

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Speaker 1: thought is nonsense. It was like trying to hurt college

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Speaker 1: basketball and marginalize it. Very few G League players Amn

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Speaker 1: Thompson is one of the few G League guys I

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Speaker 1: really really love. Most of them never kind of define

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Speaker 1: their games. These finals were all about guys went to

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Speaker 1: college for at least two years. SGA is an exception,

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Speaker 1: Chet Holmgren was an exception, but it was a lot

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Speaker 1: of two and three year players. So I think college

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Speaker 1: basketball is being empowered. And Rick Patino, we'll talk about

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Speaker 1: the draft. It is Rutger guys, and it's Arizona guys,

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Speaker 1: and it's Duke guys. And I think that helps the NBA.

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Speaker 1: That's what makes college football in the NFL so great.

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Speaker 1: As the marriage is that you're rooting four against Baker Mayfield,

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Speaker 1: but you know who he is. You're viscerally connected to

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Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield or Caleb Williams. You may not like Lincoln Riley,

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Speaker 1: but you were interested in Kayleb Williams because of Lincoln Riley.

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Speaker 1: And these college guys there's just you know they're either

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Speaker 1: not they're going international, they're going G League, They're gonna

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Speaker 1: play college basketball. You're going to see him at least

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Speaker 1: one year in March. But like a Zach Edy, Purdue

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Speaker 1: can pony up some money and he can stand another year.

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Speaker 1: And I was interested to watch Zach Edy last year

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Speaker 1: in college basketball. If Purdue was on, I was watching.

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Speaker 1: I think this is gonna empower college basketball. The drafts

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Speaker 1: going forward are gonna be more It's not that they're

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Speaker 1: gonna be more domestic, but there's gonna be higher quality,

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Speaker 1: more mature players like Cooper Flag that can help you immediately.

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Speaker 1: And I think Cooper Flag with that great back front

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Speaker 1: line for Dallas, I think he comes in averages eighteen

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Speaker 1: a game. They're a playoff team. I think Dallas of

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Speaker 1: healthy will be the second best team in the West

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Speaker 1: next year. It'll go, you know, oksee Houston in Dallas

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Speaker 1: gonna be very good. John, you're looking at me, You

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Speaker 1: ready to go? I'm ready, Okay, I'm just gab fest

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Speaker 1: over here. So we're gonna do af seed today, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna do NFCED tomorrow. These are our surprises. These would

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Speaker 1: be surprising moves and big headlines if they happen all start.

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Speaker 1: I think Kansas City is a wild card team. And

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Speaker 1: Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers now they have their running

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Speaker 1: back situation and offensive tackles set upgrade at receiver. Last year,

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Speaker 1: the only thing they were missing was juice. Offensively, their

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Speaker 1: defense almost near the top of the league. It went

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Speaker 1: from last to near first in one year. They built

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Speaker 1: the culture last year. But free agency and a draft,

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Speaker 1: and you know, you know, Harbaugh's good at the draft.

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Speaker 1: I think they're going to be one of the better

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Speaker 1: teams in the league. I think they're an eleven twelve

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Speaker 1: win team, and the Chiefs come into the season, which

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Speaker 1: would concern me with offensive line issues. So I like

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Speaker 1: the Chargers to win the division.

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Speaker 2: You're gonna think I'm nuts.

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Speaker 4: Daniel Jones leads the Colts to the playoffs. This race

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Speaker 4: is over. He's gonna be the starting quarterback. You would

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Speaker 4: have said two years ago. Baker Mayfield leads Tampa to

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Speaker 4: the playoffs, no chance. Last year, Sam Darnold leads the

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Speaker 4: Minnesota Vikings the fourteen wins. No chance.

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Speaker 2: What does he get in an Indy an.

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Speaker 4: Offensive coach who created the start of Jalen Hurts's career. Yes,

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Speaker 4: a great running game, a lot like a couple of

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Speaker 4: years ago when he had a healthy sake one Barkley.

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Speaker 4: Jonathan Taylor almost had fifteen hundred yards last year. The

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Speaker 4: division stinks. The Jags haven't been good ever. Obviously, the

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Speaker 4: Houston Texas life a lot of moving parts, a lot

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Speaker 4: of question marks with the offense, and the Titans no death.

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Speaker 4: So when you just look at the division, you look

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Speaker 4: at recent high picks who've resurrected their career. The Colts

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Speaker 4: have pretty good players, and just a couple of years ago,

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Speaker 4: Lou Ammaruno. They're a new defensive coordinator, one of the

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Speaker 4: best defensive coordinators in the league. Did he just get

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Speaker 4: dumb overnight. No, the Bengals let all their players go,

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Speaker 4: so I think the Colts Daniel Jones a little like

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Speaker 4: Alex Smith when Jim Harbaugh got to the Niners. They're

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Speaker 4: not gonna ask them to do some They're not looking

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Speaker 4: for forty touchdowns here, throw me twenty.

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Speaker 1: Interesting Mike Tomlin and the Steelers after eighteen years when

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Speaker 1: a losing record will have one. First of all, I

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Speaker 1: think Baltimore, now they've upgraded their secondary, may have the

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Speaker 1: second best roster to Philadelphia in the sport. I think

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Speaker 1: Joe Burrow maybe the best quarterback on any Sunday in

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Speaker 1: the sport. Aaron Rodgers the quarterback, well, he was five

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Speaker 1: and twelve last year. He didn't do well with the

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Speaker 1: defensive culture in New York. There's less dysfunction in Pittsburgh,

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Speaker 1: but not necessarily on the offensive side. They lost their

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Speaker 1: leading rusher, their left tackle, their leading receiver. I like

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Speaker 1: DK Metcalf, but he can me Booty too. I just

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Speaker 1: think the reality is they spend too much money on defense,

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Speaker 1: not enough on offense. The TJ. Watt contract extension will

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Speaker 1: be hovering over their head. I don't think they're going

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Speaker 1: to be a six win team, but I think eight

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Speaker 1: is probably the number. Mike Tomlin finally losing record.

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Speaker 4: Zach Taylor seems like a good guy, but I think

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Speaker 4: this will be his last season in Cincinnati. The Bengals

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Speaker 4: will have a new coach twenty twenty six. This team

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Speaker 4: feels like an NBA team, star players everywhere, high price.

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Speaker 2: Something's missing.

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Speaker 4: I mean their star defensive player, which you kind of need.

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Speaker 4: A pass rusher nowhere to be found. The guy they

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Speaker 4: drafted to replace him showed up said I'm out. I

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Speaker 4: mean classic Bengals Joe Burrow. We saw him throw a

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Speaker 4: bunch of touchdowns last year, have an incredible offensive season.

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Speaker 4: They still couldn't make the playoffs. Crazy divisions hard, We're

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Speaker 4: all going to pick the Ravens. The conference is really hard.

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Speaker 4: How good the AFC West is now? The Patriots are

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Speaker 4: going to be much better. We think that the AFC

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Speaker 4: South would be a little morempetitive. I just think this

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Speaker 4: Bengals thing, you could see it coming from a mile away.

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Speaker 4: And the other thing, when you have Joe Burrow and

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Speaker 4: you have Jamar Chase. Some of these guys in their contract,

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Speaker 4: think how desirable that job would be for some of

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Speaker 4: these coaches. And I just think that Zach Taylor again.

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Speaker 2: Seems like a nice guy.

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Speaker 4: They always start slow, and they do a lot of

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Speaker 4: negative momentum. I feel like coming into this season for

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Speaker 4: the Bengals.

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Speaker 1: And my final one Dolphins blowout, Mike McDaniel and the GM.

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Speaker 1: They went from number two scoring offense to twenty two

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Speaker 1: last year. Inexplicably bad offensive line and no backup to Tua.

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Speaker 1: If you have two as a quarterback, the two things

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Speaker 1: you have to have are a good old line and

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Speaker 1: a capable backup. They have neither. They overpaid for Jalen Ramsey.

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Speaker 1: Now they're looking, you know, Tyreek Hill. A lot of

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Speaker 1: splashy moves. I don't feel like there's a lot of steak.

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Speaker 1: It's a lot of sizzle. The best teams in this

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Speaker 1: league none of them have bad old lines. They just

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Speaker 1: lost Armstead just retired, So I don't like their direction.

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Speaker 1: I think McDaniels this is a team that's run through coaches.

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Speaker 1: Scott Greer, don't know him, but I haven't loved the moves.

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Speaker 1: I think both Greer Chris Greer. I think Chris Greer

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Speaker 1: and Mike McDaniel are gone after eight. Remember New England

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Speaker 1: now is really good, potentially really good. Buffalo is winning

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Speaker 1: the division, third place against both the GM and the

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Speaker 1: coach removed.

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Speaker 4: Speaking of the Patriots, I think they make the playoffs.

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Speaker 4: I mean, is there a bigger coaching upgrade? I mean

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Speaker 4: Pete Carroll and Mike Frable, But Mike Frable's got more

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Speaker 4: to work with. Like you said, the defense stinks. And

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Speaker 4: the other thing is they got an offensive coordinator to

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Speaker 4: go with Drake Mate Josh McDaniels. Not a great head coach,

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Speaker 4: excellent offensive coordinator. Patriots schedule not very difficult. I like

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Speaker 4: the Patriots to be playing some games in January like old.

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Speaker 1: Times, you know. So here we go. I got the

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Speaker 1: Chargers winning the AFC West. The Steelers will have a

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Speaker 1: losing record, probably eight and nine. The Dolphins start over,

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Speaker 1: total reboot, and then John I don't think Daniel Jones

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Speaker 1: leading the coach to the playoffs. They made the playoffs

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Speaker 1: in New.

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Speaker 4: York, I know, and way more talent on this roster. Again,

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Speaker 4: they're just looking nine ten wins. I'm not talking twelve, thirteen.

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Speaker 4: Could he save Chris Ballard and change Sichin's career. Owners

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Speaker 4: you passed away recently. Obviously the girls are now in charge.

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Speaker 1: I've said that, you know, I think I've said this.

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Speaker 1: You've heard me say this. I like everything about the Colts.

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Speaker 1: They when Andrew Luck retired, they get Wentz. It was

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Speaker 1: pretty good, and then they get Philip Rivers. For a

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Speaker 1: year it was actually excellent, but they felt like the

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Speaker 1: late owner had a strong opinion on the quarterback situation.

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Speaker 1: And Andrew Luck leaving really illustrates how hard it is

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Speaker 1: to find a quarterback because they're old. Line's good, they

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Speaker 1: get a pass rush, they've got nice receivers, they have

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Speaker 1: a star backfield. They have maybe the first or second

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Speaker 1: mess guard in the league in quit Now they have

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Speaker 1: really good pieces. But when Andrew Luck retired, they did

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Speaker 1: a remarkable job Wentz into Philip Rivers. They're just trying.

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Speaker 1: It's a life preserver offense situation, and Daniel Jones may

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Speaker 1: be it. We're not talking thirteen wins, but playoffs in

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Speaker 1: that division may be nine for sure. Nick right around

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Speaker 1: the corner.

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Speaker 2: One more herd. The herd streams twenty four hours a day,

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00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,920
Speaker 2: seven days a week, within the iHeartRadio app, Search Herd

427
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,919
Speaker 2: to listen live or on demand whenever you like.

428
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,840
Speaker 1: Here we go. It's hour two tomorrow at this time.

429
00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,119
Speaker 1: Rick Patino, NBA draft Nick right in five minutes live.

430
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,040
Speaker 1: We're in Los Angeles today. It's the Herd. Wherever you

431
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,199
Speaker 1: may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for

432
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,760
Speaker 1: making us part of your day, you know, John, Like

433
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 1: everybody else, I have to be on my phone from

434
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,080
Speaker 1: time to time. I'm not a huge fan of sort

435
00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:44,760
Speaker 1: of the sky is falling, sort of narrative constantly on

436
00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,959
Speaker 1: the phone. It gets a lot of clicks. It's grievance,

437
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,600
Speaker 1: it's outrage. It's the sky is falling, it's doom. I

438
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,600
Speaker 1: don't buy into that. My favorite sandwich is still peanut

439
00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,000
Speaker 1: butter and jelly. I take naps every day. I still

440
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: watch television. I've been hearing for years dying. Everything's up

441
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,560
Speaker 1: on TV. So I was thinking about this a number, John,

442
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,280
Speaker 1: and you to You're like me when everybody says you

443
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,080
Speaker 1: got to get rid of your cable, I'm like, I

444
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,760
Speaker 1: like college football. How do I get rid of cable? Yeah?

445
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,080
Speaker 1: I need to watch my Big Dead football. There's games

446
00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 1: on cable, so I was thinking about this game seven

447
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 1: on ABC delivered the most watched NBA Finals game in

448
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 1: six years. People are starving for content. I've been hearing

449
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,679
Speaker 1: for you. Oh, television is dying. I don't know. I

450
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,679
Speaker 1: watch a lot of it. The NFL's up, the WNBA

451
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:36,120
Speaker 1: is up, Indy car Racing is up, the Gold Cup,

452
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,080
Speaker 1: Our B team against Haiti was up from last year.

453
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:43,959
Speaker 1: I don't know. Everything's up. Baseball's up now. I do

454
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,360
Speaker 1: think there are challenges in hockey and basketball and baseball

455
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,800
Speaker 1: during the regular season because we're becoming a very much

456
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,359
Speaker 1: an event country. But I've never bought into the television

457
00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:58,280
Speaker 1: it's going away. I heard that about newspapers forty years ago,

458
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,359
Speaker 1: and I have never been a subscriber to more newspapers

459
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,399
Speaker 1: than I am today. I like content. The other thing

460
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 1: I don't buy into is the NBA is doomed. Global league,

461
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:17,880
Speaker 1: seventy six billion dollar TV deal, Amazon and NBC and

462
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,919
Speaker 1: ESPNS involved. The Lakers just sold for ten billion dollars

463
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,960
Speaker 1: and their number one sponsor is YouTube. The NBA is

464
00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,600
Speaker 1: just fine. The other thing I don't believe in is

465
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,879
Speaker 1: that market size. For years and years I banged on this,

466
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,439
Speaker 1: stop being afraid of New York. Look at the NFL

467
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:34,679
Speaker 1: the last five years. You could argue that two New

468
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,320
Speaker 1: York teams in Chicago were the biggest tire fires. You

469
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:45,400
Speaker 1: know who's great, Buffalo, Kansas City, Green Bay, I say Buffalo.

470
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 1: Look at the NBA, Indye, Oklahoma City, Boring, Denver. I

471
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,120
Speaker 1: mean Boston actually didn't get the number. Okase and Indie

472
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,760
Speaker 1: just got. Look at the WNBA. The Indiana Fever and

473
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,840
Speaker 1: their star players from Iowa never bought into. The NBA's dying.

474
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,280
Speaker 1: Everybody is getting rich in the NBA. It works with

475
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,199
Speaker 1: young people. It's amazing on social Look at how much

476
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:11,520
Speaker 1: money the players now make on shoes in apparel. The

477
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 1: league is fine. You may not like it, but there's

478
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,720
Speaker 1: a lot of fourteen to thirty three year olds. It's

479
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,719
Speaker 1: their favorite sport. It's fine. The TV deal shows that,

480
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,199
Speaker 1: and the rating shows that. The other thing is, you know,

481
00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,679
Speaker 1: big markets. The league is rig for big markets. Let

482
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:29,239
Speaker 1: me tell you. If the NFL and the NBA are

483
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,760
Speaker 1: rigged for big markets, they're doing an atrocious job. The

484
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,639
Speaker 1: NFL's dominated by small markets. I mean, Cincinnati should have

485
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,280
Speaker 1: made the playoffs with Joe Burrow. We already got Buffalo Baltimore,

486
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:44,440
Speaker 1: Green Bay, Kansas City. The New York team stink. I'd

487
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,520
Speaker 1: argue the New York teams are the most hopeless in

488
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,440
Speaker 1: the NFL this year, the two New York teams. So,

489
00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 1: I mean, we had a pack twelve with all big markets.

490
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,480
Speaker 1: La San Francisco Seattle had dried up. They moved over

491
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,280
Speaker 1: to the Big ten because there's a lot more money

492
00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:00,879
Speaker 1: in the Big ten than the glamor is Pac twelve.

493
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,520
Speaker 1: With the La San Francisco, Seattle markets, We're all gonna

494
00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,680
Speaker 1: be okay. Shaq talked about market size recently.

495
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, when I was coming up, it was small market.

496
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:13,119
Speaker 3: You're too small. You probably need to go to a

497
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,080
Speaker 3: big market. I'm taking pins of them. But now every

498
00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:19,320
Speaker 3: market is the same. Nobody cares with city here and anymore.

499
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:24,200
Speaker 3: This ain't the nineties. Bigger market doesn't matter. Social media

500
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:25,120
Speaker 3: is the market now.

501
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,920
Speaker 1: Yep, social media is the market. So yesterday, I don't

502
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:30,480
Speaker 1: know why I got heat for this. I thought it

503
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,879
Speaker 1: was incredibly rational. I said, over the last seven years,

504
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,359
Speaker 1: we've had seven different champions. We know they're not as

505
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:39,720
Speaker 1: good as the KD Splash Brothers, Draymond team. We know

506
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 1: they're not as good as the Duncan, Janobli, Parker Popovich.

507
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,400
Speaker 1: We know they're not MJ's bulls. They're not Shaq and Kobe,

508
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,240
Speaker 1: they're not Showtime, they're not the Michale Bird the Walton team,

509
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,960
Speaker 1: we know they're not that. It's more seventies, which I

510
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 1: grew up with. I love the rick Berry Warriors and

511
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,720
Speaker 1: the Bill Walton Blazers in the DJ and Gus Williams,

512
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 1: Jack Sick Masonics. I love those teams. The Washington Bullets

513
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,280
Speaker 1: with Unsealed Hayes, Shaneer, Bobby Dandridge. I love those teams.

514
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 1: But the following decade sort of there was a rebirth

515
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,840
Speaker 1: of the NBA. So Nick Wright is joining me. So

516
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:20,200
Speaker 1: yesterday I ranked I ranked the last seven champions, catching

517
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:20,679
Speaker 1: a lot.

518
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 7: Of heat, Colin, which I know, I listen. I know

519
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,760
Speaker 7: you're not checking your mentions, but I know you got

520
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,520
Speaker 7: plenty of people on your multiple staffs that come to

521
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,719
Speaker 7: you and they're like, Colin, the internet's ripping you. So

522
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 7: can I if I just can jump in? Yeah, my

523
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:42,000
Speaker 7: only major gripe would be I would I would at

524
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,000
Speaker 7: the very least flip flop Thunder Warriors. I think you're

525
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,199
Speaker 7: under selling the Thunder a bit, and I think that

526
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:52,760
Speaker 7: Warriors team. It was a great postseason run and Steph

527
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 7: was unbelievable, But when their second best offensive players, Andrew Wiggins,

528
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,200
Speaker 7: I think that there's and they weren't a dominant regular

529
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,160
Speaker 7: season team. So I would have the Thunder at least

530
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,199
Speaker 7: at four, if not at three. But what people are

531
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:12,440
Speaker 7: ripping you for is a version of Lebron James derangement syndrome.

532
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:16,400
Speaker 7: How could you have the twenty twenty Lakers number one

533
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,680
Speaker 7: when here are the facts about one of the most

534
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:24,560
Speaker 7: disrespected champions, maybe the most disrespected champion of the last

535
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,760
Speaker 7: twenty five years. Agree that Laker team started the year

536
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:30,760
Speaker 7: twenty four and three.

537
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,080
Speaker 1: They earned home.

538
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:37,119
Speaker 7: Court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs, did not get that

539
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,920
Speaker 7: home court advantage because it was in the bubble, and

540
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 7: still swept through the West in five games in every series,

541
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 7: and then won the finals in an easy six despite

542
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:55,400
Speaker 7: remarkable Jimmy Butler performance. They then followed that up, well,

543
00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,720
Speaker 7: how did they defend their title the day Lebron James

544
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 7: got hurt when Solomon Hill did a somersault into his ankle.

545
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,240
Speaker 7: The Los Angeles Lakers, it was they were twenty eight

546
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 7: and thirteen. It was the midway point of the next season.

547
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:14,520
Speaker 7: They had the best record in the entire NBA halfway

548
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:16,440
Speaker 7: through the season following their title.

549
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:17,520
Speaker 2: I would then.

550
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 7: Add this, Take the best player on all of those

551
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:26,600
Speaker 7: champions twenty twenty. Lebron is eye to eye with twenty

552
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,240
Speaker 7: three Joker and twenty one Giannis. And take the second

553
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:34,600
Speaker 7: best player on all those champions twenty twenty Anthony Davis

554
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,840
Speaker 7: is markedly better than any of these other team's second

555
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:44,160
Speaker 7: best player. That was so that is here's the deal, Colin.

556
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:49,600
Speaker 7: Here's why you know that there is a fan and

557
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 7: some media obsession with misremembering the career of Lebron James.

558
00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 1: Almost all of.

559
00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:02,360
Speaker 7: The NBA's biggest myths biggest lies either have to do

560
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:08,760
Speaker 7: with tearing down Lebron or uplifting a guy he's competing with.

561
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,160
Speaker 7: There isn't a single NBA myth or lie that you're like, oh, oh,

562
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 7: that's interesting that one works in Lebron's favor.

563
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:18,880
Speaker 1: No, they all go in one direction.

564
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:23,920
Speaker 7: And the idea that the twenty twenty Lakers got lucky

565
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,840
Speaker 7: by the bubble being no home court advantage when they

566
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,960
Speaker 7: had home court advantage is one of the most ridiculous

567
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 7: things I've ever heard, but it's what everybody says.

568
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,920
Speaker 1: And by the way, it should be noted it was

569
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 1: the only time in my life in the playoffs where

570
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,320
Speaker 1: young teams overwhelmingly flourished because the older married players missed

571
00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,120
Speaker 1: their kids and family, and the Lakers were an old team.

572
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,720
Speaker 1: They were the only old NBA team with veterans that

573
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,520
Speaker 1: crushed all the other So they had to fight, you know,

574
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 1: because as you get older, you get kids and family.

575
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 1: You have kids and family, you don't want to go

576
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,320
Speaker 1: to four week roady in Orlando. So the bottom line is,

577
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,160
Speaker 1: I'm with you. People forget how good they were to

578
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,080
Speaker 1: start that season. They were dominant through twenty seven to

579
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,800
Speaker 1: thirty games. Okay, yeah, go ahead, absolutely, go ahead.

580
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:10,600
Speaker 7: No, no, no, they were dominant that year.

581
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 1: They rolled through the playoffs.

582
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:14,640
Speaker 7: They then had the best record in the NBA at

583
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 7: the midway point of the next season, they were the

584
00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:21,280
Speaker 7: favorites the day Lebron got hurt, they were the Vegas

585
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,760
Speaker 7: favorites to go back to back. And so it's just

586
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,840
Speaker 7: total recreation of history. We all agree that with I

587
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,880
Speaker 7: think the only real other controversy you're probably understelling thunder

588
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:35,680
Speaker 7: a bit, but otherwise finalists, you shouldn't gotten dragged on Twitter.

589
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:37,880
Speaker 1: I have your back, Okay. So I said this about

590
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:43,080
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant is that I didn't understand his lack of market.

591
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,560
Speaker 1: I'm like, listen, players like him. He doesn't need the

592
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:50,160
Speaker 1: ball in his hands. He's arguably the best jump shooter

593
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,520
Speaker 1: in the league. He's not a great defender. But Houston

594
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 1: has so much damn length, and so does San Antonio.

595
00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 1: I'm like, this guy is a this is a You

596
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,000
Speaker 1: don't have to bake him. He's a microwave player. You

597
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,880
Speaker 1: need about four practices in two games and he'll give

598
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 1: you twenty five. I think Houston is a great fit.

599
00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,080
Speaker 1: Let's start with this. Were you surprised at the pushback

600
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:19,000
Speaker 1: on well, you'd have to sign a couple of big years.

601
00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:23,040
Speaker 1: I'm like, bench guys make fifteen million. I was surprised

602
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:24,520
Speaker 1: that there wasn't a livelier market.

603
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 7: Well, so I wasn't surprised by the market, because I

604
00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:34,000
Speaker 7: do think you have to thread the needle of like.

605
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:37,320
Speaker 7: I don't think Kevin Durant would have made as much

606
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:42,239
Speaker 7: since for San Antonio or Miami because neither one of

607
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,440
Speaker 7: those teams are Kevin Durant away from winning a championship,

608
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,560
Speaker 7: and when you trade for him, what you are really

609
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 7: trading for is this coming season, and you hope next

610
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:57,480
Speaker 7: season as well, the twenty seven season, and then after

611
00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:00,000
Speaker 7: that he'll be forty and it's probably in a difference

612
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:04,120
Speaker 7: in situation. So I understood the market, but I agree

613
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 7: with you wholeheartedly in this regard. This is the perfect

614
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:14,360
Speaker 7: trade for Houston. So Houston replaces Jalen Green, who in

615
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 7: the playoffs, despite having I think a thirty seven point

616
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,959
Speaker 7: single game, averaged thirteen points on less than forty percent

617
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,520
Speaker 7: from the field, less than thirty percent from three. He

618
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 7: could not make a shot, he could not create a shot,

619
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,040
Speaker 7: and you replace him with one of the best shot

620
00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:36,760
Speaker 7: makers and shot creators for himself in the history of

621
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,440
Speaker 7: the league. You have now a starting lineup of Van Vliet,

622
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,400
Speaker 7: who's a steady champ, I'm in Thompson, who is a

623
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:48,360
Speaker 7: future star defensive player of the your caliber guy, Kevin Durant,

624
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:52,560
Speaker 7: Jabari Smith, the top five pick, and Shngoon. And you

625
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 7: didn't decimate your bench. Coming off the bench, you still

626
00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,280
Speaker 7: have Tarry Eason, Steven Adams, Reed Shepherd, who they took

627
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 7: in the top five last year. But Udoka didn't, you know,

628
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 7: want to play a rookie, but he'll play a lot

629
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,920
Speaker 7: in cam Whitmore. You go nine deep, you can defend,

630
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,240
Speaker 7: you have a great coach. You now have a bucket

631
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,480
Speaker 7: at the end of games. And Shingoon is the connector.

632
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,200
Speaker 7: And so the critique on Durant has been about leadership stuff.

633
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,799
Speaker 7: Udoka will take care of that. I think right as

634
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 7: we sit here today, and you know it's early. Obviously

635
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,600
Speaker 7: season ended two days ago, but when I look at

636
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,280
Speaker 7: next year, I think the Rockets have a real path

637
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:38,759
Speaker 7: to being the Western Conference champion, and I would I

638
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:42,960
Speaker 7: miss seeing Kevin Durant in big games. Some of that

639
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,480
Speaker 7: has been bad luck. Some of that's been bad choices,

640
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,640
Speaker 7: some of that's been bad teams. Like you know, it's

641
00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:51,239
Speaker 7: a big stew Some of it's on him, some of

642
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:53,720
Speaker 7: it's not. But the fact of the matter is this Colin.

643
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,600
Speaker 7: In the six years before he went to Golden State,

644
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,760
Speaker 7: his final six in Oklahoma City, he made the conference

645
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:02,080
Speaker 7: fin finals four of those six years, in the NBA

646
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,480
Speaker 7: finals once in the three years in Golden State obviously

647
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,479
Speaker 7: three straight NBA finals. In the six years since then,

648
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,799
Speaker 7: he has won two playoff series. He has never been

649
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,200
Speaker 7: out of round two. For a guy who lived at

650
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,360
Speaker 7: you know, mid May, end of May, beginning of June

651
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,680
Speaker 7: NBA playoff basketball for the first decade of his career.

652
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,160
Speaker 7: I want him to have one last act. And I

653
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:29,360
Speaker 7: still think he's right around the tenth best player in

654
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:30,040
Speaker 7: the league.

655
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:30,360
Speaker 1: He is.

656
00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,439
Speaker 7: It is a great addition, and I do not think

657
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:34,799
Speaker 7: they gave up too much at all.

658
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:40,240
Speaker 1: Okay, So I'm looking at my topics here. I don't

659
00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:45,479
Speaker 1: you get so agitated when I pick the Chargers over

660
00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 1: the Chiefs so as you do it every year, I am,

661
00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,120
Speaker 1: and it's not home.

662
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:52,719
Speaker 7: I don't And by the way, it's not out of

663
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:57,440
Speaker 7: Chiefs defense. It's out of Colin Coward protectionism. You know

664
00:35:57,480 --> 00:35:59,160
Speaker 7: how much you've meant to me, You know how much

665
00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:01,920
Speaker 7: I love you, and I hate that every year you

666
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:04,600
Speaker 7: do this to yourself, that every year it's either the

667
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,760
Speaker 7: Bronco and you flip a coin. Is it Sean Baiton

668
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:09,000
Speaker 7: and the Broncos, or is it my friends the Chargers

669
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,080
Speaker 7: who are gonna beat the Chiefs. And then you're just wrong?

670
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,400
Speaker 7: But go ahead, I'll let you do it again, I guess.

671
00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,399
Speaker 1: Okay, So John and I John Middlakoff. Do you know John?

672
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:18,400
Speaker 1: Have you met John before?

673
00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:18,719
Speaker 3: Yeah?

674
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,880
Speaker 7: Of course, never in person, but I obviously know Johnny

675
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,600
Speaker 7: does a great job. And his three bold predictions made

676
00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:26,040
Speaker 7: a lot of sense, unlike yours.

677
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,120
Speaker 1: So let's just go to mind. Let's not let's not

678
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,760
Speaker 1: throw shade at John. So no, John's were great, okay,

679
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,920
Speaker 1: and you and you probably do agree. The Dolphins are

680
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,160
Speaker 1: no steak in a lot of sizzle. I think they're gonna.

681
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,319
Speaker 1: I think they're they're gonna and I think to so.

682
00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,600
Speaker 1: The one that bothers you are the Chargers when the

683
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:47,240
Speaker 1: AFC West. And here's my take is that I've watched

684
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:51,760
Speaker 1: Harbaugh and year two everywhere. First year he builds the culture,

685
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,840
Speaker 1: but he needs two years to build the roster. And

686
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 1: their roster is now really, really good. And I don't

687
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,920
Speaker 1: know what the Chief's O line is. I don't know

688
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 1: what it is. They're receivers. I hope they stay out

689
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,279
Speaker 1: of personal issues. But that's been sketchy. Don't you think

690
00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:11,160
Speaker 1: it's time? Didn't you see the vulnerability of the Chiefs

691
00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:11,880
Speaker 1: last year.

692
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:15,840
Speaker 7: When Mahomes played and they went fifteen and one and

693
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,080
Speaker 7: were seventeen and one. Mahomes playing going into the Super Bowl. Yeah, listen,

694
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,120
Speaker 7: I said it before and I'll say it again. The

695
00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,760
Speaker 7: twenty twenty four of Kansas City Chiefs were, without a doubt,

696
00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:29,040
Speaker 7: the worst one loss two time defending champion I've ever seen.

697
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:32,640
Speaker 7: Now they're the only one lost two time defending champion.

698
00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:37,239
Speaker 7: But yeah, but I just somebody and the I know

699
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:39,320
Speaker 7: the Chiefs looked bad in the Super Bowl.

700
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:39,839
Speaker 5: They did.

701
00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:43,879
Speaker 7: I also know your beloved Justin Herbert is. I think

702
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,800
Speaker 7: he just threw another pick against the Texans. That game's

703
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,480
Speaker 7: been over for four months. But I'm sure they're flying

704
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,640
Speaker 7: high going into the offseason. But here is the problem.

705
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,920
Speaker 7: The problem is this. Patrick Mahomes in his career is

706
00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:02,640
Speaker 7: thirty five and five against the AFC West. Patrick Mahomes

707
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:06,120
Speaker 7: in his career has started seven years. They have won

708
00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:09,160
Speaker 7: the division seven times. They have played in the AFC

709
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:13,960
Speaker 7: Championship seven times. They have won the conference five times.

710
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:20,839
Speaker 7: To pick against Reid and Mahomes is just lunacy. And

711
00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:26,760
Speaker 7: I would evidence it by whenever you do your other divisions,

712
00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:31,360
Speaker 7: every other team in the league that you believe clearly

713
00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:35,719
Speaker 7: has the best coach and quarterback in its division, you

714
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,960
Speaker 7: will pick to win that division. Except for the team

715
00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,480
Speaker 7: that always wins the division, that is always there. And

716
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:47,760
Speaker 7: so I think that I do think like maybe because

717
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,160
Speaker 7: sometimes you know, there's like take Osmosis and j Mack

718
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:54,600
Speaker 7: has just been he's you know, he is playing, he's

719
00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 7: betting zero on the roulette wheel every time. He's like,

720
00:38:57,239 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 7: when it comes up, I'm gonna.

721
00:38:58,400 --> 00:38:59,040
Speaker 1: Be a genius.

722
00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:01,520
Speaker 7: And so he says better into the Chiefs every year,

723
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 7: and I think it is rubbed off on you a

724
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:07,400
Speaker 7: bit now. So maybe with middle coolf there now, I

725
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:11,279
Speaker 7: thought John's predictions were excellent. I also though if he

726
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 7: has the Patriots and who's the other team he has

727
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,279
Speaker 7: in the playoffs.

728
00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:15,719
Speaker 1: Oh, the Colts.

729
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:21,279
Speaker 7: I respect that because that's going to mean there are

730
00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:25,319
Speaker 7: some teams everyone has penciled into the playoffs that are

731
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:28,200
Speaker 7: going to be left without a chair, and so obviously

732
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,880
Speaker 7: the Bengals are one of them, according to John. So

733
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:33,640
Speaker 7: I do respect a non Chalky prediction.

734
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,080
Speaker 1: But I'll tell you this much.

735
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:37,360
Speaker 7: It's not gonna be the Chiefs without a chair. And

736
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:39,480
Speaker 7: it's not gonna be the Chiefs not winning their division.

737
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,360
Speaker 1: Okay, that's fair, let's see. Okay, one more thing. The

738
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:47,880
Speaker 1: draft is tomorrow, I said, earlier. I always defect. I

739
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:51,640
Speaker 1: never like going to a restaurant that's got a signature dish,

740
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:55,520
Speaker 1: like just do everything well. Last night, I by the way,

741
00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:58,360
Speaker 1: overlooking palm trees in the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica,

742
00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:00,920
Speaker 1: I had a vhy swat a nice lockdown thinking of you,

743
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,120
Speaker 1: and as I had dinner, I was in a restaurant

744
00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:04,920
Speaker 1: where everybody ordered a bunch of stuff and it was

745
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,279
Speaker 1: all amazing. And my take is, I don't want to

746
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,400
Speaker 1: go to a place that's got a sixteen egg omelet.

747
00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:15,600
Speaker 1: Just dude. And I've always said Lebron doesn't have a

748
00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:18,880
Speaker 1: signature move, and my take is, because he does everything well,

749
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,439
Speaker 1: I don't need the skyhook. He just gets the best

750
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,560
Speaker 1: players the best shots. So they're saying Cooper Flag doesn't

751
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:29,280
Speaker 1: have a bag, and my take is it's been the

752
00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:32,600
Speaker 1: most overrated thing of my life. Kareem had one because

753
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:34,479
Speaker 1: he didn't have the ball in his hands. You didn't

754
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:38,000
Speaker 1: give centers the ball like you do now at mid court,

755
00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:40,000
Speaker 1: like you had to wait for the ball late in

756
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,839
Speaker 1: the shot clock. What do you make about the criticism.

757
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:46,759
Speaker 1: You know, Lebron, he didn't have a go to signature

758
00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:48,000
Speaker 1: move like Jay.

759
00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:54,200
Speaker 7: Yeah, so I also again this right, of course this

760
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 7: is but this is again to go back to what

761
00:40:56,719 --> 00:41:00,920
Speaker 7: I first said, Every NBA myth starts and ends with

762
00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:05,040
Speaker 7: the same theme. We must elevate Michael Jordan at the

763
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:08,400
Speaker 7: expense of Lebron James. And so there's just there there.

764
00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:10,720
Speaker 7: It's never the other direction on the myts.

765
00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:12,760
Speaker 1: There's some of that on the facts, but not the myths.

766
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:17,359
Speaker 7: So like, does Lebron have one single move, Like you

767
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:20,640
Speaker 7: close your eyes and you think of Lebron, that's what

768
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,520
Speaker 7: he did. And the answer to that question is it's

769
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:27,320
Speaker 7: actually probably a chase down block, right, that's you close

770
00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,279
Speaker 7: your eyes, you think of it. But on offense, when

771
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,200
Speaker 7: you can do everything, then you don't have to do

772
00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:37,600
Speaker 7: any one thing specifically. People will say for Jordan, his

773
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:42,040
Speaker 7: signature move was the mid range turnaround, but that's only

774
00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:46,040
Speaker 7: only young people think young Ish people think that because

775
00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:50,080
Speaker 7: that was a ninety six to ninety eight Jordan's signature

776
00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:54,279
Speaker 7: post baseball, Jordan's signature early in his career was I'm

777
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,319
Speaker 7: gonna go down the middle of the lane, jump in

778
00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,680
Speaker 7: the air, and figure it out about force seconds later

779
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,640
Speaker 7: because I can hang and I'm such a great athlete

780
00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,440
Speaker 7: that I can figure this out on the fly. He

781
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:10,320
Speaker 7: wasn't this mid range assassin he became later in his career.

782
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:14,040
Speaker 7: Here is what I will say about Cooper Flag. There

783
00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:18,680
Speaker 7: is not a single person alive who was a finished

784
00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,759
Speaker 7: product at what they ended up being at eighteen and

785
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:25,560
Speaker 7: a half years old. The most important number with Cooper

786
00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:30,400
Speaker 7: Flag is his date of birth. He reclassified he is

787
00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:33,760
Speaker 7: when he gets to the league. Since we're talking about Lebron,

788
00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:38,280
Speaker 7: he will be only two weeks older, two weeks older

789
00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:41,640
Speaker 7: than Lebron was when Lebron entered the league and Lebron

790
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:47,239
Speaker 7: skipped college. He turns nineteen nineteen in December of his

791
00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:52,680
Speaker 7: rookie year. So the fact that Cooper Flag does basically

792
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:57,680
Speaker 7: everything pretty well is to me a brilliant place to start.

793
00:42:58,040 --> 00:42:59,680
Speaker 7: He'll figure out a couple things.

794
00:42:59,719 --> 00:43:00,640
Speaker 1: He great.

795
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:05,319
Speaker 7: But what I think sometimes happens to young star athletes,

796
00:43:05,719 --> 00:43:09,440
Speaker 7: and maybe this is why signature moves can be at

797
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:13,960
Speaker 7: times overrated, is they figure out what they do really well,

798
00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:16,920
Speaker 7: and they end up spending all their time or a

799
00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:20,960
Speaker 7: lot of their time perfecting that as other things atrophy

800
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,240
Speaker 7: a bit. Yeah, it feels to me like Cooper Flagg,

801
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:26,960
Speaker 7: you know, is a b to an a minus at

802
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:30,479
Speaker 7: almost everything you can be, and so he'll figure out,

803
00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:34,359
Speaker 7: you know, where his ultimate strength is. But listen, I

804
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:37,000
Speaker 7: do I think he's a future League MVP. I think

805
00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:39,359
Speaker 7: that's a little strong. Do I think he's a no

806
00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:43,279
Speaker 7: doubt consensus first overall? Pick absolutely, and I think he'll

807
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:43,960
Speaker 7: be just fine.

808
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:49,280
Speaker 1: Nick right bringing the heat. Really enjoyed it today. You know, basically,

809
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:52,239
Speaker 1: I'm I'm here a little bit of your speedback. But

810
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,839
Speaker 1: I enjoy that. I enjo filche well, No, I gave

811
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,080
Speaker 1: you credit. I had you listen you.

812
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:02,279
Speaker 7: Our relationship on this show is actually a perfect It's

813
00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:06,319
Speaker 7: just a homeostasis where when you're right, I affirm you,

814
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,279
Speaker 7: and when you're wrong, I try to prevent you from

815
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:10,279
Speaker 7: public embarrassment.

816
00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:13,000
Speaker 1: And if I can't, then I just have to inflict it.

817
00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:15,080
Speaker 1: That's all it is. Talk to you later,