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Speaker 2: Welcome in What's Right with Nick Wright? Episode one three.
Speaker 2: No TV show today, so we are jammed packed here.
Speaker 2: There's also breaking news in the NFL world and the
Speaker 2: NBA world over the last eight hours, so let's get
Speaker 2: right to it. Here's what missed the cut. The Laker's retiring,
Speaker 2: pau Gasol's jersey, Jim Beheim officially retiring. I a moment
Speaker 2: on Beheim. There are other people. Yeah, I'm wearing the
Speaker 2: orange in slight tribute to Syracuse. There are people more
Speaker 2: qualified to give a full Jim Beheim tribute. He has
Speaker 2: a great relationship to Will Bond and Kornheiser. He has
Speaker 2: an amazing relationship with Syracuse legend Adam Shine. He and
Speaker 2: I have a good relationship, but my feelings on him
Speaker 2: are a a little conflicted, not because of how he
Speaker 2: treated student media, but how kind of the last decade
Speaker 2: went on and off the court. And also, I'm just
Speaker 2: gonna be honest. I am a Syracuse alum. I donate
Speaker 2: to WAER, a radio station that has the talk show
Speaker 2: studio named after me, and I love Syracuse, but I
Speaker 2: have not been live and die die hard with Syracuse
Speaker 2: Athletics the way a lot of my colleagues, who also
Speaker 2: wear Syracuse graduates are. So rather than give a half
Speaker 2: hearted kind of synopsis of what you could argue is
Speaker 2: the greatest college basketball coaching career ever, that was all
Speaker 2: at one place, so like coach k at Duke is unbelievable,
Speaker 2: but he had a time at the Military Academy before that.
Speaker 2: Like there's as far as starting Bobby Knight obviously after
Speaker 2: Indiana was elsewhere. If you want to talk start to finish,
Speaker 2: only ever at one place. Beheim has an argument it's him.
Speaker 2: It obviously wasn't all good. It was remarkable what he
Speaker 2: built there. If you want to argue stayed a little
Speaker 2: too long. There are some arguments there, but I don't
Speaker 2: want to do a full Beaheim retrospective here because I'm
Speaker 2: not the right man to do it. Kind Of missed
Speaker 2: the cut, kind of didn't And the Jets are the
Speaker 2: most bet team to win the Super Bowl. That means
Speaker 2: nothing to me. However, there is Samaron Rodgers news we
Speaker 2: will get to, but demons, there is some shocking but
Speaker 2: not that shocking NBA news that we have to start
Speaker 2: with before we even get to the NFL stuff.
Speaker 3: Go right ahead, all right, So last night Katie was
Speaker 3: set to make his home game debut.
Speaker 2: It's also kind of crazy he hasn't played a home
Speaker 2: game yet for the Suns. Yeah, I mean, he got
Speaker 2: traded there when I was before the Super Bowl, right,
Speaker 2: but then he didn't play right after the break, and
Speaker 2: then but they had road games go ahead.
Speaker 3: Right, but he rolled his ankle in pregame warmups unfortunately. Yeah,
Speaker 3: he can miss the remainder of the regular season, but
Speaker 3: if he's healthy come playoff time, the Suns are still okay.
Speaker 2: Right Well, yeah, I mean, if he's healthy, the Suns
Speaker 2: have the most talent of any team in the West.
Speaker 2: But the ninety nine minute a block is what it
Speaker 2: says on YouTube. Listen. I planned to go long, but
Speaker 2: ninety nine minutes might be a touch strong, even by
Speaker 2: my standards. If you're watching on YouTube, you see it.
Speaker 2: So here's the thing. I've never seen that injury.
Speaker 4: Right, no TV today, by the way, that's why we've got.
Speaker 2: That because we have no television. Well, even then, I
Speaker 2: don't think I'm gonna do an hour and forty.
Speaker 4: I think they might stop it.
Speaker 2: I got you. Oh, They're just giving me an indefinite
Speaker 2: period of time.
Speaker 4: And that's the maxim.
Speaker 2: I get it, Okay, I got it. So it wasn't
Speaker 2: a mistake. It wasn't supposed to be that it was
Speaker 2: nineteen it was so I get it.
Speaker 4: Okay, all right.
Speaker 2: So here's the thing. I've never seen someone I've seen
Speaker 2: guys roll ankles, but I've never seen someone in warm
Speaker 2: up suffer an injury and warm ups that they're saying
Speaker 2: could knock him out a month. And it was weird
Speaker 2: because right after warm up, right after it happened, he
Speaker 2: kept warming up. But now they're saying it's a great
Speaker 2: two sprain Jeff Statts, who you can follow on Twitter,
Speaker 2: I want to read you his exact tweet. He's on
Speaker 2: Twitter as in street clothes he does like injury analysis
Speaker 2: regarding Kevin Durant, a Grade two sprain is also known
Speaker 2: as a partial or incomplete tear. Other players have sustained
Speaker 2: Grade two ankle sprains include Conley LaMelo joh Trey Young. Historically,
Speaker 2: the average is about seven games or nineteen days. However,
Speaker 2: time loss for Grade two sprains this season have been longer.
Speaker 2: The average time this season comes in at fifteen games
Speaker 2: or seven weeks. That does not include Justice Winslow, who
Speaker 2: has not played since late December. Okay, so the Suns
Speaker 2: have sixteen games left and they're already speculating that Durant
Speaker 2: could miss the remainder of the regular season and maybe
Speaker 2: the beginning of the playoffs if he is not back
Speaker 2: prior to the end of the regular season. I think
Speaker 2: they are in really, really rough shape, because we gotta remember,
Speaker 2: nobody comes back and is then playing thirty eight minutes
Speaker 2: in their first game full go. Plus it's playoff intensity.
Speaker 2: They all ramp up, and the Suns right now are
Speaker 2: the four seeds. Now, A lot of people thought they
Speaker 2: were gonna catch Memphis or Sacramento. Memphis obviously dealing with
Speaker 2: its own issues on and off the court, but without
Speaker 2: kd I don't know that they will if you were
Speaker 2: if and even if they were to catch Memphis, because
Speaker 2: Memphis falls down, they get the three seed. You are
Speaker 2: then potentially playing in Round one Golden State or the Clippers,
Speaker 2: or the MAVs or the Lakers. None of that's good.
Speaker 4: I don't think you named a scary team besides the
Speaker 4: MAVs to be hoes.
Speaker 2: Honest, Well, the Clippers last night cut Russ's minutes down,
Speaker 2: won the game, and with Kawi and Paul George healthy,
Speaker 2: that's a dangerous team. Phoenix, guys, Phoenix without Durant was
Speaker 2: not a contender flat they were in previous years, but
Speaker 2: not this year with this version of Yeah, I mean Chris.
Speaker 4: Paul's slightly injured.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean just old. Yeah, Chris Paul being old.
Speaker 2: But here's the bigger concern. Even if you think I
Speaker 2: didn't mention a Round one team that would knock them out,
Speaker 2: but I mean the Lakers could give them real trouble,
Speaker 2: real trouble. And who's the other team I mentioned, Oh
Speaker 2: the Clipper. Now I don't believe in the Warriors. But
Speaker 2: if the Warriors were ever gonna get up for a series,
Speaker 2: the chance to knock KD out even if they can't
Speaker 2: win the title, seems would be intriguing for them. But
Speaker 2: here's the other problem. Kevin Durance hurt all the time.
Speaker 2: Playoffs are long. Chris Paul's hurt all the time. The
Speaker 2: playoffs are long. Kevin Durant since tearing his achilles, Like,
Speaker 2: here's Kevin Durant's career games played by season. Okay, eighty
Speaker 2: seventy four, eighty two, seventy eight, sixty six, but that
Speaker 2: was a sixty six game season. Eighty one, eighty one,
Speaker 2: twenty seven, broke his foot, had the Jones fracture, basically
Speaker 2: missed a whole year. That's the one time. Then seventy two,
Speaker 2: sixty two his first year with Golden State, sixty eight
Speaker 2: seventy eight his last year with Golden State. Then he
Speaker 2: tears his achilles. Since then, the games played are as follows,
Speaker 2: thirty five, fifty five, forty two, forty two, and now
Speaker 2: he's looking at being done for the year. I'm sorry
Speaker 2: thirty I said forty two twice. I should have only
Speaker 2: said forty two once. It's zero thirty five, fifty five,
Speaker 2: forty two. That's where he's at. I said, I think
Speaker 2: on this show, and also I know on the TV
Speaker 2: show that everybody, when it comes to all sports teams,
Speaker 2: you always do the yeah, as long as they stay
Speaker 2: healthy caveat. But there are certain teams that that is
Speaker 2: a greater concern than others. And right now the Suns, Lakers, Clippers,
Speaker 2: if they don't reach their ultimate potential because of injury,
Speaker 2: you can't say you didn't see it coming. You can't
Speaker 2: say it's shocking. And it's one of the reasons that
Speaker 2: I was not quite as high on Phoenix as everyone
Speaker 2: else was after the trade Durant. Everyone bangs on Lebron
Speaker 2: and he's hurt right now because at this stage of
Speaker 2: his career he misses a lot of time. He's more
Speaker 2: available than Durant. Yeah, he's just as available as Steph.
Speaker 2: He's way more available than Kwhy the other thirty plus
Speaker 2: year old and KWHI is younger than any of those
Speaker 2: guys who are superstars who play big minutes like that.
Speaker 2: Durant has had so many lower body injuries since the
Speaker 2: Achilles it's very hard to say confidently even if he
Speaker 2: comes back for game one of the playoffs. That he's
Speaker 2: gonna stay healthy for two months. It's been a long
Speaker 2: time since he's been able to stay totally healthy for
Speaker 2: two months playing you know, every other day is you're
Speaker 2: gonna have to do once the conference finals start. This
Speaker 2: is a very ominous sign for the Suns, who are
Speaker 2: not gonna be able to ease themselves into the playoffs
Speaker 2: the way the Warriors with Katie used to be able
Speaker 2: to do. The Warriors won a series one year. I
Speaker 2: think when Steph missed the whole first round, like you
Speaker 2: could ease yourself in. That's not what the Western g
Speaker 2: Gonference playoffs are going to be like this year. All right, next, all.
Speaker 3: Right, the Yokastat Patty allegation story took an interesting turn.
Speaker 3: Conversation about around race is taking sheep? Yeah, what are
Speaker 3: your thoughts on this discussion around the MVP, around the
Speaker 3: MVP voting.
Speaker 2: Around the MVP voting. You're right there, chief, All right?
Speaker 2: So I would like to I got an email that
Speaker 2: i'd like to read. I got to pull it up
Speaker 2: real quick before I get to this. I want to
Speaker 2: see if I can find it. I apologize that I
Speaker 2: didn't have it right here.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna read the full name here, but I
Speaker 2: got an email from Justin after our show on Tuesday.
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, Hey Nick.
Speaker 2: I'm a huge fan of yours. I love your delivery
Speaker 2: and how well you present your argument. She can be
Speaker 2: funny and also serious, with something that is rare to
Speaker 2: find in today's media. The only thing I ask is,
Speaker 2: can you please stick to the topic of sports. We
Speaker 2: listened to your show to get away from political propaganda
Speaker 2: that has shoveled down our throats by every news outlet
Speaker 2: in the country. Sports aren't escape from all that. I
Speaker 2: was eighteen minutes in today's show when you brought up
Speaker 2: gun control and racism. Of course, the topic was about
Speaker 2: John Morant posting a gun on ig but you found
Speaker 2: a way to turn that into why black people are
Speaker 2: targeted when they have guns.
Speaker 4: It's nonsense.
Speaker 2: You're definitely, by all means entitled to your opinion, especially
Speaker 2: on your own show. However, your show is a target
Speaker 2: audience of sports fans, so please stick to what your
Speaker 2: audience loves.
Speaker 4: You're better than this.
Speaker 2: That last line I didn't love. I don't love the
Speaker 2: year better than this?
Speaker 4: You did forget to if you're like, if you want
Speaker 4: to tune out.
Speaker 2: Here's the thing though, But that John Morant thing, like
Speaker 2: you said, I started the show with it. We did
Speaker 2: eighteen minutes before I did a sixty second almost double standard. Yeah,
Speaker 2: just acknowledgment of it. So here's what I'm going to say,
Speaker 2: and Justin, I appreciate you listening and watching the show
Speaker 2: I we are. If I am being overtly political about things,
Speaker 2: I always give a little comeback in ten minutes. Note, Okay,
Speaker 2: if I am just honestly discussing my thoughts on something
Speaker 2: and there is a racial component to it, I am
Speaker 2: not going to insult the audience by assuming that they
Speaker 2: can't handle a couple minutes of maybe a opinion that's
Speaker 2: different than theirs. If we are going to do a
Speaker 2: full blo of fledged topic or show that is not sports,
Speaker 2: I never try to like trick you into listening to it.
Speaker 2: And what I will say to Justin is this the
Speaker 2: fact that you can just flippantly say that my opinion
Speaker 2: on the job story. When I've talked about the double
Speaker 2: standard of how people react to white people legally carrying
Speaker 2: guns and black people legally carrying guns, they can just
Speaker 2: flippantly say it's nonsense, would lead me to believe maybe
Speaker 2: you should actually open your eyes to distiff different viewpoints
Speaker 2: a bit more, because there's a lot of things we
Speaker 2: can talk about why that's the case, if it's right
Speaker 2: that it's the case, a lot of things. But to
Speaker 2: call it nonsense and deny it that it's the case
Speaker 2: struck me as a bit off. Okay, so that's the
Speaker 2: whole preamble to this. We are going to talk race
Speaker 2: here for a few minutes. I don't know how long
Speaker 2: it's gonna take. I would argue that if the people
Speaker 2: who are right now getting the fast forward thirty seconds
Speaker 2: or pausing the YouTube stream are the people that this
Speaker 2: might be the most valuable to, because I think I
Speaker 2: might say some things that surprise you or challenged the
Speaker 2: way you think a bit. So the reason Race got
Speaker 2: brought into the MVP discussion was because Kendrick Perkins made
Speaker 2: a few observations that in the last however many years,
Speaker 2: the only MVPs to not be in the top ten
Speaker 2: and scoring were Larry Bird and Dark Noovitsky, and now
Speaker 2: Jokic is about to do it again. Also, I believe
Speaker 2: made the observation that since Wilton Russell. Only one guy
Speaker 2: has ever won three straight MVPs. That one guy is
Speaker 2: Larry Bird. Now it looks like it's gonna be Yokich again.
Speaker 2: He was heavily implying Jokicic is benefiting by being a
Speaker 2: white player, and JJ Reddick lost his damn mind about
Speaker 2: So before I even talk about the merits of it,
Speaker 2: I want to say something about the media. I'm weighing
Speaker 2: how much if the juice is worth to screw it,
Speaker 2: whatever it is, what it is. That is a horrifying
Speaker 2: way to treat a teammate on live television. To if
Speaker 2: I were in that spot, there is nothing I can
Speaker 2: imagine that Brewer Wilds could ever say on our show
Speaker 2: to wear live during the segment, I looked at them
Speaker 2: and said, with anger and fury, that's what's wrong with
Speaker 2: sports TV. Try to undress and embarrass a colleague on
Speaker 2: live television is to me so far out of bounds. Now,
Speaker 2: there are certain times that if somebody says something that
Speaker 2: you find so abhorrent that you're like, I don't care
Speaker 2: if I ever work with this person again. I don't
Speaker 2: care if I torched this relationship. I am going to
Speaker 2: publicly disavow myself from it.
Speaker 4: So be it.
Speaker 2: This wasn't that. You know what I mean? If some
Speaker 2: if you're on TV with somebody and somebody starts dropping
Speaker 2: slurs and they're like bleep these be there like and
Speaker 2: you're like that, you're awful. I never want to worry.
Speaker 4: So be it.
Speaker 2: Then you gotta do what you gotta do. This wasn't that,
Speaker 2: So I thought. I think there's there has been a
Speaker 2: lurch in certain spaces in.
Speaker 4: Our field.
Speaker 2: Two guys wanting to and knowing they are embarrassing embar
Speaker 2: righteously embarrass a teammate for social media plaudits. I the
Speaker 2: I don't like it. I don't. I it is to
Speaker 2: me there are certain things. This is really more about
Speaker 2: media than anything before we get to the race stuff.
Speaker 2: I thought it was. I thought it was wrong. I
Speaker 2: just thought it was flatly wrong. And I've seen I thought,
Speaker 2: I forget who did it. I thought somebody did something
Speaker 2: similar on that same show Go Ahead.
Speaker 3: AJ did something like that to Stephen A. Smith at
Speaker 3: one point, I believe, like a couple months back.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't want to be wrong on Go.
Speaker 3: Ahead always since I feel like JJ is like that's
Speaker 3: just kind of his persona when it comes to this.
Speaker 2: It might be I'm just telling you I wouldn't and
Speaker 2: I don't mind spicy. But somebody on that same show
Speaker 2: did something to Mad Dog Russo uh implying that he
Speaker 2: was prejudiced, and it was JJ did a thing with
Speaker 2: him about plumbers and firemen and Bob Coozy.
Speaker 3: Or whatever, and the guy said that I used to
Speaker 3: watch Bob Coosey like you weren't a lot.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's Mad Dog Russo.
Speaker 2: I just think there's I think there are standards and
Speaker 2: practices for live television that sometimes folks forget, and it
Speaker 2: would if I were on the other side of that,
Speaker 2: I would get very, very angry. And I have seen
Speaker 2: the guys who deal with it. I stephen A had
Speaker 2: to deal with something Jay Williams did not that long
Speaker 2: ago that I thought was out of bound. But that's
Speaker 2: just my opinion there. Now let's get to the It
Speaker 2: is race a part of this, all right? So JJ
Speaker 2: said that Kendrick was calling people racist, and that is
Speaker 2: what is so frustrating.
Speaker 5: It is not the same thing to say race could
Speaker 5: be playing a factor in something as saying these people
Speaker 5: are racist.
Speaker 2: Let me give you the simplest possible example. People are
Speaker 2: surprised when they find out you're my son. There are
Speaker 2: two major reasons for that. One is our ages, the
Speaker 2: other is our races. That does not make anyone who
Speaker 2: is surpri at all racist, it's just race is one
Speaker 2: of the reasons that they don't think we're related. It's,
Speaker 2: by the way, pretty reasonable assumption. It's like no now
Speaker 2: if they if once they hear how we're related, it
Speaker 2: makes them angry. Now we get to the racist part
Speaker 2: of it. But there's there. There's racial components to a
Speaker 2: lot of things that are not racist.
Speaker 4: That's first point.
Speaker 2: Second point is this, I think white basketball players at
Speaker 2: the highest level get pulled in all different directions where
Speaker 2: race plays a component in how we evaluate them. For instance,
Speaker 2: the plumbers and fireman comment that JJ made about.
Speaker 4: The older era players.
Speaker 2: We all know why. One of the reasons why sixties
Speaker 2: basketball is considered a joke by some guys a lot
Speaker 2: of white guys, a lot of white guys. And we
Speaker 2: know that that when people are trying to tear down
Speaker 2: Jordan and show the clips of who he was playing
Speaker 2: in the eighties, they look for the clips of white
Speaker 2: guys guarding. So I would argue that when it comes
Speaker 2: to NBA basketball. Now let's go to modern day, the
Speaker 2: average white player gets downgraded because of his race. I
Speaker 2: think people took way longer to recognize Alex Caruso was
Speaker 2: a hell of a player because he had a receding
Speaker 2: hairline and was a bald white guy, then they would
Speaker 2: have with the exact same resume if he was just
Speaker 2: a shaved head black guy from Texas, A and M.
Speaker 2: I think that guys who again, whatever, I don't. I
Speaker 2: hope that if any of this reaches JJ's desk, he
Speaker 2: gets the full context of it, because I'm not really
Speaker 2: I'm not trying to attack him at all, but I
Speaker 2: bet JJ Reddick felt personally like I am not giving
Speaker 2: credit for what a excellent player I am because I'm
Speaker 2: a white dude. And I bet he dealt with that
Speaker 2: his whole basketball life, where it was like whether you're
Speaker 2: getting picked on the playground or whether it's all of
Speaker 2: this how the media talks about him. So, now, does
Speaker 2: that mean those people were racists?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 2: Does it mean race conscious or more likely subconsciously, was
Speaker 2: playing a factor into how they evaluated them. Yes, So
Speaker 2: I think average white basketball players get downgraded by the
Speaker 2: media by fans a few percentage points. But there is
Speaker 2: a flip side to that coin. I think once you,
Speaker 2: if you're a white player, crossed the threshold to undeniably great,
Speaker 2: you get a few bonus right, not intentionally, not because
Speaker 2: the voters are together and they're like, you know what,
Speaker 2: let's let's get some white folks this award, especially because
Speaker 2: the only white guys who win it these days are
Speaker 2: non American white guys. You know what I mean, it's
Speaker 2: Steve Nash, who's Canadian. It's dark, it's jokic. But do
Speaker 2: I think that subconsciously there are some extra credit for
Speaker 2: when the white guy in the NBA is dominating that, Yes,
Speaker 2: I do. I do, And I don't think that makes
Speaker 2: anybody racist, just like I don't think it's racist that
Speaker 2: when I talk to your your mom's grandfather, one of
Speaker 2: my favorite people in the world, that his favorite team
Speaker 2: or every year is whichever team has the new black quarterback.
Speaker 2: Now he's ninety three years old, So maybe there is
Speaker 2: a maybe that is a little different, But I don't
Speaker 2: think there are a lot of things where race plays
Speaker 2: a factor and doesn't make the participants racist. And it
Speaker 2: is an attempt, in my opinion, to shut down conversation
Speaker 2: by saying you are playing the race card. You are
Speaker 2: invoking race where it doesn't exist. This is where I believe.
Speaker 2: I believe race exists everywhere, two different factors in different ways.
Speaker 2: But the and the people who get to claim I no,
Speaker 2: race plays no factor in my life are only white people.
Speaker 2: No non white people get to be like, race plays
Speaker 2: nothing to do with my life, and so to act
Speaker 2: like it can when we're all in shared spaces in anything,
Speaker 2: have nothing to do with anything I think is naive, okay,
Speaker 2: and I don't. And so if you're gonna make that
Speaker 2: allegation race might play a component or whatever, you do need.
Speaker 4: Some data points.
Speaker 2: And the data points that Nikola Jokic is being held
Speaker 2: to a different standard or at this point overwhelming. I've
Speaker 2: laid them out without ever bringing up the race components
Speaker 2: of it. But what we know is that and you know,
Speaker 2: I don't want to go it'll take too long, But
Speaker 2: what I will do it from memory, forget it. What
Speaker 2: we know is that we have a bunch of instances
Speaker 2: of guys winning consecutive MVPs and then not coming close
Speaker 2: the third year. It happened to Kareem, it happened to Moses,
Speaker 2: it happened to Magic, happened to Michael, he won two titles,
Speaker 2: and then they gave it to Berkley. It happened to Duncan,
Speaker 2: it happened to uh Nash, it happened to Lebron, and
Speaker 2: then they gave it to Derrick Rose. Then it happened
Speaker 2: to Lebron won two in a row again. Then Durant
Speaker 2: wanted they didn't give it to Durant. Durant was the
Speaker 2: best guy that year is then Steph won back to back,
Speaker 2: and then Russ one for the triple doubles. Then Giannis
Speaker 2: won back to back and hadn't produced in the postseason,
Speaker 2: and Jokic one, and now Yogic is gonna win a third.
Speaker 2: The one guy who previously they were like, no, you
Speaker 2: win three in a row was Bird. So that is
Speaker 2: an exception. We can look for all the reasons it's
Speaker 2: an exception, but it's an exception. We also know that
Speaker 2: this year. One of the reasons so many people are
Speaker 2: acting like it's an outrageous debate whether or not Jokic
Speaker 2: is the MVP or not is because they're like, he
Speaker 2: has by some metrics, the best stats by any metrics,
Speaker 2: Some of the best stats and they have the best record,
Speaker 2: they're the best team. That's who the MVP is agreed,
Speaker 2: which is why the exception that gave him the MVP
Speaker 2: last year was so gallington me when he was the
Speaker 2: sixth seed, because since nineteen eighty prior to last year,
Speaker 2: six seeds to win the MVPs were Moses Malone, Russell Westbrook,
Speaker 2: Russell Westbrook. The year Katie left, he averaged the first
Speaker 2: triple double in fifty years and led the league in scoring,
Speaker 2: and then Jokis last year. And the last part is
Speaker 2: these votes have not been close so this season or
Speaker 2: his first MVP award. They're one hundred first placed votes.
Speaker 2: He got ninety one of them. Last year he got
Speaker 2: sixty five of them in the straw poll. This year
Speaker 2: he currently he had seventy seven of them. And to
Speaker 2: act like it's not close when the numbers are that
Speaker 2: Joel Embiid is averaging the most points anyone has averaged
Speaker 2: in a season not named Kobe, Jordan or Harden in
Speaker 2: forty years. In yeah, you're gonna say, will you know, well,
Speaker 2: a bunch of guys that have me in forty years
Speaker 2: and he's doing it on crazy efficiency. Yannis is averaging
Speaker 2: as thirty one points in thirty two minutes per game
Speaker 2: on crazy efficiency, and both are demonstrably better defenders, right,
Speaker 2: and both of their teams. But we can just look
Speaker 2: at it. The Nuggets have forty six wins, the Bucks
Speaker 2: have forty seven, and the Sixers have forty three. So
Speaker 2: it is that if you want to argue he's the MVP,
Speaker 2: no problem. If you are arguing it's a runaway for
Speaker 2: the third straight year, it is not outrageous to then
Speaker 2: discuss are there other factors at play here? Is it
Speaker 2: a panopoly of reasons? And could it could the fact
Speaker 2: that implicitly or explicitly he's a white player help him
Speaker 2: a bit in the eyes of some voters. It's not
Speaker 2: a third rail outrageous top. So That's where I'm at
Speaker 2: on it.
Speaker 4: It's a lot to unpack there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I guess it was good. They
Speaker 2: put ninety nine minutes on there. We're twenty seven minutes
Speaker 2: into the show.
Speaker 4: We're halfway through.
Speaker 2: The A blots.
Speaker 4: It happens.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, let's go on to football. Let's move on,
Speaker 2: all right.
Speaker 3: Reports are out that the Jets are close to landing
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers. The Packers seem to be done with their
Speaker 3: future Hall of Famer, but Rogers also seems like.
Speaker 4: The one who wants out.
Speaker 3: Is this really an amicable divorce or is this or
Speaker 3: one side force in the move?
Speaker 2: All right, before I answer it, if Gabe Goodwin's around, Gabe,
Speaker 2: if you could text me, as a Jets fan, your
Speaker 2: full thoughts on this, I'd like to read him on
Speaker 2: the air and then react to him. If that's possible, great,
Speaker 2: If not, don't worry about it. So I think this
Speaker 2: is an amicable divorce because I think both sides are
Speaker 2: done with the other.
Speaker 3: I think one side's more done with who do you
Speaker 3: think Who's I think green Bay is more done with
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers than Aaron Rodgers is done with green Bay.
Speaker 3: I actually will, considering that they had to pay him
Speaker 3: all that money.
Speaker 2: Right, but now the contract will go with him, so
Speaker 2: a lot of the money the Jets would have to
Speaker 2: pay him. I I think they're both done with each other.
Speaker 2: And I think that. Listen that I've said it before
Speaker 2: Nat Hackett. The moment Nott Hackett got hired, we knew
Speaker 2: the Jets were all in on Rogers. They didn't hire
Speaker 2: him because he bade himself in glory with the Broncos,
Speaker 2: and when we found the Broncos hired him to get
Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers. And then with Chris Collinsrew was like, Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers loves Nat Hackett. I'll never forget this moment watching
Speaker 2: Sunday Night Football, when you're talking about Aaron Rodgers loves
Speaker 2: Nat Hackett. I'm waiting for him to be like because
Speaker 2: of the offense he designed, or this that, and and
Speaker 2: what Chris Consreth said is Man, Rogers loves Nott Hackett.
Speaker 2: He made him laugh. They played corn hole together. I
Speaker 2: was like, that's the reason this guy got a head
Speaker 2: coaching job.
Speaker 4: Like, that's the exact justifications you need for a guy
Speaker 4: like Aaron Rodgers, right.
Speaker 5: I like that.
Speaker 4: So they're moving on.
Speaker 2: I think it's the right call for Roger, for the
Speaker 2: Packers to turn the page. This is why I was
Speaker 2: arguing for.
Speaker 4: Seas.
Speaker 2: Of course, now Mark Schlereth came on my show and said,
Speaker 2: they don't need to play Jordan Love. They already know
Speaker 2: they're going with him. I still think it's risky, like
Speaker 2: you would have, but maybe maybe they were like, we're
Speaker 2: just out of the Aaron Rodgers business. We're done with
Speaker 2: it here. And here's my question I would have if
Speaker 2: I were the Jets, is he going to participate in
Speaker 2: the offseason stuff? Because it's totally new receivers, it's a
Speaker 2: totally new team. It might not be a totally new
Speaker 2: offensive system. But we did see last year about week
Speaker 2: ten he got on the same page as the young
Speaker 2: receivers and they started winning games. Christian Watson started going,
Speaker 2: I don't want to have to wait, like you're in
Speaker 2: a brutal division, in a brutal conference, so I want
Speaker 2: to know yes, so you don't have to do what
Speaker 2: Mahomes did, which was Mahomes and not only went to
Speaker 2: the optional offseason stuff, did all of that. He held
Speaker 2: his own mini camp in Texas with the receivers. He
Speaker 2: flies the guys in, he puts them up, and they
Speaker 2: practiced together. Well, that's kind of going above and beyond.
Speaker 2: But he also knew we just lost Tyreek Hill. I
Speaker 2: want to win the damn Super Bowl. We have new
Speaker 2: receivers on the team. We got we gotta go, go, go,
Speaker 2: go go. The coaches can't be involved because of CBA stuff,
Speaker 2: So I'll do it. I'm not saying he has to
Speaker 2: do that. But you can't just show up to the
Speaker 2: mandatory stuff, especially after the last season.
Speaker 3: Correct obvious, it's obvious that you need to take that
Speaker 3: extra sit.
Speaker 4: Right with it.
Speaker 2: The is that the you just can't. We're closed, We're closed. Sorry,
Speaker 2: we should have locked the door. Thank you, buddy. Oh sweet,
Speaker 2: I thought that was Laurie walking up, but it wasn't
Speaker 2: Lorii walking up.
Speaker 4: I saw.
Speaker 2: I just saw a hat, and then I realized it
Speaker 2: was somebody maybe wanting to shop. So I i'd want
Speaker 2: to know that if I were the Jets. Also, if
Speaker 2: I were the Jets, i'd far rather go after Lamar.
Speaker 2: But that's not what they're doing. So here is what
Speaker 2: Gabe Goodwin, our coordinating producer, the owner of Blue Duck
Speaker 2: Media and Jets fan says. This is a movie sequel
Speaker 2: nobody asked for. We did this with FARV. It was
Speaker 2: a mess. Aaron is obsessed with proving he's better than
Speaker 2: the Gunslinger. This is just the latest and weirdest way
Speaker 2: to do so makes no sense. At least, those four
Speaker 2: days in solitary darkness prepared him for what it's like
Speaker 2: to be a Jet. So back to the point, like
Speaker 2: that new like that idiotic new point break all pass
Speaker 2: Bolt up Chargers for life. Wow, Gabe, because he lives
Speaker 2: in southern California, Gabe, Gabe, The Chargers are as cursed
Speaker 2: of a franchise as there is. If you're gonna change teams,
Speaker 2: get with the Prince, Buddy.
Speaker 4: I knew you were gonna say that. Man.
Speaker 3: Yeah, as soon as he said Chargers, I just thought
Speaker 3: of the comeback to be honest.
Speaker 4: How great? What a moment?
Speaker 2: All right?
Speaker 4: Next topic? All right, the.
Speaker 3: Ravens placed a non exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 3: You suspected that might happen. You can now engage in
Speaker 3: contract talks with other teams. What do you think Baltimore's
Speaker 3: goal is here?
Speaker 2: Uh, to get Lamar as cheap as possible. I and
Speaker 2: the Lamar things complicated. So why don't you go ahead
Speaker 2: and read the next question and I'll do the whole
Speaker 2: Lamar thing together.
Speaker 3: So obviously Lamar is still available, but the Falcons, Dolphins, Panthers, Commanders,
Speaker 3: and Raiders are all reportedly out.
Speaker 2: Okay, so let me jump in right there. It's one
Speaker 2: thing for teams to privately say this is not our
Speaker 2: you know, this is not where we're gonna put all
Speaker 2: our eggs. It is incredibly odd for those teams too,
Speaker 2: to leak the reporters that we are out on this. Okay,
Speaker 2: And here's the other thing that I don't understands, how
Speaker 2: do you not at least hold a meeting?
Speaker 5: Right?
Speaker 2: How do you not if their feeling is he wanted
Speaker 2: from the Ravens fifty million a year, five years, fully guaranteed.
Speaker 2: We're not doing that, So be it? Is it not
Speaker 2: still in your interest if you're the Falcons, panthers or
Speaker 2: commanders to call him and say, here's what we would offer.
Speaker 2: Are you interested? Is it not worth finding out that
Speaker 2: if Lamar, having not gotten the fully guaranteed deal for
Speaker 2: two years from Baltimore, maybe has lowered his sites a bit,
Speaker 2: or that he would accept from you something he wouldn't
Speaker 2: have accepted from Baltimore because he's now angry with them
Speaker 2: to not at least investigate, it strikes me as negligence.
Speaker 2: Strikes me as like you are not doing your due
Speaker 2: diligence to make your team the best it can be.
Speaker 4: Go ahead. Yeah, so we're in sort of unknown territory here.
Speaker 3: The bachelor party in Bangkok scenario worked out for my
Speaker 3: boy Daniel Jones man. Yes, for some reason, teams aren't
Speaker 3: bending over backwards to trade for Lamar. You have to
Speaker 3: wonder would this be happening to any other quarterback at
Speaker 3: his level? What's really good?
Speaker 2: Okay, So a lot of people think this is just
Speaker 2: blatant collusion and I am not. And and then you
Speaker 2: have some people. I saw Benjamin Albright, it was like,
Speaker 2: to believe it's collusion, you'd have to believe all thirty
Speaker 2: one gms got together, the Worgans their own interest. It's like, buddy,
Speaker 2: we saw, we saw collusion with cap. We saw it.
Speaker 2: We we know it can happen where a quarterback that
Speaker 2: could help teams, everyone agrees not to sign it. So
Speaker 2: to act like it's an impossibility is foolishness. Go.
Speaker 3: I think it's a domino effect, like you know, the
Speaker 3: Ravens are already kind of like disrespecting him, and I
Speaker 3: think that.
Speaker 4: Other teams are just kind of falling in line, you know, Like.
Speaker 2: Well, I do think there is pressure amongst owners to
Speaker 2: other owners that the moment someone else gets the Deshaun
Speaker 2: Watson deal, all quarterbacks are gonna want it. The moment
Speaker 2: someone else gets a fully guaranteed deal, all the other
Speaker 2: quarterbacks are gonna want it, so hold the line. So
Speaker 2: I do think there's an element of that. I am
Speaker 2: not going to go out and say this is full blown.
Speaker 2: What are you confuse by?
Speaker 3: This is Shawn Watson, Like, I don't understand this is
Speaker 3: Shawn Watson better than Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2: No, but they so no, And that's you guys correct.
Speaker 2: But all the owners want it to be like it's
Speaker 2: Cleveland made a mistake. We're not gonna make it. That's
Speaker 2: the the But the moment a second guy gets it,
Speaker 2: then you think only Joe Burrow's gonna want one, justin
Speaker 2: Herbert Jalen hurts everybody. Everybody's gonna want me. So the
Speaker 2: owners are trying to hold the line. I do believe that,
Speaker 2: but it does only take one. Only takes one. Owners say, man,
Speaker 2: I don't care if these dudes are mad at me.
Speaker 2: I want Lamar Jackson and I want to win. Now.
Speaker 2: Do I understand the hesitation from teams like, fully guaranteed
Speaker 2: he's injured A lot doesn't throw that. Well, yes, but
Speaker 2: we also live in a world where Carson Wentz got
Speaker 2: traded for a first round pick, where teams gave Jared
Speaker 2: Goff one hundred million guaranteed Daniel where we do it,
Speaker 2: and now Daniels is only really like ninety million guaranteed.
Speaker 2: But there are not enough good quarterbacks for nobody to
Speaker 2: go out and pay through the nose for Lamar. I
Speaker 2: think somebody will so. I the reason I've stayed somewhat
Speaker 2: quiet on this, at least on social is because I
Speaker 2: want to give them full context. I think what's happening
Speaker 2: right now is fishy. I also think someone will pay,
Speaker 2: even if it's not one hundred percent fully.
Speaker 4: Guaranteed Lamar to the Texans.
Speaker 2: So that's an interesting one.
Speaker 3: Say, got the don't they have? Like the first number
Speaker 3: two pick number two pick.
Speaker 2: They have the money? That that, to me is an
Speaker 2: interesting one. The foul Tilkins is the one that I
Speaker 2: had been promoting. The fact that the commanders are just
Speaker 2: out is wild to me. But here's the other to me,
Speaker 2: intriguing piece of it or not intriguing. Here would be
Speaker 2: my advice. Lamar's worked without an agent. Teams don't like it.
Speaker 2: I don't know either are pros and cons to that.
Speaker 2: I think Lamar should call David Mulligetta. That's Deshaun's because
Speaker 2: the fact of the matter is whatever he did to
Speaker 2: turn Deshaun Watson, who had sat out a year and
Speaker 2: was facing twenty three civil suits and the specter of
Speaker 2: potential criminal charges. He organized an all out bidding war
Speaker 2: that ended up with Deshaun getting the best contract ever
Speaker 2: and that team having to give up three first round picks.
Speaker 4: Everybody should be looking for the show.
Speaker 2: And so but look the reason I'm saying Lamar specifically,
Speaker 2: Lamar is in a very similar spot right now without
Speaker 2: any of the baggage, where he is a star quarterback
Speaker 2: in his mid twenties who is available and accomplished. So
Speaker 2: but those guys normally don't come available, and so I
Speaker 2: would think it would be worth it because whatever David
Speaker 2: did to get to show on that deal, it's an
Speaker 2: all time and by the way he did with the team,
Speaker 2: the Browns did it knowing he was potentially going to
Speaker 2: be suspended.
Speaker 4: He's eleven games.
Speaker 2: So even if you can't get him that deal because
Speaker 2: the Browns were desperate and dumb, I do think at
Speaker 2: this point the best deal that Lamar could get, David
Speaker 2: could get him. And by the way, he's not a
Speaker 2: clutch agent. I have no ties to this or anything.
Speaker 2: I don't have a relationship with David except for to
Speaker 2: say hello to him. I'm not I am totally unconflicted
Speaker 2: on this. It just seems like the guy who was
Speaker 2: in this similar position but with a thirty tons of
Speaker 2: baggage that I don't have, he got this deal with
Speaker 2: your help. Why don't you come help me. I don't
Speaker 2: think he's gonna play for the Ravens again. I've been
Speaker 2: saying that for a while. Now more people seem to
Speaker 2: be coming around to it. Right now. Do you have
Speaker 2: a follow up?
Speaker 4: You want to you want to talk about Daniel or
Speaker 4: what I mean?
Speaker 2: Do you think it's a good contract. Do you think
Speaker 2: it's a good deal for the Giants. I don't know
Speaker 2: what the Giants are doing.
Speaker 4: I think I think Tom will tell steady improvement.
Speaker 2: You should make the Giants your team.
Speaker 4: You should. You don't really have a team.
Speaker 2: You you know your front you were not you were
Speaker 2: born in Mississippi, you lived in Kansas City. But if
Speaker 2: you just tell people, I mean, you could be a
Speaker 2: Chiefs fan fairly. But if you feel like that's too easy,
Speaker 2: forget that the Texans are a disastrous franchise. You've lived
Speaker 2: in New York, you like Daniel Jones. You're about to
Speaker 2: move to LA When people are like, who's your team?
Speaker 2: I think Giants.
Speaker 4: You should consider it.
Speaker 2: You should consider it because you're not gonna be the
Speaker 2: You're not going with the Jags. I know it.
Speaker 4: I'm definitely not going with the Jags.
Speaker 3: I was always kind of I figured call myself a
Speaker 3: Chiefs fan, Jets would be or Giants would be a
Speaker 3: fun team.
Speaker 2: Well, listen, you can. I'd be thrilled if you're.
Speaker 3: Everybody always gets pissed at me when I play with
Speaker 3: the Chiefs on Mad Yeah.
Speaker 2: But but the thing is, it's like, because of your
Speaker 2: connection to the city and having grown up there and
Speaker 2: all of that, you can fairly claim Chiefs fandom.
Speaker 4: But if you didn't want to, that's the easy road,
Speaker 4: is what you're saying. Yeah, no, no fun in that.
Speaker 2: Well no, there's a lot of I don't get me wrong,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of fun in it. But if you
Speaker 2: didn't want to claim it, you could go Giants. All right,
Speaker 2: that was a forty two minute a block. My bad, guys.
Speaker 2: We'll do a quick B block come back and answer
Speaker 2: questions after. What's right.
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Speaker 2: Welcome Mack. In episode one thirty three, what's right with
Speaker 2: Nick Wright? Breaking news on the show? Can we get
Speaker 2: a live look? Is it possible? Can we get a
Speaker 2: camera into the studio to show Gabe? I want to
Speaker 2: see Gabe's reaction after this that the cameras down. All right,
Speaker 2: I'm just gonna tell him. Get ready. From rap sheet sources,
Speaker 2: the Jets have acquired Ravens safety Chuck Clark for a
Speaker 2: seven round pick. Sorry, Gabe, it is true. It is
Speaker 2: breaking news. Uh So, Chuck Clark to the from the
Speaker 2: Baltimore Ravens to the New York Jets for a some
Speaker 2: dround pick. All right, demonse, Let's go, what's the first
Speaker 2: up in the B block?
Speaker 3: All right, So, both the NFL and NBA have had
Speaker 3: some foundation shaking moves over the past year. The idea
Speaker 3: that you can get Lamar for just two first round
Speaker 3: picks has got me thinking. Deshaun Watson trade and guaranteed
Speaker 3: extension changed the quarterback market, and the Ruby Gobert trade
Speaker 3: has disasters disastrously inflated the trade market, which move will
Speaker 3: have worse ripple effects on their leak for years to come.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't want to say worse, but the more
Speaker 2: impactful one is the Dashaun Watson one because the Gobart trade,
Speaker 2: now that Durant's been traded and we've had a bunch
Speaker 2: of guys traded, that kind of falls to the background
Speaker 2: as far as it being the standard, Like, well, Rudy
Speaker 2: Gobert went for this, nobody's gonna do that anymore now
Speaker 2: because now there's a new one. It's like, well, okay,
Speaker 2: this is what Kevin Durant went for, and then you
Speaker 2: you know, jostled down from there. Right right now, the
Speaker 2: Deshaun Watson deal is still having an impact, and we'll
Speaker 2: look with Lamar, but then we'll also let's also see
Speaker 2: how the Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts negotiations. Go,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say one other thing though about the Lamar
Speaker 2: thing before we move on to our game. The Ravens
Speaker 2: had an opportunity. You can sign quarterbacks to an extension.
Speaker 4: After three years.
Speaker 2: Okay, Joe Burrow's played three years, He's getting an extension.
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 2: Lamar three years into his career, was coming off a
Speaker 2: season where he won a playoff game and was a
Speaker 2: year removed from winning League MVP. The Ravens did not
Speaker 2: sign him to an extension that offseason. Here's why it's notable.
Speaker 2: That was before the Deshaun Watson contract. So the idea that, oh,
Speaker 2: it's just the Deshaun Watson thing that ruined this, No,
Speaker 2: it is not. Because they had an opportunity a year
Speaker 2: before Deshaun was ever traded to get Lamar done, and
Speaker 2: they did not.
Speaker 3: All right, let's play our game, all right, So they
Speaker 3: were playing all inter foals. First off, you've got your
Speaker 3: boys the Lakers. Lakers have been on fire since the
Speaker 3: deadline and are in the playing window now, the play
Speaker 3: and window. But Lebron is still out and won't have
Speaker 3: tons of time to mess with the new guys before
Speaker 3: the playoffs. All in a fold, the Lakers will win
Speaker 3: a playoff series, not a playing game, but a playoff series.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't know they're going to be in the plane.
Speaker 4: Okay, they might get the sixth seed, might get the.
Speaker 2: Sixte I mean right now the Lakers are at this
Speaker 2: point in the season. Don't worry about wins, just worry
Speaker 2: about losses. You can make up wins, you can't make
Speaker 2: up losses. So the way you figure out how far
Speaker 2: you up to go, you count losses. Does that make sense? Yeah,
Speaker 2: So the Lakers have thirty four losses, same as the Pelicans.
Speaker 2: Pelicans obviously going in the wrong direction despite the win
Speaker 2: last night. The Mavericks and Timberwolves both have thirty three
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Mavericks, Timberwolves, and Clippers all have thirty three losses,
Speaker 2: and the Warriors have thirty two losses. The Warriors are
Speaker 2: the five seed, so the Lakers could absolutely move up
Speaker 2: to the five or six line.
Speaker 4: It's in play.
Speaker 2: I'm not worried about Lebron meshing with the teammates and
Speaker 2: di'angelo Russell hasn't really played since that he was traded
Speaker 2: for they got him. He comes in on Friday the
Speaker 2: way Anthony Davis is playing right now. The Lakers have
Speaker 2: an argument with Kevin Durant now injured, that they are
Speaker 2: the scariest team in the West, and while I don't
Speaker 2: want them in the play in man, I'd love if
Speaker 2: they could get Denver and round one. The problem with
Speaker 2: that is the only way to get Denvern round one
Speaker 2: would mean they are either at the nine to ten
Speaker 2: line and have to win back to back playing games,
Speaker 2: or they're at the seven to eight line and they
Speaker 2: lose their first play in game. So you're not so
Speaker 2: Denvern round one is probably not going to happen. But
Speaker 2: I'll tell you my ideal playoff bracket, and I don't
Speaker 2: think they're gonna get all the way there, but this
Speaker 2: is what it is. Denver's obviously going to be the one,
Speaker 2: Sacramento stays the two, Phoenix move moves up to the fall.
Speaker 2: I guess there's two ideal playoff brackets. Phoenix will say
Speaker 2: that this is the first one. Phoenix moves up to
Speaker 2: the three, Memphis falls to the four, and the Lakers
Speaker 2: climb all the way to the five, and then you
Speaker 2: get Memphis in round one and Denver in round two.
Speaker 2: The next ideal bracket would be Phoenix stays at the
Speaker 2: four and the Lakers move up to the six line
Speaker 2: and get Memphis or Sacramento in round one and the
Speaker 2: other one of those guys in round two. All of
Speaker 2: that is possible, and so the and if Lebron is
Speaker 2: actually gonna be back in two weeks, then the time
Speaker 2: off could be good for him. And let me also
Speaker 2: remind people of this when it comes to the Lake possibilities.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna show them on to say something here. So
Speaker 2: tankathon dot com ranks every team by remaining strength of schedule.
Speaker 2: So the Spurs and the Suns have the hardest remaining
Speaker 2: strength of schedule left down.
Speaker 4: At the very bottom.
Speaker 2: Who's number twenty nine?
Speaker 4: The Lakers? Lakers. The Lakers.
Speaker 2: As far as remaining games and their ability to really
Speaker 2: get some wins together, I'll tell you, I can tell
Speaker 2: you quickly all of their remaining games. Toronto tomorrow. Toronto,
Speaker 2: by the way, played out, played the Clippers last night,
Speaker 2: now a night off in Los Angeles, and then they
Speaker 2: play the Lakers. Not great for the Raptors.
Speaker 4: Those are not always outside.
Speaker 2: Oh, there's no question about going outside.
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker 2: They then host the Knicks on Sunday, the Knicks again,
Speaker 2: this is where you gotta really look at the schedule,
Speaker 2: the Knicks. No, it's in La. The Knicks play the
Speaker 2: Clippers Saturday at four pm, and then the Lakers Sunday
Speaker 2: at nine pm. The Knicks going outside. So you have
Speaker 2: the Raptors in the Knicks the next two games at home.
Speaker 2: Then you're at New Orleans, who's floundering at Houston? And
Speaker 2: then you have home for Dallas, top important game, home
Speaker 2: for the Magic, home for the Suns, No Durant, home
Speaker 2: for the Thunder, home for the Bulls. Then at Chicago.
Speaker 2: Remember Patrick Beverly said he wants to knock the Lakers
Speaker 2: out of the playoffs. Then at Minnesota, and then your
Speaker 2: stretch run at Houston. Who wants to lose? At Utah,
Speaker 2: who's going in the wrong direction at the Clippers, tough
Speaker 2: home for the Suns, don't know if Durant's there.
Speaker 4: And then home for Utah. They could really go on
Speaker 4: a strong.
Speaker 2: Run here and their toughest games. People were like, when
Speaker 2: that all they have two left against Phoenix. That changed dramatically,
Speaker 2: When now that Durant's out, all right, next, all right?
Speaker 3: The Warriors have dealt with injuries and absences all year,
Speaker 3: but their greatest weakness has been playing on the road,
Speaker 3: where they are Unfortunately seven and twenty five. They're gonna
Speaker 3: have to play that. They're obviously gonna have to play
Speaker 3: road playoff games. Yeah, all in air fold. The Warriors
Speaker 3: won't win a playoff series.
Speaker 2: Oh, they will not win a serious They could fall
Speaker 2: to the plan. Here's a fun question, because people gave
Speaker 2: me a hard time because I said the Warriors have
Speaker 2: a zero percent chance of winning the title since nineteen
Speaker 2: eighty You play obviously forty one road games a year.
Speaker 2: This is hoty one road What do you think the
Speaker 2: number is for the fewest road victories in a season
Speaker 2: a champion has had a champion team, a team that
Speaker 2: won the titles that in the regular season of their
Speaker 2: forty one road games, what do you think the fewest
Speaker 2: is twenty twenty one. The worst a team has ever
Speaker 2: been on the road and won the title was the
Speaker 2: six heat that were twenty one and twenty. The Warriors
Speaker 2: are seven and twenty five on the road. Some context,
Speaker 2: there the full list of teams with fewer than seas.
Speaker 4: You said win a title, though I won a playoff series.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't think they're gonna win a playoff series,
Speaker 2: but I'm certain they're not winning a title. It's hard
Speaker 2: to really right now project playoff series because it's so
Speaker 2: we have no idea who anybody's playing. But just for
Speaker 2: some context, the complete list of teams with fewer than
Speaker 2: seven road wins this year. Spurs ryners. They both have six,
Speaker 2: and they are the two worst teams in basketball. All right, Well,
Speaker 2: the Pistons are terrible as well. They have seven road wins.
Speaker 2: All right, next, all.
Speaker 4: Right, the Kings of the Field. Good story of the
Speaker 4: season so far.
Speaker 3: The sixteen year playoff shout is bound to come to
Speaker 3: an end now that they've leaped frog to the two seed.
Speaker 3: All in the fold, Sacramento will win more playoff series
Speaker 3: than Denver, Golden State, and the Knicks combined.
Speaker 2: Well, no, I can't say more. Listen, I think the
Speaker 2: Knicks are gonna win zero series. The Golden State's gonna
Speaker 2: win zero series. Denver should win the first round at least,
Speaker 2: and so in order for Sacramento to win more than one,
Speaker 2: they gotta make it. No, they'd have to make it
Speaker 2: to the third round. They make the conference finals. But
Speaker 2: I'm all for lighting the beam and I'm actually gonna
Speaker 2: buy I looked at the King's schedule yesterday to look
Speaker 2: for like a Mattine game, an afternoon game. They play
Speaker 2: the Spurs. Sorry, they play the Spurs in three weeks
Speaker 2: on a Sunday, And I'm gonna buy your grandparents some
Speaker 2: really good seats.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, it's gonna be at about that.
Speaker 2: I mean, I would love to do it for a
Speaker 2: better team. But the flip side is the tickets are
Speaker 2: way cheap because it's the Spurs, and I can get
Speaker 2: really good seats. So yet, listen, we have family and Sacramento.
Speaker 2: I like what the Kings are doing. I love dearon Fox.
Speaker 2: Remember him from you know, high school in Houston. Uh,
Speaker 2: but I listen, I don't think they'renna make the conference finals.
Speaker 2: With that said, the case for them making the conference
Speaker 2: finals would be if let's say Minnesota ends up the
Speaker 2: seven seed and Sacramento's the two, and then Memphis is
Speaker 2: the three, and say the Golden State's the six and
Speaker 2: they Memphis beats Golden State. Could they beat Memphis in
Speaker 2: its current condition? I mean, listen, I'm not putting the
Speaker 2: Kings at zero percent to make the conference finals. But
Speaker 2: I don't think they will, and so much of that's
Speaker 2: gonna come down to who everybody's playing.
Speaker 3: All right, next, All right, man, my Celtics are on
Speaker 3: a downward spiral right now, and people are pointing the
Speaker 3: finger at head coach Joe Missoula. The NBA's answered in
Speaker 3: that ass, Okay, that's not there all in their fold,
Speaker 3: Boston is drawing dead for the time.
Speaker 2: No, I fold that.
Speaker 4: They're definitely not drawing dead.
Speaker 2: They're not my they wouldn't be my pick right now.
Speaker 2: And then listen, squandering the one seed could really matter.
Speaker 2: It's not just being I talk about this all the time.
Speaker 2: It's not just about home court. It's about avoiding Philly
Speaker 2: in round two. You want to you don't want to
Speaker 2: have to be the Philly. You only want to have
Speaker 2: to be one of them. And it's so it's just
Speaker 2: but they're not drawing dead. I mean, they have top
Speaker 2: five offense, top five defense. They they're in really they're
Speaker 2: not in as good as shape as they should be,
Speaker 2: but they're still in good all right.
Speaker 3: Next, remember that one time Harden sabotaged the Rockets to
Speaker 3: force his way out. Okay, Well, apparently the media doesn't.
Speaker 3: Rumors are thrilling that Harden is a lot to return
Speaker 3: to age sound this this offseason. Houston all in their
Speaker 3: fold Harden will play in Houston extion, I don't think
Speaker 3: you will.
Speaker 2: I think he might, but it all fold that. I
Speaker 2: think that. Let's see all that. I think Sixers might
Speaker 2: win the em Bead's playing great. You know, Milwaukee, I
Speaker 2: haven't liked a lot of what I mean. Milwaukee just
Speaker 2: keeps winning. Give him credit, but it's just Giannis has
Speaker 2: to be so great every single night, and he is.
Speaker 4: He is good.
Speaker 2: And listen, he's the best player in the league by
Speaker 2: a mile. But I don't think I think Harden's gonna
Speaker 2: stick with Philly a little bit longer.
Speaker 4: Next, no sneaky locking us up? Was Nicholas Claxton. Man,
Speaker 4: Watch out for that guy?
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, watch out for Okay, all right, so quick,
Speaker 3: bonus NFL topic here. Deck Derrick Henry is rumored to
Speaker 3: be traded out of Tennessee. The Dolphins and Bengals are
Speaker 3: fake favorite to land the running back with the Eagles
Speaker 3: and your Chiefs right behind the Chiefs.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it'd be crazy.
Speaker 2: There's no chance he goes to the Chiefs.
Speaker 4: I've actually saw it was like rumors. I mean they
Speaker 4: obviously went from verified account.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no chance. They love Pacheco. They're not gonna
Speaker 2: spend money on a running That's what I was thinking.
Speaker 3: Has awesome, Yeah right, all in her full and then
Speaker 3: Patrick mahomes like, what do you don't even need to
Speaker 3: go into the running back markets?
Speaker 4: Yeah, but all in her fold.
Speaker 3: Nick knows where Henry is going, all fold that.
Speaker 2: I know where he's going, but I know he's not.
Speaker 2: He's not going to.
Speaker 4: Philly. Would be interesting.
Speaker 2: I could see that, you know what I mean with
Speaker 2: the way they try to run, but none of No,
Speaker 2: he's not going to Kansas City. We answer listener questions next,
Speaker 2: what's right? All right, welcome back in What's right with Nick? Right,
Speaker 2: let's get right to the listener questions. Demons go ahead,
Speaker 2: all right, Juicy beats.
Speaker 3: Co said, what exactly would Daniel Jones have to accomplish
Speaker 3: over the next four seasons to validate his new contract?
Speaker 2: Be a top twelve quarterback?
Speaker 4: That's it.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to do quarterback wins thing, throw the
Speaker 2: ball down the field, effectively, continue your running ability and
Speaker 2: just be a top twelve quarterback. You don't have to
Speaker 2: be great. Forty million these days for a quarterback is
Speaker 2: not crazy money. It's just like top ten quarterback money.
Speaker 2: You pay a slight preemium be a top twelve quarterback.
Speaker 2: But you got it. Everyone a shout out to Robert
Speaker 2: Mays for having this. Everybody pointed out he was number
Speaker 2: one in the league and interception rate is in a
Speaker 2: positive way, the lowest interception rate of forty one qualifying quarterbacks.
Speaker 2: Pro Football Focus does big time throws, like, how many
Speaker 2: throws are big time throws? So it's a context. Gino
Speaker 2: Smith last year at thirty five big time throws, Derek Carr,
Speaker 2: who got cut by his team. The other guys that
Speaker 2: signed this offseason had like twenty seven. Daniel Jones, how
Speaker 2: many big time throws do you think he had last year?
Speaker 4: Eight?
Speaker 2: Won every other game. Gotta have more. He was out
Speaker 2: of forty one qualifying quarterbacks, he was.
Speaker 4: Forty, so he's the reason.
Speaker 2: He won't turned the ball every wasn't taking any chances.
Speaker 4: Think that says a lot about his receivers.
Speaker 2: Oh well maybe, but he sure. But the Giant's also
Speaker 2: a sneaky underrated storyline this offseason this season was the
Speaker 2: Giants having no receivers, everyone being like, oh my god,
Speaker 2: they have no receivers. What a disaster is for them?
Speaker 2: And despite having no receivers, they traded away a receiver
Speaker 2: who scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl and had
Speaker 2: a punt return in the Super Bowl that flipped the
Speaker 2: game and was awesome for the Chiefs, Like, if you
Speaker 2: really have no receivers, maybe find a way to see
Speaker 2: if Kadarius Tony, the guy who you drafted in the
Speaker 2: first round eighteen months prior, can help you next.
Speaker 3: Ian gel any thought on Fred Van Vliet's words on
Speaker 3: refs after Clips Raps last night.
Speaker 2: All right, this is worth watching on your own time. Played.
Speaker 2: It's too much cursing. It's the It's one minute of
Speaker 2: him torching one particular red and he's totally calm. He's
Speaker 2: totally calm, and he just lights this one guy up.
Speaker 2: And I mean I watched this whole thing and I
Speaker 2: was like, I think he might get suspended. Not fine,
Speaker 2: he was just like totally calm. He's like, yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: it's an effing shame when such and such, I mean,
Speaker 2: like name he names the guy he's like you look
Speaker 2: up most of the texts I've gotten this year, it's
Speaker 2: all from this guy. Uh you know, I you know,
Speaker 2: I think most of the reps in this league do
Speaker 2: a good job. It's a shame that this guy and
Speaker 2: I mean it was and he was totally calm and
Speaker 2: kept cursing, but it was wild.
Speaker 4: But like, man, these guys are human. Man, No, I
Speaker 4: understand it's annoying.
Speaker 3: No, So I think, did you see the tech that
Speaker 3: Jordan Poole got the other day when he threw the
Speaker 3: bounce pass to the ref?
Speaker 4: Uh?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 3: I think some of these refs like spouses are watching
Speaker 3: the game, man, like they got like girls in the crowd.
Speaker 4: This player isn't gonna I know that Scott Foster.
Speaker 2: Another reason that bred Mean Vliet was mad is Scott
Speaker 2: Foster threw Scotty Barnes out the night before in a
Speaker 2: one point game on his first technical.
Speaker 4: Yeah, because he said he challenged the integrity of it.
Speaker 2: So that was interesting because I assumed what that meant
Speaker 2: was that Scottie Barnes said to him, did you bet
Speaker 2: the game?
Speaker 4: Which like cheating, y'all are cheating to.
Speaker 2: Me is cannot be a one tech ejection?
Speaker 3: All right next Lloyd Kevin cy Uh says, Hey, Nick,
Speaker 3: it's Lloyd.
Speaker 4: Oh, it's Lloyd from Jeopardy. What's up Lloyd from Jeopardy Again?
Speaker 3: I just got a job as professor at Yale, And
Speaker 3: any advice for someone who just got their biggest career
Speaker 3: break ever?
Speaker 4: All right, that's awesome. Grants to Lloyd.
Speaker 2: That is really fantastic. And I do have advice, and
Speaker 2: this is my buddy Laslow gave me when I got
Speaker 2: my job in Houston. I didn't really follow it at
Speaker 2: one point. And that's the only job I feel like
Speaker 2: I didn't succeed at was the Houston radio show. I
Speaker 2: feel like I didn't do as good as I could
Speaker 2: have done, and I think it's because I didn't follow it.
Speaker 2: So the the advice that my buddy Laslow gave me
Speaker 2: that I will give you is beware of the golden handcuffs.
Speaker 2: And sorry, my mic stand is getting all funny. And
Speaker 2: what does that mean? That means you do and this
Speaker 2: works in any field. You do your work a certain way,
Speaker 2: how you know it, You do, you are yourself, and
Speaker 2: you get rewarded for and you get promoted, and then
Speaker 2: you get promoted again, then you get promoted again, and
Speaker 2: eventually you get what you're calling your biggest career break ever,
Speaker 2: and instead of continuing doing what got you there, you
Speaker 2: change out of fear you will lose it. You see
Speaker 2: this happen to people all the time, where once they
Speaker 2: get enough money or enough security or their dream job,
Speaker 2: it's not they start mailing it in that they start
Speaker 2: being way more conservative. That's not who they were, or cautious,
Speaker 2: whatever it is. Because you're afraid of losing the opportunity.
Speaker 2: Don't do that. Continue doing exactly what got you where
Speaker 2: you're going. That's how to keep the opportunities that being
Speaker 2: yourself got you. So that would be advice. And congrats
Speaker 2: to Lloyd. That's awesome. Professor at Yale, that's fantastic. All right.
Speaker 3: Next, all right, Joel Allen said, what do the Lakers
Speaker 3: do this offseason if they get if they get bounced
Speaker 3: out round one?
Speaker 2: I mean, they're probably going to go after Kyrie. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that's the short answer. Whether they should or not, that's
Speaker 2: probably what they're gonna do. All right.
Speaker 3: Next, well, Castle said Nick dressed like Vector from Despicable Me.
Speaker 4: That is accurate.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm not familiar with vector, but uh was he
Speaker 2: the guy who stole the moon.
Speaker 4: Yes, oh that Oh dude, that is so accurate.
Speaker 2: Wow, that's pretty good. Wow, that's pretty strong. I also
Speaker 2: got to tell you the fact that we had that
Speaker 2: photoshop ready it leads me to believe this might have
Speaker 2: been a planted comment.
Speaker 4: I I mean I was about to look it up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, they'll just add it ready. Yeah, listen,
Speaker 2: I'm wearing a lower jumpsuit. I don't know what you
Speaker 2: want from me. This is how I've dressed my whole
Speaker 2: life when left my own devices, my entire life. I
Speaker 2: just want to dress like Tony Soprano when he's not
Speaker 2: at work. That's all I want to do. It's where
Speaker 2: I'm most comfortable. Tracksuits and jumpsuits.
Speaker 4: It's what I like.
Speaker 2: It's what I think looks good on me. Today. I
Speaker 2: awore it in honor of Jim Beheim. This was a long, fun,
Speaker 2: good show. Good job, pal, Love you.
Speaker 4: What's Right? Episode one thirty.
Speaker 2: Three, See you guys on TV tomorrow and see you
Speaker 2: back on this show Tuesday. Remember we're now Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Speaker 4: What's Right