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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to

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Speaker 1: catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in

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Speaker 1: noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find

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Speaker 1: your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio

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Speaker 1: dot com, or stream us live every day on the

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Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

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Speaker 2: You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

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Speaker 1: Rachel Nichols has been covering the NBA for this can't

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Speaker 1: be right thirty two years?

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Speaker 3: Is that?

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Speaker 4: Rachel? Is that right?

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Speaker 3: Thirty one?

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Speaker 4: But sure?

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: I was a college student.

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Speaker 5: And I got a job stringing for the Washington Post

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Speaker 5: covering the end of the Jordan Bulls nineties Bulls era.

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Speaker 5: I was very nervous. I was nineteen years old, but man,

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Speaker 5: it was a great start.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I'd say that's pretty good start covering the Bulls your

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Speaker 1: first gig.

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Speaker 4: That's pretty good start. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So you talked to Luca last night. I joked he

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Speaker 1: could see his shoulders. What do he lose thirty pounds?

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Speaker 3: Like thirty one pounds? He says he did.

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Speaker 1: So. First of all, it's very obvious, like the first

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Speaker 1: two to three years of Luca. Now he gets to

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Speaker 1: the rim, he can attack he's much more of an

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Speaker 1: attacking player. Last year he wasn't. He got hurt, he

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Speaker 1: put on weight. It was a lot of fallaway stuff.

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Speaker 1: You talked to him last night, what did.

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Speaker 5: He say, Well, he said with the weight loss, he

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Speaker 5: said that he definitely found it easier to move around.

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Speaker 5: He got back on defense more easily.

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Speaker 3: You saw that last night.

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Speaker 5: And he talked about attacking the paint more as well.

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Speaker 5: You know, he had more paint points last night than

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Speaker 5: he did in any game last season, and you could

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Speaker 5: see that. So that's great for the Lakers because Skinny

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Speaker 5: Luca is someone they're going to need to depend on,

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Speaker 5: especially when Lebron is out. But you saw, you know,

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Speaker 5: there's not as much rhythm between these guys as JJ

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Speaker 5: Reddick would have hoped in the opening night. Lebron being

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Speaker 5: out definitely a problem. He's not going to solve all

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Speaker 5: of their problems roster wise. But JJ made the point

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Speaker 5: after the game, he goes, man, there are a couple

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Speaker 5: times I was like, I wish Lebron was in there.

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Speaker 5: He would just take control of this play, and they

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Speaker 5: don't have that without Lebron. Lebron's such a floor leader,

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Speaker 5: he's such a communicator. He's such a connector with these guys.

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Speaker 5: And you know, as Lebron his age, we've seen the

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Speaker 5: basketball skills with the athleticism diminish somewhat, but the fact

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Speaker 5: that he is so smart on the court, that is

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Speaker 5: such a value for this team, and that's just not

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Speaker 5: there right now.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, there's limitations to what they are. They're not very

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Speaker 1: athletic on the wing. They're going to struggle against the Minnesotas,

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Speaker 1: they're going to struggle against the OKCS. I thought it

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Speaker 1: was interesting you talked to Steph last night as well. Listen,

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Speaker 1: Horford's not going to solve the age issues, obviously.

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Speaker 4: I do believe. I talked about it earlier.

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Speaker 1: I think four first round picks kaminga Butler at the deadline.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if it's enough, but Jimmy would go

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Speaker 1: back home COMINGA is a very good player. When he's

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Speaker 1: not on the floor with Steph. He can shoot threes,

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Speaker 1: he's long. But my takeaway on this team is I

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Speaker 1: think everybody in the building knows in the West there's

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Speaker 1: got to be I said earlier, Jimmy Butler's more flint

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Speaker 1: than phase.

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Speaker 3: I don't know.

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Speaker 5: I mean, maybe that's what they think privately, it's certainly

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Speaker 5: not what they're saying. They seem to be very confident

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Speaker 5: in the group that they have. You know, it's interesting.

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Speaker 5: Steph told me that their biggest struggle last year, even

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Speaker 5: after they got Jimmy, was they were trying to play

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Speaker 5: so much catch up. He said, we can't do that

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Speaker 5: again this year. We have to be able to be

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Speaker 5: in that top four in the West when the regular

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Speaker 5: season ends, so it's a much easier ride starting out

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Speaker 5: the playoffs. And even last year they did make it

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Speaker 5: to the second round. I know you think that Jimmy

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Speaker 5: Butler's a fling. They don't think so. Since Jimmy Butler

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Speaker 5: joined this team, in games he's played, they are twenty

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Speaker 5: four and seven. They absolutely believe he was the missing

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Speaker 5: piece that they needed. And when I spoke to Jimmy

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Speaker 5: about this, he said, for him, it's such a good

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Speaker 5: fit because he said, for the first time since he

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Speaker 5: was in Chicago, everybody on the team knows who the

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Speaker 5: number one option is. There's just no doubt about it,

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Speaker 5: and that includes him. He said, the number one option

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Speaker 5: is Steph Curry. It is always Steph Curry. It will

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Speaker 5: always be Steph Curry as long as step is playing.

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Speaker 5: So that comfort level that has been a big part

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Speaker 5: of why these guys have all geled so well together.

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Speaker 5: They all know exactly what they're supposed to do, they all.

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Speaker 3: Trust each other.

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Speaker 5: And Jonathan Kaminga to your point, he played really well

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Speaker 5: last night. He did all the things that Steve Kerr

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Speaker 5: has been asking him to do, so at least outwardly,

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Speaker 5: they believe this is a team that they can win

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Speaker 5: with in the West. And the Yanis factor, of course,

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Speaker 5: is always out there, and I don't think any team

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Speaker 5: is going to say Nobodyana says to Kumpo, but Yanis

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Speaker 5: has to want to go there. Yanis only has one

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Speaker 5: more season after this that he's tied to that contract,

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Speaker 5: and if he gets to the point next summer where

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Speaker 5: he has not signed an extension in Milwaukee, the Bucks

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Speaker 5: are going to have to make a deal for him

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Speaker 5: because they don't want to just lose Yanis for nothing

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Speaker 5: on an expiring contract the next season. So that's when

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Speaker 5: things we might we might see things sort of come

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Speaker 5: to a head.

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Speaker 3: It's possible that if the Bucks.

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Speaker 5: Lose a ton in the first few months of this season,

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Speaker 5: Yanis could go before the trade deadline. But if they

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Speaker 5: played decently well, Yannis is at least in the short term,

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Speaker 5: interested in ma this work, and he might not be

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Speaker 5: available until the summer.

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Speaker 1: So I would have opened with the Okac Thunder because

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Speaker 1: they're the champs. My second game last night would have

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Speaker 1: been Wemby against Cooper Flag. I think you got to

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Speaker 1: sell another generation. I don't think sixty two year old

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Speaker 1: MJ is the is the I mean again, legend, I

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Speaker 1: get it. I think baseball has pivoted to all of

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Speaker 1: its young stars. It's worked. I think basketball is still

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Speaker 1: holding on to their legends. I would have gone Cooper

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Speaker 1: Flag Wemby last night as the second game. So Cooper's

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Speaker 1: going to be great. I can't wait to watch him. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Wemby apparently, and you're on that. I apparently he's put

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Speaker 1: on like thirty pounds or something. I mean, he's just

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Speaker 1: been in the weight room. Tell me what we're going

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Speaker 1: to see.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: No, he is super eager.

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Speaker 5: And you can look at all the things we saw

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Speaker 5: him do through social media and reporting.

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Speaker 3: This summer.

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Speaker 5: He spent time in a monastery learning you know, meditation techniques.

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Speaker 5: You know, he was out there playing chess. He was

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Speaker 5: trying to, you know, all these different things that he

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Speaker 5: thinks are going to help him with his game, and

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Speaker 5: obviously in the weight room too.

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Speaker 3: He has such a high motor.

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Speaker 5: I think a real for the Spurs this year, even

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Speaker 5: though they are still developing. They have a bunch of

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Speaker 5: young players. They kind of need to get to that

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Speaker 5: playoff point because so far it has been in Wendy's

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Speaker 5: first couple of seasons. We'll get there. We've got plenty

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Speaker 5: of time. We want to bring everyone along slowly. We

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Speaker 5: want to develop the core. They wanted to get maybe

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Speaker 5: a few more high draft picks. We sell them get

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Speaker 5: Dylan Harford this past June. Now it is time on

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Speaker 5: Wendy's timeline to make the playoffs. He is just not

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Speaker 5: a guy who's going to be satisfied with sitting around there.

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Speaker 5: So I'm interested to see how the Spurs do that.

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Speaker 5: The Spurs, by the way, another contender for Jannis. Can

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Speaker 5: you imagine that duo on the court together. I can't.

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Speaker 5: I don't even know if the screen will be able

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Speaker 5: to hold how tall they are. But you know, we'll

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Speaker 5: have to see if they make any more moves. They

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Speaker 5: are so stocked with draft picks and future assets that

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Speaker 5: they are going to be a player if they need

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Speaker 5: to be come the trade deadline, and certainly next summer.

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

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Speaker 2: and Noone Easter not a em Pacific.

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Speaker 6: Hey, it's me Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast,

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Speaker 6: Inside the Park for twenty two minutes of piping hot

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Speaker 6: you get your podcast.

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Speaker 1: So, Katie was I watched. It was very very good

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Speaker 1: in the first half. You know, game went long, and

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Speaker 1: you know I felt like, Houston, you kind of throw

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Speaker 1: Katie in. He's your sniper. But they don't have a

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Speaker 1: point guard now because of Fred Van Vliet, so they

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Speaker 1: obviously need a point guard otherwise they become the Clippers

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Speaker 1: with Paul George and Kawhi and you're like, well, who's

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Speaker 1: getting us into the offense. There's nothing Tyler you can

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Speaker 1: do the Rockets similarly have a very good coach. I

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Speaker 1: did feel like late Houston didn't quite know exact you know.

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Speaker 4: I mean, i'm In.

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Speaker 1: Thompson's great, and there's no question Katie's great, but he's

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Speaker 1: not gonna start. You're not going to get you into

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Speaker 1: the offense like Kawhi has tried. What do you make

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Speaker 1: of them going out? They've got to solve the point

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Speaker 1: guard issue in the West. In the East, I think

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Speaker 1: shen Gun a man and Katie in the East could

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Speaker 1: win the conference.

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Speaker 4: I mean, seriously, I think.

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Speaker 3: I think you're one hundred percent right.

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Speaker 5: I'm laughing because it's an absurd circumstance, but you're absolutely right.

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Speaker 1: I mean, what kind of move can they make because

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Speaker 1: they're just in the West without their guy getting them

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Speaker 1: into the offense.

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Speaker 4: What did you make it last night?

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Speaker 5: Well, look, the Rockets this whole way through with Raphael

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Speaker 5: Stone have been very much let's see what we have

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Speaker 5: before we go out and make a bunch of moves.

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Speaker 5: So they believe i'm In Thompson can develop into the

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Speaker 5: kind of playmaker they need him to be, and he

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Speaker 5: did some of that last night.

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Speaker 4: They expect it.

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Speaker 5: Not to happen on game one of the seasons, so

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Speaker 5: that will develop over the course of this year. We'll

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Speaker 5: have to see how well he does there. He's obviously

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Speaker 5: just hugely talented and I would say the most athletic

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Speaker 5: guy in the NBA right now. The problem is they

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Speaker 5: don't have any depth there now that Fred van Berlieve

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Speaker 5: is gone. So you saw Aman Thompson go out with

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Speaker 5: leg cramps last night, and that's why late they didn't

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Speaker 5: look good because they really didn't have anyone to put

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Speaker 5: in that position behind him, and that's something they're going

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Speaker 5: to really need to find, even if it's just a

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Speaker 5: smaller trade for a backup point guard. That's where I

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Speaker 5: might see them going at some point before the deadline,

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Speaker 5: because the depth issue is as much of a problem

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Speaker 5: as just not having Fred out there at all. And Kat, look,

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Speaker 5: he took the blame for the loss after last night,

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Speaker 5: and he certainly had a couple things that were just

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Speaker 5: not in character for him.

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Speaker 3: Right. No, he was never going to go.

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Speaker 5: Be the team's point guard. But he usually makes his

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Speaker 5: free throws and he missed a crucial one at the

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Speaker 5: end of the game. We saw him, you know, foul Shay.

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Speaker 5: I would argue that wasn't his fault. Shay just danced

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Speaker 5: around so much on that play. I think any defender

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Speaker 5: might have drawn a fell there. We did see him

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Speaker 5: call for that time out that they didn't have a

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Speaker 5: little Chris Webber action. Fortunately none of the refs saw it,

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Speaker 5: or certainly fortunately for the Rockets. I haven't spoken to

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Speaker 5: Katie this morning. I don't know if it was nerves

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Speaker 5: or not. But here's something I've seen, Colin, and I'm

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Speaker 5: sure you've noticed it too, that great great players in

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Speaker 5: the last quarter of their career. You'd think that they'd

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Speaker 5: have no nerves in the world. They've been doing this forever.

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Speaker 5: They're so elite, they're one of the best ever. They

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Speaker 5: get a little more jumpy toward the end of their

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Speaker 5: career because they know better than anyone that is almost over.

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Speaker 5: And Derek Jeter and I used to have long conversations

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Speaker 5: about this. He said, I was more nervous in the

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Speaker 5: final year with the Yankees than I was in my

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Speaker 5: rookie year. I don't know if that's what Katie was feeling.

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Speaker 5: I don't know if it was just, you know, he's

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Speaker 5: got to get more in league with his teammates. Short

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Speaker 5: preseason and We'll see him be more comfortable as he

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Speaker 5: goes on, but some of those little unkaty things. Again,

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Speaker 5: I haven't spoken to him. I'm not inside his head,

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Speaker 5: but it seemed a little bit to me like a

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Speaker 5: little first night not quite in the team yet, maybe

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Speaker 5: a little bit of I would say, jitters, but just discomfort.

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Speaker 1: We'll see on the crowds of getting after him, and

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Speaker 1: you know, I mean, I just that's I mean, listen,

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Speaker 1: Draymond Green admitted a couple of years ago in Boston.

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Speaker 1: It's like it got into my head, like I get it.

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Speaker 1: If you're in an Arenaman, it's all like the endfl

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Speaker 1: where fans are a mile away. In the NBA, they're

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Speaker 1: eight feet from you. Ye, you know, in they're in

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Speaker 1: your faith. So I get I get players. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think officials get intimidated. I think officials in college

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Speaker 1: and pro get intimidated because of the proximity of fans.

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Speaker 1: So if Katie struggled late, I get it. I get it. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Rachel Nichols, Fox Sports, We're gonna have her on a

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Speaker 1: lot and tonight it is Cooper Flag and Wemby.

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Speaker 4: Can't wait. Good seeing your rage.

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Speaker 3: See you there, all.

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Speaker 4: Right, J Mack with the news.

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Speaker 3: No, no, turn on the news.

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Speaker 2: This is the headline news, all.

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Speaker 3: Right, Colin, great news out of Baltimore.

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Speaker 7: Lamar Jackson just jogged on to the practice field for

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Speaker 7: the first time since September twenty eighth.

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Speaker 1: Okay, now this is a game now, Bears at Ravens is.

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Speaker 3: A game, so it's it's interesting.

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Speaker 7: We don't know that he's playing yet, and I just

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Speaker 7: wonder how much this was calculated. So practice starts and

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Speaker 7: then twenty minutes later, after things are underway, Lamar just

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Speaker 7: jogs out. Now he's only doing mine warm up, throws

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Speaker 7: a little bit of running. Colin, he hasn't practiced in

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Speaker 7: almost a month. I don't Maybe this is.

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Speaker 3: Gamesmanship for Marball.

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Speaker 7: You know, you yank the ping pong tables and then

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Speaker 7: you plant the seed.

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Speaker 3: Hey, maybe Lamar's back. Maybe not.

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Speaker 7: Maybe it's Cooper rush again. I don't know. My gut

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Speaker 7: would tell me he's not gonna start. I don't think

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Speaker 7: you rush him out there that man. God tells me

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Speaker 7: he's gonna play.

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Speaker 4: Dude.

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Speaker 1: They can't lose any more games now that Joe Flacco's

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Speaker 1: beating Pittsburgh, they gotta play him. I think they have

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Speaker 1: to play. I don't think they have. I mean, listen,

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Speaker 1: he's not gonna be how many quarterbacks justin Herbert's gotten

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Speaker 1: hit fifty times? Nobody's one hundred percent. If you're ninety percent,

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Speaker 1: I would I. I mean, first of all, Lamar's gonna

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Speaker 1: want to play. That's the kind of person is. He's

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Speaker 1: gonna want to play. You're gonna have to talk him

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Speaker 1: off the field. So I think you play him. What

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Speaker 1: you're waiting to bet this right? You know you're not

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Speaker 1: laying anything yet. Well, first of all, I'm it's not

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Speaker 1: a very good NFL weekend. So if Lamar plays against

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Speaker 1: kalb that's a great game the league.

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Speaker 7: The league could use Lamar, Yes, in that early window.

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Speaker 7: All right, let's move on to the Philadelphia Eagles. Colin

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Speaker 7: Jalen hurts quietly, I said quietly. He's having one of

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Speaker 7: the great seasons. Are you ready for this? In Philadelphia

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Speaker 7: Eagles history? He has eleven touchdowns and one pick, best

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Speaker 7: in the NFL.

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Speaker 3: He's got a.

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Speaker 7: Franchise high one to eight point nine passer rating. We

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Speaker 7: know the Vikings defense with Flores fresh off of bye,

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Speaker 7: he cooked them perfect passer rating three hundred twenty six yards,

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Speaker 7: three touchdowns. Colin, I'm waiting. Where is the respect for

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Speaker 7: Jalen Hurts? Come on, he needs it. He's been phenomenal.

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Speaker 1: Quietly, they've been out gained in every single game. The

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Speaker 1: staff looked it up during the break.

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Speaker 7: Okay, Well, Saquon Berkley's not doing his job. I mean

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Speaker 7: he doesn't have ninety yards in a game.

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Speaker 3: I don't think this season. But all I heard last.

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Speaker 7: Year, Colin, Hey, it's all Saquon Barkley. So now, no,

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Speaker 7: Saquon five and two. Hurts has great numbers like we do.

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Speaker 7: Are we gonna give him?

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Speaker 3: I see you. It's just it's paining you to say.

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Speaker 7: Yes, Jason Hurts, he's a top five quarterback.

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Speaker 3: In the league.

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Speaker 4: No, he's a top five winner in the league.

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Speaker 7: Oh goodness, gracious, uh.

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Speaker 3: I don't know what he's got to do.

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Speaker 7: I mean highest passer rating, Colin, I don't know big

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Speaker 7: names on that list. Your guy Jared Goff and Jalen

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Speaker 7: Hurts chicking in forth so well.

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Speaker 1: By the way, pass highest pass rate. Where's Mahomes on

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Speaker 1: that list?

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Speaker 3: He hasn't been. He was terrible last year.

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Speaker 4: Come on, where's Josh Allen on that list?

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Speaker 3: I don't. I don't. That's a good question.

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Speaker 1: Passer rating is is a part of comp there's a

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Speaker 1: compilation of stats. Yes, I'm uh composition it is, okay.

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Speaker 7: Of the World Final story is your Dodgers. They are

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Speaker 7: headed into the World Series obviously starts uh Friday on Fox.

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Speaker 7: Everybody's very excited, especially to see sho He Otani.

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Speaker 3: He had that in edible.

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Speaker 7: Six shutout innings with ten strikeouts and then pop three homers.

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Speaker 7: Probably the greatest game in Major League Baseball play office.

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Speaker 3: I don't know, like well, I don't know what's better anyway.

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Speaker 7: Dion Sanders was so impressed that he has chimed in

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Speaker 7: on what Otani did.

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Speaker 8: He did what.

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Speaker 2: Six innings, struck out ten and then went three for

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Speaker 2: three at the plate and hit three home runs.

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Speaker 8: Handing the MVP doing the game like everybody's launching the

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Speaker 8: eating bombs now is unbelievable. Man, what what this game

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Speaker 8: has gotten to? But I like it because it's faster,

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Speaker 8: is quicker, and you're allowing its many more. Guy, I

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Speaker 8: hope he opens the door for others because there's many

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Speaker 8: more pictures, many pit up more this no sound right,

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Speaker 8: many pictures that can do both. But they're never allowed

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Speaker 8: to do.

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Speaker 4: So I'll tell you this.

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Speaker 1: One of the things that's very noticeable when you watch

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Speaker 1: Major League Baseball now, how many dudes throw at one hundred.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I can this is It just shows you

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Speaker 1: how much stronger people are. First of all, there's so

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Speaker 1: many pictures now that are like six six and above.

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Speaker 1: It's just guys throwing straight downhill. But I can remember

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Speaker 1: in the seventies and eighties, Nolan Ryan. In the eighties,

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Speaker 1: you're like, oh my god, the guy throws a hundred

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Speaker 1: and not every pitch. Nolan was at ninety eight a lot.

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Speaker 1: There was a guy that pitched for the Astros, Jr. Richard,

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Speaker 1: and I can remember the name because JR. Richard was

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Speaker 1: a guy that could reach I think he reached one hundred.

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Speaker 3: Is this a seventies reference again.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's when sports was really special. Oh not,

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Speaker 1: that's I'm just telling you Nolan Ryan, Jr.

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Speaker 4: Richard.

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Speaker 1: I can't think of a third guy. Siver threw it hard,

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Speaker 1: but I think he was like high nineties. Everybody throws

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Speaker 1: a hundred, it's insane. There's one guy that throw throw

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Speaker 1: one hundred three one oh four.

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Speaker 7: Man, So mean athletes keep getting better. Imagine how that works.

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Speaker 4: It's funny, hey Nolan Ryan.

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Speaker 1: Funny thing about Nolan ryany through seven no hitters. But

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Speaker 1: go look at his win loss ruck. You would think

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Speaker 1: of a guy as seven no hitters. Jo, he won

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Speaker 1: seventy eight percent of his starts. I think he was

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Speaker 1: a little above five hundred.

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Speaker 7: I think, boy, they need a Jeopardy category with seventies

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Speaker 7: sports trivia.

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Speaker 4: You would clean up, man, I would j Mack with

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Speaker 4: the news.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the

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Speaker 2: herd Line News.

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Speaker 1: Okay, the staff is looking it up as we speak.

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Speaker 1: Look at this, he won fifty two percent of his

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Speaker 1: games and had seven no hitters. Yeah, it's just everybody's

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Speaker 1: thrown ninety nine one hundred miles an hour out of

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Speaker 1: the pen closers. It's incredible. And Toronto still, I'm telling you,

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Speaker 1: Toronto is going to be viable in this series. I'll

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Speaker 1: take Toronto to win Game one, Dodgers win next to

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Speaker 1: and then we'll see what happens. But the Blue Jays

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Speaker 1: will be the first team in the playoffs to put

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Speaker 1: consistent pressure on the Dodgers because they just get runners

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Speaker 1: on and they got a lot of guys that can

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Speaker 1: drive him in and there's no way Blake Snell can

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Speaker 1: be that good against Toronto as he was against Milwaukee.

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Speaker 1: There's no way that was Kofax Like, I don't think

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Speaker 1: we see that again.

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

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Speaker 2: and Noone Eastern non a em Pacific on Fox Sports

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Speaker 2: Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

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Speaker 4: So we were talking about this.

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Speaker 1: There are certain teams that I buy more than the

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Speaker 1: betting public or the experts.

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Speaker 4: I think the.

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Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks are going to be really good, and I

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Speaker 1: don't buy the Calves. I think they're deep. But Donovan

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Speaker 1: Mitchell can go a little Westbrook, I don't think he

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Speaker 1: necessarily elevates others. I think Houston with a point guard,

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Speaker 1: if Thread van Vliet was healthy, could win it. Because

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Speaker 1: I think Shan Goon by the end of the year

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Speaker 1: is a chance to be a top six player in

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Speaker 1: the league, top five or six.

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Speaker 4: I think he's that good and he's a kid. But

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Speaker 4: I was just.

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Speaker 1: Sitting here thinking of the top ten teams in the league,

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Speaker 1: and again at the top, it depends on what flavor.

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Speaker 1: I think Denver has a chance to be the best

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Speaker 1: team in the league. And then I think Oka, Seed, Dallas,

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Speaker 1: and Minnesota round out the top four. All the best

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Speaker 1: four teams are all excellent coaches, smart teams, you can

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Speaker 1: protect the rim, Denver, Oka, Se, Dallas, Minnesota. I like

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Speaker 1: Dallas more than the betting public. And then I think

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Speaker 1: you get into a Orlando Knicks Calves situation.

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Speaker 4: They're good, they're not elite.

438
00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,320
Speaker 1: And then I would say Houston, Golden State Lakers are

439
00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:31,639
Speaker 1: all flawed. Houston didn't have a point guard, Golden State's

440
00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,639
Speaker 1: too old, and the Lakers are not athletic enough to

441
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,040
Speaker 1: defend the rim or the perimeter.

442
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:38,639
Speaker 4: But I don't I mean Orlando.

443
00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:40,720
Speaker 1: Nicks and the Calves I do not think are titled teams.

444
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,439
Speaker 1: I think Orlando's the best team in the East. Now

445
00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,880
Speaker 1: adding Desmond Bay. Now, if Jason Tatum was healthy, it's

446
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,480
Speaker 1: different if Halla Burton's healthy. So in one year, Indiana

447
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,560
Speaker 1: and Boston could very well battle for the championship. This

448
00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:01,280
Speaker 1: is a lobsided year, and again I am not into

449
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:03,200
Speaker 1: the last year.

450
00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:04,960
Speaker 4: I remember J Mack coming on the.

451
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:10,520
Speaker 1: Air and predicting that Indiana was gonna dominate Cleveland, and

452
00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:14,160
Speaker 1: I thought you were nuts, and they I mean they

453
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,280
Speaker 1: dominated them, and so I'm just I think the Caps

454
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:21,119
Speaker 1: have depth, but I I just I think there I

455
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:23,760
Speaker 1: just don't see it. There's a lot of championship team.

456
00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:26,600
Speaker 7: I think Gardland's out, Max Truce is out to start

457
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,119
Speaker 7: the season. The Knicks, by the way, karl anthe Town's

458
00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:30,639
Speaker 7: not playing to night. I don't know if teams are

459
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,240
Speaker 7: starting load management or just trying to prevent the injuries

460
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:38,000
Speaker 7: because Colin we saw last year what Damian Lillard, Tatum Halliburton,

461
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,760
Speaker 7: these are like top twenty players in the league all

462
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:41,680
Speaker 7: go down in injuries.

463
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,920
Speaker 1: The great players in the league. Donovan Mitchell is a

464
00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,480
Speaker 1: good player. He everage less than four assists a game

465
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Yeah, okay, so he's you know, it's

466
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,720
Speaker 1: like the Kawhi Leonard thing. Coawhi is great, who's the

467
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,080
Speaker 1: elevating Westbrook was great?

468
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:55,120
Speaker 4: Who in his prime?

469
00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,960
Speaker 1: Who's the elevating James Harden, to his credit, pivoted and

470
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,240
Speaker 1: became a much better distributor, I think in the mid

471
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,240
Speaker 1: the second half of his career. But so if you

472
00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:10,640
Speaker 1: look at these international players, what makes Shengon or Jokic

473
00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,600
Speaker 1: so great is their ability to score thirty and have

474
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:19,680
Speaker 1: twelve assists yes, and hit multiple threes. These international players

475
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,399
Speaker 1: are their their skill level at twenty two, twenty three,

476
00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:28,160
Speaker 1: twenty four years old is unbelievable. Our domestic players are great,

477
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,159
Speaker 1: They're not as great early. And I think it's the

478
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:34,000
Speaker 1: academy system over in Europe, whatever it is. But and

479
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:38,200
Speaker 1: I think Cooper Flag, who debuts tonight, has a European feel.

480
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,200
Speaker 1: He handles the ball, scores at the rim, elite plus defender,

481
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,080
Speaker 1: can shoot the threes. A Cooper Flag in terms of

482
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:51,080
Speaker 1: a domestic rookie is about the best player we've had

483
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:52,480
Speaker 1: in a decade.

484
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:54,440
Speaker 3: Possibly.

485
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,320
Speaker 7: It's interesting because like even in tech, and I know

486
00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,160
Speaker 7: you follow tech a lot, you go look at who

487
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,280
Speaker 7: Elon musk wroked crew says the engineers. He goes and

488
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 7: gets international guys to come over here to America and

489
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,840
Speaker 7: work for Tesla, like this is well documented. Similarly, you

490
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,320
Speaker 7: got these basketball players very well rounded.

491
00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:14,320
Speaker 3: They do everything grand everything work ethic is amazing.

492
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,440
Speaker 7: They come in and like you said, Shan Goon is

493
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:17,720
Speaker 7: not even twenty five years old.

494
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,440
Speaker 4: He's I think he's I think he's twenty three.

495
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,200
Speaker 7: I mean, these guys are honestly, I think what was

496
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,760
Speaker 7: the number seven straight MVPs have been international.

497
00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:31,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, the last American MVP domestic guy Arizona State, Oklahoma City,

498
00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,840
Speaker 1: Houston was James Harden seven years ago. And the odds

499
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,680
Speaker 1: on favorite this year in terms of like numbers, Wemby's

500
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:41,960
Speaker 1: gonna give it a run because Wemby's gonna have you know,

501
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,480
Speaker 1: six blocks a game, twenty five, twenty eight points a game.

502
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,080
Speaker 3: Wemby Cooper Flag tonight. How good is that?

503
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:48,560
Speaker 4: See?

504
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:50,520
Speaker 1: I would have had that last night. I would have

505
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:52,439
Speaker 1: all played with the thunder of the Champs. Then I

506
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,720
Speaker 1: would have gone to Cooper Flag. See, the NBA made

507
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,480
Speaker 1: a choice. Sixty two year old mj forty year old

508
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,879
Speaker 1: Lebron hopefully in Steph made that choice.

509
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,800
Speaker 7: They do it on Christma Colin, they would they get

510
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,840
Speaker 7: crucified on Christmas for not putting Indiana and Okay, see

511
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,560
Speaker 7: remember last year that was the big story. Well, you

512
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 7: gotta give us a respect. Obviously, gonna put Curry and

513
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,760
Speaker 7: Lebron on Opening Night. But well, because they're Curry and Lebron,

514
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,239
Speaker 7: They've carried the league for fifteen years, they had the

515
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,679
Speaker 7: most social media followings, They're huge on every platform you

516
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:21,400
Speaker 7: need them on.

517
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,160
Speaker 4: Open It's major league baseball. Who was the last?

518
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,400
Speaker 1: I mean, Major League Baseball is not going to open

519
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:32,440
Speaker 1: up and put a star in his sixties.

520
00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:34,320
Speaker 4: In the opening night.

521
00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,640
Speaker 7: O Tani playing in Japan a couple of years ago,

522
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,800
Speaker 7: and like Sunday Night Baseball is always Yankees, right, Yankees

523
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,120
Speaker 7: Red Sox Like, I mean, I can't bash the NBA

524
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 7: for that. I will say Wemby versus Cooper Flag needs

525
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:50,280
Speaker 7: like major promo on here or whatever.

526
00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,080
Speaker 1: Now here's the top five MVP odds for the NBA,

527
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:58,200
Speaker 1: Sga Jokich, Luca, Jannis, Wemby on international guys, I mean,

528
00:23:58,200 --> 00:23:59,199
Speaker 1: that's what the league end up.

529
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,399
Speaker 7: Well, it doesn't help that Zion Williamson like ate his

530
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,880
Speaker 7: way out of the league briefly and John Morant can't

531
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:06,600
Speaker 7: get his act together.

532
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,720
Speaker 3: Those guys were supposed to be now years ago.

533
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,160
Speaker 1: One of the value propositions of international players is they're

534
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:13,719
Speaker 1: more mature.

535
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:15,560
Speaker 3: It's fair.

536
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,200
Speaker 1: I mean, Zion and Jaw struggle with maturity. Ant has

537
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:24,080
Speaker 1: struggled to some degree with a little maturity. The international guys,

538
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,760
Speaker 1: they just come in and it is all basketball, no nonsense.

539
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:32,200
Speaker 1: They'd live, breathe, eat, sleep, hoops and they're really really loyal.

540
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,840
Speaker 7: Cooper Flag appears to be cut from that cloth. He's

541
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,919
Speaker 7: not out there at the nightclubs. You know, he's not

542
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 7: flexing on social media. He appears to be one of those.

543
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,000
Speaker 7: I mean he's from Is he from Maine? I believe

544
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:44,440
Speaker 7: or grew up there.

545
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 4: I can now say that Maine does. Does Maine have

546
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:49,000
Speaker 4: a nightclub? I mean, I.

547
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:53,560
Speaker 1: Mean you walk in, it's twelve dollars cover and cariboos

548
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:54,359
Speaker 1: sitting in the corner.

549
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 4: I don't even know what no.

550
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 1: I think Cooper Flag. Here's the thing that I see.

551
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:05,400
Speaker 1: Cooper Flag. His skill level for his age, yeah, feels European.

552
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,000
Speaker 1: I mean, if you have not, I watched last night

553
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:12,760
Speaker 1: Houston shng Goon's skill level at twenty three is insane.

554
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,479
Speaker 1: Cooper Flag can do everything, runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots,

555
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,120
Speaker 1: really physical defense. Most even Lebron his rookie year wasn't

556
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 1: a great defender. Cooper Flag is a people have said

557
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,679
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum is his comp Two things. He's better than

558
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,400
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum, much better defender at this age and much

559
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:32,679
Speaker 1: more aggressive player.

560
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 4: I mean, Tatum still has.

561
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,479
Speaker 1: That kind of passive thing in big spots where like

562
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:42,119
Speaker 1: take the game over. Cooper Flag is hyper aggressive, unbelievable

563
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:43,040
Speaker 1: defender at his age.

564
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,640
Speaker 4: So he is better than Tatum Now.

565
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,200
Speaker 1: Now, a lot of young players shoot the three better

566
00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: than guys that broke in eight years ago because the

567
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:51,680
Speaker 1: whole damn sport is shooting threes now. So I'm not

568
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,920
Speaker 1: gonna hold it against guys. But in terms of Cooper

569
00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:00,639
Speaker 1: Flag is he's old school aggressive, like he he not

570
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 1: going to hang out in the summer, Dude, He's going

571
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:07,119
Speaker 1: to be all Mavericks, all basketball, all about winning.

572
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:08,359
Speaker 3: Well, Tatum is in that mold.

573
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:10,200
Speaker 7: And by the way, I think he was all NBA

574
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,520
Speaker 7: for like four years in a row, first Team. Let's

575
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,040
Speaker 7: not say Cooper Flag's better than him yet maybe down.

576
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:17,120
Speaker 4: The road I'm saying at his age.

577
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,440
Speaker 7: Yes, yes, that is age Cooper Flag phenomenal. Listen, you

578
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:21,560
Speaker 7: want to make me cry, you know, ask me why

579
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,320
Speaker 7: Cooper Flag didn't get the ball against Texas Tech in

580
00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,600
Speaker 7: the Final four and how Duke blew that game?

581
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:28,840
Speaker 3: Oh my god, unbelievable.

582
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:33,040
Speaker 4: But so anyway, so last night it was fun. It

583
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:34,200
Speaker 4: was a midweek.

584
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:38,600
Speaker 1: I've always argued the NBA, every league should cut down games.

585
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,080
Speaker 1: Of course, they're all going in different directions because billionaires

586
00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:43,840
Speaker 1: want more money. I've always argued the NBA should open

587
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:51,119
Speaker 1: on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving because we get football saturation Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

588
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,960
Speaker 1: We talk about it Monday, and then Tuesday Wednesday is

589
00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,200
Speaker 1: wide open. That's when the NBA should start. I'd cut

590
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,159
Speaker 1: it down to sixty eight games. I'd cut baseball to

591
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,159
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty. I want the playoffs starting in

592
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,760
Speaker 1: August twentieth, not late September October.

593
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,000
Speaker 7: But you know, nobody try telling these players that, yeah,

594
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 7: you have to take less money. Try to tell the owners, hey,

595
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:11,879
Speaker 7: less revenue because you're down fifteen games or.

596
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,320
Speaker 3: Whatever, that none of that's happening.

597
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 4: Yeah, I gotta tell you something.

598
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:21,080
Speaker 1: This is we are in the golden age of globalization sports.

599
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 4: The NBA. I'm watching last night. These guys are so good.

600
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:33,480
Speaker 1: The quality of bigs, European bigs is just wow, just wow.

601
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,960
Speaker 1: They're not gonna do for thirty on them because they're

602
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,960
Speaker 1: not that fascinating. But in terms of skill, and the

603
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:44,000
Speaker 1: other thing is international players when they come over here,

604
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 1: like they really I mean, it's it's a little bit

605
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,679
Speaker 1: like you and I traveling overseas with our family. You

606
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,200
Speaker 1: tend to be a little more gracious. When you go overseas,

607
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:55,920
Speaker 1: you tip a little better. You feel like, hey, I'm

608
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 1: a visitor. It's almost the way when they come to

609
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,560
Speaker 1: the States to play basketball, very gracious. I mean, they're

610
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,880
Speaker 1: nice to fans. They're just all they care about is basketball. Yeah,

611
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:06,920
Speaker 1: and they're not they don't. I mean, I think they're

612
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,400
Speaker 1: really great stewards of the game, but man, they they

613
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,560
Speaker 1: want to go back home in the season ends. Tyson

614
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,119
Speaker 1: are totally loyal. Luca was devastated that he was traded.

615
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,240
Speaker 7: Yeah, if you look at some of these franchise quarterbacks

616
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,720
Speaker 7: in the NFL, they're in that mold. Jalen Hurts is

617
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,760
Speaker 7: all business, shows up with a briefcase justin. Herbert's not

618
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 7: out partying. Patrick Mahomes total class. Like they have their

619
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,920
Speaker 7: act together and it's almost like a European basketball vibe,

620
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 7: where like, honestly, I don't I mean, Joe Burrow goes

621
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,359
Speaker 7: to a couple of fashion shows, but otherwise these guys

622
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:37,359
Speaker 7: are locked in.

623
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,440
Speaker 1: You know why the Eagles don't have a ping pong

624
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,800
Speaker 1: table in the facility. Jalen's like, none of that nonsense. Here.

625
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 4: The adult Jalen Hurts