WEBVTT - Best Of - LeBron James IS BACK, reaction to Shedeur Sanders first game, NFL Week 12 picks | Nick Wright 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.480 Welcome to the Best of the Week for What's Right 0:00:02.560 --> 0:00:05.200 with Nick Right, the best takes and moments from this 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:10.479 week on the show. Enjoy. For one of the first 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:15.680 times in this show's history, we are going to start 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:21.800 with Shadoor Sanders, but we're not actually starting with Shador, 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:27.360 and so that sounds silly, but here's the point I'm making. 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.840 So Shoudor came in, he obviously was terrible. He was 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.960 four of sixteen. It's the worst completion percentage by a 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:36.320 guy who threw at least ten passes in four years 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:41.000 in the NFL. It was a game that the Browns 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:45.760 could have in. One would correctly argue what even should 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:51.840 have won with just typical bad quarterback play. Instead, Gabriel 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.440 was terrible, and then Shador came in and was somehow worse, 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.360 and they lose and the Ravens escape with a win 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.720 they didn't not really deserve, despite Miles Garrett, who might 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:09.039 get twenty five sacks this year, just playing at an 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:14.120 all time level. But the reason I'm starting with Shador 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.080 is because this morning Twitter was down for a bit, 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:30.280 and I think Twitter has I want to make sure 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:34.880 I use the right word warped. People's brains and ability 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:41.080 to discuss Chador Sanders in a way, it's such an 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:50.840 what you have and what Twitter has rewarded from content 0:01:51.040 --> 0:02:01.480 creators is the most idiotic Chadore Sanders takes being so 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:08.760 amplified and being so force fed to anyone who has 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:16.240 any type of sports algorithm that you have folks who 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:22.680 know better, or at least should know better, polluting the 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:31.680 public discourse with just nonsensical misinformation. And so you've got 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:34.840 and it's on. And this is one of the rare 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:38.320 things where it is really a both sides problem. You 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:45.200 have folks who gain traction and get engagement by finding 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:52.560 anything imaginable to criticize Shador for up to an including 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:56.360 where he's sitting on the bench during and after a game, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:02.880 because that gets in engagement. And then you have on 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.320 the other end of it, folks acting as if it 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:11.320 takes a grand conspiracy for a fifth round pick, third 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:15.400 string quarterback to not have reps with the starting offense, 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:24.320 when it is totally reasonable that during training camp a 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:28.280 guy who was not actually ever maybe you think he 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.680 should have been competing for the starting job he wasn't 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:35.680 the Browns. Again, you can make the argument that the 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:39.280 Browns simply don't know what they're doing. I don't know 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:45.440 what the biggest Shador fans out there how they they 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.960 can make that argument. I don't know how they square 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:54.760 the fact that the entire league said he's not worth 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:59.240 a first, second, third, or fourth round pick, and I 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:02.800 understand it. There was some league wide conspiracy talk. It's 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:08.640 all so stupid, but set all that aside. In training camp, 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:13.600 the Browns looked at Joe Flacco as their starter and 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:17.720 Dylan Gabriel of the two young guys, as the higher 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.960 priority because he was the higher draft pick. That's how 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:25.640 that works. And then once Dylan Gabriel became the starter, 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:30.400 they looked at their third round rookie as a guy 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:35.159 who needed as much practice reps as possible, so they 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:40.640 were not splitting practice reps, which is totally and completely reasonable. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.880 Life is a fifth round pick in this league is hard. 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.119 It is supposed to be hard, and it's not always fair. 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:53.240 You get thrown into action and you have to look 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:59.120 better than Shador did, and it feels like, deep down, 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:04.200 people who know better know that, but deep down folks 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:08.880 also know, oh my god, this really gets people going, 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.680 and it's just so dumb. And so now what we 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:23.120 will get is this week Schador is gonna get a 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:27.280 real look. He will be the starter against the Raiders. 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:32.919 He will get the full week of practice, he will 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:39.239 get a game plan to his strength, you know, catered 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:44.200 to him, and we'll see what he looks like. And 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:51.159 typically in sports, if you're good enough, none of the 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:58.080 other stuff really matters, and you don't have a lot 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.760 of as a fifth round quarterback, you're not gonna have 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:07.200 a ton of better opportunities than this one. Knowing you 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:12.520 are the starter all week long, going against a bad 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:17.640 team that is on a shorter week themselves, and an 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:27.479 opportunity to remake at least temporarily that Brown's quarterback discussion, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:31.080 because Gabriel has been really bad and if Shodor goes 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:35.280 out there in balls, maybe he gets another week. But 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:46.960 the my colleagues in the media that know it's not 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:50.760 at all outrageous for should or to have no reps 0:06:50.800 --> 0:07:01.880 with the ones and implying or outright saying differently because 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:05.640 either they want to be in good with Prime, or 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:13.560 it's what they think their particular fans or followers will appreciate, 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:19.880 or just because they think it'll get the most motion 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:25.720 on the Internet. It's so bad and it really is 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:31.160 a good example of this is a real example of 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:36.160 social media at times making the discourse dumber. And so 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.040 that's why I want to spend a few minutes on it. 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.680 Off the top, we don't have to spend more time 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.360 on it. We will see what he looks like against 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.960 the Raiders. I think Dylan Gabriel has been the worst 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:53.160 starting quarterback in the league this year. And the only 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:59.200 reason that you wouldn't bench Gabriel for Shador is if 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:03.320 when he has a full week of reps in practice 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:07.040 and is ready to go against the Raiders, he looks 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:10.280 at all like he looked in that Ravens game. Because 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:14.440 in that Ravens game, he looked like a guy who 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:18.120 was wholly unequipped for the job. And I didn't listen. 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:22.000 I didn't love him coming out of school, but I 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.800 certainly liked him more coming out of school than Dylan Gabriel, 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:30.240 and in that game, he looked like a guy that 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:34.280 was a ways away from being a ways away. And 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:36.560 this show is brought to you by our friends at 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.679 hard rock Bet. Great week to try out hard Rock 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:42.440 Bet sportsbook Gap. There's so much going on, not just 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:46.000 Week twelve, Football, NBA, college football, college hoops, all share 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:49.200 the stage, always something about him. 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And it's because I think it's because he's 0:10:56.960 --> 0:11:03.040 been for basically as long as daily sports television has existed, 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:07.679 Lebron has been one of, if not the main character. 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:14.160 And because he has played, you know, throughout the entirety 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:18.960 of this medium, and because he has been at the 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:23.760 eye of the NBA storm, which while the NBA has 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:28.079 never in his career been the country's most popular sport, 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.480 but it has been at various times in his career 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:36.960 the country's most talked about sport When it comes to 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:42.200 sports debate and sports TV and sports talk radio. Lebron 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:53.880 is the Lebron commentariot has spawned just some truly ridiculous 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:59.080 and upon reflection, hilarious moments. And these are from for me, 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:08.680 friends and alike. I mean, we are twelve twelve, Is 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:16.320 that right? No, it's not right. Thirteen years ago, my 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:22.560 dear pal Dan Lebotard announced Lebron was on the downside 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:24.920 and Miami had gotten the best of him. That was 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:29.760 thirteen years ago. And I'm going to talk about guys 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:33.240 that I love and adore, so it doesn't seem like 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:39.400 I'm trying to take cheap shots here. Famously, the owner 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:46.280 and founder of this company, my mentor Colin, eight years 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:53.120 ago said Lebron, hanging up whenever you want, We've got 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.160 the NBA's got it from here. It was actually nine 0:12:56.240 --> 0:13:02.120 years ago, and that that's an all time clip. A 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.920 because Lebron would go on to win multiple championships after that, 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:09.720 but b because he was saying that Ben Simmons is 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:13.280 gonna take over. I listen, Colin, I was as high 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:15.600 on Ben Simmons as about anybody. I have to hold 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.040 that l as well. And there, of course is all 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.640 the Skip stuff with the clutch, and then the latest 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.960 steven A stuff with the real personal I don't like 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:30.480 that cut so much of it just outright silliness. And 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:35.640 then we got an unexpected dose of it in the 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.320 week's lead in the week or so leading up to 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:45.760 Lebron making his debut, which was, hey, will Lebron be 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:50.280 able to fit in with the Lakers? Even though we 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.920 saw Luca and Lebron and Austin Reeves play together last year? Hey, 0:13:54.480 --> 0:14:01.240 will Lebron actually make the Lakers worse? Screw up what 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:06.320 they have going on? These were real conversations, real discussions 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:15.360 about the most malleable, most flexible as far as how 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:22.440 he can help your team player in NBA history, about 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:29.240 arguably the only guy in the history of the league 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:35.960 that can legitimately and has literally made an All NBA 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:40.680 team at all five positions on the court. Check his 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:46.760 Basketball Reference for that was an All NBA center one 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:50.080 year for the Lakers and an All NBA point guard 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:53.880 the year after that for the Lakers late stage. Lebron 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.440 was an All NBA shooting guard as a young player 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.560 early and then obviously All NBA small forward and power 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.640 forward throughout his career. That that guy that can play 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:12.040 all five, and certainly the younger version of him, and 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.520 to a degree, the older version of him can guard 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:19.080 all five, that that guy was going to screw up 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:26.360 a team. And then Lebron comes in keeps his double 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:31.160 digit point streak alive, which is going to be a 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:36.120 very fun and funny thing to watch this year because 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:44.720 it's obviously an untouchable record and we'll get more on 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:49.920 the Lebron untouchable record stuff in a moment. But he 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:54.800 wants to keep it going. But he is, I believe, 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:58.600 going to play a very different style this year. That 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:02.640 game to Tuesday Night, that's the fewest shots he's ever 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:06.520 taken in a game he didn't leave with injury. And 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:11.800 speaking of the double digit point streak, one of those 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:15.920 games that he left with injury, because there's only been 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.680 two games in his career he took fewer than seven shots, 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:23.320 which is what he took Tuesday Night. One. He didn't 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:25.280 play the second half because he took an elbow from 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:30.080 to Kim Big Matumbo and one he left early when 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:34.200 Solomon Hill fell into his ankle and derailed the Lakers 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:40.920 title defense in the twenty twenty one season. But that 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:45.320 game involves one of my favorite Lebron moments of all time, 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:54.480 which is Solomon Hill falls into his ankle, Lebron recognizes 0:16:55.640 --> 0:17:00.720 he has suffered the first truly significant end of his 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:07.520 entire career up to that point and is going to 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:15.159 be out months and is sitting at seven points and 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:20.359 the streak is dead, and despite suffering an injury that 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.480 is going to knock him out for the next two months, 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:29.520 he pretends he's not hurt badly, stays in the game, 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:37.280 gets the ball, takes a corner, three hits it keeps 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:41.200 the double figure point streak alive, and then is out 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:46.920 for the majority of the rest of the season. But 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:54.920 that's sidebar Lebron being dropped in as a team's ultimate 0:17:55.040 --> 0:18:00.280 Swiss army knife and Lebron taking pride in that ability, 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:09.680 and Lebron then saying after the game with a smile, Yeah, 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:13.000 I heard what was being said. I've been you know, 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.520 you could put me on any team and I would 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:21.840 make it work. Is just obviously true. And people's you know, 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.800 people say that about Kevin Durant all the time, like, oh, 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:32.880 you just drop him in anywhere, And yes, that's true 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:37.760 about other players, great players, You drop them in and 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:44.960 they would make any team better. The distinction is, can 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:49.720 you drop a player in and can they instantly do 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.959 at a high level the exact thing that team needs 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:59.680 them to do. This Lakers team right now might need 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:10.320 to be more facilitator, cutter, screener than scorer. Unlike some 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:13.560 of the other great players in this league. He has 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:21.439 the skill set at forty in year twenty three to 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.280 be excellent all at anything. Now, is he the best 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:27.720 player in the league anymore? Of course, not see a 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:31.760 top five player in the league anymore. No, But is 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:38.120 he still have a legitimate shot at being right around 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:43.320 top ten And is he, assuredly when he's healthy, still 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:47.720 a top fifteen guy in the league. Yes? And that 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:53.920 guy with that malleability helps any team in the history 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:58.800 of basketball. Now, is it all right? Now? A moot 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:04.360 point for the whole NBA because of who and what 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:10.360 OKC is. Maybe everybody might be playing for second this year, 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:19.840 but we'll see things happen, and there's an element of 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:28.240 I don't want to say lack of appreciation, but numbness 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:37.679 to what we are seeing at this moment. And this 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:42.320 is something that you know I've said before, but I 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:49.320 don't know that people like fully take it in. And 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:53.439 especially because you know Steph is playing at such a 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:57.680 high level at an advanced age. Durant is playing at 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:07.400 such a high level at an advanced age. But see 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:10.280 whether you want to focus on the age forty part 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:17.879 or the year twenty three part. The it being without 0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:25.879 precedent is such a wild understatement. Like Kobe Bryant, the 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:33.160 late great Kobe Bryant. How old do you think Kobe 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:38.119 was when he played in his final playoff game with 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:42.800 the Lakers. I'm gonna give it a pause so you 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:46.879 can actually think about it. How old was Kobe in 0:21:47.000 --> 0:21:53.199 his final career playoff game? Are you shocked when I 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:58.959 tell you the answer to that is thirty two. Kobe 0:21:59.000 --> 0:22:08.199 Bryant did not play in a playoff game with the 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:13.760 Lakers after the age of thirty two. Like a little 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:24.359 context to that, Lebron joined the Lakers when he was 0:22:26.359 --> 0:22:37.800 thirty four, So obviously, Jordan Fit, you know, stopped with 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:42.399 it was done with the Bulls at thirty five, thirty six. Obviously, 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:46.120 we've never seen a player play in a year twenty three, 0:22:46.280 --> 0:22:48.040 and the only one to get to a year twenty 0:22:48.080 --> 0:22:54.159 two was Vince It's I said this a couple of 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:59.840 years ago and people laughed. I think we are now 0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:04.520 seeing it in real time. He'll simply never be bad, 0:23:05.600 --> 0:23:12.399 and he could easily play at again, not an MVP level, 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:19.160 but a high level throughout his forties. Barring again, barring, 0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:23.280 you're always at this age of a catastrophic injury away. 0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:27.119 But he's ducked that up to this point in his career, 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:34.760 and people can have the argument about the greatest player 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:39.399 of all time that is going to age so well 0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:42.959 on my end and so poorly for so many other folks, 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:46.720 because it is when it does come to and this 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:49.760 isn't the whole discussion, but it is at least a 0:23:49.800 --> 0:23:55.400 piece of it. The record books. With the way things 0:23:55.440 --> 0:24:01.520 are going right now as far as injuries, load management, 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:05.400 guys not being able to make it through a full season, 0:24:06.800 --> 0:24:13.520 Lebron's longevity records are going to when people look back 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:16.399 on him in forty years, it's going to be like 0:24:16.440 --> 0:24:21.800 if you look at complete games in baseball right now 0:24:21.840 --> 0:24:26.040 and you're like, wait, a guy had forty in one year. 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:33.200 Like all of these games, minutes, points, the playoff records 0:24:33.560 --> 0:24:40.560 are going to be Chamberlain esque, untouchable and farcical in 0:24:40.640 --> 0:24:49.920 the numbers to future generations. And I'm very, very interested 0:24:50.000 --> 0:24:57.119 to see the full role bron takes on with the Lakers, 0:24:57.680 --> 0:25:02.840 because in game one of year twenty three, he was like, Okay, 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:09.560 I'll be late stage Magic Johnson. And that's pretty damn good. 0:25:09.840 --> 0:25:12.119 By the way, if you're thinking about upgrading to the 0:25:12.160 --> 0:25:15.399 all new iPhone seventeen Pro, designed to be the most 0:25:15.400 --> 0:25:18.640 powerful iPhone ever, but you're also thinking about the traffic 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:21.040 on your way to the store or transferring all your data, 0:25:21.080 --> 0:25:23.960 good news. When you order a new phone online with 0:25:24.119 --> 0:25:27.560 boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home. 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There's one 0:25:57.280 --> 0:26:04.159 other Bron adjacent thing I wanted to talk about, and 0:26:04.200 --> 0:26:06.520 this is one of those things that I imagine will 0:26:06.520 --> 0:26:16.000 do well on social media or YouTube or and might 0:26:16.119 --> 0:26:22.480 cause me a little grief, but I just I can't 0:26:22.560 --> 0:26:27.240 leave it unaddressed, and I don't. I'm not I'm not 0:26:27.480 --> 0:26:31.439 trying to start anything, but this is so it was 0:26:31.640 --> 0:26:39.920 maddening when I heard it. So the greatest sports podcaster 0:26:40.160 --> 0:26:43.160 of all time, the guy who in some ways invented 0:26:43.200 --> 0:26:51.440 the medium, and a guy I like a lot, Bill Simmons, 0:26:51.800 --> 0:26:57.159 brought the mail bag back, which is awesome. It's vented Simmons. 0:26:57.680 --> 0:26:59.679 It's part of the reason that he's who he is, 0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:05.920 and it's awesome, And because I'm a fan who's listening, 0:27:08.000 --> 0:27:14.159 And he gets asked about the biggest sliding doors moments 0:27:14.200 --> 0:27:25.360 in NBA history, and he goes to the Draymond Groin 0:27:25.480 --> 0:27:30.240 shot of Lebron in Game four of the twenty sixteen Finals, 0:27:30.880 --> 0:27:38.120 which is a legitimate sliding doors moment, there's no doubt 0:27:38.160 --> 0:27:42.119 about it. And he talks about how if the Warriors 0:27:42.160 --> 0:27:48.000 win that title, Durant can't go, you know, to Golden State. 0:27:48.080 --> 0:27:50.479 So then who wins the next two? Does Lebron ever 0:27:50.560 --> 0:27:54.400 win in Cleveland? Does Lebron ever go to the Lakers? 0:27:54.440 --> 0:27:57.119 There's that is you know, what does it mean for 0:27:57.320 --> 0:28:01.480 Steph back to back Champ and Chips, he and Lebron 0:28:01.600 --> 0:28:03.840 Then at that moment would have been two to two. 0:28:04.240 --> 0:28:07.159 He would have had back to back league and MVPs, 0:28:07.200 --> 0:28:13.480 including a unanimous There are it's He's Simmons talks about 0:28:13.480 --> 0:28:15.280 all of it, and he's correct about that being a 0:28:15.320 --> 0:28:22.560 sliding doors moment. But there's two pieces of that commentary 0:28:23.520 --> 0:28:28.960 that are just one is enraging and it's not about Bill, 0:28:29.320 --> 0:28:34.000 and the other one is, I he just must talk 0:28:34.080 --> 0:28:39.440 to very different NBA people than me, because what Bill 0:28:39.640 --> 0:28:47.880 said was the conspiracy theory that people believe more than 0:28:48.080 --> 0:28:55.520 any other conspiracy is that the NBA suspended Draymond because 0:28:55.680 --> 0:29:01.600 they wanted Cleveland to win the title. And I've literally 0:29:03.360 --> 0:29:07.959 never heard that. Now. I certainly have heard the conspiracy 0:29:08.520 --> 0:29:13.640 that they suspended Draymond because they hoped the series would 0:29:13.640 --> 0:29:21.400 go longer than five. But the idea that in real time, 0:29:22.520 --> 0:29:31.120 anyone outside of the Calves locker room, me and Zach Lowe. 0:29:31.280 --> 0:29:36.960 We're all on the record during this everyone's doing media. 0:29:37.280 --> 0:29:43.560 Nobody else when that suspension came down said oh, well, 0:29:43.640 --> 0:29:47.880 now I think the Calves are gonna win. That Warriors 0:29:47.920 --> 0:29:51.480 team was considered the greatest team of all time and 0:29:51.640 --> 0:29:54.560 had dominated the Calves through the first four games of 0:29:54.560 --> 0:30:00.320 that series. So the first point is the idea that 0:30:00.400 --> 0:30:06.840 it is widely thought in NBA circles that the Draymond 0:30:06.920 --> 0:30:14.960 suspension was going to lead to the Calves winning the championship. 0:30:16.360 --> 0:30:19.480 We were all there in real time that was not 0:30:19.560 --> 0:30:26.640 a thing. And then and then to the opinion piece 0:30:26.720 --> 0:30:36.600 of it, nothing is more maddening for me as a 0:30:36.600 --> 0:30:48.120 Bron fan then the fact that when that happened, and 0:30:48.160 --> 0:30:55.520 then the Calves win Game five by fifteen and Lebron 0:30:55.640 --> 0:31:09.920 scores forty one points, the entire media asserts that would 0:31:09.920 --> 0:31:14.040 have never happened if Draymond was there. The Calves winning 0:31:14.080 --> 0:31:21.880 by double digits and Lebron scoring forty plus never happened 0:31:22.120 --> 0:31:27.080 if Draymond's there. And then in Game six, when Draymond 0:31:27.160 --> 0:31:32.960 is there, Lebron scores forty one and the Calves win 0:31:34.360 --> 0:31:40.360 by fifteen points. Game five of those finals, no Draymond 0:31:40.880 --> 0:31:45.200 Bron scores, Bron gooes. I'll give you his exact stat line, 0:31:45.320 --> 0:31:48.280 just so we all are on the same page. Forty one, 0:31:48.880 --> 0:31:53.640 sixteen and seven on fifty five percent from the field, 0:31:54.040 --> 0:31:59.080 sixty three percent from three and the Calves win by fifteen. 0:31:59.800 --> 0:32:05.000 So again, forty one sixteen seven fifty five sixty three splits, 0:32:05.360 --> 0:32:10.800 fifteen point win. Game six of the Finals forty one 0:32:11.240 --> 0:32:16.800 eight eleven on sixty five seventy five splits and the 0:32:16.880 --> 0:32:23.160 Cavs win by fourteen. Like, what are we talking about? 0:32:27.160 --> 0:32:30.080 What are we talking about? Oh? Hold on, I gotta 0:32:30.120 --> 0:32:33.400 do that, because I'm sure I have to fix that. 0:32:34.280 --> 0:32:36.480 I have to fix that. I apologize. I gave you 0:32:36.520 --> 0:32:39.400 the wrong field goal percentages. Let me let me do 0:32:39.520 --> 0:32:41.960 that again, because I want this to be accurate. I 0:32:42.040 --> 0:32:48.760 gave you so Game five of the Finals, No, Draymond 0:32:49.480 --> 0:32:56.400 forty one, sixteen and seven on fifty three fifty splits 0:32:56.440 --> 0:33:00.760 in a fifteen point win. Game six of the Finals 0:33:01.120 --> 0:33:05.600 with Draymond forty one to eight to eleven on fifty 0:33:05.760 --> 0:33:11.720 nine fifty splits in a fourteen point win. It's just 0:33:14.960 --> 0:33:25.840 revisionist history. And it's the only other reason that's relevant 0:33:25.880 --> 0:33:39.200 to me right now is that game happened ten seasons ago, 0:33:39.320 --> 0:33:46.760 and this guy's still playing. It's just a a career 0:33:46.840 --> 0:33:55.440 that will never be even remotely approached. And it's if 0:33:55.480 --> 0:34:00.360 you're if you're listening to this right now and a 0:34:00.480 --> 0:34:07.280 sports fan of this era. The fact that we got 0:34:07.320 --> 0:34:16.920 to experience Tom Brady going more than twenty years of 0:34:17.080 --> 0:34:25.879 elite in the mix every single year, ten super Bowl 0:34:26.000 --> 0:34:39.800 appearances across multiple teams, while experiencing Lebron doing the exact 0:34:39.840 --> 0:34:45.720 same thing in the NBA. It's just unreal, just unreal. 0:34:47.719 --> 0:34:51.160 Five games and a reminder, all of these lines are 0:34:51.160 --> 0:34:54.960 from our friends at hard Rock BET. I am rolling 0:34:55.000 --> 0:34:59.800 with Chicago laying two and a half at home against Pittsburgh. 0:35:00.280 --> 0:35:03.960 I just you are either going to get Mason Rudolph 0:35:04.400 --> 0:35:07.760 or you're going to get Aaron Rodgers with a broken wrist. 0:35:08.800 --> 0:35:14.040 I don't I don't understand how this game is not 0:35:14.200 --> 0:35:17.840 three and a half. It feels like a Bear's ugly 0:35:18.080 --> 0:35:22.680 three point win. Also for Ben Johnson, this kind of 0:35:23.520 --> 0:35:28.080 you get a lot of internal credit with the fans 0:35:28.080 --> 0:35:33.239 in the organization for beating Aaron because in everybody's mind 0:35:33.280 --> 0:35:40.520 he's still a Packer. I think Chicago is right now 0:35:40.600 --> 0:35:46.640 a the exact same caliber of team as Pittsburgh, but 0:35:46.960 --> 0:35:50.440 one team's quarterback has a broken wrist and the other 0:35:50.480 --> 0:35:54.760 team's quarterback doesn't, and Chicago's at home. All take Chicago 0:35:54.840 --> 0:36:01.440