Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Jason tonight for a late night recording Monday night, April 28th. It's just shy of 11pm Pacific time. A lot happened over the weekend. So we just kind of want to jump on really quickly and talk about the NFL draft, NBA playoffs, Aaron MIA at the moment. We'll see if he joins later on. But.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Well, my, my sources are telling me, Rome, that you've banned Aaron from the podcast just because of the anti Laker talk. And with the lakers being down 3:1 right now.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: I was actually thinking about that the other day. I'm like, I just want to hear him because he's, I don't know.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: I mean, that's what my sources are saying that, you know, you didn't, you didn't, you didn't let him know we were recording tonight. He's just. Yeah, it's not allowed. He's. He's got an indefinite suspension on the pod right now.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Yeah, it might be nice, actually. I don't need to hear a.
The Lakers series is really good. I'm actually liking it. We'll talk about that later for other reasons. But the NFL draft full of surprises. Cam Ward goes number one, no surprise there to Tennessee. Travis Hunter went number two to the Jaguars. Abdu Carter went to the Giants at number three.
And then I think those are like the pretty big highlights. Those are like the consensus, like top three, some surprises. I think we all know Shador Sanders slipping out of the first round.
Not down to the two, not down to the three.
What was the fourth round, fifth round, fifth round where Cleland did like a goodwill type of draft. They went up to select him, the second quarterback that they selected in this year's draft, which is kind of surprising, man. But let's talk about that because a lot of stuff has been leaking around, replaying the interviews, why he slipped out. I want to hear your thoughts. Jason, what'd you think about the draft overall number one? How'd your Bears do number two? I'm pretty sure you got some comments there.
And then we'll talk about Shador Sanders slipping into the fifth.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: So you want to Bears first? You want to Shador.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: Let's do Shador first.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: No, I think it was the most noteworthy thing of the draft. I.
Overall, it was probably the, I don't know, the silliest thing of the draft overall. As you're watching the coverage on like both sides of the spectrum on the Shador talk, you got, you know, the President of the United States tweeting out about it. You've got Mel Kuiper just Making, flipping out. He's making it look like he's paid off by Dion, just how much he's going, you know, for this. You got people on the other side, you know, just, you know, he shouldn't be drafted X, Y and Z. It's just. It was just the wildest of wild takes. We talked, I'm pretty sure at the end of the NFL season, the team's actually in the market for quarterback right now. And we were going down list by list of, like, who are the teams actually needed a quarterback. You had a big influx in quarterbacks from the draft the past couple years. You know that. And most in the teams that have picked a guy, let's say in the last five years, have paid, you know, the max. You got Kyler and Lawrence and some of these others. So, you know, as you, Aaron and I were breaking down a lot of drafts, like, who really needs a quarterback? So the Titans at number one. Hey, they needed a quarterback. Their situation with Will Levis did not look great. And, okay, Cammore is going to be taken number one. And then, so you're. Then you're looking at, okay, does Cleveland need one? They really didn't. Then it was like, okay, the Raiders, are they going to take a quarterback? Well, they didn't. Your Steelers were the talk of probably the entire draft of like, okay, one of the Steelers going to take him. And they never. And they never shot up in the conversation beyond just the speculations, okay, they don't really have a quarterback, so they should take Shador. But didn't seem like it was in the cards for them. So I think overall it was. It was a couple factors at play. I don't think it was, you know, there was race stuff involved. I think people were talking about certain aspects of it. There was, you know, collusion. People were being gone because of, you know, the pre ritual, the, you know, the overall vibe.
My biggest thing about it, as you know, you and I who work in professional industries, Shador was on a job interview for the last couple months. So whatever these interviews were like, I don't care what you. You do in the media and out in public and stuff, you get behind the closed doors and stuff gets leaked, and maybe it's, you know, you're just playing. A lot of times these NFL guys are jockeying. There's misinformation putting out there. But there was enough, I think, out there, and I think there's enough on Shador's public Persona and knowing he's, you know, Dion's son is that this Is a, this is a showmanship, you know, profile that they got out there. His whole draft setup was just an entire.
[00:05:10] Speaker B: That was crazy. Legendary.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Yeah, it was an entire show. But at the end of the day, the NFL in the draft process, you were on a job interview and these teams have certain needs and what they're looking for. And you could take a lot of the, you know, extracurricular and the, the swagger and everything that goes with Shador that, you know, really does no bearing on is he going to be productive on the field, but teams will take that if, you know they're going to be great. If he had, you know, Patrick Mahomes talent that, you know right out that this guy is going to be a consensus, it wouldn't matter any of this stuff. You. You'd take him in. But I think there is questions from NFL evaluators. Exactly how great can he be on the professional level? I think he has a ton of talent, but is he going to be a guy that's going to be a game changer that on the field in combination with all the off field, off, off, off, off the field stuff? And it's nothing bad off the field either. That's the other part of it too. It's like you can go one way or the other, but overall, is this a guy that's going to be coachable? Is this a guy that's going to be prepared? I think the Giants were a team that I think we talked about as well too. And I think it was leaking out of their organization that he had a really bad meaning with day ball as far as the overall preparation in football and stuff like that. So, you know, if this is, if this is the job interview you're going for and you don't show up prepared, okay, cool. We're just going to move on to the next one. This isn't. This wasn't there. So if he had multiple interactions like that, I don't know this for a fact. I wasn't behind closed doors, but that was kind of the overall sentiment of the draft process. And then I think with so many other teams, I think the biggest thing that people talk about, so many other teams set at their quarterback position. Why am I taking on another quarterback that is going to be. If he's not starting? Do you think Shador is going to be a potential problem as the, the backup quarterback? Like, the Cleveland situation is insane. Like the. They have, they have five different quarterbacks. They basically on the roster. DeSean, they're going to be paying next year. But he's not playing. He's out for the.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: He's not playing. No.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: They signed Flacco, they traded for Kenny Pickett, and then they draft two quarterbacks in this draft with Gabriel, who they took first, I think, in the third round, and then Sanders in the fifth. So many will say if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one. Well, if you have five quarterbacks, you don't have one either.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: That's a lot. That's a loaded room.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Yeah. So there's going to be a ton of drama if Cleveland about, like, who's going to be playing, like, Flacco maybe gets the start, but it's a short lease. Kenny Pickett now is his third different franchise. You know, I don't think he is going to be the overall successful one. So I think Shador's got a ton of talent. I just don't know if it's going to match the situation he's in. I hope for his sake that this is the motivation that he's spinning this for, is this is going to be something that's going to propel him into, hey, you guys, all 31 other teams, and even the Browns for that matter, passed up on me on four or five different AS occas, and they're going to make them pay. But I. I think there's something to be said. You know, I think Shador was doing a lot of stuff with early in the draft and Dion was saying stuff is like, we're going to choose where we're going to go.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Yeah. I think that's where, like, it kind of bit them in the butt. You know, all. All that campaigning going on. And then I. On social, at least that interview that he did, like, that presser, I'm not even sure where it was where he says, if you don't want to change the culture, don't draft me. I'm a game changer. You know, I did it at Jackson State, did at Colorado, and it was just a little too cocky. And then the news coming out that the. The day ball thing, dayball is a quote unquote, like a quarterback whisperer. Working with various quarterbacks and getting out the best out of them and him coming not prepared for that and then giving him attitude, that's where, like, it didn't look good for him.
And then I guess once you're like, out of like, that starting drop position in the. At least in the first round, it's like, well, you know, realistically, all these guys are gonna be backups and he has like, Kind of reminds me like a Colin Kaepernick kind of thing. It's just a lot of attention and nobody wants. There's their backup quarterback to have that much media attention.
So, yeah, that just all piled on. It just piled on.
[00:09:29] Speaker A: 100 agree on that. And that's what I was trying to say. Like, there's a certain point with these NFL teams is like, what. What are you willing to take on? And I think the Kaepernick situation, while completely different reasons for why Completely different.
[00:09:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: Weren't there, but the Kaepernick situation came about is like, okay, you can tell me. And there was a thing, oh, Kaepernick's better than XYZ quarterbacks. Okay, they're right. But is all the extra things that go with bringing in Colin Kaepernick at the time outweigh, you know, the talent in what he's going to bring to the team? And the NFL team just said, like, hey, he's not worth 247 coverage on ESPN and every news outlet for the backup quarterback to be doing that. And so while I don't think Shador long term is going to be having that. Be that type of lightning rod in this room, it is a pause for concern probably on some NFL teams of like, hey, I don't need my backup quarterback, you know, making all these rounds on social and then potentially having, hey, Dion talking in the. In the media and stuff like that.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: And did Dion ever say anything on X or anything like that about the. About the slide?
[00:10:42] Speaker A: I don't recall him saying anything.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: They've been pretty quiet. Like, it must have been like a humbling experience. Like, they must have been expecting what, anywhere, like the top five pick and then it doesn't happen.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: Epic drop at the end of the day, like I said, rooting for Shador because, hey, you basically were slighted. Not just like, it wasn't like an Aaron Rodgers where it was like, hey, you were supposed to go 1, 2 overall and you slide at the end of the first round and, you know, everyone felt bad for Rogers. No, I mean, hey, you slid. You slid to the third day and.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: It was the quarterbacks taken before him. Like, like, that was like the biggest, slightest.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, the guy the Saints took. And I was like, the thing is, he's like, but, you know, at the end of the day, there was there. There's arguments to be made on both sides. There was a lot of conversation on, hey, guys like Dylan, Gabriel and Howard and some of these other quarterbacks that were out there.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: Hey, they had really coward.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: Yeah. They had really productive college careers as well, too, and they weren't up there as well. But I think Shador has a ton of talent.
The Cleveland situation, I think, is. I don't know if that's a good situation for him to be in. That's gonna be the biggest problem, probably, because, hey, you don't know.
You don't. You don't know what's going to be going on. Is he going to get playing time? What's going to be the reps? Like, you're going to be sharing this thing with five different quarterbacks. I. I assume they're probably going to move on from somebody. You know, maybe it's Kenny Pickett, who they just traded for. Maybe Flacco never makes the team, and they're just going to be riding with some of these different guys that there's got. There's. They're gonna have to narrow down the roster a little bit over in Cleveland.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, it's five now, but no one really carries more than two. Three is the rare exception, so people are going to make the practice squad.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: Threes become more common because there's certain roster exemptions for, like, the emergency quarterback, because we don't want the. We don't want the, like, the Bronco situation where you're throwing out, like, an ex wide receiver at quarterback or something like that. So I think they'll probably have three, but who they'll be. But, yeah, it was. It was a. Interesting story. It'll probably be the entire story of the NFL draft.
I think it was overreactions, definitely, on both sides. I think Mel Kuiper looked foolish, but I think other people look foolish that were wishing for his. For his downfall because, like, he was so cocky. Like, there's. There's a level of cockiness because he. He's. He's super talented. We watch some of those Colorado games, like, him and Travis Hunter made some outstanding connections that were on that field where the talent is there.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: It's just, you know, some hits. He stood in the pocket, he made big plays. He definitely has it. And I know he doesn't. Wow. And anybody in any one particular field, but, yeah, you know, I think he has a fighting chance, so we'll see. Did you like Cam Ward going one? Did you see all, like, the videos about him coming out afterwards as well, of how him interacting with Shador and. And Cam's just all about football? Like, this guy's just serious and just like, oh, no, I don't want to do that. I'm Just, I'm just here for football. Like, no games.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: Yeah, those videos were out. I don't know if they were leaked or they were just reported stuff, but, but I mean that's. Those are the type of things that NFL coaches are definitely want to see. Hey, a guy who's just going to bury himself in the playbook about football, like Tom Brady, you know, preaches that the whole time, like his entire life was football. It was every little advantage. He's prepping, he's first one in the building, last one to leave knowing he wasn't the most athletic person. But hey, he's going to build you in preparation. He's all about football. And I think that probably was a long way for people in that. And you know, Cam's overall story, you know, didn't. Wasn't a. I don't think he was recruited or anything out of high school and you know, took kind of the long road to get where he was at. Betted himself going to Miami, you know, could have went out last year but didn't and you know, got himself all the way to the number one overall pick. And is he going to be.
Is he going to lead the Titans of the Super Bowl? I don't know. You know, this could be turned on one of those drafts where, hey, there's nothing special overall. You're not getting a Hall of Famer out of this draft at quarterback maybe. But you know, at the end of the day, when you look at the number one overall pick a lot, a lot of times it isn't successful for the slam dunk guys too. For, for how many.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: Yeah, dudes.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: We can look at stats, but I think like, I can't even. The last quarterback I think drafted number one overall to win a Super Bowl, I think was Peyton Manning.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: The draft is tough, man. I don't like paying attention too much, like watching it from afar, but getting knee deep in it and doing grades of like how well everyone did. Like no one knows anything really. At the end of the day, it's just, it's just a crazy crapshoot when it comes to the, the draft for the NFL. Real quick before we move on. Love to hear what you thought about everything else. And how do you think your Bears did?
[00:15:19] Speaker A: Well, I mean, starting with the Bears, I will say they had a great draft. I think the only, the only missing thing to me out of their draft was running back.
There was definitely an opportunity for them to upgrade that position. Beyond swift and every indication out of the draft for the Bears at running back was that they basically the guys they had targeted in the second round and third and fourth round, they were taking like picks prior from the couple guys they were going there. But so I think that was the biggest kind of disappointing thing you were looking for the Bears out of the draft because Ashton Genti at one point like was the betting favorite for the Bears to be picking to go to the Bears. It was like, I think the pending lines was like it was minus like 150. He was going to go for the Bears.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:03] Speaker A: But for that to happen, the Bears are gonna have to trade up to number five. They didn't. The Jags actually traded up to number two to get Travis Hunter. I mean they gave a lot for Travis Hunter, but I think at that point that was the sealed the Bears fate. Bears GM Ryan Polls basically said he didn't see the value in jumping up five positions of what he would had to give up to get, you know, a running back. Which I think is fair because Colston Loveland was the Bears first pick tight end, you know, big receiver type that I think Ben Johnson really coveted because he's going to be kind of like basically the Sam Laporta kind of prototype in this offense. He's going to allow him to do two tight end sets with Zach Ertz, you know, I'm sorry, not Zach hurts Cole Comet. I don't know why I'm wrong wrong side in. But yeah, Cole Commet. So they basically had two tight end sets, but then there's just going to be a ton of different looks they're going to have because that goes into the Bears second pitch which was kind of surprised was Luther Burden out of Miami. But many consider him to be one of the best prospects in the draft. Like he's a top 15 talent and the Bears take him in the second round. So now you add this to a dunz and more and you know, and.
[00:17:13] Speaker B: There'S a lot of talent in the second and third round this year's draft.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: There was and that's, I think that's what the Bears were looking at A ton in this draft is like, hey, we're going to get a lot of good guys at a good price in the second round because I think after 15 generally the knowledge is hey, these guys there isn't a big much difference. So overall I was, I was happy with the Bears draft. I think off they base they made offense a point. When you look at their first three picks was tight end, wide receiver and offensive line. They added some D over D line, help with Shamar Turner and they got a kind of a running back, you know, it's the seventh round pick. They got Kyle Montague, I think Monagay, I can't pronounce his last name from Rutgers. You know, five foot eight, pretty decent. Yeah, you know, tough, powerful runner. He's like low to the ground, you know, so can he give some of that power, power shifty stuff, really moves his leg. He's, you know, he's really quick. You know, I think that could be used in different packages. I think what you got out of the Bears was, hey, we're going to get a bunch of things that we have a ton of different packages that Ben Johnson is going to use and there's going to be a ton of different weapons and all over the place and move things and, and design some different, you know, different looks for same plays. Basically.
[00:18:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I thought they had a pretty good draft. I really like the Steelers draft. They had some question marks on that defensive line and they got Harmon out of Oregon and then Yala Black out of Iowa. They got a couple guys out of Iowa, including a running back. So it was pretty sweet. I didn't get the Will Howard pick though, in round six. Like, I, I just, I think me, you and Aaron, man, we've been talking all year round how he's good, but he, he also had like a loaded team, you know, so.
[00:18:59] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean you get, you get a lot of these big time quarterbacks from big time universities. That's like, is it them or is it the skill players that they have? You know, I think Joe Burrow was a consensus number one. But when you look at having Justin Jefferson and yeah, he had a lot.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Of, he's still pretty good.
[00:19:16] Speaker A: He's great. But he had a loaded team. I don't think there's any concerns there. But you know, back in the, back in the day, you remember the Miami national champions in 2001 when Ken Dorsey. But okay, he, he had a stack, you know, stacked team all over the place from a skill position perspective. So yeah, I don't know if you're picking Will Howard to be the starter for Pittsburgh. I, I'm at this point, I don't know how you guys are. I'm assuming they have a deal with Aaron Rodgers.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: I'm assuming so too because even afterwards they're like, well, you know, we're just waiting to hear back from Aaron Rodgers, whether he comes back or not. I guess, dude, like we, we've been signing wide receivers and running backs and everybody else, but no quarterback. It's like the most backward thing ever.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: I just assume you guys already have Rogers. I think Tomlin and Rogers, from what the reports were, even when he was going to the initial round that they have a you good, you know, professional, you know, relationship and understanding that, you know, I think they respect each other on both ends. And it's probably Rogers's only chance at this point, you know, is the Steelers and they have a big gaping hole. I liked Caleb Johnson, the third round pick they got. I actually was hoping the Bears would pick him up. I like, I like it. The Steelers at Naji Harris go. So there's a hole to fill that running back. So I think, I think that was a really good pickup for them in the third round. Yeah, so, yeah, I think it was. I think you get what you get with the Steelers. Out of that, they added two, basically three big pieces on the defensive line and then a running back. So you know what they're going to be doing. We're pounding the ball and we're playing, you know, firm defense and that just ties up for what the Steelers always do.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: You know whose draft I really liked was the New York Football Giants.
[00:20:54] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:20:55] Speaker B: I actually like dart and he's an Ole Miss guy. Weird stat. You know, they've only drafted Ole Miss quarterbacks, you know, Archie Eli and now, and now Jackson Dart. So pretty crazy. I, I guess like all the stuff that came back with within, with the interviews, especially with day balls. Like everywhere he goes, the guys just follow him. He gets like the team meetings going, you know, practices, you know, bonding, you know, accountability. He just had like that it factor where everyone follows him in the locker room. He was pretty decent at Ole Miss, but maybe that translates to something else. In the NFL, it's like one of those like mid, you know, Southern schools. He had a decent career but nothing too crazy. Then bam, you know, becomes like this crazy NFL quarterback. So I, I kind of like it. I kind of like them getting them. That quarterback room is crazy. Now you got Wilson, you got Jameson or James Jameson, James Winston and Dart and I, I can't remember who else. Danny DeVito. Not Danny DeVito.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: Tommy DeVito.
I don't know. Is he in this, in the room still? I don't know if he's in the room anymore.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:22:09] Speaker A: But he probably found his way out that it's another cruddy quarterback room. I, I do agree with you on their draft overall. I'm not sold on the Jackson dart pick. I think that.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: Back into the first round and get him like who was getting him? Like I, I'm so confused by this draft. It was a weird draft.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: There was weird things with quarterbacks in this draft overall. But I, I think that speaks to the overall uncertainty of the entire class. There just wasn't this run. You know, we were used to last year's draft where we had, you know, three, four, five top guys that they're looking for a quarterback where this year no one was. You know, they all said Cam Ward was the best, but no one was like it wasn't.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Loves them.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: Aaron loves. Hey, he, he made Miami relevant.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:22:51] Speaker A: This last year, as much as Miami has gotten back into the national fold a little bit. That team could have been a seven win team if it wasn't for Cam Ward and some of the stuff he got them, you know, from behind.
[00:23:02] Speaker B: So the refs helped too, a little bit there.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: So some of those late night matches. But you know, going back to the Giants, I do agree with you on that draft. I think Jackson Dart aside, that could have been maybe the iffy piece trading up in there. But you know, Abdul Carter, probably the best player in the draft that everyone's talking for.
[00:23:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: So sure, right there. Darius Alexander, another D lineman out of Toledo in the third round and he's a pretty dynamic piece. So you really just remade kind of the defensive line there. And Cam, Cam Scatter, running back out of Arizona State. Man, a little bit of a cult following here towards the end. I know. I think, I think the city of Chicago would have been crazy if they already drafted him.
[00:23:41] Speaker B: I'm pretty sure he would have been good in Chicago. I feel like this guy's like a McCafferty 2.0. I don't know.
[00:23:47] Speaker A: I think there's something there. So yeah, I'd agree with you. In the Giants draft in combination of some of the skill they do have, you know, day ball, you know, they kept the stability in place with him. You know, could some of these picks and they made some, some progress here. Kind of, you know, kind of fire day ball.
[00:24:03] Speaker B: They don't fire Sean. It's. It's pretty crazy. But they had a pretty good off season so far.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: So let's wrap it up.
So talk a little NBA playoffs. Unless you got anything else to say about the, about the draft.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: No, I think that was pretty much it. I mean if you watched the three days of ESPN coverage, they really only talked about Shadur Sanders the entire time.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: So it was disgusting. Like ESPN sucks. They just like hold on to one topic way too long.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: I mean that was.
You can blame espn, but you can pretty much blame all of everything at that point.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: Because you looked at X is about it.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: X was about it. NFL Network was the same thing. Yes. It was the overall coverage. That was the storyline. It's new. It was going to get clicks because Colorado, you know, Colorado got. Got the attention and that that's just because of Dion and what the program was and Shador was kind of there. So I mean that. That pretty much is the story of the draft. And we'll look back and you know, look at everyone's mess ups and we missed somebody out of this draft that was like a diamond in the rough.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: I thought the prank was kind of funny. Like the, the. The DC from Atlanta like his son doing it. Like that's up.
[00:25:14] Speaker A: The apology is even funnier because you know that was like written by the Falcons PR firm that they make your make your son put this tweet out.
[00:25:21] Speaker B: We're gonna investigate this even further. It sounds like I already found out what happened. Coach left his iPad at home. His son's an got the number and prank call with his buddies.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: Pretty quick solved. Case solved solved.
All right, let's take a quick break. We come back NBA playoffs. Wow. That's all I gotta say. I'm not even upset but just wow.
All right. It's too bad Aaron's not here.
We got no one here actually Talk talk basketball. It's a late night pot dude.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:26:00] Speaker B: It's just me and Jason like that but there's just so much going on in the NBA. This is honestly one of the best playoffs I can remember.
[00:26:12] Speaker A: Like all right, so. So you say that right now. Okay, so let me give you my hot take right now.
The NBA needs to move the first round back to best of five because you say this has been the round you have. Every series right now is 31 or 40 sweep. Except for the Nuggets. Clippers. That's the only great series. Right? Everything else.
[00:26:30] Speaker B: The numbers.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: Dude, I'm just looking at the numbers.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: Yeah. No. Okay. The. These have been like tough nose to hard fought games and that's what we were talking about like when the playoffs started.
Clippers, Nuggets have been exciting.
The magic kind of made the Celtics fight for that a little bit. Rockets, Warriors. Like today was a battle till the end. Warriors come out. Yeah, they're up 3:1 but they can easily be down 1:3. You got Lakers, Timberwolves. Lakers were leading in the fourth quarter in both those games that they lost Back to back. JJ Redick played all the starters, no bench in the second half. First time that's happened in like 30 years.
And then what's the other game? Bucks. Pacers. Bucks are done. We can talk about that as well. Pistons, Knicks. So that's been a great series. Like, there's like some physicality going on, like old school basketball. Like, I like these young teams, the Pistons, the Rockets, the Timberwolves. Like, there's going to be some fun basketball coming up in the next five to six years with these young teams, man. Like, they just don't give a. Like, they will punch you in the face and say, like, what's up? Like, I, I think like the little finesse phase of, of the NBA is going bye, bye. And I'm kind. I'm all for it, man.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: Maybe I'm. Maybe I can be back on board with the NBA then. Maybe that'll make it more exciting.
[00:27:53] Speaker B: It's good, dude. I like these young teams, man. They're like in their face, like in LeBron's face and, and Giannis's face. It's, it's really fun. Let's recap though. Bucks, they're washed up, man.
Damian Lillard came back from the clot. First time that's ever happened. Like someone came back from like that kind of clot, played a little bit, didn't shoot very well in game three, I believe, then came back in game four. And then towards Achilles. He might not even play next year. He's already, what, 36, 37. That might be it.
[00:28:24] Speaker A: I don't know if he's that old, but yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's. Yeah, that may not be it, but when you're thinking about the trade that got in there to keep Giannis, that they were making a move for a superstar, man, that, that really hurts. And I think at this point, the Bucks window, you'd be talking about, is it done?
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. No, I feel really bad.
We can.
Celtics, they should be able to close it out tomorrow. Magic have been pretty good, but they're just outmatched. Celtics should be able to close out in five games. You're right, it can't. A lot of these can be the five game series, but this is like a really fun playoffs. Lakers, Timberwolves.
I know LA is pretty bummed. I know a lot of Laker fans are pretty bummed.
Last game, man, Lakers should have won it. There's like some foul calls. You know, if you want to complain about like Luca not getting the call, I could have maybe got some Free throws to kind of seal it. But this is more about like the rise of Anthony Edwards.
We kind of saw it last year in the playoffs when he kind of took them into the Western Conference finals, then met like, like a really, a really red hot Luca and the Dallas Mavericks. But Anthony Edwards is ascending and I think he's ready to take the throne to the NBA. And I'm not mad at that. It's just, I just think it's a little too soon because it's interrupting my Laker team. And, and, and I'm pretty sure the NBA, the association wants the Lakers to go farther along. Like they're, it's, it's a really good team and it just sucks that like a good team like, like the Lakers might be done in the first round and that's it. But then you got Randall playing lights out from deep, dominating down low as well.
It. You can see why they traded for him. And it's all starting to click at the right time. They were on fire in the later half of the season is this. And then they're just following Anthony's lead. He's like in LeBron's face, pushing him, shoving him, getting these nasty foul calls. And I'm all for it. It's at the, it's at the expense of my team, but it's really fun to watch. Anthony Edwards, I think is my favorite player in the NBA.
[00:30:35] Speaker A: Not a bad take. You, you could say that with him there was the, albeit way too soon, there was the Jordan comparisons with Anthony Edwards on last year. We were on this playoff run.
Yeah, the Timberwolves. Interesting because they traded before Anthony Edwards, basically their franchise player in the off season and got back in return.
You know, what people saw as kind of scraps of the New York Knicks, like they weren't getting a star. They're getting a bunch of second and third tier guys to replace.
[00:31:08] Speaker B: And who else?
[00:31:10] Speaker A: Randall and I forgot who else. Yeah, I mean, but overall that turned into, hey, we're going to be a deeper team and have a lot better pieces to build around Anthony Edwards and like you said, Randall be able to be, you know, the aggressive down low, have a different, yeah, the team running through Anthony Edwards much more and the attention goes there. You know, it's, it's, it's a gritty team. You can say that in the west between the Lakers Timberwolf series, but I think even more so in the Nuggets Clipper series where, hey, one of these teams is going to go out in the first round. But I could also See them in the NBA Finals. Like it's just some of the. It's unfortunate when you look at how stacked the west is top to bottom, that two or three of these teams are going to be gone before you know it and probably there's going to be some undeserving Eastern Conference team that's going to advance to the second round.
So. But how the how the NBA puts their playoff bracket together. But yeah, I think the Nuggets Clippers going into that series overall, I think that's the one for me is not watching the NBA every night has been the one I think just gotten the biggest attention. The Clippers ton of hype behind them at any moment where they're saying this team, this could be the Clippers team that could. Could make the run because it's. It's not really James Harden, it's not really Kawhi, you know, getting it done. We're kind of. But there's. There's so many other parts of this Clippers teams that makes them. But that at the same time, you know, Jokic just says, okay, cool. You're gonna forget who I am and I'm the best player in the league that you don't want to talk about, but I'm the MVP every sing and could just own the series. So I think it's a battle of wills for these teams because, you know, they got a Thunder team looking at whoever the winner of that game is and the Thunder have been outright the best team all year, but they, you know, is this going to be the year the Thunder have another challenge? Because hey, there's no. It's that always thing in the NBA. You need to lose a couple times in the playoffs before you kind of reach the summit. And the Thunder going to be able to take it all the way to the NBA Finals this year when you had a seasoned, you know, Nuggets team that won the NBA title potentially or a Clippers team that has some better experience.
[00:33:12] Speaker B: A lot of veterans, but they're super deep and they're hungry. Yeah.
[00:33:16] Speaker A: Yeah. So there's. There's a lot of different. Yeah. So I could see that. And then I think at the bottom of the bracket too, when you go Rockets and you're. I don't want to say your hometown warriors right now, but you know, across the street from your out in San Francisco right now. You know, I think a lot of people pick this upset for the warriors over the Rockets because you say the Rockets. Did we. We didn't we on the pot. We talk about Name someone who plays for the Rockets. And I was going through the race.
[00:33:38] Speaker B: A few weeks ago.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like, who is it? I mean, but. But at the same time, you know, the warriors seemingly can turn this on at any given moment, and then, you know, they got. Jimmy Butler's been in and out this series, but it still kind of really hasn't mattered. And I think this was the matchup they kind of wanted. And. And I think the warriors definitely got a path, too. So even though you got all these young and hungry teams, hey, the warriors, every couple years, I guess, apparently now they're going to be able to get a few pieces, put it together, run it back, you know, with that, you know, Steph and Draymond, you know, core.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: This feels like the last hurrah. But, yeah, you know, I had the Rockets winning the series, but it's just like the little pieces at the end, and Draymond's getting underneath everybody's skin and, like, Rockets are a young team, man. Like, they just never been here before. They're playing really well. It could easily be the other way around, but warriors do enough at the end of the game to get the victory. Like, that was a big win to go up two 1.
Rockets are going to kick themselves in the ass for not get, get, get it. Getting that one. And I. I didn't fully watch the whole game tonight, but now they're up 3:1. Pretty commanding. You know, you're young and facing a lot of adversity. They. They got to be filling in the next game coming up. Nuggets, Clippers. Kawhi's been playing lights out, man. Like, 30 points, eight rebounds, assists. He's just all over the place.
He's just a different type of animal. Like, he hasn't looked this good, and I think since he was with Toronto, and that's scary. They're loaded, as you mentioned. They got Harden, Zubak, Will. You know, it's just. It's just a. It's just a good team. Nuggets, they look a little lost, especially since they fired their coach, but Jokic is just so good. He's even subbing his own players out. Like, not even the coaches are doing. It's him.
[00:35:30] Speaker A: He's like, no, he's. He's like, hey, I'm just gonna coach this thing right now.
[00:35:33] Speaker B: Still averaging a triple double, 40 points, you know, 15 to 20 rebounds, 10 to 15 assists. Like, he's just amazing. So he's not going to go out without a fight, but cliffs probably come out of that right.
[00:35:49] Speaker A: I think the Clippers do. You mentioned Zubak. I think many people consider him.
[00:35:55] Speaker B: I think he's the difference maker.
[00:35:57] Speaker A: Yeah, no one's we're talking about but the most. I think certain circles of NBA his name was mentioned is like most improved player because this was a guy like no one's talking about when on the heels of losing Paul George in the off season hasn't really been a big deal for them because they've had someone like Zubak that step up, you know, get the, you know, get the different rebounds in the game. James Harden, you mentioned Kawhi. As good as he has not been since he signed this Clippers contract.
[00:36:25] Speaker B: Right. But hey Mia.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: Yeah, but he's. He's had. He's had the postseason that you expect when he's got it. And this is, this could be their own. I, I agree with you. I think the Clippers still have the advantage in this series and. But I think the bad thing for them is the longer this series goes, they're going to go against a fully rested Thunder team that just swept the Grizzlies.
That's not playing well for them in the second round. For a team that has, you know, a James Harden and Kawhi that, you know, are always playing the most games during the regular season to be, you know, conditioned enough to go through the. Especially as aggressive and physical that the playoffs generally turn into and. But you're telling me it's more than usual.
[00:37:07] Speaker B: It's great, dude. I'm loving it. You know, it's funny, like, yeah, like Thunder's hitting on all cylinders, but you have like some veteran teams coming up.
You would think like these veteran teams, like, you know, are just gonna have like that leadership and that experience to kind of get further along. But is this the year when like the youth just finally catches up? Like the Thunder are just really, really good.
I don't know.
I'm really praying that my Lakers at least extend this thing out to game seven, make it a. A battle. But if, if, if the Timberwolves make it out of this thing, I might be switching up who I have going to the finals from the Western Conference side.
That's how good I think Anthony Edwards is.
[00:37:55] Speaker A: I think the path for him beating the Lakers is very interesting because he could be taking down LeBron and then he goes up against the next round and they can handle them too. And now you're potentially looking at a Thunder T Wolves Western Conference final with, you know, basically some young cores going at it.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: Pretty epic. I Don't think we talked much about the East Caps took care of business. Oh, yeah, we did. Nixon, for the most part.
[00:38:25] Speaker A: We just need to fast forward to Cav. Celtics, Eastern Conference finals because everyone else doesn't matter.
[00:38:30] Speaker B: Yeah, pistons, they blew two of those games. They, they should be up 3:1.
[00:38:36] Speaker A: But very, the Pistons will be very interesting next year.
And the Knicks, I don't.
This could be the, this could be the peak of the Knicks right now, I think.
[00:38:47] Speaker B: Dude, I'm glad you said that. I think this is it. This is, this is it. Because this Pistons team, like, what's up with Detroit always putting up these kind of teams? Like, you know, it's like they haven't.
[00:38:57] Speaker A: Had one in a while.
[00:38:58] Speaker B: No, I like this team. Well, I mean, man, they're tough.
[00:39:02] Speaker A: It can be tough. And like, you see the downfall of the Bucks. I think the Pacers are still pretty good. But the Knicks, this could have been their peak. Hey, the third seed in the east and we ain't getting much better than that. And you start seeing, you know, the kind of the fall of them a little bit. But I think Eastern Conference flash forward to the Eastern Conference finals. The biggest question, the biggest question is, can the Cavaliers beat the Celtics? They look very dominant versus the Heat, but it's a bad Heat team that, you know, frankly, that position shouldn't even be in the playoffs for the most part based on the teams that were playing in the play in games for that. Yeah, but the Cavs were, early in the season, were the best team in the league that first couple months and we were talking about them, the run they were going on, and they were able to maintain one and one in the east, but it's a special Celtics team. I know you as a Lakers fan aren't going to hear that, but this is a Celtics team that, hey, can they rip off a couple championships here because, you know, they got the depth, they got the championship behind them last year and you know, now's the time for them to kind of go on a little bit of a run. They have a fairly easy path to the finals compared to what you need to do in the west, where the winner of the west may be a little more beat up.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: For sure.
[00:40:15] Speaker A: I'm using a little more hockey logic there though, because hockey, you really do get beat up. In basketball, not so much, but it still, it still applies.
[00:40:21] Speaker B: See, there's a, there's a funny video circling about like the NBA playoffs and like hockey playoffs and all the theatrics in the NBA, it's Great.
[00:40:29] Speaker A: I know we can go on this forever but like and we haven't talked a ton of hockey given what you want to talk and we'll get into more hockey later but I, I will, I will always tell everyone I know it is you and Aaron. The hockey playoffs are the best playoffs. It's undisputed. The hockey playoffs are the best when it comes to like just the overall physicality and you know the closeness of the games and just the intensity of the games don't have as many of the blowouts and I know my basketball friends will tell me well you know the scores are 2 to 1, 3 to 1, whatever but you know, I don't care. There's. There's something special about you're on, you're. You were on, you're on your feet and just waiting for the anticipation of the goal in the hockey playoffs and just the you say the NBA gets. It's a little more physical hockey it is. It's physical physical where everyone's getting injured and everyone just says their day to day with a lower body injury and then you find out like they broke their femur three weeks ago and they didn't disclose it.
[00:41:27] Speaker B: It's pretty crazy. A couple series I'm paying attention to the NHL stars in Avalanche and then as well as the Kings. Man the Kings and Oilers. Every game has been a nail biter. It's been a lot of fun. Everything else is kind of like the NBA I guess. You know.
[00:41:50] Speaker A: The west is, the west is like the west in the, in the NBA. But yeah everything, everything's at two two or with the, the Dallas up three two in that, in that series. But yeah I think the Knights and Wild has been a pretty good series too. I still think the Knights favor to win that and should win that but you know Kings, Oilers, you know Kings potentially got the goalie advantage in that. In that series but you got the, the defending Western conference champions and you know between Draisaitl and McDavid in that series you got two of the maybe five best players in the league for Edmonton. So I mean a lot of people think Edmonton was poised to kind of go back here. The jets have the best goalie probably in hockey with hel book right now but that series more competitive than I would have said at the beginning of the year too or the beginning of the playoffs. So very competitive in the West. The east not as competitive. Toronto so crazy up 3 1. The Panthers pulled it out tonight. You know cross state rivals with the Lightning and kind of was their nemesis and for the Panthers, beating the Lightning was getting over the hump, you know, kind of last year to get that first Stanley cup for Florida. Now they're placing them again and they got him this year. The Capitals really were the team all year and they're taking care of the Canadiens and then Hurricanes. Devils was really talking about the Hurricanes Got a pretty good team, but they're up over the Devil. So, I mean, yeah, the East a little bit like the Eastern Conference in the NBA. It's kind of running away with that stuff there. But I think out west, man, you can see, you can see a potential title to contender go down. I know a lot of people out in our area in California like the Kings, but. And the Oilers are a really good team. And I don't want to sleep on the jets either because they've been really impressive all year. Goaltending matters. And I think that's where you like the Kings, what they have. And you like, you like the jets for their goaltending situation too.
[00:43:37] Speaker B: I can rep the Kings. I never really.
Yeah.
Kind of rooting for them.
All right, quick pod man. I think that does it for us, right?
[00:43:49] Speaker A: Does it for us. We can get back later. We got the Miami Grand Prix coming up this weekend if we're talking a little Formula one. And then we'll get deeper into the NHL and NBA playoffs. At some point we're going to do the MLB Preview and maybe the All Star break, but maybe we'll. Maybe we'll talk about baseball at a certain point this year. Aaron and I can just update you on our National League Only Keepers fantasy league if you just want to hear about that.
[00:44:14] Speaker B: I've been trying to keep up with baseball, but it's just. It's just kind of hard right now.
[00:44:19] Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you, the Dodgers were the bell of the ball early on, but the Padres and Giants, man, they're going to give him a fight. This division out west is insane between the Giants, Padres, Dodgers and even the Diamondbacks for how good they are. But I want you, I want you to pay attention to this room because as. As much as I, as a. The resident Chicago White Sox fan, you know, one of like five in Southern California, I. I constantly am getting heckled for how bad the White Sox are. Even though, you know, we won Opening Day versus the Angels and we're gonna go undefeated, but have it White Sox 7 and 21. 7, 21. Rome. Not the worst record in Major League Baseball. Do you know who has the worst record in baseball?
[00:45:00] Speaker B: I just remember you Being pumped up that they were two and three.
[00:45:04] Speaker A: Yeah, I was pretty pumped up. It was a great time.
Hasn't gone home that way, but. You're changing the subject, dummy. Rome, worst record in baseball. Not the White Sox at 7 and 21.
[00:45:15] Speaker B: Dude, I haven't even looked at the standings. It's not fair.
[00:45:18] Speaker A: It's not fair. I'm just, I'm saying, let's see. Who do you think the worst team in Major League Baseball is right now?
[00:45:27] Speaker B: Can't be the Angels. They won a couple recently.
[00:45:30] Speaker A: They did win a couple, but the Angels following fast. They've lost three straight and three out of seven, but they have 12 wins. 12 and 15 is not the worst.
You can give up, Rome. It's okay.
[00:45:44] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: The worst team in baseball is the only bad team in the NL West. The Colorado Rockies. Rome.
They are 4 in 24 so far this season.
[00:45:56] Speaker B: There's a game of throne memes going around.
You know, I get like the Dragons, like everybody else in the division is a good dragon. And the Colorado Rockies with the dumb.
[00:46:06] Speaker A: Dragon 100% and they definitely are that. So as you, the best division in baseball has four of the best teams in the league, but they have the absolute worst team as well. So the Rockies, I don't know if they win a game this year because they probably gonna get swept in every one of their division series. Between those four juggernauts you got at NL west, but very, very interesting race there. The Mets, you know, I think people talking about that, the Mets first in the NL east, they're doing pretty good. The Cubs first in the Central.
Yeah, it's been some good baseball so far, but yeah, the NL West, I think something to keep an eye on.
[00:46:43] Speaker B: That's amazing.
That's amazing. I haven't been to an angel game in a while. I think we got to make that happen.
[00:46:50] Speaker A: I mean, they had a good start, but as it is every year with the Angels, I have a couple friends who are Angels fans and they're obnoxious as hell and they'll be just going angel season. Angel season is in April because once it turns to May, they are out of contention.
[00:47:08] Speaker B: All right. Yeah, let's definitely talk some more baseball later on.
God, I'm so tired.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: All right, so we're not going to be talking English Premier League or any football.
[00:47:20] Speaker B: Liverpool, Liverpool. Liverpool. Man, I was so pumped.
So I, I work in a restaurant and, and the chef, he's a Michelin starred, you know, chef and he's from the uk. Big arsenal. Fan just kept on shoving in my face because they had like some improbable victories and kind of made some noise.
But man, Liverpool man Salah title in the first year with. With the new manager. I'm loving it. I haven't watched that many games. This is like one of the fewest this season. I've watched like one of the fewest. I can't talk. I didn't watch a lot of games this year.
[00:47:59] Speaker A: Didn't watch a game.
[00:48:00] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
[00:48:01] Speaker A: Well, I mean Liverpool pretty much from the opening couple months pretty much had it in the bag. When you look at, you know, what they had from a points perspective and only, only two losses so far this year for Liverpool, 25 wins. Pretty much dominated the Premier League. Manchester United man.
[00:48:20] Speaker B: Relegated, right?
[00:48:22] Speaker A: They did not get relegated, but they were like 15th place right now.
[00:48:25] Speaker B: Oh man.
[00:48:26] Speaker A: At 39 points. I think Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town all were relegated. I don't know if you're. I have not watched the show of Rome. I only see clips of it, but I haven't either. You're talking about. Welcome to Wrexham.
[00:48:39] Speaker B: Yeah, okay.
[00:48:40] Speaker A: But they got promoted and they're going to was the Championship League which is the step below the Premier League. So they have been promoted three years in a row.
[00:48:49] Speaker B: First time that's happened in history.
[00:48:51] Speaker A: First time it's passed in history.
[00:48:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:52] Speaker A: A lot of. A lot of naysayers about.
About. About the whole thing is because odd just they. They invested money so you win. It's kind of key to it. I was like, but hey, if it was that easy, more teams would be buying just these random, you know, teams in lower divisions and, and pumping money them to get them promoted. And I don't think anyone. Anything's come with much. As much as, you know, hype and stuff as Wrexham has with. With Ryan Reynolds and team.
[00:49:17] Speaker B: I'm surprised how cheap they bought the team for. Like I didn't know you could buy 5 million. Yeah, you could buy a pro team that cheap. Like dude, let's. Let's do a crowdfund. Let's go become GM somewhere.
[00:49:29] Speaker A: I. I think buying it's the easy part at that point then it was about probably raising the funds. I mean they're. I think they're sponsored by United Airlines and a bunch of other stuff too. So they got, they got big sponsors.
[00:49:40] Speaker B: Well, yeah, and you got Ryan Reynolds. He's made a lot of money doing a lot of films and what he owns like that one Boost Mobile knockoff one.
Yeah, the Gin brand Aviation and it's.
[00:49:53] Speaker A: Smart business stuff, you know, if they. They bought it and they got the TV show behind it, I think it's got a following. It's got a really cool story when you talk about the town and it's crazy. There's something about English football, I think, just in, you know, soccer around the country that I love the leagues. I love the relegation system because you can get stories like this where, you know, if you invest in a team and. And you know, at the end of the day, a lot of it's never done to money because you look at the Premier League, you know, your top teams that spend the most money, you know, end up. End up winning. But I think there's cool stories in here and if there's an incentive, you know, for these teams to do well, to get better, to invest in the team because you'll get even more money from an investment standpoint. But I think it's a really cool story.
[00:50:35] Speaker B: Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Oh, man. Liverpool.
It's good stuff. All right.
[00:50:43] Speaker A: You know, we're just throwing random sports. Aaron's not here. We can talk about a bunch of different things.
[00:50:49] Speaker B: Oh, man, he would have been going crazy in the Lakers, man. He has like this nasty snarl when he gets really upset. You know, he wants to get dirty.
[00:50:57] Speaker A: We'll have to see later in the week if you lift Aaron's ban from the show. Maybe it won't be until the Lakers are officially out. But.
[00:51:05] Speaker B: Yeah, you guys are right. A broken clock's right twice a day or whatever it is. You guys got lucky.
[00:51:14] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:51:15] Speaker B: All right, I'll do it.
We'll be back later in the week with Little Miami Grand Prix preview. Should we invite Andrew for that?
[00:51:23] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:51:25] Speaker B: All right. Maybe we might have a guest.
It's just me and Jason. Source from the sofa.
Catch us later.
