REAL TALK! with Doc and Marlon
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REAL TALK! with Doc and Marlon
Mavs/Cooper Flagg, Jayson Tatum, NBA and NFL Schedule Preview W/ Jase aka @CoffeeAndHoops
Sports injuries are changing the landscape of professional athletics as elite training regimens may be pushing athletes beyond their physical limits. We examine Jason Tatum's devastating non-contact injury and its implications for the Boston Celtics' championship hopes.
• NBA Draft Lottery surprise gives Dallas the first pick with just a 1.8% chance, sparking "rigged" conspiracy theories
• Cooper Flagg likely heading to Dallas creates intriguing possibilities for the Mavericks' future
• NBA Playoffs breakdown covering the Nuggets-Thunder, Timberwolves-Warriors, and Knicks-Celtics series
• All-time starting lineups for Seattle SuperSonics and NY Knicks reveal basketball history and fan sentiment
• Shedeur Sanders' fifth-round selection by Cleveland raises questions about NFL draft processes and biases
• NFL schedule release preview featuring Cowboys-Eagles opener and Chargers-Chiefs in Brazil
• Super Bowl and NBA Finals predictions showcase differing views on contenders
Remember to follow Real Talk for more sports analysis and join the conversation on social media with your own takes on these hot topics.
And welcome everybody to another episode of Real Talk. Doc, you doing all right today.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, yes sir, Honored to have our guest. Do the intro, brother, all right.
Speaker 1:All right. So he is a huge Seahawks fan, he is a Seattle Supersonics fan and, of course, well now he's a New York Knicks fan, so he's well known on the Shine House Sports family. So Jace joins us. Jace, how you doing, man?
Speaker 3:I'm great guys, Tell me about it. How are you guys this evening?
Speaker 2:We're doing fine, jace. Welcome aboard, brother, let's do it.
Speaker 1:All right, all right. So, jace Doc, we'll go ahead and get started with a little baseball news, and I can't help to. We're going to talk about this in a little bit, but we're, as we're recording this, the celtics and the knicks are going on. Right now. It looks as if, uh, jason tatum has some sort of a quote-unquote ankle injury. Um, at this point it looks as if it could.
Speaker 1:It's, it's a tough injury, I don't want to speculate on what it is, but it looks as if it could be an achilles injury. Um he's grabbing on the back of his lower half of his leg.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know non-contact it's tough. We'll talk about it in a little bit. But you can, doc, if you want to talk on that before you get to baseball, you're more than welcome to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, it's one of those things where you know an Achilles man, a superstar, elite player like that who at 42, and they're wheeling him out, you know he's in tears. So you know, the athletes know their bodies and it's very unfortunate man. It's one of the superstars and faceless of the league defending champion, and he put up 42, but when you have a non-contact agent, when you plant and then you see yourself riding in pain and then not a wheeling, you're out and you're in tears, that's something serious. God bless him, you know. But wheeling you out and you're in tears, that's something serious. God bless them, you know. But anyway, relative to baseball, fellas, and this is a big-time moment because the Colorado Rockies and we'll get an NBA player, a lot of intriguing things getting on but the Colorado Rockies fired their manager mainly because the San Diego Padres, your San Diego Padres, marlon, put up 21 points, three touchdowns, 21-0,. You know, on Saturday night I think I text you a three-touchdown victory.
Speaker 2:Colorado is so wretched, jace, and I think you'll agree, a change needed to happen. 21-0 was unheard of Marlon and Jace, and so this 1-0 state had to make a move. And then the Yankees aren't characteristically losing, but I think they won today? I don't know, but aren't characteristically losing. But I think they wanted it. I don't know, but they lost over the weekend. The judge had two bombs. It's just a lie. I know it's early and my braids, you know we're a game under .500 now, you know, but after starting 0-7, so I'm happy about that. But baseball's fickle gentlemen, and it's one of those things where anything can happen. You know, most notably the Colorado Rockies, and they had to get rid of them. But 21 points by your progress, marlon, you had to comment on this because you're in a brutal division. You're only a game behind the Dodgers and you know it's one of those things where, going down the stretch, it's going to be you, dodgers and Arizona Cardinals in the National League West. You know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what it's going to be, and we've got to capitalize on games like this, because what's going to happen is down the road, when games matter. You know you don't want to have certain things come down to the end of the season. So if we take care of business now, we don't have to worry about later on. So that's, you know. That's definitely what we want to try to do. So, Jace, are you a baseball fan at all?
Speaker 3:Not so much. I do keep up with it a little bit. I do keep track of the Mariners. I know that we're leaving the division, but I've seen that some before the last couple of years they get me all excited about it, like, hey, I'm going to get into baseball, and then they just they play them out, and it's an everyday thing, things. So I keep up a little bit.
Speaker 1:Do you remember the 2001 Seattle Mariners? I do remember that team yeah, okay, alright, it's an inside joke with Dog. I was just, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, best ranking in baseball man, king Griffey Jr. Yeah, ichiro, you had some superstars up there in the Pacific Northwest Jace. So yeah, I see your point. Beautiful stadium, you know, safe, cold field. So yeah, we got the point there relative to your baseball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, All right, all right, so okay. So on to the NBA. Like I said, the breaking news. Before we get into the Cooper flag stuff. Most likely it's an Achilles. I'm not even going to sugarcoat anything. We've seen this with Kevin Durant, we've seen it with Kobe, some other great players, but it was non-contact, just pushed off and it's a pop. And here we are in May and this happened, and we just had Kyrie with his big injury a couple months ago. He's probably not going to be back until maybe midseason.
Speaker 2:When you look at, look at Dame.
Speaker 1:Damian Lillard, another one. When we look at a superstar as is Jason Tatum, knowing that he might not come back until at least after the All-Star break, at least, it's hurtful. You got Kyrie out, you have Dame out. Now you have possibly Jason Tatum out for that time. Jace, I'll go ahead and start with you. It's tough with these injuries and I mean, what are you going to do? But at the end of the day, just seeing some of these big stars with these injuries, man, you just hate to see it as these NFL superstars go down time after time.
Speaker 3:It's awful to see and even if you don't like the Celtics, you don't want to see this happen. A guy like Ketam, he's a likable guy, he's just a good dude. So you hate to see it. The Celtics are obviously favored to win the championship this year and they obviously are floundering a little bit. So this is the worst possible time. You hate to see with Kyrie, you hate to see with Dame, and Dame is obviously a little bit older and I mean we all know that the older you get, the more your body breaks down a little bit. So Tatum's still a young guy and sometimes it's just a freak injury. But if you watch the highlights, yeah, like you said, he plants his foot, there's no contact, he grabs the back of it and he can't stand by himself. He had to get helped off the court and that's never a good sign. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:But Jace, it begs the question. Jace, these guys are high-intel athletes, elite athletes with modern technology and training and eating habits. You know how come? Nobody back in the day in the 70s, 80s had these. Are these guys over-raining, because I can name names off the top of my head? They never got hurt. Barkley went to training camp to get in shape and never got injured. But now these guys work out year-round intense training, running hills and jump ropes and all that, and trainers and you see these elite athletes go down like this. What is the answer for Jake?
Speaker 3:if there is one. So I'll tell you this and I'll get a little personal story with you. It's actually very topical. I do think that athletes are overtraining. So my son is a four-sport athlete and he actually just had a regional this last weekend for track and he did the cobalt and they pushed him hard and they're also doing basketball two days at the same time.
Speaker 3:So he's going at it. Well, lo and behold, he actually tore his patella tendon on Saturday. So like I can see firsthand, I can like vouch that the way that modern athletes are training it's a lot, which is why I don't understand. It's rough because the competition is so much higher and guys nowadays are so much more athletic. There's such freaks athletically and it's crazy things they can do. Back in Barkley's day you didn't have like an Amon or Oscar Thompson that are running up and down the court. So it's a completely different ball game and sometimes those are the breaks and you have to overtrain just to try to keep up with the competition.
Speaker 2:Well, it is a different game and you make a good point. You know guys are running around and cutting and this, that and the other, whereas back in the day, when I was growing up, most of you post up, do your business, you know. So it goes noted, yeah, but it's just sad to see. So, yeah, marley, you tore yours and it's just one of those things where, as you reference, it's at least a minimum. 10 months might even be a year for these guys.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying the technology is a lot, uh, advanced, you know, than it was back then when you tore yours, as you know kobe, and you know guys like that. But, um, it's, it's, it's tough and and he'll have the. He'll probably he'll get the mri tomorrow morning, he'll have the surgery the next day or the day after and immediately uh get to rehab, to where, once training camp starts, he'll have his stitches out and he'll be at least moving around, but he's not getting close to any physical activity until the new year at least. That's just how it is. You got to let everything, everything, heal. It's not like it's a bone or a muscle, it's a ligament, so it's a different body group.
Speaker 1:So, as we look at that, we'll go ahead and jump into the NBA lottery. So a 1.8 chance that Dallas gets the number one overall pick and they get it, doc. I'll go ahead and start with you on this one. So, doc, the Dallas Mavericks get the number one overall pick and they get it, doc, I'll go ahead and start with you on this one. So, doc, uh, the dallas mavericks get the number one pick and have the rights to draft cooper flag if they want to, which most likely they will. If they're not, they're stupid. Uh, a lot of people are screaming if the nba is rigged, knowing that luca's gone, and now you have the possibility of getting cooper flag with, uh, anthony davis and k Kyrie coming back around the All-Star break. So what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:Well, assuming Anthony Davis and the rest of us can't stay healthy. Kyrie Irving, that is a monster lineup going forward. And Chase, I know you'll agree that Cooper Flagg is a machine. He can play inside, outside whatever, and he can go off the dribble and rebound defense. He has it all. The only thing that might screw this thing up is if Giannis and Tomka well, the Greek Freak just traded there and then they asked for Cooper Flagg in return, because Greek Freak wants out. You know Milwaukee and it was Dame hurt too. So that's the only thing I could see where Cooper Flagg does not end up in Dallas, but props to Dallas. They said the same thing, jays, back in 85 when Ewing got drafted in New York that it was rigged this, that and the other.
Speaker 2:So it goes noted man and congratulations to them. But if they stay healthy, I wouldn't say they're the favorites in the West, but they'd be top three. Look at the lineup. Just on paper They've got to stay healthy. But Cooper Flagg is the real deal, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, dallas. Look guys, if you paid any attention to X slash Twitter in the last couple hours, everybody's saying it's rigged. And there's a good reason to think it's rigged, because 1.8% is ridiculous. If you imagine taking 100 jump shots and making less than two. That's what you're looking at here. So clearly there's going to be this. You brought up the Ewing conspiracy theory and there was like the frozen envelope and that's what's going to. That's what's going to be the underlying thing with this situation. Dallas, something was clearly fishy about this and maybe it wasn't, but realistically, you're not going to convince the masses that this wasn't orchestrated.
Speaker 2:Right, that's a good point there.
Speaker 1:It just looks very shady. And my buddy called me. He was like why didn't we think to bet Dallas to get the number one pick? And I was like because it wouldn't like a 1% chance, it wouldn't be possible. But yeah, it just looks very skeptical and I don't know if Nico gave the commissioner a ton of money to say, hey, make sure that we. I don't know, I don't know, but it definitely looks very shaky. Okay, all right. So, doc, you didn't mention this earlier. Giannis is open to leaving. What are some of the possible destinations, doc, that Giannis could go to if he decides to head out of Milwaukee?
Speaker 2:Well, the Houston Rockets is number one because they're a young team. They need a veteran like that to advance. I love the uh coach down there, emil Adoka. He did as far as he could with the Houston uh Rockets. You got uh several other teams man, like uh the San Antonio with uh Wimbaama, so you can go in that direction. I don't think he's coming to the Lakers because the Lakers, the money in and of itself, might be troublesome, given that you're going to have to pay Luka over three. But those two teams, the Rockets and San Antonio, in the Western Conference, get him out the East. Some people speculate maybe the Brooklyn Nets. I don't just see him going to the Nets, man like that. The Nets are not an organization where you say, okay, I'm attracted if I'm going, if anything, go to New York, then you know what I'm saying. So, yeah, the two teams that I think he'll go is Houston and San Antonio.
Speaker 3:Gentlemen, all right, yeah, I agree, all right, yeah, I agree. I think that Houston makes a lot of sense because, if we saw anything in the playoffs, they need a go-to guy, they need a score. Jalen Green's not that guy. Shang-goon's not that guy. Dylan Brooks, clearly no, he's not that guy and Houston's got the assets to make it happen. They don't say, hey, we'll give you Jalen Green, we'll give you Cam Whitmore, we'll get Reed Shepard. We have all these Jeff picks, we have options and, like Doc said, I have heard speculation that Giannis likes New York, so either picks or nets. I don't know why he'd want to go to the nets, because it's the same situation he's in now, where he doesn't have a supporting cast.
Speaker 3:The only difference is that Brooklyn's a lot younger. As we're in Milwaukee, you've got guys like Danny Lillard he's old Brooke.
Speaker 2:Lopez, he's old. It's not something where in five years you're going to have those guys around you still. Gentlemen, I love the NBA playoffs and this is the time of year where basketball is king and pro basketball, but the top two topics are obviously going to be the draft lottery and Jason Tatum. But the games themselves have been exciting. Look at Indiana blowing the doors off, you know. Cleveland Cavaliers, you know. I counted off when it got to 42 points and then you go.
Speaker 2:Of course, you've got an entertaining series with the Nuggets and OKC, but this next Celtics thing here, that's the animal in and of itself. Big markets, northeast, you know. So the playoffs in general, man, we can dive into each series, but this is basketball that we want to talk about. We want to talk about injuries, unfortunately, but these things you've seen massive routes. You've seen teams come back from 20 points down and win on the road. You know. We've seen it all Last second shots. Look at Aaron Gordon for the nuggets, you know, giving the OKC the business. So if you're just a basketball fan, jace, it's one of those things where this is, once in 20 years, we've got to enjoy it.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you what. This is the most fun postseason that I've watched in a long time, because every series in the semifinals has been must-watch. Tv Indiana has impressed me more than any team in the playoffs. They look so tough, so confident. They're well-coached, they've got a veteran floor leader, they've got a good bench. They can defend like none other. They can shoot, they have it all, including the saber, and it sure doesn't look like it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it sure doesn't either, brother. And then Minnesota, marlon. You know Anthony Edwards is doing his due diligence, you know, but I think they dropped one at home, but it looks like they'll be all right, man. So you never know. It's wide open to me, gentlemen, and you know I like the star power. You know, unfortunately, for Tatum, but you still got Anthony Edwards, you got Dort, you got Shea Gilders, alexander for OKC, and you've got Joker. And then in the East, of course, you know, come on man, the Pacers. What were they? The fifth seed Nobody's talked about the Pacers doing this business.
Speaker 1:On Cleveland, the number one seed, nobody talked about the Pacers at all, but the best series to me. I thought the Nuggets were going to run away with this and we were going to see another version of the Eastern Conference with the team running away with it when the number one seed going down. But the Nuggets and the Thunder is by far the best series. Obviously it's tied 2-2, but it's the best series in my opinion. So I'm a huge Russ fan since the OKC Thunder Russ and then he kind of bounced around to Rockets and a couple teams and he ended with the Lakers, my team. I was rooting for him. I always wished him well, except when he was with the Clippers. I didn't wish him much well.
Speaker 2:But now he's with the.
Speaker 1:Nuggets and I'm rooting for him, but with the Thunder they came and bounced back with a win last night. So, jace, we'll go ahead and start with this one. What?
Speaker 3:are your thoughts on this Thunder Nugget Series? I'm stunned. I'll be honest with you. I thought the Thunder were absolutely going to dominate this win by 20 points every night and sweep the series. Not even a gem to sweep, just 4-0. The Thunder are deeper, they're younger, they're more athletic. They've got Hardenstein and Chet. You can throw a Jokic and they're not going to shut him down, but those are two capable big buys to throw at him. I really thought the Thunder were going to absolutely annihilate Denver because I don't like their bench and yeah, they got Westbrook off the bench, but I mean realistically, that's it. They don't have a really great team. Martin's had a resurgence, just like Doc said. He's been incredible in this postseason. Jamal Murray he's hit or miss. And Porter From what I heard this morning, porter can't even lift his right arm without it hurting. They're giving him injections just so he can play. There's no way Denver's even going to be able to compete here. I was definitely wrong about that, because they're putting up a fight.
Speaker 2:Remember, gentlemen, they fired the coach. Three games left Some obscene number, it might have been two games, but I think it was three. So something was going on internally. If you will, Jace that they made the change, it seemed like to me they're playing better basketball because of it. I don't know, that's just me. Maybe the guy was abrasive in the locker room. Nobody spoke up about it, the players didn't have his back. So this new guy, young cat, you know, he's got them rolling.
Speaker 1:I still think OKC, to your point, is going to take care of business and shoot Doc. When you say young cat, it's Jokic. It's Jokic that's essentially coaching the team. So he's in the huddles during timeouts drawing up plays and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:It's really him that's doing everything. So he's a great mind, he knows what he's doing, he knows what he's talking about, he acts like he doesn't care, doesn't want to spotlight. He's a great overall player that you'd want to have on your team. So, um, you know, yeah, so I think this is definitely the most excited series. Uh, game five, I believe, is tomorrow.
Speaker 1:um, so we'll be tuned into that as far as with the timberwolves and warriors, uh, we know the big news of steph curry he's out. In my opinion, I don't think he's coming back. They're gonna try to push him, uh, to play in game, uh, six, I believe, at home with the hamstring is. We're not talking about a knee or an ankle or whatever the case is, we're talking about a hamstring, where you literally need your hamstring to do everything from push off to, and most of his game is running around, and if he can't push off on that hamstring, I don't know what's going to happen. So we did have a scare too as well, with Anthony Edwards, with him going out. He came back. I mean young, 25, 26-year-old, so he'll be fine. So, doc, I'll go ahead and start with you on this one. What are your thoughts on this game, and will we see Steph Curry back?
Speaker 2:No, because I think Minnesota's going to handle business. You know Golden State, they just don't have the bodies now. And then you got Green, who likes to get tossed, you know, and fouled out and all that. And I think Gobert has gotten in Green's head. You know, nobody's intimidated by Green. It worked when they were winning four. You know titles, you know, early in the century, but not now. And I think that these cats in Minnesota, especially Julius Randle, they're on a mission. Randle ain't played like this in five years. It's one of those things where I think Anthony Edwards and Butler's not that kind of leader where he can score at will. He's up in age. He might give you 31 games and then disappear for like 12 or 14 the next. But I think they're done, man, you know. And the hamstring, as you referenced, that's a serious thing. I don't even see it going to six. So say goodbye to Steph for this year, because I just don't see Anthony Edwards giving it up, even if it's on the road tonight. You know what I'm saying, yeah.
Speaker 3:So I'll be honest with you guys. Minnesota has been my favorite team to watch in this postseason. Julius Randle just had his first playoff career triple-double and only the second Timberwolves ever to have a playoff triple-double, aside from Kevin Garnett. Obviously Curry's not coming back. We can just put that out there. Minnesota's going to win tonight. They're going to take a 3-1. And realistically, minnesota hasn't played a good game in this series yet. Every game they've played has been sloppy, even this last game where Randall and Edwards combined for 60, it was a rough first half and it was sloppy, and it's almost like Anthony Edwards has been asleep, like he just hasn't played like himself. He hasn't been assertive, he hasn't made his layups. They had that game I think it was game two where they were just like 0 for 15 for three and it was awful.
Speaker 3:I mean, you've got so many weapons on that team now, like Nasri can step up any day. Dante DiVincenzo is an absolute weapon. Julius Randle has, like I said, stepped up when Anthony Edwards hasn't.
Speaker 1:So there's a lot of guys on that team and I mean Butler had a great offensive game this last game but he can't score all the points and there's nobody to help him because I think Green had six follows and two or four points, and that's not going to cut it At all. Absolutely, brother, not going to cut it at all. Okay, all right. So, jace, you know you were, I guess we'll dive into it now you were a Seattle Supersonics fan and now you're a New York Knicks fan. So how did you become a Knicks fan and why was that team that you went over to after the Seattle Seahawks left Seattle?
Speaker 3:I'm really hoping that the Suns will come back one day and I can kind of get back to where I belong. But in the 90s.
Speaker 3:I really liked a lot of their players. I liked Anthony Mason, I liked Charles Oakley. I liked tough guys like that. I thought that was just a great way to play basketball. And last year's Knicks team was just so fun to watch. They were so tough, they were so hard-nosed, they were just such a great team and honestly, I like last year's roster significantly more than I like this year's roster. But as a whole, new York is just. They're always a team you've got to watch. They're always entertaining. Even when they had the Carmelo team, they had Porzingis, they had Lansanity. There's always something entertaining with them. They're a great watch. I don't have as much confidence in them this year as I did last year, even despite the Tatum injury and the likelihood of the New York State advance here.
Speaker 2:Well, Chase, that's a good point, man. You named some names Allen Houston's in that group too. I love Oakley and Mason too, but Allen Houston was Mr Smooth, you know Starks and all that. But Tibbs has gotten criticized in the past for running his cats in the ground. Look at last year when they faded badly against the Pacers. But this year seems to help him. Chase, I'm sure you'll agree. These guys are in shape. We can come back from 20 points down in a back-to-back game. Tonight it was 14. Tibbs, he's done something. Guys are staying healthy. I'm sure they don't want to go down double digits, no more. But that's what the New York Knicks do. You come out hard. There's a reason why Jay Stead, Jalen Bronson, won Clutch Player of the Year. There's a reason why, Absolutely.
Speaker 3:The only issue with all that is if you're going to play your guys 40, 42 minutes and it's kind of unnecessary because their bench isn't great. They've got a couple of rookies, they've got campaign. They're bringing Mitchell Robinson off the bench If you're playing your guys too many minutes, it just increases the chance of injury, especially if you're going to be going six, seven games in a series. I worry about Jalen Brunson. I worry about him getting hurt. He had a scare just not too long ago where he landed on somebody's ankle and that's really all that it takes. So far it seems to be working, but I don't know if that says more about New York and what they're doing or about Boston choking Wow work and what they're doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're about Boston choking. Wow, that's a big word.
Speaker 3:That is a big word.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is no you're not wrong at all. Good point, though, you know wow, it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we will see what happens. Obviously it's a, it's a huge. As a next, jace, I've said this for weeks and weeks when the Lakers and the Knicks are relevant, it's great for basketball and the Knicks have not been relevant since somewhat of the Carmelo days. And now you've got Brunson and you have this new wave of the Knicks and you know I'm a Lakers fan. I hate Boston. I can kind of ride with the Knicks a little bit and that would be great to see, I mean you and the Pacers. That's obviously good history. You know when you look at, you know the Reggie Miller, you know those years. So trust me as a basketball fan, I would love that.
Speaker 1:So I do have a question for you now, jace, a two-part question. I'm going to ask you so if you can put your starting five together of just the Seattle Supersonics, so teams that were drafted by Seattle, and then next we'll get into the Knicks after that. But as far as for now, if you can put a starting five together and I'll give you an honorable mention, they'll give you a sixth man as well, because I know it's tough. But if you can put a starting five together for Seattle Supersonics, who would it be?
Speaker 3:All right. So center, I'm going to start Jack Sikma and honestly, the Sonics have not had a great collection of centers come through. They've got guys like Frank Rakowski, olden, polonese, urban Johnson and not the magic Urban Johnson, but the other Urban Johnson, jack Sikma. He was really good in his day and he's honestly about as good as he got for Seattle Power forward. I'm going Sean Kemp, the Rain man was actually the reason I got into basketball in the first place in the late 80s, early 90s, and that guy, just he was a monster. He's just still. His highlights are still incredible, even nowadays.
Speaker 3:I'm going to put Kevin Durant, a small forward, which I know is kind of a risky choice because he played such a short amount of time in Seattle, but when he did play there he was the future, he was the hope for Emerald City. He was just so young, so athletic, just such a great shooter. He's got that small four-stop Shooting guard. They got Ray Allen. He really took that team of underachievers. He had Danny Fortune, reggie Evans, luke Ridenour, desmond Mason, guys like that. He just had them firing on all cylinders. Point guard obviously we're going to go with Gary Payton. That's the guy the glove, is the guy he embodies everything cool about Seattle. He was talking trash, he was hosting up other guards which wasn't really a common point for a point guard in the mid-'90s and he was just.
Speaker 2:He was everything, man, common point for a point guard in the mid-90s and he was just, he was everything man. Yeah, that was good. That was good. Chase, I got to put Dale Ellis in there somewhere. You know that little shrimp, maybe he's my sixth man. You guys had a squad man. You were dangerous against Jordan Bulls. You had the best record in basketball. Sean Kemp, I agree with Gary Payton, of course. You mentioned Jack Sigmund. That's my age, you know he shot the ball, marlon behind his head and he was money man but Deadly Shrimp. And Dale Ellis, I got to put him in there somewhere. Good response, Jake, I'll tell you what From my honorable mention?
Speaker 3:Dale Ellis was at the top of my list, but I couldn't choose between him and. Xavier McDaniel, that was just an enforcer and I've always had so much respect for I mean, I said earlier Oakley and Mason, just those enforcers. Danny Ford and Reggie Evans, just guys who will just knock you on your back, Just that kind of a basketball player is always good for your team. So, between Dale Ellis, who is just a fantastic shooter, and Xavier McDaniel, the.
Speaker 2:X-Man, that's right, all right.
Speaker 3:Love them the.
Speaker 1:X-Men, that's right. Love them, Alright. Okay, alright. So now the New York Knickerbockers. This may be a little tough for you, but I know you know your history with the New York Knicks, Jace. So you're starting a five and a six man off the bench. Who you got, Jace?
Speaker 3:I'll tell you what can I cheat and can I give you two different answers For this one?
Speaker 1:Hey, let's go for it. Let's do it.
Speaker 3:Okay. So I'm going to give you the first one. This is just the best Knicks lineup and I'm going to give you my favorite Knicks lineup and they're two completely different teams. I like it. So for the best Knicks lineup, I got Ewing at center. Obviously. I got Charles Oakley at power forward, which I had to think really hard about, but I'm like that guy. He gave the Pacers a problem. He just did his job, got a rebound, stopped out Patrick. I got to give a lot of respect to the Oakland. I got Carmelo Anthony at small forward and I'll tell you what I didn't feel good about it. I'm pretty sure that he won one playoff series. His entire tenure in New York Didn't play a lot of defense, great scorer. But I really wanted to give that nod to Bernard King. In the end I went with Carmelo Shooting guard. I went with Walt Frazier because I wanted to save that point guard spot for Jalen Brunson, who has absolutely revitalized the Knicks game.
Speaker 2:Good point.
Speaker 3:For the other roster, the one that I like better, the Knicks that I got really amped up about Marcus Camby at center. I'm sure you guys remember when they played against San Antonio in the finals.
Speaker 2:Wow, I love the Camby, man. Wow, I love.
Speaker 3:Marcus Camby. I wish he could stay healthy, but I love Marcus Camby. In New York I got Julius Randle as a power forward position. If he came to New York before it was cool yeah. And then after Julius Randle kind of established himself, then they got Brunson, then they kind of became a really really good, sound team. Then of course they got rid of him. So that makes sense. I've got Anthony Mason, a small forward, probably my favorite Nick of all time. I just remember him handling the ball. He was like what 6'9", 260 pounds, a huge human being. A stop touch around the basket. Handles the ball. Love Mace.
Speaker 3:And I got Sprewell Old boy Latrell Sprewell at shooting guard Latrell Sprewell.
Speaker 2:Good point Wow.
Speaker 3:Again loves him. In the finals against San Antonio. Just thought, man, this guy's career was going down the drain, going to stay with issues. I went to New York and just absolutely lit it up and played really really well. And Brunson at point guard because I mean he's 5'10" maybe and this guy's out there getting 30 points a night, got a really good team around him, just never fights or never quits, always fighting. I just I can't respect that guy enough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, that's good. I got Brunson, I got Starks, you know. I got Mason Oakley, the old school, I'm a Ewing guy. But man Willis Reed won too, you know what.
Speaker 2:I'm saying yeah, willis Reed man, I was a child but my dad's played by Willis Reed, you know, and shoot Bernard King, whew, I remember him scoring 60 in the old Silverdome when the Pistons played at the Silverdome and Bernard King, if they went for that injury he'd be a top four scorer in the history of the sport, marlon, that's how good he was. And knee injuries at that time in the early mid-80s, that was a death knell thing. But yeah, so yeah, I just wanted to mix it up a little bit with you there. The Knicks are full of history, just like the Lakers. Marlon, you're Lakers, oh yeah, and you can go to early 70s with Dave DeBusha and Clyde Frazier and Earl Monroe. But I'll just stick with what I know and we'll take it from there. You can debate that for an hour, oh yeah, good job, chase.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, thank you, absolutely. All right, so we'll jump over to Doc. I'll go ahead and start with you on this one. Obviously, we know that Shador got drafted in the fifth round. He should have been drafted in the first, but teams, I guess they wanted to send a message. I don't know what they wanted to do, but he's in Cleveland, he's there. We did hear the news about Derek Carr, your wife's Raiders quarterback, old quarterback, derek Carr, he's, he's gonna retire. Uh, now, in my opinion, I would think that the Raider, or the Raiders, the Saints, might do a good deed and and maybe trading for him. They probably won't do it. But what's your outlook so far on Shador and and rookie camp and, um, what do you think his outlook is going to be for his rookie year?
Speaker 2:well. It's unfortunate for Shador and the San Jose Thunder who were transpired at that time. He did mess up on some interviews, but you've got to put on a game tape. Marlon and Jason, take it from there. This is a new age athlete man. You've got to be positive and all that, and some of them might be construed as arrogance.
Speaker 2:I go back to 98 when Peyton Manning said if you don't draft me, I'll kick your ass for the next 15 years. They didn't say that, but, to be fair, manning was a consensus All-American. But I think the fact that Shabir Sanders is kicking ass at minicamp and making throws that didn't warrant a fifth-round draft pick, it's one of those things where he's going to go out there. He's going to win the job week one. You know, because Flacco is older than me, you know I'm being facetious. And then, who the hell is this kid out of Oregon man? He had a good college career, you know. But I think Dylan Gabriel at 5'11", 5'10" and a half, whatever the case may be, doesn't stand a chance in the NFL, you know. So I think Shadurah's going to show his ass and take it from there. I think he's going to stay in Cleveland. They don't have nobody over there.
Speaker 2:As far as Carr, he had a solid career, good career. The numbers are there 257 touchdowns, 130-something, something like that, but it was always something missing. You can say, jace, that the six coaches or the seven or eight offensive coordinators, then he gets traded to the Saints, gets hurt last year, then he gets hurt in the offseason. It's just time. I think he has just like Andy Darnold solid but not great, you know. So there you go, yeah.
Speaker 1:Jace.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the thing with Shador Sanders is really unfortunate. I heard an interview with him I want to say it was yesterday or the day before that where he's like, hey, 99% of people's issue with me is my pops, you know whatever. I don't think that's the case. I think that this New York Giants situation, that interview I think that really might have gone blown out of proportion. If he's taking FaceTime phone calls during the interview, if they're pointing out things that he did wrong in college and like asking him to explain, and he's getting mad about it, it's just he didn't get drafted in the fifth round because of the talent.
Speaker 3:I don't know how high he should have gone based on talent, but I know it's a heck of a lot higher than fifth round. So this was clearly a personality issue. This might have been hey, we don't want to deal with Deion and have him tweeting about our coach if things don't go well. It might have just been avoiding a toxic situation. I think it was really unfair to him. But I think he is going to have to prove himself and this might be great for him. This might give him just that extra boost he needs to want to prove all the doubters wrong, and it might be to Cleveland's benefit, honestly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, good point.
Speaker 1:I agree, I agree. So five quarterbacks on the roster and we'll see Somebody's going to get hurt. Unfortunately, not all five quarterbacks will make the team, so we'll definitely see what happens. So, all right, the schedule release is going to be Wednesday. So a couple days until the schedule release, they have announced this morning Cowboys at Eagles.
Speaker 1:Cowboys have to watch the Eagles raise that banner, which is tough, but I'm actually surprised that they did throw this game this early. I definitely thought that this would have been a middle-of-the-season type game on Sunday night, football Monday night, whatever the case is, but they decided to go early with it. And then this hasn't been officially announced yet, but it's pretty much been leaked the Chargers have the Brazil game. That's going to be a home game for us and it looks as if the Chiefs are going to be playing with us. So, jace, I'll start with you Knowing that these two games on Thursday and Friday of week one, september 4th and 5th what type of message is the league sending as far as what tone we're going to have this season start as?
Speaker 3:I think there's going to be a lot of star power behind this upcoming season. We all know that Dallas they're not a great football team. Even with getting pickings, they're not a great football team and Philadelphia's just going to absolutely stop them. But it's a great football team and Philadelphia's just going to absolutely stop them. But it's still the Cowboys and just the Cowboys' name, the Cowboys' logo, that sells. That's going to get people's attention. So putting that up against Philadelphia, that's really smart.
Speaker 3:Honestly, there's bad blood, there's history, there's such a rivalry that, yeah, you can bring that kind of audience in just to watch that. The Chargers and the Chiefs I mean the Chiefs are always just going to be a team that people are going to watch. All the Swifties are going to want to watch that, all the bandwagon fans are going to watch that. But you have a team. I love your coach, I love your quarterback. You're just an up-and-coming team. I really like what you did this offseason. So that's going to be a game that I think people are going to be really intrigued by as well.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a good point, Jace, I think Marlon, this year, as opposed to last year when the league put all the division games at the end of the schedule, they want to start off with the brand Dallas Cowboys, you know, and that people are going to be watching because it starts with football, you know. They want to see CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott coming off an injury, going against this world champion, philadelphia Eagles. So the division game, especially for the Chargers and the Chiefs, right out the gate. Brazil you know you're the home team in Brazil. I think division game is right out the gate. As a Falcons fan, I'm hoping for the Saints or Carolina and I know you, being a Seahawks fan, you might be hoping for the Rams or San Francisco. But division games are out the gate. I think the league is pushing that this year, as opposed to last year when some of those games were irrelevant because the division was won early. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So looking at your Seahawks, jace, obviously you lose Geno Smith. Pete Carroll's been gone for a little bit, so what are your expectations with this team? And look at the NFC West the Niners are not the Niners that we've known for years past. I mean, they're almost like they got George Kittle's deal done, but they got to pay Purdy Christian McCaffrey's older. They're not the 49ers team that we used to know. The Rams are still the Rams and look, they got Devontae Adams, so the Rams are looking as if they should be the division winner. And then the Cardinals are getting better with Marvin Harris Jr and Kyler and all that. So what are your thoughts on Seattle and what's your outlook for the NFC West going forward this year?
Speaker 3:So this has been the strangest offseason I can remember as a Seahawks fan, because it's not just the fact that we got rid of so many key star players, but it was the rumblings. You heard about it Because you heard about Geno Smith wanting out potentially and then you heard that DK wanted out and he wanted to get away from.
Speaker 3:Geno Smith and all these weird little rumblings. You heard about the chemistry there and we got a really good young coach and I like him. Um McDonald's has done a great job so far but he wants to get his guys in and he kind of inherited everything from Pete Carroll, which is fine. But if you want to run a certain type of system and you came from Baltimore and you're really pushing that defense first mentality then you might have to shut the deckuct a little bit. I loved our offseason. I loved getting Sam Donald. I loved getting Cooper Cupp. This has probably been the best draft that I can remember in the last decade for Seattle. I'm more encouraged by them than I've been for a long time, which is really curious because I have no idea what it's going to look like.
Speaker 2:I love your interior lineman that you drafted in the first round For the record. Chase Grace Abel out of North Dakota State. They list him as an offensive guard, but he played all five positions in college and he dominated the senior bowl. Marlon and yes, I am a geek, I watch the senior bowl. This is an important piece to protect. Sam Darnold, you know, and the running back that you got up there. Walker, I love him, so you might do some things. Man Eight or nine, nine, ten wins, you know, despite losing Geno Smith I think the Tyler Lockett thing might hurt you a little bit and DK Metcalf, but I'm sure that that coach and staff would devise plans to put Graves, abel and I'm an offensive line type of guy, so it might be boring to some people, but this guy might be off for two years an offensive guard.
Speaker 3:I was excited to get Gray Zabel. I think that was a great pick. We drafted based off of need and we definitely needed an offensive line because that's been an issue for a long time. And this guy, he's high character, he's a hard worker. I've already been very impressed with the interviews and with the tape. And, like you said, losing Lockett that's rough and I hated that because I wanted him to retire Seahawks. It's the same way that I felt when we lost Bobby Wagner. I'm like we need this veteran presence. We need this older guy in the locker room to show the younger guys how to be professional, how to get this done Like. This is how Seahawks football is played.
Speaker 3:So I hated losing lose and lock it, but I mean when it comes down to it. I'm sure the coaching staff knows what they're doing regarding that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so now are you still watching Russ? Are you going to be watching Gino Like what's your? You know when they leave your team. Are you following them or what are you doing?
Speaker 3:So when you and the girl break up, you probably shouldn't be looking at her Instagram post, right? Oh yeah, you got to let that go.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Nope, you got to let that go. I hope Gino has a good career with old boy Pete Carroll Russ. I mean, he had a nice three searches last year. But that's yesterday's news. It has nothing to do with my current Seahawks team and it has nothing to do with my current Seahawks team and I can't really get wrapped up in worrying about guys who didn't want to be here.
Speaker 1:I hear you Right on. I hear you, I hear you All right. Last question for you. Actually, I have another question for you that I didn't prepare you for. But before I get to that, who is your Super Bowl prediction? Obviously, it's rookie camp right now and nowhere near OTAs and preseason, but your Super Bowl predictions, who do you got?
Speaker 3:Oh, that's so tough, it's early in the season. I'm going to put Detroit in there right now. In Penn, I think they absolutely shot themselves in the foot last year. They should have made it there. Losing your offensive coordinator, your defensive coordinator, hurts a lot, but when it comes down to it, the guys on the field that are doing a lot of that work, they know the system. They've got so many weapons. I think they're better than they were last year, so I'm definitely going to put Detroit in the Super Bowl for sure. As far as the other side of it, man, I really don't want to say Chiefs, you can say the Chargers. When I talked to you, merlin, last year, I said Chiefs, and I'll say Chargers before Chiefs, and I'll be happy about it.
Speaker 3:I really don't want to get Patrick Mahomes anywhere. Shine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm going with Buffalo and Philly. I think Philly, up there, defense gentlemen with the linebacker from Alabama, and then he came back and did some other things Harvey Roseman is a draft geek and he's one of those things. He's going to do it and I think Buffalo, it's just time and they drafted what they needed a corner and I just think that the MVP, josh Allen, is going to make it happen. On the AFC side, I'm with you. I don't want to see Kansas City in there anymore, chase.
Speaker 3:So Buffalo versus Simmons. I think Buffalo is the smart call. You know what Buffalo is the right call. You know what Buffalo is the right call. On that, I think that's a really good option there Thank you brother?
Speaker 1:What about you, marlon? Oof, I probably NFC. I'll take the Eagles to get back there. I'll probably do Eagles. And then I'll say uh, jace, I did not even prepare for this question. Um, doc, did you say eagles and bills? Yes, I did. Damn, I don't want. Okay, I won't do that shit, why not? I'll throw my charges in there, okay I like wow, I I'll throw I'll throw them in there.
Speaker 1:Um, I I think that with us, I think we've we're building and we're building. We got the offensive line. We got one of the guards from the eagles. Um, you know, we we definitely drafted for for need um, even though I felt we needed receiver, we probably should have went receiver first round. We went with Amar'e Hampton from North Carolina to have him go with Najee Harris, which Harbaugh wants to run the ball. So now we have a guy that's in Najee Harris' on a one-year deal, which he's obviously going for his next contract. We have a rookie who's a big power back that can break tackles and you know. So we're good there. We did get Trey Harris from Ole Miss, so we made some good moves in the offseason.
Speaker 1:So I think we're definitely preparing to build for the Chiefs. They're playing them, we'll play them in the week one and we'll play them again in the season. So I'll go ahead and go with my team man. I do think the Bills will be there. Texans, I don't think the Texans are ready yet. The Chiefs obviously will be the Chiefs. The Ravens they'll be around. What Lamar Jackson will show up in the playoffs, joe Burrow, will they start off quick enough to make the playoffs. I'm not worried about the Dolphins Jets who what? So yeah, I'll go ahead and take my team, why not? Why not? Good call. Last question for you, jace are you into women's the WNBA? Are you into WNBA at all?
Speaker 3:Every year I get a little bit more invested, I get pulled in a little bit more, so it's gradually increased.
Speaker 1:I love it, perfect, I love it. So I did not prepare you for this question. So just think about this. I'm just going to plant this little seed. It's crazy how Dallas gets Paige Beckers and now possibly gets Cooper Flagg Just let that sink in how Dallas is just getting those teams. So what are your thoughts on a great player like Paige Beckers going into the league? Do you think she'll have the same effect as Kaitlyn Clark did last year, or somewhat of the same caliber of effect on on the league?
Speaker 3:I think it's going to be similar. I think we got a nice shock value with caitlyn clark last year, because I don't think a lot of people expect her to be as good as she was. Um, I think that they knew she was going to be a good player, but maybe not to the caliber she actually showed out. So with uh caitlyn coming in now, you've got two players who you want to watch and I think it's going to do a lot to get eyes on the game. I like her. I like watching her at UConn. I just thought she just played a really smooth, clean game. She's shifty, she's crappy. She gets a really good shot off, she finds her teammates. She's a proven winner teammates.
Speaker 3:She's a proven winner. It's interesting that Dallas got her. If you look at it, in a 10-month span, dallas has had Halen, they've had Luka and, more than likely, they've got Cooper Flagg, which is a really nice selection of talent to boast for your city.
Speaker 2:Trip on this. It's really a football town if you talk about the Cowboys and SMU, but it goes noted, gentlemen, that basketball in that particular city has grown because of Luka. Now, before that it was Dirk Nowitzki and those cats. They won a ring there and, to be fair, they earned that ring that particular year. Dirk is a Hall of Famer, one of the hardest people ever to defend at seven feet with the fall away, jay. But Luka, and now you get Cooper Flagg looks like, and then Paige Beckers. Paige Beckers should have been and I'm sure you'll agree with this, jay she should have been a three-time or four-time All-American in that women's sport because injuries robbed her of true greatness. She could have went down as one of the top two or three ever in the history of women's sports. That's how good she is, monica. But injuries rocked her the year before and then the year before that, so I'm happy that she won it all.
Speaker 3:So, on this note, I'd love to ask both of you guys a question while I'm on it. I'm saying this kind of tongue-in-cheek, but if you're Dallas right now, if you're the Mavericks organization, do you trade? If it's an option, the number one pick for Luka Doncic, Wow. And obviously there's going to be salaries they're going to have to match yeah. It's kind of tongue-in-cheek, but if that was an option, is that something you would?
Speaker 1:consider. So trading him essentially to the Lakers yeah, at that point. Being the number one pick to get Lakers yeah, at that point. Financially, I wouldn't do it if you're the Mavs, because I'm paying Kyrie, I'm paying AD, and then if Luka's back, then that means that I would have to pay him the rest of his contract, which is a year left, and then if I don't pay him, he can walk. So I can't do it. I can't pay three max guys.
Speaker 2:That's a good point To answer your question, Jace. There has to be some bad blood between Luka and that organization, especially the GM there. I forget his name, I don't even think that would be an option.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that wouldn't even be an option. I think Luka's going to do the thing in LA. They're going to pay him whatever. Can they pay him? The max $300-something million. I don't know what the deal is, maybe it's two-something. But LA's a big city, mark, you can make some money in media and all that. I don't think going back to Dallas, in spite of its popularity, would be plausible, because they left on bad blood. They didn't even tell the guy that he was moving on. It sounds good on paper, giving Cooper Flagg out here in LA a rookie. No, no, I can't see that happening.
Speaker 1:To answer your question, when you have a talent like that, go ahead, jace.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm thinking they really should have fired Nico before the draft. I think that what he did to that fan base is awful and, like you said at the beginning of this podcast, it seems like this was done intentionally, this was orchestrated. But realistically I don't think Dallas fans are ever going to forgive Nico. So if this trade were to ever materialize and I'm with you guys, financially it makes no sense, but if it were, nico couldn't be in that building, in that city, in that state.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a good point there, right on yeah.
Speaker 1:I think Luka would. To Doc's point, I think Luka would want to come back, but it's a lot of bad blood between the two, so I don't think he would, you know, do it. But I mean, obviously it's not up to him if he's, you know, traded or not, but I don't think that they would do that. You know paying three max players and you know who do you give up? Do you trade Kyrie? Do you trade AD back? You know what do you do, so I don't think that would happen. Okay, so last question for you guys before we get out of here, as Adam would say, it is, in fact, I don't know what broadcasters are on this game, but I'll go ahead and start with this. Your Dallas Cowboys are favored by seven points against the Philadelphia Eagles Seven points and the over Eagles Seven points and the over is 46.5. So, doc, you can get seven points with the Cowboys and 46.5. What if you're making a bet right now for the opener for the 2025 season? What do you got Well, dallas wouldn't be favorite.
Speaker 2:The Eagles are.
Speaker 1:Well, the Eagles are. I'm sorry I messed that up, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Eagles. I'll lay the points. The Dak has to prove under duress, coming off a significant injury. Despite the addition of George Pickens, who's a great player, I think the Eagles are the Eagles man. They got a defense that can combat whatever Dak and Dallas has to offer. And then, remember this, they can run the rock and when they run the rock they can score a play action to AJ Brown and to tie it in, and, of course, the kid from Alabama, one of the Heisman Smith. So, yeah, outlay the seven, giving up seven points, and at home, and then also, the Eagles are good enough, they can score 31, 35 points. So that 46 is nothing, because you know Dallas, you hope Dallas can score 11 to cover you. So, yeah, I'm laying the points. And take the D over too, yeah, easily, you know, it's not even an issue.
Speaker 1:You know what you got?
Speaker 2:Chase you add in turnovers. Maybe that throws a pick six, like he's prone to do. So you add that in there. That 46 is coming in, but I'm laying a seven for sure. What do you got, chase?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I agree with Doc completely. I think Philly would absolutely stop Dallas. I take the points, I would say just Philly scoring that many points realistically, they've got so many weapons offensively. You always get up for a division rival. You always get up for a team like Dallas. You really want to show up and show out and you know it's going to be televised, everybody's going to be watching. You're going to want to bring your best. I don't think Dallas will get anywhere close to Philly's score. So I think that's a wipe. That's just a complete.
Speaker 1:I'm going to dock on this one. I would give me the points with Dallas. I like the points with Dallas and I'm going to take the under. A little jitters First game playbook might not be, you guys might not have everything all down packed. I understand. You know you may have some mishaps. You know false start, penalties, offsides, all that stuff. Give me the points with Dallas and I'll take the under on it. So I'll book it.
Speaker 2:You're alone in that one, marlon, because these guys just won the Super Bowl and they did not lose any coordinators, you know, and of course their defenses are the well with Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and those guys. And don't forget Braun was all pro, he was a special teamer and then you got the corners, you know from last year. The number one picks Mitchell and the kid from Oregon, the Gene, I think his name is. So yeah, you're alone in that one, brother, I'm sorry, yeah.
Speaker 3:I don't know about jitters, because that's a veteran team. These guys know what they're doing. These guys have been there before. They're not going to have jitters on an opening night. They're going to be ready to go. There's going to be excitement, there's going to be juices flowing, there's going to be adrenaline.
Speaker 1:Especially at the crib Not the crib. I do think Dallas will be a little bit better than than people think. I will say that I'm just saying, if you want to, you can mark the tape. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2:I think you're probably right.
Speaker 3:I think you're right. I think that people are maybe expecting them to be what they were last year and I do think they are going to improve from there, but I don't think they're going to be a threat for the postseason.
Speaker 2:But the division is brutal, gentlemen. You got Washington, now with Jake Daniels, they added the receiver. So when does Dallas come in? You say improvement, what were they last year? Like seven or eight wins, or six, if that? So I don't know, man. They don't have no running game to speak of and that's coming off a significant injury. So we'll see. I'm not a Dallas hater, it's just the realest, you know. And now you're going into Philly week one and then, and who knows what, the Giants? The Giants always play Dallas tough. So we'll see, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay, all right, jace, you got anything for us before we get you out of here?
Speaker 3:I want to get your guys' finals predictions for the NBA. Woo, what do you?
Speaker 1:got.
Speaker 3:Please don't tell me Boston.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and I like the Nuggets, I'm going to go ahead and I like the Nuggets, I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to go ahead and do Nuggets and Pacers. I like the Nuggets to win. Only because of Russ, only because of my guy Russ. But I do think when I look, when I think of the Nuggets, I think they have enough to win and overcome this series against OKC. I think they'll go ahead and take care of business against Minnesota, because I don't think Steph is coming back, and then I think that they have enough to beat either the Pacers or the Knicks to make it to the you know, to obviously close it out. So I like the Nuggets to go ahead and win and just show you that Jokic is, even though in one of his best seasons ever didn't win MVP, but he was still able to go and win a championship and pretty much be the first player well, second, I guess you could say player coach. So yeah, that's who I got.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm taking OKC because I love Dort and I love, you know, the big guys in there Hardenstein and, of course, the kid from Gonzaga his name escapes me. I like Shea Gillis, alexander, chet, holmgren. Yeah, the size inside is problematic for the Joker and I think they're going to carry that thing to the final. I had OKC before the season, by the way, jace, but now that the Knicks are doing their thing, man, I would say that the Pacers are a matchup problem. I mean, the Pacers beat up the Knicks last year, so I think payback's a bitch. I'm going with Tibbs. You saw what happened tonight. That series is over and I think, even though Pacers are showing the score at will, I think the Knicks playing that 90s basketball, tough, hard and Brunson's Brunson, I'm taking the Knicks, baby. I'm going out on the limb, you know, and the Pacers won by 50, but they're not going to do that to the Knicks, so let's go OKC, knicks.
Speaker 3:I like it cool, jace.
Speaker 1:We appreciate you, man, and we'll definitely get you back on before the nfl season starts and we'll get some pre-season predictions, uh, for the nfl.
Speaker 3:So we appreciate you, man hey, you guys are the best. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2:I appreciate your time hey, I love you, jace. God bless, thank you god bless all right doc.
Speaker 1:This was a good one man.
Speaker 2:Yes, it was brother, it was man.
Speaker 1:You got anything? Oh, what was it? There was something that happened. Shoot, I can't remember what it was. Oh, we didn't really talk about the Pickens trade. So what does this do for the Cowboys offense? Does this put them over the top with getting George Pickens from Pittsburgh?
Speaker 2:I think so. As long as Pickens has his head going, he's a talent. He can make one-handed catches and Dak is a much better quarterback than what they had at Pittsburgh. But now you're dealing with the attitude locker room. Can Pickens control his anger if he's not involved in the game plan? And I think the coach will get involved so he doesn't have to deal with that nonsense. And now he has a capable quarterback.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying Dak is all that, but he has a capable quarterback. I think it's going to elevate their offense when they become a throwing offense. Because now you still have concerns over running game. And is Dak completely healed from the injury yet? Everything depends on week one. So they adopted a massive lineman. You know I'm a draft kid. Tyler Booker's going to help at 352 or 65. Whoever they got running the roster is going to benefit from that girth. But can Dak make the simple throw? You've seen him mess up in a big spot. It's going to elevate CeeDee Lamp's game because he's not going to get double-team, because he's got to worry about pickings. You still have that tight end Fitzgerald. I think it's a good trade for that.
Speaker 1:I do think this is one of the reasons why I think that the Cowboys would be better. Now, when we break down the NFC East, the Giants, I think, of course, will be last Will the?
Speaker 1:I want to say Redskins will the Commanders have a sophomore slump? We don't know, but they're at least going to be competitive, in my opinion. I think they have a game against the Eagles. I want to say around Thanksgiving time or Christmas time, right around there. What will we see with them? But I just think the Cowboys. You know, you got nothing to lose. You got Javante Williams, and they drafted a kid too as well, the running back. So I think they'll be decent and formidable enough to be competitive in the division at least.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, micah Parsons is in there. They should have redid it. I don't know what the contract situation is. He's playing for a big deal too. They should have redid it. I don't know what the contract situation is. He's playing for a big deal too. So we'll see how that goes. With that, they lost number 90 in free agency. I forget his name. Edge Rusher, I forget his name. Might have lost him last year. But the linebacker core. Let's see how that goes. Then you've got the back end Diggs. They've been trying to ship Diggs off and I don't think that's a good deal.
Speaker 2:I think you could keep him because he is a playmaker. So we'll see how it goes with Dallas. They're a brand, they're a name, but they get smoked in week one. How would they recover?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 2:And I don't think Washington and Jane Dan's going to have a sophomore slump. So this kid's the real deal. And then they got the receiver. That's big. So we'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1:Okay, All right, Well shoot. You. Got anything else for us Doc?
Speaker 2:No, that's it, man. Let's enjoy the NBA and pray that Jason Tatum's thing is not as serious as we think, but we think it is.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:We'll take it from there. As an NBA fan, you just hate to see it, nothing else.
Speaker 1:I feel at this point they may mess around and just hold them out for the whole year, because if you're not ready until February, march, april, they just may hold you out, because we're in May, doc, we're in May. If you tell me that you're not going to be ready until February, march, you know why rush it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why rush it? You don't want to mess around those things. He's still young, unlike Dane. Dane can pretty much retire and have his legacy, but he's a lot older actually. But these things you don't recover from man like that. Yeah, hold him out, hold him out actually. But these things you don't recover from man like that. Yeah, hold him out, hold him out. Man and his game is above the rim, pretty much Dang. He shoots the J, he might dunk once or twice a game. So his thing is different, his game. So, yeah, I'm fortunate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you know, for context purposes. You know, as Adam always says, I love me, the show is, I love the content, all that stuff. So I'm glad we at least got to talk about this. You hope that he's okay, but we at least got to talk about what's going on and it happened before we recorded, but yeah it is what it is All right, other than that, doc, you got anything else?
Speaker 2:No sir, it was a great show and I'm glad to have our guest Chase on. So, yeah, I ain't got nothing.
Speaker 1:Absolutely All right. We'll catch you guys next week. Peace, Peace.