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Coming up, part 2 of the Thursday BS Pod Extravaganza. A lot of football and a lot of basketball next. We're also brought to you by the Ringer podcast Network. If you missed part 1 on this podcast, it's up. We talk basketball, we talk UFC, we talk Yankees, my buddy Jacko. Part 2 is coming up right now. I did a league pass draft with Bigwas and Chris Ryan and Rob Mahoney. Then I brought in Shil Kapadia and Anthony Dubundo to help me with Million Dollar Picks for Week We have a little momentum going. Can we keep it up? It is all next first, Our Friends from Pearl Jam. All right, we're taping this. It is 1:30 Pacific Time, Thursday, here with Chris Ryan, the Charles Nelson Raleigh of the Ringer. Since 17 podcasts this week.

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This is the one that counts, though, man. This is the one that matters.

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I appreciate that, CR. Big was.

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Yes, sir. How are you? I'm happy.

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Good to see you. You love this is your time of year.

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Yeah, it is, especially like Hope Spring's eternal for all of these teams for at least the next month.

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And the one and only Rob Mahoney. Hi. Who's somehow breaking down the NBA again and not weird shows on Apple.

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It's getting weird.

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Can't need you both. We'll find out.

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What's that new show with Kevin Klein? Disclaimer. Yeah. My mom was like, this is the best show in a while. My mom's 76.

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She hasn't gone to episode 5 yet. I can tell you.

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She likes super weird. Anyway, it seems disturbing. We're going to do League Pass rankings, Which is great because we're actually supposed to do this on Tuesday, and fate intervened. I got super sick. But I'm glad we got to see two days of games because I feel like this is a better way to do it. Now I have a better feel for the season. So shout out to Zack Loe. Back in the day at Grandland, we came up the League Pass rankings, I think in 12 or 13. We had five categories. I went back and read what the categories were. They're going to shape what we do for this. So you can't just say Brooklyn's my number one because-Literally, why would you? Who did you think we'd see that? I'm waiting till we get to Brooklyn. All right. Category number one is relevancy of the playoff picture. Category number two is hoop nerdgasm potential. Category number three is the League Pass experience, which was a big passion of Zack's and still is. Announcing teams, sideline reporting, uniforms, the mascot. The Clippers last night just was a 10 out of 10 with how weird that was. Fucking guy came out of the rafters.

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What's that guy's name? I don't know. Their mascot dropped from the rafters.

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I actually don't know.

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Owen Hart style. It was terrifying.

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I didn't know that was going on.

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Yeah, they're all excited about their mascot.

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I was mesmerized by the wall, but I didn't see the mascot.

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Well, the wall was cool.

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Are we sure it wasn't James Harden? He didn't come down. No.

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Category number 4, individual player appeal. Then category number 5, the most important for all of us is unintentional comedy, irrational affection, and personality intangibles. I'm just going to make this easy. Ciar, I'm giving you first pick. Oh, you are? We'll just go around. There's no snake fashion. There's no real way to win this.

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We'll just get started. You didn't want to do any headlines. You didn't want to ask any Embiid questions. Nothing.

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We'll get there. The Philly will be mentioned. It's up and down the pod. As we hit each pod, each team will I'll talk about variables. Like, is your best player ever going to play? Why did they give him an extension and he's not healthy? Those are questions we'll ask. We're not there yet.

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With the first pick, I'm going to go with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Okay, explain. Ant is my favorite current professional athlete. I think even within-Over Angel Rees? In a day and a half, he has managed to already make hilarious content out of one game where he told Bronnie he didn't need to take a shower.

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I love that so much.

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He yelled at Vandeb and said, You haven't played in two years.

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It seemed angry about it.

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Did Vandeb chirp at him?

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What happened? They used to be teammates. I got It was like a familiarity factor.

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The Brian thing killed me.

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If there was a premium tier to pay $1,000 for season to have Ant miced, and it was just going into my Airpods, I don't even know if a thousand would be too high. I would pay pretty much I would just expense it to you.

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There's a new level with swagger with him because now he played with all the best guys. Now he's on the court with LeBron, and he's just like, Oh, fine. I'll talk shit with him.

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Yeah, and LeBron probably edited him out of Starting Five a little bit. Oh, no question. He did the shield of the show. Then you add the Dante piece, which is this weird revenge tour that he's on that seems to be metastasizing beyond even the Knicks. It's like he's angry and playing hard. I think that they're just going to have a tougher, more competitive, more fuck you team without Kat. Don't forget the Go Bear piece. There's Go Bear. Yeah, there's Go Bear just going out there and getting choked out. I think it's just a really exciting night-to-night team that's going to be in the mix for the title.

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Just to tear down your team right off the bat. Okay. How do you feel about the thing you love most? Watching Anthony Edwards play basketball, being actively stifled, every possession by Julius Randall doing whatever it is that Julius Randall wants to do.

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You don't like Julius Randall jabs?

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I actually, I'm a big supporter of Kentucky alumnus across the board. I'm excited, actually, because I also think Randall, at least, is saying the right things where he's like, You know what? I can pass. I've just been in situations where they've asked me to take 26 shots a game. I'm sure it'll clog up the lane a little bit.

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I told Waz before we started that I had Minnesota second, and I moved them down six spots after watching Randall for two hours. I was just like, wow, I just don't like watching. Forgot. I just don't like watching him play basketball. Nothing personal. I'm sure he's a great guy.

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But I bet for all of us, Minnesota is towards the top of the board, right? One hundred %.

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They're fun, they're interesting, they're going to be good in competing for things. The Gobert part of it, having a guy in your team that everybody else wants to dunk on, Rockets them up a ranking like this.

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Also, speaking of Kentucky alumnus, Dillingen, I'm already Do we think he's going to play? When he does, I think he's jumping out of the building.

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Got you.

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It would be funny if there was an actor or an actress like Gobert that everybody who did a scene with them just wanted to destroy them in the scene.

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Maybe he was like, Tay Diggs.

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People are just like, I'm going to destroy Tay Diggs. Dick Gobert brings something special out of… Everybody's got a gripe with him. There's American foreign stuff with him. There's defensive player of the Year stuff.

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There's guys… There's He's just despised.

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It's bizarre.

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He's the individual version of Memphis who everybody hates as a team. Rudy's just that individual for every single NBA player. Listen, the I hate him.

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I didn't agree with the first pick, but I see you. I see you, CR.

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I see you. You've been putting the word CR.

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I see you, Chris Ryan. What do you have for number 2, Wes?

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My number... Man, I didn't know I was going to be put in this position.

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To draft?

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Yeah. I'm going to go with Oklahoma City. This is the pick. Which I think everybody's really excited about watching them. It's not just Shay, it's J Dub. It's Chet for me, specifically. I'm a big, big Chet guy. The new addition, Hardenstein got hurt. A lot of people said I jinked it because I said on our part, I said their depth was unbeatable. Then he got hurt the next day.

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What power you have.

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We did the over-under. We all did over lock 57 and I think he broke his hand listening to the podcast. But I still think they can hit it.

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It's just young guys. My favorite thing about League Pass, outside of great teams, is a sense of discovery, watching guys week after week learn new things, beat new things, or teams discover things about them, and then they overcome that adjustment by other teams. I think OKC has it all. They have the top to bottom talent, and then they have this sense that you're going to be learning new things about their potential every single week.

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Yeah, and every single game. It's not even like, is this guy having a great week? It's, oh, I didn't know Cacin Walls could do that. I didn't know these guys could pop off in that way. They're so deep. They have so many interesting players. I'm not worried about the Thunder to say the least. They're going to be awesome to watch.

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Do you think there's any… It's too predictable how good they're going to be? I I was thinking about this. I would love a crazy midseason Cokey-Presty move, like trade for Kawhi. Just do something nuts to upset the apple cart. He's never done it. One time in his entire tenure. I think the Hayward thing also probably scared him off of doing that ever again, too.

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They've even elicited a terrible Kendrick Perkins take before the season started. What was that take? How SGA needs to cut his scoring down to 24 points a game and get other guys involved. It's very specific. It's like, Other guys involved? He's one of the most inclusive stars we have. He is entirely driving the take off.

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What is that take? It's like him and Steph Curry.

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Where are the producers on those shows? No, Kendrick. No, please don't say that. I like the discovery thing, especially with League Pass day in, day out, when guys get scratched, guys aren't playing, or you're just flipping around in second quarters. I feel like for League Pass, you need a bench that can either be really good or really weird. Really weird is there's a couple of teams that we'll get to where you're just like, wow, this guy? Holy shit. Which I think is fun. Now that burns off by November, December. They're like, all right.

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But that's where them having all this stuff to trade, even if it isn't a cokey trade. They could mix it up anytime they want to. They could have a slightly different team or a very different team by February. I think that potential makes them super watchable, too.

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This is a good character for us to develop is Coke Presti. Coke up Presti. What he could do with all these pics.

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It's like Saul Rubinick in True Romance.

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Screaming at Gordon Hayward. You step me in All right.

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Okay, so now you're up, Rob. I feel like this is an easy pick, but you won't make it.

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What does that mean?

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I don't think you're going to make the pick you should make.

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I'm going to take the San Antonio Spurce.

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Wow.

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Easy reason. Straightforward reason. Although, look, I'm also going to talk here off about Chris Paul and how much I'm looking forward to seeing him there. I just have no idea what Wimby is capable of, and I very much look forward to seeing what that is.

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Paul's already resting?

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No, don't worry about it. Okay. Don't worry about it. He's going to be fine.

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Chris Paul is theoretical. Theoretical? Yeah, he's like Kauai Leonard. Their bodies are shot. That's incredibly rude. They're not going to play. These guys don't play. But the reason why, look, I was quite idiotically skeptical of Wemby. Very vocally skeptical.

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Performatively America-first skeptical.

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Yeah, I was like, Oh, what? He did it in the French League. Give me a break. Do it in the ACC. Obviously, I was wrong. But my thing about the Spurs, while they're lower on my list, I don't care about anybody else on that team. Not a one other player do I get geek to watch. Even though Wemby is, yes, he's transcended. But I like to pick.

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You're not into Harrison Barnes like that?

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Harry Barnes doesn't do it for me.

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Poor Harry. No, but Stefan Castle, though, they do have interesting young guys. He's a nice rookie. Some pop, some intrig. Obviously, everything that Wemby- Sohan at the point? Come on.

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Stefan Castle? Yeah. Yukon? I hated the feeling last season when you would watch the Spurs and Wemby would have… He'd be drawing a triple double in the first quarter, and then pop would just go against all vibes and just pull him out for most of the second or sit him with just unrepentant, just like, We're managing it, we're managing it. It's like, People want to watch this guy explode. Let's go.

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I had them in the 8-10 range because I'm with Waz. I really only want to watch Wemby. I don't know if Castle is ready yet. But the thing with Wemby is, anytime he gets going or makes some crazy play, I'm going to see it on my phone in five seconds. All the stuff that he did last year or when he had the 17 points in six minutes in third quarter, you start hearing about it as it's happening. Just go over and get it. I don't know. I still don't know what this team wants to be. They're not going to be that good yet. I don't feel like they will. They're over and under. I thought it was pretty high, but there's some people really going in on them being good. I just think Chris Paul is too old. I'm with Waz. All the evidence in NBA history is against point guards, little guys at his age being really good. I don't see it.

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He's not going to play a ton of games, but when he is out there, he will actually throw the ball to Victor Wembenyama, which is something that they needed. I hear your point about the highlights. I think it's well-founded. The thing you will miss is Wembenyama trying shit that doesn't work. He has some of the most elaborate and incredible near highlights of any player in the league. The time he jumps at a but can't quite block it or goal tends it, the three, he'll attempt. I want to see all that stuff in addition to the great highlight plays.

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I have Orlando at number 4.

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That's the team that I should have drafted? Well, I'm not talking down to him. I love the magic.

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Here's why. I have a bunch of reasons. One is I think they're really fun to watch. Two, Sourut is here, and I just wanted to make this thing.

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He's got a big smile on his face for those at home.

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Three, I think they're the discovery team this year along the lines of what OKC was last year. We were banking on this when we did the over-unders. I don't know if you guys liked them, too. The 47 wins last year. It felt like of any team in the league, them or Cleveland had a chance to jump. But I loved what they did last night. There was a real killer instinct with them. Palo is clearly just a level higher than he was last year. I want to just watch them because I don't know what their ceiling is. I watched last night, and I know it's early. I'm not trying to overreact after one game. I want to see the Knicks game 25. I'm not going to judge the Knicks after one game. Let's wait till 25. Let's see when Rich Robinson comes back. But Orlando is really fucking hard to play. And Sourdi made the key point when we were talking about it today. They can just play well for six minutes and go on a 19 to one run. And you're like, what? They're almost like a football team that can score points in bunches.

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They're just really scary. I was scared last night watching them for the Celtics. And then the Palo piece is the X-Factor for a league pass. He's just going to have nights where he puts up 38 8, 20, and 9 assists. That's my fourth pick.

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What I like about them, too, for a league past team is their style is very distinct. Nobody's as physical as they are. Nobody's as downhill as they are. Their entire core is young guys who are still trying to establish and prove themselves. That's what I really like about Orlando. You're not going to watch a team that plays that style where they're just hitting you the entire freaking game.

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Several teams in the Eastern Conference, especially the favorites, are all on an almost organizational load management program. You're like, Oh, yeah, you guys are going to build up to the spring. There's a couple, this one, the one that I might pick next, that you're like, Man, every single night, I bet you guys are going to go for it.

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They're going to have to protect these things from not playing.

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Yeah, so I think that's a cool pick.

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There's also a version of a defense first team that is not that fun to watch. That's a real slog. The magic are not that. Watch Jalen Sugs play defense. He's flying around. He's hounding everybody. He's going to make every guard's life miserable. Talking tons of shit, but great vibes on the magic side. They have so many guys who are very physical but super watchable.

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One other thing with this from a league pass standpoint, because they did, and they started this last year where they basically show the Jumbotron camera during the timeouts, so you just stay with the feed. Orlando's got one of the most lit crowds. It's just cougars everywhere. It's a lot of off-season pro golfers. A lot of offseason. A lot of offseason. Yeah, weird celebrities like golfers and NASCAR drivers. There's older rich guys sitting in the front row with some wife that's like 40 years younger than him. I actually really see Rob shaking. I really enjoy their time out stuff.

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Rob's on a trip to Disney World.

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I'm just trying to get out of this room. I'm just trying to get away from this table right now.

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Cougar Central, the Orlando Magic. It's pretty funny. All right, Chris, you're up. All right. Number 5 pick.

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There's an extra element I'll just throw in to one of Zack's criteria there, which is something that's more recent for me, but it is fantasy. I got Mowly this season. Let me tell you, small theater sample size.

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Yeah. Mowly.

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Mowly in the Atkinson program might be incredible. We've been waiting for this Tim Duncan next generation thing to happen. It's only one game, but I think that Cleveland looks like the team you want to watch every single day.

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My stockbroker is still hammering me about my Mowly position. Yeah, just like we are just over extended.

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Is it considered insider trading for also incredibly over leveraged and Evan Mobile stock? If we talk him up on this pot, is that a crime of some kind?

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I think it's very smart. Okay. 25, 8, and 3 in 27 minutes last night.

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That's the other team that has the look a little bit. Granted, one game, sample size. But they did all the right things in the offseason. They got Mitchell to commit.

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If you're Cleveland, you can't really afford to be like, We'll start playing hard in February. It's like, No, you guys got to go.

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They have to do it now. I think Atkinson is bringing just a whole new dynamic. Rob mentioned it on the live stream yesterday where he's like, Yo, Mobile, we're going to give you the ball and actually allow you to do something with it. We're not going to treat you like some traditional big and give it to you on the block and think you're going to dreamshake people to death. That's not how he's doing. He's just more creative than the last coaches. I think that's reason in and of itself, even though the whole team is back from last year. If they're just healthier and more creative on offense, specifically, then yeah, they're definitely worth a watch.

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I also I don't want to let the larger conversation about Donovan Mitchell cloud the fact that he's fucking watchable and electric every time he's on the floor. Super fun to watch. Yeah.

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Especially them against a good team. It's going to be entertaining.

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On the West Coast, those central time zone games are in the sweet spot of you've gotten home from work. You can throw it on as you're making dinner. You can check in with them. Definitely.

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Well, that's a six pick.

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This is easy for me. It's the Philadelphia 76ers. For both sides of it. One, because I do think, legitimately, when everybody's available, this can be a really good to great team, just the talent that's available. The other thing, so just on a talent contender, we all know that. When on paper. The other thing that I like is that I know for a fact the entire fan base is ready to turn on these guys. The second-Ready. The second that it does-Locked and loaded. They are ready to kill these dudes. It's like both of those elements, do they fulfill their potential? Do we just watch one of the worst car crashes of recent memory?

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Paul George had an excuse. He has a bruised knee. That was hurt.

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That's a two-week injury. That was a real injury. Yeah.

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My daughter just had that in soccer. It fucking hurt. She was limping around for two weeks. There's no way to heal it.

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Embiid is healing from the offseason. That's for my daughter and Paul George.He's.

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Recovering from the offseason.The Embiid thing is where...

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It's hard work losing 25 pounds.

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Yeah, he lost too much weight. That's a lot of cardio.

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Explain the extension to me, CR.

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You're going to really play, like show us, prove it to us with your own beat? How about, yes. Show me another example in the NBA of that happening right now.

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As you know, I don't understand why the corporals did it with Kawhi. I don't understand the point of these extensions when you have no idea if the guy's going to be healthy three months from now. I'd rather be like, Oh, man, we should have extended him. He's healthy.

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They're moving into a new building and they need to have a stable face of the franchise. And Maxi, as much as he's beloved in the city, he's not there yet.

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Also, he's awesome. Are we pretending Joel Embiid's not good? He's hurt a lot. The playoff concerns are what they are, but he's an excellent player who I would be in business with that idea.

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He didn't look healthy in the Olympics. He didn't look healthy in the playoffs, and now he's not healthy. That's six months.

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Yeah, but you're not playing for now. You're hoping that he's healthy by May.

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Yeah, that's the example of what I was saying where it's like, do you really want to watch the Sixers in December? Probably not.

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I just want to say no franchise has ever said this before as a selling point to their fans. We only care about the playoffs. No fucking kidding. Everyone cares about the playoffs. Oh, well, this is a new theory. We only care about the postseason. Okay.

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The problem with taking that stance if you're the Sixers is that you've never done anything. If Boston decided tomorrow, We're chilling until the playoffs. It's like, they've been going to finals, conference finals.

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He didn't say, I'm chilling until the playoffs. He said, I want to be as healthy as possible for the playoffs. That means I'm going to try and monitor my body. I don't care about MVP. I don't care about all NBA. The extension is done. It's all about being healthy. I'm just playing devil's advocate. He wasn't like, I don't give a shit until the play off start.

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I just think it's a weird decision to treat the regular season. When you go to a restaurant, there's the 20% gratuity automatically. Then they're like, You can put a plus three if you want. It's like, that's how he's treating the regular season, that plus three. It's It's optional. I didn't mean it's not that important. The gratuity is happening already. It's just like, I don't care. That's what it feels like. With a brand new roster construction, again, I bring a boss because they've had sustained success. It's like conference finals, finals all the time for six years. They're like, Look, we get the regular season. We're worried about getting to our final destination. There's credibility there. For a team that just got constructed to be like, We're going to figure out what team we are in the playoffs, that doesn't make any sense to me.

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From a League Pass perspective, here's what I'm not looking forward to is this exact conversation every time I see a opposing broadcast.

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Last night, they didn't make one of the three TVs for me last night. It's like, I don't want to watch Andre Drummond. No, thank you.

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I'll be tuned in as long as two of the big three are in there.

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Did they get bumped off for Tubi?

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No, I had three other games. You can get League Pass on three different outlets. I had all three. Rob, you're a conspiracy guy based on some TV watching. Wow, okay. This is like an Apple TV question. Is this just an excuse? And it beats not healthy. And this is like they sat in a room for five hours and they were like, Let's do a whole, We only care about the playoffs. We just want to get him ready.

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This is one random quote. Maybe he's just not healthy. They're not putting up billboards in Philly that say, Sixers, just wait for the playoffs.

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We're seasoned with this with five years of kawaii.

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Okay, I'm just saying because like, this is five years of kawaii, with the same blueprint of like, you know. Leading up to the fall George injury, I would say that this has been the most enthusiastic people have been about the Sixers in a long time. Where it was just like, holy shit, this actually worked. You actually did sign a guy into Capspace. He actually might be the perfect third Third Wheel.

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People were enthusiastic for the Joker, too.

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Were they?

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He drafted them. You know what I mean? I feel like I have to defend these guys.

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No, look, again, like I said, as long as Joel or Paul George on the two of the big three, Maxi, I'm going to be interested to see how those guys work, particularly Paul George around Joel Embiid, because he's never played with that player before. Joel has never played. Well, he had the one season of Jimmy, but he's never played with a wing that's- He's never had a wing that's also like, I'm happy to be the beta here.

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Jimmy was obviously like, he would go in and out of wanting to be the playmaker. I hate this.

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He's also never played with someone like Rashaun Yabusale, and I'm not afraid to say it.

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Yabus.

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Fun guy.

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None of this is passing the spell test for me. Okay. None of it.

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That was Waz's pick.

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That was my pick. I think they're putting too much pressure on Maxi because now Maxi is becoming... It's like when this... I remember writing about this a million years ago. It happened with David West in New Orleans. Everybody talked about how great he was so often. It was like he somehow became overrated by not doing anything. And Maxi, it's I'm like, Oh, Maxi. I love Max. He could be the face of the franchise. It's like, Can we see Maxi be the best guy in a team for three weeks in a row?

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Okay.

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I just wanted to be- Have you see one of the 10 best guards in the league right now? First of all, Waz picked them.

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Second of all, this is the League Pass rankings draft Now it's just been unloading on the Sixers for five minutes.

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That's what we do here.

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It's unloading them for them for what they've done in the play-off.

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We blaze the magic. We're just these guys, fighters every single night.

[00:24:56]

That's right. But I think, to me, again, I I think the human interest of it appeals to me. Okay. Like, Joel's story, Paul George's story, even Darryl's story. The way this team is put together and how all in it feels, that's compelling to me. I'm paying attention.

[00:25:18]

It's a burn the ships team. It's what the Sixes do.

[00:25:20]

Yeah, for sure.

[00:25:22]

Good luck. We're going to take a break. Let's see our regroup. Pick up a win this NFL Game Day on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Right now, all customers get a profit boost every single NFL game day. That means you can pop up your grid iron winnings multiple times a week. Fanduel has tons of ways you can get on the NFL action. Bet on money lines, player props, game day specials, fun parlays, whatever you want. Plus, super simple live betting, lightning fast bet settlement, and instant withdrawals. Fanduel makes betting on the NFL easier than ever before. Visit fanDuel. Com/bs and download FanDuel today. Today, must be 21 plus President in select states, 18 plus present in DC. Opt-in required. Bonus issued as down to draw, but profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including token expiration. See terms from both offers at sportsbook. Fanduel. Com. Gambler. Com. Game problem call, 1-800. Gamble or visit rg-help. Com. All right, coming back. Somehow we've only done six teams. Rob Mahoney is up with pick seven.

[00:26:24]

I'm going to take a team that is in close games all the time, usually because they're blowing lots of leads. At least that was the case last season. Also, crucially on the League Pass side of things, as Chris pointed out, I'm going the other side of the time bracket. West Coast, a tough slot this year. Not a lot of teams I'm super invested in except the Sacramento Kings. Give me the Cardiac Kings. They found every way to blow games last year. Now, let's put DeMar DeRosa in there.

[00:26:47]

Let's have a closer.

[00:26:47]

Let's have two of the best closers in the league between him and De'Aaron Fox. It's a weird basketball fit. I want to see if it works. They have an overall alignment that I think if they put two of their stars on the floor at all times, could be result in really high-level baseline play all the time. I'm excited to see it.

[00:27:03]

I'll be committed to watching them all season for the fun factor. Again, because their style is so distinct, even though I know that they will not do anything in the playoffs as constructed.

[00:27:14]

They may not even make it, to be honest. Right.

[00:27:16]

But it's just the visceral feeling of watching these guys play so fast and be committed to that style that every single team every year says, Yeah, we're going to play with more pace this year, and never does it. But Sacramento is going to actually do it and deliver while playing absolutely no defense, but I'm still here for it.

[00:27:36]

They might be the most entertaining team on the West Coast, right? Incredibly.

[00:27:39]

They were entertaining last year. Now the Rosen thing makes it even better. I feel like we can't lose with the Kings because if it doesn't go that well, then it just becomes the Aaron Fox Trade Machine Time.

[00:27:50]

Yeah, because he didn't sign that extension, right? Yeah, let's go.

[00:27:53]

Let's start making up trades with him.

[00:27:55]

Coke Presti on the phone. Coke Presti is like, Hello. What's the scarface thing where they're like,.

[00:28:02]

Tony. But I actually think they're going to go be more entertaining would be my pick for them. I like their team. I thought they won 48 and 46 the last two years. I don't know why they would go backwards.

[00:28:15]

Also pretty fun arena. When it's close games, it gets pretty-Yeah, from a league pass standpoint, a lot of good stuff from that.

[00:28:22]

I like the Beam. I like their fans. Their games always have a good atmosphere. So strong pick. I'm taking the Celtics 8. This sucks.

[00:28:31]

You're picking your own team?

[00:28:33]

Well, they're really fun to watch. They shoot a shitload of threes.

[00:28:36]

They have two of the best- Can I tell you on behalf of our nation who all love you and love your podcasting, they're not that fun to watch.

[00:28:43]

They're fun to watch. They have some of the best players of the week.

[00:28:45]

Show of hands. Does anybody find the fucking Celtics fun to watch?

[00:28:47]

They're in the middle of my ranking. Okay.

[00:28:50]

Here's my question. It's my pick.

[00:28:52]

Is there anything left to discover that we don't know?

[00:28:57]

I'm going to make the case by this week.

[00:28:58]

You had to ask this.

[00:28:59]

I think there's a chance. My fingers crossed. Sometimes when a team wins the title, the next year, they come back and they actually go up a level. Steve Kerr talked about this because I remember talking to him about this from my book. There's a weird confidence that comes into play, and I felt like they had that in that next game. I'm intrigued by how hard they go this season. I think they're going to have a lot of blowout wins. I think Tatum is really motivated.

[00:29:26]

Is a lot of blowout wins good for League Pass?

[00:29:29]

Well, it's more-It's good for you. Yeah, that's fair. But it's interesting to watch these teams try to figure out. They're just bouncing around the schedule. Every team has these weaknesses. Then they come in and the Celtics have 43s in the first half. These teams, they almost don't know It's almost like in football when you play those teams that are just throwing it every down. You're just like, What's happening? No other team plays like this. I don't know. There's a vibe. I think the atmosphere is good. I like the announcers. I don't know. I just think they're really good to watch.

[00:29:59]

I'm more interested them for non-basketball reasons. I'm interested in them for Missoula postgame quotes. Absolutely. I'm interested in them for who's the worst person they could possibly be sold to who will bankrupt the team.

[00:30:12]

That is a conversation topic right now in South extension.

[00:30:16]

Six months are going to be on here defending sovereign wealth funds. Yeah, you're looking forward to it.

[00:30:20]

Look, Abu Dhabi, you take the phone call.

[00:30:23]

You can't judge.

[00:30:24]

Shouts to MBS. But no, I actually, on our show yesterday, I think the Celtics could win 70 games this year. I really do. I think there's enough fuck you factor to Tatum with the Olympics, Brown with the Olympics, Joe Mizzula, who nobody respects still, even though he just won a championship. I think legitimately, these guys, you know this like, nobody believed in us and nobody respects us. Like, Jordan just completely made it up out of thin air. It wasn't true. With the Celtics, it's true. They've been legitimately disrespected, especially on an individual level. So I could see them chasing 70 wins or even trying to break the record. They got the talent, they got the continuity to do it. I really do see them as a 2016 warriors type.

[00:31:10]

Yeah, if they hit that streak in the middle of the season where it's the heat when they were on their run or even the Rockets where it's like-That'll be interesting. Eighteen regular season wins in a row. We're locked in for 19. We want to see if they can pull that stuff off.

[00:31:21]

One thing, I forgot to mention this in my league past case. They've mastered the regular season, I think, out of all the teams where they'll just rest one guy, and then it'll be like, Sam Houser, it's your night.

[00:31:30]

But this is cool. It's cool in the self-extend.

[00:31:33]

Here you go. No. But they have an infrastructure where they fit these people in and they actually make sense in the game versus like, oh, and Beads playing.

[00:31:41]

There's no reason Ricky Council can't be getting blooded by the nick Nurse. It's just all part of the plan.

[00:31:46]

But I like as a fan, it's like, Oh, it's going to be a Payton Pritchard. Let's call him Loose Game. Anyway, see how you're up.

[00:31:54]

For pure esthetic reasons, and we were talking a little bit about everybody to push the ball, nobody pushes the ball like the Pacers. I'm going to go with them. Matheron's back, which is the thing you say on a podcast, but I actually love Benedict Matheron. Me, too. He brings a little bit of that crazy, fuck you energy to the games. Halliburton, presumably does not have a ham string injury right now, and they're just a really exciting team.

[00:32:18]

Is he going to be good again or that's never happening?

[00:32:21]

It comes Justin Veri. They just went to the conference finals.

[00:32:24]

Yeah, but that was a fluky Blazer. There's some flukes involved, but he was still Their offense was still good.

[00:32:31]

And he's driving their offense.

[00:32:34]

Is he going to be good again, though?

[00:32:36]

When we saw him at in-season tournament, he was MVP level. That's when I was really like, when I saw it in person, I was like, damn, that's when I really joined the Halliburton train. But ever since he came back from that injury, he has not been that dude that was doing the damn time to Milwaukee and showing everybody up and just destroying people. I think But I think the level that he got in certain games against the Knicks is still a high-quality, all-star-level guy.

[00:33:06]

It just might not be every single night.

[00:33:07]

He hasn't been MVP level like he was very early on last season.

[00:33:11]

His first two months, he was one of the four best guys in the league last year. It was crazy. Even yesterday, I was watching Mather and had a look in his eye like, I'm here, guys. I was the missing piece last year. He's a very confident player.Clear.

[00:33:23]

Out for me. He really is. What was the video over the summer of him dominating Carmelo's son and talking to him? I was like, this is the sicko stuff that I love is when NBA players like, I'm not even going to let you get an Instagram reel off me.

[00:33:37]

No, he's one of those guys who takes the challenge.

[00:33:41]

No, it's Gilbert Arena is his kid.

[00:33:42]

He takes the challenge of being really good, seriously. He dealt with a lot of nagging injuries last year. But a lot of times these guys we think in the second year, it's going to happen, and then it doesn't. Then ultimately, the third year becomes the year that they take that proverbial leap.

[00:33:58]

They also have so many young guys who's like, Is Matherin going to pop? Is Nemhardt going to take a step forward? Is Jairus Walker going to give them anything? I want to see what all those guys can do.

[00:34:05]

Or is Jairus Walker a bust? What's going on with him? Two other things with them. They're a good opponent. They bring out really fun games from the other team, and I like their homecourt. For a League Pass, it's just fun to watch games there where the fans seem really close to the court.

[00:34:21]

It's the field house. It's almost like this throwback thing. It also goes along with McDonald pressing guys for the entire full court. It's just they're fun games to watch.

[00:34:31]

Fun time out stuff, too, with them. It's like, Pacer fans, let's honor Bob from Bob's Hardware Store. Available for 60 years, selling the best hardware in Gary, Indiana.

[00:34:44]

Bill, you're heart My Slaan voice is perfect.Thank.

[00:34:47]

You.yeah, dude. Appreciate it. All right, you're up, Wes.

[00:34:49]

I can't believe they've lasted this long. It's Luca Donchish, the favorite to win the MVP, the Dallas Mavericks. I I think Dallas is going to get back to the finals. I think Luke is going to win the MVP. I think they've constructed an even better roster around him this year, around the edges. Clay Thompson is one thing, Najee Marshall is another. But I think also just going that far in the playoffs and learning what it takes to actually win at that level, I think Dallas is going to level up this season. I'm excited about Derek Lively. I think I'm over the moon for him in terms of his potential. The Kyrie thing, of course, is fun. The twisty layups and the handle and all of that stuff every single game. But really, it's Luka, who I was joking to Rob the other day. My first next LeBron was Giannis, then it was Jokić, now it's Luka. I really do think Luka is the next LeBron and is poised to really make this thing happen.

[00:35:52]

I have nothing to add.

[00:35:54]

I think there are guys... There's some people I think are turned off by Luka's style. How much he has the ball in his hands, how much he creates.

[00:36:00]

I am turned off by Luka's style.

[00:36:01]

I can't connect with that. I think in part for me, it's like the longer his possessions go, the more dramatic they feel. His passes are so exceptional that I'm just waiting to see how he gets himself out of the strake jacket.

[00:36:14]

I think it's awesome in the playoffs. It's a little bit of a tough beat on a Tuesday night.

[00:36:17]

I hear you. That's where you hope that the Kyrie factor, the space they'll have with Clay, everything lively is going to be popping off this season. That stuff will help.

[00:36:25]

It's a tough beat for P. J. Washington, year two, now that it's not a new team anymore. Yeah. It's like, six months, I'm going to just be in the left corner hoping I get passed.

[00:36:36]

Are you completely neutral on this team?

[00:36:39]

I don't love it. Listen, I've talked about it before. I don't love the heliocentric. Harden, to me, is my idea of hell to watch. I didn't go last night. Granted, I was sick last night, but I just don't want to drive 45 minutes to watch James Harden have the ball for two hours straight. It just sounds horrible. Nothing against him. Some people like it. That's not what I like.

[00:37:00]

No, not absolutely nothing against him.

[00:37:02]

No, I just don't like that style of basketball. But Rob makes a good point. Other people see it as like, this is amazing to watch this person solve all these machinations off this same thing over and over again. I just don't personally like it.

[00:37:13]

They've made a lot of advances at the Intuit Dome. It's like a new experience. I would love it if James Harden got a notification every time you're coming. So he's like 23 seconds at the top of the key.

[00:37:26]

They're lunging into people. Bill got up to go to the I could pass you. Every time he goes to the bathroom, Harden's like, All right, I'll sit now.

[00:37:33]

When he comes back, let me know and I'll dribble for a while.

[00:37:37]

Who do you have?

[00:37:38]

This team would have been very high for me, except for opening night. I'm going to take the New York Knicks. A lot to figure out. I think the fact that they don't have a bench makes them a better regular season team in some ways. I'm not going to get a lot of bad minutes from guys who can't play. I think we're going to find out pretty quickly if Dadeye can be literally anything for them, if campaign can be literally anything for them. But Jalen Brunson has to play. Well, Jalen Brunson has to play huge minutes. Their best players have to play huge minutes every night. It's almost the Knicks are the opposite of the Sixers problem, where their best guys are going to be out there. They're going to run themselves into the ground to try to get this thing through. I want to be there to watch it. I want to see if they can solve some of the clutter that they had on opening night for sure.

[00:38:21]

I agree with Rob. I want to watch just to watch McHilbert just shoot. It's rude. It really should be a Sixer with that shot.

[00:38:27]

His last three was good, though.

[00:38:30]

That something looks smooth. It was looking pretty gamey for the last couple of weeks. Was.

[00:38:36]

Where are you sitting on Bodega Cat?

[00:38:39]

Look, my thing is the same. I like that he's the seventh most important voice in the room, that he He's coming into a situation where nobody's ever called you the savior of the Knicks. You've never been the golden boy here. You're coming here and people are looking at you like, You got to assimilate to this culture. I love that aspect of it. He's not being asked to lead anybody because I'm going to face it, he couldn't do that. But I think he's old enough, and I don't want to say wise enough, but I think he'll get the hint that he has to conform to what they're trying to do. I would hope that it's impressed upon him, the magnitude of what they're trying to accomplish there, what it would mean to the people in New York, the fans of that team, for them to actually live up to their expectations. Jalen Brunson so obviously gets it, truly gets it, what this nick thing is. I just hope that Karl Towns gets to that point. I think if he does, he's going to learn how to be additive to what they're doing. I don't think he's going to be Wilt Chamberlain or anything stupid like that, but I think he can be very complementary to Jalen Brunson, what he's trying to do in the in between game.

[00:39:49]

I think he could be, obviously, way better than Julius Randall. Yeah, that's where I'm at with Kat.

[00:39:56]

I thought Brunson looked pretty good in the first game, considering he was still covered in Dante G. Vincenzo's blood. After the ruthless trading of his college buddy. My God, would I ever trade Joe House? It's like, Sorry, House. If we had a chance to get so-and-so, you're not working over there. Sorry, buddy. We're still going to hang out, right?

[00:40:22]

That's so awesome.

[00:40:22]

That was fucked up.

[00:40:24]

Can you imagine if I was screaming at Cerruti like, This is what happens when they let you run things, Cerruti. We have to talk about the magic before the Sixers.

[00:40:33]

Oh, my goodness.

[00:40:35]

Well, this draft has been too predictable, and I'm about to uproot it. It's genuine, too, because I love this team, and I almost picked them four pics ago. They were on the big screen last night for me. There's a lot to love the Atlanta Hawks. Wow. I have their over, 36 and a half. I like watching them. Trey is just like, Thank God, DeJante Murray is not here anymore.

[00:40:57]

The vibe change was Incredible vibe change.

[00:41:01]

Lobs galore. Multiple 6'9, 6'10, skinny guy. You have to really look. You can almost not tell them apart. You have to... I'm still getting used to like, Oh, is that? No, that's Johnson. It's just interchangeable length and weirdness. I'll be honest, man, we haven't talked about this. I have property on Richeshe Island. Oh, man. I'm fucking in on Richesha. I'm legit in on him. I like that guy. You have a chateau? I liked him in the preseason. Listen, it was not expensive.

[00:41:36]

Is there a vineyard attached?

[00:41:37]

Expectations were down. I like that guy. I like how even his box score last night didn't really show what he was doing.

[00:41:47]

Can I read you the ESPN headline here? What is it? It says, Number one pick, Richie Shade. Opens with three, goes two for eight.

[00:41:53]

That's a headline. Mr. Lamp in traffic.

[00:41:54]

That's click bait right there.

[00:41:56]

I thought he was good. I think he hustles, and he makes sense to me as somebody who will be a valuable person on a really good NBA team. They have him, they have Dyson Daniels, and they have Johnson. They're just weird. They're fun to play. They have two big guys. The Kongu came in. Bogdanavich comes in and just takes over the offense for six. I think they're pretty good. I got to say.

[00:42:16]

It's a good question when you say, you know you have League Pass when... Dyson Daniels is trending on your For You, where Dyson Daniels is locking guys up. It's Alcatraz. Let's go.

[00:42:29]

Well, last night He was almost murdered in real-time by nick Claxton.

[00:42:33]

nick Claxton was trying to get suspended for the season, so he doesn't have to play with Cam Thomas anymore.

[00:42:37]

Who can blame him?

[00:42:38]

Yeah, he was like, This is my one shot to get out of here. That game was super fun. There was almost two fights. It got super feisty. It was close to the end. Atlanta is also not good enough to close games, which is great for a league pass. They're up by eight with a minute left somehow. Brooklyn had a chance at the end. Thumbs up. I like that team. It seems like a 43-win team to me.

[00:43:00]

Yeah, I'm a Jalen Johnson believer. I really love his package of both physical gifts, but he has a nose for the game. He has a genuine feel. He's not just out there, some robotic athletic guy. I like that. I think, like you guys said, the DeJante Murray thing was a clarifying trait. The team now has an obvious focal point, and it's more organized instead of the your turn, my turn nature that they were doing last year. For the league pass purposes, Trey Young is going to get on people's nerves, and that's always fun. He's going to make a point of it. Plus, he went to Istanbul, you all. I've seen him. I see the new beard. We know what's going on with that. We can't put that past.

[00:43:46]

You're an Italian soccer coach?

[00:43:48]

Yeah.

[00:43:48]

He was like, Give me the Antonio Conte.

[00:43:50]

Come on now. You had me at, They could be fun to watch. You lost me at 43 wins. This team is not winning that many games.

[00:43:58]

Well, that would be six over the I think they can get to 43 and 39 because it looks like Miami might be worse than we thought.

[00:44:07]

Or they got Magic. I thought you were the buzzer.

[00:44:08]

They got a case of the Paolos over there. Did you see all those sucky Eastern Conference teams yesterday? It's brutal. Somebody is going to have to win 43 games that we don't... Could it be Charlotte? I don't know.

[00:44:19]

I think the Hawks are way better than Washington and Chicago. Detroit? Detroit, they're way better than that group. But I don't know that they're that close to the Miami's and the Indies.

[00:44:33]

No, I think there's a level below that somebody's going to be in. It's either them or Miami.

[00:44:39]

You could step on Raikes all season and make the East play in. I'm not ruling on that.

[00:44:43]

It's like there's going to be a Bulls Hawks race to the bottom there.

[00:44:47]

I like their team, man. If Risa Shay turns out to be good right away, which I think there's a chance he's a little bit impactful, I don't know. Watch out for them. All right, CR, we got to move faster.

[00:45:00]

Okay, I'm going to go with the Rockets. There's very few teams who market themselves as tough, so it's fun to watch them on any given night, getting to people's shit. It's more of a preseason thing, but the Reid Sheppard experience so far has been delightfully. He didn't get as much of a look last night, but Sangu did and basically did Baby Jokich all night. I still have- And I still have-And they lost, by the way. And they lost. I know, which is the fun part is because there isn't the Boston thing where you're like, Can you win 70, though? It's like, no, are these guys going to actually pick a rotation, pick an identity, pick a hierarchy, and are they going to play tough every night, which I think they will. This is very foreign for me because I usually traditionally do not like the Rockets, but this is a collection of guys that I like and a collection of guys that I hate watch.

[00:45:46]

I hated.

[00:45:47]

I'm in violent agreement with you. I watched a lot of them last night. Same thing. I don't think they have any idea what their rotation is. No. They played their top five a lot. Whitmore barely played.

[00:45:58]

But he played, which I thought was a pleasant surprise.

[00:45:59]

They tried to play 10. Then Shepard, he just seemed tiny to me. People were talking about him coming in.

[00:46:07]

They got smoked as soon as he came in. I'm still a re-Shepard guy.

[00:46:10]

No, I'm in, too. But it was like, Oh, this guy's little.

[00:46:11]

I think once it slows down a little bit, but the preseason It was like, Is this Pete Maravich? Now it's like, Oh, this guy's little.

[00:46:18]

They're going to hunt them on defense.

[00:46:20]

Well, in the Holy War that is developing, Chris, do you identify more as a Schengen guy or a Jalen Green guy?

[00:46:26]

I think I really way preferred watching them on that run they went in after Schengen, but they are esthetically way more pleasing to watch with Schengen.

[00:46:35]

Isn't the question, are you a Schengen guy or a Jibari Smith guy? Because that seems to be the fundamental... Jibari was invisible last night, and I thought what made them special was him as the stretch five in that pseudo town's role. Then that opened up the paint.

[00:46:50]

If he's not playing five, he has to apply some basketball feel, and that's not what he does.

[00:46:57]

Where do you think Miami is going to play him? When they trade for I'm Jimmy Butler.

[00:47:01]

This is the thing is that I feel like Houston, even though they haven't really proved anything, are almost at a point where they have to do some subtraction. You know what I mean?

[00:47:08]

I did this in part one of the pod. I think it's a three for one trade team, and I don't know what the trade was. Could it be Jimmy Butler? Could it be somebody on that level where they just cash in? Because I think they have too many guys.

[00:47:22]

They have six players who could deservingly play 10 more minutes a game than they will probably.

[00:47:26]

Well, and also Thompson seems like he might actually be special.

[00:47:29]

He looks really good.

[00:47:31]

He's almost like a can't keep them off the court guy. I don't know what that means either.

[00:47:35]

He's maybe the biggest quirk in the Schengen part of that because playing Jabbari at the five is the clearest way to make Ahmed Thompson really good, really, really quickly, or at least give him lots of opportunities. Maybe it's like a first-line, second-line thing where the second unit is the time where he gets to cook.

[00:47:49]

That would be dope. Hockey subs.

[00:47:50]

I floated this in part one. Brooks, Adams expiring in Thompson for Jimmy Butler is a really interesting who says no. I don't know if I would do that if I was Houston. I think I would rather because I don't think that guarantees me round three.

[00:48:06]

What phase are we in in the point of that? What's the point of that? What's the point of that?

[00:48:09]

I think we're in the same phase we've been in the whole time.

[00:48:12]

Of the team.

[00:48:15]

All right. What do you got, Wes?

[00:48:16]

Man, this is tough. It's not that tough, actually. It's the Los Angeles Lakers for me. The tier that I put them in is Steph, KD, LeBron. It's like your favorite bar just announced that they're about to in a few weeks. So you go for a few last time. You go a couple more times.

[00:48:35]

I got to steal a glass.

[00:48:37]

That's why I'm tuning into the Lakers. Lebron is 40 years old, right? So For that reason alone. And then, quad has kept the Lakers have been one of the most hilarious teams to watch in the league for two and a half years now. A bunch of blown leads dissing the coach for no reason. Both Vogtle and Marvin Ham. Even though we lose that element with JJ, the players won't be sniping at him, but the JJ media interactions are going to be entertaining.

[00:49:09]

Would you see his first in-game coach interview? I did not. He gave a minute and a half long answer. It's like, JJ, one sentence. Jj is like, Here are the four things I thought went well in the first three quarters.

[00:49:20]

Then he did the postgame thing where it was like he had just gotten out of the shower and he was like, I'm writing a letter to the league requesting that we use Warn basketball. Warn, yeah. I was like, You got to fucking take it easy, man. I got to say, creative.

[00:49:34]

We're watching on TV. I was pretty impressed by him. I mean, their team was really good. He seemed locked in. He was locked in on the refs. They ran good plays out of timeouts. I thought he handled the Brian thing as well as you could have possibly handled the refs situation.

[00:49:44]

They did a really good job just being like, We're doing this. We're getting it out of the way. Yeah, let's get the fuck out of the way. There's not going to be any LeBron watch.

[00:49:49]

They really ran through Davis. They weren't beholden to, All right, LeBron, a terrible all time. They're using Connect in the right way. I thought he did a good job. We also, with League Pass standpoint, you the celebrities and the shots during the timeouts. You get a taste of how fucking weird LA is every time out.

[00:50:07]

Do they count as a League Pass team if they're going to be on national TV every day?

[00:50:12]

It's an interesting-Well, it's a soap opera because they're going to lose three in a row. The first passive aggressive, D'Angel Russell. He's available.

[00:50:21]

That's going to happen. First time, LeBron is like, I just work here.

[00:50:24]

I don't know why I only took eight shots. You have to ask JJ. We'll have all the roller coaster ride of that stuff. I love that stuff. Who do you have, Mahony?

[00:50:33]

Easy one for me, Memphis Grizzlies. Yeah, I had that next.

[00:50:35]

That was his next for me.

[00:50:36]

Love watching John Mariah play basketball. I'm a simple man. Simple pleasures. He does incredible shit.

[00:50:41]

Down the stretch last night was nice.

[00:50:43]

The up and under, the dunk attempts, the way to intercepts fields out of midair.Who the fuck was the white guy? Which guy?

[00:50:49]

Huff. Where'd he come from? I cover basketball for a living. I was like, Who's this? He was on two teams the last two years, but never really played.

[00:50:58]

Well, I know Wazga, too. He was in Crunch Time. Huge Santee Aldama game, too. I know we're locked in on that, Waz, of course.

[00:51:04]

Yes, we.

[00:51:05]

Huffy could have told me 30 countries, and I would have believed any of them. But I think he's from here. I think he is from here. Yeah, I'm with the job part. It's fun to see how it's going to play out, whether he can get to where he needs to go.

[00:51:18]

Scottie Pippen Jr, 22 minutes last night. He's legit.

[00:51:21]

I think he's a legit back then.

[00:51:22]

Yeah, I think he's legit. He's a legit guy. I really like a lot of their players, and especially once Gigi Jackson and Vince Williams get back, there's just a lot of- Probably going to have a little bit less Jay Huff, though. That's going to be a tough blocker, Bill.

[00:51:36]

I wish he didn't have a first name. I just think he should go Huff. He should get yourself in a name.

[00:51:39]

A Huff Jersey. Huff.

[00:51:42]

Marcus Smart looked a little doughy to me. Just going to mention that. That's why. I don't know if it's age or what.

[00:51:46]

They were playing 13 guys.

[00:51:47]

So he looked swole.

[00:51:50]

Is Marcus Smart not going to be in the Celtics Ring of Honor? Oh, yeah.

[00:51:55]

You guys are not going to retire his number? No.

[00:51:57]

You guys are going to... Is he going to get I have a lot of affection for Marcus.

[00:52:01]

I just thought he looked big. He put on weight. I'm not saying he looked fat. I'm saying he looked like...

[00:52:06]

Probably celebrating that Celtics title. Muscle.

[00:52:08]

Also, Memphis barbecue, not to be trifled with. Let's all be honest about it.

[00:52:12]

I would like him a little leaner. I'll make this quick. I'm taking Denver because of Jokuj. Yeah, that's easy. We don't need to discuss them. Although it is fun to watch whatever the hell is going to happen with their bench and see if they can figure out whether they can find eight guys who can play consistently. But Jokuj This will make me mad this year that his team around him isn't better because you have this incredible asset and he has no bench. They were trying to do the thing where they were much smarter than everybody and we're going young in length. It's like, you know what helps? Some fucking players that could come in and play well for 15 minutes. Can we just find a couple of those?

[00:52:49]

The thing about Jokish, too, he doesn't strike me as a guy who's reading the press clippings and is like, Oh, Denver's going to stink this year. He doesn't care. He's just He's going to go out and do what he does.

[00:53:01]

He's like, People write about this?

[00:53:02]

You guys like this?

[00:53:04]

I just have a bad feeling we may get to the point in January where it's like the Faku Kampazo Nuggets vibes. It's like, Why is this guy out there? Why is this guy in the rotation?

[00:53:15]

The Michael Malone performance art of refusing to play anybody under the age of 26.

[00:53:19]

Julian Strauher, Hunter Tyson, let one of these guys play.

[00:53:22]

It could be like an amazing yoga chair where he's just like, All right, get on my back, everybody. I'm just going to make chicken salad out of chicken shit Ciar, you're up.

[00:53:31]

I'm going to go Pelicans, AKA Philadelphia South. Dejante, I think he had 10 assists before he fractured his hand last night. Zian Williamson out for- These guys probably should have gone higher. Bill Simmons flew, but as far as watching on League Pass goes, Zion still is one of the top five reasons to watch basketball when he's on and when he's playing. It's just so fucking fun and interesting.

[00:53:53]

They have fun bench guys, too. I like Messi.

[00:53:55]

They have fun bench guys.

[00:53:55]

I like Hawkins. Yeah. Hawkins is really good.

[00:54:00]

Yeah, I think when Murray comes back, the fact that they don't have a center might be an issue at some point of the season. It seems like it could, yeah. But I love how freestyle it can be, and Willy Grief can throw all these different combinations. If you get Zion out there, it's worth watching alone.

[00:54:14]

Plus, we're on Brandon Ingram watch.

[00:54:16]

That's right. Yeah, it was good last time.

[00:54:17]

Entering year six of it. Yeah.

[00:54:19]

No questions.

[00:54:21]

Obviously, he wants a new deal. Good luck. He was so clearly on the trade block this entire summer. Well, shit, last year, But yeah, I'm interested to see how he responds to that.

[00:54:32]

Could that be a coke-prusty phone call?

[00:54:35]

No. No. No.

[00:54:36]

No. Don't do it. He's too ball-stopper. I think he's more of a somebody's had a chance to compete at a really high level in their best player got hurt or their best scorer got hurt.

[00:54:46]

Or like, Sacramento's. I'm desperate now.

[00:54:49]

Let's do something. Why would you get Brandon Ingram when you have Demar at home? That's my problem.

[00:54:53]

From a league pass standpoint, I just want to point out the New Orleans is a bummer sometimes.

[00:54:58]

Yes, sometimes there's 14 people.

[00:55:00]

The crowds are awful sometimes where you're just like, Jesus Christ, guys. Like, Minnesota is in town.

[00:55:05]

Jose Alvarado is a guy that's a soft spot. Christ the King guy, Puerto Rican guy. If you grew up in New York City, you absolutely know a Jose Alvarado. I love that guy, Rutham.

[00:55:18]

What I love about the Pelicans is we're talking about all these other teams in the sense that we're all going to watch the same version of the Sixers, whether they're healthy or not. When you watch the Pelicans, there's your version of that team within them. The five guys that you like playing together, they may not actually get that much time on the floor as one unit, but everyone has their version of that roster that they like. It's just a matter of whether they get enough run or not.

[00:55:39]

This is another team that feels like it's not going to be the same team in February. Something will be different.

[00:55:43]

Something will have gone very wrong if it is.

[00:55:45]

All right, we're going to take one more break, and then now we're entering the most exciting part of the podcast. There's only seven rounds, and two teams will not get drafted. Who are the two teams that are going to live in ignominy not getting drafted in the League Pass draft that's coming up next. All right, come back. Rob Mahoney is up.

[00:56:07]

I feel like we're in a very simple part of the ranking now in the draft. I'm taking the Milwaukee Bucks. They have Yannis on their team. I will watch him play every game that he can play, watch him run through the wall every time he wants to run through the wall. I know they have their issues as a contender, but as a regular season product, Dame and Yannis is pretty great where I stand.

[00:56:24]

Dame with a summer workout regimen, too.

[00:56:26]

Can Dame go from being once a week to twice a week as having good games? Which is if he does, they're going to be fun to watch.

[00:56:32]

He started off slow, and there was little grumblings in the room that we were watching the game. Can you believe they gave up Drew holiday for this? Then he drained four threes in a row from 30 feet away. It's like, Oh, that's why they traded.

[00:56:46]

Those were partisan gripes that were being made. Yeah, we know. They were partisan gripes.

[00:56:51]

We don't need to do too much on Milwaukee, but the Doc coach interviews are always fun, too. Yeah. Doc, what happened out there? You tell me. We were terrible. I'm not sure. Apparently, we're not playing defense tonight. He just doesn't give a shit anymore. So I'm up then? Yeah. Who do you think? I got to write. I just got to keep track of this. Okay. Oh, man. I really want to... Do I want to throw the draft out of whack again? No. I'll take Phoenix. Guess what? Kevin Durant, still really fun to watch.

[00:57:26]

Yeah.

[00:57:28]

I thought it was interesting that they still don't seem like they have chemistry yet.

[00:57:34]

A little rough on that end so far.

[00:57:36]

Last night, Booker was the one that suffered, but it seems like they can't get all the guys going at the same time. But I like seeing Coach Bud, who just seems like he was on Ozempic or Atkins or something.

[00:57:48]

Or both.

[00:57:49]

The Arizona Sun was really getting them. But yeah, Phoenix for me.

[00:57:54]

Yeah, I hope that Coach Bud could get them to be more elastic in their KD, Bradley Bill is just so used to playing one way. I hope he could coax some elasticity out of him. But it's still KD when he's just dribbling people at mid-range and just training it. Super fun.

[00:58:14]

For my next pick, I'm going to go Steph and the Dirty Dozen. Just got to watch Steph while he's still here.

[00:58:23]

This is crazy that we get this far in the grass.

[00:58:25]

Wow, you sound like you're talking about grandpa. We got to go visit grandpa while he's still here.

[00:58:30]

I honestly, weirdly feel like the extended twilight of LeBron has overshadowed this. This is probably also the twilight of Steph. Do you know what I mean?

[00:58:39]

Or has it? Because I feel like Steph can play until he's 48.

[00:58:42]

But literally no guard has ever done this before. No one his size has ever played this well this late.

[00:58:47]

I think they had the Blazers last night. That was pretty quick. They played 14 guys.

[00:58:53]

But it's a weird- Would you see what Kerr said? What? I mean, he literally did a 12-man rotation and talked about it after. He's like, I just wanted to see if we could figure this out.

[00:59:02]

How did you feel about that as someone who watched Jason Kate in the exercise? It's an absolute violation.

[00:59:07]

Yeah, especially at the Olympics. But no, I just don't think... I think you play 12 guys during a season, but during an actual game, it makes no sense. You play basketball. Occasionally, yeah. Because you're just not playing enough. It's stupid.

[00:59:21]

I don't get it. As an experiment, I think it's interesting. But yeah, I'll go with the Warriors.

[00:59:27]

No, I think Curry has to be. He can't be in the bottom 10 of a draft. No.

[00:59:30]

My team is Charlotte.

[00:59:34]

God damn it.

[00:59:35]

That was the one I almost took two spots together.

[00:59:37]

I was really hoping they'd be there. Charlotte. Brandon Miller, I feel very heavily invested in. I watch them play two games in the SEC tournament. There you go. He declared him the rightful number two pick in the draft. Seed investor. I just been hauling on ever since when I put my scout hat on. But no, I just really love his fake Paul George routine that he's doing, especially early on in his career.

[01:00:02]

Aspirational, Paul George.

[01:00:03]

Okay, aspirational. I like that. See, that's why you get paid the big bucks, Rob Mahoney. Then, of course, LaMelo Ball, man. He dropped 34 last night. I think everything has come as a given. They gave him that big extension just automatically, just as a given. I think it's now finally time for him to actually put this stuff on tape and show why he- You think so year five, maybe it's time? I think so, yeah.

[01:00:28]

I thought he was awesome last night. I watched that whole game. That was one of the three TVs. That team... So, Vernon talked about this on the mismatch. He talked about Charles Lee. He sat next to the bench. The Celtics love Charles Lee, and this was, I thought, the hardest over-under for me because it was 29. I really like the over. I also don't know what incentive they have to be like, We made the play in. But you watch them last night and it's just their good team. I mean, a good bad team. But they have Curry, they have Grant Williams, Miles Bridges, they have rebounding, and LaMelo was awesome. And then out of nowhere, Trey Mann. I know.

[01:01:06]

He can hoop.

[01:01:06]

If they can say mildly healthy, I think it's going to be.

[01:01:10]

But I think the team I watched last night was well-coached. They had a specific style. They had an identity. They were tough. They were walking around with their chest out. And I was like, Oh, this is... I might have bet on them, too. So I was enjoying that part. It's irrelevant. I think for the first month, they're a team to watch as a frisky, dangerous. Oh, my God. Charlotte beat Cleveland in Cleveland last night. I do think they might be one of those teams.

[01:01:39]

They're not as good as the Pacers, but they play a similar up-tempo style. Lamelo has a similar kinetic energy to him that's really watchable. When he's healthy, they win a lot of games. So I hope he can be healthy.

[01:01:49]

He puts up big stats.

[01:01:50]

Puts up big stats. Fun to watch in a no, no, no, yes way. The killer he took a 30-footer to close the game yesterday.

[01:01:58]

There you go.

[01:01:58]

That's what you need on a League It was Tuesday night, I guess, I should say.

[01:02:02]

I thought that team, and we haven't talked about Detroit yet, but same thing where they just seemed like they weren't rudderless anymore. Detroit seemed more professional to me.

[01:02:12]

It wasn't Monte Williams benching J. Niphe for some reason.

[01:02:14]

No, it's just like, What's going on here? It's like, all right, they have Malik Beazley, but at least he's an adult. Anyway, all right, what do you have, Rob?

[01:02:20]

This is where I feel like there's a chasm. Like the Charlotte was the embankment for me. There's a drop. I am going to take the pistons here. I I want it to be true so bad. I want them to be fun and watchable. I'm not even hoping for good yet. Just can they be an entertaining basketball product because they have a really exciting playmaker in Kate Cunningham. They have, in theory, better spacing. I don't know that those guys will actually hit shots. I see a lot of one for seven. They're going to take them. They will take them. That's the thing. Is Tobias Harris enough of a shooter that people will guard him in ways that they wouldn't guard Pistons of Seasons Past? If so, I think the are going to be at least watchable.

[01:03:01]

He's a better shooter than the beef stew.

[01:03:02]

I thought they were watchable last night.

[01:03:03]

I mean, it seems like we cannot possibly overestimate how bad Monte was for that team, how bad the Monte Williams experience was. I mean, Jaden Ivey was one of my favorite guys coming out of college that year, so it's really exciting to see him score 17.

[01:03:15]

It's almost like you shouldn't beg a guy to coach your team or GM your team like the next did Phil Jackson.

[01:03:21]

He was supposed to professionalize them, and for all their flaws last night, they still couldn't close it. They did look more professional. Yes.

[01:03:28]

New hair for Cade. He's like, I'm a new man, new team. I thought I took note of that.

[01:03:32]

In the Trey Young sense of New Year?

[01:03:33]

I took... Beef stew was out there. Always enjoyed him. Yeah, they're interesting. It's either going to be Charlotte or Detroit for that 10th play-in spot. We'll see who gives a shit more about the season. Wow, this is getting dark. Man, I really want to take Brooklyn here, but I'm not going to. I know that's stupid.

[01:03:57]

Why would you want to? There's no way.

[01:03:59]

What What is the urge you're feeling to take Brooklyn?

[01:04:01]

Maybe I'll take them with my last pick. Utah, they have to be the next pick. I have no idea what they want to be. I assume they don't want to win, and they're just stockpiling picks. But you watched them last night, especially in crunch time, and it's like, these guys are pretty good. They're well-coached. They have a score at the end of the games. They have rim protection. They have guards that can go by people. They seem I'm like, they're trying on defense, and they're just going to be a lot of fun West Coast games.

[01:04:35]

I feel like I won't get fooled again with the Jazz because I know what's going to happen, which is at the trade deadline or right afterwards.

[01:04:42]

The 22 and 21 record to start.

[01:04:44]

Ang is going to come make the phone call, and it's like, look, we need to get in the Cooper flag business. Stop fucking winning these games.

[01:04:50]

Well, the guy to trade is Kessler then if they're going to do that because he's... You think so? Well, just like, you want to start weakening your team with like, let's get rid of our shop walking. Or they're not going to trade marketing. They're trademarking, and they're not allowed to.

[01:05:01]

Or you can continue to empower Keante George to take 18 shots in Colin Sexton to take eight. That's one way to ensure that you get the number one pick.

[01:05:10]

They do have two or like the 12 guys you probably wouldn't want to play with if you were like a swingman.

[01:05:15]

I think Colin Sexton. Sexton is a guy that contenders should call about.

[01:05:20]

He's not as ball hoggy as he used to be when Keante Love was beaming him in the back of the head.

[01:05:25]

Honestly, I think he's been a Boy Scout over there. I think he's really turned his career around.

[01:05:28]

I hope the deadline that he's able to go to a contender that needs some scoring pop, some ball handling.

[01:05:35]

But he's a six man. Yeah, that's what he is.

[01:05:38]

Or the point guard on a team that has... We were talking about him for the magic, wing playmaking that needs maybe an alternative look at a scoring guard. He could make sense for a team like that.

[01:05:47]

Well, I don't know if you noticed there in the Nets game, Dennis Schroeder was actually wearing an Orlando Magic jersey with a Brooklyn logo, taped over it, just praying for them to trade for him. All right, CR. I think this is it. We only have six teams left. Oh, okay. This is our last round. I can't wait to see who doesn't get drafted. All right.

[01:06:05]

This is in the spirit of 2012 era, real heads, League Pass, possibly stoned, watching on your couch, looking for almost abstract art in your basketball. I'm going to pick the Blazers. Because is Scoot high on his couch watching abstract art while he's playing? Who are these guys? Is Denny for real? How many centers do they have? Is Clingin going to be like what he was in the preseason?

[01:06:36]

Also, they might go 0 and 15 to start the season. Yeah.

[01:06:38]

How many player pods is Chauncey Billups going to do where he's just being like, I hate all these guys. I'm excited for the Blazers experience, and it's often the last game ending on the West Coast. It's fun to just be like, Yeah, it's just me and seven other dudes watching this Blazer's King's game.

[01:06:57]

Chauncey's agent is like, Yo, if you can get out of your contract right now, NBC and Amazon are looking for guys. You got to get out now. I'd play, scoot, 48 minutes a game, and just tell them to clear up.

[01:07:10]

I'm a big Anthony Simmons guy, so I'll always enjoy those minutes, particularly on this team, dominating, just being happy to be wildly overpaid. I love when it takes three.

[01:07:22]

I love when it takes three.

[01:07:22]

I think you have to pick one complete shit team, and for me, it's the place.

[01:07:27]

I have a different shit team. But Simon I think, is another fun contender piece. I'd like to see him on Orlando. I don't know if they… They need somebody like that on that.

[01:07:38]

For a year and a half now. All right, well, I see. We disrespected this team by not picking them. I'm picking a Miami Heat. Come on, man. It's Jimmy Butler, it's Bam. Hyme Haukez, Yoving.

[01:07:50]

Don't you feel like this is season 11 of this team show?

[01:07:53]

Yeah, I know. It's like Virgin River still on? It's Grey's Anatomy at this point. I get it, but I'm going to watch them when they're on, especially over the teams that are left on this list. Miami, they're going to be well-coached, if not very fun. I can't, in good conscience, pick any of these other teams left. That's the thing.

[01:08:13]

The alternatives are very bleak. So thank you for that. Blicke. I appreciate it was.

[01:08:18]

It's fair. And they'll get going at some point. But probably my least favorite stadium, announcement, timeout situation of the crowd. People showing up at 8:25.

[01:08:27]

I was about to do an impression of their play-by-play I have it on that.

[01:08:30]

You don't want to pop that off?

[01:08:32]

No. The heat culture, it's like an infomercial. It's not a very fun experience. It's fun to have them on a small TV with no sound. Rob, who do you have?

[01:08:42]

I feel terrible about all these teams. I will take by default, the Toronto Raptors.

[01:08:47]

Oh, interesting.

[01:08:48]

The R. J. Barrett renaissance is upon us, my friends. I'm eager for him to get back in the mix. I think it's week to week right now, which is not what you want to hear coming into the season. But I identify as an Emmanuel quickly guy. I love watching him with a little more room to work. I think we're all eager to see what Scottie Barnes can become.

[01:09:06]

Are you one of those hipsters who think Scottie Barnes is the prototypical NBA player?

[01:09:11]

I'm not. But I'm invested. I'm invested in the greater project.

[01:09:15]

Got you.

[01:09:18]

I don't want to watch them at all.

[01:09:20]

This is the Mr. Irrelevant pick you've got here.

[01:09:23]

You're telling me you would take Brooklyn over this. Here's the thing. I fucked up. We skipped a Waz pick. I'm going to blame the fact that I'm still on cold medication. We skipped a Waz pick. Cr took New Orleans. It skipped to Rob, who took Milwaukee, and I took Phoenix. Waz, I'm sorry.

[01:09:42]

I have to pick another team.

[01:09:43]

I hope you have to take another team. Come on, man.

[01:09:46]

Take the wisdom.

[01:09:46]

Are we sure we don't want to make fun of... Are we sure we don't want to make fun of Toronto for another second? Because did Masaiuhari, he won the title and he got another job? What's he doing? Yeah, I don't know.

[01:09:58]

But I think he equity in the team.

[01:10:01]

Why is he then trying to take them?

[01:10:02]

He put in the team means you put together a bad team.

[01:10:06]

He's trying to make them a less valuable property. That's a great question.

[01:10:10]

That is a brutal team to watch.

[01:10:12]

Didn't Jaco Potal say, It's not like we're trying to win every game? Wasn't that his quote?

[01:10:16]

I had them in my bottom, too.

[01:10:19]

I think you really underestimate the Wizards. I cue R. J. Barrett, Scottie Barnes.

[01:10:23]

I just don't like watching that team.

[01:10:24]

That can be fun to watch.

[01:10:27]

You get to watch them and be like, This is basically what it was like watching the next five years.

[01:10:31]

Yeah, that's what it is. I want to see the R. J. Thing get where it goes. I want to watch where that story goes to go from the guy that got picked directly behind Ja and Zion and what those guys have become bonafide All-stars when Zion plays. Well, I'm Ja, too. To R. J. He was just like, yeah. You know, people were so disappointed in that. Counter.

[01:10:49]

Not that interested. Was. There's four teams left. Chicago, Brooklyn, the Clippers of Washington. Listen. Those are a big four.

[01:10:58]

I'm picking Chicago. It's for Kobe alone. He's one of my favorite guys to watch in the NBA. His elevation of his game from just this volume shooter guy to legitimate ball handle, turn the corner on guys, firing up, pull up threes. He's one of the most fun guys to watch. I'll be watching for that alone. I don't care about the freaking Josh Gitty thing.

[01:11:22]

I think he stinks. Yeah, but if Gitty and Lonsal were both playing, you could have a pretty fun-Lonsal thing is fun.

[01:11:28]

I feel like we We shorted them a little bit unfairly. I don't know.

[01:11:33]

You guys think this team is going to be fun to watch?

[01:11:34]

Also, for a week past, Stacey King- Compared to the other alternative. Stacey King is a pretty fun announcement to watch, to listen to. It's good.

[01:11:41]

Well, I was hoping they'd still be there at Picked 28. Do it. And they are. Do it. The Brooklyn Nets.

[01:11:49]

How many Justin K and Thomas make this week?

[01:11:51]

I was absolutely riveted by them last night. Ben Simmons, who actually looked pretty good. I did something on part one about it. Don't do this. I think there's a little showcasing. Nick Claxton was like, I got paid. I also don't want to be here anymore. Maybe I could get ejected right away. The Cam Thomas thing is the funniest League Pass subplot of the season.

[01:12:19]

Why is this happening? Why did they let him do this?

[01:12:21]

This is like the NBA I grew up with in the late '70s where guys were like, I'm coming in and I'm shooting every time. I'm shooting every He might actually lead the league in scoring this year if Luka decides not to score last. There were fando odds on him. Really? Yeah. He might score 30 points a game.

[01:12:40]

He will not score 30 points a game.

[01:12:42]

He shoots all the time.

[01:12:43]

Whose idea was this?

[01:12:43]

Nobody else shoots in this team.

[01:12:44]

Kam Thomas' idea, I can assure you.

[01:12:45]

Why is this happening? He could literally lead the league in scoring and not make the All-Star team. There's zero chance he makes the All-Star team.

[01:12:54]

Not only will he not make the All-Star team, they might just to send him home so other guys can shoot.

[01:13:01]

Isn't this basically like, how many nets have just been like, Please get me out of here because of this?

[01:13:07]

Nobody wants to be there.

[01:13:08]

So Rob scoffed.

[01:13:10]

Yes. I can't even feign enthusiasm for this team.

[01:13:13]

I can't. No, you scoffed at the Kam Thomas scoring title? Yes. Right now, he's the seventh highest odds on Fandle out of all the players in the NBA. I feel legally obligated to inform everyone listening to this podcast.

[01:13:24]

Do not make that bet.

[01:13:26]

Are you sure, though?

[01:13:28]

I'm so sure. Let me I'm going to throw it. Luka is the favorite, plus 145. Embiid's plus 390. He's not going to play 55. He won't qualify. Shay, Yannis, Brunson, Edwards, and Kam Thomas. He's literally on Fandil right now. Kam Thomas.

[01:13:45]

How many coaches now have gone through the process? I'm here now and I've taken over for Jacques Vaughn or whatever, and they still just let him have green light.

[01:13:54]

Well, the other piece of it, when he doesn't get the ball late, he gets visibly mad on the TV, which I love. This is the NBA. All these laycomers and it's a friendlier brand. This is the NBA. This is what it was. These are my roots. This is the '90s coming back where guys just been like, I'm shooting 30 times. This is J. R. Ryder in Minnesota. I'm fucking shooting every time I get the ball. I love it. The Simmons thing is really fascinating because there's moments where he was all-MBA four years ago. There's moments where you think, That guy's a real basketball asset. Will somebody talk themselves into him? Co-preci.

[01:14:37]

There's not enough coke in Oklahoma.

[01:14:41]

Then I like their swings, and there's a lot of trade bait on the team, too. It was the other thing. All right. That was the last pick. Not picked, the Clippers and Washington.100%. We knew Washington was going to be a pick, but the Clippers-Clippers are depressing. Clippers did it themselves.

[01:14:56]

They gave the Suns a fight, at least.

[01:14:57]

You would only watch for the arena, Basically. If you've had the Harden experience, you would only watch the arena.

[01:15:04]

It needs to be said again. Harden said he watched the Mavericks go to the finals, and Luka was playing his brand of basketball. What he saw was that his brand of basketball is a winning brand of basketball.

[01:15:18]

Confirmation by this is a powerful drug was.

[01:15:19]

That's what he learned from last year's NBA play. The James Harden brand of basketball is championship quality.

[01:15:25]

If we have one wish to make to the NBA gods, it's that the Clippers trade for Kam Thomas.

[01:15:30]

Oh, my God.

[01:15:32]

Then Harden and Thomas get to go bottom and bottom from each possession.

[01:15:36]

I actually think he's one of the great tanking assets any team's ever had.

[01:15:40]

He's not that bad. No. Okay, are you talking about Kam Thomas? Kam Thomas. I thought you were piling that on James.

[01:15:45]

No. Kam Thomas puts up points, keeps you in games, casual fans think he's amazing.

[01:15:51]

And ruins your locker room.

[01:15:53]

You're definitely going to lose if he's your best guy, and he's going to shoot every time he gets the ball. I think it's wonderful to I'm just glad that guys like this still exist in the league. The league was getting pretty like, saying everyone comes in. All the swings can shoot threes. All the point guards play certain ways. And Kam Thomas is like, clear the fuck out.I am scoring.It's my time. It's my time Oh, they're going to... They don't even send doubles at them because they're like, yeah, go ahead, cook camp. Take it, shoot again.

[01:16:23]

We'll give you 70, man. It's okay.

[01:16:25]

I love that. I really enjoyed watching them last night. Anyway, that's it for the week past draft. You can hear Waz and Rob on a group chat on the NBA, Ringer NBA feed. Where are you going to be, Charles Nelson, are they?

[01:16:36]

I don't really have a podcast anymore. You're going to be on Card Chat?

[01:16:38]

This is it.

[01:16:40]

On NPR, yeah.

[01:16:42]

Card Sharks, 20,000 Pyramid?

[01:16:45]

I'll be on MSNBC, election.

[01:16:46]

Family Feud, you're going to go on that? Yeah. Family Feud. Like CNN, election show?

[01:16:51]

Steve Harvey.

[01:16:52]

Good to see you guys. All right, we're going to do some million dollar pics. We have all the Ringer is in town this week. I grabbed Shil Kapatia, Anthony de Bundeau. They're doing this with me in person. I'm super happy that you're here because this is the toughest week of the year. The lines are super weird. They're like old school high lines, huge home dogs. There's teams that I feel like we've either given up on or we're too bullish on. It has all the makings of a zigzag week, and I'm scared. I might actually... We did really well on Million Dollar Picks last week, although we should swept, lost by the half point in Packer's game. Then I still don't know how the Chargers didn't beat the Cardinals. But when you have a guy on the team you bet on that fumbles the ball out of bounds for the touchback, has that team ever then covered?

[01:17:43]

No, that's an L every time. That's an L every time.

[01:17:45]

You just immediately know. It's like a black cat gets thrown on the TV. What are you the most afraid of from this week?

[01:17:53]

I think you said it, the big lines. You have the lions. The lions are awesome. The lions can get to the Super Bowl. They're 11 and a half point I'm looking at the Panthers who Andy Dalton gets in the car accident, price back. I'm like, Do I want to take Bo Nicks to cover ten and a half points?

[01:18:09]

So those- Can the Bronco score 10 points?

[01:18:12]

Yeah. Ravens, Browns. Everybody scores 20 on Carolina by halftime.

[01:18:15]

Right.

[01:18:16]

The big lines are the scariest.

[01:18:18]

What are you the most scared of?

[01:18:19]

The bad teams are worse than they've been in years, according to DVOA. That's scary. And road favorites are 16 and 2 in the last three weeks.

[01:18:27]

Wow. It should have been 17 and 1 at the chargers Just beat the cardinals, right?

[01:18:31]

Jalen Rigger elevated from the practice squad to ruin the game.Un Unbelievable.

[01:18:35]

You're the most scared of that?

[01:18:37]

Things never last forever. Nfl, not for long. I feel like there has to be some mean reversion. The first four weeks, I came on the pod, we talked about it. Underdogs were crushing it. Now the spreads are really big. There's six games with at least a breakdown spread. There's a couple I like and a couple I want no part of.

[01:18:55]

I'll walk you through a couple of the games that I ultimately decided to stay away from before we get to the ones I liked. Then I want to hear what you guys like. I was looking at the Seahawks all week, plus three against Buffalo, because I still feel like you can throw on Buffalo, and that's the one thing I really believe Seattle can do. I actually think their offense might be a little better than people realize. Then ultimately, Metcalf being hurt, not knowing what's happening with him. Then I realized, I just hate betting against Josh Allen. I just don't like it. You just feel so stupid. And so I was like, I think I'm out. But you guys could also talk me back into that.

[01:19:35]

I like the other side quite a bit. Oh, good. Yeah, I like the Bills minus three is one of my favorite picks of the week. I'm looking at it. That Seahawks team last week against the worst pass rush in the NFL in Atlanta. Gino Smith was pressured on 50% of his dropbacks. Now, he played awesome. He's able to play under pressure, and he did that in that game, and they won. But the Bills defense is overachieved this year. I mean, they've got a good pass rush. They're His offense is top five in the NFL against that Seahawks defense that has not been great. I feel like the Seahawks, I don't want to call them the good bad team, but I do feel like they're that. If you lose to the Seahawks, you probably stink. But against good teams, they played what? The 49ers, the Lions. Those have both been double-digit losses this year. I think the Bills are really good, actually, with that Amari Cooper addition. He played well last week.In a three-point spread.Can run the ball? Yeah, they can run the ball. Their offensive line is good. I like the Bills minus three in that game.

[01:20:28]

You think the Colts are the good bad team, or would you go with the Seattle?

[01:20:31]

Are they good enough? He's the Colts guy. Are they good enough to be the good, bad team?

[01:20:35]

Maybe. They're the coin flip every game team. Every game just added in the last five minutes this year.

[01:20:39]

Yeah, I was looking at their point for every game, and every game was like two points, three points, six points.

[01:20:46]

Yeah. I think the Seahawks are better than the Colts. I think the Seahawks will surprise some teams, but they're not healthy. They're not good on the offensive line. It's like if Gino turns into a magician and has one of those games against a bad defense, they can win. But I think if I see a team that I think can get to the Super Bowl playing the Seahawks, I feel pretty good about that team taking care of them.

[01:21:07]

Any other Seahawks thoughts?

[01:21:08]

Buffalo has been running the ball a lot all year. Until last week, they actually got more pass happy for the first time. It is interesting to me because they have now more options with Cooper in the lineup to throw. The one concerning thing with me for Buffalo is it's always been that they play the two high. They never give up big plays. This year, they are giving up more big plays. I do think Seattle could stay in this with some explosives if they had Metcalf. But without him, who's the explosive threat on this offense now?

[01:21:36]

Seattle, 27th against the run. Their defense feels like Buffalo can run on them. If Metcalf was playing, I'd be A little more bullish on Seattle. That was one. I guess we got to talk packers, Jags. I can't believe the Jags or even the conversation. But this line is offensive. The packers are four and a half point favorites in Jacksville. It's probably going to be hot. The Jaguars are probably going to be able to move the ball on them, I'm guessing. Then conversely, I haven't liked the way Jordan Loves look. I like that packers team, but they have a big game next week. Coming off, they had a big game last week. This just feels so trappy to me. I know. We're going to go to Jacksville and beat the shit out of them, and it just scares me.

[01:22:23]

As somebody who likes to follow, where does the lines move on certain teams throughout the year? Because you'll see that big groups, people with a lot of market influence. They will bet certain teams repeatedly throughout the year. There's no team in the NFL that has gotten more of that support than the Jags. If you look at the spreads, week three, week four, week five, week six, somebody has come in and said, We love Jacksonville. I don't know who they are. If you're betting Jacksonville every week and you're listening to this podcast, call me. We can talk about what you see that I don't. But Green Bay has some real red flags. Well, talk about them.

[01:22:53]

Give us three.

[01:22:54]

Their early down numbers are terrible. Their success rate numbers are very mediocre. It's a very boomer-bus team, and they forced a ton of turnovers. They've hit a ton of explosives. That's good. But how sustainable is it is a question that I have about Green Bay.

[01:23:11]

This would be a stay away from me. We've had interventions on this podcast about the Jaguars before. I'm not doing it against Matt LaFleur, who wins, what, 70% of his games or whatever it is. You're right about Jordan Love, but we saw him the second half of last year. There was some boomer bust to him, and then he put it together, and he was sensational. I think that stretch is coming. If you're looking at sleeper MVP candidates, I think Jordan Love has a seven, eight game stretch coming up where he's going to be one of the best players in one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. I just don't think those turnovers are going to last. I can't take Jacksonville. They won by what? Running it 18 times in a row. How often is that going to happen? So I understand the analytical view of-They beat the soft Patriots. That's right, the soft Patriots. I don't know that that formula is going to work against the packers.

[01:23:59]

You know, You should put this in your column. You write an excellent betting column for us every week. Every year, there's an I hate myself team where you bet them, and then you just literally hate yourself halfway through the game. That's the Jaguars this year. I don't even know who's even in the running against them for that.

[01:24:19]

I mean, if you bet the Browns at any point this year, you got duped.

[01:24:24]

You're just ignoring obvious signs. Well, the Cardinals are just like the zigzag team. It's like, oh, and then all of a sudden, they're losing by 30. Certain defenses just seem like they can shut down Kyler completely. Then other ones just let him run around. I never understand how teams don't just defend Kyler the same way.

[01:24:43]

Giants are probably in that. The I I hated myself for picking the Giants last week. You had the Eagles, and I was like, I don't know. I hated myself. One, eight minutes into that game.

[01:24:53]

If I gave you a parlay with the Jags up to plus seven and a half and the over up to 39 and a half, and it was minus 120, you're not intrigued at all. Because there's probably going to be points in this game, right?

[01:25:05]

I know you don't like team totals. You got mad at house about that, but why not just bet the Jags team total?

[01:25:09]

I just had bad luck with team totals. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong. Okay.

[01:25:13]

I just stink at them. I like the Jags. I think they'll be points. I generally agree with that.

[01:25:17]

I'm going to cross them off. This next game, I might not cross off. Colts, who, as we said, they might be the good, bad team. Catching Houston in a really interesting spot where they've already played them, the game was close. Every game they're in is tight, and they're getting five and a half at home. I don't understand without Nico Collins, why wouldn't tease the Colts backwards and play around with the over-under. Why wouldn't I do that?

[01:25:49]

Every advanced stat, and Dubundo and I have talked about this, every advanced stat on the Texans is suggesting they're a fraud. I like the Texans coming into the season. But if you look at any of the offensive stuff and what They're doing on early downs. They're what? Plus six on the season. Their point differential. Their offense is underachieved maybe as much as any offense in the NFL.

[01:26:08]

But they didn't have Mixin for half of that.

[01:26:10]

Yeah, but I don't know. Joe Mixin is fine, but if Joe Mixin means that much to your offense, then you might have some issues. I know they don't have Nico Collins, but I like the Colts a little bit in that game. I don't totally trust it, but I don't trust that Texans team. I think fading the Texans while their record's really good and all the numbers suggest they might not be that good is probably a good play for the next whatever, two, three weeks.

[01:26:33]

Do you believe in the second game thing?

[01:26:36]

I think it's fascinating how much the perception of these two teams has even changed in the last seven weeks. Both have overperformed relative... If you just look at their records, if you told a Colts fan before the season, We're going to be four and three, they would have taken it. Texans, five and two, they feel great. And yet I feel like under the hood, both are worse. Like, Richardson has been worse than I think most expected. It's very boomer bust. And honestly, Stroud has been very boomer bust. And the whole Texan's offense is, okay, it's third down. Stroud drops back. Where's Nico Collins? He throws in the ball and they move the chains. That's the whole offense. And the last two weeks, they did it to your team. Everybody has. They can't score in the second half. Every game, it's like three-point second half, three-point second half against Buffalo, against pretty much every team they played this year. Last week, Stroud couldn't get to 100 pass yards. So I don't really trust this offense.

[01:27:28]

Colts to 11 and a half. And the under up to 52 and a half. The only way I lose that is if Anthony Richardson just loses his mind and throws a pick six and has a fumble. I haven't liked what I've seen from him at all. It hasn't seemed like he's ready to be an efficient starting quarterback yet. The thing that made him special was the running, which they seem a little more hesitant for him to do now. Now it's like, well, what is this then? Because we were being promised this Cam Newton, Josh Allen, physical threat who's going to run the ball, and now they're seemingly afraid to do that. This is your favorite team. But don't you feel like they have them on the shackles, basically?

[01:28:11]

We were sitting in the movie theater in the Spotify office on Sunday, and at one point, Danny Kelly turned around and said, Are you still a believer? I'm like, Yes, but I have to be a little quieter about my belief now. It's harder for me to put my chest out and say, We got the QB1 in the draft because obviously, Stroud has been as good as he's been You know what? I'm still happy they took him over Levis because that was basically the option.

[01:28:34]

I'm going to say that. It's a low bar to clear.

[01:28:37]

It's a low bar to clear. But you had to take the swing, and I'm still not out yet.

[01:28:41]

Well, they're in a weird spot because they're four and three in a conference that's not that good.

[01:28:46]

With a defense that stinks.

[01:28:48]

Right. But I like your receiver weapons, and it seems like whoever's in the game can run the ball. I don't know. I'm going to mark this one. I don't think these two teams can get to... Their first game was 56 points. That was with Nico Collins and with Richardson hitting some bombs. I don't see that happening again. I'm going to mark that one down. Then the Chiefs Riders game is a stay away to me as much as I want to be like, Oh, they talk shit to my homes. I just think those home teams getting that many points, the history of that is a nightmare with thesis. We have the Browns in that situation, and we have the Raiders. I think the Raiders are awful. To me, that's an automatic no play.

[01:29:35]

It's probably a stay away division game, lying that high. I am tempted a little bit, though, with the Chiefs, with the way they've played the last two weeks. They've had double-digit wins in each of those games. I agree with you. That Mahomes narrative thing is a factor. I'm sure that he's looking for anything. Last week, look how they're underdogs. I know we had the two interceptions, but he was treating that game with the way he was running. That was a big game. That The Raiders team, they're just waiting to... They've already collapsed. They're just waiting to collapse more. They traded their best wide receiver. They've got nothing to look forward to. They have no players.

[01:30:10]

They can't run the ball or stop the run.

[01:30:12]

And they turn it over. Their defense isn't good. Their defense was good last year when they played the Chiefs and upset them. Their defense this year is like a bottom five unit. So if I had to pick a side, I would pick the Chiefs, but I'm with you. I like to stay away when it's a division game, that line that high.

[01:30:26]

So if I gave you this eight-point tease, which is even money on FanDuel, Ravens minus nine and a half, lions minus 10 and a half, and Chiefs minus nine and a half, and you could tease all those under three and all them have to cover, who would you be the most worried about? Ravens, lines, or Chiefs?

[01:30:41]

It has to be the Ravens. The first game With Jameis?

[01:30:46]

Well, which could go either way.

[01:30:48]

Right, but you're introducing.

[01:30:50]

I think that Brown's defense has been okay. I agree. The problem is the Ravens are rushing for 200 plus yards a game. Betting against Jameis seems smart.

[01:31:05]

The Ravens have given up the most 20 plus yard plays in the league. If Jameis wants to get in there and lob some balls up, see what happens, could get dicey. This feels like the game that we look late in the fourth quarter and you're looking at it and you're like, Wait, Baltimore's up three with the ball. I know.

[01:31:21]

It seems too easy. I think that teases the stay away. But I looked at it long and hard. Dolphins against the Cardinals with Tua coming back. The Dolphins actually played pretty well last week, considering they don't have a quarterback. I thought their defense kept them hanging around. But this to me seems like an all-time zigzag stay away.

[01:31:42]

100%. I want no part of this game. I want no part of the game. I agree.

[01:31:46]

I don't know what to expect. Arizona might be a no bet team for me now. I don't know how the Chargers didn't beat them. I don't even really know what the Cardinals did. Then you guys have a minute to talk me into the Cowboys plus four and a half against the 49ers. Go.

[01:32:02]

I'm not doing it. I like the other side. This Cowboys defense stinks. I don't care who's out for the 49ers. Give me Kyle Shanahan against the Cowboys defense that probably still won't have Micah Parsons that can't stop anybody. I like the Niners in that. I'm not a believer in this Cowboys team at all. I think the Niners actually bounce back in that game.

[01:32:21]

I've been a Dak guy forever, but there's one team he has never solved, and it's the Niners. Their defense, no matter who the coordinator was, that personnel, like Warner's ability to take away the middle of the field has really, I think, hurt Dak, and he's always had problems in that matchup. That's what scares me the most, more than any of the Niners stuff. I mean, offensively, they look a mess. You guys talked about on the Ringer NFL show, all yaq now. It's no more easy button plays for Purdy to just get guys in space and just dominate. The Monstars are no longer, but I don't know.

[01:32:53]

It's a must win for the Niners, too. They'd be three and five. Well, Dallas isn't good. I mean, The reason to pick the Niners over everything else is I just don't think Dallas is good. But I also don't know who I'm scared of of Niners if Debo doesn't play. So now it's just like, I got to stop George Kittle.

[01:33:13]

This feels like all the nerds after this game are like, Oh, my God, Kyle Shanaher, look at what he did on this run play. Oh, my God, he had this linebacker in a blender, that type of game.

[01:33:23]

The Roni Bell game somehow.

[01:33:26]

Stay away. Okay, let's go to the picks that I actually liked. You guys can feel free to throw your body in front of any of these. First of all, before I do that, what's your favorite other than the Bills?

[01:33:39]

I like the bears.

[01:33:40]

I have them. They're coming up. What's your favorite?

[01:33:44]

I'm going to go with the Jacks.

[01:33:47]

Wow.

[01:33:48]

Yeah, I hate it. I hate having a part of it. But give me... Yeah, Jacksonville. I'm going to hate this on Sunday.

[01:33:54]

At least it's not a London game. You won't feel terrible until 2 o'clock Eastern time.

[01:33:58]

You and Rahim just cannot You just can't. Austin Gale is the worst. He was like, Deshawn's last fan. No, this is the week. I think he can get it going.

[01:34:07]

He needed Deshawn just keep playing so he could have the content on Twitter where he could say Deshawn is the worst quarterback in the history of football. He just would not give up on him.

[01:34:15]

Okay, my first favorite game, Sarshield, the bangles down to minus one and a half against the Eagles.

[01:34:22]

Okay.

[01:34:23]

I don't think you can stop passing offenses. I mean, you, you're on the Eagles. I just don't think you're going to be able to to stop Higgins and Burrow and Chase. I think that Tampa game a couple of weeks ago was more of a snapshot for who you are on defense.

[01:34:41]

It could be. Now, the last two weeks, they haven't allowed a countdown. I know they've played How did you play? They played bad offenses.

[01:34:46]

Bad offenses? You played Deshawn, you played Dane Dimes.

[01:34:49]

Listen, Dimes was carving up some defenses earlier in the season. No, it's true. This is a test for them. I will say their corners, though, have played really well when they were struggling against the box. A lot of it was the pass rush wasn't getting home. They had eight sacks last week against the Giants. Again, I know it's the Giants, but their corners, the rookie Quinian Mitchell and Darius Slay, have been having awesome seasons here. It's going to be a lot of one-on-one, I think, on the outside with those corners versus the bangles the receiver's, and can the Eagles' pass rush get home without blitzing? I actually took the Eagles this week. Now, I was against them last week, but I was on the Eagles this week because I think Saquon can have a monster game here against that bangles' defense. That's the fear.

[01:35:29]

Yeah. Yeah. Since I can see some bad defensive stats with them. They're actually higher on DBO than Philly is, but we're just staying to Bunde.

[01:35:37]

You want to guess how many points the Eagles have in the first quarter this year?

[01:35:41]

It's not many.

[01:35:43]

It's not any. Zero. They still have not scored in the first quarter. I mean, Kelen Moore. I don't know what to make of that.

[01:35:51]

I mean, the offense looks very similar to what it looked like last year. The passing game is a mess. If there's a reason to take the bangles, it's because the Eagles, they had 21 drop backs last week, and seven of them were a scramble or a sack. They throw goal ball stage, you're brown. There's literally nothing else with this entire passing game. So I understand that reason to take the bangles. I actually like the under in this game. I think both defenses are going to play pretty well, and it's going to be a little low scoring.

[01:36:17]

I was looking at my favorite bet on Fando, the first half game bet, and I thought I'd get more value on first half bangles win game, but it's only plus 130. It's not worth it.

[01:36:27]

Maybe Shiel should do the Cousin Sal special, do Bengals' first half, eagles's game, come back.

[01:36:32]

Maybe.

[01:36:32]

That is plus 7:50.

[01:36:34]

Lean into the- A little bit, a little sprinkle.

[01:36:38]

Where are you on Hertz mentally these days?

[01:36:40]

He hasn't played well. I mean, their passing game is a mess. He's turning down throws. They're playing like they did that 2021 when it was just run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, hit a couple of deep shots, and that's the offense, and they've got nothing else. So he's got to play better.

[01:36:55]

There's jokes about how they're like a service academy, just run, run, run. But even Navy and Army more interesting offenses than the Eagles do now.

[01:37:01]

My fear with taking the Bangos is their offensive lines banged up and your defensive line could just take over the game and Burrow would be running around for his life. But I think the Bangos can move the ball and throw on them. I think Burrow is 70% completion this year. He's either leading the league or second, which is basically the Tampa recipe of just the chains are moving, the ball's going, 6 yards here, 15, 6. They take the lead early, and then you're in a spot you don't want to be in if you're the Eagles.

[01:37:33]

Yeah, that absolutely could happen. I think you're right. The left tackle injury for the Bengals against the Eagles pass rush, can they get home? That'll probably determine the game.

[01:37:42]

The Bengals' run defense has been a little better since Rankins and Hill came back, the two defensive tackles, but they also played some bad run offensive. I'm not sure where I stand on Cincinnati run defense.

[01:37:53]

Yeah, they play the same two teams, the Giants and the Browns, the last two weeks, same two teams as the Eagles.

[01:37:58]

Are you ready to see the Bengals go three and five? That seems improbable to me.

[01:38:02]

Especially for someone like me who picked them to win the Super Bowl. I think I'm going to keep them.

[01:38:07]

I think I'm in the division. I heard all the warning flags.

[01:38:09]

I think I might keep that one. Next one is the bears, which it sounds like we all like. That's up to two and a half. I'm going to do the rare thing of if Daniel somehow plays, I almost feel like that bet should be scratched.

[01:38:22]

I agree with that.

[01:38:23]

I don't think that's fair to be stuck with that line if Daniel is playing, but it doesn't seem like he's going to play. I think I would have liked the bears anyway in this game. Their defense, the stats are pretty good. They're third on first down, seventh on third down. They're fifth yards per play, third turnovers. They're good in the Havoc stuff. I like that Havoc ranking. Then Caleb looked really good against some bad teams and some bad defenses. Guess who doesn't have a good defense? Washington. Whether Daniels plays or not, I think they can move the ball. He's got all three receivers. This feels like a get everyone Hope up in a real way, bears win, followed by their schedule gets harder.

[01:39:04]

Well, they've got the hardest remaining schedule in the NFL if you look at the betting markets and win totals. But my big... I don't know if I would like it if Daniels was playing, but Mariota, I think people are looking at that game last week, and Cliff Kingsbury created this quarterback-proof offense. It was the Carolina Panthers.

[01:39:20]

We've seen enough-They're by far the worst team of the week.

[01:39:23]

We've seen enough of Marcus Mariota over the years. I want a three-game sample of Marcus Mariota, and this offense is going to be trash. That's the reason this bear's defense, you mentioned it, they don't give up 20 points against good offenses. So against Marcus Mariota, I think after this game, we're being like, Wow, Jaden Daniels was a big reason why that commander's offense was good.

[01:39:42]

You lose all the explosive plays with Mariota. He's going to have a dumb turnover. And there's a reason he's been in the league for a long time and nobody's ever really been happy with the experience. He got benched when he was on the Netflix show.

[01:39:54]

Yeah, that was an amazing... He just left the show.

[01:39:57]

Yeah, he was like, I'm out, and I'm out on the show as well. What do you have to add?

[01:40:01]

This game for me, I wrote the least on it just because I don't have a strong opinion, but I don't really see the case for Washington. There's one thing that they've gained, and no team has gained more win probability from turnovers than the commanders this year. That tends to be fluky.

[01:40:16]

Yeah.

[01:40:17]

The bear's off the by, right? If we're going to see any imagination from this offense, which we have seen very little of thus far, maybe this is the spot we see it from Chicago because I still have major questions about their offense. Like you said, they beat up some of the worst defenses in the league.

[01:40:31]

It would be a horrific bear's loss. Like, wow, we just lost to Marcus Mariota, and our schedule is about to get harder. Conversely, Washington wins, they're fine. It's like, hey, our record is still awesome. We still have the NFC East. We still have control over it. We didn't have Daniels for this game. We're fine.

[01:40:49]

Yeah.

[01:40:50]

The commanders still have to play Philly and Dallas twice each. So the NFC East is going to be decided much later than this week for sure.

[01:40:57]

They have to play Philly twice, and they have the privilege of playing Dallas twice.

[01:41:01]

Not sure how Dallas gets any stops, but I'm still not... Dak has just dominated the NFC East in a way that I refuse to give up on them, stealing a bunch of division games and somehow sneaking in.

[01:41:11]

Falcons Bucks is my next one. I don't understand this line at all, and I do understand it, but I also don't. The Falcons, this line moved to Falcons minus two and a half. They looked awful last week in Seattle. Chris Godman and Mike Evans are no longer playing for the Bucks. We're skipping over this? Yeah. That was the whole reason they were successful. Bucky Irving is pretty good, too. But Baker had these two great receivers that he had real chemistry with and was just moving the ball left and right. In one game, both of them went down. I just picked up Jalen McMillan in two of my colleagues for big money, by the way. He's the new number one. He's 22 years old. Feels like a little must-win-ish for the Falcons. Coming off an awful loss. I get it. They can't rush a passer, but I just find it hard to believe they're not going to be able to beat the Bucs without any star receiver.

[01:42:05]

I've got the Falcon. I mean, you nailed it. I've got the Falcons. You watched that Bucs offense. It's not just like, Oh, they lost good play. That was the offense. If those two guys can't win one-on-one or create explosive plays or yards after the catch, I don't know, are they good enough to scheme stuff? And you lose both of them.

[01:42:19]

It's not like you lost one of them. You know what it's like if you had opening night for the Sixers and the Beat and Paul George didn't play?

[01:42:26]

Who's Yaba Celi? Who's going to be playing? Jalen McMillan is Yaba Celi.

[01:42:31]

Atlanta's offense, fifth passing. Tampa's D, 29th against the pass, 28th first down. Their defense isn't that good. They try to do a lot of gimmicks with the blitzes and stuff, which might work against cousins because the offensive line hasn't been great. But I just... First game, Atlanta stole it. So it was their revenge spot.

[01:42:54]

Kirk threw for 500 plus yards in that game. Right. And Tampa Bay's secondary has given up more explosives than anybody. Them and Baltimore are giving up the most explosives in the league.

[01:43:03]

Also, what's... Atlanta is... I'm looking up the standing.

[01:43:06]

I did tease Tampa for the record. Up to eight and a half. Oh, you did? Up to eight and a half.

[01:43:10]

Yeah. Atlanta is 4-3 and Tampa is 4-3. This game is for the division.

[01:43:15]

For the division in week eight?

[01:43:16]

If Atlanta wins, they're going to be two games up with the tiebreaker, and Tampa is not going to have their best receivers. Atlanta wins, this division is over. More amazing is that- New Orleans isn't coming back.

[01:43:25]

One of these teams might have five wins after week eight. What the fuck? It almost feels like this has to be a tie. But I mean, if Atlanta loses this game, that's embarrassing. You can't beat the Bucks without Mike Evans and Chris Godman. That's literally their whole team.

[01:43:40]

Yeah, is it a little rat-liney? I mean, I'm with you. I saw minus two and a half.

[01:43:44]

Atlanta lost by 20 to fucking Seattle last week. In Atlanta, they're four and three, but literally could be- Every game is going to be. One and six? Yeah.

[01:43:53]

Atlanta has had one game that wasn't down to the final possession, basically, or two games now with last week. Every other game is like two minutes to go. They're within six either way, and Kirk's got to lead a drive to try to win it or lose it. They got a couple home. They didn't get others home. But yeah, these division games at home, catching eight and a half in a tease. I love Tampa.

[01:44:13]

You love Tampa?

[01:44:14]

In a tease.

[01:44:15]

Can you name four Tampa receivers?

[01:44:18]

Do I get to count the running back? Jim McMillon. No.

[01:44:21]

Name four running. That's the thing, though. Who do they run in a four receiver set?

[01:44:24]

They're not going to. That's the one concern. They run a lot of 11 personnel. They don't They have three full receivers now, so they got to go a little heavier. But K. D. And big game this week.

[01:44:34]

This is young and experienced, youthful exuberance. We just got to keep them in the ringer fold. That's right. Trey Polmer is going to be pissed off.

[01:44:42]

He's going to get a big game for him.

[01:44:45]

Last one. I'm marking the Falcons down. If they lose that game, they should give up the team. By the way, Sheil, who? If they didn't take Pennex after having seen all the rookies, who should they have taken that would have had a huge impact for them at number 8.

[01:45:00]

Yeah, I'm trying to think of who was taking. I don't want to be a homer, but Quinian Mitchell would be looking very good as a corner in that secondary. Just look at the last three years, the guys they could have had. Oh my God. The last three or four years, they really could have built on the lines of scrimage very well. But yeah, that was one name that came to mind.

[01:45:19]

Byron Murphy, I know he got hurt, but I think he would have been really good for them, too.

[01:45:22]

Jared Verste. I mean, there were definitely good defensive players that they could have taken and added to that group.

[01:45:27]

One of the stories is that none of the defensive guys have really taken the leap.

[01:45:31]

But we knew that in the draft, right? Nobody was taken till pick 15. People were pretty down on it. But you're right. The cornerback that you got, the guy Detroit got, the D-back. Arnold, yeah. It seems like those have been the winners.

[01:45:46]

Yeah, there hasn't been one dominant guy yet. You're looking at the defensive rookie of the year, as I can tell.

[01:45:51]

Jared Verce is the favorite.

[01:45:53]

Verce was good last week.

[01:45:54]

He's been probably the guy. If you had to pick one guy, if they could redo it, that'd probably be the guy.

[01:45:59]

All right, last one that I really liked. I try not... Sorry, Kyle. Try not to bet against the Patriots. Kyle's sad.

[01:46:08]

You're playing seven with the Jets?

[01:46:10]

No, I'm not. I'm going to tease the Jets with the over down to 35 and a half. The over is 41 and a half. Tease the Jets to one. Over 35 and a half. The pats are a sneaky. The over under lines have not caught up to the team they have. Their defense sucks. It's awful. The quarterback actually makes some plays. May is pretty good. They're a garbage time threat. They're an end of the half, two-minute warning. They can actually get a field goal. They're not... Offense isn't terrible. It's also an all-time must-win for the Jets. Their season's over if they don't win this. They beat them already. The only fear would be a 24 to 3 type game, like what they had on the Thursday night. But this Pats team is going to be able to put up 14. So 35 and a half seems right. Is there any way that Pats actually win this game?

[01:47:04]

Wait, what's the teaser?

[01:47:05]

So Jets down to minus one. Minus one. The over to 35 and a half. I just need to get to 37 points. Jets can win 2017, and I win.

[01:47:13]

Is it a good sign that Devante Adams had to give a fiery postgame speech when he had been in New Jersey for three days after last week's game. Did you see this story? I did. So you have that. I mean, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong with the Jets. You mentioned it, the Drake may will push the ball downfield. The Jets defense has actually been the bigger story over their offense. They're 21st in defensive DVOA. The offense ranks exactly the same. 21st, you thought you were getting a mediocre offense with a great defense, and their defense isn't good.

[01:47:43]

But Rodgers basically said that. He's like, Our offense needs to take care of our defense. We need to score points, give them lead. He's basically saying, Our defense sucks, which I was surprised by. But as usual, Aaron Rodgers said something.

[01:47:59]

You shouldn't I think you're on the right side. I would be afraid to have any wager depending on the New York Jets with the way this-I don't think you understand, and nobody does because nobody cares about the Patriots, nor should they.

[01:48:11]

This was a pretty dramatic week in Patriots Nation.

[01:48:13]

I've been following.

[01:48:14]

The Mayo soft thing. First of all, they were so... We talked about it Sunday Night on the Pod, so I'm not going to react to that. They were so bad on Sunday Night and so poorly coached and just everything was mismanaged and they looked awful. Then the quotes after the game from him, which as usual, Mayo took no culpability for anything and just blames everybody else, says he soft, and that really went badly. And then Belichick said, Fuck it. And just started doing little sniper shots on the eight different shows he's on and just escalated the stakes. And there's a real conversation now in Massachusetts because God knows the media loves the stuff there. It's like, Can this guy be one and done? Would Kraft do this? I personally don't think he would. I I think he'll give him more time, but it's a fucking mess. The wide receiver room, they've had three different guys have complained publicly. No other team has this.

[01:49:08]

I feel like this is an under the radar huge story for week eight with everything you said, and I've been following it all week long. If they come out and just get blown out by 35 points- At home. At home, what are you doing after that with the head coach? Now, is there a chance that it's not as bad on the inside as it seems on the outside? And they come out and they play well, and some players is actually like Gerard Mayo, and they figure some things out. That's the other thing. Maybe you come out of this saying, oh, my gosh, everything last week was so overblown with the way they played in London and their competitive in this game. But they're a sneaky big story, I feel like, in this week.

[01:49:44]

Listen, the player podcasts are for the most part ridiculous. And player interviews, expert interviews, you always have to take with a grain of salt. I was shocked by how many people who talk or have platforms were like, wow, you don't call your team soft. That's never worked. That's never motivated anybody. That's the number one thing you can't do. People are pretty horrified by it. You try to walk it back the next day. He's like, I wasn't saying the team was soft. I was saying we played soft. It's like, no, you said the team was soft. That's actually what you did. It's one of many huge mistakes he's made. But they just seem really poorly prepared and poorly coached, which every year there's two teams. Like Carolina last year with Wrake, you knew something was way off. It's like something Monty Williams in the Pistons. It's like this seems off, something's wrong, and that's the vibe I'm getting from the pats. It just doesn't seem right. What do you see when you're watching?

[01:50:40]

Maybe they could try a different former linebacker as their head coach next year.

[01:50:44]

Mike Vrabel?

[01:50:45]

He is available, I believe. I think the offense is interesting early in the game. Then the second half offenses have not been as inspiring once they get off the script.

[01:50:57]

Once they try to establish the run, it's It was a disaster because they can't run the ball.

[01:51:01]

But the ones that I like, they were 31st in explosive pass rate the first five weeks with Perset. They're up to 15th the last few weeks.

[01:51:08]

Yeah, Kyle.

[01:51:09]

Hitting some big plays down the field. They finally hit some 10, 20 plus yard plays, and that's When you don't have a good, you've talked about this, when you don't have a good offense, try to hit some big plays and see what happens.

[01:51:19]

We had a Drew Bledso season. I think it was the second season. The same thing, couldn't run the ball. Team wasn't very good, and they were just like, Drew, air it out. He did, and it was It worked a little bit. He's just flinging the ball. They had Ben Coates that year. I have a feeling if they're actually going to try to win this game, which I would assume they'd want to because it's the Jets, that's it for the run game. They can't run the ball. The line sucks. I just generally like the over because I don't think they're going to be able to stop the Jets. The tackling linebackers, they've made history with how bad the tackling is. I've never seen anything like it. I think Brees Hall could have a big game. I like Jets Bills minus one with the over 35 and a half. All right, so we have four on the fence with Colts plus 11 and a half with the under 52 and a half in Houston. I'll let you guys vote on that. You like that one?

[01:52:11]

I like it. I like it, too.

[01:52:12]

Okay, so we'll add that.

[01:52:13]

Cardiac Colts.

[01:52:14]

Then Bills minus three in Seattle.

[01:52:17]

What are your thoughts? I'm completely passing on this game. I'm excited to watch it.

[01:52:22]

It's actually the game I'm most excited to watch. I like it. It's one of my fit, but listen, I thought the Bundo, we had a nice dinner last night. I thought he would come in, me by pick, but that's okay. Listen, you got to speak with whatever you're feeling at the time. I do like the Bills minus three at Seattle.

[01:52:37]

Well, maybe what I can do is do little half bets, or we could do a parlay with all three of those. Bills minus three, Jags plus seven and a half in the over, or maybe just Bills minus three with Jags plus seven and a half.

[01:52:54]

I do feel like Charlie at the wall, and it's always sunny, and I know that they filmed it right outside the office. I'm trying to keep track of all the teasers that have just thrown at me in the last 10 minutes.

[01:53:02]

What if we teased Jacks' bill up to... Or not teased, nudged it up to plus seven and a half so we get that breakdown buffer with Bills minus three, and it's a de Bundo-Shiel parlay?

[01:53:13]

All right, you're responsible for the Jacks part of that. Let's do it. All right, there you go.

[01:53:18]

All right, so we just looked this up. Bill's minus three, and then the Jags up to plus seven and a half. That parlay is plus 179. I think we'll sprinkle something on that, too. I also need an anytime shutdown score, preferably a tight end, because Fandil is running a very cool, breakdown bonus. What are we getting for that one, Kyle? 30% profit boost.

[01:53:42]

It has to be a tight end.

[01:53:43]

Does it have to be a tight end? No.

[01:53:46]

I was going to say Kate Otton is looking real good this weekend. Kate Otton. For the Bucks. Yeah. Tucker Kraft? Somebody's got to score. Oh, my God. We're against.

[01:53:53]

Emotional hedge.

[01:53:54]

No, we're not emotionally hedging with Tucker Kraft.

[01:53:56]

I do Brian Thomas often, so maybe he He's got a score for the Jags. You got Kate- The only reliable receiver.

[01:54:03]

Kate Otton plus 180 anytime scorer?

[01:54:07]

Sure. I love it. Yeah, somebody's got to score for the Bucks. They will eventually get points in the game, right?

[01:54:13]

All right.

[01:54:13]

Hopefully.

[01:54:14]

What a performance by you. Kate Otton in the Jags just coming in on fire. What a performance.

[01:54:18]

This is the NFL.

[01:54:20]

We're definitely doing Colts Under. Okay. We're going to do Million Dollar Picks in a second, but first we're going to do Who's Delivering? Presented by Uber Eats, where we break down the NFL players who have delivered so far this season, from household names to out-of-nowhere surprises. No surprise that Lamar Jackson has been delivering. I feel like he has the MVP in his hands now, right? Who would you even put against him at this point?

[01:54:46]

No, he's the favorite. He's never played better. Their offense has been so much better than any other offense in the NFL. It's crazy. He's coming off an MVP, and he's playing better than he did last season.

[01:54:55]

Have you seen the Steven Ruiz updated QB rankings? No. There's a new number one. Lamar Jackson. He wasn't number one before? Mahomes has had the number one spot for, I think, a few years now.

[01:55:06]

Mahomes has took the year off. He's on sabbatical.

[01:55:08]

And yet underfeared.

[01:55:09]

Six touch downs, eight picks. No, I'm kidding. Mahomes, don't listen to me. Five years from now, he's going to come back to haunt me. Another one who's delivered, the Derrick Henry Trade/How Awesome He's Been. It's just fun to watch those dudes together. Any receiver? I would have said Nico Collins here, but now that Nico- I was going to say Mike Evans, but now he's So all the receivers who have been delivering are basically out?

[01:55:32]

Yeah.

[01:55:33]

I feel like St. Brown could get going with no Jamison Williams for two games. He's been right on the cusp of having an awesome game, but that could be one.

[01:55:43]

Brian Thomas Jr.

[01:55:44]

Brian Thomas Jr. Another The other one who's been over for a couple of touch downs, too. What's your favorite defense for delivering?

[01:55:50]

My favorite? It's got to be the Vikings, right? Yeah. With Brian Flores. They've had the best defense in the NFL, even though their team isn't great. I feel like their coaching has been unbelievable.

[01:56:00]

Yeah. I'm always scared to go against them now. I didn't even feel good taking the lines against them this week, but it did it. Pittsburgh's defense has been pretty good, too.

[01:56:10]

Pittsburgh has been good. I think this is the year of Spagnola.

[01:56:13]

Kc's defense. All right. That was Who's Delivering, presented by Uber Eats. Where you can get the best deals on game day food all season long. We didn't talk about a kicker who's delivering.

[01:56:24]

Brandon Aubrey, the kicker.

[01:56:25]

Aubrey is delivering for society, too.

[01:56:26]

Aubrey is just- Jury duty. Delivering all over the place. Uber Eats, the official on-demand delivery partner in the NFL. Order now. All right, Kyle, it's time. The Million Dollar Picks for Week 8. Coming off a $580,000 windfall last week. That really should have been more. We're up 163,000 for the year, mainly because I don't bet on Deshaun Watson do some of the stuff your buddy Austin Gill does on paper chasers. I'm glad we came up with a name, finally, for the pod. It's a good name. I've got some fun about these. We had a bunch of trademark violations before we got to paper chasers. Million dollar Picks, Week 8. We all love the bears minus two and a half against Marcus Marriota and Washington. Do we put the caveat that if Daniels plays, this is a no bet or do we just ride it?

[01:57:12]

I would be shocked if Daniels plays.

[01:57:14]

Okay, let's just ride it. You know what? We're gambling. Let's go. Bear's minus two and a half. Washington doesn't need this game. This is the last easy bears game before it gets hard. Washington D is terrible. The bears can move the ball on them. That's our first one. Falcons minus two and a half against the depleted Bucks. The bundle doesn't like it, but you like the Bucks and the T's a little bit, even though you could have named three receivers on the team. Sheil and I like the Falcons in a bounce back. Minus two and a half. No Mike Evans, no Chris Godwin just played on a Monday night. These teams have already played. This feels like Atlanta gets their team right. That's two. The Bengals minus one and a half against the Philadelphia Eagles. Sheil doesn't like this one. The bundle likes it.Dubundo likes it. Yeah, a little bit.

[01:58:00]

You mentioned Havoc. I'm a little scared because the Bengals do not create much.

[01:58:04]

They do not create much Havoc. The Havoc might be on the Philadelphia sideline with people throwing stuff. I just think we saw this game a few weeks ago, a version of it with Tampa, where they just threw on Philly the whole game. Philly's defense wore down. The bangles, I think, can do that again. I don't think the bangles are going three and five. So that's three. We're going to put $200,000 on each of those. We are also putting $200,000 on the Jets, teased down to minus one with the over of down to 35 and a half because Jake May can get cheap points. I think the Jets win. If the Jets lose this game, this becomes one of the dark moments in Jets history. They lose this dysfunctional Pats team that's turning on the coach? Yeah. Come on. We all like this one. Another tease. Colts up to 11 and a half against Houston. They've already played. The Under up to 52 and a half. 53 points to beat this. No Nico Collins.

[01:59:02]

Yeah, he's dominated the Colts in this head-to-head.

[01:59:04]

The fear would be the Anthony Richardson pick six to start the first quarter. It's all of a sudden it's seven-nothing. They're like, Oh, my God. All right. Then last but not least, we're doing a little 100K on a de Bundo-Shiel Parley. She'll love the Bills minus three against Seattle. De Bundo likes the Jags. We're going to bring them up to plus seven and a half. That is plus 179 on FanDuel. Actually, we'll put 120K on that so to get that over 200. Then last but not least, FanDuel's 30% breakdown scoring boost.

[01:59:38]

You went on Otton? I can't wait. This is all I'm going to be watching.

[01:59:40]

K-dot plus 180.

[01:59:41]

I'm going to have to have a screen on Falcon's Bucks now for something.

[01:59:44]

We'll throw 25K on that just to respect ourselves. Shio Capate, we can hear you on the Ringer NFL show. The Bunder, you're on the Ringer gambling show. You pop on Philly special from time to time, right?

[01:59:55]

We had a short-lived Philly's playoff run to reminisce.

[01:59:58]

I didn't have a playoff run at all, so I'm jealous. Good to see you guys. You, too. See you, too. All right, that's it for the podcast. Thanks to Waz and Mahoney and CR and Capatia and Dabunda and Kyle Creighton and Steve Sardee for producing as well. That's it for the two-part pod. I will see you on Sunday unless I'm dead of an illness. Must be 21 plus in President Select States for Kansas, an affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus in President DC. Gambling problem, call 100 Gambler or visit rg-help. Com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg. Org/chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp. Org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma. Org, or call 800-327-5050 for 24-7 support, Massachusetts, or call 1877-8 Hope, NY, or text Hope, NY, in New.