Where Colin was right and wrong
2-time NBA Champion Kenny "The Jet" Smith joins the show to breakdown the all of the 2nd round series of the NBA playoffs
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All right, here we go. It's our two live in Los Angeles. It is the Hurd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports TRADIERO FS one. Good to be here, Jmac. Kenny Smith stopping by today. I just got into his book. I'm about fifty six percent done in his book. He's got great Barkley stories. He and Barkley early on. Interesting Michael Jordan's stories too. Kenny Smith's got Michael Jordan's trade.
Jordan.
It's only dimly familiar with his game. Yeah, every time I say Lebron is the best player in NBA, his sound, the show the Lebron sick of fans come after.
We're too young.
You didn't see Jordan j Mack.
These people don't know, like, okay, NBA fans or something else. Got the line tonight for the Lakers Warriors.
What is it?
I think I saw three earlier Lakers favored by three.
Who you taking?
I would take the Warriors, but I think it's listen if fits is the dynasty ending tonight?
Hmmm, down to two and a half yind the desert.
The wise guys are betting the Warriors tonight. How many times can you last series?
Had him buried?
Last year in the playoffs, had them buried. These are the moments they usually had, this sort of reservoir. They just got a last punch.
Don't They appear to lack urgency At times you're watching them Game three, You're like, they're just out there playing like playground basketball, really loose. And then this is not a game where you're gonna be loose. This is gonna be one of those games. And by the way, they announced the referee for tonight's game, this is a massive brush fire on the internet right now. Scott Foster, captain of the ref shows. Chris Paul notoriously could never win a game with Scott.
He was good.
He's been good with Steph, but he's also been very good for home teams. Laker fans have all the numbers. It's a little over the top. Scott by my buddy, who's going season ticket holder, is like nervous about the game because of Scott Foster.
People are listen.
It's the NBA playoffs, man, people are fired up. And the numbers, the ratings, Colin have been massive.
You got Warrior fans stop arguing about free throws. When you shoot threes, you don't create contact. The Warriors were last in the league in free throw attempts. The Lakers were first in the league. Why not because of the Lakers because they can't shoot. So the Lakers have to go to the basket to get points because they don't have any shooters. If you put Klay Thompson on the Lakers, they'd be about the tenth highest. And if you put Anthony Davis on the Warriors, these teams will be much closer on free throws. So that's why the Warriors don't get to the free throw line. So now the disparity sometimes is but when you have the best and the worst at anything, the disparity is gonna be significant.
Yeah, Draymond Green, your guy rough. Game three, Colin Hey is a big one for him, big one for his podcast YouTube all right, Colin right, Colin wrong?
On a Monday, here we go.
Where Colin was right.
I've been saying this in the last week or two. This is not Lebron's team. This is Anthony Davis's team. When he plays great, they always win. When Lebron plays very effectively, they can still get blown out. Saturday, Ad was eleven of twelve at the line, thirteen rebounds, four or five blocks, twenty five point, seventy percent field goal percentage. This this is AD's team. When he is dominant and efficient, they win the games, often by blowout.
Where Colin was raw?
What year is it twenty fourteen? The hell's going on with James Harden?
I think you know I.
Said he's a role player most of this year. This is the best version of James Harden in his career in the playoffs. Guy's been unbelievable. He's got just the right amount of alpha. He's fearless, and he's not getting to the free throw line. If you know his career, he was a guy that got to the free throw line to score his points.
He's not really getting to the free throw line.
It feels like MAXI will be in this role more so next year. He's an ascending young guy in Harden's like, Hey, I'm the Vet, I'm gonna take it over. But I did not see this coming.
Where Colin was right.
The Celtics lose another close game. Deep in the emotional psyche of the Celtics, there is self doubt, end of regulation, end of overtime. Why can't they get the ball to the right players. Marcus Smart's an excellent player. Everybody would love to have him, but he should be a fourth option on this team.
Late.
It should go Tatum, Jalen Brown, even a Brompton, a white somebody that's a shooter. Can't Marcus Smart continually getting the shot. He's known as a defensive stopper.
Where Colin was raw.
I think once Chris Paul got hurt, I thought Phoenix was done. Now they've even the series. I didn't know Devin Booker would become the greatest player in the history of the world shooting seventy nine percent from the field. They have no depth. I don't think now they can win this series with Chris Paul being out. But I will say Devin Booker and Kevin Durant are an excellent tandem. Neither needs the ball in their hands, although Booker at times can have it, and both can give you thirty five points.
Where Colin was right, I didn't.
Think the Knicks would win a playoff series, but they're being undone unraveled here in the second series, and that's what Jimmy Butler nodded one hundred percent in the heat having four undrafted players. The bottom line is they're an effort team, and effort wins you a lot of games in the regular season. It doesn't win you a ton of playoff games because everybody plays hard. Julius Randall is a three or maybe a four on a championship team. These guys need him as a two. I love Jalen Brunts, I love their size and their length, but the bottom line is Julius Randall in the playoffs is a fifteen to sixteen point a game guy.
He can't be here. Two.
Where Colin was wrong.
The Lakers are giving a much much better effort than I thought they would. They're the opposite of the Warriors stylistically, but I'll be honest, they have nineteen blocks in the series. They're giving Golden State nothing around the rim. De Lo was very effective in Game three Klay Thompson's been totally hot and cold and Darvin Ham. You gotta give this rookie defensive head coach credit.
Darvin Ham.
It was his chest move.
He made the right moves. Two of the three games.
The Lakers defense has shut this Warrior team down.
Where Colin was right.
The over unders came out last week and the Jets was nine and a half.
That's moral line. That's kind of in line with my thinking.
They're going to be a nine or a ten win team, not eleven, not twelve, not thirteen. Listen, Aaron Rodgers' history is like Tom Brady. He doesn't like Lebron. He doesn't love young guys. He wants veteran guys around him. In the Jets offense, reyes Hall's a kid. They're young receivers or kids. They're o lines, got some youth. I don't know if they have a great coach or not. We have to wait and see. Their offensive line should be better than next year because it has to be healthier, but it's still a little uneven and not great. The Jets in terms of over and under, feel about nine. Nine and a half to me is the right number. Everybody's got him in the Super Bowl, and I think that's too much rose colored optimism, rose colored glasses. Colin Wright, Colin wrong on a Monday. Kenny Smith is around the corner. Got a new book out of course, he's on with Shack and Charles and the great Ernie Johnson, so he'll be coming around the corner. So tonight, Warriors Lakers? Who do you got?
I'll go Warriors one seventeen to one ten? Little high scoring. Can I give Darvin Hampson props? I forgot because we bashed him last week?
We no want to know?
How about the move will I bashed him? How about the move of Jared Vanderbilt onto Draymond Green. Draymond is the primary screener, so now you can't scream with Draymond because you're gonna put Vanderbilt, your best defender on Curry. It was a stroke of genius from him and it really worked. Also, the Lonnie Walker move, I've been calling for him for months on the show. You know, I love Lonnie Walker. He plays him and Walker was like a a like an injection into that offense. They look spry, they're faster on the wing. We're getting close. If the Lakers pull this off, Colin Lebron back to the finals.
Well, time out, time out, he's got to be Denver.
You're right, he's got to be Denver.
Whoever wins this series, just a heads up, what's gonna happen in a week. The Warriors are old, the Lakers two stars are older and a little brittle, So you're gonna come off Lakers Warriors is gonna be a If the Warriors win tonight, it's probably going six to seven. So seven seven an exhaustive series, exhausting. If Denver wins the next two games, I think they will, they're gonna go home and wait four or five days, fully rested for an old team to show up, Warriors or Lakers in high altitude. So just know right now the Denver Nuggets are gonna have a one to zero series lead in the Western Conference Finals. They're either getting an old and by the way, Golden State. If you go look at their track record in game one, they feel it out home or away. It's a feel out game for this.
They lost game one of the Kings, and they lost Game one.
To the Lakers.
Yeah, that's a good point.
So they tend to be a feel out team. Remember last year's Celtics. They kind of feel you out early. So Denver is probably gonna get a sense of who they want to prepare for. And the Lakers with Lebron playing back to back, you know, they're only one day off. Then they would go to Denver. Remember Denver's like seven thousand feet wah wait, I.
Gotta ask, are you feeling shaken it all in your Denver confidence? Are you wavering it all?
No?
I'm about the moves Monty Williams made. I Listen, these coaches have really delivered. Monty said, Tory Craig and whoever, Wayne Wright and these guys like you're coming off, We're just gonna go with guards and sham it.
Yeah.
Four threes in the fourth quarter. Yeah, I mean he was like a d NP coach's decision.
Earlier in the series.
So what wins in the regular season doesn't win in the postseason. So Manti Williams said, our bench get small and crank up the three.
Forty two points from their bench. And by the way, Jack Landale, who we mentioned last week, he looked better than Aytan yesterday, did he not?
He reminds me of Logan Paul If Logan Paul is six ' eleven energy.
He's not backing down from Jokic. He's like going at him, and Aton kind of doesn't want to smoke. I just loving the basketball man. I'm so good.
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In all my years of broadcasting, two pre and postgame shows stand out above the rest. One of them is the one here at Fox on Sundays during the football season. The other is Inside the NBA on TNT. It's often better than the games and the adult on that set Ernie and Kenny Smith. The Jet two titles got a new book called Stories of People Who Made Me.
I'm over halfway through it. It's got it.
There's a lot of stories in this what I found fascinating. Let's start with the Barkley story. So I love Charles, but I remember Charles as a player. He could be inappropriate. He was very emotional. It was like Draymond Green with a jumper that we had. You had all sorts of stuff, and you initially would not bow down to Charles. You held him kind of accountable on his words and his actions. And I want you to talk a little bit about that because you're right about it.
Well, you know, first thanks for having me, and you know it's it's just a great for me.
It was a therapeutic thing.
But at the same time, you know, I looked at it and I said, man, I've had some I've been blessed to be around some great people. So it's a tell all book, but it's about all the great things I learned from them. So instead of a chapter Colin, it's like each chapter is named after Charles or Dean Smith or Bill Russell, you know great businessmen that I met that I just didn't really. I thought it was commonplace to be around this many great people, and then I realized it wasn't.
So I wanted people at.
The end of this to go man, and I feel better about myself after I read this.
And I learned.
Man, That's why that was successful for me, because here's what champions do, and I wanted to inflex that. And in Charles is like he I think he just brought the voice to sports media like that hadn't been before. And when I say the voice, I'm talking about the voice of like political voice, a social conscious voice that really hadn't been there since Muhammad Ali.
And he brought that to me because most of the.
Time people just ask me about, hey, what the game is, but now they'll ask me about everything under the sun.
And we do that even on our basketball show.
Yeah, you have a story about Michael Jordan. You were both coached by the great, legendary Dean Smith, and you talk about a story at two in the morning, and I want you to share that with the audience.
Well, with with with Michael, you know, we with happened at the University of North Carolina. When you're on the road, you know, with as a freshman, you always room with an upper classman. So I would either room with him with Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan, or Bus Paterson on every road trip. And so at night you just sit and you talk about your dreams and your aspirations and so all of.
The things that you've learned or want to be.
So you hear a nineteen year old Michael Jordan, you know, talking to a seventeen year old Kenny Smith, and so you know, we imagined the aspirations that we both had, you know, and so for me learning knowing that those things that he was saying at nineteen would be so profound to what it is today that I would tell my twenty year old and twenty five year old kids, like this is what you need to be to be successful in life or being a champion. It's just astounding. So that he knew those things at nineteen.
Yeah, you know, when you look at your life from Queens and then you go to the Carolina in this this legacy with Dean Smith, you gave up. You could have played more, and you decided, I'm gonna pivot to broadcasting. You're on a set with the most outspoken guy Barkley, Uh one of the funnier guys Shack the great Ernie Johnson. One of the things I like about your show is, and I've been on shows kind of like this, pre and postgame shows, it looks like you're just making it up as you go. And I know there's some production in it, but how much of it's just We're like I I mean, I listen, I saw pictures of you the other day, and I'm very proud of what anyway, So the point being is they're giving you, They're giving you crap about those pictures, and I'm thinking, Oh, they're gonna give Kenny a lot of smoke because of that.
Is it planned? Is it not planned?
Well, we're unscripted, you know. Honestly, we're unscripted.
And I think the one thing that when we say unscripted, they're on production and is production meeting. They do a great job of producing the show, but at the same time of producing the show, you have to have your talent be talented. Like the great thing Smith once said to me one time, Well, yeah, he asked him, what you think you're a good coach.
He's like, yeah, I'm a great coach.
I could draw a play up for the two guards and set the pick for the power forward, throw it inside to the power forward, and that's when recruiting takes over.
So you know, that's what happens with us.
It is a point in the show that recruiting has to take over and you have to trust that we're good enough to get it done. And I think that there's nothing that's gonna happen on a basketball court that Charles myself a shack haven't seen her or been part of. So we're always gonna have something that covers it. And I never know what Charles is gonna say. He never knows what I'm gonna say.
Or do.
But the one thing we do, Colin, we listen. We listen to each other, and we don't have preconceived notes that we have to say, oh, I got to get this point.
No, if you say something great, we're gonna acknowledge it.
You say something stupid, we're gonna cut you off right in the middle of it.
Right now.
You played You know this well because you've got a couple of titles with the Rockets. And what happens with great teams is they age. Sometimes management moves off players. Sometimes you have to bridge a gap between the young guys and the old guys. So when I watch your Rockets team and the Warriors team, you've been there, you win titles. You're getting a little long in the tooth. Management wants to get cheaper and get young guys in. There's that little battle, and all year long, I feel like the Warriors have been trying to bridge the gap young guys and old guys, and here we are in the playoffs and they don't trust the young guys again. So let me ask you, are you surprised I don't think the Warriors are a championship team this year, do you.
I think they have the ability to be a championship team only because you know.
They have the the the.
Experience obviously, but they're playing against Lebron who has experience as well. Because you know, when they was like Sacramento Kings are gonna be there, I was like, not in a game seven. And it's like, why you know these young guys don't have any idea that they're in a game seven. I'm like, yes they do. When you when the first time you're driving a car for one hundred miles an hour, you go, this is a little faster, Like, oh my gosh, I know this is different, Like it's a little different, and so that experience makes you calm, and so you know that calmness that Steph Curry has, that calmness that you know Clay plays with.
It does allow you to get through series.
Now, how far can it go is going to be dictated on the supporting cast of guys who can take you through holes the knights that you don't have it? So, can can Kaminga come in and give you a fifteen rebound game with eleven points? Can Looney give you a twenty two rebound game to get you through the hole? On the nights when you're nine for twenty one and that night they couldn't. So that's the difference between your youth and your and your experience meeting in the middle.
Kenny Smith joining at the new book out Talk of Champions. Let show it again. Stories of the People who made Me. It's released tomorrow. All sorts of good stuff. Barkley stories, MJ stories, Shack stories, Dean Smith's stuff. I'm about halfway through it. It's fantastic. A lot to learn here a memoir. So I said this earlier on Today's show. The one thing about the sixers is Doc Rivers is an alpha. You know Doc Harden's and Alpha and beads in Alpha Maxie is. I think the Celtics are better constructed, but there's so much self doubt when I watch him. Harden, James Harden still thinks he's the best basketball player in the world every time the ball's in his hands, and there's something to say for that. In the playoffs, he's a shot maker and he wants the shot. Aren't you a little worried that this Celtics team with these core five and six guys, Kenny, We're in your five or six of this and I'm still at the end of the shot clock at the end of games.
I don't trust him. Isn't that concerning?
Well, let's start here though.
You know, arguably Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown has been the winning is duo in in in basketball the last six years. Those guys have been the Eastern Conference finals multiple times, They've been to the NBA Finals. Uh, they are the winning is duo within the last six years by far. So the only the only caveat to the equation is now new coaching. So you know, he have a guy who was there before you know this is their third coach with with that much success, right, you know, Brad Stevens in there, then he moves on. Then you get imy at Doka, he moves on, and now you have much Now you have another coach.
So the only.
Continent has been these two guys have gotten his team's there. You've had Kyrie Irvin there, You've had other you had Isaiah Thomas there at the point guard position.
But the two costs, these are the.
Winning its duo man, and I don't put anything by them. I believe in the Celtics because I believe in those two guys more than anything. So I still have the Celtics moving on because of those two guys have not let me down in the last six years.
Can you be a superstar like Anthony Davis and be and play fifty five games a year?
What do you make of that?
I mean? Is that?
Is that the new load management era, which I don't love. Where do you classify a d in the superstar pantheon of all those great players?
Well, no, he is a superstar, you know, and in the true sense of the word.
You know.
The amount of games now, honestly, eighty two games is too many to play.
Honestly, I played eighty two in my back and my knees.
You see the way I run to the board, that's from eighty two games Brothers too Many?
Man, my body is. Your body's not built to that.
The only thing that I always find interesting with AD is, like you know, us taking in music.
If you watch it, you go to an Usher concert and you.
See the guy and he's dancing on skates and he's hitting every note. And then you that's on Monday, and you go to that show on Wednesday and he falls on his skates and he's not hitting it. You'd be like, wait a minute, I literally just saw him hit every note.
He's like, what are you talking about?
So for me, when I watch Anthony Davis, I'm always surprised that he has games where he doesn't hit the notes. And that's incredible for a guy who every single night has an advantage. He's the most skilled big he's gonna be the most athletic at certain times, he's gonna have so many different things. And at times if you and especially in a series, Colin, when you play against a guy on Monday and then you play against Wednesday, you have the same advantage. That's why a lot of guys you should never pay a player off of a series, because yes, he has an advantage against that guy, and he might not have it against the other.
Eighteen teams made the playoffs.
So like you always, I look at him and go, man, he has the advantage on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but not Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. That doesn't make sense to me. That's the part that never makes sense to me.
Yeah.
Kenny Smith, two time champ. Inside the NBA on TNT A must watch show Shack Charles Ernie and Kenny. It's a memoir, talk of champion, stories of the people who made me just a class guy, and you have been your entire career. I saw him at the airport in LA a couple of weeks ago, and I thought, don't get don't getting away of the jet.
Baby.
He still moves fast, he's rushing to a plane. Don't getting away of the jet. Great senior man, appreciate it.
Thanks a lot, brother, see you let it.
Thanks for having me all right, Kenny Smith, good guy. I'm so fired up for tonight and probably wants to go out.
It's like, Nope, clarity, No, cocktail night, Gotta see, gotta see the game.
I'm up for that responsibility.
Tough to have fire takes when you're not clear eyed, right, It's a little difficult.
It is. It's unfortunate. Playoffs are just getting the way mark Such is life.
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Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller with me and a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey.
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Saturday, It's a showcase of some of MLB's biggest stars, as Manny Machado leads the Padres against rival Mookie Betts and the Dodgers or the defending world champion Astro's Battle TI. I'm Anderson in the White Sox Saturday at seven eastern, four Pacific on Fox.
By the way, you just had a very interesting nugget here. I mean I like the Warriors tonight by about seven six or seven points. You said you like the Warriors tonight. So j Mack's got an interesting nugget.
So this is courtesy of you know, Marcus Thompson, of course, the athletic.
He's very good.
He's very close with Curry. I think he did a book with him. In the last eight times in the playoffs, the Warriors have lost a playoff game by fifteen or more, they've won the following game. And now Game six at home against the Kings they lose by nineteen. Bounce back with the win last year against the Celtics, they lose Game three big in the finals, bounced back Game four. They got blasted Saturday night by thirty. Do they bounce back and win game four? Now, if there's anyone that's gonna end that streak, it's gotta be Lebron James, right.
Ah, oh, the drama. Jay Mack with the News, turn.
On the News.
This is the Herd Line.
So Steve Kerr has spoken with the media about that blowout loss. He talked about the second quarter. I don't know if you remember this. The Warriors were up forty to twenty nine in the second quarter.
They played really well.
Mostes Moody hit a three and there's all these groans like, oh my gosh, it's one of those days. And the Warriors just fell apart after that, just threw the ball around sloppy. Here's Steve Kerr about what happened that.
Point from in the mid second quarter. You know, we had control of the game, we were in pretty good shape, and that's when we lost, you know, lost our poise. I think we might have had four technicals in the first half and twelve turnovers at halftime. So you know, you're on the road, You're going against a great team on a great defensive team in particular, and you know, you know the crowd is going to be into it. Got to be got to be more poised than we were.
Yeah, they just fell apart.
Draymond got all feisty with the reps and people. You know, it is interesting the difference between the regular season and postseason. The Knicks in the regular season effort, team hit the ceiling. The Warriors could not win a road game in the regular season. Go to Sacramento twice and win. So this is a classic example of especially for quality teams like Miami, their culture, Golden State, their culture, be very careful about doubting them. Talent has real ceilings. We've seen Cleveland fall apart. Sacramento can't get through a playoff series. Milwaukee has done. These playoffs are It's the only sport of all our professional leagues. I mean, baseball has always been about pitching. Regular season, postseason. NFL gotta have a great quarterback situationally good on defense. NBA regular season it's just too many games, load management.
You get fooled constantly.
Yeah, what's your best guess as to what Kerr does in the starting lineup?
Right?
I don't think Jamichael Green is going to be starting again. He even looked bad. He got a technical from the bench in that second quarter. They're gonna go away from that. Do they bring back Looney? Do they try Jordan Pool to get him unlocked earlier? He was great in Game one. Has been kind of.
Run since we know Klay Thompson will play better and Draymond will play better.
They have to. One would hope.
Jordan Pool can. Can he give us game two? So you know, I think one of the things that the Lakers are doing they don't shoot threes particularly well. So last game between these two, the Warriors shot poorly on threes. If the Warriors shoot to their season average on threes, they win the game. The problem is the Lakers the best defensive team in the league, and there's a lot of long athletes. They got great length advantages. So I kind of feel like Anthony Davis is gonna give us a great game, and okay, great game. Okay, that signals to me it's a six or seven game series just because you don't get act to back greatness. You do from staff, you do, from MB you do. But with Anthony Davis, if he's great, they're great. And I don't think tonight he'll be dominant this series the way it was scheduled one day's rest. I mean, Lebron had zero points in the first quarter last game. He didn't even take a shot.
I don't think.
Yeah, So it's just this this this thing's gonna be about spurts and spacing and who's gotten more energy late in the second half.
Where's there gonna need a third guy because D'angela Russell showed up. Man, he had the first nine points of the game. He was aggressive. Dare I say he was cooking whoever was trying to guard him? Danzela Russell and if Lea ain't showing up and it's just the Wiggins and Curry show, Warriors are gonna be in trouble. I think the guy keep an eye on tonight. Dante DiVincenzo hasn't played great in this series. They're gonna need him a better defender than Pool for sure. Gosh, it's gonna be a good one. Next up, Justin Fields. Let's go to the Chicago Bears. I think they lost ten games in a row at one point. Yeah, where are you on Justin Field?
You love them?
Like him sixty forty He's gonna make it big athlete, But he's a classic YouTube player. Cam Newton had a little bit of this, whereas YouTube highlights were unbelievable. But you got to give me sixty four percent completion. So the spectacular part of Justin Fields I don't doubt. But he's got to get the layoffs down.
And Well, the layups hopefully will come from a second year with offensive coidinator Luke Jetzi. My first year, you're adjusting and.
They've upgraded their offensive pieces significantly.
Yeah.
I think Dj Moore who they kind of.
Sole, Robert Tanya. They have two legit tight ends now they have three legitimate receivers Clay Pool from last year, Mooney and Dj Moore. That's and their tight end wide receiver group.
It's upgraded. It's not it's not elite, no.
But it's somewhere between ten and fifteen. It's like these are real players.
Wow, that might be a bridge too far for me. It's improved, let's just say for a cellar dwelling. So you know offensive coordinator Luke Getz, he said he's seen a lot of improvement and that Fields is light years ahead of where he was last year. At this time, Bears are packers who finishes higher in the NFC.
Nors Well, I saw a story today that Jordan Love looked significantly better.
Oh, come on, everybody looks better. May there's no presser.
Yeah, New England has yet to say a nice thing about Mac Jones in three years.
Well, maybe he's not. Maybe he's not good in May.
Well, I'm just saying that I'm going to take Detroit wins it narrowly over Minnesota. Both make the playoffs. Packers miss at nine and eight or eight and nine. Bears went about seven to eight.
So you have Packers over the Bears. I do Vegas has those two teams with the same win till I know. Is that interesting thing?
Well, I like having an offensive coach a better offensive line.
By the way, Packers last year didn't make the playoff, I forgot, well they didn't. They were a number one seed the year prior.
They also had a very very strong draft with two excellent two of the three best tight ends arguably and a good young receiver.
Nabe's gonna stick it to the Packers, Aaron Rodgers when he's doing.
Every time for years. When I criticized the Packers, you hate Aaron. Now when I say I don't think they'll be terrible, they'll be okay, you still hate Aaron.
How about I just call it like I see it.
I called Aaron needy seven years ago, and now you all admit he's needy. I think Jordan Love's interesting. I think it's a very good organization. They remind me a little bit of the Steelers, where they just fundamentally are always competitive. They draft and develop well, they don't overspend in free agency. They're very similar one AFC one NFC, big brands, smart people, well run with some drama, Ben Farv Aaron at quarterback, a lot of drama at quarterback.
Okay, the final story is Jordan Love taking over as QB one. Finally, we've been waiting for him forever. Still questions about how he's going to perform as the full time starter. Matt Lafleur so confident in Love's abilities. He's made huge rides, huge credits quarterback coach Tom Clements for his impact on Jordan Love's growth. Colin, this is all a little bit sill, like everybody's got to hype their quarterback. Now getsy with Fields the floor with Jordan Love. Why can't we just be honest and say, if Jordan Love were any good, we would have seen him earlier at some point, so planting Aaron Rodgers they were the Packers moving on from Rods.
If Jordan Love was gonna be great, we would have seen him earlier. If Jordan Love was gonna be good, Kirk Cousins sat behind our G three. He's been good.
RG three was like rookie of the year, wasn't he He was amazing.
The offensive rookie of the year. Yeah, he was.
So. I think Jordan Love could be good if he to your point, if he was awful, they wouldn't have moved off Aaron. If he was great, they would have moved off Aaron sooner. Right, He's somewhere between the thirteenth best quarterback in the league in twenty third, that's my guess.
Thirteenth, Okay, so thirteenth, Kirk.
Twenty and thirty two. Oh no, oh, Jimmy, to go through the you're telling me there's only twelve quarterbacks better than Jordan Love.
I'm no.
I'm saying there are twelve quarterbacks that are absolutely better.
But remember good size mobile.
Okay, Daniel Jones or Jordan Love.
I have to see it tvd Okay, give me another one, Deshaun Watson. Deshaun at this point, but I don't like the structure and of Cleveland. Give me one more.
Uh, Bryce, I can't go Bryce Yago.
He's a little bit too yet.
Derek Carr, you got to think about that.
He's a bigger more athletic athlete. My guess is Derek Carr is better.
But I have Derek Carr as the eleventh or twelfth best quarterback in the league, so that's not He's.
Not that We've seen about as much of Desmond Ritter as we have Taylor Heinike Taylor, I don't think he's a starter. I think Sam Howell will start, but Taylor Heinekey, I would say Jordan Love.
He's bigger, more athletic.
Vers think you've seen more that This is the problem. We haven't seen enough of Love. So there's still like, could he be good? Why don't we have a better example? Okay, Trey Lance or Jordan Jordan Love?
Absolutely, no question, no question.
Okay, I don't really have to come back to that. Kycyanahan trade it up for Trey Lance. Costyanahan offensive genius doesn't have a Super Bowl.
I don't think I believe it, or believe it or not. Drafting is hard, asked Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Bill Belichick.
Okay, it's hard.
I know everybody's an expert on the internet on Reddit boards.
It's in real life it's hard to draft great gms and all sports have completely whipped on player.
Geno Smith or Jordan Love. Some of these are surprising me.
I today Geno Smith seventeen starts from now. Maybe we could have a discussion right now, Gino.
Unequivocally, we can call your sentiment on Jordan Love bullish? Is that there?
Here's why if he stinks they'd have Aaron and Cam yes that they see something. He's six ' three, he's very mobile fifteen yards in. You've said this, he's accurate. We don't know if he can make the theme throw. We don't know the big throw Den, but I mean there's a lot of boxes size. They say he's a worker size, work ethic, mobility, he checks a lot of boxes. I think he goes a nice ball. I think he snaps off a nice path. We don't know Linus scrimmage, bullets flying? Is he the guy that I have no idea?
Three minutes left, ball down?
Four?
Can he deliver?
By the way Aaron against Detroit and Garoppolo and Brady last couple of years, he hasn't been great in no spots.
Also true j Mack with the news.
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by.
Okay, I heard live, so I did this an hour ago. FanDuel Draft Kings Vegas have come out with their over unders, meaning they give you a number you, as a fan, bet will win more or fewer. Most fans bet more. So I gave you the AFC, the NFC. Now, these gambling establishments in Vegas, this is too chalk, meaning they're taking mostly favorites. But that's kind of They only have three new teams making the playoffs where the historic average is seven. But I'm gonna run through it, so I you gotta take a big swing when I show you these j mac you have to give me a shot because there's a shocking team every year. So let's go AFC East again. I don't have any issue. I think this is more or less Buffalo is the best team New England fourth that feels That feels about right.
You probably like the Jets with another win. I don't have a problem with that.
Yeah, I think the Jets probably should be ten and a half. But that's I understand.
AFC North. I would put the Steelers above the Browns. I think that's that's you can calling either one of them great. Would you call anybody here any Let me just ask you this, any big surprise here.
I believe the Ravens have had a lot of turnover. We talked about it Friday. I can see them pulling back a little bit. New offensive coordinator for Lamar Jackson, new weapons. I like the Steelers to make the playoffs.
Okay, so that's not a shock, but that's a bet. AFC South. Any shocking Jags, Titans, Colts, Texans.
I think the Jags should be higher. I mean they're coming off a playoff appearance, they have a good win. They add your guy, the receiver with his face.
This is my favorite over bet on the Jags. Yeah.
Now I haven't seen this. I need to look at the schedule. I think we get it Thursday, right.
Right, Yeah, Okay. AFC West feels about right to me. Any big shock there.
No, maybe the Broncos are better than and the half. There's some chatter they may add Kareem Hunt. It's just internet chatter. Kareem Hunt still a free agent.
All right, NFC East, Any big shock here? Eagles, Cowboys, Giants, Commanders according to Vegas in that order.
Why aren't the Eagles eleven and a half drafted an amazing offseason?
Yeah?
Yeah, but historically, you know, winning eleven ten eleven games is hard in this league. And by the way, if they lead this division by three games late, they may shut guys down.
Late.
Schedule will be challenged.
I mean, you know, Jason Kelsey, you'd rest in the last two weeks for a playoff game. He's an old guy. NFC North, I think you and I are kind of in line here. You like the Bears more than I do.
Is this about yeah we got Lions, Yeah we're in.
Locky NFC South, this is the one that they're all bad. I have Carolina, Okay, so this is my big stamp. I think Carolina is going to be a nine or a ten win team in this division. They're going to host a playoff game. That's my shocking pick.
I had.
Minnesota was my shocker last year. They double their win totaler close to it. They would host a playoff game be of division winner.
Green Bay would be behind them. I guess that right. I also like Denver Moore. So this is my big shock Carolina. I can't ride with you there. I would take the Bucks under.
I think they will be in the mix for the number one overall pick six and a half. You bet Saints, though I love it.
Okay, NFC West, I will tell you that I think the Rams are going to be an eight and nine win team. Stafford Returns, Cooper Cup, Darnold McVeigh. I thought they had a draft that filled a lot of little holes for them and any shock there.
Why are the Seahawks only eight and a half? What are we missing here? Seahawks have the same win totals the Atlanta You think that's a very good Seahawks had an amazing offseason.
They another great draft. Yeah, I think we both agree on this. So Carolina is my shock team. Who's your shock team? Pittsburgh Steelers? Okay, you think they're gonna rise and be good. That's not a big shot.
But they're last in the division win total.
That's fair.
It's not as bullish as the Carolina Pans.
Okay, so you Steelers are way better than you think, and I think Carolina. We both think Jacksonville is the best over bet.
It's certainly in the mix. I think the Jets might be the best over and I'm not even kidding just because I'm a Jets fan.
And the best under bet do we both agree is Atlanta?
They know somebody knows something about Atlanta that I don't again. Let's see the schedule Thursday and just run this back next week, honestly, because that'll have more provide more clarity.
I think Atlanta's O line they double down in the run game, and their ON line is much better than most people think.
It's a top six O line. They double down in the run game. Our three next