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What Next for the Bucs & Panthers? | Newcastle & Wolves’ Season Ceilings | NBA Free Agency Extravaganza & the Finals Revisited
11 Plays5 hours ago
In this week’s episode of Who’s Got The Ball? the lads discussed the year ahead for NFC South competitors the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Carolina Panthers, before breaking down Newcastle and Wolves’ stock heading into next season. James and Shane then finished up on the NBA by analysing the madness of free agency and revisiting the OKC Thunder’s title win.
The lads continued their weekly drafts, where this week they drafted the best defensive players in the NFL.
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(03:20) Tampa Bay Bucs Season Preview
(10:53) Carolina Panthers Season Preview
(17:48) Newcastle Season Preview
(30:49) Wolves Season Preview
(38:21) NBA Free Agency
(50:55) NBA Finals Revisited
(01:00:33) The Best Defensive Players in the NFL Draft
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Transcript
Podcast Milestone & Host Check-In
00:00:09
Speaker
right, lads, welcome back to another episode of Who's Got the Ball? Myself and Shane here once again. Episode 25, bit of a milestone. Shane, how are you? All good. How are you? I'm grand, not a bother.
Major Sports Moves Overview
00:00:22
Speaker
big Big moves going on all over the place now with the transfer window in soccer, NFL, NBA free agency. Even the NFL had a ah of trade. I guess it's not really on the way we're covering it at the moment. It's not really on the cards for what we're going to cover. So maybe
Surprising NFL Trade & Analysis
00:00:39
Speaker
we'll touch on it quickly. What did you make of that big trade?
00:00:41
Speaker
Obviously, Jonu Smith and Jalen Ramsey heading over to the Steelers. And then the opposite way. Why has it gone off my head? Minka Fitzpatrick gone the other way. And a pick swap, I think, involved as well. What did you make of that?
00:00:55
Speaker
yeah I think the Dolphins have won that trade, getting in Minka Fitzpatrick. What a player. And that deal just came out of nowhere. There was no at talk, nothing. There was no mention of anyone doing anything. And all of a sudden, this massive blockbuster comes out nowhere.
00:01:11
Speaker
i think yeah I think it works for both teams, to be honest, because the Dolphins really wanted to get rid of those two. The Steelers definitely needed a tight end anyway, and Jameis may be able to fit that for him.
00:01:23
Speaker
And then getting in Minka, no matter where he goes, he's going to be superstar, so it's a great move for the Dolphin as well. Yeah, I think the Steelers probably saw it as a way to... get a two for one because Minka was a little bit, he wasn't as good as before last year, but I still think he definitely has it in him with the talent level.
00:01:40
Speaker
And then they got in somebody who the Dolphins knew wasn't happy there. And then John O'Smith was someone they were, they had interest in already with Arthur Smith there as the offensive coordinator who's had him multiple times now. So,
00:01:53
Speaker
It's, yeah, I think but it's an interesting one for both teams, but i I do think that, yeah, I just think Minka is too good on his day and Jalen Ramsey seemed to be trending down as well.
00:02:04
Speaker
So I think it's probably a very good move for the Dolphins to get him in there if he makes a big difference. But look, I was looking to forward to seeing him. playing over here in croke park but i'm just gonna have to settle for a bit jalen ramsey and trying to trying to match up on justin jefferson so it's going to be an interesting one but uh yeah i think it it did kind of come out of nowhere and the way it was reported i think is a bit stupid because these guys now are trying to rush to like break the news as fast as possible so it was like initially like a
00:02:37
Speaker
I think initially it was like the Jalen Ramsey bit. And then they added in that Minka was involved. And then they added in that Jono Smith was involved as part of the pick part of it. Like, just wait for it all come together and give us the news properly. Stop trying to give us like the thing as fast as you possibly can. Drip feeding us.
00:02:55
Speaker
Yeah, drip feeding us piece by piece instead of just, give as you said, wait wait the extra hour or two and then get it all out in one go. Yeah. Yeah. But that's that's Twitter media for you now, unfortunately, isn't it? Yeah. It has actually had another thought on those kind of reporters, but I think I'm going to save that for when we talk about the NBA Free Agency because it feeds into that.
00:03:15
Speaker
Perfect. and Yeah. We'll come back to it. But...
NFL Team Previews: Buccaneers & Panthers
00:03:18
Speaker
We're going to lead off this week with the NFL. So we're going to continue on with our season previews for two teams every week. So this week we've got the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Carolina Panthers.
00:03:29
Speaker
We're moving into the NFC South. So that leaves the Saints next week and the Falcons. um So we'll start with the Bucs, I guess. We'll do the usual four questions. I'll throw the first one to you.
00:03:41
Speaker
It's where do they need to improve the most from last season? ah Definitely their passing defence for me. They allowed 232 yards per game last year, which was twin which is absolutely outrageous when you consider like they were they were really good.
00:03:59
Speaker
To be allowing that many yards per game, is actually it was crazy and they really do need to get it get a handle on that coming into the season. I also just want to give an honour mention to how bad their red zone offence was. It was that they were 21st in the league dis despite Baker Mayfield having an absolute cracker per season. When they got to the red zone, they just couldn't converse.
00:04:17
Speaker
Well, that's interesting stuff. Yeah, I didn't know that they they had been that bad when they got to the red zone. Yeah, crazy how bad they were in the red zone. I guess I had a very similar answer.
00:04:30
Speaker
I went with the defensive secondary as well, like the passing side of things, because they were pretty good and on the run game, to stop the run game, but they were pretty, pretty bad, as you mentioned already.
00:04:41
Speaker
I think they only had 17 total interceptions, which is the third lowest in the league, and like they had the fourth most yards per game allowed in the NFL. Now, injuries to Jamal Dean, um Bryce Hall, who they brought over from the Jets, he never...
00:04:57
Speaker
He never really got to play given the injury he picked up early. And then Antoine Winfield, who is a key part of their team, him picking up an injury and missing, I think, like eight games as well. and That did not help. So I think those guys coming back will help that, but it's definitely their biggest weakness.
00:05:13
Speaker
And kind of feeding into the three players that will make the biggest impact, the first one I noted was Antoine Winfield, all-pro, previous pro bowler, at only 26 years of age.
00:05:24
Speaker
I think if he has a full season under his belt, he'll make such a big difference on that team, that safety. And he alleviates some of the pressure on those guys further back in the defensive backroom. Then another guy who was kind of hit by injuries last season was Chris Godwin. They had a lot of injuries in fairness to them, the books, but he had a pretty bad one considering he was on for...
00:05:45
Speaker
Pace of 82.3 yards per game in the seven games he played. um I think he could be massive for them this year if he comes back and even hits close to that level and because they've obviously still got Mike Evans and they added a Mecca Buka in the draft. So yeah, it's a fairly loaded wide receiver room and I think he's an important part of it.
00:06:04
Speaker
And then the third guy I had was Bucky Irving. second year in the league, 1,690 all-purpose yards last year across the run in the pass game. I think he longing on he's only going to get better as Baker gets used to him being there. and I think they'll rely on him more with Liam Cohen gone.
00:06:21
Speaker
I think they might dial up something different and relying on someone like him is a fairly good way to get yourself through games. Did you have anybody different in your three? think Yeah, I had two different two. So i also had Bucky Irving because I think the man is lethal. I thought he was really good for his rookie year and he's obviously he's only going to get better going into this year.
00:06:39
Speaker
But I also two had Tristan Wirfs, the offensive tackle. He's and the all-pro offensive tackle. 13 pressures allowed last season i in 1061 snaps. 13 pressers. That's absolutely crazy. crazy And he he keeps Baker really, really protected at all times.
00:06:56
Speaker
And then I had the other wide receiver, had Mike Evans. And the 11th 1,000 yards season going for 12. 90.2 PFF receiving grade in 2024 yeah don't find it's it's not It's not bad. like so yeah i think like I think Godwin did great mention as well, but I think the number one is still going to be Mike Evans coming into this season.
00:07:17
Speaker
Yeah. You know, it's it's funny because there's so much stats going around and you can look at like like raw performance, but then you kind have to look at how many balls were thrown to them based on the yards that they had.
00:07:31
Speaker
And then there's the PFF grades, which sometimes favor certain things. and And then you have a guy like Mike Evans who performs well in all of them. And then he passes the eye test as well, which I guess is the most important one.
00:07:42
Speaker
When you watch him, you can just see how good he is. So Yeah, he's he's a good shot. um I think, yeah, they're lucky with some of the offensive weapons they have. I think they'll find it hard to be bad on the offensive side of the ball if all those guys stay healthy.
00:07:57
Speaker
and And surely, with with the likes of Bucky, maybe stepping up this year, the red zone offense can only get better as well. like It definitely can't get worse. But if you have Godwin for the whole season, you have Mike Evans, the other side, you have Bucky Irving.
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah. like It's very hard to see how they don't converse more from when they're in the red zone. I think Egbuka is a big target as well. I'm not sure on his exact height, but I think that's why they picked him up, to have a bigger target in the end zone.
00:08:22
Speaker
So I think, yeah, that will definitely help too if Baker has that bigger body to throw the ball up to, and if that was something that maybe they struggled with. And I don't know, the bookies may be taking into the account that the the division they're in and also the fact that they have so many offensive weapons. The line is pretty high, I think, here.
00:08:40
Speaker
Nine and a half wins. Do you think they're going to reach it? It was so tough. Again, we've had a couple now the last couple of weeks where the line has either been so easy to pick or really, really difficult to pick, but I've i've given them the over.
00:08:54
Speaker
i did I think they'll sneak over. I think they're going to have a really good season. So I have gone over. I think i'd not by much then, maybe be eleven and I'm going with under.
00:09:07
Speaker
I just think they'll get to nine because I just think that the Panthers and Falcons our are improving massively this season. And i think it's it's not like the division is obviously still, apart from the AFC South, it's probably the easiest division in football.
00:09:25
Speaker
But it's still not a gimme with those two teams kind of being sneakily good. And they do have a tough start to the season. I was looking at it. And I think that's going to be tough ah just after losing your offensive coordinator who had an amazing relationship with your quarterback.
00:09:40
Speaker
It's a tough one. And that just made me lean a little bit below it. But again, I wouldn't be incredibly surprised if they if they went over. and So that leads into the next question. Given their current roster and coach for the season ahead, what do you think their ceiling is?
00:09:54
Speaker
I think they can get to the NFC Championship game. I don't think they're getting in any further than that. That's it. If everything clicks, I think they can get to the NFC Championship. they They were solid last year, got to playoffs, didn't do much then. I think if things go well from them, they can get to that NFC Championship game.
00:10:12
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I guess when you're looking at ceilings, like we can say, when everything goes right, this is how how good they could be. And I think most teams you can make a good case, and this is another one.
00:10:24
Speaker
I think they can go one step further than last year and actually win a wildcard game. I think they can definitely win the division, and then I don't think they'll have a good enough record to get a bye. But if they if they get into the wildcard round, I think they could, at a push, get through that round.
00:10:39
Speaker
It's just the and NFC is so tough that I don't see them getting to that championship game. But again, and we're only a cup game off in in both of our estimations there. So it shows how talented they are and how highly we think of them. so Yeah.
00:10:54
Speaker
Moving on to the Panthers then. So the first question again on the Panthers is where do they need to improve most from last season? I think it's probably a similar answer for both of us. What do you have here? The O-line for me. i Okay.
00:11:09
Speaker
ah But Bryce Young was pressure on 40% of his job his dropbacks and was sacked 65 times, the thick and most in the league. I think they really need to help their quarterback next year. I know, sorry, the 65 sacks were for all the quarterbacks because Bryce Young did drop out for a bit, but they allowed 65 sacks yeah last season.
00:11:25
Speaker
I think that's a massive area to improve from. Yeah, that's a really good shout, actually. i I did go for something different. I just thought it's so talked about that we both would have went for the defense.
00:11:36
Speaker
I just couldn't overlook how bad their run defense was. The overall defense is bad, like really bad. But they have JC Horn, who is now the highest paid cornerback in the league, or at least he was for a week or two. I don't know i don't know what happened there.
00:11:52
Speaker
But he's excellent. And the fact they have him elevates their run their passing and defense, but their run defense was absolutely abysmal. So but when I saw this, I actually couldn't believe that was true. But...
00:12:05
Speaker
179.8 yards per game allowed on the ground last year. The second worst in the league was 141. So they had nearly 40 more yards allowed per game to the second worst team.
00:12:17
Speaker
That's how bad that run defense was. Like utterly abysmal. um But yeah, the O-line was not far behind, especially considering they paid Robert Hunt a lot as well, that guard last year from the Dodgers. Yeah.
00:12:31
Speaker
Yeah, both but very big things and both things they need to improve on if they're going to continue to to get better. So who are the three players that you highlighted then that you think will have the biggest impact?
00:12:43
Speaker
ah So Bryce Young, obviously I think it goes without saying. If they do leave him in there, I think he has the potential. So he did finish last year with 2,100 yards, 15 touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns himself, six interceptions, but we leave that out leave that out for now. We won't touch on that again.
00:13:00
Speaker
Six isn't actually too bad when you consider he came back in and he was really, really not, he had no confidence in his ability. I think if they keep stick with him and kind of go with him next season, he could really help him.
00:13:11
Speaker
Derek Brown, the defensive tackle, the former first-round pick, Pro Bowl Noves, in 2024. He signed a new extension in April of last year, apologies, for 96 million, which is a massive statement from Carolina, in fairness.
00:13:25
Speaker
And I think they really do need to kind of lean on people like him next season if they are going to they fix all the problems they have and then you have the rookie wide receiver and Macmillan I'm not going to try and butcher his first name which I always do I'll let you do that a couple of minutes okay great Macmillan drafted eight he's expected to be their their top target this season he's just he looks really really solid and I think it's a really interesting pick up yeah Yeah, I think that's early three really good shouts.
00:13:57
Speaker
I've gone with nearly identical because I went with Bryce Young too. I just thought the way his confidence turned around under Canales last year was ah amazing and I think that's only going to get better. One game, like, okay, it was against the Giants so it's not amazing, but one game I watched him in when they went to overtime against the Giants, how calm he was in that Germany game.
00:14:17
Speaker
Like, it's in a different country. He's just come back into the team. And the Giants' passing defense was pretty good last year. um And he Performed really well under pressure and threw some nice passes during that.
00:14:32
Speaker
And i I was really impressed with him there. And from ah from there, he only kicked on, really. So that was my first one. I also had Tett McMillan, first wide receiver off the board at eight. So has to be good, has to perform.
00:14:44
Speaker
It's an interesting one that they went ah offense and not defense or something for the line that early, considering. and the whole situation there. But yeah, they they clearly want to make Bryce Young happy and give him some weapons. So I like that.
00:14:58
Speaker
And then I also went for a defensive tackle named Brown, but not Derek Brown, Bobby Brown III, who they picked up from the Rams. I thought that was a really smart pickup because just because of his sheer physical size, like they they couldn't stop the run game at all. This guy is 328 pounds.
00:15:16
Speaker
He's just going to clog up the running lane very strong. Has played with some very good players on that Rams defensive line. So I think that was a nice pickup and a good move to go alongside Derek Brown. I think the two of them together will work well on that defensive line. So yeah, surely they're going to be better at stopping run this year. They can't be any worse like...
00:15:34
Speaker
They can't be worse. I'm just going to say they literally cannot be worse than they were last year. Yeah, I really was so shocked when I read that stat because it just doesn't seem like it could even be real. But yeah, it is. That's how bad they were.
00:15:46
Speaker
Then looking at the bookies, they have them at six and a half wins. So I looked at their schedule. I don't think it's that bad overall. And I think they can definitely get two more wins than last year because they started off so badly last year and they still managed to get to five wins. I think they can get to the seven.
00:16:04
Speaker
I don't see them going too far over it, but I think it's definitely possible that that they get to that seven mark. So I'm going to go ah over on the six and a half. what have you gone for yeah i'm a believer as well i'm going over on this um i think they could get to eight or nine if it's all going well they can get to eight or nine now they won't let's be realistic here they won't but again if we're talking about kind of ceilings which we will be in a second then they can get eight or nine wins if everything goes right for them but yeah everything would have to click yeah it definitely would what do you have for the ceiling then
00:16:38
Speaker
And getting a 500 record would be deceiving for me. I don't think it is as possible. I think maybe eight or nine wins, as I just said a second ago, is a really, really good season for him and someone someone for them to kick on from. But I just put down, they can get to a 500 record. I think it would be an amazing season for him.
00:16:54
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's, I'm similar enough. I think they can get to about nine wins at an absolute push. And funnily enough, in this division, that could win you the division. So yeah for me, I'm going to get to the wildcard round because I think they could actually win the division if everything breaks for them with nine wins.
00:17:11
Speaker
And just because the way the division has fallen, it's one of those ones that you can win with nine. So I think, yeah, that's an absolute ceiling. They're definitely not going to win a playoff game if they get there. but I think it's still it is a possibility that they scrape nine and things fall their way and just with the way the rest of the division is but yeah it's an interesting one to keep an eye on I think we'll touch on Falcons and Saints next week I think the Falcons do have a good chance of winning this division as well but I think the Saints are probably the only one that I would truly write off for even though it is really up in the air but sorry Connor so
00:17:49
Speaker
yeah Let's move on to the football
Newcastle's Squad Depth Challenges
00:17:51
Speaker
then. We two more teams to preview. um Start with Newcastle. do you want to throw it to me first for the first question? ah so Same four questions again. You'll hear them as you go through. They're probably getting sent to your brain at this stage anyway if you're watching every week. but um Where did Newcastle need to improve most from last season? so For me, I just thought that their depth wasn't enough in the squad in general.
00:18:14
Speaker
and When they did get injuries, I think it really did expose them. and especially on the defensive side of things. When Bottman went down initially, they find it found it hard to kind of initially overcome that. So I think when they're in the Champions League,
00:18:29
Speaker
they're going to need way more depth than they have right now. And they still haven't made a signing, which my dad, who's a Newcastle fan, is thoroughly unhappy with. And he's delighted that Mitchell has gone because he didn't make a single signing the whole time he was there. But somehow he managed to get £20 million for Lloyd Kelly off Juventus. So I suppose that was something.
00:18:48
Speaker
Is that how much they got? Yeah. £20 million for Lloyd Kelly. Oh, my God. Wow. And Juventus let Huysin go for, like, what, 19th year before? Yeah.
00:18:58
Speaker
Jesus. So yeah, that's funny. But yeah, I think that they've got no depth there at all and they need to work on that or else they're going to find it tough. Yeah, I did think about going with that as I was looking to their squad and they have a couple of really, really bad players. And after signing Emile Kraft to a new contract as well, and he wouldn't serve treaty.
00:19:18
Speaker
So I think it's absolutely mad. but i actually went with their big chance for a chint Big chance conversion is absolutely horrific. In 2022-23, it was 48%. Last year, it was 29%. They need to get that back up again if they're going to try and push on the way they want to.
00:19:37
Speaker
I think, you obviously, they had a great season finishing in the top five, but they could have been better. They they relied so heavily on Izak. that I think they they needs they need someone, like they, again, like I said, the ars like they need to get their Sadio Mane to their Mo Salah or something like that. They need a second player who can chip in with 10 to 15 goals guaranteed.
00:19:57
Speaker
Yeah. ah I think the fact that they have, that they only have really easy to rely on, especially, not that Wilson was like going to be lighting the world on fire or anything this season, but having lost him, they have even less of a chance like to have, I suppose, a guy out there that,
00:20:16
Speaker
can really back up in a Premier League level. So, yeah. You're after signing a new contract? With Newcastle, Callum Wilson. Yeah, I signed it yesterday. Yeah. Oh, no I missed that one. So thank you for yeah for letting me know that. Well, I guess that's a good thing then because think they need as someone that's sitting behind Isaac because now my whole point that i was about to make is that they need to find somebody there that wouldn't mind not playing as much but can score in the Premier League. But I guess they have that. So, yeah.
00:20:44
Speaker
At least they have that but Clearly, it's not a it's not a good percentage. What did you say it was that from last season? It went from 48% down to 29%. That's crazy. Even taking 48% massive. that's crazy so even taking forty eight percent is like that's massive like That's probably too high even lifebo to drop by twenty per cent and steven's even is a bit mad isn and 20% drop sounds like yeah sounds like a lot.
00:21:10
Speaker
I don't know a whole lot about that stat, but I can say for sure if you're dropping in 20%, it sounds like way too much. but i I think three players on the team then...
00:21:21
Speaker
That'll make the biggest impact. One guy who's been doing that consistently, scoring for them, that is Alexander Uzak. So I'm going to stick him in there as the obvious one because he is one of the best strikers in the world.
00:21:33
Speaker
And if they hold on to him, he's going to be their most important player. Another two then I've gone with is Sven Botman. If he has a full season of availability, he'll be unbelievable. He's very good on the ball.
00:21:44
Speaker
He's a solid player back there for them at a young age. He's a good leader as well. So I think they kind of need him. and back in the team so I think once they get him in there and for a full season that will make the world of difference and Tamale after bedding in last season was very impressive works very hard, is good on the ball and I think he fits into the system nicely so I think a second season for him he'll only make a bigger impact than he did before.
00:22:09
Speaker
Did you have anybody different? and Yeah, so I had Ezekiel as well, obviously. I think it was the the obvious choice. I had him in the field there too, but I went with Bruno. I think he is superb. He is actually, he's the leader of that team and he's just so good.
00:22:23
Speaker
He can sit back, he can attack, he can pass, he does everything. He's brilliant. And I threw in a bit of rogue one because it's not confirmed yet, but I think James Trafford is going to be really important to him this season coming if if that deal does go through.
00:22:35
Speaker
I think he's a really good keeper. He was solid for Burnley last time, just in a really, really poor team last time in the Premier League. He was unbelievable last season. and Yeah. They cope with a couple of mistakes in him last season, the cost of points.
00:22:47
Speaker
I think if Trafford can keep up to four we showed last year, then I think they'll be in a really, really good place. Yeah. I don't know how viable it is, but feel like Newcastle could throw up back to Burnley because he was there before yeah and take a bit of the sting off the transfer fee if Burnley were interested in that because he's not a bad keeper.
00:23:06
Speaker
Trafford is just a better one. um And I think we both actually mentioned Trafford as one of the three but main players to make an impact for Burnley. So it shows how highly we did think of him. And yeah, I think it would be an excellent transfer. And if it's what, 35 million or something they want, just pay it. 100%. Next question then. What's the ceiling for the current manager in Splat?
00:23:25
Speaker
and look at next question then yeah dad whodes what's this ceiling for the current manager inlu This one, I guess I answered it with like two caveats. because I think the ceiling for them is to get third place in the league, but that is only under the assumption that they either go out of Europe early or they add to the squad massively.
00:23:48
Speaker
and I know it doesn't fit into the current squad question part of it, but I think... If they do go into the Champions League with this squad, they are going to go out early. And if they add to it, they might stay in longer. And then I think they'll do better in the league. So I think third place is probably a limit right now for this team going into the season ahead. But I think that would be a very good season if they did manage that.
00:24:11
Speaker
Yeah, I have Champions League qualification again, Mr. Sealing. Again, same kind of reasons as you. i think like the last time they were in the Champions League, they've really, really stretched them so far, and they haven't really upgraded that squad since then.
00:24:26
Speaker
and they' don't like They're missing so many backups in so many key areas. like They're basically a former tweeter than one of them is Sean Longstaff. So they're going into the season if, as it says, with the current manager and squad, I think qualifying for Champions again would be a massive achievement.
00:24:41
Speaker
Yeah, I think it it is a big problem when you have like a squad that when you look at their starting 11, you go, yeah, that's a very, very good team. You can see how it works. You can see how it's built.
00:24:53
Speaker
And then you look at the bench and you say, there's really only like two or three viable options there that you would say they can start week in, week out. I think they were... Obviously, Lewis Miley is a good player. He was hit with injuries last season, so maybe he can take another step up if he if he stays fit.
00:25:09
Speaker
But again, you don't want be relying too much on your younger guys. I think they need five or six good signings, spend over 200 million to actually...
00:25:21
Speaker
you know make this team capable of competing on all fronts and comfortably doing so. Because right now they're in a position where if they get like two or three injuries, they're going to be fairly goosed.
00:25:35
Speaker
Yeah, I 100%. I think, all jokes aside, I think they need to sell someone like an EZAC or someone for getting the 100, 120 million and try and rebuild it like that because apparently with PSR, they are still kind of on the limit. So don't know if they, at the moment, don't know if they can just go out and splash yeah money left, and centre to make the squad a bit better. I think when you get to a position where Newcastle are now, you really do need to to get that jump. You need money. Selling like Bruno or Isaac or someone for 100, 110 million would make such a difference. I know what they're not going to do it because it looks like you're hurting yourself at the same time you're selling your best player your captain, bus
00:26:15
Speaker
When Liverpool did it with Coutinho, the difference of made, they got in Van Dijk and Alison and they started rebuilding there. And that made such a difference. Man City did it back in the day as well. I can't remember who they sold off for big money even. There was no PSR back then as well, so they could kind of just got away with whatever they wanted. But yeah I just think it would be it would be such a smart thing to do to sell off Ezek or someone and replace him with...
00:26:38
Speaker
four three, four or five players then and to see where you can kind of go from there then. Sure, Liverpool are still using the Coutinho money so it's not a bother. They just got parts with it so it's grand.
00:26:48
Speaker
yeah Still it stretches along on things. But I think... I think that would be probably the move. I know they are in PSR difficulty. And I think, if I'm not wrong, the way it's calculated as well with European football is like the average of your last three seasons, if you're in Europe or not. And they were two seasons ago and they will be this season. So next year it'll be like two out of the three will be Champions League season. So I think they should be alleviated a bit next summer, but that might be too late if things go wrong.
00:27:19
Speaker
So I think, yeah, I think that they might need to do that. And I don't know, I spoke how good Tenali is, but like, if you make a massive profit on him, you know, then I don't think, I don't think anybody is worth saying, if they're going to, if someone's going to come in and pay over a hundred million or something in Saudi for him or whatever, you never know what can be around the corner.
00:27:42
Speaker
Um, So I think, yeah, a big sale might be possible. When I said then for a piece of business they actually need to do themselves, I said a Champions League caliber right wing Nothing on Jacob Murphy or Harvey Barnes, but their squad players. and When it comes to Champions League level and competing for Champions League spots, I think, yeah, you need... I don't see why they can't play in Cups and come on in the Premier League, but in the Champions League, you're going to need somebody better than that, I think. So that was the main thing for me.
00:28:15
Speaker
I said the exact same thing that they need to replace Josh Murphy. free ah He had a really good season last year, but he's not a great player. As you said, he has a squad option. He's a good squad option for FA Cup.
00:28:27
Speaker
Kind of last 10 minutes of a Premier League game where you're walking away with it. But if he's there starting right wing and going into the season again, then they're they are hopeless. Yeah, yeah. think I think it's one of those things that you don't want to be too harsh on the guy because he had a good season.
00:28:43
Speaker
Yeah. When I went into the start the year, I was like looking at their squad and I was thinking, yeah, look, it's probably going to be Barron starting there. And then when you see Jacob Murphy being named there in the first few games and then you're like, right, not sure how this is going to work. And then he had a brilliant season. It's hard to just go bin him off after that. But I think, yeah, you kind of do have to look to the future too at the same time.
00:29:04
Speaker
So I think tough decisions like that have to be made. And for them to reach the next level, they have to upgrade in positions like that. Definitely. I don't think it's, I think it should be a non-negotiable that they sign a right winger capable of adding 10 goals. I know Murphy, I think Murphy got nine last year, but that was definitely free season. He's not doing that again this season. He'll go back to his usual level of three or four.
00:29:28
Speaker
Yeah. And they'll, they'll be rightly stuck if they win to season with him again. And I've said to my dad as well, like he's, we were talking about some of the, some of the moves that they tried to make, like the likes of Joe Pedro, who's obviously gone to Chelsea now. And then they also wanted Mbumo, who looks like he's more than likely going to end up at United once something is organized there. Then they tried to bid for Alanga again.
00:29:53
Speaker
And Forrest won crazy money for him. Like I said, they should just look abroad. Like I think they need to start looking in the Italian league, Spanish league and find good players because clearly they can, because look, they've gotten Tenali from there.
00:30:06
Speaker
and in the Serie A they got Izak from Real Sociedad and there's quality players in these leagues that let's face it they can be bought for cheaper and you can pay them less in terms of the wages in some cases when they're younger guys because they're only stepping up from like a pretty low wage compared to Premier League wages so I think yeah they need to start looking at those markets Yeah, I agree with you. I think they have a big summer coming. If they mess it up, then I think Eddie Howe could be in trouble for his job, come to see if things aren't going right as well.
00:30:37
Speaker
Yeah, I think he bought himself some time with the cup win and how well they finished at end of last season. and But I think, yeah, if ultimately they don't improve the squad, it will will reflect on the manager.
00:30:49
Speaker
But if that's all, and then we'll move on to Wolves. Yeah, move on to Wolves.
Wolves' Season Start & Performance Goals
00:30:53
Speaker
So again, where do Wolves need to improve most on from last season? I think the start of their season last year was the biggest issue. It hindered them. like The end of season form was really, really good. and As we kind of touched on towards the end of the season, you saw them in our power rankings and stuff because of how well they performed at back end of the year when they got in their new manager and some of the players kind of batted in. So I think the start of the season is massive for them because I think they have a good season in them.
00:31:19
Speaker
And I think if they if they do it from the start, then that's going to be the biggest challenge not to get behind early. Yeah, I do agree with you on that. I think that's a really good point. But I noticed that that they really need to create better and more chances for their forwards.
00:31:34
Speaker
Stran Larsson, every time he kind of got a good chance, he took it. If they could kind of up what they were doing for him last season, I think he could be real menace come from um for a lot of defences this season coming. So I think they need to create better chances and a lot more chances.
00:31:48
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I think looking at some of the chances he did take. And I think that's the reason why we kind of talked about him a good bit as well. And it actually leads into the next question because, of course, he's one of my three, like I've talked about.
00:32:02
Speaker
Had him in my most underrated Premier League players. I mentioned him. picked him as one of the guys to talk about last year and during the season. I think he's really, really good. And I think he's only going to get better. Obviously, now the deal is permanent.
00:32:15
Speaker
But as you said, they need to provide better for him. So... I guess that that will lead into one of our later questions that I've put in something there for that. But my other two that I had for the two players, as well as Trent Larsson or Agbedou, I think he was top class since he betted into the team in the...
00:32:34
Speaker
Back half under Pereira. He was a really good box defender, really strong. And he helps them a lot when they were committing bodies forward. At times he looked like he was well able to cover a lot of ground. And then when they were getting, kind of sitting deeper into a block and teams were kind of pummeling the box with crosses as United did against them, he found no issue to clear them out with Totti Gomez, the two of them back there. But yeah he was just the pick for me.
00:33:00
Speaker
And then the third one is... Gio Gomez I think he does everything in midfield Physicality, good on the ball Great engine, loves a good tackle And I think he's perfect for the Premier League So those are my three players Yeah so I had Larsen as well obviously and He's just absolutely class I had Andre in there instead of Gomez For the exact same reasons that you had I think the two them are so similar You could pick either one but it's like swapping twins swap in twinsos um But then I had Jose Saz My third one but not for a good reason I think he has dropped off a cliff in the last 18 months.
00:33:34
Speaker
I think he they probably need to replace him, but they won't. and They tried that third last year, spent £10 million on
00:33:43
Speaker
the lad whose name is escaping now, the former West Brom goalkeeper. Sam Johnson. Sam Johnson, yeah. and Brought him in to try and replace Sam, couldn't do it. Sal was put back in.
00:33:55
Speaker
Loves picking up injuries. I think if they don't replace him, they might have an issue in goals next season, come January. But that's why he put him in. I think he's one to watch, but not for a good reason. Yeah, I think it could and probably is a position that they need to improve on.
00:34:10
Speaker
I know like there there's an issue when you have a goalkeeper that you keep going back to, but there's a reason you keep moving off them. You can't just keep going back to them yeah if you've already moved off them multiple times.
00:34:24
Speaker
It doesn't really work like that. They're not going to just suddenly improve unless you know that they had that talent there. So, yeah, I don't think that's a bad shout. um And, yeah, looking at Sam Johnson and they have Daniel Bentley as well, like,
00:34:38
Speaker
I don't know if there's a whole lot of chance really for an improvement in-house, but I think that's that's probably an interesting show. Yeah. What's their seeding with the current manager in squad?
00:34:51
Speaker
So I went with finishing seventh or a European place through a cup win. I think they are good enough to do that. I think under Pereira, he was really good. i was impressed with them last season and getting a full pre-season and getting the team like you know further or cemented in the way he wants them to play will only help them.
00:35:12
Speaker
And they have a good few bob like now to spend. like they've They've gotten in a lot of money from Cunha and Aitnori, over 100 million. yeah And only losing those two guys really from this the main stars of the squad, i think they I think they can replace them and do more with that money. So I don't see a reason why they can't get into Europe.
00:35:32
Speaker
Yeah, so we I actually said that they should be aiming to hit 55 points here, i get into the top half and see where that leaves them. If they can set their kind of their floor at 55 and work up from there, then they definitely can get your boss.
00:35:46
Speaker
Like seventh last year was 65 points. That's some jump for team that has to go from 42. So I think that's a big ask, but I think they can definitely get into the top half finish coming in this next season.
00:35:56
Speaker
Yeah, but even when we looked last year at their point pace from... December on. In January. and Yeah, it would have been good enough to be like fifth or something like that. so Yeah, which is mad as hell.
00:36:08
Speaker
So I think if they could harness 90% of that, they'd be doing very well, which I think is why a cup win is probably a more viable route, especially after watching Newcastle and Palace pick up cup wins this season. So it's it's a reason to go for something like that.
00:36:23
Speaker
What one piece of business did you have? They need to replace Cunha properly. um He their talisman. He was their most important player. Scored the goals. Set people up. Fucked their corners. Fucked their free kicks. Fucked their penalties. In the group to replace him.
00:36:37
Speaker
Pretty much like for like and hope it works the same way it did with him. ah had the exact same answer. Replace Cunha's creative output behind the striker. And I said though that they could do this kind of money ball style, do it in more than one.
00:36:52
Speaker
But I don't think you want to do it in more than two. yeah Two guys maybe that can contribute those 23 goals and assists would be yeah doing well. And maybe if you did have one guy who's a bit more dynamic, can shoot more, and then one guy who can provide more assists and create better chances because you need that for Strand-Larsen.
00:37:12
Speaker
and did They signed a young guy... yeah
00:37:15
Speaker
can't remember his name. Perez, maybe, was it? Oh, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, they signed him Celta Vigo. yeah Yeah, I think it was like... No, I'll get it up now in a sec, but... Nico Paz?
00:37:31
Speaker
Paz, was it? No, is he the lad that's at Como? Yeah, I'm going to grab it now. Oops. and because he's he's only a youngster so I'm not going to say that what they're going to do there with him is going to be like a ah guy that actually like comes in and adds in loads of goals and assists from the very start but I think he's only after taking this Farah Lopez is his name um no Yeah, but signing him for a pretty decent fee, and obviously Strand Larsson knows him because they both played at Celta Vigo, and he only stepped up into the senior squad this year.
00:38:10
Speaker
So I think that that could be a nice move and maybe someone that does add some creativity, but you're going to need a lot more than that. 100%. To continue to compete. But if we've nothing else there on soccer, we'll move in to our... and Well, this week, instead of a transfer...
NBA Trades & Signings Highlights
00:38:26
Speaker
window roundup there hasn't been a whole lot done in the soccer side of things so we said we'd look at the absolute madness that was the and NBA free agency period now there's been so much going on here um I think we'll do like three or four each we'll just do a couple couple of minutes on them and see what ones we thought will make the biggest impact in the in the season ahead which ones which one did you want to touch on first want to start with the Rockets and what they've done. We were just literally talking about it before we came on and to record.
00:38:57
Speaker
They have just gone absolutely mental, whatever that's happening there. The wallet is out, the checkbooks are out, and everything is just everything and just looks really, really good. Clint Capella, Kevin Durant, Finney Smith, all all have signed on new year and all have signed as new players.
00:39:15
Speaker
Adam's new contract, Holiday's new contract, Jeff Green's new contract, Jabari Smith's five-year contract. Deshaun Tate, new deal. I don't know what the point in that one is, be honest, but he's there anyway. And Fred Rensley, new contract.
00:39:27
Speaker
All done so quickly with just a minimum of fuss. yeah Very, very unlikely Rockets to be this kind of disorganised and this snappy to the ball, especially with Capella and Finney Smith.
00:39:39
Speaker
Yeah, I think that the signing of the likes of Tate and Holiday and stuff is because like there is actually a market and people actually want them. So if you can keep them on your books, you can trade them away for stuff rather than just letting them yeah out for nothing.
00:39:54
Speaker
So think that's smart. And the price they got Jabari Smith was at five years, 122 million, I think it was. Yeah, around that, yeah. That's a really good deal because you're basically betting on his upside there, but you're not.
00:40:08
Speaker
but paying him too much that another team won't want to take that on and I think they do want to keep him of course but you're paying yeah a nice fee there I said to you earlier that I think signing Capella after signing Steven Adams to a longer deal might be if someone comes in and really wants the likes of an Adams maybe even the Lakers who want a good starting centre and somebody who can be physical and actually pull down rebounds for them and that could be a possibility where somebody gives up something for the likes of a Steven Adams and you've just locked him in he's your player you can there trade him away and that's not even mentioning how good they did to to get in Finney Smith, Kevin Durant and just basically build a very very good team yeah one thing that's very funny it's like I saw a clip then on the mind mind the game I think it's called the podcast with LeBron and Steve Nash
00:41:01
Speaker
and that they had Kevin Durant on and Kevin Durant is talking about like creating shots and you know he's saying like it's okay to pass the guys with like 10 seconds on the clock or whatever but he's like you don't want to be passing to certain guys with two seconds left on the clock like I'm not going to pass it into the corner and then he's like thinking of a player's name and he goes like you know to the likes of Dorian Finney-Smith and then like the next day Rockets sign him and everyone was like oh my god he had to say that name but yeah that was pretty funny But all of the time, I think they did very well, really, really well.
00:41:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think they might have had the best free agency so far. and We'll see how it kind of finishes up. and but yeah We're obviously still a long way from the season starting because we're only two weeks, if even two weeks, since the NBA Finals happened. So we'll see see how the rest of the summer goes.
00:41:49
Speaker
Yeah, I think another team that did really well for me is the Denver Nuggets. I think, first of all, the first big move they did was the trade, which sent and Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 20-32 first rounder to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson.
00:42:05
Speaker
You basically have the salary because MPJ was earning, don't know, like close to 40 mil a year something like that. And Cam Johnson is on like 20-something. So it's pretty much like half the salary for the exact same production.
00:42:18
Speaker
And Cam Johnson is not a world beater on defense, but he's better than Porter Jr., and you're giving up a pick that's way down the line. So you're putting in somebody there that can kind of hold their own a bit more and create a bit more than Michael Porter Jr. and giving them to Jokic. And then on top of that, you're going and getting Bruce Brown back, who worked really well with Gordon and Jokic previously.
00:42:43
Speaker
So you're going back with him, signing him again, kind of rebuilding around that that roster that you had previously. So I think getting those guys in there and kind of giving Jokic a chance again rather than just leaving him to to fight feed off scraps like they did last season. I think that's a really smart thing because now them, along with OKC and the Rockets, are our big contenders in the West for me.
00:43:08
Speaker
Big thanks. I agree 100%. think they've been very, very smart. and Picking up Valen Tunis as well is a good deal from the Kings. Huge deal. I think they'd be yeah i think they've been really, really smart in what they've done so far. And i think Denver fans should definitely be a small bit excited going into this season now.
00:43:25
Speaker
Yeah, and finally, there's a proper centre that can replace Jokic. He doesn't have to worry about playing every single minute because Valen Tunis is actually serviceable and he's good in the locker room as well. So what's your next one that you wanted to highlight?
00:43:39
Speaker
I think Brook Lopez going to the Clippers was one that caught me off guard, to be honest. I really thought that Milwaukee would tie him down and keep him there. So I think that would be a really, really big deal. He'd have to get in a two-year deal with the Clippers. So we'll see how that works out for him. I think the Clippers is turning into bit of a retirement home, maybe, but we'll see. Yeah, it does seem that way. Like James Harden has signed on another deal there for yeah two years, 80 million.
00:44:04
Speaker
that's... and so Yeah, it's pretty mad. Well, keep on Milwaukee then, I guess, and go with the maddest one of all that nobody really expected to happen.
00:44:15
Speaker
Every single year there's Miles Turner rumours going around and every single year Miles Turner stays with the Pacers. And the one year everybody says Miles Turner is going to stay with the Pacers, they're going to go over the salary cap, they're going to go into the luxury tax for them. They just let him walk and he goes to the books.
00:44:32
Speaker
The team that they hate so much, their fans hate. They must be raging fans right now after getting all the way to the finals, which we'll touch on in a little bit. Losing Halliburton to injury and then losing Miles Turner.
00:44:44
Speaker
and the books completely cutthroat just dump Lillard, stretch his contract over the next five years against the cap for like, it's like 22 million or something per year.
00:44:57
Speaker
And he can only put like 23 million per year. So they're pushing it right up against it. But now they're making big moves here too. I know they didn't sign Brooke Lopez, but they have Miles Turner, so they don't really need him anymore.
00:45:09
Speaker
And they're re-signing Gary Trent Jr. And they made a couple of other ah couple of other additions that I think they're kind of gearing up to be like, look, we're going to try and take on this East because there's a big gap there.
00:45:21
Speaker
What did you make of that? Yeah. I thought was really harsh. Just stumped Damien Lillard. it But that that's for like it. is It's cutthroat, but that might be one of the most cutthroat things I've ever seen.
00:45:32
Speaker
He got injured playing with G, tries come back injured again, and then you're like, yeah, see ya. Thanks for coming, but go find a new team. I think obviously Miles Turner, he's a great move for him. I can't believe he didn't stay at the team that got to the finals and tried to go one better this season coming.
00:45:51
Speaker
Even if like if the ah maybe there no offer there, we we'll find out, I'm sure, in the next week or so. But I can't believe they either let him walk or he walked away. yeah I think it's mad. I think the Bucs are definitely trying to build around Giannis again. i knew They're trying to give him pieces to keep him happy and keep him there.
00:46:09
Speaker
Yeah, that's their main priority, which you can't blame them. But again, it is yeah it that really harsh to to do something like that today. Yeah. He'll end up somewhere and I'm sure he'll come back from this really bad injury.
00:46:22
Speaker
Did you have anything else? There's nothing really that jumped off the pace to be honest. sam You might have one that has completely slipped my mind but I have nothing else really. Lanzo Ball going to the Cavaliers was a bit strange but I don't think we need to touch too much on it.
00:46:36
Speaker
Yeah, strange by the Bulls. The Bulls are, yeah i don't know what on earth they're doing. They're whole different case study. Yeah. A couple then I guess just to rattle off quickly, is and the Timberwolves signing Nazarita, a five-year, 125 million contract, and Julius Randle, a three-year, 100 million deal.
00:46:55
Speaker
So they're just locking in that team that they already had on what I think are good deals. and Yeah. Karis Levert has gone to the Pistons, $29 million dollars deal for two years. I think that is a good deal for the Pistons.
00:47:07
Speaker
Obviously, had to replace Malik Beasley. they're what's going on around that whole gambling situation, um which is a bit crazy, but look, we'll not speculate on that, because we're not sure what's going on there.
00:47:18
Speaker
Luke Cornett got paid. Celtics literally have absolutely nothing left at this point. He's gone to the Spurs, which is a really good deal. and Very good three-point shooter, and yeah, I think he he's He's impressive, obviously.
00:47:31
Speaker
He stepped away from the shooting a little bit last year, but I think he can do it. And I think the Spurs paid him very well. Then the Knicks adding a bit of depth, finally. I'd say Thibodeau is... don't know if he's raging or not, because he'd like to play the same guys over and over again. But they finally added some depth. Jordan Clarkson is a clear upgrade on what they had there in campaign.
00:47:51
Speaker
And then Yabasali, who I was disappointed that the Sixers lost him. I guess the Knicks made a better argument because the Sixers could have paid him that same amount or pretty close to it with the but the exception they had. And yeah, he's gone for 12 million two years to the Knicks, which is a little bit annoying.
00:48:08
Speaker
And then the last kind of couple of big ones, I guess, where Ty Jerome ended up at the Grizzlies for $28 million, three years. Now, he was impressive with the Cavs last year, I thought.
00:48:21
Speaker
And all in all, I actually think that the Grizzlies haven't done that bad. They lost Bain, got a lot back, signed Jaron Jackson to a big contract, locked in Santi Aldama, and now they have kind of a Desmond Bain replacement if they're going to start Ty Jerome on a very cheap deal.
00:48:36
Speaker
So I actually like what they're doing. What do you think of it? yeah um i think they're like Yeah. I think they needed to do something big after... after the Bain deal, they needed to really kind of go out there and try and just make it look like they, try and make it look like they knew what they were doing. I think they've done a pretty good job of looking like they knew what they were doing. So I think, I think they'll be okay.
00:48:57
Speaker
Yeah. I think they're, I think they're going to be all right. And I think Jerome is, yeah, I think he has a lot to him. And let's see if he can do it more consistently. Then the very last two that, Sorry, go ahead. I just wanted her i went to touch on the Alexander Walker deal. There was talk of him going to the Rockets, but there was no way they were ever going to give him 62 million.
00:49:16
Speaker
No. I'm sorry. So I think I can't believe the Hawks have given him a 62 million, but we'll see how it works out. I think the Hawks just had that money to spend. And if you have it, I think it's worth taking punt because it's for over four years.
00:49:29
Speaker
I know it's fairly rich, but it's not a whole lot different from the Finney-Smith deal. And I think while Finney-Smith has probably played in higher caliber games at times down his career, Alexander Walker...
00:49:43
Speaker
has made a good name for himself. And I think the defense that the Hawks have now is unbelievable. Like with Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, they've got Alexander Walker there as well. In general, that defensive game is going to be crazy for them. So yeah, I noted that. That was one of the,
00:50:00
Speaker
the last two I wanted to touch on. So I'll just mention the very last one because I mentioned him during the playoffs. I thought Davian Mitchell looked really good for the heat. And I thought he, thought he kind of, they kind of found something there with him in that series against the Cavs, even though it didn't amount to anything.
00:50:16
Speaker
The way he was just like driving, driving, driving all game. And he just hasn't, like an he's like a juror cell bunny he never stops his engine is constantly going and eventually he wore down the defense to get like open looks later on for three-point shooters which i thought was really interesting considering he's a very good defender too so the he's tying him down for two years 24 million i thought yeah really good deal well worth it so yeah that's pretty much it we covered a lot there but there'll probably be more as time goes on because yeah there's a lot happens in the nba around this year but i think around this time year but we've we've
00:50:50
Speaker
kind of covered a lot of the main stuff that's that's recently happened. So moving on then to the NBA ahar as our last topic.
Pacers vs. Thunder Finals Recap
00:50:59
Speaker
We didn't touch on the finals because we kind of left it after for a week or two to settle after what happened to gather our thoughts and and kind of look at the draft last week. So I'll throw it to you first. What was your first takeaway from whole thing in Game 7 in particular?
00:51:16
Speaker
After being such a really such a good series and to get to game seven and again, brought up the Pacers so quickly we thought we were going to get annihilated, but I did anyway. But I said that after every round, but for it to end the way it did with Halliburton going down with the Achilles injury after several minutes.
00:51:33
Speaker
It kind of just, it really, really killed the ball of us. I know it did for you. You set up to watch us. I woke up to this one or two text message of you just telling me that he was out. And I was like, oh God, it kind of knew likely it was like it was only going to go on one way then.
00:51:45
Speaker
Now there's no denying that. Like Shea was unbelievable. William's unbelievable. Chet Holmgren, great. to you boss I just wanted it to get to the point where they would the two of them were going neck and neck. and Halliburton up against Shea for the whole season.
00:52:00
Speaker
most of the 48 minutes and we never got to see him. It's such a disappointing way for it end for the Pacers and but yeah obviously for Halliburton in particular. Yeah, it's like when you're watching that and you just get deflated because you could instantly see the Achilles pop when they did their replay, which I don't know why they needed to show it a thousand times.
00:52:20
Speaker
but yeah Yeah, it's just purely deflating to see that and then You think about what the player himself must feel and how the fans of the team must feel and it's just like ah huge deflation of the whole moment.
00:52:34
Speaker
And i think it was very shocking as well for the Thunder because I feel like they were, even if Halliburton, they knew he was injured, they were still gearing around what they expected him to do. And it seemed like they were kind of shell-shocked more than anything after it happened in the first half that they didn't really know how to react or reposition themselves. And then once they got into halftime, I think they...
00:52:55
Speaker
reassessed new game plan and they came out and obliterated the Pacers in the third quarter. But yeah, it just really ruins it a lot because he hit three threes early on. He was feeling it. He was shouting to the crowd.
00:53:10
Speaker
He was hyping everybody up on his team. And to have that hot start for them to be leading and to be well in the game and then for him to just go down like that was... Yeah, it was really heartbreaking for him. But again, i think the best team of the whole year and the whole season in general won the ring.
00:53:28
Speaker
But yeah it's still bittersweet to not let both teams go at it with their full complement at the very end when they fought to get to Game 7. Yeah, 100%. As you you mentioned send there, that third quarter, that was the obviously the winning and losing of it. So they outscored Indiana 34-20 the third quarter and they were just never going to be able to kind of make comeback from that kind of be and that position after leading it half-time to go in gone into the final quarter after the third quarter being a shambles.
00:54:00
Speaker
yeah it It was never going to work from then. And then they they had like TJ McConnell was providing as much as he possibly could, but Like, you know, for however many, like, low post fadeaways he had and however many funny looking shots he hit behind the defense and however many points he added in that third quarter, he had like seven turnovers in the third quarter. Yeah. And that was just killing them every time. And they were trapping him and they were forcing him to give the ball over. And, like, I thought they should have went to Matherin earlier.
00:54:32
Speaker
i was texting a couple of people and they said, go to Mather and there's nothing to lose. At least he can give you something if he's feeling it. And then in the fourth, he did. And he almost dragged them back within in like seven or eight points. And thought it was too late now because if he got hot a bit earlier, then it might have freed up them from...
00:54:48
Speaker
from and McConnell having to handle the ball and they might got to the line a bit more but again they're without their best players so it's very tough and Siakam was kind of non-existent which is a bit disappointing too.
00:54:59
Speaker
Yeah, big time. You mentioned some of the guys for the Thunder. I thought what a warrior Jalen Williams was considering it's come out now that he had torn wrist ligaments for the last two months and he played through it in the whole playoffs and now he needs surgery like to do that and to win his first ring at such a young age shows what kind of mentality and this team has in general.
00:55:23
Speaker
I think, was there anybody else on their team that stood out to you? I don't think there's anyone that, like, i think every single, the reason they were so good all year is that everyone stood out in their own way. Alex Fuso, I thought, was incredible again. I thought he had a really, really good playoff series.
00:55:38
Speaker
Chet, obviously, is just, he's he's going to be a monster for years and years to come. And if he bulks up any bits like there's one going to able to touch him in the next three four years um aside of like you just mentioned JLM's open gun over Shea again MVP incredible what a player um I don't need anyone that's really worse kind of digging down we thought they were all brilliant yeah double we kind of mentioned that a couple of weeks back that their depth is what had gotten them to this point and it was their depth that is what won it for them as well Yeah, no, you're 100% right.
00:56:08
Speaker
And Chet, you mentioned him a couple of times there. That rim defense he had, it was just like block after block after block. And like you mentioned, how he needs to bulk up. Like imagine what he's going to be like when he's more physical and you know he's not as slight. The type of guys he's going to be able to challenge at the rim, there's going to be no end to it. And he's only going to add to the offensive game.
00:56:30
Speaker
I think and look just to look at how positive it looks on one side, And then how negative on another is the Pacers look in a very tough position, as we mentioned earlier. Like Halliburton is out for the year, most likely.
00:56:43
Speaker
And then Myles Turner is gone. And it just doesn't look good for them next season at all. And two their most impactful guys. I don't know, it's pretty bleak after how far they got just to fly that close to the sun and then completely get shot down at the end of it, I think is very fairly heartbreaking. Excellent.
00:57:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think they're going to have a tough couple of years coming up now, especially next season. They'll obviously get to playoffs again. They'll have the players to get there, but they won't be getting to NBA Finals in the next two or three years. They're back to square one almost.
00:57:17
Speaker
and You never know how Therese is going to come back. Same with the Celtics. Celtics in a really tough spot as well. They've lost their main guy to the same injury and players leaving left, right and centre. So I think there are two teams that are going to kind of maybe drop off to face the earth in the next two or three years and see where they end up then.
00:57:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's funny because like the Celtics have their ring and now they're in an even worse position after what happened a year later. And the Pacers are in a bad position but they didn't get their ring and...
00:57:48
Speaker
I know it doesn't it's not all about getting rings, but at the end of the day, that's what they all wanted. That's what they're all there for. And it just feels sad. you know I really hope that he comes back stronger than ever the year after next and that they can find somebody then when they have probably more space than at that point because they don't have Turner and stuff and build a little bit better for him.
00:58:09
Speaker
I really hope it does work out because he didn't deserve to go down like that. But to end on a positive note... Obviously, we talked about SGA so much. He won the finals MVP.
00:58:20
Speaker
and He was clearly the finals MVP. He won the MVP for the season. Just looking at his stats in his very first finals run and to round off on him, 38 minutes per game, 30 points per game.
00:58:35
Speaker
4.6 rebounds per game, 5.6 assists, nearly two steals per game and over one and a half blocks per game on around 45% field goal. He shot badly from three.
00:58:46
Speaker
He didn't shoot the best he could from the field and he's only going to improve on that as the years go by. He is a scary player and because of that, he is now... the richest annual salary player in the league in the NBA league history.
00:59:01
Speaker
So he has a four year deal, 285 million super max contract with OKC running till 2031 in his final season. He'll almost earn a million per game. He steps on the court.
00:59:13
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, what a star, what a player and well-deserved in my opinion. He's a face the NBA at the moment for me anyway. Um, he just He seemed really likeable as well, seemed really sound, which is always helpful.
00:59:28
Speaker
And he's getting he's got that contract. He's got his ring. As you said, like he averaged nearly 30 points and wasn't shooting well. like Imagine what he's going to do when he is shooting well now. So he is he's a star, absolute star.
00:59:42
Speaker
Yeah, and absolute stars, right? And like you said, he seems like a good person and some of the quotes coming out as well about him were that he said about, you know, how to avoid distractions and the way he tunes out of the basketball world outside of it. And he doesn't want to hear any of that stuff. He just practices, meets up with his teammates, stuff like that, and then looks after his family. And it's just like, yeah, that's the kind star that, you know, the NBA needs and wants.
01:00:09
Speaker
And I think... They would have be even happier if he played for the Lakers and he wasn't Canadian and he was American. They would be even more happy, but I think they can't deny him. amazing he is so I hope he gets better from here but yeah that's kind of a bow on the on the and NBA actual playing season there'll be more madness going on throughout the off season but that's it from 24-25 so we'll wrap up then with our last thing our our draft game that we've been doing the last few weeks this week we're going to do the best defensive players in the NFL so an interesting one
01:00:43
Speaker
I can't remember again, was it me or you who went first last
NFL Defensive Draft Picks Discussion
01:00:46
Speaker
time? It was you. You went first last week because you remember you picked Anthony Edwards instead of picking Benby. Yeah, I remember. Okay, yeah, yeah. So you're first this week. Again, it's another one of those weeks where you'd almost want to go a second until you get two picks back to back. But um I'm going to with Micah Parsons first up.
01:01:04
Speaker
Oh, okay. Make your case for that. I just think the man is ah absolutely class. I love him. I love watching him. I think he's really, really good. it was It was a tight call with him and one or two others. and Probably the two you're going to take, a two and three now. But I found it hard to look past Michael Parsons. I just really like him. I think he could be our receiver as well.
01:01:26
Speaker
I think, yeah, the athleticism is crazy. and i think he made it harder for me because my one, two and three are still there. oh so i i know I know I'm going to go now with two. It's Myles Garrett.
01:01:39
Speaker
I think yeah he's an absolute... Talk about someone can play wide receiver. like This guy could play any position on the basketball court, any position in the NFL. It doesn't matter. like We've seen videos of him playing basketball. He nearly rips the hoop off. like This man can dunk on the absolute size of him.
01:01:55
Speaker
I think he's probably the best defensive player in the NFL, in my opinion. I know there's a lot of debate between himself and TJ Watt at times over who can get the most sacks and guys off the edge.
01:02:06
Speaker
But I'm not going to go TJ Watt next. I'm going to go Chris Jones for the fact that he has done it for the Chiefs. He's won the rings. He's incredibly impactful on the biggest stage of all.
01:02:18
Speaker
I still think he hasn't had a sack yet in the Super Bowl, which is mad, but he's had plenty of others along the way in big games. So for me, I'm going to have to put him in for third spot because of because of all those accolades.
01:02:29
Speaker
Yeah, I've no complaints there, but I am going to take TJ Watt as my second pick. I don't even need to say too much, the man is absolutely he to sta like he's absolutely class.
01:02:40
Speaker
I think he's gotten his money now as well, and deservedly so. And you'll get to see him in Dublin when he comes over in a couple of weeks' time. those so Can't wait. Looking forward to that, I imagine. And after him, I'm going to take Max Crosby. Oh, nice, nice, nice.
01:02:55
Speaker
He's a monster, an absolute monster. he I almost think he's wasted where he is out in but lane Las Vegas, but I think he's absolutely classed. Yeah, I think they did very well to convince him to stay. Obviously, the money helps, but I think the fact that they got Pete Carroll in and they probably have a better vision really helped that, but I think it's still, regardless, great better negotiating to keep him there.
01:03:19
Speaker
I'm going to go then away from pass rushers, our defensive linemen, as we've gone pretty much across here, and go for the first cornerback. I'm going to take Pastor Tane, defensive player the year from last year, the best cornerback in the league last year.
01:03:34
Speaker
i think... Just the way he locks players down, his athletic ability, it's just unbelievable. He doesn't even get like an abnormal amount of interceptions, but that's because no one wants to throw the ball near him because he's absolutely unbelievable.
01:03:48
Speaker
and Sometimes you just have to take that into account. He's such a good um defensive back and he's he's next off for me. and Then after that, I'm going to have to go with a man from the New York Giants.
01:04:01
Speaker
going to have to go with somebody that... He's the man. He's the best defensive tackle in the league, in my opinion. Interior now, not off the edge. Dexter Lawrence, absolute unit.
01:04:13
Speaker
The way that he, as a nose tackle on the defensive line, the way that he gets double teamed and how often, I think it's like the highest percentage in the league and he still had close to 10 sacks left last year considering he plays on the D line.
01:04:28
Speaker
How difficult that is, is otherworldly like, and the Giants, the fact that they got a good deal on him, I'm so surprised that they did it. And I'm happy that they did it before he, the year before they actually needed to a couple of years back. Thank God for that because yeah, he's, he's been a ah real shining light for us. And I think he's, he's unbelievable.
01:04:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's a good pick. I actually started writing Thibodeau when you started talking because I know you have your Thibodeau jersey on and I thought it would be bad. He's in the top 100, never mind. I think Lawrence is a really good pick. I'll finish off my last two then and I think they're They're pretty obvious choices. I'm going to take Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson.
01:05:09
Speaker
I think the two of are just, the two of them are two monsters. The two of them are, I'm not sure what's going on with Hendrickson at the moment with the Bengals. I'm not sure if that's sorted or not yet, but whoever gets in is going to be getting a steal anyway, whatever you're paying them.
01:05:23
Speaker
And then Hutchinson, we both named him last week as one of our our top Detroit Lions flares for this season coming. So I think, yeah, I think that says enough. Yeah, I think i think that those are two good picks. i actually didn't have Hutchinson in my top just because of how he did perform really well in two seasons, but I went with a couple of guys that maybe a bit more under their belt long term, and that's one of the reasons I had Hendrickson as my next pick. If you didn't get it, really liked that pick.
01:05:51
Speaker
I had two guys left then, so going to pick and Fred Warner. He's my last one linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. This one isn't all about stats.
01:06:03
Speaker
He's the defensive leader. He's the captain on the defensive side. Just his ability to read the game. He calls the plays on the defensive side for them on the field.
01:06:14
Speaker
He knows exactly what to do in every moment. And I believe they picked him up in like the fifth or sixth round or something like that. Just an utterly unbelievable pickup when they got him. He's been nothing but amazing since.
01:06:25
Speaker
And I really, really like him. i think he yeah I think he's one of the best defensive players and one of the most impactful for many reasons and in the NFL. So that's my last one. And my honorable mention was Kyle Hamilton.
01:06:37
Speaker
He's the guy had at the very end, I think. Could be Ropon Smith, but yeah I think Kyle Hamilton, is I really like him for the Ravens and I think he's a big part of what they do over at there. So that's that was pretty much it. So my five then are Miles Gard, Chris Jones, Pat Sertain, Dexter Lawrence and Fred Warner.
01:06:56
Speaker
Yeah, and I have Micah Parsons, TJ Reid, TJ Reid? has TJ Reid, Jesus. TJ Woss. He's gone for the NFL. TJ Woss, yeah. Max Drogby, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendricksson.
01:07:09
Speaker
Nice one. Yeah, that's it. Two solid teams. Let us know what you think, lads, if you would have picked anybody different or what you think of our picks. But I think that's it for another week. Another episode we covered a lot again.
01:07:21
Speaker
We'll be back again next week for another episode and for a lot more crack and lot more things to cover. So throw it to you, Shane, to wrap it up. Thanks so much, guys. Just keep watching. I'm going to say it every week because it's a bit like my start now. I what to say at the end either, but just keep watching us, keep liking, keep commenting, and we'll we'll do all we can to keep the show as interesting as possible.
01:07:43
Speaker
See you next week. Nice one, lads.