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Super Bowl Preview and Predictions | NBA Trade Deadline: Luka Doncic, De’Aaron Fox & More | Evan Ferguson’s Deadline Day Move to West Ham
46 Plays1 month ago
In this week’s episode of Who’s Got The Ball?, James was joined by two guests to preview the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles in New Orleans, to break down some of the NBA’s biggest trades including the Luka Doncic and De’Aaron Fox moves and the Deadline Day loan move of Evan Ferguson to West Ham.
Gan Seans continues with Shane currently flying it with a 9-3 lead & James gives you an update on the lads' WGTB Multi-Sport Power Rankings.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Overview
00:00:09
Speaker
What's happening lads, welcome to the 4th episode of Who's Got the Ball. and So this week I've got a couple of guests coming on, so I've got Conan coming on to chat about the and NFL. We're going to do a Super Bowl preview and I've got my buddy Michael coming on also and to chat about the and NBA trade deadline and just kind of trades that have already gone down, the big ones and mostly.
00:00:34
Speaker
about Luca AD and the impact of bat trade and the DR and Fox trade at Zach Levine. and So those are kind of a couple of guests that we have on this week for something different for the two big topics that are currently floating around the sporting world. and I'm go going to cover the football myself because Shane is unfortunately still injured. He's got a pretty bad injury to his back. so Hopefully he'll be joining us again next week, but wishing him the best and and hopefully he recovers because yeah we both want we both want to keep this keep this going. We really appreciate all the support so far. So let's just jump straight into that chat with Kona.
Super Bowl Preview with Conan
00:01:19
Speaker
Okay, lads, so we're going to preview the Super Bowl here. So we've got ah we've got a guest on to chat about the Super Bowl this week with Shane in a bad way. So I'll let you introduce yourself, man. Workaway.
00:01:32
Speaker
Tell us what you're at and what your interest is in the NFL. ah Well, thank you very much for having me to start off with. So my my name's Kanan. So I run, I've got my silly sports graphic page called Gueletal and my background really in American football. So I played, I played American football back in 2018.
00:01:55
Speaker
And so i I played it during university and then um played for the the closest regional side in a way. And then for the past past two years now, I've started coaching my local ah university. So that's occur in my kind of kind of my background, really. I got into it, obviously, with with Madden, like everyone else does. Yeah, that's awesome. You guys need to check out Conan's page as well, because Yeah, those you do, um it's not just on the NFL, so he has graphics and stuff he makes for obviously covers NFL as well and American football in general, but rugby stuff, if I'm if i'm not wrong, it's a big rugby fan, obviously. yeah on Things aren't going great for Wales at the moment, but... No, i like that no thankfully this is not a podcast talking about that state. We will not mention that at all. We'll avoid that altogether. so
00:02:53
Speaker
We're going to cover the Super Bowl, give our verdict at the end as well. We're going to chat about who we think is going to win. So obviously, everything has led up to this season. um We've got the Chiefs again, and we've got the Eagles. So a replay of two years ago. like I don't think there's many people that wanted to see this game. um I know I didn't. I would have rather at least one of either the Bills or the Commanders in this. But I think a lot of people are in. Yeah, yeah like I think it's kind of a situation that everybody didn't want but I think as I felt at first I was kind of like oh god I felt like I'm boycotted in this game but then as the week or two goes by then you're back ready to watch it again I think but yeah I think for me and the main thing obviously that springs to mind in this game is going to be the running back situation for the Eagles
00:03:48
Speaker
So what I was thinking like firstly was Saekwon is going to be the biggest man to do damage in this game for anybody. But then I kind of had a look behind a little bit more in the stats because I wanted to see I knew James Cook had a big game last last week, but more so on
Eagles' Strategies and Players
00:04:05
Speaker
yards per game. I don't feel like they gave him enough touches, but I looked and he had six point five yards per carry in that game.
00:04:15
Speaker
last week against the Chiefs. His season average was 4.9. And then you had mixing the week before with 4.9 yards per carry and his season average is 4.1. And the Chiefs had allowed 100 yards per game on the ground this season and the regular season, which is pretty good. It's gone up to 148 on average between the two games in the playoffs. And then you have Saquon coming to town here who has 5.8 yards per carry theyre this regular season and 6.7 in the playoffs. So if each player is going up, it seems by about 20% roughly in this playoffs against the Chiefs. If you're looking at that way, we could see this guy breaking off a nine yard run every time he gets the ball. and What do you think? What do you think about Cyquon in this game?
00:05:07
Speaker
ah hot i think I think you're totally right. you know this This offense has been lean leaning on him for so much this season. I mean, rightly so. He's having a historic season, could have broken the single single season rushing record if he yeahv had a missed out game start season and if he didn't step out for the last game. But no, I think you're totally right. I think ah think he's going to have a big big influence on this game. And yeah know without giving away it what I think is going to happen by you know by by the final whistle, I do think it's going to have a ah big influence again. But I think know because this this Chiefs defense, people, it doesn't stand out too much. I don't think people take it for granted almost.
00:05:55
Speaker
So, you know, like, like you said, so people are running football more, they're testing them. They're thinking, yeah, we they, you know, they've got my homes. That's what they're leaning on, really. But this, you know, this defense is no joke. No joke. You got Chris Jones, Chris Jones up front. We all know he's a menace. You know, Steve Spagnolo is the defensive coordinator. And I think what this, this defense does well, it might not have, you know, as many star studded players or defenders as the Eagles as have. it's It's more about you know team team tackling, playing yeah know as a team on defense. and not There's not one guy leading the charge. They're all doing it together. They're all kind of molding it together. But I don't know. I don't know. It's it's hard to to not see Saquon run pretty well this weekend.
00:06:54
Speaker
I think, yeah, this is like, so people would focus on offense, um, in terms of what would win this game, but like defense does so much. Um, and I agree with you with the chiefs and I kind of thought about what like spags might do here. And I thought it could be possible that if, if they focus straight away on shutting down Saquon, if they go, okay,
00:07:22
Speaker
you can you can target AJ Brown, you can target Devonta Smith, Dallas Goddard. Get Hertz, that's fine. Let him allow him to settle into a rhythm, but do not allow Saquon the ball. And then once Hertz gets into kind of a rhythm of passing, maybe they they focus a little bit more on that, some passes out of the backfield to Saquon, then blitz him, blitz him to the highest level that you possibly can. Because you we've seen last week that Spaggs does not care. Even on the biggest down of the season, he just sends that out. And that's that's where Hart struggles the most. When there's pressure in his face and when he has to hold onto the ball, that's where the Chiefs could win this game. So although I agree with what you said, that everyone will think, oh, my homes, you know, they'll lean on him. This defense could really cause a lot of trouble. And if they turn the ball over a couple of times,
00:08:15
Speaker
chiefs could be in business here even though i wouldn't i wouldn't say many people would want that no no hundred percent and you know what i it's like it's like we've done these notes together but honestly we haven't because i i think the exact exact same thing i feel like i feel like the chiefs will happily let her try and get into his own rhythm and as long as they just keep, you know, keep the big rushing yard, rushing plays down. They only, they only let up, I think it was one play over four yards on the ground this regular season. So they're not, they're not a team. They'll let up big, big plays. Like we saw Saquon run last week against the commanders. Yeah. You know, they'll happily let her to try and get into rhythm.
00:09:04
Speaker
Even though, you know, we've seen last couple of weeks, Hertz isn't want to, you know, throw too many times, but for big gains. So yeah, the last, the last time you fruit for like a, through a completion that was over 40 yards was back in weeks week, week 11, I think it gets the commanders. So it's, you know, he's had a lot of criticism lately where he can't get past his first read. So especially like you said, with,
00:09:34
Speaker
Steve Spagnolo not giving a damn and bringing the house yeah yeah after his first read, he's going to have someone in his face. And that's when it might be might be similar to the Rams game where he gets sacked multiple times. yes yeah But at the end of the day, but I don't know if they're going to be able to contain Saikon.
00:09:59
Speaker
I don't even know as well with the strength of the O-line for the Eagles. I feel like that not that's a benefit here too. Obviously, if you're sending the house every time, it's different, but I think if if heart i think a a lot of this relies on hearts. I think people will look at Saquon as the deciding factor, but there's only so much Saquon can do if the game is played a certain way by the Chiefs. All of this relies on hearts, his ability to read the game.
00:10:27
Speaker
and I know the last time they played in the Super Bowl, he had a good game. I know that fumble really kind of something people looked at, but the way he played in that game, he was basically their entire offense. Like yeah he threw for nearly 200 yards more than Mahomes did. He ran for 70 yards. Like the other running backs on the team were Kenny Gainwell and Miles Sanders. And now they have Saquon as somebody to lean on and the parts that more experienced and has played in big games. So I think he has had criticism and fairly so, but I think it relies on whether he can get the ball out quickly. If he can, like you said, if he can get past his first read quickly, if they maybe, I don't know, maybe they look to Goddard a lot in this game, some kind of shot passes over the middle might suit Hertz too. And if he can get into a rhythm, I think that could be the winning for the Eagles. ah But I think if if he does start to
00:11:27
Speaker
get a little bit shaky, a few sacks. And I don't want to say, you know, an injury would happen in this game, but if they are sacking him, like if Chris Jones gets to him, who also has never had a sack in the Superbowl. So it'd be interesting if he, if he got a sack. So that would be a big one. Um, and then if you have Karloff, this big body coming at you, I don't know. I would never want to see an injury in a Superbowl to any team, but if that could play a part, if they are just trying to kind of destroy him with blitzes early on.
Defensive Tactics and Key Players
00:12:00
Speaker
I don't know. I could see him if not getting like, let's say knocked out of his rhythm more than anything and the field effects on the body of that. Yeah. Yeah. I think the defense is going to play such a big part, but we can't, we can't talk about the cheese defense without looking at that star studded Eagles defense. like
00:12:20
Speaker
since that last Super Bowl, they've added alone, they've added Jalen Carter, Zach Bond, Gwenyon Mitchell, Cooper DeGene, like probably four of their best defensive players right now. And Brandon Graham is possibly going to play. He's activated. So this is this could be the guy's last Super Bowl. Such ah an Eagles legend, like I don't know. This defence seems like it's going to come out. It's written in the stars. It's written in the stars. I don't know. I think I really like the Eagles defence too. And I think similarly, if they knock Mahomes out of a rhythm early and the lockdown defence that like Quinnyon Mitchell has played this season, it doesn't matter who he's going to be on as
00:13:08
Speaker
kind of the main, whoever is the main target for Mahomes, I think they can just switch Mitchell onto him at any given time. And then Eugene is obviously probably going to cover Travis Kelsey. ye He really had a tough game last week. So that's another big one. The player that needs to step up usually does in the big moment, but it's hard to know and with such a strong, smart defender on him, um yeah with Mahomes under pressure, will he have a big game here?
00:13:37
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And, you know, like, like Zach Bourne is such a, I don't want to say diamond in a rough, but he's having an unbelievable season compared to yeah how he's been with, you know, my poor saints, but it's, it's not saw statue about had the hu hundred and fifty one tackles a this season.
00:14:01
Speaker
crazy like This regular season even, I think he's he's added like another 26 in this postseason. And I think odd how we you know how we describe each offensive, how they're playing, and we're all about spags and he's happy to let Jilla Hurts go about his business slowly, lead as long as Saquon doesn't do anything big. I think the the mindset for and for the Chiefs defense is and bend, bend, but don't break. yeah yeah you know You can let them drive up the field a couple of times, but as long as you know it doesn't result in in a big score at the end, then they're fine with it because know they've been ah been in the scenario before. they They know they've had the experience. They can get back into it. Whereas with the Eagles, it's like we last week, forcing four turn turnovers, Zach Bond, unbelievable.
00:14:56
Speaker
you know, punching the ball out on multiple occasions or trying to, I think with the Eagles, it's, you know, again, it's going to be like, uh, you know, they're going to force, force these turnovers over and, or try to, and then run the ball down your throat and score straight away. I think I don't think, I don't think they're going to want to be as, you know, as conservative. I think they're going to want to come out quickly. I think they're going to be aggressive on defense straight away to set the tone.
00:15:26
Speaker
you know, go, go, you know, how, how they've been then throughout the season, they want to carry on doing the same. But it's, it's not, especially, you know, you mentioned Coupe de Jean and Quineal Mitchell, how that's already like, not elite, but already great players in their position. And they haven't been, they haven't been in the league for a full, fully, I guess. No. Yeah. It's, it's, it's unbelievable. I think.
00:15:53
Speaker
You know, we've thrown ah Steve Spagnolo's name about. we yeah I almost forgot that Vic Fangio was also the defensive coordinator for the Eagles, which is a yeah and defensive genius, defensive powerhouse. So I think a lot of credit has to go to him knowing like, okay, these are these are the way that you guys are meant to be played. You know, I could give them this scheme, but that knowing what their skills are and how it's going to benefit my scheme, it's great because, you know, Dennis Allen was, you know, he was a good DC of the Saints, but he never got this production out of Zach Bond. So, but you are totally right. This defense is star studded. I think they're going to have a big influencer game. I think defense overall on both sides of the ball is going to be really important. And I think it's easy to
00:16:50
Speaker
yeah not look overlook it because you have Mahomes and Saquon on both offenses. It's going to be a really good game. I can't wait for it. Yeah, I know. It's going to be so good. and i I think mentioning Big Fan Joe is of course a great point because it's almost like we have like a showdown of two genius DCs more than anything. Obviously Andy Reid, he gets what he gets the credit he deserves. He's such a great coach and he he has been previously for the Eagles too, but and a little bit less so in terms of the respect that we see on the Eagles side of things for Sirianni, people kind of think he's more of a puppet. But I think Fangio deserves probably the most credit out of, I know Kellan more, excellent job as well.
00:17:49
Speaker
He might be landing over there with you guys. You never know. um I honestly feel like we're just going to hire Brandon Staley just for the hell of it. I honestly, it's going to be something so stupid. You never know what's going to happen with the fans, to be honest. But ah yeah, I think Fanju just deserves all the credit in the world for what he's done with these young guys.
00:18:14
Speaker
And the way he's moved Zach Bond positionally as well and how well he's performed. And I think a point you, you mentioned kind of about Chiefs bending, but not breaking a point that goes into that is rarely missing a tackle. And that's also something that the Eagles do. So that's why this game is just going to be like, I found when I first started enjoying the sport, maybe about seven, eight years ago, I thought, you know, offense, offense, offense. Now you get.
00:18:43
Speaker
feel like a bit more nerdy about it that you're like, I wonder what he's going to scheme up on defense. You want to see a big defensive game. And that's kind of the main thing for me that's exciting me about this game. So kind of having said, having said that I want to know who do you think is going to win and a score prediction for the game.
Super Bowl Predictions
00:19:03
Speaker
Throw it my way and then I'll give you mine. God. Oh, well, this is this is the this is the kicking out.
00:19:12
Speaker
One, I don't want to jinx it. I'll say what my wife who I think will win anyway, but I know I'm going to jinx it. I think you have these two great offenses, two unbelievable defenses. So it's hard to imagine it's going to be high scoring, but I just think Saquon's just running at such a um you pace at the moment. It's unbelievable. Like it just keeps two Two first touches against Washington, he scores on both of them. He's just, he's just a machine. So it's really hard to imagine that he will not have a massive game. And with that, it's hard to imagine that him, he'll get at least one touchdown. For sure.
00:20:02
Speaker
With, with the Chiefs wanting to sort of play for as long as possible, I think. I reckon it might be. ah hurricane Okay. One thing. Definitely. It'll be, it won't be a close game. It won't be like three points in it. I think at least, a touch I think at least the touchdown. um Okay. Let's, let's go with a, let's go to the 20, 27.
00:20:36
Speaker
2720 to the Eagles. yeah Even though I think that's i don' know that's my view. on but and and You won't believe this here. like I have written my prediction down and I have prediction 2720 to Philadelphia.
00:20:51
Speaker
on The exact same score. That can't bode well enough. Nice. Nice. They're gonna get blown out. Yeah, they are. Wolf is gone. Wolf is gone. We have the exact... We can't believe we have the same... We have basically like a lot of similar opinions and then bang, we had the same prediction. I yeah i was thinking about it and I was looking at... The reason I went with 2720 is because I caught Eagles win way touchdown instead of a field goal.
00:21:21
Speaker
similar to what you said. And then the score was because I, usually the the odds makers aren't far off. And I think the over under is like 47 and a half or 48 and a half. So I said, okay, around 47 points. That sounds about right.
00:21:37
Speaker
So look, we've both gone with Philly and we've both gone 2720. Listen guys, like we didn't prep yet. We both just came in blind to that. So if you want to put some money on that, you can thank us afterwards if it comes up. But yeah, that's, that's a, that's what we both think Philly are going to win. But to be honest, the more we talk there, the more I started thinking maybe the chiefs are going to win, but I don't know. I'm going to stick with what I think. Um, I'm gonna, I'm going to stick with Philly. Um, but.
00:22:05
Speaker
any Any closing points on the game? Anything else? yeah i' i think I think it'd be really good. I think both officers are going to churn some yards. Again, don't know about high scoring, but they're going to churn some yards. Defence is going to come up with plays. I think we're definitely going to see some turnovers, 100%. Chiefs have been really conservative with the ball and not turning over that much. I think both both teams going into postseason I think the Eagles turned over like 15 times and the Chiefs only turned it over 14 times. But with how this Eagles defense is playing, ah the we're going to see a change of that. And I think maybe, you like like you said, I think Travis Kelsey is going to have a big influence. I think if they're turning a ball over, then it means, okay, we're going to have to switch a gear now, and they're going to look at all reliable
00:23:01
Speaker
He's already averaging like 15 yards the game in this postseason now. So I think he's definitely going to have something to say about the overall game. But no, I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to watch it. And I can't wait for us to both be wrong with Jinxdom. We love Jinxdom. Yeah, we just completely ruined the hopes for all Billy fans. But yeah, i think I think that it will be such a great game. I'm really looking forward to it now.
00:23:30
Speaker
And I want to see what's, what the teams are going to come out. And on the point of the turnovers, actually, I think if the chiefs have to chase the game, we could see a big turnover, maybe ending it or something like that too. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. Let's see what happens there. um But man, thanks a million again for coming on. Really appreciate it. like Thank you. mike Thank you so much. No no problem at all. out Great to chat to you and we'll definitely have you on again in the future, but yeah, enjoy the game and we'll chat again soon. Thank you very much. Thank you.
00:23:59
Speaker
All right, lads, so really appreciated having Conan on um such a good chat. It was just mad we both had the same prediction for the Super Bowl in terms of the score and everything. But ah yeah, might have to put some money on that exact score line now. and So now, as I mentioned at the start, let's jump into a chat with Michael. We're going to talk about and and NBA and we're going to talk about trades and and the trade deadline and big trades that have gone down. So let's jump into that.
NBA Trade Discussions with Michael
00:24:28
Speaker
Right, so lads, me and my man Michael are going to chat about the NBA trade deadline. So we're going to focus mainly on the big trades that went down. But if you want to say hi, Michael, say what's up. Hi, ah um Michael. Anyways, I work with James, but ah I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me on. You know, I watched the first two podcasts and I'm enjoying what I see. So I feel honored to be here now.
00:24:57
Speaker
Appreciate you coming on. Obviously, Michael has a big interest in the NBA Sixers fan like myself, but we're going to get him to start writing articles soon. I think he has an idea, a great idea. So we're going to push him on that, and we might see him a few more times, hopefully. But I appreciate you coming on. I'm going to lead in with the Luka trade, obviously. That's the biggest one that we're going to touch on. Trade deadline. So we're Wednesday here. We're recording.
00:25:26
Speaker
We're about 24 hours out from the trade deadline, so it's 8 p.m. Irish time on Thursday. We're now 7 p.m. on Wednesday. So something big could could go down between now and then. We'll have to cover that and in ah and a small video if it does happen separately for the channel. But right now we're going to talk about what's already gone down. So out of absolutely nowhere, we see the Mavs trading away, basically their man for the future, who everybody thought, you know, this is this is their entire future.
00:25:55
Speaker
this is how they're going to win chips with Luca, almost got there last year, got to the conference finals and nobody expected them to. I'll give the full ah full trade. um So it was Luca, Maxi Cleba and Marquis Morris went to the Lakers and then in return Dallas got Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first rounder. The Jazz were also in there for some absolute garbage on the side, yeah. So let's just forget about that. Two second rounders and Hutch if you know, like, yeah, they're they're not really a part of this. They're just to to make up the numbers, but absolutely took the NBA world and the sporting world, to be honest, by storm. So let's hear your take on it. What do you think?
00:26:39
Speaker
Honestly, this is definitely one of those trades where it's like, it's one of those moments where you remember exactly what happened when you when you read it. I had just woken up and and I actually read it, thought it was NBA Cental, went back to sleep and then I woke up again.
00:26:57
Speaker
started going through Reddit and I was like, Oh my God, this actually happened. What did they give up? And I heard AD. I thought there was going to be Dalton connect a or Rui. I thought there was shell in the whole team. Not just AD and Max Christie is unbelievable.
00:27:16
Speaker
I can't believe it, man. Honestly, I woke up the same as you and read it. Like, and what I read was it was some guy like, I had like a bit of like a joke scenario being like, oh, we want ad like maps ringing up, um, ringing up Lakers being like, we want ad and they're like, nice. Not we can't, we can't trade them. And then it's like, yeah, we'll give you Luca. And then them being like, we'll pack his bags for him. And I was like, Oh, this is just one of those jokes. Like someone's plan. Then the next thing underneath that was the sham's tweet. And I was like, Oh, wow, this is, this is crazy. So a little look at Luca last season. Yeah, he had,
00:27:52
Speaker
an absolutely monster season last year an nearly averaged a triple double with 33.9 points per game 9.2 rebounds per game and 9.8 assists per game that's in the regular season then in the playoffs he was close to 29 points per game nine and a half rebounds per game and eight assists per game um there's a couple of things going around that have floated around for a while about his his physical shape. And he has kind of quashed that already, that that wasn't a reason and that people can kind of say what they want, of course. And then also there was question marks about his defense, which at times is is questionable at the very least. But when he's putting up those numbers that he's putting up, I don't like, I get the maths. Their messaging is right now that they're saying, oh, defense first, defense wins championships, bla bla blah, blah, blah.
00:28:42
Speaker
Like you had defense, you had one of the best defensive teams in the league last year towards the end once they made those two trades to bring in Washington and Gafford. Now you just faded away your cornerstone of your franchise who apparently gave no inclination that he was going to like not sign. So I don't get it. like I will hear just bought what a $15 million mansion. yeah dollars So I mean, that's someone who looks like he wants to leave like selfish as as the as like, it's what 48 hours now?
00:29:20
Speaker
but Since the trade, and as more and more information has come out, it like two things are very, very clear. One, Rob Polinka is but literally the worst human on earth. he This is social engineering. like Colleges need to study this. This man convinced Nico Harrison. Is Nico Harrison? Yeah, Nico Harrison. The liability was on him and talked him down from Daldon Connect.
00:29:50
Speaker
yeah and AR was it, or Rui? like Unbelievable levels of scamming on top of it and Nico Harrison, there's rumors circulating. I'm, I'm big. I like watching the rumor pulse. I'm not watching the articles. So there's rumors that more or less there's sound bites coming out. I think Tim Mac, man, uh, reported on it that he kind of knows he only has like four years. So he says he wants to do it with his guys, but nuking a franchise. No, this is not.
00:30:23
Speaker
This guy, like if he has four years, he might've halved that if they had competent owners, but the owners don't really seem to know. If Mark Cuban was there, this is not happening. First of all, like as as a bigger owner, obviously he still has a small chair, but like this guy, this is the same guy that botched the Steph Curry presentation for when he was trying to sign with Nike and presented him like a Kevin Durant presentation and like mixed a lot of things up in that apparently.
00:30:52
Speaker
This is Nico Harrison. And now he's and he's gone back with his guy, AD, like that he's buddies with. So of course, AD has no problem going there. like and But I already saw today that the Mavericks put out like an AD graphic. And it was like 10 all-stars, or sorry, nine all-stars. And then AD had to comment on the post saying 10 all-stars. They didn't include the latest one. What are they doing over there? It doesn't, oh my god. Yeah. anyway look Like AD was playing some of the best ball he ever has recently, but the question marks are always the same with him, that he's not the number one guy on a team. He is one of the best players in the NBA at his position and probably overall, but he's always, when he thrived with the Lakers, it was with LeBron as the leader. Now he has Kyrie there alongside him, but Kyrie had his own struggles last season in the playoffs, unable to create his own shot at times. And now he's going to be the primary ball handler
00:31:51
Speaker
Who else do you got? Spencer Dinwiddie. Caleb Martin. i kill a bar man now Yeah, true. But I honestly think Harrison made a mess there too because he gave up Quentin Grimes, 25 year old player who was literally playing the best he ever has, a really nice piece that they added. And he just gave him up for Caleb Martin who Yeah, he's a playoff performer, but he hasn't been playing well this year and he has his injury issues and they gave up a pick as well for that. It feels like he's gone. You know what? Take a good player. We'll take a player that's not quite as good, but we'll give you picks as well. And other players like he, he, it doesn't seem like he's actually thinking about what he's doing whatsoever. And
00:32:37
Speaker
Like not getting that, is it the 31 first round pick from the Lakers is an absolute botch of it. And then even with the trade with Quentin Grimes, what we have Kyrie Caleb Martin, um, 80, all of them injury prone. Um, who's PJ has just come back from injury, right? Gafford has been, sorry, lively has been struggling. One of them.
00:33:05
Speaker
One of the guys is struggling with injury after their lively. I think both of them at times this season. This team is like a reverse Clippers from four years ago. It's just everybody is injury prone, but nobody is going to take you to the homeland in the playoffs. I know. I i just don't know. I don't get why they did this for the future. I kind of see it now, the idea, and if they all stayed healthy, but as we've highlighted, they've struggled to do so.
00:33:35
Speaker
And Kyrie has that issue like with a bulging disc in his back all season. Like this, that's just not what you want. Especially when AD is coming in, who was at times when he plays against bigger physical guys, he finds it tough. So what are they going to play him at the four? Like he wanted to his whole career because Nico Harrison is his buddy. He doesn't work as well at the four. He's better as a center and PJ Washington next to him at the four would work. But I feel like AD is going to like get his way.
00:34:06
Speaker
to an extent and then what you're going to play with Lively and AD on the floor. Then who are you sacrificing? Is Washington going to play then at the three and then you're playing Martin and Kyrie? Like realistically only Kyrie can handle the ball out of all of those guys. Like the lineup doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless AD plays at center and I don't know if he's going to be happy to do so. So yeah, I don't know.
00:34:31
Speaker
It doesn't, it doesn't make a whole bunch of sense, but I think the Lakers obviously are licking their lips right now. It'll be interesting to see what they do at the deadline. Cause if they don't do something in terms of their center position or defense full stop, all their games are going to be like 140, 150, because they traded away their best two defenders really this season with Christie and 80 in one trade.
00:34:56
Speaker
I think that's going to be a really interesting thing to see over the next 24 hours is, will the Lakers commit to winning now and trading AR and possibly that last first round pick for a big? Because we're hearing now that the Suns are looking to acquire Jonas Valentunis that they've been talking about the whole time. And we're hearing Miles Turner again for the sixth year in a row, it feels like.
00:35:22
Speaker
but I have a feeling seeing Rob Polinka sit on all his assets for three years after blowing up the championship roster and it's finally paying off. I feel like has just vindicated all of his bad moves and his bad waiting over the last few years. And I can't see him. I can see him just being like, no.
00:35:44
Speaker
We'll wait until LeBron retires. Like I can see him just not doing anything until that big fat paycheck is off the books and he can just spend as much as he wants. Cause this is Lucas team now. Like whatever LeBron wants, it doesn't matter anymore. At this point, to be honest, I think LeBron might ride off into the sunset with Steph or something next year. I don't know what's going to happen there, but I think they could, they could kind of.
00:36:11
Speaker
move completely off Lebron in the summer but that would be a Lebron decision I suppose too with his no trade clause etc. um But obviously this is Luca's team but I think another thing that this does now is makes younger stars want to go there because stars want to play with Luca and especially young stars whereas I think looking at Lebron and AD nobody younger really would have wanted to go there with the idea that they're going to win multiple ships whereas now I think they definitely would. They might have gone for a payday. They might have gone to play beyond the Lakers. you know Such a big deal. But I think now it's a bigger draw again. But that's such a big trade that went down. Any other any other thoughts on it?
00:36:57
Speaker
Uh, not really just along that topic, uh, just a little bump. You see Kyrie having so much fun with Luca saying how he really feels like he's a brother. But we also heard Kyrie two years ago, try and recruit LeBron to come to Dallas. Now both of his boys are in LA. I know. Yeah. I'll leave it at that. Sad times for Kyrie. We might see another, uh, another spiraling of Kyrie if things go wrong this season.
00:37:26
Speaker
Like we've had, we've had some nice coyote years, but you know, he might start throwing balls at kids rather than apologizing for hitting them. But it if things start to go right, no, I can't really say that. I suppose that's a bit of a step too far, but this is all in jest, of course. Um, but yeah, let's see what happens there with that as well. I suppose it's interesting, another bit of a storyline, but another big trade that went down then, I suppose not as big, but one that moves the team closer to where we know they're going to be.
00:37:57
Speaker
in terms
Impact of Spurs-Kings Trade
00:37:58
Speaker
of the Spurs. So the Spurs acquired the Iron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. Obviously Kings, a team I love. I love just watching them play this season. I'm sad Fox is gone. Let's see what happens. But the full trade is Fox and Jordan McLaughlin ended up with the Spurs, Sakhlavin, Sisoko,
00:38:20
Speaker
three firsts and three seconds to the Kings. Now one of those firsts will probably turn into two second rounders because it's protected for the Hornets who suck so bad. So they are not going to finish outside of the bottom 15. So there's going to be two second rounders. So really like two firsts and four seconds, five seconds. And then Zach, Colin Jones and Kevin Herder back to the Bulls and the Bulls got their own first round pick back but it doesn't really matter because it was protected in the top 10 and they look like they're gonna finish on the bottom 10 teams in the league anyway so they're just like oh here you go have your trade back have your have your pick back that you were gonna have anyway so the Bulls got taken for a ride here to be honest they gave up Zach Levine for peanuts and they had chances to get rid of them over the past few years but they didn't do it
00:39:17
Speaker
I think they'll probably a regret that now. But yeah, what do you think on this one? I think i think this trade is, I think, just classic, bad management. you know We have the Spurs, veterans when it comes to trades, developing players, knowing what they have. And the Kings and the Bulls,
00:39:42
Speaker
Ignore all of that pedigree. Ignore every rule you make in the books. Seize what the Mavs did and almost like, that's a great idea. What if I just undersell all of my assets?
00:39:56
Speaker
The King's not getting Stefan Castle, not getting any of the young players, yeah not getting any Atlanta picks over the next few years, which I think are huge, or any picks of substance. I mean, we have a 2027 first round pick from the Spurs. Who cares? The only one of note is the 31, the 2031 Wolves first round pick, which if A.D., if Anthony Edwards, A.E.,
00:40:26
Speaker
gets upset and requests a trade. It might come out, but then the Bulls also getting back Zach Collins, Kevin Herder and Trey Jones. Okay. Some of that can be just taking the bad, you know, the worst players in that Kevin Herder is having an abysmal year, but also not getting a first round pick of note is Shocking. Dispersed walk away with everything they wanted with minimal loss. And we're looking at the two biggest trades of the deadline and going, what's happening? It seems like two teams, like you said, that just didn't manage the situation correctly. Like I i don't understand how Levine
00:41:11
Speaker
can leave without getting anything back. And I think they could possibly move on for trade Jones here. There's word that they might want to trade him already. So somebody else might take him on as a backup point guard. I don't really see there's a market for harder there. They probably could just keep him to be honest, because he's having such a bad year. And then obviously what they got back that their own first round, there's just like not really getting anything back. But in terms of looking at what the other teams have done here,
00:41:40
Speaker
I think Fox was a good pickup. He's having a good season, one of his best. Such a good fit with Wembley, having a younger point guard to kind of step in. Kind of have Chris Paul also maybe guiding him this season, going into what could happen in the future with this Wembley and Fox duo. And the fact that they also didn't have to give up Paul or Harrison Barnes is a big thing as well. Like they kept on with their veterans as well as their best young players.
00:42:08
Speaker
So the Spurs are laughing here. They've got the guy that they wanted and a guy who wanted to go to them more importantly as well. Just a nice fit overall. Looking at Fox this season so far, he's had 25 points per game, 6.1 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game. So pretty good statistically. And then with Levine, he's having one of his best statistical seasons that he's he's ever had in terms of his shooting. But the question and always around him is, can he stay fifth? Can he stay healthy?
00:42:38
Speaker
I would hope he can. I like the him and DeRozan getting back together. They've basically just gone for the Bulls 2.0 here. But ah yeah, what do you think? What do you think these two fits are gonna be like?
00:42:50
Speaker
ah i I think the Spurs fit is going to be great. Now, we might see some growing pains now with Stefan Castle, Chris Paul and Deanna Fox in terms of growth. But if we're worried about growth, the team to send you to and the team that knows their stuff is the Spurs, historically known for developing players. So I think they've made a fantastic move. And like you said, keeping the veterans is very, very underrated.
00:43:20
Speaker
The Kings are such an interesting team and I'm not a Kings fan, but they always seem to gather my attention because they'll collect assets and they'll, I mean, they had that light the beam season that I was enamored with. yeah I loved watching every single, every single win, seeing them like cheer together and stuff. But.
00:43:44
Speaker
There's always something wrong, you know? And I think over the years, it has to come down to the front office. But even then, this season, I thought it was a classic case of the Kings, you know, they're acting too rash, firing, firing their coach, completely forgot his name.
00:44:03
Speaker
Mike Brown, and Mike Brown, right after winning coach of the year, bringing them out of the mud. um And then hearing that it was disciplinary disciplinary issues with Fox. And then Doug Collins comes in and everything's okay. And they're going on a winning streak. And everyone seems happy and free. And then Fox demands trade. And how much of a circus, is it going on back there for you to get exactly what you want and be like, I can't take it. yeah This is enough. I think the word on him was like that he, he wanted to move on to a team that he could win. Um, and then there was like, Oh, we went on a winning streak, you know, and he was like, Oh, maybe next year, then it's fine. I'm happy here. And then he was actually like, Oh wait, the market is there now. I'm, I'm gone. I'm getting out here. So.
00:44:59
Speaker
Yeah, Doug Christie is doing a good job so far, but like, let's see, this has just completely changed the whole dynamic of the team. Now we're going to see a lot more duros and nights than we did before. Don't think there's anything wrong with that monk as well. Pretty, pretty solid player. Going to move into a definite starting role now. Um, so look, they've got the shooting there. Somehow they've got even less defense than they did before, but let's see, let's see what happens. I think.
00:45:27
Speaker
I think they're an interesting case. An interesting team to watch. They might make the plan, but it's really hard to tell what's going to happen now after that. Obviously, we know what's going to happen with the Bulls. They're just tanking, but even more than they were before, especially now that they have control of their own pick, which they already did have. So yeah, there doesn't make sense. but All they needed to do was be worse. But they wanted to make sure if we weren't as worse, we could still have something.
00:45:55
Speaker
yeah literally, they just were like, this guy that we got offers for years ago, we're just gonna, we're gonna move him now. And apparently, next thing, Vucjevic is having a great season. He's a team that he's a player that someone will possibly look to pick up on the deadline, maybe the Warriors, but the Warriors seem to be contacting the Jazz and the Pelicans now. So the Warriors are just scraping the bottom of the barrel at the moment looking for a trade. There's some other things have gone on. We had Chris Middleton leaving the books today. So he's gone. He's out of there. So they've got Kyle Kuzma in their team now. Interesting move. I think right probably the right time to move on Middleton with his injury history and puts Kuzma in a nice position to be on a challenger challenger um and contribute. So let's see what
NBA Trade Deadline Reflections
00:46:47
Speaker
happens there. But we'll all have our eyes on the on the deadline on Wednesday. Hopefully we get some more big news that we have to cover again.
00:46:54
Speaker
and but We've kind of covered the main trades there that have gone down, the the ones that everybody has been focusing on. Do you have any any takeaways or any final points? Final points? Not really. I think i think just on the Bucks trade, I think it's super interesting that this is the trade they went for. They lose AJ Johnson, who has been really promising this year, ah really looking like he can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court if he gets his two hands on it.
00:47:23
Speaker
um but You have to move on from Chris Middleton. I saw saw the injury report the other day for Chris and he was out and the reason was just ankles, plural. Not strain, not issues, just ankles, plural. So it's it's tough with a guy who's been there for so long.
00:47:50
Speaker
your fan base is never going to feel like you got back enough. And I think people's opinion on Kuzma has kind of been out ever since he got to the Wizards. But maybe he'll be more likable next to Giannis. But I'm excited for the next 24 hours. Fingers crossed. We see another Lakers trade and we get to see LeBron go to the finals again one last time.
00:48:12
Speaker
that' would be quite or maybe we'll see the Sixers do something absolutely not they've just traded away KJ Martin for nothing just to be under the apron so yeah there's that they're just trying to save money as always was but but if KJ Martin goes to the Lakers we have to admit Gil Zarena will just explode you
00:48:40
Speaker
On the Sixers, honestly, I'm glad we didn't talk about it much. The dread trade deadline has been so exciting. I haven't thought about our record. so Yeah, let's ah that's not dwell on them right now. Let's bask in the glory of the trade deadline. Forget about everything the Sixers have done. But um thanks again for coming on, Michael. Really appreciate it. I'm going to leave your Instagram in the Description and we hope we we get a bit of a bit of an article or two out you soon and we'll see on again here soon I'm sure so appreciate you for coming on man. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me nice Okay, so I really appreciate Michael jumping on there had a great chat about various trades um and we'll definitely we'll definitely look to have both him and Conan back on again, so I really appreciate the lads jumping on and and Having a chat with me about
00:49:35
Speaker
about the Super Bowl with Conant and then obviously the trade deadline and trades, etc. with Michael. So now let's get into Ganshan's. So I'm going to give Fain's pick. So last week, of course, we have to mention what Shane did. So he had the first three out of three week. And so last week he had Wolves to be Aston Villa. So that was 2-0 to Wolves. Big win there. Southampton to be Ipswich.
00:50:00
Speaker
and Miurich kind of handed that game to Southampton in the Ipswich net, but great pick, and one that I doubt many people would have would have gone with, and then he had the Hornets to beat the Clippers, another a crazy one. So yeah, 3, he's up now to 9 points in total, so 2 points in the first 2 weeks and 5 points last week, so he's up to 9, and I am on a measly 3 points.
00:50:27
Speaker
like getting one right every week. I thought, you know, that's, that's all right. Keep that streak going. But Shane is powering on. So you need to start putting some money on these underdogs that he's picking because this is not like, this is not normal for him. Sorry. This is not normal for anybody. Like to be getting this many underdogs, correct. It's just like such great predictions. Shane is absolutely flying it, but obviously he knows what he's chatting about. He knows his, he knows his stuff. So back him back him. Let's put a bit of money.
00:50:56
Speaker
but a bit of money on the line and so let's get into this week's and so what Shane has gone for here he's gone back with his Hornets and this time he's gone with them to beat the Spurs and so interesting one there we just had a good chat about the Spurs myself and Michael um ah about the moves they made in trade deadline and then after that he's gone with Millwall to beat Leeds in the FA Cup. So it's an FA Cup weekend this week. and So he's he's said that Leeds are pushing for the championship title. They're likely to make changes in this game and an all championship affair could be up in the air, could go either way here. And then he's also gone for Burnley to beat Southampton. So he said Southampton had their tails up in the league after that last win. They're fighting to survive. And he said Burnley don't concede goals, so it wouldn't be a shock.
00:51:48
Speaker
So Burnley are Millwall are 13-2 he has here. Then getting into mine, I actually also have Burnley to win. So I've gone with Burnley to beat Southampton too. So Southampton are 13-20 and that's on Saturday afternoon um and Burnley obviously Shane mentioned they're 4-1.
00:52:08
Speaker
so What I what I've gone for this is I've i've said that, you know, Burnley have only conceded once since Christmas and there's been seven goals in the last seven Southampton games in the prem that they've scored. Now, they did beat Swansea Terrena in the Cup, but only seven games goals and seven games in the prem.
00:52:28
Speaker
and against a defence who have been excellent for Burnley. I've put in that this could could be one that goes to penalties, so we'll see what happens there. I think yeah anything can happen once it goes to penalties, but I think Burnley will just be looking to keep this as quiet as possible, and they might settle for an L&L, so we'll see. We'll see what happens there. I've also gone with my 76ers. They're 20 29 now with Joe LMB back in the lineup. They're playing the Pistons on Friday night in Detroit,
00:52:58
Speaker
Um, I think they're on a Sixers are on a good run. Some of their best players are coming back. We might see Quentin Grimes playing his first game there. Um, and I think it will be close, but I i fancy I've got to back my team here to beat Detroit. Um, even though they're having a great season, which I chatted about last week. So as I'm going for there, so the Pistons have 25 wins and the Sixers have 20. And then my extra one is an NBA one too.
00:53:25
Speaker
so I'm going back with the Blazers who are on a massive hot streak and so last week I had them to beat the Suns which they did that was my one win last week and this week I've gone with them to beat the Timberwolves on Saturday night so the Blazers have won nine of the last ten so they've beaten the Suns twice they beat the Pacers very nicely last night I don't know what's going on with them they just completely turned around it's it's madness they might even be making a play and push at this point and I know they're only 22 and 29 but winning nine of their last ten, if they keep that kind of form going into the rest of the season, you never know what's going to happen. and So also then looking at the Timberwolves, they're a bit iffy this season, very hard to predict. They lost their last two games to the Kings and the Wizards before that, which is madness. and So yeah, going to go with the Blazers there for myself with that one. so
00:54:16
Speaker
Now, let's jump into the football chat. So I'm just going to touch on one topic
Evan Ferguson's Impact on Irish Football
00:54:22
Speaker
here. So what I wanted to talk about was something related to the transfer deadline day since that just passed. And so I want to talk about an Irish player. I want to talk about Evan Ferguson. And so Ferguson has gotten a loan move to West Ham for until the end of the season and getting back with Graham Potter, who's newly been and been newly appointed there at West Ham. I think it's a good move for him. I think and something that was definitely needed. Things weren't great with Brighton this season. Obviously injuries played a part in that, but he seemed to be down the pecking order, which I don't agree with because he's such a high level striker and one that the kind of profile that's in such high demand at the moment and probably there's not an abundance of. So if he can kind of cement himself as a solid Premier League starter,
00:55:12
Speaker
And that'll be that be excellent. I think West Ham is the perfect place to go. Obviously, Michael Antonio had that unfortunate and accident. So he's his' like he's out with a broken leg. And then we've had other injuries for West Ham, including Fulcrug, who's barely played a lot of injuries. So I think Ferguson, great move to get back with Potter. A good team to go to in terms of Ferguson in general. So he's still only 20 years old.
00:55:38
Speaker
He has to keep that in mind and and he has a lot to kind of live up to, I suppose, with the hype that's built around him, which is very difficult. I think going to a West Ham,
00:55:50
Speaker
a team where I think he can get regular minutes with a good manager um who have some good creative players there. and Him working with Bo and I think that could be a nice link up. I could see those two working well together because Ferguson does drop off and Bo and does like to fill that forward space too. So could be something there with a bit of interchanging between the two and kind of occupying different spaces. And that's just kind of my own opinion on what could happen there.
00:56:18
Speaker
Um, it's hard to know, but I think him getting into a team where he is going to be a starter works with a good manager and he might not have too many expectations on him because he's now in a change of scenery. He's not what the club he was with before. And he's kind of on a loan deal. It's not been a big money transfer or anything like that. I think that's good for him rather than going straight for a big transfer and then things maybe.
00:56:44
Speaker
piling on to him a laugh, especially after recovering from injury, he needs to ease back into things. And I think it's it's a good situation for him. So obviously he started with Bohemians in Ireland. He was kind of recognized for that strong physique and good finishing that he had at a very young age. And he went over to the Brighton Academy when he was 14. So and first appearance in the senior team was in 2021. First preem start was in 2022-23 season versus Everton.
00:57:14
Speaker
But he scored in his second sub appearance the game before that I believe against Arsenal. That was on New Year's Day, their New Year's Eve of 2022. So not long ago now, and only just a couple of years back, when he kind of came onto the scene, he had three goals and two assists then.
00:57:29
Speaker
in um in the four games that were kind of surrounding that. So the Arsenal game and then the Everton game in the next two. So a great start for him. Six goals and two assists in 10 Premier League starts that season. And then the following season, six goals in 15 Premier League starts. Now he's struggled this season, and obviously with injuries and stuff too, unlimited playing time. That's been difficult. He's kind of the main hope, I suppose, with the Irish attacking line in the future.
00:58:01
Speaker
A lot of young Irish stars coming up, obviously. and We can't ignore um the likes of and Mason Melia who just got the first million pound transfer from League of Ireland. So that was that was a really big one. He's gone to Spurs. He will be there in the January transfer next season because that's the next window that after he turns 18. So obviously we can't ignore guys like him, guys that are coming up.
00:58:26
Speaker
other guys like Rocco Vada, etc, and really playing well for Watford. But in terms of like a striker that's ready to go right now that we have a lot of hopes on as kind of Irish fans, it really is Ferguson. Parrot, of course, it's important to remember, I think Parrot's only 23, like, feels like he's been around for a lot longer, but he's a guy coming into his own in the Airdavisa. So we could see a front two of Ferguson and Parrot in the near future, but Ireland have a lot of good young talent coming up, maybe lacking a bit in midfield. and But Ferguson is someone that people have a lot of hopes for. So for Ireland so far, he has 18 caps, four goals and one assist. Got his first call up in 2022. I've seen him play for Ireland live a couple of times. He just his presence on the field, you can tell.
00:59:13
Speaker
whenever he gets the ball, there's a buzz in the stadium. It's just great to kind of see him play in the Aviva and long may that continue. But I think this, this move to West Hamill really kick kickstart that for him. It's my opinion that this will go well. I think we will see him break into that team cement himself as a starter there for the rest of the season and score multiple goals. I do think we will see that I have every faith that his clinical finishing, his control, some of the goals he scored for Brighton, just that first touch and the ability to snap in a finish. Not many strikers have that. And I think what they were asking for around 40 million from this window, if it was to be a permanent deal, I think that would have been a great deal for someone to pick up. Obviously, I think this loan works out and he can reevaluate in the summer, but Bayer Leverkusen were interested in
01:00:03
Speaker
and other teams in Germany as well, obviously other top teams in England. So I think a move to Germany would be great. I'd love to see an Irish player in the Bundesliga, especially for Leverkusen. That would be ah we just amazing to play for a team that's challenging with Jaby Alonso as the coach, playing with players like Florian Wertz. That just it would be so amazing to see Ferguson do that. It possibly might be a step in the summer. We'll see how his value and is in the summer after this transfer.
01:00:29
Speaker
i I'm thinking it would be on the up if things go well, which I do think they will. But yeah, that's just something I wanted to touch on. There's been a few um transfers for Irish players in this window. Obviously, the Melia was a big, big news here for, especially for the League of Ireland, that move from St. Pat's, I think it was 1.6 million. It was just reported earlier this week. So that was, that was huge. And then we've added our moves like Festi Aboseli got recalled from his loan to Watford and now he's gone to Istanbul, Basakshir.
01:00:59
Speaker
um So that's a big move for him. An Irish player in the Turkish league is great too. I love to see these Irish guys just playing in multiple leagues and representing Ireland across Europe. I think it's important for them to branch out because if they all play in the English system, especially in the lower leagues, there's kind of common themes with how teams play. And I do think we need those these guys to branch out and play in different leagues. I think Festi playing in Italy was was really good for him, very important. I think Jacob Bryan playing in Lyon was a big deal. Now, obviously, we've got a. Andro Amadelli over in Strasbourg, so that's big for him playing in the French League, similar to Brian, we've got.
01:01:44
Speaker
John Patrick playing in the French league as well. Good, big young star. hopefully he Hopefully he continues what he's doing over there with them. Excellent to see him. He just looks such a physical presence on the field. And then outside of that, we've seen Gavin Bazounou moved over to the Belgian league, Standard Liège. So that's another one, another league that we have an Irish representation in. So all in all, I really enjoy seeing these guys move to different leagues. And I think it would be and a good move for Evan if he did move to Germany. So that's something we we're going to keep an eye out on. We might see something happen in the summer. Obviously we'll be touching on transfers, but important to focus on the Irish guys because I think it's good and things are things are looking up in the future if we fill that need in midfield. But myself and Shane will definitely have have a chat over the next international window about the Irish team and obviously into the summer with the World Cup qualifiers. So that's my football topic for
01:02:43
Speaker
for this week. So just going to wrap things up now by getting into the power rankings. So I'll go with mine here first. So last week I had Liverpool first. I still have them first. Last week I had the Rockets second. Now they're on a bit of a slump. and I've actually dropped them out completely because I think there's other and NBA teams that are warranted more.
01:03:07
Speaker
And I made these rankings before last night when D-Lo dropped a game winning three and the Mets beat the Rockets scoring two threes in the last nine seconds. So I think that's kind of even more justified now. But I've gone and moved the Eagles up to second and just kind of looking into the Super Bowl, looking at their season in general. And I just feel like they're the team I think will win, so I've put them up to second for the fantastic season that they've had. and They were a third last week for me, then I've got the Chiefs in third, they were fourth last week, so both the Eagles and Chiefs moving up one with their rocket slipping out. I've got the Knicks then in fourth, so last week I had them in sixth. I think them taking down the Grizzlies was a big one. They're on a 7-3 run at the moment and they're third in the east,
01:03:54
Speaker
So they're they're on a great run offensively. They've been excellent. Towns has been excellent. I actually think they won again so last night. So they're on a three-run at the moment. and Then I've gone with Arsenal in fifth after that big win against City. Just their season in general needed a big win, but I think overall they've been very good this season. And they will hopefully make a little bit of a title race. I know Shane won't want to hear that. and But I think, yeah, I think it would be nice to see a little bit of a challenge at least down the stretch but they're they finished third in the Champions League and they're second in the Premier League at the moment and third in the table for Champions League should I say so into the knockout rounds. Looking at this they've had one loss since the 6th of November and and that was against Newcastle and they have the ability to turn that around it's on right now I'm not sure of the score so that might not happen but that was their only loss um since then so I think
01:04:53
Speaker
They're on a very good run at the moment and they deserve to be in that spot. So they're in fifth and Bournemouth were in fifth last week so I dropped. I dropped them out to put Arson and because just because I think, yeah, they're, even though Bournemouth having a hell of a season, I think Arson deserves that recognition. And then in sixth, I've gone with the Grizzlies. And so I mentioned the Knicks beat them, but they're on a seven and three run of their own with Jamorant in and out of the lineup with injury. They look such a force. Jaren Jackson, Jr. just looks excellent this season. So they're second in the West at the moment. and They just recently beat the Bucks and the Rockets. so
01:05:28
Speaker
They're forced to be reckoned with very strong team, very good defensively. So I like what they're doing over there. So I've put them in sixth now. Last week, as I mentioned, the Knicks were in sixth, so they've moved up. And the reason I kind of had the Knicks ahead was just the fact that they beat the Grizzlies and the last time they played just very recently. So that's my top six Liverpool Eagles Chiefs, Knicks.
01:05:49
Speaker
Arsenal and the Memphis Grizzlies. So let's have a look at Shane's last week. He had Liverpool first, then he had the Rockets, then the Chiefs, then the Thunder, Bournemouth, and then the Eagles. and This week he's gone with Liverpool still in first. He has the Thunder moving up to second. He's got the Chiefs then in third. He's got the Cavs in fourth, so they're a new addition for him. He's dropped the Rockets out, so he has the Rockets around an 0-3 run.
01:06:19
Speaker
Hard to include them, but ah it hurts not to have them in, I think, 0-4 now after that loss to the Nets last night, which was not a good one. and Then he's got the Eagles in fifth, and then Forrest making a reappearance, and he has their 7-0 win last week. and Can't not have them in. Such such a big win. Such a dominant performance against a Brighton team who We've just let Ferguson go. and Couldn't score last last week and that game didn't just really look disjointed very poor defensively overall. like I really thought they were bad on that game. But yeah, that that's pretty much it for this week. So I really hope you enjoyed the episode. I hope you enjoyed the guests on. Let us know if you'd like to have a bit more of an appearance of guests in the future. Anybody.
01:07:06
Speaker
and you would like to see on or any topics you'd like to see covered with guests, we're definitely going to have Conan and Michael back on in the future. It was great chatting with the two lads and hopefully we'll get Shane back in with us again next week. So lads, really appreciate you listening. and Give it a share, give it a like, and subscribe or follow on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast, subscribe on YouTube.
01:07:32
Speaker
If you're watching there, give it a like, comment, everything that you can goes very far for us. Annie, even a single like, even a single mention it to somebody, you know, mention it to your friend and comment in because there's a certain part of it that you thought, oh, what you said here was interesting. I don't agree with what you said here. I agree. Give us some, give us some comments. Let us know what you think. But yeah, really appreciate you listening as always. And we will catch you again next week.