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Ireland Defeat Portugal | Conor Tait: Professionally Quarterbacking in Europe | Mavs Fire Nico Harrison
13 Plays12 days ago
This Week on Who’s Got The Ball? James chats about the amazing night he had in Dublin on Thursday night, when Ireland took down European giant Portugal to keep their World Cup qualifying dream alive.
Then it’s over to another type of football, where Conor Tait joins the show to chat about quarterbacking professionally in Europe, as well as his first experience as an NFL media member in Berlin. James and Conor also break down why Drake Maye could be the NFL’s MVP.
To wrap up, Michael is back on the show and he joins James in chatting about their beloved Sixers’ amazing start to the season. The lads also discuss the firing of Nico Harrison by the Dallas Mavericks, as the fallout from the Luka Dončić trade continues.
Updated Power Rankings.
A brand new Gan Seans segment.
Hot takes. Big laughs. Zero filters.
Tune in now for hot takes, bold predictions, and absolute sporting mayhem from start to finish!
Conor’s Socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conor.tait?igsh=MXR5ZzgycXZiZHRpZw==
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@conortait?si=1hdRebnHT7oLCLaU
Michael’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikle.99?igsh=MXZkbmMydzZlZXE2Zg==
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Transcript
Ireland vs Portugal: Historic Win Discussion
00:00:09
Speaker
Alright lads, welcome back to another episode of Who's Got The Ball. You will notice if you're watching on YouTube, it is just me on my own this week. and Obviously, I've got a couple of guests on as I tend to do and when Shane can't make the episode, but I'm just back from holidays myself. Went to the Ireland game last night and then Shane flew off to Hungary Friday morning, so...
00:00:28
Speaker
he's away we're recording this on friday as opposed to the usual thursday recording and this will be in your ears saturday morning so to get you ready for the weekend ahead so we started off the episode i just did a little bit of a chat about that historic ireland win against portugal last night that i that i went to and but just unbelievable i'll let you listen to kind of my breakdown there on that one and then i had on a special guest in connor tate and He's a member of the Gaelic Gridiron team, which I've been contributing to as well.
00:00:56
Speaker
And Conor is a professional quarterback. He's played in in a lot of European countries. And you'll hear all about his journey um as a professional quarterback in Europe. But also his and first game that he covered as a media member was the Colts and Falcons game in in Berlin last weekend. So we'll hear about his experience there. And we also chatted about Drake May and how impressive he's been this season for the
Ganshan's Picks and NBA Updates
00:01:19
Speaker
Patriots.
00:01:19
Speaker
Then we've got our Ganshan's picks as usual. I gave Shane's picks for him that he sent in and I gave mine an update on the scoreboard there too. Got Michael back once again. You can probably tell by the Sixers had him where and we had to talk about the Sixers, how well they've been playing so far this season as two Sixers fans.
00:01:36
Speaker
We gave kind of an unbiased view and just looking at statistically and kind of the style of play that they've had from what we've watched, what we've made of them and and and how positive it has been so far.
00:01:47
Speaker
And then after that, we talked about Nico Harrison getting fired from the Dallas Mavericks for probably the worst trade of all time with the Luka trade. I then wrapped up by giving the power ranking picks for myself and Shane, which again, Shane sent across and I gave my picks for the week. So stay tuned until the end to find out the updates to that. And there's been a few changes made by both of us, but I'll let you get straight into the episode. So let's get right into
Analyzing Ireland's Game Strategy
00:02:11
Speaker
the action.
00:02:11
Speaker
What a night that was last night. Honestly, I just... I don't know what to say. I still cannot believe that Ireland beat Portugal. Now, I don't want to get overboard here on the whole campaign because we still need to go out and beat Hungary on Sunday, which Shane is over at. He's heading over that way to to support the boys in green. But I was at the game last night and just as a singular event...
00:02:40
Speaker
It hasn't been since Ireland beat Germany um after they had won the World Cup that really we experienced a moment like that. Last night, Ireland was were spectacular. The way they set up, just so brave. I thought like i know they defended in a low block a lot, but which frustrated Portugal so much.
00:03:00
Speaker
And I think that was obviously something to be commended to defend that diligently for that long is very difficult. But on top of that, you look at the tactics that they deployed, kind of...
00:03:12
Speaker
So you could see from from the build-up that they wanted to take a quick, short kick out and then play it out mostly to the left-hand side where they had Darrell O'Shea kind of pulled out at centre-back and Collins gave it out to him.
00:03:27
Speaker
Maybe that would go back and then they would go along because they had pinned Portugal back. with putting four men on the Portugal back four. So they were pushing up Ogbené on one side, on the right, Liam Scales was gone up from left wing back to cover the left back for or the right back for Portugal, which was João Cancelo in the first half.
00:03:47
Speaker
And then you had Parris and Azaz gone further forward. So was four against four. And then in midfield, you had Cullen and Taylor fighting for everything then that came off of that. So that was really a really brave way to go about things because I think in the first game against Portugal, Ireland defended very well. They saw that they could frustrate them, but they didn't create them ah much at all. Whereas this time around, they kind of needed...
00:04:10
Speaker
to have that bit of creation because ultimately they needed to score here they probably felt that they were going to concede maybe one at some stage and and they needed at least a draw but to go out and score twice and get a 2-0 win like Troy Parrott He led the line very well. He fought hard, took two big chances. One of them, you know, was obviously a tapping, but he was in the right place.
00:04:32
Speaker
The second one, a nice clinical finish into the corner. The goal was not on there at all, but he still took This season so far, he's played 14 games for Alkmaar, scored 13 goals and two assists. He's a great option, I think, to start for Ireland going forward. and He's clinical, he's confident.
00:04:49
Speaker
It's what you need from the start. Ferguson has had a little bit of a tough time. um at club level, but he's shone for Ireland. I think recently he was a bright spark, but maybe him, I know he's injured at the moment, but him coming off the bench, if Parrot can keep this up, might make some sense and because Parrot looks to be a very good option for 60, 70 minutes, which is what roughly he plays for his club as well.
00:05:11
Speaker
So I think bringing on Ferguson instead of Ida last night probably would have made a bigger difference in a game had we needed to go after it.
Conor Tate's European Football Journey
00:05:20
Speaker
So that could be an option. Another I want to talk about is Cidoziak Bene.
00:05:25
Speaker
Just super all night. He was kind of the outlet ball. Now, he didn't win everything. He found it hard to win number of headers, but I feel like the team was set up in a way that they were fighting for second balls that maybe they didn't need to do that every time. But there was a couple of times where it was played low into his feet and he controlled it so well and won free kicks on a couple of occasions when we needed it.
00:05:47
Speaker
And there's a time we want to throw in and Seamus Coleman was just going crazy, like patting him on the back, geeing him up to the crowd, just... immense immense all around the whole team just played so hard they fought so hard i was so impressed with jake o'brien like just you could watch it probably wasn't picked up on on tv some of his antics but he was pushing and pulling ronaldo um When the ball wasn't going in, Ronaldo kept dropping behind the defensive line to try and get Ireland to drop deeper, but they weren't falling for it. They were keeping up. Collins was constantly telling O'Brien not to drop off to stay where he was.
00:06:23
Speaker
But when Ronaldo did come around by O'Brien, O'Brien was pulling at him, pushing him. a couple of times I saw Ronaldo slapping his hand away. getting him frustrated and that culminated in Ronaldo getting sent off.
00:06:34
Speaker
Just a complete capitulation. he really just lost the head. I don't know why. It seemed like he almost had an expectation that the Irish crowd were going to be on his side, even though he's playing against our country.
00:06:47
Speaker
And because he said some nice things about Irish fans and stuff like that, like you're playing against Ireland. They're not going to be doing anything other than Boone or like Jiren, the best player on the other team. which is what they did. And then he did the crybaby thing that got thrown back at him. And he then waved to the fans and gave them the thumbs up as if they were the reason he got sent off.
00:07:08
Speaker
The only reason you got sent off is because you couldn't control yourself emotionally. And look, first right card in his international career, Ireland was the one that pulled it out of him in a big moment. So we'll absolutely take it and we'll, we'll play one again to Hungary. But I think I mentioned his name, Seamus Coleman.
00:07:26
Speaker
an absolute machine he hasn't been playing much for for Everton given his age and recent injuries but to fight from start to finish and just amazing and I got a nice video of him at the end of the game he came around to each side of the crowd he came around to the side where we were and He's just like beating his chest, pumping up the crowd and beating the crest. He just loves playing for this country.
00:07:48
Speaker
And yeah, check out that video if you haven't. I i have it up on on my Twitter page. And it's just just a beautiful moment. And after the game, when the players did the lap, kind of going around after all the fans were singing, he was just standing there looking at the stand, taking it all in because it probably could be his last home international game. We don't know. and Our last competitive home international game.
00:08:10
Speaker
So... Yeah, just amazing from him. I feel like he brings up the morale of everybody else in
NFL Analysis: Key Performances and Comparisons
00:08:16
Speaker
that team. I think he's the reason that they all fought so hard last night. Josh Cullen was brilliant. too He was just constantly pumping everybody up. And when we didn't have him in the squad, it seemed like some of the players didn't really care about pulling on that green jersey. And every one of them did last night.
00:08:31
Speaker
The guys that came off the bench too. Everybody fought. Everybody played hard. Everybody showed emotion. And they deserve that win thoroughly. And it really put a lot down to him. and his part that he plays mentally in that dressing room, but also the part he plays on the pitch. Just such a talent, fights so hard, and he saves his best minutes for Ireland. So very grateful for that from him.
00:08:54
Speaker
But yeah, that's the main thing I wanted to talk about football always, because... Yeah, the Premier League isn't on right now. I'm i flying solo today um on the football side of things. So let's jump in now to our first guest of the day. Okay, guys, we've got another special guest back this week. In Shane's absence, we've we've got Conor Tate on the show. Conor's played quarterback in France, Spain, Germany, and Finland.
00:09:17
Speaker
He's also a member of the Gaelic Gridiron team with myself. So welcome, Conor, onto the podcast. It's a delight to have you on. We're going to start chatting about your your sideline and your your press experience at the Falcons and Colts game, which you were at in Berlin last weekend.
00:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, listen, thanks for having me, James. It's it's an absolute pleasure. and And it was also a pleasure to be on the sideline and in the Olympia Stadion, the fabled Olympia Stadion. Listen, what an experience. and And before I ramble into it, just kudos to the NFL and all the organisers who put it together because it was so smooth and so well run. And they took very, very, very good care of us and and myself personally. So, yeah, huge a huge dankeschön to everyone who organised it.
00:10:01
Speaker
No, it's great to know that you you can go there and experience something that you've always dreamed of, but then to have like such good treatment when you're there obviously mix makes the whole thing. So we want to know about your experience on the sideline, of course, and how how that went first time being there, but also your your thoughts on the game. We'll start with how it felt kind of your first time covering a game as like a media member.
00:10:27
Speaker
Like how how did that whole situation feel as a first timer? Yeah, it felt like first day at school, kind of had the the jitters, you know, or i first day at a new team, first day in a new job, don't really know where to go or or what where to look.
00:10:41
Speaker
But um yeah, once once you got settled in, it the sideline access was was unprecedented and incredible. You get sideline access, but you kind of accept expect to be chaperoned a bit and pushed around and said, go here, go there, don't do this, don't do that. And we were right there with the guys, man. It's like, oh my goodness, it's Bijan Robinson.
00:10:59
Speaker
My goodness, Michael Penix, Daniel Jones, Michael Pittman Jr. So it was just marvellous. And then when the actual game... started to be up in the press box and to have pretty much the best seat in the house. Just just incredible. the The food was great.
00:11:14
Speaker
ah the The media room, as I say, i like I'm harping on a bit, but they really did take such good care of us and it was an excellent event. and in terms of a showcase and a game, it was highly competitive. And we got extra bang for a buck. We got overtime in Berlin on Sunday. So could not have asked for more, maybe better, maybe warmer day.
00:11:33
Speaker
But yeah other than that, it was just spectacular. Yeah, the game itself was an absolute corker, as you mentioned. think... i think Obviously, Jonathan Taylor was the story.
00:11:45
Speaker
244 yards, three touchdowns. They used him as a bell cow, 32 attempts. He's already gone over 1K this season. That's his fifth season with over 1,000 yards.
00:11:56
Speaker
I know that you had a clip where you recorded that big run, but you cut the feed off because it looked like he was about to get pulled down and he just bounces to the outside. like What was that like to see from your viewpoint where you can see the whole field and The way that he almost feels the the contact, but knows the space where it is to bounce off of.
00:12:19
Speaker
What was that like witnessing that kind of in person? And how did that kind of feed into your experience of the whole game day, that kind of vantage point of the whole thing? It was a privilege. And like like you say, to to be to have that view of it in that historic moment, in that historic stadium, just privilege is that is the word that comes to mind. And Jonathan Taylor has suffered a little bit from the cold scheduling. They always play at noon. I mean, three touchdowns. He's been doing that every game this season. That's nothing new for Jonathan Taylor. OK, he put a lot of yards with it too in Berlin. but
00:12:50
Speaker
Yeah, he finally got a primetime opportunity to showcase it and and put his name there in the MVP conversation for real. and And it certainly is. And and in regards to to my viewing of it, it could not have gotten any better.
00:13:04
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. No, the videos that you've you put out over the course of the game are great. And if anybody does want to see more experience of the game, they believe you have a video up on YouTube right now of the whole experience. So we're going to we're going to get that into the description for anyone who wants to give that a look. And obviously we'll we'll plug Connor on socials, too. But.
00:13:23
Speaker
Looking at Daniel Jones, I just want to get your opinion on his last couple of weeks. So seven turnovers in the last two weeks, but he only had three in his previous eight games.
00:13:34
Speaker
And is this a little bit of the old DJ coming out or... Is this a factor of teams kind of knowing more how to scheme? Because I i think the Falcons copied a little bit what the Steelers did the week before. But despite this, he still did have some some big plays. He had that big run and his completion percentage has been very good this season. So he's not making bad decisions throwing the ball. It just seems he's a little bit more confused now than he was earlier in the season.
00:14:04
Speaker
um Well, there's a lot of different ways you can branch off this. The Steelers let definitely laid out the blueprint and I thought Atlanta did a good job schematically defensively to slow down Indianapolis.
00:14:15
Speaker
Lack of execution. I mean, they went for it on fourth down. There were more points on the table there. They didn't kick the field goal. So that's that's a coaching decision. And when you're a quarterback and you get told to run a toss play on fourth down, that's not on you if if you guys don't get it, you know.
00:14:28
Speaker
and But I, you know, and and then the interception, okay, let's really look at that interception. There's 20 odd seconds left of the half. You're trying to push the ball downfield. You're trying to get into long field goal range. There's no real drawback to throwing that interception. It's an arm punt.
00:14:43
Speaker
for want of a better phrase. So you you don't really mark that one against him. The lost fumble, that's on him. And I do think that we're seeing a little bit of the the previous years that you've been privy to in New York coming out of Daniel Jones in the last couple of weeks. But at the same time, the Daniel Jones in New York, when he was sacked on that final drive to set up third and 20, wouldn't have dug himself out of that hole. and let's It was on him to dig himself out. And he recognized that it was shell coverage. They were deep. And he took off stud up.
00:15:10
Speaker
Got 18 yards and then they obviously got the the good conversion on fourth down then to to bring it to overtime. So I would have been worried leaving Berlin about Daniel Jones had not overcome that third and 20 obstacle.
00:15:23
Speaker
But he did. So I think there's some fire there in his belly. I like DJ at the moment. Yeah, I think Shane Steichen is a good fit for him as well because he does what Jones is comfortable with.
00:15:36
Speaker
And I think they saw the situation as well on Sunday and they saw that maybe things weren't an ideal game for him to rack up the passing attempts. So they used Jonathan Taylor like a crazy amount, as I said, 32 attempts.
00:15:51
Speaker
And that kind of feeds into the fact that maybe if this team goes far and there's an MVP on this team, it could be Jonathan Taylor over the quarterbacks. So that's that's an interesting one to keep an eye on. I do want to touch on the Falcons quickly as well.
00:16:05
Speaker
I just think this team is it must be so frustrating to be a fan of the Falcons because so many nerdy moments, like they lost in week one to the Bucks by three when they should have won.
00:16:16
Speaker
Then not an early moment, but they got battered by the Panthers by 30. Then coming back after that, losing week eight to the Dolphins by 24. Those are two massive losses that you really can't take if you want to compete and get into the playoffs. And then week nine, they lose by one to the Pats with a missed PAT. And then this loss in Germany.
00:16:36
Speaker
It's just crippling, really, as a Falcons fan, if you were one to to watch that kind of football. Yeah, you and you can add into that mix bizarre and excellent wins in Minneapolis against the healthy commanders and against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, right? You don't know where you stand with the Atlanta Falcons.
00:16:53
Speaker
The long and the short of it is they're not quite good enough in a very competitive NFC this year, and and their record speaks volumes of that. So i don't think I don't think Coach Morris is in trouble.
00:17:04
Speaker
I do think the Atlanta Falcons have a lot of potential still early on. Michael Penix, obviously Kirk Cousins is not coming back into the fray. I think coach Morris has has made that ah very, very clear, but and yeah, I think the jury is is still out on the Falcons. I don't think they'll be in the playoff picture this season and it's, it's up to next year now for Michael Penix to take that next step and the Falcons to turn into a dynamic offense and ah just a solid defense.
00:17:27
Speaker
And then they'd be in with a real shot of taking a a not so strong division in the NFC South next season. Yeah, I think they have a lot of promising young pieces and on defense. And obviously they have B. John Robinson, who has the potential to be probably the best offensive player in the league. i if he kick listen Listen, we were talking about Jonathan Taylor and how lucky I was to witness his performance.
00:17:50
Speaker
in Berlin and in person, but, and he is an amazing back and he had a great game, but watching B. John Robinson in person is something else. And he didn't put up the goalie numbers, but just the way, it eat the way he cuts is, I mean, for the man of his size, because i got a great shot of him coming out of the field and right beside him, dude is jacked, right? And he can cut and on a dime. It's phenomenal. I mean,
00:18:15
Speaker
put him and behind a good offensive line and it's i think like agility wise just pure skill he is the best running back in the nfl and i don't think it's particularly close he the way he moves is just magical yeah yeah you would i would have to agree with you on the fact that he can the way that he has the potential to do the things that other players can't that they just physically can't like the way he moves and reads the game and love the Falcons. and Social media team gets great like slow motion videos of his cuts.
00:18:48
Speaker
and They're always good to watch on
Playing American Football in Europe: Conor Tate's Experience
00:18:50
Speaker
social media too after the games. But yeah, seeing him in person must have been... Go ahead. He moves like a Madden player. Right. he He moves like he's controlling a joystick. Right. he the what It's just it's marvelous. It doesn't look real because I think when you see NFL live in person, you can kind of see, OK, they are human.
00:19:09
Speaker
Right. They're not quite as impressive as it is on on on the screen. But this guy is just nuts. It looks like a Madden player. It's incredible. He's phenomenal. Yeah, another guy that's playing as if he's in Madden this season is Drake May.
00:19:22
Speaker
So far this season, passing yardage leader, he has played a couple more games in some QBs, one more game than others, obviously, after na last night. But right now he has 2,836 yards. It's the most in the league. But looking at...
00:19:36
Speaker
yards per pass completed he's 8.9 it's only second in the league to sam darnold so consistently he has the ability to make big plays um 20 touchdowns five interceptions the team doesn't exactly have a wealth of skilled position players stefan diggs has been relied on heavily but Some of the throws, like that pass last weekend to Kyle Williams for the touchdown, the way he just rolls out of the pocket and he knows he's about to get obliterated and he does at the end of the pass and it's it's absolutely perfect.
00:20:09
Speaker
And obviously Kyle Williams has the burners and he's gone. But I think the way he's playing, there's no reason why he shouldn't be firmly in the MVP conversation this season. Drake May, when you when you go on, we're we're using Madden now a lot, or I am, but when you go on Madden and you create your quarterback, Drake May is pretty close to what you create. I mean, he he is capable doing everything. He can make every throw in the field. He's tall.
00:20:31
Speaker
He's athletic. He's smart. One thing he did, especially last night, which was really impressive, was look at how many checkdowns he threw. Right. And I mean that in the best way possible. I mean, they they set up that play. They play fake with the running back.
00:20:45
Speaker
And he he goes through the offensive line, sits down in the hook zone and he goes through his progressions. Drake may have best depot in the NFL. That's undisputed at the moment. But if it's not there, he will dump it off for four or five yards. And he's just making consistent good decisions. And I think part of that reasoning is Josh McDaniels, man.
00:21:02
Speaker
like Josh McDaniels has not had success as a head coach in the NFL, but my goodness has he been good as an offensive coordinator. And you're getting to see it again. You've got a guy in Mike Vrabel as head coach who has been an elite head coach somewhere else.
00:21:14
Speaker
And now he's he's passing that on. I think it's a it's a perfect storm in New England. And and you know the the PTSD for a lot of people of of newton New England are back. New England are back. And and Drake May, is it looks like they found that guy.
00:21:26
Speaker
Yeah, at the start of the season, I i felt like after watching Drake May last year, he was incredibly impressive, but I wasn't sold on what the whole roster looked like. But then you get the elevation of coaching, like you mentioned. i think if McDaniels...
00:21:42
Speaker
you know, in New England, his time didn't end as sweetly as he would have liked the first time around. But I feel like if they had more skilled players available that time, he could have schemed up a lot better of an offense than he did um or that people gave him credit for. And I think he is, as you mentioned, one of the sole reasons here why...
00:22:00
Speaker
things are going so well because like, you know, no disrespect to the likes of a Mac Collins or a rookie in Kyle Williams, but they're not the elite level that some of the other QBs in this league have.
00:22:10
Speaker
So for Drake May to be playing so well and not to forget that he's taken the second most sacks in the league behind Cam Ward with 36. So he is getting beaten up back there.
00:22:21
Speaker
That would be my main worry that, you know, I don't think it's necessarily his fault because the offensive line hasn't really overly improved from how poor they were last year. But I would be a little bit worried that he might pick up an injury taking all these hits. That's the only part of things that I would be concerned about.
00:22:37
Speaker
Yeah. and And your best ability as a quarterback is your availability. So it's it's important for him to stay healthy to try and limit the hits. I mean, he's a smart runner. um He doesn't tend to to lead with his shoulder or anything like that. But as you say, like the more hits you take, the more likely it is to pick up an injury that's going to take you out of a game.
00:22:55
Speaker
So it's it's that's the pivotal thing for New England is to keep Drake healthy. And I hope for his sake and I hope for the Patriots' sake, they they do. Because what we're watching right now is is elite from New England. england yeah Yeah, I think they can make pretty deep playoff push.
00:23:11
Speaker
And I think they are probably with the coaching core and the quarterback on course for in a few years time to be back competing for Super Bowls, which people, as you said, would...
00:23:21
Speaker
They're kind of worn out of that already with with the Pats and for them to be back so soon. But and I mentioned at the top that Conor has played quarterback in multiple European countries. um So we want to touch a little bit on your own personal playing experience before we let you go here. want start by asking, how did you initially get interested in playing American football and what age kind of did you get into the game itself?
00:23:46
Speaker
I have a unique path, man. I think we can both agree that American football is just brilliant as a product. And so I was mesmerized watching it. and And I always wanted to play football, as in soccer, and since since I was this tall, right?
00:23:58
Speaker
um And I dedicated pretty much 14-15 years to becoming a professional soccer player and you know it didn't happen. and And if you're at the age of 19 or 20 and you're not professional by then, odds are you're never getting there.
00:24:12
Speaker
So I kind of said to myself, okay, this probably isn't going to happen. Is there something else i can I can do in the sporting world? And I was getting interested in American football. I learned that um you can only have two Americans on on a team in Europe and and the majority of the leagues, they're all slightly different with the rules. But So, and me not being in any way American, that that means I am one of the other nine on the team. So it's it's like, okay, if I can get myself good enough to play quarterback, they're not going to go and get an American. They can get me and they can get two wide receivers.
00:24:41
Speaker
And we've seen teams in the NFL with two great receivers. You can't double on both. So it it adds a new dynamic to to a general manager or a head coach that wants to go in that direction. but which which kind of was my USP. So i then, you know, I was very fortunate after about a year and a half of of working at it by myself,
00:24:59
Speaker
ah with With great support from my family, I got an opportunity to play in Germany for for the season. Now, it was it was unpaid, but i got the opportunity to go out there and almost like an apprenticeship, go out there and earn an internship rather, go out there and improve it.
00:25:12
Speaker
I made a great season. and and And after that, I got a professional opportunity. And after that, it snowballed from there. And obviously, I've been fortunate enough to play in four different countries. So yeah, I have the best life in the world, man. have the best job in the world, honestly. I'm truly, truly blessed.
00:25:25
Speaker
Yeah, what's what is that like being professional athlete in a sport that, you know, it's it's continuing to grow, but it has such a passionate fan base. And even in Europe, there's such a large interest and it's growing growing and growing.
00:25:40
Speaker
What is that like, you know, playing in multiple different countries? And has there been challenges to overcome with that then moving and you know, different languages, different cultures? How have you adapted to that?
00:25:52
Speaker
Oh, sure. There's lots of challenges, man. But you've got to accept that that that's part and parcel of of what you've signed up for. So if if you accept that going into it, it it is less less of a a mountain to climb. ah it's Listen, it it's just it's incredible. like get You get to experience all these cultures. I mean, like it's it's like a paid vacation almost in that in that regard. Obviously, you've got to put the work in.
00:26:14
Speaker
You know, you've got to practice good, you've got to go to the gym, you've got to be consistent. But at the same time, like in your downtime, you have an opportunity to see a place that very few people are going to get to see, certainly the number of different places.
00:26:25
Speaker
I mean, is like my camera roll is just full of brilliant photos and videos. and That's why I've started trying to document it all on on my YouTube channel because I'm like, this is too good. I can't, you know, i sit down with my kids one day be like, just tell them I just want to be able to stick it on. Right. We're in 2025. So we have the ability to do that now. And yeah, that that's the biggest thing of all is that the places you get to see and then the people you get to meet, because i'm now, i would say, culturally diverse. I understand kind of how certain cultures operate and and like for example the finnish people are are known as very closed off people they're not they're just very they're cognitive thinkers like they they don't talk nonsense like i am right now they don't waffle right they think about what they're what they're about to say and if if you actually sit down with them and have a conversation they're just brilliant uh so it's it's it's learning all that stuff that i would say is just the the creme de la creme of it all
00:27:18
Speaker
Yeah, sounds from an outside perspective, like a special way to learn a culture or to learn a place. You get to do it. So playing a sport that you love and experience that. Also, the best way to learn a language, by the way, instead of language classes, like all these countries I've gone to haven't actually had language classes in them, but I've been able to pick up some of the language because you're just immersed with the people.
00:27:39
Speaker
Like, don't go to the Irish bar every evening, right? Go to the locals places, try and actually immerse yourself, meet up with the guys, go go and get some tapas in Spain or or go and go to the lake in Finland or, you know, it's try try and do what the locals do as opposed to just going there and trying to stay away from it sort of thing.
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And you you mentioned Spain there. I believe that's where you're based at the moment. So what are your goals for the the season ahead? and what but What are you working on at the moment before you head into um hopefully another season with it but a professional team?
00:28:11
Speaker
Yeah, so obviously the off-season in American football is actually quite a long one. This is the longest one I've had. with With the way I've kind of structured my contracts, I've been fortunate enough to play in summer and winter seasons.
00:28:23
Speaker
So this is the first time I haven't actually committed to a winter season, ah which which has allowed me more more time off. So I've been able to get my fitness to ah to ah a level where I'm very happy with my...
00:28:34
Speaker
my physical conditioning at the moment and obviously I've had a couple of side projects with the the media stuff that's been going on obviously getting out to Berlin was brilliant and then my my YouTube channel and then the video creation side of things that I've also had a lot of lot of time to put into videos that have gone up there so but there's been a number of different projects I've I've been working on and and obviously just staying sharp and in terms of football and getting myself kind of properly ready towards the summer season as opposed to have to rush an off season to get straight into a winter one.
00:29:04
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's really interesting to hear the different aspects. And obviously, you know, if you were to listen to this from some people's perspective, they'd say, like, you know, commend you massively. And I'm one of those people to say they play in the winter and in the summer is it is a physical toll.
00:29:20
Speaker
And I think that that's definitely commendable and obviously gives you more opportunity to get yourself out there and get yourself on film, I guess, too. So, um, No, congrats on on all your success so far. And it was great to have you on and hear all about everything you're working on. As I mentioned, I'm going to plug your YouTube channel and social media so everyone can keep up to date with what you're doing. And yeah, we're definitely going to continue to work together with Gaelic Gridiron and across many things going forward. So was a pleasure to have you on, Conor.
00:29:51
Speaker
Thanks so much, James. I just want to say before I go, that the reason I know so many of my stats before I jump on the Gaelic Gridiron podcast is good to James right here, man. This guy is so sharp. He is so with it in and in regards to to football and just the sporting world
Weekly Sports Picks and Predictions
00:30:05
Speaker
in general. So it really is a pleasure to to have him on board and to to be able to link up like this. It's it's awesome.
00:30:11
Speaker
Appreciate the kind words, Conor. We'll chat to you again soon. Take care. All right, so looking at Ganshans from last week, we both had one point each, myself and Shane. So Shane went with Liverpool to win against City, the Jets to beat the Browns, and Sunderland to beat Arsenal. So he got the win with the Jets against the Browns. So one of his teams won for him there.
00:30:33
Speaker
I also had Liverpool against City. That didn't come off, but I had the Eagles against the Packers, which I did win. Quite a boring game, but it came off in the end. And I also had the Steelers against the Chargers. That one did not come off. So I'm at 8-6 in the lead at the moment.
00:30:47
Speaker
So we're heading into our ninth week now of Gunsjans. And let's give the picks for this week. So I'll give mine first. I went with Ireland to beat Hungary. um Kind of a must-win game right now and riding high on the emotions of last night's game.
00:31:02
Speaker
I think Ireland, yeah, they need to win this. So I'm going to pick them. And I really hope they can do the job. the Bengals to beat the Steelers. It is in Pittsburgh, but I just think the Steelers are not convincing me the last few weeks.
00:31:16
Speaker
I know they won against the Colts, but that was heavily down to turnovers. Joe Flacco has kind of been taking over games and looking after the ball. And I think that Aaron Rodgers has been slowing down in his old age. So i do think the Bengals...
00:31:29
Speaker
are a good value here at two to one. Ireland are 16 to five, by the way. i'm I'm not sure if I mentioned that. But then the last pick I have is similar to what I did last week. I went with the Eagles against the Packers because if you've got two good teams facing off each other facing off against each other in prime time, you can kind of pick one of them and and you have a decent chance this time around. I'm going with the Lions to actually beat the Eagles.
00:31:51
Speaker
This is in Philadelphia. ah do think the Eagles are struggling a little bit on offense. They've, I think one of the lowest third down conversion rates or one of the most, sorry, I don't think it's third down conversion rates. It's one of the most three and outs. I think it is by far the most three and outs in the league.
00:32:09
Speaker
and they have quite a high touchdown percentage so that's not sustainable the lions look like they've sent some play calling duties or dan campbell has sent has taken the play calling duties away from john morton a little bit and maybe to kind of stabilize things so i like the lines in this one and they're five to four so put the three together and you get 28 to one then looking at shane's he's also gone to ireland against hungary so he'll be at the game fingers crossed that one can come come out for both of us and for the country and Then you've got the Bears to beat the Vikings at 5-4.
00:32:40
Speaker
And he's got the Seahawks to beat the Rams at 29-20. I like that one too. I was thinking about that. But I do like the Rams at home. So out I did go for the Lions in the end. And his three together are twenty two to one Alright lads, we've got Michael back once again. We can always count on Michael to step in when Shane goes missing.
Philadelphia Sixers: Team Performance and Strategies
00:32:58
Speaker
He's here once again, but this time we're lucky I think. Me and Michael are quite lucky because we're stepping into a part of the season where the Sixers are playing very well. So you know we're going to have to take our chance as two Sixers fans to talk about this.
00:33:12
Speaker
and We're not going to come at this in a biased way because... You know, you could go too heavy as a fan, but at the same time, there's a lot of things to be said about this team so far and how they're playing. So seven and four right now, third in the East.
00:33:27
Speaker
What have you made of us so far this season?
00:33:32
Speaker
This, i'llll I'll set it off strong. This is the most optimistic I've felt since we traded for Jimmy Butler. For that six months, this is... Now, I'm not saying... since When we traded for Jimmy Butler, a lot of people were saying we should win a chip.
00:33:50
Speaker
And I was kind of believing that too. I'm not saying i think we win a chip this year. But I think my prediction from the start of the season, where if we come into the playoffs as a fifth and sixth seed, Joel Embiid has been playing 25 to 20 minutes most of the season, and he's feeling good and healthy,
00:34:09
Speaker
We people don't want to play against us. I think I think a lot of people want to avoid this kind of matchup where do you want to see Maxie and Edgecombe go for 30 or Kelly Oubre step up and hit 25. Quinton Grimes finally hits and gets another 25.
00:34:26
Speaker
Like there's so many options for scoring on this team. And you look down at the stats and the defense isn't that bad either. It's just been so fun to watch them fight in every game. Even the games we lose, there's so much positivity that we can take out of it.
00:34:44
Speaker
It's just been exciting to sit down and watch every single Sixers game again, which I'm just delighted to have in my life. Yeah, it hasn't been it's been a while since that's been the case because, know, last season was tough. And then the couple of seasons before that, Embiid, you know, at the high level he was playing, sometimes it was not the most exciting basketball to watch because they were deferring to him a lot and he was getting to the line a lot.
00:35:11
Speaker
And although it was it was good and... It was getting us wins. It wasn't the most exciting, but now the way that the team is playing is so much different. And I think a lot of that comes back to maybe the point that you just made there about the positivity within the team to be able to fight late in games, whether that means a win or a loss.
00:35:30
Speaker
They fight in every game till the end, no matter how much they're up or down. And that's really important because once the morale is there, like i think, like you mentioned, the options of scoring, like Oubre is not consistent, but he can give you good scoring nights and he'll fight hard no matter what.
00:35:47
Speaker
And if things start hitting for him, he continues to hit. We saw and Justin Edwards the other night just be absolutely flames from deep and all over the court.
00:35:57
Speaker
like He had seven of eight. Grimes can hit. I think Trenton Watford is only going to get better as he fits in longer here as a playmaker. And the fact that the defense hasn't been, you know, the worst in the league, considering how small we've played a lot of this, like you're looking at the minutes here.
00:36:14
Speaker
Maxie has the most in the league with over 40 and Vijay is second with 37. You have Oubre, fourth, 36. So these guys are playing a hell of a lot of minutes and Vijay is only a rookie and Maxi is not the biggest guy. So you've got a lot of combos there of small, but players that play very hard.
00:36:32
Speaker
And that was signified maybe by Vijay's block the other night in that Celtics win, I think. All these things come together and we still have to add PG, who is arguably our best defender on the roster.
00:36:44
Speaker
And then Embiid, obviously, will have more minutes when things start to ramp up, hopefully. And we haven't even mentioned Jared McCain. We're three minutes, four minutes into this and I haven't even mentioned him and he's going to come. He's going to come soon.
00:36:56
Speaker
Yeah, I was looking into it and just just some stats for you. So we're top 10 offensively. And like you said, we're we're not doing bad defensively. We're 16th currently, which for a team that has their best players, their center, who's playing 20 to 25 minutes a game.
00:37:14
Speaker
And we're looking at Andre Drummond. To poke the ball out of Derek White's hands to end the game against the Celtics. Like Drummond, who was, I mean, he was dead to the NBA for for a year.
00:37:29
Speaker
And he's coming back and playing well with us. A huge thing about it is we're number one in blocks. We're number one on blocks per game. And, you know, we had Adam Bona coming in with five blocks, two points in a win for us.
00:37:46
Speaker
But like you said, Vijay, and we have, you know, quality minutes coming in from Trenton Watford. And even, i mean, Barlow looks like a great project who could, you know, develop into playing a lot more minutes for us later on in the season if needed.
00:38:02
Speaker
it's just so exciting what nick nurse as well is doing out of this team it's it's reminding me a lot of those raptors teams before kawaii joined where you had a lot of names where you're kind of going oh this guy started playing basketball late you know i'm thinking chris boucher and some other some of the other players and their defense is great and he's putting in a system offensively that they can thrive i mean last thing I want to say is we're top 10 in fast breaks and with the third more most efficient team in terms of fast breaks as well.
00:38:38
Speaker
So he's understanding where we're best at and just letting the players go. Yeah, I think he's he's embedded some some good ideas in the team. I think he's seen what works like Pick and roll doesn't really work that well for this team.
00:38:54
Speaker
We do ISO quite a lot for a team that isn't very good at it, but I think our best ISO players are Embiid and George, to be honest, and that they're not even on the court. But looking at our effective field goal percentage from dribble handoffs is 55%.
00:39:09
Speaker
But the team is only attempting five a game. So once Joel plays more, and I think Watford is the perfect guy for this with Maxi. You saw him do one of those between the leg bounce passes as well to Maxi that Joel likes to do. So I think these little things are nurses drip feeding them in and they'll become more and more a part of the game as the season goes on.
00:39:28
Speaker
And as you mentioned, he's one of the the few coaches who can really elevate defense from some guys maybe that they weren't as good defensively in their previous spots. Because I think Watford has the body.
00:39:40
Speaker
Ubra has the body. Some of these guys, like George has the instincts when he gets back on the court, he's going to be good defensively. It's the offensive questions we'll have our around him. But you might not need to do much offensively because if Vijay is going to hit, you know, a few shots a game in big moments, Maxey's going to consistently hit. He's fourth in the league in points per game right now with 32.
00:40:02
Speaker
And then we'll have Joel probably scoring at least a point per minute when he's on the court. you've got McCain coming, like these, these worries about and Paul George's offense won't be there because he can be, if he's willing to be, he could be a facilitator and a defender.
00:40:18
Speaker
So I think the main thing for me right now is to cut down Vijay's minutes as a rookie and to allow George and Embiid to continue to rehab slowly from their injury and not force them back because things are working right now as it is.
00:40:35
Speaker
Yeah, no, i i'm I'm definitely in agreement with you there. I kind of came to that same conclusion, knocking down some of those minutes from Vijay. It's been great seeing him play. But as the players come back, I'm i'm really interested to see McCain.
00:40:49
Speaker
He hasn't been able to catch a break. He injured his thumb at the side of the season. First game back, hurt his knee. And he he just had a game with the the Delaware Bluecoats, I think. yeah And it wasn't a great game.
00:41:04
Speaker
ah know a lot of people are feeling very iffy about him. I think he'll be fine. I think he's he's going to come back in. He's super hard worker.
00:41:14
Speaker
like Like you said, the whole team just seems to have this kind of positivity around him from hearing Maxi talk about how much he learned from Harden and then you have Edgecombe coming in learning from him and also Paul George is going to come you kind of hope that Paul George imparts some of that veteran knowledge of you know two-way players and yeah explosive player on the court you kind of hope Edgecombe learn something from PG and we get maxi pg2 and the trails of mb to ride along in the next few years yeah yeah no i agree and i think if he could impart some of that wisdom on justin edwards i'd like to see that too because the guy can hit he's a different type of player but you know he has the ability to be a good defensive player as well and he fights so hard constantly i think we we fell into a ah top class player there with him and we need these kind of contributors i think
00:42:14
Speaker
With McCain, one of the main things is probably shooting with that bri dis that brace on his hand. And that's just going to take time. and So I think, yeah, it's more likely than not, it's time. I think he's just playing in the G League now for a week and then he'll be back elevated again. So those minutes will be valuable to him, even if you know it's not the cleanest of play.
00:42:34
Speaker
He will get there, I think. And I think nothing more speaks to... the kind of morale of the team and the fight than the fourth quarter differential. We are plus 75 in the fourth quarter. It's the highest in the league.
00:42:47
Speaker
The next closest is plus 41. That's the Pistons. It's such a big difference. Yeah, we lost to the Pistons narrowly, but like with all the injuries, I said to you before that game, if the game was within like five or six, I'll take that as a very good performance. And it was. And tonight...
00:43:05
Speaker
The Sixers are again playing the Pistons and it's going to be tough again. No Joel, no PG. Vijay is questionable. But again, i I don't have any doubt that the team will fight because but previously I did have that doubt, but it doesn't seem to be an issue anymore.
00:43:18
Speaker
The fourth quarters, historically for me, have been something I have always avoided, especially being a European like watcher of the Sixers. like Staying up until three, half three, four in the morning, and then we just lose by eight points halfway through the fourth.
00:43:36
Speaker
And I'm fuming because I now have like three and a half hours for work, and I have to go in and talk to you about it for an hour after. It's... Like, it's really 180 now where i've I've just became so excited to see the whole process. And i think the biggest thing for me is just...
00:44:05
Speaker
The hopefulness. I keep coming back to it, but there was just two years there where you knew Embiid was going to to go crazy. And even when we signed Harden and we had him in the playoffs, I was not on it.
00:44:21
Speaker
I was not about it. But...
00:44:25
Speaker
I just wanted to say as well, Justin Edwards, perfect, perfect player for you to pick in the in the preseason rankings when we were talking about it.
00:44:36
Speaker
He is the most efficient player on the team by far already. And he's playing something like 13 minutes a game. And he's got a at crazy efficiency already. He just seems like
00:44:51
Speaker
He's ready whenever he's called up. And he kind of gave flashes of that last year. And then when we asked for a bit more, you know, it wasn't that I thought he played badly, but I just thought the moment seemed a little bit too big.
00:45:05
Speaker
He seems ready whenever he gets called up now. And it's it's just been great. It's just been great being a fan of this team. I was going to come on with my Sixers jersey or my Sixers shirt, but one of my friends who's a Bucs fan has been absolutely slating me all start of the season, telling me that Giannis is the MVP since game one.
00:45:28
Speaker
So I had to come on and represent a little bit. um Yeah. I mean, I told you guys, you didn't pick the Bucs, you and Shane, for the playoff spots. I said, who's the best player in the East?
00:45:39
Speaker
he's To be fair, he is showing it. But I think we we' we'll need to leave that one for another day because this is Sixers time right now. And i think just to end on one more thing, I think we've talked a lot about Edwards. but There was a really nice quote that summed up how you just spoke about him from Nurse after the last game.
00:45:58
Speaker
And he basically said the same thing that he's he doesn't worry about Justin Edwards. He knows he's ready to go. And whether he's had a good or a bad game the last time around, he's always ready to go again.
00:46:09
Speaker
And yeah, that's just basically the highest thing a coach can say about
Dallas Mavericks: Management Challenges and Future
00:46:14
Speaker
you as a role player. So yeah, just wanted to wrap on that before we move on to another another team. who is in a situation probably that we've found ourselves in as Sixers fans a lot of times, it's the Mavericks, but it's more specifically Nico Harrison. So Harrison has gotten fired um as the GM of the Mavericks.
00:46:34
Speaker
This is the whole um kind of, it's still blowback, obviously, from the Luka Doncic trade. So is this Luka Doncic trade that he made last season, you know, he stumbled into Cooper Flagg from it.
00:46:47
Speaker
That was not a part of the trade. That's just something that came off it. Was that Luka for AD trades and basically nothing else one of the worst trades of all time?
00:46:58
Speaker
Or was it the worst trade of all time? First of all, You're forgetting about Max Christie. Okay. Put some respect on his name. I think he has the highest 3% on the team this season.
00:47:11
Speaker
I have it written down here. It's seemingly the best thing I have about the Mavs this season is like Max Christie and Najee Marshall. Obviously you have Cooper Flagg, but i'm I'm talking outside of him.
00:47:26
Speaker
The Mavs have just been... This is the worst trade ever. This is like actually ever. And it's It's been so interesting over the last few months to see the the pushback from the the fans, from fans all over the and NBA, the reaction from different people all over the NBA.
00:47:49
Speaker
And i find it really interesting that we're 11 games in when he got fired. One of the biggest things that Melo and Carmelo Anthony and...
00:48:01
Speaker
some of the other GMs of the NBA talk about is these statistics that come out for teams. They come out after every 10 games by these companies. And I think I think it has something to do with that because you look at their statistics after the first 10 games.
00:48:19
Speaker
This is a bad team. Now, what this team looks like it's missing is a fantastic playmaker in the middle, James Harden-esque. something Something kind of like James Harden where he can score like that, make assists.
00:48:38
Speaker
It's infuriating that Nico Harrison... Now, here's here's what you want to say. Locked into this team or was good enough to construct a team this well around Luka and can't see that he's the the generator powering the whole machine?
00:49:01
Speaker
it it's just been shocking. And on top of that, I think there was reports that for the first time, that the home sales in for the Mavs stadium, they weren't selling out.
00:49:15
Speaker
So I think it's a mix of money being missed out by Patrick Dumont. You know, the pushback from all of the fans and the fact that There's undeniable evidence now with a full 10 games like, hey, this is actually way worse.
00:49:33
Speaker
Way worse than anybody thought. and Like, I thought they were going to make the playoffs, maybe. They might be a lottery team this year. This is bad. Like, way worse than anybody thought.
00:49:47
Speaker
ah The Utah Jazz would probably have a higher record than them. I don't even know what to say. It's like one man came in... blew up this whole franchise and then changed his bio to unemployed as if he's joking about it.
00:50:01
Speaker
Like, I just, it's infuriating to watch this as a Sixers fan. I'm just glad it's not my team. Yeah. Yeah. No, I agree because I think I actually feel so sorry for Mavericks fans because you trade away like,
00:50:16
Speaker
everything you had like you said with Luka he was everything now it looks like you know he's one one in a generation type of player and you had him and now you took him away from your fans it wasn't that he ran out his contract and left of his own free will and then you're saying okay like look he didn't want to be here we can't force him no he wanted to be there and you had somebody inside your team that got rid of him and again you can look at right now, how the Lakers are playing and they're missing so many pieces. There's games where God knows who is out there on the floor with Luka and they're still playing so well. they have so many wins. Luka is top of the league in points per game.
00:50:59
Speaker
It's like... this This guy can make do with whatever you put around him, but having built such a good team around him, like the move to get in Daniel Gafford, Derek Lively's rookie season that went so well, and then PJ Washington addition, all this fits so well, but it was because of Luka. And now you're in this situation where you still love those same guys. You know your primary ball handler in Kyrie Irving is out for the season.
00:51:28
Speaker
You traded for a guy who's consistently getting injured. And AD probably would have only been best suited to play on this team with Luka. But you got rid of him for... You got rid of Luka for him. Like, it's it doesn't make any bit of sense. It didn't at the time.
00:51:45
Speaker
and looks worse even... It looks even worse now. Like, looking at the statistics after 12 games, they're last in the league in points per game with 108. They're 30.3% from three. That's second last in the league. It's just shockingly bad.
00:51:59
Speaker
And 16 turnovers per game. They're 27th in the league there. So they're in the bottom five or last in all of those three statistics amongst a lot of others. And that's because they have no real creative hub.
00:52:12
Speaker
They're relying on Cooper Flagg, who is a rookie and he hasn't been used to playing in a losing culture. And he's finding it hard to accept that too. So I think... For me right now, the only thing they can do is ship off those pieces that are worth anything. The likes of PJ Washington, if they can ship off AD and just tank and keep flag for the future because this team right now is never going to work.
00:52:36
Speaker
I hearing you say that actually just makes me feel sick. Like it's just what a waste of a year for the Dallas Mavericks.
00:52:48
Speaker
Like it's not even that this team is horrible. Multiple years as well, I think, is are going to be wasted on this. Oh, absolutely multiple years. They have, like, no draft picks until 2030, I think. I mean, i think their 2029 first-round pick is going to the Spurs, which, I mean...
00:53:09
Speaker
What's happening? there Is it just going to be the Spurs and Sam Presti at every and NBA draft with like 15 picks each at this point? and i You look at this team.
00:53:22
Speaker
There are bright spots on this team. Cooper Flagg, is great. we Anybody who was friends with a Bucks fan or is a Bucks fan knew that Jason Kidd was going to come out and absolutely throw Cooper flag into the point guard position. He did the same thing with Giannis.
00:53:37
Speaker
He likes doing it with his rookies to try and develop their playmaking a little bit more. Whether Jason Kidd told Nico Harrison and the ownership, hey, I'm going to do this and we are not going to be a playoff team, I'm not sure.
00:53:53
Speaker
But I'm pretty sure he had some choice words for Nico Harrison. I mean, Quentin Grimes was on this team. Oh my god, yes. Like... That was an unnecessary trade, but at least they have Caleb Martin playing 9.4 minutes for them.
00:54:08
Speaker
They would have had some ball handling there as well. And somebody who can actually create on his own with Quentin Grimes, like that, it makes less sense to get rid of him again. Like it makes to compound the Luca position.
00:54:21
Speaker
It's it's and honestly, you know who I probably would have looked at signing before D'Angelo Russell? Markel Fultz. Like I am so off D'Angelo Russell.
00:54:33
Speaker
i Like at least Markel Fultz will give you 11 points a game on like decent efficiency. D'Angelo Russell will literally give you two points on like one for 16. At least they have, I keep saying at least, but Brandon Williams has been a great positive point for the last two games, and especially the last game in particular. I'm not really sure. I'm not sure if he has a game up against the Suns or it was up against the Jazz, but, um,
00:55:02
Speaker
He had a really good game. It looks like Jason Kidd has been saved and he has a point guard. So we might see a little bit of a run from this team if pieces kind of slowly come back together.
00:55:15
Speaker
But you have this huge issue for the next GM, which is you have no draft picks. And... I'm not sure anybody who feels comfortable, any big free agency, free agent who feels comfortable coming to the Mavs now.
00:55:33
Speaker
Because even if Nico Harrison is out, the owner agreed on the trade. And you don't need to have super deep basketball knowledge to know, like, hey, top five players, don't move.
00:55:46
Speaker
They're on touch base. I don't know. I don't really see how they dig their way out of this unless it's a Brooklyn Nets scenario for the next six years.
00:55:58
Speaker
Yeah, unless they make it moves with the teams who hold their picks and ship off the start the players they do have to get them back and then tank. But then those teams are going to hold them ah over a barrel in that situation. So the GM...
00:56:13
Speaker
Whoever it's going to be has a very, very difficult job, as you mentioned. And I think you mentioned as well about the Sam Presti holding draft picks. Like the Clippers are falling off a cliff this season. And of course, OKC has their pick.
00:56:29
Speaker
Like this is just this is just ridiculous at this point, like how many picks that they have. And and this this next draft class is supposed to be pretty good.
00:56:41
Speaker
And I'm stressed about it. I'm stressed. I think the only like hope I have is that the Thunder and the Spurs are on the West Coast.
00:56:54
Speaker
So if we deal with them, we deal with them in the finals as Sixers fans. I think... It'll be really interesting to see what he does and where where these pieces go.
00:57:08
Speaker
Somebody has to save Klay Thompson. I think that's another thing that has to be mentioned. Klay Thompson, atrocious efficiency here. yeah However, he's being asked to do so much at such an old that at such a battered, and like physical shape after like two surgeries and everything that happened at the Warriors for Jason kid to come out and be like, Hey, yeah, we need a playmaker and you need to get into your bag, sir.
00:57:39
Speaker
He's just spent 12 years doing spot up shooting and like off the dribble shooting. Please let him relax. I know there's a lot of people out there that,
00:57:52
Speaker
crying out that Klay Thompson is washed. I promise you, Klay Thompson was in any normal, functional... If Klay Thompson was on the Sixers, I'd be delighted.
00:58:03
Speaker
If we somehow traded for him, I'd be delighted. No, actually, I don't want to trade for him. I love everybody on my team. Yeah, let's keep the team. Let's keep the team. Let's keep the team.
00:58:13
Speaker
No, I agree with you on that, Klay point. Another thing is this team, some some stats, I mean, you have all these bigs and wings on this team and no point guard.
00:58:27
Speaker
they still have given up the most rebounds a game to opponents. and totally Like, how that's happening when you don't really have a small guard on the floor is shocking.
00:58:40
Speaker
um They're the least efficient three-point percentage team, but obviously that comes from taking off your main offensive hub. But it's it's another thing to say that Klay Thompson isn't hitting without a hub.
00:58:51
Speaker
D'Allen Joe Russell has been hot and cold since 2018. I don't really know what we expect with him. P.J. Washington has had a drop-off, but again, he was never your second option.
00:59:03
Speaker
He was never even really your third option. He was doing what Kelly Oubre does for the Sixers. Maybe you'll get a 25-point game out of him somewhere, but he's there to play good defense, to be a play finisher, and that play to help around the point guard.
00:59:20
Speaker
But again, there's no point guard. I just keep reiterating it.
00:59:29
Speaker
That's the main point here. that is the Everything comes back to that. And like on the PJ argument, I actually think he's been playing as hard as he can. But as you said, he was never, ever meant to be in this situation that he's in right now.
00:59:42
Speaker
So, yeah. The whole thing is just comes down from Nico. Now he's fired. But like, is that really helpful? Because, yeah, he clearly didn't know what he was doing, mismanaging this roster. But at the same time, who is going to be able to solve this because of how difficult a situation they're in?
01:00:00
Speaker
it's It's tough to know. Yeah, i really thought I really thought there was a world where he was going to be the general manager for the next two years. Because I thought with what he said last year about, you know, this is a three, four year process.
01:00:15
Speaker
I thought Dumont was kind of taking a step back enough that he was going to say, okay, like, I don't really know about basketball. You can kind of go ahead and ah deal with this. And I was kind of interested to see he was clearly going to have to make a move at some point this year.
01:00:32
Speaker
Whether it's chipping off some of these pieces to the Hornets, if the Hornets want to give up something, whether the Jazz want to give up something, it would have been interesting to see him try and save this.
01:00:46
Speaker
Now, another thing I'm also looking at is I think the Mavs have their 2026 pick. Now you can double check for me, but I'm pretty sure they have their 2026 pick, which means...
01:01:01
Speaker
which means this might be the only year to kind of blow it up if you want to get a lottery pick and you're going to have to build something for the next three years.
01:01:13
Speaker
So having all these old players that, you know, Anthony Davis on the team has, makes no sense next to Cooper flag, Clay Thompson, he's fine.
01:01:24
Speaker
And I can tell that they don't really want to get rid of him because he hasn't been involved in any trade rumors, but, I... is it'd be interesting to see who's on the move. There's so many teams right now. I feel like there's 20 teams that all feel like we're on a good trajectory.
01:01:44
Speaker
We don't really want to give up too many of our pieces. Do you want to blow up half your team for for pieces of lottery teams as well? is I don't know. It just feels like the Wizards trading with the Nets. It's okay.
01:01:59
Speaker
Does anyone care? yeah we're all in the same position at the end of the day. If that's the case like these teams are not improving each other by working with each other and as you said so many teams right now believe in their own vision they think that you know they're two years away three years away they're one year away it's they're not really feeling like they're going trade and make a massive splash anymore it doesn't really feel like many teams are on that course but yeah you're right they do own their their their pick for next season so
Episode Wrap-up: Power Rankings and Final Thoughts
01:02:27
Speaker
now is the time if they are going to do anything Appreciate you coming on once again.
01:02:32
Speaker
was a pleasure, as always, chopping it up. We b obviously got to talk about our Sixers, but next time around, we might have to talk about the books, judging by our little chapter. Hopefully, we can ah the Sixers can beat the books by then so that we we have that to talk about. But yeah, pleasure once again for having you for coming on, Michael, and we'll chat to you again soon.
01:02:53
Speaker
Thank you so much. Always a pleasure to be on. So last up this week, we've got the power rankings. As usual, Shane is in here, so he's mailed his in again, similar to Gunn Shant. So last week he had OKC first, then he had the Patriots, Arsenal, Colts, Rockets and Liverpool.
01:03:08
Speaker
This week he's made a few changes. He's also stuck with OKC and the Patriots at one and two. i'm Hard to argue with those because they're Two teams, the best record in each league. and Then he's got the Rockets in third as they're powering up the board here. I'm sure he's happy to to put one of his own teams so high.
01:03:26
Speaker
In fourth then he's got Arsenal, so they slipped down a spot to make way for the Rockets. The Colts slipped down a spot as well to make way for the Rockets. And then Man City has a new entry bringing up the rear. Then last week what I had was OKC, Arsenal, Seahawks, Bills, Bulls and Sunderland.
01:03:44
Speaker
So I made a few changes. I've kept OKC first. I have moved the Seahawks up to second. They've just been so good obliterating teams and putting up, I think they're the first team since 1980 to put up 30 or more points in the first half of three games in one season.
01:03:59
Speaker
So just immense on the offensive side, but also defensively. That means Arsenal slipped down one after their draw with Sunderland. I still think they're good value to be and considered the best team in football right now and in the Premier League. But I think they're just the Seahawks level is is kind of pushed them above them.
01:04:17
Speaker
Then I've got the Rams in fourth. This is a new entry. I've been high on the Rams all season. They finally made their way in here. They were my pick to get to the Super Bowl from the NFC. So I'm going to continue riding high on that one.
01:04:28
Speaker
They're in fourth. I've got Man City in fifth. Beating Liverpool 3-0. Very resounding. threena very resounding And they're up to second place in the Premier League. And lastly, I've got the Pistons. They're on an eight game win streak. Me recording this right now. They're playing the Sixers tonight. So and as a Sixers fan, I hope that is broken. But they're the best record in the East. They look very, very good. It was between them and the Nuggets. But the streak they're on right now is immense. And we're going see a lot of the Nuggets this season. So they're pretty powerful right now for me, those Pistons. So they're in sixth overall for me so my top six is OKC Seahawks Arsenal Rams Man City Pistons and Shane's top six is OKC Patriots Rockets Arsenal Colts and Man City so that is the episode for this week I hope you enjoyed it it's just me obviously for a couple of the segments and
01:05:13
Speaker
Thanks a million once again for Conor and Michael for coming on. I'm going to plug both of them in the description, their Instagram handles and all that good stuff. So leave a like, leave a comment on whatever platform you're listening. Give it five stars on Spotify or whatever platform you listen on podcasts.
01:05:29
Speaker
And so thanks for joining me for another week. We will be back again. We're almost at 50 episodes. So exciting times ahead to reach that milestone. And we will catch you again next week.
01:05:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Who's Got the Ball Shane and James.