0:00

We all agree. I think that bo Nix and his success is going to

0:05

largely base people's opinions of this draft. Clock, But what do you think

0:08

about the rest of the moves? What do you think about some of the other players? Dave Well? As I said, as I said earlier,

0:17

did you drop your water? You know? The Elles kid, I know

0:23

is an effort kid, is an energy guy that has talent. Yep.

0:27

So again that sort of he sort of fits into what we have come to

0:32

know that Sean Payton looks for. Do you love football? Do you play

0:37

hard all the time? And Ellis does? The receiver I want to see

0:42

again, I think they need speed, they need big playability. He certainly

0:47

provided Oregon with some of that. I want to see how he physically acclimates

0:52

into the NFL. He's one hundred and eighty pounds, and I mean just

0:57

off the top of my head and I played the position. How many great

1:02

wide receivers have we seen over the last whatever twenty five years that have weighed

1:07

one hundred and eighty pounds. That would be my concern for him. He's

1:11

got quickness, he's got speed, He's got ability to adjust to a ball

1:15

in the air. But I want to see is he going to get bigger?

1:19

Is he naturally or is that sort of a natural weight for him.

1:23

I want to see that, and I want to see how he he deals

1:26

with the physicality of what I know he's going to encounter in the NFL.

1:32

Davante Smith was pretty light, right, that would be one. But he's

1:34

smaller. DeVante's smaller, But that's a good that's a good example. I

1:38

think Davante's probably maybe one seventy five. Marviat Harrison wasn't a wasn't a huge

1:42

receiver, so I mean, it's happened. But those two guys are special

1:48

guys, and I'm hoping Listen, I'm hoping this young guy turns out to

1:51

be somebody even close to either guy. I really liked what they did in

1:56

the fifth round. The running back, ye well, I asked to me.

1:59

It was my that's like steal of the draft, right. I mean, I think you could make an argument for Franklin, considering there were some

2:05

people thought he could go as early as the second round. You ended up getting in the fourth. But estimate, like I I there's a guy that

2:12

I I watch his stuff as far as his draft analysis. He had the

2:16

Broncos first five picks, all inside the top one hundred. He had all

2:23

five of those guys you're talking about a guy you yeah, a draft guy

2:28

that I that I fall he had. He had all five of the Broncos

2:31

picks as guys that could have gone or ear least for him. He has

2:35

a ranked inside the top one hundred. Estimately, I think Bronco fans will

2:38

like because he is a thunder back, but he but he's he's got good

2:44

athletic ability for a kid that size. Yeah right, I mean he's I

2:47

want to see I want to see him in this offense. He's a downhill

2:53

guy that has some swivel, has some athletic ability. So to me,

2:58

what that says is they feel pretty good about Javonte Williams. If they'd have

3:02

gone out like and traded up into the second round and got uh, sort

3:07

of a smaller back but a speed guy, and then then I would have thought, Okay, maybe maybe they're concerned about Javante. But with Javonte and

3:15

estimate and who knows what's gonna happen to samaj and then you have a change

3:19

of pace with Juliel. I think they feel pretty good about Javonte. Yeah,

3:23

I just looked at Esimate as a as a guy who is gonna profile

3:29

and kind of like a Deuce McAllister, just a really ruddy yeahs. You

3:35

know, like like I'm quite sure Sean Payton has had great success designing plays

3:40

for that kind of guy. That's a that's a good comparison, you know.

3:44

So I'm I'm uh and and I think he was on that Super Bowl

3:47

team right with the Saints. Right. So I'll tell you when I first

3:52

got a chance to talk with Deuce, he was doing he was doing the

3:54

color analyst work for the Saints radio and I think I was on with them,

4:01

and we shook hands. He got blacksmith hands, right, one of

4:05

those that literally they take the horses shoes off and they bend them and then

4:10

they put him into the you know what I mean, he just got Yeah,

4:13

I could see why he's a strong, strong man. Yeah, And

4:16

I was just looking at his career. He's real. He really wasn't a

4:20

guy that uh was a wiggle guy. And that's what I'm looking for.

4:27

I'm looking. I was looking for a wiggle guy, and I think we

4:30

got it in uh. But also the the rookie free agent that we signed,

4:36

uh yeah from Memphis. Yeah, so so we we we kind of

4:42

got we kind of got replacements for the same guys that we have on our

4:46

Rouse, Lake Watson, Blake Watson. So well with estimate, we we

4:50

we see a guy who is really energetic. He's almost like a taller version

4:56

of a Jerome Battist. Just to put people in the mindset, great great

5:00

feet, big body, moves well in in the hole, but they ain't

5:03

running away from nobody. Okay, he's not going to run away from the

5:08

defense, but you can look for him that you know he can. He

5:10

can, you know, take a forty yard run, maybe a fifty yard,

5:14

but he's not taking it to the house. And what we were, well, we were pounding the table for was somebody who could take it seventy

5:19

And it's just been a while since we've had that kind of I mean,

5:26

I'm thinking about Gordon who had a seventy yard plus run. I think that

5:30

was the last long run that we've had against Washington. Yeah, in a

5:34

long time. So he was seventy against the Giants maybe ye, Yeah,

5:40

that was the last time we had a run like that, and that was

5:43

from a guy that we ran out of town. So we were looking We're

5:46

both in the same page that we were looking for somebody that can turn something

5:49

small into something big, but not only at running back but also a receiver.

5:55

And maybe with Franklin they feel like, Okay, we've got somebody that

6:00

may fit that. But again from the backfield situation estimate, and Al's right

6:05

in terms of uh, Deuce McCallister that that's a to me, a pretty

6:09

good comparison. But you know some of the film that I saw, he's

6:14

got uncommonly good feet, a dude that's like the body of a Duce McAllister

6:23

and Fero, which is a pretty good combination. I mean, that's pretty

6:29

good combination. It's any but not going to run away from you, no,

6:31

But I mean it's really it's a really good room, right, I

6:35

mean, I I kind of like and again, by next year, Javante

6:39

he's in the final year of his contracts. We're not sure what was gonna

6:41

happen. There's Samaj also in the final years contract. But right now between

6:45

Javante Samaj Adric estimate, I think there's a combination. There's a theme here.

6:50

Uh, And then yeah, Julia McLoughlin, and then of course you

6:55

out of yeah he a McLoughlin, A sorry Canadian, then yeah, I

7:00

mean, and of course he added Blake Watson. You're gonna be a team

7:04

that needs to run the ball well. Whoever starts to run quarterback, You're

7:08

gonna be a team that needs to run run the ball effectively, efficiently.

7:12

And this offensive line is Bill Ford. But I'll say this with estimate.

7:15

If we assume that he's got the goods and he's going to play it from

7:20

a special team standpoint, it puts them in a quandary because I like Samage.

7:26

I think he brings you a lot of things, but he's not really

7:30

a special teams guy. And Jalil McLoughlin brings you a lot of things,

7:33

but he's not really a special teams guy unless he's a return guy. The

7:38

return game is going to be more important this year, so maybe that's where

7:41

jaliel. Maybe they put him back there to see what he could do.

7:44

But the question would be do you keep three running backs that are very similar

7:49

in style and none of them really are going to be core special teams guys.

7:56

I don't know that answer would be no. I think this room is

8:01

going to have four running backs, right, I mean that's that's the bottom

8:05

line. And one of those well you got to say if well, either

8:09

one of the rookies that make it, Well, we know that estimate is

8:13

going to make the team, right, So he's going to be a special

8:16

teams guy. I mean he's he's like all the great linebacker side. He's

8:20

six and thirty five pounds. Did you think you think he could do it?

8:24

But you and I both know running backs. I mean, special teams

8:28

is a different deal. Now, hey, maybe he's maybe he can work

8:31

into it. Maybe maybe you're right, but but well we also know that

8:35

all of these guys that were stars on their high school and college teams,

8:39

they were stars playing those positions. They didn't play special teams. Is ours

8:46

just one a thousand dollars? Coming up? The next five minutes from the

8:50

KWA Traffic Center, here's Darren Copeland. Man, you know, I was

8:52

looking at local guys here too, and I came across. I said,

8:58

see, you players drafted in the twenty twenty four NFL draft, and it

9:01

said second round defensive lineman. And I said, well, let me look

9:07

this up. It was Clemson University. But we did get some guys to

9:16

sign some free agencies. Yes, but non drafted for the University of Colorado.

9:22

That may change next year. Oh he's speak of local kids. So

9:24

I think so mine's quarterback. Uh yeah, he's gonna be advide to the

9:28

rookie rookie camp for the Broncos. I've watched a lot of film on him.

9:31

He is a he's just a little playmaker. You can look at him

9:35

and say there's there's there's no way physically he's gonna be but he makes a

9:41

ton of plays accurate with the ball. Good for him. Yeah, So

9:48

that that's uh Motoka Motoka, Yeah, John Motoka, and it's uh it

9:52

is a good story for sure. One thing I want. I wanted to

9:54

make sure because we didn't get a chance that we were sort of bouncing around

9:58

on the Broncos draft picks, the John Franklin Myers trade. I think low

10:05

Ki is cherry on top of this draft class. I mean the fact that

10:07

you're able to do that for a sixth round or in twenty twenty six,

10:11

he restructures deal, it's a two year deal. You might even just keep

10:13

him for both those years. I think he's worth it. But you know,

10:16

I asked George at the end of the interview we did with him about

10:20

the defensive line, is because that was the goal. Hey, we got

10:22

gotta shure this thing up. I think that's a massive upgrade. What do you think, Dave, I'm going to I'm going to defer first to my

10:28

resident defensive line expert. This guy killed us last year. I mean killed

10:35

us and killed and it was so evident that he was a playmaker that I

10:41

couldn't I couldn't believe that we got him for as little as we did.

10:46

Yeah, I remember you walked in and I was like, Hey, by the way, what did you think about that deal? And You're like,

10:50

like, what deal? Like we got the kid number ninety one? Oh

10:56

my goodness, man, that's fantastic. That was the salary cap thing for

11:01

the Jets that the Broncos. You can say they engineered whatever, but the

11:07

Broncos benefited because the Jets They've got too much money tied up in that defensive

11:11

line. But I agree, man, he was he was a monster.

11:16

Yes, so, and it just really made out a defensive line more athletic.

11:20

I mean, because now you can move DJ. I guess they're going

11:24

to move him the nose tackle now and he could just and and just so

11:28

the audience knows that the nose tackles usually are somewhere in the neighborhood around three

11:35

hundred and thirty pounds. You know, big guys that control two gaps.

11:39

DJ doesn't have to be that big, and he'll be bigger than every senate

11:43

that he sees. And he's strong at the point of attack and his tackle

11:46

range I'm talking about, the ability to go left to right to make a

11:50

tackle is incredible. So we just got a whole lot more athletic on the

11:58

offensive on the defensive line, and got a more active pass rushing from the

12:01

interior without having to do it in an NFL draft. We got better.

12:05

This doesn't seem like a team that's tanking. Al I didn't say it was.

12:09

I said it was. If it was up to me, I would

12:13

not Uh. If they didn't have the quarterback that they wanted in lit in

12:18

line in sight, then yeah, I would. I would go with the

12:20

guys that we have. But apparently this is the quarterback that we wanted.

12:26

Now he's six of six in the first round. I don't think that matters.

12:31

I really don't hope it doesn't. I mean, Lamar Jackson went fifth

12:35

in the draft of well, I know, I know that's what I'm saying,

12:39

but I'm just letting you know. I mean, you know, if

12:41

Dan Marino we talked about him, I mean, it doesn't matter where.

12:45

I understand about where they were drafted. The talking about you talking about some

12:48

guys that Dan Marino's in the Hall of Fame and it looks like Lamar Jackson

12:52

is going there as well. Yeah, But at the same time, you

12:56

know, I want to make sure that I don't put expectations way too high

13:01

for this young quarterback that has to go through this introduction to the NFL.

13:07

I just don't want to do it right now. I'd rather look at Zach

13:09

Wilson and what he's going to look like before I started look at looking at

13:15

the rookie five six six nine zero is our koa Centuri health text line the

13:20

Nuggets back in action tonight. I'd say Alfred that I'm I'm not freaking out

13:26

about the Nuggets. I think the way this series has played out so far,

13:30

they've caught some breaks. They've certainly been the more clutch team, but

13:33

it felt like in this last game, the one they lost, was sort

13:39

of that you play with fire too long, you're gonna eventually get burned.

13:41

You're going to trail a team for one hundred and forty out of one hundred

13:46

and eighty minutes over the first four games. Eventually, that's going to catch

13:50

up to you. And I think it did. I really believe that the

13:54

that the Los Angeles Lakers would look for a new head coach. There is

13:58

no reason that you can explain how the Nuggets have run out for so many

14:03

victories up until what was that Saturday? Right? I mean up until Saturday.

14:09

The Nuggets had ten or ten in a row, eleven in a row

14:13

up until Saturday. And you've had the lead and the majority, and in

14:18

three of those games that preceded their final game this last Saturday, they had

14:24

double digit leads. You can marveles all of those games. That's that,

14:28

you know, I know, it's players out there that have to perform in

14:31

the moment, but that's also coaching. And and it started me to think

14:37

that after we got uh, after we lost that game on Saturday, like

14:43

is like, are the are the Lakers a good football? Are the Lakers

14:50

a good basketball team? Like? And My answer to that is yes.

14:56

Right. The answer is that is yes, and they have not push the

15:00

right buttons at the right time to continue to make this a competitive series.

15:05

And so that is That's what I've been looking at, man, like,

15:07

hey, listen, like you said, hey, we should have took care

15:11

of it last Saturday. Now I'm thinking like, man, and I know

15:15

we're planning at home tonight and I'm all excited about it. Don't don't get

15:18

me wrong, I'm really excited about it. But I'm like, what if

15:22

Darvin Ham starts to coach better and we don't have Jamal Murray, Like this

15:28

could end up being a seven game series. I'll take care of this tonight.

15:31

I think one of those two things could happen because we know about Murray's

15:35

calf injury. I'm not sure about Darvin Ham. What do you think about

15:41

him as a coach. I like him as a player because he was tough

15:46

as hell. Right he played, he was limited by NBA star standards.

15:50

He was a good basketball player. But man, I'll take you tough to

15:54

me. Yeah, I remember like that as well. But I'm just saying

15:56

as a coach, I can't have all those leads and blow him out.

16:00

Yeah, and I think you also. I thought it was telling when Ad

16:04

after the third game came out and said, you know, there's a lot

16:11

of times on the court we don't know what we're doing now. Whether he

16:15

meant that towards Darvin Ham or not, he is one of the mainstays of

16:19

the team. He's got to have some awareness in terms of Dude, if

16:22

I say this publicly, you know, he's going to reflect on my coach.

16:30

Maybe maybe he intended that way. I don't know. I mean,

16:32

there are people that thought they were already talking about it. If the Nuggets

16:36

had won on Saturday night, Darvin Ham's going to get fired. He may get fired anyway, maybe maybe, you know. I think it depends on

16:41

what Lebron thinks of him, and what Lebron says with Jeanie Buss and she

16:45

said, tell me what should think if if he said, I don't think

16:48

we can win with Darvin Ham, I think Darvin Ham's going to get fired.

16:52

Right But this game tonight, even if Jamal doesn't play, and I

16:56

don't know if he will, but if he doesn't play, I think the

17:00

Nuggets have to find a way to win. It has to be with defense.

17:04

It's gotta be you got to meet them with force. I mean Saturday

17:08

was way way too easy. They got whatever they wanted in the paint it

17:12

on. Yeah, come on, man, I mean you got we we

17:15

have to as a team, we have to contest some of this stuff and

17:19

not just sort of think we're we're better than they are no matter what.

17:23

You know, what the you know, the one thing that I said going

17:27

into this playoffs this year is that we're younger, right, And you guys

17:33

say more athletic, right, more athletic? What you mean, you guys,

17:40

what are you saying? Uh? Yeah, what do you mean? You guys? I'm saying. I'm saying the guys that we lost man Uncle

17:45

Jeff right old man Uncle Jeff and Bruce Brown I did, but they were

17:51

great off the bench. Bruce Brown I didn't think that he was gonna be

17:56

a guy that's gonna get what do you get? Almost like seventeen eighty five

18:00

did he get twenty twenty four points something? Yes? Oh my goodness.

18:04

The Nuggets couldn't pay him that. No, he was still of mate.

18:08

He was still nails last year. Eight that's all they could that. That

18:14

was the max that was the max eight and twenty four. I mean even

18:18

I can do that. Massy Wait wait wait wait wait wait, they could have they could have paid him twenty four. Now it went over the luxury

18:23

tax. Huh they are I think I think I think they were. I

18:27

think for this contract they could not give him more than eight because of it.

18:33

I'm trying to think of the clause. I can't think of the name of the clause, but I think I think eight was all they could do.

18:37

Yeah, it was a max. We're missing those two guys, and

18:40

now a bench is not as deep because we don't have that kind of veteran

18:45

leadership. And now it's showing up. You see that the bench is the

18:48

X factor right here. Tonight you had five points, five points on Saturday

18:52

night from yet they were not any good. It was brutal, be absolutely

18:56

brutal. And again you told me Bruce Brown and or Jeff Greener available in

19:00

that game, They're not gonna have five points. That's what I'm saying that.

19:03

But that's what you're missing. You're missing that opportunity to have those veterans

19:08

part of this team. Again, Like, I don't think that well,

19:12

I think we understand how valuable. Those guys were to the to the process

19:18

last year. But I don't believe, you know, a large majority of

19:22

the Nugget Nation understands that we're playing with these guys that are young, that

19:26

don't understand that this is a very very valuable situation. And you know,

19:33

when you get into the league in your first year, you win a championship,

19:36

you think that's what it is. And then you got a bunch of guys who last year were on the team, who understood and knew that this

19:41

is a very very very precious opportunity and I better get it. I think

19:47

AG's gonna have a much better game. He only had seven points the other night. Do you know there's only one Nugget that was positive in the plus

19:53

minus care take a guess who that was? Not Joker, Yeah, Razzie

19:57

Jackson. No was Peyton Watson MPJ. I I think I didn't realize that.

20:04

But I think MPJ has really taken a step step and a half to

20:10

becoming the kind of player we all want. I think he's been really good

20:12

in this series glove shots. He's shot on the floor and he's finishing at

20:18

the rim, and you know, so that that's something that you are not

20:22

used to seeing out of. You know, you talk about you know,

20:25

guys that are slight, you know, and and certainly you know we we we He's no Kendrick Perkins. But I'm like, when when the big fella

20:33

MPJ finishes at the rim strong, I don't know, it just sends none.

20:37

It's not like it's not like anybody else because you don't really he's sixteen,

20:42

right, Sometimes you forget that he's sixteen because he all he does is

20:47

shoot jump shot. He plays like he's sixty six at sixty sixty four a

20:51

time because he hardly ever finishes at the rim. But when he does,

20:55

it's a shot in the arm for the entire Denver Nuggets really tremendous. And

21:00

to see that as a look at the plus minus having m plus four,

21:03

Nikole Jokic was even minus seven, and we I mean, you watch his

21:07

game, you thought he was great. That behind the back pass was ridiculous.

21:11

Right by the way, I was gonna give you guys his stat Do

21:15

you know that the Joker, as far as centers go, is number two

21:18

all time right now, as far as assists in the history of the NBA.

21:22

I believe it behind Kareem. I mean it's a center position. Yeah,

21:26

but I'm just saying, but I mean, I mean, how he

21:29

got over four thousand assists in his career already and the record is like six

21:33

thousand. I'll get the exact numbers what they were, but I'm just said

21:37

he's second already. He's going to be the leader in that category, right

21:41

right, sure, I mean he's got like, if he plays another four

21:45

years, I mean, he's going to kill that record. I mean,

21:47

you think back to the game we were talking about, and to show his

21:49

greatness to the past, the past, he's out looking for the ball over

21:55

his head, tries to tip it when it's not near, then he tips

21:59

it off the bounce MPJ. At that point, I'm thinking, okay,

22:03

here they come. At that point, they're eight points down with a little

22:08

under three minutes to go in the third quarter, so they're right there,

22:12

right there, and yet they just they didn't have enough to close it.

22:18

That's that's why I am not stressing too much about where they are as it

22:23

relates to the series specifically. They're gonna win this series, but I'm not

22:27

too stressed out about it, which is a rarefication for me, by the

22:30

way, just want to throw that out there. I think, Dave you you got to give me a little bit of love on the fact that I'm

22:34

not freaking out. Usually I'm the one freaking out. Usually you're the voice

22:37

reason I'm the one freaking out. I'm not freaked out because Aaron Gordon only

22:41

had seven points the other night. I mean, he just did not have

22:44

a significant night. When you come home, your bench usually gives you a

22:48

bump. Like the bench players played better at home. I agree, you're

22:51

not gonna get five points collectively in that group as well. We got to

22:55

suit the three point better that has not happened. Not yeah, let's talk

23:03

about it. I mean, listen, it's something that I have harped on

23:07

for years that this team needs a bench player that can come in. Whether

23:15

he's a stationary shooter, but he's a guy that can shoot the ball.

23:21

It's I don't care. As athletic as the league is, and it's at

23:25

an all time high with some of the things these dudes are doing, it's

23:27

like, oh my goodness, but there will always be a place in that

23:33

league for guys who can really shoot it. And the Nuggets are streaky.

23:38

I think MPJ is an excellent shooter, But I'm talking about a guy that

23:42

comes in off the bench that that you can get spacing with. And then

23:47

especially with Joker at center because he's he's going to command double teams, especially

23:52

in the game. You kick that thing back out and you know you've got

23:55

a guy that can knock shots down, right. I mean, even listen,

23:59

if you said Holiday, for example, was that guy, Now he

24:02

had one three in this last give us a big three. Don't get me wrong, he's a big three. But you need that role. If you're

24:08

gonna continue to lean on Christian Brown and Peyton Watson for a little bit more

24:11

that defensive effort, right, Reggie Jackson's your backup point, then you're gonna

24:17

need somebody that that's just a sharpshooter, and those minutes would be going to

24:19

that player, especially coming off the bench. So again, I'm not not

24:22

worried about this, but I think it brings up a bigger conversation about what

24:27

it's gonna look like at the next round against the middle September one. Hey

24:32

man, we better get out of this round first. No, listen, I'm not trying to get too far ahead. Yeah, don't do that.

24:36

Don't do that. I don't. I don't want to. I don't want to do that because now you're superstitious. No, I'm not superstitis. I'm

24:44

just telling you if we if Jamal Murray doesn't play, how do we close

24:48

out those last five minutes of games? Yea in this case, I agree

24:52

with al Le. Let's see if Jamal plays tonight. I don't have any

24:55

idea if he Willard won't. But if he, if he doesn't, I'm

25:00

not saying the Nuggets can't win, but it's going to be it's going to

25:02

be a hell a hard game to beat them. I mean, you've had

25:06

a hard time beating them twice with him in Denver, so I think Denver

25:11

wins tonight. But I I mean, I can see a slug fest,

25:14

and depending on if Murray plays and how he is, I think you got

25:18

to try. You mean, you got to try to end this thing tonight.

25:21

You have to. It's never happened in the history in the NBA, though, what's that team coming back from down three and a zero. It's

25:27

never happened, Never happened. Nope, there We've had game sevens, one

25:30

hundred and fifty two times. Yep, one hundred and fifty two and oh

25:33

of Game seven's okay, but it's never happen. You want to be passed

25:37

to a Game seven against the Lakers. I mean you don't want that.

25:40

You want to take care of business tonight. You're at home. You like

25:44

your chances if it has to go to game. So you guys are the

25:47

ones trying to sell to me that Jamal Murray doesn't have to play to nights. I didn't say that. What you guys try to do in the first

25:52

time, it's probably worth letting him rest a game because you know you're going

25:57

to if there's a if he's hurt, if he is, yeah, if

26:03

he's hurt, if he's hurt, h we already know he's hurt. Well,

26:07

didn't wrest him, you gotta wrest him? And then you did say

26:11

it, Well, if that's your logic, that that that we say,

26:15

Hey, if a guy is hurt, wrest him, Yes, wrest him.

26:18

You want to pull the flannel up over his heads? Yeah? Yeah,

26:23

you punched with Yeah, there's no bleeding and you can't really tell you

26:27

can marking anything up. Wow, Davey, it sounds like you've done this

26:32

before. I mean with the old phone book tricks. I mean, you know Red, did you wanted to go? Yeah? Man, I'm looking

26:42

forward to this game. The night got lee. I just love basketball,

26:45

especially this time of year when the greatest players are playing and in the stakes

26:49

are high. Man seeing uh, seeing the Phoenix Suns get bounced, Man

26:55

like you like, hey, man, that was did you did you see

26:59

the Anthony Edwards? Did you see Anthony Air was walking in the uh in

27:03

the hallway after the game talking trash. I was like, Man, this

27:07

dude is own. He's a different dude. He is a different dude.

27:12

You picked Phoenix, By the way, who did I did not pick the

27:15

whole up? The hold on? You picked them? You picked the Sun.

27:18

I did not pick the Suns. I said it was going to be

27:21

a long series, and I said the Sons are a tough out. I

27:23

thought Minnesota four turned out to be true. I'm telling you, I got

27:27

to eat some mumble pie that one. I'm aware of it. Here's the

27:30

question. The over and under is Friday. The Phoenix Suns will be without

27:37

a head coach by Friday? Yes or no. I'm gonna say yes.

27:44

This is the second head coach that they've had in the what in the last

27:47

three years, this first year, first year. But I don't know if

27:52

your mac had three you can't have three guys and he's had one hundred and

27:56

fifty million and you lose out, you get bounced in the first round,

28:00

even win a game, he's out. Yeah, Mattah to be the owner.

28:03

There's absolutely no way. Basketball player. Yes, I think you used

28:07

to say it. I think you used to say it like that to start

28:11

off, former NBA. I'm assuming former former college basketball player, next owner,

28:17

next day coaches Phoenix Suns, Tom Izzo, Oh, just kidding.

28:21

I don't think that's I was like, wow, I know he loves though,

28:25

uh huh. I don't think honestly, at this point, I don't

28:27

think. I don't think Tom Mizzo would want to mess with NBA. It's

28:32

such a different game. Yeah, yeah, no, I don't think so either. But yeah, no, that's the Sun's The Sons are in such

28:38

a tough place because they just don't have a lot of other options. I

28:41

mean, they're gonna add a point guard, as you brought up, they they've got to add there, but they're already Is that Is that a location

28:48

for Chris Paul like bringing him back. I don't know, it felt like

28:53

they were done there. But yeah, I would, I would. I

28:56

would think not. I mean, maybe you draft somebody, but even then

29:00

that's that's not it. Like the problem the problem is again you just have

29:03

these contracts you cannot do anything with. Like your Bradley Beal makes like fifty

29:08

million dollars over the next three years. Like each year he's like that,

29:14

there's no way out of it. That was a bad matchup giving away their

29:18

draft choices too, you know, in the Bial deal. Yes, I

29:21

remember vividly when they announced that deal. There were plenty of national broadcasters that

29:27

said, oh, Phoenix, Phoenix is a favorite to come out of the

29:30

West this year. It's not the Nuggets, it's the Suns. And then

29:34

they don't even win one playoff game. I think that's a bad matchup.

29:38

I think that's a terrible matchup. And it obviously it was in Minnesota.

29:42

We've even high on Minnesota for why didn't even bring the ball up the court?

29:45

Man? The press was so hard on on the basketball. I mean

29:49

that is just you can't even get any offense because you don't have a point

29:52

guard. See but when you think about it, though, there were there

29:56

were times last year when Jim was not in the game the Nuggets had a

30:03

hard time doing that. Burst Brown not really a point right and against Miami,

30:07

Miami extended their defense full court at times. I always worried, like,

30:12

man, when Jamal's not in the game, who's bringing the ball up?

30:17

And that's what Phoenix had the entire game. I mean, you had Booker trying to bring the ball up. I mean, he's a great player,

30:23

but he's he's not that guy. No, No, he's the catch

30:26

and shoot. He's the guy that I thought. I thought he was so

30:30

good last night and that it was I've been very critical of Devin Booker and

30:34

what I think about his ultimate game, but last night he was special.

30:38

The only reason that that was even remotely games Why doesn't the NBA just reshuffle

30:45

you know what I'm saying, Like, I mean, why the hell did

30:48

we have to play the Minnesota timble Wolves. It's the bracket, man,

30:52

I understand that you should be able to They should reshuffle the bracket so that

30:55

the worst team, you know what I'm saying, I mean, to the

30:59

worst possible scenario. Shit, But it would still be two three. It

31:02

would still be two three because because right now one's oak City, yeah there,

31:07

and four or five are playing right now right with the Clippers and MAVs,

31:11

So it would still be that way. Whoever wins the Clippers MAVs would

31:15

would be four. They'd play one, oak City gets them and Denver gets

31:18

Minnesota. We're not going to have a seven or eight move forward? Hunh

31:23

No? These seven rights left? Are they? Well? New Orleans is

31:26

about to get out. They already a bounced. Man, it just feels

31:30

like this is happening way too damn fast. If we if we take care

31:33

of the Lakers right now, like we should not be playing this team.

31:36

This is the team that I did not want to see. This is the

31:40

team that I did not want to see. The Minnesota timber Wolves. Oh

31:42

okay, I thought you've been the Lakers like no, man, man,

31:45

the Temple Wolves. Man. I mean, we talked about this last year

31:48

about how this team is a scary good team, and then we heard on

31:53

the postgame comments from I don't know who it was, I think it was

31:56

Bruce Brown or or one of the guys. Was it Bruce who said that,

32:02

you know, the one team that scared the hell out of them with

32:06

the Minnesota Temble Wolves because they've got they've got the size, and you can

32:09

really be aggressive on your perimeter defense when you know you've got Goberts sitting back

32:15

there, because you know the NBA player is good enough if you if you

32:19

get too much into them, they can step by you. Where are you

32:22

going You're not You're not going in and challenge him. So it's it's a

32:27

pretty good team in terms of having the right pieces and you've got the greatest

32:31

young player in the game. And it was fascinating to watch them against Phoenix

32:37

in the series and how the matchups they do because they have those two centers.

32:40

But they kind of play a little bit different game, right. I

32:43

mean, you know, cav a power forward, sure, and so,

32:46

but the way that they rotate them inst power for the way they rotate them

32:52

in depending on the matchups that they want, they can dictate a lot with

32:57

that. And then again, as you mentioned with Anthony Edwards and by the

33:00

way, Jay McDaniels, that choker lay. So yeah, man, it's

33:07

gonna be a lot of fun, but the Nuggets have to take your business

33:09

tonight. I'm with you. Feel good about tonight. The key what do

33:13

you think is? I think the key right now is the bench, and

33:16

we gotta have bench scoring tonight. We gotta get somewhere around twenty you know

33:22

what I'm saying, Like, I agree, But to me, the key is the pace. If the pace is up, the bench will score right

33:30

right. You don't want to do is what they sort of did in Game four. Too often they're walking the ball up the court. Well, we

33:37

can make fun of Adal, we want to, but he's a defensive presidence inside. When you have to score against that half court defense, it'll be

33:44

the same thing as Minnesota. You want the pace to get it. That's where your role players can get out, get to the basket. What you

33:51

don't want is is Christian Brown and some of these guys being forced against the

33:54

half court defense to sit and shoot twenty foot jump shot. They may make

34:00

up one or two, but that's not that's not his game. Get out,

34:02

get out and get some easy transitional baskets and then and hopefully that leads

34:07

to us uh for the first time, you know, in a minute,

34:10

you know, leading to a net positive in the rebounding UH part of this,

34:15

I mean the Denver Nuggets and especially with Aaron Gordon around the rim has

34:20

been special. With the joker Aaron Gordon creating offensive rebounds, It's hard to

34:27

do that when you are in a set. When you are in a set

34:30

and you are playing a half court offense, it's easy to find your guy,

34:34

block them out, get the rebound, and you don't have second half

34:37

a second chance points when that's the case. Ian Ryford joins US next