Nuggets beat Lakers, Jayson Tatum to return from Achilles tear, Brou’s NBA MVP Ballot, Title Pie

Alltani with three Grand Slams in his MLB career. Looking for one in the WBC. Live from New York. It's a show that is baseball fever. Full won. I'm really into it all. Congratulations to Mexico. Good win over great Britain. Jaren Durand. Shout out to Jaren. Danny Parkins, in for Nick Wright, who is headed to Tokyo. Says he's going to try to go to the game. Hopefully we get a Zoom call from him, but I don't know if the times will work out. Yeah, it might not. But you know what? In honor of Nick. Oh, thank you. We remiss to you. Thank you, bro. Thank you, dusk, because dusk is talking my ear. Sorry. Today, Jason Tatum, making his debut tonight in Boston against the Mavs, what do we expect tonight and moving forward, meanwhile. After a convincing win over Bruce Pistons, is Wembee jumping to the top of Bruce MVP Ballad. And finally, the debut of Parkins Pie, title edition, title pie featuring Danny Parkins. And he's like Chris Pistons, Kevin Wilde's Danny, and he surprises on your inaugural title pie. Yeah, the surprises is there's no pie. I was told that you vetoed the pie. The pie was just delicious and awkward. That's why you were getting them back. No, it was just small and quite no to do with it. You like Mrs. Ibimut? Who doesn't? The apple pie, I love. Dusty pumpkin. Dusty don't eat. Next week. We don't eat. The limited time. You can talk about the pie after the show. We're starting in Denver. End of the game, Lakers run their offense, threw through Marcus Smart, not a wise idea. Denver ran through a Yokehatch. That was a better decision. Denver pulls away. Joker triple double, obviously, 28, 12, 13. Almost did that quadruple double with nine turnovers. Yeah, he did. Lakers, as we've mentioned, several times, cannot beat good teams. Versus teams above 500, they are 14 and 19. They give up on 117 points. They allow everybody to shoot about 50%, which is the third worst in the NBA. So they can't beat good teams. They're currently six in the West, and they don't play much defense. But other than that, what do the last night prove to you? Well, look, let me start with a positive. Good. Because it's going to go south. You're big on moral victory. Yeah, well, the Brown James, another accomplishment for him. He passed Green Malduja Bar as the all-time leader. And field goals made. So congratulations, LeBron. Another notch on your belt. Outside of that, not much to rave about with these Lakers. Last night, however, did not prove to me, Danny, that they can't beat good teams or that they're not contenders. All right. It was just the latest bit of evidence. All right. I say the last two months have proven that they can't beat these teams and are not legitimate contenders. Here's the deal. You mentioned 14 and 19 against teams 500 or better. They are one and eight against the top four teams in the NBA. Boston, Detroit, O.K.C. and San Antonio. All right. They are four and seven against the five teams and the West seeded above them. And they're actually 0 and 3 against Phoenix, which is right behind them and chasing them. So they're just not on contender level. The level of a contender. And look, we all know about the defense. Last night offensively, because Denver is not really good defensively either, the Lakers shot 52%, shot 42% from 3% and still lost why. Because Denver shot 52% and 45% from 3%, but also Denver got to the line 31 times. That's a poor defensive team constantly fows and stuff. So Denver gets all these free throw attempts. That's really the difference in the game. They doubled up the Lakers in terms of free throw attempts. So yeah, the Lakers, we all look that the big three can have good nights together but their games don't really mesh. They defensively we know they struggle. And I also think that they're culture this season. They're almost accidentally. But because there's been so much focus, whether it's in the media, a lot of that coming from talking to people in the organization, that they're focused on next year. And oh, we're going to have this cap room to really build this team around. Look at it, doesn't fit. That has kind of, you know, that spilled over and made maybe some of the players that are playing for the team. And I think that's really, about this season. Because you feel like you probably can't win the team, doesn't fit. They're thinking about next year in the front office. And I just think that's saps some of the energy from the team. So they seem like they're just playing out the string. And I will say this, no, Danny. If they were in the east, I'd give them like a puncher. Even more than a puncher's chance. And I can do some things in the playoffs as well as rees. But in the west, no chance. Right, problem is LA is very much in the west. And the west is very good. And you're right. There's been no evidence all year that this is an elite team. For stretches of time, often against bad teams, they can look offensively dominant. They have the seventh best offensive rating in the NBA. Like that's pretty good. But it's not elite. And there are multiple teams in the western conference in front of them. And they got the 22nd rated defense. And so we can just add this to the list of times where they've played a great team, haven't looked up to snuff, and they end up losing the game. But I did think that there was a moment in the game last night that is just a microcosm for the problem. And I know the drama of Luca and the tech and complaining with the refs. But so it's his 15th tech of the year. And Luca complains to the officials a lot. It's what he does. It's what stars do. But he's become one of the faces of this. And if you watch what happened, he thinks he gets a foul on a shot. And he doesn't run back. And so they don't call the tech right away. Because they're not going to stop a transition opportunity for Denver, which is correct officiating. So then at the end of that play, Denver gets an open three. And that's when they call the tech on Luca. So it's a selfish play twice. Yeah. He's complaining and not running back. And it opens up a wide open three. And then he gets the tech. Brew, you've covered the NBA forever. Teams follow the identity and the work ethic of their best player. And Luca is their best player. So that play was in the second quarter. I want to show you a play in the first quarter. I'm watching this game. You tell me what the defense is. It is just a three from Christian Braun. I think we've got the footage that we can show you. Tell me what Luca's doing here on this closeout effort. That's eight minutes into the game. I don't understand what I'm watching from Luca. Other than I know he's got a high usage rate on offense. And he saves his energy on that under the floor. And he's not a great defensive player. I understand that. But eight minutes into the game against the team that you're fighting for seeding the altitude. You just have to give better effort than that. And if you don't, I don't care how good you can be offensively on a given night. You're drawing dead against good teams in a seven game series. You're doing that. You look at Steve Nash, Steph Curry, not great defenders. But they put forth the effort. They are in the right places. They communicated. They talked. That's what they need to see. And look, this is on Luca. And I would imagine this happening behind the scenes. But I hope JJ Reddick and LeBron James are talking to him like behind the scenes. Just like about what it takes to win. Because like he's a great player. But this complaining, his complaining is beyond all the players complain. None of them ever think they made a foul. He's way beyond anyone. The only one you can compare him to is Dre mine. And Dre mine is not a player on his level. Dre mine is not the best player on his team. All right, so. Dre mine is almost strategic. It's not always strategic. Here's his smarter elements of strategy when he does. He's smarter about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a role on a team. Luca is, listen, he's a brilliant offensive player. And he's a brilliant playoff performer. And I get that he's not going to be a max effort defensive guy all the time because of what he does on offense. But that stuff can't happen. Yeah, quickly just on the other side of the ball, Aaron Gordon went through his warm-ups. Like normal warm-ups. He might go to night against the nicks. Did this game make you think, oh, nuggets with Aaron Gordon. I'm moving them up the. Well, look, I've never, they've struggled. They're seven and eight after last night since Yoke is y'all back from injury. So they haven't looked great. But I've never like written them off just because of Yoke is and no one Gordon didn't back. And Gordon has been, I mean, he's been a good player. He's improved. Yeah. Like his three-point shooting has really improved. Get at that 50 piece. Yeah, he's become like a really good player. And he's only their third guy. And so when they get him back, then Peyton Watson hopefully, yeah, I think they're going to be right there, you know, with Minnesota and O'Kasey and San Antonio. As to me, those are the four that could come out of the West. Well, they're also, they get the benefit of the doubt for me because of what they did to Oklahoma City in the playoffs last year. And when I say like the Lakers are the seventh offensive team, they're the best. Yeah, Denver is the best offense. So that gives you a lot of benefit to the doubt for me. All right, Denver hosts the Nix. As I mentioned, Lakers. They've been hosts the Pacers. That's just exactly what they want. All right, Tay and I'm making his return tonight in Boston against the Mabs. What do we expect next on First Things First and? Serious readers. Now we're going to go out there. We're going to grind for each other. We're team at the end of the day. Let's go to the end of the day. Let's battle. Let's win this game. Two, three, two, one. Tyler Adams has always covered ground. Raised in Wapinger's Falls, New York by a single mom, who made a 150-mile round-trip commute dally, so he could train with the New York Red Bulls Academy. He made his pro-day view at 16. Four years later, he was in the Bundesliga in Germany. And then, playing in the Premier League. Tyler Adams always composed the guys at Natural Born Leader. By 2022, Adams was not only the U.S. men's player of the year. He was named Captain of the men's national team at the FIFA World Cup. When he's in there, he's going to let him know. There's not a team that's going to bully us. And now, a singular opportunity on home ground. Open your top Tyler Adams! For Tyler Adams, competing for the Cup. 97 days away from the World Cup on Fox. It's going to be excellent. Welcome back to First Things First. Jason Tatum back tonight. Celtics tweeting out this video. And they are favored by almost 15 over the maps tonight. Officially listed as available, 298 days since tearing his Achilles at the Garden in the playoffs last year. Here are some other notable Achilles returns, bro. Dejante Murray talked about, yes, they're 25 minutes, 13 points. Durant had 500 plus days, preseason, 15. Puggy Cousins never quite the same, 14 points. And then Kobe, 28 minutes, 9 points, obviously much older in his return. So, what are your expectations tonight and moving forward for Tatum? I'll give you another one, not the actual game, he returned, but Dominique Wilkins. Yeah. Dominique was 33 when he returned from the Achilles injury and came back in that season, average. And he came back in 283 days. Yes, similar. Jason's 298, average 30, his first year back, Dominique. The next two years, the average 27. So, I'm going to be honest, I'm not saying so much tonight. I expect Jason Tatum to play well tonight. I'll be interested to see if he starts. I don't think they've announced that yet. I was starting, I think with a guy in no offense, like a bailer shy, I mean, you can easily move a guy like that out of the lineup, or Sam Houser, whichever one you want to choose, and put Tatum back in and it doesn't really disrupt things. But he's Jason Tatum. He's a superstar, he's a champion, he's all NBA. I think I'm not going to call out to Celtics if he doesn't start, but I think he should start. You see what he's never started, not started again? Yeah. And Wilde. Yeah, so I, I'm just, life, I'll do it with the two teams. I'll do it with the two teams. I'm doing that, sticks. But I expect him to play well. I think people are going to be surprised at how, again, not so much tonight, but just going forward over these next 20 games left in the regular season, I think people are going to be surprised at how well he plays. Very good. I'm not saying he'll totally be it the for me was last year, But I think he'll be close enough where he's playing like a star. If not a superstar, but like a star. This warrants my heart, bro. I like this a lot. So, you know, last year before he got hurt was the best we'd ever seen Tatum. He was, I mean, he's obviously a great player before that, but he was aggressive, guard of the other team's best player, playing with, you know, just impacting his will on the game all the time. Before that, one of the few criticisms that I thought was valid of Tatum was sometimes he would float a little bit. You know what I mean? He would just kind of coast. Jalen and Jalen Brown won finals MVP, I think in part because of it, because Jalen Brown was demanding the ball in those finals and all that. And I wonder if we're going to see that like two years in prior version of Jason Tatum for a while. Like Jalen Brown is second in the NBA in usage right now, behind Luca. Like the ball is in his hands. He's an MVP candidate. They've been playing amazing. And I don't know that you want to rock the boat with that immediately. Like I'm all for bringing Tatum back and Tatum is obviously necessary in order for you to win a title. But at the beginning, I could see him not drawing a lot of files, not attacking. No. But being more of like a catch and shoot, you know, a little bit more of a still of valuable weapon, but just get into the flow. Get your legs under you. Catch and shoot. Shoot some threes. Kind of play three point line to three point line and kind of ease back into the game and where it'll appear a little bit more passive from Tatum early just to just to work him back in. Brut, I made a list of three things I don't want to see. Top three top three things I don't want to see. Number one, Nightmare scenario grimacing. Grimacing always. I'm with you there. Yeah, number two, getting blown past off the dribble. Dusty said looking like Luca. Unfair shot. Dusty. But it's the I think you'll be able to shoot from today and for 30 years, I think if you get him the ball and open look, the shot will still look pure. Is are they going to attack him off the dribble and does his lateral movement? Does he look different than he used to? You got to testing. I mean, if I'm Dallas, that's what I'm doing. Let's test him. Obviously, you don't want him to get hurt or anything, but you want to test him to see if he still has that lateral quickness. And the thing is, as much as he's been playing 5 on 5 in practice with G-leagers and things like that, the speed of the game is going to be a bit surprising. And so that's what you want to do if you're the Mavericks is testing him in that. But look, I think we know the Celtics is about effort defensively. And I do think he's going to give the effort. And I think their team defense will be good. People will help him out when he needs it. So like I said, I expect him to come back and play pretty well. Can I give you my final one? A close game. Oh, really? This should not be close. The line's 14 and a half. The problem and the Mads are on a back-to-back. The Hornets were on a back-to-back. Went into Boston and just, where the more angry you were. Are you worried about Boston tonight? I do not think it's going to be the Boston Tatum party like everyone else does. I think the Mads are like, oh, where are the team you guys want to come back against? Where's the Patsys beat up on the Mads? I also think if we're talking about superstars rising to the moment, Cooper Flag is from Maine. He's a Celtics fan. He's like, this is the only arena I went to as a kid. I can see Cooper Flag stealing Tatum's headlines. If he goes crazy, there's all this talk of like, why wouldn't I want to play for my team? And where the Celtics going to trade up? Or are we waiting out at the contract for him? That'd be fun. Well, I would think very interesting. There's the thing that makes sense. But the Celtics coming off, they got beat down by Charlotte from buzzer to buzzer. I think they're going to come out and want to make a statement. All right, so that game is tonight coming up next. Bruce Ballett did Wembee jump to the top. Let's next up first things first, right here on FS1. If you want to save a few quid British gas have a way, you get half price leaky and it's called peak save. On every Sunday, it's the smart thing to do if you're regular folk or furry and blue. 11 till 4, let the good times begin. You could charge up the car or take the dryer for a spin. Half price electricity. What joy that brings with British gas peak save, we're taking care of things. Tis and C supply eligible tariff and smart meter required. SGA already has one MVP. Is there a chance he can button up a second MVP campaign? Let's find out now on Bruce Ballett. Done, done, done, done. All right, here we go. At number five, same as last week, Jalen Brown. I think surprised. You thought he did? I thought he moved up. Really? There's six in one without him. Just making note of that. I think actually Anthony Edwards is starting to chase. But as long as Boston has the better record, I'll keep Jalen up there and maybe even if Minnesota catches him. Number two seed in the east, given Jalen a lot of credit. At number four, Kade Cunningham. Same as last week. Now, Kade had a rough week. He shot 33% average. 18 points a game in his last two games. He losses the Cleveland and San Antonio. But he has almost every other superstar in the league of the top teams has someone to alleviate some of the offensive pressure. Yokech has Jamal Murray. Donovan Mitchell has James Harden. They have Stuart was out there. Yeah, he's got Stuart during obviously as a big score. But they get their stuff either off the glass or off Kade creating it for him. So a lot of pressure on him. I'm not going to penalize him. He's at number four. Number three, Wimby. All right. Again, this so far, same as last week. Wimby could get it. If Yokech and Shay have a dip or obviously if they miss too many games, then Wimby is right there. If he has a lot more games like last night, I'll say this, Denny. If he catches OKC, if the spurs catch OKC, they're two back in the loss column. And obviously they have the tiebreaker having beaten them four out of five. He could end up getting this MVP. All right. At number two, this is where the switch is. Yokech, my leader last week, I moved them down to number two. As I've said, they're seven and eight since he came back from injury. But here, this is what really made me make the switch this week. They may go back and forth on the ballot. We talked about why Denver's the fifth seed. Obviously, OKC, and you can put Shay up. He's number one. OKC is the number one seed in the league, not just the West. Denver's the fifth seed in the West. And a lot of people are including myself and pointing out their injuries. All right. But Aaron Gordon, their third best player in Denver, has missed 40 games. Shay's second best player, Jaylen Williams, has missed 48 games. All right. And they still have the best record in the league. They've had other injuries as well. Jamal Murray missed all, but played all of five games. So Yokech, I know there's been some injuries, but Shay has been hit just as hard by injured teammates. And he's carried his team to the best record in the league. So that's why I have Shay number one. But so the, I mean, it sounds like it's a three man race. Because if you think that- I say for number one. And for number one. They miss all, you know, they- Sure. You know, that's- 65 game thresholds put over here. Right. But in terms of assuming they all hit it and are all eligible. Because I mean, the fact that, I mean, Wendy's only two back. Like so if you think that if he would flip all the way up to one or at least really be in consideration for that, that's going to be a wide open MVP race if other people share your logic out. Who is Aunt Gunnock out, Jaylen Brown, who is carried a team to the TUCI? Awesome. When everyone else knows a reset year. Not necessarily, but possibly. Just saying, just saying. The Celtics could have easily been Pacer's North. And nobody would have complained. Nobody would have complained. But he's like, you know what? Actually, we're going to be the TUCI. Jaylen is playing great. Right. He's their own- And I know there's now starting to be some talk about, I mean, they're winning without even their six and one. They're winning. I think their, you know, plus-minus is superb when he's down on the floor and things like that. But he is their only guy averaging more than 18 points a game or more. Yeah. Alright, so he clearly, make no mistake about it. He's carrying the team. He's averaging career highs and points, rebounds and assists. So I'm not taking anything away from him. But I think more is on Cade as far as carrying that team. Just because he has to create all the offense. The system doesn't create it for him. Like there's some of that going on in Boston. I mean, it's true third to him. I don't know. I just, where do you think Jaylen should be? I think he's got an argument for one. No, I think about it. Now that I'm like sitting on my like- Your argument is they've been terrible. The scar- Yeah, they should be terrible. Should they? Yeah, it's valid. You were just telling me they have good- Jaylen being much higher than me. The box are terrible. How good Sam Howlser is. That's what you're talking about. He's good because he's playing with Jaylen giving him confidence. Whether you're off to the big match. Get in. Enjoying a trip to the coast to catch up with friends. Or exploring some incredible history with your family. What are they saying? With up to a third of most rail travel, a rail card can help you save on train journeys all around Great Britain. Find the one for you. At railcard.co.uk, Dicency Supply. Live from New York, first things first over time today. Should the cowboys go and get Max Crosby and the team we found out about today? That is interested in Max. Very, very exciting. I don't know. Meanwhile, title pie with Danny Parking. We do not have a pie. But we do have a great segment for you. And finally, Jason Tatum, making his return tonight in Boston against the Mavs. What are we expecting from Tatum? Can they make a run to the finals all of a sudden? Alongside Danny Parking's up Kevin Wildes, Nick Riders out in Tokyo going to the World Baseball Classic Group. I kind of like that. We were on vacation two weeks ago. That's what's the confusing part, right? Remember you had to do all the shows. I remember doing your show and my show. And then I remember the week we were on vacation. Because you were on vacation. And now you're back. And then I took a week of vacation. And now it's... He got a double vacation. I know he's trying to talk... No, you were on vacation. You got a double next week, too. You were on vacation. He was. For what? Japan. Japan for the weekend. Oh, for the next one. I was already on. I was already on. I moved forward. So it's Friday next week, too. Riders moved on from Geno today. I think you should go to the Jets, but we'll say that conversation. Are you serious? Yeah, of course. I think it'd be great. No. Are they ready to make a move on Max Crosby, too, Diana, or Senior Reporting? That the Cowboys and Get Ready, Rube? The Ravens. Oh. Are the teams to watch? We're going to start with Danny here, because I think he's going to save some time for you to talk 10 minutes about your Ravens. He offenses in their DNA. What team is a better fit? I will seed my time for Brew to have the Ravens part of us. It can't be the Cowboys. Why? I don't know. I remember being on the air with you guys a few months ago at this exact time when we broke into whatever we were doing to talk about the Cowboys trading away, and then we were going to play a little bit more, like Michael Parsons. Then, turn around one football season later. A little weird. A lot weird. A lot weird. I'm not weird. I'm not weird. But should they just, they made a mistake, but are they supposed to just, we can't, then you got to fix it. If you can get Max Crosby, that presumably would fix it. You don't think they should fix it? Just to save a little, something, something making, looking like they got egg on their face? I would like to think that you have a plan and that you, they clearly don't. Okay. I come from the belief of like, you should have an organizational plan. And if you have a 25 year old ad rusher who you trade away for a bunch of draft picks, it doesn't strike me as terribly logical to one season later, take a bunch of draft picks and trade them for a 29 year old ad rusher who is injured and worse than Michael Parsons as great as Max Crosby is. That being said, and I know it's like, we'll stick with Dallas. Dallas made a mistake, the Mavericks, trading away Luca. Yeah. And then a new regime got in there, so lucky though. Well, outside of Cooper flag, but then they were trying to make amends for the bad trade. But they also had new management. So if, what's the, I mean, Brian, I'm saying, I'm saying, if Dallas had new management and you eliminate the egg on your face component to it, do you think this is the right move for Dallas? Listen, Max Crosby makes every team in the NFL better. And if the acquisition cost for him is reasonable, literally every team in the NFL should consider. He's a top 10 ad rusher at 29 who is a great character guy who gives perfect effort on every play, doesn't ever come up. He's not like a specialist, like he plays all three downs. He is what you would want. He is what Dallas needs, but he is also what Chicago needs and what Baltimore needs and what Washington needs. He's what a lot of team needs. Dallas has the 12th and 20th pick in the draft and then a lot of cap space. You can use those things to select players and spend money in free agency. I don't think you need to go all in for a player like Max Crosby when you just had that guy there already. It just makes sense. It seems it would be very reckless and maybe I should be able to like, all right, it's a sunk cost. You made it mistake with my gun. I can't. Maybe I should be able to, but I think I should they so just don't have a great edge rusher unless you draft him for the next several years or sign tray Hendrickson and just spend money on it. And like allocate your resources. They have more. That's what I'm going to trade. That's what I'm going to trade. Yeah, because you're trading multiple picks and it's the most expensive way to acquire talent. And you could have just paid Micah. You chose not to. So then if you turn around and basically do call it 90 cents on the dollar, 80 cents on the dollar of what it would cost to get Crosby, what it cost to get Micah. For a lesser version of Micah, it's just, we make fun of how the bangles do business. That would be insane. It would look, but I just think though, like you brought up the sunk cost, you made a terrible mistake. But you can't keep punishing yourself and your fan base over the next five years because you don't want to admit publicly you made this mistake. And tray, look, I think tray is going to go somewhere and play well, but he, I don't think he's in the max Crosby class. I know he's got all the sacks over the last few years. Last year was a bit down. That maybe that was just, he missed training camp and all that, but I don't think he's max Crosby. So, but he's how much worse is he? And you don't have to give up a first and a second player. No, that part is. So the difference between Trey Andrickson and Max Crosby, hopefully is made up for with the draft picks. You trade for Max Crosby, you're Dallas. You're giving up the 20th pick in the draft. Right? At a minimum. Hopefully you hit on the 20th pick in the draft. Dallas has been good at drafting. That player makes an impact. Like you just, it's not an efficient way to go get talent. And I just, I couldn't sign off on it for that team in particular. Well, it doesn't matter because you should go to the right there. There we go. I'm looking at it from Max Crosby's perspective. Let's say these two teams, you mentioned a few others, but they won't. If I'm Max Crosby, I'm like, he's a Raven. All right. I thought he was a Raider when the old Raiders, when they actually were good and tough and all that. But he is a Raven. I mean, Raid Lewis, and I know the difference is what I'm just saying. Like that defensive, you know, game record, the aggressiveness. I like, he just rebellious persona. That's he's a Raven. All right. It is a better chance of winning a Super Bowl. I'm compared to the Cowboys. Sure. All right. It's a better culture. All right. Like they're a football franchise. The Cowboys are a reality show. A soap opera in a football setting. All right. Now he was shining that. He get a lot of love and a lot of publicity and all that. And the team would probably be good. But if you want to go to a football franchise where it's about football, it's about winning. I think Baltimore is definitely the place to be. I think he's already got some good defensive players with him. We know their problems early last season defensively. Latin' the season, they put second half of the season really. They play good defensively without any pass rush. What's so ever, they were near the bottom of the league and that. You put Crosby in there, get a pass rush. And now the other got pass rushers improved too because he's getting so much attention. You're even the backfield gets better. Like I just think it makes tons of sense. And they obviously are right there on the cusp of being able to win a Super Bowl. So yes, Max. Put on the purple, maybe. Put on the purple. Let me show you one more thing, Danny. See if you like this. And if that makes you think, huh, that's a fit for the Cowboys or, huh, maybe they don't need Max Crosby. So get this. Last year, the Cowboys only had 35 sacks. They were 22nd in the NFL. But they had 89 QB hurries, most in the NFL. They had a pressure rate was high too. So they actually don't tackle the quarterback. You know, tax draw. But they are. There is an amount of they just roughed the quarter. They just roughed the quarter. You could see it in a way their defense played. The quarterbacks were really frazzled when they played the Cowboys. That's a very easy to get sacked. I think personality wise, I love him in Dallas. If Jerry says he's going to break the bank and do something drastic. So you like him in Dallas better than Baltimore? Well, I know what? I just want Dallas to be. You got to be a fan of the story. It'd be fun. You know what it is like the opposite? How you say it? As long as you have Dak Prescott, you will have a good offense. I agree with that. The purple and black will have a good defense. Jesse Mitchell will have a good defense with her without Max Crosby. So I would like to see Dallas. You know what else I say about Crosby in Baltimore? Yeah. I'm not totally convinced as much as I love the Ravens, that they're over the chiefs thing. Chiefs clearly have been in their head. That's a great take. They aren't in his head. It's a great take. Even though he doesn't beat him. I was going to say, like, no. But he is not intimidated by the chiefs. Sure. And if he goes to play Kansas City with a team like Baltimore, that obviously is a good team, I think he can help that locker room. If there's any remnant of, you know, the chiefs mystique in there, I think he can help it limb like that. I guess I'm just a little surprised. If you were going to make a huge swing, like one big move for Baltimore in the S-bob culture, offense or defense. I guess I would have thought that you would have said offense. Receiver? Yeah, receiver. Be sure you bring back Linda bomb. Well, I'd have to be able to bring back Linda bomb. I would have to be able to bring back Linda bomb. Well, so I'm just saying that it's a good thing. But I think receipt, look, obviously they don't have a fantastic number one. But they fly, like, I think their receipt of course is good enough. I wouldn't mind improving it. But I think it's good enough. Like, that's not their problem. I mean, their problem has just been they haven't shown up in these bigger games. Playoff games. Well, let's turn our attention to the NBA. It's time for the most delicious segment in all of sports. The debut of Danny's title pie. We did not get a pie. We're going to get right to the segment. Sorry, it's still delicious segment. All right, still delicious without pie. You'll have to figure that one out. This first slice of pie, it might be too big. Coming in at 1% the Los Angeles Lakers. So why? It... Because... Luca, LeBron and Reeves have not played that much together this year. And when they have post-all star break at times, it has looked impressive. At 10. No, again, it's 1%. It's the smallest slice of the pie. It's probably the last week and maybe the only week that I get a chance to do it. But I'm not going to eliminate them, but this is as close to elimination as I can possibly have. So I'm... That's bigger slice than Nick gave him. Right, I went back and looked at it. He had him at a half percent with the Clipper. Spoiler alert. Fewer slices on my pie than the next pie. Coming in at 2% the Houston Rockets. They're a little too similar to last year's team. I would have expected them to look different in terms of how they look on the offensive side. They're still the best rebounding team in the sport by far. They're the third best defensive team in the sport by far. Shingoon is great. Katie can get you a bucket. But it's just... In the West, their ceiling does not seem to be as high as the other teams around them. That's one game, but they lost last night. A game that they shouldn't have lost to warriors without stuff. Yeah, I agree with you. I agree with you, Daniel. I'm just like, it just not as impressive as you expect. Right, so it feels like there's another level they should be able to get too offensively. That they just haven't cracked that piece of it yet. So I want to give them the possibility in the next 20 games that it can get there. But it hasn't happened in the first 75% of the season. I said the Lakers one was too high. In a week, this one went feel too low. 3% for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The vibes are incredible. There was just a great article on the athletic that came out about how Anthony Edwards is loving the MVP chance and the camaraderie in the locker room and everything that's going on with this team and how they've come together. Back to back Western Conference Finals, appearances, 18 playoff wins over the last two seasons. They play their best fall in the postseason. The teams that I just have is like good but not upper echelon. I have to downgrade a little bit on the pie because of the path that they would have to go through in the West. Like if Minnesota was in the East, they'd be the favorite. So I just, I really like Minnesota but I just think that the path that they likely will have to go through for seeding is very, I mean, they could be in the four or five matchups against Denver in Round 1 to have to play Oklahoma City in Round 2. It's just very, very difficult right there. First Eastern Conference team on Title Pi is the Detroit Pistons. I love Kate Cunningham. I love where he is on Groose Ballet. I think they are the try hard Pistons. They play really hard. They play hard in the All-Star game. But we see a team every year that's young that plays the regular season with a playoff level of intensity and then when the playoff start and everybody else plays with a playoff intensity, there's not another gear for them to get to and it kind of levels the playing field. So like if they have got the most wins in the Eastern Conference, I don't think they're actually the best team in the Eastern Conference. I think Kate, you know, he's amazing. He's could be first team OMVA, probably will be. But he needs a running mate. His percentage of offense generated of points and assists. It's just too high. It's just too much for one guy to carry the load for a team to actually win four playoff rounds. Six percent for the New York Knicks. And this is higher than I would have expected. Their defense has been really good for a reasonable period of time. And Carl Anthony Towns, I promise I'm watching the games. You are playing hard. Like I genuinely respect how hard he is playing right now on the defensive end of the court. Maybe this is scar tissue. I need to see it in the postseason to believe that this team can actually be an even above average defensive team with Brunson and Kat playing as many minutes as they do. Because in the playoffs, that just has not been the case. In the regular season for a stretch, it has been. I have serious questions about their ability to do that in the playoffs. They're also four and five this year because the test is... I have questions on behalf of Ramsy. Yeah. They didn't get eliminated in the first round last year. Yeah. Like what? What do you need to see? I mean, but they fired a coach after making the Eastern Conference finals. I'm trying to hold them to the standard of the only successful season for the next this year is making it to the finals. It's the only way this season was a success when you make it to the Eastern Conference finals and fire tips. So if they make it, they should win a first round playoff series. Yeah. But like, the lucky bounces, you know, fall 20 feet in the air and went through the hoop. No, that was a help shot. That was a help shot. No, it was not. It was not. Next team, also in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics coming in at 7%. You've reached the finals, at least the Eastern Conference finals, six of the last nine seasons. Jalen Brown, top five MVP guy, second in the league in usage. Their defense is sixth best in the NBA right now. I do wonder what hit that takes if any with Tatum coming back. Tatum has led them and shot it field goal attempts the last six years. I wonder what happens there with Brown coming back. They'll probably figure it out. They'll bring Tatum back. He obviously represents the highest possible ceiling. But until I see this team this year, I do have one Eastern Conference team in front of them. And that is my Cleveland Cavaliers. And they're all really bunched up. Detroit, the next Boston and Cleveland, they all have flaws. James Hardin and Donovan Mitchell have only played 127 minutes on the court together in the 12 games since the trade. Because there's the hamstring for Donovan, there's the thumb for Hardin. But they were the best offensive team in the East before they got Hardin. Now you add that in. I think Jared Allen and Hardin have looked really good together. The number of double doubles he's had since Hardin's been there. Mobly and Hardin give them the interior defensively. I love the key on Alice Edition for them. I do think we are going to see a very high ceiling from them when they get healthy, which they should be come play off time. Coming in number nine, or except not number nine. That's not how this works. We're not ranking things. But at 9%, the San Antonio Spurs. They beat the great teams and they have an alien for a best player. So I know Nick likes to reference Bill Walton. We have to go that far back for a team for their first playoff appearance in order to go... It's a good historical comp because Jordan had to crawl walk run. You know, LeBron had to crawl walk run. But maybe the rules don't apply to a team with 7-6. You shoot threes and you're the best defensive player in the sport by far. But if that is the case, the league should be terrified because Dylan Harper is only going to get better. Web and Yama is only going to get better. The pieces in San Antonio are great. To me, this is like a how good can they be so soon. But they got a legit shot because of how well they play against the best teams. I know the record is not as impressive recently, but at 10% the Denver Nuggets. If you're the best offensive team in the sport, offensive efficiency, 3.0 percentage points per game, and you have the best player in the sport, and you took the champs to a 7-game series last year, I'm willing to forgive a lot in the regular season. They've got the heart of a champion. Jamal Murray is playing the best ball of his career. Their offense is incredible, and I know they think that they can beat the Thunder because they've beaten the Thunder. So to me, they're the next team that needs to be reckoned with, even if their record recently doesn't suggest it. And if you add all that up, it goes to 50%, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder could take the other slice of the pie. And I think somehow the champs are being underrated. Because not only do they have the best record in the West, it is the best record in the league, but if we just do the comparison this year to last year, record point differential, defense, and turnovers, they're first-first across the board. It is the exact same, but as Brue alluded to earlier in the conversation about SGA on his ballot, what's the big difference this year? They are doing it largely without their second best player. You throw the amount of games that Chet, who's been great, Chet SGA and Jalen have played together, only 21 and 64. So for them to be the best team in the league with a lot of the peripheral numbers being basically identical to the team that won the title, without a top 15 player in the sport playing 70% of the games, I just think they're very clearly the best team in the NBA yet again. Time for some bonus, Chet. Not bad. It's a perfect pie. Look, they may be being underrated. I think the reason they're being underrated, if indeed that's how you want to determine, is because of what the spurs did. I agree with that. And I'm not even saying I would pick the spurs over them in a series yet. I don't know where I go because I've seen a team dominate one in the regular season and lose in the playoffs. But that's what woke everybody's eyes up because before that, we felt like it's a done deal. We know it's okay. Right, right. And the fact that the spurs not only beat them once and then twice, but four times out of five, those last three games, at least, OKC was like, no, we are not getting beaten by them and they lost two of those games. So that's the thing, but look, OKC is certainly the favorite. I would move and you're right about the youth, but I would move the spurs to second. And just slightly ahead of Denver, but I moved the spurs to second. I get the youth and experience and that was my knock against the Thunder last year. But I think they obviously overcame it. I think the spurs can overcome that. I would put Denver and Minnesota Danny third kind of the same amount of pie. I think those are the four teams in the West that could win it. And then my east right now, my eastern order is Detroit, New York, Boston, and then your cast. I think that they're all close, but the cast. That's the exact inverse of mine. Yeah, so you flip my story. Just flip those. And look, the cast, Harden, we all know about his playoff struggles, but he's also has some good moments. He's also been this close to getting over that hump. And maybe in the east, which we know is easier, maybe they can do it. He had his chance with Duranto. Now there's no Yannis right now. Correct. Yannis in his way, and that's who beat him, but I. Harden is in his way. Well, no, and that's why I got them fourth. I'm just saying, I'm just saying there's a chance, but yeah, I got them fourth. Danny's giving some sass to San and I like this. I'm just going to close sign that one. Yeah, you didn't like that one. That was Christina. Good job, Chris. That was excellent. All right, coming after. Absolutely. After three. Tatum is back tonight. What do we expect? And is there a chance? AJ Brown teams up with Justin Herbert. Oh, my. That would be the same. That would be the same. And we pay you championship. It would be, oh, my. We got Willie Cologne hanging out with us on first things first. Look at Jason Tatum. About time. Been waiting on him. I mean, it hasn't been that long. Ten months. It really hasn't been that long. You said, yeah, I mean, come on. I mean, I'm going to tell you. I mean, we've been talking about it. Yeah, we, I mean, sure, because he was, you know, the top five guy in the league, less than 300 days removed from rupturing as a kill. He's 298 to be exact. We also have a little bit of news. Joe Mozilla says he's not sure on a minute's restriction. I'm sure he is. He's just not sharing it. Of course, but that he will start tonight. And the Celtics. This is going to surprise exactly nobody. They're very excited to have Jason Tatum back throwing that out there on their social media. So he's hyped. The team is hyped. It's, I would argue, the biggest story in the NBA between now and the postseason, because he's there the second seat in the east and they're getting this elite player back. Willie, what are your expectations for Tatum's return? We'll start with tonight. Well, tonight I wouldn't start. You wouldn't start. No, I would, I would, I would have him come off the bench. I would cap him at 15 to 20 minutes, have him play early in the second. Excuse me, a little bit in the third. Wrap it up in the fourth, obviously. But nevertheless, man, I think he comes down to really seeing what he can do, what he can't do. Right? A big part of his game last year was that stack back jumper. You know, he had an amazing first step. Is that still there? And then if he's a defensive liability, that's going to be a question. So, and then let's be, let's keep it a buck. We don't know where his cardio is at, right? Like, scrimming, gene, running up and down, that's good. But in game is a different dog. And so a guy, and I'm coming, this is coming from a guy who tore his Achilles. I tore my right Achilles. And from the neck, from the neck down, I feel like I could do certain things. From the neck up, took me a little bit longer, because my chest, right? To trust the confidence. And it's parsing these times in the game where you're not thinking about the injury, you just got to go and react. Is all that there. When I look at Jason Tato, man, part of me feels like, man, I'm worried about him disrupting the synergy of the Celtics. Because they're top, they're top, I mean, top 10 in offense and defense. And think about it, it's been a blessing in disguise because you look at the emergence of Cater, right? Hugo Gonzalez is a star, right? You talk about John Walsh, he's been a factor for them. And he's all wing guys. And so if you jump, Joe Mozilla, he's done it, Joe Mozilla, excuse me. He's done a great job of allowing these young pieces to arrive and help just him out. And don't top that. Jaylen Brown has been amazing, man. So starting him just feels like he may be messing with the recipe that's winning for the Celtics right now. Well, okay, there's a lot there. You're playing Dallas, you're 14 and a half points favorite. So I'll, with Jason Tato and without Jason Tato, I'd expect them to take care of business tonight, no problem. Even if you do mess with it a little bit, what are you going to do? You're going to do. Well, I mean, like, you have to bring back Jason Tato. He has to play. But because he, he, he, he, he, if Jason Tato can get over the next 20 games. Right. If he can get back to being 85 to 90% of Jason Tato. But you won't see that, D.P. That's my point. Right now, I understand he's probably 80%, 80%, 85%. And that's good enough. He won't be 100% to the next season. Okay. So this is what I say, you build him up. Right. Okay, fine. But the, the idea of him 20 minutes is 20 minutes. Like starting is, I think more like of a ceremonial thing out of respect to your, your franchise player. So I don't, I don't think that like the first, if he plays the first, if he has a 20 minute restriction and six of those 20 minutes are the first six minutes of second six minutes. I don't, I don't think that matters. And so I think it's more of like a celebration. They're at home. I understand. Give him a big ovation. You know, I think that's, I think that's probably that part of it. And I think he represents the highest ceiling possible, right? The Celtics obviously are better with Tatum than without eventually. And so I think you got to work your, you can you say that now? Like the Celtics are better without, I mean. They're not better with that. I'm not saying they're not better without him. But my point is you got to, if you're the Celtics right now, what you have right now is working. No, like, like, like, the right choice. Hey, putting him in a back burner, understanding that he still needs to get work. Like he still needs to be built up so you would have what he doesn't have. And if he's not ready right now, because you're not going to play him on the back to back. Like that's not, that's not happening. Okay. So my point is slow, slow start is worth him building up into the playoffs. Yeah, listen, I, again, Joe Muzul has said there is not a minutes restriction. Or he's like, I will see your, we'll know. Absolutely. They're obviously is. They have a plan that is not sharing it publicly. He, one thing that I am interested in is he is a great shooter. And when you are talking about top five top 10 players in the sport and you ever say anything critical about them, it is by definition nitpicking because they are great. So you're, you're parsing a little bit. I thought with Tatum two years ago and prior. I was like, you're a little passive. Like you're down, you're down one. Are you sprinting to get the ball? Or are you hoping the ball comes to you? It's a difference. There's a little bit of a difference, right? There's a one, two and a like, if it comes to me, I'll show up. Exactly. There's a little bit of a difference. And I think Jalen Brown has that sprint to the ball thing. And I think it's a large part of the reason why he ended up winning their finals MVP. I could, but then last year I did not see that from Tatum. Tatum was the most aggressive I had ever seen him. Well, he had to be. Because then because Jalen Brown had played as strong as he did to prior. And I thought, so I thought Tatum was brilliant last year and there would be no nits to pick in his game. I do wonder if, because of how great Jalen Brown has been, because he's coming back from the Achilles, because you have to rebuild that trust. Yeah. Because there's a minute for certain. I do wonder if the early returns on Jason Tatum are a little bit more like what I was saying two years and prior on him, where he's just a little bit more recatchable to shoot guy. Not getting fouled very much, hanging out three point line to three point line, where he can still be effective. And he's still a good player and he's still worth having out there. But I am going to be very interested in how much of that Jason Tatum we see. And you won't see it. I think that has to be over the next 20 games though, how much are we going to see it? But that goes back to my percentage, right? Like this is why, like, if you got an 80%, you got to see, all right, out of that 80%. What's the lacking? Because there's parts of his game, especially a guy who watched it, because he destroyed my neck, so he's always held for my neck. Like when he's on a wing and he's ISO, he's hell against OG, who's one of our best defenders against McKell. Like because he can pull up and shoot it, or he can drive with his amazing first step, or right out, he can say, you know what? I'm going to take over this court because he has the ability to. All those little aspects of him, they need to see before you get into the playoff. So that's why if you feel like you want that guy back, slow is slow. You got to slow this thing up a little bit, because I think emotions play apart. Sure, listen, they're excited to get him back, and there will be a minute's restriction. And these games are not as significant as the games that come. Let's go to just a little harder after Dallas. They got some competition ahead of them. I know, but like for Boston, if I'm a Celtic fan, I'd rather lose a couple of games, and work Tatum back in, so that he can be whatever the most effective he can be in the playoff. It's the biggest story in basketball between now and the postseason. This was a fun report, though, as we go to football. Let's go to Philly, where, shocking we will, we found a way to get AJ Brown. Well, listen, if Tom Manifell reporters are still going to keep putting out potential suitors and teams that are interested, this one caught me by surprise. A friend of the show, Diana Racini. She writes, The Eagles are holding firm on their steep asking price for AJ Brown. While the New England Patriots have poked around on it, the Los Angeles Chargers are another team keeping tabs on the situation. All right, well, so that's an easy hypothetical. Which would be the better fit for AJ Brown, Patriots or Chargers? I mean, you know the answer to this. Go ahead. I want you to jump out there. I actually, when this broke, I thought you'd be running through the hallways for your man Justin Herbert. I thought this would be outside of your bears. I thought you would be out here waiting to tie. I mean, it's a Charger Yolteye. But I am kind of floored by it. What? AJ Brown would make everybody, every team better. Like that caveat out of the way. But the Chargers were one of two teams, it was them and the bears actually, my two squads, that had two guys that had three players with 600 or more yards at receiver. Four players overall when you factored in running backs and tight ends. I didn't look at it and say like true number one is what Justin Herbert needed. How could you not? They don't have a vertical threat. Ladd with honkies, they only got on a slot. That ate. Listen, he would make them much better. I guess my point is when I watch the Chargers, issues one, two, and three, were protecting Justin Herbert. 100%. And so if they're going to make a huge move, and I know they just signed the center from Washington, which is a good upgrade. But like if they're going to make a huge move, I would be a little surprised if it was for a true number one. Whereas the Patriots, I'm just trying to be fair on this. I would prefer him in LA because I want everything to work out for Justin Herbert. But the Patriots just lost the fond eggs. Okay. They have a bigger need for a top pass catcher than the Chargers do. To me, they both have the same need. The office line for the Patriots weren't good. There's issues there, especially about Will. You have to have a top pass catcher. And you also have to understand, if you're just backing up, if you're the LA Chargers, this makes total sense. Why? Because you get a true number one receiver who's a legit vertical threat. On top of that, you know what you need on an office line. You've got yourself a center. You have to imagine both tackles won't deal with the injury bug that dealt with last year. That's one day we're going to have help. And I understand this. They only have five draft picks this year. Yeah. And so those five draft picks, you have to feel like they're going to address the office line and the defensive line. And they're going to have fewer than five draft picks if they're trading for AJ Brown. You would think? Yeah, you got to give up something. Yeah, but I think it's more money. I think they have like 100 million or something like that. Well, I know, but you're going to have to give your first round pick for AJ Brown. You're going to have to give things up in order to get him. He's not a free agent. You're going to be getting him in a trade. I totally, if he is actually available. I think he's worth the first round pick. I think he gives Justin Herbert somebody a grown man at the position that he could depend on. For me, I think it's a no-burner. I mean, you know, you kind of have AJ Brown with Mic McDaniel. Right. Who is a who. We all glute. How great of a O.C. How great of a play. I will play the hypothetical game with you. If the chargers this off season get to say that they upgraded either through addition Or guys just returning from injury. At left tackle. Right tackle. Center. Play. Caller. Hands number one. Receiver. It's a win. I mean, yes. You've got an MVP vote last year, controversial, it wasn't me, what have you done there? And one 111 games, and their defense was over-achieved. I just, they've got free agents on their defense at Drusher. They have serious interior offensive line issues. They have offensive line depth issues. They have explosiveness at running back issue. I just, while AJ Brown would be great for them, because you're right, it's a true out, you know, Quinin Johnson has not lived up to the hype. He's shown flashes. Lad McConkey was better two years ago than last year, which was weird. I would expect him to really... But I think I was the product of Justin Herbert running for his life every single day. Right, and I would think Lad McConkey would benefit tremendously from having Mike McDaniel there and more protection. So do not get it twisted. AJ Brown would be great on the chargers, and Justin Herbert would get him the ball 100. He would have 150 targets, frankly, and either of the... And the narrative changes now, right? There's no longer about AJ Brown getting the ball. He's going to get the ball, the ball. He now, he has to deliver, because he has an elite quarterback in Justin Herbert. Yeah, yes, but I would say that. So just, okay, that's the chart. Would you not say all of the same things about the Patriots? He is a clear number one. It's a big armed quarterback. He's a quarterback who throws the ball to all three levels of the field. He can push it outside the numbers. He was a great deep ball thrower last year. Like AJ Brown would also be a 150 target guy in New England. But it scares me about that, and I've made the statement before. The league will figure Drake may out. And I think they figured him out towards the end of the season. Justin Herbert has been through the fire and been able to stay in tall, tried, and true. Yeah, he hasn't had a lot of playoff success, but he's been in the fire. Drake made next year. We'll see what the fire looks like, and he can't even handle it. Because the NFL is not long ago, just like, oh, something a little cute story out there in New England. People are going to look at him as a guy. So he has to deliver. So if his numbers don't respond, like you expect him to respond. If you're AJ Brown, if you used to choose the two quarterbacks, I'm going to hervert. Because he's tough, he's physical, has a talent. And by the way, you look around, you have pieces development with the OCE who you know is going to target you. I'm putting on shades. I'm headed west of our major Brown. Yeah, that's possible. Yeah, if he won't have a say in it again, because it's a trade. That's not a free. I will say this though, it's a, AJ Brown is a fun hypothetical. Just like it's amazing. As a piece to, what would AJ Brown look like in that locker room with that quarterback, in that locker room with that quarterback? And I think a lot of the locker room things, at least at the beginning, they go away if he plays with the quarterback like this. While a quarterback who can get him the ball down the field. While I've always kind of leaned towards the whole AJ Brown is right, it's a way because he's never changed his story. I've told you that time. Yeah. He's not complaining because he doesn't like the guy. He's complaining because I just want the ball and I'm not getting it. And a tape shows you what. Give me the damn ball. It's a tale is all this time. Let's play the I test to the free agents that are going to be finding new homes when the window opens on Monday. Coming up on the OT. Oh, let's supply the I test. That graphic. It's like a combination of Dr. Danny and someone with a magnifying glass. This doctor's don't really have magnifying glass. Nailed it. Yeah, okay. I should stick to the script. There's no point in that. Everyone knows I see the link clearly window opens for free agency next week. So let's see who's going to make the biggest impact in the NFL. The guys are changing teams to the bottom, Loro. This is kind of a fun one. John Franklin Myers from Denver, Kevin Lloyd Kenneth Walker and O'Dafe Oway. So across the board here, John Franklin Myers, I think is going to get $22 million a year. He is, he's a plug and play media. He's played 114 games since he answered the league. 34 games over the last two seasons that starts for the Broncos. Three down player, 14 and a half sacks, pressure up the middle. And in his prime, a position that you can play very effectively into your early to even mid 30s if you stay healthy. He's been healthy. I think he's about to get in. He's a great jet too. I think he'd be a great everybody, but he'd get a massive contract. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, he had a thousand yards, rushing last year, only with 13 carries. 13 carries per game, 24th in the NFL. Like he goes to a team that gets more volume. We saw what he was able to do in the Super Bowl. Big impact guy there. Giant's, O-O-A had three sacks and two forced fumbles in the playoff game. Yeah, he's sneaky good at playoff. For the charge. What was crazy about him was, it's like, me and he, you got all the traits in Baltimore and then you get traded to the chargers. And then you ball out. I wonder if he goes back to Baltimore now that mentors there. I don't know, maybe he's soft prediction. You need help. So the next line here, speaking of an adjus rusher, Jalen Phillips, makes an appearance, Alec Pierce and Malik Willis. Jalen Phillips, everyone knows what he can do. Alec Pierce, if he becomes the number one, which he will when he gets paid this off season, 21 yards per catch, most in the NFL, by over four yards per catch. He is a real deep threat. Like, so when he starts running and getting a higher volume of targets, and he's gonna get paid, I'm very interested to see what he could put out. He's a big play guy. And then Malik Willis, he is gonna get an opportunity to start. He's gonna get paid like a starter and it's gonna be fascinating to see, does he get to go to a good team, or does he go to a bad team? Because if he goes to a bad team, because they give him the most money, I'll understand it. It's his opportunity to get paid. But I do wonder like, if he can find his way to Atlanta, or find his way to Minnesota, and like, how much is a good team gonna invest in him? Because when he's had action with the Packers, it's been very impressive. As we go to the next row of the I test, free agents that are gonna make the biggest impact, Kyler Murray and Trey Hendrixson. I think Kyler Murray's gonna be a Viking. I just think it makes way too much. You've been pounding that drum. Well, I'm not the only one. I just think if they're moving on from JJ McCarthy, and this guy is there, and he is more physically talented than Sam Darnold or Kurt Cousins. And it's the McVase system with Jefferson, with Bryan Floor is back to run that defense. I think it makes too much sense for them not to do it, given that they don't have to pay him anything. Arizona's foot in the whole bill. So in that situation, I think he's gonna make a massive impact. And Hendrixson, yeah, he didn't have his best year. But he's tall. He had four sacks in seven games last year, 35 sacks combined the two years before that. And he gets to finally be a mercenary. Yeah. He can keep signing one year deals if he wants to. Just go to the best team, be a pass-rough specialist, get paid, he'll probably try to sign a multi-year deal. Like, I really want to see him on a great team. And then, Willie, I think you'll respect this, because I'm going interior offensive lineman, the center, Tyler Lindnerbaum. Baltimore wants him back. The chargers we can cross him off, because of who they just signed out of Washington. My bears are gonna be, gonna be in. Yes, they're gonna be interested. I think Detroit's gonna be interested. I think a bunch of teams with, he's not going back to Baltimore. You don't think so? The price is, like, he's gonna make the bag, either with your bears or Detroit lines. Or, but I think six other teams. Like, he's a three-time pro-bola. He's missed two games in four years. He's allowed 10 sacks in 66 games. He's a dog, no? He's 25 years old. Like, if, so if you got a three-time pro-bola captain of an offensive lineman center, who doesn't give up sacks and is a beast in the run game, like, basically, every team in the league is gonna offer this guy 20 million bucks a year or more. Right. He's gonna have a lot of good options. But this is, as far as your bears, I know priorities are, let's go get an edge rooster. He jumps me. Like, he jumps that. I think he passed, like, you got, yeah, you got to think about it. Like, Dolman gone, right? On top of that, you, you, Luke Tuney to left tackle. Well, they don't want to do that. But it's a necessity. Half two at this point. So, if you get him, it stillifies the offensive line, and he's, you know, that off-slime to the engine that drove that Chicago Bears offense, can I give him my take? Please, Patrick. Yeah. Malik Willis, you have to drop him one. Drop him. Yeah. You think I'm too bullish on the league will? It's way too bullish. Wow. Like, this is, can I show you a graphic? Please. This is who Malik Willis is. Like, that's his resume. You talk about six career starts and four games, one start, 35 total passes. Sick, like, and he's dealing with a shoulder injury. He dealt with it in the Baltimore game. Like, you're gonna give this man start a money, and that's his resume? Like, I think you hurt yourself seriously. If you think he's gonna be your golden goose, what another team? I think, listen, he's not gonna get a five-year, $200 million deal. Like, people are talking about 30 million for this guy. Well, yeah, but that's what Gino Smith got. That's what Justin Fields got. Like, he's not, but Gino had a resume. Like, Gino had played enough, showed you who he is. Nobody knows who Malik Willis is. The reason why he left Tennessee, because he didn't want to throw the ball. But when he got with Matt LaFloor in Green Bay, his three starts with the Packers. His pass rating was 132, and he had six touchdowns. Look, those six touchdowns came in the three starts in Green Bay. So, he, he, any one. No, so someone is gonna give him a game. The game is Baltimore. He snuck up on it. I don't think they believed he was gonna be what he was that year. Yeah, that wasn't impressive, they did. All right, so tonight, Team USA makes its world baseball classic debut, taking on Brazil, 80 Eastern, of course, on Fox. USA played in two exhibition games. They were both one. I questioned, we got a lot of producers around here, will you? Okay. I questioned every single producer when they said that Team USA is favored by nine and a half runs. I've been gambling on sports for almost 25 years. Run lines in baseball game are supposed to be one and a half. I did not know this. I apologize. This is embarrassing to me. I should turn in my degenerate guard. I didn't know that in the world baseball game, you have run lines that are like football scores. I do. This is like a big 12 game. Well, I'm invested. We have four Yankees playing in this game. There you go. It's a judge, you got goalsmith, David Bettinar. So I'm into it. And you know, judges batten 30, a Bryce Harper battener, front room, Sherba's batten behind it. So I'm gonna give it a shot, even though it seems like it's gonna be, it's forget about the games already won. There's a swatter rule. And the spread is nine and a half. It just, it honestly, it feels a little meme. It doesn't, it doesn't, it feels like a little, a nine and a half run spread in baseball. Keep the car running for the day. That's unbelievable. But Pete Crow Armstrong, get in there and hit a bomb. We'll talk to you next week.