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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for.
Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breathe? and it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit.
It's not just a game. It's your culture.
I like watching it with my dad.
It's a connecting force.
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echavarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots.
Listen to American Football on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS.
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Chapter 2: Why was Colin right about Patrick Mahomes?
He's been a Celtics TV analyst for a long time, co-hosting the starting lineup with our buddy Frank Isola. All right, let's start with this, Brian. I was wrong on Jalen Brunson. I felt that ball-centric, high usage rate, wears down in a series, not a great defender. I mean, your takeaway when Becky Hammond said it, I agreed with her. I'm like, I can like a guy. He can be an all-star.
He can dominate the East. But the fact that he was a dominant closer and Wemby disappeared, I didn't forecast that. Did you? Yeah, I mean, I don't think anybody did, even though he had success in high school. Like, remember, I was in Chicago where Rick Brunson was an assistant coach on that staff. Jalen Brunson would come in after practice and he'd work out with us. And he was really good.
And he won in high school. He won two national championships in college. He won at Dallas and Dallas. You would think that they would know what they're doing. They were always looking for a new star. He got to the Knicks. They got, you know, pretty far.
But I think, like, his mentality is up there with the greats, like the all-time greats, the Steph Currys, the Michael Jordans, the Larry Birds, the Magic Johnsons. You know, he just doesn't have the physical tools that those guys have. have, but you know, when it comes to like the fourth quarter and delivering, I think your mentality goes a lot further than people realize.
Like you can go on the other side of it and look like Darren Fox was a little bit shook up by the moment. Other guys, I mean, maybe you could point to Wimby and say he wasn't ready for the moment, but the mentality of Jalen Brunson is what got him through. And I knew the kid, I watched the kid, I followed the kid, I rooted for the kid and I didn't see, you know, this level of success.
Yeah, I mean, listen, you were in four finals. You played 11 years. You know this league inside and out. That's why you and Isola are so good. You know the league.
As I was saying this, if you go to the last eight championships, the way the NBA officiates, Brian, in the finals, only Jokic is a true center that's won, and he's kind of an international center facing the basket, loves to shoot, high pick and rolls. My take is watching Wemby, he got bullied.
I don't think even even Giannis, although he doesn't get bullied as more of a wing player because he's got the ball so often, is that the reality is it's hard to the NBA makes it so difficult for a big to find his spot down low. And is it possible that Wemby will never be like the classic center is he's going to be more Giannis, more Jokic than what we what we view as a classic center? Sure.
Sure. I don't, he's not going to be what, like, he's not going to turn into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. No, but you remember the, we believe Warriors beat Dirk Nowitzki who won the MVP that year. Like Dirk was really good, but he was guardable. And then, you know, I think a couple of playoff blunders, the first round exit, and then he came back and when they beat Miami in the finals, he was unguardable.
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Chapter 3: What makes Jalen Brunson an underrated player?
But since it's San Antonio doing it at the highest level, I think it's still a really successful season for them. And I think Wimby can grow from this. You know, I said this, and you know this as a Celtics analyst. I said I kept thinking of the Celtics.
watching the knicks because they're such rivals i said i looked at the knicks bigs and and i count og as a big i mean three and d i look at robinson's physicality cat skill and i'm like man the celtics front line is unathletic compared to that they need to take a swing and then i look at and i look at the a collective um humility and how well the knicks play together and i'm like i'm not sure tatum and brown like each other i like both of them but tatum strangely
and Brown said it's my favorite season ever, and it was one without Tatum. And I kind of look at the Knicks, and I want your perspective on this because there's a Giannis rumor to the Celtics, and I'm like, well, that would close the gap. But the Knicks bring virtually everybody back. I think Robinson's contract, they may move that.
But, I mean, should we look at the Knicks as a one-off or it's a pretty darn good roster, Brian?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think the Knicks are better in the playoffs than we can previously give them credit for. Like, if you think about what Bridges does, you know, he plays his 82 games, but in the playoffs, he goes up. I heard you talking about OG Ananobi. It's amazing. The Knicks got him for RJ Barrett and Manuel quickly. Like, he is a gamer. He defends at a high level. He knocks down shots.
He makes big plays. Carl T towns is a matchup nightmare.
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Chapter 4: How did the Knicks perform in the playoffs?
So yeah, I do look at the Knicks as the favorite next year. I know the odds came out and the odds came out to win the championship, Oklahoma city, San Antonio Celtics. And then it came in Knicks, but I think the Knicks do have the best roster because in a playoff game, like where are you going to lean your defense?
And you still have to deal with Jalen Brunson, who is an absolute terror when it comes to that fourth quarter, he might not play well. He didn't actually have a great series, but in the fourth quarter of every game, when he needed to make a play, he made the play. So you asked this question about the Giannis rumors. I hear the same things.
It's just, I'm not sure the Celtics are going to go down that road. I don't, I don't know for a fact that they wouldn't go down that road, but
it doesn't seem like to be their MO, but I do think the Celtics are trying to gear up with a healthy Tatum and trying to look at the Knicks, look at Oklahoma city, look at San Antonio and seeing, can we put a team together that could challenge, you know, those four teams? So, yeah, You know, it's interesting.
One of the things I said that I found really likable about the Knicks, and I've said this about the Celtics, is I always say I like analytics over analytics. I will look at the numbers and the analytics. But in football, it is blocking and tackling. I don't care what the numbers say. And in basketball, it's situational. I need a basket. I need to stop. I don't care.
I mean, when Brunson's scoring, I don't need a three. I need a basket. That's what the Spurs needed this entire series with four minutes left. Stop the momentum. And I look at Boston and I think, God, they're so formulaic in regards to threes. Do you think like this Celtics team, you know how this is a copycat league for years? It was small ball. That was just the Warriors.
Not everybody else could do that because Draymond plays so big for his size. Do you think the Celtics tweak their formula if they got a Giannis? who does not shoot a three and be like, okay guys, we are a little burdened by the incessant three point formula. Actually, that's a really good point. It doesn't seem like they're an MO to take a guy at 31, and you'd have to give up Jalen Brown.
I don't know if there's a way to do it without giving up Jalen Brown. And to say like, hey, we rely on too many threes, so if we go out and get personnel that can change that, then maybe we can attack. In the Oklahoma City-Indiana series, that series also didn't produce a lot of threes. It was a lot more pace, a lot more mid-range, a lot more going to the basket.
And now this year, it's the same kind of thing. I think the San Antonio Spurs relied a lot on the three. But, you know, when you play a certain style and a coach coaches a certain way, you know, I would just like to see like with the Knicks, things weren't going well one way. They just adapted to a different way. And I think all teams need to do that.
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Chapter 5: What are the NFL Over/Unders for the upcoming season?
And I always tell you, Jason, that's where the great ones come from. That's fired up. Alexi Lawless next hour. It's a great time of the year. Want more Herd? The Herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Stugatz here. I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow. And I have brought it here to IHARP.
I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stugatz and Company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports. A lot of phone calls. I love you guys' show. It's one of my favorites. A lot of interaction.
Guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugatz & Company and Stugatz & Company Live. So, listen to Stugatz & Company Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Stugatz & Company and God Bless Football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today.
And you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or... wherever you get your podcasts.
I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place. Soccer. Football. It's home.
Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breathe?
I inherited that fandom from my mom.
I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echavarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S.
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Chapter 6: How does Colin evaluate the performance of young players?
So I thought to myself, three years, because I don't want to eliminate old players. If you told me for the next three years, Who I could build around in the NBA. This is the order I would put them in. So let's start with number one. I don't think it's a big argument here. I would go with Wemby despite the finals. Listen, he played 29 minutes regular season. He played 40 in the finals.
He got worn down by OG and Robinson and Cat and Josh Hart leaning on him. Go back to Michael Jordan's first finals. First three playoff series. He got bounced. The kid's going to be fine. He's who I would build around. Number two would be Jokic. His skill set is perfect. He's one of the smartest players I've ever seen. Point center, distribution, scoring.
He's got incredible nuance and touch around the basket. Again, I don't think Denver's done the greatest job since the title of kind of maintaining a roster that works in his favor. He's not a great defender, but he's not as awful as people claim. Jokic would be my two. Number three is the most talented 19-year-old I've ever seen offensively, Cooper Flagg. He's not...
You know, he's not LeBron in terms of size and strength. His left hand, floaters, right hand, transition. It is remarkable how offensively gifted he is. I said this coming out of college. People said, well, he's Jason Tatum, but more aggressive.
Chapter 7: What insights does Nick Wright provide on Jalen Brunson?
And people, whoa, be careful. I think by this year, he will be better than Jason Tatum, who is a really high-end NBA player. Cooper Flagg would be number three. I would do Ant four. Now, Ant's going to get expensive. He is highly efficient. His average continues to go up. He shot 40% from three. So Ant's a terrific player. I wish there's some maturity issues sometimes. Is he a great leader?
I don't know. But he's clutch. He's obviously a hard worker because his game keeps getting better. Ant is my number four. Number five. Now, this is when it gets tougher. I would go SGA. He's the most criticized guy in the league. I get 30 points a game. Humility. Great teammate. There's no resentment in the building despite the fact that he takes a majority of the late-game shots.
He and Brunson have that in common. There's no resentment at all in the building. He's loved by everybody, and I'm sorry. I mean, he led them to the number one seed.
there's not a lot not to like aesthetically it's not a beautiful game but i get numbers and production and durability that's redeemable number six luca durability is a problem now well no no it's a real problem now also you have to build a certain team around Luca. You don't have to do that with Anthony Edwards or Cooper Flagg. Just go build a team and get good players.
Luca's durability and conditioning is a problem. I'm getting to the point now with this durability stuff with Luca. I wonder if he's already reached his peak. And I think that's a legitimate question. Number seven, I would do Giannis. Again, he's older. Age concerns, 32 next year, and he's not a perimeter player. He is a remarkable athlete.
I think more than a few people in the NBA think he is the most legitimate Wemby stopper, if there is such a thing, by an individual. He's never really developed an outside shot. He's got the ball in his hands a lot, so he's not like a classic big. But I think he turns any franchise, takes him to another level if he's signed.
Number eight, and this is a guy I like more than I think the rest of you, Cade Cunningham. Big, strong. He's only 24 years old. He's not a plus defender, but the Pistons had the number one defense or number two defense, and he was part of that defense. He's also developed into a very good elevator of others. He can score. Now, he's not super creative as a shot creator, but he's good enough.
The fact that Detroit was a number one seed without a second dependable score tells you how good this kid is. Great facilitator, good kid, can play defense, tremendous body. Number nine, Jalen Brunson. I know you think it's too low, but I do think he is a 6'2 player who's got kind of a different game. He succeeds despite size and defensive limitations.
He's got an incredibly high usage rate, and I do believe this roster was built perfectly around him. I love him. I'm putting him at nine. Most of you won't like it, but I think that's fitting. And number 10 to me is the surprise. It's Jason Tatum. I think one of the reasons you're getting Giannis rumors is he's strangely passive in big spots.
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Chapter 8: What are the implications of the NBA Finals results?
And I do know that he outplayed them in playoff series. How about this? We thought Jalen Hurts was good. And then for about a year and a half, he's great. And now we're back to he's kind of dependent on his coordinator. Jalen Brunson, we always thought was good. His dad acknowledges, I didn't think he'd be that good. Then he's great in a playoff run.
If I told you, he ended up being very good for the rest of his career. There are these magical moments with players. This will probably be the peak. I agree with that. But since he's been with the Knicks, he, Jalen Brunson, in the last four years, who leads the entire NBA in playoff wins? Jalen Brunson. Brunson. Second in the entire NBA in playoff points per game, Jalen Brunson.
First in 30 and 40 point playoff games, Jalen Brunson. This is a team that before he got there had won one playoff series in 15 years. They immediately won a playoff series in each of his first two years. before he got there, hadn't made a conference finals in 25 years. They made it in year three. Hadn't been to an NBA finals in 27 years. They made it in year four.
Hadn't won a championship in 53 years. They just did it against... And nobody believed in it. I shouldn't say nobody. Very few people during the playoffs thought that the winner of the East would have any shot against whoever came out of the West. And it's not only that they won. Other than OG, none of his teammates played great. They won because he walked the Spurs down every time.
Like, at some point, body type and draft profile have to matter less than what the guy actually just did. And I just vehemently disagree with you. That's the short version. I vehemently disagree. Okay. I think we've seen the apex. We've seen the top. And I think all of us tend to... We've seen the top. You haven't seen the top of Giannis? Giannis' top was five years ago. Scored 50 in the finals.
You've got him ahead of Brunson. Cooper Flagg is an idea. You've got Anthony Edwards, who I love. Why is Anthony Edwards better than Jalen Brunson right now? Why? I think he... You can put him on anybody, two-way player. He's still ascending. He's a much better athlete. He's a stronger player. I think if you asked GMs, they would take Ant over Brunson. I would. I would take him over.
I think if you asked GMs, I think that is correct. And listen, I think that there's Ant probably the person on your list I have the least issue with. But I just don't...
there is to me and in the and you you set it off the top you were like for you know i've called jalen brunson russell wilson colin go back and and watch colin how colin coward talked about russell wilson you love the guy you didn't care about draft position or size or anything you're like the guy wins the guy performs you adored russell wilson i just i don't know but uh sorry go ahead that's okay the um
I always said this about Michael Jordan. You'd swear if you're like 28 years old, you've never seen him miss a shot. Like literally we only show every shot was dramatic. Um, and I said, Oh yeah, I remember the first three series pre Pippen. They got whacked. They couldn't win a series. He was not a good teammate. He was running through coaches. Uh, Take a deep breath on Wemby.
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