OverDrive - OverDrive - December 13, 2024 - Hour 3

Episode Date: December 14, 2024

Join Michael DiStefano and Dave Feschuk for Hour 3 on OverDrive! TSN NFL Analyst Luke Willson joins to discuss the biggest storylines around Week 15 in the NFL, De'Vondre Campbell's refusal to play against the Rams and Hayes and Bro and O'Win Willson's selections. TSN Basketball Analyst Jevohn Shepherd joins to discuss the Raptors' matchup against the Heat, RJ Barrett stepping up with the team and the team's outlook the roster and Al's Brother hands out his FanDuel Best Bets. 

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or visit askkelvin.ca mail it in friday brought to you by boston pizza's new game day menu stop by our local bp for seven dollar touchdown pine shareables for the whole crew and weekly prizing up for grabs football game days are better at your local bp and uh we'll get into this week's nfl slate with luke wilson who's going to join us in a couple of minutes uh mike di stefano filling in for hazy b got dave festruck of the toronto star with me and we got a little bit of breaking news coming out of hockey canada our main man mark masters is uh is is working the juniors as he typically does one of the best in the biz. And it sounds like, Dave, the team has announced

a 25-man roster for the World Junior Championships. And to no one's surprise, Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan, despite being injured and not necessarily taking part in the full scrimmages and in the practices, he is expected to make the team. Yeah, not a huge surprise there, but looks like a tough year for Team Canada manager to pick here. Yeah. Got some really heavy hitting players here.

Beckett Seneke doesn't make it. That's a surprise there. That one's a third overall pick in this past draft. And he's been lighting it up in junior. Zane Parrick, yes. There's a couple of good players that aren't making the team. Bark, he's an offensive talent as well. But, I mean, it's still going to be a good team.

It's Team Canada. They're always good. I mean, Rakoff is one of the better players in junior hockey this year. He had a hat trick in the World Junior versus U Sports team in the scrimmage game yesterday. He was really good. Gavin McKenna, who is projected to be the number one pick next year. Is it next year, I believe?

Yes. Yeah, the long-distance cousin of Conor Bedard. I don't know if you saw it. Everyone's been talking about this Gavin McKenna kid for the last two years and how he's Conor Bedard's cousin. So they actually finally had a chance to ask him. And he's like, yeah, but not nearly to the extent that everyone's

saying. Apparently it's like a long distance through marriage type of family reunion type of deal. Kind of like the Vince Carter-Trace immigrating thing. Yeah. Somewhere down the line. Yeah, we don't get together on Christmas or anything like that. But I thought that that was kind of funny

that he was asked about it. So yeah, there's the team for Canada. And you'd expect for them to obviously be the favorites once again. I think on FanDuel, they are the favorites to win gold once again. And I love the World Juniors.

It truly is such an amazing tournament. And TSN, great coverage from pillar to post, and I can't wait to all get started on Boxing Day. So it should be a lot of fun. This week, a big-time week in the NFL. There's some really good games, really good games to get into. You got Bills and Detroit.

This could be a potential Super Bowl preview right now. Bills and Lions. And it's tough because Hazy B and I are on this game and we got to make the pick. We've shot a couple of texts to each other and I think we got it locked in. Who we're going to take? It's a tough one

to grab. How do you see this one, Dave? I'm curious. Before we get Luke on. I mean, this is the ultimate toss-up. You've got the number one team in terms of points scored against the number two team in points scored. You've got the number one team in net points against the number two team in net points.

And the number one team is Detroit. And the Bills are second place in both those categories. And, man, I mean, obviously I've got, you know, we're both Niagara guys. I was brother. And I know for some reason you became a Colts fan, but I was, I was raised in the parking lots of Orchard Park. Okay. Learning how to keg stand and table jump.

You got to watch, you got to watch Kelly. Yes. Right. Jim Kelly. I got to watch JP Lossman and Trent Edwards when I became a football fan. That's true. I will give you a pass for leaving the tailgate at Orchard Park for wherever the hell you went, Indianapolis.

But you know what? I just don't know if Buffalo's defense, which has been the concern for me and for many from the get-go this season, it was the big reason why people thought this might be a setback season for the Buffalo Bills. Their defense really isn't that good. We know Josh Allen's taken a big step. He's the MVP favorite for a reason. But I'm not sure Buffalo's defense can stop the best offense

in the National Football League. You know what? I think last week was a bit of an anomaly. I do like the defense of the Buffalo Bills, and I think you add in a healthy Matt Milano, who's now been back for a couple of weeks, and what that team is going to want to do is they're going to want to establish the run. They're going to want to run the ball,

and Matt Milano is an outstanding blitzing run stuffing linebacker. He could travel side to side. He could probably travel with Laporta, which will end up happening. So I do like, I've kind of leaning, leaning toward buff, but we'll see. Are you going to join us soon?

I am. Um, I'm curious to get his thoughts on this Devondre Campbell stuff too. Like last night, Devondre Campbell, uh, was playing in the game. He suited up.

He was one of the 46 players who got to put the pads on and, and was on the active roster. And all of a sudden, second half comes and they tried to call his number to come out and play. And he says, nah, not playing. I don't want to play. And I thought that was just disgusting. And I bet a former player would

absolutely hate what happened last night. Do we have the audio also of head coach? Because that, I thought that Kyle Shanahan definitely I thought he was reserved in his frustration, but you could tell that he was just seething. Let's play. Here's Kyle Shanahan on the

Devondre Campbell situation last night. He didn't want to play today. Play today? The coaching staff? He did when I asked him why he didn't want to go in. During the game or before? In the third quarter. With Devondre opting to not go into the game, what do you need to do to ensure that you don't lose the rest of the locker room? I haven't lost anybody. That's

somebody who doesn't want to play football. That's pretty simple. I mean, I think our team and myself, we know how we feel about that. So I don't think we need to talk about him anymore. Anymore. Wow. And then Coach is right. It wasn't just Coach talk. I mean, we heard multiple players line up. George Kittle behind the coach.

Same stuff. And say, this guy didn't want to play. Then, you know what? Bye-bye. Yeah. And I didn't hear a person defending Devondre Campbell. How can you? The only way you can defend him is

if there's a story there. If something happens. He hasn't said anything, but he's been awfully quiet. And that makes all God. Owen Wilson is cooking. Now I know how it feels. Now I know how it feels to be cut off by the mic.

At least my music's good. This music stinks. You do have the best opener at all of showbiz. Thank you, Dave. Thank you, Dave. All right, Luke Wilson from the dark side joining us here on Overdrive. What's going on, Luke? How we doing?

I mean, I'm doing great, right? We were on the Rams last night, picked a winner, but the 49ers and anyone who was backing them, such as yourself, probably not feeling that great. We were talking about the Devondre Campbell situation last night, decided he wasn't going to play in the second half when called upon by his teammates. We heard from the coach.

We heard from a couple teammates. You obviously played many years in the NFL. What was your reaction to hearing what Devondre Campbell did last night? You know, disappointing would be one. You know, obviously there's a shock value to it, you know, disappointment value. I think just as a competitor, you feel for those guys on that team that are really trying to win that game.

A lot of people put in a lot of time that don't even play on the field. I'm talking coaches, film, front office guys. That game was their last shot at making the field. I'm talking coaches, film, front office guys. That game was their last shot at making the playoffs. I think that if you're in that locker room, maybe not us in the media, but if you're in that locker room and you get a win last night

and you get a little help from Green Bay potentially beating Seattle, which isn't the craziest idea in the world, you're right back in this thing. You're game out of the division. So yeah, I think that there's... It's gross to me that he

would do that. I have a feeling, I think I know why, but it's just the whole situation is very unfortunate. What's your theory on why he did it, Luke? Sometimes you've got realize like the game is the team is bigger than you you look at you know his season thus far he's had a very good year you know not an all pro year but he's had a very good year he's played a ton i believe he's second on the team in tackles um and all of a sudden it's like Dre Greenlaw comes back and you're tossed away.

You know, he's on the bench. And I get how that would make you feel as an individual. He's probably sitting there thinking to himself, hey, man, you know, I understand the pass here, but this is a what have you done for me lately business. I played well enough to start. Dre Greenlaw shows up off an achilles tear from last year's super bowl okay hasn't done a thing this season and somehow he gets to go in and start you know and everything i've done is disregarded and that's kind of how

it feel but it's not like the reality of the situation you know and then all of a sudden it's like greenlaw goes down which by the way when green law went down i will say team owen wilson also went down last night because for a second i thought we're going to cover that bad boy and it's like they go to you know campbell and he's like you know wait now you guys need me again i'm not going in you just tossed me the curve for this guy like you're kind of sticking it to the Niners. But you know, in his battle of I'm sticking to the Niners for benching me, you know, he doesn't realize how many people that have nothing to do with that decision. He hurts

first and foremost, his teammates. And then after that, like I said, everybody else in the organization that has nothing to do with him playing or not playing. And I understand it's a tough spot for him, but there's no excuse for when your team calls on you. Again, in a moment like that, like if this was a two-win team and he's heading into a free agent contract and he's like, yo, I can't wait to get out of here. I hate this team. We have no shot of making the playoffs. I still think it's wrong then. I want to be very clear, but I could wrap my head around it. But until the fourth quarter, that game was a one score game. You know, that game was very,

very tight. I'd argue until Colby Parkinson caught the third and four where, you know, that could have went either way. And it's like, and down goes your playoff hopes. So again, I know it's a bit long-winded, but it's a very, very disgusting move to me. Well, let's get into the game a little bit. It was obviously very low scoring. The first game of the NFL year without a touchdown. How hard is it to play in a game with such wet conditions like that, Luke?

It is very tough. And it's funny because I almost find that when it starts, there's like different types of rain when it comes to football. And when it's that very light but constant rain, it's like everything becomes slick, and that's when it's like ditch the gloves, quarterback has a hard time gripping the ball, where there's other games where it's almost a harder downpour. I don't know if this makes sense but a bit of like a thicker raindrop and it almost makes the ball so damp

that there's like a weird grip to it again obviously it's not ideal but like that little like slick kind of west coast rainfall is always the hardest to catch and throw the football in because again it doesn't really like penetrate pigskin, if that makes sense. And it's a nightmare trying to catch and or throw that thing. Luke, I mean, when you look at that game, though, do you blame Thursday night beyond the rain to not have a touchdown in such a big game for both teams, and especially for the 49ers? Who do you blame?

Do you blame Thursday night? Because we just came off of 44-42, Rams over Bills the week before, and now we get the first game without a touchdown. Is this another anomaly of this day that a lot of people don't like there to be football played on? Yeah, to a degree, yes. I also think that in the division, it's a bit tough.

You know, when you kind of know the other team, it can go either way in the sense of either you score a bunch because you know what they're doing, or the defense has the right calls. And clearly for both teams, it was the defense yesterday. The rain was tough, and then I think it kind of got to the point where in that third quarter, you know, both of these coaches started playing the chess game. And what I mean by that is, okay, it's still wet, you know, a tip ball in the air or drop ball that bounces the wrong way

is going to be the difference in this thing. So it was one of those things where I felt like, you know, in midway, you know, coming out of third quarter, midway through the third, Kyle Shanahan was like, you know what? We're going to win this game by three. We're going to come out here. Our defense is playing really well. We had an okay run game going. Garendo looked all right.

We're going to control the clock. It's going to be a vintage old school game. Dre Greenlaw goes down. You know, and they had stopped the run. Like they had really Matthew Stafford looked very poor in the first half they had stopped the run and then all of a sudden it was kind of like the wheels fell off for Sam Brand and that's where I think they got burned a little bit was it was okay um Greenlaw's hurt his backup has now quit football we're now down to our fourth guy. You know, it's not, it was a bloodbath to say the least.

Does that guy get another job in the NFL, you think? That's a good question. Well, I think somebody, will somebody take a flyer on him? Yes, I do. I do believe that. But will his compensation take a hit? Also, yes. So whatever his market is this offseason, you now sit here and say,

hey, we're in need of a backup linebacker. We'll get a $5 million guy for $3 million because no one's going to want this guy. We know we can't depend on him, and we know that he's going to bring not really a team-first mentality into our locker rooms, and those things play into it. So I do think he'll be in the NFL somewhere, if he wants to be, that is,

but do I think that he will make as much money as he probably should? Absolutely not. Do you be click, click, clip that for me, please. That was a good question.

Thank you very much for, for acknowledging that. That was the first moment of civility between team Owen Wilson and Hazenbro, the all season Luke. That's going to end very soon. That's going to end very soon. It will end soon. we'll get to the picks in just a minute but there's actually one other thing that i want to get to get to

really quickly with you because all week there's been a little bit of the a discussion about a a tiff between aj brown and jalen hurts of the philadelphia eagles and look this team's been playing a heck of a lot better of late like your guys got that team playing well defensively but at what point like does this become a distraction where you like do you just get a feeling that things might start to unravel in philly i think you know it's a bit weird because i know that like in the normal work world these things don't happen, you know, but in the NFL, I can honestly say that they happen every day. Now to the media is a different story. I'm not saying guys go to the media, but the idea that someone would, you know, point the finger being like, Hey buddy,

you're not playing well, you know, obviously there's a little more animated than that is not a crazy concept. So I wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't, you know, really affect this team at all. I mean, he's not – Jalen Hurts has not thrown the ball well. That's just a fact. You know, where it can get a little dicey now is that if it continues to happen, you know, it'll be amplified in the media. But I think the best teams, like, they don't really know.

And I mean that, you know, in the best way where it's like, when we were good in Seattle, I had no idea what was going on in the media. Quite frankly, I didn't have time to know. I was a young player in this league. I'm not going home and reading the Seattle Times. I'm reading the playbook. So I sit here and it's like, hey, you hear, I think of Tom Brady and the Patriots. What was the big

saying? Ignore the noise. Ignore the noise. Same kind of principle where it's like, hey, it can be a big ordeal if they let it, but if this is a team that's truly trying to win a Super Bowl, believe it, they can. They've got to be able, okay, A.J. Brown shouldn't have said that. Let's move on. We've got

to be able to handle a little bit of outside noise and still be okay. Another big game this week, Luke, the Sunday night game. Packers-Seahawks. And it was 10 years ago around this time the Packers and Seahawks played a pretty big game that you might remember, Luke, the 2014. I do. The 2014 NFC Championship.

And there's some beautiful video that I believe you're going to play here in one of the great moments of your career. Here it is, Russell Wilson going back, scrambling, balls up. Nice little grab. Who's that guy? Who's that guy, number 82? Boys, it's funny. That game was one of the strangest games I think all of us have been a part of

where we had won the Super Bowl the year before. You know, you're feeling pretty good. Hey, we're at home once again. Another big ordeal. And then all of a sudden it was like nothing went right for us offensively. And I remember sitting there. We had the fake field goal for the first touchdown. It was 19-7.

I think we threw a pick with like three-ish minutes left. It was like our fourth, maybe fifth turnover of the game, and I think it was to Sam Shields. So this is kind of what I remember about this game, and we're running off, and I'm like, he's going to return to the crib or at least get into scoring range and we'll be in trouble here. And Julius Peppers

came flying by and was like, get down, this game's over. Pointed at him. Again, I know it's Peppers. I might be wrong on Shields. The pack went three and out. We went right down the field and scored, got an onside kick, went right down the field and scored, got an onside kick, went right down the field and scored, and then had that two-minute play.

So I always remember that moment where if Julius Peppers just lets him run, it's probably a different ballgame as well. I mean, there's a million plays like that. But that play right there is sprint right, and it's designed to go to Doug Baldwin. And I pretty much have nothing to do. I'm backside. The blocking technique is called water falling.

And it's mainly meant to protect quarterbacks who are not mobile. And Russell Wilson in 2014, although that would have been January of 2015, is very mobile. So I'm like, okay, I pretty much have nothing to do here. And I turned around and saw him scrambling, and I was like, I'll just run over here. And, yeah, the rest is kind of history complete fluke play um ball was up in the air which seemed like forever but ended up being a pretty crucial two points so kind of a fun memory yeah you bobbled it but you corralled it you corralled it can you corral the season i don't

think you can but we'll see if you can because you guys are still down three in our overdrive picks which is brought to you by fan duel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score let's get to the picks here luke let's get to the picks and obviously you're going to be picking that packers seahawks game as well for the sunday nighter but we'll start at the one o'clock slate which i had a bone to pick about this one doogie you gotta hop on the mic here because i think it's absolutely criminal that this is the game that got a bone to pick about this one. Doogie, you gotta hop on the mic here, because I think it's absolutely criminal that this is the game that these guys get to pick, because it's the biggest layup

of the season. Cincinnati at Tennessee. First and foremost, who cares about this game? Not one that anyone's gonna be tuning into outside of those particular regions, and how is it only a four and a half point split here? It's wild.

It's wild. Like, you asked the question, why did I pick the game? Yeah. Joe Burrow has been on an absolute tear. If the Bengals run wasn't like this, he would be in MVP conversations. Luke could probably agree with that as well. So I thought this was a notable game. It's not the most flashy game, but Joe Burrell has been incredible this season.

He deserves our spotlight in the overdrive picks. We've picked how many Bengals games this... He's gotten a lot of spotlight here. But anyways, Commissioner Doogie jamming us up. What he says goes, and you guys got to make the pick. So,

Bengals laying four and a half on Tennessee. What's the pick, Luke? So to be completely honest here, Alice, bro, I'm almost at the point where I think this is a conspiracy. I think that you're in on it. I think Doogie's in on it. I hate picking this

game because it seems like the easiest thing on planet Earth. Everywhere I look, I'm like, how is the line only four and a half and then i think to myself what am i not seeing here the doogie and al's bro who are in cahoots with that other scum by bag brian hayes okay what am i not seeing you guys have seen why is this line four and a half but the reality is there's no way i can take the titans here there's no way I can take the Titans here. There's no way. I mean, I'm taking the Bengals all day. And, again, I feel terrible about it because it almost seems like

it is the easiest spread on planet Earth. But that's why I don't feel good about it. I feel terrible. This game should – I feel like it should be a seven-and-a-half point spread. Like, this doesn't feel like it's going to be a particularly close game. Guys, the Bengals are five and eight. Who are they to be seven and a half point favorites over anybody? That's fair.

That's a fair point. I just get really nervous here. I'm like, what is going on? I just don't think the biggest issue is the defense, but you look at Will Levis and that Titans offense, they haven't been able to put up any numbers whatsoever. When's the last time they've crossed over? They really haven't been able to put up more than 20 points in a game in a few weeks here.

They put up more than 20 points once in the last five weeks. That's all that this offense is doing. So they put up 30, 35 points. I mean, they're going to win this game by more than a touchdown. It's an absolute layup and a disgrace that this was the 1 o'clock slate. But we'll power through. We will power through this one. Hopefully, Will Levis has himself a heck of a game,

and maybe they shock the world. But next up comes the biggest game of the week. It's Bills and Lions, and this is the hardest game. So we're going from you guys, absolute layup, to Bills-Lions, which honestly could end up being a little bit of a Super Bowl preview here. Lions lay in two and a half at Ford Field, and we're rolling with the road dogs, Lukey. We're rolling with the road dogs and Bills mafia.

I believe that last week was a bit of an anomaly defensively for the buffalo bills i don't think they're that bad like matt milano is a pretty good run stuffer at the at the linebacker position him alongside terrell bernard should be able to handle between the tackles which is what the lions like to do to establish that run and i think that this is a team in man coverage. They should be able to shut down enough to allow this to not get too out of hand. And then this offense should be able to shred that secondary out in Detroit. I think that we'll see a decently high scoring game. But ultimately, I believe in Josh Allen over Jared Goff to win in that shootout.

I don't even think I don't necessarily just believe that they're going to cover the 2.5. I think the Bills can outright win this football game, so I'll gladly take the points here. I mean, I don't hate the pick as much as I would say I know I'm the anti-Bills guy. I get it. The Lions' defenses look suspect, The anti-bills guy, I get it. The Lions defense looks suspect, but I think it's a bit bold when you just had the Rams hang 44 on you

and the Lions are a much, much better offense than the Rams are, at least more complete. So I think it's a bit bold. But you know what, Alex, brother? I respect it. You don't normally make bold picks. It's usually just robotic nonsense. You've gotten lucky this year.

I respect you coming on here and taking the bills. I really do. My process has led to a plus three advantage over yourself. Oh, it's my process now. That's an interesting take. I'm going to have to tell Hayes about that guy. Our process. Not our.

He didn't say our. You didn't say our brother we got one more game luke and it's uh one that you know we just talked about it's green bay it's seattle this time no luke wilson to bail out the seahawks green bay going into this one they are favored by two and a half on the road against the 12s you You laying the points or you're on with their Hawks? I'm going with the pack. I'm happy for Seattle. I think they're in a great spot.

But I still believe that Green Bay is a more complete team, a better team. I think they're going to run the football quite a bit. And I think that this kind of defensive run that the Hawks are on right now a bit and I think that this kind of defensive run that the Hawks are on right now probably gets a little bit tougher

with a non-division game. I'd feel better if it was not at home but again, I just have a hard time believing that Green Bay is going to somehow not cover this number. Time will tell. I think the Hawks have some flaws,

but I think that Green Bay has got to kind of right the ship after last week, and they'll do that. You look at the Seahawks, though. This is an important game now, right? The Rams, they win that game last night, and they hold their own fate. The Seahawks lose tonight. They lose on Sunday night.

It becomes very, very difficult for them to make the playoffs. I think they'll be playing with a lot of spunk Sunday night. I mean, we'll see. We'll see. But the good news is, the great news is, I think that actually there's a good chance coming into the Monday nighter, which you will have, that this thing's going to be real tight. I mean, assuming we don't get jammed by the Doogie special in round one, okay, we need the Lions to

score 45. My Hawks take a beat down, and now all of a sudden, we're even-steven, and I'm telling you, like I said yesterday, if we can get back on top, look out, okay? I don't like playing from down. I love playing from in front, Al's brother. So it's a crucial weekend here. I think we got a double header Monday night football game too. So we both got some picks to make on Monday so it'll be interesting to see

what it's looking like. Alright, buddy. Good luck. I don't mean that. Bad luck with your picks. I truly, truly do. Wish you nothing but the worst with your selections. I appreciate that, Al. You're out here hosting. You're trying to play the middle ground. I mean, where are our parties at, both of us right now?

Even us just out here on an island. I know. Out there doing whatever they're doing, but it's all good. We made the picks. We feel strongly here on Team Hazen, bro. I don't know how you guys feel, but I know we feel terrific. We'll see what happens up Monday, pal. Chat then. I'll see you Monday.

There he goes. Luke Wilson, TSN NFL analyst. Alright. Well, they like the Packers. They like the Bengals. We got the Bills. I don't know, man. Look, I'm prone to be

Bills-centric, right? I grew up in the area. That's a team I cheer for as a kid. I'm not comfortable with that one, buddy. That's a hell of a machine of an offense. Yeah, that defense is just Swiss cheese, man. They're getting absolutely carved. Buffalo gave up 44 points last week.

One game they've done that. The Rams. One game. I'm not going to look at that one bad game. Last week. I understand this, to look at that one bad game. I understand this, but also then the Rams the next week only put up 12 points. So you can't look at everything and say, oh, that one week, and use that as this is now what it is.

Not the case. I think every blind squirrel finds a nut, and that was kind of the offense the other night for the Rams. They put up 44 points. It was a big win. And I think the Bills bounce back off of that. They still have a chance to catch up with the Chiefs, but they got to win this game on Sunday to do so. So I think there's going

to be plenty of motivation. Also, Josh Allen, he wants to win an MVP, a win against the Detroit Lions, will pretty much, I think, seal the deal for him. I hope you're right. I like your optimism. I'm not sure I share it. We got to fly. Javon Shepard coming up on the other side.

We'll chat all things Raptors and NBA coming up next here on Overdrive. It's a brand new year. Time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025. Kelvin, the money guy, suggests the three-step approach. One, clearly define your goals for the new year. Two, create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions and three make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan goal plan portfolio contact kelvin the money guy and set your plans in motion call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca welcome back into overdrive with Mike DiStefano

filling in for Brian Haynes. Got Dave Feshtuck of the Toronto Star in with me. And now we're going to be joined by Javon Shepard, our TSN NBA analyst with the Raptors coming off of a loss last night to the Heat. What's going on, Javon? What's going on? Doing well, doing well.

Lots have happenings in the sports world. And last night, you know, flipping between the hockey game, the basketball game, the football game, a lot going on. At one point, things were looking good for the Raptors. They were up by double digits. And then you flip back. That lead had dissipated. What happened last night?

Yeah, you know, I think this is an interesting game. They're playing against a good-minded Heat team. And, you know, they've lost Scottie again, which hurts. And I think you want to have that next-man-up mentality. And I think the guys have done a great job of that thus far in the season. But at some point, there's that emotional impact and that emotional hit where you're slightly deflated, right? They came out, they had a good start.

But in that second and third quarter, you could just see that they didn't have that next gear. They didn't have that next push to get them over the hump or, you know, try and make a late run. And when you're down and undermanned, you have to be the team that is a bit grittier, a bit tougher, or you may have to muck it up. But they didn't have that, right?

When you get a Miami shot, 17 more free throws in them, they out-rebounded. Miami out-rebounded the Raptors as well. And for the Raptors in a game like that, yeah, it may not be pretty. You may not have everybody. But those are some of the areas where you can kind of get a measure for energy and, you know, effort or where you have to be better than your opponent because you're under man. And I thought that's where, you know, the rappers kind of struggled.

And, yeah, the next man up mentality when you don't have a Scottie, when you don't have a Quickly, you know, who's going to shoulder that weight. And you would, just based on how the season has gone, you would look for R.J. Barrett to be doing that, right, to shoulder that weight and you would just based on how the season has gone you would look for rj barrett to be doing that right to do that and he has done that for a good portion of the year but last night obviously wasn't his night shot 5 for 18 from the floor and you know the the six turnovers that he had kind of as the primary playmaker and primary you know offensive point becomes a little bit disruptive to your to your offense so really wasn't able to get flow other than that you know he did have did do a good job

rebound the basketball 11 rebounds at his size 10 assists but when you're that guy shouldering weight and you know you got your undermanned the turnovers hurt right and you know on a whole they did a great job but there's sometimes there's a lot of pressure on those primary, those feature guys. Yeah, for sure. Javon, you know, you talk about Barrett, and we all know he's put up some really impressive numbers at times this season, especially in times when Scottie Barnes has been out.

Last night I thought also highlighted how sometimes, you know, he can be a defensive liability, or certainly he has lapses that really aren't befitting a player of his stature. We've heard members of the Raptors coaching staff talking about wanting more from RJ on the defensive side of the ball. What are you

seeing from that perspective? I can see where that has been a conversation and I appreciate that the coaches have challenged him, but I also appreciate that he's a guy that's stepped up to the plate, stepped up to the challenges. They've challenged him a number of ways. We could talk about his

improvements since coming to the Raptors from New York. This is just another area in his game where he's going to have to put in the... I don't want to say the word. They're more of an effort to get better or showcase what he can do on that end because when he does do it, he's good right he has length he has size we all know how physically is it's it's changing the mindset from

and he's a guy that's wired to score the basketball if you followed his career from high school on up to college into the pros he's wired to score now he's also we have to understand he's in a situation where guys have been hurt, and again, he's been the feature guy for most of the year. He's been the one to shoulder most of the responsibilities for this team. So, even though you're challenging him, he's also still in that mode of, I've

got to do things on the offensive side of the floor. And I think what's going to help him on the defensive side is when you have your full roster, when everybody's healthy and he doesn't have to bear the weight of the offensive responsibilities, then you can now shift and put a bit more onus on the defensive side of the floor. Or from a coaching standpoint, if there's missed assignments or not enough attention to detail or not enough effort on the defensive side of the floor. Now you have the bandwidth to, you know, pull him.

And you sit him. You have the conversation. You show him, you know, where he can be better on film. And I think the Raptors have done a good job of that. It's just they've been shorthanded. And when you want to challenge guys real time in the game, it's a little tougher when you look down your bench and there's only about four guys there

and not necessarily at the position that you need. Fortunately for him, he's one of the guys that is versatile. He has a tremendous amount of skill and he can play up to four positions. So you kind of need him on the floor, especially if you're under man. So it's really hard to challenge that if you don't have the full roster, but I do believe he's a sponge ever since he's come to Toronto, he's allowed this coaching staff to coach him. And I think it's just going to be a matter of time before everybody's healthy, and that can be a bigger focus of his own game. With Raptors and NBA analyst Javon Shepard,

well, if it's not RJ, I guess it's Grady Dick would be maybe the next guy who the team's looking to to be that next man up. And last night scored a team-high 22 points, but just three for 11 from three. Like, what do you want to see from him with this elevated role while Scottie's out? I think, you know what,

just continue to do more of what he has done. Right, yes, he didn't shoot the basketball exceptionally well from the three-point line, but he still had 22 points, right? And everybody has, you know, labeled him just a shooter, a marksman. And he has showed us so much more than that this season. His ability to cut, his ability to score off screens.

He's one of the best in the league in both areas, both categories. You're thinking this is a second-year guy that people had chalked up just a year ago. So I look at him and I'm saying, okay, the lead that he's taken from last year, this time to now, I'm impressed. What do you want to see more? I think you want to see more of what he's already done, but I think his body continuing to get stronger. And that's not something that's going to happen immediately. That's not going to happen right now,

but him just continue to understand how to impact the game, even when he's not knocking down shots. At his size, his ability to get to the free throw line and getting a couple more points there, two, four more points, just getting to the line because he does such a good job of, other guys shooting the basketball, he's crashing to the boards. He does a good job of keeping basketballs alive, keeping balls alive for his team.

But at his size, not just depending on his shot, not just depending on slashing, but being hungry to score in a number of ways, in a variety of ways. Maybe you're flashing and you're getting a post touch. Maybe you're getting to the high post and making things happen there, but not being afraid to get physical and use his length. And I think sometimes he shies away from that right now because he doesn't have that strength.

But that is a work in progress. And you look at guys of his caliber, of his profile, and most of those guys would have been done two, three, four years in college. When you look at the J.J. Reddicks, you look at the Corvers, you look at the guys that, you know, even like Klay Thompson, that fit his mold of player, Herter Thompson, that fit his mold of player, Herter as well, fit his mold of player. Those are typically guys that are three-, four-year guys in college.

So for me, Grady is way ahead of where he's supposed to be right now, and I think he's in a great position. The organization's in a great position with him. So, Javon, they're now 2-10 without Scottie Barnes in the lineup this season, and we've heard Darko Ryakovic, the head coach, talk about how, you about how you can't make up for Scottie by one guy stepping up. You need to make it up in pieces. One guy doing a little more of this, one guy doing a little more of that. When you look around that roster,

who else can they reasonably expect to contribute a significant portion of that void that Scottie leaves? Yeah, I just want to add to that as well, right? And Coach Darko is absolutely right. It is hard to just say one player is going to fill the role of Scottie Barnes. We call the games courtside. And I'm telling you, Scottie is so big that he covers so much real estate. A number of times I see him get a rebound, and he'll take two steps,

two dribbles, and he's up the court. He's getting you in a half court set, beating everybody down the floor. And he looks like he's casually sauntering up the floor, but his athletic ability and his natural physical gifts are light years ahead of, you know, his competition, his teammates, even on the defensive side of the floor, he can make up for so many mistakes of the other four guys on the floor because just one shuffle, one slide, and he's in the paint, or he's on the other side of the paint. And I think where

just to coach Barco's sentiment, it takes two or three guys. Sometimes we underestimate how good Scottie is because he's not going out there trying to score 30 points a game. He's not going out there and dominating the basketball. He's an extremely unselfish superstar. So for the guys that are coming in, right, there is so much opportunity to pick up in his absence. And I feel when I look at their roster, you know, Jacoby Walter is a guy where he's got to use these

minutes, these opportunities really just to hone his craft, get you accustomed, similar to Grady last year, get accustomed to the NBA speed, get accustomed to NBA physicality. He's shown flashes this season that he can make shots. He's shown flashes that he can get comfortable, put the basketball on the floor. And when guys are out, IQ's out, a guy that's a ball handler, Scottie's out, a guy that's a hub, a ball handler as well,

that's an opportunity for a guy like Walter to really like, okay, I'm going to take advantage of this. I'm going to showcase what I can do, but not just for myself, but to gain the trust of my teammates, right? So when they get back, they see, okay, when I'm on the wing, get me to basketball because I can create, I can shoot, I can rebound, I can do a number of things. So it's not just about his numbers, but gaining the, the, the, getting the, like the interest

and the, the attention of his teammates, get the attention of his teammates, excuse me, teammates and the coaches. And I think Grady was a prime example of that this year, where when, when Scotty was out and IQ was out and all these guys were on the sideline, he was showing them, like, wait, I'm not just a shooter. I actually, I'm a hooper. I'm a flat-out hooper. And then you integrate those guys back into the lineup,

and there's a bit more trust. And the coaching staff is now calling plays for you, and front office has to evaluate things a little bit more. is now calling plays for you, and front office has to evaluate things a little bit more. So I look at those rookies where Shedd, Walter, Mobile, and I want those guys to take advantage of the minutes of, you know, you're starting your top five guys out of the lineup.

Another guy that's taking advantage of that is Abaji, right? We didn't really know what you were going to get this season from him, but he's come out and established himself as a knockdown guy. Corner three, get me the rock, I'm going to knock it down. You can see his teammates, when they play with him, they're searching for it. They're looking for him. If they know he's in the corner, they're getting that rock to him, and they trust that a good shot's going to go up,

they trust that it's going to drop, but they're also knowing that, okay, a body's in the corner, high percentage shot, but I can also get myself in rebounding position. So it's a domino effect. Really quickly, Javon, the NBA Cup this weekend, get the Final Four tomorrow, and then the Final will be on Tuesday. How do you see it all playing out?

I think it's going to be really tough in the East. You have Atlanta and Milwaukee, and my gut is actually telling me Atlanta because they're playing some good basketball. They have a chip on their shoulder, and they have so much depth. Nobody's been talking about them. Nobody's talking about them coming into the season, and I think that is where they can surprise Milwaukee a bit.

Milwaukee's playing some really good basketball now, but I got to see it. We've been waiting for Milwaukee to figure it out for so long. We've got to see it on the west side. I think it's great for Canadian basketball. You have SGA. You have Dylan Brooks. They just got tied up a couple weeks ago, and that is a rollover from Washington training camp this summer

where those two are always going at it. Nothing personal, but just two fierce competitors. those two are always going at it nothing personal but just two fierce competitors one is completely uh you know delusionally confident in dylan brooks and i or i should say rationally confident in dylan brooks and one is sgn he's playing like an mvp absolutely i wonder too you know you you show up well in this tournament how much would that uh count towards the real big mvp at the end of the year we'll see javon appreciate as always pal we'll chat again soon all right all right javon shepherd tsn nba and raptors analyst and i do wonder like how much credence it would hold at the end of the year

if it's shea and yokich kind of head-to-head once again like it was last year, if he wins the NBA Cup, wins the MVP, I mean, it'd be a pretty good narrative for him to sweep it with also getting the league MVP for the regular season as well. Yeah, I think, look, I'm not sure how much stock the voters put into the NBA Cup because we're only in year two of the NBA Cup. I don't know what's the point, Dave. But it's a showcase, right? It's an opportunity to showcase yourself.

If you can make the final, you've got a couple of nights where you're the feature game. You're the only game in town. Everybody's watching you. I think that's one of the problems that Oklahoma City has had in the past and probably throughout Shea's career there is that they're not always a top-of-mind team. And so

here's a moment to be top-of-mind. We'll see. Games tomorrow for the final four got some football games coming up this weekend as well my best bets coming up next it's a brand new year time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025 kelvin the money guy suggests the three-step approach one clearly define your goals for the new year to create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions. And three, make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan. Goal, plan, portfolio.

Contact Kelvin the Money Guy and set your plans in motion. Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca. Great, great music to finish off. It's been a great day, Dave. The fun show to end off the Friday. And we'll get to my best bets here. Today's best bets powered by FanDuel. Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the FanDuel Sportsbook app.

I'm looking at the bills. I do like the Buffalo Bills this weekend to cover the number. Plus two and a half. You can get them over on FanDuel. And I like Khalil Shakir in that game as well. You can get him to record 50-plus receiving yards, parlay those two together. You get it at plus 174.

Shakir's done a gone 50-plus in six of his last seven. He's really become the wide receiver one for that team and that offense. He's been incredible. Yeah, so you get that 50 yards. I think that they win the ball game. Get that at plus 174. Today's best bets powered by FanDuel. FanDuel is the home of the popular parlays this NFL season.

Please play responsibly. 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Good stuff, Dave. I tell you, man, I love where you're heading with the Bills beating the Lions. I just don't know if I believe it, man. That's a good line. You got to believe, Dave. You got to believe.

They're getting healthy, too. Keon Coleman's coming back. I think Dalton Gate is going to be back as well. So that offense is getting some help, and Milano's returned. He's back, and he's another week healthy. I think that this is a team and a club that will go out there and surprise and end this Detroit Lions winning streak and keep them alive for that

number one seed. Well, the Chiefs might have something to say about that, but we'll see. We'll see. Enjoy your weekends, everyone. Enjoy the games. Overdrive will be back Monday at 4 p.m. We'll chat then. TSM Plus is taking game day to a whole new level with NFL Red Zone.

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