The Fumblerooski Podcast - More With Less -Ep 117 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: September 17, 2022

Has Patrick Mahomes proved he can do more with less? Are the Chargers underachieving? Which teams need a win the most in week 2? CJ Medieros and Justin Tucker host special guest Cameron Beale who previews the 2022-23 NBA season! START EM SIT EM FANTASY ADVICE INCLUDED

Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! They're saying it's a catch. It's a catch. What? It's a catch! Sideline! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins!

Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Touchdown! Good evening. You are listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 Dean Radio. I am CJ Medeiros, along with Justin Tucker and our special guest, Cameron Beal. Now, we have a lot planned for you tonight. We're going to talk about Patrick Mahomes, how he seems to be doing more with less, the Chargers' more or less sluggish start to the season, and we're going to talk about teams that desperately need a win in week two, of course, the new Fumble Rooski fantasy fix, and of course, Cameron's guest segment. So let's get rocking. Let's get rolling. And first up, we are going to talk about old Patrick Mahomes, how he seems to be doing more

with less. Cameron, what's your take on Patrick Mahomes this year? He's been looking good so far. I've watched a few games, seen him play with less weapons out there, losing Tyreek, obviously. Juju Smith-Schuster seems to be a good fit for him. I don't see him having too many problems. Working well with Kelsey, obviously. Still having him as a weapon. And Clyde Ebersolear looked pretty good the other day.

So, I mean, he's doing his best that he can he obviously got a good coaching staff there in kansas city and i mean he's just doing what he does he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league so yeah yeah that that very well put uh justin you have anything to add well first and foremost congratulations to the kansas city chiefs they showed up and did what they had to do to get the job done as far as patrick mahomes is concerned i knew that we were going to get this version of patrick mahomes i told adam this when we did our quarterback rankings that patrick mahomes was the best quarterback and this is why he believed that he needed all those weapons around him to be in order

to do what he does i told him no his athleticism his creativity and his electricity within the pocket and with his receivers should allow him to do more with less and so when i watch that game i just see him make sidearms to jerek mckinnon i see him throw over the top off one leg you just see the the throws he's able to make and you're thinking to yourself wow he's able to do this with less than he ever did with some of the other robberies and that's not to take away from tyreek hill it's just patrick holmes is that dude it's about time everybody was fully aware of that yeah justin i really do think you're right. And when I look at Patrick Mahomes, I just, I will lie. I was a little bit down on him. And if you listen to the show,

you know this, you know, without Tyree Kill, you know, it's a big piece of loss. I wasn't confident in Meikle Hardman or really anyone else, but it's Mahomes who just makes them all look good. And Justin, you hit the nail right on the head. Cameron, you did too, about how Mahomes just makes these insane, just insane throws to guys like Marquez, Valdes, Gantling, and Juju Smith-Schuster. And like I said, last episode, no Tyreek, no problem.

And I just want to do another round of questioning here so when you look at the Chiefs and you look at their schedule and now that we know that they're more than likely not going to struggle barring any four massive injuries where do you see them finishing this year they can finish anywhere from one to four I think they're going to win the division if they keep up the pace they're going at. I don't see the Broncos beating them. I'm struggling to see the Raiders doing that right now. And the Chargers are struggling with injuries to people like Keenan Allen. So as much as I want to say the Chargers are their best threat, to be honest,

I don't see anybody threatening them in that division. So I think they'll take the division a little easier than expected. I think they'll finish top two is my prediction. Cameron? Yeah, I agree with that. I'd say probably top

three because as a Broncos fan myself, I know we're not going to have the greatest year dealing with dealing with the tough division obviously the uh raiders the chiefs and the chargers um their schedule i'm looking at right now it's fairly light no super big games they always play the chargers later on the season the rams the broncos who i think they're going to beat a couple of times. Cause no one, my team, not the best against that team, but I mean, I agree completely Justin that it'll get up there.

Probably one, two finishing there. All right. Now we all know how great my homes is and we all expect the chiefs to do well, but one last thing, let's just say it's the playoffs and once again they match up with the bills as it sits now i know it's way too early but that's the joy of the early season overreacting

who would you take right now if they were to meet in the playoffs right now i'm sorry say the teams again i couldn't hear uh bills and Chiefs oh I'm taking the bills I'm taking the bills oh Cameron defense the offense just the ceiling the defense sets the floor and when I see the defense oh good Lord they look pretty impressive against them Rams oh yeah that is true and uh Cameroneron yeah i completely agree i'm taking the bills josh allen while past rooms is a great quarterback i do like josh allen stefan diggs is great out there their defense with von miller and just it's it's easy easy pick now if i were to weigh in i also we're gonna're going to make it a perfect 3-0.

You know, I have to go with Buffalo as well, just because I think the offenses are evenly matched, but I like Buffalo's defense infinitely more than I like Kansas City's, and that's really what sets it apart for me. And since we're all in agreement, I personally see no harm in moving on so up next we're going to stay in the nfc west and we're going to be talking about those la chargers who they're one and one but still a little bit underachieving starting off a bit more sluggish than what we thought and you're not going to want to miss that so So don't go anywhere. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. We'll be right back.

This is the Fumble Rooski podcast powered by Power 88 Dean Radio. I am CJ Medeiros, and you already know my good friend Justin Tucker, and of course, Cameron Beal our very special guest now we now last segment we we talked about the the Chiefs you know and you know Mahomes doing more with less that's all well and good but let's talk about another stacked roster in that division the Chargers now the Chargers started out one and one, but I would say they're sluggish. You know, they beat the Raiders 24-19. They just lost to the Chiefs 27-24. And now Justin Herbert has a rib injury. So are the Chargers underachieving? Like, what's their outlook for

the rest of the year? Cameron, we'll start with you. I mean, seeing as Josh Allen just getting hurt with that rib injury, it throws up a lot of questions. How soon is he going to be back? How long will this affect them? Looking at their schedule, their next few games aren't big games. They're playing Jacksonville and Houston in the next two weeks, which are easier games. Jacksonville not being a great team, same as Houston.

So depending on how soon Josh Allen will return, I think they can still have a good season and stay right on pace. But it all depends on injuries, especially with Keenan Allen out as well, seeing as his return. But as of right now, I think if Josh Allen – or, sorry, Justin Herbert can come back, I think they'll be able to stay right on pace and have a good season. All right.

This is kind of a precarious positioning for the Los Angeles Chargers because on the one hand, you see their schedule, and you're like, all right, it's not too bad. The next two weeks they have – you would assume buys in Houston. Who else was it? The Jaguars. The Jaguars. Yeah, you would assume those two are basically buys for them.

But then you got to see the depth chart, and I'm not going to lie. If Justin Herbert can't play on Sunday, I'm not sure I completely agree with them being like a walk in the park against the Jaguars. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be as easy as such. I think it's going to be a dogfight because I don't trust Chase Daniels as a quarterback because he's a backup for a reason. So if they're not careful, they could lose that game because I think Jacksonville isn't a bad

team. They're just young and inexperienced. I think they need some time in order for them to develop. And then they got Houston, which, yeah, that's a win. I'll give them that, even with Chase Daniels, the quarterback. But my main concern about the Chargers, I don't think they're starting off slow. I think they just had a rough go at it in the beginning of the season because they're facing two divisional rivals. So, of course, it's going to be tough. And it doesn't help that you now have to deal with injuries at, like,

key positionings, like at quarterback and wide receiver. So I think they're just going to have to trudge on ahead, and hopefully they can get some of their players back healthy soon. Yeah, yeah, I agree. And we do have some news about Justin Herbert's injury. Ian Rappaport said that he's going to have some more tests today on his ribs and chest. And Bridget Condon said that Herbert allegedly has a fracture to his rib cartilage. And look, when it comes to fractures, it's better to hurt the cartilage around your ribs than the actual bone itself.

And on the Chargers official injury report, it says he's day to day. But would you guys actually like risk putting him out there? Because, you know, those injuries like those fractures in the cartilage, they could spread to the bone easily. Like, do you risk playing them? I mean, even against like the jaguars and the texans no if i believe i can beat them without them no i'm not going to risk it but if i'm very like shaky on our abilities as a team then yeah especially offensive, then yeah, especially offensively, then yeah, I might have to charge him out there. But that is like a last resort type of thing. Now, as you know, Keenan Allen was ruled out against the Chiefs due to a hamstring injury.

So we don't know when he's going to be back. The Chargers are already banged up. So, you know, and we were talking about the Chiefs like in their division. It just so happens that, you know, they don't play the Chiefs again for a while. But if this Chargers team gets healthy down the stretch, where exactly do you see them finishing? Cameron? I mean, I'm high on the Chargers. I really like Justin Herbert. I really like Eckler. I like them.

But, I mean, again, with that tough division they're in, with the Chiefs, the Raiders, the Broncos, I think I see them beating out the Raiders. Even though they do have Devonta Adams, who's best receiver in the league, in my opinion. They definitely beat out the Broncos. Broncos are definitely on a lower tier compared to them.

I don't see them beating out the Chiefs at this point in the season due to all these injuries because Keenan Allen, Justin Herbert, it's tough to tell, but I can see him finishing somewhere just behind the Chiefs, maybe a couple places behind them. Yeah, yeah, that's reasonable. That's reasonable. Now, there is something else that I think is worth talking about. Now, I think we can all agree, Justin Herbert, top 10 quarterback, and even his rookie year, he cemented himself as a top 10 quarterback. He was darn good. So, you know, you look at the Chargers team, injuries or not, it's a loaded team. You know,

you have Herbert, you have Eckler, you have Williams and Allen. And on the defense, you have Bosa. You have Mack. You have Samuel Jr. and Jackson and James and all those others. So despite the fact the Chargers had been relatively good low these past few years, they've missed the playoffs every year with Herbert. Now, play GM or maybe play owner. What do you do if by some horrible twist of fate, the Chargers miss the playoffs this year as well? Do you make changes? Like, what do you do? That's a tough call because as much as I want to call them underachieving,

injuries have been a downside of them, have been the downfall of them to be honest. They just can never stay fully healthy. If they can just go one season with the majority of their cast fully healthy, they should be able to make the playoffs. But unfortunately, that's not always the case. First things first, I would probably invest in a strength and conditioning coach that can actually keep my players healthy. And then start to look at my individual players and say, all right, who can I cut from this roster that is expensive and who I can replace cheaply through the draft?

Once you figure that out, I wouldn't necessarily blow it up. I would just go through like a mini rebuild to see what places I need to reconstruct it and then go from there. All right. So just one more thing, just a quick question for both of you. Chargers don't make the playoffs this year. Do you fire Brandon Staley, yes or no? Because there's a lot of questions about his decision-making and coaching ability.

Cameron? I mean, that's a tough question because he seems to be doing a decent job in my opinion not a great job not a horrible job right kind of in the middle but um i would say at most give him kind of like one more year. Hey, figure it out. If nothing happens, then we're going to have to let you go. If something happens, maybe keep them on. But, I mean, I'd have to see what unfolds this season to really make a call on that right now. All right.

All right. Justin? As unfortunate as it may be, you might have to. That'd be four straight seasons, three or four straight seasons without making the playoffs. Yeah, with that roster. With that roster especially, you might have to cut ties for them, especially with all the additions that made this offseason.

Yeah, yeah. I kind of lean more towards what Justin's saying, especially if you miss the playoffs, like coming third in the division. I would have to say it's time to cut ties with Brandon Staley, but hopefully for the Chargers, they don't have to cross that bridge. Now, speaking of crossing bridges, we're going to be crossing over into our next segment where we are going to be talking about teams that desperately need a win in week two. Don't go anywhere. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch.

It's a catch! Diggs! Side-eyed! Touchdown! Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast powered by Power 88 Dean Radio.

I'm CJ Medeiros and that is Justin Tucker and that guy right there, that's our special guest Cameron Beal. So, I'd like to start this segment off with an interesting fact. Throughout NFL history, teams who start the season 0-2 only have a 9% chance to make the playoffs. So yeah, if you start 0-2, that's almost a death sentence for your season. So this does beg the question, what team needs a win the most in week two? Cameron, what do you think? I got a few. First off, definitely the Cowboys. After seeing that game against the Buccaneers, obviously a tough game.

Buccaneers, a great team with Tom Brady there and, you know, Mike Evans. They got Julio Jones, their defense, stellar defense over there. But the Cowboys, every year they seem to do well enough to make the playoffs, but at the same time fold. So I think an early win would get the confidence high for them, get the train rolling, hopefully to even get further in the playoffs than last year, hopefully. Secondly, I got to say my Broncos. Tough to see that. I wasn't very happy with the choice to take that field goal

with 40 seconds left, multiple timeouts. Could have used that, got down the field, scored a touchdown. Obviously, with Russell Wilson having the weapons in Jerry, Judy, Court, and Sutton, I can see them needing a big win right now, specifically. Javante Williams, great too. Right now, next up, they got the Texans. Should be an easy win for them, but they need this win badly to get that trade rolling, obviously.

Yeah. So, Justin, what do you think? I agree with Cameron when it comes to the Cowboys. When you look at the Cowboys schedule coming up, they have the Bengals, who they play week two. And then sooner down the line, they have to face the Rams, who are looking for payback after losing to the Bills in week one. That doesn't sound like a great time for the Cowboys, especially since they don't have Dak Prescott as their quarterback at the moment in time. So it's unfortunate for them.

And when you look at the Eagles' schedule, it's a lot easier for them to win because they have the Fightins and then the Commanders coming up. So if I'm the Cowboys, these actually might be must-win games because I can see the Eagles going 2-1 or 3-0, and I can see the Cowboys going 1-2 or 0-3. So they need to win one of these upcoming games. Cincinnati didn't look that impressive against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but again, that Steelers defense is no joke.

Hopefully they've made some adjustments in order to bounce back. I think Jamar Chase is going to – he might have a good day against Trayvon Diggs. A very good day if Trayvon Diggs isn't careful. But again, I believe Michael Parsons might offset that because I don't believe anybody on that line can block him. So it might be a close game. I think it would be interesting to see. Yeah, both you guys are right.

But be that as it may, I know both of those games are must-win, but let's not beat around the bush. The Cowboys, their starting quarterback is Cooper Rush. Yeah. No. My answer to that is no. You don't think he's a future Hall of Famer? No, I do not.

Perhaps, I don't know, maybe if he could join Nathan Peterman in the reject section of the Hall of Fame because of how bad he is. Cooper Rush looks like the guy that plays Andy Dalton in a movie about Marvin Lewis. But that's neither here nor there. And here's a team that I personally think definitely needs a win. The San Francisco 49ers. After all the trash that Niners fans talk,

you know, oh yeah, Trey Lance, he's going to be so good, third overall pick for a reason. You got drenched and walloped by the Chicago Bears. You know, oh, yeah, Trey Lance, he's going to be so good. Third overall pick for a reason. You got drenched and walloped by the Chicago Bears. Yeah. You know, yeah, Justin Fields killed them. And believe me, that awful turf hit Soldier Field killed them. And it's just, you're playing the Seahawks.

And I know that the Seahawks just upset Denver. But come on. I mean, they're still the Seahawks. Geno Smith is still their quarterback. Let's not act like he's turned into Tom Brady all of a sudden, you know? But yeah, I mean, I wouldn't sleep on the Seahawks, but if you're the Niners, if you don't win that, I'm going to have to raise my eyebrow. I'm going to have to start asking questions. And another team that definitely needs a win this week, the New England Patriots. Now, I am a Patriots fan, for those of you who watch and somehow don't know. And we have these assistant coaches that I despise by the names of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Why do they have the keys to the offense? I really don't know. Should we have gotten someone else to replace them?

Absolutely. They are going to drive this offense into the ground. And if they have any semblance of decent coaching rattling around somewhere in their heads, I think, you know, they need to pull it out against the Steelers because Mac Jones can be your franchise guy. He really can. I don't care what anyone says. Mac Jones could be your guy for a decade. He'll always be competitive. Adam doesn't think so.

Adam doesn't think so. Yeah, well, Adam's not here, is he? CJ's hosting tonight, baby. But look, you know, we can talk about Adam later. But I mean, Matt just isn't given the tools. He doesn't have a wide receiver one, and he doesn't have a competent offensive coaching staff. So if the Patriots want to have any chance of being somewhat,

maybe even a little competitive this season they're going to need the beat to beat the steelers otherwise it's going to be a long season unfortunately so uh does anyone else have like any thoughts on this maybe like another team you can think of or a team that maybe came close in week one but you know would definitely strike back hard in week two the Colts oh you want you want to explain that one Justin they tied with the Texans well I mean I know they did but do we know who the Colts are playing this week? Not off the top of my head. No. Still a must win in my eyes. Huh?

Still a must win in my eyes. Oh, yeah. Oh, the Chiefs. Forget that. 0-1 in my eyes. Yeah, especially, I mean, you know, what did the Colts start last season? Like 1-4 or 1-5? And then they went on that insane winning streak. You know, Jonathan Taylor tore it up.

And then they lost to the Jaguars. They were one and four. Oh, one and four. Yes, thank you. Yeah, they were one and four. And then they went on their winning streak before ultimately, you know, losing to Jacksonville of all teams. So, yeah, that's going to be something.

Cameron, do you have any more thoughts? Yeah. I'm just looking at this now. The Cardinals, definitely. I can see the Cardinals needing to win right now. That's obvious. Kyler Murray didn't do his homework. That's obvious.

Yeah, and he never will either. Yeah, just remember, kids, Kyler Murray's stats take a drop off on nearly every major school statistical category on weekends that Call of Duty has double XP. Look it up. This is actually unfortunately true. Is it a coincidence? No, it is not a coincidence.

And let me tell you something. This is something that's been carefully compiled over every year Kyler Murray's played in the NFL. If it happened one year, that's been carefully compiled over every year kyler murray's played in the nfl if it happened one year that's a coincidence but every year he's been in the league that is not a coincidence my friend that is what we call a trend what'd you say you're telling me the chargers need to take the controller from tyler i don't know maybe but. But I will say this. They should have kept that mandate in his thing. But then again, if you have to contractually mandate that your quarterback watch film, maybe he's in the wrong line of work because they don't have to mandate that Mahomes watch film or Tom Brady or Josh Allen. But, you know, he's not any of them and he never will be.

So it's a moot point all in all. So next up, we are going to move on to, well, another installment of our Fumble Rooski Fantasy Fix. It's going to be a quick segment where we give you some stardoms and sit-ums for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Don't go anywhere if you want your fantasy advice, because this is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. This is lost.

It's a catch. Sideline. Touchdown. Unbelievable. Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. If you are just tuning in somehow, or maybe you just skipped ahead, Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast.

If you are just tuning in somehow, or maybe you just skipped ahead, I'm CJ Medeiros. And of course, I have with me my good friend, Justin Tucker, and a special guest, Cameron Beal. Now, this is just going to be a quick segment we are going to so for you fantasy nuts out there we're going to be talking starts and sits for quarterback running back wide receiver and tight end to help you win your fantasy league now if you need someone to start i would look at kurt cousins at philly and derrick carr against Cardinals, both defenses that allowed a lot of points and with their weapons, cousins and Carr should feast. Now, if you have these guys, you might want to sit them. I am talking about Ryan Tannehill at Buffalo and Jameis Winston versus Tampa. Now, I know that, you know, the Saints usually have given Tampa a hard time,

but I'm sorry. I do not really see Jameis, you know, after that performance he put up against Atlanta of all teams, dropping four touchdowns against the Bucs. And Tannehill struggled against the Giants, so I worry to see how he'll fare against the Bills. Now, for running backs, I am definitely starting Nick Chubb against the porous New York Jets defense and a new up-and-coming Saquon Barkley against the Panthers, a lackluster run defense. And if you're sitting, guys, I'd start with Chase Edmonds from the Dolph dolphins going up against a stout ravens defense and honestly the dolphins kind of have a running back by committee so i would just definitely sit him and and the hype around this guy is starting to die out damian pierce who's going up against

the denver broncos so yeah it looks like he doesn like he's not even the true RB1, I guess, because, you know, Burkhead's starting to take the reins from him. So if you have Pierce, do yourself a favor and sit him. Now, if you're looking to start someone, I would say start Jerry Judy against the Texans. He's still like 100 yards and a touchdown, even with the loss to Seattle. And I expect him to feast even

more against Houston and also this might be a bit of a gamble but it's well worth the risk invest in Curtis Samuel at Detroit now Detroit got carved up by that Philly offense you know like giving up 38 points and you know that the rookie uh Jahan Dotson and wide receiver Terry McLaurin could be on their radar. And if they're all locked up, I would look to Curtis Samuel. Now, if you have these receivers, you might want to sit them. Drake London against the Rams. Jalen Ramsey is primed to have a good game because he got toasted. And we all know Jalen Ramsey doesn't take that sitting down. And as a Pats fan, this one hurts me. But I'd sit Jacoby Myers against the Steelers,

especially with all the rumors that Kendrick Bourne will have a larger role in that offense. So tight ends. I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here. But I would say start Dalton Schultz against the Bengals. Now Cooper rushes the quarterback. He doesn't quite have the arm that Dak does, but he's going to need his big security blanket and Dalton Schultz. And I'd expect him to get plenty of targets. Also I'd start Tyler Higbee versus Atlanta. Now it's going to be AJ Terrell on Cooper cup. We all know that. And I would expect Tyler Higbee to have a decent game, especially if you're in a pinch.

Now, if you need to sit a tight end, I would sit Bears tight end Cole Komet against the Packers. That Packers defense was just obliterated by the Vikings, and they're going to be out for blood. And Cole Komet, I just don't see him making that big of an impact. And also Noah Fant against the 49ers. He's going to be going toe-to-toe with linebackers like Dre Greenlawn, Fred Warner, that can keep up with him. And I just, I'm not going to see Geno Smith thread the needle to him So yeah, does anyone have Any ideas for If you guys are fancy experts on who else

We could possibly start or sit No You got it Alright, well then As I said, this was going to be a quick segment But don't go anywhere Because up next You know what we have? That's right.

The guest segment with our good friend Cameron Beal. So you're not going to want to miss that. This is the F is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch! It's a catch! Side-eyed! Touchdown!

Unbelievable! Swings it way down the field to Watkins! Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! Welcome back to the Fumble Roos podcast powered by Power 88 Dean Radio. I'm CJ Medeiros, along with my good friend Justin Tucker, and of course, special guest Cameron Beal. Now, welcome to the guest segment of our show, sponsored by Secret Weapon Consulting. For business plans, secret shoppers, bar spotting, server and manager training, and so much more, visit Secret Weapon Consulting. Now, Cameron, it's my understanding you're going to be talking

about some MBA predictions for your guest segment. Is that correct? Yep. Well, then, take it away, my man. What do you got for us? All right. So I got some way too early NBA playoff standings predictions. So start with the rankings for the Eastern Western Conference. So start with Western. I got Golden State taking the first seat. That's fair.

Suns in the second seed. Grizzlies are the three seed. Denver four seed. Mavs five seed. Timberwolves six, Lakers seven, and Pelicans eight. A couple reasonings.

I'm a little bit biased as a Warriors fan myself. I do see them taking it all the way. Maybe one more time. Never know. A little bit biased as a Warriors fan myself. I do see them taking it all the way maybe one more time. Never know. A little bit of bias there. Don't worry. My roommate's a Warriors fan. I think he would agree with you.

Yeah. I also got the Grizzlies at three. I am very high on the Grizzlies. John Morant, one of my favorite players to watch in the league. Jaron Jackson, Desmond Bain, a rising star over there in Memphis. I really like what they got going on there with that young core. I got the Suns at two. I think Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton.

I think they can make a run for it. I don't know how far they're going to get. I liked them at two, though. I got the Timber a run for it. I don't know how far they're going to get. I like them at two, though. I got the Timberwolves at six. I got them there. They got the new acquisition of Rudy Gobert, and I really like that duo of Cat and Rudy Gobert down low. Now moving on to the Eastern Conference.

I got the Celtics at one. The Nets at two. Bucks, three. Bucks three. Heat four. Bulls five. Sixers at six. Atlanta at seven. And the Raptors at eight.

So the Celtics coming off this finals appearance. First one in a little while. I'm liking Tatum. I'm liking Brown. Not the biggest Marcus Smart fan personally, but he is a great defensive player over there. I think they can make another run for it.

I don't think they're going to get there, but I definitely see them in maybe the semis, maybe get into the conference finals. I like the Bucs at three. I think they're still going to have a good season with Giannis. Giannis, obviously, one of the best players in the league. Giannis, just so fun to watch. I think they're going to be able to make it to at least the conference finals.

I got the Bulls at five. Really high on Zach Levine. I like Alonzo Ball coming back this season. DeMar DeRozan, again, going to have another standout season, I'm predicting. So now we move on to the conference semifinals. So I have the Warriors playing the Suns for the Western. And then I have the Grizzlies and the Mavericks also in the Western Conference. And then for the Eastern Conference, I have the Bucs playing the Celtics

and the Nets playing the Heat. And then for all these, I have the Warriors being the Suns. I think they're going to take it in six. I have the Grizzlies and Mavericks. I have that in seven. Bucs, Celtics, six games. And then Nets and Heat in seven games.

Moving on to the conference finals, Warriors, Grizzlies, and Bucs and Nets. I have the Warriors beating the Grizzlies in seven and the Bucs beating the Nets in six. So obviously the finals, Warriors and Bucs. Even though this is a little bit biased, yet again, I'm going to take the Warriors in seven games against the Bucs. It is a little biased. It is my team.

But it is the season hasn't even started yet, so anything can happen. Tucker, my friend, I think you may disagree a little bit. Would you like to verbalize this? Why'd you have to be a Golden State fan? Oh, come on. It's realistic. Hey, I'm a Celtics fan, and I'll admit what he

said's pretty realistic, you know? It's realistic. Yeah, it sounds good, but I hope that the Celtics can actually win it this year instead of chug them away in six games. Number two, I don't believe in the Minnesota Timberwolves at all. I think they're going to implode based upon that marquee trade

for five first-round picks. Beverly, Jared, I want to say Vanderbilt. That's what it is, Vanderbilt, who is going to be missed in Minnesota, yet they somehow keep D'Angelo Russell, who is a bad player for that team. I don't understand what Minnesota is doing. I guess they're trying to recreate some sort of twin towers look with Cat and Rudy Gobert, so Cat can handle the offensive side of things while Rudy Gobert mans the defense.

I'm not sure how well that will work out in the long term. But I think we'll wait and see on them. Me personally, I think the Lakers will finish better than them at least. But other than that, it's not a bad list. Yeah, overall, I'm fine with it. Oh, yeah, and also the Nets. I don't believe in the Nets. Yeah.

Allow me to now rattle off my two cents. One, I love John Morant. Really do. I am not high on the Grizzlies because there's this little stat that says the Grizzlies are literally have a better winning percentage without John Morant and John Morant is horrendously inefficient as fun as he is to watch I will grant you I mean they're still going to make the playoffs but three I'm thinking four or five and the Lakers I just flat out don't see making the playoffs. Because it's a matter of when, not if, Anthony Davis goes out for the year. And Russell Westbrook is as bad as he's ever been.

And Patrick Beverly, oh, God. He and LeBron will be getting into on the sidelines a few times a game. It's going to be fun to watch, but not fun to be a fan of. Russ needs to go. I get it. Yeah, and as long as he's there, the Lakers are not making the playoffs because he's a gigantic albatross that will wait

before the start of the season. I feel like that's going to happen. They just got Dennis Schroeder. They're not keeping all these guards on the roster and not trading Russell Westbrook. This has to happen. Well, it's what LeBron wants, so we'll see if he gets his way. He does not want this. I don't know.

We've spoken about this before. We're not going to get into that. You're a Boston fan. That's why you feel that way. What? You're a Boston fan. That's why you hate LeBron the way you do. I hate LeBron because he's a sellout to communist China.

That has nothing to do with... Oh, no, no, no. We will discuss this very thoroughly afterwards. But I want to say I do agree with Tucker on one thing. I, too, do not believe in the Nets. That locker room has more

toxicity than Chernobyl after a meltdown. Believe you me. Those players will be at each other's throats, and I don't even think they're making it out of the second round. Plain and simple. You can book it. It's just that locker is going to implode in on itself.

But, yeah, I mean, other than that, I do agree with the East for the most part. But, yeah, Ben, I mean, sorry, I keep thinking of your friend Ben Farina. I am terribly sorry. He was another one on the show, for those of you who are listening and don't know. But Cameron, those were some pretty, pretty darn good predictions, if I do say so myself. And honestly, I'm not even going to call you biased, because there's a chance the Warriors repeat. A real, actual, solid chance.

Not on my watch. Oh, not on your watch Justin are you going to do something to stop from wait what wait Justin I don't think I even know this what team do you actually like I don't have Maryland doesn't have a team so I just root for the Celtics until I actually get a team. Hey, that's the spirit. All right. But does anyone have anything else to add before we head for home? I want to talk about the Lakers for a second. I agree that Patrick Beverly, I think there was already an altercation, Patrick Beverly and Russell Westbrook already have an altercation. Something's got to happen there. I hope so. Somebody's got to get out. It's Westbrook orcation, Patrick Beverly and Russell Westbrook. Already have an altercation. Something's got to happen there.

I hope so. Somebody's got to get out. It's Westbrook or it's Patrick Beverly. One of the two. It's going to be Westbrook at this point because we just got Patrick Beverly in a trade. I agree. They need to get rid of Westbrook. Westbrook has been atrocious last year. He was horrible.

He was bad last year. And I can also agree with that Nets point, too. Sorry, you can go ahead. It's just a bad fit for him, that's all. Once he's off the team and he's on a different team, I think he'll play better. He just doesn't fit on this team. Once we get better shooters around LeBron and AD,

then we'll start to see better spacing. But I also want to have it big on the team because I don't need AD playing center because he can't play center. He'll get injured playing center. He'll get injured regardless. No. Yes. He'll be fine at the four. He'll be fine at the four.

I need someone at the five. Yeah, we fought that last year too. Oh, stop. We have fun on this show. We really do. And Cameron, I'm really glad you got to experience this, truly. Now, does anyone else have anything to say before we call it a day? All righty, then.

So that'll do it for us tonight thank you for listening to us be sure to tune in to us live tuesdays at 7 30 on twitter and facebook be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel because we also have episodes available on spotify spreaker apple podcast iheart radio Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram at FumbleRooski underscore podcast to keep up with our podcasts and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, we will see you next week. Over and out.