JR SportBrief Hour 1

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Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio.

It is the J.R. Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Happy Tuesday night. I hope you had a good one. And if you didn't, I'm going to be here for the next four hours. I'm going to have myself a good time.

I don't know about you. I'm coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

For home loan solutions that fit your life, it's very simple. Rocket can. I'm being joined right now by my main man, super producer and host, Dave Shepherd, and you everybody listening all across North America. I told you I'd be here for the next four hours. This is my start time.

10 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. Pacific. I feel like I'm in a little bit of a waiting game right now. I'm waiting for the college football playoff rankings to be announced. Michigan State. They just beat Kentucky.

It's always a nice thing to see John Calipari sweat just a little bit. It took a million overtimes, but the game is done. And because everything is a television production, we're getting ready to have Duke take on Kansas and they were going to slot the playoff announcement right in between the games.

Not expecting, obviously, for Game 1 to take two overtimes. And so we wait. We were supposed to have the college football rankings about an hour ago.

But hell, what do I care? I'm going to be here for four hours anyway. In addition to that, over the next four hours.

I do want to talk to you and give you some updates on some things and issues that are going on in the world of sports. Cooper Cup going to need surgery on that ankle. He's done. At least for the next four games. And if we're being realistic, the Rams are also done.

Why bring Cooper Cup back? Dallas Goddard. We saw him go down last night with a face mask, as well as the Eagles.

They went down. Dallas Goddard is going to miss some time with a shoulder injury. There was a lot of conversations even right here on air about Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinecky and what do you do when Wentz is healthy from his broken finger? I said, you tell Carson Wentz stay on the bench. We'll talk about that. We'll get into some other disappointing quarterbacks.

We got two teams in Los Angeles that want Miles Turner. Aaron Rodgers wants grass. Pete Cowell said the grass in Germany sucked. And speaking of sucked, it seems that crypto is also sucking the life out of professional sports. You might have heard the Miami Heat, their arena. They had to change the name due to a crypto crash. And I also learned today that there are quite a few athletes who have been sucked into the crypto craze who might be paying for it.

We'll talk about that. Anthony Rizzo is going to be resigning with the New York Yankees. It sounds like good news, you would think, if you're Aaron Judge and you want to resign with the Yanks. The Celtics, are they getting the love and respect that they deserve? We got Nikola Jokic. He's going into COVID protocol.

It's not what they want to call it, but that's what it is. And the world goes on before we do anything. Dave Shepherd, how are you this evening? I'm great, man. It's always good to be with you. How are you, sir?

I'm good, man. It looks like we're getting closer here with this college football playoff ranking as it's being announced on television right now. We're up to the 16th UCLA, who is now falling. And so in a few minutes, I'll be able to tell you exactly who's occupying that number four slot. Anybody beating Georgia, though, JR, in all seriousness?

I'm sorry, Shep, go ahead. Anybody even coming close to beating your home state this year? Georgia?

Yeah. Nah, you know, there's nothing flashy about the Bulldogs. They just get the job done on defense. They have one of the best, if not the best tight end in the entire country. And so it's actually a nice thing to look at the Bulldogs and see or say that they have a damn good chance at repeating. I can tell you a team that has no chance at repeating.

And this is actually a nice change. We talked about this early on before the college football season even got underway. Sick of the same teams. I mean, for years, everybody had to look at the Georgia Bulldogs and they were always the runner up. Alabama would beat them and then they get close and then they get beat and Alabama would win. And now Georgia, as Shep just said, they got a legitimate chance to go back to back. Not Alabama. Their record is now eight and two. We know about their losses to Tennessee and LSU and yeah, these are close games. But these are games that that Alabama has historically just they stomped teams out.

I mean, they barely just beat Ole Miss 30 to 24. And Nick Saban is like, hey, don't blame the players. Blame me. I'm the one who's accountable.

The buck stops with me. And so Nick Saban last year, upon not winning the national championship, he made it very clear. We are in a rebuilding year as Alabama.

We're rebuilding. What's this year? The injury year? Is it the the talentless year at wide receiver?

Is it the penalty year? What is Nick Saban going to come up with this season? What's the excuse this go round instead of just pinning it all on his back?

A matter of fact, after that last game, barely beating Ole Miss, knocking them off by six points. This was his message to the team, especially after all the mistakes. You know, sometimes you just got to do simple things better. You know, simple things like focusing on doing your job, focusing on snap count, focusing on who you block and focusing on what your eye control is in terms of what you're looking at. You got to do simple things better. Oh, he basically thinks is his team is a bunch of simpletons.

That's me saying it, not him. Oh, yeah. And by the way, Alabama. At least their ranking just came out. They are number eight right above Clemson at number nine. Utah is number 10. Alabama even being in the conversation with the Utes makes you go, whoa. What a way to fall off. And so you just heard Nick Saban talk about the the small things, the simple things.

Well, what about the talent? He can't say that now. This is college. Can't have the college coach come out and bash his own players.

Can't do that. Only when they make too much money, then he can start talking. But the fact is. Alabama. We talked about this, a part of this last week when Emory Hunt joined us last week from CBS Sports HQ. The fact is they don't have the same talent at wide receiver. Think about a Jamison Williams and he should be working towards a recovery.

God bless him. Selected by the Lions. They got a lot of offense.

He's certainly going to help. They don't have Devante Smith anymore. We see him making big moves on the opposite side of A.J. Brown for for Philadelphia. Alabama doesn't have Jalen Waddle. We see him getting busy on the opposite side of Tyreek Hill. They don't have the same talent at wide out.

Their quarterback, Bryce Young, who might be the number one quarterback selected in the twenty twenty three draft. He's busted up. Shoulders cooked. Offensive line stinks. Penalties. How about this? Alabama is giving up basically seventy five yards a game.

If you can do some math. It's about twenty five less than a whole damn football field. The defense isn't what it was. Not forcing turnovers like in the past.

Will Anderson might be the first edge rusher selected in the draft. And if you think about the talent that's going to be on out the door, you know, how is Alabama going to bounce back? I don't think it's going to be a quick bounce back. Not at all.

I think it's going to take some time. Everybody's favorite punching bag. Even even Bill O'Brien. He's the offensive coordinator.

He might be on his way out the door. And by the way, the top four teams in the college football playoff, they have been announced. Georgia is number one. Ohio State also undefeated at 10 and 0 is number two. Michigan. Number three.

T.C.U. Number four. Top four teams all running around with a 10 and 0 record. You still have to expect that whoever wins between Ohio State and Michigan, you know, maybe both teams stay in. Tennessee just announced that number five, their only loss coming to the Georgia Bulldogs and the college football playoff goes on.

I got to be honest here. Shep just said. Who is beating Georgia?

I don't know. C.J. Stroud going to wake up and beat Georgia. Michigan going to beat Georgia. I know T.C.U. They ain't beating Georgia. Tennessee at number five, they probably won't get into the playoff here unless T.C.U. falters someplace.

Georgia has this. A matter of fact, Kirby Smart. He's not he's not just preparing for the playoff and a potential championship. Already locked up with the SEC East.

Listen to Kirby. We got really proud of our team. You know, when you go on the road any time in the SEC and you play in an environment like this at night on the road. You know, tremendous adversity. And our guys responded again and again and again to some tough situations. Come on. They just smashed Mississippi State 45 to 19.

Also easy, right? By the way, at number six, LSU is ranked number six in the college football playoff rankings. And USC, they closed things out at number seven. So if you want to think about the bubble teams outside of the top four right now, you got Tennessee at five. You got LSU at six. You have USC at seven.

It's a foregone conclusion. I believe that that Georgia is now going to be the favorite. And if you're me, you already start thinking about, hey, how can I get myself a new Georgia championship hoodie?

I'll wait on that. But I'll tell you again, it's good to know that Alabama is not in the mix. Nobody sits at the top forever. Alabama fans want to yell all day and they have good they have they have good justification to do so. You know, roll tide. Well, where they rolling right now? They sit at number eight.

They're not rolling into the playoff. And I'm not prepared to say that Alabama is in the toilet, man. As long as Nick Saban is there, they'll be able to recruit. They have an excellent base. They're able to grab guys out of Louisiana.

They're able to grab folks out of Texas and Georgia. Alabama isn't going anywhere. But they are in the rebuilding phase. This is probably going to be the last strike for Alabama.

I don't think they're going to come back hot and on fire next year. Greg McElroy used to play for Alabama, was the quarterback for the squad about a decade ago. He has even talked about, you know, being concerned about where Alabama is, looking at some of the outsiders that are part of the team. I'm pointing at you, Bill O'Brien.

You've got to start from somewhere, right? And let's be real. Father time is not on the side of any body. That includes Alabama. Because Nick Saban, he got a shelf life just like everybody else. I don't look at Nick Saban and wake up and think, oh, man, he's going to run around and be the next Joe Paternal and just stay forever. He does have a new contract. Nick Saban is 71 years old. This deal is going to take him to February of 2030. He's making approximately 12 million dollars a year. This man is going to be 78, 79 years old at the end of this current contract. Let's be real.

Let's be honest. He's going to get paid. And God bless him. The man is generating tons of money for everybody. It'd be nice if he stopped complaining about the structure where the athletes make money, but he's making money hand over fist. School is making money hand over fist. Alabama is generating tons of cash for the local economy.

And I can dare say just even past that. But it's not going to last forever. It's going to take Alabama some time to to restart. It's going to take them time to replace their Heisman candidate.

Not for this year. But Bryce Young is going to take time. It's going to take time to fix the offensive line. It's going to take time to actually have mature wide receivers who can match up to Jamison Williams or Devontae Smith or Jalen Waddle.

It's going to take time. It took Nick Saban a good amount of time to switch over from, you know, trying to pound everybody into oblivion. From looking at his defense in his run game and saying that's what's going to define Alabama football. It took him a while to say, man, we just gonna throw the rock around and have all these dynamic wide receivers and open up the offense.

Took him some time to do that. It's not going to be a snap of the fingers where all of a sudden Alabama is back in the mix next year. And I'm happy about that. Because the Georgia Bulldogs for me, well, they'll probably continue to win. Stetson Bennett, we know he ain't playing until he's 30.

He's already 25 years old. But the Bulldogs defense, even with all the guys they sent it to the NFL last year. They're still able to go out there and kick ass this year. They'll be able to continue to recruit.

And that's Alabama saving grace. But they can still bring in top recruits and prospects and stay in the mix. But if Nick Saban thought last year was just the rebuilding year. This year.

You can hit with the reality stick. And so don't expect an eighth playoff trip in nine years for Alabama. Don't expect the championship.

It's nice to know that they will not be an impediment. They will not stand in the way of the Georgia Bulldogs. Nick Saban, his rebuilding year, his refreshes restart. Sorry, it's not just a year. It's going to take several. And my naive to think that they won't win another championship under Saban over the next seven to eight years.

No, not at all. But for right now. Alabama is on the outside looking in. And it is oh so nice to see different teams get a chance, get an opportunity to showcase who and what they are without staring at Nick Saban in the playoff.

It's nice for a change, something different. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS Alabama. Nowhere near the college football playoff.

Damn it. They won't make the college football playoff this year. Has Alabama fallen off? Is Nick Saban the best days behind him? I think so. I don't think they're going to go on another stretch like we've seen over the past 10 years. Can they win another championship?

Yeah, of course. What do I know what will happen in five, six years from now? But in the near future, Alabama is on the outside looking in rebuild and they better do it quick. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS. You're listening to the J.R. sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. J.R. wants to hear from you. Call him now at eight five five two one two four CBS.

That's eight five five two one two four two two seven. It's the J.R. sport re-show here on CBS Sports Radio. The college football rankings, the playoff rankings just announced. Georgia stays at number one. Ohio State is number two. Michigan is three. TCU sits at four. No shock, no surprise there.

Unfortunately. Alabama, you used to see an M up there, right? Alabama is at number eight. Talent at wide receiver. Penalties, the offensive line. Quarterback is running around with a busted shoulder. That certainly doesn't help with the wide receiver group and even with a busted up shoulder. Bryce Young still thrown for twenty four hundred yards, twenty two touchdowns and only four interceptions. And everybody always talks about how small he is as a QB.

People are pointing at Bill O'Brien saying that Bill O'Brien needs to get the boot. And so Alabama with two losses to Tennessee and then also to LSU, they ain't going into the playoff this year. And they're going to take some time probably to rebuild next year, knowing that Bryce Young is going to be heading on to the NFL.

You already have to restock the wide receiver group. I think it might be not even next season. It might be two seasons when Alabama is back.

And I'm not going to count them out, not by any stretch of the imagination. Nick Saban has a contract that takes him to twenty thirty. At some point in time, he is going to strike again. It's like Star Wars.

He might go down, but I assume that the empire will strike back. Eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. What are your thoughts on Alabama? What are your thoughts on Nick Saban?

He's the bad guy, right? And then I want to tell you about something that just surprised me pleasantly in this Duke, Kansas game that just got started. Let's go to V. V is calling up from Louisiana. You're on the J.R. Sportbreeze show. What's up, V? Not much, brother.

No, I was just saying, man, I was calling. I'm first of all, let's make this clear. I'm from Louisiana. A diehard LSU fan. I'm a Nick Saban hater because he broke my heart and left. And we possibly could add another four championships here out here in Louisiana.

But I'm also a realist. This man has had, what, one ish to bad seasons in his time at Alabama. He's the goal at college football. And I guarantee within the next two to four years, he'll have at least one more championship.

And the other thing is, they are. What do you think about my LSU Tigers in your Georgia Bulldogs and SEC championship, man? Because, I mean, I'll bet five dollars or a Coke, man, whatever you want to bet, brother. Why would I want to bet? So here, you know my point on the Georgia Bulldogs. Why are you confident in LSU winning the SEC championship?

And I'll give you a couple reasons because of the facts. One, eight, Perkins Jr. is literally a monster. Oh, we saw, what do you have, four sacks? Four sacks on Saturday?

Exactly. And two fours fumbles with like, I don't know, eight or nine tackles, whatever it may be. And he's a true freshman. That dude's a freak of nature. Like, he's the next guy up. But the other thing is that I legitimately don't think that Georgia has faced a decent running and passing quarterback like Jayden Daniels has been these last five or six games.

Yes, he had won the bad game against Arkansas, but we played like crap. So I just want to know your opinion about that, man. Great show, brother. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you for calling from one of my favorite places on earth, Louisiana.

Thank you so much. Man, I'm going with the Bulldogs. It's the defense.

You want to tell me about a split attack between the passing attack and then also the run game? They were supposed to take on Tennessee and Tennessee was supposed to wax them. They were supposed to put up their normal 40 something odd points a game and then they didn't even get any traction.

None. They put up 13 points. It's like, oh, we dropped 30 plus like it's nothing. They took on the Gators and you got Richardson, who is a dynamic quarterback and of his own right only dropped 20.

I got the Bulldogs, man. You got to give Brian Kelly some credit here. We talked with Emory about this last week. You know, he was mocked at the beginning of the season, especially after that first loss to Florida State. And they've been able to pick things up.

They're hearing the conversation. They're going to be in the SEC championship game, but I'm going with the dogs. And now I get to tell you about something that just shocked not shocked me. I don't even know how many years ago this is this is college basketball related. There's a gentleman playing for Duke right now. His name is Kyle Philipowski. He is seven feet tall. He has a twin brother that I watched and actually commentated his game. I was a commentator on his game in the junior NBA like five or six years ago. And now I'm watching this guy play for Duke.

And it's a nice thing to see, because even when he was, I don't know, 14, 15 years old, he was a freak. And he has a twin brother right now who's playing for Harvard. Kyle Philipowski is averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds. As a freshman center. For Duke under head coach John Shire, because we know Coach K is sitting at home somewhere.

I don't know. Hey, Shep, what is what do you think Coach K is doing right now? Is he sitting at home? What do you think he's doing? He's probably preparing for a Sirius XM show somewhere. He still does that?

He still does that, yes. Even Tom Brady. Who did he talk to last week? Somebody important, right? What did he talk to? Obama or something? I don't know if it was Obama. I know it was somebody important.

Clearly not that important that you and I are not remembering, but it was somebody. Every week it's just like, oh, well, you know, Coach K talks to, you know, I don't know. It's like a competition between him and Peyton and Eli and Tom Brady.

It's like, who can get the biggest best of those four? Pretty good lifestyle. I never hear anything of substance come from any of them, to be honest. A lot of people back that argument up, that's for damn sure. I'm just being honest.

No, it's true. It's like, hey, Coach K spoke to Obama and why do I need that? Like what? So what? It's just a powder puff interview.

It's just to, you know, strut your chest and, you know, put your shoulders and chest hair up. But all it is is just, you know, cajoling and sycophanting to a friend. Yeah. Well, God bless Coach K. Now he's retired and he doesn't have to stand on the sidelines and look evil anymore. And I just wanted to show some love to Kyle Filipowski. Watching him play in the junior NBA and to see his progression now to Duke is pretty amazing.

Him and his brother. Shep, let me tell you something. This guy was, he's a, well, he probably still is a teenager, but he was he was just probably not even in high school. And he was like 610 and he had post moves and he could knock down a J and block shots and play D. I'm like, this kid is a freak. Now he's busting ass for Duke. I'm watching him now. He's over here shifting in the paint.

It's pretty fun, man. That's pretty nice. You said the twin. Is it Harvard?

Yes, he has a 20s. He has a twin brother, Matt. Who's at Harvard?

You got it. You got an individual that made it to Duke Athletics going to that academic institution. Then the other one goes to Harvard. I feel bad for any other sibling in that family. Yeah, well, I think the bar is high.

I think it's only the two twins. Well, you know, I mean, if we're going to be real, I guess academics over athletics. Right. Like one kid is at Duke playing basketball and the other one is at Harvard. Well, you know, you don't get into Harvard just because you can knock down a jumper like you can have like.

In other words, Jerry, you know this. If you have a three eight GPA like that may not be good enough for Harvard. But if you're a basketball player, that will get you over the edge. But you're not getting into Harvard like as an average, even decent. You must be a really, really good to begin with, regardless of your basketball skill and acumen. Oh, absolutely.

That's why I'm saying you. The general person might look at it and go, OK, one brother is absolutely amazing at basketball. And he's at Duke and then the other one in Duke is Duke ain't no no slouch to get into as well. Didn't you got to say again, didn't Kyrie get in there?

Yeah. Well, let's let's be nice here. And the other the other brother is that he's at Harvard. And you might go, oh, well, he's a slouch. Well, the other brother can ball out.

And instead of looking like a potential NBA prospect of which he very well might be. He's the genius in the family. Yeah. And I actually I remember the parents. They were tall.

That much I remember. They were tall to seven foot twins. The last time I remember seven foot twins. They also played center, both of them in the NBA. They kind of sucked.

Well, that's not true. You got the Collins twins, right? Jared and what's the other one? Jason Collins.

Two two nice guys, by the way. But they were basically big, gigantic bodies who were there for a foul. They would not be able to play in today's NBA. And in the other set of gigantic twins, you got the the Lopez brothers, where Brook Lopez is, I believe, leading the NBA in blocks.

And then where's the other brothers? He's still in the league. He's definitely still. People forget, like Brook Lopez is like he's the all time leading scorer in the history of the Nets franchise.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know Brook is good. Where's the one who fights the mascots, Robin? I think he's with the Cavs. Robin, is he coming off the bench? Well, I mean, what was it going to start over Jared Allen? I haven't seen Robin Lopez now for quite some time.

That's the point. I mean, Robin Lopez was barely a starter in his heyday, let alone in year 15. Robin is still going strong here. Yes, he is a he's a center for the Cavs. No, there was a point where Robin was good.

Just, you know, double double here, here and there. You know, not anymore. Brother Brook still going strong. His brother Brook can shoot.

God bless him. Going from a post player to a guy who can knock down a three. And so good luck to the Filipowski twins, one at Duke, one at Harvard. Seven footers who can just play in the post and also knock down a J. It might be a nice NBA career in front of Kyle.

Good for him. I saw him for the first time in the junior NBA. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I'm going to continue to take your calls.

855-212-4CBS. I mentioned Cooper Cupp. He's busted up. I mentioned Dallas Goddard. He's busted up. And then we're going to talk about some of these quarterbacks as well. Some of these QBs just need to call it a season.

Might as well have already. It's the JR Sport Brief Show on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, JR, I appreciate you taking my call.

I just want to say that you've got an awesome show, man, and I enjoy it very much when I'm out, moving about at night. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. At the top of the hour, I want to really expand on a conversation that we had last night. It started off on, you know, Taylor Heinecke leading Washington to an even record now at five and five, and whether or not Carson Wentz should be given the job when he returns. And it makes me think about some other disappointing quarterbacks, and we'll talk about that at the top of the hour. We opened up the show talking about Alabama and Mr. Nick Saban, knowing that they will not make the college football playoff this year.

I think we've known that for a couple of weeks now. Alabama has two losses. Georgia sits at number one, Ohio State two, Michigan three, TCU at four, Tennessee five, and LSU at number six. I made a very normal statement, I find, that last year Nick Saban said it was a rebuilding year. Well, obviously this year is a rebuilding season as well. And I don't believe that Alabama will all of a sudden be just smack dab right back in the playoff next year.

So at this point, I think it's three rebuilding seasons at minimum, but I'm not going to count Nick Saban out. Not at all. Tommy is calling from New Orleans. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Jay, how are you doing, my brother? I'm good, man. Thank you. Yeah, first and foremost, man, thoughts and prayers to all those people in Charlottesville and all those families affected, man.

I implore everybody who's listening to the sound of my voice just to do something and stop this senseless stuff, just talking to somebody or doing any talking, taking them to a place where they need to be in that area of time because it's too much. Anyway, I'm from New Orleans, and I'm an LSU fan, and I'm also an Alabama fan. I'm an Alabama fan because Alabama gave my daughter a free ride twice, undergrad and grad, and they gave her a job.

So when they do that, you wear the hat. Saying that, every time I hear people hating on Nick Saban that are from Louisiana, it bothers me because there's kind of a divide, an unwritten divide between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and JR, and I don't know if you know this, but all Baton Rouge fans are not Saints fans, and every time I hear somebody hating on Saban, I say, listen, Saban did not leave LSU to go to Alabama. Saban left to go to Miami.

Guess he came to Miami at the same time. Dante Culpepper and Drew Brees. Saban chose Culpepper, and in effect, Saban sent us Drew Brees. And Drew Brees got us one, and Saban got us one, and effectively got us two because the one Miles won was Saban's team. And I'd like to hear everybody's opinion, and God bless you all, and JR, our loves, keep it up. Thank you, Tommy, for calling from New Orleans. Yeah, and even to this day, Nick Saban still rallies, and I don't want to say cries, about his own situation and why Drew Brees wasn't a part of the team.

He will certainly go ahead and pass the buck. Now, I agree with you. Why would anybody from LSU complain? He helped bring him a national championship about 20 years ago.

There's nothing to whine or complain about in that regard. We just know, I think at this point in time, he's more closely associated with Alabama. That's just what it is. I mean, I can look at Steve Sperry. Are you thinking about him as a Gamecock, or are you thinking about him, you know, in Gainesville with the Gators?

And so, you can't complain about Nick Saban, unless you're a Dolphins fan. That much, I understand. 855-212-4CBS, Jack is here from Boston. You're on the JR Sport Reshow. What's up, Jack?

Hey, how's it going, JR? I just wanted to say I'm super thankful to be a part of the show, and I just finished watching this Pelicans-Grizzly game, and you know, no Zion playing. I was very confused on why Ja wouldn't step up. You know, only three assists tonight. He really wasn't, you know, I just don't think he's the type of player that can make his teammates better. He's a fantastic scorer, fantastic, you know, rim finisher. But I just think in the grand scope of things, he's just not the type of guy you want to lead your team.

Thoughts? I would think quite the opposite. I would think quite the opposite. He is a rarity in the NBA. He's a rarity in basketball.

I mean, we can think about generations. The NBA has been around now for a little more than 75 years. And you can probably look through the history of the league and pinpoint athletes and stars who are that guy. And when I say that guy, I'm talking about just being a straight killer. No fear, no thought process of I need a buddy, I need a friend.

Just go out there and get it. If you want to think about recent history, you can look at guys like Allen Iverson. You can look at someone like Kevin Garnett. You can obviously look at a Kobe Bryant. You can look at a Michael Jordan. John Marant, Giannis Ietetokounmpo is in that space. I don't care what people think. I'm just going to get it.

I'm going to destroy you. John Marant is one of those guys. He is a limited type of player.

You're not going to find these dudes growing on trees. And so I would really disagree. And I mean, looking at the stat sheet and you saying you don't think he's the guy.

I mean, tonight I would consider this a good line. He's a scorer first. Yeah, he's the point guard. He had four assists, 36 points, eight rebounds. He shot almost 50 percent from the field.

He was two of six from downtown. Three-point shooting is not his forte. He has improved.

I don't know why any team would not want a John Marant. He's the guy who will just go and get it. No, yeah, I absolutely agree, JR. I mean, everything you said is correct.

He is the truth. But I just think on the grand scope of things, you know, you look at him as this athletic point guard. We've seen guys like this in the past, you know, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook.

They're electrifying. They can win games. But I just think when it comes down to it, I don't think he has the skill set to make his teammates better and elevate them when it matters the most, like tonight.

I don't think so. I mean, we can disagree. That's perfectly fine.

That's fair. Derrick Rose played on an excellent team. And there's no doubt if the Chicago Bulls were able to mature with him as the leader, if it wasn't for his injuries, they look like they were destined to win a championship.

Maybe more than one. I wouldn't put Derrick Rose in that category. Who was the other guy that you mentioned, Russell Westbrook? Russell Westbrook is someone who unfortunately has been the same player the entirety of his career.

We've seen the entire stretch of it. And so what he's done is just be inefficient. Ja Morant is only 23 years old and we've already seen the improvements in his game. And so if I want to look at someone who's stubborn like Russell Westbrook, who's been proven to be a stat hunter. If I want to look at an injured Derrick Rose, I'm not going to put Ja Morant in that category. Because we've already seen a lot here over the past just couple of seasons. He's only 23.

And I'll put it to you this way in the simplest form. There was a guy, his name was Kobe Bryant. People would look at him and say, he doesn't make anybody better. All he does is shoot. He doesn't do this for his teammates. Ja Morant plays on an excellent team that even when he is not available, they're still able to go out there and step up.

And so I think the sky's the limit for him. And I don't think you'd be able to identify a general manager in the league dating back to when he was in college. He's a finisher. The NBA does not have finishers. You can look at him just as a prototypical quote unquote point guard.

He's a killer. It's his job to go out there and get buckets and score. I could say the same thing about Allen Iverson. It wasn't Allen Iverson's job to go out there and quote unquote, you know, make guys better. It was his job to go out there and slaughter guys because they are very few of those dudes who exist in the NBA where you have the ball in your hands and you can just go and get it. That's why he's valuable. And that's why I think they have a good chance growing into the future. Thank you, Jack, for calling up from Boston, but you did make an excellent point here. Kudos to the Pelicans for another victory.

They've proven that they know how to go out there and win without Zion Williamson, who I believe tonight was out with a foot injury. And if you think about the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram, nobody ever talks about this man because he doesn't talk. He doesn't speak. He doesn't tweet.

You probably don't know what the man sounds like. He is an All-Star caliber scorer. Tonight, CJ McCollum went off for 13 points. Larry Nance off the bench.

What a shock. He had 20. Jose Alvarado, a pain in the ass, had 12 points. And so the Pelicans are good. I think all anybody would ever want is for Zion to stay healthy. And I think hopefully tonight was just a blip on the radar for Zion Williamson because we know he's going to miss some games here or there.

That's just what you're signing up for. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. On the other side of the break, I'll continue to take your calls. I unfortunately have to tell you about some injuries in the NFL. We'll talk about some disappointing quarterbacks. And of course, if you've got thoughts on Saban, we can talk about those two.

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