Chris “Mad Dog” Russo: the Celtics will win the next 2 series

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Find out how to bring your ideas to life at dell.com. Welcome to Now. All that matters now is what happens next. The Stanley Cup playoffs.

Eastern Conference Final begins Wednesday. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Rich Eisen Show. And we thank you for sharing that with us.

With guest host, Suzy Schuster, live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Why does everyone hate Jason Tatum? Why does everybody from Boston think everybody hates him? Everybody hates everybody.

He is the most disrespected superstar. Today's guest, radio and sports talk icon, Chris Mad Dog Russo. Senior NBA writer for The Ringer, Howard Beck, NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Suzy Schuster. What an awesome Tuesday line up, if I have to say so myself. Suzy Schuster in for Rich Eisen. Rich taking a well-deserved day off.

Missed a hole in one by this much yesterday. I have photographic evidence to show you at some point during this show. I have a lot to share with you today.

I have to tell you why I'm such a great driver, but that is a whole different conversation. You'll have to stay put for all three hours of The Rich Eisen Show. And also, as I always say, the callers take precedent on the show when I am in the chair. Everybody who calls in to do win-loss is going to be heard. We did so many win-losses yesterday. We did. Ten. Ten yesterday. We are all so very bad at reading the laminated schedule.

It is so small. Alright, here's what we did. We did Bills, Dolphins, Steelers, Cardinals, Lions, Texans, Jets, Vikings, Chargers and Bears. And guess what? Everyone thinks their team is going to win ten games.

I mean, TJ, I want someone to come in and call us, 844-204-rich, and be like, we're going 5 and 12. We suck. By the way, that's what I would say about the Patriots.

If I were doing win-loss, I'd be like, we're in the toilet. What's the point? Somebody is so funny.

Again, I rarely look at comments, but I did yesterday out of curiosity. And somebody said Susie's beanerism is showing through about Boston. I'm like, what are you talking about? It's going to be awful. We're going to stink.

We're lucky if we win two games. All right, people, two. There's no homeroom here.

There's just anger and resentment. Hi, TJ. How are you?

The candle is lit. Good morning. I'm great. You know, what's funny about that, Chris, is like every year people want to act like Cowboy fans are so like ridiculous because they think their team is going to be good every year. And we were not. And yet everyone who calls in thinks their team is going to be really good. So is it just us or is it you? My man. I mean, America, I think he was so nice.

Jason in New Mexico. He thinks the Vikings are going to go 11 and six. And at one point they win nine out of 10 games. Let me tell you what ain't happened. But Cowboys fans are delusional. Let me tell you what ain't happening.

The Vikings winning nine out of 10 games next year. No, but what's more likely? And again, I tend to forget what day it is. What day is it Tuesday?

Thank you. Hi, Mikey. What's more likely? The Vikings win that many games or J.J. McCarthy takes over week two. I think he said week five, McCarthy. I'm going week two.

Then he said Cousins was getting benched after they beat the Falcons in like week 14 or something. I don't know. Well, we have a great line of people as they move on from that. Call us. They're already with Adam. Adam sits back there, people. You know what I mean? Oh, my God. I love this.

It's so fun. You can't say everyone who calls is getting through because we can't get it. We only have six lines. But we do. We do. We are cycling through a lot of really great calls.

We do churn through. May I tell you who will be on the show? Christopher Russo. I know.

You should tell them. Christopher, I'd like to talk to you because you are the color commentator of the Rich Eisen Show. Christopher Russo joins us, and I bring him back just because, number one, he's great. And, number two, my brother Scott loves listening to him. Half the time, my book with my brother Scott in mind. Half the time.

Three-quarters of the time. Who are we kidding? Christopher Russo will join us first. Howard Beck from The Ringer will be joining us as well. My old friend, he and I covered the Lakers, the lake show when they were good back in the day together, which was really fun.

I love talking to him. And Stacey Dales because I think there's a funny comparison to be made with Caleb Williams and with a certain woman who is supposed to take over the WNBA for the fever that are starting 0-4, so we'll talk Caitlin as well. There's a crazy comparison to be made there. Go with me for that, Kristin. I know you're looking at me like, well, your furrow in the brow is a little extreme.

Furrowing? I want to see where you're going, how you get there, how you connect the dots. And if you're nice, I'll take you there with me. Oh, thank you. Because I'm an excellent driver.

Like BB and CC. I'll take you there. Should I count? Literally, that's the 20th time she's said that this morning. Before we get to the fact that there is an NBA conference game to be played tonight with the Celtics and the Pacers, just to let you know what's been happening behind the scenes here.

We've been here a very early start today. Threatening to say that I'm a bad driver on the air. You think I'm a bad driver? Why? Because I drive with my foot up on the dashboard sometimes?

No, no, no, no, no. I don't think, again, I've never driven with you. I imagine we probably drive very similarly, being from a certain part of the country. I think you're a bad driver because you've said no less than 20 times in the last hour how great you are at it.

I'm a really great driver. It's like when you see a movie and you're just sitting around in the trailers and the billboards and the stars are doing interviews everywhere. The movie stinks. They're trying to hammer home, go see this movie.

That means it's terrible. Don't let the condition of my car affect what kind of driver you think I am. Walter Payton, when you're good, you tell people.

When you're great, they tell you. Hmm. Interesting. Okay, fine. I'm still a great driver, but let's talk about basketball.

That's three already. This is like yesterday you wanted to talk about hair. Yesterday he was like, can we stop talking about all this girly stuff and actually talk about basketball? He's kind of obsessed with hair.

TJ, let's just ignore him, right? Speaking of hair, poor Rich. He's like, what are you doing to my show? In the third hour, we're going to look at some questionable hairdos coming out of the National Football League these days.

Are they real or are they Maybelline? This is a Joe Burrell picture going around last night. We've got to break this down. We can't get to it now before basketball. I still don't know. It's fantastic.

It's not real. Come on. And then I went down a rabbit hole of all sorts of crazy dos in the NFL. So top of hour three. Where are you going? If you're on Roku, just get a second cup of coffee. Stay with us for the entirety of the show. Radio, you're in the car. You're in traffic. You're working somewhere. Where you got to go? We've got three hours of show for you.

We're playing win-loss, people. Call Adam. Let's go.

I'd like to flip my computer up to take a look and see what's going on. 844. 204 Rich.

204 Rich. Do the Twitter thing. You can send something. I'm not on social media, so again, my hands are tied behind my back.

God knows Rich would be scared to death if I actually had a Twitter account that I would use. That said, we will ask Christopher Russo right off the bat when he joins us at 920 if Jason Tatum is the most under-respected superstar there is, because that's what's on Chris Brockman's mind, as we look ahead to this first game tonight, 5 o'clock Pacific, 8 o'clock Eastern, which is just too late. It's too late for the East Coast. Too late for the East Coast. I love it out here. Anybody who comes out here is so excited to watch a game because it's early.

But 8 o'clock on the East Coast, I know that my family will be at that game. God knows. But you know, Chris stops Porzingis, going to miss the first two games. Pacer's looking hot. Tyrese Halliburton coming off that game with a choke jersey, with the choke sweatshirt. Who's got the momentum?

We'll ask a couple guys coming up on the show. I'm excited. I'm excited, TJ, because we've got, we're going to have a new champ. That's always exciting when there's no repeat champ. It's also guys that haven't won in a while. Timberwolves have never won, Pacers I don't think have ever won. The Mavericks last won with Dirk over 10 years ago, right? And the Celtics, it's been 15, 16 years since they've won a championship. And we've got all these young superstars kind of gunning for their first title. Talk about Tatum and Halliburton and Luka, Kyrie hasn't won since 2016. Who am I missing?

Oh, of course, Anthony Edwards, the man that's taken over the playoffs. And Kat, I'm really excited. I think it's going to be a really fun conference championship on both sides. Wolves are slightly favored in the West. Celtics, massive favorites in the East. Can they finally get it done?

I'm super jacked up. They're going to do something stupid. They're going to give away a game or two. I expect them to reach the finals. And then who comes out of the West?

That's going to be the great question. It's going to be great. It's going to be great fun two weeks. By the way, I expect that to go seven.

I really do. I think it's going to go seven. Pacers, Celtics or T-Wolves?

I think Pacers, Celtics go seven. You know, I was reading Harold Bryant for me has been had a good line. He mentioned, let's see, they've backed up a dominant 64 win season with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third straight year, something Boston hadn't done since Larry Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale did it five years in a row. That's my Celtics childhood right there. Yeah. Right. I mean, so I still I looked at those numbers and I thought, God, I feel like the Celtics are in the news every year, but it's just been so long and it feels like they're always right there.

They're always right there. Well, ask Christopher Russo whether Jason Tatum is the most under respected or unrespected. Disrespected. Disrespected. Disrespected. I have a league degree is really coming in handy this morning, disrespected player of recent history.

What are your thoughts, T.J.? Well, I mean, more so, Brockman knows I can't talk about Tatum. I have this thing because the Sixers had the first pick his is the year he was coming out that we traded to pick to Boston. We traded our pick to Boston.

We took folks with number one. Tatum goes three. I said at the time that was a mistake that's going to haunt the Sixers for the next two, three decades.

And it's proven to be right. So I just every time I'd see Jason Tatum do something, it just hurts my soul. But I got to ask you guys, the Celtics fans, this looks pretty much been on cruise control for the better part of this season, right?

You jumped out. You had a huge lead. You've won both of your series four games to one. So the question is, like, was the last time the Celtics really had any pressure on them to win a game?

They haven't really played a meet. I mean, obviously, obviously the playoff games were meaningful, right? I'm saying, like, you had such a big lead in the last month, six weeks of the regular season. They kind of were like playing around with lineups, kind of super coasting coasting.

You've been just crushing. I'm looking for one against Miami's for one against the Cavs. Think about the two games that they lost to Miami and in Cleveland. Those teams shot historically great that night.

But they he'd had what, twenty three or it was the greatest shooting night of their franchise. And same thing with with Cleveland. My thing being now you have the Pacers, right? A wake up call.

Yeah. The Pacers had to scrap, man. They had to hold off the Sixers for the set for the for their spot because the Sixers were coming, bringing them down their necks.

They've had to fight through every round of this playoffs. They're on kind of. I'd say, yeah, I think it's safe to say they're on fire right now.

Right. They're there. They're playing the teams. They're on a bit of a roll. They've got momentum. Are you worried as Celtics fans that because you guys have largely been coasting this whole year now, you're playing a team that is rolling, is hungry, does have some momentum. Is that I don't like too much rest, T.J., I don't like too much rest. I think rest leads to complacency. And I feel like when a team like Indiana comes off of a game seven win in Madison Square Garden with that momentum that they have, it makes them very dangerous and very angry.

That's what I'm saying. And I really feel strongly that as the although the Celtics need the rest for Chris stops and they need him back and he still is going to be out, like we said, two more games, I get really nervous. I expect them to be slightly I mean, they should be amped up coming into game one.

It is at home. They should. But aren't you kind of concerned sometimes you get a little a little softer in the middle. Let me know if I'm off on that assessment. Now, I've been watching this team as constructed.

Not really. I mean, with the two with the Jays, you know, since twenty eighteen again, famously, I'm at game seven and eighteen against the Cavs, where they have double-digit lead and they blow it because they can't hit a shot. Terre-Rouzier goes ice cold.

They do a lot of dumb things. And when the playoffs, Jalen Brown can't make free throws, can't dribble with his left hand. Tatum just takes fadeaways. Not aggressive. The dude can get any shot he wants at any point.

He's a top five player in the league. Be honest with yourself, people. And I just want to see them just go nuts and just play well at home. They struggle at home in the playoffs. It's just really weird.

And they do a lot of dumb stuff. And I'm really worried. I'm really worried about playing a pacer team that's got nothing to lose, massive underdogs. They take out the Knicks the way that they did. And you know, everyone just saying, oh, this is the easiest path. The Celtics have had the easiest path of any team to make the finals in NBA history with Giannis out and Bede out and the Knicks go down.

And there's just so much chatter from above about how easy the path is and how if they don't win it, they're just choke artists. Sixty-four win season. Yeah, Boston. Boston was seventeen games better than and beat three or four times Indiana.

Everybody. You sweep them and get it over with and go to the finals and be like, OK, who's coming? They're not going to sweep, though. You think they're going to sweep? There's no chance. They should.

They should. But I don't think they will. They're so much better than Indiana that the series shouldn't be close. It's a 10 point favorite spread tonight. This game should not be close. Also Halliburton, I think he has his if I'm not mistaken, his lowest points per game against any team is against the Celtics.

Great. That means he's going to 40 tonight. You know, it's so funny because in so many ways, that's just an angry East Coast person talking. But there's also a reality to that. I just think oftentimes players like that come in and they play their best games when they're expected to play their worst.

I mean, that's just that's a little bit of Murphy's Law. And I think he look, he's got this stage. This is what makes the two conference championships so interesting. All of these young guys who want to show I'm next, I got next.

I want to be the face of the NBA. And I know that it's not like he's a rookie. It's not like he's Anthony Edwards, where he's like a 22 year old fresh face kid. But it'd be great if Tatum would be like, look, I'm sick of Anthony Edwards. Like I've been hearing about this guy for two weeks.

Like, I'm here. I've been first team all NBA twice. I'm the leader of the Boston Celtics. I've had 51 points in a game seven. Well then you better win in four. I'm going to show it tonight. It'd be great if that happened tonight.

To say that I'm expecting it. Yeah, no chance. Don't be insane. Don't have a bucket between your legs. Are you kidding?

It's five o'clock. I don't want to be anywhere near him. I totally agree.

And then let's flip to the other conference, because obviously that game is on Wednesday. And one of the things that I want to talk to Christopher Russo about, and probably Howard Beck as well, is this reinvention of Kyrie Irving as the dependent, as the battery mate, you might even say, in Dallas. And how he's become Mr.

Reliable over there. I mean, this is a guy who kind of reinvents like Madonna. You know, when he went to the Mavs, and we talked about this a little bit yesterday, nobody thought this was going to work. And for a while last year, it looked like it wasn't going to. But these guys have turned this around.

And Luca is playing on seemingly like one leg right now. They've got these guys, like the Derek Lively coming out of nowhere. And you know, against the Clippers, they even turned into Lob City a little bit. So they've got some very athletic bigs, Gafford and Lively. And you know, when you've got Luca and Kyrie to really hold it all together, like this Mavs team, I don't think on paper is very sexy outside of those two.

But it's pretty well constructed and they're rolling right now. And we know what the Timberwolves have done, we just really got done watching them pull up maybe the biggest upset in the playoffs. So this this series, man, it's it's going to be exciting because I don't think any of us truly know who's going to come out of this on top. I suspect another seven game series and I'm with you there. I'm with you.

There's going to be fun, man. I'm really, really, really despite the fact that, you know, Dallas took the Clippers out. I'm really looking forward to this series because, Chris, you said superstars. I don't think these guys are superstars yet.

I think they start like Luca is a star and Luca is not a superstar. I feel like you become a superstar when you win a championship. OK, that's kind of like I feel like once you reach the top of the mountain, then that makes you win an MVP, win a championship star. At this point, the stars like Anthony Edwards is a riding a rising star, but that's a championship.

You reach the top of the mountain. That's what makes you the household name, the worldwide household name. That's what makes you a superstar. And I feel like we're going to crown a new superstar when this is all said and done. And as a basketball fan, you've you've got to appreciate that, you know, the old regime is out.

Let's just be honest. Lebron, Steph, Katie, like the time that stands in that hourglass is only a few left. It's time to flip it over, get some new studs, some new kids out there balling. And I think we've got it right now. And it's a great time to be an NBA fan. We've got a little Days of Our Lives reference in there, too, TJ.

All right. Let's take a break when we come back. Christopher Russo joins us here on The Rich Eisen Show. Thrilled to have him on. Let's ask him these questions. We have the perfect first guest for the show, I think, today because he's a guy without an opinion ever.

Christopher Mad Dog Russo joins us ahead right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk sleep number, people, because quality sleep is so essential. That's why the Sleep Number Smart Bed is dissolved for your ever evolving sleep needs. And the same thing for your partner, so you can choose what's right for each of you whenever you like.

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Power 2023 award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards only at a sleep number store or sleepnumber.com. Afford Anything talks about how to avoid common pitfalls, how to refine your mental models and how to think about how to think. Paula, while certainly you can mess up on a million dollars a year, it is far less likely than it is on thirty thousand dollars a year, right? I would meet wonderful people that were struggling with a budget that was super tight.

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Just call click Grainger dot com or just stop by. Christopher Russo joins us momentarily. We'll be waiting to talk to him.

I want to ask him what he thinks about. Does it take a championship to crown somebody a superstar? I think it's a really good question, TJ. I mean, I think there's so many guys we want to see our ascendant. So, you know, maybe I'm wrong.

I think you have to win. Well, I really think that means you're just calling your own favorite player, not a superstar. That's fine.

OK. I mean, Kawhi's my favorite. He's one title. I would say he's a superstar. He's won two. He's won two finals MVPs like that's a superstar to me.

And I just feel like if you were to pull most people, that's how they would feel. I could be wrong. Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe that's just my definition. Is it regular season MVP or finals MVP? Because like Andre Igo Dalla, is he a superstar? No, he's not a superstar. He wasn't the star. I mean, finals MVP and a champion.

He was. But did he step that was Steph Curry. Like, let's be honest, not a finals MVP. We all kind of think Steph should have won.

And let's be honest, LeBron should have won MVP that year in that in a losing effort should have been MVP in the finals. Jerry West situation. That's what I think. But hey, I'm sure. Look, I'm sure Twitter and people would call. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't know.

What do you guys think? Call us. Let's talk about it. Eight, four, four, two or four. Rich is the number to call.

In fact, in the lines, as Richard say, are lit, which is so awesome. And we're going to get to all of these. I'd like I like as we have Colts win loss.

Here we are. Fox Rams. Rams.

Broncos right now. Yeah, we can try them all. That's fun. I mean, I want to empty them all. God, I was almost thinking. Should we take one right now before we wait for Chris Russo to join us? Let's take one right now.

Let's go with. How about Cody and Indianapolis Colts win loss, Cody. Hey, you on Cody. Are you there?

We got to go fast. Hello, Cody. You with us? Hey, how are you doing?

Hey, how are you? We're going to do a rapid fire before Christopher Russo joins us. So you ready to go? Sounds good. Let's do it. All right. I'm sorry.

Can I have can I ask for TJ since I know we're playing the Patriots? Yeah. Yeah.

I don't want to offend you guys. By the way. Loss loss. OK, Cody. Loss loss. All right. TJ week one. All right.

Code dog. Let's do this. We're doing this fast guys. All right. I got the cold.

All right. Week two at the Packers. Loss loss. Week three hosting the Bears. When week for the Steelers. I think that's a close one, but I think that's also a W. OK. We five you had your at Jacksonville that the Jaguars. That's never good for us.

So that's an L. OK. All right. Titans. Week six.

When? Weeks. Dolphins. Week seven.

Man, they're fast. I think we can compete, but I'm going to go with an L. OK. At the Texans. Week eight. This is going to be a bold take, but I think we sweep the Texans.

All right. Week nine at Minnesota. When? Week 10 Buffalo home game. Loss loss of 11 at the Jets. Week 11 at the Jets Sunday Night Football. I'm actually going to try to go to this game, and I think it's actually going to be an L, unfortunately.

All right. We got to power through these at a cook lines. Week 12. Lions loss Patriots. Sweep 13. On the road.

W W. You got to buy. Then you're at the Broncos. When? Tennessee at home. Sweep the Titans. At the Giants. When? And you end up with the Jaguars again.

We always seem to struggle against Jacksonville, so I'll give us an L there. All right. Thanks, Cody. Really appreciate it. Thanks, Cody. Thanks, Cody. Thank you so much for coming back on.

Appreciate your time. Hello, Susie. How are you today? Things good? I'm so good. I'm better for you being here. So thanks again. I mean, I really appreciate it as always.

Let's get right into it. Does Jason Tatum have the chip? Does he have what it takes to be clutch and lead his team to a championship? Well, he's got a lot of good players with him. So, I mean, he can maybe have an off day, and somebody can pick up the slack.

They are the prohibitive things. They're the ones that are going to be the ones that are going to be the ones that are going to be the ones that are going to be the ones that are going to be the ones that are going to be the ones that are going to need something better than Miami, and Cleveland did probably win a home game, which is where the Heat and the Cavs didn't do. But you gotta like the Celtics in six. Minnesota Dallas is a very hard series. I think that's going right down to a seventh game. You know, Irving and Doncich, I like the offense, but I love Minnesota's defense, tricky to call, but the Celtics, Sue, should be favored against them with the home court.

I would be surprised right now. Now, Denver would have been different, but you have to think the Celtics will win these next two series and probably not have to play a game seven. So, you know, does Tatum have to be great to do that? No, they have his good games, they have the occasional bad one, but they're not playing a dominant team. Steph Curry is not on the other side. They got Przingis, he's got Jalen Brown, he's got a lot of players.

You know, I would be... They win, he won't necessarily be great, and the Celtics will probably win these next two series without playing a game seven. Who's got the advantage, though, if you look at, like, Rick Carlisle or Joe Mazzullo? Who's the better coach there? Oh, Carlisle.

I mean, Mazzullo, I'm not in love with. They shoot way too many threes. They're sloppy at home. Last year, lost to Miami, which was terrible. No, Carlisle's a big coach.

He's won a championship. Now, listen, Indiana, you know, I don't know how to read this win against the Knicks. Give them credit. They played great on Sunday. They shot 76% in the first quarter. I mean, they scored a million points. They played a great game. But the Knicks were unbelievably compromised with injury.

So, I mean, it's got to be a little asterisk next to it. But Indiana's done a heck of a job. You know, they've been lucky because obviously, you know, Giannis and two games were missed with Lillard in the Bucks series, and the Knicks were all banged up.

But, you know, it's not the patient's fault. They go out there, and they beat the teams that's in front of them. But Carlisle gets a huge advantage.

I mean, big advantage. And Carlisle did a good job, Susie, in that last series because after game five, he made sure that he told everybody how embarrassed he was with the Knicks' toughness, their loose ball ability, getting all those loose balls and rebounding. And the message got, you know, they heard that message because in the next two games, they did a very good job in the intangible aspect of the game, rebounding loose balls, toughness. The Pacers were good in game six and seven. And Carlisle sent that message after game five. So he gets the big advantage of the CELTA coach in this series. Christopher Russo joins us here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Susie Schuster in for Rich. Who's got more pressure to win on them, a championship this year, the Dodgers or the Celtics? That's a good question.

That's a very good question. I would say because Otani is not pitching, and they got him for a long period of time, and the Celtics are set up, and they won a million championships, and they should win, I would probably say Boston. And baseball is very unpredictable in the postseason because the best team always doesn't win, which is why the postseason in baseball is great because there's no, look at the Diamondbacks last year, look at Texas, all those road wins. Boston is the best team. They should win. That's a very good one, Susie, but I'll say the Celtics based on the idea, you know, that the best team usually wins the series and usually ends up prevailing in the NBA.

So I'll say Boston. As for the Western, I'm intrigued with the Kyrie reinvention. I said to him earlier in the show, it's kind of like he's got this Madonna-like ability to reinvent. Now he's Mr. Dependability in Dallas. What do you think about that situation of him and Doncic playing together and kind of Kyrie becoming this Kyrie 3.0? Yeah, he'd done a very good job, and he played very well in the second half in game six against Oklahoma City. They're gonna need his offense in this next series because you gotta remember, you gotta figure Doncic and Anthony Edwards are gonna cancel each other out. And I think that Minnesota's offense could be a little shaky. You know, they need Anthony Townsend and Nazvi to make threes, and Kyrie could score 40 any game. So I think that's the Mavericks' advantage in this series is, you know, their offense in the backcourt.

I could see Minnesota at times struggling to put the ball in the basket. You know, listen, I'm not a huge Irving fan, but he won a championship for Cleveland with LeBron with that jumper that he made in game seven, an unbelievably tough shot. He's a great, great player. You know, he's weird, but he's a great player. And he's got a chance here to get to a final after some, you know, uncharacteristic issues in New York where he didn't play with the COVID, no vaccine. They lost with Durant and everything else. He was not good in Brooklyn.

He got a second life, as you said, 3.0. He's done a good job, and he's dangerous. He's a great offensive player. He puts the ball in the basket. When you have to put the ball in the basket, you have to play enough, decent enough on defense. He's a great player. And, you know, give him credit, too. He went to Dallas, and him and Donkic have done a good job of understanding each his role and blending in with one another when they're both kind of alpha males. So he gets credit for that, too.

So give him credit. And they got a chance to win that series. I mean, you know, they're a slight underdog. They're a plus 140, which, you know, no, they're a little more than that. They're plus 165, more than a slight underdog.

They're a moderate underdog. I'd take them. I think that's worth it. Now, you know, taking Dallas at a plus 165, that's gonna be a long series. That might be worth it. Give the Mavericks a chance here, a fighting chance against Minnesota.

Fighting chance. And then there's the whole world is flat routine, too, as well, but- Yeah, I mean, you can't, yeah. You can't take him serious. He's nuts. You can't take, I can't listen to him.

The world is flat. That was funny. Doesn't take the vaccine shot. Heard his team missed 29 games. Listen, I wouldn't want to have a dinner conversation with him, but as far as his basketball playing ability, he's a hell of a player. Who are the players that have driven you nuts the most in your career?

Nuts, like an urban kind of thing? Yeah, I can't even take it. You know, Marcus Stroman has a lot to say, and I'm not a big fan of him. He's a good pitcher, though. He's a good competitor.

That would be one. Boy, who is up and down? You know, the thing that drives you crazy are the players who are up and down. You know, you can't count on them on a game-in, game-out basis. You know, Larry Bird was a trash talker, and he was a tough son of a gun, but you knew what you were getting, and then he delivered, so you liked it. Pippen sometimes drove me crazy. Couldn't score in the fourth quarter of the big game, which always drove me nuts. You know, I don't like players who talk a lot and then can't back it up.

That always drives you nuts from that perspective. I don't know if there's anybody in particular who I can think of top of my head who I just can't deal with. Irving is a perfect example. You know, I like to see Durant take ownership of fire on all these coaches. Atkinson, Vogel, Nash. If he wanted to keep Vogel, he could've made sure that Vogel stayed. Same with Nash and Atkinson with Brooklyn.

That drives me crazy. And the funny thing is, I remember at the time, and I was one of them, 81, when Magic got Westhead fired with the Lakers, everybody killed Magic. And Magic did not back down. He said, you know, I don't want him coaching me. This is not the right coach for this team. And Magic took it all on himself. They brought Riley in, and it was a great relationship.

They won all those championships. If you want to fire somebody, come out and say it. A lot of these coaches, a lot of these great stars, they don't want to play for a coach, but they don't want blood on their hands when franchises get rid of the coach. You know, look at Platt with LeBron in Cleveland. Look at Vogel in L.A. with LeBron.

Now you're throwing ham. By their actions and how they play and by their silence, they tell you they don't want the coach, when in fact, in certain situations, they can keep the coach because obviously a team isn't going to fire a coach who their big star wants to play for. And Magic is one who told everybody, I don't want to play for West Ham. They fired him, they brought Riley, and they won all those championships. So I give Magic credit for that in the long run. Well, it'll be curious to see who the Lakers bring in then.

You took away my follow-up. The minute you were talking about that, I thought it was he talking about Magic or LeBron there. It's kind of funny there. What about Aaron Rodgers? Listen, LeBron's great. You know, Rodgers is a good one, Suzy.

I didn't think of him. Rodgers drives you crazy. The problem with Rodgers is Rodgers thinks he's the smartest guy in the room.

He's not. Rodgers thinks that I know more about the world than you do. And you know, here's what I like Rodgers to do. Am I blaming him last year?

That injury is that injury. Here's what I want Rodgers to do. He's won one Super Bowl a long, long time ago, and has been very spotty in the big game. He was bad against San Francisco.

He was bad against Tampa. Here's what I want Aaron to do. How about Aaron this year, keep his mouth shut, no hard knocks, go out there, lead the Jets to 12-13 wins, and challenge the Chiefs to win it all.

How about that? How about Rodgers just do that? Not necessarily go on Pat McAfee every Tuesday to tell us what he thinks about the world, because quite frankly, I'm not that, well, listen, we're all interested because it's Aaron Rodgers, but I can live if I don't hear Aaron Rodgers for 25 minutes every Tuesday. Here's what I want Rodgers to do. Here's what Jet fans want Rodgers to do. Play the game, play the games on Sunday and Monday, play well, handle the media, and that's enough.

That's what I want Rodgers to do. I don't need to hear his world thoughts on Ukraine, China. I'm not interested.

Vaccine, I'm not interested. Play good football in a big game, which he has not done for the Packers in recent year. That's what I want to see done. What did you think of the Jets' schedule when it was released? It was funny. We had my, I'm sure you guys had them too, we had Mike North on. They're on the six games in the first 11 weeks of the year. San Francisco and Tennessee on the road to start the year. They got a tough finish with Miami and Buffalo, but there are six teams that play three games in 10 days, so they're not the only one. If they can get by those first few weeks, look at their last six, seven games here. Seattle, not impossible. Miami twice. At Jacksonville, the Rams. I mean, listen, they got a pretty hard, come to think of it, but those two games before that, they should win in Indiana and Arizona before they're by. Listen, he's a big star.

It's New York City. Last year he got hurt when they were on all those games as well, Black Friday and what have you. I think he'd be healthy. I think the Jets would be good. They got a good defense, big year for Salah. They got wide, Mike Williams will help them. They got a nice haul, good running back. They should win 11 games.

Now, the division isn't easy, but because Buffalo and Miami are pretty good, they should win 11, 12 games, Susie, and they should be a big factor in the postseason. Really should be. You think Caleb Williams comes out and he's the chosen one, or you think he stumbles?

That's a good question, too. You know, he almost at times creates his own chaos, turns the ball over a lot, runs a little too much. I remember some scenario when he was at Oklahoma against Oklahoma State, things they didn't love, but then other times you see him, he plays great. I would not be, and a USC quarterback has not been great. Pat Hayden wasn't great, Leinart wasn't great. Carson Palmer wasn't great.

Sanchez wasn't great. The USC quarterback has really not been that great in the NFL, but I think that you gotta figure he's gonna be pretty good. I mean, all three of those quarterbacks, there's no guarantee, you know, they should be, you know, everybody, there's a lot to like about all three of them. I love Panics the best because I saw Panics with that team win a lot of games, despite the Michigan, when he wasn't great.

I'm a big Panics fan and I think Atlanta did the right thing that's me, but you know, listen, Williams will give us a little juice, the Bears have set up, they got a good running back, Swift's good, they got receivers, they got a feisty little nasty defense, division isn't impossible, if not now when as far as the Bears go. Christopher Russo right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's ask a couple of baseball questions in here. I remember when it seemed like Scott Boris had, you know, magic fingers and every time he picked up the phone to call, all the GMs would freak out. And last year it didn't seem like he was as successful as he was before, so what do you think that means for the Yankees and Juan Soto? Will he sign before he gets to free agency or will it go the distance? Well, you know, last year what Scott did, he tried to get great money for good players and he's great with the great player, but you know, Bellinger, Chapman, Snell, these guys are not great players, Jordan, Montgomery, they're not, they're good, but they're not great.

And he wanted big money and he wasn't gonna get it for guys who are just not great. Now Soto's great, he's an all-timer, he'll get a fortune for him, but if I was Soto, and he's already, you know, thrown out the olive branch to Hal Steinbrenner and everything else that, you know, the Yankees in right field, he loves it here, what have you, so maybe they'll get something together. Where is he gonna go? The Dodgers aren't gonna sign him. You know, where is he going to go where he's in a situation where he can win every year with a passionate fan base making $500 million? He can go to the Cubs, but they're not gonna win every year. The Red Sox don't win every year. Cohen's owned the Mets for five years, they've won one playoff game.

Where could he go where he knows on a year-to-year basis he's got a chance to be in the World Series? There's only one team. The Yankees and Dodgers. The Orioles aren't gonna sign them. The Braves are not gonna go in this direction and the Phillies don't need them. So there's only one other team.

It's LA, and I don't think they're gonna sign them. He can go, you know, show his wares to the Cubs, the Giants, Seattle, a team that has a lot of money that needs a big star, fine, but you don't guarantee that you can win it every year. With the Yankees, every year they're in the playoffs. Every year, you know, last year notwithstanding. But for the most part, 99% of the time, every year and they're in the postseason. So if you're a Soto, you'll be silly to close the door on New York.

That's where you should be. They can pay you 450 million, the ballpark suits you, passionate fan base, big cities don't bother them, they get 45,000 a game, and they got a chance to win a championship every single season. It makes perfect sense. I think that the end of the day, that is where he will be. I think the question is, since he doesn't normally do this, could they have a deal done via, before free agency?

That's the question. Will Boris go to free agency just because that's what he usually does to establish a quote-unquote market? Or will Boris realize, you know what, it's the Yankees, they're offering us this, they got Judge Cole, we got a big time team, they're gonna give us plenty, maybe we can get an extra couple of dollars somewhere else, but we're gonna get plenty. He's happy here.

The fans like him. If they're smart, that's what they'll do. So we shall see.

See, that's it. I mean, there's really no place else to go. They've created some kind of crazy super team out here in LA, and I would think that they, if they don't win this year, like what was the whole point of bringing this together? Yeah, well, Otani hasn't pitched, and that's the Dodger excuse.

They're gonna say, well, we didn't have Otani in the mound. And again, right now, Suzy, there are five teams. It's like the Premier League in soccer. There are five teams that can win it at the moment. I mean, I know baseball is unpredictable, so you never know, look at Arizona, but Phillies, Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Atlanta. Those are your five teams.

Everybody else is, you know, eh, is okay. Guardians, Cubs, Brewers. I mean, Arizona, the Giants. Even Seattle, Texas, and the Astros. The five teams right there are the best teams.

I would think one of those five will win a championship. And if you're a Soto, you can go to the Cubs. They have plenty of money.

They need a big star. Wrigley Field, great place to play. The Red Sox would always be in play. You can think about that too. The Mets, Cohen's got more money than anybody, and they're a bad team.

I would not be surprised. But why would you do that when you know the Yankees are gonna pay you this, and you got a chance every year? So you'd stay with the Yankees. The Dodgers' situation, you know, they're gonna have some pressure on them in the postseason because they haven't won since 88.

Let's throw the pandemic aside for a second. They haven't won since 88. They have an incredibly large payroll. The last two years, they got ambushed in a divisional round. It's a, you know, now they don't have Otani pitching, and that's the excuse they'll give you if they lose. But they'll be pressure on the Dodgers in October, and they have not handled that well the last couple years. Let's see how they handle it this year.

Yeah, we need Soto to sign to keep Rich from assuming the fetal position. Thanks again for your time. I love having you on. I really appreciate it. Susie, we love you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it today. Thanks so much, Christopher.

That's Christopher Russo right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's take a break when we come back. It's more win-loss, people.

More win-loss. The phone lines are lit. What's up, everyone? It's Reality Steve, your number one source for all things Bachelor Nation and reality TV. Every day, I'm giving you the behind-the-scenes juice and your info on all your Bachelor Nation stories, and also interviewing some of your favorite reality stars.

My name has been synonymous with spoilers, but I'm so much more than that. Give me a listen. The Reality Steve podcast, part of the Believe Network.

Just search B-L-E-A-V on YouTube or wherever you listen. Ready, set, griddle this grilling season. Get the Weber Slate Rust Resistant Griddle with a carbon steel cooktop that's safe for metal tools. It's pre-seasoned, ready to cook right on top of the box. It's the griddle that stays ready, not rusty. This griddle heats evenly edge to edge.

It'll reach up to 500 degrees. The Weber Works Prep, Cook, and Store system keeps cooking supplies handy, which is great because Rich is the barbecuer in our family, and he's constantly asking me where everything is, and it's in the drawer. He just has to look. Just look, Rich.

Just look. Just look, it's in the drawer. It sits right next to the Tupperware that Chris Brockman stole in return and gave to make his as a present.

You can carry all the food, condiments, and utensils that you need. Get fired up for your new Weber Slate Rust Resistant Griddle. I am psyched to use this. I cannot wait. We're barbecuing this weekend here at our house.

Memorial Day weekend. You're all invited. Come stop by. You're all invited. You're all invited. Come on by. Come on by. Yeah, we're all invited. Come on. Rich will get out the Weber Slate Griddle.

I'm excited for it. TJ, come on by. Monday.

Monday, perhaps. Come on by. Leave your house.

See what happens. Leave your house. I got so many invites to go here. I gotta be there.

I gotta be there. But I'll feed you really, really well. Burgers on the grill, I'm just saying.

Sounds delicious. I will not drive you there. You can drive yourself. Guys, they're all my case. I'm in the chair, guys.

Back off. I'm a great driver. That's the 17th time I've hit it today. Because I one time drove here with my foot on a dashboard, they're wondering if I'm a good driver or not. Well, that's what your husband always says that, you know, he gets nervous when he's in the car.

Like, my favorite thing would be when you guys are driving together, like this picture says. I mean, look, you got one hand on the wheel. So that's fine.

I do look insane in this picture. There's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, I know.

You can do that. Thank you. One hand at 9.30. Come on now. What are you doing?

I'm having a delicious coffee. Teach your kids how to drive like that? Actually, Cooper was like, well, mom, maybe Thelma will teach me how to drive. I was like, what are you talking about? For those of you watching on Roku, and you guys were just watching on Roku all hours and keep watching and it repeats all day, Chris Berman was talking about nicknames. You know, I had a nickname in Bristol. From where? From Berman? Nice.

Wanna take a guess? I don't. Nothing will be appropriate. So why don't you just tell us? All inappropriate.

By the way, I could write a book and I won't. Susie, Simon and Shuster? Close. Wanna take a guess? No, I'm not gonna guess. Susie, don't step on my blue suede Shuster. What?

That's a good one. I bring that up because Mike Chirico will join Amy Trask and me on What the Football today. You'll get to see that wherever you get your podcasts. On the Rich Eisen Show, YouTube, what have you, because we will go down a little bit of ESPN history there with Mikey Chirico.

Excited about that as well. Yeah, but Susie, don't step on my blue suede Shuster. What? We all have Berman nicknames, right?

Like he gave me TJ moving on up Jefferson. That's right. Yeah.

Yeah, I've got stories about ESPN and none of them are appropriate for television. Much more Rich Eisen Show when we come back. Wait, Mikey, did you get one? My God, I don't remember what it was. I remember he gave me one in Houston. He did it. He did it to all of us in Houston. Yeah.

What was yours? Brockman Turner. Brockman Turner overdrive. Okay.

Those are nicknames, man. When we were kids watching that, that was just... It was great. And like Chris said in the clip, maybe I'll throw that up on Twitter, but it's 2.30 in the morning. They're doing the late, late show.

It's like he's trying to entertain himself and stay awake. Right. And they were great. I mean, you guys, doing those shows, I only did one 2 a.m. the entire time I was there.

I had, I was treated with kid gloves. I don't know why, but it was great. I never had to do the really crappy stuff like the 2 a.m. show. But the one time I did it, I did one RPM tonight and I did one... Two night. Two night. And I did one overnight.

And I just thought to myself, TV is not worth it for this. And you're making like 12K probably. I made less than 12K.

I think I made, like, I think I made about 24. I think I went into ESPN at 24 and the PAs below me were angry about it. It's like, I come from a news background. Whatever. I went to the Ivy League.

By the way, we need... It didn't matter. We need Berman back to give out nicknames because nowadays guys' nicknames aren't nicknames. It's like Ant Man is not a nickname. It's literally just a short, short name. It's not cute. It's not cute.

We need Berman to get nicknames. All right, fine. I'll get him back in next time I'm in the chair. All right. All you have to do is ask, T.J. Well, I'm putting in my request now. Okay.

I am picking up what you're putting down. A lot more Rich Eisen show when we come back. Two hours ahead, two hours to go. John brings his skewed sense of humor, Jeff brings tips to cut strokes off your next round. Together, it's those weekend golf guys.

They'll pay a lot of money to PXG and Tylus and Callaway and on and on and on. How many yards do you think you're going to pick up with that extra? I think I can get an extra five to 10. What if I give you a 15 to 20?

You pay me more. Jeff Smith teaches on a sliding scale. Those weekend golf guys, the podcast part of the Believe Network. Just search BLEAV on YouTube or wherever you listen.