Nuggets Became Unlikable Last Night (Hour 1)

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Price and coverage match limited by state law. Hey everyone, Boomer Esiason here. The NFL draft is behind us and your favorite team is now gearing up for week number one. The free Odyssey app puts you right in the middle of the pro football conversation with the biggest sports radio stations from across the country.

The local voices who know your team the best, giving you their unfiltered takes on the current state of your squad. It's always football season right here on the free Odyssey app. Live from the play show, you're not overly ostentatious studios of the Infinity Sports Network. This is a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course streaming live on YouTube. 855-212-4227 is the number to jump on in. 855-212-4227. You could always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Got Stuart Kovacs. Got Moist Mike rocking and rolling with me all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern time, 3 p.m. Pacific today.

Whole lot to do. Sean Merriman's going to stop by at 5 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Pacific, but we got to start off with the most stunning development in the NBA playoffs, and it's the Denver Nuggets are in fact humans, and they are down 0-2 now to the upcoming, rising, potentially soon to be NBA champions as soon as this June in the Minnesota Timberwolves. And I said this before the start of the series, I would not pick against Denver until Denver is out, but the stage being too big was not going to be a reason why Minnesota would lose this series, and I was confident in the abilities of Minnesota, and it's the first time all year heading into a Nuggets game or even a series, you could say, where I'm like, uh-oh, they could be in trouble. But since they're the champs, since they have Nicole Jokic, since they have Jamal Murray, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. But to be down 0-2 and to be down 0-2 when the first two games were on your home court is stunning.

And last night, it wasn't impossible heading into the game for Minnesota to win. But when you find out that Rudy Gobert will not be in attendance for the game because, you know, their family welcomed in a child, you thought to yourself, okay, this is shaping up for a very good bounce back spot by the defending champs. And I was all jacked up last night for the NBA.

Nick's Pacers officiating was a disgrace, but it was a fun game down to the wire. And I was ready to do what men do best, and that's sit on my couch and watch sports. And I was excited for this doubleheader last night in the NBA.

Game one, Pacers and Knicks at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, it delivered. And then I was ready to stay on the couch, watch the game, stay up late, and see the entirety of what I thought was going to be a really damn good game two between Minnesota and Denver, where yes, in all likelihood, Denver was going to find a way to even up this series going back to Minnesota. But last night, that game was over at halftime. And quite frankly, even though a 20-point lead is an insurmountable in the NBA, when it was the end of the first quarter and Minnesota started to show that they were the better team and they were up by eight, I'm like, oh, Denver could be in trouble, but it's an eight-point deficit. And then eight minutes or nine minutes left in the first half, you looked at the scoreboard and boom, the Minnesota Timberwolves were up by 20 points. And I think they had a 26-point lead going into halftime. I did stay around for the third quarter, and I also did stick around for about a few minutes into the fourth quarter, but once it was a few minutes into the fourth quarter and it was evident that there was no chance of a comeback, I was like, all right, I'm going to bed.

I'm going to go catch some Zs and get up early in the morning. But the crazy part about last night, and I'll get to the antics and the stupidity of Jamal Murray in just a second, but going into that game without Rudy without Rudy Gobert, who's probably going to win another defensive player of the year award and him being out. And we know how great Minnesota is defensively, but Gobert not being in the game at all and being out for the game for them to play that well defensively up against Nicole Jokic with Karl-Anthony Towns and Nas Reed, it was really sensational. And those Timberwolves defensively are a bunch of pains in the ass.

They really are. They are just so tenacious and they have an incredible drive and an incredible want to on the defensive side of the court. And the other part is Anthony Edwards offensively got off to a slow start in that game. And it didn't matter because Minnesota is showing you two things. Pound for pound right now, Minnesota is the better team. And not only that, they're the more confident team. Because here's what I'll equate the Denver Nuggets to right now when we get to Jamal Murray in just a second. It's almost like they're the rich kid, right?

They just won the NBA championship, right? The rich kid growing up gets everything he wants in life. And the first time dad or mom says, no, you're kicking, you're screaming, you're throwing a tantrum and you're just showing that you're a spoiled brat. That's what Denver became last night.

They became the spoiled brats. And for the first time, and this is coming from someone who has said that Denver is going to be a championship contender for a long time dating back to 2020. This is the first time Denver's become unlikable. What Jamal Murray did last night, and I never advocate for a suspension in the playoffs, rarely do it. But what he did last night, he deserves to get suspended for a game. You throw a towel at a ref, you throw a heating pad on the court, and then you do the money sign to the officials?

Come on, spineless silver, have a spine. You have to suspend Jamal Murray for a game. And I'm not saying Jamal Murray shouldn't be frustrated. You know, you're mad at the refs, that's one thing, they missed some calls. You're hurt, obviously, you banged up, it's frustrating. You're about to be down 0-2, and I know they were down at the end of the game 0-2 in the series, but at the time about to be 0-2 in the series.

I get being mad. But what he did last night was he acted like a baby. And what he did was unacceptable, and it could have been very dangerous. He threw that heating pad on the court when players were near the basket. Someone could have slipped and rolled an ankle or got hurt and fell and suffered an injury. It just can't happen. And if the NBA doesn't suspend him for at least the game, they're saying players could throw towels at officials and you could throw heating pads at the opposing players.

That just can't happen. You know, I hate to be this guy, and I never defend Draymond Green, but imagine if Draymond Green did that, he would have got a technical, he would have two technicals, he would have been ejected, and he would have been suspended. They didn't even give Murray a technical for all the antics. It's wild. You know, Pat Bev, we all freaked out about him earlier in the week and deservedly so.

Imagine if he did that, they would have thrown those guys out of the game instantly, no questions asked. And how no one gave Murray a technical and how Murray was still in the game after all that jackassery that he displayed last night, disgraceful. And I understand you don't like losing, no one likes losing, but you gotta know how to handle losing because this series shouldn't be over. You're the defending champs. You're down 0-2.

It's a race to four. Yeah, you got punched in the face early on, but their mentality, which is crazy because of how confident I was with Denver heading into this postseason, tells me everything I need to know about them right now. Minnesota is mentally tougher. Minnesota looks like they are the team that just won a championship.

They are confident. They are toying with Denver. And Denver for the first time has no answer, and they're embarrassing themselves. Those antics last night were ridiculous. I don't care where the root of your frustration is, whether it's because of the injury, whether it's because of the officials, whether it's because you're on the verge of going down 0-2, does not matter. You cannot throw a towel at an official. You cannot throw a heating pad on the court when players are in the vicinity.

That just can't happen. And if the NBA doesn't suspend Jamal Murray for at least one, I'm not saying drop the hammer. I'm not saying suspend him for the rest of the series, but just finding him isn't enough. You need to suspend him for a game.

Because then if any other player does something like that, and then you try to suspend that player, you're sitting there saying, well, why the heck did Jamal Murray not get suspended? So a tip of the cap and a job well done, and an ass kicking that was by the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. And I know it's only one win that puts them up 2-0 in the series, but it seemed like a lot more than that. Cuz you got to see a Denver team lose their cool, and a series where we went into saying, would Minnesota be ready for the moment? It's Denver who's not ready for the moment. It's Denver that's acting like a bunch of children. It's Denver that doesn't look like they should be on the basketball court with Minnesota. And I know people that say, well, Murray's not 100%. Well, Rudy Gobert wasn't on the court last night.

And they still embarrassed you in your own building. The series isn't over, cuz it's a race to four. But last night felt like the series was over. That's just the way when I was watching about three quarters and three minutes of that game, that's just a thought that resonated with me. And I never count Denver out.

But it feels like last night, Anthony Edwards was laughing in your face. The Minnesota Timberwolves were dominating you, and they embarrassed Denver. And right now, why should I expect, outside of their reputation in the past, that Denver has it in them to come back? Why would I think a team that looked like a bunch of babies last night, and they didn't know what hit them in the game, and they have to resort to Jamal Murray throwing a heating pad and a towel on the court, why would I think that team's gonna come back? That team is rattled. That team is shook.

That team just got exposed in the first two games. And you see those antics when you don't have a response to what's happening on the court, and you know there's nothing you could do to stop them. For three years, we've been saying, how do you contain Nikola Jokic? How do you slow down the most unstoppable player in the NBA? And Minnesota, they just caused havoc last night without Gobert. Nikola Jokic had 16 points in the game. He looked frustrated. They were just, they were ball hawks defensively.

They didn't give him a second to breathe. And the motor by Minnesota is just phenomenal. And it all goes back to one player. It all goes back to Anthony Edwards, who's turning into, and I say this in a positive way, the baddest dude in the league. And I'll mention the Houston Texans. The Texans, their whole franchise changed when they had a player like CJ Shroud come in and change the mentality. We know Minnesota has had some good players, right? There's a lot more talented players on Minnesota with the Timberwolves than there are the Houston Texans.

I get that. But Anthony Edwards is showing you why he was worth the number one overall pick. Anthony Edwards is showing you why he's that dude. And I don't use comparisons to Michael Jordan very easily. And no one's saying he is Michael Jordan. Get to an NBA Finals first. Win a championship. But he's got to an NBA Finals first. Win a championship.

But he does have a Michael Jordan mentality. And that, to me, changes an entire organization where you could be in and out of the playoffs, and then he starts to get rolling, and then boom. When you least expect it, they definitely could win a championship this year. I said going into this series, the winner of this series wins the championship. Boston should have an easy road in the Easter Conference to get to the Finals. I don't trust Boston, though.

I don't. And no disrespect to OKC or the Mavs, but I look at these two teams. I thought going into last night, I thought going into the series, these are the two best teams in the NBA.

And I gave the benefit of the doubt to Denver as I should. But through these first two games, my oh my, Minnesota is showing you what they did. And I know we could say, oh, it's just the Suns.

They're dysfunctional. But what Minnesota did to the Suns were just the appetizers. Those were very delicious, like the pigs in the blankets whenever you go to a wedding. That's what the Phoenix Suns were to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They feasted on them. And now to take a 2-0 lead up against the defending champs. Man, you told me they'd beat Phoenix in four, and then Denver will see how far this goes. Right then, you'd sign for that in a second. But once you do that, and assuming they do that, everyone's then going to be saying they should go win the NBA championship. And that's not a hot take.

That's not in the moment. They still got to get two more games. But now going back to Minnesota, even with how much respect I have for Denver, does anyone think Denver's taken both in Minnesota?

I don't right now. So I feel like this is going to go back to Denver for three, one in favor of Minnesota. And can Denver win a game five on their home court?

Absolutely. But then Minnesota on their home court for a game six? At this point, it's tough to see this series going past six games. Now, I hope it goes to a game seven.

I want this series to live up to the hype. But what Denver and Jamal Murray specifically displayed to you last night is there are significant problems. And sometimes in sports, there's a great unknown. There's something that's unexpected. We all knew Minnesota was good. But a lot of us didn't know that Minnesota could be great. And what they've done through six games, you don't win a championship six games in, but what they've done six games in, they look great. And right now, they look like they should be the favorites to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network 855212-4227.

Do you think Jamal Murray should be suspended for at least one game? I do. And how much of a chance do you give the Denver Nuggets in coming back and winning four games in this series? Also, we have a poll question out there.

It's on my Twitter at Zach Gelb. We'll get it out on INF Sportsnet as well. Make sure you contribute. How far will the Minnesota Timberwolves make it this season? Denver will come back. Conference Finals, NBA Finals, or winning it all?

Early, early, early returns. 44.8% say NBA Finals. 28.7% say winning it all. 14.9% say Denver will come back and win this series. And then 11.5% just say they're going to the Conference Finals. What say you 855212-4227? This is Zach Gelb showing the Infinity Sports Network. When we come on back, the Pacers got screwed by the refs last night.

And it's okay to omit that and also acknowledge that you also felt good that the Knicks are up 1-0 in the series. I'll tell you why next. Odyssey app. Call from mom. Answer it.

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Minimum $10 per order. Additional terms apply. I got two messages during the break. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. One was a tweet from Troy Miller and he said Murray had a Gelb level meltdown last night when you don't get calls during a pickup basketball game at the JCC with the towel and heating pack. Let me be clear. I never got a technical foul as a player. Referees for some reason adored me because I did the simple thing after the game of thanking the officials which like no kid ever did. But that was the way that I was raised to thank the officials after the game since my dad told me to do it and my mom told me to do it.

That's what I did. So there was a game once like 10th grade where everyone was getting technicals and I was just like bleep it. I kind of want to get a technical here if everyone's getting technicals and I was running my mouth and the referee wouldn't give me a technical because he knew I had a reputation even though I would throw some elbows in the paint and you know set some hard screens as well.

The officials knew I had a reputation of just being a good guy that after the game would thank the officials. Now I did get a technical foul once and it was when I was coaching at a summer camp where the referee and I who was a counselor didn't always see eye to eye so I think he had it out for me and he missed an egregious call and he's like how can you see that? That's what he said to me because I was like you missed the foul call.

He goes how can you see that and I looked at him I said I'm six foot four. I could see everything and the guy said all right I had enough of you and gave me a technical. So never got a technical as a player only got a technical as a coach and no we will not spend the next two and a half hours saying why because I coached effectively at a summer camp. I am not putting my name in the running to be the next coach of the Lakers like Shep would here because he's coached successfully as a JV coach I guess at some high school. I don't know about you guys, Samter and Stu, I kind of want to go to one of Shep's basketball games and see him coach and cover the game.

You know go to one game and cover it as like a media member and just write up an article or do like a little video commentary and give my analysis on Shep the coach or I kind of want to go to the game as a fan and just heckle David Sheppard like join the opposing teams like student section or go behind their bench and just heckle Shep and go after Shep throughout the duration of the game. The other message I got was from my buddy David who said I'm listening to the show he's a big Celtics fan. He goes you're a Celtics hater. He goes you'll be proven wrong come June. How am I a Celtics hater?

First off, I'm wearing like Celtic green today which you can watch on YouTube. I said the Celtics are going to the finals but sorry I'm not slobbering over them 24-7. I'm just saying they won't win the championship. I'm not saying they can't win the championship. Heck, they have an easy road to get to the NBA finals but why should I believe in them when it matters to win four games in the NBA finals?

I just put more trust in the Western Conference right now. It's nothing against Boston. It's not that I hate Boston and I hate this out because I don't but right now with the uncertainty with Kristaps Porzingis who will not play tonight but I don't even think they need him in this series to beat the Cavs. I would not play him up against the Cavs.

I don't think it's crazy or hateful or I'm being overly critical and saying oh Boston's getting to the finals but then they're going to come up short in the NBA finals. Alrighty, let's get to the Pacers and the Knicks last night. What a game.

Fun. Lived up to the hype. I'll start off with a compliment to the Knicks. Devon Chenzo, awesome. Jalen Brunson, Jalen Brunson. This guy's having Michael Jordan's stats now, 40 points each and every night. Josh Hart, how about the motor on that guy? How many times does that dude get an offensive rebound and it's just because of hustle?

It is incredible. The Nova Knicks are sensational with that trio and who would have ever thought they'd be this good in the association where Dante Devon Chenzo could kill you on the defensive end. He could kill you shooting threes.

He could be high flying and dunking the basketball and I thought he was the second biggest player for the Knicks heading into this series. Josh Hart is all heart, pun intended, and then you get to Jalen Brunson. Jalen Brunson's a superstar right now. Jalen Brunson right now is a top 10 player in the NBA and I know Sam and I, we got into a little bit early in the year and I was like, watch out. If you want to go by definition of what MVP is, Jalen Brunson should have been an MVP finalist for the NBA this year.

That's how good he has been and I don't think anyone going into this year would have said he could be a one in the championship team, but he's looking like a guy that can be a one on a championship team right now. But the Pacers last night, it's not the reason why they lost the game, but they did get screwed by the officials in two instances. And I hate to harp on the officials. I hate to just, you know, rag on the zebras because everyone does it. And a lot of times it's really not justified.

It's just like, butthurt fans that they look at something on social media and try to make it a bigger deal than what it actually is. But there were two calls in that game last night that are egregious. How you can't review a kickball violation makes no sense to me. And that kickball violation that should not have been called the kickball violation directly led to the DiVincenzo three. And then you had an offensive foul call on an illegal screen that like you watched a UConn, Iowa game. Remember that women's basketball game, which everyone was freaking out about like there at least was good contact there. I didn't think it should have been called in that moment, but last night that is as soft as an illegal screen call as you're going to see. And then on the next play where the Pacers messed up was before the ball got inbounded, they had a foul and on Jalen Brunson getting his jersey grabbed and automatic free throw. They get the ball back.

He makes the other two free throws and then they go up by four and the game was over. But that officiating last night at Madison Square Garden on the, on the, on the kickball, which should be reviewable and the illegal screen, that was atrocious. And it's awesome to see what the Knicks are doing right now because the Knicks are back. The Nick fan has been tortured and they've been humiliated for over 20 years. And to see energy back in Madison Square Garden, to have a team that they're proud of once again and have continuity with the Knicks is something nice to see. But I'm not saying Knicks fan shouldn't celebrate the win. I'm not saying Knicks fans should be like, oh yeah, you know, we were just 10 times better than the Indiana Pacers.

Like I do believe they were the better team. I'm not saying apologize. You should be unapologetic here. You don't need to apologize for anything, but you can't acknowledge like your fandom doesn't get revoked. If you acknowledge, yeah, we got a favorable whistle and it's crazy. You know, Mikey B, my old producer, Mike Biseglia, he does a podcast and he hates the Knicks, Mike Biseglia, but he does a podcast with this guy, Alex.

And it's a very good podcast, very entertaining. This guy, Alex is the biggest Knicks Homer I have like ever met where I appreciate his fandom. I appreciate how zany and how wacky is and how he's a Knicks sycophant, but you could give a little criticism like once or twice, no one's going to say to this guy, Alex, oh, we're taking away your Knicks fandom call. If you just acknowledge that the officiating last night went in your favor, it doesn't mean that the Knicks didn't deserve to win that game, but the Nick fan that goes, oh, you know, the officiating was great.

I had no issue. It was a kick ball and it wasn't a legal screen. Like what game were you watching? Cause everyone last night felt like the illegal screen was soft, should not have been called. And the hand ball, well, or excuse me, it was a hand ball, but people said it was a kick ball.

That was crazy. I don't know kick ball. It should not have been a kick ball violation, but give credit to the Knicks with the favorable whistle, DiVincenzo that hits the three.

And they were able to capitalize and get three more points after the kick ball that did transpire. But it's, I always love when the officiating is a topic and the officiating topic, which let me be clear. I usually hate when it's a topic, but the part that I love about it is how the fan base that benefits from it. And sometimes it's fair. Sometimes it's not. But last night when it's obvious, they can't just say, yeah, we got a favorable whistle. Like, you know, I'll give credit to, you know, I have a lot of fun at this guy's expense, but I have a lot of respect for his work ethic.

And I do call him a friend. I have a lot of respect for hot take Kiki last night, immediately when the game ends. And trust me, you want to talk about a Homer sports fan 10 times out of 10, it's hot take Kiki 10 times.

I was shocked that he tweeted this last night, but he's fair. Can't be a Homer here. Knicks have to write a thank you note to the refs on the way out. All full officiating is why they won this game between the kickball that wasn't in a moving screen. The Knicks got lucky as hell. Good teams though, take this break and use it, have to bury the Pacers in game two.

And this is the same Hickey who had no respect for the Pacers heading into this series. He saw me in the office. I didn't even ask him.

This is unsolicited. And he goes, Nixon five, Nixon five, Nixon five. Don't you forget it. I'm telling you Nixon five.

That's what he said to me. And last night I appreciate even with how zany and bonkers he is. And I do believe the Knicks are going to win this series. You know, I said it was going to go seven, you know, maybe six, but my prediction was Nixon in seven, but for Hickey to at least acknowledge that the officiating in the last 90 seconds, two minutes was disgraceful is a good job out of him. And just shows you that your fandom doesn't get revoked.

If you're just honest with some of the circumstances that did help you achieve the victory. It is the Zach Gelb show on the infinity sports network. When we come on back, one executive had a wild statement in a positive way about Shador Sanders in regards to Caleb Williams.

You got to hear what this executive said. When we come on back update time first though, here's the act man, Rich Ackerman. Yo, yo, the defensive player of the week is sponsored by the Navy federal credit union, who proudly serves the armed forces, DOD veterans and their families.

Their members are the mission learn more at navy federal.org. This week's player is Timberwolves big man Nas Reed. And last night's blowout win over the nuggets Reed had four blocks, one steel and helped hold Nikola Jokic to just 16 points on five of 13 shooting. We did open the show talking about that nuggets and Timberwolves game, the stunning development of the NBA playoffs, which has been Minnesota taking a two Oh lead in round two on Denver's court. As this series now shifts back to cold black Minnesota and the Minnesota Timberwolves are red hot with a two Oh lead.

But last night was an ass kicking. Last night was a statement delivered that Denver can't just walk in the park against this team, that Denver clearly, and sometimes hubris, the overconfidence that leads to one's downfall is a thing. Denver after game one, when they lost, it seemed like they still didn't take Minnesota seriously. They just thought it like most of us that it was going to be a given that they tie this series up in game two.

You go back to Minnesota and you got a brand new series with some work to do. But with how that game started to end at the conclusion of the first quarter is what I'm trying to say. Where Minnesota just got like a little bit of a cushion, an eight point cushion. It carried over into the second quarter and then with eight minutes to go in the first half, that was a 20 point game.

And when it went to halftime and it was at 26, the fat lady, she was getting ready to sing on the series. Now this series isn't over. It felt like it was over last night. I just don't believe that Denver is going to be able to take two in Minnesota in games three and four. And if this gets to a scenario where Minnesota goes up three one and you give them three chances to close out.

They're not going to be able to do that with Anthony Edwards, who right now is an assassin who is right now a killer. And I would like to see Denver win game three. Because if Denver goes up three oh, that it's really a wrap on this series. Like even if Minnesota drops game four, there is no way that Minnesota is going to lose four games in a row against Denver.

Just won't happen. So I would like to see Denver make this a two one series. And then that creates a lot of buzz and a lot of juice for game four. However it goes down though, I would really be surprised if we see Minnesota go back to Denver and this series is not at three one.

I'd be surprised with it being two oh right now. That's just how confident I'm in right now with the Minnesota Timberwolves. So out of 100 percent, 100 percent, what's the chance, what's the number, we'll go around the room here, that we give the Denver Nuggets in coming back? I'll give them a 20 percent chance. And I think that may be rich on a day like today, but I'll give them a 20 percent chance of Denver coming back. Stu, what's your number? I'll give them a 33 percent chance. One and three. What's the analytics behind that?

33 percent? I just think they're a team that if they won two in Minnesota, I wouldn't bet on it, but I also wouldn't be totally stunned if they did. If they win two in Minnesota, we talk about momentum. The momentum then totally shifts right back to Denver. Because then it turns into a best of three and Denver gets their confidence back.

But right now that confidence is rattled, it shook. Samter, what's the percentage here? I like Stu's 33 percent, so I don't want to take his number. So you're gonna go 34?

33.1 percent? No, I think like that 30 to 40 percent range because they are the defending champion. We all thought they were the best team in the NBA, at least the best team in the West. We know how good Minnesota is, but they're still Denver, still Jokic, still Murray. This is a team, they're closers. But is it still, here's the thing, with what Murray displayed last night, and I don't know if he's gonna get suspended or not, he should be suspended for a game.

But you could hide behind those antics and say it was because of the officiating. How much is it, though, with this lingering issue or injury that Murray's been dealing with that he just knows, even with what we saw in the first round, but that was up against the Lakers, and clearly the Lakers are an inferior product, an inferior opponent compared to a team like Minnesota. How much is that him knowing he needs to be pretty damn close to 100 percent to beat Minnesota, and he knows he's nowhere close to that?

That's just the thing that, like, it's great. You could have the injury, and you could give a great performance up against the Lakers, and you could close them out and send that home, but you got to be able to withstand what could be a seven-game series against against Minnesota, and they need him to be at his best, and I don't think he's capable right now of being at his best because of the injuries. And, like, when you see an overreaction like that last night, I don't think it's just because of the officiating with them missing a charge. You know, him thinking he got fouled earlier in the game, which was right in front of half court, like the left side of that half court area when he was double. I don't think that's the real root of the frustration. That's maybe that's maybe what made him go over the top, but I think the root of the frustration is he knows he's not healthy right now, and that's a guy that unfortunately has had an injury pass, but his antics last night were ridiculous. Like, you have one kind of situation where you just throw a heating pad on the court.

Like, don't get me wrong. That was egregious. That's worthy of a suspension. But when you add up that he hit the trifecta last night, heating pad, throwing a towel at a ref, and then doing the money sign to the ref, like, that's what did you get told as a kid? Three strikes, you're out. How does Adam Silver not apply the three strikes in your out method there and not at least give him a one game suspension?

I think he should be suspended for a game. Now, let me go around the room again. Even with the percentage that you just gave me, what's your prediction on this series? Stu, I'll start with you. Your prediction on this series, who and how many games? Timberwolves in six. Timberwolves in six. Wolves in six.

Santa, what are you going with? I'm not giving up on the nuggets. I'm saying T-wolves in seven, but I can flip the other way around.

Wait, wait, wait. I mean, they're down 2-0. You're not giving up on Denver, but you're going to say that this is going to get to a game seven and Minnesota is still going to win the game seven.

Correct. I just wasn't, I'm not crushing you for that. Yeah, I don't. I just, when you say that you're not giving up on Minnesota, I just inferred that you were going to take Denver. In the sense that I'm not going like, oh, this is over in four or five. I still think that Denver has a lot of fight left. I think they're going to win at least two more. I think they're going to split in Minnesota. I think they're going to win back at home. And then I think they're going to surprise, it's going to be interesting. I say Minnesota in seven, just a hedge, but I still have faith in the nuggets.

They're so good. I am going to take Minnesota in six. The way that I think this goes down is Denver bounces back in game three. People then say, oh, did we prematurely declare Minnesota winning this series? Minnesota wins game four. Denver gets one at home in game five, and then Minnesota turns out the lights and the party's over in game six on the Denver Nuggets season.

That's the way that I go right now. How far Minnesota make it this season? Denver will come back. Conference finals, NBA finals are winning it all. Those are the four options on the poll.

855212, 4227, 855212, 4227. And you could always find it at Zach Gelb, at INF Sportsnet, sportsnet on social media, on Twitter. And the early returns right now, 14.8% say conference finals, 16.7% say Denver will come on back, 22.8% say the T-Bolls will win it all, and 45.7% right now have them advancing to the NBA finals. Alrighty, let me get to what one long-time NFL evaluator said. When discussing Shadore Sanders, he said he was QB one for me if he came out this year. That is what a long-time NFL evaluator told the Washington Post. You have to manage him a little differently, and Deion is going to be heavily involved, so you have to be prepared to deal with that bull bleep.

You know, they use the word there in the article. If you're talking about Deion, don't you have to use the Deion word bull junk instead of saying bull word that rhymes with hit, alright? But I love watching that kid play, he's a born winner.

You know, that's a really bold statement. And I'm a Shadore fan. Like, I think this time next year we're going to be talking about Shadore Carson Beck as the number one quarterback off the board.

You could also throw maybe Jalen Milro in that mix, maybe you could throw Quinn Ewers as well, but I do think the two best NFL prospects when it comes to quarterback right now, if you had to do an early, early preview of the 2025 NFL draft, is Carson Beck and Shadore Sanders. But the quote was from this long-time NFL evaluator to the Washington Post that Shadore would have been QB1 if he came out this past draft. So you want to tell me that you like Shadore Sanders over Michael Pennix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, like, I could give you that. You know, you want to tell me you like Shadore Sanders over Drake May, even.

I could give you that. But when we talk about Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams, how can you say that Shadore would have been in front of those guys? You want to tell me Jaden Daniels?

Okay, don't love it. But Jaden Daniels is one of Heisman. Jaden Daniels last year threw for 40 touchdowns and ran for 1,100 yards. And Caleb Williams the last two years, he has been a great individual quarterback that two years ago won a Heisman. And this year, outside of the Notre Dame game, he was great.

His defense just stunk. Like, I like Shadore. I like the idea of Shadore. Mobile quarterback, has great mobility, big arm, cerebral, you know, comes from a football family, a legendary football family.

Like, there's a lot that you could sell me on with Shadore Sanders. And part of it, you could say, oh, his offensive line was garbage this past year at Colorado. But to say that this guy should have been the number one overall pick in front of Daniels and Williams, who, by the way, Jaden Daniels wasn't in an SEC championship game this year, to be fair. And Caleb Williams and USC didn't even sniff a college football playoff spot or a football playoff spot or a Pac-12 championship this year. But they didn't start the year off both those players 3-0 and then only won one game down the stretch.

Like, I get it. Colorado's team was not good. The line stunk. And if you're not built properly in the trenches, you're going to get killed as a quarterback. But if you would have been in front of those guys, you couldn't win two more games down the stretch.

You couldn't win an extra game down the stretch and get you to five. Like, I'm setting a low bar there. I think Shadore is going to be one of the first two quarterbacks taken next year. But to say already that he would have been QB one. Like, you know, maybe forget Jaden Daniels, but I can't. But just for bare minimum over Caleb Williams, I can't say those words.

That those words just don't come out of my mouth and I don't get the evaluation like I get the things to like about your door. But he's got to prove it more. He's played three years of college football. There's a lot of tape.

But to say that he should have been drafted in front of Caleb Williams, I can't go there. And I just don't see how you do go there. It is the Zach Yelp show on the Infinity Sports Network. We will take a time out when we come on back.

Let's do this. We will update you on some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. We have a loaded news brief today. Mac Brown, you hear from Jeff Ross, Rick Carlisle, even Patrick Beverley.

Did he take ownership for his antics? So we will do a news brief on the other side. It is Zach Gelb show back in five. Hey, everyone, Boomer Esiason here. The NFL draft is behind us and your favorite team is now gearing up for week number one. The free Odyssey app puts you right in the middle of the pro football conversation with the biggest sports radio stations from across the country. The local voices who know your team the best, giving you their unfiltered takes on the current state of your squad. It's always football season right here on the free Odyssey app.