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00:00All right, let's go to the Make It Right call, Kyle Wright Hotline, and we welcome in one of the
00:05finest that you can find, senior columnist for The Athletic.
00:09Ladies and gentlemen, the great Jason Lloyd joins us here on the show.
00:14Hello, Jason.
00:15Good morning, gentlemen.
00:17How are you?
00:18Oh, I'm still employed, so I'm great.
00:23We'll just move on from the 10 things that popped into my head just now.
00:28Lloyd, tell me.
00:29You could have just said you had your first mow of the season yesterday or something, and we would have
00:33just kept on moving, and now you just walk the elephant into the room like you're Thomas Edison.
00:39I saw Jason at the ball field yesterday.
00:41Were you interlocking fingers, Owen?
00:44I did see Owen at the field yesterday.
00:46That is accurate.
00:47No, he did not interlock fingers.
00:49I do need to cut the grass, though, now that you mention it.
00:51It is horrid looking out there.
00:54Did you fertilize yet?
00:55You've got to get that fertilizer down.
00:57Oh, I haven't cut it yet.
00:59It's outrageously long and shaggy right now.
01:02All right, tell me this first-round playoff series is not going to be outrageously long.
01:06Tell me that the Cavaliers have all the advantages, and they should be able to dispense of the Toronto Raptors
01:12in short order like LeBron James was walking through that door.
01:16Yeah, of all of the possible opponents, I thought this was the best path for them, the way that this
01:23worked out.
01:24I just think, no, I don't think they're going to have much trouble with Toronto.
01:27You know, it's funny when you, I'll even take it a step further.
01:31We talked about Detroit.
01:32I think I was on with you guys last week.
01:33We talked about Detroit, and I do think that would be a slugfest of a series.
01:37But if you're looking at, like, where the Cavs struggle, the Cavs struggle to guard the three-point line while
01:41their first two opponents are the two teams in the East that make and take the fewest amount of threes.
01:46So that sort of plays right into the Cavs' hand.
01:50You know, Toronto's going to play fast.
01:52They're going to try and turn them over.
01:54Emmanuel Quigley is a huge question mark right now in this series.
01:57He's clearly by far and away their best shooter, and he's on one leg right now.
02:02So we'll wait and see if he's even available.
02:06I would take the Cavs in five just because it's hard to pick sweeps.
02:11Even in the playoffs, it's just hard to come out and pick and say a team's going to sweep.
02:14But I don't think that they're going to have much trouble with this series at all.
02:18Okay, because there's been series in the past that me and Lyme were like, yeah, and then you came on.
02:23I had to tell everybody, like, you always try to hear through some of your words where we might need
02:30to slow down a little bit.
02:31So I'm feeling good.
02:32Where do you think that we could find trouble here with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the postseason?
02:38In terms of opponent?
02:39Yeah.
02:40Well, I mean, if they're not making shots, anybody can beat them.
02:43This is a team that's so relying on threes, but I just don't see it being a factor.
02:49I mean, look, they smoked Miami in the first round last year.
02:52I thought they would have a little bit more trouble with Miami than what they did, and they just absolutely
02:56blew them out.
02:56And then we saw it happen after that.
02:58That was your respect for Spolstra.
03:00I know that.
03:02Yeah, you're probably right.
03:03I probably did lean a little bit too much into heat culture and Spolstra and everything else.
03:09But, I mean, listen, I think Detroit's going to be a street fight if they get Detroit in the second
03:14round.
03:14I would pick the Cavs to win it, but that one is not going to be easy at all.
03:20I could see that even going to seven.
03:24But, you know, so where are they going to run into trouble?
03:26Well, right around the corner.
03:27I think that'll be, you know, let's wait and see how each team comes out of their first-round series,
03:33who's healthy, if there's any injuries, stuff like that.
03:36I think that second-round matchup will be a street fight.
03:38Jason Lloyd joining us on the show.
03:40See, I've been a little bit, because I love the matchup with Detroit, but I think you're right.
03:44I think it could get very physical, very nasty.
03:46But I really am not, and maybe I'm not selling it enough.
03:50I'm thinking more like Eastern Conference Finals against Boston, and then we'll see actually what happens in the Eastern Conference
03:57Finals.
03:58So, this is a weird postseason, man.
04:01And, like, any other team, Jason, that is a 52-30 team that has 40 different rotations or 40 different
04:07lineups during the season and gets the four seed, you're going, wow, they had a really nice regular season.
04:13But because of the Cavs' history, people are like, yeah, you're going to have to prove it to me.
04:16I'm not impressed by any of this.
04:19Yeah, and that's just sort of the reality that they're in.
04:22I mean, they've got the highest payroll in the league, and they haven't had a lot to show for it
04:25to this point.
04:26So, they've got to change that this year.
04:30And, you know, it's funny because I remember my last year on the beat in 2018, obviously LeBron's last year,
04:37every – I'm sure I said it on your show.
04:39I said it everywhere I went.
04:40I'm like, listen, I have no predictions for this team.
04:43They could go out in the first round.
04:44They can make the finals.
04:45Nothing will surprise me because that team was just a bunch of psychopaths.
04:48And I don't feel quite that way about this team because I do think that they're going to roll over
04:53Toronto.
04:53But kind of along the same lines of if they go out in the second round against Detroit, I mean,
04:58Detroit's the number one seed.
04:59Are you really going to be stunned if they lose in the second round?
05:02I'm not going to be.
05:03They can make the finals.
05:04Are you going to be stunned if they make the finals?
05:07No.
05:08I probably wouldn't pick them to make the finals, but I'm not going to see or say, oh, my God,
05:11I can't believe they did it.
05:11No.
05:12It's just a really good, talented team.
05:14So, it's sort of – I think it's just because of the injuries that they've had, because of sort of
05:20the volatility of the East, of everybody wrote off Boston.
05:23Everybody thought Boston wasn't going to be very good.
05:25Nobody's talking about New York.
05:26I mean, New York was up big on Boston that series last year before Tatum went down.
05:30So, are you going to be stunned?
05:32Anthony, will you be stunned if the Knicks beat Boston in the second round?
05:35I won't be stunned.
05:36We just saw it last year, and that was a better Boston team last year.
05:41Absolutely.
05:42So, this whole thing – I know we're supposed to come on here and make predictions.
05:48This whole East is so jumbled.
05:50Once you get through this first round, man, I have no idea what's going to happen.
05:53And I think last year sort of proved that.
05:55Whoever would have thought the Pacers would have been the team that came out of the East.
05:58It's sort of the new world NBA, though.
06:00All right, Jason, you ask about whether or not people would be stunned.
06:04But listening to people at this station, listening to the callers, seeing social media – and I know it can
06:08sometimes be a doom and gloom echo chamber.
06:11However, I do think there would be a sizable portion of the fan base that would be stunned if this
06:16team got to the finals because they are all referencing the failures of the past, the lack of toughness.
06:22At least, that's been one of the narratives surrounding the team.
06:25Harden has had some epic playoff flops.
06:28Donovan's never been past second round.
06:30And every time I hear all that, I say, okay, that's fair.
06:33Everything is fair that you just said about the Cavs.
06:36Let's do that for every other team.
06:37Let's talk to Knicks fans about the Knicks issues.
06:40Let's talk to Detroit and their total lack of experience.
06:43When does an inexperienced team ever get to the finals?
06:46It almost never happens.
06:472007 with the Cavs and LeBron was a total anomaly.
06:50Like, so if we go team by team, it seems more plausible.
06:55But if you're just looking at it from a Cavs perspective, then people are going to poke all sorts of
07:00holes in it and say they do have doubt that the Cavs can do it.
07:03I also wonder how much people have truly followed and watched this team start to finish because they are a
07:13very, very talented team.
07:14Now, the injuries are what they are.
07:17And I said at the beginning of the season, at some point, that's just who you are.
07:21You're an injured team.
07:22And I think that also played into the reason why they made the move that they made is they kind
07:27of came to the same conclusion with Darius.
07:30And there's other guys.
07:31I mean, you know, Jarrett has broken down in the playoffs, and he's still hobbling around.
07:36You know, Donovan has worn out in the playoffs.
07:38So it's all fair and legitimate.
07:42And I've killed Harden just as much as anybody has over his playoff collapses and failures.
07:47It's not like the guy's never had a good playoff game.
07:49He's had some terrific playoff games.
07:52He just has to wear the stains of how bad he's been in the biggest moments.
07:56And that's fair.
07:57Like, you can't run from that.
07:58That's what it is right now.
08:00But, no, I would not be stunned if this team goes on a tear through these playoffs and makes the
08:06finals.
08:07The only thing is we say, like, what would stun you?
08:10The thing that would stun me is if they lost this series.
08:13That's about the only thing that I would say, wow, I never saw that coming, is they lost this.
08:17Anything else?
08:18Yeah, it's on the table.
08:20I could see the Knicks beat the Celtics.
08:22I could see the Cavs beating the Celtics.
08:24Again, would I pick it?
08:25Probably not.
08:26But I don't think it's a other realm of possibility.
08:28I could see the Cavs beating the Knicks.
08:29Like, they could beat any of these teams.
08:31And probably after this round, any of these teams could get them.
08:34It's just, like I said, it's the nature of the new NBA.
08:37This is what they wanted.
08:38This is what they've got.
08:40Jason Lloyd joining us here on the Make It Right, Call Call, Call Right Hotline.
08:42All right, I don't know if I'm going to get a chance to talk to you next week, at least
08:45on the air.
08:47What do you think the Browns ought to do?
08:51I think, what do I want?
08:53I want to trade down.
08:54I've been on that train for months.
08:58I just don't know how realistic that is right now.
08:59Yeah, I was going to say, what if no one wants to move up?
09:02Yeah, so if you have to stay there and you've got to take a pick, you've got to make a
09:05pick.
09:05I think I'm on Carnell Tate.
09:09Didn't love everything I heard at the owners' meetings about him.
09:13But this team is desperate enough for playmakers that he's certainly going to help.
09:19So I think I'm leaning more and more toward Tate.
09:23I just don't, I can't get behind any of these linemen at six.
09:28And I also think, like, we have spent months talking about tackles and receivers, tackles and receivers, and rightfully so.
09:36I just, there's this part of me in the back of my head going, they're not going to take a
09:39tackle and receiver in the first round.
09:41Like, I just, it's just every time that you spend so much time.
09:46Well, just because you think, when you think you know what any team's going to do, they end up surprising
09:51you.
09:53Who really thought they were going to go to two to five and take a defensive tackle last year?
09:58Like, did anybody spend a lot of time talking about that?
10:00No.
10:02Actually, no, we did, because Lima said he wanted to take Mason Graham.
10:05That's right.
10:06You wanted Mason Graham, so this show actually did.
10:08Well, then you're the only one.
10:10And I'm not saying that, so I'm like, I'm serious.
10:12Like, you're the only one.
10:13Yes, I know.
10:14Nobody else is talking about it.
10:15I felt that way, because it was a big champion's pose the night of the draft for Tone next morning.
10:19Yeah.
10:19I love the trade down, by the way.
10:21I thought it was, at the time, I thought it was great.
10:23Well, it's aged.
10:24They got tremendous value.
10:24It's aged well, too, so far.
10:26Yeah.
10:26So let's be honest.
10:28So are they going to take, are they going to go receiver tackle six, 24?
10:31I have no idea what they're going to do at 24.
10:33Who could possibly know what they're going to do at 24?
10:35But at six, I think I'm aligning on the Cardinal Tate side.
10:41Okay.
10:42Let's see.
10:43I want to, see, usually I'm an inside-out guy, so I think a lot of people thought I was
10:46going
10:47to go offensive lineman at six and then go wide receiver at 24.
10:50My rationale.
10:51I mean, show the lineman who's worthy of it, and I'll agree with you.
10:54Well...
10:54I just don't know that that guy's there.
10:56That's why I wanted to take Blake Miller, where he was a four-year guy in high school
11:00as a left tackle.
11:01And I know he's from here, okay?
11:03And I know some people give me a side-eye there.
11:05He was a four-year left tackle in high school.
11:07I know they moved him over to right tackle at Clemson.
11:09And I know that sounds an awful familiar, a lot like somebody else, but everything I pick
11:14up, team leader, you know, team, everything attitude-wise, great about the guy, great
11:19body, great size, decent enough movement, I think you could put him over there at left
11:23tackle.
11:23I still think he could be a week one starter compared to DeJuan Jones, who I just, it's
11:27not comfortable in the position, Jason.
11:30And I'm thinking, okay, I know that maybe all the wide receivers who we really want might
11:34be gone by 24, so let's take a wide receiver who can make plays.
11:38That's Carnell Tate.
11:40And then, like, when you get to 24, you know, people keep bringing up KC Conception, and
11:43I'm like, hey, that's fine, but when you keep giving me stuff about his hands, it makes
11:49me nervous, because I'll give up a tenth on a 40.
11:54I don't care, because if a guy can't catch, he can run as fast as he wants.
11:57Anthony Schwartz is able to outrun the entire city of Cleveland, and Anthony Schwartz, I mean,
12:02people blame him, and partially myself as well, for why we're sitting here like this right
12:06now, for alligator arm and a pass.
12:08Yep, yep.
12:10So I want a guy who can go up and get it, so you can give me speed at 24,
12:14and I'll hope
12:16the best for him, but damn, I'm going to be nervous about it.
12:19Yeah, I, there's so much, so many holes on this offensive side.
12:26You know, whoever they take is going to help.
12:28And, I mean, the debate you get into at six is, what do you do if this guy's not there,
12:33if they're both not there?
12:34You know, what do you do if, if, I wouldn't be sad if they took Jeremiah Love.
12:39Like, fine, he's a playmaker.
12:41This offense needs playmakers.
12:42But if Love and Tate are both gone, then what do you do?
12:46And I think that's, at least for me, that's where the defensive side of the ball conversation
12:51comes into the equation.
12:52Because I just, I just think you always take the best player, even as stacked as this defense
12:58is.
12:59You just, I would rather get a dynamic playmaker on the defensive side of the ball than somebody
13:04just to fill a hole on the offensive side.
13:07Jason Lloyd on the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
13:10Hey, real quick, last night, who do you blame them most on?
13:12Was that Juan Brito, Cade Smith?
13:15Actually, I had people blaming it on Steven Vogt for putting Juan Brito in as a pinch runner
13:19and making the defense worse.
13:20Thoughts?
13:21If you didn't see it, I'm putting you on the spot.
13:23I'm sorry.
13:24I'm not putting you on the spot.
13:24No, no, I did see it.
13:26Brito's got to come up with the ground ball.
13:28Like, he's not great defensively.
13:30His bat is what has gotten him to the majors, not his glove.
13:34But it's a relatively routine play with two outs.
13:37You've got to make the play.
13:38Okay.
13:38Thank you very much, Jason.
13:39You're a wonderful man.
13:40We do love you.
13:41All right.
13:41I'll see you guys.
13:42Bye.
13:43Jason Lloyd.
13:44On the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
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