00:00The car, Scott Anderson, 97.1, open lines, 248-539-9797.
00:04Let's go to Tom next on 97.1.
00:06Hi, Tom.
00:09Tom, are you there?
00:12Tommy?
00:13Tom?
00:14Tommy.
00:15T-Bone?
00:16No, good.
00:18248-539-9797.
00:20Our phones are...
00:21Tom, are you there?
00:22Yeah, I'm here.
00:23You guys got me?
00:24Yeah, we got you now.
00:25All right, thanks, man.
00:26Hey, I was thinking, give us a thought about your discussion about the start of rotation
00:31and whatnot.
00:32And it takes...
00:34One guy doesn't make a team, but one guy can lift a team.
00:37And where a school ball drops off, I think this could be Casey Mize's shining year.
00:41You know what I'm saying?
00:42This could be his year.
00:43I mean, the guy's been a prospect for, what, eight years now?
00:46Finally, he's going to do something.
00:48He has to.
00:49I mean, that's what we do.
00:50And Ver's back.
00:50I think he's going to do better than what people are saying.
00:52Yeah, he's probably the oldest guy in the American League, but he's going to contribute.
00:56So, two ball come back.
00:58Why do you think Verlander's going to contribute?
01:00What makes you believe that?
01:02Well, because he's a competitor.
01:03His ego is just so much.
01:05I think he's too competitive to...
01:07Once he gets in the game, he's going to play the game that's supposed to be played with
01:11everything he's got.
01:14Well, I mean, I guess that's true.
01:16Mize went 14-6 with a .387 ERA last year and was pretty good.
01:23A 1.7 war.
01:25You know, I think he can do better.
01:27I think he can do better.
01:28Well, he was doing better in a lot of metrics.
01:31He had his best walks and hits per innings pitch he had in a few years.
01:35He had his best ERA of his career going.
01:37So, if he can come back and be what he has been, that is...
01:41I mean, he's trending to potentially have the best year in his career.
01:45So, hopefully, he can come back and do that.
01:47I have far more faith in that than I do.
01:49I have concerns about Verlander.
01:50I hope he can tap into something and it'd be a great story.
01:58I've been a fan since the old stadium, you know.
02:00And 2003, 117 losses.
02:03I swore to myself that year, 81 wins.
02:06That's the magic number.
02:07That's all I need to be happy with my team.
02:09And, you know, in this division, 88 might take the division.
02:12So, I'm happy with 81 wins.
02:13I think we can pull this off.
02:15I'm not happy with 81 wins.
02:17I'm not happy with 81 wins.
02:18This doesn't get you much.
02:20Dude, you've got to let that 119 losses go.
02:22They lost 119, 117, but yeah.
02:24You've got to let that go.
02:26That's really lowered the bar.
02:27That is, I mean...
02:28What's happened since then?
02:29It's been the World Series twice since then.
02:31They're still happy with 81 wins.
02:32And they had a decade of pretty good baseball.
02:34Yeah.
02:35I'm not going to settle for 500.
02:38No, I mean...
02:39Not for a team that's made the playoffs the last few years.
02:41I guess if there's a chance that this could be a 500 team,
02:44it'd be understandable with six starting pitchers right now shelved.
02:48Like, that's a lot to overcome, but...
02:51It is, but look, we've talked about it.
02:53I think in the next month, we're going to see at least two of those guys come back.
02:56Hope so.
02:57Maybe three.
02:58And pitch well.
02:59All right.
03:00Austin at work.
03:01Cavs in four.
03:02Cade isn't ready for the bright lights, and the Pistons can't shoot.
03:06They need to get better in the offseason.
03:08Any hope for either is home or cope.
03:12Any hope either is home or cope.
03:15Don't sell the people false hope.
03:19All right.
03:19So, do you still have the stat on Cade's numbers in elimination games?
03:25I mean, it was off the top of my head.
03:26It was like 31 points, seven assists, nine rebounds.
03:31Shooting 40% from three.
03:34And 90% from the line.
03:35I mean, how about this?
03:37When the lights were brightest, while the Pistons needed to win the backs against the wall,
03:41he scored 45, 32, and 32.
03:44In the last game, he had 32 points and 12 assists.
03:47But he's not ready for the bright lights?
03:51If the bright lights only come on in the second round of the playoffs, okay?
03:56If the bright lights weren't on in the first round, if there was...
04:00Because what do bright lights imply?
04:02Bright lights imply pressure, right?
04:05When the bright lights are on, you're under more pressure.
04:10They just played three straight elimination games, and he went for 45, 33, and 32.
04:17I would argue that those were pressure situations.
04:22Those were moments where your championship DNA has to show itself.
04:27Are you going to find another...
04:30Are you going to be what you've been, which was pretty good?
04:32Are you going to be better than what you've been, which is what he was?
04:36Or are you going to fold under the pressure?
04:37And he actually, in the highest pressure situations, Cade Cunningham was better than what he had been,
04:47which was already good enough to put him in the MVP conversation for much of this season.
04:54So, who on Cleveland, then, is ready to handle the bright lights?
05:00Was Donovan Mitchell ready to go with the bright lights?
05:02Has he lifted his teams in the past to advance to conference finals or win championships?
05:09I don't think he's advanced to the conference finals once.
05:12No, he hasn't.
05:12The most he's played in a postseason is 11 games, and that was his rookie year with Utah.
05:18Outside of that, he's had two 10-game stretches, one with Utah and another one with Utah, I should say,
05:24and then one with Cleveland a couple years ago, and we know what happened after that one.
05:27They fired the coach.
05:28So, he's never been beyond this round.
05:31I'm just saying.
05:32So, what about a Cleveland makes you think that's the team that's ready to go?
05:37Is it James Harden?
05:39You can make a great case for Cleveland.
05:42I think this person implying that making a case for Detroit is Homer Cope or selling false hope
05:51is one of the most extreme accusations I've ever seen.
05:55Kang, you think the Cavs are going to win this series?
05:57Do you think building a case for the Pistons is Homer Cope or selling false hope?
06:01Absolutely not.
06:02The Cavs just went seven with the Raptors.
06:05That just happened.
06:07The Pistons are just as good.
06:08They're better than the Raptors.
06:11Yeah, that is not false hope at all.
06:13They're the number one seed.
06:14They have 60 regular season wins.
06:16Yeah, it took seven games to get rid of the Magic, but that's fine.
06:19They've moved on, but yeah.
06:21No, that's not false hope.
06:22They have the ability to definitely win the series, the Pistons do.
06:25Well, when I took offense to the whole thing was the rip on Cade Cunningham.
06:30I don't know why you're ripping on Cade Cunningham.
06:32I took offense to him ripping on you.
06:35He was ripping on me?
06:36No, he was ripping on us.
06:38He just put it more on you.
06:42You're the better son.
06:43You can handle it.
06:44Yeah, that's right.
06:45No.
06:46Yeah, the Cade thing's absurd.
06:48It's absolutely absurd.
06:49Apparently, the bright lights don't start until the second round of the playoffs.
06:54Give me a heads up on that when the bright lights are supposed to start.
06:57That's a very random assignment of when there's bright lights.
06:59Because last I checked, this guy puts the team on his back and carries them and then gets
07:04some help when necessary.
07:06But when it was one-on-one against Bancaro, and both guys scored 45, who won the game?
07:12The Pistons won it.
07:13Okay.
07:15Was it bright lights or not yet?
07:16Because it's the first round.
07:17It doesn't count.
07:18I guess it doesn't count.
07:19First round, it can't possibly have bright lights.
07:21Now, we understand each time you level up, it gets a little bit more pressure-packed and
07:27the challenge is more.
07:28I like the progression where Cade's gone.
07:31He hasn't been in the league that many years here, right?
07:34So you've gone from not making the playoffs and he's been hurt.
07:37Then they finally make the playoffs and they played really well, well enough to beat New
07:41York last year, but it didn't happen.
07:43Okay.
07:43So knocked out of the first round.
07:44Next season comes around.
07:46Elevate from 44 wins to 60 wins.
07:49Become the number one seed.
07:51Take down the Magic in an improbable situation where you're down three games to one.
07:59You get down by 22 points, 24 technically.
08:03Was it bright lights when you're down by 24 with a half a basketball to go?
08:06There was some pressure there.
08:07And then you come back and win by double digits?
08:10Is that pressure at all?
08:12So I'll tell you what, Austin.
08:15You believe what you believe.
08:18So I will take, Oh, here we go.
08:21I will take a, I think the series here comes the casino Detroit.
08:25I think Detroit will win a game.
08:27You think the Pistons are going to get swept and selling anything otherwise is false hope.
08:32I think Detroit will win a game case of beer.
08:36He believes what he believes.
08:37So let's make a bet.
08:39I got Detroit winning a game.
08:41They might lose a series in five, but the bet you do think calves are going to sweep.
08:45You may want to save that one for tomorrow.
08:47Austin?
08:48Yeah.
08:49I'm saying save the text.
08:51I save them all because we go back at the end.
08:53We reference it tomorrow if the Pistons win tonight.
08:56Well, of course we'll reference it.
08:58Doug's going to be demanding his beer.
09:00Well, dude.
09:01I demand my beer.
09:02I'm never going to get it.
09:04How are we still getting Kate Cunningham slander?
09:07Honestly, seriously, I will not stand for this.
09:09That's a great point.
09:10That series against Orlando doesn't make you think, oh, wait a minute.
09:13Maybe he's not the guy to talk about.
09:16I could rip on somebody else on this team, but you can't rip on Cade Cunningham.
09:20Are you kidding me?
09:21Cade Cunningham?
09:22And by the way, Bright Lights, MSG last year, then the win game, he averaged like 25-8-8.
09:28Cade Cunningham carried the team last year as well.
09:31In New York?
09:33Yeah.
09:34I hear it's a big city.
09:35First round.
09:36This is our first.
09:37That's a good point.
09:38Remember, Bright Lights don't come on in the first round.
09:41So, Austin, we've got your prediction down.
09:45Cavs in four.
09:46We'll get to more of your predictions coming up.
09:47We've got a draft.
09:48We haven't done one of these in a while.
09:50We will get to it today at 1131.
09:53I'm Carson Anderson on 97.1.
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