– Is Aaron Rodgers truly an upgrade over Russell Wilson?
-Expectations For Game 3 in the NBA Finals in Indianapolis
what’s up Facebook YouTube Twitter Instagram Tik Tok you name it this your boy Trey Lens with the Wise Guys Sports Show everybody go follow Wise Guys on Twitter at WiseGuys_H also on Facebook Wise Guys and make sure to follow Wise Guys on Instagram at These Guys No Sports don’t forget each and every Monday it’s the we not boxed in podcast with myself and Cincinnati Bearcats legend El Melvin Levit at ParkPlace 7:00 p.m to 900 p p.m that’s 700 p.m to 900 p p.m it’s the we not box in podcast with yours truly Trey Lens and Cincinnati Bearcats legend Melvin Levit each and every Monday at ParkPlay 700 p.m to 9:00 p.m with my boy Tay behind the scenes with on impact recruiting services so Wise Guy Sports On Impact Recruiting Services and Melvin Levit in house in Parkplace 700 p.m to 900 PM each and every Monday but I want to get into some NFL also I wanted to discuss the NBA finals we got Thunder at Pacers tonight in Indie game three series it’s tied at one game a piece i’m gonna get into that here in a bit but I wanted to come on here and I want to talk about Aaron Rogers and the Pittsburgh Steelers so obviously Aaron Rogers he signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and he is currently attending OTAAS’s with the Pittsburgh Steelers and listening to First Take earlier and Stephen A he’s a Steelers fan and he was talking about how excited he is because Aaron Rodgers is now the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and last week after the Steelers signed Aaron Rogers they had a entire video on the Instagram of Aaron Rogers highlights and showing highlights of him in prime so as a Packers fan of course I chuckled to myself as I watched those Aaron Rodgers highlights from seven eight 10 11 years ago and I just chuckled to myself and I came on here last week and I talked about Aaron Rogers and the Steelers so I want to come on here and reiterate my beliefs on the Pittsburgh Steelers and my expectations for the Steelers and Aaron Rogers this upcoming season i know Aaron Rodgers last year coming off an Achilles injury for the Jets i know he had 28 touchdowns only 11 interceptions i know he had over 3,800 passing yards for the New York Jets last year and you compare that to the Pittsburgh Steelers who had Justin Fields and Russell Wilson last year russell Wilson for the season he had 16 touchdowns five interceptions 2400 passing yards so obviously from a statistical standpoint Aaron Rogers had a better season than Russell Wilson had last year obviously he had more touchdown passes than Russ had he had more passing yards than Russ had as well but I said it before and I’m going to say it again i believe that Aaron Rodgers is watched and this version of Aaron Rogers will not be an upgrade over Russell Wilson let me say it again for the people in the back who are Steelers fans who are excited about this signing the Pittsburgh Steelers are not going to be any better in 2025 with Aaron Rogers than they were in 2024 with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson okay Russell Wilson and Justin Fields both contributed to the Steelers getting to the playoffs last year but do I believe that the Steelers are going to be this Super Bowl contender with Aaron Rodgers no get this out of your brain Steelers fans i think the Steelers they have been so disappointed with their quarterbacks since Ben Rothllessberger retired they are willing to take anybody at this point they are willing to take anybody aaron Rodgers is no longer in his prime his best days are behind him so no I don’t believe the Steelers are a better football team with Aaron Rogers as their quarterback than were with Russell Wilson or Justin Fields for that matter as a matter of fact with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields you get better leadership because as great as Aaron Rogers has been throughout his career his leadership has been a question mark when it comes to him being the quarterback on the Packers and the Jets his leadership has been a question let’s be honest Russ Wilson is a great leader i think Russ is a tremendous leader if I was a player that was playing for a particular organization and Wilson Russell Wilson was my quarterback I would love to play with a quarterback like Russell Wilson i think Russell is a leader and he knows how to lead a group of men who are trying to accomplish one goal but we know with Aaron Rogers it’s all about him aaron Rogers is a diva okay and that’s the biggest reason why as a Packers fan I am happy i am happy that Aaron Rogers is no longer the Green Bay Packers quarterback it has been less drama and more peace within the Packers organization since Aaron Rogers departed three years ago it has been less drama and more peaceful in Green Bay and as a fan I enjoy being able to watch the Packers and watch Jordan Love be the quarterback of my team without all the extra behind the scenes stuff and off the- field stuff i don’t want to deal with that but like I said I know last year Aaron Rogers from a statistical standpoint had a better season than Russell Wilson but I don’t think Aaron Rogers is an upgrade over Russell Wilson right now at this point in his career his best days are behind him and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields they managed the game last year for the Steelers and so I’m wa listening to and watching and listening to Steelers fans and Steelers analysts talk about how oh all we need is for Aaron Rogers to just manage the game we have an elite defense we got an elite defense all we need is for Aaron Rodgers to manage the game but I’m thinking to myself isn’t that exactly what Justin Fields and Russell Wilson did last year wilson and Fields both managed the game last year for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the quarterback position so what is Aaron Rogers going to do to get you over the hump and have the Steelers in those conversations with the Kansas City Chiefs with the Buffalo Bills with the Baltimore Ravens what is Aaron Rogers going to do at the quarterback position for the Steelers to be able to compete with the Ravens and the Chiefs and the Bills can somebody come on here and tell me come on here and tell me what is Aaron Rogers going to be able to do that Justin Fields and Russell Wilson could not do last year for the Steelers come on here and make it make sense for me because I’m sitting here trying to figure out how the hell the Steelers are going to be better in 2025 than they were in 2024 we know that they have an elite defense now I know TJ Watt has not participated in OTAAS but I expect TJ Watt to be back by training camp and we know he’s going to suit up week one and TJ Watt is one of the best defensive players in the NFL and that defense will be top 10 maybe even top five in the NFL and the Steelers have a very very very respected head coach in Mike Tomlin mike Tomlin is one of the the most respected NFL head coaches in the league but I got news for Steelers fans and even Mike Tomlin as great as Mike Tomlin is even him being as respected as he is he’s a Super Bowl champion but Mike Tomlin has not won a playoff game since 2016 did y’all know that the Pittsburgh Steelers they are tied with the Miami Dolphins for the longest losing streak in the playoffs the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost six six straight play that was the year in the NBA finals when LeBron and Steph Kyrie Klay Thompson that’s when they went seven games and that arguably was the greatest NBA finals I ever watched different sport but that was the last time we actually saw the Steelers win a playoff game think about that and I’m gonna be honest everybody knows that I’m a Packers fan and so I live in the city of Cincinnati so I like to joke around and mess with my family and friends who are diehard Bengle fans and so for years I used to always say to the Bengle fans “Hey you guys are not better than the Packers the Patriots than the Steelers i can’t no longer say that the Steelers are better than the Bengals at least the Bengals have won a few playoff games at least the Bengals have a Super Bowl appearance the Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2016 and I love Mike Tomlin but sometimes I do wonder I do wonder if the Pittsburgh Steelers need a new voice we know Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL he’s one of the most respected coaches in the NFL but I do wonder sometimes if the Pittsburgh Steelers need a new voice and so for me I don’t believe Aaron Rogers puts the Steelers in that Super Bowl contender conversation with the Buffalo Bills with the Baltimore Ravens or with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC and even when you just look at the AFC North alone right now the Ravens and the Bengals both are better than the Steelers to me now I know the Steelers made the playoffs last year and the Bengals missed the playoffs but if you really watch the games last year towards the end of the season the Bengals were playing better football than the Steelers were matter of fact I believe the Bengals beat the Steelers in week 18 if I’m not mistaken so right now I’m having a hard time figuring out how Aaron Rodgers makes the Steelers better than what they were with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields i think if anything they’ll be equivalent which means they they’ll be a possible playoff team maybe but like I tell Steeler fans since when did making the playoffs become the standard the Pittsburgh Steelers have six Super Bowls in their history six Super Bowls in their history so the Steelers making the playoffs has never been the standard the standard is for the Steelers to go on deep playoff runs and play deep into January and the Pittsburgh Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2016 they are tied with the Miami Dolphins for the longest streak without a playoff win it’s been that bad for the Steelers and the thing is about the Steelers the Steelers in the past they were always a team that relied on their running game and they want to play elite defense i got news for you Steeler fans and Steelers organization that is no longer the way that you win in today’s NFL the way you win in today’s NFL is by having an elite quarterback you have to have a quarterback who is considered that dude in order to win Super Bowls but forget about even winning Super Bowls just being able to go on a deep playoff run you have to have a quarterback who you consider that guy like the Chiefs have with Patrick Mahomes like the Bills have with Josh Allen like the Bengals have with Joe Burrow like the Raymonds have with Lamar Jackson like the Eagles have with a Jaylen Herz like the Rams have with a Matthew Stafford even Jaden Daniels last year showed me something cuz he was balling in the playoffs for the commanders jayen Daniels was balling last year for the Washington Commanders so to me the Pittsburgh Steelers and their approach they have to change their approach that we’re going to get a quarterback to manage the game for us and not mess things up and we’re going to play elite defense and win with our defense and our running game that no longer is the right formula if you want to be considered a true Super Bowl contender and another thing that confused me with the Pittsburgh Steelers considering that Aaron Rodgers is up in age you would have thought that they would have kept George Pickets i thought when they traded for DK Metave I thought the idea was we are going to pair DK Metave alongside George Pickkins and George Pickkins is going to learn from DK Metave instead they decided to trade George Pickkins to the Cowboys and I like that move for the Cowboys i like George Pickkins and CD Lamb as their wide receiver one and wide receiver two but it made no sense to me why the Pittsburgh Steelers would trade George Pickkins to the Dallas Cowboys that made no sense to me i thought the whole idea of trading for a DK Metave was to pair DK Metave with George Pickkins instead the Steelers for whatever reason again the Steelers they think everything they think about is defense they think defense and they think running game and running backs but you need receivers and you need a good quarterback to be able to compete in the playoffs i didn’t even say a great quarterback because I still don’t even think that Jaylen Herz is great i think Jayen Herz is good but I wouldn’t consider Jaylen Herz great yet like I don’t view Jaylen Herz in the same conversation as I view a Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson or a Josh Allen but um like I didn’t understand that move whatsoever from the Pittsburgh Steelers why would you trade George Pickkins to the Cowboys because I was I I thought about it once the Steelers traded for DK Metave i was thinking that dynamic duo at receiver with George Pickkins and DK Metave that is elite that’s big time you i was thinking at the time I’m like “Oh you can you can have DK Metave and George Pickkins in the same conversations as a Jamar Chase and a T higgins as a Tyreek Hill and a I’m drawing a blank other receiver.” I’m in my basketball mode right now what’s the other receiver for the Dolphins the fast receiver i can’t think of his name right now but it’s Tyreek Hill the other receiver it’ll come to me here shortly but that’s what I was Hell even Devonte Smith and AJ Brown with the Eagles that’s what I was thinking when the Steelers traded for when they traded for DK Metave i’m like “Okay this is a nice one-two punch at the receiver position they deserve to be in those conversations with Jamar Chase and T hickeys with Devonte Smith and AJ Brown.” Okay that’s what I was thinking i I I seriously was thinking that but man I just I I just don’t understand what they were thinking by trading George Pickings it made no sense to me it was It made no sense but um yeah man i I just don’t think the Steelers will be any better in 2025 than they were in 2024 but the AFC North with Aaron Rogers Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow that is a very very entertaining quarterback division and I look forward to watching the AFC North this year i really do i think right now the Ravens and the Bengals both are better than the Steelers and the Browns are but we’ll see we’ll see what happens as a as a season gets closer but um yeah man it’s It’s going to be interesting to My bad y’all back on here but yeah so back to what I was saying about about the Pittsburgh Steelers like I just didn’t understand why they traded George Pickkins when the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired George Pickkins and Oh I’m sorry not acquired George Pickings acquired DK Metave rather when the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired DK Mechave I was thinking okay DK Metave and George Pickins they deserve to be in those conversations with Jamar Chase and T higgins with Jaylen Wadd and Tyreek Hill with AJ Brown and Devonte Smith but they decide to trade George Pick to the Cowboys and so now who’s going to be that reliable number two receiver for the Steelers in this offense who who I don’t know i I I all I see is DK Metave getting a ton of targets but if you rotate the safety over you can contain DK Mechaf and limit his production so I just didn’t understand for the life of me why the Steelers would acquire BK Mechaf and then trade George Pickkins that made absolutely no sense to me no sense at all in the world but again I don’t have high expectations for the Pittsburgh Steelers i don’t have them as a playoff team right now and just off the top of my head in the AFC I believe in the AFC North they are probably the third best team behind the Bengals and the Ravens in the AFC East obviously the Bills are better than the Steelers are in the AFC West i’m probably I’m probably going to take the Broncos the Chiefs they go without saying i’m probably gonna take the Broncos over the Steelers right now uh I man the Dolphins in the AFC East as well they’re in the AFC East the Dolphins probably are better than the Steelers i would still have to see see those two teams how they play to begin the season but I just don’t have high expectations for the Steelers and I don’t have them as a playoff team right now in the AFC that could change that could change once the season starts but I just don’t think Aaron Rogers is that guy anymore i don’t I don’t think Aaron Rogers is that guy anymore and like I don’t think the Steelers are going to be any better in 2025 than they were in 2024 but everybody go follow Wise Guys on Twitter at Wise Guys_H also on Facebook Wise Guys and be sure to follow Wise Guys on Instagram at these guys no sports let’s transition to some NBA let’s talk about the NBA finals we got game three tonight thunder Pacers the Thunder are favored by five and a half points i believe it’s a 8:30 p.m tip off on ABC so the series has transitioned to Naptown so I watched games one and games two of the NBA finals so I have watched all 96 minutes of the finals and I cannot find one single advantage that the Indiana Pacers have over the Oklahoma City Thunder seriously I’ve watched every minute of the finals and I can’t find one advantage that the Pacers have over the Thunder and obviously in these first two games SGA has been balling sga has been balling i believe SGA has like 72 points that’s the most points by a player in their first two NBA Finals games that’s the most since Allan so SGA has been balling but the thing is when you look at the Thunder specifically in game two it was the others who played at a high level for the Thunder alongside SCA like Alex Caruso had a good game in game two aaron Wiggins had a good game in game two and Chad Homegrren and Jaylen Williams they haven’t even had great performances yet they haven’t even had great performances yet and the thing is like as we head into game three tonight I know the series is tied at one game a piece maybe it’s just me but doesn’t it feel like the Thunder are up 20 it feels like the Thunder are up 20 and we’re not tied at one game apiece now the Pacers to their credit they stole game one they overcame a 15-point deficit in game one that was their fifth game where they trailed by 15 points or more and won in the playoffs so we know the Indiana Pacers are resilient and they literally stole game one but after watching these first two games the Thunder are clearly the better team and the one thing about the Indiana Pacers Tyrese Halen for me I have been very very disappointed with Tyrese Hallebertton in these first two games in the NBA finals as great as Tyreek Hallebertton has played throughout the playoff run for the Indiana Pacers and I know he’s hit a game winner or a game tying shot in each round for the Indiana Pacers I have been disappointed with Tyrese Halen’s performance in the NBA Finals because specifically in game two going into the fourth quarter of game two Halen had five points now he finished with 17 points but he had five points going into the fourth quarter club points in the fourth quarter tyrese you are in the NBA finals bro you are going up against the Oklahoma City a team who was the best team in the Western Conference they were the best team in the NBA throughout the regular season and right now they have an 81 and 18 record I believe 818 18 record I believe throughout the entire season so bro you can’t keep getting off to these slow starts that’s going to be important tonight in game three tyrese Halen has to come out the gate and be aggressive for the Indiana Pacers to have a chance he got come out the gate and be aggressive five points going into the fourth quarter now he had 12 points in the fourth quarter but it was too little too late for the Indiana Pacers and Tyrese Hallebertton in game two so in game three at home in front of your home crowd Tyrese I need you to come out and be aggressive and set the tone for your team tonight that’s the only way the Pacers have a chance that’s the only way so Tyrese Hallebertton he has to come out and be more aggressive and I think he also has to honestly he has to be more aggressive from a scoring standpoint i don’t I don’t believe Hallebertton can just be this true point guard and distribute the basketball if the Pacers want to have any chance at beating the Thunder halen is going to have to insert himself and play more aggressive and try to score at an elite level and we’ve watched Hallebertton he’s been able to do that i believe it was game four against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals i believe Halen had over 30 points i believe he had a a triple double if I’m not mistaken so we’ve seen Halen be able to score at an elite level tyrese Hallebertton cannot just be a passing point guard he’s going to have to be a passing slashscoring point guard for the Indiana Pacers to have any snowball chance in hell at being able to pull off this upset over the Oklahoma City Thunder so Hallebertton has to come out and be more aggressive also from a defensive standpoint and I’m ask I’m ask y’all this question and I’ve thought about this if you are Rick Carile you have to pick a poison either you allow SGA to get his points and stop everyone else and say “Okay SCA can get 40 but we’re not going to allow anyone else to beat us.” Or you sell out you fell out to try and contain because you can’t stop but contain SGA and try to contain him as much as you can and see if others on the Thunder can beat you rick Carlile has to make a tough decision that’s why I’m not in the NBA and I’m not into coaching because this is a tough decision that he has to make either you sell out to try and completely contain SCA and make others beat you or you allow SGA to get his points and you try to stop everyone else and say SGA can’t beat us by himself rick Carlo has to make a tough decision he got to make a tough decision because right now allowing these role players for the Thunder to have huge impacts on these games that’s not going to bode well for the Pacers alex Caruso Aaron Wiggins they were balling in game two for the Thunder they were balling and it’s weird because the Pacers won game one with 24 turnovers they had 24 turnovers in game one but even though they had 24 turnovers the Thunder only had I believe like 11 points off of those 24 turnovers by the Pacers so the Thunder they didn’t take advantage of the Pacers turnovers in game one and then in game two the Thunder they played much better the Thunder they shot better from the floor from a field goal percentage perspective they had more assists in game two than they had in game one they had more rebounds in game two than they had in game one and also and this is why the Thunder are so elite and so great because the Thunder they play elite elite defense the Pacers shot 46% from three in game one in game two the Pacers only shot 35% from three so the Thunder they amped up their defensive intensity and they were not allowing the Pacers to get hot from three-point range and to me that’s the only way the Pacers can compete in this series they have to hit the perimeter shots if the Pacers do not shoot a high percentage from three this is going to be a short series and the Thunder probably going to win in five and that actually leads me to my next point i hope I’m wrong i hope I’m wrong but I got a weird feeling that the Thunder are going to win both games three and games four in that town in the NBA Finals and they are going to go back home back to Oklahoma City in game five with a chance to close out the Pacers in the NBA finals i hope I’m wrong i hope the Pacers can win one of these two games in that town but I got this weird feeling that the Thunder are going to win the next two games in Indie and if they win the next two games in Indie the series will be over because there is no way in hell that the Thunder are going to lose in a game five with a chance to win their first NBA championship in their franchise history so I got a weird feeling that the Thunder are about to win three straight i hope I’m wrong i hope and pray I’m wrong but I got a feeling that the Thunder are about to win three straight games but I’ve been wrong before hopefully I’m wrong again now before the series I did pick the Thunder in six i picked the Thunder in six but the after watching these first two games it wouldn’t shock me one bit if the Thunder beat the Pacers in five games and it’s a gentleman sweep seriously the more I the more I thought about it after game two I was thinking to myself the Pacers leed up in game one they leucked up in game one they lucked up they really really did for whatever reason the Thunder allowed the Pacers to overcome a doubledigit deficit and get back into that game and Tyrese Hallebertton hit a big shot he hit a big shot and to his credit Tyrese Halen has been very very clutch this postseason he’s been clutch but overall I have been disappointed in Halenburg’s performances in games one and games two of the NBA finals tonight he has to come out and be more aggressive the only advantage I can think of that the Pacers have over the Thunder is head coach i believe Rick Carile is a better head coach than Mark Day not like Mark Day but Rick Carlau is more proven than Mark Day but man I which that that’s another thing I was thinking about remember in 2011 when the Dallas Mavericks upset the Miami Heat that was the Dallas Mavericks team with Dirk Dwinsky and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry they upset and beat LeBron B Wayade and Bosch in the NBA finals rick Carile was the head coach of that team and so similar to 2011 in this year in the NBA Finals Rick Carile’s team is significantly significantly the underdogs in this series and so I was thinking like man what if Rick Carlile pulls this off what if Rick Carile actually is able to win this NBA finals as the Pacers head coach that means he would have two NBA championships on his resume as head coach but and that would be two of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history with the Mavericks beating the Heat in 2011 and the Pacers beating the Thunder in 2025 that would be a huge huge upset and to me if Rick Carile is able to pull this off and the Pacers are able to win the NBA Finals Rick Carile should be considered a lot for the NBA Hall of Fame a lot for the NBA Hall of Fame if the Pacers can pull this off that would be two upsets as underdogs that Rick Carile would have been able to pull off as a head coach so he would definitely be a lock for the Hall of Fame but I don’t see it happening and unfortunately for Rick Carlile and the Indiana Pacers and the city of Indiana I believe Oklahoma City they are going to win the NBA finals i just don’t know if it’s going to be in five or six games i’m hoping and praying it’s not in five games so I’m praying that the Pacers can win one of these two games in Indie otherwise if we’re going back to Oklahoma City and it’s Thunder 3-1 over the Pacers that will be all she wrote in the NBA Finals and the NBA season will will be officially over Monday night in Oklahoma City i think Monday is game five because game three is tonight game four is Friday night in Indianapolis so game five will be Monday night in Oklahoma City if OKC wins both games in Indie the NBA season will be over Monday night in Oklahoma City it’ll be officially over that is Monday June the 15th so hopefully Pacers can get a win tonight or Friday but Tyurn has to come out and be more aggressive out the gate he cannot wait until the Pacers are down double digits to the Thunder and they start to be aggressive he has to come out and be aggressive early and often another thing for the Pacers they need their bench to outperform the Thunderb the Pacers bench has to outperform the Thunder bench that’s the only way the Pacers have a chance to win this series so Benedict Matan TJ McConnell Obie Topphen Thomas Bryant they have to play at an elite level they can’t allow the Alice Carusos the Aaron Wiggins the Isaiah Joe’s of the world outplay them they have to come out and put their imprint and have an impact on these games they have to have an impact on in these games seriously so those are my thoughts on the NBA Finals everybody go follow Wise Guys on all social media platforms and don’t forget each and every Monday it’s the We Not Box In Melvin Levit we are at ParkPlace 700 p.m to 9:00 p.m with Dante Payne with On Impact Recruiting Services behind the scenes parkplace we not boxing podcast 7 pm to 900 pm y’all enjoy y’all wednesday is hump day game three tonight thunder Pacers 8:30 p.m tip off in Naptown i’ll be watching y’all enjoy y’all wednesday evening
