Discussing the Latest Injury News for Max Strus and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Potential Playoff Rotation

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On today's show, Mac's juice is reportedly close to making his season debut for the

calves.

And I think that's very important as we start to think about what the playoff rotation

for Cleveland might be.

We'll discuss it on this edition of Lockdown Caves.

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If you have not previously done so and make sure you're subscribed wherever you might

be listening to this show on today's edition of Lockdown Caves, we'll be talking about

Mac's juice, the potential return that he or I guess season debut more accurately that

he could be making for the calves in the very near future with the playoff rotation

could look like and why Mac's juice is returned before the end of the regular season is very

important as far as it goes to solving that puzzle.

Then we will take a little bit of a look at some of the teams the calves could face in

the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs because on Wednesday night they're facing

one of them in New Orlando, magic.

But I wanted to begin with the latest on Mac's juice because Joe Varden of the Athletic

put out an article on Tuesday morning that focused on Mac's juice.

It was very much not focusing on Mac's The Basketball Player.

I was focusing on Mac's who he is away from the floor and some of the really noble things

that he has done in the community and that his foundation has done and it's worth your

time to go read.

If you subscribe to the athletic it's worth your time you will enjoy that story.

But one of the lines that Joe put in that story and that is the thing that really everybody

is going to focus on because of course that's the thing everybody's going to focus on is

that Mac's juice could be nearing a return that he could play for the calves within the

next week.

Strus has obviously not played so far this season because of a Jones fracture in his left

foot.

The injury occurred in August.

He had surgery on August 26th.

Initially the calves gave him a timeline to return to basketball activities three to

four months which is not returned to game action.

But it is far exceeded that we are far past that four months would have been the day after

Christmas.

Five months was the end of January six months is the end of February so we're near six

and a half months now since Max had the surgery and he is back doing basketball activities.

We recently got an official update from the calves last week and we'll talk about what

that means and just like how all of this plays into it in just a second.

But he is going to be playing basketball for the calves sooner than later.

And I think that is obviously an important thing to think about.

It's a very bright spot for the calves too because I do look at this roster and think

about what they're missing and Max kind of is the answer there.

But I do want to read because Kenny Atkinson was asked.

I believe Joe Varten was actually the one that asked this question.

Prior to I want to say the game against the Boston Celtics earlier this past weekend.

Yes, it was prior to the game against the Celtics on Sunday and he was asked just like where

does Max stand in Kenny Atkinson said quote, I think he's ramping up.

I do believe he's got one more visit with a doctor.

I'm not sure when that is.

I know it's coming up to kind of confirm that we're doing all right but as far as the on

the court stuff, he's doing more and more every day.

So we're getting closer.

That's all I could say.

And I look at this and I think that there is a date that makes sense for Max to be back.

Now that said, I've not heard anything more since Sunday on Max's progress.

So this is speculative and based upon what Joe was reporting over at the athletic.

But I look at this and he has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against your Orlando

magic.

He's not playing on Wednesday.

And I would also not knowing when his doctor appointment is.

I think the date that might make the most sense for him to return is Sunday at home.

Now the calves have historically, I think for the most part brought guys back from significant

injuries at home.

That has been something like think about when Darius Garland came back his first game

in the season was a home game.

I believe when Ricky Rubio came back from his tornado sale a few years ago, his first

game back was at home like that is something that the calves.

I don't know if it's something they try and do or if it is something that just kind of

has worked out for that matter better or worse.

Like that has been something when there have been significant injuries.

And I don't think that this is a calves specific team thing.

Like you look at Boston bringing Jason Tatum back last weekend.

I don't want to compare a torn Achilles to a Jones fracture because they're two very,

very different injuries.

But you look at the Celtics could have brought him back on Sunday against the calves.

They probably could have brought him back in one of their other recent games.

But they brought him back on a home game on Friday against the Dallas Maverick.

That wasn't done accidentally.

And I think it makes the most sense for the calves to bring back Max.

If he's ready and able to play on Sunday because the calves now have a stretch

where five of their next six games are on the road on Wednesday night.

They're in Orlando.

They're in Dallas on Friday.

Then they're at home against Dallas on Sunday.

Then they go out back on the road for a three game road trip against Milwaukee Chicago,

which I guess you could talk me into Chicago making some sense.

But the calves are also kind of up against it time wise now because you look at right now.

They're getting close to the end of the schedule.

They have played 65 games at this point.

They only have so much time left.

And while Max is not going to play on Wednesday and maybe he plays on Friday,

I would be surprised if he plays on Friday.

But the calves need to figure out one, what Max is going to look like out there.

Max needs to get the reps in two.

They need to go out and kind of start figuring out their postseason rotation.

And I want to talk about that coming up in just a second as well.

But they need to be able to bring Max back with I think around 15 games left in the regular season.

Just for him to be able to work it himself back onto the floor.

And to also give the rest of the roster an opportunity to figure these things out.

The challenge that the calves have with not only bringing Max back from the Jones fracture in his foot,

but the hardened trade, the trade for Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroeder,

although I think that one's to a lesser extent because those guys are not high usage guys.

But Max has been a starter on this team.

And I would not anticipate that he's going to be a starter this year.

I don't think that's going to be in the cards.

I look at it and say Dean Wade is probably going to be that starting small forward.

But again, that's conversation for the next segment coming up.

But you still have to work in somebody that is important and could be a significant part of the playoff rotation.

So I do look at this and say if they can get Max and you know, he would I expect him to play.

Let's just say hypothetically, he comes back and plays on Sunday against Dallas.

One, he's probably in all likelihood going to be on a minute restriction.

I would imagine that's probably 15-ish minutes, see how his body responds,

see what it looks like for the first time this season, get his legs underneath him a little bit.

And then too, I would also just because this typically does not happen with guys coming off injuries.

I would be surprised if he plays in back-to-backs the rest of this year.

I don't know that it makes sense.

And the Cavs do have a couple of them like they have Orlando and Miami back-to-back at home in a couple of weeks.

They have a back-to-back on their West Coast road trip coming up.

So there are a couple of instances where you think, okay, Max is probably not going to play on both ends of those.

So that's a lost game right there.

So I do think that you look at this and say the Cavs are kind of up against a time wise at this point where yeah,

they have, at this point, they still have, I believe it is, 17 games remaining,

but you take out Wednesday's game that gets you down to 16.

If he doesn't play on Friday that put you at 15, you have a couple of back-to-back.

Sure, now down, you're getting closer to 10 games left.

And that's an incredibly small sample size to get a guy ramped up, get a guy ready for the postseason

and get the rest of this team ready for the postseason as well.

So I think that is a very interesting thing to balance.

And that's going to be a challenge for Kenny Atkinson.

Again, we don't know when Max Shrews is going to be back.

I imagine it's going to be sooner rather than later.

I think it could be, I mean, I guess hypothetically, it could be as soon as Friday.

My best guess is that it's probably going to be as soon as Sunday.

That is the game that I have circled and say, I could, I think this makes a lot of sense.

I'm not reporting that's what's going to happen.

Maybe something happens and he plays on Friday.

Maybe he doesn't play again until Tuesday.

I don't know, but just from a logical, the way I'm thinking about this, I think Sunday against Dallas at home

is the one that makes the most sense for Max to be back.

I'm a foreigner to make his season.

Maybe one other injury update to share to you is that Jared Allen is out on Wednesday night

against Orlando Magic with knee 10 tonight.

This and the calves have continued to say with Jared's injury that they don't believe

this to be a serious injury and this will now mean that he misses over a week

because he last played one week from right now.

I'm really like right about right now is it's 8.45 in the evening on Tuesday.

As I record this, so he's missed about a week with an injury that the calves are

deeming to not be serious.

And as long as that is the truth, as long as this is not a serious injury,

I think in the long run, if Jared Allen is going to get over this and be 100% healthy,

this is going to be a really good thing for Jared Allen because I look at what the calves

were able to do for down of a Mitchell where they got him two weeks off essentially.

Now, he missed four games because of the growing soreness, but what that was partially,

it was to get him healthy to make sure that he can be as close to 100% because nobody's

100% right now, but that he can be as close to 100% as possible going into the postseason.

If that means he had to miss four games over a stretch of two weeks because the calves had

that weird break in the schedule or that four days off, I think that is something that long term

the calves look at and say, okay, that's worth it.

Like, even if the calves go two and two with a couple of very winnable games that

down of a Mitchell sat out, maybe they don't get three seed, maybe they don't get the two seed

because of that, but they'll be better suited for postseason action because of that.

And I think that while Jared Allen is obviously not the same caliber basketball player down

of a Mitchell is, I think you should look at him in a similar light in terms of fatigue,

because think back to Tuesday's game against Detroit.

Now, that was the eighth game in 12 days, I believe it was for the calves coming out of the

Ulster break. So everybody on that roster was exhausted and I think it was

understandable why that was the case.

But Jared looked out of gas at that point and he played in all 82 games last year and I think

that while it was certainly a commendable thing and impressive that he was able to do so,

I don't know that it was the best thing for him to lace him up every single night.

Like, I do wonder if Jared Allen would have been better off getting a little bit of rest.

And this year he's played 51 games, right? He missed a month because of the finger injuries.

And obviously now he's missing a little bit of time, but I do think that this could be an

opportunity for him to get as healthy as possible, leading into the postseason, to feel fresh,

leading into the postseason. Now, the calves will have a round to week off between the end of

the regular season and the start of their postseason when things wrap up in like the middle of April

and then really ramp up April 18th, I believe is when the postseason starts.

So he'll have an opportunity and everybody else on the roster will have an opportunity,

but buying a little bit of time right now to be able to do that, I think is a really good thing.

And if Jared Allen is going to be healthy and 100% at the end of this, missing these games right

now while they are valuable reps that I think he and James Harden could use together, I think this

is something that I look at and say it'll be worth it in the long run for the calves. Now,

if Max Truce is back and looks like Max Truce, it leads to a very interesting conversation,

I think, about what the playoff rotation could look like for the Queen of Cavaliers. I want to

discuss that next right here at Lockdown Caves. But first, today's show is brought to you by,

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the number five h-o-u-r-energy.com or on Amazon today. Thank you again for making this edition

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And if you aren't every day or to Lockdown Cavs, do me a favor. Check out the Lockdown Cavs

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you can use the code March that's M-A-R-C-H to get your first month for free. So head to the link

in the show notes if you would like to learn more. Can you add cancens greatest challenge?

The rest of this regular season, it's not winning basketball games. Cavs have the second

easiest schedule in basketball remaining. They have the easiest schedule in the Easter conference

remaining. They're going to rack up the wins. They're 40 and 25. I would imagine over their final

17 games, they probably go something along the lines of 12 and 5 or 13 and 4. Like they're going

to win a lot of basketball games just by who they're playing. Like the fact of the matter is

they really only have, I believe it is, five games left against teams that are really trying

to win basketball games. If you want to count Milwaukee, then it's six, but like the schedule is

a joke. So they're going to win games. But what Kenny needs to figure out is the postseason rotation

and more specifically considering what we talked about for the first 12 minutes of this show,

how Max Struse could potentially fit into it? Because I do think when Max comes back,

he's going to be on a minutes restriction. He's probably not going to look like the best

version of Max Struse right away. I think that's an unfair ask of him. For a guy who has not played

competitive basketball since May, that is something that's just like, I don't know the likelihood

of that being able to happen. If it happens and I'm wrong, that's great. That would be the best

case scenario for the Cavs. I just don't know that that's going to be the thing that actually happens.

The reality of injuries like this one is they take some time before you feel like yourself.

Even Jason Tatum, and again, and Achilles injury is much different than a Jones fracture.

Jason Tatum has been impressive because he's back on the floor. I don't think Jason Tatum has

looked awesome so far. He's had stretches where he's looked really good, but the totality of

Jason Tatum hasn't necessarily been incredible. Max is probably going to have stretches where he

looks like Max Struse, and he's going to have other stretches where he might not look his best,

and that needs to be something that the Cavs can work through. But I do think if Max

is able to, over the next month before the end of the regular season, if he is able to rediscover

his form, if he is able to look like Max Struse, then there needs to be a place in the postseason

rotation form because he is right now, I think a lot of what the Cavs are missing. That's starting

line up, and I would not anticipate Max being a starter no matter what this year. I think Kenny

Atkinson is pretty adamant about having Dean Wade in the starting line up. He mentioned it again

on Tuesday or on Monday night after the Cavs beat the Sixers that like Dean is the starting

small forward when the Cavs are fully healthy, and I think that that is the group that the Cavs

believe give them the most defensive upside, and I am of the belief that as long as James Hardin

and Donovan Mitchell are on the floor together, you're going to be an elite offense no matter

who that fifth player is, especially when you think about how good Evan Moby and Jared Allen have

been with that grouping too. So I think that they want to lean defense. I understand that

something I agree with. I know that there are a lot of Cavs fans out there that think Jalen Tyson

should be the starter. I understand that line of thinking too, because I do think Tyson has

struggled coming off the bench. He's been a much better player as a starter than a bench player,

so like I get both sides of that argument. But if, and it's a big myth, if Max is able to look

like himself, he's got to be a rotational player in the playoffs. He does, because they miss

his ability to be a connector. Like I still think that while the Cavs have a lot of guys

that are around Max's size, he is unique. They don't have another player that replicates the

things that he does. Like Jalen Tyson is a little bit bigger than Max Drew's, but they have very

different skill sets. They're both good shooters, but they're different shooters, and they are just,

they're very different players. He's a different player than Sam Merrill. He's a different player

than Kiana Ellis. I know Dean Wade is significantly bigger, but he's a different style of player.

Like the Cavs only have one Max Drew's in a similar way, and maybe the guy that he's closest to

is Sam Merrill. I think Max is better defensively. I don't know that he's necessarily matchup

proof in every matchup, but I do think that if he's at full strength, he needs to be in the

postseason rotation. So it got me to thinking, and I did go back, and it's a small sample size,

because if you think about the Cavs in the playoffs last year, I think when we talk about playoff

rotations, I want to see what the rotation is at the start of a series. Because the deeper you get

into a series, you gather more data, and then you make adjustments based on it. Like the playoff

rotation the Cavs had at the end of the series against the Pacers was different than what it was

at the start of the series against the Pacers. Like think about how important Ty Jerome was to

that team, and in game five, he didn't play in the first half of that game, because he didn't

have it going on offensively, and he was not good defensively. And the Darius Garland things

certainly mattered there as far as his injury goes. So the two games that I look at are the first

two games of that Miami series, because the Cavs for like we think of that Miami series as an

all-time blowout, and it was, I mean the Cavs absolutely embarrassed the heat in that series,

but games one and two were not like crazy blowout wins for the Cavs. They won them, and it wasn't

like the game was in doubt in the final seconds, but they weren't blowout victories the way that

games three and four were where the Cavs absolutely destroyed Miami. So I think that is worth

thinking about. So I went back and looked at those box scores, and Kenny Ackinson in those games,

he played 10 guys. Now Dean Wade only played, I think it was five minutes in game two,

Isaac Acoro only played like nine minutes, but those guys were part of the real rotation.

They were not garbage time minutes thrown in there. There was like 90 seconds of mop up duty.

And I think it was game two in one of the games. There was like 90 seconds of mop up duty,

where Craig Porter Jr. and Javante Green, they checked into the game and like they were on the

box course, so that that changes things a little bit. But I look at this, and I do think playing 10

guys is probably where Kenny Ackinson, if Max Truce proves to be Max Truce again,

but probably want to play 10. And that's what he did last year. So I look at it and think, okay,

just some minutes math here. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, they're all going to play

34 plus minutes. Harden might play more than them. He's always been a high minutes guy.

Like he played 38 minutes against the Celtics on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised if his minutes

told him. And Kenny Ackinson talked about this too, about the job that Harden does to conserve

energy and that how he's not a big movement guy. And that can allow him to play a little bit more

in some of these games. So I think that's worth factoring in. But just for the sake of this

discussion, I've got all of them at 34 minutes here. I think Jared Allen's going to play slightly

less than them. He'll probably play around 30. I just don't think his motor runs as long as those

other three guys. It's not that Jared Allen's a lesser player that's just I think kind of what

history with Jared Allen tells you. Maybe I'm wrong there. Maybe he plays 35 minutes a game. But

I don't know that that's going to be in the cards. So then you've got roughly 105 minutes

after those four to split among six guys. Dean Wade, Keyon Ellis, Max Drew, Sam Merrill,

Dennis Shruder, and Jalen Tyson. All six of those guys belong in the playoff rotation. They do.

And I think this is where Kenny Ackinson is going to have to coach on field. I think you can

script first halves. I think second halves have to be on field. And I also do think too.

The postseason rotation is something that Keyon and should differ from series to series.

Because some guys might be better matchups in certain against certain opponents. Like Keyon Ellis,

for example, I think right now needs to be in the playoff rotation. But he might be a better matchup

against a team like Orlando. Then he is a team like Toronto. And I'm just saying that I'm not

trying to get super specific here. But like Dennis Shruder might make more sense against a team

like Miami than he does a team like Orlando. Those are things that we will dig deeper into

as we get closer to the postseason. But those are just examples of guys that can necessarily

make a bigger impact against certain opponents rather than against other opponents. And I just

think that is something that's worth keeping in mind. And that's the type of challenge that

Kenny Atkinson is going to have leading up to the playoffs as he figures out who belongs in these

minutes who deserves these minutes. And he talked about it on Monday night too that like every

but the playoffs minutes for some guys are guaranteed, right? Like we don't need to talk about

how many minutes is down to the Mitchell going to have in the playoffs. Like that's not a discussion.

But for the role players, it's very much up in the air right now. And that is one of the more

fascinating things to watch over the final month of this season. To see who really goes out and

earns those minutes for the calves, who Kenny Atkinson is really really willing to trust. And

the playoffs begin on April 18th. And if everything goes according to plan for the calves over the

next month, their final 17 games of the regular season, I will be very, very interested to see who

is in the rotation, how big the rotation is and what it looks like for the calves when they make

their playoff debut on either April 18th or April 19th. But there are a few teams that I think

are emerging as potential first round opponents for the calves. They're playing one of them on

Wednesday night in Orlando Magic. I'm going to talk about three teams and then one long shot. I think

we could see the calves face in the first round of the playoffs. We'll do that next right here.

I'm locked on calves. But first today's show is brought to you by a game time. There's nothing

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already. On Monday night's game against Philadelphia, I think the calves did something and maybe

the news on Tuesday with Tyrie's Maxi for the Sixers may have also done something, but I think

that the Philadelphia 76ers are not going to be one team that the calves face in the first run.

I think that the Sixers play off hopes are on life support. I would be very surprised if they are

out of the plan. And I also at this point would be surprised if the calves are able to get up to

the number two seed. Now, as I record this, the Celtics are taking on the San Antonio Spurs and

the Boston Celtics do have a difficult schedule remaining. But in all likelihood, I think the calves

are probably going to be either the number three or the number four seed in the Eastern Conference.

They are currently one half game behind the New York Knicks. They are tied in the lost column,

which is the column that matters, although the Knicks are the team that does own the tiebreaker

there. So I think it's kind of a coin flip as to whether or not the calves end up third or end up

fourth in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have very easy remaining schedules. But I look at this

and I think that there are three legitimate or likely first round playoff opponents for the calves.

And then there's a long shot in there too. I think those three are Toronto, who is currently

in the number five seed in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat, who are facing, I believe,

the Washington Wizards and winning that game decidedly. As I record this on Tuesday, they are

currently in sixth. And then the Orlando Magic, who the calves will see on Wednesday night, are currently

in seventh, but they are both, they are just percentage points behind the Miami Heat for sixth.

They are both 10 games behind the Detroit Pistons in the standings as I record this, but as Miami

beats Washington on Tuesday, the heat will pull ahead. But like Orlando could theoretically,

I think get as high as five. I think Miami, who is a game behind Toronto, could get as high as five.

I don't think any of these teams are capable of catching the calves. Like the calves,

I feel very confident that the calves are going to have home court advantage in the first round.

But I think that as we look ahead to potential matchups, those are the three teams that I think

are the most likely first round opponents. And then I think the Atlanta Hawks are a long shot.

They could get up potentially to sixth. I'm not sure that it's going to happen. They don't have

all the difficult of the schedule remaining. But I do think they're a team that theoretically,

they've been playing very good basketball right now, as has the Miami Heat 2.

But I think they could get up to six. I think the sixers are going to be a playing team,

and I don't think the calves are getting up to two. I think the Charlotte Hornets are better than

all of these teams. But I think they're a little bit too far back to make their way up out of the

plan. And if the calves are not going to get to two, that means they're not going to see the

Charlotte Hornets in a postseason series. And the calves I do think would be heavy favorites

over all of these teams. And I know that Miami is playing really good basketball right now.

They've been really good lately. I don't think the heat can beat the calves in a postseason series.

It would be much closer than last year. I don't think it would be a sweep. But I look at that and

say that calves are probably going to handle Miami. I think they would handle Orlando.

I don't think they'd have an issue with Toronto. I don't. And I know you can sit here and say,

well, the Raptors, the anyone three and oh against the calves this year, they swept the season

series. You're right. That means nothing. There, I take nothing away from those three games.

And I actually went back and looked at the box scores of those games before recording them.

And here are some things that I found. So the third and final game the calves played came on November

24th, which was a Monday. That means that November 26th or no, excuse me, November 27th,

I believe it would have been was Thanksgiving. They've not played since before Thanksgiving.

That's a long time since they have seen the Toronto Raptors. One, we should talk about

how much the calves have changed since then. James Hardin was on the Clippers.

Dennis Schroeder, he and Ellis, they were on the Sacramento Kings. The calves were a much

different basketball team. And then if you dig a little bit deeper into the box scores of these

games, well, one of them was the fifth game in seven nights. And the calves had three instances

this year where they played five games in seven nights. And in that fifth game,

in all of them, they lost. That was the first one where they had a fifth game in seven nights.

It was, it was the second night of a back-to-back with the first game taking place in Miami.

And the calves looked exhausted. They didn't look like themselves. And that was the week that

Darius Garland re-injured his left toe in Miami that Monday. The calves did one the night before.

That was an impressive win over the heat, where some of their star players didn't play.

But that was a team that just looked spent at that point. The other two games,

Lanzo Ball started. And Lanzo was no longer in the NBA. I would be surprised if he plays

meaningful minutes in the NBA again. Very clearly, it's just not at the point where he's an NBA

player anymore. And Luke Travers, who also is not in the NBA. And I don't think is a very good

basketball player, played legitimate rotation minutes in two of those games. Chris Livingston,

who was on a two-way with the calves and is no longer with the calves. I don't believe his

signed anywhere since. Who did, I believe, had a hand injury that ended his time in Cleveland.

But he was in the rotation for one of those games. And he was a plus 14, I think it was in 11

minutes. He was really good. The game in Toronto. But the point being here is,

none of the games that we have seen. The calves play against really any of these teams they could

play in the first round matter. They're one and one against Hawks. They have two games left.

They're one and one against the heat. They have two games left. They're two and one against Orlando.

With both of those games coming relatively recently, but they were still before the trade

that was made for the calves. So I look at this and say, yes, the calves got swept by Toronto.

That doesn't matter. The calves are two and a went to Orlando. And who knows? Maybe on Wednesday,

they moved to three. No, maybe they lose. I don't know. Orlando is in a rest spot. The calves

third game in four nights. This could be a loss on Wednesday night. I would not be surprised if

that's the case. We'll see what happens when they face Miami. That's going to be a second night

back to back for the calves and a third and four nights for the calves as well. So like maybe they

don't fare well in these games against these potential playoff opponents rest of the way.

I don't think it's going to matter. I look at these teams and just don't think that any of them

can keep up offensively with who the calves are right now. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I would be

very surprised if that were the case. Now, as I said, the calves are back in action on Wednesday night

when they're in Orlando taking on the Orlando Magic. And I have Philip Rossman, right,

from Lockdown Magic, who's going to stop by for a bonus edition of Lockdown calves that will be

in your podcast feeds at noon on Wednesday. And it will be up on YouTube at 11am on Wednesday morning

if you would like a preview of what could be a postseason preview for the calves, but more specifically

a preview of Wednesday night's game. So make sure that you are subscribed wherever you're listening to

this. That's Apple, that's Spotify or that's on YouTube. And if you are watching on YouTube,

please do me a favor. Hit the thumbs up button if you have not already and click that notification

bell so you don't miss the latest from Lockdown calves. I'll be back previewing the magic on Wednesday

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