The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 05/21/2021 - HOUR 1 - Nets, Clippers, LeBron, Tebow

Episode Date: May 21, 2021

We haven't seen the Nets under pressure yetThe Clippers may reboot everything if they underachieve again in the playoffsPeople are exaggerating LeBron James' ankle injuryTim Tebow fans will be irrational if Trevor Lawrence struggles earlyGuest: Ric Bucher Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

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You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversation. with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for The Heard at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it has Friday, and the week has just flown by live in Los Angeles. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. We had these little fun playing games.

They were adorable now this weekend. And this is when reality set thin. Now's the pressure. Now's the good teams. Now's the high-seated teams. None of the playing game stuff. That stuff's over. That was adorable.

Well, we got one more. Oh, do we? Which one's that? We got Warriors Grizzlies. So we have one more. Is that tonight? Yes. All right.

Probably Warriors probably win that one. This is Saturday. It starts. Pete bucks. Yeah. This will be a very exciting weekend. So, Joy, I always believe this. Everybody's a nice guy in comfort.

Everybody's a nice guy when your kids hitting home runs in Little League. Judge people also how they act in crisis, how they act when they don't get their own way. Judge people on that too. Because everybody's a nice guy when everything goes their way. Things get a little rough. That's when the truth comes out. The truth comes out when things don't go everybody's way. So there's two teams here fascinating.

We got the Nets, Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Hardin, Kevin Durant. They open up Saturday with the Celtics. They will roll through Boston. Boston doesn't have the size at the rim. Katie will do whatever he wants. They don't have Jalen Brown. They don't have enough juice offensively. It's going to be a four or five game series.

And the media is going to fawn over Brooklyn. The points are going to come easy. The games mostly will be blowouts. Boston maybe wins a game. Everybody. Well, of course they'll be in a good mood. It will be easy. It is a massive talent disparity between the Celtics and Brooklyn.

But then they're going to have to face like the Bucks. That'll be interesting. Six or seven game series, little duress, very physical team, rim protector, Drew Holliday, P.J. Tucker can be annoying. I want to see the three stars for Brooklyn in crisis. Because I've seen the big three in Brooklyn. in crisis. Kyrie can flake, Harden can erode,

Katie can pout. And by the way, the coaches are Steve Nash, always underachieved in the playoff, and Mike Dan Tony struggled in the playoff. First guy off the bench, sometimes starter Blake Griffin, struggled in the playoff.

There are nothing but playoff ghosts all over this locker room, and you're not going to sense it against Boston, and let's be honest. For top offensive stars in this league, they rarely face discomfort in the NBA regular season. It's basically 28 points in 36 minutes on to Denver rinse and repeat. The referees officiate it differently. They want to get out of town and go to the next game.

They don't want a three and a half hour game at the free throw line. They let guys play. The coaches view it as a marathon, not a sprint. They don't want to offend or alienate their story. players in the regular season. I mean, a fifth of the NBA is tanking by the end of the season. The media is barely paying attention. But just wait in about 10 days, two weeks, Nets, Milwaukee.

A lot of scrutiny. Media watching, you watching, me watching, joy watching, every possession. Rim protector, PJ Tucker, Drew Holiday are physical, annoying, in your ribs. in your airspace guys. The coaches now get louder. They demand more because coaches in the NBA don't win playoff series. They get run. They get ripped. Dan Tony doesn't need another bad playoff series. Steve Nash, rookie coach. We start saying against Milwaukee, they're down 2-0. Nash is over his skis. Oh, here comes Hardin again. Kyrie's a flake and the world's watching. So I can't wait to watch Brooklyn after the Boston's.

The Boston series is going to be nothing but comfort. Kevin Durant's going to do whatever he wants. You know, Jason Tatum's going to play fine, but he has no shot. They just don't have the, they don't have the ammo. Here's the other team. So let's shift to the Clippers. So the Clippers start tomorrow against Dallas. I think they'll win the series.

But I'm just going to, I'm going to pose a hypothetical to you. it's always worse when somebody you used to be with goes on and has success. I often said this about divorces. I never root against anybody. But you don't want to see him have a much better life than you, right? What if Doc Rivers and Tobias Harris,

the ex-clippers, get to the finals? By the way, very, very possible. What happens if the Phoenix Suns Chris Paul upset the Lakers. Ooh. What if ex-Clipper Blake Griffin and the Nets end up doing really well? What if the Lakers who share the same building in Montrez-Herald win?

That's not great for the Clippers, right? I mean, we know Doc Rivers, Tobias Harris, in the finals, against the Lakers who share the building in Montres-Herald. That ain't good for the clippers. I think the Clippers are a Tinderbox. I think the pressure on this team is crazy. And don't kid yourself. Russell Westbrook through the years,

you don't think he saw and heard all the guys he used to play with, have all this playoff success, and he's played 26 playoff games and he's won eight. Of course it matters after a while. Steve Balmer is a very front-facing owner. He spent $2 billion on this team, 1.8 on a new arena and that'll be major cost overruns because it's Los Angeles and there's cost overruns on lunch. He's going to be $5, 6, 7 billion in. And you got Kauai, a free agent after the

year. Paul George coming off a horrible playoff last year. The team underachieve last year. The Lakers in the same building, here they come again. There is, to me, me, the Clippers, it is just, you ever walk into a room, it's like a budget meeting or something, or, you know, there's, you know, things aren't going well at the company and you'll walk in and it's just like, oh, it's tight. Have you ever gotten a massage in your life and the masseuse says, ooh, your shoulders, they're so tight? It's like, yeah, it's been a bad couple weeks at work. It's been a lot of pressure.

I feel like the Clippers, and I know you can't see this on radio, I feel like. like they're going into this playoffs with their shoulders up and they're like, oh, God. I mean, they're not good late in games. Paul George was awful. They underachieved. Balmer's paid a fortune. He's front facing. So we know who he is.

It'll be humiliating. And there are clippers everywhere crushing. Chris Paul's an MVP candidate. Tobias Harris is having his best year, and Doc Rivers has apparently solved the chemistry issues overnight in Philadelphia. Montrez Harold, now for the Lakers, their favor to get to the title. Blake Griffin ends up on the most talented threesome in the league. I mean, there are clippers everywhere in this league. Some of them are going to succeed.

And I just think as Balmer's watching television, you know, money's going out the door for the new arena. And Paul George is shooting 29% in the playoffs. And Kauai has to miss a game. You know, we've all worked at different companies. Some are loose and fun. And some bosses are a little uptight. And this is not a shot at Balmer, but he is a demanding boss. And right now he is sitting there.

If you'd have told Balmer, when Kauai Leonard and Paul George showed up to town, remember his press conference, he's hooting and hollering and the Lakers were a mess. They were kind of a mess. Since then, the Lakers have won a title, their favor to win a title, and the Clippers were the league's biggest meltdown last year. And Dallas is no fun to play, because Luca is great late in games, and the Clippers so far, two years, have been terrible late in games. So Brooklyn, I want to check them out in two weeks.

It'll be an easy 10 days for Brooklyn. It could get really tense. this clipper organization may just need a masseuse in about seven, eight days. Because it's going to be cablumo if it doesn't work. They're going to blow this thing up. And, of course, I'm here for it. So you know that I have historically been very fond of LeBron James. Can we stop with the, I'm not 100%.

Okay, stop. And I'll address that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having, trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my

journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the first. line, he running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Spa-like comfort, save big in your water bill with Navian tankless water heaters. Go to tankless made simple.com. It is great to have you in. another play-in game last night. Westbrook played under control. We predicted it.

Wizards would win. They did comfortably. Not a shock. I'll take the Warriors, I guess, tonight. So there was a story yesterday, apparently, on a show called The Jump, where one of the broadcasters for another company came out and said, hey, I hear LeBron's playing on one leg. Okay.

I'm over this. He's got a high ankle sprain. They can hurt. But LeBron's been playing now for 20. years. He's played 1,600 games. This is now your reality. This is the way it is. Like in the NFL playoffs, nobody's 100%. But I want to show you some video of LeBron James because I don't believe he's playing on one leg and I think I have video to prove it. Green, trying to jam it. James and Drummond right there. James down the other end. Leap,

a foul, counted. A foul. Count it. James drives on Descano Anderson. Lay up Banks at home. James, two defenders on him. To Calvo Pope inside, he's tied up by green. Goes it back up top. James puts up the break. Oh, it's gone.

A desperation heave and the Lakers are up three. I saw two good legs there. Those are not one-leg plays. LeBron's very good, and he's fine. This is a little drama. By the way, Joel Embed wakes up hurt. Kau I miss 20 games. KD. Hardin, Bradley Beale,

younger guys are hurt. Tom Brady played this season with a bad knee. But Brady didn't talk about it during the season, although he admitted a few days ago, yeah, I had to get surgery. I had pretty serious knee surgery this off season, which is the first surgery I've had in about 12 years. So I was really interested to see how it was going to go, because last year it just took a lot.

Every week I was kind of tending to my knee, and I thought I would love to see a season what it looks like when I can really focus on some other strength stuff that I want to do, some other technique stuff, where I'm not just focused on protecting my knee all the time. And Tom plays a sport in which people tackle you. Patrick Mahomes, it should be noted, got foot surgery after the Super Bowl. So both starting quarterbacks in the NFL, one got a foot surgery, one got a knee surgery. They didn't talk about it. it. Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines played with a fractured fibula. Justin Fields against Clemson got hit so hard. He appeared

to crack ribs. He was back in two series later. Philip Rivers once played in an AFC championship game with a torn ACL. Deshawn Watson had to take a bus this year to Jacksonville. He couldn't fly because he played with a partially collapsed lung. Drew Breeze played multiple games with cracked ribs and a partially collapsed right lung. LeBron, it's a high ankle sprain. I watch your highlights.

After 600 NBA games, many of them, intense playoff games. This is just, you're never going to be 100%. Michael wasn't 100% when he came back from baseball. That's the reality. This is a tough league. It is travel. It is cardio. It is run.

These are big bodies. But I don't want to hear about LeBron playing on one leg. You got Mahomes and Brady had major surgeries right after the season's over. And you know where LeBron's going to be after the season's over the last three or four years? He'll be at the same place. I see him. He's at his pool in Beverly Hills. He's on a rubber ducky.

And he's smiling and taking Instagram pictures. And he's going to have his beautiful family. And everybody's going to be happy. And it's a high ankle sprain. Joel M. B. wakes up hurt. Joy Taylor with the news. Turn on the news. This is the Hurdline news.

So the Wizards secured the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs last night with a thrilling 142, 115 win over the Pacers. I did watch this, although it was not quite as exhilarating as the rest of the play-in games. By the way, did you see, Joy, we always talk, I've said this before. A seven-game first-round playoff series is insane. I like the NBA. It's hard. Steph LeBron, a playing game got 5.6 million viewers.

That wasn't the high. That was the average. So the 5.6 million for a playing game beats all but about eight college football games last year. Why do college football games matter? Because there's urgency. You lose. You're out of the title hunt. People will watch this league, but you've got to give.

the audience a reason to watch it. Oh, you mean people still like the NBA? Yes, but you have to give them. People are still watching where all the boycott people go. Here's another one. How quickly you gave up on that when there was an urgent game with stars in it. Yes. And everybody says, well, you can't have a three game first round series because the good teams could lose. Well, if that's true joy, then why in March Madness when it's a one game playoff? This Duke and Kansas and Gonzagin, Villanova, they always make it to the final. The bottom line here is a three-game first-rounder. I have to watch.

It's better on the players' bodies. The only reason we don't have it. There's one reason. Billionaires are not willing to sacrifice $3 million gate. That's it. It would be so... Folks, do you know how big 5.6 million people to watch a play-in, it's basically a regular season end of the game, end of the year game.

5.6 million. It got to 6.2 million. That's like only five college football games beat it all year. Yeah, it doesn't surprise me because basketball is awesome and it was a must watch game. And once again, people are going to watch sports. So I guess the NBA is not too woke after all. Who knew? Anyway, Russell Westbrook had another triple double, 18 points, eight rebounds, and 15 assists. And Bradley Beale had a game high 25 points. but now they get rewarded with the number one seed sixers in the first round.

Not a good matchup. It's not a good matchup, but I don't think that will be, to your point, a very long series. Yeah, well, Ben Simmons is a tremendous defensive. The Sixers match up very well with Washington, so it could be a really quick series. We'll say, though, Washington had a pretty incredible turnaround this season. They were 17 and 32 before going on a 17 and 6 run to end the regular season. So can't be happy with the season. season overall because of the way they started, but they finished strong.

So they, you know, and now they're in the playoffs, obviously against the Sixers, which is not a great matchup, but they should be overall pretty happy with the way that they ended their season. So the Bucks haven't lived up to expectations in the postseason recently. And Janus was asked if he thinks this year will be any different. And he admitted he doesn't have the answer. I don't know if this year is going to be different team. I'm not going to like to.

I didn't say that. It might be the same. Who knows? You might. We'll see. The results are going to. going to talk on themselves at the end. But at the end of the day,

is that don't get too high, didn't get too low for like last year, probably because of the bubble, you know, wasn't able to get away from basketball, like losing the game and just going to the hotel and seeing the players that just beat you, you, like, got too low.

Boy, this is going to, now Milwaukee's not going to blow anything up if they lose, but they'll probably make a coaching change. And Miami, if you want to bet an underdog in the NBA playoffs, Miami is a great underdog bet. Because by the way, the last two years when Jimmy Butler plays, they win 64% of their games.

That's top five in the NBA. So like Butler did not play against Milwaukee. I think he only played one game against Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Brooklyn combined. So we really don't know what Miami is. And we know they have a great coach. Bamay, Ottubayu's better. They generally historically have been a very good playoff team.

This has, this is a scary moment for Milwaukee. This is a bad opening draw. I know we've talked a lot about how there's no pressure on Janus in Milwaukee this year. But they've just kind of quietly gone to the regular season. Yonis has had an unbelievable season. Average 28 points, 11 rebounds, 5.9 assists this season. But yeah, this is a tough first round matchup, especially since the heat sent them home in a gentleman suite in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year.

Then they lost the Raptors 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals year before that. And then they got bumped in the first round by the Celtics the year before that. So to be honest, his point, is it going to be different? They're going to have to change something. I think it will. I really think Drew Holliday and PJ Tucker, those are classic. They are a more talented team than they were last year. And more physical.

It's an older team, a little smarter team, a little more veteran team, less reliant on Chris Middleton to have to score 28 or we're ripping him. Like, Middleton now can go out and just be good. And that's what he is. He can go be a good player, and that's what he is. He's a good player. I still pick the heat to win. So Tim Tebow has only been on the Jaguars for a day. Oh my God. Fans are clearly excited about it. His merchandise is already in high demand. We're showing the video of him. Gloves on walking into practice. The top five selling items on NFL shop.com this morning were all Tim Tebow items.

Do you know Tim Tebow? Now, see that news. Jacksonville, News for Jacksonville. They put it over that video. Do you know why they did that? Because everyone in the world is going to be showing that video everywhere. Here's how big T-Bo. They don't do that with Trevor Lawrence video. That T-Bow to Jacksonville is so big that the News 4 in Jacksonville has a watermark.

Has a watermark so that no other station can use it. They don't do that with Trevor Lawrence or Urban Meyer video. I told you, cuckoo for Cocoa Puff's in Jacksonville. It's next to Florida, Gainesville. they literally put a watermark on their video so you can't have that video that's how valuable the news operation thinks when's the last time you saw that over a burning building fire or a car chase or a any sports video he's that's what you do in like that's like exclusive private investigation video you put a watermark on the he's a huge deal in that part of the country i i obviously like the numbers speak for themselves like that's he's the top five selling items on nfl shop dot com this morning are all tim tibank Tebow items. Yes, he has a huge fan base and he's a huge draw. He's just got to make the team. Listen, I know everyone thinks that we're hating. I'm not hating. All the Tim Tebow specifically Tim is doing is taking advantage of the opportunity that is given to him through his relationships.

Isn't it better for us if Tebow makes a team? Isn't it better for Joy Taylor and me? Yeah, yes. Of course. But selfishly, the NFL adding a game, Well, it gives us another seven, ten days of football talk. Yeah. I mean, I don't have to agree with it. That's right. I don't think that it's the right football move, but I'm not, I'm not, I can't fake outrage. That's not my deal.

When's the last time? I mean, honestly, I'm outraged about once a year. You know, really, it takes something very, it's like something disrespectful that really gets me outraged. Yeah, I'm, I got a lot of stuff to do throughout the day. My New York strip was like five minutes late last night. I got very close. Hold a jerk. All right.

George Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. That is so funny. All five Tebow items, one through five are the top sellers on NFL.com. People like them some Tebow. God, we are a Tebow chant away from a bad Trevor Lawrence series.

Could be week two. See, that I don't agree with. I don't think that he is going to, the fans are going to flip on Trevor. Lawrence. I think as soon as they see Trevor is going to be like, all right, like, he's our guy. All right. We have a bet on this. Do we? Yeah, I think we bet a

a Jersey Mike sandwich, right? Didn't we? Yeah, what was the bet? That they're not, that there's no point. I'm saying at no point are they going to call for Tim Tebow to play quarterback. Oh my God, I've won the bet already. You don't want to back out? I feel like I've won it already. Remember? It has to be a legitimate news

source that is discussing this. I'm watching a legitimate news source, but a water mark on Tebow video, so nobody will steal him walking into practice. I don't feel strong about the bet right now. He's not even playing. Tim Tebow walking into practice. Put a watermark in the video. It's exclusive.

It's a team four investigation. All right, Rick Buecker. Fox Sports NBA analyst is now joining us live. Brought to you by Mercedes Ben's the best or nothing. God, the Tebow stuff gets me worked up. All right, so I said what I find interesting is, for start, in the NBA, the regular season is rarely uncomfortable. And you can really, you know, Boston is not going to make Brooklyn uncomfortable.

They don't have the size, the Jews, Katie's going to do whatever he wants to do. But I do think that next series, you're going to face, you know, Janus Rim Protector, P.J. Tucker's annoying. Drew Holiday locks down Hardin. And I, and Dan, we got some playoff ghosts between Blake and Nash and Dan Tony and Hardin. I do think in crisis, this team's going to implode a little bit. Your thoughts on when it gets ugly for Brooklyn, Rick? I would say not a little bit.

And by the way, I am here for all of Joy's NBA love and her Colin sarcasm. Never has a woman been more aptly named Joy than Joy right now. I am here for all of it. Look, yeah, I know. I've said for a while, and this was even before we knew what the seating was, that I saw the Nets as a second round and out team. I just do not believe that you can get the gang together and play a couple games and then go through the mental pressure and have the acuity and the synchronicity that you need to be able to play in playoff situations. Steve Nash has never prepared a team for a playoff round.

I'll be interested just to watch the Boston series. Not that I think that Boston is going to win, but I don't expect that that's going to be an easy series. And so what do you turn to? What do you do when things get tough? Yes, they have a multitude of options. We've seen other teams that have had a multitude of options. You've got to sort out what you're going to do in the moment and when.

And I've still come back to this. I've been beating this drum all year long. But defense does matter. When we saw the Lakers and the Warriors, for all of the star power, for all of the ability that they have offensively, that came down to defense ultimately. Your defensive mistakes are what cost you. Simply Steph sinking, the switch, all of that is ultimately what resulted in LeBron James hitting a 32-footer. And so that is not something that the Nets have in their wheelhouse. And I'm right there with you.

Talk about draws. I just do not see them getting past the bucks or the heat, whoever they meet in the second round. It's interesting. We've all had a boss who's a yeller, a screamer, or intense. And you just walk into work and your shoulders are tight. It's just the way it is. It's unspoken.

There's just an understanding. We've all had, you know, when you're a kid, you've got a dad, oh, dad's going to blow a fuse. It changes the temperature in the room. We've all had a relationship like this. Balmer is an explosive personality. Steve Balmer, owner of the Clippers. He paid $2 billion for the franchise, $2 billion for the arena.

And you've got the Lakers in the same building. It's like, oh, the last two years they've kind of run the league. And you've got a bunch of ex-clippers. Tobias Harrison, Doc Rivers could very likely end up in the finals. Chris Paul is flourishing. Blake Griffin's on the net, and I say to myself, it's one thing if the clippers lose early. It's another, if it's jammed into Balmer's face on television for six weeks,

here's Doc and Tobias, and here's LeBron and the Lakers. There's a cabloom feeling to me if the clippers don't, like, get to the finals, or am I a little hyper on this? But Balmer's not a patient guy, Rick? Yeah, he's not. But if I look across the landscape, I mean, if you're suggesting that there's pressure that's coming from Balmer, I don't see it. Does he want to win and does he have the wherewithal to continue to change things? And would we potentially see some changes? Yes, but he has demonstrated for the most part that he's not a reactive guy. If he was, Doc might have been gone

sooner. He might have reorganized what he had previously. And I just, and I also think it would be a mistake. I mean, number one, I'm colored by the fact that they're the clippers. It's the one good thing about the clipper being a clipper is that no one really expects you to succeed. I mean, if they don't get it done, nobody is going to be shocked. They're going to say it's just the clippers. And the reality is that if you look at their core with Kauai and Paul George, they're 29 and 30 years old. Rajan Rondo is the oldest player on this team at 34. So could we potentially see a coaching change? I would say yes, except that Balmer gave Doc a pretty long leash. And so I just, I don't see it. And if I look across the board, I would still say that there's more pressure on

the Lakers to get it done right now because of the age of LeBron and that team in general and where they are. And fair or otherwise, there's still a feeling out there that they need to validate the bubble championship. It's grossly unfair. But I feel like there's a sentiment out there that that's what LeBron really has to do. It hasn't really won a championship in a Lakers uniform. He needs another one in order to validate what he already did. Well, you know, he's playing on one leg, according to reports, how he can barely get to the shower in the morning. Oh, Lord. I know. I know. you rolled your eyes. I'm like, it's like literally I've watched Tiger Woods with a fractured fibula play at Torrey Pines. Like I just, I watched that documentary. I'm like LeBron. If I watched

you against the last six games you played, it looked like two legs to me. It's almost like he's setting himself up a little bit, right? Like this is drama, right? He always has. This is what, this is what distinguishes him among all the time, all the, all the greats. I mean, and we've seen it with the memorial for Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant going over to the bench, he's got a dislocated finger. He looks the other way. Gary Vidi pops it back into place

and he walks back out and continues playing and won't even talk about it. It's the distinction and it's why it's so difficult to fully appreciate what LeBron does because he always seems to be trying so hard to let us know how amazing he is. It's like, LeBron, we get it. We see it. Like, you don't, you don't have to amplify every single thing. I thought he was going to, I thought he would not have been surprised if he had finished the game

wearing an eyepatch or if he came out, like in the next game, doing something to dramatize. I mean, look, he has a production company. He's creating content. Clearly, that's a good lane for him because he's very good at it. But it's, it's, I mean, Paul Pierce, we kind of put him in a different category. We lost some respect for him when he did the whole wheelchair thing. LeBron James is at another strata when it comes to great players. And they're players who do not, no matter what they're facing, don't want you to know that they're hurt. They don't want to admit or concede that they're vulnerable. LeBron always wants you to know what he's facing every single little thing. And I think that's where people kind of give him the side eye and lose some appreciation for how great he is.

Because there's this, I don't know, we can get into Dr. Phil territory here about why, but he always seems to be, have this need that you need to know. It goes back to the, what, the Instagram post. Like, I need, can, can I get some love here for being, you know, one of the great scorers, but you say I'm a past first guy? I feel as if at this point in LeBron's career, we should be past all that. And quite clearly, we're not. Finally, a couple minutes left here. You know, I watched Steph Curry. He was easily the best player on the floor against the Lakers, easily.

His skill set will age beautifully. He's 33. He can shoot. He can ball handle. He's smart. He's self-aware. You know, I mean, you look at this roster in Golden State. It's expensive.

Draymond, Wiggins, Clay. And they don't have any size. Wiseman's a weird fit. his timeline's not on with Steph. If Clay comes back in his good, not special, he's a free agent at the end of the year. Are we absolutely sure he's going to do a Bradley Beal, stay with his team forever, even if they're bad,

even if they have no shot next year? I mean, I honestly feel like the Warriors are out, out of the championship conversation, even if Clay comes back in his solid. Is he just going to be Bradley Beal and stay there forever, or could he move in a year? No, I don't see any way. in which he moves. Steph Curry, for all of his greatness, is an amazingly normal human being.

He loves being in the Bay Area. He's not going to uproot his family or make his career the focus of his life. Is he trying to be the best player that he can be? Is he trying to climb the ladder of great players? Absolutely. But it's a little bit like him playing last year with his hands still not right. are playing this year and expending all the energy for what just to sneak this team into the playoffs potentially just to be first round fodder for the Utah Jazz I mean that adds nothing to his legacy and he doesn't care because all he wants to see is I mean he kind of looks at it like just a puzzle can I figure it out what can I do with this thing it's it's one of the things that admire the most about him is that he doesn't look at it in terms for for as great as he is and as

confident as he is the ego is in this very special place of i don't need special catering i don't need to be treated a certain way i and joe lakab for all that he's done with the warriors if he ever found a way to tick Steph Curry off enough where Steph would say, I'm not, I got to go someplace else, everything that Lake have done would go by the boards. He would be public enemy number one. There is a special bond between Steph and Dremond and Clay. And I dare say he wants to still go see what can they do together and he'll go down fighting. And it's actually one of the dangers that the Warriors have. Reminds me a little bit of the Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, where you can't break them up. They're a unit and you're going to have to go down with them and then rebuild your way

back up. And so that's coming. But I agree with you a thousand percent. You know, the championship window for the Warriors has closed. But Steph Curry doesn't care. He's still going to try to see how close he can get to cracking that window back open. Great. Buecker, Fox Sports. By the way, next hour, Chris Weber, also Jim Ursae, owner of the Colts. Bukes, good seeing you again, bud. You got it, Colin. By the way, I'll give you the exact time.

Not only are there going to be Tebow quarterback chance in Jacksonville, I'll give you the exact time. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVore. and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up On Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right.

Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Plexico Burris, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Good things come to those who wait at Jersey mics. They also come to those who don't. Download the app. Skip the line now through May 23rd. use the code the herd for $1 off your order. So Jacksonville is the one franchise that could be moved very easily in the NFL. They've got really no fan base. It's a college town, not a pro town.

In fact, last year the Jaguars had combined, they had the smallest social media following of all the NFL teams by a mile. If you combine their Facebook, their Instagram, their Twitter, 1.8 million combined. Tebow's got 4.5 million just on Twitter. I have a significantly larger social media following than an NFL team in Jacksonville. They've got no fan base. And Jacksonville's a college town. And Tebow's the last hero Jacksonville had.

He showed up yesterday for a practice and they put marks on the video, the kind of video you do when you get an exclusive of a president, a head of state coming into town and you're the only local state. there that has it. News 4 in Jacksonville put a watermark on their video. Trevor Lawrence walked in. If he did, nobody did it. Urban Meyer, assistant coaches, other star player. It doesn't matter. Top five selling items on NFL.com this morning are all Tebow items. And why is that big? Because nobody buys anything from Jacksonville. Jacksonville doesn't sell anything ever, not top 100. Now they have the top five. And I have friends who had worked

for the Broncos, they said you couldn't even explain the Tebow popularity in Denver. And Denver's like a winning organization has a history of winning. They know what winning football looks like. Now you go to a college. And in Denver, Denver doesn't care about college football. It's a pro football town. This is a college football town. Tebow is the biggest star in college football history.

The closest college football power is Jacksonville. That's why I've said before, don't kid yourself on this. If Trevor Lawrence struggles, you watch what happens. It's hard to explain irrational. And there's a very interesting five, six-game stretch for Jacksonville. I want you to look at this. It starts October 10th. They face five straight winning teams.

Titans, dolphins, at Seattle against the Hawks, Buffalo Colts. And then they follow it with the Niners who two years ago were in the Super Bowl. They're going to go 0 and 5 in that stretch, 1 in 5. It's nothing against Urban or Trevor Lawrence. They just don't have the personnel. And they don't have the offensive line. Those are some nasty pass rushes, some great defenses. Those Tebow chance, you watch by that week 9 Buffalo Colts game, you watch the Tebow chance.

It's going to be crazy town in Jacksonville. Listen, it's nothing against, this is why I said, you can't explain your rational. You can't. Like the Tebow stuff, it's really funny about it. Like Denver went crazy over Tebow. Nobody in Denver watches college football. I get the ratings for college football. Denver's not a college football town at all.

Boulder is close and that's a marginally intense college football town. So if you don't think it's going to be big in Jacksonville, which more than any NFL franchise city is a college football city. I mean, Lambo's small. but that's a Packer Town. New Orleans has LSU around the corner. That is a Saints town. Denver went cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

And people out west don't care about Florida Gator football. When you combine his iconic stature, his faith-based following, a losing franchise, it is going to be. Can you believe that? NFL shop.com, Tebow, top five items. That's why I'm here for the chaos. Crazy. It really is crazy. I hope that you're wrong. You're probably not, but...

I'm not anti-Tibo. I'm pro-Sanity. We're very pro-sanity. Chris Weber, around the corner, Baker Mayfield, interesting compliment from his boss. Next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest,

SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations. that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human