The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 06/14/2021 - HOUR 3 - Greg Olsen, Chris Paul, NBA Playoffs

Episode Date: June 14, 2021

In hour 3, Colin recaps the NBA playoffs thus far and Chris Paul's contributions to his teams. Greg Olsen joins to talk family, football and much more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. The subscription journalism service about Mark Cuban and Luca Dantich and the strife in the organization. Here is my takeaway. This is my read on it. There's a story inside the athletic that there's a guy inside the organization, a former sports gambler who's a data guy now, an analytic guy that Mark Cuban is trusted for several years.

And everybody's ripping him and he's a bad influence and Luca Dantage hates him. Here's my takeaway. As I say, there's always a story behind the story. So my feeling is Mark Cuban's powerful. And to really rise in that organization, the closer you are to Mark can help. And so this guy, Haralobos Vulgaris, has moved. Mark trusts him. And he's moved very close to Mark.

That, of course, can create anxiety and envy. in jealousy in an organization. Mark's a very personable guy. I know Mark pretty well. I've been in public places. He's very personable. You know, he's not a closed-door guy. You can go in and walk up to Mark and talk to Mark

anytime you want it a game. I email Mark twice a year. He emails me back in 15 seconds. So Mark's not a closed-off, closed-door guy. My takeaway is this guy has risen in power in the organization because Mark trusts him. He's probably a real smart guy. And that's created in.

envy. And then once the MAVs, and there probably was a blowup between Luca and this guy, this guy is not a real social animal. There's a little blowup with Luca and him. And once the MAVs took a 2-0 lead and then lost in the playoffs, the people who didn't like this guy saw it as an opening to go to the athletic and crush him and force Mark to reevaluate his decision or put pressure, that's what people do. There's a lot of envy out there. And so this guy moves close to Mark. The Maverick lose a heart-breaking series. Luca's obviously the star of the franchise. Luca, I would bet, did have a blow-up with this guy. That's okay. That's okay. And other people around sought as an opening when they lost the series to point fingers at this guy and get him out of here. That is my

takeaway. Your thoughts. Well, it's a lot easier to complain when you've lost. can't be out here given no one cares about the story if they're still winning and going through the playoffs. I don't know though. I mean, I always say this. The only way you break stories is people talk. And people talk when they're trying to get a job,

trying to get somebody fired, trying to be elevated, trying to get somebody else relegated. The reality is stuff leaks for a reason. And so why would this story leak? Why would anybody in the Dallas, Mavericks want this story out because they are, they're envious of the influence this person has with Mark Cuban, which could be overstated or understated in the article.

I've read the whole thing. My takeaway is that Luca probably had a little yelling match with this guy for 10 seconds, and people heard about it. It was in the organization, everybody talked about it for a couple days. Ooh, Luca got upset. Don't upset Luca. I mean, Luca's a gold bar. Don't screw with it.

Don't lose it, right? And so, you know, people saw it as an opening to go to NBA writers, leak a bunch of stuff, make this guy look bad. Well, I don't know him at all. We don't know either. He also could be an irritant around the building. So it might not necessarily be an envy thing, but he is making the environment uncomfortable forever. Not in an inappropriate way, but just like he's not great to work with. And this was an opportunity to talk about that because maybe Mark doesn't see that.

I don't know. I'm just saying that that could be another scenario. who knows. Like it might be envy. It could be it's not a great working environment anymore. And it could be, you know, sometimes we get these stories out here that, you know, elders get comfortable with these like characters, you know. Well, multiple league and team sources point to the 2020 draft as an egregious example of this guy,

Volgaris's power and a source described it as embarrassing. Well, also, you know, the analytics guys and the, basketball guys could not be seeing eye to eye on things. And that could be part of the issue as well. We're breaking this thing down live on television. I do not know him and I do not know the situation. This is not coming from sources. I'm just giving my personal opinion on scenarios that could possibly be playing out here.

Yeah. When team sources start bearing a team employee, that's usually envy. Or maybe to Joy's point, this guy's a pan in the butt. Or whatever. Or it's just the analytics guys and the guys who lean more towards the scouting and not so much in analytics or not seeing eye to eye on the direction of the franchise. That's very good. The analytic guys and the scout, the eye guys and the analytic guys, not peanut butter and jelly

sandwich. A lot of trouble of trouble here. Doesn't know his mix. 15 minutes, one of my favorite people in the world, Greg Olson, former NFL or now are Fox colleague, wonderful guy, wonderful story on his son, by the way. It's been all over the internet. We'll talk to Greg. We can't wait.

Okay. Chris Paul. I heart Chris Paul. Okay. Guys amazing. Three things I feel define a person in their profession. Who, where, and what. And I feel with Chris Paul, people are now just starting to figure out his greatness.

His who has always been incredibly strong. Defiant, tough, defends, leads, barks. Wake Forest, all of his stops. He's got one of the strongest who's in the NBA. Who is important. It's your foundation. Where? Chris Paul.

Well, this wearer's been in flux. He's been on five teams. But he flourishes with young players who were talented but want to be led. He's not as good with veterans. What? Now, that's interesting. We've argued for years about what he is, and those of us, us, me, have been arguing probably the second best point guard ever.

But he's not vertical and flashy and fun. now you are seeing indisputably what he is. He is the most valuable player in this league. Once LeBron got out of his prime, he affects winning and losing, and that to me is value. And the media often loves Westbrook and Iverson and D. Rose and John Wall and fast and vertical

and fun and flashy. That is not what the point guard position is about. out. It's about elevating others beyond yourself. That's why Magic Johnson's the greatest point guard ever. And I'd make a strong argument, Chris Paul is second. And Chris Paul's sense of who, who where what, who is so strong. And this is important in life. That as the game has changed, he has tweaked it, but he has not fallen prey to the current analytic whims. Unlike young, who's now firing up three-pointers. Chris Paul shoots a mid-range, mostly from the right side of the key.

It is who he is. He still barks. He still yells. He still commands. He still defends. Although he's not as good a defender as he once was, he's still tough. His who is so strong that it's overcome a lot of the wares. He's been all over the league.

And as the game has changed, what he is. has become is actually more valuable because he knows what he is. And Phoenix is perfect. Because for the first time in his career, the who, where, what, the chakras, they all align. His who is strong. He's working with a coach that'll listen and young players that will follow and what he's become side by side with the MVP Yokic, it's not even close. One is controlling the clock. Chris Paul is not only averaging 25 points and five rebounds and 10 assists and virtually no turnovers.

He's shooting 100% from the line, 75% from 3, 63% from field goals. It's insane. Coach of the Denver Nuggets summed it up accurately on Chris Paul. You have to give them a lot of credit. They're a very well-coached team, and they have a lot of talent. Chris Ball could arguably be the greatest point card of all time. And you know what you're having, Devin Booker, just a professional bucket getter. So they're going to be a tough out.

So you have to tip your cap to them. And what I tell my kids are stepkids on the who, the where, the what, it will not be easy. My who was very weak when I was young. my where has been as you know with my career in flux my what was always strong i knew what i wanted to be but it wasn't until i had kids my who was the strongest of the three they created clarity on who i really was my where i'm finally happy and my what this is what i do i talk but chris paul my journey has not been easy chris paul and this is what i tell kids It ain't easy.

It's hard. The stronger the who is, the easier, the where and the what become. Here's Chris Paul. I wasn't as phenom. I wasn't necessarily supposed to be here. I played two years of JV basketball. You know, it ain't always been, you know, sweet for me.

I've always had to grind, and I like that mentality. And that's always. been who I've been, and I'm going to stay that way. If you like it, cool. If you don't, it's cool, too. This is who I am. It's always been a strength. All right, let's talk the fragile Brooklyn Nets.

I'm going to quit predicting the Bucks Net series. I think I've whiffed four different times. We said last week, the Brooklyn Nets have become Tesla. brilliant revolutionary. Oh boy, but Elon Musk running the show, you're not sure what they are day to day. This is what Brooklyn is, fragile. Kyrie Irving, he's hurt again.

Kevin Durant, now frustrated, he's the only star left. Blake Griffin, Steve Nash isn't playing him enough. And Hardin, I don't know. Does anybody know? You know, I said this when he left Steph Curry. It's funny about the NBA. LeBron and KD keep moving around the NBA trying to find the perfect spot.

And it's like it doesn't exist. You know, and you're as great as KD and you're as great as LeBron James. You're not going to find your equal. You know, LeBron, D. Wade got old, and Cleveland's owner couldn't get him any good players. And then Kyrie bailed on him, and J.R. Smith drove him nuts

and how Anthony Davis isn't healthy. And Kevin Durantz wasn't the man in Oklahoma City, and I'm going to go to Golden State, and he wasn't quite the man there because it's kind of Steph's culture and Steph's team. And now he goes out to Brooklyn, him with stars and they're all hurt. You can run, you can't hide.

Katie and LeBron are bouncing around trying to find the perfect solution, and it's really not there. But I said when he left Golden State, I said, be very careful. Because Steph Curry is probably the most selfless, egosomelless, emotionally dependable

star in the league. Kyrie's gifted, but he's not that. You don't quite know, you don't quite know what you're getting day-to-day with Kyrie in the way he feels, and Kyrie and his body. And so this is a sort of what it was going to eventually be, which is a bunch of dudes, really talented, look like the world's best basketball team for the first two games, and then KD is essentially now on his own. The most valuable teammate for Kevin Durant this morning

is the Nets training staff. Fragile. Fingers crossed. Hardens Hammy, and he's, Anyone's guess. Kiree's ankle, cross your fingers. You can move around a lot when you're a superstar in the NBA. But Katie and LeBron are great examples. You're never going to find anybody as great as you. Katie's never going to find anybody as good as Katie as a teammate. I mean, on the planet right now, there isn't one.

And LeBron kept looking for somebody as durable as LeBron. Who was as durable as LeBron, his first 16 years in the league? How about nobody ever, including Michael Jordan? Nobody was as durable. And so this morning, Kevin Durant wakes up, and he's tied at two games. And at this point, my only prediction is the Nets team doctors will decide the season. That's it. That's the series.

It's come down to health. They're working on the ankle now. They're working on the hammy now. Nets are healthy, they win. Nets aren't, they lose. It's come to that. Good stuff around the corner. Clippers jazz tonight.

I'll take L.A. in what I think will be a close game. The spread is about five. Greg Olson, Fox Sports colleague, former Tide Ends, going to be joining us next. Cooling citrus and mint leaf. Bourbon vanilla. Distillers blend. Intrigued.

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What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining 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 flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, after 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. Hey, everyone. It's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you.

I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists

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I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30. You shouldn't have to share one with anybody. Mm-hmm. From navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health, These are real honest conversations. We don't always get to have out loud. Totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them?

Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food. Because healing, empowerment, and resilience aren't just ideas. Their practices. And this Mental Health Awareness Month, there's no better time to pour back into yourself. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Jazz Clippers, your Discover card key matchup tonight.

Discover matches all the cashback you earn into your first year automatically. With no limit, how amazing is that? Here, yes, more often, discover.com slash yes. Greg Olson is at the Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte. His son has been there. Greg and his family have been there around the clock for the last several days as TJ, his son underwent heart transplant surgery. And Greg is one of the warmest, nicest guys we ever cover in this sport. And he joins us live for about 10 minutes today.

So, Greg, you know, I think the world of you, and I hope you're doing okay in your family. And I think about TJ often, and I just want to thank you. And I want to address this because it matters. You have had strangers and people reach out to you and your family. And if you could just for a minute, share the impact it's had on you. You know, the reason we've shared TJ's journey, you know, since he's been born. So over eight years now and make it so public and share some of these difficult moments is I always feel like it's easy for people to share success stories. And it's easy for people to share how good life can be.

But I also feel like it's our responsibility to share our vulnerabilities, you know, share our downtimes and show that, you know, there's kids out here like TJ. There's thousands of them throughout. the country that don't have that voice. They don't have that ability to get their cause or their case, the recognition and the platform that it deserves. So we feel, you know, very responsible for sharing what the world of congenital heart disease looks like through our own son and to go through the past month of, you know, learning a lot about the organ transplant list and how that process works and learning what heart transplant looks like for an eight-year-old and seeing your son, you know, go through that process.

You know, it just, it continues to further, you know, our motivation to help in this space. And it's a space that we've gotten to know really well over the years. And, you know, we take great pride in trying to give stories of hope and the amount of stories we've received back from other families like us, both on the donor end and on the recipient end, have just been heartwarming and mind-blowing and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Yeah, Levine Children's Hospital in most major cities in the country, in moderate-sized cities,

There are children's hospitals out there, and it is, boy, it is in God's work. It is the people you have seen in four years. It really gives you, I bet it gives you an unbelievable amount of gratitude how lucky we all are to have these. I mean, we just went through a pandemic for crying out loud. Like the healthcare workers in this country, your experience with that has probably been incredible. You know, there are heroes, and there's thousands of people out there. millions of people for that matter, that feel the same way.

His entire team specifically here for TJ, from the surgeon who's actually doing the open heart surgery and taking an organ from a donor body who was in their last act of life made the selfless decision to donate their organs to extend life for countless other people will be forever grateful for that family and their decision.

And what they're able to do in the team of nurses and the physicians and the cardiologists who now once they get T.J. out of surgery, kind of go through the process of getting him through recovery. It's just a, it's a remarkable story. We could talk for two hours, and I can share what we've learned, flying on a private jet, one doctor to another hospital, another part of the country,

and receiving the donor organ and flying it back all against this four-hour window. It's a wild, wild, remarkable thing that they're able to do, and these doctors and surgeons and medical staff are just they're what really are the backbone of our country and we're just so thankful for them all. Something far less important, but you've always had insight on these matters, and I have texted you from time to time looking for an answer when NFL stories get complicated. You know, Mark Murphy, a very smart guy runs the Packers called Aaron a complicated fellow, which I don't think was great.

But you obviously had a teammate in, Cam Newton, who was a superstar. And, you know, I said this earlier, Greg, is that there's so much, the game is now built for quarterbacks. They're paid $35 million a year. Aaron's not the only guy this year. DeShon Watson. Matt Stafford wanted out.

Carson Wentz wanted out. Russell Wilson was unhappy. Deshawn's been unhappy. There's a lot. Dealing with quarterbacks now, I do think there's a responsibility for the teams to understand that these 27-year-old men. these 33-year-old men, these 35-year-old men, the pressure they faced, and Aaron's like, can I get some help around here?

So I found myself, although I've disagreed with him many times, kind of aligning with Aaron on this a little, you dealt with the pressure Cam faced and the criticism. Every loss is Cam's fault. When you look at the Green Bay situation, how does it, Greg, land for you? Yeah, I understand where these guys are coming from, right? as you said, I've played with some high-profile quarterbacks who face, you know, they get a lot of the credit when things go well and deservingly so. But I think more often than not what we see is to your point, when things don't, when Aaron

Rogers doesn't win a Super Bowl and when we lost the Super Bowl back in 2015, all of the blame and any of the failures in return get put on the quarterback. So I think these quarterbacks look around and they say, listen, they look around, they see Kansas City, they see these other teams, they say, I want these weapons. You can have five Pro Bowl offensive players that every quarterback wants more, right? It's just it's in their nature. They want every draft pick. They want every first round pick.

They want four all pro receivers. They want a tight end, left tackle. That's just who they are. They know that the better they are, the players are around them, the more success they are going to have. And they realize their legacy is going to be based on winning Super Bowls. And Aaron Rogers looks right now at his career. He's MVP's.

He's won one Super Bowl. But if he wants to be up in that Manning, you know, that Manning, that Tom Brady category. He knows that the clock's ticking and he's got to win a few more Super Bowls and he wants the organization to know, I need some more pieces around me. I need to be treated as the top of the totem pole

of this organization and you need to give me what I need to succeed and ultimately win the Super Bowl. It's easy to criticize Aaron and say, Aaron, it's a first round pick. It doesn't matter. Forget about Jordan Love. But when your team moves up in the first round to get somebody

and you have other needs, as a tight end, there were probably one or two times in your career. And you knew they would draft other tight ends because there are times when there are three on the field. But when you, name a time in your career that a team drafted a tight end high, first second round pick, knowing that they would do it, is it still? I mean, if Fox drafted another sportscaster in the first round, I'd probably have a bad grumpy week. What is it like? Yeah, I mean, we all go through that, right?

I read that Fox is auditioning other former players to do, and I'm like, wait, I haven't even started yet. And they're looking for guys in the minor league, right? I mean, we all see those reports. Back in 2010, I was in when I was in Chicago, it wasn't a draft pick, but we signed Brandon Montemaleuna, who was a big prize free agent at the time. We brought in Mike Martz, and here I am returning as the leading receiver. And this was back when free agency started at midnight. So like at, you know, one AM on free agency, they announced that they signed Brandon Montevalliuna.

And here I am saying, you know, I thought I was your guy, right? Like, we all take that stuff personally. Over the years, I remember a couple years back that before they drafted McCaffrey, there was rumors that we were going to draft O.J. Howard out of Alabama. Yeah. And here I was. I was a pro bowl player, one of the top producing guys in league. But your pride and your ego, no matter what anyone says.

it gets involved. And it just, it's taken personally because in this league, the guys who find success and the guys that are incredibly motivated, they find every single thing that can be taken as a slight, as a knock. And they almost use it internally to continue to push themselves the limits even higher than they've already achieved. So I get it. I didn't want us to sign a rookie free agent.

I didn't want anyone in the buildings. I thought I could handle it all. I was the man. You were never going to take a Ketka. away for me. You were never going to take a rep away from me. And I'm not the all-pro quarterback. So I get it. I understand where Rogers came from.

It's part of the business. We all get along. I'm sure he's a good teammate. But at the end of the day, highly driven, motivated guys who have a lot of they believe in themselves and they hold themselves in high regard. They take any threat as a challenge. And I get it. Yeah. By the way, Greg

is hosting Tighten You with Travis Kelsey and George Kittle, three-day Summit and beautiful Nashville coming up June 23rd through the 25th. It's featuring over 50 tight ends from across the NFL to train, hang, and learn. Travis Kelsey and George Kittles. You don't have enough microphones. Those guys, that's going to be good for you.

That sounds really, really fun. And by the way, T.J. send our very best. You're such a committed parent and such a great guy. I want to thank you for just giving our audience the story behind it as well. I thought you said something really, really important. Too often we share the successes in life. You're sharing a struggle, and that's an amazing thing. You're one of the smartest guys I've ever dealt with in this business.

I just want to thank you for coming by the show. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Greg Olson, as good as they get, as sharp as they get, and best wishes to TJ and the family, and everybody involved. He'll be in the hospital for a couple more days. They have psychologists, Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte.

The people that work at these hospitals are, you just can't. It is our very best. Absolutely. As a country. Joy of the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, injuries derailed Anthony Davis this season.

We know that. That contributed to an early playoff exit. for the Lakers, but Jared Dudley believes next season will be 80s time to step up. With LeBron getting closer to the end of his career? I hope so. People say he's slowing down, and that's natural to slow down a little bit. And that's where you have Anthony Davis, and that's where he has to take the torch, and that's where he will take the torch next year of Big Summer, taking care of his body,

getting it to the right point of what we need it, for him to lead and be back a first-team-all-N-B-A player, and that's what we expect. and that's what he expects for himself. Nick Anthony Davis is an amazing talent. I think he was like I was without saying he's a great player. I'll believe it when I see it. He's been injured a lot and people change when they want to change. Right, right.

We can want Anthony Davis to do something differently with his body so that the Lakers can continue in the playoffs and that he could in a sense do what Derek is talking about, which is take the torch from LeBron. who like well quite frankly if I'm just speaking from like my own opinion I don't think it's torch taking time for lebron quite yet i think we're like sending him off into the sunset a few years too soon like lebron is getting older so he's having a little more injuries but if anthony davis would have been healthy i think lebron would have been fine in the next series and so on and so forth like it's not like a anthony or lebron is falling apart or something his game is slipping like he's not the same guy of course still lebron james so i do think that's a little bit premature but when it comes to anthony davis i will believe it when I see it. He's always injured. Like the idea that he is going to all of a sudden start doing something completely different than he's been doing for his entire career, which, by the way, outside of the injuries,

has worked for him. Right. He is a major talent. Makes lots of money. He's a star. Like, it's harder to say, I'm going to change everything about my, you know, off-season schedule and routine when you have had the success that Anthony Davis has had. Also, Anthony and Kevin Durand have had these nagging injuries.

Some of it is their game. Kevin Durant's a seven-foot slasher score who drives the lane. He's not some lumbering big who asks for the ball down low back to the basket. So Kevin is in transition. And when Kevin trips, it's a long way to fall. Anthony Davis grew seven, eight inches his junior high school. He was a ball handler. Yeah.

So he is comfortable driving the lane. Porzingis is another guy who can put the ball in the deck. When you get seven-foot guys who are flying into the lane with the ball, all it takes is to lose your balance with a knee or a thigh from a defendant. You crash to the floor. And some of it is their games are built for them to hit the deck a lot. And some people are just more injury prone than others. They are.

So it could be that, you know, he's doing everything that his doctors and trainers are telling him to do and it's still happening. I have a hard time believing that with the amount of injuries and frequency of it. Yeah. And seeing what happened when he had time off last year before the bubble and what he was able to do coming in with that rest, which is remarkable. But that's not how the NBA season works. Right. Like that's an anomaly. It's an outlier. So you can't prepare for that. Speaking of injuries, James Hardin is working his way back. Yeah. What is the story on that? So he got injured in game one of this series against the bucks. First minute.

Woj is reporting this morning that the Nets are prepping for both Karee and Hardin to be out for game five. So Karee obviously left yesterday's game with an ankle injury. His x-rays were negative, but it's not looking like they're going to be back at least for game five on Tuesday. The Bucks are favored by three and a half against the Nets, according to Fox Betts. This is the only, you know, it's funny because Hardin was a guy that didn't get hurt. and this year you know it's funny so he came into the season remember the Houston situation on the internet he was heavy

so he came in out of shape so did Anthony Davis they played their way into shape yeah maybe that's the question is that when you because a lot of these injuries you think if you're playing yourself into shape joy you'd be hurt in the first week that's what you think but a lot of these guys Jamal Murray Hardin Davis got hurt later in the season their bodies were

just not ready for 100 basketball games or 70 games. So because you'd think if you were playing yourself into shape, you'd pull a hamstring in the first week. Right. But, you know, you come and you play limited minutes, you take days off. I always thought the condensed schedule was a little bit of an excuse for injuries, but we've gotten to a point now where everybody, all the stars are hurt. And all the teams that were in the bubble late suffered from a lot of injuries and did not make

it far in the playoffs. Think about this. The stars play more minutes. The stars are more hurt. I mean, it's insane. Ambide's hurt. Kare's hurt. Hardin's hurt. Donovan Mitchell's hurt. Conley's hurt. AD was hurt. The story of this year has been injuries. So to your point, you picked the bucks to win the championship. And a big part of that is they're healthy. Their guys don't get hurt. Middleton and Yonis.

Yep. So it might just come down to, and this was the assumption we made before the season, whoever's healthy is at the end of the season will probably end up winning the championship. And that doesn't devalue in it. But that is just like last. year. The bubble was a unique situation. This year, too, is still a unique situation as far as the NBA's schedule goes. And speaking of that, the Clippers bounced back from an O2 hole with a huge 132-106 win over the Jazz in game three. Kawhi had 34 points and 12 rebounds. Paul George added 31, and Donovan Mitchell was incredible. Fifth straight game with at least 30 points. But he left the game after tweaking the same ankle that forced him to miss game one of the Grizzly series. He said after the game,

his ankle was fine. And Quinn Snyder said that he could have gone back in, but they didn't want to risk it. They are favored. The Clippers are favored by five, according to Fox Bet for tonight's game. Sixers and Hawks also play tonight. Sixers are favored by three. So you have the Clippers winning the rest of these. Yeah, I thought Paul George played really well. Paul George's had his playoff struggles, but actually Utah doesn't have a great answer for him. So I think he's going to have success in this. Paul played really, really well. I mean, listen, we've said before when Paul struggles, we mentioned it. So we've got to be fair when Paul plays well in the playoffs. It's not like he doesn't have nights. So he's been in, he's a, he's

been a more inconsistent playoff guy than a regular season guy. Well, I think the inconsistency is the frustration with Paul. Yeah, Paul George had about a five-week stretch in the regular season this year. He may have been the best player. He was on fire for about five weeks. You don't expect him to be that good in the playoffs because now you're playing all the good teams. But he has some bad nights, but I think Utah's going to struggle with Paul and Kauai the rest of the way. And Donovan, again, is Joy.

Donovan's not 100%. So Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. You know, in hockey, they have an award called the Khan Smythe Award, where they give an MVP just for the playoffs. They don't count the regular season.

It's called the Kahn Smyth Award. I don't talk a lot of hockey. I'm going to tweak it and call it the Collins Smyth Award. I'm going to give an MVP awards if we just gave them for the playoffs. That's what hockey does, and it actually makes a ton of sense. See, we talk hockey. Most of you know of MDrive, the supplement packed with powerful ingredients backed by science. Of their many products, boost and burn is one of the most popular, especially during the summer.

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Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toll. Donno and our podcast Point Game is about defining 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 flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers

why he got the ball like, after 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. Hey, everyone. It's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World.

And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you, I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we?

Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, hoo. Ha ha, ha, who. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled

for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. talent is defined by what people can do, not where they learn to do it. So by stopping at the education section of a resume, you might throw away the perfect hire. Skills first hiring helps you see talent others miss, like more than 70 million stars, skilled through alternative roots. Let their story unfold and gain a competitive advantage because hiring managers who start with skills are 60% more likely to find a successful hire. Higher Skills First. Learn why at tear the paperceiling.org.

Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. And watch Lightweight champ Tio Fimo Lopez against the undefeated George Cambosus Jr. June 19th live on pay-per-view. Performances by Meek Mill, Lunei and Mike Towers, a must-see event by the pay-per-view now at Triller Fight Club.com. So last night we saw Nicola Yolkich, the MVP, get ejected and really outplayed by a guy that couldn't get nominated, Chris Paul, who should have been the MVP. Now, people are saying, well, regular season, you can't judge the playoffs. And in the NBA, they give the MVP just on the regular season, which is ridiculous, because when we really watch, it's the postseason.

Now, hockey is really smart about this. Hockey has what they call is the Kahn Smyth Award, which is the MVP just of the playoffs. Well, yeah, like there's separate seasons, right? Like, we know the intensity of hockey and basketball ratchet up. These NBA games now are like, like intense. Tuesday, Denver in January, not as intense. So I thought we would do a Kahn-Smith Award,

just call it the Collins-Smith Award. What a handsome trophy. For my top five NBA playoff MVP's, just the playoffs. Here we go. Number five. Kevin Durant. Now he got frustrated yesterday because PJ Tucker was allowed to mostly tackle him. So he did not have a great Sunday, and he showed his frustration.

But he is averaging 31 and 8 on 50% shooting. He leads the Nets now in scoring, assists, blocks, rebounding, maybe not assists. And no other healthy player for the Nets is averaging over 12 a game. So he's in the discussion. He could be the most talented, but that's not what this award is. I've always said this about MVP's. It's not about stats and it's not about talent. How valuable are you?

I have him at five. Number four. I put Donovan Mitchell at four. Now, Donovan's not 100% now. And in game three, he didn't have quite the value. But he is the leading score remaining in the playoffs at 32 a game. He did leave, you know, he had an injury at the end of the season. And he's got an ankle injury, did not return, although he will play tonight.

The Jazz are six in one. he plays. And I think one of the things that's pretty clear about Donovan that I really like, he'll play defense too. So he was more of a great defensive player in college than he was an offensive player at Louisville. That's why Rick Patino recruited him. He told me that story years

ago. But he has really blossomed as a tremendous two-way player. Number three. I got to give Joe L.M.B. a lot of credit. The bottom line is the Sixers are one, plus one, 13 when he's on the floor. And minus 15 when he's

not. And the reason I have Embed so high is because you're just not getting enough consistency from Ben Simmons. And so it's really falling on Joel Embed. And I got to give him credit shooting 58% from the field in the playoffs. So that is the highest, second highest percentage among all players. And this is a real Atlanta team. This Atlanta team rolled, rolled through the Nix and beat the Sixers in game one. So Embed's power and his sufficiency is a huge deal here. They need him to be this good. Number two.

Kauai Leonard, only player averaging 30 points on over 55% shooting or at 55% shooting. In fact, he's on pace to become the first NBA player in history to average 30 points, shoot 55 from the field, and 90 from the free throw line. I was just talking to Doug Gottlieb about this. his efficiency is, it's really very much like Michael Jordan at the end of his career. Michael wasn't quite as vertical in his first three championships, right? Like he was vertical Michael, switch hands. The second three-peep for Michael, his efficiency was so amazing, not a wasted motion.

And, I mean, in that game seven against the Mavs, 28 points, 10 boards, nine assists, zero turnovers. That is literally a perfect NBA game. Number one. Chris Paul. Intelligence, toughness, leadership. In the fourth quarter, this postseason. Now, that's go time, right? That's where stars are stars, the fourth quarter.

He has 19 assists and no turnovers. That is insane. That would be like a quarterback at the end of his season, having 19 touchdowns, no picks in the fourth quarter. That is unheard of. The sons have won seven straight playoff games. They remain one of the league's youngest teams. So he's doing this with a fairly new head coach, a new system, new players,

and he's averaging 16 and 9 on 51% shooting in the playoffs after a shoulder injury. So this guy's been injured. in the playoffs and had to nurse himself back to 100% health. Chris Paul is my MVP. Kind of a horrifying looking trophy, but nonetheless, Durant. By the way, we know Yolkich is great, but he just got swept. You know what it is about the MVP? Because I agree.

It is a regular season and award, and it has the value, right? Because we are constantly devaluing the NBA regular season. So I do think it is important to recognize people that do give it their effort and performance during the regular season to fans, which Yokoch was 100% deserving of it. The problem is they change the narrative around the MVP every single year, which makes it difficult to track who is supposed to be the MVP. What matters? What matters.

And then because they change it every single year, because it sometimes becomes a narrative award, we get to the postseason and you have the MVP against someone like Chris Paul, and you can then start to separate what that middle word means, which is value. Not that Yokic wasn't valuable to the team, of course. he was, but Chris Paul transformed that organization. His sons were a disaster for years. If you're the most valuable player,

you're not going to get swept. If you're that valuable. They did have a lot of injuries. They did. But I mean, bottom line is, Luca, we don't talk Luca MVP this year. Luca was really, because poor Zingas was a little bit of a playoff disappointment.

Then there's Hardaway who's like a four. They went seven games with the Clippers on Luca. Now, you can say, what you want about his defensive play, but it's pretty amazing that the Dallas Mavericks, with one elite score, took the Clippers seven games and

beat him two or three times in Illinois. I forget two times or three times. And I didn't put him down because eventually couldn't get out of the first round. But, you know, I guess we've said this before. The NBA has always been kind of a story league, a star in a story league.

Like the Westbrook was a really good story. K.D. left him. He was a sympathetic figure, and he did something that was historic. No, it was totally deserving. I just think that either, A, we need a postseason award like this award so we can stop comparing it once we get to the postseason. And just, you know, maybe just define what the word value means a little bit more. Enjoy spa-like comfort. Save Biggin your water bill with a Navian tankless water heater.

Visit tankless made simple.com. Tankless made simple.com. You save the planet. You save time. You save space. because they're tankless. Good stuff. So I'm going to go revisit that story by Tim Kato and Sam Amick in The Athletic

about some friction between Luca Dantzich, their star player, and an employee that is very close to Mark Cuban. It's worth reading how it lands for you and how you interpret it. That's a different story. And we will see you in L.A. tomorrow. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you Get your podcasts. The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown.

If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Diana Maria Riva,

and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas

to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva 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. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love.

This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.