The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 06/21/2021 - HOUR 2 - Colin Right Colin Wrong, Al Harrington, Country Club Clue

Episode Date: June 21, 2021

In this hour of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, it's another installment of Where Colin Was Right, Where Colin Was Wrong. Plus, retired NBA veteran Al Harrington offers his reaction to the narrowing NBA playoff field. Also, what should we make of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers renewing his country club membership in Green Bay? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

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Ah, it's hour two. It is a Monday. It is great to have you in live in Los Angeles. It's the Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio, FS1, IHeart Radio. We are all here. Alex Curry is joining me.

Joy Taylor's a little under the weather today. Fun weekend, a lot of great basketball. Then I watched, I watched golf for about an hour and a half. yesterday and outside of John Rom, I've never seen more great golfers go into the tank simultaneously. So congratulations. Scotland's John Rom who the poor guy got... Such a great story. Great story.

I found myself rooting for John Rom. If you don't follow golf, he was leading a tournament a couple of weeks ago and he signed the score card wrong or something. COVID. It was COVID. He got eliminated and you're like, oh, this poor guy was leaving. leading the tournament. You know, golfers go in streaks, and John Rom right now is hot. And so COVID knocked him out of a tournament. He was leading. A lot of people argued, just let him play alone.

You know, they didn't. Their safety protocol. So he comes back, and all the golfers fell off a cliff except John Rom who hit some huge puts down the stretch. So tip of the cap to him. It was a fun weekend to sports. It was a great weekend for sports. So much to watch. Such exciting games. I liked it. I loved it. All right, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, brought to you by Jersey Mikes. 15 seconds, let's give them love. The new grilled portabella mushroom Swiss sub, delicious. Got to try it.

Fresh ingredients make a sub. Jersey Mikes be a sub above. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong. Here we go. Where Colin was right. Well, I've been on this for two years on M. Bede and Simmons. Very talented. It doesn't work.

They can't play together and they don't get along. And so I do think this Atlanta series needed to happen. ugly, better team lost to an inferior roster, had leads, couldn't hold them. This is what had to happen because Embed and Simmons are so talented. You're going to keep, it's the Hollywood couple. They look beautiful. They're both successful. It should work.

You got to have a blow up and they're driving home one night and go, yeah, we don't, this doesn't work. We're not good for each other. This is what you needed. Nobody can dispute it. Embeddead Simmons, and we call it, it just isn't a championship fair. where Colin was wrong. I said on Devin Booker, I've said,

great talent, is he a leader? I don't see the leader thing. And yesterday I thought he was really a leader. No Chris Paul, not only that he have 40 points, triple double, he became the assist guy. That is what a leader looks like. Not just the 40 points. A lot of guys in this league can drop 30 and 40 points.

It's grabbing game one by the throat, controlling it, taking all the big. shots in a huge third quarter. Remember, the Clippers were a little gas because they just came out of a longer series, had no rest. So you knew the second half of the Clippers, they could be a little fatigue they were. He comes out in the third and just takes the game over. The NBA's got a ton of talent, not a ton of leadership, and I thought Booker yesterday delivered there. Where Colin was right? I picked the Bucks to win the East, and I said one of my two reasons was health. Janice, Middleton, PJ Tucker aren't guys that get hurt.

And really, in the end, health is why they won. They were fresher down the stretch. And when I made the pick, I said, you know, I don't love them. But M.B. gets hurt all the time. The Celtics. Jalen Brown was out. I said, LeBron, A.D., if they get to the finals, I picked them to beat the Western team, which I thought would be LeBron and A.D. And you look at Kevin Durant, Harden, Kyrie, they have injuries.

So, you know, other than Dante Devencenzzo, Devenzo, they really haven't had an injury. And if you look at their roster, it's a bunch of guys who are sturdy players who don't get hurt much. And as we know over the last four years, that can be, the Toronto Raptors have a title because they got healthy and the Warriors fell apart. Where Colin was wrong. I love Doc Rivers and I defend him. But I did think, you know, he's lost now nine game sevens. and I thought the Sixers were a little too much ISO ball. I'd like to see more play design.

And at some point, as much as I like Doc, the Clippers now appear to have better chemistry than they did when Doc was there. And the Clippers appear to be a little better without Kawhi Leonard when Doc isn't there. And Philadelphia's issues are not all Doc. But, you know, I defend him a lot. And it's another game seven with a lead.

You're at home. You should win it. and he lost. Where Colin was right. But the reason I was critical of Brooklyn was I don't understand choosing Kyrie Irving over Steph. I don't understand choosing James Harden over Steph or Clay as a teammate. I don't understand choosing Steve Nash, a rookie head coach over Steve Kerr.

I don't understand choosing the ownership of the Nets over the ownership of the Warriors. In the end, this is how it should have ended. Kevin Durant having to carry a team because James Harden in the playoffs wasn't consistent and Kyrie wasn't there. It's not about just choosing talent. There's a reason LeBron chose D. Wade and Bosch. They were not perfect fits for him. D. Wade really has a lot of his game. Athletic, not a great shooter.

But it worked because LeBron trusted the intelligence, the big game ability of D. Wade. Chris Bosch wasn't a perfect fit. They kind of pushed him to the outside, clear the lane. It's not just about talent. Steph and Clay and Kerr and Bob Myers and Dremon were a better fit overall, emotionally, than Brooklyn. Where Colin was wrong. Got a hand it to Janus.

He averaged 32 in this series, and he was a man in game seven. I've said, face of the league is nonsense. You can marginalize his game. he can't shoot, but he works on his game, and I thought he was fantastic. And he was also very aggressive in game six and game seven late in the games. And Simmons and him were both timid earlier in the series. So he kind of turned his game around, stayed closer to the basket. After they were down 02, he averaged 34 and almost 14 rebounds.

He was the difference good for him. Where Colin was right? I have speculated ever since Zion came into the league, New Orleans won't be big enough for him. New Orleans is big enough for a football star. I don't think they're big enough for Zion. Shaq was too big for Orlando. And a story came out last week that Zion's family wants him out. Chris Paul wanted out in New Orleans.

Anthony Davis wanted out. Zion wants out. They're all great players. But New York City doesn't feel like a college football town in New Orleans. doesn't feel big enough to have a superstar basketball player. Zion's a good kid, but let's be honest here, third year, going to have their third head coach. They just, there always feels like they're reaching and seeking and searching,

and it's not a stable franchise, and Zion's family can sense it. Where Colin was raw. Well, I have whiffed on Ben Simmons. I thought, I mean, he didn't have a, he didn't shoot a single shot in the fourth quarter the last four games. What? I said, when he came into the league, I said, this is an all-time guy. This is Magic Johnson, but a better defender.

But his game's getting worse. The great players work on their games. Simmons appears to be at times indifferent to getting better at his obvious weakness, his liability, can't shoot. I've said forever, I would have taken Simmons over Embed because of Embedd's injury history. but Simmons right now is really a reclamation project. He's closer to Rudy Gobert than LeBron James as a player.

Where Colin was right? Got my doubts on Tua. Five picks in one practice last week. Now, I know it's a practice. It was raining. But the last four things we've heard on Tua, who I'm a cynic of, the last four times he's been in the news. Bench for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Three picks against the bills. Admitted he didn't know the playbook very well. And now five picks in a practice. I think he's a good kid. I think you have to design a play, and it has to work perfectly for the play to work with Tua. I don't see the special with his arm, with his size, with his athletic ability.

Your special can't be accuracy. That's kind of a foundational piece, a quarterback needs. It's like saying a running back's got speed. You kind of have to have a little speed. Where Colin was wrong. Got to give it up to Chris Middleton. Been hard on him for two years. I think he should be the third best player on a championship team,

but he was great against the Nets. Last five games against Brooklyn, 28, 8 and a half rebounds, and shot 41% on threes. He was aggressive. There were moments he was the best player on the floor outside of maybe Kevin Durant. He was asked to take big shots. He took big shots and he hit big shots throughout the series. So Chris Middleton, and maybe it's because there wasn't as much pressure.

With Drew Holiday, there is a sense now. PJ Tucker, he can kind of play his space because he is a shotmaker. He's a very good shooter. But I've been hard on Chris Middleton, and I thought this was as good as he has played as a pro. He was fantastic in multiple games in this series. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Al Harrington, former NBA players, been very outspoken. on the things he sees.

He will be joining us next on a Monday. 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 what you're 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,

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get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Konki, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021. podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Play!

But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant,

recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're all, On your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You're playing high school basketball, and now you're at hotels where you can't go to the bar. in the hotel. Because you're too young. Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. Like, it's an amazing thing. We wouldn't even think about that high school to the bigs in baseball, high school to Liverpool in soccer, high school to the Green Bay Packers.

But Al did it and had a great career. It was in the playoffs a ton, most notably 16 years. You saw him a lot with the Pacers. And he is now joining us live. Well, you are in a lot of these playoffs series. And I was saying, Al, I like three point shots. I understand we all have to evolve and adapt.

But the Phoenix Suns are a little old school. Built through the draft. A lot of mid-range. They played almost all the games. Everybody's kind of got a defined role. They're big. Doesn't shoot threes. Their point guard, Chris Paul,

is not a shooting point guard. Like, I like Phoenix. They feel like when you play, they feel like 12 years ago, And, Al, a lot of times we talk positionless basketball, but I like positions. I like guys to know what they do. That's what I see when I see Phoenix. What do you see with the sons?

Now, I agree with you. You know, first I want to say big shout after James Jones. He was my rookie in Indiana back in the day. So I think we taught him well and, you know, how to structure a team. You know, with Monty Williams being an oldest school player, too, you know what I'm saying? I think that it's just kind of the DNA of like those two guys, right? you know, you know, when we came up to your point 12, 15 years ago, it was all about people being specialists in certain positions and certain things.

And that's how you knew night in and night out, what you were going to get from certain guys. Right. Right now the game has changed so much with positionless basketball. You don't know what you're going to get. So when you don't know what you're going to get, you're going to get a lot of inconsistencies and different things like that. So it's just a good thing to see kind of old school basketball.

I mean, they obviously still shoot the three a lot. You know, that's obviously something, you know, more of the new generation. But, you know, I really love and watch. love watching them play because, you know, everybody brings it every night. They play really, really hard. And I think that when you play hard, you know, good things happen. So, you know, we can, I say we tend to blame coaches, but if Ben Simmons can't shoot a free throw, there's not a lot Doc can do with that. I do believe Ben Simmons has value. I do not believe he can play with a dominant scoring big. I think the lane has to be open for him. He can score. He has to be playing with a

bunch of shooters like Golden State. You put them on that team, you make them a point forward, Clay on one side, stuff on the other, there's value. Do you think it's a loss cause in Philly? What would you do with Ben Simmons if you ran the Sixers today? Yeah, I think that if I ran the Sixers today, you know, I think that I would probably have to move on from Ben. You know, I think that you can't have two guys that need to play the post, you know, to be effective. And I think I would definitely pick and beat over him right now today. but I think that the main thing that, you know, with a guy like him is you need to surround him around shooters

and allow him to dictate everything from the post area. But, you know, my biggest thing with Ben is it's confidence, man, and it's on him. You know, a coach can't give you confidence. Your confidence is found in the gym. And he needs to dedicate this whole summer in the gym shooting the basketball. You know, he don't need to make any dribble between the leg moves.

He has handled. He has all those different pieces. But what he's missing is confidence in his. jump shot. And, you know, if he's serious about his craft and he wants to, you know, be able to get his reputation back, you know, I would, you know, if I, if I could work him out, you know, I would have to make a thousand jump shots a day. You know what I'm saying? I think that's where it is, just taking it back to the basics, mechanics and just really just shooting the ball until you get your confidence back. You know, it's amazing, Al. You were the high

school Gatorade player of the year. You were a dominant high school player. There was a reason you should have gone to the NBA because college probably you weren't going to grow. But it is amazing. I saw A-Rod in baseball years ago in a series of the Yankees just totally lose confidence. They dropped him to eighth in the batting order. Alan, your career, did you ever lose confidence?

Of course, we all do. Everybody does. You know what I'm saying? But if you have to remedy, you have to figure out how do you remedy it? And the way you remedy it, like I said, is being in the gym really dedicating your time. You know, a lot of things that you normally do probably, you know, in different times you have to kind of put aside and you have to

focus and make it all about the game. Yes, one second. I'm like, sorry. You have to just make it all about the game and just really just recommitting yourself because you got to think about it, even when you were a kid. You know, a lot of us, we got better from spending hours and hours in the gym. You know, and I think you just kind of take it back to the basics. And I think Ben Simmons, we should not write him off.

You know, I think if he takes the right mental approach to the game, I think he can bounce back and be that perennial all-star that we expect from him. You know, obviously I think he's superb on the defense event. But, you know, right now, game, that's not going to get it done. You have to be able to score the basketball. And being not shooting the ball for four straight games in the fourth quarter is definitely just showing that he has lost his confidence.

You know, these super teams, they all look the same. They got no bench. It's a salary cap league. I mean, Golden State was praying that Quinn Cook and Alfonso McKinney could deliver. And it's like unfair. You need young bench guys to be great against veteran stars. And I look at this super team and I'm like, they play like six guys. I would make the argument that KD and Hardin with the right elements, a good bench, could win a championship.

Nothing against Kyrie, but he's a little erratic for me and he's a smaller athlete. They get dinged up more. So like when you look at super teams, do you buy into them or, and they also, Al, you know, they burn hot. It's like a rock band. Everybody buys their album. Two years later, they all hate each other. When you look at Brooklyn, what do you see next? year.

That's going to be interesting, man. I think that obviously with these guys having a full summer, you know, the one thing I can't say about those three guys is they all love the game. You know, I've spent time with all three of those guys at different times in the offseason, and I've seen the way that they train and the way they approach the game. So as long as they continue to do that, you know, I personally believe that if they were like even halfway healthy, that they would have won the championship, to be honest. You know, I just, when you think about playoff basketball and how the game slows down,

And then it comes down to, like, you know, the plays don't work anymore. Now it comes like mono e mono. Like, who can score the ball, you know, better than the other team? When you think about those three guys, they are elite scorers. You know what I'm saying? Like elite. So, you know, I felt that if they were healthy, that nobody could stop them. But, you know, health is part of being talented, right?

And, you know, they weren't able to do that. And, you know, that's why now they're sitting here, you know, sitting at home, watching the rest of the playoffs. You know, the Trey Young, it's funny. So a couple weeks ago, no, it was actually last week, Al. And if you're listening on Radio Al Harrington, former NBA player, 16 NBA seasons. I went and looked at Trey Young, his draft prospectus. So Al, it was all what he couldn't do. It's like he's small.

He can't defend. He takes terrible shots. He's a turnover machine. And then the strengths for, he can shoot. He got big range. And it's funny because in football, a season. scout or a GM get three to four years of tape. An NBA GM, he may get a year a G-League tape or a year a college tape, and you're almost

never playing against pros. I mean, Jalen Suggs of Gonzaga, how many pros did he play against in the 30 of his 33 games? So I look at Trey Young, and I had my doubts. I was like, he's tiny. He can't defend. He turns the ball over. And now I look up and I'm like, he's still a baby. And he took over a series.

So as the NBA's gotten younger, why has it worked for Trey Young? Is it coaching? Is it patience? Does he get all the credit? Because there were a lot of doubters year one in the league that he just was too wild to ever be a franchise player. Why is it working? I think it's because his organization believed in him. And they pretty much gave him the keys from the beginning, right?

You know, most times when young guys come in, there's always some form of a veteran or somebody that's kind of in their way. but they've kind of allowed him to kind of learn the game at his own pace. And I think it's definitely paying off. And it's funny for me. Like, you know, I watched him in high school a little bit. I saw him in college. And I always thought he was just an undersized Steph Curry. Yeah.

You know what I'm saying? When you've seen the range, the way he handles the ball, the way he finishes around the basket with the floater and different things like that, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if we asked him, who do you watch the most, he wouldn't say Steph. You know what I'm saying? With a lot of ways that he plays the game. So when I saw that, and, you know, obviously I played through the era,

Alan Iverson. So I believe, and we've seen a lot of little guys be able to dominate the league. You know what I'm saying? So I was definitely one of the guys that, you know, really liked him from the beginning. I mean, my little brother's like his age in college. And I know he didn't like him. He used to argue all the time, you know, argue all the time about how good he was. And then now even he says, like I was totally wrong, just like everybody else.

But yeah, I think that, you know, just the league in general, I mean, these young kids, man, the things that they're doing out there with the basketball and the skill level is like, you know, at the highest peak has ever been. You know, I've watched some of these stepbacks that they take and all that. I'm like, I will break my neck trying to get to that shot, you know? But it just really just goes to show like how much the game has evolved and the creativity of the game is at an all-time high. And it's a beautiful thing to watch.

And Trey Young is definitely one of those young rising stars, him, Luca. You know, I just think the league is in great hands with these young guys. And I'm just excited to be able to watch these guys on a night-in-night basis. You know, it's funny. I like Paul George. I really do. I liked him in Indiana, seven-time All-Star. He's a really nice.

He can go both ways. D-O. You know Paul. And he got a reputation. You know, and I thought it was a little unfair in Indiana because he was going up against the heels in Miami. And it's like, well, he's not a great closer. Well, you're going up against kind of a mini dynasty. And now he goes to Clippers and, you know, he had some playoff struggles.

But it made me happy to watch him in a couple of spots. to kind of take me into your relationship, your knowledge of Paul. I think he's very unique, Al. There are just not a lot of guys that can drop 33 and defend like that. There aren't. The league's got maybe six of them. Kauai is obviously one of the best. But your thoughts about Paul George, his growth, who he is, and rising to the moment.

Yeah, man, I mean, he's a great kid, and he's definitely somebody that you want to root for. You know, he's always gone about his business the right way. he's another one of those guys that's a gym rat, and I respect gym rats. You know, I respect guys that love the game more than the life, right? And I think that he's one of those guys. I think with Paul, you know, I think he's another confidence guy. He's a guy that loses his confidence every once in a while. And, you know, obviously when he start games strong, he usually finish him strong.

And what I've seen is when he starts game a little slow and missing shots, he gets down on himself. And then he starts second-guessing himself. And like I said, I would say that that's probably a majority of the NBA players. players that deal with that. You know, that's why everybody can't be Kobe, why everybody can't be Michael Joy and everybody can't be LeBron, right? Those guys, that's what separates them from the rest of the pack. And, you know, I think that that's obviously what, you know, has separated PG from being one of the elite players in the league is because he struggled with confidence issues as well. But, you know, to your point, it's great to see him kind of step up with Kauai being

out, especially with all the noise that has been being said about him, you know, making fun of him with the playoff P thing. You know, I live in L. And obviously, you know, some people say, like, who's more hated, Paul, you know, Paul, Georgia or Coosma? You know what I'm saying? We hear things like that. It sucks, right? You know what I'm saying? Because, like, for me, it sucks to hear it because I know him.

And I know how much he cares about the game. I know how good of a player he is. But, you know, it's good now that he's starting to step up. You know, hopefully when Kowah comes back. I think the main thing with the clippers with those guys is like those two guys have never decided to who's going to be the guy, right? They kind of go back and forth. And right now, you know, Paul is kind of saying.

he's the guy. And, you know, maybe Kauai maybe comes back in support fall, you know, while he's on his hot street. Al, boy, you're really good. You really break this stuff down. How about Al? I don't know if I've ever had yawn. You should go into this broadcasting thing. Al, you're pretty darn good at it. Thanks, man. Love to have you on again. And by the way, if the cleaning lady was trying to come into your room, I'm apologized for the... Don't they always, they do that all the time. Such a headache. Al Harrington. Great to see you. Thanks, Al. All right, thanks, guys. Good stuff. NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud financial system, no matter how big your business grows. It elevates and grows with you. Graduate from QuickBooks. Go to NetSuite today. NetSuite.com slash herd herdh. Here's Alex with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Ben Simmons was disappointing for the Sixers again last night, scoring only five points and taking zero shot. in the fourth quarter. There was also a moment in the fourth when Simmons passed up a wide open shot and Joelle and Bede mentioned that play when he was asked about the turning point in the loss. He said, I'll be honest.

I don't know how to say it, but I thought the turning point was when we had an open shot, we missed and we made one free throw. We missed the other, then came down and scored. Yeah, kind of a shot at Simmons. A little bit.

He didn't say his name, but you know what he's talking about. And it's, in my personal opinion, no matter how bad it is. Don't throw a teammate under the bus. But you know, here's my thing. Ben Simmons, do you really want to walk on eggshells around Ben Simmons if you're M-Bed in Doc Rivers?

Hey, Ben Simmons, spend more time on your jumper. Yeah. Okay, like, I don't, this is something I, and I've been in this business 30 years. If you got to walk on eggshells with a coworker, it's time to move off the co-worker. Like, you can't live a life of walking on eggshells because if you're Doc Rivers, you have a microphone in front of you. Yep. A hundred days a year.

And I got to sit there and every answer is protect Ben, protect Ben. How about Ben get better at free throws? Like, Embed, protect Ben, protect Ben. Hit your free throws. Once you have to start, like, that was the KD Golden State situation where the organization felt because of the Steph KD dynamic, they had to be careful what they said around KD. And once you get into that kind of situation,

it's just, it's time to move on. I'm like everybody's consumed with not offending Ben. Well, Ben's offensive game is offensive. Shoot free throws. Zero shots in the fourth quarter. Zero shots in the fourth quarter. That can't happen. That can happen.

Nope. Yeah. All right. Moving on to the Nets because their season ended Saturday night with a 115 to 111-11 overtime loss to the bucks. Injuries of two or their three stars affected their chances in the series. But Steve Nash said he still had hope going into the game. You know, I still thought we could win it.

And clearly I think we proved tonight that we could. Game could have gone either way. And so you always know there's a chance. Anything could happen. And, you know, I think we just faced one too many obstacles this year. And because our guys gave everything they had. Well, you also, you know, and this is not a knock, but they didn't play many players. So Hardens at 75%.

You played six other guys. So that's, I mean, if you, go look at the video we've been showing you today on Kevin Durant. He looks, look at him. Yeah. He looks exhausted. And he was great. He was incredible.

He's exhausted. We're asking these guys, think about you, and I know they're young. Yeah. People always go, well, they make a lot of money. When you fly, aren't you tired for about a day after you get off a nap? Oh, yeah. We're asking these guys to play 48 minutes, both end of the floor against the best athletes in the world after getting off a plane, back forth, back forth, back forth.

You know, I just think we sometimes don't understand what we're asking of these guys when Milwaukee to Brooklyn, Brooklyn and Milwaukee, that's a three-hour flight. And you're asking him to play 48 minutes. That's why Phoenix works. Chris Paul only has to play 31 because they have a legitimate backup. Well, we also knew that their success was going to come down to health and injuries. And it's kind of been the story their entire season. Yep. Their top guys weren't great.

Katie did as much as he could, and he looked incredible, as we said. All right. Someone else who looked incredible was Devin Booker, who stepped up in a big way with Chris Paul out of game one. He recorded his first career triple double with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Now, DeAndre Aten also had 20 points and nine rebounds in the Sun's 1211-14 win. CP3 was included in the celebration, though. He faced time with his teammates after the win, but Jay Crowder said he reminded. them, this was just one game.

It is hard not to root for the suns right now. Yeah, and it's also, I was at a restaurant Saturday night and the bar was open. Oh, it was wild. It was a packed restaurant. And you watch Phoenix and it's like, oh, it's so great. Like it would be, how bad would it be? How unfortunate would it be if Phoenix is finally great and their fans couldn't go? This has always been, when I grew up, Phoenix was always good.

I go back to the late Paul Westfall, Alvin Adams. They were always good. Then they segue to Tom Chambers. And then there was the Marley and the Kevin Johnson. This is a great basketball city that was just poorly run for a lot of years. And now they've hit on three great draft picks. They add Chris Paul. And it would have been just a shame if finally this great NBA city has a championship level team and nobody could go to the games.

They're so starving in the valley down there. They're so starving for good basketball because you can talk about Phoenix, Arizona as a sports city. It's always been a great NBA city. But fans, let's be fair, the tickets are expensive. And if you're poorly run for a decade, people bail out. I get it. Oh, yeah. A lot to do there.

I'm jumping on the Sun's bandwagon here. I'm a huge CP3 fan. I love his story. I would love to see him get to the final and win a championship. I'm becoming a huge Devin Booker fan. Yeah. Fun to watch. Alex with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News. Chris Manix, good NBA guy, I'll be joining us next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben.

Host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascone. Would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the Fifth I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show, a cult hit overnight's on FSR. Why should you listen?

Picture, if you will, a world when we chat with captains of industry in media, sports, and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the Fifth Hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashed. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clever 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. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. and I'm Kunky, his best friend, and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast.

I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm George Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out,

help on the internet. But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.

Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most. legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream a chicken suit.

Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrat, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So everything is something. Nothing is everything is my basic mantra in life. Everything's a little something. Aaron Rogers has renewed his membership at the Green Bay Country Club. I saw a story here today.

It may mean nothing. No, zero chance it means nothing. It means something. When Tom Brady, we all speculated on Tom Brady. And the initial thing he did, which led us to think he may leave was he put his house up for sale. If you put your house up for sale and you're married with kids, a lot of discussions over a glass of pino to get that, come to that conclusion. That's a big decision for a family, even a rich family.

It tells you a lot. If somebody cancels a golf membership, did they lose their job? That's often it. They're moving. That's often it. When you join a membership, you're going somewhere. So Aaron Rogers signing up for a membership, unless he's trolling them, probably means he plans on coming back for camp.

That's what it tells you. He's not going to hold out of camp. Why? Because the only time to golf where you get guaranteed great weather in Green Bay is July, August, and September. You don't join it if you're going to hold out and get there in September and have to play catch-up. That tells you Aaron's shown up to camp. And as we've said from the very, you know, when LeBron James in 2017 bought his second house in L.A.

in Brentwood, that told you he was moving to L.A. It's not the first time. Rich people have a house in other cities. Hawaii, the Hamptons. But when a rich person who plays in Cleveland buys a second house in the same neighborhood in the same town, he's moving to that town. And, you know, I think this is pretty obvious. Aaron's telling you I'm going to show up to camp.

It's like the obvious signs, like you ever seen those websites, well, how to tell if your mate is having an affair. or cheating on you. It's been the same four or five tells for 100 years. They start losing a lot of weight. They won't let you look at their phone. It's the same thing for 100 years. The answers are almost always real simple. If somebody is quitting a country club, they lost a job or they're moving. That's 99% of the time. And if they're joining a country club, that's also a tell. If you're putting your house up for sale, that's a tell. It means something. And I, you know, Again, unless he's trolling people.

But, yeah, I mean, by the way, here's a picture for our television audience of the country club. And I must say, I have never been to Green Bay, Wisconsin. It is an absolutely beautiful. That is stunning. It's a beautiful country. Well, it should be. It's Wisconsin. Yeah.

All right. So let me move to Charles Barkley. Charles Barkley is outspoken, and I think he said what a lot of people felt about Ben Simmons, the numbers are staggering. He just wouldn't shoot the second half of any of these games. And Trey Young, by the way, he was three for 20 at one point, and he's still shooting. So Trey Young never lost his confidence. Ben Simmons, when a guy runs from the ball refuses to shoot, they've lost their confidence,

and Charles Barkley talked about this. we thought he would get better he hasn't gotten better that's the problem nobody thought he was going to be scared to shoot and he is scared to shoot when you're giving the ball up that quickly you're scared to shoot we did not think it was going to get to the point where he

goes all these games it won't even take a shot he won't even take a shot that's the only point that I'm trying to make yeah we knew he's not a great shooter but like wow we never thought it would get to this point and by the way

there's value in everything. There's value in everything. So I had this discussion yesterday. I got a grill for Father's Day. And I've made the argument forever. There's only one or two things you can buy in America and you always get your money worth. Always.

One of them is a brittle water filter. I've had one for 10 years. I've moved houses. It stays with me. All you have to do is replace that little filter inside. I've had a brittle water filter. I swear to God for 20 years. I think it's the same one.

I think it is. And a grill. You buy a grill. It's a thousand bucks for an expensive one, $1,200. A lot of, how many times you're going to use that thing? I've moved with grills, different grills and brittle water filters. Other than that, almost everything you buy in America, two things happen. It breaks down.

Or the world changes and it's just not as valuable as it was a year or two ago when you bought But when you buy something, not everything is going to be a grill that you get your money. You just have to find value and stuff you buy because almost nothing is built like it used to be built. And I look at Ben Simmons and it's not what we thought it was. But don't tell me it doesn't have. It's not going to be a grill, but it's got value. He's a great defender, NBA All First Team. He's strong.

He scores at the rim. He has very good vision. Great ball handler. So what do you do? you go find a team with shooters. I'll say this again. Golden State is perfect. Steph on one side, Clay on the other.

He'd be a bigger Draymond Green. A younger Draymond Green. Now, Draymond's more aggressive than Ben, but at some point I think he'll snap out of this little head game he's going through. But I think he works in Golden State. And you'll have to find a team that has a strong core, a strong culture,

and a little bit of a savior complex. You know, Golden State feels like they can, and make stuff work. And then you ship Philadelphia, who you got to ship them. You can ship them anybody. Just don't ship them clay or Steph. But the idea, I mean, maybe Portland, C.J. McCollum for Ben Simmons. Dame is great, but he's small and not much of a defender.

Ben Simmons can't shoot, but he's big and a great defender. There is value here. Remember, the other thing is, wherever Ben Simmons goes, he will not have to be the savior. That's important. Andrew Wiggins, great example. In Minnesota, number one pick, savior. They were always disappointed, even when he was scoring 19 a game.

You put him with the Warriors, he's like, Andrew Wiggins is pretty good. He gives you like 18 and a half a game, can hit big shots, runs up and down the floor, good athlete, verticals. It's like, pretty good. So Andrew Wiggins is now a nice third piece. And they'll probably eventually move him because he's expensive. But, you know, there's only this idea that Ben Simmons, can't do this and can't do that and can't do that. Think about this.

There's about five people in Hollywood that drive box office. Robert Downey, Tom Hanks, you know, the list is small. By the way, even the greatest actors, you're Jeremy Iron, they don't move box office. Johnny Depp doesn't move the needle. There's about five people in Hollywood that drive box office. Of all the actors, all the actresses, that doesn't mean a lot of people don't have value.

There's only about five or six guys in the NBA, total that literally equal playoff wins. LeBron, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kauai Leonard. Now we're seeing Chris Paul. I mean, the number of guys in the NBA that are like, oh, you get them and you're going to win a playoff series. Folks, it's a handful. Five, six, seven, maybe.

the number of people that can drive box office in Hollywood. Maybe it's seven. Maybe it's 10. It is not a lot of people. So what you've got to do is find value where you can find value. Not everything is going to be a grill or my brittle water filter. You've got to find value and stuff. You're going to have to overpay for everything because in America, you've got to overpay for everything.

Now with inflation, it's worse. Lemons used to be 50 cents, two for a dollar. Now it's a buck of lemon. It's going on. So there's my Ben Simmons thing. Everybody can't be the answer to everything. There's very few people on the market like that. You know, and it goes back to one of the things that with Ben Simmons,

my issue now, I mean, obviously, he doesn't have to be a great shooter. He's got to be able to hit free throws. I mean, that's just a fact. You've got to be able to hit like 65% of your free throws. You know, whatever the line is where you won't do the Hackashack or the Hack of Simmons or Hakayanas, whatever that line is, 65%, whatever the math says, you got to get to that line and hit them so you can, you know, if you hit seven a ten, they won't foul you. But, you know, we just bail on things all the time. We're just, we bail, get rid of bail. You're going to do that,

you're going to say all but six people in Hollywood have any value. I mean, there's just not many Aaron Sorkans out there to write the perfect script. It just doesn't exist. Not every comedian's Chris Rock. Somebody's got to open the show. show. You know? You go to the laugh factory. You got one headliner. You got six other funny people to fill the night out, right? Hour three next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 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 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 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, unfilled 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. On the Look Back at a podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year.

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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