The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 06/30/2021 - HOUR 1 - NBA injuries, George, Jazz

Episode Date: June 30, 2021

Why you shouldn't use injuries as an excuse for not winning in the NBA playoffsThe criticism of Paul George has never been overblownThe Utah Jazz are a much better organization than you thinkGuest: Nick Wright Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 you're 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, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Wednesday. Rolling. A lot of stuff to talk about live in L.A. It's called The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. The Herd brought to you by Jersey Mike Subs. B.A. Sub-A. Sub-Day here on the show. Joy, Taylor, how are you? I'm doing great. What a wild, wild NBA postseason this is Ben. Well, everybody's talking about injuries. I was driving in this morning and everybody, every show,

all these injuries are ruining everything. So I want to start with that. Is that where you are at 40, 45 years old, you've earned it. 20s, blame your parents. Teens blame your parents. 30s blame your boss. 33 blame the government. We like to do that.

But by 40, 45 years old, you're where you should be. You've had too many opportunities, too many choices. I was watching something not long ago. Don Lemon was interviewing the great Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman grew up in a very, very small town, a very poor town. And Don Lemon said, you're a great story, but not everybody can do what you can do, Morgan. And Morgan Freeman said, bull blank takes courage. The bus leaves town every day.

Get on it. I like that. Bus leaves town. I got on the bus. Joy got on the bus. We got on the bus. Leaves town every day. Takes courage to get on that.

And then it's your life. Everybody blames injuries. Tell me how the playoffs are different today with injuries. Well, I mean, Janus got hurt. The Bucks had scored 38 points at half when Janus was healthy. Well, Colin, the sons, well, they were. with the number two seed in the West. They played together, so they had this great chemistry.

Well, there's not a surprise there. Well, what about the Clippers? Kauai Leonard's injury. Well, time out. Kauai Lennards in and out of the lineup for everybody he plays for. And by the way, even when Kauai played and Paul George played this year, what were they bad at? The end of games.

This is who the Clippers are. They fall behind. They're inconsistent. Kauai is hurt. Well, what about the Utah Jazz in the West? Number one seed. So what? Number one seed doesn't mean you're the best team.

Donovan Mitchell was hurt and still played. He was still their best player. And oh, by the way, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert last two all-stars picked. Meaning of all-stars, their lower-end all-stars in the eyes of all-stars. Plus, they can't defend the wing. Good God, Terrence, man ate them alive. Joy and I have been saying this for years. They can't defend the wing.

So they'll never beat the LeBrons or the Paul George or the Kauai's. We knew that with Utah. That just they can't defend the wing. And in the West, you can't defend the wing. you're done, you're not going to win the conference championship. Well, what about the Lakers? Well, what about him? Anthony Davis came into the season out of shape. He tried to play his way into shape and he got hurt, which, you know, it's Anthony Davis. He's always hurt. Are you going to tell me that's a condensed season? He's the one that was out of shape. Not everybody came in out

of shape. AD did. And LeBron's getting old. He gets hurt more. The West is what the West should be. the sons, a team that played all their best players, played almost all the games. That's why their chemistry is so great. That's why they're so great late in games. And the Clippers, well, they're in the conference finals, with or without Kauai. And he's always missing.

Well, let's go to the east now. Oh, oh, oh, oh, I forgot Denver. Jamal Murray's injury. All right, it's an injury. They were swept by Phoenix. You're going to tell me if they had Jamal Murray, they would have won. They couldn't win a game without Jamal Murray. Since when has Denver roared into the finals in any year?

So let's go to the east. Well, well, Joel Embed got hurt. No, the Sixers were exactly what they've been for three years. Simmons can't shoot. They're not good at the end of games because of that. And Ambide has some partial injury. That's their story for the last four years. All right, what about the Celtics?

Jalen Brown's injury. They were a seven seed. All year long, all year long, they were inconsistent. There was topics on this show regularly. Is Brad Stevens going to get fired? That was a topic all year. What about the Knicks? They didn't have any injuries.

What about the heat? They weren't that good. That's not an injury thing. That's not that good thing. The number one team in the playoffs that has the condensed schedule, injuries are really the key, is Brooklyn. Oh, wait. Kyrie and Kevin Durant's legacies are, they're hurt a lot. So you're going to blame that on the condensed schedule.

What about James Harden? Okay, I'm going to be nice here, but he came into the season fat because he wanted out of Houston. He didn't work out. And so he came into the season, not ready to perform. And like AD, had to play himself into shape. And that's just a, that's hard. And so for the first time in his career, he usually comes into seasons in great shape. He came in completely out of shape.

You went to Twitter. You saw the images, and he tried to play himself into shape. Good luck playing yourself into shape in the NBA. That would be like not training for a marathon, running it, and then pulling a hamstring in Mile 19 and going, it's the marathon's fault. Got to train for that puppy. So tell me all the injuries that are changing things. The suns, the clippers in the box, are that those surprise here?

Brooklyn, Hardin tried to play himself into shape. Lakers, AD tried to play himself into shape. Everybody looks at Atlanta and goes, well, I mean, let's be honest. Without injuries, Atlanta wouldn't be here. But let's be honest about Atlanta. The minute Nate McMillan took that job, they went 27 and 11 in the regular season. They were good. And then they got to face the Knicks in the first round.

Well, according to the odds makers, they were favored. And then they faced the Sixers in the next round. That wasn't injuries. The Sixers led those games late. What determined the outcome of. of those games was Ben Simmons couldn't hit a free throw. They couldn't have on the floor. The Sixers had that series one. They couldn't hit free throws. That's not about injuries. It's about you couldn't have your point guard on the floor. Ben Simmons would not

shoot in the second half. That's not about injuries. Stop using excuses. Stop being a victim. Everybody's where they should be. By the way, we've had enough injuries to stars. You could make the argument. The playing field. even everybody's got somebody hurt except Phoenix the bus leaves town every day at 45 stop blaming mom and dad the government your boss you're where you should be just like all these NBA teams so I like Paul George I ran into him once and he was very complimentary of this show of course it is rather good anyway he was saying this week Paul George was that he is the most star in the NBA, and he does get a lot of criticism.

I don't think there's any question about that, and Charles Barkley did not want to hear it. These dudes, man. What? What do you mean? Every great player gets criticized. Yes. I don't hear that bull. Crap.

Every great player, I have gotten criticized because I didn't win a championship. Michael Jordan, before he won the championship, yeah, he can't win. Shaq, Kobe, everybody's gotten criticized. This is false narrative. I'm hearing these jackasses on television talking about somebody gets scrutinized more than other people. Give me a freaking break. Paul George is a terrific player, but that goes with being a terrific player. And these other guys talk about he gets treated unfairly, give me a freaking break.

Well, he's not wrong. Criticism is actually a badge of honor. In my business, criticism equals popular. You have to watch somebody to criticize them. I mean, Jeremy Grant's a good player. He plays for the awful pistons. He could use some criticism. Nobody knows who he is.

Does he have a shoe deal? Jeremy Grant needs me to talk about him, Skip to talk about him, Joy to talk about him for like four weeks. He'd probably get a shoe deal. The difference today with criticism, of course, it comes from so many different angles. It used to be you had a roof. and there'd be a little leak, and you could just plug the leak. It was the local columnist.

Sam Smith in Chicago would criticize Jordan. And Jordan would be like, I'm not going to talk to him anymore, and he'd plug the leak. Now the roof has like 38 leaks. You stop one, there's another one. There's Twitter criticism. There's Instagram criticism. There's Snapchat criticism. There's cable TV guys like me talking or joy talking criticism.

There's the local columnist and the beat reporter criticism. There's sports talk radio. Michael Jordan wasn't really in an era of Sports Talk Radio. So fans are ripping you and you hear it drive into the arena. That's the difference. The roof has a lot more leaks now and you just can't plug them up. So, yeah, it comes from a lot of different angles. Now, of course, there is resolution to this.

Put the phone down and read. But there was a man, I didn't know him personally. He was a poet, a playwright in London. His name was Oscar Wilde. And he was very good with words. And Oscar Wilde used to have a saying, The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. Paul George has commercials and shoe deals and all that stuff and he's making money on social and all that stuff.

And that's because he's relevant. Criticism is relevance. You watch these NBA playoffs. James, Chris Paul's on every third commercial. Chris Paul's been dogged by everybody for seven years. Y'all, y'all, you've been hammering Chris Paul nonstop for years. He's on every commercial. It's a badge of honor.

If you're getting talked, Jeremy Grant's not getting talked about. He's a good player. Paul's a really good player. He's talked about all the time. You're going to notice the guys getting talked about of this league. have shoe deals or huge social media followings. Look up Oscar Wilde. He had it right in London years ago.

The poet had it right. All right. Dak Prescott saying things about the Cowboys. There's some good stuff today. Oh boy, Donovan Mitchell trade rumors. Donovan Mitchell trade rumors, jazz. Here we go. Nobody wants to play in Utah.

I always hear that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard radio app. 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, 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.

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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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

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

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan, Ryan, Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid?

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Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Discover matches all the cash back you're earning your credit card into your first year automatically. No limits. Discover.com slash yes. Get used to hearing yes. So I saw this story.

You know, D. Wade now is part owner. of the Utah Jazz. Kind of a smart move by the organization. Let's let D. Wade come in here because, you know, there's always been this theory that, you know, a lot of stars don't like to play in Utah, and I've always kind of rolled my eyes at it. Utah's like gone Zaga basketball.

They've been good forever, and they've been damn close to winning. If there's nobody, if there's no Michael Jordan, the Utah Jazz have two championships. They were, they gave Jordan fits. I watched those series. You watch those series. Michael had some of his worst playoff games against Utah. Those games were wars.

Those were battles. Without Michael, you got two of them. Don't kid yourself. Here's the other thing. Carl Malone like playing there. Stockton did. Clarkson does. Donovan appears to.

T. Bailey did. Brian Russell did. Jerry Sloan like coach in there. So is Quinn Snyder. Coaching matters. Coaches like coach in there. Players matter. There's stars like playing there.

So when I hear like Donovan Mitchell, may not be happy there. That's a rumor I think with time out. Don't tell me people don't like playing in Utah. You know where players don't like playing? Cleveland. LeBron is from there and is like, get me out of here twice.

Washington, D.C. When's the last time the Wizards were relevant? The 70s? I watched those series against the Sonics and Elvin Hayes and Wes Unselled and Phil Sheenier. I mean, like, where all the players going to Washington? How about New York? One playoff series wins since 2000.

I keep hearing about all these guys that want to play in New York. Where are they? Julius Randall's a big get. All right. Here's something to remember. Now, in pro sports, the way pro sports are built, they're trying to create, except baseball with no salary cap. But NBA, NHL, NFL, they have salary caps.

They're trying to keep it even. If you're good, you draft last in the first round, right? College sports are different. The better you are, the more you dominate recruiting. So college is built for dynasties, built for big brands. There's no salary cap there, right? So just think of how hard it is to win. And Utah's been this close twice.

No MJ, they got two titles, this close. So think in college sports how good Kansas basketball is. The guy who invented basketball is from Kansas. So they had a little head start on everybody else. He invented it, James Naismith. They had wilt. They have nothing but five, four and five star athletes. They have one of the best coaches, Bill Self in college basketball, before him, Roy Williams.

Those are two of the top five coaches last 20 years, arguably, right? 30 years, one title. One, Kansas. They invented the sport. One, Texas football. When you think Texas, I think football. Texas has an unbelievable brand. You ever fly into Dallas and you get to 10,000 feet, down to 5,000 feet,

and you're getting ready to go in to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport? You ever do that at night and you see the high school football stadiums? Eight of them, they're all like 30,000 people. It's like no other states like that. The state school in Texas, Texas football. 40 years. One title. And it was like a last play of the game thing with the USC.

They came this close to losing it at the Rose Bowl. Kansas. Basketball. Texas football. Two titles, 70 years combined. One sport invented their sport. The other one feels like they did. And that's college sports.

Where dynasties happen. Utah's well-run, exceptionally well-run. For years, it was exceptionally well-owned. Great coaches, great scouting, great players. I want to hear about, nobody really wants to play in Utah. Nobody wants to play in Cleveland. LeBron asked Chris Bosch, would you come here? Bosch is like, I'm not coming.

Can you imagine that LeBron and his prime? You pick the phone up, you're Chris Bosch. You're playing in Canada. Ring, hello, it's Chris Bosch. Hi, it's LeBron James, the world's greatest basketball player. Would you like to come play with me? Love to where? Cleveland.

and click. Nobody wants to play in Cleveland. I want to hear about Utah. The coaches like it, their stars like it. By the way, I kept hearing Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell don't get along. I don't know. They were number one seed. Seemed to get along fine to me.

Donovan Mitchell's fine. Utah's fine. They're Gonzaga. You can't be that well-run for 100 years or however long. Gonzaga's been well-run in Utah. They'll break through. But it's sort of like when Michael ran the league, You know, Houston didn't do anything

until Michael played baseball for a couple years. Then Houston did stuff. If you're well-run, you're smart in life, if you make good decisions, you'll break through. Just be patient. It's all masonry, man. Just lay the bricks one after one. You'll break through.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, DeMarcus cousins has worked through numerous injuries over the last few seasons that have sort of derailed his career. that he felt like no one wanted to give him a chance

and that everyone was questioning his ability to play at a high level. But he believes that a title would change the narrative surrounding him. He told undefeated, winning a championship would be the ultimate redemption. It would be a middle finger to everybody and you know where I am going to wear the ring. He had a big knight's career playoff high

in game 5, 15 points to rebounds. He played well. He did. Listen, I'm, I'm, I'm, not going to tell Boogie how to feel. It's discouraging when people don't want you and you feel like you still have potential and stuff to offer. But he did have a lot of injuries. And one of them was the Achilles and we know how hard that is to come back from. So I don't think that it's unfair that people were skeptical of if he was going to be able to play consistently at a high level. But

you don't need to necessarily be the guy that's putting up big numbers every single night on a championship team. If you play a specific role on a championship team, you play a specific role on a championship team that has extreme value. If he ends his career, DeMarcus cousins ends his career with a title in those points, and he made a lot of money. He'll have a title. He played a lot of years.

That is better than 98% of the players in this league. If you take out the top 30, 40 players ever, take those guys out, top 50 players ever, making an easy number to remember. And I said, yeah, he ended up with $100 million. He won a title and played for 17 years. You'd be like, yeah, I'll take that. That is, by the way,

That is a better than average career. That's an amazing career. I think we get a little too crazy with what everybody is supposed to accomplish. Yeah. Right? And we were talking a lot about this yesterday. What's the difference between the greatest in the game and greats and good? Like there's,

there are just that little extra stuff that separates you. You can still have an incredible career and not have three or four championships and go down as the greatest of all time. I think he's had a great career. You just had a lot of injuries. Yep. And when you are a player that has multiple, injuries back to back or you're suffering from really extreme injuries like an Achilles

injuries, people are going to be hesitant about giving you, first of all, a lot of guaranteed money and putting you in a situation where they have to rely on you every night. And I don't think that that's unfair, especially as you get further and further in your career. When you're a younger player, then you know you're going to bounce back and you have years to develop and whatever. But I just think it's funny he's going to get his ring made if he has one for his middle finger. It's a move. So Dennis Schroeder is one of the Lakers big free agencies offseason.

He reportedly turned down a four-year $84 million extension with the team earlier this year. In his exit interviews, he denied that money was the reason why he turned it down and reiterated he wants to be in L.A. But in his quest for a new contract, he reportedly is expecting to get around $100 to $120 million in free agency. He's a good player. He's inconsistent, but he's a very good player. And I'll be honest with you. I think he's got leverage here. With the Lakers? Well, I think he does.

I mean, LeBron is now what? Year 18. Anthony Davis, I think, will have a very good year. He'll train hard in the offseason, but he's got injuries. Dennis is, from what I'm told, can ruffle feathers. Not easy to get along with. Because of LeBron's sort of gravitas in the room, LeBron makes it work with him.

But in the end, if you told me I had to keep three people, it would be Dennis, it would be LeBron, it would be Anthony Davis, and everything else to me, I would work around. I like KCP, I would love to have him. But if you told me I get three, that's what I'd want. So I think Schroeder knows that. Schroeder knows that. Well, there are only so many high-level players to go around.

The Lakers do have a ton of free agents this year, so it's going to look very different. But I think specifically if you pay attention to what's happening in the playoffs right now, and you do have an injury prone player in Anthony Davis, and LeBron is getting more and more years tacked on his career. Having a bench is very important. So how much money you spend on the top half of your roster if you don't have a solid bench when you get later into this season

and injuries happen, as we know, and you already have an injury prone player, you know, at what number are you willing to pay for, a player like Dennis Schrooter. Listen, you don't want to pay him 120. You want to pay him 80. How do I know that? Because they did.

They feel he's an $85 million guy, not a 120. And the difference in that is a bench player. The difference in that is keeping a Kuzma, who LeBron doesn't play well with. But I just think it's one of these. Sometimes the player does have leverage. And when you have an aging star and a brittle star, Schrooter is pretty valuable on that team to me. So expectations are always high before an NFL season starts. But there are some quarterback head coach.

combinations that are on hotter seats than others. Bucky Brooks, our friend Bucky, put together a list of the top five quarterback coach combos that are under the most pressure heading into the 2021 season. You know you love lists. So Matthew Stafford and Sean McVeigh are number one. Lamar Jackson, John Harbar are two, Carson Wentz,

Frank Reich, three, Derek Carr, John Gruden, four, and Andy Dalton slash Justin Fields, and Matt Nagy are five. So I feel like Carson Wentz and Frank or won because they rolled the dice a little bit because of the seasoning. Like McVeigh and Stafford, we know Stafford's talented. We know McVeigh is smart. I mean, what do we?

Do they have to win the Super Bowl? Like I feel like Harbaugh Lamar. Lamar's good. Harbaugh's good. But the question now with Wence is, is he any good anymore? That feels like pressure to me. That is something to prove. This dude could not hit stuff out in the flat, like it was overthrowing screens.

I think Carson Wence has a lot of pressure on him. I think he is a ton. I agree, especially the way that the Colts played last year. Like, they were very impressive. So if he comes in and he's not slinging it and the way that he exited Philadelphia. A little ugly. Was not pretty. So that has a little extra pressure too.

I do think Matthew Stafford does have some pressure. We've heard a lot about how great he is. And I do think that he is good. I think he is going to be successful here in L.A. But he kind of has to be. Like, that was a massive move to move Jared Gough. Even though Gough was struggling, he did play in a Super Bowl with that. Yeah.

So it's a very tough division. I think they do have a little bit of pressure. And I definitely think John Gruden and Derek Carr have a lot of pressure on it. Yeah. No question there. They might be too. If it doesn't work this year, they'll probably make a move. I think you have to. Yeah.

Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. My buddy, Nick right now joining us, Mercedes-Benz. The best or nothing. First thing first.

I want to talk about that. I haven't talked about this yet. There are times we all have a friend and you root for the friend and you root and you think that friend got bad luck. That friend got bad luck. I am there for him. And then 10 years later you're like, no, most of his crap is self-inflicted. Now, I am not talking about new you, Nick, right? Because I haven't known you 10 years.

But there are people like that. Milwaukee is one of those stories that I liked for a long time. Janus from Greece, 60 Minutes piece. Oh, I like that. Ooh, they added Drew Holiday. I like what they're doing. I've got to the point now I'm rooting against them. Like, I'm over Milwaukee.

Kauai left the east. LeBron leaves the east. Mbid is hurt. They scored 38 points against Atlanta without Trey Young. I watched them last night, and I'm like, they're now. Their crap is self-inflicted. I am over Milwaukee this morning, your thoughts. I'm shell-shocked.

You know, it's very interesting. I spent some time this past weekend with the Great Joy Taylor here in New York City. and listen, I'm going to reveal some confidences. Joy, also not as big of a Janus fan as the rest of the world is. And I said to her, I was like, Joy, that's a corner. You could be like the first you'd have to really go far with it, but you could be loudly anti-Yonis. No one's on that corner.

This could be the anti-Yonis show. It's an odd day for you to debut this, Tate, Colin, as he's writhing on the ground holding his knee. That's true. Listen, I feel very differently. And I heard the open of your show when Colin's like, oh, I was listening to all these terrible talk shows this morning feeling bad about Yannis.

I was like, oh, he's talking about me. I know when he drives in. He's literally talking about my take this morning. Listen, I think Milwaukee has done things the right way. They drafted Yannis when other teams passed on him. They developed him. They invested in his supporting cast. They then this summer did what we always ask teams to do,

which is put all their chips in the middle of the table, and overpay for a guy they needed and Drew Holiday. They did all of that. They then fought a seven-game war with Brooklyn, where they were down 2-0, where they were down 3-2, where they were on the road for a game 7, and they were right there. And I know they had a bad first half last night,

but I thought with the way Janus was playing in the second half, they were about to win that game, go up 3-1 in the series, and be the favorites to win the title. And then Janus went down, and he's been an Iron Man. I know he got dinged in the point, playoffs last year, but he's not, he's not Harden, or I'm sorry, he's not Kyrie, who's been hurt a lot,

he's not Anthony Davis, he's not Kauai, and so I feel sick for him. And so I, I understand your point about the injuries, some of them were predictable. This one wasn't, and I think Milwaukee was going to win the title. And now, unless somehow Janus miraculously comes back, they're not going to win the title. They might not even make the finals. So I feel differently than you on this. And But this is good. This can be the anti-Yannis show you and joy. Can ride that boat and see where it goes. I don't want to be a part of it.

Well, listen, I felt bad for the injury, but after the first half, I was just emotionally, I was exhausted from Milwaukee. I was like, no, Tray Young, this is what I get. Literally, you have the moment to seize it. You got an hour, and they fall behind by 12. I just couldn't take it. Okay, so we talk about injuries. And I'm like, okay, okay, okay, okay.

I'm kind of over blaming injuries. Even Brooklyn, KD and Kyrie have an injury history, and Hardin came into the season to prove a point. I'm not going to work out. Well, as I said earlier, Anthony Davis and Hardin came into the season out of shape. In the world's number one professional league for being in shape, it's like running a marathon without training,

getting hurt Mile 18 and blaming the marathon. It's like, no, you weren't in shape. like I think we are where we are. Atlanta's a little bit of an upstart, but the East is weak. Philadelphia led those games. They couldn't hit free throws late. Philadelphia should have won that series. I think we're making too much of the injuries and who's left is mostly who should be left.

Well, so I think it's actually a really interesting point. And listen, as I just mentioned, the Janus injury is to me an outlier one because it was a freak thing and it's a guy who hasn't been hurt. But the point you made, like, is it shocking that Kauai Leonard is dealing with a lower leg injury? No, he's been dealing with it for four years to some capacity. Is it shocking that Anthony Davis got banged up? Of course not. I know Kyrie's injury feels like a freak one, but Kyrie Irving missed the tournament when he was at Duke. His team then didn't qualify for the playoffs until 2015. In 2015, he got hurt in the playoffs. In 2018, he was hurt for the playoffs.

In 2020, he was hurt for the playoffs. And then in 2021, he got hurt in the playoffs. That's not shocking. Harden dealt with the hamstring during the regular season. So that's not shocking either. What is, there's no silver lining to this. And they obviously have to take care of business tonight or in game seven. But there might be some poetic justice in this regard.

If the healthiest team left ends up being feet, And it appears that it is. And Chris Paul wins his first and only title going through the Lakers without AD and then the Nuggets without Jamal and then the Clippers without Kauai and then potentially the Bucks without Janus or I guess maybe the Hawks. Chris Paul, if injuries didn't exist, would already have a title. Yes. They'd have won the title in 2018.

They might have won at once with the Clippers. So Chris Paul's had bad injury luck throughout his whole career and now maybe the injuries are finally breaking for them. And lastly, and I think this is an important point you made, I just want to emphasize it, the one team that's here, that it's like, wait, how are they here? Atlanta, they have not gotten any injury luck.

It's been the opposite. DeAndre Hunter got hurt, Cam Reddish was out, bogey got hurt. They played the Knicks, who were healthy for the most part. And Philly, aside from Danny Green, Philly was healthy. Philly just melted down.

Right. So they got to the conference finals without injury luck. Now, obviously, the honest thing changes things, but that was in a game. Trey was already missing. So Atlanta's not there because of the injuries. They're there because they outplayed the Knicks and the Sixers. You know, at Barkley yesterday, because I'm older, I remember I heard the Jordan criticism that he couldn't win. And Barclay took exception to all these people saying Paul George gets criticized a lot.

And I do think players do face a barrage of criticism. that, you know, it used to be if the local columnist ripped you, you'd stop talking to him, and you plugged the leak. Now there's coming from all angles, all this criticism. But what do you make of Barclay saying? Toughen up, Paul George. Everybody gets criticized. And to some degree, it is a badge of honor, right?

So it is a badge of honor, but here's where I disagree with Chuck a bit. Paul, everybody's criticized, right? So Russell Westbrook gets criticized a lot, a lot on this show historically. but he's not made fun of. Paul George, it's not that he was criticized. He was being made fun of and mocked. And that feels a little different. So I don't think guys mind being criticized.

I think human beings don't like being a punchline. Yeah. And so that's to me, like people were not saying, oh, Paul, it wasn't just like basketball criticism. he was becoming the butt of jokes. And I think that is what made the Paul George stuff stand out a little bit more. And I think Charles, if we talked to him about it, would acknowledge that. Like Paul George had entered into the Javelle McGee category where he was only, not level of player,

but remember when Javille on that show was just a constant punchline? Right. That's how Paul was being treated throughout social media. And he had multiple Wilds pointed to this out. this morning. He had multiple nicknames just making fun of him. Way off P, pandemic P, like no one else in the league was dealing with that. So I don't think he was the most criticized player in the league, but I do think he was the most mocked player. And I think that, you know, bothers guys in a different type of way. So I understand what Chuck was saying, but I think it missed the mark a bit. Now he's

going to call me one of the jackasses on TV, but that's just his one of it is. By the way, I like the Sons tonight. I think the line is minus one if I was the kind of guy that wagered. And who would you take tonight if you're a betting man? Oh, I'll take the Sons. I am, I love Chris Paul. I am nervous on his behalf. So I can only imagine how D'Andre Aiton and Devin Booker are going to feel tonight.

I mean, this is supposed to be the Chris Paul coronation. Game five was supposed to be. Now it's game six. Everyone, myself included, is like, oh, top five point. guard of all time, inarguable. He can't blow a 3-1 lead to a team without Kauai. Just can't happen. So I do, the sons have kind of been free rolling. They haven't played any elimination games. They haven't played too many high leverage games. I do want to see for Aiton and Booker if they take on some of the pressure, you know, almost via Chris Paul, because this is a massive moment,

because they do not want to be in a game seven against a team that might be coached by the best coach in the whole league in Ty Loo. Yeah, Ty is having it. He's playing chess. Ty is having a great. He is pulling the opposite of Booneholt. He is pulling strings all night. All right. Great seeing you, Nick. Thanks, Bob.

Nick Wright. You too. See you guys. You bet. We are not the anti-Yonish show, but we are, before the injury, that was the worst half Milwaukee had played all playoffs in the moment to seize the series. All I've been hearing about the bucks for how many years now, they should have squished the hawks.

That first half should have been. our moment. And that's not a disrespect to the Hawks. But you don't have your best player out there. But the Bucks do. It's a two-time MVP. Yeah. So no, I don't want to see on us injured. That sucks. I don't want to see honest injured. Right. But like, it's the same thing with the Celtics for years. Like, kept telling me how the Celtics are like, championship contenders. And every year, I'm like, where are they? So like, that's my thing. What are you guys going to do? Yeah. And that first half last night was, okay, wait a minute. I'm over it now. Like, that was the moment. You got to at least have a moment. We'll be. We'll be. sympathetic to you, but a lot of that went just, I flushed it out at half time. After that, I'm like, I'm just, I don't even like watching them. And I love what they did. I love PJ Tucker. I love the Drew Holiday moves. All right. That's great. Get it done in the first half. Against Atlanta without Tray Young. 38 points. Trail by like, what, 12? Bad. All right, Dak Prescott says we are very, very special. There's a very, very special thing happening.

and I'm going to tell you, and I'm going to give you a reason why that's inarguable why the Cowboys have already canceled themselves out of the Super Bowl. They're already out, and they did it, and I'll tell you why next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game?

you ask, along with my fellow pro-bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arington, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Rob. 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, 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your

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

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

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

radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth

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Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Oh, here's a little interesting news. It just happened. And we are your source for breaking news in America, us and CNN. Here we go. David Fisdale was just hired by the Lakers to replace Jason Kidd. Now, David Fisdale is very likely.

LeBron, very respected. Okay, so Fisdale's a guy that's going to get another head coaching job. Okay, I mean, Tibbs got one, right? And it was successful. Fisdale is a beloved guy in the league. LeBron and LeBron's guys love him. And let me just tell you, just a little insight here. Now, this is not, this is a combination of gossip, rumors, and journalism.

but it's a small J journalism. I don't have everything here double-sourced, just single-sourced. Frank Vogel needs to come out this year and have a good first half. The Lakers situation right now is with Frank Vogel, who's clearly capable. Dennis Schrooter is difficult. LeBron's impatient. Vogel is great with Biggs, but Anthony Davis, doesn't want to play a true big, that situation may not end well.

That is not to say Vogel's going to get whacked. But what I am hearing and what there's a sense right now that LeBron's aging, growing impatient, he's not going to get rid of clutch sports in Anthony Davis. Schrooter is difficult but kind of necessary. It's not perfect. Kuzma doesn't work with LeBron. There's a lot of free agents. There's going to be a lot of turnover.

Vogel likes Biggs. LeBron doesn't necessarily love Biggs because LeBron wants the lane clear. So the Laker situation's very, I wouldn't say dicey. I would just say, and I wouldn't say unstable. But I would say Fisdale and LeBron are, they're pretty tight. And that's an interesting hire. It's small journalism.

This isn't a small J, but it's something. It's something. Fisdale's an interesting hire because Fisdale's going to get another job and LeBron really likes him. So LeBron and his guys aren't that close to Jason Kidd. That's why when everybody said Jason Kidd's going to get the job over Frank Vogel, I didn't necessarily buy that because LeBron's guys and Jason Kids and they're fine. but they're not tight.

They're not guys, right? Fisdale LeBron, pretty close. And Vogel can coach. I saw when he would give the Heedles trouble at Indiana with Roy Hibbert. And Paul George gave that team fits. So Frank can coach. But keep your eye on the Lakers and their chemistry and how it works. And Schrooter is not easy to coach.

It's hard to break through with Dennis Shrewd. His reputation is he's difficult. And, you know, Vogel's more of a big guy than a guard guy and it may wear him out. I don't know. That's speculation. That's an interesting hire. Interesting hire. Listen, when you think journalism, you think this show.

But we have to acknowledge sometimes it's a smaller J instead of a double-sourced, huge J. All right, I'll get to the cowboy thing. The Cowboy thing's too big to just give four minutes to. Dax talking, I'm responding. Hour to next. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the iHeart

radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHard 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, 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. 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. 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 IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.