The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 07/06/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: July 6, 2021

Colin says we don't give ourselves enough time to be alone, Aaron Rodgers is doing just that to get his mind right. The NBA Finals starts tonight and just like the ending of Sopranos, Chris Paul has ambiguity, he's not like your normal star player. This upcoming NFL season in Green Bay is going to look a lot like Kevin Durant's last year in Golden State. Plus, Colin gives you his Top 10 players in the NBA Finals! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the 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. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is 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. I mean, 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. 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. Thanks for listening to the best of herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is a Tuesday NBA finals start tonight.

Great to have you in. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. We've had a good couple of weeks of shows. the NBA, and leagues rarely do this, the finals were supposed to start Thursday, and then Saturday night, in an unprecedented move. They said, that's too much time off. Baseball through the years has not done this, and I wish they would, where teams just sit around for a week, and the NBA moved the finals up to Tuesday.

So tip of the cap to the NBA, and all leagues take notice. The real estate is wide open. We have nothing to talk about, and the NBA is like, why don't we just move that game to Tuesday? and you're going to get Tuesday, today, and tomorrow, free publicity. I thought it was a great move by the league. It never happens. I wish people were more flexible. You know, Joy, it's like years ago, the NFL is like 20 years ago on Sunday nights, that becomes a flex schedule.

Right. Let's like go find the best teams that are interesting and put them on Sunday night. And I love when leagues and networks say, why make the fans sit around for five days? Let's figure it out. Well, it also takes anxiety away from your partners as well. Right. You know, even though we don't have MBA, we are still talking NBA every day. And like, how are we going to drag it out?

We don't have to. We don't have to. We have a game one tonight. Can't wait. I want to talk about this. I think America is too caffeinated. We're going too fast. And I think it's eroding our mental health. I try to give myself at least 45 minutes a day.

Joy knows this. I go home. I go to a room. I turn off the lights. I close my eyes every day. And I think there is a big difference between being alone. And lonely. I am not lonely. I am in my thoughts. Reflective. We don't do that in America. Got to get our kids in the minivan and get them to a soccer practice and get them to a baseball practice.

I got to get my wife this and my husband that and my kids that. You ever give yourself an hour? By yourself. Backyard. Cup of tea. Thinking about you and the day. Aaron Rogers has been in the NFL for 16 years. 13 of those he has been a star. This offseason, he wanted a break. The greatest basketball player, most of us have ever seen Michael Jordan. He took one too, actually a couple. Dave Chappelle, one of the funniest human beings on the earth,

took a two-year sojourn, a break, a hiatus, a sabbatical. You ever seen what pressure and intensity does to our presidents? they go in with a full beautiful head of hair and it comes out gray. We don't give ourselves enough time with ourselves. Aaron Rogers talked about the offseason. He plays in a golf round today with a couple of golfers and Tom Brady. It'll be fun, I'm sure. But he talked about the intensity of the offseason and mental health.

And here's Aaron. Sometimes the loudest person in the room is not the smartest person. Sometimes the loudest person in the room is not the person who has all the facts on their side or the truth on their side. Sometimes there's a lot of wisdom in silence. Sometimes there's a lot of wisdom in being selective on what you say. And this off season, I spend a lot of time working on myself. The total package, not just my physical self, the workouts, but my, in my spiritual, self with my own mindful practices, my mental health as well, and that's what I've been doing

this off season. And I'm very thankful for that time. I like that, Aaron. You know, people sometimes with pressure compartmentalize things, you know, and then there are people that just need to hide and they get away. You've seen it in music with stars at young ages, taking their own life. It's the pressure, it's the intensity. And now you add the avalanche of negativity and trolls on. on social media. And people tell you not to look at your phone. I've said that before, but even I sometimes look at my phone because, you know, somebody calls, you go to Twitter, Twitter's got information, there's Instagram, and we're

all human beings. You sometimes want to see what people think about you, and it's negative, and if you're young and you've got a million people from a million angles coming at you, it's tough. I like this, Aaron. Adam Silver said this not long ago. My players are rich, and they're all miserable. Maybe NBA players need to give themselves. more time to think about themselves, right?

I'm not a big believer in coincidences. If you've listened to this show for years, you know that. I'm not a believer in fate. I'm not a believer in coincidences. You and I will make choices over the course of our lives and results are via those choices. If at 45 you're miserable, look in the mirror. It's not mom and dad's fault nor the presidents.

When I think of this last year for Aaron Rogers, I also think of Russell Wilson. So Tom Brady's somebody that they're both kind of chasing, right? I mean, Kevin Durant wouldn't admit it, but he was kind of chasing LeBron. When you play in an era in a time with a goat and you play the same position as the goat, Tom Brady goes into the NFC, gets everything he wants. The GM's like, what do you want? And the coach is like, what do you want? And the players are like, Tom, what do you want?

And he walks into the NFC and just wins everything. And maybe it's a coincidence, but Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers, the two players close to Tom's age that are certainly in the conversation with Tom for, you know, greatest current quarterback, right? We know the Mahomes, Josh Allen, but Aaron and Russell Wilson, those are mid-30 guys, right? They got Tom's chops. So Tom walks into the end. NFC gets everything he wants from his GM, everything he wants from his coach, everything he wants

from the locker room, everything he wants from the organization. And both Aaron and Russell start making demands to their respective organizations. Russell Wilson for the first time ever says, not go Hawks, go get me some players. That was very unique for Russell Wilson, the ultimate team guy. And then a couple months later, Aaron's like, no, I'm going to go pop. I don't like my bosses. Now, this could be a total coincidence. Or it could be what Kevin Durant for years has faced.

When you're in an era, you're facing a Tiger Woods, you're facing to Michael Jordan, you're facing the LeBron James, you're facing to Tom Brady, and they're getting what they want, and you're being compared to them all the time, and you're not getting what you want. I get it. I understand it. I understand Russell Wilson's frustration. I get Aaron Rogers' frustration. And maybe this is a reach, and maybe it's strictly, completely coincidental.

But this offseason for Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers, two of the greatest quarterbacks I've ever seen play, as they sort of, they want what Tom wants. They want more titles and they want more support, and they want people to listen to them. And damn it, they've earned it. And they're both right. And I like this, Aaron.

However you do it, you can do it M.J's way or Dave Chappelle's way or Aaron Rogers way, however you do it to get right with yourself. Give yourself time. We have a nation of doers and caffeinated people. We're on our phones and taking kids to practice. You deserve more time with you. Good for Aaron. All right, so tonight, tonight we have the NBA final start.

And I'm okay with ambiguity. Remember that show The Sopranos? That was really good. It went on for years and years, HBO. It was very good. And then the final episode happened. And Tony's Soprano, the mobsters in that diner with his family and they're playing music. It goes to black.

And there was this sketchy guy that walked in the diner, and you're thinking, that guy whacked Tony? Well, it was a music that was playing. What was the music? It was a song that was playing. And he's there with his wife and his kids. And I'm not really sure how that ended. And I don't like it because it wasn't perfectly wrapped for me.

And I don't like anything that's inconclusive. I don't like ambiguity. I want my movies to end happily or sadly, but I need an answer because I can't, and I really mad if you disagree with my answer. My interpretation of the Sopranos, I know what happened. None of us really do. It's ambiguity. It's inconclusive. And most people cannot handle that.

They need a nice, tidy ending to make them happy as they drive home from the theater. So I love the ending of the Sopranos. It ticked people off, made you think. It wasn't easy. And that's why I like Chris Paul. He's not easy. We like our stars to jump like Michael and Kobe. Be powerful like LeBron and Shaq.

That's not Chris Paul. If Janus wins a title, we'll still see him as a flawed player. We should not see Chris Paul that way, but there's this weird thing with Chris Paul. We don't think he plays like a star should. It is not neatly wrapped in a package the way I need to see it. He is not vertical. He is not powerful. He is nuanced and smart and clever and a leader.

And he does a lot of little things that are hard to wrap your brain around, hard to see, hard to contextualize. I want my player to have big hands, palm the ball, and dunk over that player. That's a great player. We want him to have titles and to play a certain way, even if they're small, Dame and Steph, got to be able to hit threes. They're small, Westbrook, Iverson, got to be super fast, break ankles. Chris Paul doesn't do any of that.

Chris Paul is ambiguity. It's inconclusive, right? That's why he needs a title. So you can say, Chris is great. No, Chris has been great for years. But Chris is like the ending to the Sopranos. He leaves some of it to interpretation. there's nuance. I'm not sure. Why doesn't he do that? But he does that well. Not everything's laid out

perfectly for you. And I think that's why I like him. The same reason I love the ending of Sopranos. It frustrates people. My life hasn't been a series of happy endings. It's been weird. I've traveled a lot. A bunch of states, eight of them, nine of them now. I've lost count. Hell, I've lived in three houses in L.A. and I've been here five years. I'm okay with it. I'm comfortable with non-traditional beginnings and endings. Most people aren't. And I love that Chris Paul isn't easy.

He makes you think all the time. Sometimes he drives you nuts. He drives coaches nuts. He drives teammates, nuts. But that young group of guys in Phoenix loves him. The coach loves him. The fans love him. And he works for Phoenix now.

And that's all I care about. He works for Phoenix. Now. Can't wait for the finals tonight. Want 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.

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 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.

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 middle 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. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. So as we talked about to start the show, Aaron Rogers, getting very reflective.

He took time off, you know, this offseason. didn't go to camps he didn't really need to go to anyway. Let's not kid ourselves. Preseason is useless for guys like Aaron Rogers. Tom Brady, totally useless. Tom Brady goes to a new team last year. They have no camp. They have no preseason. He wins the Super Bowl. New coach, new GM, new players, new playbook. It's all a bunch of nonsense. The preseason to me is, you know, if you want the young guys to play, but Sean McVeigh proved years ago, you don't have to play any of your starters. You can start the year 8-0. And I don't think Aaron and Russell and Tom, these guys don't need to go to these mini camps. You don't want to be controlled anymore. I totally get it. Just a waste of time.

So what does all this mean? Like what he was saying yesterday? What, what has the last month been for Aaron? And what it feels like for me is he's kind of setting the table for returning to football. And so he's talking publicly about his absence. So therefore, when he comes back to do football, he can talk football. And if they ask him about his office, season, he can say, well, I discussed that already. So like when Tom Brady left New England, there were signs. And I do think, you know, there were signs. He put his house up for sale. He did a documentary calling out the franchise. There are signs that Aaron Rogers is going to play for the Packers this year. Number one, the Packers aren't budging. They're not taking any calls.

Aaron, I know it seems silly, but he rejoined the Green Bay Country Club, where you mostly play in July, August, and September. And he's now explaining his absence. And what does that mean? Hey, I reflected. I took time off, mental health, so he can go back into the football grind, head down, and play. And by the way, there is something to what he said yesterday. He's also telling Packer fans and the Packer executives, oh, I was working. I was just working on the mental side of the game, not just the football side.

But I do think this year, what does it all mean? I think it's going to be a fascinating year. And I'll give you a comparison in a second. But the Packers didn't draft Jordan love to sit for three years. All right. Secondly, Aaron and the executives still don't see eye to eye on stuff. The issues have not been resolved. And oh, by the way, Tampa still, Tom Brady still, the best team in the division in Seattle's gained ground on Green Bay.

So it's going to be a fascinating year. Is Aaron going to be more vocal when he's disappointed this year? More aggressive knowing he's on his way out. Will Jordan Love get real snaps in real games? You know, Green Bay's got to get ready for the next step. So you know what this feels like to me? And it feels a lot like it. And I think Kevin Durant and Aaron Rogers, high profile, both can be a little prickly, whatever.

But it feels like the final year, Kevin Durant and Golden State. There were rumors he was unhappy. You know, GM had said something at a parade. didn't necessarily sit well early. You know, it was just, it was getting to the point where Kevin's got his own personality and it wasn't really his team. He wanted a little more say. It felt like Steph's team or Kerr's team.

And because of that, I have this sourced. Executives, coaches really felt like all year with KD. They were kind of walking on eggshells. Don't offend him. Don't tick him off. And it's a weird place to be as a team. Now, Golden State was still very good because they had so many great players. That's a little bit what it feels like with Aaron Rogers.

The issues haven't been resolved. We know he's not totally happy. He'd like more control and say. It feels like the operation there is going to do what they're going to do like they did with Farrv and players are not going to set precedents. So the issues with Katie in the last year were never really resolved. It was Steph's team. It was.

And the issues with Aaron aren't really resolved. The Packers going to do what the Packers do. So is everybody going to be walking on eggshells? It just, it's going to be a fascinating season to watch. Will Aaron be more vocal? Will Jordan Love get snaps? The issues aren't resolved. The NFC could be better.

Now Stafford's a ram. Seattle's gotten better. Brady's got all the guys back. What if Garoppolo plays and they're good? Is Green Bay the fifth best team in the NFC? How's that sit with Aaron? You know, listen, Joy and I, we like interesting, and Green Bay will be interesting. 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.

What's up everyone. It's me three-time NFL All-Pro Sean Marriam. And I have a new sports podcast called The Lights Out Podcast with Sean Mariam. This podcast is special to me as I get a chance to talk to some of the best who've ever done it on the field or the track. So whether it's talking to a Super Bowl champion or a NASCAR Cup Series champion, the Lights Out podcast will bring it to you the only way I know how to. I'm giving you the best insight from the best who's ever done it. Listen to Lights Out with Sean Merriman on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you can get you.

a 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 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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 is big to me, not just. just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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 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, 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 sell.

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. Welcome to my new podcast, learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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, 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, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. our heart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now.

All right. So what I do before every championship, big championship, and I get a notepad out, and I say, who are the 10 best players? And generally, if you have more of the 10 best players, you win. And so I went through the Sons and the Bucks this morning, and I ranked him in order, and this is my conclusion. So here are the 10 best players in the final tonight. Number one would be Chris Paul.

By the way, he was great against the Bucks in both games this year. They went 2 and 0 in Phoenix. He is the best mid-range shooter in the NBA shot, 52%. He has 27 assists and one turnover in the fourth quarter this postseason. He's been virtually flawless in the fourth quarter. And in Backed-Bout, close-out games, 35 plus points. He was my MVP, or at least runner-up for MVP, playing with a chip on his shoulder.

You know, he didn't even get nominated for MVP. So I think he is the best player in the series. Number two would be Devin Booker. I think he's the most reliable star score in the series. Middleton can be hot and cold. He's averaging 27 a game in the postseason. He has the most total points over 400 of any player in the finals. You know, he's a basket.

He is a terrific young player. He's not totally refined yet, but he's close. He's probably about eight, eight and a half to his 10. But I think he is the, he's a star. He deserves it. He's earned it. And he's my number two. Number three would be Janus.

Now, I think we're only going to get about 80, 85% Janus, but he's the best rim protector in the finals. He's the leading score and rebounder of all the players in the finals. And I think we have to be fair here. We're not going to get him at 110%. But in transition, he is a tough stop. Now, you can marginalize him in the half court set, but I would put him number three. Number four, now it gets tougher. I would put Drew Holiday at number four.

A little more consistent than Middleton. He has the highest plus minus of every player in the finals, every single one, both teams. He has more assists than anybody in the finals. He's also a veteran player who will put a body on you. When Yannis got hurt earlier this year, he became the leader, and they were a tough out. So he's a guy that, you know, when he can be aggressive, he's a one for some teams in this league, not the great ones, but he can be a one for a couple games in this series, and you're fine. Number five, right behind him, Chris Middleton. He's a shotmaker, little inconsistent, but he is averaging 29 and 8 when Janus was out the last two games.

Listen, to show his value, the bucks are plus 112 when Middleton is on the court in this postseason and minus eight without him. So he becomes, Drew Holliday is not as good a pure shooter as Middleton is. And with Yonis, a free throw liability, Chris becomes very valuable late in games for the bucks. number six, again, D'Andre Aiton, who is an emerging star in this league, he has the highest field goal percentage, 71% of any player in the postseason with a minimum of 100 attempts. You're going to get over 50% shooting, excellent rim protector, alli-ups from Chris Paul, tons of energy. Now, you're not going to move out and hit threes, but it does feel like he gives them the necessary muscle they would need for a Brooke Lopez or a Yannis. Number seven, a guy I like a lot, Jay Crowder. He's the only guy with any finals experience between both teams.

He has the highest offensive rating, true story, among all players in the finals. He's a three and D guy. He can D up. He's tough. He's smart. He's physical and he can hit threes. And he always ends up on winning teams. So Jay Crowder is one of those guys.

He doesn't get talked about a lot. But I just think he has, that's a guy that won't get the Chris Paul, you know, extension, but that's a guy that has a lot more value as McAill Bridges builds than I think most people in the NBA get. He's really valuable in this series. Number eight, Brooke Lopez. Now, I have him higher than most would, but he's going to play a lot more. So Brooke can hit a three for you. He's also probably the second best rim protector, arguably with DeAndre Aiton in the finals, been around the league, bit in big games. And again, he's going to get more minutes. I think Brooke Lopez is going to be a name you hear a lot in this finals.

Brooke can play. Brooke's been able to play for a long time. A number nine, McAil Bridges of the Sons. He's a young guy. He's emerging. You get 11 points, four and a half rebounds a game. He played very well against the bucks in big spots. Now, he's not a star.

But again, Milwaukee's a big team. And McAil is going to be asked to do some things defensively. He's a long, thin, long player. He's going to be asked to do some. things defensively, they're going to need him in this series to play some real minutes. And number 10 is Cameron Payne, the backup to Chris Paul. Cameron's got an odd game. He's very long.

He's very lanky. But he averaged 20 and 9 in two games when Chris was out. And he's another guy. He can get a bucket. He just has a, he's got a weird game, a little George Gervin to it. He can get you a bucket. And I also think he's a really important guy for the future of this franchise because he will allow them to sign Chris Paul to a long contract and allow Chris Paul to take nights off,

allow Chris Paul to play 28 minutes instead of what they're doing in L.A. with the Lakers and LeBron having to play 38 minutes. So I think Cameron Payne, he can spell Chris, you give him time, and he can get you a basket. So when I look at the 10 best players, I have the sons have the best two. They have six of 10. They have the better coach, home court advantage, healthier, and more rest. and the only player in the finals with the finals experience, I should say. So I do like, as I said, I like the Phoenix Suns in five or six games.

I think tonight Milwaukee will hang. 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. I'm going to retire prickly with Kevin Durant and Aaron Rogers. I don't know. Let's ask BJ Armstrong. Three-time champ, All-Star. He is the executive vice president managing executive for the Wasserman Media Group, which is a big deal in Los Angeles.

Okay, BJ. Let me ask you about that. So when I say prickly, it makes it sound like Aaron's difficult or Kevin Durant's difficult. But wasn't Michael Jordan prickly a little? Well, I think we like interesting. So we like a little prickly. We like a little, you know, a softer side. We like the tough side.

We like all the different sides. So the fact that Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady and these guys are showing a part of their personality, it just gives new context to our heroes. We see these guys outperforming and so serious all the time. The fact that they have these personalities, you know, it just gives us a sense or a deeper connection than we originally had as a fan. By the way, you didn't deal with social media. Aaron Rogers and Kevin Durant. Michael didn't.

Maybe there was a newspaper columnist, Sam Smith, that made him mad. that he'd shut him out. But do you represent athletes? Do you ever look at athletes and go, oh, thank God, I wasn't around during Twitter? Well, you know, it's interesting. And, you know, I didn't have to deal with this as a former athlete. And in that era, we didn't have to deal with this.

But watching guys in particular Charles Barkley deal with and how he relates to social media and what he's doing and watching that generation and watching this new generation, So I see the pros and cons of both, but I think having awareness, understanding what social media can be for and what it can do, but also understanding the things that you don't want to get on social media. So there's pros and cons to both of them, but, you know, watching my generation look at it, I'm a little bit more hesitant. You know, I tend to like want to, you know, just kind of stand back a little bit, but I definitely see when you can expose that side of yourself. because it's funny. Watching Aaron Rogers, it's like,

I feel like we get in a sneak peek of him when the camera's not on. Right. So let's talk Bucks and Sun starts tonight. Janus is out for a couple games, and actually the offense was really efficient. And let's talk about that. You know, Michael Jordan sometimes misses a game. Are there moments in the short term that the star leaves the floor

and actually the ball moves better? I mean, you take me to your career sometimes. Not that Michael was a ballstopper, but there are moments when stars leave and in the short term, teams do just fine, right? Well, in the short term, that is correct, Colin. And the reason being is because those teams that you're playing don't know how to particularly defend that team. So when you're playing against a Janus team, for instance, you kind of settle into a rhythm of how we have to defend them with Janus because he's going to get the majority of the touches. Suddenly, there's a new team. There's a new game plan.

There's guys in positions you haven't normally or you're not accustomed to seeing them. So it takes a game of two to get adjusted. It'll be interesting to see how Phoenix will defend this team, minus Janus, knowing that Janus probably would not be there, possibly for the entire series. Yeah. You know, neither of these teams have like lottery picks. It's a slow build.

It's very 1970s, 1980s NBA, where, you know, we draft well, we develop, We play a bunch of games, and then we insert an old smart veteran at point guard. I mean, I like that style. You know, BJ, I'm both. I understand the super team, and I'm cool with the development. When you look at the suns in the bucks, does it take you back a little Phoenix to the 80s and 90s when you weren't so star-driven? Well, it's a traditional way of building a team is what you're talking about.

You know, you're talking about Devin Booker. You're talking about DeAndre Aiden, and then you're adding pieces to that. and it gives them the ability to have a long-term approach. When you look at this Phoenix Suns roster, you're saying this team, buying, if they can be healthy, you know, for the next five to seven years, they could be making a really, you know, significant championship run here for the next five to seven years,

and particularly with those guys. Then you plug in a Chris Paul, you plug in, you know, J. Crowder, and suddenly now you have a championship caliber team. So this is how they used to do it, but now, you know, we're in a different era. And we're in a different era now where guys are moving around, free agencies without question, the quickest way to build a team. So I understand both. But if you want to have long-term success, clearly what the Phoenix Suns have done, they've shown us, along with the Golden State Wars.

If you can build it through the draft, if you can take your time, you can have a championship caliber team for length of time. By the way, it's interesting. Joy and I have discussed this a couple different times. Let's say Devin Booker is the finals MVP. He averaged 33 a game. He's great. and DeAndre Aiton actually goes toe to toe with Janus and at times outplays him.

And you're sitting there if you own the sons and you're the GM thinking, Chris Paul's getting old, he's been hurt and he's expensive. If Booker and DeAndre carry this team primarily to the finals, do you advocate as a GM for a four-year Chris Paul deal or a three-year Chris Paul deal? What do you do then?

Wow, that's a big question. That's a big question. and that's why those guys get paid the big bucks. I will say this. We can't forget that this team did not make the playoffs last year. They haven't been in the playoffs for the last, what, 10, 12 years or so. And suddenly now with Chris Paul and everything that's come together, certainly they have a team.

I know Chris Paul is 36. You know, he's at a point guard's age where we all know that some point speed and quickness is going to leave all small guards. However, in today's game and what Chris Paul is able to do, is the intangibles. I think Chris has pushed his team over the edge, in particular his leadership, his stability. And what I love most about Chris Paul is we don't expect him to be that Chris Paul

where he has to carry this team with 30, 40 points, night in and night out. He can do it when needy. And Chris Paul has, you know, he's been really like a maestro all year. Well, certainly in his career. But this year, even more so because you can see how well they're playing together. This is a beautiful team. They have a nice inside, outside combination. those two young players, you mentioned DeAndre Aden and Devin Booker, they look like they're going to be bona fide stars for many years to come.

By the way, the Suns only had nine different starting lineups all year. Now, that goes back to your bulls. Yes. What was your bull starting lineup? Give me the years you were there, what was the lineup mostly every night? Well, when I first got there, it was John Paxon, Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Horace Gratt, and Bill Carrwright. I think the stability of having your guys and understanding your role and knowing what you have to do. And the beautiful thing we had with that team was we had a lot of depth and we had two guys who were capable of playing with the starters and on the bench. I mean, with the bench guys and talking about Scotty and Michael. If Scotty had it going early, Michael would play with us and vice versa.

So to me, the depth and the combination of having guys who can plug in coming off the bench gives you, you know, really two teams in one. And we certainly had that with Michael and Scotty because they could, they were interchangeable. They could play on both sides of the ball. So they were really four players at once. Both of them could play on offense, you know, with the starters and the bench and do so as well with the defense, with the backup guys as well. From the Wasserman Media Group, the All Star, the champ three times 11 years, B.J. Armstrong on a Tuesday. Great talking to you, B.J.

Okay, Colin. Thank you for having me. You bet. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Smygling. and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at a podcast. In 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. 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, Clivert 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 Cliford 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 Cliford 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.

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