The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Feb 14, 2020

Episode Date: February 14, 2020

Colin talks about Zion having the rare combination of an unstoppable skill and the perfect mindset that you find in generational super stars. He thinks Tom Brady is making a mistake by expecting special treatment from Bill Belichick after watching him not give anyone special treatment for 20 years. Plus, Sam Amick of the Athletic talks about if the Celtics can challenge the Bucks in the East and why the Clippers do not care about regular season success. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hip since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip.

Just a little bit bigger. hips. This is a podcast we're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey with all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got it. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the best of heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be. However you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, NBA All-Star Weekend. Joy Taylor, joining me now. We'll go to Chicago. She'll be at the NBA All-Star weekend for the best. I'm heading to Vegas to watch a magic show with my son.

So we're having a dynamic weekend. How are you, Joy? I'm great. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Oh, you wore, I wore, uh, there's a little pink in here. Yeah, there's some pink stripes in there. And you are looking lovely today. How you're somebody's valentines, I hope. The city of Chicago's Valentine's.

The city of Chicago's Valentine. All right. So it's Friday. It's fun. So I don't know if you saw it last night. Zion was amazing. 19 years old. 32 points.

He now, most points per minute as a rookie, Wilt and Zion, one and two. By the way, Michael Jordan 6th, Kareem 10th, Oscar Robertson, 7th. Now, all of you, most of you nitpicked Zion.

I did not. I said he's going to be a star very quickly in the NBA. I thought it would take the end of his first year. I said, give him to the all-star break after the All-Star break, gets in shape, gets the body right, he's going to be an All-Star top-30 player in the league. A lot of critics, a lot of doubters. It reminds me on when I saw Russell Wilson.

For the first three years, everybody said it's Pete Carroll. It's Marshawn Lynch. It's the defense. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no. Russell Wilson has an otherworldly talent. Russell Wilson, along with Steve Young, had the greatest escapeability I'd ever seen in my life. Steve Young and Russell Wilson weren't perfect. Zion's not perfect.

But when I look at a young person and I see a otherworldly ability, I see this with Tua's accuracy. I see it with Russell Wilson's escapeability. and I see it was Zion's body type and explosion. Then there's only one other thing I look for, self-awareness. Mello's never had it. Westbrook's never had it. John Wall's never had it. They have otherworldly talent.

John Wall's the fastest player since Iverson. Mello's the best 19-year-old wing score since I don't know who. Westbrook's the most explosive dynamic guard I've seen forever. but I didn't like him because I didn't see the self-awareness. So I knew Zion. I said he's going to be 20 to 24 a night into this league because his body, it's a cardio league. A lot of the centers are European.

It's get up and down the floor. No hand checking. No forearm in the back. Nobody's going to want a piece of that body. Nobody's going to want to take the charge. Nobody's going to want a piece of the body. He's going to roll into arenas at 19, 20 years old and give you 24 a night just on effort, explosion, body type.

size, girth, nobody wants it. But then I look for self-awareness. Russell Wilson had it. I said, okay, all you doubters, I'm seeing this otherworldly escapability. But if you talk to Russell Wilson, I talked to him at 23 years old, shook his hand, I was in New Orleans at a Super Bowl. He was a guest, and I turned to a producer and said, that's a superstar. That's how they talk.

That's how they act. That's how they look. That's their self-awareness. He's going to run this league. I've told this story before. Zion at Duke. showed me these incredible leadership qualities. The internet, you have to quit Duke.

This is outrageous. He did not listen. He did not follow. He said, of course, I'm going to play a basketball player. I love basketball. He didn't follow Twitter and social media. He was a leader, not a follower. He said, I want to play basketball.

I've got to be honest. I want to come back and play another year of college basketball. I love it, but I probably have to go pro. So I saw immediately self-awareness, intelligence, he's not a follower, he's a leader. He's also never taken 20 shots a night. He plays within himself. He knows very much what he is and what he isn't.

After having a very good opening game where he shot threes, you know what he's not doing since? Shooting threes. He knows that was an outlier. He knows that's a one-off. He's not a three-point shooter. He's not taking him. The Pelican are plus 74 when he's on the court.

He makes the team better. He plays with it himself. He's smart. He has self-awareness. He gets it. This is why. I like Tua. This is why I like Russell Wilson. This is why I like Zion. I'm looking to spot a otherworldly talent. Not a lot, but you see about two, three players in NFL draft,

one or two players, an NBA draft. You're like, okay, but they don't all become legends. Some are iconic Westbrook, but not really winning players. But the self-awareness with Russell, the self-awareness with Zion. To me, this is a star. This is a guy that I can put in front of the cameras for 20 years. He's not going to get in trouble off the court. Unless he gets hurt, he's not going to get in trouble on the court. People are going to want to play with him.

And again, we nitpick everybody. Like Steph Curry, he's an otherworldly shooter. Stop nitpicking. That will overcome the rest of his flaws. Zion is so uniquely explosive with a nice touch, it's going to overcome the other stuff. Everybody's looking for the perfect player. They don't exist. Michael Jordan was a ball hog.

To the very end, he couldn't pass well. To the very end, he didn't have a ton of shooting range. He was a mid-range guy, the best basketball player of all time. Really wasn't a great long-range shooter, Michael Jordan. Wasn't a great teammate. He's the most relentless player I've ever seen. he's the greatest offensive player I've ever seen, probably the greatest player I've ever seen,

but Michael had flaws. Brady's not athletic. Russell Wilson's a little short. We're picking apart these guys. Spot the otherworldly talent, and then if they have self-awareness, which makes them more coachable, adaptable, amenable,

they'll spot their weaknesses, they'll know their strengths, they'll get the right friends, they'll stay out of trouble, they'll listen more than they talk. Then you've got an icon. I saw it with Russell. I see it with Tua and I've got it with Zion

and I couldn't be happier. It looks like a great kid. So this morning I'm driving into work. Well, I was driving a Mercedes, of course, because you know the advertiser of the show. So I'm driving into work like Joy does in the morning and Goulet and Tui. We all drive to work.

And I, you know, I bounce around the radio dial. I don't care what people are saying their opinions. I kind of like to hear the topics. I go show to show to show to show to show. What are the lead topics today? But I was listening as I was bouncing around the radio dial on XM Serious to Channel 83 XM Surius. That's our channel to heard. Nick Wright and Eric Mangini had a great moment on the show.

It was really special. I was going to text him, but you can't text and drive. My kids tell me that all the time. So they were talking about, Nick started talking about Tom Brady and said, boy, he's sacrificed a lot. he thinks the reason Brady is is thinking of leaving is because his feelings are hurt. Some buddies of mine on the radio in Kansas City talking about the difference between a friend and an on the way friend. And an on the way friend is you call in the middle of the night and say, I need you. And before they, you ask any questions to say, I'm on my way.

And the reason I bring that up is I wonder if Brady's always thought in his head, okay, Belichick runs things the one way and we have the way we do things here. But if I ever were to tell him, I need something. Even though I've never done it, I know in my heart of hearts he'd be there for me. And Tom finally, for the first time ever made that phone call. Bill, I need you. And the response was, sorry, Tommy, I'm busy. That would hurt. And that would make you reevaluate the relationship.

If I've sat there over the last 18, 19 years and seen a bunch of people pick up the phone and say, hey, Bill, I need you, and Bill say, hey, you know, I'm busy. and then suddenly I think, well, I'm going to pick up the phone and I'm going to get a different answer. Isn't that my fault? Why do I expect the organization and the person who runs the organization to suddenly get nostalgic about me? I side with Manjini here, although I thought Nick's points were excellent. Tom has been the spokesperson for the system. This system does not have a soft landing. There's no Disneyland at the end.

It's a tunnel of harsh. It's got its own slogan, the Patriot Way. Brady laughed at the Super Bowl parade where Bill chanted, No Days Off. It's not that he's been just a member. Tom's been the spokesman. Tom's been the guy that takes the pay cut. Tom has lived in that tunnel of harsh, the Patriot way.

Punitive, intense, unforgiving. Laser focused, and he has benefited greatly. But when Belichick took over the franchise, do you remember the two players they had? They had a guy named Ben Coates. Tom Curran wrote about that in Boston this week. Ben Coates was a pro-bowl tied end, aging but great. And then they had Drew Bledso, and Bledso had a left tackle named Bruce Armstrong, also a pro-bowler.

They were pro-bowlers. They were the glue of the franchise. Less than two weeks after Bill He let him both go. As Tom Curran writes, the reasons were simple. Both were in decline. Tom knew the game day one. Tom Brady is looking for Disneyland. This is not Disneyland. That could be the Chargers. That could be Indy. That could be Tennessee. But Tom has been the spokesperson for the most punitive, the harsh. the most bottom line, the Patriot Way, no days off.

Tennessee is going to be more fun. Indianapolis will have a better offensive line. The chargers will have more weapons. But this is the most frugal, bottom line, harshest, intense, laser-focused franchise in the National Football League. And it's probably not the most human way, the most sensitive way, but it's, benefited Tom greatly. I think one of the most frustrating things in any relationship. You hear men complain about it. You hear women complain about it. Trying to change who people

really are. Don't get married and try to change people. Don't go work for a company and try to change the company. Bill is what he is. He has never given you false hope that it give you a big balloon payment on the way out. Tom. Tom got his feelings hurt, because Tom's trying to change what Belichick is. That is an exhausting relationship to be in. If I'm Brady, I retire, or I go have fun in Tennessee, Indianapolis, the Chargers. But you cannot expect a soft landing at the end of the NFL's harshest tunnel. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.

Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triage, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite there. Care 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, 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 Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clivert show on the Eye Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school.

Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer?

They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would.

Come on. Can you move? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky.

I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jason Tatum last night scored 39 points.

He's the Celtic kid out of Duke. He's a terrific player. Had an unbelievable rookie year. And last night he had 39. He helped his team, the Celtics at home, beat the Clippers in overtime. We'll get into the game later. But he had a great rookie year. We all kind of fell in love with him.

And then I started hearing stuff in the last year and a half. He's regressing. Sealing! Hit a ceiling. You know, he's not nearly as good. I see a lot of flaws in his game. And then this year again, he's incredible. Seven points more per game. His three-point percentage is up.

His rebounds are up. His assists are up. Oh, my Lord, he's just back to being terrific. What's the common thread? No, Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving's a unique talent, but he was a great rookie without Kyrie, and now he's great without Kyrie. and he was really good in that one playoff series

and playoff run a couple years ago when Kyrie was hurt. He didn't work with Kyrie. Caii didn't like Brad Stevens. Have you noticed Jalen Brown has popped as well this year, 20 points a game? Environment matters. All the time I talk about in this show, life and environment, you do realize NBA players are just like us, but taller. NFL players are just like us, they're humans, except bigger and stronger.

And baseball players are just like us, too, except they throw 97-mile-an-hour splitters. The reality is athletes are just like us and suffer the same vagaries and maladies and issues that we all do. So ask yourself with Jason Tatum. Does environment matter? Of course it does. A child growing up in a more chaotic home,

statistically, has a much greater chance at problems than a less chaotic home. I've been a broadcaster for 25 years. I've always been a better broadcaster, when I have better bosses and better teammates. When I have bad ownership and bad management, there was a place I had that for a couple years. I stunk. I was no fun to work with.

Jason Tatum without Kyrie Irving is allowed to flourish. This is why I like Andrew Wiggins in Golden State, from a losing culture to a winning culture, to a better head coach and Steve Kirk, to better teammates, to a better system, to a better supportive, smarter ecosystem. And what has Wiggins done? Now, I know it's just three games.

but he's averaging, he's taking six fewer shots a game in Golden State and yet averaging more points. Of course environment matters. Do you believe that Carson Palmer gets drafted by the Patriots? Tom Brady gets drafted by the Bengals and Tom has all those trophies and Carson has none. Of course coaching matters and cultures matter. That's why when you get a, when you come in, Mel Tucker just left Colorado. He's going to Michigan State. as a football coach, the first thing he's going to do is create the Mel Tucker culture.

What matters? You put message boards up. You got posters up. What matters? Inspiration. Let's center the program. What will be vital and crucial for our growth as a program? This is what you do.

You build the ecosystem. You build the culture at Google, at Microsoft, at Amazon, at Fox Sports. You build it at Disney. You build the culture. and then you find people who are talented, often from they're undervalued because they've been at lousy cultures. You get them, bring them into your culture, and they flourish. Steph Curry wouldn't be Steph Curry with Charlotte.

Clay Thompson wouldn't be as great. He'd be a very good player. He wouldn't be as great with the Pelicans years ago. This is why Wiggins is going to kick bud. He's a kid. He's 24. He's going to grow. And this is why Jason Tatum, without.

Kyrie Irving now has supportive teammates, doesn't have a super outfit point guard, has a Kimball Walker who can score but is much better share and distributor of the basketball, though he likes to score. Environment matters to Jason Tatum because environment matters to you and me and everybody you know. Basketball players are us, just taller. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Kevin Durant makes more news for not planned. than any basketball player in recent memory.

He came out in one of his podcasts this week, Kevin Durant did, and said, I isolated myself after the warrior swept Draymond Green incident under the rug. Now, you remember this incident. We had video of this where Draymond Green said, listen, you're a B word and you know you're a B word. We don't need you. We won without you. That was this moment.

So I had said at the time, this is something I came back to. I said, Kevin Durant's never going to forget this. There are lines you can't cross. Now, I didn't like what Draymond did. And Kevin Durant came out and said, listen, they never supported me. Like, I know stuff happens, but they never supported me. So first of all, Katie's a very sensitive guy. Bill Parcells has said it for a year, the legendary football coach.

Treat everybody fair. Don't treat them the same. I've got kids. They all have different hot buttons. The Warriors did not put their arms around KD enough for his taste. And he said, I never got over that. So we know he's sensitive. So in that area, I support Kevin Durant.

He's a more sensitive guy. That's okay. And I think when you find a very sensitive guy like Kevin Durant, and then the basketball culture is different than the football culture. In America, the football culture is about building up men harshly. You're in college three, four, five years. Pay you, we wouldn't even suggest it. Go complain on Twitter.

We can cut you. We can trade you. The head coach always has power even over Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Joe Montana was traded off a great season. Brady, forget the page. cut. That builds up men. It builds up metal. Basketball culture builds up stars. That's different. There's a lot of coddling and worshiping. In basketball, the culture is spot the talent, surround the talent, Nike, AAU, college coach, and then groove the talent to be a money machine for all of us.

It's a different culture. It's a more coddling, worshiping, protecting culture. Football's a harsher culture. But when you're sensitive like Kevin Durant and you've come through a culture that's increasingly worship-driven and coddle-driven, Kevin Durant's a guy who is hyper-sensitive by pro-athlete standards. There is nothing wrong with this. I think the Warriors probably, in my opinion, should have been more aware of it. But this does highlight a concern I have about Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. So the San Francisco media is, like most West Coast media's chill. Steve Kerr's a former player, so is Bob Myers the GM. Steph is the easiest superstar in my life to play with.

Silicon Valley is very progressive, very star-driven, protect the star. It was the perfect place for Kevin with one bad incident. Brooklyn, the New York weather's harsher, the media's harsher, Kyrie is a blamer. He calls people out. It's a losing franchise. It is not the number one star-driven sports platform in New York. Yankees are bigger.

Giants are bigger. The Knicks are bigger. I think Kevin Durant should have aggressively, not passive-aggressively, addressed Steve Kerr and Bob Myers, gone to him. You have some culpability to go and, you know, call out your bosses if you're unhappy. That's not who he is. He tends to be a little passive, aggressive, and sensitive. But again, let me go back to the beginning.

I totally get him not liking the line Draymond cross, because I think Drayman absolutely crossed the line, and the Warriors made a mistake not recognizing that Kevin is different than Clay and Steph. He is, you just have to come to terms with it. But we said this would never, ever, this was a huge issue. A lot of media people are like, ah, they're over it. You do not, there are certain lines. you don't cross.

And if people are calling you the B word over and over, I got to tell you something. A friend calls me that. That's a line. I'll never forget that. So Kevin, I think, ended up because of one really ugly incident. Other than that, Warriors were pretty nice for him.

Good spot. That moved him all the way cross-country to what I believe is going to be a harsher, more punitive basketball environment. It's why I don't think it'll work. What's up, everybody? John Middilcoff's Three and Out podcast. That's me.

the show brought to you by Colin Coward's podcast network. Used to scout in the NFL. Now I talk about football for a living. If you like football, this is the show for you. Coming up this week, why the Mel Tucker situation symbolizes the Pac-12's demise and why players like Matt Stafford are so difficult to trade. Three and Out podcast with me, John Middlough, go subscribe. Last night, by the way, the Clippers lost, and Paul George got nicked up.

and Kauai, of course, is doing the load management thing. And so, you know, on most of the shows like, you know, the kind of show we do here, the opinion-based shows, there's going to be a lot of this. Look at the Clippers. Right now there are. Lakers are a number one seed and Milwaukee looks better. You have to understand what is happening with the Clippers in Los Angeles. These regular season games do not matter. The Clippers have been the most interesting regular season team.

It was called Blake and Chris Paul and DeAuble. Andre Jordan. It was called Lob City. And it had no impact on the L.A. basketball environment. Los Angeles, the Lakers, may be the only city in America, at Los Angeles is. That basketball is more popular than football when both are in the city. It may be the only city in America. In Philadelphia, they like the Sixers. They live for the Eagles. Okay. New York may be the only city where baseball the Yankees is bigger than the NFL. And LA is the only city where basketball, the Lakers, is bigger than the NFL. Mostly if you have an NFL team, it's the most popular in your city. And so not only is basketball popular, but it is completely symbolized by the greatest

franchise in league history, the Los Angeles Lakers. So when Steve Balmer, the genius from Microsoft bought the Clippers, it's about branding. Okay, they want their own building. They share a building right now. They're the little brother sharing it with the big brother of the Lakers. They want their own building. They want their own brand. They're trying to separate from the Lakers. And the only way to do that is to humiliate the Lakers in the Western Conference finals

and then win the title. And I'm frankly not sure dominating the Lakers isn't more important than winning the title. This is a brand play. Load management works for this franchise. It wouldn't work for other franchises. The Clippers are about winning a title and crushing the Lakers on the way to the title. And one title's not going to change it, and two may not change it. This is all about the postseason.

This regular season stuff, they've been captivating in the regular season. It didn't change a thing in Los Angeles. Even with all their Blake Griffin, CP3 Lobb City, they charge less than half of what the Lakers do for it. ticket in the same damn building. They don't care. They don't have the massive TV deal locally like the Lakers do. This is about getting a title.

Nobody in that organization is losing any sleep with regular season losses, load management, Paul Jor's semi-injury, Lou Williams taking a night off. You have to live in Los Angeles to get the power of the Lakers. You can't go anywhere in this town. Everybody plays second fiddle. The NFL plays second fiddle to virtually nobody. In L.A. Lakers way up here.

Rams way down there. USC, third place, Dodgers, get behind the Lakers. And so that's what the clippers are fighting. And so when everybody's getting worked up about the load management, Paul George is out, they're not playing great. In their building, it is about May and June. And by the way, they want to meet the Lakers. so badly in the Western Conference Finals.

They don't want the Lakers. They do not want the Lakers losing to Utah. They do not want the Lakers losing to Portland or losing to upstart Memphis or offensively gifted Dallas. The Clippers want to meet the Lakers in the Western Conference Final. They wanted to get a huge TV rating and they want to beat them in five games and stamp on the Lakers. It is our town. That's what they want. Nobody with the Clippers wants the Lakers getting knocked out in the first or second round.

They want to meet them in the conference finals, crush them, and then win the championship. And they want to do it back-to-back years as the Lakers age. Don't worry about the regular season. Clippers aren't. 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. Senior NBA writer for the athletic, which, according to my sources, will own the world in about a year.

Sam Amick, the athletic, covered the NBA for 15 years, USA Today before that, and USA Today still. Wait, let me figure it out. He's just athletic now. He used to be at the USA. These guys are all moving around out of the athletic. It's just gobbling up everybody. Sam, you wrote about the Clippers chemistry. And we saw a story about a month ago.

Oh, boy, there's, you know, Kauai load management. It's not sitting well. Let's do a deep dive. what you learned, Sam, in regards to Kauai, the load management, the chemistry. What's the truth behind the wall here? Talin, as always, thanks for having me. You been? My feeling has been going back to when we wrote that piece, and then certainly still now,

is that it's a pretty understandable process that they have gone through, where you have this two collections of players and athletes and men, where the guys who were there before Kauai and Paul achieved some pretty special things. Now, you know, eighth seed in the playoffs is not normally called special, but they were a plucky playoff team that was gritty and they played above their heads. And honestly, I think the way they competed last year,

winning two games against the Warriors in the playoffs, that was the kind of thing that the optics were great. Kauai and Paul definitely were impressed as they figured out what they wanted to do with their futures. but the Lou Williams of the world, Montrez-Harrel, guys like that, Patrick Beverly, you know, they, with good reason, took a ton of pride in the way they had their program built before, and then integrating two big-time superstars and Kauai and Paul, and some of the unique elements specifically that come with Kauai, which is that because of his physical, you know,

condition, which we can't forget, this is medical stuff. These are health problems he has had. He's handled differently. And, you know, early on this year, I do. think it was kind of there were some growing pains there between those two contingent. I do think they've gotten it together for the most part, and their goal has always been to take the long view here and just make sure that they found enough synergy by the time the playoffs came around to kind of mesh those two camps and have a title contending team.

So last night I'm watching Zion and a little Celtics. I watched the time fascinated with Zion. Before I get to that, let's talk about Jason Tatum, who was spectacular last night, It was spectacular as a rookie. Now, Kyrie's gone. He's spectacular. Again, there was a lot of talk last year. He's regressed.

He's hit a ceiling. And my takeaway is environments matter. And the environment with Kyrie was not ideal. I think Andrew Wiggins will flourish in the Golden State environment. These are young kids. I mean, isn't it fairly clear at this point that Kyrie in Boston, it just didn't work? Oh, 100%. I mean, and not only that, but some of those themes obviously have traveled with him.

to Brooklyn in terms of the way that kind of what comes with Kyrie. And I think my thing would be if you're Jason Tatum, if you're Jalen Brown, and you were going to set the storyline last season internally, which is to say that you kind of felt, you know, maybe it wasn't personal, but you felt like Kyrie's style and his presence was holding you back. Well, if that's the way you're going to frame it, then you've got to deliver on the back end when he's not around anymore. And last night, Jason in particular, delivers.

in the kind of way that he never has in his career. And big stage, you know, really good Clippers team, nationally televised game, just exciting stuff. And whether he's, you know, dunking on somebody's head late or hitting that Step Back 3 or blocking Lou Williams as he tried to get to the cup, Jason was incredible. And really, that was one of those moments where you go, wow, okay, like if he is he going to be their new franchise centerpiece? Because, you know, last night he certainly looked like it.

Well, I'll tell you what, between Tatum Hayward, Kimball Walker and Jalen Brown, You've got four guys who can score 20. Now, Milwaukee's got the best player. But if, you know, Milwaukee, I don't trust Chris Middleton in the playoffs. You could make an argument if the playoffs is about depth last year, you know, Toronto, depth of starters. You know, is there four teams in the league? Is there one team in the league outside of Boston that has four guys that you wouldn't be surprised if they dropped 24? It's a pretty unique team in terms of depth of scoring.

No, it is for sure. I mean, Toronto's got its balance, and when they're healthy, they're incredibly deep. So they come to mind. You know, Miami's a different landscape, you know, once you get past Jimmy and Bam out of Iowa, and, you know, to a lesser degree, Drogich, you know, they don't have that kind of weapon, you know, weapons to throw at you. The Milwaukee thing, I mean, it doesn't matter how dominant they are. They are going to likely finish with the historic season and in the 70, you know, range from a wind standpoint, but they're going to have to exercise the demon of the playoffs of last year, where not only did you lose against Toronto, you got swept, you know, after winning the first two. And that's the type of thing that as far as, you know, deciding what we think of that group, you know, that's the kind of college is not answering the bell from an adjustment standpoint. Mike Boodenholzer, you still look back at that and say, how did that happen?

And that's what they're going to have to reconcile. But in the here and the now, I do think. and this is kind of the flip side of it, I definitely still think we're sleeping on my group because Middleton, I've been skeptical at times of his ability to be that second guy. I mean, I'll say this, he cannot play better,

given his guy, given abilities than he is. The guy has had a wonderful year, and he's a lights-out shooter, and these are not, you know, these are not kind of second-tier co-star numbers. These are big-time co-star legit numbers. Sam Amick joining us senior NBA writer of the Athletic. all right, I'm on the Zion train.

I loved him at Duke. I think he's got that unique ability to be confident yet humble. I think he's got self-awareness. I think he's a leader, not a follower. He showed that at Duke where he said, I want to come back for a second year. Of course I'm going to play following the injury. There's nothing I don't like about him. Sam, you're an NBA arenas every night.

What do the sources say? What do the scouts say? What are the people say on Zion who is putting up historically good numbers in his first, you know, 10 games? Yeah, I mean, as you would imagine, I mean, they're as kind of, you know, crazy over this guy as the fans are, as the media is. The elephant in the room question is certainly, no pun intended, just his size and the ability to stay healthy. You know, I watch a game like last night against Oklahoma City, and, you know, you still see some of the youth.

You know, he had that bad turnover late. It was a big deal. And then, but specifically there was one possession, Colin, where he goes up to grab his own offensive rebound. and nobody's got a quicker second jump that he does on the planet. But his second jump, what struck me was this kind of jarring reminder of his size. And he jumped over Stephen Adams, and it was special to watch, but it still just looked photoshopped from the standpoint of the size of his frame. Like, what are you, are you kidding me?

Like, there's so much bulk. And I know the Pelicans have pushed back hard against the idea that he's got to lose more weight and I can't pretend to be you know a physiologist a doctor or trainer any of the above I'm not an expert in that field as somebody who just generally like seeing athletes you know stay healthy and maximize their talent I just hope that he can put together a 20-year career and if he does he is a Hall of Famer it's just to me it's a no-brainer yeah I mean he he reminds me a little of Carl Malone a little of Sean Kemp a little of Blake Griffin and and a little bit of Charles Barkley with the you know the butt the base where he can push guys around all of those

all of those four all-stars. So to me, he's an all-star player with a superstar name style. Duke clearly helped him get noticed. I don't know if he'll be a superstar in terms of titles, but Barclay was a superstar and didn't win titles. Marino was a superstar. Some guys have it. There's an it quality to him, Sam.

There is a, I know this. When the NFL season is over, I turn. into heavy NBA rotation every night. I watched this kid last night. I chose it over the Clippers who were in my hometown over Boston. I just wanted to see the kid play. And if I'm the average NBA fan, there's something there that Adam Silver has got to be looking at his chops.

Oh, yeah. He gets me to a television. That's all I know. I'm with you, Colin. I'm sitting in my house last night to give you my setup. I got a bunch of spots in my house to watch games, but I have a projector that gives you the huge picture on the wall, and you put one game there, and then I had the laptop in front of me with the second

game. And after about five minutes of watching Clippers Celtics, I kind of had this epiphany, like, what am I doing? I got to switch these. Zion's got to be on the big screen. And I guarantee Adam Silver loves here and all of this stuff, because ratings have been down in the first half of the season. This is, for them, I think, a really exciting way to go into the All-Star break with the healthy Zion Williamson, with a lot of these teams that we talk about. We talk about. We talked about parody a lot in the summertime and all these different dynamic duos, we thought that was going to generate interest. I think early on it generated a little bit of confusion among the fans about, I don't have a villain and a hero anymore with the Warriors and

the Cavs, things like that. I think people have had to figure out who's who and what's what, but I think it's evolving, and I think it should be a fun second half of the year. Senior NBA writer for The Athletic, it's worth the subscription. Sam Amick, you have a great All-Star weekend. Thanks, man. Thank you, Colin. Appreciate you. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref. My mom won't want you. you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS.

All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45, how can it be getting naked at 50 with a new guy? That one's kind of hard.

Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, How Hard Can It Be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy Valentine's Day is a day of giving gifts to the ones you love. So we thought we've got some sports figures we talk about a lot on the show.

and what would be the perfect Valentine's gift for the sports stars in our life? Well, Colin, let's do Joelle Embed and Ben Simmons. What should you get them for Valentine's Day? All right, Goulet, do we have some, oh, God, that awful music again. That's bad. Okay, Embedon Simmons, I think flowers, because flowers are the perfect consolation after a breakup, and they're not going to last. In two months, they're going to be broken up, because,

Ben Simmons in nine games without Embed this year, averages eight assists, nine and a half rebounds and 22 points. So let's give them flowers. That's a beautiful consolation prize when people break up. This music is so boogie nights. What gifts should

the Lakers get this Valentine's Day? How about the oldest team in the NBA, a case of insurer? Because whereas the Denver Nuggets have one player over 30, the Lakers average age is 29 and a half. Boogie Cousins, out.

Anthony Davis, missed seven games. This is an old, old team. You know what they call a 30-year-old on the Lakers? Hey, kid. A case of insurer as they age. What kind of couch life are you envisioning getting someone insurer for Valentine's Day? What gifts should Russell Westbrook get this Valentine's Day?

That's easy. A box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get with either one. Oh, Boris Gump. So he's shooting 23, percent on three-pointers. I don't even know what to say to that. His average is like 31 percent, and the Rockets are five and nine in their 14 biggest games. And so chocolates are unpredictable. I always go with a dark chocolate. I love dark chocolate. The square dark chocolate. I don't like the Nuget. I'm not a Nuget fan either. You know, I need some nuts in there.

I'm dark chocolate. I always go the little square dark chocolate ones almost always nuts or like fudge. Forrest Gump, low-key, very romantic movie. Colin, what gift should Dak Prescott get this Valentine's Day? I was thinking about this. How about a trip to Mexico? Because it worked for Zeke. He got a new contract. And also, remember, Zeke went, got a new deal when he went to Mexico.

And it's a much-needed vacation after all this contract talk. It's gone on for 12 months. He needs to relax a little bit. He needs to go down there and the food is spectacular, the waves, the weather is beautiful in Mexico. Okay. What about Baker Mayfield? What does he get this? Well, you know he tends to talk a little too much.

So I thought we get him candy conversation hearts where you can only have three words. Smart. Like no comment or no comment. Or like on to Cincinnati. That's right. Yeah. So he talks too much. So if you get him candy hearts and he can only have two or three words, he won't get in nearly as much trouble.

Very thoughtful. All right. Kyle Shanahan. What does Kyle Shanahan get on Valentine's Day? I think we both like Kyle Shanning. We do. But he has had a couple of. How do we say this?

Stinkers in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. So I thought we'd get him Cologne to cover up the stench of being outscored 46-0 in his last two Super Bowls in the fourth quarter. The Kyle Shanahan Cologne. Cologne is always a nice gift. It is a nice gift. All right. Finally, the goat, which should Tom Brady get for Valentine's Day?

Well, you've really got to think this one out. Yeah. What do you get someone who has everything? How about a heart-shaped card with a me? message inside, roses are red, violets are blue, come play in LA so I can see you. So he'll be right. That's, that's poetry for the ages. It really is.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. and we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker... You know these kids. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out of my. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Rivera. And on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X Squad from all. Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate

Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure

going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Hart. Heart Podcast Guaranteed Human.