The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Marcus Thompson on Harden/Simmons Trade, KD Regrets, Klay's Comeback, Lakers Desperation, Zion Bust Watch

Episode Date: February 18, 2022

First, it's Fake Questions, Real Answers where Colin explains what massive Super Bowl ratings - despite two smaller brands - means for the league, if insane Super Bowl ticket prices are a real concern, what most people are missing about Jim Harbaugh's new Michigan contract, and the biggest takeaway from Aaron Rodgers most recent tabloid break up (3:00). Then, The Athletic NBA Writer Marcus Thompson joins Colin to discuss what flaw could prevent the Warriors from winning the West (11:00), if Klay Thompson can regain his pre-injury level of play (13:00), when the Warriors were convinced Andrew Wiggins was a building block instead of a trade piece (15:00), if Jonathan Kuminga can contribute in the playoffs (21:00), if KD has regrets about his decision to leave the Warriors (25:00), if Ben Simmons can fit in with KD and Kyrie (26:00), if James Harden makes the Sixers legitimate contenders in the East (28:00), the quickest way for the struggling Lakers to rebuild (30:00), if the Suns should be the title favorite (33:00), if the Bulls are overvalued by the media (38:00), if the Knicks are the latest team to get burnt out on Tom Thibodeau (40:00), and if Zion Williamson is on the verge of being considered a bust (45:00)Subscribe NOW and follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. 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.

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It's time for fake questions, real answers. Lots of stuff I want to talk about, but I don't want to wait for you to ask me. Dear Colin, what do you make of the Super Bowl being the most watched TV show in five years, yet it didn't have too popular national brands? Well, what it shows you is the National Football League is the only sport in America that is not team-dependent. In baseball, there's a handful of huge brands, college football, NBA that moved the meter. The fact that the Cincinnati Bengals and the L.A. Rams got the biggest TV rating in five years off of Brady Mahomes Super Bowl is the television sports story of the year. The other thing is the NFL, and I've said this for years, is the best run league.

I think it navigates politics and race better. Sometimes those become one thing in America. I think it's willing to pivot off bad rules quickly. I think it has a very good television product. Its safety innovations and improvements have clearly made the game healthier. The Colin Kaepernick and CTE sagas were real landmines. And after about six months, they moved off both. It's a well-run league. It doesn't need most of the media to gain traction and to be popular.

and the media likes to matter. And sometimes when I watch the media coverage of the NFL, the ratings will dip one or two percent year to year. And the media acts like they're rooting against the league. Because I think the NFL is the one sport that really does not need positive PR to get a number. It is the best run league, has been for years, whether most of the media wants to acknowledge it or not. Dear Colin, what was your favorite sports tweet of the week?

I loved new USC football coach Lincoln Riley tweeting from a suite at the 50-yard line of the Super Bowl. If he was still coaching in Oklahoma, he is tweeting from a college basketball game in Norman. Here's a little story. When USC made the pitch to Lincoln Riley, he did not think he was. would leave for another college job. But USC contacted his agent and said, let us make a pitch. And Rick Caruso and Mike Bowen, the athletic director and the school president made the pitch about the city of Los Angeles and Super Bowls over the next 10 years, several, and Olympics. And that this was going to be an ascending city in a country where big cities economically matter more than ever.

and that the growth potential of the program was limitless at the University of Southern California. That tweet said it all. He's the coach of Oklahoma. He's tweeting from Norman at a college basketball game. As the coach of USC, he's tweeting from the owner of the L.A. Ram suite at the 50-yard line of the Super Bowl. USC's growth potential is limitless. Dear Colin, Super Bowl ticket prices were out of control. Doesn't that bother you?

Well, if there's a market for it and people can afford it, it doesn't bother me at all. Here's when wealth worries me. The lottery, the powerball, where a bad person, a meth dealer, could get the right numbers and be the richest person in a state. That bothers me. It never bothers me when hardworking, men and women, realize their potential, make a lot of money, and then spend it on stuff. I've said often, I've voted for Democrats and I voted for Republicans.

I will never vote for any politician that demonizes wealth. I got nothing against Bernie Sanders. He's done a fine job, but he demonizes wealth. Obama, Biden, Clinton, Democrats didn't. Elizabeth Warren, too often demon. as wealth. Why does it bother me? Because I think of all the problems in America, people working hard and making a stupendous living is not in the top 100. You may not like the structure of our capitalist society, but the people who earn the most men and women,

young and old, the tech superstars, to the Wall Streeters, to the entrepreneurs, are not a big problem in America. And I don't think ticket prices at the Super Bowl are either. either. Dear Colin, what caught your eye with Jim Harbaugh's new contract at Michigan? Well, I believe Jim Harbaugh is a better fit in college than the NFL where he can control his personnel. Jim likes control. I also think he has an intense personality. And in college, just about the time you wear the players out, they graduate. But if you looked at the contract in the not-so-fine print, two things jumped out at you. Harbaugh didn't get a huge raise. He's still not top three or four in college football in terms of salary, and the buyout number was tiny. What it tells you is,

Michigan and Harba agreed to give him a five-year contract to save recruiting and aid recruiting and help him build a staff. But the buyout number is so small, it will not be the last time an NFL team comes after Jim, and I would be surprised over the next 15 years if he doesn't coach in the National Football League at least once again. Dear Colin, Aaron Rogers, and Shane Lean Woodley broke up. What do you think happened here? That's probably a better question for Harvey Levin at TMZ. There are certain athletes I can relate to.

Take Tom Brady, even LeBron James. They love their wife. They have a big family. They love their job and get great satisfaction out of competing. Aaron doesn't get along with his family, single, no kids, not even sure if he has a pet, and he talks about retirement a lot at 30 years old or in his 30s. Not to mention, he wore a corduroy suit to an award show. That I can't relate to at all.

I've never understood Aaron Rogers. He's highly complex. I've known a dozen coaches or players who have known him. He's ghosted some if they're critical. He's just not a guy I've ever been able to figure out. Well, I bring him on a few times a year. I absolutely love him. He's Marcus Thompson.

He's the Bay Area columnist for The Athletic. He's written a couple of three books now that are fantastic. KD. Golden about Steph Curry and dynasties, the top 10 goat teams that change the NBA forever. He's Marcus Thompson. So let's first talk about Golden State. So I think there's two teams that we would both. acknowledge are going to be a handful in the playoffs. Phoenix bring back a lot of chemistry. Oh, yeah.

From coach to Chris Paul ascending players. Milwaukee, similarly. Coach, culture, ascending players, Janus. The third team we talk about Golden State. My pushback would be, and I like him a lot, I get the coach, I get the culture, I get the stars, but there are two things I have to ask you about. One, the size or lack thereof, because as you know, the playoffs get more physical, size matters, And secondly, Clay is not shooting the ball particularly well. So let's address the first. Will size end up being too big a liability to win a championship for the Warriors? Well, you know, size doesn't matter with the Warriors, right?

That's always been the case. I do wonder if this is the year catches up to them, right? I do wonder if after year, after year of running big guys off the league, of, you know, being too quick and shooting too well. I wonder if like, okay, this is a lot to ask. The real issue isn't really the playoffs, though. The question I have is, because they're playing small now, what will they have when the playoffs come?

Because we've seen this team do this before, but they have like four or five centers to get them through the regular season. Then a playoff come, and it's like, all right, Draymond's center. But Draymond hadn't played center all year. So now you get guys like Kavana Looney and Dreemann, and the rest is like, you know,

a bunch of small forwards and power forward. So what does Kavanaugh have left at the end of the year? What will Dreemann have left come playoff time? They're just banking on what they always bank on. It's Steph, it's Clay, it's Draymond, and they're going to make enough shots. They're going to run fast enough. And then the crunch time are going to play good enough defense and they'll win.

That's been the bet the whole time. So they're doubling down on it now. It's going to be tough, I think. Clay, listen, we all had a question. What kind of year would it be for Clay? He's shooting 42% from the field and 37% from three. You watch him every game. You see him at practice.

Is there another gear this year? There is. You could see part of his issue is, it's almost like Clay's like, what's my man, Chris Evans, you know, Captain America. Like, remember he was in the, in a freezing chamber, right? He's like frozen and he comes back.

He's like, what year is this? And Clay's mind is 2019. Like he, it's like he was frozen. So he's still thinking, yo, I got this 20 foot step back. I got to pull up three in transition. I hit these shots. But he's got these a time to get that. So he's not really doing the thing where it's like,

all right, let me work myself back. Let me kind of pace myself. Let me find my spots on the floor, get my rhythm. Clay came back like, nah, bro. I'm the same guy from 2019. And I think he's having a little clash with that reality that maybe he's not. And there's moments where he is that's kind of egging him on. Right.

Like I guess the Lakers, he was that guy. But since then he hasn't been. So it's just, I think it's all kind of expected for a guy who haven't been two and a half years playing. But look, I'll tell you this. If they don't have another gear out of Clay Thompson, that's going to be really difficult to overcome. He's too important. They need him to take another gear to give.

closer to the guy we remember than where he is right now. You know, it's interesting because I always felt Andrew Wiggins had the personality of a great three or a solid two. I never thought he was a one. I've said the same thing. I think Anthony Davis is the best two potentially in the league. He doesn't want to be a one. He doesn't put the time in. He doesn't want that kind of burden. But when Wiggins got there initially, he was viewed kind of as an eventual trade piece. Do you, Marcus, when was the moment? that you think the brain trust in Golden State said, shit, he's a great three. Some nights he's the world's best four.

Like, what was the stretch? Because I feel like now he'll be a valuable piece in the playoffs. Yeah. I think they believed it. I think they were convinced last year when the Warriors went 15 and 5 down the stretch. He made a lot of big shots. Keep in mind, Steph didn't have much with him, right? Dremont was not an offensive weapon last year by even his own admission.

So you know he was pretty bad. If Dremont was like, yo, I sucked. And that was it in Oakley. They were banking on like Jordan Poole was a youngster, like not really in this prime yet. And it was Steph and he needed some help. And it was Wiggins. But I do think they always thought it would be him. I don't know how much of it is because of Wiggins or because they like this idea that when you come to the warriors, you reach another level.

right so it's not it's not it's like hey man wiggins we saw who you were everybody doubted you but now you with us right so we want to show that our system our culture is different and he's kind of a poster child for that so i think they always believe that i personally had this debate in the locker room with words owner joe lakem right where he's telling me i'm gonna be wrong i even had to say i was wrong like all right i didn't think wiggis would be this good i just didn't see it so right i know i know they've thought this from the beginning beginning. They thought they had a steel. They thought they got a great player. They thought he'd be perfect. But I think it was convincing last year because he played the best ball he'd ever play.

And he committed to defense in a way you just didn't see. You're right? So, right? Plus they get the one up Minnesota. Right. He'd be like, man, it was Minnesota's fault. So now this is like the Warriors version of member Shug Knight when he got on the stage and he was like, if you don't want the executive producer all in the video, they come to death row. That's essentially Wiggins is their way of saying that to the rest of the league. You don't like how your career is going? You think you're being underutilized? Come to the Warriors.

We will rejuvenate your career. Come play with Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Dr. Mark Green, and watch your career take off. Well, it's a little Stafford of the Rams, Dante Fowler. Yes, absolutely. OBJ, Matt Stafford. I don't think it's, I think Steve Kerr's collaborative. I think Sean McVeigh is.

I think it's the California way. I think that's the way the world, the California economy, we're not authoritarian. It's a more collaborative kind of mission. It's a more tolerant state. And I think the Rams do that. College basketball is heating up. Fandall Sportsbook has an offer you don't want to miss. Right now, new customers can place their first college basketball bet risk-free.

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart 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,

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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. Same game parlay bets. Jump into action with live betting. FanDuel, by the way, now live in New York. Just don't bet too much on the Giants next season.

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Manage your day-to-day. reach customers online with an ever-growing suite of channel integrations and apps, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, and more. More than a store, Shopify grows with you. Go to Shopify.com slash Colin, all lowercase. Shopify.com slash Colin for a free 14-day trial, full access at Shopify's entire suite of features. Shopify.com slash C-O-L-I-N. There's a recipe for getting your car running just right.

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Yes. But he completely, I've never seen him live, he completely jumps off the television set. Like, what am I going to get? What do you think Steve Kerr thinks he's going to get from him in the postseason? He's so young. Yeah, that's a tough one. The Warriors don't have guys who get twos, right?

So who's going to get the tough two against defense? Steph's out the pitcher because he's got to get double, triple, like, there's just no way you're leaving him one-on-one. It's Clay Thompson. It's Andrew Wiggins, depending on the matchup, but even he will, you know, settle for the mid-range, hit the little pull-up. Man, Kaminga is, I'm catching a ball anywhere near the free throw line. I'm one dribble and watch your head, right?

Like, and that's the tough stuff, right? He brings that. So the difficulty is, you just got to see a dude. in the playoffs before you know if he could handle it, right? We've seen great players in the first time in the playoffs, like, look who else shook, right? So, I mean, Kobe Bryant, right? Like, he airballed twice.

So I think you got to see first because he is, he's a guy who's a, he's a bright lights guy. Like he knows he's a star. In his mind, he's a star. When he goes to the G league, you could tell he plays like, man, what am I doing here? Right? Like, I should be, I should be up there. So he kind of knows that.

That's kind of the journey with him is getting him to, appreciate where he is and learn these little work ethics. He's got Kauai in him. I've heard Amari Stademeyer, but right now he needs to be Sean Marion, right? He needs to be, I'm going to defend, I'm going to be in transition, I'm going to finish at the rim,

I'm not taking step back threes, I don't need to go ISO. But in his mind, he's like, I could take this guy. So you don't know how that's going to manifest in the playoffs, but they like him with Steph. You double Steph, you get it to him. It's a dunk, man. Like he is going up and he's trying to

break for him and he can guard. Like he eats a good defender. Yeah. So that's my buddy who cut. I have a friend who goes, he's a scout in a league. And he's like the thing most 19 year olds can't defend in this league. He's like that kid can defend.

Absolutely. He's physical. He likes it. You know, that's the thing you don't see. You don't see 19 year olds wanting to defend. You want to get your shots up, right? So he's out there.

I mean, they put him on LeBron. They were like, yo, you go on LeBron. Yep. For a lot. Yeah. And he's like, let's go. And, you know, he's complaining to the refs about the tiki-tack files. And, like, he wants to defend.

He's got this little, I'm going to be great kind of been about him. Like, I'm going to be great. You know, I already know this. The rest of y'all need to figure it out. But, you know, he left his home at 13. He left the Congo at 13 and came to America by himself, right? Like, this dude, he ain't scared of nothing, right? If I ready for it.

So I imagine the playoffs, be that daunting. I think he'll be, he'll be a guy that can put on a guy who's hot, and then he'll be a guy in his second unit who they want to finish. But the other factor is Colin is, they kind of expect Wiseman to be back. And some of that is James Wiseman, right? So if Wiseman comes back, who do you go with? Do you go with the guy who's been playing all year? Or do you go to the number two pick who you kind of need to play? That's where it's going to get a little dicey. It's interesting with the Warriors because they're real twitchy. I look at the Kevin Durant thing now and I think, God, he's got to be looking at this

thinking, if I was with Golden State right now, I mean, seriously. Now, when you wrote the book KD, and I think we've talked about this, do you think he is the kind of guy that has regret? I mean, do you think he would allow himself to have these moments by himself thinking, man, all that team needs is length? I mean, that team would be, I can now. It would be crazy. So the Jordan Poole pick was the year after he left. So they would still, they would have Jordan Poole if he stayed, right?

Yeah, 2018. They wouldn't have Wiseman. They wouldn't have Wiseman. They wouldn't have Wiggins. I mean, they'd still have Kevin Durant, which is better than whatever they would have had, right? But do you think, do you think he looks at that Kyrie's Steph exchange now with any regret? I don't know. I think, I think Katie's still too stubborn to do that, right?

I still think he's like, I'm the best of the league. So let me show you why it don't matter. There might be that voice. I think the other voice is louder, the other voice that I'm the best in the game. Like the other voice that says, I deserve this, right? Like I'm too nice to be part of this collaborative situation. And I also think he's just tight with Kyrie. Like in the end, Katie, you know, I think he likes playing with his friends.

He likes the relationships. He likes off the court stuff too. And Kyrie's his friend. So I can't say what's happening privately. I think it'd be crazy to think he's not thinking that I just, what did I do here? But there is a louder voice that says, I'm the best in the game. And I'm going to show you. I almost showed y'all last year in the playoffs, but I wore a size 18 instead of 17, right?

So you watch what I'm going to do in the playoffs. And if I got anything with me, I'm going to prove to you all how great I am. To me, I feel like that's the pervasive mindset of KD. It's just he's going to be great. Do you think the Ben Simmons thing works? Absolutely. Absolutely. What better could you put next to Katie and Kyrie besides a guy who don't need shots? I mean, here's a guy who's going to play defense, work hard, and he's got a chip on the shoulder.

He's got something to prove. And he's 6 foot 10. And in the fourth quarter, there is no question where that ball is going, right? There's no other possible person to say, you don't have to worry about Ben Simmons saying, I got this, y'all. He's going to look to pass. And I do think when they were working, it's because Hardin had the ball and he was like a point guard.

Remember Kyrie was like, hey, man, you're the point guard because Hardin's got that in this game where he can just say, look, I'm just going to distribute. That's Ben Simmons, right? And I do feel like that's a better fit because it's better defensively. It's better size. And he's got something to prove. He ain't trying to get out of there like James Hardin was.

I do think that's a big difference. See, I think I just worry about. all the, there's so many moving parts with Brooklyn. I look at Harden to Philadelphia and I'm like, shit, good locker room, star big, veteran coach. I do wish they would have retained Steph Curry, Seth Curry. That's a big blow. That's a big blow. It really is.

But I think Philadelphia is going to work pretty quick. Your thoughts on that? Yes, I do think so. The only worry I have, I agree 1,000 percent, Seth Curry, that hurt. Like, that's the part of the deal. You kind of got it. do to do it, but it's like, you know, the best deal

hurt both parties, right? So that's one of them situations where that hurts a little bit. The only remaining worry I have is what happens with Tyrese Maxie because he was kind of flourishing as the point guard, right, as the playmaker. And now he's pretty much got to step aside. One of those dudes have to go off the ball

and kind of be like a spot-up-ish type of player. So I'm interested to see how this works. It didn't work that well with Chris Paul. and James Harden, and it didn't work that well with James Hardin and Kyrie, but Tyrese isn't a superstar to be able to kind of demand anything out of the situation, right? So James Hardin is going to get to do whatever he wants. So what happens to Tyreeks Maxie? If they figure that out, if Maxie can be good off the ball,

if he can be some kind of slasher, if he can knock down open shots, then it's fine. But they're kind of, I mean, they're like ready-baked cookies, man. Like you put them in the oven, they're going to go just because it's all. right there. And they have the big. They have the dominant big man. I do think that's a big difference than the dominant guard per se. How do you look at the Lakers? Listen, the roster's old. The chemistry's average. Westbrook can't play off the ball. 80 can't stay healthy. It is a weak front office, man. Like post-Cobie, any problem, they call an ex-Laker. It's the opposite of the Warriors. Like I said, I've been saying this now for a couple of months. The Rams had a parade yesterday. The Lakers are ninth in the West.

And there's a story out that they're going to bring the same team back. I would move AD. That sounds crazy. I think, I honestly, Marcus think the pandemic did them a huge favor. It gave four months off to AD. He's never proven he can play in the last four years, a full season. He got healthy. LeBron old got healthy.

Like, it's not like the trade didn't work. You got a title. I would move AD and blow the damn thing up. How do you view them going forward? I think they need a piece, another piece, that prevents LeBron having to carry this team on his back in February. Right. And that's what Westbrook was supposed to be. A guy who would be like, all right, man, look, I'm not about to go all out right now.

Right. I'm 37 years old. Right. I'm like, that only smiles on me. you need me in the playoffs. And here he does, he has to be this Herculean figure in the fourth quarter, right? AD goes down now. Now he's pretty much screwed.

Like LeBron can't afford to tweak anything. So I think they need another player who can carry the load and both Anthony Davis has proven he can't stay healthy. And Russell Westbrook seems to be past the moment where he's carrying teams. So that's the difficult part. How do you get that other player? if you got to do AD to get them, then that player needs to be pretty young, right?

You need to be somebody who can carry the ship because that was the plan. It was supposed to be a torch passing, right? It was supposed to be LeBron pass the church. Now it's very clear that you cannot pass the torch to Anthony Davis. He's incredible. He's just not reliable.

You just can't keep him on the court. So I don't know if I give them up because like you say, he's the best number two player. But then how are you going to get that other figure without giving them up. Like, they don't have anything else to move. You know, an interesting thing is that, and I've noticed this over the last 20 years in the NBA, the skills never been greater.

The international players are tougher, not just finesse. The domestic players, our players are more skilled early because they have to be. I do think the culture of basketball, the AAU world, they're all friends now. So it is very hard to find a player. Kobe had this kind of an old school get in your kitchen. Yeah. You know, like Kauai, a lot of the great players now are tremendous. But Chris Paul is a leader.

Like you'll get right in your grill. Absolutely. And I don't feel the NBA has a ton of that. No, that's old school. No, and Marcus, it's really interesting. So one of the reasons I think Phoenix is going to win the title. And I really do think there's an old school architecture to their roster. They have the classic veteran distributing point guard who barks, the classic

scoring guard too, the wing who can shoot and defend threes. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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. became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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I honestly feel like they're a 19th. They're like the Sonics or something. They're like a late 70 early 80s team. How does Golden State. match up with Phoenix because I think their architecture is really old school and Monty Williams just embraces it and I think

the young players embrace Chris who can be really a barker. First off, Phoenix is so perfectly constructed like just for the reason you said, they're their machine. They're like a Tesla. They are. They just run. And the unique part about it is

DeAndre Aiden isn't trying to shoot threes. McHale Bridge. isn't trying to ISO. Like, everybody plays their role. They do their role, and they're happy doing their role, and they do it every night, and you can count on them. Nobody's trying to do more than what they need. And Booker is like, yo, if you don't stop my mid-range,

I will take a thousand of them things, right? Like, I'm not, I don't need to do highlights and crossover. I don't need people to fall. It is a very old-school construction. Look, first off, you got to wonder if Chris Paul can survive an entire postseason, right? that's that's their biggest issue that's number one number two like can they shoot the ball consistently from three uh if you get hot from three you're gonna be you're gonna get phoenix

and problems because diadra aton is great but if you're training twos for threes you got a problem and phoenix can shoot the ball but they can also not shoot the ball so you got some issues there but they're so tough man they can get a two from anywhere on the court if it's if it's booker if it's Chris Paul, if it's Aiton, they get a two from anywhere on the court. And they got big shot hitters like Jay Crowder, McKell Bridges, I feel like is the consummate role player. I mean, they are perfectly constructed and they're hungry. That's the thing. They got to the finals and lost.

Like, they are hungry. And it's tough to account for that. I just feel like Steph, Clay, they got to go crazy from three. They have to go lights out. They're a really good defensive team, so they've got to turn. Devin Booker to something inefficient. They got to do, they got to make Chris Paul like tire him out, make them defend all over the court, run off a million screen.

Like there's a blueprint to it. It's just going to be tough, man. Phoenix is a machine. Make sure to check out the Dremont Green show. I brought Dremont Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective, understands behind the rope, also chops up with guests like Gary Pays. Nathan, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady,

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compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. You know, there are a couple of teams I don't buy. I think Chicago is your classic. Ouch, come on. Can we just bask in the heartfelt story that is DeMargaroza?

Can you wait a month before? His story is great, but they've got a, they've got Demar de Rosen, who's an A. And they've got a lot of guys who are abandoned and have something to prove who are B to B plus players. And I do think a few Cs. And I think those kind of teams hit a wall second round. Like I think their story is great. They don't have a second A. It's a lot of Alex Caruso's, although he's hurt.

It's a lot of guys, Lonzo Ball. Oh, fuck you. You abandoned me. Oh, I can play. And they can. But I feel like that's the one team. The immediate is kind of putting their arms around. I just feel there's a ceiling.

But why we can't just dream? Why we can't have Chicago back at the top? Well, you know, we don't need realism right now. We need a little bit of fantastical joy. And that's what DeMarreira Deroza brain. Will it lose in the second round? Probably. But we don't have to think that way.

We can think that Vucevich is going to finally play defense. That's what we could think. We could think that Alex Caruso is going to lock up on the perimeter and take away some of these great guards in the east. And then we could also kind of think that Brooklyn and Philly might fall apart and pave a perfect way. I do think that's part of the hope, right? Some of these teams up top will pave away. I mean, their destiny is to run into Milwaukee, Philly, or Brooklyn and lose, right?

That's how this is shaping up. But no, no, I'm a 90s baby. I grew up with the Bulls intro song and the red jerseys. You know what I'm saying? In the pinstripe. We get that back for a moment. Can we just have that back? When was the last time we had that?

Derek Rose? And now you want to take it from us because you want to be for real? No, no. It's 90s nostalgia. It's Super Bowl. We were listening to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. And now we're rolling with Chicago. We're getting our Bulls hats and our baggy shorts.

And we're rocking with the Bulls intro song. Give us that, Colin. Jeez. Are you surprised? I watched the Knicks the other night. It's so funny. I mean, I like Julius Randall, but this was the most inevitable conclusion. There's a guy I would have moved right there.

I would have sold high on him. Well, it's funny because the reason he was hard to move because it was the first time since the Jeremy Lynn month that you gave. I understand the Knicks. I'm like, well, I get it. Like the city was really, I mean, the Jets and the Giants. stink. The city was the Metro joke, the Yankees underachieved, and you're sitting there thinking, shit, we get the city back. Yeah. Like, I get it, right? Oh, yeah. But we all knew, if you know, when you watch him play now, he shoots a lot more threes. The dirty work's not nearly as fun now that I got

the bag. And you know, you know what Tim's team eventually is going to burn out, right? It's like, it's like a wick of a candle. Eventually he's going to get to the end. I feel like this is faster than normal, right? I feel like it would have been next year, but now they just look white. They look whooped. You can see it. Julius Randall, when he played the Warriors

and they put like a, they had the rookie Jonathan Camingo on them, and he turned into Shaq, right? Like, he looked, he looked livened again. He's like, what, is this one-on-one coverage against a dude? I can't, hold on, I can just put my shoulder in his chest. He looked like the old Julius Randall.

And that's tough every night. that's tough. And then you got that in the back of your mind what happened in the playoffs when they were like completely outclass by team, by the way, that's like towards the back back half, right? Atlanta is not the Atlanta Hawks we suspect.

So you've got that kind of running down the back of your mind? Like, I just think they're tired, man. He's playing 37 and something minutes a night. Like this is what Tibbs does. We do what was coming. Yeah, no, I mean, Daryl told me this week. Listen, you just don't understand unless you go to NBA games and sit by the floor what it's like five feet to the rim.

Yeah. It is a wrestling match. So you add on that to Tibbs's practices. And his minute schedule. Yeah, man, there's a timeline to how much people want to get banged on. And it is funny because when Tibbs got hired, I thought, oh, God, I've seen this story before. He energizes, they overachieve. And then in the end, there's a lot of travel.

It's a hard league. And they don't have enough scores. Short or all season, right? Remember? Yeah. All that is the fact that. So, yeah. But there is part of me that understands that the city of New York right now has so many

bad teams. And there was a moment last year. You're like, shit. For the first time, maybe the second time counting Jeremy Lynn, in 15 years, the city's into the Knicks. I get it. And I was there the last time. I was there.

I was like an intern of Newsday when the Spreewell Larry Johnson Knicks were kicking. That was a long time ago. How do you not look, we had it out here. Remember we believe? It was like, I mean, they won a series and they burned out against Utah on the second round. But, you know, they had the Bay Area lit. Like, it makes sense. It was exciting to see Knicks fans excited.

Right. Yes. Yes. No question. That was the great part. But all it did, all it did, Colin, was sent Nick's fans up to be ridiculed again. And is that, was that worth it? Was that one time worth it for the rest of the league to say, ah, you thought you were good?

But I think Nick fans knew it. They knew it. Probably. They knew it. Like, it's not hard to figure out when you're one is probably a three. Yeah. Right? Like everybody knew.

but you I did there's an argument to be made that for the momentum of the franchise and for a bat signal to the rest of the league we play hard we don't think Julius Randall's probably worth this but we're going to take care of our guy that that's a bat signal that I think that has power in the league to other players especially after they got spurned so majorly by Katie and Kyrie right and you know and you know that wasn't a good fine, by the way, Katie, go on the Twitter talking about, it sounded like Barclays, but the idea that if you're a free agent in the NBA and you're looking at the next and you saw what happened in the playoffs, you're like, yo, I could be the man if I get them there. Like, yeah. Like, are you serious? You see what they did for Julius Randall and R.J. Barrett? Like, I could be, I could be the man if I get there.

You know who's really thinking that probably? I bet Zion Williamson was looking at that. Like, yo, I can be the man. be there. By the way, I understood taking Zion over John Morant because here's my theory. Iverson, John Wall, Westbrook, John Morant, Steph Marbury, no titles. Bigs, Steph Curry got one without a big. But in the last 20 years, Duncan's got four, Shacks got three, Gassall, even Kobe needed Biggs. Like I got it. Like I was one of these, I got a lot of stuff with Zion. But I also said his torque, his power, his weight is an issue. you do you classify is Zion a bust if you consider everything from the family to this health

to the injuries in your space in this league do people think bust now i think you seem too much of the potential right um it's it's hard to tell these days how much of this is like actual and how much of it is i don't want to play for new orleans anymore right like we could we you just don't know these days. But when you saw him and he's shooting 67% from the field. I know. It was like, Will. Yes. It was like, if you just get him on the court,

he don't even know how to play basketball yet. So I think it's too early. And we're starting to see these things in the league where maybe a guy five years later figure it out. He gets to say, you guys wrote me off. I think so there's a bit of hesitant. I mean, you look at Andrew Wiggins is one of them, right? Where it's like

that's right. He's an all-star starter now. I mean, it happens. Well, Julius Randall a little bit. Yes, Randall, yeah. So I think there's a far more patience, but it's tough. It does feel a little Greg Oden KD, right? Jha and Zion, where it's like, you got to go big. Like, it's a big league. You got to go big. But man, that perimeter dude looks really good. And so now you see Jai looks like an MVP candidate. And we ain't seen Zion since, you know, since before the pandemic. So it's tough. I don't think, I don't think it's bust label yet. I think we just need to know what the injuries that. as is and when he's coming back, but I don't know a player that were rushed back to New Orleans. Like, I don't know. Is it the worst culture in the league? Do you think it's the worst culture in the league? I think the management is a little, I think the ownership and management.

I mean, first off, like the Saints are the priority of the franchise of the ownership, right? Like, that's a tough pill to swallow. Like, you know, the most lit New Orleans is, is Marty Garland's Saints games, the LSU games, right? So I think it's just tough. But I do think the team is pretty good. And I do think Pelicans fans are pretty good. Like I've been to playoff games there. Like they ride with their team.

So I do think they have some issues with the fact that the Saints owner owns the Pelicans. And it's very clear what the priority is, right? And it's tough to kind of put everything behind your pelicans guy. So we've seen Anthony Davis leave and we're seeing Zion or we're not seeing. them in New Orleans, right? So there's got to be something behind the scenes. But I do think they're a really good young team and they're really engaging. When they're good, the place is great. And maybe it's just, you know, I like going to New Orleans. So I'm hoping the pelicans are good again. All right, Marcus Thompson touched all the bases. Three books. Golden, story about

Steph Curry, KD. Great book. And Dynasties, the top 10 goat teams that changed the The NBA forever. He is Marcus Thompson, Bay Area for the athletic, one of my favorite guys. And I love having you, man. Now, you're standing for this thing. I am worried about your back. I stand for Kyle. You know what I'm saying?

Any other party? No, I'm having a seat. But for Kyle and Kyle, we out here, we're standing up, man. We're in the energy. You know what I'm saying? I'm ready. Let's go. I really appreciate that.

Thank you. That's dedication right there. Look at that. I'm on two feet. That's funny. It's the kind of guy you are. I'm a stand-up gentleman, yes, sir. That's right.

Boom. And we close with that. Thanks, man. No problem. Thank you. The volume. Unjunk your sleep during mattress firm's President's Day sale and wake up a better you. Shop Timber peat it, the most highly recommended bed in America, and save up to $500 on adjustable mattress sets.

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Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

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thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.