The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Prime Cuts: Jerry Jones Regrets, Giannis X-Factor, NFL COVID controversy

Episode Date: July 24, 2021

The best of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. Colin on the Bucks impending dynasty (1:00), why ignorance is no longer bliss when it comes to vaccines in the NFL (3:15), and why Giannis and the Bucks are great for the NBA (4:58). Dave Wannstedt on the never-ending Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones saga in Dallas (10:34). Ric Bucher on why not growing up in the U.S. has helped Giannis develop (16:35). Plus, Nick Wright on why Giannis now has to be considered the best player in the world (22:10). Make sure to follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube 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.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know Amazon provides ways of working that fit your lifestyle? They know you value your time outside of work, juggling family, school, friends, or other activities.

That's why they offer a variety of shifts. that work for you. There are full-time, part-time, and even temporary opportunities that can work with your schedule with great starting pay and sign-on bonuses. If you want a career that fits and adapts to your lifestyle, head to Amazon.com slash apply. Amazon is a proud, equal opportunity employer. This is Prime Cuts, the best of the Colin Coward podcast. Another great week. My buddy Dave Wonstadt, who won a Super Bowl with Dallas, joins me to discuss Jerry Jones headline making comments and his regrets about the breakup with Jimmy Johnson. Rick Buecker had immediate reaction to the Bucks winning the championship,

and we discuss why not growing up in America has helped Janus. Plus, Nick Wright on why Janice now has to be considered the best player in the league. But first, my top takes of the week. You know, as I watched the Bucks pick up their first championship since 1971, you know, a lot of people, the NBA's got this reputation full of equal. goes, brash stars, dynasties. But the image is a lot different in all of basketball than reality. You know, certain blogs have a political ideology.

They hate the NBA. It feeds into their clicks. But the truth is, for every star-driven team, there always is an answer on the built-from-within side. Bucks are now champs. Sons were in the finals. Kauai's Raptors. You know, the teams that blocked LeBron from titles, the Warriors overwhelmingly drafted, Steph, Drayman, and Clay. There were the sleepy spurs with Duncan, the Mavs with Dirk, Elajuan Rockets won two titles in the mid-90s when MJ wasn't there.

The Showtime Lakers went up against the Celtics. Remember, magic drafted by the Lakers. Start looking at all these teams. There is this sense that basketball in this country is so much about recruiting the big stars. Kentucky. John Calipari's been there, what, 12 years? He has one championship. Do you know the winningest team in the last five years in college basketball is Villanova?

They've won 84% of their games. They live on three-star recruits. In the past eight years, Gonzaga hasn't had a season where they've won fewer than 28 regular season games. They're number two. college basketball in the NBA. Yes. Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, the home of five stars, they win their titles too. But right now, Gonzaga and Villanova, the two winningest teams in college basketball in the last seven, eight years.

And in the NBA, the Bucks, the Raptors, the Mavs, it all works out. When you look at what Milwaukee has done, there is every reason to believe this is going to become the Spurs North. A dominant, humble, grateful big, Popovich's system, now a disciple in Budenholzer. You tell me in the East who's in the way. Celtics are starting to rebuild. Philadelphia is breaking up their two stars. Toronto, rebuild. Miami, rebuild.

Too much of the NBA's reputation is built on people who don't like the league, and it helps their business to bash it. Listen, there's an old saying, ignorance. is bliss. It is, unless your ignorance becomes my problem. Unvaccinated Americans are now vaccinated people's problem. My entire life, 75% of the country has had to pull 25% of the country to the right side of an issue, whether it's gay marriage, seat belts, race relations, marijuana laws. There's just a quarter of this country, sometimes up to about a third that is less free-thinking, embedded on the wrong side of an issue, rigid, stubborn, and sometimes, unfortunately, ignorant. Seat belts. People argued for years that they were an infringement on personal freedoms.

Seriously, you don't have a right not to wear a seatbelt. That's why cars, when you start them, a beep goes off until you put it on. My entire life, this has been America. Seventy-five percent of the country has to drag 25 percent screaming and kicking to the right side of an issue. We're all part of a society. We have rules and laws and safety measures that help us get along and protect each other. Red lights, stop signs, speed limits. When you ignore those, you put people in danger. The NFL is now going to force teams to forfeit a game, if they have. a COVID outbreak from unfvaccinated players. The NFL is telling everybody, ignorance is no longer bliss when it affects not just the ignorant. You know, you could argue, Janus is the perfect

antidote to this era of NBA egos, analytics, and small ball. LeBron about the movies, about the brand, about mobility. Janus is not manipulative. This is why the Milwaukee Bucks are important. We've had a run now of superstars collectively joining already good teams. Milwaukee is saying, no, you can do it this way too. Build through the draft, smartly develop, and then add nice pieces. Drew Holliday, P.J. Tucker, not dominating players. PJ Tucker doesn't have to score to be good. The NBA is star-driven, but local television ratings indicate that fans would prefer teams

to be built authentically and homegrown. If you look at the Brooklyn Nets and the Lakers ratings, yes, the Lakers this year, bottom 10% of the league. The higher ratings are the Warriors. Steph, Draymond Green, they draft James Wiseman, the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs do very well. Listen, the other thing I like about the Bucks,

sports is very simple, actually. Can I make your guys less comfortable? The Milwaukee Bucks have simply made the Phoenix Suns more uncomfortable than the sons have made the Milwaukee Bucks. You know, we all talk about analytics. The last two years, think about this. The Lakers were not a good three-point shooting team. They were big at times plotting and physical. They won the title.

The Milwaukee Bucks, they're not a terrible three-point shooting team. but in a world of three-point shooters, they have one great elite shooter, Chris Middleton. It's Brooke Lopez, B.J. Tucker, the inconsistent offensive player Drew Holiday. The reality is, whatever you do, do it well. It's like the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson's winning percentage is higher than Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady through his first 30 games. What the Ravens do, they do exceedingly well. And that's Milwaukee. We get so caught up on analytics.

Yes, when Kevin Durant, Steph and Clay were together, they were analytically superior and physically superior. But those are three of the top five shooters in the league. Who can duplicate that? Milwaukee can't and has never tried to. Milwaukee is actually, despite not being a boon to the ratings, important to the league, they draft and they develop. Their star stayed.

their star became an MVP. Took them a while, but the minute we dismissed them, they're on the cusp of winning a championship. They add nice veteran pieces, the kind of pieces any market could add. Utah could add a PJ Tucker. Portland could add a Drew Holiday. Memphis could add either. So I think it's important to note in the moment, maybe the ratings don't indicate this is great for the league. But if you really deep dive on what local fans want from their pro-based,

basketball franchise. They like watching them in college, drafting them, developing them, and then adding occasional pieces. They feel more emotionally close to their team. It's nothing against Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Hardin, but it's more of a remote experience. It doesn't feel like they're your players. They're rentals.

Kauai Leonard and Toronto is a one-year rental. So I think there's value in what Milwaukee is doing. Big picture, they did it contrarian to the current hot league model. And again, I tell my kids this all the time. I don't care what you major at in college. Just whatever you do, do well. You'll be fine in life. It doesn't matter if you're a schoolteacher, a dentist.

I don't care. A coder, an engineer, major in sociology. Just be great at it. It's a good life. Fandall Sportsbook is hooking up new users. with an epic Olympic bonus. Just place your first bet of at least 10 bucks on any Olympic sport and get a $200 bonus.

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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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind

the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

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

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

Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. The promo code is Colin C-O-L-I-N.

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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. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about, and we're here to change that. I'm April Dignwody host of the new podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids.

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Well, he's one of my favorite guys and one of the best storytellers we have. Fox NFL analyst Dave Wanstatt, former Bears and Dolphin head coach, defensive coordinators for Super Bowl 27 win, Pittsburgh head coach for a half decade. And this week there was a story where Jerry Jones came out and acknowledged he's the one that screwed up the Cowboys dynasty with Jimmy Johnson. And I think it's something that I've understood, Jimmy understood. You know, Dave, I've never even asked you this question before.

But, I mean, it's fairly obvious from my purview that basically when Jerry bought the Cowboys, he had to get the finances right. So he spent the next two years in his side of the building. Jimmy and you had to get the football operation right. and you were on your side of the building. But my feeling was always once the cowboy started winning a Super Bowl, Jimmy was getting all the credit, and Jerry wanted to have fun with his toy.

And he had gotten by that time the finances right, the money was pouring in. Is that a too simplistic look at what happened? No, I think that, number one, Jerry played football, right? He had a son, Stephen, who was a quarterback at Arkansas, and Jerry was very involved with the program watching practices. He had an office that looked right down in Fayetteville looked right down on the office. So he was a football business guy.

He wasn't Wayne Hizenga, who I worked for at the Dolphins, who was worried about starting another Fortune 500 company. And that's all we cared about. So Jerry, I think that football part of it, but I sat there what you're talking about. And I remember Jerry saying to Jimmy, hey, Jimmy, you know, I've invested everything and cashed out all I got. So between the two of us, you know, we've got to make this thing go. So I've never left that thought leave my mind when I see Jerry Jones and I hear some of things because I was there.

I mean, I know how invested he was. To your point, where did it go astray? The first two years, there was not. Jerry was doing the marketing and he was organizing TV station. He was bringing the Blue Star, his own TV show and everything right into the Cowboys facility. So we wouldn't have to go out. He was looking at how we could make a buck, changing the advertisement, all that stuff. And I can remember when it happened.

It was our last year. It was a Super Bowl year. And traditionally, we would head out for a jog around noon. And Jimmy always kind of wanted his, he believed that. You got more done in a social situation than you did sitting around a boardroom because guys would relax a little bit, say some things that they might not say otherwise. And everybody, and we still get it done. So we would take these jogs two or three days a week. We run a couple miles and walk back.

And it was all football. Who we play and what's going on? Was it draft? Was it summer training camp? Was it season? And we're heading out, getting ready to go. And Jimmy come walking out of the locker room. And he did his press conference right before this.

And he walks out and they're setting up tables and chairs all through this one press. 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 which 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 bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that

not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay and I'm Alex English Each episode we pick it here

unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill Waxing All About Crack in the 80s To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack all day But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode Where we've discussed crack

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that. sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan 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. and 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Meeting area. And I can remember like yesterday,

Jimmy turned and was asking the guys who were setting it up, what's going on? And they said, Jerry's having a press conference. And he said, He is dizzy and had no idea. The week before that, I don't know,

I think it might have been Troy, we turned the ball over two or three times. And one of the questions to Jimmy Johnson was, Troy Aikman had a couple turnovers. And Jimmy said, let me just say this, whether it's Troy Aikman, Michael Orvin, Emmett Smith, Jane Novichick, our tight end, if you turn the football over,

we can't win, not going to play. Well, two hours later in the press conference, it comes out and they ask Jerry, you know, what do you think about? And he says, we're fine. Basically, there's not an issue. Well, that was the beginning of the end of all of a sudden there's more, you can only have one voice. And from that day on, you know, Jimmy just kind of had his guard up. And that's when Jerry started having his weekly press conferences, and he was serving steak. I remember that. He was serving the media steak.

It was the best press conference in time to come. After those guys come just to eat. But he filled the room. He filled the room. Is Justin Fields, he's going to obviously get a lot of snaps in preseason. If you had to guess today, will he start week one? I'm going to say no. I don't think week one.

I think he's going to be ready to play week one. and they may have a package. They did some things with Mitch early, a limited package, as we call it, of offensive plays. Justin's going to have that. I'm going up there to watch them practice the 31st next weekend, next Saturday. I want to watch him practice,

and I'll get around Matt Nagy and some of these guys up close and get a lot better feel for what's going on. But this thing is, to me, it's so simple. Matt, just do what the kid can do. And what he's done at Ohio State and back away from this other stuff, you've got a top 10 defense, maybe a top five defense. You've got a couple good running backs. You've got, you know, quality tight ends and receivers are as good as anybody in a conference.

I mean, you don't need to overthink this thing, in my opinion. You know, do what he can do, give him a chance to have some success. And this thing could really blossom. I really believe that. Did you know Amazon provides ways of working that fit your lifestyle? They know you value your time outside of work, juggling families, school, friends, or other activities. That's why they offer a variety of shifts that work for you. There are full-time, part-time, and even temporary opportunities that can work with your schedule,

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Brought to you by the Ad Council. Walk a mile in my shoes. I was always very reluctant when it came to Janus being the face of the league. I didn't think he cared about it. It's a small market team. You know, he's not a flashy player. But when I watched the night from his defensive performance, free throw line, he was so much better and more dominating. It did remind me a lot of LeBron when he used to chase people down and block shots on the fast break.

Whether he wants it or not, and whether the league is ready for it or not, or wants. to market it or not, I felt like tonight I was watching a physical specimen that doesn't have a rival in this league. I felt that the last two or three games. Yeah. Yeah. The change for me is that I kind of like the idea that we could have a face of the NBA who's not thirsty to be the face of the NBA. There's a certain, there's a certain sincerity and genuineness about, I'm just trying to be great. And if you guys want me to be the face of the league, I guess I'll do it.

As opposed to it almost has felt like the last few years, that's what guys were striving for. It wasn't winning a championship. It wasn't proving they were the best player in the league. It was, I want to be the face of the league. I want to be known as the guy. And we could get into how that mindset has evolved. But clearly, Janice, and I put a lot of this on him not growing up here, not being

indoctrinated into the NBA mindset of I'm going to get to the NBA and I'm going to be a star and I'm going to get all the, you know, I'm going to have the cars and the women and the, and the shoe deal and the commercials. And for him, it's like, I want to win a championship. And how do I put my mind in the right frame in order to win that? And so I it's a different kind of face of the friend of of the league. But maybe we're ready for it. Maybe maybe you know this this more innocent version. It's a little of forest gumpish, right?

Just winds up in the spot. And and there's there's something very attractive about that. Well, I mean, most American stars from politicians to talk show hosts to basketball players are brand obsessed. I mean, America is capitalism. The European mindset is more enjoy the journey, not the destination. And to your point, you know, when I watch Janus played, it's sort of brand free. He's just really great.

And you can, his brand is whatever you want to make it, but he's not jamming it down your throat. And I've said this before. You know, the Michael Jordans and the magics had lousy early contracts. I have no problem moving into mogul stage and just doing the best for your business. I have no problem with LeBron Shoes in the Lakers. I have because he accomplished everything else. But, you know, it's this will sound hyperbolic, but we can talk ourselves into stuff. But when you, when somebody really arrives, they usually do something physically.

You know, you go back to Ali beating George Foreman and Zaire when it was literally like it changed boxing. It changed the temperature of the sport. I don't want to overstate it, but what I watched in the last two games is he makes DeAndre Aiton look tiny. He's just too much to handle. Now he can pass, Rick. To me, it just jumped through the television set tonight. And he's doing it in a way that there isn't a precedent for it. Like his drive and his Euro step.

And I saw Jeremy Lynn tweet out that we were Toronto to tell you how devastating his spin move is. Like, we never wanted him to get to it. So we went to trap him before he could spin. And I'm like, yeah, and it worked because that's all he had. Now he's sizing up the floor because if you notice, like, when he was going to attack face up, It was only D'Andre Aiton. If he had Jay Crowder or he had another defender on him, he three-quartered him and he backed him down. That seems like a really simple thing.

But that recognition of how to attack and how to play, because if you back down Jay Crowder, now chances are they're going to bring a second defender. So now I don't need to face the basket. I need to see all my shooters. I need to see all my options. His ability to recognize that and play that way and play with a certain poise and calm tempo. Like those are all new elements. But the biggest thing for me is, is like I think about guys introducing a signature play, a signature move. And Janus has that.

I mean, Mono Genoble was the first guy I saw, I used the Euro step a lot. But his coming down the lane and making that big Euro step going left and then finishing underhand right, that to me is a new signature move that he's introduced. And only the great ones do that and do it while winning a championship. All right. I bring in my buddy Nick Wright, who has to be feeling very, very good about himself. So here's what's funny, Nick. So before the playoffs started, I picked all the teams. And I picked Milwaukee to win.

Yep. Now, what's funny is I picked them for two reasons. I said, one, the pressure's off. We have dismissed them. And I did feel that they caved in the last couple years to pressure. They felt like they had to win. Secondly, I said most of their players, if you look at their history, do not get hurt. This is a condensed season.

Injuries have been a problem. So I'd like to sound like a genius today, but I pick Phoenix to win the finals. But it is interesting. if you look at Milwaukee and Phoenix through the playoffs, they've both done the same thing. Phoenix starts every series quickly. They play a very high tempo. It is a very dynamic uptempo game.

It catches teams off guard. It takes teams one or two games to kind of get up to their speed. That's right. They're light. They're fast. A lot of good ball handlers. Milwaukee's the opposite. Milwaukee starts a series slow.

They feel you out. but over the course of time, they have so many big physical bodies. They just wear you down. And through two games, I liked Phoenix. Through four games, I slightly liked Phoenix. After watching Game 5, Phoenix looks small and utterly exhausted. And I think Drew Holliday, and you've touched on this,

I think Drew Holliday has honestly, maybe more than Janice, been the key to the series. Well, they're unbeatable. he plays well because Janice, there's 7 and 1 in the playoffs when he goes for 20 plus. I think they're 8 and 6 when he doesn't. He's going to give you the great defense every night

and he is their third guy and when you have Janus, who's going to leave these playoffs, whether people want to admit it or not, he's going to leave these playoffs best player in the league. He will have earned it. If at 24 years old, your league MVP at 25 years old, your league MVP and defensive player of the

year and at 26 years old, your finals MVP, you get to be the best player in the league. Right. Like I'm a LeBron guy. I know there's Duran people. He gets to be the best player in the league. So when you have that guy and Middleton, who more often than not is very solid,

if your third guy plays well, you're going to be very hard to beat. So I, there, listen, game five was an unbelievable game and I know we'll talk about the end of it at some point. But to your point about Phoenix and how they start series, it's exactly right. And what's also right is folks, our business, have to remember that these are not, we treat sometimes the NBA playoffs like their single elimination. After Phoenix went up one nothing, the series was over. And after they went up two nothing, Colin, there was truly talk of,

is this the beginning of a dynasty? A dynasty. They might not win another finals game for seven years. And so I am, like everyone, what Milwaukee always had going. for itself was everyone in the series knew Milwaukee as the best player. And sometimes basketball is complicated and sometimes it's simple. And it is pretty simple historically in that if in the NBA finals one team clearly has the best player, it is very hard to beat that team unless, A, that best player doesn't show up,

LeBron 2011, or B, that other team has the second, third, fourth, and fifth best players. Like, you know what I mean? That they are just an overwhelming collection of talent. And that's not the case in this series. And I think Milwaukee is playing with massive confidence. And I do think your point that small finesse teams are more likely to get worn down the longer a series goes on.

Well, I mean, go back to college basketball. Gonzaga was largely an offensive-minded finesse team. And that got them through the tournament. And then they played UCLA a little more physical and they barely get by him. Then they play Baylor, who's Uber physical and they got pushed around. And when I watch Yonis, I talked to Eddie Johnson, who played in the NBA forever, you know, a great guy. And I asked him a couple days ago, I said, what will you guys draft in the upcoming draft? And he didn't pause. He goes, size. He goes, we're small.

Janus, and this is just five and six years of a weight room. This is five and six years of NBA nutrition. He has pushed D'Andre Aiton around the floor. He is so, I don't think fans understand this. When Janus spins and leans six feet into the basket, D'Andre Aiton is powerless. Forget the other guys on the floor. Nobody else is even close.

McHale Bridges, it looks like it's valet. And I just think when I watched Yonis, And this is why generally men beat younger men in the playoffs. Outside of Jay Crowder, they don't have a bully body on that roster. Phoenix is tiny. They're tiny. They don't like to get foul. They don't shoot free throws.

They don't go to the rim. They listen, they are a finesse jump shooting team that is relying on a third year player in Aiton to play all of their center minutes because they don't have a. And I know Sarge got hurt. It's not like Sarge is a huge difference maker. They don't have backup center. So yeah, of course, they have to go get a center. Like as much as a goofball as he can be at times, you know who would have been super valuable for this Sunstein?

Dwight Howard. Like Dwight Howard, his role for Philly, his role for L.A. last year, give us 12 minutes of toughness, rebounding energy off the bench. And Milwaukee in game five played a lineup they've never played before. It was Brooke Lopez, who's seven feet tall. Bobby Portis, who's six, nine plus, Janice, who's close to a seven-footer, Middleton and one, oh, PJ Tucker. PJ Tucker, you don't have a guard on the lineup except for Middleton.

And by the way, Milwaukee doubled down on toughness by going and getting PJ Tucker. PJ Tucker doesn't really have a tangible basketball skill. You watch him, you watch him, he goes up for a layup, Yannis knows it's going to miss, he goes and dunts it. Like, so there's like, no, we are going to try to be tougher than you, stronger than you, more physical than you. And mentally wise, Colin, I think that Brooklyn series was the best thing that could have ever happened to them. To be on the brink that many times and get through it, I just think you're never going to be, you think they're going to be rattled being down two O to Phoenix when they were down two and three, two and game seven on the road to Brooklyn?

You know, I think, you know, a lot of times domestic players have grown up with your ESBNs and your talk radios and your columnists and they're affected by it. I mean, Adam Silver says, my players are miserable. Janus appears to be unaffected. And it's not just because Milwaukee's a small media market. He's really very comfortable in the moment in his own space. He's obviously got a very good, you know, family and social circle. He's very comfortable in his own skin. And he's really unaffected by it.

I don't even think the counting by the fact. fans in the championship through the playoffs matters. You know, I don't think he's a great free throw shooter. I don't believe those fans are hindering or helping him. I just think there is a, I had a friend who was a great golfer, and he played at UCLA. And he never made the tour. And there was a guy, I won't mention his name. Okay, Bob May.

Bob May was, he made the tour and he won some tournaments. And my friend always said about him, he goes, Bob was just unaffected by noise. Bob just love golf. That's all he cared about. He was great at it. Unaffected. And he goes, I was an overthinker. I couldn't sleep if I played poorly on the 18th hole.

And he goes, it's just my personality. And he said, you know, and my friend was talking about, he goes, a lot of the great golfers have a short memory. They forget a bad shot. And Janus has a really. really, this is a real skill. He's unaffected by noise. He's unaffected by pressure. He's unaffected by expectations.

He's, he, it's a real gift. It's a real gift. He just half to half quarter to quarter free throw to free throw. It doesn't matter. Now, I love LeBron, but I've seen LeBron have a bad shooting quarter and it affect him for another game. A hundred percent. And like that you, you see guys, some guys you can see. the wheels turn. You can see them

thinking and you can, I don't think Janice misses free throws because he's overthinking it. I think he misses free throws because he's a terrible free throw shooter because his form is ridiculous. His whole little process is like, it obviously takes too long. But I don't

think it's in his head. I don't I don't think it was in Shaq's head either. I think Shaq was just bad at it. You know, with LeBron, I do think at times it gets in his head. Like in LeBron, I think it's the one time on the court where he stopped and thinking and going through the whole thing. I also do wonder how much of this.

You know, people talked about, and I know Thanasis was out with Elth and Safety Protocols for GamePot. And when, you know, Phanasis is on the Bucks. Costas is younger brother, is on the Lakers, you know, and we were like, oh, the Lakers doing this to, you know, maybe sign Yannis one day, which I'm sure is probably why they were. And the Bucks are doing it as a favor to you. Janice, you know, have his older brother on there. I wonder, Colin, how much of Janus seemingly

staying this authentic is because his big brother's there. So if you, like, it's just logical that if your big brother who was selling DVDs on the streets of Greece with you, who has been through the struggle, who has seen you at your lowest points and seen all of this, and who also recognizes what a long shot this all was. And not your little brother, your big brother. Right. If he sees you starting to all of a sudden get outside of yourself, I think he has the ability to check him,

not just like as a big brother, but they're also teammates. So it's like teammates have the ability to check each other, but this is your brother, who's your big brother. So I think I do, whether they were thinking this or not, or whether Janus needed this or not, I do think it is incredibly valuable to Janus that Phonis is there. I think that, you know, and it's interesting because early in these games, I know Janus has said he has left games three and four to go to the bathroom.

I don't believe that at all. I think he's, I don't want not a medical diagnosis, but hyperventilating. I think he's breathing too hard. I think he's too amped up. The Nas is calming Janus down. The Nas is like doing breathing stuff with Janus. I think having him there has been a huge part of Janus staying this seemingly authentic because I think otherwise his brother might call him out on it and he knows it.

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