The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Magic-Cavaliers Reaction: Mitchell ERUPTS in Game 7, Cavs-Celtics early thoughts

Episode Date: May 5, 2024

Jason Timpf reacts to Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers' 106-94 Game 7 win over Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Jason breaks down the biggest highlights from the game, Donovan Mitchell's sensational performance, what's next for Orlando, and how the Cavaliers stack up with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart 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.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. The 82 game preseason is in the books, and now it's finally time for the real season. Don't miss out on any of the NBA playoff action at Draft King Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA.

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All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at the Volume. Happy Sunday, everybody. Hope all of you guys are having a great weekend. We're just going to be breaking down for about 10, 15 minutes, that game 7 between the Cavs. and The Magic. Got a lot of content coming out today earlier this morning. We released our series preview on Nick's Pacers. You can find that on the feed. I recorded like a 45-minute film session on Game 1 of Timberwolves Nuggets.

That's also going to be up on the feeds here shortly. And I'm also going with Colin Cowherd later tonight to bounce around all the NBA storylines after the first round and heading into the second round. So lots and lots of content coming out today. And then tomorrow morning we're going to have another three. We got our series previews for the Thunder and the Mavs as well as the Celtics and the Cavs. And then we're also going to have Game 2 Nuggets, Timberwolves. And I think there's a game one tomorrow night as well of Nick's Pacer.

So just a ton of content coming out over the next couple of days. You guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter underscore Jason LT. So you guys don't miss your announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed. wherever get your podcast under hoops tonight.

And then keep dropping mailback questions in the YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the rest of the postseason. All right, let's talk some basketball. So, you know, this series got a little bit hairier than it needed to be. I think if Jared Allen was healthy, this series would have ended in six.

Obviously, Orlando's like a buzzsaw at home and it would have been tough. But Allen, it just makes Orlando's physical advantages that much more imposing. They're already bigger than Cleveland. But when you play Evan Mobley who's undersized at the center position, but plenty of size at the power forward position. When you play him at the center, you just put yourself into a bunch of physical predicaments,

right? And like that kind of allowed Orlando to do more damage to Cleveland over the trail end of the series, like making game five such a tough game, right? Winning game six, having a substantial lead in game seven. Those were the physical advantages. And honestly, when Jared Allen is out of the picture, it just puts a ton of pressure on the Cavs guards to be like, not just good offensively, but great offensively. When Jared Allen was in the picture, they were better shot creators, obviously than Orlando. We talked about that before the series, but they could have more margin for error when they're healthy. With Jared Allen out, they had to be awesome. And they were

awesome. Once again, it cannot say enough about Donovan Mitchell in this series, 89 points in the last two games. Damn near ended this thing in six anyway and did end it tonight. But early in this game, it got a little tricky because the Cavs guards were struggling. I think Mitchell's was like two first, first eight or something like that. Mitchell got off to a rough start. In Orlando was like red hot from three. They made seven of their first 14 threes. In Orlando went up by 18 and it looked bad because in a series like this where the defenses are so good and the offenses on either side or less than great, it was one of those things where 18 points might as well be 35,

you know, in a different series, right? But three things turned the game around. One, an amazing defensive effort from the whole team, but I also thought Isaac Acoro really led the charge just with his energy and effort and really good individual defense on Palo. And then Orlando cooled off from three. They were seven for their first 14,

but they were three for their last 17. And one was in garbage time. And Orlando is a very bad jump shooting team. We're going to talk about that in a big picture sense here in a few minutes. But that 7 of 14 was the outlier. So just staying engaged in the game, not letting go of the rope, hanging around long enough for the shots to start missing for you to flip the script. And then lastly, Donovan Mitchell got going again, once again by beating people off the dribble.

Karas Levert, too, did a really nice job generating rim pressure over the course of the whole series. But in that third quarter run, Donovan Mitchell has 39 today. just an unbelievable carry job carrying the offense for Cleveland in this series. And then huge plays late. Evan Mowgli, obviously, we don't think of him as much of his score, but like he had not even counting the dunks in garbage time, he had a couple of big buckets once on a pocket pass, which again, Doris Burke was like, this is where Evan is most comfortable in the pocket

in pick and roll. Not really. That's usually a weakness of his. But he confronted that weakness, made a big force. floater in the role. And then he also had a little like kind of post move in the middle of the floor to rescue a possession for his fifth and sixth points earlier in the fourth quarter of a big buckets from Mobley. Then they were out hustling Orlando. This is a big thing I talk about the idea of like scar tissue in the NBA playoffs. The thing that kind of taught me this lesson was the 2012

Miami Heat. I remember towards the tail end of that series with Oklahoma City in the finals. The the thunder were the younger, more athletic team. But the heat, especially the veterans, Heat players were like making more hustle plays to beat the Thunder to basketballs. Remember there was a big offensive rebound off of a missed free throw from Shane Battye at the end of a big game late in that series. And like the, I remember sitting there thinking like the heat just got embarrassed in the finals by the Mavs. They're playing with this like fear of loss. And in that Oklahoma City team, they were kind of like new kids on the block, you know, not as as they haven't dealt with as much

that scar tissue and loss over the years, right? And so they just didn't, it sounds reductive to just say like they didn't want it as much, but like there was clearly a level of like desperation that that Miami Heat team had because they did not want to lose two years in a row in the finals that kind of pushed them over the top against Oklahoma City. And that's the thing. Like Cleveland got embarrassed by the Knicks last year. They got killed on the offensive glass. Evan Mowgli got exposed as a limited offensive player rolling to the basket and pick and roll. Mitchell, Robinson did an absolute number to their entire front line. It was just bad.

It was really, really bad. Jalen Brunson outplayed Donovan Mitchell. It was just bad, right? So they come into this series not wanting to lose in the first round again. There is a fear and a desperation with Cleveland in Orlando's. The newer guys on the block, they haven't felt with dealt with as much of that pain and loss. They don't have as much of that desperation. And there were some big hustle plays late that went Cleveland's direction.

That play where Karris Levert beat everyone down the floor. in the late fourth quarter for that reverse layup in transition. Horrible transition defense from Orlando. They just didn't get back. Then the Darius Garland missed three in the corner. Isaac Acoro just beats Palo to the loose ball. And then that gets worked back around. Also shout out to Donovan Mitchell just trusted Garland again to take the exact same

shot and he made it the second time around. They were making the hustle plays late in Orlando kind of let go of the rope. And so again, that's if you're Orlando, those are the lessons you have to learn looking for. Big win for Cleveland though they were up against it there, down 18 against an elite, an elite defense with massive size advantages, and they somehow managed to flip the script. Once again, put a lot of pressure on their guards to be great, and Donovan Mitchell just was great.

He just was great down the stretch of the series. Unbelievable work for him, especially if you factor in, he's on a bulky knee. 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. Yep, that's me.

Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisks. hits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both Lifelong Star Wars. fan so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, 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 taun tons 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. 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you. But just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Looking forward for both teams, starting with the cats. We're going to do a full series preview later, but they were one and two in the season series with Boston. If you remember, their one win was the game that they were up. Excuse me, they were trailing by 22 with nine minutes left. And that was the game that Dean Wade got going. Remember the Celtics kept leaving him open. And then he got in rhythm.

And then he started hitting a little bit more contested shots. And then I think it was Drew Holiday. He missed a box out on him at the end of the game. And Dean Wade got an offensive rebound putback dunk that ended up winning the game. And that was the one where Jason Tatum got the really bad foul call shooting the fade away. over Darius Garland and then they overturned it on review. So like, you're, you lost two games and then the one game you won, you trail by 22 with nine minutes left. So like, we're going to do a series preview on it later, but I don't, it's really hard for me to see a pathway to victory for Cleveland.

To put it simply, Boston might not be as physically imposing as Orlando, but you're going from playing the least offensively skilled playoff team in Orlando to probably the most offensively skilled playoff team in, in Boston in terms of total skill down the roster. And like, like Miami put BAM at a bio on Tatum and kind of removed him from the series in terms of like devoting most of their defensive attention to him. And it was just like Jalen Brown gets going and Derek White gets going. And it's just that they just have too many weapons and it's going to put Cleveland in a lot of binds on both ends of the floor. So again, we'll do a full series preview later, but don't see much of a pathway there for Cleveland. On the magic side of things, a very successful season.

You made the playoffs. Palo is clearly a star, 27 points per game. your first playoff series against that type of defense when no one else on your team can really get anything else going. That's super impressive. And what's crazy is like most young players, he still has a ton of fat in his game. Like he has so many bad possessions and bad decisions and like really difficult shots that he doesn't really need to take.

Just wait until he trims the fat and identifies. Like I talk about with young basketball players, there's a simple dynamic that takes place over the years. You get better at identifying what works and how to replicate it, and you get better at identifying what doesn't work and how to, it doesn't work and how to trim it out of your game. And Palo will do that over the years. And like, he has such physical advantages. He just strikes me as the kind of guy that can be like a consistent 27 plus point of game playoff guy, well over 60% true shooting. Lots of easy shots close to the basket with bully ball that he's going to be able to lean on in big situations.

I think Palo is going to be amazing. But they need to come up with a plan to get a legitimate skill guard to pair next to Palo, right? Obviously, I'm a big believer in like skill guard, athlete guard, right? And there's a bunch of different directions they can go there. They can try to target that kind of skill guard through the draft. Or they can do it on the trade market. I'd be making calls on guys like Devin Booker, Dejante Murray.

If the heat are looking to pivot this summer, I'd be calling on Tyler Harrow. Even DeAngelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lake. Again, he is not a guy that you want to lean on in the playoffs, but he is a real asset in the regular season. And as long as you can cover for him athletically elsewhere on the floor, he can help in a lot of ways. He's a good playmaker and a really good spot up player, right?

So like there's a bunch of guys that they can be making calls on. But no matter what, regardless of what they do, whether they address that through the draft or through the trade market, every single player on that roster needs to be in the gym all damn summer, working on their jump shots. the playoffs reveal your weaknesses and Cleveland exposed Orlando as a team that can't shoot

and we knew that throughout the regular season but like hacking the paint every single defensive scheme geared towards just baiting them into taking jumpers that they're not going to make it just needs to be something they address Franz Wagner in particular he's a guy that had a lot of hype

over the last couple of years is like this big playmaking forward who can really make the reads but you cannot make reads if you don't generate openings in the defense by dragging multiple defenders, you are not going to do that unless you prove that you can be a threat to score. And if you're only a threat to score going downhill to Eurostep floaters and stuff along those lines and you're not a threat to knock down a jump shot,

you just make yourself that much easier to guard. And like he just had a really bad jump shooting season all year, but especially against Cleveland, it's just something he's got to address. Franz is kind of hitting a little bit of a wall in his development because of his last of development of a jump shot. That's something that he's going to have to work on. But bottom line, you can't be leaning on these big forwards that can't really consistently shoot to generate all your offense. So again, that skill guard piece is what I'd be looking at. And they just have a lot of really good players. You have a lot of guys like Jay Lynn Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. and Jonathan Isaac that other teams want. And if you can put a piece those guys together to get a star,

Like if you can go get a Devin Booker, I would literally be calling Phoenix and I'd be like, here's Jalen Suggs, here's Jonathan Isaac, here's Wendell Carter Jr. Give me Devin Booker with Palo Bunkero and Franz Wagner. And I'll find guys that can do the other jobs and we're going to win a lot of basketball. A lot of basketball games. I think that that's something that they can look into. But again, got to find some sort of legitimate skill guard to pair with your dominant forwards. All right, guys, that is all I have for this particular show.

show again. I'm going to be back later this afternoon with something I've already recorded a film breakdown of Timberwolves Nuggets. And then also later this evening with Colin Coward. That's going to be on the Colin Cowherd podcast YouTube feed. We're recording here in about four hours. So it should be up maybe in about six hours later this evening. All right, guys. I appreciate you guys. I'll see you later today. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite on humor me with Robert Smigel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. Eighty-four is big to me. I'm Sam J. and I'm Alex English. Each episode, We pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits. my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of 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 Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.