The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Reaction to STATEMENT Thunder win vs. Nuggets, LeBron an All-Star but Kawhi not + POWER RANKINGS

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

Jason reacts to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a statement win over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, LeBron James making the All-Star game for the Los Angeles Lakers while Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard got snubbed, and gives his latest NBA power rankings including a team making a first time appearance. All lines presented by Hard Rock Bet.  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. The Volume. Welcome to Hips tonight here at The Volume.

Happy Monday, everybody. Hope all of you guys had an incredible weekend. Bear with me. I'm still feeling a little bit under the weather, so I'm struggling a little bit with my voice. I'm going to get through this, though, one way or another. Got a jam-pack show for you guys today. We're going to hit that big win from the Thunder on the road in Denver. last night. One of those like message sending wins that teams that you hope will win the championship

will have at some point along the way in their journey. After that, Kauai Leonard, just a horrible all-star snub being left off of the roster yesterday. But I want to dive a little bit into that why it's so ridiculous, but also why some of the pushback specifically regarding LeBron makes absolutely no sense because people seem to have forgotten their NBA histories. I want to dive a little bit to that. And then at the tail end of the show, as we always do on Monday's power rankings. So Jampack Show, you guys know the Joe before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. Make sure you like this video that helps us a lot. And last but not least, if you want to get mailbag questions into our mailbag,

drop them in the comments underneath this video or any of our other full episodes. We'll get to them on Fridays throughout the remainder of the season. All right, let's talk some basketball. So the Thunder crews in Denver, they led by as many as 13. They never trailed. They hit 19 threes. And I really thought the story of the game was Shea Gilders Alexander's advantage creation. 14 of the 19 threes that Oklahoma City made in that game were either made by Shea, that little step back that he hit over Jamal Murray at the top of the key, directly assisted by Shea or came off of an advantage created by Shea, whether it was him dribbling against the right side of the zone and drawing. two defenders on the right wing, swing, swing, three on the left wing. Or running a ball screen with Jay Will and Yokich comes up to the level, hit Jay Will in the pocket, extra pass to Case and Wallace in the corner, another three, that sort of thing, right? So 14 of the 19 threes,

directly from Shea Gildes Alexander and his advantage creation. Shout out to Casein Wallace as well, I ended up hitting seven threes in that game and saying stuff from him, caught a crazy heater there in the second half especially. But, I just can't say enough about how fantastic Shea was in this game. Now, to be clear, no one's ever going to give you the best player in the world titled off of one regular season game, certainly not in February and certainly not when Yokic is just coming back from basically the first major injury of his career. But it sure as hell looked like Shea was trying to send that message. Every part of his game was on display. He was dribbling wherever he wanted to get

to on the floor, made several Denver defenders, mainly Bruce Brown and Peyton Wals. and for large stretches made them look like they were stuck in the mud trying to guard him on the ball. Every time he cleanly beat his man off the dribble, it was either a layup or the perfect kickout read to an open shooter. Every time he faced a double team on the perimeter, he just quickly moved the ball to the right spot to generate advantage. We've talked a lot about this this season, but of all the things, you dig into the numbers and shit, guys, Shays had 68% true shooting while also having just over two turnovers per game. Like this, guy's efficiency has literally entered into completely unprecedented territory for a two guard.

This is like 2016 Steph Curry type of numbers from a two guard in terms of the level of efficiency, right? This is insane stuff that we're seeing. But more than anything, his managing of games, his feel for the flow of games is what makes me feel best about Oklahoma City's chances to repeat. We've talked about this before. What does it mean to manage a game or to manage the flow of a game? All it is is understanding the big picture of the fact that you're going to have to generate not 10 shots, not 20 shots, but dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of shots over the course of a game. So you've got to invest in your own rhythm.

You've got to invest in the rhythm of your screen and roll guys. You've got to invest in your off ball shooters rhythm. There's a lot of feel that comes in those games. It goes beyond even just the singular position. you're investing in the rhythm and flow of the game. And I just think that was when you looked last year at the postseason run in many cases, the highs and the lows for the thunder tended to swing on Shay's game management. And I just think he's improved so much in that specific area. It's one of the biggest reasons why I'm so, why I'm such a big believer in this Thunder team this season. The shot making

was ridiculous. He was 10 for 13 last night on shots outside of the restricted area. 10 for 13. all on basically perimeter jump shots. I just can't say enough about how good he's been this year. I think he's clearly put a gap, albeit small, but a small and discernible gap between him and Luca and Janus. And then he, I mean,

he's hot on Yokic's heels. He's just playing some exceptional basketball. And again, when he manages games like that, when he's constantly attacking, hitting just about every shot from the perimeter and making every read that the situation calls for, it's basically impossible to beat the thunder because they're not going to miss open looks.

We've talked about this. It's usually when they're rushed, when things get tough. They generated 41 catch and shoot shots last night. That's a total. They've only hit four other times this entire season. When they get into that territory of just quality catch and shoot looks, they're going to make enough of them and they're going to be borderline impossible to be. And that basically was the game right there. Like, okay, Denver shot 46% from three. So how does a team shoot 46% from three and lose a game by 10 points?

How? Because Oklahoma City just got more of them. The constant advantage creation from Shea and from their defense to transition sequences generated much more high quality catch and shoot looks. OKC generated 41. Denver generated 30. That's the game right there. Now, looking forward at this matchup in the postseason, both of these teams are obviously going to look very different, right? Like Denver is going to have to contend with two additional dribble drive guys in A.J. Mitchell and in J. Dub. I want to briefly talk about that dynamic here in a minute when we talk a little bit more about different matchups for OKC in the post season. But we also had no Caruso or Jalen Williams last night. Those are the two guys that unlock that different defensive look. Like O'KC is going to lean on two primary defensive looks for. for how to guard Yokich, right? They're going to do

Isaiah Hartenstein sitting on Yokich's right hand with Chet behind him, trying to force Yokich to spin over his right shoulder into help, right? So that's going to be their primary look. The secondary look is going to be J. Dub and Alex Caruso type defenders, maybe a little bit of Lude Dorp, but they

they like Dort on Jamal Murray, who did a good job on him again last night. But they want Caruso and J. Dub fronting the high post, essentially just preventing Yokch from even getting catches by getting up underneath them. And We're seeing higher difficulty entry passes that can lead to more turnovers going the other way. That was basically what happened in game seven last year, right?

So those are the those are the two looks that we're going to see. And one of those looks basically wasn't in Degnalt's bag last night because Caruso and J. Deb were out, right? So obviously Oklahoma City is going to be different. And obviously Denver's going to be different. Like, okay, see, he's going to have to contend with Denver starting wings. They're starting two, three, and four are all out. Peyton Watson struggled with Shea Gildes Alexander, as many of the taller and more upbrose, defenders in the league tend to.

Christian Brown gives them another option. And we saw last year in the postseason that the smaller, quicker, stockier defenders that can actually beat Shea to spots, they tend to at least make things a little bit more difficult for Shea. And She had plenty of success against Christian Browns. I'm not trying to pitch him as a stopper. The point is, it's a look that Denver didn't have access to yesterday. Aaron Gordon, he is the vital antidote to Oklahoma City's primary defensive scheme on

Yokich, which is having a heart and Stein on the ball with Chet behind him. That when Yokic is spinning off of that primary defender and looking to go over the top of Chet, he usually has an additional release valve in the form of a vertical spacer in the form of Aaron Gordon. There were possessions last night where Chet's on Spencer Jones. And Spencer Jones is in the dunker spot and he just doesn't provide that vertical spacing window for Aaron Gordon there. Spencer Jones is a really talented two-way player who's played really good basketball.

for the Nuggets this year has been a great catch and shoot player who just does all the little things really well, but he's not the level of high end talent that Aaron Gordon is, right? Like, he's also an additional offensive release foul for them in a variety ways as a knockdown three point shooter and as a post player thrown Cam Johnson as well, right? Like point being, both of these teams are very far from the versions of themselves that they will be if they meet in a playoff series when we get to May. But there are some dynamics that are not going away. We've constantly considered Denver a threat to Oklahoma City because of their offense. And to be clear, I still think they are. We all know Denver's capable of playing much better on offense than they did last night. Like Yokich and Murray combined for

28 points last night on 25 shots and seven turnovers. We know those two guys can play much better against OKC. We know that Oklahoma City can also play them into games like that, like we saw at various points during the series last year, but we also know they can play better. But the interesting trend that I was thinking about when I was watching that game last night was the types of teams that have actually beaten Oklahoma City this year and how they've done it, which has actually been with their defense. It's been the teams that can throw waves of athletic perimeter defenders at Oklahoma City's drivers and can really protect the rib. Those are the types of teams that have consistently given the thunder issues this season, whether it's all of Minnesota's wings and

Rudy Gobert, as they had that wire to wire win last week, all of San Antonio's wings and Victor Wemagnama, they beat them three times this year. That's five of those wins right there. Phoenix's wings and Mark Williams. We saw in the Miami game, that dynamic of Andrew Wiggins on the ball with Baymanabio on the other side of these screens. When you have that level of defensive talent, you can play Oklahoma City into some of their lower end outcomes on the offensive end of the floor. By the way, all four of those teams are top seven in defense, and they all present the conundrum of elite perimeter defense, elite perimeter defensive cores, but also the strong rim protection.

Those are the groups that can take away Oklahoma City's easy rim attempts and their quality catch and shoot looks. Because remember, as we've dug into this year, we have tons and tons of evidence that Oklahoma City, when they're wide open, they're going to make shots. But if you can rush them, they've got a lot of shooters that when things get a little tougher, a little bit more rushed, a little bit more contested, they can struggle to knock down, catch and shoot looks. And those are the kinds of defenses that can actually play Oklahoma City into that shot profile. Again, Denver's offense is still a real problem for OKC, but it doesn't

matter if Denver can't figure out a way to slow them down on the other end. We've talked a lot about this dynamic, but it's very simple. If you flatten out drives, meaning instead of straight line drive attacks, more bananaed out kind of drive attacks. If you flatten out drives, guys don't have to help as hard. If guys don't have to help as hard, that means shorter closeouts. A shorter closeout means the next guy in that chain has a better chance to contain the ball himself and flatten out that drive. If you can win that push and pull, that results in tougher,

more contested catch and shoot looks and more misses. You have to find a way to disrupt your opponent's rhythm and actually play them into misses. And the only way you're going to do that is by making their stars uncomfortable off the dribble and by making their role players uncomfortable off the catch. If Denver can't figure out how to do that, they're dead on arrival in this matchup,

regardless of how good their offense is. Again, not a death sentence, just something to keep an eye on. Denver's going to, like, all I could tell from watching that game, and again, teams are going to look fundamentally different when we get to May, too many important players out for both teams. But I thought Oklahoma City looked very comfortable on offense last night. Denver's going to have to find a way to flip that dynamic if they want to get an upset when we get to May. Big win for OKC, though. As we've talked about, it's somewhat typical for a defending chance. to go through some malaise like the Thunder have as of late. I think they're 15 and 10 in their last 25 games, right? It's a combination of several things. They've had injuries, although I've reminded

Oklahoma City fans like literally every team in the league is dealing with that. So you're not going to get any sort of sympathy there and it's kind of lame to make that excuse. Specifically, though, they've had lack of ball handling available through these AJ Mitchell injuries and the J. Dub injuries, right? Malays, I've talked about it. Their defensive intensity has been somewhat inconsistent in this stretch. They've had games where they haven't been as good on defense. That's super typical for a team that's won a championship already that's dealing with the grind of an 82 game season. And then lastly, they're not a perfect team. I think they're the best team in the NBA, but they're not perfect. They have some wards. We've talked about them. I went over them last week.

They have a lack of ball handling depth. They can struggle to hit those rushed and contested catch and shoot looks, which is typically what can happen when you get into some more intense games. And so as their schedule has gotten tougher than it was to start the season, those three things have kind of mixed together and led to some losses. But what usually happens for a defending champ that's in this position, they tend to have nights where they go out and they send a clear message. Like, yeah, we're in the mud of an 82 game season. Yeah, we got some dudes out with injury. Yeah, we haven't played our best basketball as of late. but this team right here, we got a chance to send a message and remind everybody.

They go out, they throw an awesome punch, and they handle a great team, usually on national television to kind of remind everybody why they're the best. And I thought last night was an example of that type of win from Oklahoma City. Doesn't mean the thunder are unbeatable.

Doesn't mean they're guaranteed to hoist the trophy, but it was a reminder that it would be foolish for any of us to pick against them in this year's playoff run. any team that beats them, it's going to be an upset. I'm super excited to tell you guys about our partnership with Viori. Those of you guys who are familiar with Viori have noticed, I've been wearing it on the show a ton over the last few years.

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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.

Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.

Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen should win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right, the Kauai All-Star snub. I saw the public outcry after Kauai was left off of the All-Star reserves yesterday. And the outcry was completely justified. Kauai absolutely should have been an All-Star. He's averaging a career high in points per game.

He's at 63% true shooting, just a tenth of a percent below his career high in overall efficiency. The Clippers are 19 and 16 when he plays. A good chunk of their losses have been when he's out of the lineup. And since the Clippers went on their run. So since December 20th, he's basically averaging 37 and 4 on 50, 4090. So even the like, oh, they're below 500 take. I don't really see that as an excuse because he's been the furthest thing from the reason why they're below 500. And if that was the issue, why are guys like Jalen Johnson, Denny Avdia, and Pascal Seacum in the All-Star game?

So it was an egregious snub. I'd argue there's only five or six players in the entire NBA who have been better than Kauai this season. So the debate shouldn't have been whether or not he's an All-Star, but more of like a should he be first-team all-M-B-A kind of conversation. I don't know if it was the aspiration stuff that Pablo Tori reported. I don't know if it's just people putting too much stock in the team's record or if it was because he happened to miss 13 games with injury. I don't know what the reasoning was, but it was bad reasoning. Kauai should have been an All-Star. The part that has me cracking up is the fact that everyone seems to be struggling to figure out,

why LeBron James is an All-Star, and them kind of connecting that to the Kauai sub. Because guess what, guys? As long as LeBron is in the NBA, and as long as he's actually able to play in All-Star games, he's going to be an All-Star. Michael Jordan wasn't nearly as good as this version of LeBron when he was on the Wizards,

and he made the All-Star game both years. Kobe Bryant made three All-Star games after his Achilles tear. One of those seasons he played in six games. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made the All-Star game in his last two seasons despite averaging less than 15 points per game. Larry Bird was far from All-Star form

in his last two seasons, basically missed the entire month of January both years, and made the All-Star game both times. LeBron is the NBA's all-time leading score. He's still one of the faces of the league, still one of the biggest ratings draws every night. Just in the last week, he's got a half dozen like insane highlight dunks. And for basically two months now, he's been averaging 24, six and six on 61% true shooting for a team that's 29 and 19. And you actually thought

the league would break with decades of tradition and leave that guy out of the game? You're out of your mind. And the funniest part about all this is there's way more obvious guys to be mad about. Like, has LeBron been better than Kauai this year? Hell no. Obviously not. No one's saying that. But he's been better than Jalen Johnson. He's been better than Norman Powell. He's been better than Carl Anthony Towns. And most importantly, Kauai himself has clearly been better than every other Western Conference Reserve, other than maybe Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant, just because KD's been so available this year kind of carrying that Rockets team. But he has clearly been better than Jamal Murray. He's clearly been better than Chet Holmgren. He's clearly been better than Devin

Booker and he's clearly been better than Deniaavdia. The problem here is that Kauai was snubbed. He clearly should be in the game. They should have found a way. Get him in the game. Even now, get him in the game. If there's an injury replacement, he should be the very first person they call. But if you can't figure out why LeBron James is in the All-Star game, you may be beyond help. And if you don't want LeBron in the game for some reason, after every other star of his ilk in the history of the game has been given the exact same honor while playing at a significantly lower level on the court, then you just have a hate problem that you've got to deal with. All right, let's move on to our power rankings. And again, all of our lines are presented by hard rock. Rock bet. Number 10, the Phoenix Suns, currently plus 15,000 to win the title on Hard Rock Bet, got their ass beat by a Red Hot Clippers team last night, but they did log a couple of super

impressive wins last week over the Cavs and the Pistons, two teams that had both been playing excellent basketball and both just got chewed up and spit out by the Suns. Phoenix didn't trail after the first quarter in either game. Dylan Brooks goes for 67 points in the two wins, 22 for 36 from the field in the five games since Devin Booker went down with his injury. Dylan's averaging 28 points per game on 52% from the field, 52% from three and 85% from the line. Jalen Green also made an appearance in the Cavs game without re-injuring his hamstring. So that's a good step in the right direction. Although he did take a hard fall and miss the next game with a hip contusion. So hopefully he's able to get back on the court and stay available in the coming weeks. We're going to be going

pretty quick through most of these teams, but I'm going to linger here for a little while because it's our first appearance for the Los Angeles Clippers at number nine, first appearance in the power rankings all season, plus 6,000 right now on Hard Rock Bet. I'm always hesitant to overreact to teams that go on massive winning streaks in December and January. This has been a thing that I've been a believer in for a long time. At the beginning of the year, just about everybody's playing super hard. Right out of training camp, big dreams of success, you play your best basketball.

you get to this middle chunk of the year, several of the really good teams start to relax a little bit and settle into the 82 game grind. Even Oklahoma City has run into this problem this year. The spurs are 10 and 9 in their last 19 games, right? We've seen a lot of examples of that just within this season. Also, we see injuries start to pile up all around the league. And so every team is using weird starting lineups

and bench lineups start to feature guys who may not even be NBA level talent. You just start to see some weird stuff. there. And then some of the middling teams, some of the teams that had big dreams to start the season, they get into the mud a little bit and they start to lose belief in their goals. And then they start to let go with a rope. And then their talent issues become even more exaggerated and they start to play some pretty bad basketball, right? I think we've seen the Lakers as a classic example of that this season, right? Suddenly in this middle chunk of the season, effort and energy become a massive factor in wins and losses. So you start to see teams go on streaks, win

strikes. Sometimes it's a young, talented team that goes on a run. I think a good example of this right now is like Charlotte. You get a team that gets healthy and they start playing really good basketball and they start to take advantage of some of the teams that aren't on their A game. The Hornets are perfect example of that right now. Sometimes it's an older team that like underachieve to start the season, but then they finally kick into gear and they start playing to their potential. We've seen plenty of teams like this over the years. I rooted for one in 2023 with the Lakers, they started two and ten, and they went on a run in the middle of the season to finish 43 and 39 and make the playoffs before they were a first round exit. So as the clipper started to

rack up wins over the last couple of months, I was just kind of squinting a little bit. There's just a little, just a little skeptical because of that dynamic that I've seen, again, over and over throughout the years. But now we've reached a stretch of sustained success from the clippers that is undeniable. Over the last month and half since December 20. They have the best record in the entire NBA at 17 and 4. A 120 offensive rating, that number to me is the hallmark of elite offense in the NBA, seventh in defensive rating, third in net rating. Really, the only things they've struggled with is rebounding and then from time to time they can be a little bit turnover prone.

So here's the thing. Am I looking at the Clippers as the best team in the league? No. That dynamic with the schedule is still real. And it will certainly inflate metrics in a situation like this. The Clippers have literally been trying to save their season every single night during the stretch. And many of the teams they've played have not had that level of urgency. By the way, four of their last five losses in this span have been against teams that are in my top contender tiers, my top two contender tiers. They got blown out by the thunder in the game right before the streak started. They got cut to pieces at home by the Boston Celtics. They got dominated in the second half at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. And just last week,

they rolled up into Denver after a couple of days of rest and got crushed. So where am I at? Basically where I was to start the season. I was actually pretty high on the clippers because I believe in their roster construct. The floor raising offensive engine that is James Hardin, the pick and roll partner and defensive anchor that's a Vita Zubots, Kauai Leonard and his potential upside is a superstar when he's healthy. Their depth of two-way talent on the perimeter,

that's been even bolstered to a greater extent this year by the rise of their own draft picks, Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller, Jordan's really starting to put together quite a highlight reel of, you know, kind of impressive improvisational scoring off the dribble. But I also didn't think any of those things individually would quite stack up with what the top tier contenders in the league brought to the table. So I had them in that second tier.

I'd probably go with them more as like a third tier contender at this point, just simply because of the challenge that they have in front of them. So for example, They've been playing at a playoff level of intensity for a couple of months now. We've already seen Kauai miss a couple games in that stretch with knee irritation. They're going to have to keep up that level of intensity to dig out of the nine and ten seat just to get into that seven eight scenario. Because like here's the thing.

If they stay in the nine, ten their best case scenario is Oklahoma City in round one. And that's not going to go well. I do think they're capable of upsetting the spurs, but that would require them passing Golden State in the standings. Guess who else is going to be playing at playoff level intensity over the next several months? Golden State. And Golden State's most likely going to make some sort of big swing at the deadline. So you have to somehow figure out a way to pass Golden State,

which is going to require playoff level of intensity, basically the rest of the season. Then you're going to have to win a road game in the playing. that could be anybody. That could be Phoenix. That could be the Lakers. That could be the Rockets. That could be the Timberwolves, right? Like any of those teams could drop to seven. We don't know who it's going to be. Then if you do somehow manage to beat that team, you get San Antonio, got to beat them without home court advantage. And if you do that, you're facing Denver in round two and Oklahoma City in round three. And you need Kauai's knee to hold up for all of that. So in short, this run has been a lot of, a lot of fun. It's real, in my opinion. I think it's been revealing as to why so many of us were so high on the clippers before the season. But unfortunately, they've dug themselves into such a massive hole starting what was at 6 and 21 this season that it's basically going to take a miracle for them to accomplish their goal of hoisting the trophy this year. Hey, it's us to Jonas brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't. invent it. We just contributed to it. First people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. We were thinking, I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about, a thing, a bit for the podcast for people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you

funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source,

the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genschen went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now.

And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart. women's sports. All right, back at the rest of our list, we're going to be moving a little bit quicker. Number eight, the Boston Celtics plus 1,200 to win the title. Third best odds right now on Hard Rock Bad. They dropped a game at home to Atlanta. That was far from their best

offensive process game. They generated just 21 catch and shoot threes in that game. That was their fourth lowest total of the season. At one point, they missed nine consecutive off the dribble threes in that game. They were two for 14 overall on off the dribble threes against Atlanta. just 21 assists on 42 made baskets. That's been a consistent trend in their losses. We talked about this a little bit last week. Just a 52% assist percentage in their losses. That's far and away the worst in the league. Oklahoma City's second worst at 55%. So there's a 3.3% gap between 30th and 29th in assist percentage and losses. That's been a consistent trend for Boston. They don't move the ball very well when they're playing at their worst. Their offense has been incredible

this season. They still have the second best offensive rating in the league behind Denver. So they've been good far more than they've been bad, but they can still throw up a stinker every once in a while. The game against Atlanta was an example of that. They did get back on track with a couple of wins against Milwaukee and Sacramento, 124 offensive rating in those two games, 59% assist percentage back on the high end for them. Payton Pritchard had a big game in a night that Jalen Brown was out in the name for DeMepernie Simons. Each of those guys had huge nights to help carry the offensive load in those two wins. Number seven, the Minnesota Timber It's currently plus 3,000 to win the title on Hard Rock bet.

Their up and down season continues. They've won four in a row, including a wire-to-wire domination of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But in their last 16 games, they're 10 and 6, and this is what it's looked like. They won 6 out of 7, then they lost five games in a row, then they won four games in a row. This team has some of the wildest oscillations between their ceiling and floor of any team in the league because of their inconsistent effort and energy. Anthony Edwards had some interesting comments after the win in Memphis,

where he talked about how Chris Finch has been constantly on them about their effort and about how him and Jaden McDaniels have been having these conversations about how they could relax if they just beat teams early, went up by 30, then they could sit out the end of these games rather than coasting and going on late game runs.

But it's funny because that's basically been their identity. Like they have a plus seven net rating in second halves, which is the third best mark in the entire league. That's what they do. They do what they need to do by tightening the screws at the end of a game, and then they go on a run and they win. I'm still super high on this team. Generally in NBA history, switch flipping teams don't do super well in the postseason, but this team has demonstrated so many times that they really can flip the switch. And when they do, they're frightening to play against. And by the way,

Jaden McDaniels in this four-game winning streak is shooting 63% from three. So do not try. trade that man for a 31-year-old injury-prone Janus and sacrifice your long-term sustainability. Again, the team that trades for Janus needs to be at least a little bit desperate. In Minnesota just is not in that position. I think they should stand pat. At least when it comes to the big swing superstar trades. Do something small. Target a guard that can help you defensively alongside Ant. Do that sort of thing, but keep it simple at this deadline. Number six, Houston Rockets. plus 2,000 to win the title on Hard Rock Bet.

They've won six, or excuse me, they've won seven out of nine, but I was actually texting a Rockets fan buddy of mine the other day, and Rockets fans are a little shook by that loss at home to the Spurs last week. Their offense completely stalled out in the second half. They scored just 37 points, just 13 in the fourth quarter. The Spurs basically just put Victor Women Yamma on him in Thompson and just had him roaming everywhere, shutting everything down.

And the Rockets attacked it by basically just having a men run these like really quick dhos. and ball screens and just slipping out of it into the short roll and it just wasn't working. Not everyone presents Victor Wim and Yama as a problem, but I do think we've seen enough of a sample size now that we can say the rockets are going to have to figure out a way to score with the men Thompson on the floor late in games, especially against these teams that can really protect the rim. And I don't really have a good answer other than Kevin Durant and Alper and Changoon

are going to have to hit their short range shots over the top. When they situated a man in the dunker spot, it's just really tough because the rim protectors can actually kind of bridge the gap between those two, offer contests and then recover to the dunker spot. Anytime he's in those little short roll opportunities or he's working more around the perimeter, he ends up catching in these like open jump shooting situations where he doesn't really want to shoot and can't make it even if he does, right? So like you put him in the dunker spot that at least keeps the rim protector closer to the rim because they have to worry about a men Thompson on the offensive glass and for those drop-offs, but that

basically limits you to tough mid-range shots, right? Like Chang-Goon going to left-shoulder hooks or Kevin Durant going to like tough mid-rangers. And they did miss several good looks like that in that fourth quarter debacle against San Antonio that they're certainly capable of making. It just isn't a great thing that it might actually be their best chance to score when they get into those situations. Generally speaking, if you want to have reliable crunch time offense, you've got to be able to get stuff that's really close to the rim pretty consistently. And that's just going to be difficult to do with a man Thompson on the floor. Everything is still strong with Houston when you look at the metrics.

And I do think we have a tendency to over-focus on flaws with some teams when literally every team has flaws. But I do think that particular flaw is at least reached a point now where we can be relatively certain every team is going to look to try to exploit it against them in the postseason, just something to keep in the back of our minds. Number five, the New York Knicks, currently plus 1,400 to win the title on Hard Rock Bet. they were a bit confused early against the Lakers zone looks, but they scored 1.08 points per possession against the zone in the second half. And I really thought that game was just a dramatic demonstration

of the gap in jump shooting talent between the two teams. It should come as no surprise. The Knicks are the third best three-point shooting team in the NBA. And the Lakers have shot the ball a little bit better as of late, but they've been a pretty bad jump shooting team for most of the season. And frankly, the Knicks were generating better shots. According to Synergy, they generated 21 unguarded catch and shoot looks compared to just 12 for the Lakers and they're better shooters. So if you're getting better shooters, better looks,

that's a recipe for a Nix win right there. And by the way, the Knicks shot 18 for 42 from 3. Lakers shot 12 for 42. That was the difference in the game. And no, it wasn't shooting variants. When guys like Ogen and Obey and Landry Shamit are getting good looks, they're good shooters. They're going to go in. The Lakers are basically

made up of guys that you're okay with shooting, even when they are kind of open. Rui Atramura is the only rotation player on the Lakers shooting over 38% from three and they were not getting as good a looks. That's the difference in the game right there. By the way, the Knicks have won six games in a row and have really recaptured their swarming defensive identity. I thought they were great on defense again last night. 95 defensive rating in these six games, which is best in the league over that span. Talked about it a lot, but this is a team that is really susceptible to dips in

their defensive intensity because they constantly have guys that are getting targeted. I mean, we saw the Lakers consistently targeting Brunson and Kat just about every single time down the floor. So like, if you're going to get targeted, you'd make up for that by having these incredibly talented swarming defensive athletes that can close gaps and recover and close gaps and recover all over the floor. And so when they dip down in intensity, it can become a problem for them defensively. But when they're locked in, they're capable of covering those guys enough to be an elite defense. And they've demonstrated that again over the course the last couple of weeks. I'm still pretty high on the Knicks. I wasn't too worked up about their struggles. I thought their metrics were strong.

I thought I saw plenty of them from them on both sides of the floor before things kind of went south. It's good to see them starting to get their footing again. Number four, the San Antonio Spurs, currently plus 1,500 to win the title on Hard Rock Bet. They've been alternating wins and losses for a couple of weeks now, and they've basically been playing 500 basketball for well over a month. They're just 10 and 9 in their last 19 games. In their nine losses, they're shooting 29, point nine percent from three and they have just a 105 offensive rating, one 18 offensive rating in their 10 wins. And the main source of their inconsistency on offense comes down to their two stars, Deer and Fox and Victor Weniamah and mainly their three points shooting. In their 10 wins,

Wemby and Fox are averaging 47 points per game on 39 percent from three on 11 attempts. In their nine losses, they're averaging just 36 points per game between the two of them on just 24% from three on 11 attempts per game. So 47 points per game in their wins, 36% per game in their losses, 36 points per game in their losses. That's basically been the up and down for them over the course of this stretch. So in many ways, those two guys and their ability to hit threes will determine their success in this year's playoff run. Number three, the Denver Nuggets, currently plus 450 to win the title on Hard Rock Bet. We hit them earlier in the show. So I'm not going to stay here long, but Yokich is back, and yet they still have a pretty strong grip on the three seat in the

west. Really impressive stretch from them over the last month without Yokich. Number two, the Detroit Pistons currently plus 1750 to win the title on hard rock bet. They dropped a game in Phoenix where their offense looked bad. They didn't shoot the ball well from anywhere, and they looked kind of bothered by Phoenix's physicality, but they scored 261 points over their following two games, beating Golden State and Brooklyn. Over two thirds of their baskets were assisted in those two games and they finally started to get going in transition again. There was this weird stretch for four straight games before those two wins where the average is 21 transition points per game, which well below their season average, 78 transition points against Brooklyn and

Golden State got back going in the open floor. I'll be really curious to see how aggressive they are at this upcoming deadline. All the reporting says that Michael Porter Jr. is basically off the table. I'm not sure if that's a negotiation ploy or if Brooklyn just straight up wants to keep them. We'll see. But I'll be curious to see. But I'll be curious to see. if Detroit explores any other avenues to bring in talent. And then last but at least today, again, we hit them earlier in the show, so I'm not going to stay here along with the Oklahoma City Thunder, plus 125 to win the title.

A good reminder last night as to why they are the championship favorite with a wire-to-wire dominant win over the Denver Nuggets. All right, guys, it's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We'll be back tomorrow. I will see you guys. Hey, guys, it's us and the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin.

Nick, and guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite on your. humor me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the first, French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define

Roland Garros. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your

podcasts. Presented by Capital One, Founding Partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.