The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Lakers, Dodgers, Browns

Episode Date: October 20, 2021

The Lakers are old and expensive at the topThe Dodgers came back from the brinkBaker Mayfield will not start but the Browns will be fineGuest: Nick Wright Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games.

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Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 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 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.

Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for The Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com. stream us live every day on the iHeart radio app by searching heard you're listening to fox sports radio oh what a time to be alive live in los angeles it's the hurt wherever you may be however you may be listening i heart radio fox sports radio fs one what a day yesterday i got the Dodgers when I got home, in a crazy game I'll get to in five minutes, and a remarkable moment in the history of the Dodgers, and they've had many.

I got two great NBA games last night. NBA, got to give them credit. They gave me the bucks, the nets, the Lakers, and the Warriors. I was glued to all of them. Joy Taylor is joining me. I got to tell you, I have almost goosebumps off. I was driving to work this morning, and I'm like, is that one of the great random Tuesday nights in sports?

It was fabulous. I was literally sitting on my couch thinking, you know, we all complain about having to adult. But I'm sitting on my couch. I'm on my third game of the day with a nice bowl popcorn and I've sprinkled some truffle salt on it. There's a glass of champagne. I'm like, I don't know how the life gets better than this. It doesn't. I don't think it does.

So I'll start with the Lakers. Let me just start with this. And they're one of a handful of, you know, there's about five teams every year in the NBA that can win a championship. So their season started last night. NBA got off to a great start. So there's two things, though, you can't change during an NBA season. Age, the Lakers are really old. There's no fountain of youth here, folks.

And salaries. They're really expensive at the top. Westbrook, LeBron, AD. Translation, it's a pretty thin team. Their flaws are their flaws. And you're going to have to live with them. Now, they played the Warriors last night. The Warriors are different.

They've got a lot of evolving to do. The Warriors could end up being a very interesting team. They won last night and Clay Thompson didn't play. James Wiseman is working himself back from an injury. They added a guy named Bialitza from the Sacramento Kings, who's an interesting fit, maybe their best player off the bench. They're an interesting team. That's an interesting team.

And they could be a different team, the Warriors, in three months. Keep your eye on the Warriors. The Lakers, they'll be good, but this is what they are. Going to be highly dependent on LeBron and AD to be great and be healthy. The Lakers are so old, even their bench is old. Usually in the NBA, your bench on a really good team is a bunch of young guys that want to develop into something. The Lakers bench is old guys who aren't good enough to start.

It's Rondo. It's the White Howard. It's Carmelo Anthony. And the NBA has become, as you all know, in the last 10 years, very much a spacing league. What does that mean? Everybody can handle the ball. Everybody can shoot. Right? Everybody can shoot. So every, you spread it. It used to be everybody was jammed in the paint, drop the ball to the big guy, double team him, pop it out, shoot. Everything is spaced. So the Lakers do not have a lot of young athletic legs to chase three point shooters off the line. This is an old team. Their benches old.

Their benches older than their starters. And their starters are old. And so whereas the warriors, Steph didn't play well. Clay didn't. play and they won. The Lakers, actually, their stars, you know, I mean, AD and LeBron were pretty good at home, and they lost. And we can blame Westbrook for this, but let's be fair about Westbrook. He was brought in for energy in minutes. Yeah, he couldn't shoot last night. Folks, it's been 10 years. He's not a shooter. He can score. He's not a shooter. So LeBron is the Lakers lost last night. This is his team. LeBron is never like young players. He likes his guys, and he's got a lot of them. He's got Mellow and Westbrook and AD, and they're really, really old.

And in a spacing league, the Lakers are going to have to win with depth of power and size and length and slow it down. And they can do that against a lot of teams. I don't know if you can win a championship that way, but that's what the Lakers have to be. This is what they are. Old, expensive, and limited athletically on the perimeter. But LeBron James said last night, don't blame West. Brooke. He's the new guy. It's going to be a hard fit. He didn't have a great night. We don't

expect him to be a great shooter. At least, at least LeBron had a little bit of context after the game. I told Russ to go home and watch a comedy. You know, something that can put a smile on his face. So hard on himself. I told him, don't be so hard on yourself. It's one game. I mean, it's just, you know, challenging to go into a new system and trying to to fit in, but also bring what you bring to the table at a high level to fit out as well. And, you know, if there's three guys on this team that should be worrying about not fitting in, it's probably myself 80 and Russ. They are what they are, and they'll be fine, but don't expect big variations of what they are.

They're old and they're expensive, and that's not going to change. All right, I want to talk baseball for about five minutes. Baseball is a long, long season. Spring training, regular season, postseason. You can play 200 games if you win the World Series. But it always comes down to a moment or three. The Dodger season came down to a moment. Cody Bellinger, if you made a movie about baseball, you'd put Cody Bellinger in it.

He looks like a young Kevin Costner. He's tall, he's athletic, he's rangy. He was the rookie of the year in 2017. He was the MVP in 2019. But this is what baseball does. It gets in your head. Golf does the same thing. Hockey's moving fast.

Football's moving fast. Soccer's moving fast. Most sports are constant activity. Golf and baseball are different. You've got a lot of downtime. And Cody Bellinger this year got lost. He couldn't hit. He was the second worst hitter in baseball.

Thank God he can play defense. Now, he's a home run hitter, so you don't have him on a roster for average. But he was at like 127 at one point. Statistically, the second worst hitter in baseball. And after he was an MVP, he changed his stance. Golfers do that a lot, too. And it can really screw with you. And it's screwed with Cody Bellinger, or as they call him, belly.

And then the playoffs started, and the Dodgers needed him because Max Muncie was hurt, and there's been a lot of injuries, and the two, three guys they need to be good are like Max Scherzer, Buckey Betts, and Cody Ballinger. And a one-game playoff against St. Louis, he delivered. In a five-game series against San Francisco, Cody delivered again. And then Cubs the Braves series, and the Dodgers have two heartbreaking road lines. And after a disastrous fourth inning where Walker Bueller could not get a break, they got a couple of runners on in the eighth.

And here came Bellinger, and this is the way baseball is. All is forgotten if one, two, or three moments in a season go your way. And this one right here did. That'll pitch to Bellinger. And a fly ball to right center field. It's well hit, and it is. On Linger, we've got a new game. One, two pitch.

Bellinger hits it out. Unbelievable baseball moment. And then, as the game was tied, they needed, you know, mokey bets to do something. And he did because he's mokey bets. I find it amazing. The Braves cannot get him out. It should be noted in a game against the San Francisco Giants, he went four for four. They struggled to get him out too.

arguably the sports very best player and best leader winning run the Dodgers now were trapped the season was lost and now it's saved and the Braves feel a little trap because today at 5 Pacific they have to start bullpen only starters that mean the Braves have a good bullpen it's not very deep so the Braves may do just fine today until about the fifth or six, but then watch out. But the story today is Cody Bellinger, a great talent who changed his stance, was lost in the season, regained it in a one-game playoff against St. Louis, added to it with the Giants, and last night hit the home run of the season for one of sports great franchises, Dave Roberts afterwards. words. It's just hard to imagine a bigger hit that I can remember really, just kind of what was at stake.

We were dead in the water. You could see it and Luke's coming at the thrown 97 miles an hour and you get a squibber. You get A.J. riding a base hit up the middle to get behind the count and to hit a home, it just flipped everything. What is remarkable is some Dodger fans left and I'm not going to lie. it did feel like the season was over. This wasn't one of these losses where you're like, hey, we just need a base runner. It nothing worked. When Walker Bueller's struggling to get out of the fourth,

every little hit got through. The Dodgers couldn't get a break. Charlie Morton did what he always seemingly does in big spots. He handcuffed the Dodgers. But the good news was, eighth inning, here came the Dodgers best hitter, hitters in the lineup. The Braves now go.

deeper into the bullpen and voila you saw it. So it's now a 2-1 Braves lead. They go to the bullpen for all their activity tonight. I would give the Dodgers a big edge tonight. It was so magical.

It was so incredible. Just one of those great baseball moments that goes down in the history, the lore of a franchise. That is the biggest Dodger hit in a long time. And that's from a team that won the World Series last year. All right. Mill and Brooklyn will talk about. Case Keenum is now officially the starter for the Cleveland

Browns. We were on this topic this morning, and as we were building topics, we said, you know, they shouldn't start Baker. He's not 100%. They should go with Case Keenum. We walk down, you know, they do makeup and hair for us here. Five minutes later, Baker's not starting. Right move by Cleveland. For two reasons, I'll give you both coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app. 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 Podcast. 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, 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 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 all day, but just so you 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 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. 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 Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you

hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games is 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. We're only a third through the NFL season, so it's easy to get fooled and think teams that have kind of a glossy record are better than they are, or think a team like the Colts scrapping it together are done for the season.

You can get fooled easily. So Baker Mayfield, it was announced today, will not start for Cleveland. and tomorrow instead his backup, very capable Case Keenum. In fact, when Baker came into this league, I said his comp is Case Keenum. He's Case Keenum, better arm. The line did not move dramatically when it was announced today. The Browns were about a three-point favorite. Now there'll be a one to a one-and-a-half point favorite.

Baker's better than Case. But we're not talking Mahomes and Case Keenum here, which is probably a seven, eight, nine game point swing. So this is the right move. by Cleveland for two reasons. Number one is these seasons are long. If you look in division, Pittsburgh's not good enough offensively to make the playoffs. Cincinnati's got a nice record, but they don't have a ton of depth. They will not be able to overcome key injuries, which all teams deal with. I mean, Cleveland's got a boatload of injuries. They're still favored tomorrow. So I think over the course of a season, Cincinnati still in a rebuild is really not built

to be a playoff team for 17 games. They can get six, seven games in. They have a young quarterback, terrific receivers. They're kind of clever offensively. They're playing better defensively. Bottom line is Cleveland's roster is a playoff roster. They may not be Baltimore. I don't think they are.

But they're a playoff roster. Why risk it by playing Baker Mayfield? Again, this is not a division. Like if you're Kansas City, you can't screw around too long. Chargers are good. and the Raiders can score a lot of points. It's not this division. This division is built now for Cleveland to get to the playoff.

So that's number one. There's no rush. Number two is if you look at the current schedule for the Cleveland Browns, they're still favored with Case Keenham tomorrow night, and I do think they'll win. It was one of my better bets on the board. I like Cleveland. But start looking at it.

Next week, they host Pittsburgh. If Baker comes back healthy, they're favored. At Cincinnati. With Baker, they'd be favored. New England rookie quarterback. They'd be favored. Detroit, they'd be favored. The next time they're not favored, week 12 at Baltimore and with or without Baker Mayfield, you're probably not going to win that football game. This is the right move as we've extended this season for this division and this roster. They've got mostly the same chance to make it work with Case as they do with Baker. Baker's better.

The gap is not the Grand Canyon. But why risk an injury in that division? with your roster. It makes absolutely no sense. I think they're making the right move, and I still think Cleveland wins. Herd brought to you by Jersey Mike's subs. Be a sub above. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Hurdline News. Well, the NBA season began yesterday, but James Hardin failed to reach a contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets. However, after the season opener against the Bucks, he discussed his contract situation.

Honestly, I just been focused on getting healthy, getting healthy and getting my body right. And then, you know, preparing for a season, a great season. The contract, the money is going to be there. You know, I'm planning on leaving, you know, this organization in the situation that we have. So my focus, honestly, is just focusing on winning a championship. The contract and all that stuff will play itself out. Well, Hardin now begins his first full season.

with the Nets. He can become a free agent next off season if he turns down his $47.4 million player option for 2022-23. If he waited to the off season, it would make him eligible for a four-year, $227 million deal with the Nets. And that would be the largest contracts by average annual value in NBA history. But he said he's not planning on leaving. He likes what he's building there. Well, I mean, in the NBA, if you're a star, isn't the goal to find another star to play with? Yeah. I mean, this is the best situation. Yeah, if you got one.

This is why he forces way out of Houston. Right. He's in the best situation. And now without Kyrie there, which obviously we don't know how that's going to play out through the rest of the season, if the mandates change or if they, you know, choose to bring him back in some capacity. It is him in KD. Like, this is their team to see what they can do with. And he's leaned into it and made major strides last year. I mean, I think he shocked all of us with how he adjusted his play with the Nets.

Now, look, we're all going to overreact to. one game yesterday for them. Milwaukee's also really good. Milwaukee's good and they're pretty good. They won championship last year and brought mostly everybody back. So I don't think it's anything to get crazy about. There are things that we know that their roster doesn't have. And we saw them against, you know, not complete, obviously,

saw them against the bucks last year and saw what they needed to do. So they did lose 127 104. They faced the 76ers in Philly Friday night. The Nets do. But I anticipate seeing Katie in Harden in. Brooklyn for the next couple years. They both would be crazy to break it up. I didn't like Katie going to Brooklyn, but now you're there. Stay with Hardin. Elite score. Eight years. You retire and it's a good life. Well, someone who also is staying put is Damian Lillard apparently. His future in Portland has been

a constant question. And he recently spoke with Jason Quick of the athletic and said, I think a big part of my change in mindset was me and Chaunty's conversations and where we see things the same. I'm not going to share details of our conversations, but it's not often when I speak to people that they see what I see, watching a game, observing people. There's not many people who see what I see, but a lot of what I see, he sees, a lot of C's. So that was very important to me. He said he's not leaving. He's going to stay in Portland's. I'm not anti-loyalty. Janus is staying and won a title. He just, he needs help. They have to get some wing help for him. They've had some bigs and they've got guards. They've always had that hole. It's almost like Utah. They just got to get

better on the wing. Yeah, I'm not anti-Portland's or think that he should leave. I like super teams and I like guys that stay with the teams that drafted them. I don't really have a preference, but I do think if you do choose to stay in a situation that is continuously providing you essentially the same thing and nothing changes, then at the end of the career, we can't, you know, this is the choice that you're making. Now, again, he said he talked to Chauncey Billups. This is a new situation now with Chauncey. So he wants to see how this is going to play out and he believes in it. So stay and see if they can put together a championship roster. It's not necessarily about the competition. It's about what you're able to do in house. They're a well-run organization and

they're starting over with a new coach. Chauncey's never been in the situation before, but he believes in it and he's the stars. He signed a four-year, $176 million fully guaranteed contract extension in 2019, which kicks in this year. And they start their season tonight against the Kings. So the Astros were just six outs from falling in a three one hole in the ALCS, but they remain alive. Their backup catcher Jason Castro smacks a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth inning, opening the floodgates to a nine-two victory. The Red Sox starter, Nathan Ivaldi, was one strike from delivering the game to the bottom of the ninth tied to two, but a one-two curveball to Castro right outside the zone.

Castro fouled off one pitch and then drilled another single to center. Driving home, Carlos Correa with the go-ahead run. Six more runs crossed the plate in that inning. The series is now tied to two. Game five is tonight at four Eastern on FS1. The Red Sox are at home and are currently favored, according to Fox Betts. Home plate umpiring got a lot of discussion last night. I was locked in on the Dodgers, but a lot of complaining about the home plate umpire

who missed 23 calls. you know, they can figure out. I would say this, though, it's almost as if baseball's better served, it gets people all ramped up. Like, you could do like tennis does, and you could just have a computer that calls balls and strikes. But the reality of the strike zone, it's always moved based on the home plate umpire. People, there's nothing I would like less in sports than a robot calling balls and strikes.

Calling balls and strikes. Like, let's, it's part of, they did it in tennis. But I think in baseball, it's just part of the context of what you get. And last night, there was a lot of grumbling about balls and strikes and didn't go the Red Sox way. Well, sometimes it doesn't. There was one particular pitch. But if you look before that pitch, it was like 12, 11. It's not like he had one side of the other.

It was just, it was a home plate umpire who took some liberties on the strike zone. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd law. My news. You know, it's interesting. As I said with the Lakers, two things you can't change in the NBA during the season is age and salaries.

They're expensive, they're thin, even their benches ancient. But I think the Lakers will be fine. They're big. There's a certain way they have to play. The Westbrook situation's interesting because, as you know, and I've said this, if you rely on athleticism, you generally don't age well in sports. Cam Newton relies too much on athleticism. It's why Lamar Jackson becoming a better pocket passer. He'll age better.

Steph Curry is 32. He was almost the MVP. Westbrook's 32. He feels like it's over. There is a reality with Westbrook, and I think he's a good guy, but his game is flawed. And now he's a part of the Lakers, and he struggled last night. And it's like, listen, I can make an argument. They just got him for minutes.

Let's bring in Nick Wright. First thing's first brought to you by Mercedes Ben's the best one, I think. So I defended the Westbrook to the Lakers move because they're old and they need minutes. But I think it's unrealistic to expect him to beat a vital, crucial playoff performer. Could I not argue? What you saw last night is kind of what the team is. They may get better, but we may be a little high on the aspirations of an old roster, an old bench, and a little bit of a weird chemistry fit with Westbrook.

Well, listen, I don't think the Lakers' biggest issue last night was Russ, because Russ obviously will be better than he was yesterday, eight points, as many turnovers as assists. He'll be better than that. The Lakers issue last night is they have made a decided trade-off. They are trading off shooting for defense and size ostensibly. And they got none of the defense yesterday. I mean, they allowed the Warriors score 121, and Steph was bad.

Steph was 5 of 21 from the field. And the reason that the right, the reason last night's Lakers game was concerning to me, Colin, is LeBron hit 12 jump shots. Games where LeBron is hot from the field, he's supposed to score 40, 45, and they're supposed to win easily. The reason that didn't happen is because

he got one basket at the rim and it was a transition dunk. He got nothing at the rim in the half court. Why? Because DeAndre Jordan, out there for no reason. Or Dwight Howard's out there for no reason. And then you add to it, no one's guarding Russell Westbrook, so his man is drawn in. And LeBron, all of a sudden, the best three-point shooter on the court, which shouldn't

happen. Right. So I don't love the makeup of the roster unless it's going to be the number one defense in basketball. It was far from it yesterday. So, yeah, I think they're going to struggle a lot early in the season in particular. I also think they're the best bet to come out of the West because if LeBron's healthy and AD's healthy, they'll be the best team in the West, but I think it's a flawed roster right now, Colin.

And let's transition to the East. You and I were talking during the break is if you start looking at sort of the architecture of the Brooklyn Nets. So Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Alridge made their money because of their offense, Joe Harris all offense, James Hardin all offense, Kyrie Back is all offense. Katie makes a good defensive effort, but he's not a rim protector. In the end, this is an offensive, this is an offensive roster with no real Patty Mills is about offense. And when you look at Milwaukee, by the way, you can win a lot of games in this league with that kind of offense. That I'm not disputing. But their fatal flaw and the kind of team they can't beat may very well be Milwaukee, which, by the way, plays with incredible passion and energy, is physical, can hit threes as well. And I just looked at last night, I thought, this roster in Brooklyn, it's not really built in a seven-game series to beat Milwaukee.

I don't think I'm hyperventilating here. I just think it's like I watched it and I thought they're not going to beat Milwaukee in a seven-game series. I agree a thousand percent. I don't think they are close to Milwaukee right now, and that's the team they have to get through. So think about this. If you're Brooklyn, KD played really well. Patty Mills was seven of seven from three. Yeah.

Drew Holliday went out in the first half and didn't come back, hurt his heel. Janus had a really good game, but almost what you expect him to average this year. And you got dogwalked. You got beat by 23 points. What's changing? You're not going to get bigger. You're not going to get better defensively. The Lakers, the reason I think they can get better defensively is they have Anthony Davis.

They have size their number one defense in basketball last year. Brooklyn was terrible defensively last year. You're not going to get better defensively. And I know nobody likes to talk about it because the whole media loves the guy. But Steve Nash, we have no evidence whatsoever that Steve Nash knows what he's doing. None.

They punted on the one seed last year, which very well might have cost them the title. His adjustment in the postseason was KD. Play all 48 minutes, please. So I don't know that they can lean on the coach. I don't love their bench. They're like, oh, we added Paul Millsap and Lamarcus Aldridge. Huh?

Patty Mills is a good acquisition, but like you said, he adds to what they're already good at, even though he's more valuable now that Kyrie's out. I just, I don't think Brooklyn is this juggernaut that Vegas thinks they are. I think Durant is spectacular. I also think something interesting to watch. Hardin yesterday had a mini explosion in the second quarter, we hit three straight three. Other than that, he was, I think, three of 13 from the field and had 11 points.

The league changed that rule. They might have wanted to call it the Trey Young rule, but it could have also been the James Harden rule about flailing and moving, you know, unnatural movements to get calls. James Hardin, who shoots free throws at a higher rate than any wing player in the history of basketball, took four free throws yesterday. That's something to watch because they need Hardin to be an MVP-level player along with KD be an MVP-level player.

Hardin's obviously a great player, but he and, Trey and Steph a little bit are going to have to adjust their games more than anybody. If I'm the Nets, there's a lot of things that really concern me, especially because you have no answer for Janus, who's the best player in the world. So, as I said last week, and you made a good point, is that the Kansas City Chiefs still aren't punting. And so, and there are certain stats in football that are what they call, the betters call random stats, is that there's nobody to blame, and one of those is like fumble.

Some years you fumble a lot, some years you don't. Turnovers can be kind of random. So as I watched the Chiefs this weekend, I think their defense is limited. I was really engaged with their offense. And I thought, you know, once they get out of the turnover sprees, they're fine. I did think when I looked this weekend, I thought, Kansas City will be fine. The issue, though, still remains. This is not a franchise hoping for fine.

This is a franchise now with Mahomes. the Super Bowl franchise. I don't think defensively they're good enough. But tell me your current state, your current opinion on your beloved chiefs, because they did, they did when they cut the turnovers down, they look pretty good.

And they pitched a shutout granted against Taylor Heineke in the second half. I mean, I, so the, I think that the chiefs have the best offense in the NFL. I know, and I, you know, I do see your tweets. I know you are in love once again with the

Buffalo Bills. I turned that game off a little early. I can't imagine it ended with your, you know, your betrothed Josh Allen literally falling on his face because that would be so embarrassing for you if the bills could have gotten a victory. And instead, Josh Allen just fell on his face. But I think that's what happened. I'm not sure I'm going to have to check. I think the Chiefs have the best offense in the sport by a wide margin. They're turning the ball over at the level of the Jags, and despite that, they score more and more often and more efficiently than anybody. I don't think anyone believes they're going to continue to average two plus turnovers a game. It's not who Mahomes has been in this career. It's not who the chiefs have been.

So what you have is the offense is operating at this level, and it's going to get theoretically better because the turnovers will come down. The defense was so bad early, it almost had to get better by definition, just natural regression plus should be noted. Their best defensive player, Chris Jones, has been out of the lineup for a few weeks. He'll be back. I just look at the AFC. I thought the Chargers and Bills both looked awesome. And then they both had really terrible losses this week.

We saw the Chiefs play Baltimore. That game came down to a fumble at the end or else the Chiefs win. I just think it's a foolish bet right now to act like there's, that, when it really comes down to it, is there anyone in the AFC in the playoffs you're going to take over Mahomes? I know, listen, I know for you he's like fourth in the AFC quarterback hierarchy. It's like Alan, Herbert, Lamar. We'll see how Case plays tomorrow. Maybe elevate him. But I'm going to go with Mahomes still to come out of the AFC. Yeah, no, I still think the Chiefs win the division. You know, some people say I've been very hard on Baker. I see it as America's honesty broker,

is basically how I brand this show. Case Keenham should start tomorrow because there's no reason to risk Baker-Mayfield. The next four games after this are New England and Detroit and Cincinnati. And they'll win those games. Pittsburgh's not a playoff team. But let me ask you, because I think we both privately would love to be general managers. You have an NBA team, me of an NFL team. It's like our goal, right?

Like we would love to eventually do it if somebody kicked us out of this business. But let's put the hat on now. You would be an NFL GM. From what you've seen through 52 starts, be totally honest with me, knowing what the AFC has at the high end at quarterback, would you re-sign Baker Mayfield after the season? Would you give him an extension? No, no, no, no. And I like Baker.

No, I wouldn't cut him. I wouldn't trade him. But I need to see more growth than I've seen. I wouldn't resign him right now. You said after the season, let me see how the next 10 weeks play out. I need to see him level up one. or else I would fear, I think you can get to a Super Bowl, maybe even win a Super Bowl with Baker Mayfield at his current level.

But you've got to have, and this isn't hoeing new ground here, but you've got to have this great roster around him because he is somewhat limited. Yes. And you're not going to be able to have as great of a roster once you pay him. So I would need to see him elevate, especially because of the conference season. Because Mahomes, Lamar, Herbert, Allen, those four are already better than him, and Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence at some point,

I would imagine, are coming for him. So if you have the seventh best quarterback in your own conference, it makes you nervous if you are paying him top flight money. But since I was very honest there, and I know it's your show, I'm going to ask you to be very honest here, to the audience, to me,

and most importantly to Joy. Because I'm not going to be able to come to L.A. to watch this game with you. But you are going to be rooting for Case Keenham to throw for 370 yards. like he was your second son, right? Nothing is going to excite you more than if Case Keenham lights the world on fire tomorrow night. Right, Colin?

Certainly speculation. I'm not comfortable addressing, but it is, I think it would be dramatic and fun to discuss the following day. How's that? Oh, okay. Just rooting for what's interesting. You're just in the interesting business. I forget. All right, Nick Wright.

Great seeing you. Great NBA opening night. Thanks, buddy. Case Keenham is not as good as Baker Mayfield. I've always said that. Baker's got a better arm. But there's not a big gap. The betting market is telling you there's not a huge gap.

It's a point and a half difference. Don't take my word for it. The betting market's telling you that. If you went from Mahomes or Aaron Rogers or Russell Wilson in Case Keenum, the betting market would go bonkers. It didn't go bonkers. It'll come down to one, one and a half. We made a call this morning.

Three to one and a half, one. And by the way, he's better. You're going to get about field goal more. But, you know, the numbers after 52 games, it's not a huge gap. It's a rather have Baker, got a better arm, can make throws case can't. Size, athletic ability, brain power, pre-snap, kind of the same dude. That's how I see it. And mostly how Vegas sees it.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball. all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories. You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Alib on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast.

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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4. 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-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMA? 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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. 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 all day, but yeah, yeah. No, we don't have plenty. 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 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 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 levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Games, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. One of the things I love about playoff baseball, you can go, like the show's over today. Like yesterday, I got to go home and watch a baseball game. I just sat there, ordered a big ice coffee. An ice coffee? Well, I had somebody in the fam going to get iced coffee. I said, give me a ice coffee. I just sat there.

Is it from your secret spot? And, yeah, my secret spot. Don't tell anybody about my secret spot. No, we have some places that we're not sharing. I'm not sharing. We don't share. You and I are very selfish that way, is if we have a place to get coffee or a good dentist, we're not telling you about it.

I have a couple of restaurants. Yeah, just don't tell people about it. That's no reason to do. That's not because I don't want them to have business. They're always busy. We have a secret Vegas hotel. There's no reason to give secrets out anymore. Listen, you know, some of you guys don't know how to act, right?

That's right. I cannot become messing up my spot that I enjoy. Thank you. You know. So when the bills lost the Titans, the underreported part of that game was this. Ryan Tannahill was more comfortable. The bills never sacked him. And the bills have a great deep defensive line.

They never sacked him. Being comfortable almost always wins for quarterbacks in the NFL. Whatever quarterback is more comfortable, less pressure, almost always wins the games. And in the NBA, we don't talk about this a lot, but teams that make you uncomfortable, the Lakers a couple years ago in the bubble, the Raptors a couple years ago, and they had all those defenders in Kauai, the Milwaukee Bucks. the problem with Brooklyn is they don't make anybody uncomfortable because the whole roster is offensive guys.

They've all made their money on offense. Patty Mills, Joe Harris, James Hardin, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Lamarcus Alridge have all made their money because they were prodigious or profound scores. What's that mean? They don't get in your face. And the other issue, in Milwaukee, by the way, has a lot of people, Yonis has made his money on defense. Lopez can defend. Drew Holiday can defend. A lot of the box players who can score, everybody in

this league can score, have made their money. And this was a lot about the San Antonio Spurs. Remember their dynasty? A lot of that was Bruce Bowen made his money defensively. Duncan was a great offensive player, but he made a lot of his money defensively. And so this is the architecture of Brooklyn. All the dudes have made their cash. They've made their lettuce on scoring. And so there was an, And what happens is when you have such great offensive players, this is the danger of having, you know, Kobe and Shaq play together in their prime is you have to be careful or you got a bunch of guys sitting around watching Shaq and Kobe scoring. You lose your energy very quickly because you become a very passive team.

Like the fans, you just sit and watch Matt. You sit and watch KD. and Hardin put on a show because they're so brilliant. Same with Kyrie. By the way, Kyrie is not there. He's also, if he comes back, a terrible defensive player. And so what you saw last night with this team was a very low energy level. So Milwaukee, because they're built from the defense to the offense, energy is part of their

DNA, passion, getting loose balls, winning the battle in the paint, getting rebounds. They dominated all those stats last night. So when you get a team that's got sort of a defensive DNA with enough offense, those are hard to beat. Brooklyn, all their money comes from offense. Nobody's been a great defensive player. and you saw it last night. But the real stat that jumped out to me is that like points on the fast break, Milwaukee had 22.

Brooklyn had two. Why? It was a lack of hustle, a lack of energy. Because, again, great offensive players. The team tends to become viewers and spectators. There's not a lot of passion. There's not a lot of energy. Milwaukee gives you energy every night.

Their star, Yonis, takes no minutes off. And you saw it last night. Steve Nash, even talks. talked about this after the game. The one thing that disappointed me more than anything, it was just loose balls, hustle plays. They seem to win them all. So as we're trying to find ourselves and explore different rotations

and find that cohesion, we got to make it more uncomfortable for people. And they don't. And it's not a finger-pointing expedition here. It is a matter of when you have elite offensive players who Hardin can dribble the air out of the ball, you kind of sit back and Kyrie can dribble the air out of the ball, you kind of sit and found yourself watching it. You become a very passive spectator, and I thought Brooklyn played with no energy early, fell into a huge hole, ignited some energy,

but then came back late and didn't have enough and the game is over. By the way, this is why guys like Clay Thompson of the Warriors are so valuable. He's a very good defensive player, but he's a catch and shoot guy. He doesn't dribble the air out of the ball. When Clay scores, it's grab it, shoot. He plays with it. So you don't, catch and shoot guys are really valuable. You don't end up just watching them. Watch hardening in the wings. Sit there, watch, put your shoulders down, you relax a little bit, you become a spectator. You never do with catch and shoot guys. They're moving around. You get them the ball. They shoot, they score, they go back on defense. So Brooklyn, to me last night, it's, I don't think they're built to beat this team.

I think Milwaukee is built for a long, extended physical series. And I think Brooklyn's built for great quarters, halves, and nights. I don't think they're built to go, toe to toe. If this was a fight, you got a finesse fighter. You got a guy who can do finesse, but can also get physical. I'll take that fighter. All right. Joel Klatt stops by. Iowa, the fake idea of college football. That surfaced again this weekend. We will address that. I will present one of my early Super Bowl bubbles. Clemson is not losing their football coach, and LSU's not stealing Clemson's football coach. A lot of things. Chris Broussard, John Smoltz, What a time to be alive.

Late October. All good Dodgers play again today. Later in L.A., it's The Hurt. 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 home. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with,

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, 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. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.