The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Sixers-Heat, Embiid, MVP

Episode Date: May 11, 2022

Joy Taylor in for Colin   Joy discusses the Sixers blowout loss to the Heat Did Joel Embiid not winning MVP affect his play? Embiid should have been the MVPGuest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Welcome to the herd. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd all week. He is exploring Italy. He's just in Rome. He's in Tuscany earlier this week. So he's having a great vacation. I'm alongside Alex Curry all week here on the herd. How are you doing this morning, Alex?

I'm doing fabulous. I just got to say whatever voodoo magic you have working in Miami went full on last night for the heat. Oh, there's some magic. There's some magic going on in the magic city. now. Don't you worry about that. Oh, I saw it. They don't call it Magic City for nothing. Yes, there's a little

culture, too. Miami's got some magic, got a little culture. It's working out in our favor. Now, I did say yesterday, I did say Miami Harden, it's a little different than Philly Harden. A little extra stuff going on. A lot of stuff to do.

You know, down south. All jokes aside, it really seems to be what's happening. That was brutal. It was, yes, it was, it was something. That was a lot of points that the Heat scored that the Sixers did not. And I'm not going to say that I hated watching it because generally blowouts are pretty boring. And it wasn't great for the rest of the NBA, but for Heat fans, we quite enjoy a blowout.

Look when it's your team, you're like, a blowout is really fun. Yeah. Every shot is still exciting. But for everyone else, that was a rough watch. So we will get to that. We'll have Nick Wright, Melissa, Roller. in Fox Sports NBA reporter, discuss all of that with both of them as well.

And Jonathan Vilma will join us in studio later. And the NFL schedule release is starting to trickle out. We have a big game here, lots of big games here on Fox, but one in particular that we found out about that we will discuss. But let's start with, it's not South Beach, it's downtown Miami that the Miami Heat played. So let's start in downtown Miami, where the heats made some work of the Sixers last night.

12085. Obviously, I could sit here and gloat about the heat all day, but we know that they're a good team, well-coached, well-run, shoot from three, saw Duncan Robinson sighting, and, you know, they play good defense. But let's not talk about the heat right now. We can talk about James Hardin. Because after that win over the heat, we all kind of maybe got a little bit excited. And it was something to be excited about. James Hardin is an exciting player. He's one of the greatest offensive players in in NBA history to see a performance like that from him in Philadelphia, to feel the excitement of the Sixers fans, to see that fire in his eyes again,

even at the demise of the heat, was fun to watch because you can enjoy a great basketball player having a moment. But it might just be that. Overall, that game for the Sixers was brutal last night. And we'll get to that in just a minute. But focusing on James Hardin, it does appear at this point that we have a solid book on what James Hardin is, which is a really talented score,

had a five-year stretch where he averaged 32 points a game, kind of took advantage of the rules, which I have no problem with. If you are a player whose skill leans into getting to the free throw line and getting calls, do that. The problem is you're not going to get those calls in the postseason. And that's where things shift for James Harden. I felt like James Harden, out of everyone in the postseason, had the most pressure on him. You can talk about the Nets. I didn't think the Nets had really any pressure on them.

I had no expectations for the Nets in this postseason. Janus has already proven himself. Who else really had anything to prove in this postseason? What was the team that made a big move during the season to get the star? Well, that was the Sixers. And James Hardin has now forced his way out of two teams in the last two years. and it seems again that we were at a place where it doesn't really fit. Now, obviously the series is not over, so maybe all of this is premature.

But if you look at his performances throughout this series, he has had one standout performance, and his second half performances, which you would mostly call important and or clutch time, he has been mostly brutal outside of game four, where he had 18. Game one for our radio audience, four points, no threes. Game two, four points, no threes. Game three, two points, no threes in the second half.

Game four, obviously, huge performance. And game five last night, four points in the second half went one for three from the three-point line. And that's kind of what James Harden is. in the postseason. Now, had he been playing at an extreme level during the regular season, then maybe this would be particularly surprising. But this is why we were having the conversation about if James Harden is washed. I don't necessarily believe he is, but I also don't think we can call him a winner at this point. He is a great regular season player who puts up a ton of points, who does get his team to the postseason, and then burns out. He's made it pass the second

round in eight of his 12 playoff appearances. He's went to the finals once. Obviously, that was with OKC a million years ago. He's just an example of a high-use player that's awesome during the regular season and can't sustain it in the playoffs. And at this point, 13 years in, is there another level that he can get to? I don't know if there is. And I think it's fair to question that at this point. He's the second star. You can't have effort be the issue. Joelle Embed in this particular situation, which I'll get to in a moment, is not my question when it comes to the Sixers. If you force your way out of two teams, if you come into the Sixers with the expectations that James Hardin should have as a superstar that he is, you should be

more consistent with your performances. We have a pretty big sample size of his performances, not just with the Sixers, but in his career, in clutch time, and in the playoffs. It's not what it needs to be for a superstar level player. And you can talk about how things went overall as a team, and we will. But James Hardin needed to be the juice last night. And not only was he not the juice, he was not good. And that is a desperate situation for the Sixers. Now, transitioning to the other side of things, Joelle Embed.

Obviously, I've said over and over again, I think Joelle Embed is the MVP of the league, but last night was a brutal performance for the Sixers, not just because they couldn't shoot, not because they were trying and things weren't falling, and things just started to spiral or the heat shot some obscene amount of threes or anything like that. It really just was no effort. There was nothing there. They were giving me nothing. And how does that happen with a great team in the playoffs,

a team of professionals? You just have no energy and no effort. Well, they talked about it on TNT. Here is Charles Barkley. Joel was so distracted by his MVP stuff. He came out with no energy, distracted, and the rest of the team followed. I'm wondering if there's more than that.

No. I'm wondering if he's aching? Yeah. All that. It's just very good the last two games. He played okay. Yeah, yeah. He played well. He played, he played...

Okay, look, he's coming off a concussion. He got hit in the face tonight. I don't know. He was distracted. The other players, you know, because they're going to follow him, just like they did in Philly when they won the last few games. And he was out,

he was just out of it. And, man, I feel bad because he's a great kid. But sometimes things happen to bother you. Now, I respectfully disagree. I don't think Joel Embed is upset about not winning the MVP. I think he has a broken face and a torn ligament in his thumb. He is scraping himself up and dragging up and down the floor, giving everything that he has for this team that he is the leader of.

But if Joelle Embed is a little down on the energy side, I'm not going to really lay that at Joelle Embed's feet at this point. You have James Harden. Doc Rivers needs to be held accountable in this situation. Someone else has to step up. I mean, Joelle is giving everything he has. I don't think he's thinking about the MVP at all. How long ago was that?

I don't even really want to keep talking about the MVP, but here we are. And here's Joelle and Bede talking about missing out on the MVP. This is something that I knew, you know, weeks ago. You know, even probably two weeks before the season, ended, you know, after those games against what it was against Denver and Milwaukee. And, you know, when he did, it's trouble or whatever.

I just knew it wasn't going to happen then. I'm not mad. No, that's two years in a row. You know, I put myself in that position. It didn't happen. You know, it's almost like at this point is whatever, whatever happens, happens. Duell Embed is not giving low energy because of the MVP. He has a broken face.

He had a light concussion and light sensitivity. It couldn't get out of bed for a week. week. His face is broken and he got hit again. I have never had a broken face, but I imagine it is quite painful. And I get it. You're supposed to play through injuries in the playoffs, but I do think you deserve a little bit of respect when you're falling apart. You are an MVP candidate and your second biggest star, the guy who was supposed to lift the team up when you are down, is giving zero energy and not performing at the level that he is expected to. I'm not putting it. this on Joelle Embed. He's giving everything he can. He's not distracted because of the MVP.

Who cares about an MVP right now? Where is the MVP? Not in the playoffs. That's not where he is. So why would Joelle Embedd care about that? If anything, Joelle Embed would want to be playing better than he is to prove to the voters that he was actually the MVP and that they got it wrong, which I actually think that he is. They were down O2. They needed him. And as banged up as he is, him being on the floor banged up is better than the next option. So what happened last night I am not putting at the feet of Joelle Embed, who I have the utmost respect for. And being out there in the condition that he is in just shows the effort that he's giving for this Sixers team.

And last night was just an overall, it was an overall dud. Again, I don't know why you need extra motivation to get up for a playoff game. But whatever happens with that Sixers team, last night, I'm not going to put it on Joelle Embed, even though he is the leader of the team. Someone else has to step up. That's what championship teams are about. People stepping up in big moments, role players, your other stars, your coach making adjustments to stop the freight train that is in Miami Heat so that you don't get blown out in a playoff game like that. So we'll see how things go the rest of this series, but I'm going to say I didn't warn you about Miami James

Harden. We've got a fun rest of the show today, Joy Taylor, and Alex Curry in for Colin Coward all week. We'll talk to Nick Wright in just a few minutes and get to Alex Curry with the news. But coming up next, the NFL schedule starting to leak out. We're starting to see the matchups. The full release is Thursday night at 8 Eastern, but we are very excited about this particular matchup, and we will talk about that next on the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what y'all 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 and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

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. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple. podcasts or wherever you get your 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. We don't know when we've done enough.

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

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now yeah you know that tune that means the best NFL games on fox all season long in 2022 and in week 10 dac prescott and that scintillating cowboys

offense head to lamo to take on reigning nvp erin rogers and the packers it goes down Sunday, November 13th on Fox. Football. Here we go. Very exciting. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd here on the herd. Thank you guys so much for joining us today alongside Alex Curry. As you just heard, we've got a matchup.

November 13th, Week 10, Cowboys at the Packers. I'm very, very excited for this. I can't wait for the full schedule release. but this game, this game is going to be something. So it'll be Mike McCarthy's return to Lambo. It'll probably be the most swatch game of the year. And both of these teams have a tremendous amount to prove. These quarterbacks both lost a lot this offseason.

Obviously Dallas losing Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson, Lyle Collins, Randy Gregory, Connor Williams. So what is that going to do? How is he going to adjust without his number one target in Amari Cooper? That'll be a storyline all season long. And of course, Devante Adams has no longer. longer in Green Bay. Neither is Marquez Valde's scandling or Zedaria Smith. He also lost

the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach did Aaron Rogers, who had the noisiest year maybe in NFL history and lost at home as an MVP in a number one seed to a wildcard team. So both of these teams, and Dallas' season didn't end any prettier. So both of these teams

have a lot to prove this year. They are going to be playing on fire and I expect this game to be very high stakes. two great brands. So I'm very excited for this matchup and for the rest of the schedule release, which will be Thursday night tomorrow at 8 Eastern on FS1 and NFL Network. But the biggest matchups, obviously, always here on Fox.

And this one is going to be one that you circle on the calendar when we get that release tomorrow. Let's get to Alex Curry with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, the suns bounce back from two straight losses in Dallas with a huge win over the Mavs in game five. Devin Booker led the way for Phoenix with 28 points in a lopsided 110 to 80 victory. The game was close at half, but the Sons pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Mavs

33 to 14 and never gave up the lead. The home team has won every game in this series, but the Sons will have a chance to close it out back in Dallas in game six on Thursday. Now, my biggest takeaway from last night is this just further proved that the Sun. have not only the better team, but a complete team. Because even when one of your top guys, like Chris Paul, isn't having a great night. He had seven points with 10 assists.

The rest of the team picks up the slack, and they have a complete blowout win. And then you look at Luca. He's great. But he had no one, no help. And you're not going to be able to win a championship like that. No, I mean, that's been the question with the Mavs. I mean, we just talked about this with the Sixers.

is somebody else going to be able to step up. I think the Mavs are in a little bit of a different situation. They should have more help. They should have more consistency. But there's still a young team. And Luca has the ball in his hands a lot. So they need to find a balance. Luca needs to find a balance and rely on his teammates a little bit more.

Now, obviously, you're a superstar. If things aren't falling for your teammates, you're going to want to take over, but not when you're playing a team like the Sons who have the capacity to do what you watched last night. And look, maybe they're just in two different phases as an organization. But to your point, home team has won every game in this series. And that game in Dallas is going to be a loud, rowdy one because they want this to go seven

and, you know, have an opportunity to move on to the next round. So that's going to be a really, really good game Thursday night. And each of the Sun's four series wins over the last two post seasons have been clinched on the road. No, they're not scared. Just throwing that out there. No, they're not scared. And they have what it takes. They have what it takes. One person's down. The next one steps up.

All right, let's move on to Kyrie Irving, who continues to fuel the fire in his feud with Celtic fans. While he was playing Grand Theft Auto on a Twitch stream this week, some viewers chimed in with pro Celtics comments, and Kyrie took the opportunity to respond with another shot at the Boston fan base. Take a listen. There's about so long y'all can say the same jokes. Oh, Carrie, what are you doing at home? That's how y'all sound to me. Oh, you're doing it at home. You going to Cancun? Where are you? Are you at home?

Oh, Kyri, you suck. What are you doing? Oh, my God. Go back to Cleveland. My good. Boston hates you. Oh, my good. That's how y'all sound to me, cockroaches. Okay, so first of all, this sounded like a passive, aggressive therapy session to me. And this is where live streaming is hilarious, but also can be very dangerous if you're a professional athlete or a public figure. anything and everything that you do or say will be recorded and will be used to talk about or used against you. You are a star athlete making millions of dollars living out your dream. Why are you letting

these trolls, whatever you want to call them, get to you? Why are you responding? The moment you respond, you are giving them exactly what they want. This is what they want. They are poking you. They are poking the bear just to get that one reaction. And there you go. You gave it to them. You gave them reaction. So I get this a lot as well, this question of like, why do you respond to trolls or why do you give them the time? And I know you get this. So I know that you are, so this can be your opinion, because you do get trolled as well. Generally, people that ask me this do not deal with trolls at all. Or as Kyrie so eloquently put it, cockroaches, which they are. Trolls, cockroaches, whatever it is. They're the vermin of the earth. They're the vermin of the internet. And for me,

I don't get bothered by what people say. Like, I don't care. You know this, you know me. Yeah. I am not concerned about the opinion of cockroaches. It's not how I live my life. If I wouldn't ask for your advice, I don't care about your opinion.

I don't have that in me. I also am fully firmly aware that none of this would ever be said to my face. And while a lot of people like to live their entire lives on the internet, I actually have a life. So I believe in face-to-face interaction and real communication, which these people would never do.

So in this instance, I actually side with Kyrie. I'm with you. Live streaming can be a very dangerous thing, especially if you're not used to being live. Like, we prepare to be live on this show. This is why I never go live on social media. I very rarely go live. I know what can happen.

And when I do go live, it's planned. It's still planned. It's still planned. I'm not like chilling on my couch watching something. No, it is a controlled environment. Correct. But in this particular situation, I would side with Kyrie. Honestly, get some new jokes, y'all.

I mean, I have, Kyrie is fully in the space that he can be critiqued right now. There's a lot of criticism that has been levied his way and it's fair. But get some new jokes. And also, who's winning here? You're sitting around watching Kyrie Irving play video games. Kairi is the one winning here. Like, let's be serious. That's how you're spending your time as a person.

So, like, respectfully, I can't really side with the cockroaches here. I just don't give them the time of day. I'm opposite on this one. I'm like, the moment you give them that satisfaction, I feel like they won. I'm a big South Park fan. And they did a whole episode on trolls. And they literally live in these little dungeons. And it's the only image I have in my head of, like, what an internet troll looks like.

They're like these like little witches. Yeah, a little, you know. So that's, I don't, not worth my time. If you're going to be a sad, sad person, I don't have bandwidth for you. And I just leave that out of sight out of mind. Person is a compliment for these beings. Okay. I feel that.

Yeah, trolls. That's why you call them trolls. Okay. Moving on. Many college coaches have expressed their unhappiness with the way the NIL has been going so far. There have been significant outcry for more regulations surrounding the NIL deals. But Notre Dame basketball coach, Mike Bray, has a different view on the situation and thinks it's time to accept the changes to college athletes. He said, coaches have to stop complaining. This is the world

we are in. The last time I checked, we make pretty good money. So everybody should shut up and adjust. When I read this last night, I stood up in my living room while watching the game and just like gave like a full like standing ovation because complaining is never going to get you anywhere in life. You either take action immediately, figure out a way, get a group together and figure out a solution or figure out a way to start dealing with it. It's here. It's happening. As he said, you guys are making great money too. We've been talking about this ever since it came out. These athletes deserve to make money. Yes, there needs to be regulations. Yes, it's a little bit of the Wild West right now. But at this point, at this point in this moment right now,

if you're not going to take action and figure out a way to fix it, figure out a way to adjust to it. There's two different kinds of people. There's solution-oriented people. and then there's people that complain. Yeah. And you can change at any moments. You don't have to stay in that box. And different circumstances may just provide for you just being a complainer. And certain circumstances, you are a take action person.

I could not agree with him more. I'm so relieved that someone just came out and said it. Stop whining about it. Oh, my God. It's just a complaining. And you can't even define what the problem is. And you're not even talking about it. in its entirety.

All I hear is everyone talking about college football. How many other sports are there? How many other athletes are there? You're not even going to mention, of course. I mean, God forbid you consider the fact that female athletes are benefiting from this, but I'll excuse the fact that you forgot we exist. It's obnoxious. You don't even have a, define the problem.

The problem is what? Parity? You're going to have a conversation with me about parity in college sports. I have lots of other things to do today. Talk to your mama about it. I'm busy. You want to talk about young people? I'm not calling them kids.

They're not kids. They're not kids. They are kids to us. They are adults. They are 18 years old. They are adults. They can go to war. They can buy a home.

They can open a bank account. They can start a business. They are 18-year-old adults. You have a problem with people making money. Are you an American? All I hear about is how I'm not American. Every day, I'm a communist. But all of a sudden, you guys want to redistribute wealth when it's convenient for you.

Make up your mind. Thank you, Mike. So do your job. job. Exactly. Why? But you're at an education institution. Why not get these kids financial advisors?

Let that be a part of it. So you're teaching them how to properly manage their money. So we don't get to these 30 by 30s where you're hearing all the athletes who lose all their money. Start them young. You are an education. This is what you do. There are systems in place that much prefer to be in place forever in order to keep certain

demographics of people in places in society where they would prefer they stay. and if more opportunities are offered to more people, particularly minorities or women, then some of these, some of these playing fields might be leveled to a space that would make things fair for everyone. And God forbid that happens, because then you might find out how excellent people are because they've been preparing for that moment. That might be a slight part of it too. Just saying. Just saying. That's Alex Curry with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. All right, perfect time to bring my friend Nick Wright on. Nick Wright's First Things First. And What's Right with Nick Wright Podcasts? Nick, I'm being very preachy today. I apologize. Oh, that's okay. No problem.

Sometimes people need it. You know, I haven't been to church in 14 years. So, you know, sometimes you sit down in front of the TV and it's like, hey, time for a good sermon. I'm with you, Joy. Actually, I'll be honest, I didn't hear the very beginning of the show. So you might have said some really crazy things that I don't co-sign, but I assume. I agree with you. You and I usually agree on this stuff, so yeah, I'm with you. I do have some

things I definitely disagree with you, but not strongly. It's like a soft disagree. Don't be wrong. Well, I'll start with Hardin last night, obviously. So I even though it was to the demise of my heat, I enjoyed watching James Harden, be old James

Harden again. I liked seeing the excitement. You know, it was fun to watch as a basketball fan. I can take away my heat fandom for a moment, because I think they'll win the series anyway. And I anticipated that James Hardin would be Miami James Hardin, which as we know is a different environment than Philadelphia. But were you surprised that James Hardin reverted back to what he's been for the rest of the series last night? I mean, I was surprised it was as bad as it was for Hardin and the Sixers as a whole.

Yeah, we can no longer rely on James Hardin scoring 25 points, much less 35 points. I mean, once upon a time, James Hardin had a streak of more than 30 consecutive games of 30 plus points. This is a guy who 23 times in his career has scored 50, four times has scored 60. And now if he gets half of that, we're like, wow, what a game. I also thought the commentary during game four was a little insulting if you're James. Everyone kept talking about him turning back the clock like he was Tim Duncan in 2000. I'm sorry, like he was David Robinson in 2002 as opposed to a guy who should be at the tail end of his prime.

I'll tell you what did bother me yesterday, Joy, and I don't want to hijack it. in case you were going to ask about it, but I'll just take us there. I didn't like that folks were, and Barclay, who I adore, they got it started, saying that Embed was distracted by not winning MVP. Embed knew he didn't win MVP weeks ago when all of us knew, Yokic won, thanks to that straw poll Timbontim instead of actual voters. Embed is acutely media savvy and aware. He knew he didn't win it.

It's like we give guys credit for playing through injury for a moment, And then 24 hours later we forget he has a concussion, a broken face and a torn up wrist, and maybe that's why he wasn't great yesterday, especially after getting hit in the face. Like so, I didn't expect Harden to be great. I did think Joy Philly would win the series once Embed came back because I thought Miami has no answer for him. But they have an answer for the version of Embed that we saw last night. But I thought that was because he was physically compromised, not mentally somewhere else because he was upset. that for the second straight year, MVP voters got it so egregiously grossly and ridiculously wrong.

I couldn't agree more, so no need to even recap it. I agree with everything you just said, and I said it earlier. It's not a Joelle and Bede's fault. He cares so much about winning. He's dragging himself up and down that court. I am not laying that loss at the feet of Juelan Bid. Can I ask you something about that? Yeah.

And you said he cares so much about winning. We saw the man cry after the Quai Leonard play. And I understand Embed's never been to a conference. finals, let alone a finals. He doesn't have a long resume of great postseason accomplishments. But I feel like he should have the benefit of the doubt that this guy cares. And it frustrates me when guys track records get so quickly forgotten or pushed aside because of a momentary either issue or just in this case, it was just a hypothesis. There is nothing in Joel and Beade's basketball character that should lead us to believe.

that in game five of a playoff series, his mind is somewhere else. And it bothers me when guys build up, you know, a sweat equity, if you will, of playing the right way and competing, and then it's just forgotten. So I think you put it perfectly. There is nothing that have led us to believe he wasn't all in last night. He's just physically compromised, and your damn Miami Heat have a great defense. Like those things all played into fact last night. 100%.

So Luca is your, what is he, your estranged Slovenian son? What is it? Estranged? No. How dare you? Large adult, so you guys still have a relationship. That's important. People say, Joy, people say Luke is too old to be my son.

You've met one of my 23-year-old sons. He hosts the podcast with me. The idea that I couldn't have a 23-year-old Slovenian son as well, Joy Taylor, what do we say? Families come in order in shapes and sizes. He's my large adult, Savinian son. ahead. No, it's absolutely. That's, you know, that's how it goes. I think people think that we are younger than we are, which is a compliment us. We're actually, we're actually quite old. But Well, certainly you, Joy. Yeah, I don't know about me. I'm aging in dog years these days,

but go ahead. Sorry, get to the point. Well, Luca, I love watching Luca. And he's, he's one of the most fascinating players in the NBA to me because he just cannot be moved off of his speed. He's just going to do everything at the speed he wants to do it. And there's nothing you can do about it. And he's a tremendous player, but he needs more. And the sons are a complete team, and they're going to do what they did last night. Now, every, you know, obviously the home team has won every single game. And I think this next game is going to be a tremendous, tremendous game. But we were kind of losing our minds a little bit about the Mavs, and now it's sort of settled down. That's how it goes in these series. This one's losing. This one's winning. What do the Mavs

actually need to do to win this series? Because the Sons are not afraid to go on the road and win a game. So I think, that's correct. I think, however, I think if the Suns win game 6, they win the series. Because I think that the amount of pressure that is going to be on Phoenix in a game 7, for Chris Paul, this is, I believe, his last shot to win a title. And he has, it's, well, let me put it like this. He will never have a better shot than right now to win a title. Last year, up 2 in the finals on a team with Yonis coming off an injury, they lose 4 straight.

This year, the jaw is now out. The Warriors, to me, look shaky. We don't know who's going to come out of the East. They are the best record, the best team, home court. They're healthy now with Booker back. They should win, right? If they lose game six, and I think they will. Chris Paul's got to be feeling like, you got to be kidding.

And Chris Paul's been shaky the last few games. And Devin Booker keeps upping the ante on how much venom will be coming for him if they lose. The nonsense he pulled last night, Joy, on the Luca thing. And I love CP3. But you're going to talk about somebody flopping or faking getting hit in the face when your teammate is Chris Paul? You're going to do that, Devin Booker? Like that, and so if Luca wins the next two games,

and the one thing the Mavs do have is the best player in the series, by far, that little show Devin Booker did last night is going to, is going to follow him a bit. To answer your question directly, what do they have to do? In game six, they need their, you know, Reggie Bullock, don't go over five. Spencer Dinwiddie show up to one game this series. The role players have to help in game six at home. And then in game seven, they'll simply need an all-time great performance by Luca Donchage.

He will have to go 40 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists in a game seven on the road, and I think he can do it. But game six, they need the role players to step up. So you have a Nick's club superstar. We are both party people. So this sounds like a fun club. Yeah. You mentioned Devin Booker, who I don't understand why you have a beef with him. But I don't have a problem with this club's, you know, the list to get in the club.

I generally don't like to go to places that have lists. It's a lot for me. I'm more of a dive bar girl. But occasionally I will attend something that you have to be on a list for. to lie. It's not true. What a lie? Why are you going to lie to America, Joy Taylor? Because I do also, I do also enjoy a dive bar. I've gone out with Alex. We don't go to bougie places. We also don't discriminate against places you go out to. You know, if it's a fun

time, we're going to have a good time. But yes, we'd like to have a conversation. You want to be able to hear the person you're talking to. Have a good point. Don't tell, don't tell my business, Nick. Don't tell on my business. We're talking about Club Superstar right now. Listen, Dr. Joy Taylor, I'm not going to talk anybody's business. I'm saying, I'm simply going to say the idea that Dr. Joy Taylor doesn't show up to a place, walk right to the front of the velvet rope and say

my name's right there, excuse me? That's nonsense. That absolutely Now you might also go to Dollar Papsed on Tap Night occasionally, but let's not pretend that the other doesn't happen. Now, if you would like to talk Club Superstar we can, the rules for Club Superstar

are one in, one out. If you think Devin Booker should, I just let Jason Tatum in. I had to kick out poor Anthony Davis. He got kicked out. That's fair. So it's Jai Janus LeBron, Dame Kauier up there. You have Embed, Steph, KD, CP3, Luca, Yokic.

Yokic is kind of sad in the MVP room all by himself, but he has his trophies to keep him company. And Tatum just got in. It is a 12th person, fire code maximum. There's the most people we can have. So if you want to put in Devin Booker, I am putting it on you. Who are you kicking out? Okay. So I...

Can't have more than 12. We're not making exceptions. I like the limit on the club. You know, very exclusive club. It should be an exclusive club for superstars. I'm 100% with you on Anthony Davis being kicked out. But kind of in the same space as Anthony Davis, I feel like, and I adore Kawhi Leonard. We have not seen him play basketball in quite some time. So I feel like that's arguable. At this point, I do think he has some things to prove after not playing basketball for quite some time. And I love Kauai. But I would actually argue that Booker should be in before Tatum. Booker's played in the finals. Tatum hasn't taken his team to a finals.

So I would argue that he should be in because of that. I'm not outraged at any of this. Okay. No, it's all fair. Kauai and Dame, because they were such long, well-spending, well-behaving patrons of Club Superstar were giving them a one-year amnesty. They both were excellent in last year's postseason. Kauai was great in the playoffs last year, and then he tore his ACL. Dame was dropping 50 points in the playoffs last year, or 40-plus points, and then he had a tough year,

due to injury. So they have to earn their keep next season, but we're giving them one of your amnesty. Tatum versus Booker is an interesting one. I think Tatum is a better defensive player. Booker has been to NBA finals. Tatum, on the other hand, has been to the conference finals three times,

and Tatum's never been on terrible teams. Booker was the centerpiece of terrible teams every year until Chris Paul walked into his life. Now, the question I think is going to be, If the Sons make the finals this year, will Tateham, I'm sorry, will Booker get in above someone like Dame or does CP3 walkout? Is Booker at this point the best player on the Sons? You're still going to keep Tatum in if Booker goes to the finals again? Tatum's earned his way in.

Well, you can't just let Tatum in and then immediately make him leave. No one will want to come to the club. Let you in and then be like, no, you got to leave. He just got it in 10 minutes ago. He outplayed Kevin Durant in a playoff series. Sometimes you act to fool when you got to get kicked out. Listen, the whole genesis, I got to tell you this much right now. I'm like you, Joy, I'm not that worried about Twitter attacks.

However, the whole genesis of Club Superstar was folks that I was too hard on Jason Tatum because I wouldn't name him a superstar. I had a whole painting commissioned to honor Jason Tatum. I'm not immediately going to kick him out. He outplayed Kevin Durant in a playoff series. He's playing I-Dy with Janus right now. He's earned his way in. Jason Tatum, congrats.

You're one of the 12 best players in basketball currently. He's earned his way in. turns his way in, we'll see. Not sure who's going to leave, though. I got to say, Nick, I never thought that you, of all people, would succumb to peer pressure from Twitter. You, Nick Wright. It's not pure pressure. Being influenced by the Twitter cockroaches. I've got George Carl calling me ugly.

I got Kevin Durant calling my takes trash. I got a lot. I got the whole New England area attacking me. You got to go on with the city of Denver. It's a lot, Joy. It's a lot. Sometimes it's need a break. It's fair. I hear you. There's at least one entire city mad at me per day, so I hear you. Thanks for coming on, Nick. I've got obviously check out first things first and what's right with Nick Wright, his new podcast, excellent podcast. Appreciate you, Nick. All right. Love you guys. See you. Bye.

That's Nick Wright. So he had a lot to say about the MVP on his show, and so did I. And Doc Rivers spoke about the MVP, which obviously his star player, Joelle M.B. did not win. and I actually agree with Doc and his criticism of the voting. That's next on The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines,

accurate stats to help you win big at the sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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 lot. a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the fourth. 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 ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out. on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point,

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. 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 Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we

get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross.

Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure,

and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Welcome back to the herd. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd all week. The Sixers lost very badly. Very badly. It's my heat last night.

but I still think that Joelle Embed was the league MVP, and I will die on this hill. And Doc Rivers, the coach of Dewelle Embed, spoke about the MVP and talked about how it's really become a stat award. And he said, I do think the whole analytic-driven society world is out of control at times with some of the measures that they use. Like, watch the dang game and decide is what I've always said. But at the end of the day, if Joelle had won, which I thought he should have.

it would have been criticism that way. If Yannis had won, only one guy could win, unfortunately. I agree with him. I think that he also said, I don't know if I could have done more than he did this year with the second best player all year. The resume was great. It was Joel Embed's award for multiple reasons. One, he overcame things this year just like Yokic did.

Two, which I understand it's a regular season award, but I can't unwatch what I'm watching in the playoffs. And he is obviously extremely valuable to his team, even when he is not playing at the highest level, because you have to account for him on the court. And where I agree with Doc is you can't become a prisoner of the analytics and the stats. Yoko had an incredible MVP level season. No one is arguing that.

What I am arguing is the criteria of what an MVP is. And my fear is that because of the way that this award has been, given out lately and the fact that they give it out in the postseason after we're already seeing all these greats perform with their teams in adversity, rising and falling. I can't unsee that. I can't account for what matters most, what matters in the postseason, what matters about winning and legacy. I can't just ignore that.

So when you talk about statistics, if you're just giving the award to Yokic because he had a better statistical season than he did last year when he won the MVP. then you are a prisoner to the statistics forever. Then it is a statistic award and we don't need to discuss it. It's whoever's going to have the best statistical season. Because it's not the best team. He was a six seed. It's not the best player on the best team.

It would always go to LeBron. So what is the criteria for the word valuable? It's constantly changing. It's very convenience. And Embed talked about that and the MVP and how the media opinions can sway the vote. But obviously, congrats to Nicola, you know, he deserved it. They had an amazing season. You know, there's no right of all.

You know, there's a lot of candidates. It could have gone either way. Mayanis, you know, Devin, Booker, you know, being on the best team in the league by fall. So I guess every year is all about, you know, whatever you guys decide, whatever fits the narrative. as far as, you know, who's going to win. He's right. He's right. It's a narrative award. And when they wanted to be about statistics, it's about statistics.

When they wanted to be about an all-time historic run, it's about that. When they wanted to be about the best player on the best team, it's about that. So I don't know how I'm supposed to care as a viewer about who wins the MVP. Because if you change it to be convenient for whatever argument you want from year to year, how am I supposed to know who's having an MVP level season? And there is something to actually watching the game, as Doc said. Yes, analytics are important, but you actually have to watch the game. What am I seeing?

How is this going to translate moving forward? How is it going to translate to winning? What does he actually bring from a value perspective? And give it out as soon as the regular season's over. If it's a regular season award, I don't want to hear about it in the postseason. It completely dilutes the award. You don't want to take away from what winning an MVP is. Melissa Rowland, in studio, Fox Sports,

NBA reporter. That's next. We'll discuss that with her as well. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.