The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - The Knicks can win this

Episode Date: May 30, 2025

Jason McIntyre fills in for Colin after the Knicks extended their series against the Pacers following a game 5 win and JMac explains why he thinks New York can still win the series He strongly defends Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts from recent criticism   Guest: Ian BegleySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hello and welcome to the herd. A beautiful Friday because the Knit's won last night, baby. It's me, Jason McIntyre in on a Friday for traveling Colin Cowherd. He's, I don't know if I can say parts unknown. I think he's going to be posting on IG later. I'm joined by Alex Curry. Alex, not only do we have a great Thursday with the Knicks winning, but we have Yankees Dodgers this weekend. I love when you get a good slate of games, but you're the first person I thought about last night.

I was like, what an awesome Friday show it's going to be. J-Max Knicks, fight to live and see another day. It's exciting. Listen, I got to say, I'm excited. I'm going to a Yankees Dodgers game this weekend. My first one was able to secure some tickets. I can't really say. I don't need everybody coming up to me at the game.

Let them know where you're going to be. By the way, I went to a Kendrick Lamar concert. Good for you. Last weekend with the fam. And there were some herd fans who were like, Jay Mack! Yeah. And I was like, oh, boy. He's a family friend.

You obviously are close. I won't reveal all that stuff. But anyways, life is good out here in LA. Life is good if you're a Knicks fan, folks. We have a series once again. Nicks get the win at home at the garden last night. Pretty convincing, wire to wire. I don't want to overreact, but I think they're actually back in the series.

Okay? They dominated last night. I don't think there was one tense moment in the second half. I don't even know if it got to single digits. I know there's going to be a lot of basic analysis out there today. Hey, the Pacers didn't really try. They had game six at home so you could see they were lethargic. Uh-uh, uh-uh.

You have to watch the game closely, guys, and the Knicks actually made some adjustments. Tom Tibido, thank you for making changes. I mean, it's small things. Like Tyrese Halliburton had an awful game, and we'll get to him later. but it wasn't just he played poorly or he wasn't locked in. The Knicks made adjustments. Again, it's a small thing, but they picked him up full court.

You know, as a guy who plays in men's leagues, you've got to pick up full court. Point guards hate that. Tyrese Halliburton struggled against the full court pressure. Only ended up taking seven shots. And the Knicks defense was so good for the first time in the entire series, guys. The Knicks won the turnover battle. Yes, they forced the Pacers into more turnovers than the Knicks committed. and it really helped the next offense.

Obviously, Jalen Brunson was phenomenal. Carl Anthony Towns was excellent. And listen, I think this is series back on. A lot of people are saying, oh, the Pacers got it. I was mildly surprised to see the Pacers are three and a half point favorites for game six Saturday night. But the biggest change I saw was Jalen Brunson. Defensively, Jalen Brunson heard all your criticisms, heard all your, oh, Halliburton's better now. Yeah, he's better.

No, no, let's just take a deep breath. It was one game. Jalen Brunson was locked in defensively. Here he is after the game, talking about the dub. I mean, I brachshunds against the wall, and so I wasn't thinking I need to play better than him. I was just thinking I need to help my team win. And that's my mind's every time when the court, just help my team win.

Folks, I got a mind-blowing stat for you. So in games one through four, the Pacers picked on Jalen Brunson, literally. Give me him, I want him in the pick and roll, and they attacked him. according to some stats, the Pacers were 68% from the field, 68% when Brunson was the primary defender in games 1 through 4. So what happened in game 5? Brunson fighting through screens, locked in, getting down. Pacer shot 3 for 14 with Brunson as the primary defender. That's 21% for you math majors out there.

Just a phenomenal performance at both ends from Brunson. Offensively carried him. Carlenthic Towns obviously was excellent. and specifically Brunson went at Halliburton. I don't know if you guys noticed. They started attacking Halliburton in the pick and roll, and Halliburton struggled. Coming off a one of the games that were,

they're calling it one of the best performances ever, where Halliburton had 30, 15, and 10 with no turnovers. Halliburton had eight points. And, you know, we'll go after him later. We'll take some jabs at Halliburton later on. But here he is after the game talking about his lack of intensity and the Pacers kind of getting rolled. We're a resilient group.

You know, we always want to respond when things don't go well. You know, after a game like that, we understand what the stakes are, and we understand the conversation, what it will be around our group. But, you know, we're fine. We're fine. There's no need to panic or anything. We're fine. We'll see.

A lot of people already like the Pacers to win game six. I told you the spread's three and a half. I do want to point out two things. Number one, for the first time this year or last year, the pressure is on Indiana. Okay, last year the Knicks got injured in the series despite being up three, two. Now the Pacers, pressure's on them, folks, and they have not felt this pressure before. They've got to win this game. You don't want to have to go back to the garden.

And for those that are saying, oh, trust me, Jay, Pacers weren't locked in. They didn't care they were going home for game six. Look at the last round. Okay? They had to go back to Cleveland. on the road game five and they smashed the calves in a let's end the series so i don't want to hear this they didn't lay down or they laid down because they had game six and the other point is so nine years ago this weekend i moved my family across the country for this job here at fox

uh it's been fun we're having a lot we're having a blast but something else happened nine years ago this week and that was golden state lead uh trailing okay c three one you remember okay c was up 3-1, they go to Golden State for game 5. They lose. It was similar, not quite wire-to-wire, but Golden State controlled that game. So then they had game six in OKC. All right, do you guys remember this game? Nine years ago, Clay Thompson special hit 11-3s, 41 points, and the Warriors erased the 3-1 deficit, end up winning in 7. My question to the Knicks, who is Clay Thompson Saturday night in Indiana? Somebody's got to blow up. We know what Brunson's going to get his. going to be bridges? Is it going to be Carl Anthony Towns? O.G. and an OB. Are you going to be the guy

that shows up? Someone has to erupt. They're going to need a volcanic performance from someone to take down the pacer Saturday. I like the Knicks in that one. All right, let's shift topics and go to my favorite team in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yes, I know. Jay, you've been banging on them all season. You've been calling SGA the free throw merchant. Can you put some respect on okayc's name. And I will. But first, I've got to give a quick shout out to a former NBA player who I thought I saw one of the hottest takes I've seen on OKC. And that's courtesy of Jeff Teague, former Indiana Pacers point card who played in Minnesota and a couple other stops. He has a podcast and he went on raving about SGA and the midrange and get this, saving the NBA.

I think SGA saved the NBA. Oh, that's what I'm saying. I'm not saying because of how he performed. But the way he played, he saved the NBA because the NBA is a copycat lead, and he perfected the mid-range game, right? That's a fact. So he brought back the ability to be able to shoot mid-range shots. I got crucified in Minnesota for just wanting to shoot a mid-range shot if it wasn't a three-year-old layer for analytics.

And him being the MVP and his go-to shot is a mid-range shot. He literally just saved the NBA. All right, listen, I got to give my guy's credit here. A couple producers sent me that yesterday. I was like, damn, that's a good take. I don't think it's complete, and I'm not going to give Teague all the credit. I think it's a phenomenal take. I don't think he's totally accurate.

Let me tell you why. Yes, SGA is killing in the mid-range. He's totally dominant. I saw some stats where he's shooting over 50% in the mid-range. Now, he's not quite saving the league. I saw some stats. Michael Jordan attempted like 1,200 or mid-range shots or whatever it was in the 90s. SGA is only like around 400, so it's not quite what it was with MJ and even Kobe.

But the reason they can do the mid-range with SGA is because they play phenomenal defense. They're number one in defensive efficiency in the league by a mile. They're calling this one of the best defensive teams in a generation. Well, guys, if you can get stops and they can, no denying it, of course you can trade twos for threes. It's not that big a deal. Now, you can't not play defense and then spam threes and expect. expect to win every game because you're going to go cold from three. I did look this up. The two best three-point shooting teams this year were Boston and Cleveland.

Guess what happened to them in the playoffs? Boston shot 63s in a game. They went cold from three against the next. It happens. And we all know what happened to Cleveland. They got outshot from three. I believe in every game against Halliburton. And all of a sudden you go cold from three, you don't have a counter punch. So OKC has one in the mid-range game. Now, an amazing stat for OKC is they're three-point shooting way down. You're not going to believe this. So 16 teams in the playoffs.

OKC is 13th in three-point shooting. Ordinarily, that's a death now. OKC has been outshot from three in 10 of 16 playoff games. Usually that's like, oh, they're getting bounced. But because of the defense and the mid-range game, they're able to completely blow teams. out. But we don't see this a lot because nobody's playing defense in the league anymore. So you guys know, I love the, hey, Zig when everybody's zagging. So right now in the NBA, the analytics say

spam threes, fire away. It's a math equation. And we've seen this before, right? So Billy Bean and Moneyball and baseball, okay? Hey, we can't compete with the big spenders. So we've got to find obscure stats that matter and kind of build our lineup that way. And they did that with the Oakland days and they had a lot of success. Another analogy. So YouTube comes out and all their videos are horizontal because, hey, we want to look like TV. So what does TikTok do? Hey, let's do vertical for the phone. So TikTok goes totally different and boom, TikTok goes to the moon. Well, guess who starts copying TikTok? YouTube shorts, Instagram reels. Now all videos are vertical. So will we see, like Jeff Teague is saying, everybody copy OKC and go to the mid-range.

Well, I'm sure the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards, who led the league in threes and only got layups and dunts, is he going to pivot and say, I got to work on my mid-range? Or all these NBA trainers who are helping everybody work on threes? Are they going to say, we got to get back to the mid-range? I don't necessarily think that's going to happen. I do think there is the world where other teams can copy, but you got to play good defense. like the cabs would make a lot of sense to play. They play great defense with Mobley and Allen, but are they going to say,

Donovan Mitchell, let's get to the mid-range. I don't know that that's going to happen. So while I like the take, I don't think this whole saving the NBA is 100% spot on. I do think OKC is going to be favored, obviously, heavily against the Pacers or Knicks. But I would wrap up by saying, we saw OKC stop Anthony Edwards fairly easily. and you looked at it and you're like, why didn't the Lakers try that? Let's just put up a picket fence right at the foul line say, you're not getting to the lane.

We're not going to let it happen. And he couldn't do that. And Minnesota couldn't make any threes. So are we going to see the Pacers or Nick say, hey, SGA, we're going to wall off the paint. No more middies for you, buddy. Let's see what Jalen Williams, J. Dub, and Lou Dort. Let's see what those guys can do from three because,

oh, look, the analytics say they're not hitting threes in the playoffs. And I think that's what we're going to see in the finals. And I don't think O.KC. He's going to waltz over the Knicks or Pacers, whoever it may be. But SGA certainly is making people think, and the hot takes are flying about saving the NBA. So, Alex, we got to game six Saturday night. I know you're excited. I know.

I'm fired up. I got to be honest. Like, I was all in on the Knicks after they kind of blew through Boston. And then the start of this series, I was like, okay, maybe that Boston series was their finals and they just kind of blew it out. But what impressed me most about last night was listening to Carl Anthony Towns on his postgame interview with Shaq and Charles. And they were asking him, you know, like, what's the conversation you guys are having, like on the plane privately, not in front of everybody? And he goes, why not us?

Like that one game at a time, why can't we do it? Why can't we be the team that does it? And you kind of saw that attitude last night of they played desperate and it worked. They outplayed the Pacers and every part of the game. Yeah, totally. If they can do that and win game six in Indy tomorrow, anything is possible in a game seven. I'm going to call Josh Hartgate.

Anything is possible in a game seven. But they all have to show up. Yeah, no more dumb fouls, chat. Let's dial back on the goofiness. Did you hear him call them out? They called them out on that last night. Yeah, Stan Van Gundy during the broadcast was amazing. I think the Knicks got a shot.

Not saying I'm betting them yet, but I think they got a shot. After last night, like, so you're saying there's a chance. Yeah, I love it. A little dumb and dumber. All right, coming up next, Jalen Hertz, can you believe he's getting crushed? I can't believe it. They're saying he's the biggest weakness on the Eagles. Let me just say, I totally disagree.

I'll tell you that next here 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 IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.

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We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night, comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odin Kirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed

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Listen, I got to say, if you guys watch a show yesterday, you know, Coward and I went at it. I think it was a 12 round that felt like, you know, Foreman Tyson or Foreman Holyfield, sorry, regarding Jalen Hertz. Okay? Now, I did, before I moved out here to L.A., I did live outside of Philly, but I don't really have a super connection to the city. It was a suburban life. But I like the Eagles and I pay attention to them. And for some reason, the bashing of Jalen Hertz, it's just getting under my skin. Okay?

I like to defend underdogs. I like to defend guys who I think are really good that maybe the market is not up to speed on. And this pro football focus on website I go to helps a lot with the gambling. They said that the biggest weakness on the defending Super Bowl champion was, wait for it, the Super Bowl MVP.

They said it was the passing game that was the weakness of the Eagles. So, you know, it's not that hard to look up some stats on the pro football focus website. And, you know, let me give you some stats here. This is the Super Bowl MVP last year passing, which is the biggest weakness from the pocket. Here's Jalen Hertz.

You know, second and completion percentage, third and yards per passing yards per game, and then pass a rating fifth. I think that should be yards per attempt. But bottom line is it's not like this is a dink and dung offense. Jailen Hertz can beat you anyway. Deep down the field, over the middle, scrambling. Best running quarterback in the league.

Sorry, Lamar Jackson. and Jailen Harts had better, he's got the tush push, which is automatic. I don't get the bashing of Jailen Hertz. And I think it all comes down to him being drafted in the second round, which, oh, man, he's not a first round pick. It's stupid and goofy. And then there's the whole saga that happened in Alabama, where he gets benched in the national championship, replaced by Tua.

Tua goes on. I mean, that's like, that's historic stuff. You never see that. And he had to transfer. But all Jalen Hertz has done is overcame. everything. His height, benching at Alabama. Remember, he didn't come in as the starter in Philly. He had to win that job. He had awful. And I'm talking, I think they lost their first playoff game with her 31-0. People wanted to bench him at halftime, I think me included. All he's done is

overcome everything. And now he's the Super Bowl MVP. And they're still disrespecting him. Philadelphia catered the offense to Jalen Hertz and it's working. And now it's like, no, one of the rosters stacked. What? Do we play that game with Joe Burrow? Hey man, Joe Burroughs got the best wide receiver duo in the league. Probably Higgins and Chase are historically a great wide receiver combo. Got to be top five, six all time. I don't know if it's Rice and Taylor, but it's certainly up there. Okay? We don't play this game with Patrick Mahones. Well, he has a generational tight end in Travis Kelsey and one of the top five coaches, top three coaches in NFL history. We don't do that. Lamar Jackson gets Derek Henry, a first ballot Hall of Fame lock.

And we make excuses for Lamar. We don't bash it. So anyways, Shady McCoy was on the facility yesterday. Shady, a former Eagles player, who I know, great guy, Shady. I like him. Here's what he said, defending Jalen Hertz. A.J. told me, well, players tell me that the offense is really the offense. I don't care who the corner is.

You come over here to fit the Jalen Hertz offense. So think about this. We know that the top four guys are Mahomes, Josh Allen's a rating MVP, Lamar's got two MVPs, and Joe Burrow went to a Super Bowl. That's the consensus top four. I don't see why this isn't a consensus top five. It doesn't make sense. Jalen Hertz has to be fifth. You can make a case for Stafford, but he hasn't been to the Super Bowl twice. Okay? He hasn't. And that's what Hertz has done in a short time span. People want to push Jayden Daniels in there. I'm like, guys,

year, one season? Like he was historically great. Let's see him do it again, because we saw CJ Stroud have a great rookie year, and then kind of fell off a cliff. It took 63 sacks last year. Yes, Hertz has a loaded roster. Great offensive line, great running back, two good receivers. But you know who else had it pretty damn good? The second best quarterback in NFL history, Joe Montana. It's funny. If Joe Montana were playing now, would he be in the Hurt spot? Well, you know, he's got Bill Walsh and Jerry Rice and Roger Craig. I don't know. He's got a stack deck.

Maybe he's not in that group. Like, the NFL discussion is just lazy and silly. Jalen Hertz has proven he can win from the pocket. And I'm sure there's some people at home saying, oh, well, one year winning from the pocket. No, we've done the homework, guys. Let's get on the screen. The last three years, Jalen Hertz from the pocket. Oh, would you look at it?

get that. Three years, three different offensive coordinators, 2020, they regressed. Offensive coordinator was a nightmare, and he threw a bunch of more picks. But that's three successful years for Jalen Hertz. What more does he have to do? Can he do any more to prove that he belongs? And I'm sure what you're saying, oh, Jason, stack roster. You know, I happen to look it up, guys. The Ravens had the most pro bowlers last year. I mean, what metric do you want to use for stack roster? The Ravens had eight pro bowlers. Minnesota Vikings had seven. The Steelers had six. The lions had six and the Eagles had six. So are they the best roster? What are we saying? Like they had the most first

round picks? It's just people are embarrassing themselves bashing Jalen Hertz. And I'll close out with one more stat because I know you guys are going to love this. Well, he's got our awesome roster. They just run away with every game. Actually, not really. Jalen Hertz has the second best winning percentage in games. His team is trailed by 10 or more points. He's a comeback king. He's the only guy he trails is Patrick Mahomes. One quarterback better at comeback wins than Jalen Hertz.

And that's Patrick Mahomes. Not Lamar Jackson, not Josh Allen, is Jalen Hertz. So is it the stacked roster or is it Hertz delivering with and without Sequin Barclay? You make the call. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news. Turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News. Jay Mack, honestly, I think it's great for his brand.

It's great for the Philly brand, and it's great for Jalen Hertz. Like, doubt me. Doubt me all you want and let me prove you wrong. He doesn't have the celebrity girlfriend that Josh Allen has. Lamar Jackson has the swag. He's cool. Joe Burrow goes to fashion shows. He doesn't need it.

He shows up, does his job. With his briefcase. Right? With his briefcase? Doubt me. And a full female team. Every single person on his team. agent, manager, everything.

It's a full female team. Like, he is a batty and just understands, like, what it means to be great. And it kind of goes along with that last stat you gave. Like, he's a comeback king. Yeah. Yeah. Like, doubt me. Let me, don't worry.

I'm not going to sweat it. I'm going to come back and I'm going to do it. All right. Well, let's move to San Francisco because the 49ers started OTAs, and it was pretty much to be expected. The only vet who did report is 36-year-old Trent Williams, who generally never comes to voluntary workouts. But the good news is Christian McCaffrey is back on the field.

and Kyle Shanahan says that the running back is as healthy as he can be. So let's hope that McCaffrey can stay healthy because when he is, he is in the MVP conversation. And a positive for the 49ers this year is because they had such a disappointing season last year, they have one of the easier schedules this year. And they just locked in Brock Purdy. They got their franchise guy. They got McCaffrey.

Like, they still have a very solid team together. Tripp Williams is going to be there. Like, there's nothing you have to worry about contract-wise. But they don't have a target on their back. No one's expecting anything from them. And they have an easy schedule. They can be sneaky good. I still think Rams are going to win the division.

But 49ers could be right back, right back in the mix this year. It's a good point about the target. Yeah. The last, like, I think, two or three years. This is your Super Bowl window. Like, they were in the Super Bowl two years ago. Like, and they had every, they were paying. all their top guys.

And they had to let them go. And then they completely let the bed last year. I wonder if Kyle Shanahan will cook up some new stuff. Well, and they have Robert Sala as their... Robert Sala back as defensive coordinator. They lost Debo Samuel, who's kind of a locker room leader, but also... It's okay. You know.

They were still able to maintain a good core of this 49ers team, lock up their guy. And you cannot look past their strength of schedule. mentioned. Do we have the schedule? Because, um, yeah, it's on. It's like one of the easiest. I think the 11 or 12 wins could be in place. Like number one seed because it, they don't think, I don't think they face any of the top five quarterbacks. So the first quarterback, though, faces Sam Darnold, who's in a new city. Then it's TBD because we don't know what

the hell's going on with the Saints. No idea. Kyler Murray. Okay. Yeah. Trevor Lawrence. I mean, those two are at home, right? Right. Then they come to the Rams for a week five game. They'll probably be undefeated at that point. And then like going to Baker, Mayfield, not a big deal. Show me the games that scare you. These are winnable games for the 49 years. Going from having like a first place schedule to like, what, third place schedule is very favorable for Shanahan. Look at it.

They face the Browns, Titans, Colts, Panthers. This is 11 or 12 wins, even if you don't like Brockford. And no one's really kind of talking about it because it's like, well, you know, kind of fell off. They didn't do much at a horrible season last year. It was bad. They had like injuries galore. They'll have like five new defensive starters. Yeah, but I think...

Christian McCaffrey needs to stay healthy. Obviously. If he can stay healthy, again, like he's in the MVP conversation when he's healthy. Yeah, it's like Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy. But Brandon Ayuk should be back from the ACL. Yeah, that'll be... Yeah. It'll be good.

All right, let's move to your Jets, because Justin Fields is on his third team. But he's got a ton of confidence. New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has spoken very highly of his QB1 and Fields shares the same feelings. I think I can be great, you know, and that's, you know, been the goal for me, my whole life, my whole career. So, like I said, you know, I think the sky's the limit, you know, for this team, for this offense. But we do have a long way to go. Like I said, our offense and defense are new. So guys are, you know, really tuned in and locked in and trying to get everything down.

But I think, you know, once we do, I think the sky's the limit. I mean, we have, you know, all the guys we need. We have all the talent. So it's really just going to come down to discipline and execution when the game's going. I think this change of scenery can be great for Justin Fields. Obviously, his new coach, Aaron Glenn, former Lions defensive coordinator, is very familiar with Fields from their time in the NFC North together when he was on the Bears. I think the only downside is that he has another defensive coach.

Like he had Iber Flues, Mike Tomlin, he's ever really had an offensive coach to allow him to do everything that he should be able to do. But, I mean, this is his, this is his make or break opportunity. This is your 13. This is your chance. This is the tough part. You've been on both sides of this. You know, you play sports, people ask you questions, but you also ask questions. Yes. I don't know, like it doesn't, to me, look great on the screen.

I think I can be great. Are you doubting yourself because you're on your 13? I know what anybody asked me. Jay, are you good at basketball? Of course, I'm awesome. You got to hype yourself off. And I think he will. I mean, it's still really early.

I think I can be great. No, I know I can be great. There's a fine line, Alex. You definitely have to switch that. You know, he put up major numbers at Ohio State. Yeah. And he was great. He was.

Now, he hasn't been great in the NFL, but that doesn't mean he isn't great. I mean, he was good enough with the Steelers when he played. Yeah, he won games. Like, he was good enough. He kept them afloat. But again, another defensive coach. It's a fine line because, like, you know,

even my kids would I'm, I try not to talk sports with them after practice and tournaments and stuff. But one of my kids will be like, oh, I wasn't that great. No, no, no, don't say that. Yeah. Don't be negative. I can be negative. I can be better.

I can be better. I have room for improvement. Yes, you always have to, I tell everybody, it's all a mindset. Life is a mindset. I manifest everything. Like literally, like, I'm going to do that. I'm going to, like, I don't know how to do it, but I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to be great at it.

It feels has some work to do. He's got a lot, but also like, AFC East, it's a doable second place finish, if everything comes. That's really rosy, Alex. I don't know. Well, bills are favored to win it all, right? Like, they're the suitable favorite. They're favorite to win every game. Patriots are coming.

People are high on the Patriots. Mike Brayble. obviously is like the huge addition. But again, like, I need to see it to believe it before I buy in on the Patriots. Yeah. It's a lot of new. And then dolphins. A lot's going to come down to if Tua can stay healthy.

Tyree Kill is always a wild card. You never know. You never know what you're going to get off the field or on the field. But like, it's doable if they can get it together and if it pans out. There's low expectations, right? If they win eight or nine games, that's a huge win. Good for you. Go in with low expectations.

Be excited when they prove you wrong. Under promise and overdeliver. Is that what? Yeah, don't have too high expectations. Okay, let's switch to baseball. The Yankees and Dodgers face off in a World Series matchup. This weekend, Fox has the game on Saturday, and there's a great chance that for the first time in MLB history,

each lineup will have three MVP's at once. For the Yankees, the trio would be Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, and Cody Bellinger, who ironically won his MVP with the Dodgers. We all miss them. For Dodgers, it will be Shohei Otani Moose. Bucubets and Freddie Freeman. Now, these are two of the best teams in baseball right now.

They're both leading their divisions, ALEAS and NOS, but these are also two of the best players in baseball with Aaron Judge, Shohei Otani, the reigning MVPs from last year. They just keep going back and forth with leading the league and home runs. It's just, it's so incredible. I, like, you're going this weekend, right?

Yeah, it's funny. You're in for a treat. Like, because you're going to see, like, Dinger City, baby. Like, that's my favorite thing ever. Like, an offensive explosion, home run city, especially from these two guys, because both Aaron Judge and Shoah Otani have been like, what, every other game, every couple games, like we're hitting 20 home runs, let's go.

It's funny because there's this baseball team, the Savannah Bananas. They're in Anaheim this weekend. Usually, when they're in town, everything shuts down, huge ticket. Yeah. My family went to it. I haven't been. But apparently, like, over 250 bucks. They looked at it.

Except they're taking a back seat to Yeager. These Dodgers, which is like historic rematch of the World Series. Like, I'm very excited for this series. Good weekend for sports to start June. I'm fired up. It's a great weekend. By the way, what's Aaron Judge hitting? Is he at 400 still?

Who? Aaron Judge? Because I saw he was... I didn't check this morning. 401 earlier this week. Oh, yeah. Chasing 400 is impossible, but he's been putting up some ridiculous. I mean, he's still first in home runs, extra base hits, slugging percentage.

Otani might outshine in this weekend. That's what, I think that's going to make it so fun is like the slugging. Fest that we're going to get from these two guys. It's special. I'm sure you saw Otani did batting practice this week. He was pitching. Yeah, so he did live BP. So we talked about that like six months ago, I think.

You and I. Yeah, yeah. So I said you're not going to see him pitch until after the All-Star break. For sure. Like, he's not going to be in a game for all-than-the-all-Rank. He might, yeah, again, it all depends how he progresses. His Vilo was hit in like mid-90s, which is great. So, like, the velocities there.

He feels healthy. But again, you have to remember, it's his second. Tommy John, they're not calling it Tommy John, but it's still a UCL repair, but it's so it's a different part of the UCL. So it's not technically the same Tommy John, but it still is coming back from a major injury, his second one. So you don't want to push it, but he was having an amazing time. I'm sure you saw the videos where he was like having fun, like on the mound while he, and then he went and hit a home run. I think a lead off home run like to start the game. Yeah, yeah. So they're saying judges at 391. I guess he had a rough Thursday.

what day is today for? Rough Thursday night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, I didn't check this morning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's okay. Okay. Let's head back to the NFL.

The Raiders have a whole new look this season, especially with a brand new coaching staff and quarterback. Offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, talked about how much new quarterback Gino Smith is impacting the players around him. He's great. Gino's literally like a second coach. You know, when you're in that room with him and Greg Olson, it's, you know, there's a lot of ideas going around,

and then it's just a matter of corraling. I mean, that's what you. you want to hear, right? He's saying all the right things. And we know that Chip Kelly has a relationship or like is a fan of Geno because he tried to recruit him in college. He didn't end up getting him. He didn't go to Oregon. But being familiar and comfortable and already having a relationship in a new situation is only going to be great. My question to you is though, because I, which I do not agree with you. I've made this very clear. You don't think the chiefs are going to make the playoffs. What do you mean? You've gone on rants about this. I am. Do you think,

the Raiders are going to be a factor. Of course, yeah. I mean, like, Pete Carroll's a good coach. I wouldn't hire him. He's very old, but I do think for the next couple years. Yeah, he's a culture guy. They're going to be competitive. We'll see.

They always fight the Chiefs hard. Always. I mean, if you ask me, yes, I would say Raiders last in the division. But, oh, look at this. Look at this. Gino Smith. Yeah. Fourth most passing yard did the NFL last three seasons.

Jared Goff, number one. Yeah, Gino, how many playoff wins this? that tenure. Anyways. Yeah, I think they'll be good. 7, 8, 8, 9 wins. Right? Yeah, that's fair. That's an improvement. Yeah.

To step up. Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. All the pressure on the Pacers, game six at home, will they crumble? What's going to happen? We had to New York next to find out.

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays and noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Hey, is Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and, of course, the IHeart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world?

We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still we've been friends. work together. I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio.

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What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,

and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy,

Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in terms. tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on

any surface because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 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. Back here on the herd. Good start to the show. It's only going to get better now because we've got a Knicks guest in. Ian Begley covered the Knicks since 2011. Listen, we're going to get to game six in a second, Ian, I got to start with, you got Ben Stiller on your podcast this

week? How did that go? Ben was tremendous, man, and I was impressed by his knowledge of the game. He really, he broke things down in a way that I did not expect. And I actually had to ask him to tone it down at one point because I'm sure my bosses, the wheels were spinning there, and they were thinking, hey, Ben Stiller could host this show. Let's get him in. Let's get Begley out. But he was great. He was fantastic. He talked Pat McAfee. We got into a lot, and he's a really, really legitimate Nick Finn, not a bandwagon hopper at all.

He's been, you know, bleeding orange and blue for a while. So who's next? Timothy Chalemay, obviously. I think he's coming on this show next week. Absolutely. So it was a scene last night at the Garden, obviously, great win. I need to start with the defense on Halliburton. Clearly, he was bothered by something.

It can't just be, hey, we're going home for game six. He had an awful game after a historic one. What did you see, Courtside? I think you have to give Mikhail Bridges credit, right? Because, you know, he's been kind of a lightning rod for the Nick fan out there, following this team all year, blaming Bridges for a lot, not being satisfied with his play. But I think game five, he pressured Halliburton.

He picked him up further down the court than they had been earlier in the series, got into his body, tried to deny the ball when he was off the ball, and did well, did really well. pressuring him and really preventing him from doing much of what he did in game four. Now, look, game six, you know Halliburton is going to take more than seven shots. You know he's going to be much more active there. So he's going to adjust how do the Knicks adjust? But at least for one night for game five, you know, Bridges led the charges there and

helped slow Halliburton down. It also looked like Jalen Brunson was more locked in, fighting through screens. It looked like some tough stuff up near midcourt, just pressuring the ball and I saw the Pacer shot three for 14 with him as the primary defender after he had been I don't know about a turn style but he had been getting abused there in the series look the pacer's targeted him and they targeted Carl Anthony towns with the pick and roll and that was happening throughout and it happened to game five and yeah I agree with you I mean whether it was just simply being more physical more locked in whatever it was he was different in dealing with those situations and

He said, look, that's their game plan. That's what they're going to try to execute. We have our game plan. That's what we're going to try to execute. He didn't make too much of it, but certainly it was noticed in a locker room, the idea that maybe it was a pride factor, whatever it was. There was intensity, more intensity from him on that end. And then you saw the other end of the floor.

He just came out really, really confident, getting to his spots, knocking shots down in a big way, giving the Knicks the kind of early cushion in game five that they hadn't really enjoyed much at all. over the course of this postseason. Yeah, I'm looking for a third score. Sometimes you need that third guy. We know Brunce is going to get his and Kat probably if he's out of foul trouble. Can it be OG and Obie?

It's almost like he's night and day. He's only averaging 16 in the series, not shooting it well from three. Who can be the third guy for game six Saturday night? Look, he has his nights and he has his off nights. Talking about OG and and Nobie. Bridges, same thing. Sometimes he's knocking down that mid-range. and he gets going from the perimeter, and sometimes he does not.

And so usually it's one or the other. If the Knicks could get one or the other going, it's going to be a good night. They give themselves a good chance to win. But when both of those guys are off, those points that we're talking about, that third score that we're talking about, it gets spread out a little more,

and it's more difficult to supplement towns and Brunson. And so, yeah, on a good night, it's one of the two of Annanobie and Bridges, and I think they're going to need that formula going into game six, hostile territory and indie. But I think the Pacers probably feel a little pressure there at home because the last thing you want to do if you're Halliburton and that group has come back to New York for a game seven on Monday. 100%. Let me zoom out on the Knicks for a moment. So if they lose this series, they've got several options, right?

But I will point out, the Celtics losing Jason Tatum kind of opens the east up next year, right? It's Cavs, Pacers, Knicks, mostly. Maybe there's a surprise team. But the Knicks essentially could chase Janus. They could chase Kevin Durant. They could stand pat and then switch out the coach. Perhaps they move on from Tibido and get Michael Malone, who's out there at Super Bowl, not Super Bowl, NBA Finals winning coach.

I'm curious your thoughts. Like, how much will what happens in game six and seven matter? I think everything matters, but I think particularly when you get through game five, you don't get embarrassed at home to end the season. I think that resonates. And I think, you know, it's funny because you zoom out, Jason, and you see a Nick team that did something that no one thought they could do beating the Boston Celtics in the second round.

And here they are making progress from past years, getting to the conference finals. But the pathway here through Indiana is clear to the finals. And if you trip yourself up against the Pacers, there's going to be, you know, hard analysis in the aftermath of that. But I do think getting through five, not getting embarrassed at home is big. And look, you get back to seven. I think you can make a strong case to just run it back.

Let's bring everybody back. Let's sign bridges to the extension. Thibodeau has gotten us here. He's on an extension. Let's bring them back. And let's see how this group can grow together. But there's always that unknown. You know, at the top, owner James Dolan, how is he going to react to a bad playoff loss

or to a team that's not competing at the level that he sees that it should compete at, that's something that, you know, you only know when you know. But I do think them getting to the conference final, getting past that game five at home, I think it leans more towards stability for this Nick team than it does. Interesting. Any huge change in the offseason. Yeah, that's a good take. I mean, I just watching last night, I'm like,

why didn't Tibido pick up Halliburton full court the whole series? And, of course, the counter as well, the Knicks bench is thin. well, he rested bridges, I think, for nine minutes in the second quarter, and it looked like it helped him with the energy in the second half. Landry Shamit's playing, I don't know, whatever that's worth. I guess I'll wrap up with this. The Knicks have a star in Brunson, but if Janus is out there and the package is available,

don't you kind of have to part with whoever to get him? It's interesting, Jason. You know, if we were talking before the playoffs, I would have said absolutely. If we were talking in the Detroit series, I would have said absolutely, even early in the Boston series. But I think they are at the point now where, again, you've passed a certain level of expectations,

and you've done it with this group, and there's a good argument to be put together to keep this thing together, to run it back, to allow everybody to get more comfortable with one another, because I think if you can create that hierarchy where it's Brunson and it's towns, and then everybody else kind of fills in a specific role and buys into that role,

you could see this team being better next season than they are right now. And you mentioned Boston and East opening up. So you could make that argument. Obviously, Town, excuse me, Janice, if he becomes available and you have to make the phone call, you have to see where you're land there.

And I do think at certain points in the season, Nick people felt like they would be in the mix there if it came to Janus, leaving Milwaukee. But given where we are, especially given what happened game five there. I think you should lean more towards running things back and seeing where that gets you. Yeah, all right.

Big one Saturday night. Ian, I'm sure you'll be there. Enjoy the game. Ten, tell Ben Stiller and Shalabay. I said, what's up? I'll be wearing my Knicks, Patrick Ewing Jersey, Saturday night, buddy.

And look, I'll book Shalmay for you. I got you. We'll get them on next week. What a good guy. Take it over for a booker. All right, Ian Begley. Great stuff on the Knicks. All right.

Coming up next hour. Yeah, we haven't talked chiefs yet. You know, my favorite team in the NFL, Kansas City Chiefs, can't wait for that one. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick.

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

Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive.

I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's a winner. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now,

and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubb's tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist, and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud.

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