The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - The truth about the Celtics

Episode Date: May 10, 2024

Colin believes he's finally figured out the Boston Celtics by comparing them to the Dallas Cowboys He argues for Jared Goff as a top 10 QB in the NFL and clearly better than Tua Tagovailoa Russell Wilson continues to get criticism from former teammatesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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J-MAC, the Boston Celtics are weird. They're a weird team. I think I've found what I'm looking for. When it comes to the Celtics, the analogy, I'll get to that in a second. 12.5 point favorites, and you get beat by 24 at home. Not a good look for Boston, but at least the Mavs came through, huh? Mavs came through for me last time. We'll talk to that.

So Boston has arguably, the Celtics have arguably been the best team in the NBA, record-wise for three years, right? And they regularly, historically bizarre, regularly get throttled at home. regular season and playoffs. The last three years at home in the playoffs, they have a 500 record. And I'm thinking in a league in an era of good. Like the 70s, we've had five different title teams in five years.

This year could be the sixth in six years. Boston is just pretty good. Maybe they're very good. But they're not great. And everybody keeps waiting for great. And they're not great. They're not special. They're not elite.

I mean, this happens to very good teams, and Boston is very good. They don't have a shack in his prime. They don't have an MJ, a bird, a magic. They don't have a Kobe. I'd argue today, they don't have an Aunt Edwards. They have Jason Tatum, who, to be honest with you, sometimes has almost a role-player's mentality. I mean, last night they were 12.5-point favorites lost by 24. That's the largest playoff loss in 30 years by a double-digit.

Home favorite. That's insane. Is some of this, they just feast on the East, and the East is really, really bad. They've been doing this for years. They were 41 and 11 against the East this year. Yet on this three-year Celtics run, they have won finals appearance, and they got beat. Have they become the Dallas Cowboys? Where they have a coach that we don't really believe in.

They have a huge brand, which translates to massive XPRIZE, We give them credit for being better than they are, and they have a leader that is unquestionably very good, Dac and Tatum, but sometimes very questionably great. Again, is a lot of this, the Cowboys have beaten up on bad teams, often in division, giant and commanders, and Boston's largely beaten up on the lousy east. I mean, the Boston Celtics are not only beating up in the east. think about the New York Knicks. Their two best players are hobbled. Their two other best players arguably are out, Julius Randall Mitchell Robinson, and they're going to win a playoff series.

Another in the east. Could they win one in the West? I don't know. So I think the Cowboys and the Celtics, the difference is we've really come to understand what the Cowboys are. The Celtics were not there yet. Great special elite all-time teams. are not getting throttled by 24 at home and have a 500 home playoff record in the last three years. I think a lot of this is we have a leader who's unquestionably very good,

but we think every time the Celtics have a great player, like a KG or a bird, they win titles. A magic Kobe shack out west you win titles. I don't know. I mean, going into last night, what was? Tatum, the third leading score on the Celtics in the playoffs? I don't know. After the game, Tatum was asked if Celtic fans are just spoiled. I mean, that's the narrative that you might see on TV. The idea that we have a super team, it's two-fold, right? We didn't have a coach of the year. We didn't have the MVP. We only had two All-Stars. So they say we're a super team,

but, you know, we didn't get rewarded like we are. We know we got a good team. We're not perfect. We play the right way more often than not. And we know we got to be better. I'm not asking for perfection. To get throttled at home by a slightly better than average Eastern Conference team when you're a 12.5 point favorite.

To be 500 at home in the playoffs the last three years against the Eastern teams. Not against the much better Western teams. as against Eastern teams. Maybe they're just very good in an era of good. I thought this was interesting. Perception is a powerful thing, but it's not reality. Although sometimes it becomes reality, somebody gets paid based on perception.

Those are what we call bad general managers and bad owners in pro sports. So Jared Goff is the quarterback for Detroit. And Brad Holmes, very, very shrewd, very smart GM. One of my favorites in the NFL, they've built a powerhouse. I've said before, the Lions are the Niners just younger. Hall of Fame level talents to me just younger by about five years a player. But Brad Holmes said on Radio in Detroit, we are going to get this Goff extension done. he's earned an extension

and it's important it's a high priority for us and both sides are working really really hard but these things just kind of take a while especially with the quarterback market but I do have faith that it's

going to get done but it's interesting how Goff is viewed by the public in the media and how Tua is Goff should get the extension I wouldn't give Tua one for four reasons. Number one, Gough never gets hurt.

Gough's been to two conference championships and a Super Bowl. Gough is the bigger, taller athlete, six four to six foot. And he's less dependent on a single head coach. Gough is one with two. But Tua went to a college football power, had a cool slogan attached to his name, tank for Tua, has a brilliant, clever offensive coach, plays an ideal outdoor weather all the time down south, and has the fastest guy in the world as a wide receiver. But Goff is better, and there's no question.

And Brad Holmes, this is a real thing, sees through the hype. Tua, he's got a lot of snazzy furniture in the house. The coach, the wide receivers. But if you take the snazzy furniture out, what's the house? Goff, I like the foundation of it. He's taken Amaran St. Brown and helped make him a star. Seven years, six playoffs. And I think there's a real thing here.

If you ask the fans and you ask a lot of the media, they view these as equal or two is better. But the sharpest GM, one of them in the NFL, they're getting this thing done fast. The two a thing, they're still reluctant. And so, two is a little bit like that Miami speedboat. It's flashy, but it's seasonal. Jared Goffs the pickup truck.

It works in all weather. This morning I went and looked, and this is a real thing. We talked about this about Tua a couple days ago. I went and found Gough and Tua in weather under 45 degrees. That is January, February, December football. Gough, 90-passer rating, winning record, still a very viable quarterback, 4-1 TD to interception ratio. Tua plummets.

You got to give the extensions to the guys that are all-terrain. All weather. The pickup trucks. December, January, February. And that is Goff. He's not flashy. He didn't come with a cool slogan. Didn't run around a lot.

Everybody wishes he was a little stronger and heavier. But the job of the great GMs in basketball and football is cut through the hype and the fandom and get to the real. And Goff is really, really good. Tua just depends on the weather. J-MAC, I know you don't love that take, but we went digging this morning, and I think it's interesting because the perception on Tua,

on a flashier team, I mean, the lines are built mostly behind a great offensive line. They've done a great job to find running backs, linebackers, tight ends, fourth-round receivers. But once again, Gough, two different coaches, two divisions, two systems, has gotten two teams to conference championships. He's not quarterback dependent or weapon dependent. He's winning with Romer on St. Rhone.

He won with Cooper Cop. He won with McVeigh. He wins with Dan Campbell, two systems, multiple coordinators, two divisions, and he wins again. Oh, boy, quarterback wins to start the show. Listen, I thought the golf bad weather thing was interesting because historically he had been bad in bad way. That's right. Now, now, he's not as good.

He's better and better weather in a dome. Obviously, yeah. But he is more than viable B++ to a plummet. Sure. Now, I did look it up, though. Early in golf's career, you know, on his rookie deal with the Rams, he was putrid in poor weather, like very bad. Maybe he's gotten better now that he's like 29 years old.

Well, it should be noted. Yeah. The first year, he had maybe the worst offensive staff in league yesterday. Jeff Fisher, right? Yeah, and those numbers. If you take just those numbers out, it's pretty remarkable how often he wins a lot and is really, really good all the time.

So what's his price point? Given he's so much better than Tua, is he a $45 million a year? Oh, no, I think you get into the five is the first number. I think Jared Goff is a top 10 quarterback. I think you get into the five is the first number. And I'm comfortable with that. So Gough 5, what's the first number for Jordan Love and Tua?

Jordan Love, I would like to see eight, seven, eight more starts. and then if we have to talk five, I'm okay with that. Low five, Goff, low five. And Tua? I'm not there. Not even in the force. No. Wow.

By the way, if you're in the threes, you're one of the highest paid humans on the planet. So let's not, you know, this is not a Tua can't play at all. No, you can play. I know. But I'm trying to define the difference between perception and reality. The perception on Gauph is low. The reality on Tua is clear. But yet, what's the story?

What's the belief? Well, to a sexier, right? He was a MVP candidate. He's got Mike McDaniels. The offense is motion, speed, fast, crazy, over the... And they just, six yards in Detroit, six yards in Detroit. Always make the right throw. Keep the quarterback.

It's not... It's a pickup truck. It's not as exhilarating. I like that analogy. All right. Another player... pokes Russell Wilson. It never ends.

And Luca won last night. Did you see the stat on Luca? Do you see the remarkable stat on Luca? That was the lowest ball usage rate game of the year for him. And look how good Dallas looked. Isn't that amazing? Less Luca. Better Luca, better Luca, better team.

Isn't that interesting? Certainly interesting. 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. 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 which I'm 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot. or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with 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, so. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for basketball. 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. Listen, I'm never going to criticize athletes who have strong opinions.

Try not to because they're giving us content and we want them to not be cliche machines. But Russell Wilson, now a Steeler, formerly a Seahawk and a Bronco, stands alone. It's so interesting to me. Stans alone. he is the only star. The production tells you he was a star. Nine-time Pro Bowl or two Super Bowls has a trophy. That's a star.

Yet it's hard to find a player, any player that will publicly ever say anything nice about him. They poke, they tweak, they criticize. Here's the latest. Chris Harris, 12-year, very, very good player, played a lot of it in Denver, was on radio recently saying, hey, Russell Wilson needs to be a game-man.

That's all he is in Pittsburgh. I think it was a lot of plays out there that Russ missed and Sean had some great calls. Of course, Sean had, he had a couple of bad days. You know, it happens as a head coach. But I think he had the right schemes. He had the right plays to be able to get these guys open and to make plays. A lot of times Russ held the ball a lot, you know, causing extra sacks, killing drives, you know, and kind of missing a lot of big throws.

you just don't hear players saying that about like stars that are still playing in the NFL. So maybe some of it is Russell Wilson doesn't poke back so it's easy to poke him. You won't get any heat back. But clearly a lot of players seem as robotic, inauthentic. I say that because they've said that. But it's interesting. Aaron Rogers may alienate everybody. But man, he's got a lot of guys.

He got media people that like him and cover him and he's their guy. and he's got players. David Boktiari, great player. Randall Cobb, he's got his guys. Russell Wilson, name one guy. It's a Russell Wilson guy. I looked it up this morning. He had a very small wedding, 100 people.

It was only two players. I hadn't heard of one. It's just different. So it's interesting. We were talking as a team this morning. Russell is so polished. It's almost like he's been workshopped and focus grouped. You never see any anger.

And Brady was polished. but if he was pissed, you saw it all the time. And I think the way Denver ended really sums up the mystery, or maybe it's not a mystery, of Russell Wilson. So the feeling was in Denver last year, yet Russell really cost us. I looked it up. He was eighth in pass-a-rating, ninth in touchdown passes.

With no run game, Denver's defense was 29th in the league. Couldn't stop a cold. 29th. And Russell got to blame. He wasn't in the homes. He's pretty good. I watched all their games. It was pretty good.

I mean, they didn't have a run game. The defense was terrible. It was almost 500. But who took the blame for Russell Wilson? J-Mack with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

boy. All right, let's get started with, remember that story from yesterday about the rookie Terriane Arnold, who claimed that the Raiders called him after the draft to let him know a coin flip determined the Raiders taking Brock Bowers over him at number 13. We kind of got a laugh. We're like, oh, it wasn't literal. Well, this is not over it, Colin. Raiders GM, Tom Telesco addressed the claim. He did inject humor into his answer. Typically, I use a magic gateball, not a coin. But no, you know, part of the draft process and we do this really two weeks before the draft. We'll go through all different scenarios of what could happen in the first round and how we would react to it and discuss it.

So when you're picking 13, you know, there aren't that many scenarios to go through somewhat. So obviously we had gone through the scenario of players being gone and Brock Bowers is there. And we discussed in a small group and if that happened like, hey, we're going to take Brock. Yeah. That's what I was told. I'm sure this is all accurate. Just a couple questions still linger. Why did Antonio Pierce call this guy after the draft to let him know, sorry we didn't take you?

Why would a coach do that? I mean, maybe he wants to just, I don't know, Antonio's a former player. Maybe he feels a kinship with players. I don't know. He didn't have to, certainly. Is it possible that he disagreed with the front office going offense when he's a defensive guy? Is that why he maybe made the call knowing that this would leak out? and there was some disagreement in the radio.

Sounds like Telesco. You see, everybody said, we discussed it a small group. That doesn't sound like the war room. Sounds like Telesco was maybe over on the side, maybe deciding this one. Yeah, I mean, Brock Bowers was the choice.

Where did Arnold go in the draft? 20, something like that, yeah. Yeah. The Rams wanted to move up to get Brock Bowers, where historically you don't move up to get tight ends. Brock Bowers was the smarter choice. I don't disagree. In an offensive league, and because of his skill, remember, if you go a year ago from today,

people had Brock Bowers as the third, fourth, or fifth draft pick. He went down because he got injured, didn't look quite the same, though very good. So, like, if Antonio Pierce wanted the corner, that would have been a massive overdraft. The first defensive player didn't go until the Colts at, like, mid-first. So that's why you can't let coaches. Coaches get emotional. Coaches, coach, GM's GM. You can't have your coach.

The best coaches, Holgren, dabbled a little too much in the front office, had some bad whiffs in Seattle, big bad reaches, Belichick, Pete Carroll. Andy Reid does it right. Come to me with a quarterback and I'll give you my thoughts. But you draft, I coach. That's the way to do it. I don't disagree at all. I just want this.

It's just a weird story. We know the Raiders are a bit of a disaster often. It just sounds like their process. And Antonio Pierce, it feels like he's off to a bit of a riot. hockey start with a new head, with the new GM? No? Well, he's in a division with three really, really, really good offensive coaches, Harbaugh, Reed, and Peyton. He's the defensive coach, and he's the only one without a potential franchise quarterback. So this is going to be an uphill battle. The good news, actually this week, the Raiders got good news by association. The Titans

loading up their receiving corps for Will Levis, which should ensure he looks for. pretty good means Tennessee may not take a quarterback with their first pick next year. Because if you look at the Giants will want a quarterback, the Raiders will absolutely want a quarterback. What you want to do is be one of only two teams, not five. So the Raiders are crossing their fingers hoping Bryce Young and Will Levis get another shot after this year. And both looked like they have much better supporting receiver cast than a year ago. Yeah, I just wonder about Pierce. Remember, he was like the defensive coach who fills in head coach after they fire the head coach and it was like, ooh, do we keep him? What do we do?

What's the substitute teacher of pro sports? The interim football coach, I had this discussion with Dean Spanos a couple days ago, the owner of the Chargers, and we talked about interim coaches because remember they got rid of Brandon Staley. And I said, you can use an interim coach, but like don't do it for more than like three games. You get into eight games, you do it at Thanksgiving and they go in a heater because everybody plays over their head and then you're stuck hiring interim guy who's interim for a reason. And so that's why when you fire a coach, the Chargers waited, waited, waited, waited, and at the end of the year, you can give an assistant that you think is really excellent a shot for

a couple weeks, but be very careful about that that's why with Antonio Pierce, they played really hard for him. They were trying to impress him. That doesn't mean for the next four years you're going to be able to outdual Reed, Harbaugh, Sean Payton. Yeah, it looked like McDaniels was fired November 1st. So, Pierce had like a long runway, kind of like

the locker room loved him, blah, blah, blah. And you're just starting to wonder. Uh, yeah, we'll see, Raiders. Next up, Pittsburgh Steelers surprised to people when they declined Nagee Harris's fifth year option last week. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Najee reportedly asked the team to decline his option so he could pursue other opportunities in free agency next season. However, Najee's agent came out and denied that saying, your little birdie source is a joke. Next time, do your homework and find a real source. Not true. Mike Tomlin needs...

What the hell is going on? I'm going to say this. Russell Wilson may not know this, but Mike Tomlin needs to win games this year. That offense between war. Warren and Harris, those receivers, that tight end. They address their offensive line, I thought, very smartly. They already have a good defense.

I got to see 11-12 wins here. That's not happening. This is a very good roster. I thought they had another excellent draft. Then they get Russell Wilson. Justin Fields is on a short list with Michael Pennix as the best backup. I got to see W. I don't care how good the division is.

I need 12. I think you'll be lucky. get half that, Colin. Six. Colin, just remember, Russell Wilson, no guarantees beyond this year. Mike Tomlin, no guarantees beyond this year. A lot of TV chatter. The over-under's eight and a half.

I don't know if it's a snap spot on the under. No, I'm just telling you, they'd better win more than that. It eight, seven or eight, I got real questions. This is way too talented a roster. But I think the bigger question, does Mike Tomlin want to be there anymore? Is he having fun? Does he want to stay? I don't know.

He'd be great in TV. But to me, I look at rosters in the NFL. I have the Steelers on a short list of top five. I think Niners is up there. Philadelphia is up there. I mean, we know there's some really Baltimore's up there. There's some great rosters. Pittsburgh's way up there.

So it's funny you mention that. A buddy of mine who does some NFL breakdowns in the offseason. He pointed me to this. Mike Clay of ESPN, I don't know if you're familiar with his work. He ranks rosters. I think you'd be stunned who he has up right near the top. Who? Tied with the 49ers.

Who? My AFC East Champion Jets. So, like, this is where we are in the offseason. You think Pittsburgh needs 12 wins? The Jets may have the best roster in the league. Like, there's a lot of wacky stuff happening in this NFL season. He has the Jets as the second best roster in the league? Yeah.

I'll give me a break. Well, I mean, the position will break. Listen, I want to do this as a story next week. How many jet offensive linemen are starting? Starting for, I mean, come on. I don't want to go too far off the topic, but the Jets' offensive line is ranked third in the NFL. That's how good the upgrades were. First round pick, left tackle, Tyron Smith, and Morgan Moses.

You're stunned right now. Look, he's got to take a sip of water. He's so shook. He's like, what is happening here? All right, final story. We discussed the Anthony Edwards-Jordan stuff. Now that Ant is getting asked about it a lot, he said in an interview, Edwards called for the comparisons to stop and express that while he may have a mix of Michael Jordan and him,

Aunt says he's got a three-point shot that Jordan didn't have. Nuggets T-Wolves game. Listen, he's not wrong. Well, Michael, when they moved a three-point shot in for two years, his numbers went up. It was good. In fairness, Michael didn't work on the three a ton, because it was a different league. 100%.

So, Ant, now, if you don't, if you're an aunt and you're a wing player, a great wing player, you have to have a three. Or it literally reduces, not only your effectiveness, but just kind of your legacy. You'd be like, you beat Carmel. Like, how can you be that good of a shooter and not take one step back? It's like stubborn. So in fairness to Jordan, he was scoring all he needed to in the mid-post, you know, all in the mid-range game. He didn't have to shoot three as much.

He had the Portland famous Portland game. Yeah, six threes and a half and the finals, the shrug. You know. Nuggets Wolves tonight, who you got? I think I saw Wolves favor by four and a half. I'm staying away. I think Denver's going to... It's Denver season.

I have a feeling they're going to get swept, but it's Denver season. So when games get highly emotional, you know, like in Blazing Five, I don't bet a lot of TV games. A lot of the games I try to find are not that Sunday night game. Although sometimes it's just the best number. Yeah. But when you get into these supercharged games, like tonight, Denver's going to play with the kind of intensity that they may have not played with all year. And then it's almost natural for Minnesota to come out a tad flat, isn't it?

Well, the problem with that, Colin, is Denver's getting crushed in the first half in almost every playoff. Remember, Lakers were smashing them? Timberwolves, the first two games have showed well in the first half. I don't know. I hate to say it, this smells to me like another blowout. And I think at that point, you know, come Monday morning. I was talking about this with somebody yesterday. We're going to have a lot of questions about them.

Josh, my stepson. We were talking about this. If you were building an NBA team for 2024, and this is not taking away anything from Ant or Chris Finch, the coach. I'm just talking the construction of a team. You look at Minnesota, you'd say, give me a veteran point guard who's been through the wars, who doesn't need to hog the ball,

a dynamic two or three, ant two bigs one that just defends the other that's offensively skilled multiple great relentless wing defenders that's minnesota the construct of their roster is so good everything you okay let's bring a guy off the bench who's huge energy here comes nazree all right i want a couple of bigs but one kind of creates his own stuff oh go bear and then one can drop 24 in any night you have a dominant score and a point who doesn't get in the way, high IQ. The construction of Minnesota even makes Denver smartly constructed

look like a have-not-necessaries. It is a perfect roster. I mean, it's really, really a good roster. I would say, you know, they basically have the old Warriors way, which is just length everywhere. Remember, the Warriors had like Clay, KD, Andre Agu-D., they didn't have great size. On the wings, though.

No, you don't need the size. You got the length on the wings. You could defend multiple positions. Yeah. And, like, nobody on Denver can guard Anthony Edwards. They don't have one guy. No. Like, they missed Bruce Brown, who they had last year.

Oh, they do. They look almost unathletic in the series. I mean, compared to Minnesota, they look a little unathletic. But Dodds Reed, McDaniel, Ant, you're like, they just can't break free. Even Alexander Walker off the bench from Minnesota is like a long, six-five. Can guard, like, two, three positions. You're like, damn, yeah, they're well-built. J-MAC with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Frank Vogel fired. Crazy. There are a lot of coaches in America, basketball coaches that make a lot of money for not coaching. You know, you wonder why these coaches take jobs, even after they've been fired a couple of times. Why not?

I don't take a four-year deal. I get fired after one. You still get the money. Frank Vogels, he's got a lot of money. I mean, he's getting paid a lot of money for not working. over the last five, six years. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlie.

The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it.

You listen to it. I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Ghalib on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam. 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, 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, so. Thank you for 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tomorrow it's baseball night in America on Fox as Paul Goldschmidt. With the Cardinals against the Brewers or Ellie Delacruz and the Reds take on the Giants. It all begins at 7 Eastern on Fox.

Check for the game in your area. If you don't know what usage rate is in the NBA, you're a casual, it means how often do you have a ball in your hands? And I've said this about certain players in the NBA. When Luca came out, I said, I see Mello and James Harden. His usage rate is way too high. He'll be exhausted by the end of the season. And he's a bucket getter, but I don't know if he's ever going to be a trophy holder. I was right on Mello from the first day.

I got nothing but pushback from fanboy media and fans. But I was right. Mello never was compatible with other players. The guy got insecure about Linsanity. And Luca now is on his third attempt at a teammate. And so Luca's usage rate all season outrageously high, 36%. Last night it was 24 and they won. In fact, this is interesting.

This is what I banged on Hardin for. He's a combination of Hardin and Mellow. Are you really going to get him in shape? Is he really going to defend? is my knock on Mello, my knock on Luca. Is he in great shape? Is he going to defend or just got a bucket getter? Or is he going to be hardened where he get your buckets, a lot of buckets,

but he's worn down by the time the playoffs get there. This year the Mabbs, when Luca had a more reasonable usage rate, under 30%. They were 8-0. Daddy was right. Uncle Colin nailed it. He's got the ball too much. He's a combination of Mellow and Harden. But I will say he is defending.

this year. Not sure he wanted to. He may have had to because the league swallowed the whistles at the All-Star break. And I'm not skeptical of Lucas Talent. They won last night. I'm skeptical of his compatibility. Because as selfish as MJ and Kobe could be,

eventually they could get along with a Pippin and a Kerr and a Gasol and a shack. Kareem LeBron, the trophy guys. The MJ, Magic, Bird, trophy guys. They could be selfish. but they were ultimately compatible at some point.

That's been Hardin's issue. That is Mello's issue. And now Luke is on his third teammate. And again, he's better on defense, but at some point you have to be, because the league has just said, we're going to let guys play. So, you know, he's a big body.

You can lean on people now and get the break. So I think what happens is, and we do this all the time, people come into the league, and they're very highly skilled offensively, a Mellow, a Hardener, a Luca. and people just got hypnotized by the style and the points and the bucket getters. But do you want to be a trophy guy or just a bucket getter?

Because that's all mellow, and he's one of the all-time great scores. That's what Hardin is. Luca, to me, is better than that. And so he talked, Chandler Parsons yesterday talked about sort of the Luca dilemma. It's got to be pretty exhausting playing with Luca because you get stuck watching him. your offense gets stagnant because he's so talented and he's so good offensively that sometimes you do get frustrated as a teammate because he's taking these long low percent stepbacks. But when he makes them, it's like, holy shit, this guy's unbelievable.

But then when he has a night like he did in game one, it's like, okay, couldn't we get a better possession here? But it is on him to take better shots. It is on him to get his teammates easy looks. And then when he is buying on the defensive end, when your best player like Anthony Edwards is playing both with playing defense, that fuels your team. That fuels your locker room. All right.

In Phoenix, Frank Vogel got fired, and he's got a title, and he got fired. So KD. is kind of running out of coaches here. It will be the second straight coach because they're going to hire Mike Boodenholzer. So Vogel had a tire, a title? It didn't work with KD. Let's see if Boodenholzer works with KD because he got a title too. So it's interesting.

Over the last five years, listen to this, J-Mack. over the last five years, KD has been swept in the playoffs, more than winning a series in the playoffs. That's bad. So I think if you look at KD's career, there is a clear line. There's the first 12 years,

Seattle briefly O KC, and the Warriors, and that's titles, and that's toe-to-to-to-with-lebron is the best player in the world. And then there's the last four. He's just a guy that scores 27, 28. He's just a score. And I think it all comes down to one decision.

Is that he bailed on Steve Kerr and Steph Curry. And he has never found his next star and his next coach. So coaching does matter in the NBA. And co-stars matter. And when he left Golden State, I didn't want to hear about wandering. I don't want to hear about, you know, he's a different cat. you don't leave Mahomes and Andy Reid if you're a wide receiver. Tyreek Hill is making a lot of catches.

Let's be honest, they're just not relevant. Kansas City remains relevant. Reed Mahomes are winning without him. And so I think when Tyreek left, there was a lot of this, hey, he's getting his. Be very careful. And even more so in the NBA, because, you know, people often say coaching is sort of nebulous. I mean, what is a, we all know, coach. coaching and football matters a lot.

High school college pro. In basketball, it matters some. You know, Vogel got fired. There's a lot of discussion about the defense was too complicated. Beale didn't buy in, Booker-So-so, whatever it is. But I think you really, when you look at Kevin's career, there is now an absolute line with it. He was a toe-to-to-to-all-timer, and now he just scores. and Nick Wright talked about it this week.

The fact that Kevin Durant is going to go through this half decade of his career, not seeing a conference finals, when the first decade of his career he lived in the conference and NBA finals, is bizarre. And when you put pin to paper, if you are talking all of NBA history, Kevin Durant is far closer to 20 than to 10, which five years ago would have been unfathomable.

Yeah, he was, I mean, there were a lot of people arguing when he was winning an MVP in the finals. He was better than LeBron. I didn't buy it. I thought he was second, clearly, maybe third, but that was the discussion. It would be like if Josh Allen just became a guy, you know, two for touchdown.

Like, we've had this kind of, Allen's the greater all-time talent. Mahomes is great winning, but it's always been like, well, I mean, you know, if the next four years you're like, Yeah, Josh Allen, you know, they get loose in the first round of the playoffs. You'd be like, what happened? That's not good.

So it's like, you think these things are cemented. But if Brady, you know, I mean, if Brady didn't have that second, I mean, what really defined Tom Brady wasn't the first run. Because it was thought of his Belichick in defense. And he didn't win with Randy Moss and Wes Welker. What really defined Brady was the tail end of his career, which has not gone well for KD. It's souring his legacy. If you look at Tom, if he had a retired, you know, like normal guys do it like 38 or something, you wouldn't have gotten that second big chunk in New England and in Tampa or whatever,

how old he was, 35, whatever it was. The first Super Bowls and the Moss years when he was breaking records, he would have just been a guy that was, hey, a couple Super Bowls, hell of a year with Moss. What defined him was the end of his career. It's the Tampa year that really was the exclamation point on this guy's, probably the goat. Oh, it was a Tampa and wins. He is the goat.

You can't even talk. You know, that's the goat. So you think that your legacy is cemented. Well, I mean, you guide Kevin Durant. If Kevin plays four more years and it looks like this, it really becomes, yeah, Steph Curry really is the only time he won. So the idea that it's cemented, no, LeBron's is cemented. But KD's wasn't.

What if he plays four more years? which is reasonable. And it's just more of this stuff. Budenholzer doesn't work. Phoenix gets knocked out by better Minnesota, OKC, Denver. You look at it and you're like, he's a guy. He's scored a lot. I had to look this up, Colin.

Since leaving Golden State, Kevin Durandis had six different head coaches, and he has two playoff series wins. Six different head coaches. So all we heard, oh, LeBron's running off coaches left and right, he's the worst thing in the world. Kevin Durant's had six coaches, and that's four seasons plus the season he missed with the Achilles. this idea that Kevin Durant is like not a great player.

I don't know that he's not a great player anymore. We know he's a great player. We're talking legacy. You're supposed to improve as your career goes on, right? You're supposed to grow as a player and a person. Let's say Mahomes over the next 10 years won only one Super Bowl. I think you would largely say he defined himself for a five to six year period is the greatest we've ever seen at the position in terms of talent,

but he can never duplicate Tom, which would be okay. Tom's record, it's like a 56-game hitting streak in baseball. It just doesn't make any sense historically. People don't hit for 56 straight games in baseball, and you get somebody that does it, and Tom's career doesn't even look like, I mean, Farr played forever, Warren Moon played forever. It's not supposed to look like Brady.

You keep winning Super Bowls at the very end of your career in your mid-40s. But I think Kevin will be defined as a great all-time player, but we kind of thought it was formed. He was a top tenor. And it's like, no, it's gone sideways. I am. There's a lot of the guys. You did say one thing I want to push back on.

You said, you know, he left Steve Kerr and Steph Curry. How much did Dremon run him out of there? Dramon didn't run him out. Dramon ran Jordan Poole out. Well, we punched Jordan Poole out. We know that he kind of was not friendly and warm to Kevin. in Duran. We know that we've seen the videos in the huddle. Duran has alluded to it.

I don't know that... I mean, the Warriors won pre-KD and post-KD. They did. It wasn't, he was... All he was saying is, hey, come on, toughen up. We won before you, we're going to win after you. You've got to be able to handle that. I mean, you can't be...

By the way, those are the discussions. Guys have in NFL locker rooms every day. You've got to be able to handle a little bit of that. You make 30, 40 million bucks a year. Not everybody's going to be warm and fuzzy every day at practice. I mean, come on. for hot water that never runs out go tankless made simple dot com it's called a navian 15 year limited warranty save on bills dishwasher laundry doesn't matter only heat water when you need it hot water never runs out navian another podcast from some s nl late night comedy guy not quite unhumor me with robert smigle and friends me and hilarious guests from bob odenkirk to david letterman help make you funnier this week my guest s n l's mikey day and head writer streeter side of

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. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled

conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the I-Hard 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.

On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

Before 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. 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, 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Hart podcast. Guaranteed Human.