The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Warriors, Murray, Mavs

Episode Date: April 22, 2022

Thoughts on the Warriors-Nuggets series Kyler Murray responds to Colin The Mavs are winning without Luka Doncic   Guest: Ryan HollinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Friday. So many angles. So many stories live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be. And however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Joy Taylor joining me on a Friday that was Warriors are starting to look very interesting.

Kyler Murray's mad at me, the quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. I'll discuss both of those. Joy, how are you? I'm good. You know, this first round of the NBA playoffs is the best. that I can remember in a very long time. Oh, it's been fun. Really fun.

And then we have something this week, and I can't wait to watch, which is Ben Simmons is returning, and I don't know what I get. He's total wild card. I have no idea. But I will say this. Is there a 5% chance he's the life preserver for a sinking net ship? It's possible. That's why they're trying to get him back out there.

So I want to start with this. So when people, I was reading a story the other day. It was very fascinating. It was about the music industry. was talking about can you predict one hit wonders in music and uh it was very complex article i don't have you know great understanding or knowledge obviously of the music industry but it was fascinating that there were arguments to be made stanford professors people had gone out and you can kind of tell why people are one hit wonders and what success is repeatable and that's an interesting word right

repeatable. I worked in radio for a long time. I used to always with radio people that they said they liked the show, I would say, why? Because if you can't give me the why, then you can't find the next person that's that talented. Or you can't build the next radio show that's that talented. Anybody can say, I like a show, but if you're in the radio industry, you've got to know the why part. So you can create multiple shows that are successful if you want to build a radio station, right? The why is important. Why are the warriors so good? Very. selfless, very smart. There's never been a dynasty that I can think of in college, pro football,

or pro basketball without a great coach. I don't care if it's Jimmy Johnson, Bill Walsh, Chuck Knoll, Mike Cheshefsky, John Wooden, Greg Popovich, Belichichick, all the dynasties have a great coach. Kevin Durant, Katie, don't think they need one. You do. But I want to talk about the Warriors. Why are they beating Denver? Why do they look so good? Suddenly now, everything's lined up perfectly in the playoffs. Steph is conveniently healthy. Dremont is perfectly rested. Jordan Poole's playing his best basketball of the year in the playoffs.

And Clay Thompson suddenly looks like Clay Thompson. They're actually averaging more Clay Poole and Dremon are averaging more in the playoffs than they did at any point in the regular season. Why? This is why they had a dynasty. They rested Dremont. They trusted him and rested him. They rested Steph.

Steph said, I'll come off the bench. Everybody in San Francisco has been watching this since the All-Star break. They've been watching Jordan Poole become a star. But you watch your own NBA team. You don't watch the Warriors, right? They're on TV occasionally. Everybody in San Francisco knows Jordan Poole has been doing this now for three months. Like, he's a star.

They have a third splash brother. And what's great about it is they're all different. So Clay is your kind of stoic catch and shoot. Put him anyone in the floor. Just give me the ball. I don't even need a dribble. Cat shoot. Steph is liquid.

Constant motion. Running around. The engineer evolved. And then Jordan Pools a bit of an attacker. He can be more aggressive, leans in not lean out. So they're all three different players. And yet we have this three-headed monster. And it's not a coincidence because the way they're run, they're all playing perfectly

now. they rested Dre. You know, they knew Draymond was going to have to face some bigs, maybe a DeAndre Aiton or a Yokic or maybe an Anthony Davis in the playoffs that they got in. They knew that going out. So they wanted arrested Draymond Green. They wanted arrested Steph Curry. And this whole season, they've been building chemistry.

This is not a one-hit wonder. You can figure out why bands, they do studies on this. Why are some one-hit and why? are some the who or the Stones or Jay-Z or beyond. Why? There's there's coaching behind it. There's intelligence behind it. And when I, if you look at Jordan Poole in the regular season in the playoffs, he's a different player, 18 to 28. This is surprising everybody. It's not surprising the Warriors. Draymond Green's been talking about this on my podcast network for six months. He's like, you're not going to believe how good this guy is. You should see him at

practice. And so this is the fourth time. the Warriors have done this. They did it with Draymond's second round pick. They did it with Steph, they did it with Clay, and now they've done it with Jordan Poole. They steal a guy in the draft. You don't know who he really is for the first year and a half. And then all of a sudden the second year, you're like, whoa,

third year, whoa, fourth year star. This is the fourth time they've done it. There's no luck involved here. This is what the Warriors do. Draft patient develop, what the Lakers can't do. but the Lakers can't do. Lakers haven't developed any player since Kobe. This is their secret sauce in this organization. It's the fourth.

And by the way, they got another kid named Jonathan Cumminga, and you don't know who he is either unless you're a diehard NBA fan. He didn't play last night. Watch him become the fifth time they've done it. He didn't do anything this year, except he was 6-7, 220 can defend, super twitchy athletic, you know, little spots here. They don't trust him yet.

but he'll be the fifth guy they do this with. It's not luck. Draymond Green on the emerging star that they've known about for months, Jordan Poole. Talking a guy who was on the third team, all G league last year. True. Has been our number one option in this playoffs. And the way he's playing, he's gained to trust everybody on the team. He's gained to trust in Coach Kerr.

And he's gained fear from everybody else. All right. So congratulations, Denver. you know, Denver, sometimes it's timing. Denver just doesn't have any healthy players. It's nothing against Yokic. He was great last night. But Jamal Murray's not healthy and Michael Porter's not healthy.

And sometimes the warrior guys all got rested and healthy. The nuggets outside of Yokic are all beat up and not healthy. Some of its timing, I don't think Denver's bad. I don't know exactly what you do with Yokic long term. You're not going to get rid of him. Is he a 1 or is he a 1A like Anthony Davis? I can make that argument. But a lot of this is timing.

And Denver's not poorly coached or a bad team. It's all beat. I don't have anybody after Yokic. So I want to go to this. This happened yesterday. And, you know, from time to time, professional athletes will either fire back at me or respond to me. Baker Mayfield fired back at me. Jha Morant responded to me.

Draymond Green years ago responds to me. And, you know, like social media, it's, you know, I don't mind it. I don't need to be loved by athletes. And some people ghost me, Aaron Rogers. But that's okay, too. But yesterday, Kyler Murray, a super special quarterback for Arizona, when he responded to him. He didn't attack me. He said, hey, man, run whatever narratives you all want to run with, but questioning my work

ethic, we're not going to go for that. Stop playing with me, Colin. I still rock with you, but come on. So first of all, thank you. I did not question his work ethic. I had a five-minute rant yesterday. I think he's misinterpreting it a little bit. I don't question his work ethic.

That's not. So let me create clarity for this. I thought about this all afternoon. How could I create clarity in this Arizona situation for Kyler Murray and his agent and the people that watch? When a star leans into a culture, that's perfect. And coaches create cultures. GMs and cultures, because they're kind of the, they're picking all the players, they're the voices. They create the culture.

And the two greatest players in my lifetime that leaned into the culture are Tim Duncan and Tom Brady. Why? They not only leaned into being coached hard, they would allow themselves to be ripped and embarrassed by the coaches in front of teammates. They leaned into the front office and ownership. They both took pay cuts. Duncan took less than he wanted to.

Brady took less. In the history of goat conversations of leaning into a culture, Brady completely leaned into craft, the front office, the salary cap, Belichick coaching. He was rewarded with a dynasty. Tim Duncan did the exact same thing. Duncan, Stephen Jackson told us yesterday. Two totally different personalities. Duncan would elevate young people, introduce himself to G-League level guys. I'm going to elevate you. I'll take less. Popovich can scream at me. They're the two greatest ever. Duncan and Brady. And they were both rewarded with dynasties.

Now let's go to two guys who are doing it right now, and they're great at it. Steph Curry and Mahomes. They're not being paid top of the market. Very team-friendly deals. Elevate everybody around them. Can be coached very hard. Curry's literally saying, hey, I'll come off the bench.

They are all about winning. All about not taking max money. They'll redo their contacts if they have to, if it's allowed by the CBA. they're the current Brady Duncan. How have they been rewarded? They've been rewarded with titles. And then there's Aaron Rogers, Kyler Murray.

It's harder, as I said yesterday, to build cultures around them. Why? Well, they want to be either paid early or the most. All right, that's not, that makes it harder for everybody. So Kyler wants to be paid early and Aaron wants to be paid the most. They both air some of their grievances publicly. Duncan and Brady didn't do that. That's not what you want to do.

That creates drama. Everybody's walking on eggshells. That's not good for the culture. Also, both of them doesn't make them a bad person. I don't think Aaron Rogers is a bad person or Kyle's a bad person. They're kind of individual guys. They're kind of aloof. It can be a little prickly.

They're different. I've got multiple Packer players for 10 years. stories about Aaron Rogers. Most I've never told. Maybe I'll write about them in a book. But, you know, they're a little hurtful, a little harsh, but they've given me really the backstory on Aaron. And I mean, they've come from agents and players and teammates and coach. And I've had several of these in the last couple years with Kyler Murray. Like Aaron and Kyler are great, but they're not lean in guys all the way. They're not Mahomes and Curry. They're not Brady Duncan. And it is, is harder to win. You're not going to get dynasties with either of.

You're not going to get a dynasty with Kyler or Aaron, although they're good enough to. You got to lean in. It doesn't make them bad guys, but they are unique and at times make it more difficult. So the question always becomes, are you a lean in guy or just a star and a rich guy? And to this point, that's what Aaron is. I mean, the Green Bay Packers acknowledged in the last month, Mark Murphy said, we don't have a three-year deal with Aaron. We have three one-year deals. They finally figured Aaron out. Took a while, but they finally figured it out. Aaron's Aaron. He's not a lean-in guy. That's not what he is. Again, doesn't make him a bad guy. He's going to do what he wants to do. And Kyler, to me, is not. Now, could he become a lean-in guy?

Maybe. But right now, he's not. But we have a history here. Coaches set the cultures. If you want a dynasty, Duncan Brady, got to lean in. Can't be top of the market. Got to be coached hard. Got to be occasionally called out. Got lean in. Stefan Mahomes. They aren't quite Brady and Curry.

Brady and Duncan yet. Not quite as team friendly a deal, but they're rewarded with titles. So that's my takeaway. It's not a work ethic thing. I just saw a story this morning with Russell Wilson. And this is why I think Russell Wilson and Matt Stafford's got some of these qualities too. Russell Wilson was talking about Denver and he said, quote, yeah, what's the most important things about winning?

Whatever that means, we just want to do that. That's his quote. So that's really the key. If you want to win, don't air, if you want to win at the highest level. Because remember, with Kyler and Aaron, the ending of seasons is becoming very predictable. Aaron's seasons don't end well. It's about seven, eight years of this. And Kyler's last three years have not ended well.

you want your seasons to end well lean in don't have to be top of the market you can be paid well got to be got to be coached hard got to be barked at got to be all in can't ghost teammates that's all i'm saying it's not a work ethic thing not it but we we have a precedent on cultures if you lean in you get dynasties if you mostly lean in you can win a title if you're if you're not leaning in your seasons are going to end with disappointment Either in the NBA playoffs or, by the way, NFL playoffs. For the record, LeBron has generally been a lean-in guy with teammates. He leaned in the most in his career in Miami.

That's the one time LeBron leaned in, all in. L.A.? No, really. I'm doing my own thing. How's it gone? All right. Good stuff today. Kyler, I appreciate you still. I'm your guy. I like that part of that little thing there.

Okay, so everybody this morning, all I hear is this. Oh, we got to blow up the Utah jazz. Oh, it's just you get you got take a deep breath. And also, if Brooklyn gets swept, what does it do for Kevin? I don't think they win the series. What if they get swept? Talk about that coming up. 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. 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'll say it. 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. 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 Jek. 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. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. So good to have you in. So Utah got beat. No Luca, Utah loses the series, and they needed to win this series. They got both their stars. They're at home. Dallas doesn't have their star. So Dallas deserves some credit. Let's Let's be honest about it. Utah didn't play terribly. They shot the ball. Well, he shot like 56%. Let's just give Dallas some credit. But I want to talk about this. Expectations are a direct link

to happiness or sadness. Certain states have no obstacles. We live in California. During the pandemic, we had a $75 billion surplus. You can grow anything in California. We can grow all our own food. We have Mediterranean weather. Our economy is the fifth biggest in the world in California. Bigger, significantly bigger than Canada, a country, significantly bigger than 200 countries. It's the fifth biggest in the world because the Mediterranean climate, the proximity to the ports and the Pacific Ocean, you can grow everything here. We can grow all our own fruits and then sell them to you.

More people live in L.A. County than 41 states. So we don't have a lot of obstacles here. We screw stuff up occasionally, but don't have obstacles. A lot of states have obstacles. Alaska, hard to grow your own stuff. Idaho, not much of a population or a tax base. There's financial limitations in Kentucky or Idaho or Vermont. Texas, you're not going to be able to grow stuff like we can.

You don't have the Pacific Ocean as your neighbor. There's states that have obstacles. So don't be unrealistic about what it can do. There are companies that have obstacles. You just don't have funding, right? Some companies get funding, some don't. Banks have limitations when you compare them to Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley companies can grow tech much faster than the highly regulated banking industry.

Okay? It's an obstacle. So your bank stock's not going to grow as fast as your Facebook generally or your tech stock. People have obstacles. If you grew up with abuse in poverty, just getting a college degree in being a good person, you have perhaps overachieved. And there are people that come from, you know, wild support, great this, great that. So everybody this morning wants to whack Utah.

Oh, it's going, blow it up. Utah is really a great franchise. They're fantastic. They're the Green Bay Packers. They're Wisconsin football. Wisconsin football's never, ever, ever been the best team in college football. The fact they get to Rose Bowls and they're from a state with no high school football stars is unbelievable. Only two programs in college football do it.

Oregon, they got Phil Knight. in Wisconsin. There's no high school football stars in their state and they're top 10 all the time. Utah, you can't blow it up. Orlando tried that post-Dwhite Howard, how'd it work. They're irrelevant. Utah's always relevant. They're just never great.

The only time they've been great in back-to-back years, they got the steel of the draft, Stockton in one draft, Malone and the other. And they almost won a championship. There was a guy named Michael Jordan that screwed everything up. Now, you can get rid of Quinn Snyder and get a new voice. that has been suggested. All right. I think he's ready to go and maybe you're ready to get off of Quinn Snyder. I don't have a problem with that. But the Yankees and the Lakers, they don't have any obstacles. Big brands, a lot of money, lot of revenue. They can blow it up. They can start over.

They're attractive to free agents because of their history or their city, the entertainment connections. But, you know, this idea that, listen, Utah's good. They lost Joe Ingalls early in the year. Last year they lost Bogdanovich. And they're not a friend. that can lose a score. This is their ceiling. It's Wisconsin football. I used to cover the Portland Braille players.

It's geographically isolated. It's cold and wet in the winter. It's not a big free agent destination. You got to make a big trade. You've got to steal somebody in the draft. You've got to find a Damien Lillard in the draft. And then you've got to get lucky in a big trade. Hopefully you're healthy.

I'm going to blow anything up. Listen, Dallas, Jalen Brunson is playing out of his mind. Spencer Dinwiddie is average in 20 a night. And by the way, we have seen what Dallas is doing. doing, Chris Paul got hurt. Chris Paul. Sun's won like 11 of 17 games. John Morant got hurt.

Grizzlies won like 18 to 20 games. Luca got hurt. Mavericks are winning some games. You can win without your star briefly. You're not going to win championship. You're better eventually over the long term with your John Morant and your Chris Paul and your Luca. Let's not overreact to this stuff.

Utah is relevant. Every year. Wisconsin football is relevant every year. They're in the Rose Bowl picture almost every year. But what are the expectations? There are obstacles in Utah and Free Agency. That's why they have to go so often to international to get some emerging stars. And they do a great job of that. And that's why Wisconsin has to leave the state to go find their talent. But sometimes you just got to give another team credit. Like Dallas, Utah didn't play poorly. you. Utah became the first team, I think, in like 20 years last night to shoot 56% at home and lose. They didn't play that terrible. I mean, Rudy Gobert, you know, I can just throw them away. He's an All-Star. Donovan Mitchell's fantastic. But, you know, there are these moments and these companies and these states where there is a ceiling, and I think Utah has done a remarkable job in my

lifetime, like Wisconsin football, to get the very most out of their organization. It's not, I've never seen him win a championship. It may never happen. Utah got very close and Wisconsin's gone and won Rose Bowls. But expectations are the direct correlation to happiness and sadness. Utah, just can't afford to lose a guy like Joe Ingalls or a Bogdanovich. You need every bucket you can get and they don't have them. And Dallas right now is playing out of their minds. And whenever you lose your star or something happens, when you lose your John Morant, when you lose your Chris Paul, when you lose your Luca, What really happens? It's sort of unspoken.

Coaches will tell you this. Everybody plays a little better defense. Everybody wants to show the coaching staff. Hey, we're okay without that guy. And teams get this little rise. You know, they always say this with interim coaches and football. The team always plays better with the interim coach. Because everybody's like, hey man, that coach had it out for me.

The interim guy is going to see everybody plays better with an interim football coach. And NBA teams all the time. I shouldn't say all the time because LeBron, he left, but LeBron controlled the total offense for every team he's been on. A lot of times stars leave, and everybody plays a little above themselves for about two, three weeks.

That's what Dallas is doing. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, speaking of losing a star, the Bucks announced yesterday that Chris Middleton will miss the remainder of the series

with the Bulls due to a sprained MCL in his left knee. Boy, this is going to be really feisty here because Chicago is a very good get a bucket team. They don't shoot threes. They're old school. They got a lot of guys that get a bucket. These are going to be tight games now. Well, yes. Now, I think that Milwaukee will still win, but this is a serious injury. So he's going to be re-evaluated in two weeks. If the bucks advance, this will provide a possible timeline for his return later in these playoffs. Over the past two seasons, the Bucks are 86 and 34 when Janice Middleton and Drew Holiday are on the floor together, including the playoffs. He's been

averaging 20 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists, shooting 37% from 3 this year. You know, so we compare, I think we both compared Milwaukee a little bit to the Spurs dynasty. Yes. A dominating big, who's a very good team-friendly guy, and surrounding players, Manu Genoobli, Chris Middleton, Drew Holliday, Tony Parker. Very good. All-Star-ish. Very good. But we don't put them in the Showtime Laker class or the Warrior class or the Shaq

Kobe class or the MJ class. Even the Healds. They're not an all-time dynasty, but there's something there. We don't talk about the Spurs' Dinance, almost at all. We talk about all these dynasties. And I think where they're similar is, the reason San Antonio's dynasty worked. And Popovich would rest guys and rest guys before. everybody else did. And they were always healthy and rested for the playoffs. They needed all their

gas, like all of it. And if you had to take Manu Genoobli out in some of those teams in the playoffs, it's not the same. Right. And I don't, there's not as much room for error. And I just think Milwaukee's a team that could do a dynasty. They could win three and five years. But they don't have a ton of room for air. They don't have an, you know, outside of Yonis, the two, Chris Middleton was basically a throw-in guy in a trade with Detroit. He's a good player. You're not Pippin. He's not Shaq Kobe.

You had like two stars. I don't think they have a ton of room for error. That said, I still think they could win three titles in five years. Right, but I think they need all of their pieces. All of it. I don't know that they can win. And it's going to sound dramatic because, yes, I understand how great Yonis is. But the deeper you get into the playoffs, the more time Yonis

is playing, the longer these series are. It's a lot on your body on top of a long regular season. And you had a long season last season because you won the championship. So you played all the way through the playoffs last year. You need all your pieces. And Chris Middleton is a huge component to this team winning.

Yeah. All dynasties aren't even. Like we know the Cowboys dynasty. Those teams were ridiculously talented. Right. Like the Patriots were well coached with Brady, but outside of the Randy Moss years, they weren't wildly dynamic down the field. Like, not all dynasties are the same.

And the spurs and the bucks have that feel like they could be a dynasty. One's already been a dynasty. But it's like a boring kind of methodical. Well, the brands are not the same. The stars are not the same. It doesn't have the same. Explosiveness. Yes.

Now, Yonis is an exciting player. But he's still on a brand that isn't necessarily in that. We don't speak about them in that type of air. but if they went back to back, that might change. But they're going to need Middleton to do that. Like, he's just too, he's too crucial to what they do. Now, the series is tied 1-1. Game 3 is tonight in Chicago.

The bucks are favored by three, according to Fox Webb, in this game. But these injuries could play a massive role in how things start to play out. Booker is out for a couple weeks. I didn't think this would be a good series. The injury actually helps the entertainment value of the series, because now these games are all coin flips. This is a, to me, it's a coin flip series. would probably take Milwaukee because I have the best player on the floor late and close games, Janus. So after the Niners traded up to draft Tray Lance last year, it was assumed that

Jimmy Garoppolo's time in San Francisco was done. But then he started 15 games and led the Niners to the playoffs. And there are still a lot of questions in everyone's minds about how this is all going to play out. And Jimmy G. was recently asked about his experience last season dealing with all the uncertainty. His response was it was a strange year. I don't know if I wish that on anybody. This is kind of the first time he's talked in any sort of negative light about it, though. He was really great about it last year. He was very consistent. I thought he was a really good soldier considering the situation. Yeah. And went out there and played when they didn't, they didn't put Trey in. So obviously he has injury issues, which I believe is the reason why

H. Ray, Tray Lance is there at all because Jimmy does win games, but he can't rely on him physically, and he underwent shoulder surgery this offseason. So they're still hanging on to him at the moments. He has $25 million this year. That's the tag that someone's going to have to pick up, obviously, if they get him. But I don't, I think there's a lot of components in play. I just think it's very curious that he's still there when there was so much movements. We always talk about great teams and bad teams. I think the Niners are the most interesting team in the league next year. I think they're really interesting. Let me just throw this out to you. What if there's doubts in the organizations with Traylands? There's doubts. And they're thinking of themselves,

okay, how do we slow play this? Get some picks back. And so if it doesn't work like a Green Bay, we don't get tagged for it. It's not embarrassing. It's like we tried. It didn't work. But we kept getting to the playoffs. Like the Green Bay Jordan love thing is like, oh, that's embarrassing. It's a disaster. Brutal. Brutal. What if you have another one of those on your hands and you're like to yourself,

okay, so is it possible to move this, move that, Debo Samuel, can we, I just wonder inside the building, if you don't know yet. I think it's okay to not know yet about Tray Lance. Okay, but Thanksgiving, we're going to have to have a discussion. They just gave up a lot to get him. They moved up. And they had options. Right.

And we've crushed the Packers for it. Right. Now, again, I would say the Packers had Aaron Rogers in the building, first ballot hall of fame or not Jimmy G. And they handled it very poorly. Where the Niners did not, they were very transparent with Jimmy about what they were going to do and how it was going to play out throughout the season.

It seems like there was a lot of communication between the three of them, Trey Lance, Shanahan, and Jimmy Garapolo. But it's just very curious because he's a cap hit and he's another quarterback in the room. He's a winning guy and he's very well liked in the locker room. So maybe you're right. Maybe they're trying to get as much as they can for Jimmy because they got him for so cheap. Like, why be greedy about it?

So maybe they are trying to get the most that they can. They said they're not going to trade Debo. If someone came with six picks, I think they would probably trade Debo. Yeah. But I'm with you. I can't wait to see what Tray Lance does this year because it feels like, and we're kind of hearing from people, they're not sure if Tray Lance is the guy yet, which could end up being a disaster considering what they gave up to get him.

So the USFL inaugural weekend was very entertaining last weekend, and this weekend proves to be the same. They will be having a Talladega-themed night during Saturdays Birmingham Stallions Houston Gamblers games. So NASCAR drivers Tyler Reddick and Ty Dillon will be on hand to sign autographs and take photos with the fans. And fans can also take pictures with an official NASCAR Cup series car and enter to win tickets to the GEICO 500 at Talladega on Sunday.

Both the stallions and gamblers are 1-0. entering week two. Stalions are led by their quarterback, Jamar Smith, who got them to lead with 23 seconds left in their first game to beat the generals 28, 24. Gamblers held off a second half pushed by the Panthers in week one to win 1712. So the stallions and gamblers can be seen tomorrow. Seven Eastern on FS1 and USFL action starts tonight at 8 Eastern with the Michigan Panthers and New Jersey Generals and continues tomorrow at noon. Pittsburgh battles Philadelphia. and the NASCAR Cup series from Talladega can be seen Sunday on Fox at 2.30 Eastern. Enjoy it with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask?

Along with my fellow pro-bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. 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, 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 celebrate. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you

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

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

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

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

pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now 10 years in the NBA Ryan Hollins now the Houston Rockets TV analyst is joining us in studio it's great to see him again so before we get to last night's games I want to go to a game Ben Simmons will join the circus the Brooklyn Nets so listen the experiment so far is a first round exit a second round exit and they're down oh two Ryan it ain't great

Simmons could be a life preserver. There's limitations. My takeaway, though, when you look at KD right now, and he's sitting there thinking, this thing hasn't been as good as I thought, right? And also KD's getting older. Yeah. A few more injuries.

It's almost like an end of an era. LeBron and KD can't just do it by themselves anymore. What do you think, Simmons, do you think the Simmons experiment? Because it is an experiment that he hasn't played for a year and a half. Will it work? I think there's a strong chance it does because you're not asking Ben Simmons to play a position of skill.

You're not asking him to be Ray Allen. You're not asking him to make shots. You're asking Ben Simmons to do things that he can do. All-N-Ba defender, push the ball in transition, grab some boards. You're not asking Ben to be anything else. You have two guys. The two best scores in the NBA.

And you're saying, Ben, pushing transition, get him some easy looks. Because when I look at Kevin Durant right now in this series, He's not getting easy looks. That's right. The defense is able to load up on KD. When I'm looking at Karee, he's better creating off the bounce, right? Yeah, could I make this argument?

Talk to me. Karee is not the ideal fit for KD because he's not a classic point. Chris Paul and KD would be way better. Karee's a score. He's basically Kobe, but smaller. And so you think to yourself, Kari and Kady are great. No, Simmons with KD, is a better fit. He doesn't need the shots.

He'll score 20 with that. He was scoring 20 when he played without the jumper. So my argument is Kyrie and Katie are successful because they're so damn talented. But they're not. I mean, Wade and LeBron were not perfect fits. They were just so great. They bought in defensively and that made them work. But when I look at Kyrie and Katie, I think they can work in the sense that the higher that you go,

it's not about offense. It's about guys who can go and get their shot. So you got the two best shot creators in the league, arguably, in Kyrie and Katie. and maybe in history on the same team, they need that buffer. So remember when James Harden came in, the idea was point guard Hardin. Get these guys shots.

You know, hey, Kyrie goes down, be triple double Hardin. But for the most part, get these guys shots. If Ben Simmons works out, and he's going into dribble handoffs, he's running pick and rolls, he's getting to the rim, getting dunks, getting open looks,

Katie just needs an ounce of pressure relieved off of him. But Kevin Durant, creating his shot off the bounce isn't best. But I want you to look for this, Colin. I remember I covered the Clippers in this series where, you know, Patrick Beverly had a phenomenal game. He got up under, you know, KD and rode him off and forced them and got real physical with him. And KD. That was the moment. Hey, I'm Kevin Durant.

And Kevin Durant came back in the Clippers building and what he did. He lit up the Clippers and what he did. He simplified his game. So that's what I'm going to look for. Catch and shoot. One dribble pull up. He became so efficient that you couldn't guard him. And that's when we're looking at Kevin Durant before the Achilles as the best play.

on the planet. So I think that adjustment is going to be intact, and they're going to have to do it from a team aspect, but you've got to make things a lot easier on KD. And Katie's so cerebral, man. He's watching that film. He's watching the tape and knowing he got to be better. So it's interesting with the Hardin. I liked Philadelphia, who I thought had the right coach, the right star, the right chemistry. They got rid of a bunch of stuff, Curry, draft picks, drumming, band, and they just brought one guy in. Now, the feeling is always with Hardin, because he used to score. 30 a game, that if he doesn't score 30, he's not successful. Yeah, yeah.

Right? It might take away. I don't know. I watched his distribution in Brooklyn get way better. And then I'm watching him play with Maxie. And he doesn't seem pissed that he's not always getting the shots. Is Harden actually doing? And we don't view him as team guy.

He's sort of ISO guy. But it's Harden saying, listen, man, I can facilitate, give you 18, facilitate. and we can win a title here, the perception is what's happened to Hardin? Is what's happening to him is he's more comfortable in his own skin and he wants to win and so he's going to give you nine less than night.

Or do you see like, when he scores 17 are you like, this doesn't work for me? You know, it's funny, when I covered James this year, I was a Houston analyst, I covered him from a national perspective before and when I was saying that he should have been the MVP of the league is because Hardin will give you the big scoring numbers,

but if Clint Capella was open at the rim, Hardin would throw that thing out of bounds trying to get compelled to ball. He's so selfless, he was asked to score. That's what the team needed from him. I think he's bought into that role. I don't think that's something that James Harden minds at all, but there are moments where you're going to need, hey, give me that 38.

I need a bucket. In a closeout game, but I think he's extremely comfortable in doing what he needs to do. And I'll give you this fool for thought. I see a lot of parallels from Chris Paul in James Harden in the sense where Chris Paul younger in his career, he'd give you those monster stat lines, 35. you know, 15, nine steals. He just was a workhorse. Chris in Houston

gave you the big scoring. But Chris, since then, has realized he has to use his teammates. He has to use his mind. He's got to save it for the fourth quarters. I think that James Hardin is in that in-between stage where he physically can't do what he used to do, and he's going to have to use

that mental edge where, hey, man, I'm the distributor, but when you need me, I got to be ready. And then he's got a dog. I think, Invits MVP of the league in my opinion. He's got a dog and then beat. Yeah. It is interesting though. Hardin's not giving us the points. So the immediate reaction from the media is oh, he's not the same guy. Well, players, Tom Brady acknowledged late in his career. I can't carry bad receivers. I got to get great receivers. Then I can win your games. So the Warriors, again, you follow this stuff.

You follow the G League. Are you shocked at how good Jordan Poole is? How valuable he suddenly is for this team. Yes and no. The volumes that it speaks to me is culture. You know, Colin, culture is king in a lot of scenarios. You know, when you have a good culture, San Antonio for so long, you're plugging play with a lot of guys. And to me, what you're seeing now from Jordan Poole and his explosion is they bought into him, they developed him, and now you're seeing the rewards of confidence. When we saw Golden State earlier in the year, it wasn't Curry. It was Jordan Poole being aggressive. No, when you watch these highlights from him, he is aggressive.

Like, Steph generally will pull up. This kid will go right to the rim. He'll go right to the basket. He's not playing like a second or third option. What I'll do respect to Andrew Wiggins, Andrew Wiggins had the big paycheck. Andrew Wiggins is like, I'm going to defend, I'm going to run the floor.

I'm going to do what I need to do for this team to win. Pool is like, yo, I'm that dude. Like, all right, Steph, you take yours. I'm going to take mine. And now because he has that confidence, it's paying dividends. And I think the world is starting to realize Jordan Pool is like that. Minnesota lost two 20-point leads.

They're young, they're kids. I look at it and think, yeah, of course they did. That's what young teams do. They did get the high and low. The veteran teams, like Milwaukee gives you the same kind of thing. You ever been in a playoff game or a big game where you just, I mean, what did Memphis have? Was it a 20-0-0-0 run or a 24-0 run? Have you ever been on the bottom end of those things?

Yeah, I felt like I was on the other side. So when I was playing for the Clippers, we go up too low at home. We're throwing parties. We're thinking about the celebration. tour. We're up. We're better than Memphis. We got this. We go on and get, I don't know, you call it a gentleman's suite. We lose four straight games. Four straight games in the most embarrassing fashion. So it wasn't a big 25 point give up, but it was like we were not as good as we thought they were and they figured us out. So that's embarrassing because now you have

to get back in the lab in the summertime. You have to work out and go, why was I not able to score in this position? Why didn't we defend what mistakes did we lose to go down four straight games to a team that we should have been better than. So I would say that's the most comparable thing that I see. But when I'm looking at Minnesota and I'm looking at Memphis, it's Memphis's time. That's right. That's exactly right. Like they're a year and a half ahead in the process.

Yes. Yeah. So by the way, John Morant goes out. They don't dip. Like right now, they have handed the organization to Ant. They need another offseason. Like they're transitioning from Kat's team to Ant's team. And we're watching them transition.

in real time. They need an off-season and a camp to kind of figure this out. Okay, Ryan Hollins, he's got a podcast, The Opinionated Seven Footers with Brendan Haywood. Great seeing you again in studio. Appreciate it, brother. Rockets analyst for the Houston Rockets. Okay, our two and a Friday is next. Live in L.A., it's The Hurd. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the Fourth. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.