The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Bold NBA playoff predictions

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

Colin shares his bold predictions for the upcoming NBA playoffs It's looking like Jaden Daniels might go number 2 in the NFL draft   Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go. It's hour two. It's great to be here. Thanks, Daryl. 76ers president. I think they're going to beat Miami, then beat the Knicks.

We'll get to that in a second. Nick right around the corner. J. Mack, a very rambunctious first hour. I don't consider them hot takes, lukewarm, but the laser vision to be able to see through things. I think they're going to land well. Oh, by the way, did you hear now the bed? The betting markets have Jaden Daniels going number two to Caleb?

Who was on that a week ago? I mean, weren't the betting markets way, way wrong all last draft? I mean, a lot of people cleaned up if you faded the betting market. So there's some gamesmanship happening. This is Jaden Daniel stuff? Who was it that came on? Was it Mangini who was like, Jaden Daniel? Are you out of your mind?

Somebody came on here recently and was like, no. Might have been your boy Merrill Hodge, who I greatly disagree with all. Yes, you do. All right, so last year, on this day, I made five bold NBA predictions. Four ended up being right. I said the Sixers won't get past the second round. I said, health, not the opponent, will dictate the Lakers success, and AD and LeBron were healthy in the playoffs. They got the conference finals.

I said, the sons are going to roll the clippers. The Warriors will win a physical series with the Kings. By the way, y'all love Sacramento. And then I said you'd complain about the officiating. old teams will flourish. I was wrong, although I did say Miami was going to surprise people, but I was wrong on that.

So I'm going to make five bold, you know, reasonably bold prediction. I mean, I'm not having Denver out in the first round, so don't hold your breath. My first one is the Thunder, the number one seed, are going to win one series max, then they're out.

Youngest number one seed ever, very dependent on SGA, who's a wonderful player, but he's the only guy averaging over 20. And playoff defense tightens up and you make the star really have to earn his points. They would also face the clippers of the Mavs, more veteran players in round two. They are not your typical number one seed. I love the decade going forward, but this number one seed will get extinguished very quickly.

The second one is the Suns, the Phoenix Suns, will course correct and they'll beat the T-W wolves. I've gone back and forth on this. First of all, Grace and Allen actually became a really, really good piece for them. Bradley Beal, finally healthy, has been absolutely on fire. And you know what? They say styles make fights in the NBA playoffs. Like Indiana is a bad matchup for Milwaukee. Phoenix is a bad matchup for Minnesota.

So you've got guys with playoff experience. You've got Bradley Beal, healthy and on fire. I think the T-wolves get bounced first series. The Clippers will unravel in spectacular fashion, and Mount Balmer will erupt. Westbrook, should you start him now for defense? Hardin's last couple of playoff series, have it been great. Kauai might not play. There's resentment there.

I love Tailu as a coach, but I think Paul George is just about over it. You just don't know what you get. Eight straight missed games by Kauai with a knee injury. I've got more questions than I do answer. they'll unravel, the Mavs will beat them. The Lakers will get through the play-in, and the Warriors won't. First of all, Sacramento, I'll take them tonight.

But then they'd have to beat the Lakers who they hammered when A.D. was out, they won't. Or the Pelicans, and I don't think it's a great matchup. Listen, the Lakers match up very well with New Orleans. They hammered them every time they play this year, almost every time. You saw the first half the other night. They have length, they have size. LeBron just dominates any game against Zion.

I think he's 7 and 1 against Zion. Lakers are a great matchup against the Pels, and I think if they had to face Golden State, after getting hammered at home without AD, no way the Warriors shoot like that. So I think the Lakers get through the playing, the Warriors don't. And finally, I know we love the Knicks,

but they are so dependent on Jalen Brunson. You can win with one star in energy in the regular season, especially at the end of the regular season where half the teams feel like they're tanking. You're not beating Philadelphia or Miami with one guy. So I think the Knicks right now are a better story than they are a team. I love Brunson and the direction they're going. I think Philadelphia would beat him in about six. Miami, five or six.

So there's my bold predictions. And Nick right now joins us live. First things first. All right, pick them apart. Is there any one of those that you just think is egregiously wrong? Well, I don't know if we can throw all five back on the screen, but I got to tell you something, Colin Cowherd. This might be a five for five. I love four of them. And I'm the one, so Thunderwin one series max is less an indictment on them and more the fact that in round two, they're

going to be playing Dallas, because Dallas is going to beat the Clippers, as you are saying, in point three. And I think Dallas is going to the conference finals at a minimum. So I, one and three were in total lockstep. The Lakers are going to win tonight, and then we can talk more about a Lakers Nugget series, which I think is more intriguing than people give it credit for. And this is not an indictment on the Knicks, but it is really a testament to what Tibido is done and what Jalen Brunton is done. But because of the injuries and because they play so hard all year, they don't really have an extra gear for the postseason. And so I totally agree with one, three, four, and five.

Number two, I could see happening. And I think that the Timberwolves trying to work back in Carl Anthony Towns, we have to see how that goes. I'm not sure if I'm going to pick that one, but one, three, four, and five, I love. And the Sun's beating the Timberwolves certainly plausible. I'm not sure if it's my pick. But I think those are actually really good, bold prediction. Okay, I'm going to throw this at you. I said if you have an MVP vote, SGA, Luca, or Yokic, that you can make an argument on Luca because of this.

First of all, all of them statistically are great. But Luca has been able to overcome, like LeBron did briefly, Kyrie's drama. And it's not a small thing. He unraveled the Celtics. Brooklyn was a mess. Considered difficult or a bust in Cleveland. LeBron solved that Rubik's Cube for a couple years, and then it went sideways. And Kyrie goes to Luca.

It was a little noisy year one. Actually, I think I'd give it to Luca because I think valuable means what did I overcome? I think that's a real thing, and if Luca gets it, I have no problem. Your thoughts? Well, I agree with a ton of that. Listen, J-MAC's been calling Luca the best player in the world for at least a few months now. And as much as I love Luca, I don't think that's a title he can hold until he at least shows up in a finals. But I agree with you, and I think I agree with J. Mack, he's the MVP this year.

And it is what you said. Now, Kyrie deserves credit himself for not creating drama, for playing as outstanding as he did, by his standards having a relatively healthy season. And Kyrie had a great year. But what your point, which is, Kyrie has never been a part of winning basketball. all except for the three years alongside LeBron James, and now he is again. So Luca does get credit for that. He also just had a bananas season. In all of NBA, since the merger and the NBA, the only people to ever in a full season average more points per game than Luca did this year are Michael Jordan, Kobe, Brian,

and James Hardin. That's the list. You add to it that he had nine rebounds and nine assists, so he created, you know, 50, plus combined point rebounds and assists per game. The team was the hottest team in the league the last two months of the year, 15 and 2 in their last 17 games. They then rested games 81 and 82.

The team defense got better. And after Kyrie, you don't have a single top 100 player in the league on that roster. They still won 50 games. My ballot would be Luca, barely edging out Yokic, and then a clear number three in SGA. who I think had a phenomenal season, but not as good as Luca or Yokic. And listen, some people can take issue with this,

but when it's as close as Luca and Yokic are, I do give the tie to the guy who hasn't won one yet. And if, like, if Yokic hadn't won one yet, you'd say, okay, it's definitely his time. It's kind of how I felt last year with Embed. This is why guys like LeBron and Kareem and Jordan, instead of having 10 or 12 MVPs, they have six. six, five, and four, because when there's another great player who's having a great season,

and hasn't won one yet, they typically give it to him. I think Luca, the team won enough games. I think he deserves it. I went and watched the Lakers Warriors about 10 days ago because I thought it was the last chance maybe to see Stefan Clay. And my take after watching the games was Steve Kerr is running a lot of the offense through Clay Thompson, sending a message that Joe Lakers. Jacob, please outbit Orlando.

We have no size. We need shooters. And Clay had a really good April. Do you think it's Stefan Clay's, I mean, if they lose to Sacramento, I tend to think they'll win tonight, but they can't beat, they won't beat the Pels of the Lakers. Do you think they'll blow that thing up? Well, yeah, I mean, I think that, listen, I think tonight's a two and a half point spread. So obviously, either team could win.

I think Sacramento is going to win tonight. even though that Sacramento since the Malik Monk injury in particular has not looked great. In that building, this would be the biggest win for the Kings in 20 years because, to your point, I mean, this is a Bay Area not rivalry because the Warriors have been so much better, but, you know, that the fans, Kings fans don't love Warriors fans and Warriors fans don't care about Kings fans. So I think this will be a big home court advantage. But to your point, Colin, and I don't think this has gotten enough attention, I think we are less than 12 hours away from the final game, Steph, Clay, and

Draymond play together. I think that Clay is not on the team next year. When Clay said on Draymond's podcast that, you know, of course he wants to stay a warrior, but he has to prioritize things such as his mental health, that made me feel like, oh, this has not been fun for him. He is not happy. When you see Steph dealing with the drama he dealt with on the court in the game Draymond got kicked out of it, it just feels like this is the last stand. And so, yeah, for what I think this Warriors team is the fourth greatest NBA dynasty ever. Russell's Celtics, Jordan's Bulls, Cream and Magic's Lakers, and then this Warriors run. I would have that ahead of the Shaq Kobe Lakers.

And I think the last game they play together as a threesome is tonight. Yeah. So I want to throw up this new Olympic team going to Paris. There's like one more spot. And I said, I tend to like new things over old things. But when you put in the dream team against this team, if you took LeBron and Steph off it, and they've been in 11 finals and 13 years, they are clearly the old guard. They have carried this league physically interest ratings. When you go old and new, this is a bit of. an indictment on our AAU system. Team USA is a lot of guys who I don't know if they're in their prime, Jason Tatum, will you take the big shot? Booker scores, but they were awful in Phoenix before KD and Chris Paul. I think Dream Team would house these guys in their prime. Okay, well, hold on. That is, wait a minute, wait a minute. This is why, you can't say take LeBron and Steph off it. That's not a thing.

Can't be like, hey, take two of the best guys off it. And let's go, let's be, let's not do. I understand, and you don't do this, but a lot of people do. Revisionist, and put that back on the screen if we can. Revisionist basketball history. 1992, Larry Bird was cooked. He was done. It was not prime, not close.

His back had given out. True. Magic Johnson had already announced his retirement. Okay? Christian Leitner was not. in the NBA yet. Chris Mullen was fine. So that's four guys we can kind of dismiss to begin with. Barkley, Malone, Yewing, David Robinson, all those guys, John Stockton, none of them in 1992 had ever been to an NBA finals. None of them in 1992 had actually ever been close

to an NBA finals. So you have on that team, the only champions on the that team were Jordan, Magic, and Bird, and Magic was retired, and Bird was about to. So I'm not going to let you all of a sudden be like, oh, you know, back in my day, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And if you give me, if you're telling me I can have this, like everyone is transported to their apex prime, so you get LeBron from 10 years ago, step from three years ago, all of that, that's a different. But same with the Dream Team. And that's a different story.

But I don't, I'm not going to all of a sudden romanticize. The 1992 Dream Team got enough credit in real time. I don't think we have to now all of a sudden tear down the 2024 dream team to build it up. All right. You can have Bam out of bayou. I'm going to take David Robinson. That's just how I see the world. Okay.

That's fine. You can have Christian Leitner all take Devin Booker. I mean, what do you do it? and off the top you dismissed LeBron and Steph. How does that dream team look without Michael and Charles? Like, we got to be fair, Colin, but go ahead. Well, I mean, LeBron is going to be 40, but whatever. I'm not an ageist.

He's pretty good. He's pretty good. He's pretty good, but Bird couldn't move. Bird threw his back out, repaving his driveway and couldn't move anymore. Yeah, but Bird was like the seventh best player on that team. LeBron's the best on this team. That's kind of scary. Well, that's a testament to LeBron James.

Talk about that. All-N-B-A. Okay, fair enough. Finally, I do look at the Lakers and I think, I actually think they match up pretty well. I think old teams have to be situationally strategic. So, you know, I don't have a problem with like the Warriors sitting out a bunch of players so they're ready to go tonight. I think old players.

Sid M. B'd so he's ready for the... I think that's just... That's called strategy, and I'm okay with it in all of our sports. You believe the Lakers are best served, not doing what J. Mack and I say, which is lose tonight. Rest LeBron, you're going to end up beating whoever you play. You guys are out of your minds. So this... Hold on how much time we have. Go ahead.

But, okay, first of all, you... You're saying throw the game. Throw the game and then play Thursday. So on Thursday, you would either be playing the Kings who swept you this year because AD oddly cannot beat DeMontes Sabonis or the Warriors who just showed you a week ago they can hit 26 threes in a game. But set that aside, that's not even why it's so ludicrous. The reason why it's so ludicrous is this. If we all agree that the only chance the Lakers have of making the NBA finals, is beating the Denver Nuggets.

Yeah. The only round they have any shot of doing it is round one. They can't, the only path, Colin, is Denver when you have as much rest as possible, four days before game one. When LeBron and AD are both fully healthy as they are now. When you have two or three days between most games, and when LeBron is absolutely rolling, and the nuggets, oddly, are coming off a weird stretch where they blew a 17-point lead

and a got-to-have-it game to the Spurs in Game 81. Last year, all four of those games were locked going into the fourth quarter or in the fourth quarter. And what happened? LeBron, six weeks into the playoffs, was out of gas, and he didn't have great fourth quarters, and LeBron was ice-cold from three. Right now, he is healthy. and they would be rested between games because it's not every other night.

I'm not saying the Lakers would beat the Nuggets. What I'm saying is the only chance they have of beating the Nuggets is if they play them in round one. So of course that you win tonight, you get four days off, and you say, let's see if Jamal Murray can average 33 points a game as he did in the last time we played him in the playoffs. Let's see if LeBron shoots 21% from three, as he did last time against the Nuggets in the playoffs.

So you don't lose tonight to have to play a must-win game against a team that owns you or a legend in Steph Curry. That's a banana's opinion. It's an insane thing to say. And you would not actually tell the Lakers to do it if you were coaching them. You wouldn't. I would go to Rob Polenka and suggest it because my take is that they went to Boston and won. I think they could win without LeBron on the floor tonight.

I mean, they went to Boston without AD and LeBron and beat the Celtics. But does LeBron look tired? You see him on Sunday? The guys out there, Zion Williams has drafted 15 years after him. The idea is the greatest athlete-gunned league since LeBron. LeBron made him look like a small child. LeBron is rolling. Like, let you just keep it rolling, beat the nuggets,

and that would be spitting in the face of the basketball gods. Now, I don't know what you're at, you know, how much you believe in the basketball gods, but you don't want to test the basketball gods. Go win, handle your business, and you think LeBron, like if LeBron was given a truth serum and was asked, hey, if you're fully healthy,

which you are right now, who's better? You're Nikola Yokic. How's he answering it? He wants this opportunity, even if it's foolish. I think they win. I think they play the nuggets,

and then we see. First things first, he's a little under the weather, but nonetheless brought his A game today. I do appreciate your effort. Well, I just, I lost my voice. I apologize, but I feel great and I'll see you everybody in about 90 minutes. Thank you, Colin.

All right. First thing's first is after our show, Nick Wright. I thought our suggestion made a lot of sense. Big picture. Just say LeBron, sit tonight. AD's got back spasms. I don't buy the Sacramento thing. I've never bought in the light the beam thing.

I think they lose tonight. I just don't buy them. I think in a big, they don't have, again, the six men. of the year. They don't have monk off the bench. It's not a full straight Sacramento team. It's very dependent on Deeran Fox doing it. Mike Brown is starting the

undrafted Keon Ellis. He's got some love affair with him. Even though they have Davy on Mitchell who we loved at Baylor. I mean, that guys, I don't, Mike Brown's a great coach, great smart mind. I don't, we'll see what he pulls out of the hat tonight. All right. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days

a week within the I-Hard Radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 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 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 Podcast, 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 Bow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, it is so great to be here today. Do you know we have a weight room? Do you know a workout room on campus here? I slip past it today. I was thinking of getting a workout in later.

Getting a little pump? Man. Yeah, no, I've been there before. Nice. Throw some weights around today. Just throwing some plates around. Just getting energized for the NBA play end games that start tonight. Very excited for it.

I'll take the Warriors close over Sacramento, who is plagued by some injuries, and the Warriors are well-rested. Plus, I like in these big spots Golden State. Then I don't think they win another playing game. You said you're getting excited. Tank top season right around the corner? I haven't on a tank top since maybe the 80s. I don't need to be seen in the tank top.

It's just certain people know what they would wear. Well, your arms are kind of pasty. You do need a little bit of a tan. By the way, we should do some. kind of NBA jersey thing where we get you in an NBA jersey? Yeah, let's do that next year. Jay Mack with the news. No, no,

no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. Let's start with the best football team in the AFC East, the New York Jets, kicked off their voluntary off-season program yesterday. Guess who was there? Aaron Rogers. No darkness retreat this spring. He was

in attendance for day one. Good sign for the Jets. He did not attend all of it last. year. I'm sure he's looking around and be like, oh, we got a squat now. We got Mike Williams up in here. We got Hassan Redd. We got some guys. Yeah. Tough not to get excited, but I did this last year and I don't need to be heartbroken. I saw a picture of him walking in, had the shade, the aviator glasses on. He was in a really good mood. He had his hoodie on. Looks like he was in very good shape. Reportedly, he's put on some weight. He's gotten a little

thicker because that banged up O line in front of him. So the word on the street is Aaron is beefed up a little bit. A little heavier. this year. I'm excited to see some practice video. Will that get released or will they squelch that? I think he's hobbling around. I think he's saving that for the whatever streaming show he's been released.

But where are you on aviators? I call them hater blockers because they reject, you know, you're looking at the aviators. They reject off. Roger's sending a signal on day one, huh? I don't have any aviator glasses. I think they look good on certain guys. Pilots wear them, obviously. You know, pilots

starting doing Ray Bands. They're doing the aviator thing. I don't wear them, but they look good on other people. I know your social media, guys. I saw you guys just filming a TikTok here, so maybe we need you in an NBA jersey with some aviators. That's a look for you. That's not a terrible look for me tomorrow. Next up, the Houston Texans. A lot of hype this offseason. This is a team on the rise.

At it's Stefan Diggs, Joe Mixin, Danielle Hunter. I mean, this team is really on the uptick. They spent $178.5 million this offseason and guaranteed money. fourth most in the NFL. You can do that when your quarterback's on a rookie deal. D'Amico Ryan's is not paying attention to the height. We're always hunting. Expectations on the outside, whatever that may be.

It really doesn't change who we are. It doesn't, the expectation on the outside don't permeate inside our building. We don't care about expectations. Talk, doesn't win games. We have to go out and play good football when that time comes. Very excited. I was going to downgrade them. This division, actually, we've always looked at it as kind of weak.

Jags, Trevor Lawrence is back, Houston another great offseason, Anthony Richardson back with a great coach. How about this? This division ends up being one of the top three divisions in football. We've always thought it's like the NFC South, it's weaklings. I don't think it is. Well, somebody's going to miss the playoffs. Tennessee is missing the playoffs.

Well, we know that. You think three teams are playoff now? No, I think, but they're all feel playoff viable. I think a lot of it will be health. I worry about Anthony Richardson's playing style and health. CJ Stroud sits in the pocket. Trevor Lawrence mostly sits in the pocket. Anthony, part of his game is moving.

I mean, he got banged up last year more than once before the season ended, so I worry about that. Here's the problem. The schedule order is not out, but the opponents have been released. Texans will play a first-play schedule. Here are their road games. Okay, let's hear it. At Dallas, at Green Bay, at Minnesota, at the Chiefs. at the Jets.

They got smashed by the Jets outdoors in the rain last year. And then the last one's Patriots. Now at home, they get the Ravens. They get the Bills. They get the dolphins. Bears, lions. Colin, that schedule is brutal.

Yeah, it's a tough schedule. So, again, I'm not, we're not talking a 12-win team here. We're talking a 10-win team. This is why the Colts are the bad in that division. Colter. Yeah. Again, Shane Steichen.

They're not, they're not. schedule, they get the weaker opponents. Yes. Houston, because the first place has to play. I mean, no, the schedule, you know, I think you and I agree on this. We've always been big schedule guys. I think the schedule matters in the NFL.

And when you play teams and what teams you play, Houston schedule, that's why I downgraded him, I said, go look at their schedule. It's just going to be, because you know the teams they were going to play, it's brutal. Like, have you seen Atlanta's schedule? I have done.

Cupcake City. Yeah. Have you seen the Chargers schedule? Tough? Not great? No, they were bad last year. Oh, it's good. Pretty doable schedule.

Yeah. Listen, man, last year we talked about this. Remember the Lions? We looked at the schedule. We were like, holy cow. Jared Goff has to go outdoors like twice all season. And like no times in December? It's like, wow, that's a big win.

If you could get those indoor games in December, January, that's not bad at all. You want that. Final story is in the NBA. We'll go to the Bucks and Pacers' first round playoff series. Kind of spicy. Milwaukee struggle against Indie this year, 1 and 4, including a loss in the in-season tournament. A lot of trash talk between these two,

but a lot of chains for the Bucks. Doc Rivers believes that things are going to be better, and Damien Lillard is very fired up. We've just been through a lot since then. You know, we've had some down moments, then we've come back from those moments, and then you get a new coach, and then we have a different way about us,

different style of play. Just so many different things we've learned about ourselves, you know, just from going through stuff. Yeah, it depends. If Yannis plays five games in the series, they probably win. If he doesn't, they lose. He's going to miss game one.

From Woz within the last hour, is that the bucks are prepared to be without Yannis for the start of the series. So that's two games. Sounds like it. If he was going to miss game one, they'd say he's out game one. But the start of the series,

his two games with the hope that he returns later from this calf injury. Now, let's be real. If you're Yonis, are you pushing it? The calf? A kill is you do not want to risk it. Calfs tend to be injuries that you think you've recovered from. So you push it and re-injure it. That's just like the history of the calf. Kevin Durant. I've done, I've injured my calf twice. Both times I came back too early. Both times I didn't feel it. Both times I'm like, yeah, tweaks a little, it's fine. So you know Yonis is itching to get back. So, hey, listen, Again, if I get Janice the last four games of the series, I like my chances. If not, I'll take Indiana.

I think Pacers plus money is a smart. There's going to be several upsets in the first round, East and West. Well, several. Seven games. You and I both have Phoenix. Yeah, that's kind of an upset. I mean, KD. Booker, and Beale doesn't feel like a 1-8 hockey upset. I mean, I'm sorry.

Grayson Allen's playing great. I mean, they've got four guys that can hit three. Upset from a home court perspective. Mavs are the five. The Mabs are, first of all, the Kauai may not play, so if the Clippers lose, that's not a big upset. You said the Sixers over the Knicks, I disagree, but... You like the Knicks over the Sixers. Who's the second?

In Jalen Brunson, I trust, my friend. You know, these end-of-the-year winning streaks are always... Fools. Yeah, they're fools gold in the NBA, because half the teams you play are literally tanking, and then the star teams are generally resting guys. They lower minutes for their stars. So you can go to nine games. game winning streak when 10 of 11 in the NBA at the end of the season, you're like,

two legitimate close wins is about all I can. Like with Philadelphia, eight game winning streak. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. The brilliant EQESUV from Mercedes-Benz available digital light technology. So smart, even the headlamps are thinking the vehicle is all electric.

the feeling is all Mercedes. Learn more at MBUSA.com slash EQE-SUV. 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. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA grate fight.

All happening in only one place. This league uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines, And me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. On the IHeart Radio 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. 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 where 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 tauntons 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The air begins for the reigning national champion, Michigan Wolverines with their annual maze and Blue Game. As new head coach Sharon Moore looks to see who Wolverines. rise up to lead this year's team.

The Michigan Spring Games Saturday at noon eastern on Fox. Ohio State wins the nattie. Michigan pulls way, way back. Eight wins? I'd have to see the schedule. Closer to seven. They're going to pull way back. Can't lose 18 players

Harbaugh, your star quarterback, your offensive line, conference gets much better, schedules much tougher. For years and years, let's be honest about the Big Ten. The only team Michigan and Ohio State ever played that had the same level of talent was each other. Ohio State to Michigan, Michigan to Ohio State.

Now you throw a Washington and Oregon, a USC, schedule is going to be much, much tougher. We're going to be talking Caitlin Clark a lot more than Iowa Hawkeye football from this point forward. It's just Iowa was always kind of a second-tier Big Ten team. What happened to that Michigan State's Iowa's Minnesota's that were sort of a notch below the big dogs? Do they go a notch below the teams that are a notch?

below Michigan and Ohio State. That's my guess. By the way, the betting markets, and we've always said the truth serum is people who bet sports because they care about one thing, getting it right. As we told you a week ago, Jaden Daniels would be the number two pick in the draft after Caleb Williams. I have been told from a source I trust that Washington prefers Jaden Daniels. Well, what do you know? The betting markets now have Jaden Daniels pulling away from Drake May as the number two pick. So why? First of all, Jaden Daniels is much better at throwing the ball. 40 touchdown passes, four picks this year and a 72% completion percentage. He's a better thrower than Drake May. He also is a better runner than Drake May, 1100 rushing yards and 10 TD.

He also played in a much better conference than Drake May. ACC was mostly terrible this year. The SEC was, as usual, good. Of the six potential first-round quarterbacks, there are only two that are crazy athletic, really consistent, accurate, and highly productive. Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams. Drake May is inconsistent.

J.J. McCarthy wasn't wildly productive. Bo Nix isn't crazy athletes. athletic, and Michael Penix, as much as I like him, is sort of a pocket guy. So with Jane Daniels, you get six, three and a half, athletic, consistent, accurate, productive. If you look at Cliff Kingsbury's career, he has had success with accurate quarterbacks who are athletic. That is exactly what Jayden Daniels is. So in the SEC, he averaged 400 yards a game throwing. I mean, J.J. McCarthy had one 300-yard game.

and his biggest games were against the worst teams, overwhelmingly. So we told you that's what it was coming down the pike. Jaden Daniels is going to be the number two pick. Now, can things change? Absolutely. Cliff Kingsbury's got some saying this, and his take is Jaden Daniels is the guy. Now, Drake May did not have a great pro day.

Jaden Daniels just kind of threw it to very good players. He moved a little bit, but in terms of pro day, Jane Daniels was considered having the better pro day as well. So there you go. The two most athletic, consistent, productive quarterbacks will go one and two. USC's and then LSUs. That's what I'm told the draft will work out. And for the record, I think it works.

I was initially much higher on Drake May, but the more I listen to people, the more inconsistencies they were concerned about. So there you go. So tonight, it's very possible. A little over a week ago, a little over a week ago, J. Mack and I went to the Warriors Lakers, and one of the reasons I went, he talked me into it, then I kind of disengaged and got better seats.

But basically what happened is I thought it's the last time to see Steph Klan and Draymond together after this great dynastic run. And so tonight they play Sacramento. I think the Warriors win tonight close. It's a go-either-way game, but I don't think they can beat the Pelicans or the Lakers, and they have to win two games to get out of the playing. And I just think it's the end of the dynasty over the next couple of days.

And Nick Wright earlier on why tonight could be the end of the Warriors run. I don't think this has gotten enough attention. I think we are less than 12 hours away from the final game, Steph, Clay, and Draymond play together. I think that Clay is not on the team next year. When Clay said on Draymond's podcast that, you know, of course, He wants to stay a warrior, but he has to prioritize things such as his mental health. That made me feel like, oh, this has not been fun for him. He is not happy.

When you see Steph dealing with the drama he dealt with on the court in the game Drayman got kicked out of, it just feels like this is the last stand. It's interesting about dynasties for a variety of reasons. If Denver wins this year, I tend to think you got to get to three straight. finals and win a couple of them. That feels like a dynasty. You don't have to win every Super Bowl. New England didn't. Kansas City got housed by Brady and the Bucks. But you start looking at dynasties. So if Denver wins this year, you're close to a current dynasty being in the West, the previous dynasty, the Warriors in the West, the one before that, the Spurs was in the West,

and the one before that was the Lakers. So, you know, you start looking at the all-time great dynasties, the length of them. It's like, Celtics with Russell, MJ's Bulls, got six, and then the Warriors. What do you think? Magic Kareem in that? I mean, if the all-time,

I mean, it's all-time great dynasties, Celtics and Russell. Wait, wait, why are we counting Celtics and Russell? There was like 12 teams in the league. Stop. That was like a different time in a mirror in the world. No, Russell's Celtics can be pre-NBA dynasty. So where, where, so if my.

Michael's dynasty was arguably the greatest team. That's the greatest team. I would say they were number two behind the KD, Curry, Clay, Draymond Warriors. That 2017 team that's just an individual team. I'm talking that the, you know, because the Warriors had multiple changes, the Bulls had multiple. Let's just count it as a one dynasty because they won pre-KD post-KD. If you're talking dynasties overall, I think in a modern era, Shaq and Co., Kobe and

MJ's Bulls I mean I'm sorry but LeBron made the finals by himself four times in a row with Miami then four times in a row with Cleveland by himself so the LeBron dynasty should count they are one shot from Ray Allen away from going

one for three they were not they were not a dominant team he made the finals eight years in a row Jordan's Bulls made it three then Michael had to quit and recharge of batteries take a year and a half off and then won three again after two more years. So like three, two years off and then three more. LeBron's is way more impressive. Eight straight years going to the finals?

Yeah, but it's unheard of. Six for six is more impressive. I mean, magic, magic got to nine finals. But not in a row. LeBron, eight finals in a row. That's absurd. The East has always been. Colin, it's an extra 20 playoff games every year for LeBron. Like the tread on those tires is unheard of. So if I said you take the Russell Celtics out, because that's the hand-down winner of the greatest dynasty ever. 11. I mean, that Russell won 11. Yeah, when there were 12 teams in the league, sure.

Okay. Rank the dynasties. In fact, in fact, I'll give you this. Define dynasty first. How many do you need... I think you got to win three. Three in a row or three total? You got to win three total.

Okay, Steph Curry has a dynasty. He's number one. And then Jordan second? Magic third. Or Shaq and Kobe? Shack and Kobe before. Okay. Who are they? Are they ahead of Magic?

So you don't have the Spurs anywhere in there? I would put that after. Manu, Parker, Duncan, Popovich. Yeah. That's a tough one. Do they go ahead of Shaq and Kobe? Shack and Kobe were utterly dominant. Utterly.

Yeah. Duncan and Spurs, they were like grinders. I mean, they were winning finals games like 80 to 76. That's true. They were more. I know a chip is a chip, but. No, it's, it's, uh, if I said, you know, it's so much of it. based on rules.

I mean, like the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl with Dilfer, they couldn't compete today because you could do things defensively and they were built for that. They would just be a team today. They'd have a bunch of good, they'd be like, they'd be like current Baltimore where they'd have a lot of great players, but you'd be like, what's the firepower? You've got to be able to score now. Nobody can stop anybody. The Jordan team could use the hand check, highly physical, super long, but to be honest

with you, they didn't have a lot of three points. shooters. Koo coach and Kerr were it. So the Warriors with Katie, Stefan Clay, with these rules could run them off the floor because they just shoot them off the floor. They would annihilate them. So, I mean, I always think, like, the Jordan Bulls and the Warriors

with KD, those two teams just were different. In their era, their respect, like the pre, the post-hand check and the hand-check. If you have a hand-check era, the Jordan Bulls are the best ever. But no hand-check in a three-ball era,

They'd run the bulls off the floor. They have too many shooters. I mean, who would you guard? You put Katie in the corner, step on the wing, catch and shoot clay. Yeah. They just have, I mean, literally the bulls would be running around the court. So which leads to my point about 2024 Dream Team Avengers, that's what they're calling them, versus 92 Dream Team. Nick made a good point earlier, Colin.

Guys on the 92 Dream Team who had made the NBA finals, there's only four of them. I went through the roster. Michael Pippin, Magic Bird. That's it. Nobody else to that point had made the finals. Here from the 2012, these guys had made the NBA finals. Curry, K.D., LeBron, Booker, Holiday, Tatum, A.D., BAM. It's mostly because Bird, Magic, and MJ were so great.

They put a yield sign in front of the finals. You couldn't get there. And those guys were all washed, Mikhail and Jabbar. Bird was really washed. He was 35 years old in 1992. He played in two games. Well, I mean, Michael was still the best player in the world, and he had just surpassed magic,

who was the best player in the world? Like, there was a baton pass during the Olympics, and they were the two best players in the world. That's fair. Fair. Hour three. 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 tween songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardweight with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.