The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 – Jayson Tatum Is Better Than We Think

Episode Date: May 30, 2022

Colin isn’t convinced that 49ers QB Trey Lance will work and is starting to feel like a bad sales pitch Colin Right/Wrong! Guest: NBA Champion/Former NBA G Eddie HouseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 IHard 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. for listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go.

It's hour two on a Monday Memorial Day. Thank you so much for joining us. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. A lot of good sports over the weekend, highlighted by a wild Friday night and Sunday night game between the heat and the Celtics. Joy Taylor is joining me. Eddie House later, NBA champ, at about 15 minutes.

the NBA playoffs have been fun. You know, if you don't have two great teams, Celtics Heat, you can still have a great series. Years ago, many years ago, people were projecting that the Michael Jordan Bulls against the Utah Jazz would be a flop series because small market Utah. It became the highest rated NBA finals. It may still be because it was David and Goliath

and Utah was feisty. and they really gave Chicago fits. Years ago, years ago, they called it, what was it when the Mets played the Yankees in a World Series? The Subway Series, thank you, Alex, in my ear. And people were projecting huge ratings. Nobody watched it. Because outside of the tri-state area, nobody cared.

And so, like, this series on paper, you're like, eh. I mean, that Friday game and that game six and seven were like, what am I watching? I mean, it does, for the people that feel like it's me, it's because Boston should not have gone seven with Miami. Like for all accounts, they should have, it should have been a gentleman's sweep. And neither one of these teams, like Boston feels like they're,

it's almost a confidence thing. When Marcus Smart scores, you're like, oh, they're really, and then he doesn't, and you're like, is this team even a finals team? Well, yeah, we don't have a great team. So like right now, looking at what the Warriors did through their postseason, it feels like they're the much better team. But the way that these series have gone, who knows?

Who knows? So we do it every Monday at this time. I'm wrong a lot, sometimes right. Colin right, Colin wrong. Here we go. Where Colin was right? Well, I thought the Celtics would win the series. And my takeaway was, I just don't understand.

Miami doesn't have enough offense against that defense. And in the end, they didn't. They shot 30% for threes in the series. And what really plagued Miami was, Bamadabaiu got mostly controlled when Boston's big Robert Williams was on the floor. So Bamadabaiu is a very good player. He's an elite first team all-NBA defensive player. You have to love him.

But he should be a three in a championship team. You can't depend on him to give you 24 a night. So Miami's going to go out, find a number one or two score because Jimmy Butler also, that knee, you can't ask Jimmy Butler to play 44 minutes in games. You just can't do that for a guy that's got all. those miles on those tires. But the series went like I thought, longer than I thought, but it was Boston's defense clapping down on an offense that I think is very limited.

Where Colin was right? I had the Warriors beating the Mavs, but similarly I said, Luca will get his points, but Golden State is underrated defensively and his efficiency will plummet. Sure enough, he shot 41% in the series, 48% against Phoenix. And this is where I think the Warriors give teams like Boston and Dallas problems. They can really throw waves of defenders at your best score and just make him less efficient. Andrew Wiggins, Clay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andra Igwadala. Now Gary Payton, the second comes back.

Otto Porter. A lot of length, a lot of toughness, a lot of versatility. And so Golden State beat the Mavs. Luca got his points, but was very inefficient by Lucas Standard. where Colin was wrong. Listen, I've always liked Jimmy Butler, not necessarily loved him, because he averages 21 a game, but he felt like the MVP of this series. You know what?

You can tell when a guy's a great player, when he's better against great competition. I mean, Brady was often his best in Super Bowls. Michael was often a better shooter in the finals. I mean, Jimmy Butler, I don't think he's ever had a 40-point game in the regular season. He is just incredible in crisis. The fact that he was on the floor, he had 35 points, 48 minutes last night. That is insane. That guy's knees not good.

So, you know, and I always said that is that what made Derek Jeter great is that he was the same in the regular season as the postseason. Imagine if Derek Jeter was significantly better in the postseason than the regular season. And Jeter was great. So to me, Jimmy's a one. All ones aren't the same. like sometimes a lot of the capability. Chris Paul has been a one for a lot of his career. He'll score a lot.

And I think I've undervalued Jimmy Butler because I would have voted him MVP of the series. Where Colin was right. I always felt KD made an egregious error choosing Kyrie over Steph and Steph is headed to another finals and Kevin Durant got eliminated in the first round. In fact, the finals is now KD's old team

against Kyrie's old team. And I said this. Kevin Durant didn't give himself enough credit. Kevin Durant is smart, great, and committed. That's what the Warriors are. They ask their players if they can to play defense to be available. Kevin Durant, in this move, did not give himself enough credit. It's not about blaming others.

Kevin Durant should have said, I'm Kevin Durant. I have earned a Hall of Fame coach. I have earned a Hall of Fame teammate. I have earned a Hall of Fame culture. He went to Brooklyn. They had none of it. And so in the end, believe in yourself, and sometimes believing in yourself is not going out to another place.

It's staying where you are and saying, I deserve the greatness around me, even though at times it's a little prickly. But this is what I said when it happened. He's going to regret this. This is not the right move. where Colin was wrong. I thought Doc Rivers would have been my first choice for the Lakers.

Darwin Ham got the job. I just think it's a really tough job. This is a tough job if LeBron didn't just play 55 games a year. If Anthony Davis was an injury prone, if you didn't have Westbrook's horrible contract, if you watch winning time, this has been a tough job when they had Kareem and Magic. and James Worthy, it's a tough job.

There's a lot of pressure, a lot of people leaning on Jeannie Bus and the Bus family, but people like him. He's got a physical presence. He can look at the eye in the eye. He can make tough decisions. And LeBron does seem to like him. So congrats to the Darwin Ham.

Where Colin was right. Fowas felt Aaron Rogers is more into Aaron Rogers. I just do not like the optics on him playing in a golf tournament and not being available for OTAs. Listen, Brady doesn't need to go to OTAs. Matt Stafford doesn't need to go to OTAs, but you know what? Matt Stafford's at OTAs,

and they're talking about how good he looks with all the young players. Aaron's doing a golf tournament. We know Aaron has a history of kind of doing his own things. You would think after all these years, he would get kind of the aesthetics of it. He is not somebody who works well with young wide receivers. It generally takes him, and I'm being fair here,

even with Jordy Nelson, DeVante Adams. It takes a second year and a third year for Aaron to build trust. I get it. Brady can be that way too. But I'm not shocked in a time when he's taken a beating in publicity. OTAs, a bunch of rookie receivers, a bunch of new parts, he's playing golf. Where Colin was right? Over unders in college football came out last week.

USC with Lincoln Riley is predicted to win more games than Oklahoma, a great program where Lincoln just left. That tells you two or three things. One, the respect people have for Lincoln Riley as a coach, despite what sooner fans will tell you. Two, the respect people have for Lincoln Riley as a coach. And it also tells you there are some who question Oklahoma hiring Brent Venables in an offensive progressive era going with a defensive coach. I know, I know. That team will be tough in Oklahoma. Nick Saban acknowledges now, tough is not good enough. You got to score four. 40 points to win big games. Where Colin was wrong.

Well, it is probably the most regrettable thing I do, the much maligned NBA face bracket, where I've root, or actually I choose the best player on every team. Well, the East ended up being not great, because I had, yeah, I had Jimmy Butler out in the first round, and I had Jason Tatum gone pretty early too. So I had Joel Ambide and Janus in the East meeting,

and then Janus winning. So the face bracket is a very unique prediction model where I choose teams based on the best player only. You got two rounds, right? Yeah, the West wasn't terrible, but this is... I had KD moving on. That didn't work. I had Jimmy Butler out.

That didn't work. Maybe I should consider all things like culture and coaching and defense. Well, that's so fun. That's just predictions. Yeah, and it's called the face bracket. It's not called the accuracy bracket. Or I consider all things bracket. I consider one thing and that one thing was not good enough this year. Eddie House is around the corner on a Monday.

And I am getting, you know, maybe it's because of this business that when people tell me things, I'm often told things by people that work at companies with big PR attachments, right? Like so I'm not that I'm cynical. That's a bad quality. But, you know, when people tell me things, I'm often like, oh, no, I'm starting to feel like an NFL team is selling me something. And if anybody in life is selling me something really hard, I'm kind of suspicious. I'll talk about that next. In life, you can count on three things, death taxes and your car breaking down.

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Never going to go up. Carshield.com slash herd is where you go to save 10% on your plan or dial 800-391-8888-800-800-800-300-391-88. 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, 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 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 ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two.

Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett and I'm Alex English

Each episode we pick 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 yeah yeah literally but just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now

so Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday, two of the U.S.FL's best square off as the New Orleans Breakers face the league leading Birmingham Stallions at three Eastern.

Then Sunday, the Panthers Battle of Stars at noon Eastern. Don't miss U.S.F.L football this weekend on Fox. Guys, we're getting older. It doesn't mean we have to slow down. There's MDrive, supplements for driven men. MDrive for Men.com, free shipping. Eddie House played in this league for over a decade. He could get you buckets.

They could have used him in Miami. He also played two and a half years with the Celtics. You know, so you're wearing your Celtic gear. I went to a party last night with 90% Celtic fans, and they were getting very nervous down the stretch. But it's an amazing tradition. So were you, did you like playing for the Celtics? Did you, I mean, they ask a lot of their players.

They ask it to be committed. The media is rough. The fans can be rough. Did you like playing in Boston? Yeah, I love my time there. And the team that I played with, we were a different cast of characters. I think the best way to put it, it was like the most hood team that I ever was a part of. Like everybody from top to bottom were alpha males.

Everybody was, we held each other accountable. even down to Brian Scalabrini and Scott Powell. You know, guys that you wouldn't think they, everybody rubbed off on each other. We held each other accountable. But it started at the top with Paul, with Ray, and with Kevin. Those guys leading the way, and we all follow suit. I mean, Kevin was the hardest working player that I ever been around

to be the best and had made all the money that he had already made. He was first there, last out, hardest working in the wait room, and everybody had to follow suit after that. So I look at this Boston team. and when Marcus Smart is hitting jumpers, they're a really good team. I get that about every third or fourth game. I just don't think they can engineer enough offense to beat Golden State.

That's my takeaway is they'll beat Golden State when Marcus scores. And I bet two games in this series, Marcus gives you 22. That's when they're really tough. I don't know if they could, but he doesn't do that three and four games. So I think this is a tough matchup. How do you view the series before it starts? I think it's going to be a great series. Number one, Marcus doesn't necessarily have to score.

I think the way you look at the series against the heat, and I've been preaching this. I do work with NBC Sports Boston. I do the pregame, half-time, and post game. And what I've been saying since the beginning of these playoffs is take care of the basketball. When Boston takes care of the ball and give themselves chance to score and not just turn it over with careless turnovers, because a lot of them are unforced.

They're just careless and misreads and things like that. If they take care of the ball, they got people that can score. But then they're so good defensively that they can hold teams down. So I think this is going to be one of those great series. It's going to be a dragout series. But one thing they can't do, they can't turn the ball over against the Golden State Warriors. Because, like, Miami was coming back at the end of that second quarter, into the second quarter, into the first half. And then again, at the end of the fourth quarter, making a run.

You can't do that against the Warriors. Those are going to be threes falling. And they're coming from a bunch of different guys. You've got a pool is playing. outstanding. We already know what Steph and Clay can do, and Andrew Wiggins has emerged as a guy who is extremely dangerous. So you've got four guys that are super capable of putting a team on their back and knocking you out of a game like that because of the way they can shoot that ball. You know, Steph Curry's, it's interesting. Steph is not like a lot of the stars that have

preceded him. He doesn't need to have the most shots. He welcomed in KD. He stepped back. And that's weird. We like our athletes to be alpha. And Steph's a little different. Even when he came out with a shoe line. It was like, that's what a pharmacist wears. That doesn't look like an NBA shoe. He's just a different cat. And I think I appreciate. You can't put him in any box.

And it's funny. A lot of people feel like he's got to win an MVP in these finals to define him. And I'm like, I kind of feel like he's an all-timer. How do you view Steph's lack of MVP in the finals? That he's never been the guy in the finals. Does that bother you at all? Well, don't let the smooth taste for you. Steph is an alpha out there.

He is a dog, number one. You don't become an MVP in this league and be as great as he has been for so long without being a dog. He is a nice guy off the court, but on the court, he just goes about his business. But I think that year that Andre Goddala wanted, you can make a strong case to say Steph got wrong. Yeah, yeah. So I would say that, you know, to define his legacy, it would be great. It'll be another notch on his belt. But Steph has changed his game.

revolutionized the way people play it. I look at these kids coming to the gym now. First thing they want to do is shoot 30 foot threes instead of starting right and building out for, I mean, I'm still old school. I start inside and I build out, even though I can knock down in 30 foot threes too. But I start in and out. These kids come right in and it's because of what Steph Curry has done and how he's revolutionized the game. He's changed the game forever. So no matter what, if he gets a final, I think more important than a finals MVP will be another finals championship. I think we talk about stacking championships over individual accolades. It'll be great to have that finals MVP, but he has a couple regular season MVP.

And you start putting that with more championships. I mean, I think his legacy is already etched in stone. So, you know, Jimmy Butler averages 21 a game. And yet, when he really scores is in the postseason. And Eddie, it doesn't usually work that way. Usually players are good and they get to the postseason. and they're a little less efficient because the defense is better and the coaching is better and the players are better.

Butler's the opposite. He's greater in the playoffs. And I don't know if you ever played with a guy like that. He's not an elite shooter. He's not a great score. He may be one of the best competitors in the sport. And I don't know who to comp him to if you ever played like a guy that you knew you could outscore him or out shoot him.

But man, there is something about some guys put the uniform on in big games. and you just know, I would call them foxhole guys. You want them in the foxhole. They will be there at the last minute. Who can you even compare Butler to in your 11-year NBA career? Really, nobody, because he does it in different ways. You know, I call him a dog, a savage, because no matter what, he's out there, he's a gamer. You know, like you said, he's an ultimate competitor.

Even Eric Spolster said that this guy competes. He's, it doesn't in so many different ways. He does it mid-range. I think what he does best, though, in the playoffs, especially when the game slowed down, he finds that matchup. And I think that matchup against the Celtics was Derek White. And he was constantly going at Derek White, and that's where he was getting his rhythm. And once you get a rhythm and you're that good, then it doesn't matter who starts guarding you after that. But he was seeking out Derek White feeling that he had a favorable matchup, and it showed that he did.

And I mean, he doesn't know on both sides of the court. And just when you've got a guy who is so determined to win and does whatever it takes to win, he's a gamer. He just steps up in all of the big moments. I mean, they just didn't have enough. Like, he stepped up, and if it wasn't for him, they wouldn't even be in this situation. I think it'll be a four-on-one series. But he literally put him on it back two games. And then last night was disclosed to winning game seven. Just missed that shot. You know, a lot of people want to talk about the shot. I have no problem with that shot because at the end of the day, he was rocking and rolling. And they wouldn't even been in that

position without him. So he felt that that was the shot to take. You've got to live with you. My takeaway is I like the Warriors over the Mavs because I thought they could throw a lot of bodies at Luca. And Luca would still get his 35, but he wouldn't be nearly as efficient. Whereas Phoenix basically had to throw McAil Bridges at him. And that was kind of it. And so he shot 48% against the Sons. He shot 41% against the Warriors. And I kind of feel like if you take Jason Tatum out of his rhythm, he'll get his 26.

But I would put Wiggins on him. I'd put Draymond on him. Otto Porter maybe. And I would just keep throwing guys at him, fresh guys, and he'll get his 26, but it'll be an inartistic, ugly 26. And that kind of is the series to me. I don't think you can stop the Warriors.

The way they cut and move, they can take your big guys out of it. They're hard to defend. I just kind of feel like the same way I did about Dallas is that I think the Warriors can make it more difficult for Tatum than the Celtics defense can make it for most of the scores for the Warriors, and therefore I like Golden State. Your thoughts and your prediction.

Wait, I know you just didn't compare the Celtics to Dallas. Is that what you just did? Kind of. A little. Stopping, Colin. They're not the same team at all. First off, let's do this. Let's just match up the teams.

Let's just match them up. Jason Tatum, Steph, you can wash those, right? You go Clay and Jaylon Brown probably could watch those. And then what you've got, pool, and Wiggins. I think you look at Marcus Smart, and then you've got guys like Grant Williams, who can guard, who can switch. When you look at our bigs, our bigs are better. I think we're a little better at our big position.

We can switch everything. We show that we were, that we have the depth to switch. Then we can play defense. It doesn't matter who we're playing against. I know there's not a Kevin Durant walking through that door for Golden State. We locked that up, right? There's not a Janus walking through that door over there at Golden State. Janus had his way a bunch of the games.

I mean, but Janus is going to have his way all the time. I think this is a good matchup for the Celties. This is going to be a great matchup for their defense, right? there are a really great defense against a good offense, which is going to make for a great series. There's going to be a lot of back cut. And that's all you got to play. You've got to play for the black back cuts and the split screens. And how you do that, how you defend that, we have length on the perimeter.

We have length down low. We can guard, we can move our feet, but then we also contest and protect the rim. You've got to switch to bodies. And that's all it is. If you look at what Golden State did in all of these series, especially at Denver series, it was back cut after back cut after back cut. And if you know you're playing a team like that, you have to be prepared for it. And if you're prepared for it, you're going to push everything out on the perimeter.

Then you're going to have to sit down and guard. I think we've got guys that can guard. Everybody that can step on that court for the Celtics, they can guard. And it doesn't matter who's out there in front of them, they can guard and they have length. So I don't think it's going to be as much of a cakewalk as you think it's going to be, because that's not the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics are not the Dallas Mavericks at all. Are you worried about Boston's inexperience and the Warriors' surplus of experience in big games?

No, because at some point you've got to get there. The Warriors didn't have experience until they had experience. They've been knocking on the door. This is the first time they got to the final. I think they've been to four Eastern Conference finals. They've been knocking on the door trying to get there, right? So they have some experience in big games. They just haven't been able to get over the hunt.

And let's not forget, these are some young guys right here. So to have that invaluable experience at such a young age, I mean, Jason Tatum could be the best player on the floor. And he needs to be for the Celtics to win, right? Jalen Brown could be one of the best players on the court. And he needs to be. This Mark could be the best defender, perimeter defender. Rob Williams can be the best rim protector. So now you're talking about a really, really stout defense and a very versatile offense

because Jason Tatum could pull you out. He's a three-level score. Jalen Brown's a three-level score. Al Horford, he's invaluable. He's a guy like Draymond could get it off the rim and push it and he makes the right play. So it's not going to be as easy as people think. I think it's going to be one of these fantastic, great series that is going to go down in history as one of the best finals that we've seen in a long time.

time. Eddie House, 11 years. Former NBA great. Good seeing you, bud. Nice seeing you, guys. Take care. Two and a half years with the Celtics also played a little bit with the heat as well. A lot of people have played with the heat. Yes. Well, the heat are great at finding role players and putting things together that other teams sort of miss on. It's a transient city and a transient franchise. They had D. Wade and a lot of people around D. Wade, role players, star players. But that is, by the way, a little bit of the secret sauce is they've had the great architect, Pat Riley. So they, you know, they, everybody in this league whiffs on draft picks. The Warriors have, Miami had Chabez-Napier, didn't work out.

Belichick, the drafting thing is a lot of time, we talk about this. Now guys play one year of college basketball. It's a coin flip, man. You just have no, Draymond Green's a second round pick. Yokic is a second round pick. So Steph Curry was not, you know, a number one pick. He was the second guard taken in the draft. but you know

we got Celtics Warriors you know who I'm taking joy with the news No Turn on the news This is the herd line news That was quite a series In game 7 the heat were down 2 as time is winding down

And with about 17 seconds ago Jimmy Butler went for the lead With a three point attempt In transition He's earned that shot right Absolutely The shot didn't fall And Celtics went on to win

196, but Jimmy says he has no regrets about taking that shot. My thought process was go for the win, which I did. Missed a shot. But I'm taking that shot. My teammates liked the shot that I took,

so I'm living with it. Yeah, I've seen a lot of conversation about whether he should have taken that shot or not. And look, it's very easy to say that was the wrong shot because it didn't fall. But if it did fall. Yeah.

Maybe we're having a different conversation about who's in the finals today. I don't even, I'm sorry, but I have no problem with that. I have no problem with that shot. You sometimes, you know what? Al-Whorfer is playing an incredible game. Look at that. That's a great look. Jimmy's, yeah, it's a great look.

And Jimmy's earned the right to take that shot. I don't care what he's shooting from three in the game. If he takes that shot, he's a hero, and he misses and what? Let me ask you this. If you had moved the ball around, would you have gotten a more open look than that? If you would have moved. And by the way, players tend to be in rhythm. Right.

I don't care if you're playing at the wire in the finals. What you don't want is a guy coming off a screen. He's guarded. It's leaning. That is a complete. I don't understand the criticism. I don't either. If you had to move the ball around, would you have gotten that open a three?

No. Maybe he could have. Look, I had no problem with it when he took it. I didn't have a reaction to it. It's just Jimmy's going to take that shot. He's earned the right to take that shot. He's also going for a win. He's going for a win.

So I'm completely fine with it. I can live with that shot because it's Jimmy Butler. No, anyone else on the floor taking that shot? I'm not living with that shot. But, and look, like the heat have struggled from shooting all series long. The shot 42% from the field, 20% from three in game seven. But Jimmy Butler played all 48 minutes, 35 points, nine rebounds. He earned the right to take that shot.

So overall, I'm happy with how the season went. I think it's probably time the heat get just a smidge of respects. They did not get swept. It wasn't gentlemen sweep. It was game seven. and they had a chance to win the game with 17 seconds left. Without the sixth man of the year, Jimmy Butler's knees banged up about three other players

were also banged up. Boston's totally healthy. Like just give me a break with the whole like bubble frauds and all that stuff. Like the heat are a good team. It's given the same respect that you give Boston, that you give the Sixers, that you give the Nets,

who got swept, by the way, the only team to get swept in the postseason this entire postseason. Like the heat deserves some respect. that they were in the game with an opportunity to win it with their best player on the floor, taking a shot with 17 seconds left to go in game seven. Like enough with the fraud stuff.

It's, you're just talking, you don't, are you watching basketball? Like, are they, have everything they need to win? No. When you get, you get in trouble when you get real precious with the clock, open jumper, take it, figure it out. I don't care when you take it. You don't get open jumpers with 15 seconds left.

You gotta be aggressive in that spot. So I have no problem with Jimmy taking that shot. That shot is Jimmy Butler. not always pretty, but he has the guts to take it. And he also, if he ever faults, it's on the aggressive side. That's who he is as a player. I can live with that. I think Pat will do what he does.

They need a number two. There's nothing to rebuild here. They'll make some adjustments like they always do. It's amazing how many basketball savants there are on social media when a shot misses. Oh, yeah. Everybody is Phil Jackson. It's amazing how it were. Everybody's a savant when the shots off.

No. Congrats to the heat on a great season. I know it was disappointing, but. Great series by that. Unbelievable. All guts. So the Lakers have hired Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their next head coach. It's said to be a four-year deal, and he already has the support of LeBron James.

After the news broke on Friday, LeBron tweeted so damn excited. A million explanation points. Congrats and welcome Coach D. Hamm, hashtag Lake Show, and then a bunch of Lakers emojis. Ham played eight seasons in the NBA, won a championship with the Pistons in 2004. he was an assistant coach with the Lakers from 2011, 2013, so he is familiar with the building and, you know, the politics that go on there. And then he was an assistant coach for the Hawks and an assistant coach with the Bucks since

2018 and won an NBA title with the Bucks as an assistant coach last season. So I really love this hire for the Lakers for a couple reasons. One, I think that he has gone up, he's gone through the ranks. He has the experience as a player, obviously. He's going to have the respect in that regard. He seems very well liked around the league. Everyone seems to approve of this hire. Now, what he's walking into and what are the expectations

and how long are the Lakers going to ride with him, that's all on the organization. But I do think that this is the right hire, especially for this moment. I always said I thought it was going to be a first-time head coach. A season head coach doesn't want to take this job. Overall, other than the fact that it's the Lakers logo, it's not a good job.

It's the Lions with a bubble title. That's what it's been in nine years. It's not even the Lions. Like they have a lot of success. They have banners. They have the ability to win championships. It's not even the Lions. I can't even go that far.

But they just cannot do it functionally. So if you know, that's why I do think it's a good thing that he's already been in the building. He's not walking into it completely blind. Is it a little different now with LeBron and Anthony Davis and Westbrook and everything that's gone on with the ownership and the front office? Sure. But he is at least familiar with the sensitivities of the Lakers and that building. in this city. So, I mean, I'm rooting for him. I like that he has been an assistant coach for as long as he has and has had success at it. Because that I think is really necessary when you're coming into a place that you have to deal with all the extra stuff that the Lakers have.

There is a ton of stuff here. Stuff. So the Warriors are in the NBA finals. They punched their ticket last week. They've been patiently waiting to find out who their opponent would be. We were talking about this last night at this party. I was at a lot of Celtic fans. The Warriors are, so California it hurts. They're flashy, kind of smug, kind of likable, unique, not really concerned what you think about them, living their best life. And it's like, that's the classic. And Boston feels very Boston. Like not pretty tough, balls on the floor, hot and cold, but you kind of always feel like you better pay attention because they'll wrestle you to the floor. It feels like... They match their cities, their area codes.

It's a really nice final. It is. It's going to be fun. I do think the Warriors are considerably better and they're rested as well, which can go either way early in the series because there might be a little bit of rust,

but they've been there many times before. Steve Kerr said he's very thankful for the extra rest that the team is getting. We gave the guys two straight days off, which is almost unheard of not only in the playoffs, but in the regular season too. So a great chance to sort of decompress

last couple of days. I've said it many times. You go to the finals, it's almost a two-month journey filled with stress and fatigue and everything else. So if you can get a little bit of a break, it's very meaningful. It is a long postseason. That is a good point. It starts on Thursday. I've always said, I think people miss the point.

The NBA actually does better than any league, this one thing. if you look at how distracted and frenetic America is, we don't watch a lot of regular season sports, hockey, baseball, basketball. We do football because of the urgency. But if I built a league, the way I would build it is the longest postseason. Right. Shorter regular season, longer postseason. The NBA baseball's postseason can be great, but it's fast.

The regular seasons forever and the postseason's here. That's why when the NFL says an extra team in the playoffs, they get it. We live in a distracted society. The NBA playoffs, the late David Stern always knew this. David Stern would tell people privately, we know nobody watches us outside of Christmas day most of the regular season. That's why we want long post seasons. And why?

Because people like you and I and shows and bars and lounges, they got those NBA TVs on for two months. So the criticism of the NBA playoff length to me, it's like, this is the way you should design a league now. Yeah, they should just shorten the regular season. Thank you. All of them. And you want, because you want your stars to be available through this really long postseason.

Yeah, like I'm sad I don't have basketball now for a couple days. I'm like, oh, the final start on Thursday. So the Warriors are favored by three and a half in game one against the Celtics and minus 154 to win the series, according to Fox Bet. I think it's going to be a fun one. I think it's, again, going to be a lot of defense. Neither teams are great, but I do think that the Warriors wound up winning series. What's the game one spread? Do they have it, Joy?

Three and a half. Warriors. I think I like Boston. I think game one's going to be really tight. I can't bet against the Warriors. First of all, they score so quickly. You could be on the right side of the bet for two and a half hours and lose the bet significantly.

I think there should be some learns about Boston in this series with the heat. If you don't have any respect for the heat, you should not feel good about Boston in the postings in the finals. Isn't the line telling you what the smart guys think is that the rest won't actually be a huge benefit in game one? Yeah, but the Warriors have been here quite a few. times. I know. I think for teams that this is the first time that they're in the finals, maybe there's a little rust, but this is like every other year for the Warriors. Well, certainly in the

last decade, yes. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. We're just starting out here. Okay, there's an NFL team that's selling me way too hard and what Jason Tatum has that nobody else does in the NBA. That's next. The CFOs that Get it, get it, the CFOs that don't, don't. Head to net suite.com slash herd, hird, for one-of-a-kind financing. In L.A., it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app.

Hey, 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 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 tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind,

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam 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 on 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 finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's your happy place? Maybe it's a sofa on game day. Maybe it's your fishing boat wherever your happy place is. Driveway.com. Let you buy or sell a car from there. Check it out. Driveway.com.

So cynical's a bad quality. I don't want to be cynical. But sometimes people are selling me something. And I'm a little suspicious when people are. selling me stuff. I've been in this business a long time. The harder somebody's selling me something, the more questions I have. So I don't know if Trey Lance can play.

Niners gave up a lot. They need to play him now. They haven't moved off Jimmy Garoppolo. So the antenna's up a little bit over here. And they're also just, they keep telling me how great he is. Here's Jimmy Ward talking about Trey Lance, the young quarterback. Oh, he's more comfortable. You know, coming in OTAs, you get to start day one.

Obviously, he's still going to make mistakes. You know, I'm nine years, and I'm still making mistakes. So it's just about experience with him. So the more plays you get, the more different defense you get to go up against him, we're one of the best defenses in the lead. Well, we've got to prove it again. But previous was one of the best defense in the last few years. But him going against us, we're going to make them better.

And he's also going to make us better. All right. And there was a couple other players. I'll get to that in a second. When Patrick Mahomes hadn't played yet in Kansas City, you know what they said? This is all they said. Wait, do you see this guy? That was it.

You're not going to believe this guy. That's all he said. When Mack Jones came, I'm a little bit of a critic of that. They were like, he's better than we thought. We're going to start him. Get rid of Cam. All right. Well, Jimmy Garoppolo, they kept and played, or with Tray Lance,

they kept Jimmy Garoppolo around and started him against the Packers, despite the fact that Garapolo had a torn ligament in his thumb. And when they asked him three days before the Packer game, how it felt, he dropped an F-mom and said, I'm not going to lie to you. It blankety-blank hurts. And they played him in cold weather. Like at some point, I feel like I'm being sold something here. And this is just my gut.

because I know the kid and I like him. But my gut is the Niners don't demand a ton from the quarterback. They don't. It's a very run-centric offense. And it's very smartly schemed up. My gut feeling is I've never thought he has a pretty delivery system. I think it's really clunky. He struggled with accuracy.

And Kyle's an impatient guy. And they gave up a lot of picks. And you got to make certain throws at about a 95% clip. Or Kyle is not going to trust. you. And my hunch here is he's not accurate enough. He didn't play a lot in college. He played for a dominant runoff offense

and they've got concerns. And they just don't want to say it. George Kittle earlier this week. He's talking about him. Teen, every single day to how he holds himself, his confidence, I feel like, is a lot higher too. I mean, really, I think as an NFL player, you have to have confidence to be able to do anything. Like, if you lack confidence,

then that's when you drop a football. That's when, you know, you can't, everything snowballs, you throw one interception, then the next thing you know, it's an incomplete pass, you mess up a play call. And Tray's done a good job of like, hey, if he doesn't like a pass, the next one's still going to come out firing. And so you got to appreciate that. But I do.

I mean, I think he's gotten better from where he was at the end of the last year. Can you just play him? Just give me tape. Like why I'm not seeing tape? I want to see him play. Why are you keeping Garoppolo? I'm just very suspicious when you keep selling me something. Nobody sold me Mahomes.

I mean, I can remember her. I called, I called the Chargers GM, Tom Telesco. And I said, hey, he's not going to start. How's he look? He's like, whoo. He's pretty good. And that was the end of the discussion. That was it.

He wasn't defensive. He wasn't selling him. He's like, he's pretty good. You keep throwing guys to the mic. Tell me how good somebody is and how he's gotten better. I'm suspicious. That's all I'm saying. So Jason Tatum won the MVP of that.

series. I got no problem with it. I would have voted Jimmy Butler. Got no problem. I will say this. We tend to be fascinated with unique. All of us do something new and fresh and unique. And Tatum's a little old school. He's versatile. He doesn't have a big hole in his game, folks. Janus, I don't trust his perimeter shooting. Luca is a lousy defender. John Morant, I worry about his health. Zion, he's a. He's a lot of. He's a lot of. He's a lot of He's never on the floor. Devin Booker doesn't necessarily elevate people. I mean, let's be honest.

When Devin Booker was the star, they were lousy until Chris Paul showed up. Is he a leader? He feels like a great two, not a one. Trey Young, not going to give you much on the defensive end. With Tatum, I don't see a weakness. But he's not unique. He's just versatile. He can put it on the deck.

He can hit a three. He can drive around you. He can defend. You know, you could argue his ball handling. He could work on that in the offseason. But we do this a lot. We're fascinated with flashy and glamorous and unique. You know, it's the Derek Rose thing.

He did look amazing on television. But his game had so many holes. He was small. He would get hurt. He wasn't a great defender. And then LeBron dominates him in a series. And we all go, take a deep breath. Tatum is actually one of those rare stars in the NBA.

I think he's better than we think. Now, again, his ball handling could use a little work. But, I mean, even Jimmy Butler after the series kind of acknowledged you're looking at something special here. He just, he does everything, shoot the ball, can play in a pick and roll. He passes the ball incredibly well, gets out in transition. And he's a superstar. And he deserves that. They deserve the win.

And I wish him the best moving forward. But he's one hell of a player. That's for damn sure. His points, his rebounds. his assists have gone up each year. Translation, great work ethic, coachable. In fact, you know, one of the criticisms could be Friday night at home. You got to win this game.

He took only 12 shots. So that tells me he doesn't quite know how good he is. You know, one year in college, slow growth. But, you know, we love Lucas scoring and Janus's length and Jaws explosiveness. Almost every young player in this game's got a hole. I don't see it with Tatum. don't. Tired to waiting around for hot water, go tankless. Navi and tankless water heaters. Check them out tankless maidsimble.com. Tankless maidsimble.com. Our three next.

Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.