The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - NBA Free Agency Update

Episode Date: July 4, 2024

Eddie House stops by to visit with Jason McIntyre and discuss the latest in NBA free agency and the situation in Los Angeles with new Lakers head coach JJ Redick and new Lakers 2nd round draft pick Bronny James. Is criticism of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's playoff failures warranted? Jason also weighs in on another soul-searching loss for US soccer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok

podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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.

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Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us. live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Happy July 4th, ladies and gentlemen. It's me, Jason McIntyre, here on the herd in for Colin on a July 4th. We are ready for action.

Second hour should be, oh boy, it's going to be fire, folks. Alex Curry is ready. She was cracking up during a commercial break. Listen, I'm fired up. This is fun. I like sports. What do you want to do? I love it so much when you go, it's me, Jason McIntyre.

Think of it's me, Mario. Yeah, every time this makes me. Here I am. Here I am. Happy birthday America. Yeah, happy birthday America. Eddie House, former NBA player. I'll say this.

Eddie House is my guy. And I've told this story a bunch. Like, you know, when I started here at Fox, I'll walk into some of the meetings or the dressing rooms. And I'm just like a regular brown guy who this guy who this guy. This guy didn't play in the NFL or who's this guy. You know? And some of these athletes have been a little. Stainful of your boy.

Eddie House, not so much. From day one, we were like, got along. He's a cool dude. A little intimidating with the neck tattoo. And I told him. I was like, Eddie, geez, sounds tough and cool. He's just a great guy. And no sports.

He watches the show religiously. So shout out to Eddie House. He'll be on in five minutes. All right. Before we get to Eddie, deep breaths, ladies and gentlemen. So yesterday I got into it with Broussard about Brunson versus Embed.

And all these Philadelphia people clipped it off and put on, oh, Jason McIrottar's an idiot. First things first loved it. Shout out to those guys. So I got into thinking, like, all right, let me just do a top 10 players in the NBA list. Right now, right now. Not four years ago, not 10, not two, right now.

Now, when you say best, it's subjective. So I came up with a list of a couple things that matter when I'm coming up on my best 10 players in the NBA. Obviously, skill set matters. Shooting, passing, dribbling, like the basics, the fundamentals of basketball. Who's the best at that? Then you've got stuff like, what's their impact? on the game. You know, that's a big one for me. Do you make others better? That's huge. That's massive. What's your basketball IQ? Like, that's very easy to figure out watching basketball. And then leadership,

you know, mental toughness. And the big last one that I had to shout out in the meeting when I got laughed at with my list, availability. That matters. So let's get started. Number 10. No, number 10. Yes, Joelle and B. 10th best player in the NBA. I see Alex a little surprised. I know Ryan is flabbergastered. Folks, did you play 39 games last year? I don't want to hear it. He's always hurt. Always hurt last season. And oh, by the way,

in the playoffs, Joel and Bid, good against the Knicks, but not unbelievably good, like who we're going to hear from shortly. Joel and B., 10th best player in the NBA, that's not bad, right? What are there? Roster 30 teams, 15 players. That's outstanding. He's in the upper crust. Congrats, Joel,

and B. Number 9. LeBron James. Folks, all NBA player. I'm sorry. I could rattle off all the stats. I'm not going to bore you. He's still one of the 10 best players in the league. He took a roster that was very mid, and they won 47 games.

He had to deal with Darwin Ham last year. LeBron is still, what is he? 25, 7 and 7 at 39 years old. Don't even tell me he's not a top 10 player in the league. I haven't been number nine. Number eight. All right. This is where it's going to get a little confusing.

Jalen Brunson. Now, people are going to say, whoa, he was a second round pick. Jalen Brunson was a backup in Dallas. I don't give a rats behind. Right now, Jalen Brunson is the eighth best player in basketball. Find me a more clutch player in the playoffs. I'll wait.

You can look up any stat you want. Jalen Brunson was arguably the best player in the playoffs when it comes to numbers. He went toe to toe with Embed and guess who came out on top? Jalen Brunson. This kid has star written all over him. He makes everyone better, unbelievable IQ toughness, leadership. He's never afraid of the moment. I'm just telling you, Jalen Brunson has star written all over him.

I have him right now as the eighth best player in basketball. Number seven. All right. This is what we start to get a little confusing. I got my man, Anthony Edwards, perhaps a little high. He's all NBA. He continues to ascend. And this postseason is when he really took off.

And the list is right now best. Not at the beginning of last year. Right now, I mean, Anthony Edwards is unbelievably good in the postseason. Now he did struggle against the Mavs a little bit. He was a little tired. But again, he got the Timberwolves to the conference finals. It wasn't Gobert. It wasn't Towns.

It wasn't Jayden McDaniels. It was Anthony Edwards. The kid can ball. He could be the face of the league. We were talking about that like a month ago. He's gone from, oh, this guy, does he love basketball coming out of Georgia? I had him number one on my mock. He now is potential face of the league.

Anthony Edwards at number seven. Number six. Shea Gilgius Alexander. A lot of people have him top five. I'm not there yet. He was the runner up in the MVP award, led the NBA in steals and deflections. He's a great two-way player.

I saw a video that called him a free-throw merchant, which I found hysterical. And yeah, he gets in line. He draws some questionable whistles. I'd like to see a little more three-point shooting from him as opposed to the mid-range. But listen, man, he's a very, very good player. I just don't think I'm as high on him yet.

Now, the Thunder are stacked heading in the next season. We'll see. But I have SGA at number six. Number five. All right. Are you guys ready for it? Yes, sir. Steph Curry still ticking.

I know he's getting up there in age, but there's this new award called the Clutch Player of the Year. You know who won it, right? Steph Curry, Mr. Clutch. He was unbelievable in Clutch time minutes, which are the final five minutes in a game that's close. Curry led the NBA in points. I'm pretty sure field goal percentage in clutch time.

He was outstanding. And this is all when, oh, by the way, the team is crumbling around him and everybody knows he's getting the ball. Curry had a phenomenal season, still an all-NBA player. Right now, he's still the fifth best player in the NBA. Number four. All right. This is the one that had some heads exploding. I like Jason Tatum.

I'm just telling you. Folks, I know Jalen Brown isn't on this list. Anthony Davis is not on the list, but Jason Tatum led the champions in points, rebounds, and assists in the finals, in the playoffs. He was the best player. I know the award went to Brown. Media had some issues with Jason Tatum.

They like him. They don't love him. I love him. Lakers love him. Jason Tatum is a phenomenal talent. And I have no issues with this clutch time stuff. It's all Fugazi. And they make it up the media does.

Honestly, the clutch time numbers on Tatum are very, very good. They're not Curry level, but they're excellent. Tatum, fourth best player in the NBA. Number three. Janice, I know he missed the playoffs. It's tough to have him this high, but it's undeniable. This guy's a perennial MVP favorite every year. He's going to have the bucks in the mix.

This year will be a tough one. 30 points per game on 61% shooting last season. I don't think there's any argument. Janus, coming in at three. Number two. Nicola Yokich, a lot of people have him one. I think he's outstanding. I don't think it's a slight to call him too.

Yokic is going to have his work cut out. This will be his toughest season, given what's going on around him. Obviously, he's a tremendous talent, can do everything, raises the level of everybody in the way LeBron did, and the number one guy does. I have Yokic too, and I'm sorry if you hate it. Number one. That's Luca Donchich.

Best player in the NBA. I've been saying it for a year. Wavered a little bit. Last year when him and Kyrie missed the playoffs. But this kid is just, he does stuff to make everyone around him better. I know the defense isn't there. That's a big knock. Jay, you're not talking about defense.

It's a two-way sport. Yeah, I get it. But Lucas 6-7-230 led the NBA in scoring. First team all NBA, five straight seasons. What can't he do? I know play defense. He's good at defense. His defense was the best in the post he's ever.

had in his career. Luca Donchich, best player in the NBA. Where's my top 10? And let's bring in Eddie House to pick it apart. I think he's going to like it. Eddie House, former Boston Celtics stud, superstar shooter. Looks like he's still nursing because I'm late

night celebrating. Look at he's wearing a Celtics championship shirt. How you doing, Eddie? Good, man. Fantastic. Happy fourth to everybody. Happy fourth to you as well. All right, so I have Jason Tatum as the fourth best player in the NBA. didn't even win finals MVP. I'm still a little surprised by it. Where are you on Tatum, Eddie?

I want to know what they put in your coffee. Because this list is crazy right here. I'm looking at you got Luca number one. You can't have a guy who plays no defense number one, who got exposed defensively in all of the playoffs this year. Yes, he's a great offensive talent. But when we start talking about the best player in the league, we got to give some effort on the defensive end. So I got to move him out of there. Yolk is at number one for sure. I'm okay with Janice. Jason Tatum, I think, is in the right spot. Steph is cool.

Shaking move up a little bit, possibly. Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, they still got a lot to prove. I just can't believe you don't have Jaylon Brown on this list. You think you'd have two Celtics in the top ten? Well, I mean, why wouldn't you? Jalen Brown, if you watch the playoffs, who did Jalen Brown guard, everybody, right? He guarded Luca. What Luca do?

Turn the ball over. What do he do? He guarded Kyrie. What do? turn the ball over and struggle. There was one game in particular, I was calling a game in New Orleans, and Zion came out in the first quarter

and had like eight quick points. I'm talking about like with seven minutes left on the clock in the first quarter, he had about eight points. Jalen Brown switched over to him. He ends up having four turnovers, and I think he only finished with like 15 points. So Jalen Brown could guard anybody on the perimeter.

He could go down and guard Biggs. He was so mad that he didn't make all NBA defense. That's probably the thing that spurred this success that he had throughout the playoff because he had, he felt like he got shortchanged and he did. So to not have him on the list and have, you know, Jalen Brunson, which had a great two weeks in the playoffs and a really good season. And then Joe L.B., number 10, who never can get out the second round, who constantly is injured. I can't trust that. Okay, I'm with you on Embed.

So, by the way, the Celtics are bringing back, I think everybody, like their top set in the rotation. That's pretty scary. Is a repeat in the cards, or is that just too much to ask of this squad? I don't think it's too much to ask. Think about it. This is a young group, a hungry group. The coach is young. The coach is hungry.

I think the ownership has done a fantastic job. The way they staggered the contracts. So they're not going to hit until two years from now. So they're not going to have to worry about that second apron until two years from now because the way that they staggered the contracts, which is a great job by management. So there's a window here with everybody staying healthy. where they can make another two-run, another two-year run at trying to win a championship. And I think that's usually what happens to teams that win championships.

They get some of their best players plucked off of there. Like look at what happened with Denver. Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. They get plucked off the team. They were big-time players in those moments, key role players for them in that championship run. And so I think when you look at what the Celtics are able to do, and that's keep everybody under contract, stagger it. I mean, they did a great job, upper management doing a great job. And it looks like they're trying to go ahead and sell it before they have to hit those big tax numbers in that second

apron. Yeah, yeah. So who's the biggest competition for the Celtics in the East, Eddie? Themselves. I say that we all do respect to every other team. But when you come back with this same team and think about how far ahead they were in the Western, I think 14 games in the Eastern Conference and by far the best record in the NBA. And you bring in all of that back. of course, KP is going to be injured for the beginning of the year, but we want him for the end and not really the beginning. So just to be able to tie everybody up and everybody comes in, knowing their role, number one,

knowing exactly what kind of minutes they're going to get and knowing that they trust each other. That's already the biggest hurdle that you, that's the biggest hurdles you've got to get over. When you come up after you win it, you come with a new team, some guys leave, some new guys come in, and it's trying to get that chemistry over again. But I don't think that's going to be the issue with the Celtics.

All right, let me reframe it. Who's a bigger challenge to the Celtics? The 76ers adding Paul George or the Knicks adding McKell Bridges? I will go with the Sixers for this reason. Their big three play totally different. They won't be stepping on each other's toes at all. Like the way Paul George plays is different from Maxie and Embed. Way of B plays is different from George and Maxie.

I think if Philly is able to realize that this is Tyree's Maxie's team and go ahead and hand him the keys to the team, I think they'll be better off where nobody's trying to figure out whose team it is. As talented as Joel Embed is, as good as he is, on both ends of the court, he just the best ability is availability. He's not available. You can't trust him to be

available all throughout the season, and especially in the playoffs. We've seen it just past playoffs. Running around on one leg, I give him all the credit for going out there and trying, but he just wasn't 100% healthy. And I think Paul George at this point is just looking to win. A good pickup for them because he has

perimeter defense to him. And that's what they're going to be trying to stop the perimeter offense of the Celtics with Brown and Tatum. So I think it's a good fit for them. But they got to realize that Tyrese Maxie is the guy on that squad. Tyrese Maxie's team. That's a bit surprising to hear. But let me ask you this.

You've seen a lot of big threes. Somebody always has to sacrifice their game, Eddie. Somebody's got to step back, whether it's Chris Bosch, Kevin Love, when the Warriors got Kevin Durant. Clay had to take a little bit of fewer shots. You know, who's the guy who steps back here? Is it Paul George, who just got? about 50 million a year? He's going to step back?

Yeah. I think he could try to focus a little bit more on defense. The offense is going to come. He's going to get them opportunities. He's going to get looks. Really for them, it's really about their defense. I like how they kept Kelly Ubrae. So now they got a perimeter defender in Ubre, a really good two-way player, a really great, a great two-way player in Paul George. And so I think he's going to have to be the guy that kind of sets the tone defensively and get it in where he fit in. Get in where he fit in. He's a guy to get steel. So you get some extra passes here and there. You can have plays rant for you. But Tyrese is the key to that basketball team. I watched them play

a grip of games last year. I watched them play throughout the playoffs. And it seemed like as Maxi was going, that team had a better opportunity to win. Interesting. All right, let's go to the West. Obviously, the Lakers are a big story, but we'll get to them in a second. I want to start with the Clay Thompson departure from the Warriors. You know, Bill, tearing down a dynasty is really difficult. Nobody wants to be that hatchet guy, but Clay's now gone. the Warriors, I mean, I think you'd agree, Eddie,

losing Chris Paul and Clay Thompson and the guys they replaced them with, they're a play in team at best in the Loaded West. I don't know, does this kind of reshape the way you view the Warriors and the Splash Brothers? Does this hurt you at all to watch them kind of split apart these guys? It's unfortunate for Clay. I don't like how Clay got short end of the stick in this whole deal. And he rightfully so to feel disrespecting.

feel like, you know, he wasn't appreciated because think about what when they were making their runs, Clay was huge. Why he got the nickname Game Six Clay for a reason because he showed up in game six and will ball out and they would end up winning championships. I think that when you look at what the Warriors done, Bob, Bob Myers kind of sniffed it out and got out before the house started burning down. But you could see that when they got rid of Wiseman and I know that he kind of didn't fit, but you were mortgaging your future for right now.

And they got the championship in 2022, but now look at where they're at and where they're standing now. They're going to be clayless. And I think when you sign Jordan Poole to a huge deal, and then the very next year you get rid of him, and it wasn't because of something he did on the court or off the court. It was something that was done to him in the practice facility. The reason that caused a divide in the locker room.

So they made their bid. They basically say, hey, it's a Steph and Tremont's team. We're rolling with that. They signed Andrew Wiggins to $100 million deal. Everybody's still looking for him. It's an APB out on Andrew Williams. We don't know where he's at. And so when you make those mistakes, it's hard to come back from those.

And I'm happy for Clay. I think he needs a new scenery, a breath of fresh air for him put on a New Jersey, a different environment. He's going to help them offensively right away. It's just defensively how good can he be because the other two guys, we already know they have limitations defensively. So you were obviously at every finals game watching closely, and the Mavs offense, they just had nothing.

They barely could top 100 points, I think, once in the series. Clay Thompson gives them more offense. They will lose a little bit on defense. But this seems like a good tradeoff. Would you have the Mabs first in the West? I wouldn't put them first in the West. I still think you've got to look at the Minnesotas. You've got to see what Denver does.

We also remember OKC is coming. OKC at Hardenstein was exactly what they needed. They needed a little bit more size, a little bit more physicality in the paint, presence in the paint. and that's what that Chet wasn't able to bring because he's young and still kind of slight. But I think Hartnstein would bring that to, okay, see, that's a team that I'm going to be watching

damn there every game if I can if it's not clashing with what I have to do with work. But they're a very interested basketball team. Let's get to the Lakers. J.J. Reddick got to the podium this week was asked about Brani, and he said, Brony has earned this and everybody lost their minds.

What do you mean? The guy started six games. He averaged four, four point eight points per game. What do you mean? He didn't earn anything. But I don't know. You know, telling white lies is not the end of the world. I know you've got two sons, you got the twins who are on the come up, great young players. Like these guys who are, they're teenagers, right? Like, Brony hasn't obviously earned it yet, but the chance is there thanks to his dad, right? That's a fair to say. Yeah, we could we could all say that,

First of, Reddick didn't have to say that. He could have just kept that to himself. And, hey, this is our driving motivation to make you be the best you can. Because the Lakers are not going to let Brony fail. They're going to do everything they can do in their power to make him succeed. That's the reason why they draft him at 55. And I think when Reddick talked about he earned it, he didn't have to say that because everybody's in everybody's eyes are saying that LeBron dictated this.

He controlled this whole move. And so did Rich Paul. everybody saying don't draft him. If he draft him, he's not coming. And that basically controlled that narrative, right? And but when you, whatever you do in college, that's where you earn to get drafted. And can we say that he did enough?

Well, maybe not enough to be number one or first round pick, but let's not forget he was the 50th pick. We're making a big deal over the 50-fix pick. That's at the end of the draft. And so if they want to take a chance on a project and wanna work him out, then okay, cool, head and do it but every rookie has to earn it when they get drafted so it's something else you

got to earn now so let's see if if bony goes out there and earns minutes or earns the respect of everybody around the league i think he has it within that locker one because he's been around the lakers so he knows all these guys he knows upper management it almost feels like family or extended family to him so i think he'll be comfortable in this transition it's just a matter of does he develop and i believe that the lakers going to do everything they can to develop him You played with LeBron. I don't know how often you guys talk. But I'm just curious.

Your thoughts on LeBron is he gets a new two-year, $104 million max deal. You know, he said he was going to take less Eddie. Lakers could not come through with Clay or Valanchunis or Hardin. And now LeBron gets his max deal. Where do you think he is here heading into year, I don't know, 54 in the league? The guy is still one of the best players in the NBA. But it does feel. like he's definitely close to the end, right?

Yeah, he's closer to the end than he is anywhere else. But he didn't show that many sides of slowing down last year. He still played at extremely high level, like you said, still considering one of the top players in the NBA at his age. And I think that he does see that it's coming to a near, but he's also with this deal giving itself an option to where, if this one year don't work there, maybe he could slide somewhere else, sign another little two-year deal.

and if he plays well, and he's betting on himself. I mean, he's always bet on his self, and he always came out on top. So I just don't know where the Lakers stand in all this. The Lakers look like they're a playing team at best. At best. I mean, they won 47 last year, Eddie. They were a playing team last year. Yeah, I know, but somebody's going to fall off.

And the year before. Clippers are falling back. You know that, right? They were four, I think. But they were, weren't they a playing team the year before? So the last two years with these guys, they've been. playing team. So what makes you think that they're all of a sudden going to make a big jump when everybody's getting older? The team is not getting any better. I just see them in the same place

that they've been the last couple years. Well, that leads me to JJ Reddick, who, you know, some view that Darvin Ham's rotations were terrible last year. He wasn't a leader in the huddle. He was, you know, there's a report that he was not prepared. Redick is LeBron's guy from podcasting. Reddick seems very excited for this. Like, he wanted the Lakers job. A lot of people said this is not a good job. He actively sought after and wanted it. And maybe he's worth four or five games in the win column. I don't know. Where are you on Reddick? Do you know him well at all? I don't know and well. I do know this, that is very easy when you have the best player on the team that's vouching for you.

So you have some sort of job security in that regard. Now, as far as JJ Reddick, it doesn't have any coaching experience. I know some coaches that come right in and don't have coaching experience, not like this. They usually are on the bench somewhere, or they've been in upper management. They've been around the game as opposed to, you know, just coming fresh off and, you know, all the best to JJ. But just because you get these stats from people and you regurgitate them on TV, I don't make you see that. To me, that don't make you smart. That makes you sound like you could regurgitate some numbers that somebody gave you. Now, when we get in the huddle, is he going to be able to drop the player to split second?

He's going to make that split second decision. These are all things that go into coaching. all those numbers and stuff like that, you can have them and sound good when you're talking about it, but when you get in those trenches, all that goes out the window. It becomes a field game. It becomes a rhythm game.

It becomes a trust game. And that's what he's going to have to earn, I think not only from the players, but I think everybody that's watching this. Oh, that's good stuff, Eddie House. Thanks for your time, Eddie. Have a great July 4th. Congrats on your Celtics, winning the chip.

And be safe out there, buddy. Yeah, you too, man. Thanks for having me. Be safe, bro. All right. House. Ooh, interesting take on Reddick. I hadn't heard that angle. I like that. Spicy. Coming up next in Herdline News, Alex Curry will tell us which Super Bowl champ went after Lamar Jackson for his lack of

playoff success. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the I-Hard Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even, music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just.

because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'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 Back here on the herd, let's go to Alex Curry with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, J. Mack, Lamar Jackson has had plenty of regular season success, winning two MVP's in his career, but he hasn't produced on that same level in the postseason.

And Mark Schlerath called out Lamar for the lack of production in the playoffs and dismissed the idea that the Ravens haven't given them enough weapons. When it comes to playoff football, Lamar Jackson is mediocre come playoff time. And bottom line is, you have been so good in the regular season, you have so many expectations. I do not want to hear from all of you out there that are telling me that Lamar Jackson, well, they don't get in weapons. How many first round wide receivers do you need to draft? Well, they're not drafting the right one.

Well, you're not developing them. Well, how do you develop them? Well, your quarterback has a long way to go in developing wide receivers. Don't tell me about the paint. Show me the baby. Producing the playoffs. It really does feel like it's the one thing holding Lamar Jackson back from greatness, right? Because we know how incredible of a player is.

He's two-time MVP, but just to back up Mark Schlerf's argument there of how great of a regular season player he is compared to a playoff, Lamar Jackson in the regular season. We have the stats on the board here, but 59 and 19 in the regular season and two and four in the playoffs. Completion percentage in the regular season is 64.5%. 57.4 in the playoffs. Touchdowns interceptions, 125 to 45 in the regular season, 6 and 6 in the playoffs, and pass a rating of 98 in the regular season and 75.7 in the postseason. And that's not going to win you games.

And last year, it really felt like it was finally his time. I think the world was betting on Lamar Jackson to finally take down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. I know I did too. And then after that game, I was like, if Patrick Mahomes wins this, I can never bet against them in the postseason again. Because last year was the year. If anyone was going to try to dethrone Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, that was it.

They had a down year. They didn't have what everyone thought was, quote, top tier weapons. Holmes numbers were down a little. But he still, he went on the road, beat Josh Allen, beat Lamar Jackson, and won a Super Bowl to now create the Chiefs dynasty.

Yeah, I mean, listen, Mark's not wrong. Lamar hasn't produced in the postseason. I unearthed a good stat there during the commercial break. So you see, Lamar, two MVP's. Awesome. Six playoff games? How were the passing touchdowns? Was it six touchdowns?

Six interceptions? Yeah, six and six. You know, Brock Purdy has six passing touchdowns in the playoffs too, right? I'm just how I put that out there. I'm not saying Purdy's as good as Lamar. I'm not. Oh, I was like, where are we going with this? It's just a sample size.

You're pumping up Brock Purdy. Yeah, but Brock Purdy in his first two seasons has got to the NFC championship and got to the Super Bowl. Trust me, I am on the Brock Purdy bandwagon and put some respect on that man's name. I know Lamar Jackson. He's a great regular season player. We need to see the results in the postseason. There was a comparative stat. I think we showed it on the show at some point

between Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott during the regular season. Oh, gosh, yes. Their numbers are almost identical. What's the biggest difference? Postseason wins, and that's what makes a great player iconic. Listen, is there a comparison to Lamar Jackson to Joel Embed? Jol & B., dominant regular season player gets to the playoffs, can't get past the second round.

He's got injuries. Lamar's had a couple injuries. Listen, Lamar's a great player. And I'll point this out, just to be fair, to do the both sides thing. Go look up Peyton Manning's first. I think it was four or five playoff starts. He was terrible.

Couldn't win a playoff game. Just could not do it in the playoffs early in his career. Four or five starts or four or five seasons. Four or five seasons, actually. In the playoffs, he just couldn't get wins, couldn't deliver. Then he breaks through. So Lamar eventually will break through. One would hope.

But it is so far. You would think so. Because, you know, at the end of your career, probably two top things you talk about is Super Bowl wins and MVP's. So he has two of the MVPs, but the one thing he's missing to get to that next level

is a Super Bowl. Or even postseason success. I don't want to just play that it's only about the playoff wins, but, you know, we can't say, like Mark said, it's not about the offensive line. It's not about the weapons.

It's not about the running backs. They've cycled through coaches. offensive coaches. And it's like at some point you've got to look and say, Lamar, you've got to take us there. And so far he hasn't. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's just so many defenders, you know, people are like, why are you blaming Lamar? Why do you hate Lamar? No, he hasn't played well. He's an incredibly dynamic quarterback who deserves two NVPs. But to get to that next level, he needs postseason success. And that's not something that he's been able to obtain yet. Even two and four. Yeah. The MVP this year, Alex. It's like,

okay they had the best record in the AFC given his numbers were not off the chart's amazing but I don't know I don't want to feel like I'm bashing Lamar Jackson he's a good player He's a great player He's won me a fantasy championship Getting to that next level is going to take

Playoff success All right let's move to the AFC West because the Chargers haven't won as much as a would have liked to since drafting Justin Herbert in 2020 They're hoping for that to change in a big way with Jim Harbaugh as the head coach And Senator Bradley Bozeman thinks Herbert

is already extremely comfortable in Harbaugh's new system. He said Justin looked like he's been in the system for 10 years and has been elevating people around him. So good news here, it's sounding like it's a smooth transition with Jim Harbaugh, which we know how talented Justin Herbert is. We've seen pockets of greatness, but we've talked a lot about his potential without fully seeing him reach the top of that potential.

But the goal here bringing in Harbaugh is that he can unlock that potential for Herbert. He's a guy who is a winner. He creates a culture. It's obviously going to be a very different-looking offense for the Chargers this season. You have to remember they got rid of Moore, Eckler, Kelly, Allen, Williams, Lindsay, Everett. It is a very different-looking offense. They only went 5 and 12 last season.

AFC West, you know, you got to... You got the dynasty, you got the best team in there and the Chiefs. So that's going to be a challenge. But my expectations for the Chargers this season is to have a winning season. But what would you consider a successful season? Well, I actually had to just Google Bradley Bozeman. Because I know he wasn't the center last year. It was Corey Lindley who had the health issue.

I'm like, Bradley Bozeman, who the hell? Oh, wait a minute. He's kind of a journeyman center. Not what you want when the offensive lines paramed. A lot of new. There's a lot of new on this team right now. As long as they can get above 500. Nine and eight, I think it's a good season. Yeah. Now, I do think expectations are a little higher given Herbert doesn't have a playoff win yet.

And Harbaugh. Well, Harbaugh went to the Super Bowl. He's won a national championship. But you're bringing in that coach to get wins. First year you come in. All right, we're going to clean house, get my guys in there. That takes like a year. So I'll give them a little bit of a year. Can we give him a year? That's fair, right? You can.

I mean, I think a successful season would be to have a winning season. Wild card game, something like that. That would be good. That would be a successful season. I mean, listen, we like Herbert a lot. We haven't seen the results. But we know the potentials there. We've seen pockets of greatness.

Now there's no excuse. You have your coach. You have your guy. He's cycled through a lot of coaches. What is his third, fourth coach? I mean, they've had a ton of guys. Depends if you count the interim after Staley. You count that.

Can. Yeah. Yeah, I'm optimistic, but they got to get some wins here. The schedule's very favorable for the Chargers. It is. So there is a world where they're like blowing 9 and 8 out of the water, and they go what, like 11 and 6? Is that 17?

Okay. It's going to be interesting. All right, let's move to Major League Baseball because the starters for the MLB All-Star game were announced yesterday and we'll see some of the biggest stars in the game taking the field on July 16th on Fox. And they did. If you look at the American League, big names,

you want to keep an eye out for, Adley Ruchman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He was last year's home run derby winner. His dad was also a home run derby winner. So that was a fun, cool little moment at last year's all-star game. Jose Al-Tuvres, Gunner Henderson, Jose Ramirez, Aaron Judge Juan Soto. You got the two New York stars on the American League.

Yordon Alvarez. But when you look at the National League, Phillies, man, just absolutely dominating with Bryce Harper, Trey Turner, Alex Bowman. it's going to be fun. Shohei Otani, the DH, but I think the next thing to really keep an eye out for

is who's going to be in the home run derby because they only have one guy confirmed right now in Gunner Henderson. Shohei Otani has officially declined to participate in the home run derby,

which, no, I think it's smart. He's still recovering and in his rehab process from having Tommy John surgery, his second Tommy John surgery. So he's still in his throwing program to get back to be able to be pitching on the mound

anything that could set that back or throw that off. Not a smart thing to do, especially when this is a Dodgers team that has been one of the greatest regular season teams in the last decade, but hasn't really been able, like we were just talking about with Lamar Jackson, hasn't really been able to have that postseason success. Yes, they got the 2020 World Series, but they have, with how much regular season success they have had, over 100 win seasons to only have.

have one World Series to show for that. You'd expect more. You need more. That's why they brought in Shohei Otani. Yeah. Could you go back to that list of the starters? Yes. Because Alex, correct me if I'm wrong. So the AL starters, so you got two Orioles, two Astros, two Yankees, two guardians.

Yeah. Well, I mean, that's a little top heavy. Now, I did vote for the WNBA All-Stars. Did you vote? I did not vote for MLB All-Stars. Sorry. I don't know the process, but that seems a little top-heavy. Is the A.L. really just four really good teams? Like, what's going on? Yeah, I mean, you also, like, again, like, if you look at the other side, too, like, you've got three Phillies. Three Phillies. Two us, two Padres. Two Brewers.

Couple, yeah, Milwaukee. It's usually, like, whatever fan base is going hard in the paint for the voting is what you're going to get, for the starters. Okay. And Bryce Harper, still recovering. So it's, it's going to be great. It's always such a fun time. Obviously, not as much on the line as there used to be in the All-Star game for baseball. I think they used to play, was it for, some sort of like world some whole field advantage was a part of it which is crazy

but yes it's going to be fun it's going to be on Fox a couple weeks away can't wait Alex Curry with the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news

coming up next what's the real problem with the U.S. men's national soccer team I don't want to hear this we don't have the best athletes nonsense we'll talk about that next be sure to catch live editions of the herd

in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Hey, it's Ben. Hosts to the Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen?

Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports, and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature. and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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,

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 Clivert 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. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so.

Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tonight, the summer of stars shine bright in a Copa America quarterfinals battle.

As Messi and Argentina take on Ecuador, coverage begins tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on Fox. You know, Messi expected to play Argentina only minus 210 because. Messi's health is uncertain, but I think Argentina's fine and gets through. It should be a good match. I'll take this opportunity to talk briefly again about soccer. I know I did it yesterday and got surprisingly good feedback from you guys. Every time the U.S. men's national team goes down, one of the old tired tropes we hear is, well, the U.S., we don't have the best athletes play in soccer,

so we'll never have a chance against England and Spain and Germany and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. What does that mean? What are the best athletes? Are the best athletes hockey players? Baseball players? Basketball? Football? Like, what are the best athletes in America? And then you can have that debate. And if you're like, well, it's probably football players. Okay. Well, football's a big person sport. Okay. Offensive lineman, defensive lineman, it is dominated in the trenches. And yeah, you need a quarterback. Quarterbacks usually aren't the best athletes. Lamar might be an exception. But football's a big person sport. Soccer's not a big person sport. Basketball players who I think are probably the best athletes is a tall person sport. LeBron is 6-8-250. He's incredible on a basketball court. We've never seen anything like LeBron. LeBron doesn't translate to soccer guys.

Sorry. Maybe he played as a kid. I don't know. But you could go look up the history of the greatest soccer players ever. No six-eight guys are on that list. Okay? It just doesn't happen. 250 pounds in soccer?

carrying that around for 90 minutes, nonstop, it doesn't work. It doesn't. Now, maybe you find some six, four guards who could translate well, that's fine. But, you know, you go look at Pele, not even 510. Diego Maradona, small guy. Cristiano Ronaldo is, I think, is six feet even. Zedan, the great fans player, 6-1, but by and large, it's 6-1 and under for the best soccer players. Maybe you've got a goalie here or there who's big.

But this idea that we don't have the best athletes in America playing soccer, silly. There are 330 million people in America, folks. 330 million. There's plenty to go around for all of the sports. That's not the issue. The issue is very difficult. It's not like there's one thing. It's a litany of things. You know, we'll have Rob Stone on later, who anchors a lot of our Fox coverage. We'll talk to him about soccer. And, you know, there's the whole pay-to-play scheme, which people really hate. You've got to pay to play club soccer at some of the earlier levels which weeds out maybe some of the lower income folks whose kids are immensely talented at soccer.

Like, it's not a great system. And frankly, I don't know if the U.S. is doing a great job of improving our talent. Listen, I like Christian Pulisic as much as the next guy. Has he gotten that much better since the 2022 World Cup since 2021? Like, has he gotten that much better? He's the best player we've got, clearly. But has he improved that much better? I just don't know if we're doing a great job harnessing the talent we have.

And then, you know, developing the skill. And you can go on down the list of all the awesome academies that oversees and the Netherlands have a great soccer philosophy that is held through the test of time. And I don't know. It's just, it's a little tough for me to pinpoint one thing. But I know it's not this athlete nonsense that everybody trots out. Here's Alexei Lollas on the show yesterday talking about the state of soccer in the United States. There's not a Landon Donovan or Click Dempsey coming through that door.

The players are who they are. You might get a couple of different players here, but not fundamentally changing the outlook of this team. So what you're trying to find, if you are going to make a change, is somebody that is going to do better with what you already have. This is the most important summer in American soccer history. And we should be doing everything, like I said, to maximize it on and off the field. So I want somebody that's a bigger-than-life personality. I want somebody that is going to be to champion American soccer.

champion this team leading up to the most important moment in the summer of 2026. I want somebody that's out there. I want somebody that's barnstorming. I want somebody that when I leave an interview or when I see that person on the sideline or obviously when I see that team playing on the field is inspiring. He's got a good point. Personality matters. We're in an era of carnival barkers, you know, whether they're presidential candidates,

Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, on down the list, the louder you are, the more you're able to cut through. We want your attention. And the U.S. doesn't really have one of those guys. I'm not saying Lala should turn into a carnival barker, but I honestly think he should get a call from the U.S. Hey, give us your thoughts. Would you like to come in and talk to us? What philosophies do you have that you'd like to introduce? I know it's clubby. I actually tried to put on my journalist. What does Colin say? His Big J. Journalist hat yesterday I made a couple calls to some people and some of the answers that I got back were not great. You know, it sounds like a lot of people seem to think Burrhalter's probably going to survive this because of the clubby nature of U.S. soccer.

But just when people say our best athletes aren't playing, well, yeah, Tyreek Hill's not playing soccer. Okay, Tyreek Hill's a great athlete. He's super fast. Like, okay, maybe he could have been a great soccer player. Wonderful. Like, just what, Justin Jefferson, Jamir, not Jamir Nelson, sorry, Jalen Brunson, like, we go on down the list. I don't think it's about the athletes. I just don't think we have the infrastructure in place.

We're trying, but we're just not doing a great job of building it. Now, Alex, I know you played college soccer. Soccer was my top sport growing up. I don't know. You can't pinpoint one thing, right? It's just tough because it's not the main focus here in the U.S. When you think about sports, football, basketball, maybe soccer, three, four, five. Eventually, it'll probably cut through.

It's just we're not there yet. Final hour coming up. Has JJ Reddick already told us a white lie about the Lakers? 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 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 grotes. 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. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. 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 podcast. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway 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're 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 AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or, you get your podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.