The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Thoughts on Jayson Tatum

Episode Date: May 22, 2024

Players Colin would take over Jayson Tatum NBA reporter Rachel Nichols joins the show to preview the Western Conference between the Mavericks and the Timberwolves and defend Tatum from Colin's criticismsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. All right, here we go. Hour 2 and a Wednesday, live in Los Angeles. It's the Hurt. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. I'm heading east after the show.

Going to hang out Memorial weekend out on the beach somewhere in the east. J. Mack, you're going to be doing a couple of shows filling in. Always appreciate that. Always appreciate it. Oh, you know I got the takes in the holster, baby. Ready to fire. I'm collecting. Oh, so much good stuff.

I can't wait. Whenever J.M.X. going to do the show. He has a couple days heads up, and he just starts saving stuff. I'll turn to him and ask a question. He'll give a puzzled look and move on. It's like the pinch hitter. Hey, do you want to go in? No, no, I'm good now. I'm good now. Send me in

tomorrow. Send me in tomorrow against a middleman, the weaker starter. Bro, I'll just say this. I have a couple guests lined up. I don't know if they're going to come through, but we've put out feelers. And the show's going to look a little different tomorrow, shall we say, if these guys come through. You know, Mahomes, Patrick. First name Patrick, last name.

Mahomes. He's on first things first today. That's not a bad get. His annual. It's not a, yeah. Solid quarterback. Solid get. Got lucky in the Super Bowl. Good get. Good get. Good get. Pretty good get. Yeah. So, you love Jason Tatum.

I like him a lot. This is not Tatum. Hey, we're going to play a game called Tatum or Tate Out. So fourth quarter, who would I want in the big spot? And I will give you data and see if you can refute it. You ready to go. player and I'll give you Tatum or Tate out. Jason Tatum or Anthony Edwards. This is one of the tougher ones but I'll go Anthony Edwards because what I saw,

54% from three point range in the fourth quarter this postseason. So he can be a bit of a streaky shooter, but he has been best in the biggest spots. Fourth quarter he's shooting 57% and 54 from three. I'm going to give him a slight edge over. Tatum. Tatum or Sheaildius Alexander. No, this isn't a hard one. SGA is a more aggressive offensive player, and the data shows you he's plus

28 in the postseason fourth quarter, his highest plus minus of any quarter. So he is more reliable. Tatum has his worst plus minus, minus 23 in the fourth quarter this postseason. So literally they're opposites. All right. Jason Tatumor, Luca Donchich. Luca. Okay, I think it's fair to say he is the world's best shot maker right now.

That's fair to say. All right, Luca, sorry, Jason Tatumor Jalen Brunson. Jalen Brunson has a fourth quarter player. Brunson leading score in the fourth quarter this postseason. And not surrounded by a lot of outs. Everybody in the world knows Brunson's getting the ball. There's no Jalen Brown. There's no Derek White in the corner.

It's a cobbled together lineup with a defensive coach, and Brunson leads the fourth quarter in scoring he did when he was still playing. Tatum or Kyrie Irving? Now, I think Kyrie's the best closer of his generation, both hands. Now, he can go a little sideways, but so can Tatum last night, not a point or a field goal in nine minutes in the fourth quarter. Also, Kyrie has his fewest turnovers in the postseason. And this matters because he has the ball a lot.

So Kyrie, and Halliburton's usually pretty good at this, wasn't last night. Halliburton's a low turnover guy. Last night was a mess. Big spot for the team. But Kyrie has been very efficient late and no turnovers. Jason Tatum, were the Lakers' new buildaround guy, Anthony Davis. Jason Tatum, I would take. Anthony Davis, I believe he is such a strident defender.

He is such a key defender against Biggs that I think AD sometimes feels worn down in the fourth quarter. He had his lowest scoring average, three and a half points, and his lowest field goal percentage, 36% in the fourth quarter this postseason. So the data tells you AD gets worn down and offensively he takes a step back late. All right, Tatum, or 57-year-old LeBron James. One possession, it's not close, I take LeBron. LeBron led the NBA in fourth quarter baskets this year. Now, you can knock him for not always being there. He's sort of regressed badly on defense.

He's doing more podcasting than defending these days. But for a fourth quarter bucket, LeBron's fantastic. He is a great closer. All right, Tatum or Steph Curry. Well, Steph Curry won. He didn't play in the big playoffs, but he won clutch time player the year in the NBA. So you didn't argue with that one. No.

The donkey, Luca and Curry, you're not even arguing. Tatum or Devin Booker? Well, I would say Tatum because Booker's no longer the number one scoring option for the Sons. KD is. So I think that's I think Tatum's more of a go-to guy for them out for him. So that Tatum or Durant?

Durant is still, in that Luka class is one of the world's best shot makers, especially late in the clock. Katie, I've got my issues with him. Sometimes I think he's a bit of a wanderer, but KD was the leading score in the fourth quarter in NBA playoff history behind

I'm going to read this. Third leading score in the fourth quarter in NBA playoff history behind MJ is one of the players he's behind. Tatum ranks 59 in fourth quarter scoring average at NBA playoff history. He's 26. Jason Tatum or Jamal Murray? Well, I think Jamal, I think we saw it in the postseason. Jamal's not as good as Tatum, but in terms of a big shot maker late, Murray had his highest field goal percentage in the first.

the fourth quarter this postseason. So whereas AD gets worn down, Jamal Murray, with Yokich carrying the load, often has a lot of gas left in the tank and is a very good shot maker late. I don't think that's a reach. I think that's his specialty. Late game shot making. Tatum or Nicola Yokic.

I'm going to go with the best player in the world. Tatum or Jalen Brown, come on. No, Tatum. Yeah, Brown averages his fewest points, assists. But I also think Brown is an energy guy that plays on the defense event. Sometimes, These guys that really give you a defensive effort. Like LeBron, by the way, led the NBA in fourth quarter buckets. LeBron doesn't use a lot of his energy on the defensive side.

I would say LeBron tends to be sort of he's got his foot off the pedal. He's saving energy for the fourth, which is not a bad. It's actually very smart as you age as a player. Pick your spots. MJ was great at that. Pick your spots. Bird was great at that. So again, I would take Jason over A.D.

Tatum over Booker, Tatum over Brown. But the numbers. Now, the one that people will push back on could be Anthony Edwards, because what do I know? The one. But he is, the numbers tell you a story that he was at his best field going three points. So I'm going to go with the data.

Like I saw a story this morning. Everybody's like, the economy's terrible. And then they go back and they look at unemployment and they look at all the GDP and everybody's like, well, it's not really terrible. The data said it's not terrible. We have inflation. but I'm these data is telling me these are the right choices are you which one of all these bothers you the most

I'll let our next guest handle this because I mean Colin you take like 75 guys over Jason Tatum in the clutch I mean let me realistic here come on he's a top five player in the league he's an all NBA guy I can't do this did you watch that nine minutes where he didn't know I watched the overtime when he won the game for them didn't get to overtime without Jaylor Brown yeah LaBrowe lucky shot yes indeed uh let's bring in Rachel Nichols I don't like being marginalized. I do not like how I'm being positioned, Rachel, on this show. But I will say, I said this to start the show, is the Celtics are nothing, if not a little strange historically. Yes.

They are a kind of almost a, well, by their standards, a bad home playoff team. Eight of the last 11 losses they've had have been at home. Okay. That's just the numbers. I don't know if they're well coach, although the staff is better. Tatum has moments where he disappears. And I don't love Al Horford taking 12-3s. So sometimes Charles Barclays touched on this.

What is that offense? You know, I said this a year ago. I thought Denver could be a dynasty. Still could be. But I knew what they were. Well-coached, run through Yokic, good defensively, great at home, Murray, a late-game shotmaker. Yep. I still don't know what the same.

Celtics are in the fourth quarter. I mean, they're going to look different when Chris Epps Porsingas comes back. Especially defensively, he can help. 100%. Here's the thing about last night. There's no doubt the Pacers choked away that game. No question. Boneheaded decision after boneheaded decision, Rick Carle came out and said after the

loss, he said, oh, this is my fault. And people kind of were like, oh, he's just covering first players. No, no, no. He's right because they were up when he did not call a time out to inbound the ball where he could have advanced it. And then there is no Jalen Brown shot. There's none of that that happens. And you foul someone and you get two shots and you're up by three and it doesn't matter.

So there was just boneheaded stuff all the way around. However, just because the Pacers choked their chance away doesn't mean, I hate this narrative. They handed it to the Celtics. There is nothing about the way the Celtics have played in the biggest moments at the end of games. They gave people, oh, that's an automatic. That's just faith. We have criticized them over and over again, even though their clutch numbers are generally. really pretty good.

Situationally, when it's come to, when it really counts, they've been a bit discombobulated. And that didn't happen. You talk about this Jalen Brown shot. Jalen is a 22% shooter on corner threes this playoffs. That was not a gimmy. Yeah. Right? And you look at Jason Tatum, who made that shot that you guys are talking about with one

minute to go in overtime. He didn't make those shots throughout most of that game. And yet there he was at the end. So I just think when you look at them, you say, what is this office? who is this team? They're obviously still figuring it out. But I have to give them credit for figuring out more last night after not playing a very good regular, you know,

in-regulation game, that they actually came together and did what they keep saying they are, which is an elite team. And I just think that we're starting to see it. Chris Finch talked about this. I'm old enough in the 70s. It was a lot of good teams, Sixers, Blazers, Sonics, Warriors, at the time, Washington Bullets, Elvin Hayes,

and, you know, Wes Unseld and Kevin Grevy, a lot of good teams. No great ones. I feel like the talent now, because of the international surplus, is the best it's ever been. But it's all spread out. And part of this, I think, Rachel, I'll throw this at you. When I travel overseas, I know I'm a guest. I stay where I stay. Everything's planned.

I don't get distracted. I stay on. when international players come over here, then I'll move around a lot. They pick a team, they're loyal. You don't get this, hey, let's join the country club. Let's join the super team. That's kind of a domestic player thing. They feel like this is ours.

I feel like that. International players, Janus can threaten, get me, Dane, but he's still a buck. And I think the good news for the league is that creates parity. His players are, Luca wants to stay in Dallas forever. And offseason, he's going to go do his thing. So is Yokic. They have a full life over there. But I do think the league's more talented,

but I think it's an all-time high for parity. Absolutely. I don't think there's any question. You know, we talk about Bill Russell and all the titles he won, and when we got to the Michael Jordan era, there was no one who thought, man, Michael should have won 11, right? The league was so different. The number of teams was different.

The amount of parity was different. Michael Jordan won six titles. I do not think that anyone else following behind him, one now that we've reached this stage, can win six titles. I don't think it's available. Because as you say, the international players have raised the level of the game. It's kind of like integrating baseball when, you know, you have a much, you have an influx of guys who are very good coming into the league. The ground rules are going to change. And we have had this, you know, look at the last MVP's. Look at the finalists for MVP this year. None of them are

American. I'm not saying we're never going to get another American MVP. I think, you know, there's some candidates who are going to be playing tonight who could end up there. But I just, I don't think anyone come in six anymore, and that parody makes it more exciting for all of us. Yeah, the T-Wolves Mavs, it is, Dallas deserves credit twofold. They took a big swing on Kyrie, bumpy early, but now it works, and they took a big swing at the trade deadline. Big. And we have said, for years, aggressive mostly wins in sports. Even if the Russell Wilson thing fails because you get such a surplus of draft talent and football, you can recover very quickly if you find the right guy.

But a year ago, I didn't like Brunson is taking over New York. Kyrie's being Kyrie. They can't defend the rim. I don't know. I think Dallas matches up pretty well with Minnesota. Yeah. I think he's going to be a fantastic. series. I mean, this is definitely the series of the playoffs at this point. And when you look at

what Dallas has done, I don't think there was a comfort level with Kyrie and Luca. He came so late in the season and there were injuries and I just don't think they ever got there where they knew who was going to go when and there was a lot of my turn, your turn and all of that stuff. And Kyrie did look around a little bit over the summer when he was a free agent, but the Mabbs made it clear from the minute he walked in the door, you are our guy. We traded for you and gave up a bunch of stuff for you even though you have an expiring contract. That's how much faith we have in you. Jason Kidd, who has been Kyrie's idol for so long, Kyrie Irving went to Jason Kidd's Hall of Fame induction. Not because at that point they had a

special relationship, just because he was like, this is my favorite player, and I want to see him in the Hall of Fame. I mean, Jason didn't invite him. He just showed up. So it's worked. So the fact that this has worked for them has been so great, and they did take a huge swing at the trade deadline, because they mortgaged a lot for these guys. And so far they have come through. My question is, players continue to play as well as they did in the last series in this series because you needed Derek Jones Jr. or PJ Washington to tip in at least 19 points tonight. Yeah, yeah. And PJ Washington had a spectacular end of game six, but he was shooting 20-something percent

before the final minutes. So he can't do that in this game tonight. He can't do that for the series. So we'll see if the role players can play above their heads again and then Dallas is a real shot at it. So there's a story out there, and I don't think it's that far-fetched, that the Lakers think Reddick has a Pat Riley vibe. I don't know, man.

I don't buy any of it. First of all, I mean, you're not going to get the Godfather look in the Armani suits. That you're not. JJ's a very sharp dresser, but I'm just saying. Just in terms of how prepared they are for the league, J.J. Redick is going to be an excellent head coach. I just believe that. I think he will be a head coach.

I think he will be very good at it. However, to compare him to Pat Riley, who not only when he was in broadcasting, he broadcasted locally for the Lakers. So he watched that team. He played for that team, and then he watched that team every night, night in and night out. He knew the guys super well. Everybody was very familiar with each other.

And then he became an assistant coach. He was an assistant coach for two plus seasons before he took over. That's the biggest knock on JJ. I think everyone knows how good he's going to be. It's just can you walk into being a head coach of a team with two superstars that needs to win now if you have no experience? That was not Pat Riley. Pat Riley had experience. He was on that bench.

He was in the locker room. He was in the coaches meetings. And I just don't see the one-to-one. Yeah. I get that. Good points. We've said before that it's because of the mobility of the league, Rachel Nichols for our radio audience, it is hard to create a culture. So Miami did it with D. Wade, and they had Shaq come in and LeBron come in, but they maintain their culture.

I mean, they did it with Alonzo Morning off the bat, right? And Haslam was part of it even later in his career. And then DeWade leaves, and Pat's like, we got to go find a D. Wade type player. They get Jimmy Butler, who leans into that sort of tough, gritty, when the red lights on, I'm great. So I think the Warriors with Steve Kerr started with Mark Jackson, but Steve. There was a culture. Catch and react. It's a pretty high IQ offense.

Young people could struggle, but they did well poaching veterans and getting them to work. There's not another team in the league where I watch them play and think, oh, that's a culture more than the Knicks. It's a Villanova thing. It's a Tibbs thing. And they sort of feed off each other. And so I think we realize they need another skill player. Julius Randall playoff history is not ideal. but you can't screw up the culture.

Well, who they're going to bring in is going to be so important. And I do think they need to bring someone else in, and I think they will bring someone else in. I see that Devin Booker talk, I don't see Phoenix trading Devin Booker. So I just, I don't think that's a realistic path to go down. Mikhail Bridges, on the other hand, talk about culture. He is a Villanova guy. I mean, those guys love each other.

They play for each other. It gives them that feel of that college team. I don't know if you can pry him away, but he would be a great, fit there. You wouldn't have to give up as much. No. No, I like that move. You know, they've talked about Demar de Rosen.

I think you've got to look around the Bulls roster. I think Zach Levine would be an interesting, you know, fit there. I don't know for sure that he's a Tibbs guy, but I do know that he has never been put in the position in Chicago to really be his full potential. And I just think it's been a crummy situation for him the entire time he's been there. And I would be interested to see whether he could stand up physically to a Tibbs' season and how he would do there because, man, he's got height. He's such a shotmaker. He would space the floor completely differently, take some of the pressure off Jalen Brunson,

you know, to be the 40-point guy every single night. I think there are options for the Nix that aren't necessarily the bring Donovan Mitchell in. Not going to happen. Bring Devin Booker in, don't see it happening. There are guys around the league who you could go out and get who I think would really fit in there. And it's a credit to the front office, as you say, that they There were built a team around Tibbs. They knew who they had, and they built a team that could be in his character. Yeah, the other thing about the Knicks, they're not devoid of talent. Brunson's clearly an A.

Mitchell Robinson can protect the rim. I think, I know he was a bounce around the league guy, but Dante DiFenchenzo has become an excellent catch-and-shoote three-point guy, like really good. O.G's a baller. So it's not like in the east, you don't have to have KD. So the McAil Bridges thing, a lot of people will. push back and say it's not enough. And my takeaway is it does add to the culture. There's no... He's got some size, too,

by the way, compared to those Villanova teammates that they're with the Knicks right now. Can Indiana make it a series? I was saying, they're long, they're deep, they're good offensively, and they have a coach with experience. I watched that last night, I'm like, okay, I've got to stop giving the Celtics

this credit. And I'm like, when you're such an underdog, so the Pacers weren't a big underdog with New York. But when you're going in as a huge underdog, kind of loose, certainly deep, healthy. I mean, I watched that last night, and I thought, okay, Boston's going to win the series, but, oh, it could go six, right? Yeah. No, I think this series absolutely could go six games, and that won't be because the Celtics fell apart.

It will be because the Pacers are a legitimate team. And, yes, they're an underdog in this series. There's no question about that. But the way they play, as we saw last night. And they kind of gave away last night. They were really sloppy. They didn't kind of give away. They absolutely 100% gave away last night.

But you heard after the game, the Celtics players saying, we got to get with that pace. We got to play faster. We got to get with that pace. That is what the Pacers do to you. I mean, they play like every player is physically on fire in the middle of a tornado. It is hectic. It is chaotic. It is quick.

And if you can't keep up with that, you are going to have a problem. And the Pacers are younger and they've shown themselves to be durable. And they have deep bench. So I don't think this is a walkover, but I also think the Celtics win. Yeah, Porzingis didn't feel to me vital going into it. And then I watched Siaco, Morkal-Horford, and I'm like, they need Porzengis. Yeah, I think it goes out. Yeah, because remember, Indiana is a very good home team.

Yeah. Rachel Nichols, as always great seeing you. Thank you. The superbly versatile, all-electric EQB for Mercedes-Bens, impressively, techie, surprisingly, roomy with available seating up to 7. The vehicle's all electric, the choice all yours. Go to MbUSA.com slash EQB. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaad, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about, and they are experts at everything.

Here, the Nick Dick and Poll show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director. Who do you think he is? I don't know. You mean, like, the president? You think Canada has a president.

You think China has a president? Those law crusade. God, I love that thing. I use it all the time. I wrap it in a blanket and sing to it at night. It's like the old Polish saying, Not my monkeys, not my circus. Yep.

It was a good one. It is an actual Polish saying. It is an actual Polish saying. Better version of Play Stupid Games, win stupid prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time. I actually thought it was. I got that wrong.

Listen to the Nick Dick and Paul show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jordanano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself.

And on my new podcast, Hope I'm a Hippocrat, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you, you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary.

Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Cultura podcast network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, when you travel, if you're concerned about safety at home when you're gone, go to Simply SaveCollin.com. Asper Tech Monitoring, sign up today, 20% off, indoor outdoors, sensors, detect fires, floods, and more. SimplySafecollin.com.

JMAQ, who'll be hosting tomorrow on Friday with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Here's one for you. Lamar Jackson. You know, we read a lot about quarterbacks who are, like, gaining weight to take more hits. Lamar Jackson is coming off an MVP season, and he's down 10 pounds.

he's down to 205, down 10 from last season, which is kind of puzzling, and he's down 25 pounds from 2022. Why is this? I don't know what's going on here. I mean, we read a lot about Jalen Hertz getting strong, right, so he can take the hits. I think he thinks he's slowing down, maybe. I don't know. I mean, he had an okay rushing season, not like one of his top two, but he doesn't have to be.

Well, he's become a better pocket thrower. He's not great against a chief. I've never watched Lamar Jackson and thought, you know, he needs to be faster. And they added Derek Henry. Yeah, I just... This is a weird move. Yeah. I mean, he knows his body better than we do, but it's...

I actually, for the first time and a long time, I like their receiving core. I think they've got some really nice pieces. Running back, receiving core, I like it a lot. Well, wait, last year we said they had the great receiving core. Now OBJ's gone. Yeah, but he wasn't great, but... It was Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews. ...I don't know. Zay Flowers was very good.

What's the other kid they have, I like that? Well, they drafted DeVantes Walker, who I like a lot coming out of U.N.C., tight end is Andrews and they got likely. But something for me on this team, I feel not a major regression, but closer to 9-10 wins. Even if they have a regression, never forget, don't just take the last game. They blew out Miami and San Francisco and Detroit. This team blew the doors off good teams. They weren't the best team in the regular season.

they were easily the team to beat going into the playoffs. So regression, if they don't blow, I mean, who blew out Detroit and San Francisco last year? Nobody was blowing them out. So they were, I mean, I still contend that the game plan against Kansas City when they decided we're not a run team cost them the game, not personnel. I thought it was a bizarre game plan. They just quit running the football mid-first quarter. So even if they pull back, this is a really good organization top to bottom. So there are some questions on the offensive line.

There's some issues at cornerback. I mean, Colin, they lost their defensive coordinator at McDonald, who was tremendous. He had some of the better game plans in the league. Really bright guy. It's a tough division. If Glass Joe can stay healthy, if Deshawn Watson finally becomes the guy he was like five years ago. But it's great owner, great coach, great quarterback, good front office. I'm always going to say I like Baltimore.

Division or wild card? Probably division. I don't think Cincinnati's roster is as good today. Plus, they've had a very noisy offseason. A lot of complaining there. T. Higgins and Hendricks. Who's the other? Get me out of here. So look at the Ravens schedule.

Now, again, they open up at Kansas City. I would argue the best time to play Kansas City, probably early. Well, three of those first four games are tough. Chiefs at Dallas and versus your Buffalo Bills. Oh, and then they got the Bengals? Look at the end of that season on. You start... Well, you get a layup victory over the Giants.

Well, I mean, start in week six. Washington, Tampa, Cleveland, Denver, you know, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh. I mean, winnable games. Yeah, that's a lot of news. And then at the end of the year, it's the Giants, a buy, the Steelers at home, Cleveland at home. That's a lot of wins. That's an 11-win team. That's Chargers Eagles back-to-back.

Those are great games. Whether they win them or not, they're great. Yeah, give me the under on Ravens. I don't think there are... What is the under? Over under's ten and a half? Ten and a half, yeah. I'll take the over. Nine or ten.

Not as optimistic as you. Next up, your favorite quarterback in the NFC, Jordan Love. He's going to play on a one-year extension this season, but he's looking for a long-term deal from the Packers, despite the contract uncertainty. Love showed up at OTAs, which Matt Lefleur sees as a huge positive for the squad. It's everything to us.

I think if you look at our attendance here, and I know we had one guy missing today for a personal matter, but we've had almost 100% the entire offseason, which has been the best that we've had since I've been here. So, and I always think that when you look around the league, when your quarterback's there, just naturally has a way of attracting everybody to come. And I think we've got a lot of guys,

that love the game and love the process of grinding together and going through some tough things together. But to have him here, you can't put a value on that. I'm going to throw a theory at you. For years and years, I always felt JMAQ. It was a disadvantage to not having an owner. But as owners in the NFL have gone from 100 millionaires to all of them being billionaires,

Money does strange things to men. They get more impulsive, more ego-driven, Steve Cohen to the Mets, the guy that runs the Horn of Charlotte, David Teper, we're getting crazier owners, richer, crazier owners. And as I saw that as always a disadvantage where a guy upstairs could just go, give me that player. For the next 20 years, not having an owner, having a board, may be a real advantage.

There is a new group of owners that are aggressive, they're Wall Street techie guys, they want what they want, they're not very patient, they run through coaches, Green Bay's got all this continuity year in and year out, and that goes from weakness to I wonder the next 20 years of strength. Go ask the people that run the Colts

if sometimes Ursaia's trouble, or talent. Jerry Jones in Dallas. I mean, you start looking around the league now. It's Stan Cronky of the Rams, Steve Boshaddy, Robert Kraft. There's guys out there that mostly let the football people run it. But there's some crazy town, increasingly crazy town in ownership.

That's a fair comment. I see a guy making no money next year, showing up at OTAs. He turns a knee, and next thing you know, an ACL or something. Come on. And he's screwed. I don't know, man.

I don't know who's advising love. I get it. You're a team player. Be a great guy. Show up. But just for me, the risk versus the reward. Football is not. They don't care about the players.

They don't. The billionaires care about the billionaires. I know the Packers have a unique situation, but I got to look out for the players. I got to look out for the underdog here. Yeah, the little guy. I'm worried about Jordan Love showing up there. Odds of him getting injured. First of all, here's why he's going to show up.

This is a problem. player that replaced a legend and they were they were willing to move up to get him when a lot of people didn't think jordan love remember the pot bust in college the packers were like the ultra conservative green bay packers nope we're going to go up to get you so they showed loyalty and interest day one a lot of people when that pot thing came out were like yeah because he you know there was a lot of questions yeah he had a bad last year the pot thing which i don't care about but some people do and the Packers moved up so that you build in loyalty when that happens.

The second thing is, they didn't draft other quarterbacks. He didn't play for three years. They were totally patient. And then they moved off a legend Aaron Rogers for him. Again, doubling down on we are fans of you. We have your back. If I'm Jordan Love, I feel supported from the pick. I feel supported on the move off Aaron Rogers.

Not an easy thing to do. Multiple time MVP. I feel total. Now, and all Green Bay is asking is, hey, can we get through October and then let's get this thing done? Lip service. Words. Words are hollow. Show me action.

Show me the month. That's what Jordan Love should tell us. Is this how your negotiations are going to go? It's all about the money. That's the agents. What about working with Ryan and me? I do love the. Good teammates.

We got a good squad. Free coffee. You eat calzone every day for lunch. on the company. I don't get invited to sushi lunches like you, so I got to order calzone's here. I'm not a big baller like you. But final story to the NBA,

where the Knicks had an incredible run, just fell short of the Easter conference finals. Jalen Brunson is eligible for a contract extension. Colin, you're going to love this. He reportedly could give New York a hometown discount. Brunson could wait until next summer to sign a five-year, $270 million max. But he's willing to,

to sign a four-year 156 extension this summer to avoid holding up the team. Obviously, they've got big decisions with O.G. and O.B. Hartnstein, who's going to get paid somewhere. Well, you know, first of all, let's give Jalen Brunson a lot of credit here. Major. The second thing is, New York City with a city tax, the federal tax, he's losing 55 to 58% of his money right off the top. And he was in Texas before where there's, you know, the tax issue. So he's taking less for the team. New York is tax health. You know, he's playing in the city.

And the other thing, the advantage, I always say, Duane Wade, no state tax, Spolstra's my coach, Pat Riley's my GM. That's a great place to land out of college, out of Marquette. Brunson will absolutely, Jeter can attest to this, Eli Manning can attest. There's a lot of New York advertisers. Now, they're not always national advertisers.

You can make a pretty solid seven figures. in Dallas being a cowboy quarterback, there's only one NBA team in New York that the city's universally around. It's the Knicks. So you can make money off the court, not only in your shoe deal, because I think Brunson,

I don't know if he has a shoe deal, he should call it the grinder. I think he can make some of that back, not all of it, not even half of it, but I think he'll be so big in New York that the city will groove him in. They'll take care of it. No, these are good points.

I'm not into the taking less always. LeBron probably sees this as scoffing. But yeah, this is a nice thing. Would you ever take less than anything? It's so many factors of play. If I'm Brunson, you know, I'd want to know what they're going to do with that extra money. They better spend it wisely. Well, here's my take.

I'll be honest with you. In this instance, I don't know if this is the best move. I mean, why wouldn't he wait a year? Yeah, he's undersized, you know, like coming off the fractured hand. Who knows I was going to be done that? Undercised. Steve Nash and Steph Curry. I'm just saying you're the one who bet you and who is it Buker?

Somebody bang on a small guards can never win in the league. Look out for number one here, Jalen Brunson, and number two is, what are they going to do if they save the money from spending it on you? Well, here's the other thing to think about. With this offense, he has to play a lot of minutes, and the TIB system is tough on players. He may be saying, I may break down. I'm going to take my money now.

I think that's a great point. And listen, I don't want James Dolan pocketing the money I could take. James stolen a billionaire, got money from the spear. I'd want to know, like, can you deliver me a superstar? And yeah, as a wingman, I'll definitely take less. If that's the case, if I'm Brunson. I have a question. And I don't know this.

If, I mean, if Jalen Brunson's willing to take that kind of pay cut, essentially a pay cut signing early, is it legal? He can't own a team. But is it legal to go to an owner and say, I want 15 free private jet trips? on the Dolan jet. Yeah, you could bake that into a deal. Can you bake that into deals? I don't know if that's true.

I know you can't have ownership. You see what's going on in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces? No. The tourism board in Vegas came and said, we're going to give each of you $100,000, which is more than like 90% of the league makes. And now the league's like, wait a minute, we don't know if this is legal.

And that kind of opens some doors. It's almost like an NIL money for pros. Sure. Which I got no problem with that, right? I don't have a problem. The Knicks take advantage of it. I just think if I'm James Dolan And Brunson is willing to do that for the franchise between the New York taxes and the $75 to $100 million.

Boy, you got to take care of him. I don't know what you got to do, but whatever is legal, you got to take care of him. He should never pay for a private jet flight. He should get free this, that, this. Because that is a real sacrifice. We're not talking $8 million. We're talking like whatever the numbers were with you, $75 million in an area of the country that gobbles up 60% of your income anyway. No, that's a good point.

J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd-line news. There's got to be some limitations on, I mean, there are limitations on what you can do from an owner perspective to give a player. But, boy, that's, that is, those Villanova guys, man, they're built different. They are givers, not takers. Save big in your water and energy bills with a new Navian tankless water heater.

Navian tankless water heaters provide endless hot water, spa-like comfort. Navian makes it easy to go tankless. Go to tankless made simple.com. 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. Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. You know, as the host of the number one rated Pauly and Tony Fusco show, we get tons and tons of fan mail every day.

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Just listen to the Pauli and Tony Fusco show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah. 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.

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Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like

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Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Gain. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about and they are experts at everything. Here, the Nick Dick and Poll Show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think

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Pretty cool. So I'm going to throw something at you. If I'm going to pay a quarterback, $55 million, I'm paying you for a high ceiling. I'm not paying you for a high floor. Okay. And so I saw Brandon Cook said this week, hey, unquestionably, DAC is the future of the Cowboys, no question. And I would ask two questions. What am I paying you?

And what do I get in January, February? Because I'm not getting any wins right now. seven playoff games, two and five, and only one of them you've played well. So I'm not getting a lot for the 55 million. And I was thinking of this, J-Mack. And this, so if I judged quarterbacks, I'm not even going to give you the AFC. I won't even count Mahomes, Herbert, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence.

I'm going to get out of that one. I'll just count the NFC. And if you paid quarterbacks based on ceiling, what is the best, version potentially of themselves. They get decent protection. They've got a weapon or two. The best version of themselves. I'm not counting the AFC.

I'll take the best guys out. Because a lot of people think the best are Mahomes. Burrow, Alan Lamar Jackson. Throw them out. Aaron Rogers. Over there, won't count him. Tuah. Won't count him. So just the NFC quarterbacks, if you paid people on ceiling, I'm not paying you for a high

floor. You know, Kirk Cousins has overpaid mostly, high floor, low ceiling. So here's how I would rank the NFC quarterbacks, J-MAC, on highest ceiling. When they've really the best version of themselves, I think Stafford is number one. I would have said Aaron Rogers for years and years in the NFC. I would say Stafford protection weapons. I've seen him win a Super Bowl.

I've seen him carry a team. You may push back on this, but I've seen Jared Gough with two coaches in the conference championship game and get to a Super Bowl. I would do Goff second. I would do Jordan Love. I'm higher than most. I think when I watched him go up against Alice and absolutely outplayed back, and this is a kid that's,

this is first year starting. And that wasn't one of the better Packer O lines. And the receivers are all kids. I'd put Jordan Love third. Right ahead of Kyler Murray, who I love, I think his ceiling is through the roof. Jalen Hertz, five. I've seen him be, I've seen him get to

was Super Bowl and lead Mahomes in the fourth quarter. At his ceiling was Shane Steichen, he was the MVP of the league. Or close to it. Six and seven, Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels. I knew you were going to laugh. I knew you were going to laugh. But are you telling me that Caleb Williams doesn't have a higher ceiling? Jack was a fourth round pick.

Cale's going to be number one. He's thought of as the most transcendent quarterback since Andrew Luck. So I'm at six, and I think Jaden Daniel's going to pop. I think he's going to be a baller. He was a much better college quarterback. the deck. So that's just the NFC. I'm not paying you $57 million for a high floor.

I'll pay for the ceiling. I'll pay for talent. And Edwards, I don't know what he's going to be eventually, but if I had to pay him today, it got big ceiling. I think Tatum has reached his ceiling, and you guys all keep telling me he's going to go here, here, and I'm like, he's reached it. This is what he is.

I think you forgot a quarterback on that list. This guy who was in the Super Bowl, nearly beat Mahomes. he's now got two years body of work. I think we're seeing the best of Brock Purdy. It's fine. No, I think eight is like now we get into DAC territory. But remember, the more, this is all data.

Kyler Murray? I think he's sensational talent. He has to overcome the craziest owner. They just want a bad roster. A year ago at this time, after Hertz was in the Super Bowl, you wouldn't take a call on him. Now you say Kyler Murray has higher potential than Jalen Hertz? It's a number one pick.

He's a He's a He doesn't want anything in the NFL. Nothing. Zero playoff games. Dax got one. He was saying no moss against Aaron Donald. Like, don't put me back in the game in the fourth quarter. I'm getting my butt kicked. I'm not talking about durability.

I'm talking about based on highest ceiling. So you have a high ceiling on a six-foot quarterback? It just scoots around all the time and gets passes batted down at the line of scrimmage? I'm stunned at this. Well, you and I completely disagree on Kyler. I used to be a huge fan of his work. And then I started to hear stuff and I told you about it. You would think you'd defend an undersized guy with a chip on his shoulder.

No chip on my shoulder. None. You think you'd be all in on those kind of guys? Kyler ahead of Caleb Williams? Like, that's potential? I haven't seen Caleb play yet. But Kyler was the number one pick. It was like the best.

Heisman drovie winner took Arizona's mess to the playoffs in a division with Shanahan, Pete Carroll, and Sean McVeigh. Who will win more career playoff games? Brock Purdy or Kyloor? Probably Brock Purdy. Yeah, probably. Coach, organization, talent. Let me say some. Wow.

Some people in their career get saddled up next to a very talented person that make their life much easier. Well, you hang out with Kyla Murray at one UFC event. Now you guys are, what is it? WWE won't ever. it was. Now you guys are boys. 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 acapella 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis keep coming to. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love.

This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor.

I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. Again, we are experts. Listen to Podmeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew.

Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise. the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.