The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 3 - NBA Finals, LIV

Episode Date: June 7, 2022

Previewing game 3 of the NBA Finals More thoughts on golfers wanting to play in the LIV tournament   Guest: Ric BucherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. 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 not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHartRadio app by searching Hurd.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go, hour three. Hour number three live in L.A., it's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. So good to have you in today. Joy Taylor's joining me, sorry. You know, it's summer.

Yes. And I'm going on a little vacation here in a couple weeks. Are you going on a vacation, too? I am going on vacation. Are you going to Morocco? Yeah, that's not until August. I'm going to the Bahamas and a family vacation. Yeah.

By way, the country's traveling right now. Yeah, everyone's traveling as they should be. We've been inside for two years. Kids have had a rough go the past couple years. They deserve to get outside, get some sunshine and fresh air. So when people tell you the NBA ratings are down because nobody watches the league, the NBA playoff ratings were great until school got out. And the minute it got out, everybody said,

like basketball, I like vacations, and try to buy an airline ticket or a hotel room. They're charging you double and triple. Why? Because everybody's traveling for the first time in two and a half years. Do yourself a favor? Don't talk about TV ratings. Yeah, this is what we do.

I don't take people seriously that. I'll talk to people about TV ratings. I like doing this experiment sometimes. It's really fun. You'll enjoy this because it's very inside baseball. I'll see people like in public. I would never watch that. I won't give them the ratings.

I'm like, just not a curious. How do you think ratings work? Do you think like when you turn your television on that everything that you watch is recorded and then sent to the ratings police and then they determine what everyone in the world is watching? That's what people really think. And then they have the audacity to try and tell me

why the ratings are happening. You don't even understand how ratings work. I'm not going to bore you with it, but you're wrong. Like, hello wrong. You have no idea what you're talking about. That's not how ratings work. My favorite is nobody cares what you think about and they follow me on social.

media. Well, you have to care a little. I'm not going to turn my television on and give them the rating. Do you do that? Good for you. The other one is, I don't like this show is, it's created by a conservative and I won't watch it. Or this show is created by a liberal and I won't watch it. Folks, you have no idea who the director produced. You don't have any idea.

Beverly Hills voted for Trump. So for all you idealists in California, the richest place in California, the money crowd voted for Trump. So I got news for you. Your neighbors think differently than you do on politics. There's a lot you don't know. You know, you can't know a lot, but that means you have to actually invest in time and research and read and things like that. By the way, we live in California. San Francisco and Los Angeles may veer to the right. You got to screw things up as a Democrat to have this state veer right. So it's like, I got news for you. You think your neighbors think just like you. They don't. And you got to come to terms with dealing with it.

otherwise you're going to be miserable. Yeah. Also, just don't talk about TV ratings because you don't know what you're talking about. Especially with joy. 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. By the way, the USGA just released this. We asked ourselves this question. Should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 U.S. Open via our published field criteria

be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event. And we ultimately decided that they should not. They're letting them play. And they should. Well, they'll be playing again eventually in the NBA. They take big breaks before these games or in between these games. Rick Buecker, Fox Sports is joining us. You know, this goes against what I normally believe in finals where I'll take the top end players.

But I think Clay and Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown and. Steph will not have great offensive series because the defenses are exceptional. Here's a player that's vital to me. When Robert Williams is on the floor, the heat didn't score any points around the bucket and became a jump shooting team and the Warriors become almost exclusively a jump shooting team. I think Robert Williams is a huge factor in this series. And my guess is he's playing at about 50 to 70 percent, edge warriors. your thoughts on the importance of Williams and where you stand on the series headed to game three.

No question. Robert Williams gives the Boston Celtics something they can't get anyplace else and something that the Golden State Warriors don't have. And that is an agile rim protector when he is, as you mentioned, healthy. Even at 50 percent, I don't know that he's been 100 percent or anything close to that in this series or in these playoffs. it's a matter of can he be available and can he stay on the floor? In the last game, we recall him going down at one point and clearly being injured and didn't play much in the second half as a result. So I don't know what his status is, but I'm 100% with you there because the one thing that the Celtics can provide with Robert Williams

that the previous opponents for the Warriors did not have, Memphis had it a little bit with Jaron Jackson Jr. But he was always in foul trouble. And that is a rim protector and the ability to stop their attacking the basket. People think of the Warriors as this three-point shooting team. Boston Celtics are very good at defending the three-point shot. Third best among all playoff teams, much better at it than the Warriors are. Yeah.

But the difference maker is their ability to also stop them getting to the rim. And where the warriors are a little bit different is that they get to the rim without the ball. They do it with back cuts. And so you need an agile, smart, backline defender like a Robert Williams to be able to curtail those. And no one is affected more by this than Jordan Poole. And Colin, Colin, you saw how instrumental Jordan was to the Warriors' offense in every previous series up to this one. He hasn't been the same. And a large, a big reason is Robert Williams and the Celtics ability in general to be able to defend the rim in a way that previous opponents with the Warriors could not.

So look, Derek Wright, Derek White has done a great job. Marcus Smart has done a great job, one-on-one defending Jordan Poole. They've had their block shots. But there's no question that Robert Williams is a difference maker. And if he can't play at all, then I'd still say overall, the Celtics have the greater of talent, but it closes the gap considerably. The, you know, Draymond Green, you know, at home, maybe it's the proximity of fans to the officials.

At homes, you tend to get the whistle. You're allowed to be a little more physical. But Draymond Green's got to be careful. He gets another flagrant. He gets another technical. And I'm a huge, I'm a biggest Draymond Green fan in the world, as you know. As I well know, yes. Yes.

But as the world, as the world will know. Yes. I love Draymond, but now you go to Boston. And we know how the game works in the NBA. The refs have swallowed the whistle, but they always have an area they won't go to. And that game started getting a little chippy. And my takeaway of those refs want to reestablish the boundaries in game three.

We'll let you play. But Draymond, you got to slow down the kick. How do you see Draymond going forward his effectiveness? I believe Draymond's going to be able to be just as effective as he's been because of the way, first of all, he has created this persona. He's created this relationship. This just didn't start in these playoffs. He has built this latitude that he has with the officials.

And look, it does get chippy, but he never does anything. He knows exactly where the line is. And he knows how to get right up to it. and not cross it. And there are simply other players who don't understand that or haven't cultivated the relationship with the referees that allows him to get away with it. I've been covering the league for a while. So I've seen other guys and it's been the same thing. Carl Malone, Sam Kiselle, guys who are always chewing on the referees and you're thinking, why are they putting up with that? It's a matter of what they're saying and how they're saying it

and whether they have conversations that aren't heated as well. Draymond does all of that. So anybody who's thinking, hey, game two, he got away with so much, it's not going to happen, they're going to crack down, he embarrassed the referees, I'm not so sure about that. There's one other element here to consider is that a lot of the in-game stuff that Draymond does, that if you put a camera on it, You go, well, that's illegal or he shouldn't be allowed to do that.

It's a function of the warriors that a lot of their screening and their action is away from the ball. And the referees are not used to officiating anything outside of offensively pick and roll, where you see it. You see the ball. You see everything is central. The warriors don't play that way. A lot of what Draymond does is a way. from the ball and referees are not used to officiating that because they're basically the only

team that operates that way. So that is one other reason why the warriors have, I don't even say, I wouldn't even say it's a perceived advantage. I would say it's a definitive advantage when it comes to officiating because of the way they play and the way Dremont has cultivated a margin for himself that's greater than anybody else. By the way, two minutes left off. this two two and a half sort of like you sort of like you Colin you have you should understand this I understand why you appreciate draymond green you have cultivated and created a margin for yourself unlike anyone else yeah exactly great effect so um I just think jason tatum this is what he's going to be he's going to shoot about 38 percent and give you about 21 a game and just like they did

with lucca the warriors are going to make him less efficient he'll get points so Right now he's averaging 20 a game shooting 36%. Let's say it gets a 39% and averages 21 and a half. Can the Celtics win with a B plus Jason Tatum to you? It depends on what class he's taken or what we're grading him on. I don't need Jason Tatum to be a 40 point score. In fact, the Celtics are less effective when he's trying to be a 40 point score. I need him to be part of the collective.

take what is there, take it out of the offense. Don't go one-on-one. Don't try to prove that you are Kobe Bryant. You're not Kobe Bryant. You're not Kevin Durant, no matter what Tracy McGrady says. Be part of this team and give as much effort at the defensive end as you do offensively. That is when the Celtics are at their best. And so I'm, look, I was good with Jason Tatum in game one, 13 assists. Okay, you're three for 17. but we're winning because everybody's involved and because everybody's involved, they're giving me energy at the defensive end. He came out in game two and decided, I need to show you that I'm a score. Yeah, he scored early and scored better, but it was to no effect with four turnovers and three assists. Wasn't what the Celtics needed, and it's not what they need going forward. So we'll see which direction he goes.

But everybody trying to tell Jason Tatum or buying into Jason Tatum as the next Kobe Bryant or the next great score or the next Kevin Durant. He's not that, especially the biggest distinction being physicality. He has not learned how to play when opponents get physical with him. He still tries to take shots, off-balance shots, not nearly as effective. If you're getting bumped, move the ball on, let somebody else get the job done because you have those ancillary pieces on the Celtics to do it. Good stuff, Rick Buecker, Fox Sports.

Good seeing you, man. Same. You bet. And it's interesting. There's been eight quarters. Celtics have been great in two. Warriors have been great in about four. And then two are just, you know, like the second quarter last game was 21-20.

So that's where we're at. The Warriors have had twice as many great quarters as the Celtics. And I do think the minute, the warriors are more potent offensively, but the Celtics are more definitive defensively in the post. So I predicted this because I said, I do not believe there's a great team in the NBA. I think there are several good teams, and I think these are really good teams.

And I predicted health would probably be the factor. And it is to me. If Robert Williams gave me 30 minutes, rest of the games, I'll take Boston. I don't think he will. And so that means you're going to get more freebies. All you have to look at is the minute Robert Williams left the floor against the heat, bam had 31 points. the minute he leaves the floor against the Warriors,

Kavon Looney, I think he was perfect. He was like six for six. He had a great game. Robert Williams changes everything on the back end. Because the Warriors players can get past the defenders. They can't do any scoring near the basket with Robert Williams. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits. the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not. But just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Hardway with me, your host. and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade

of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Rising oil prices, supply chain issues compounded our inflation problems. Gold provides a hedge against inflation. Can protect your family's wealth. Go to legacy p.m.investments.com or 86667 for Her Joy Taylor with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Sean McVeigh got married over the weekend. He did.

He said, handsome guy doing well for himself. Yes, he's got a nice life set up for himself. He does. Our own Peter Schrager attended and detailed the nuptials. Oh, Shregs. Some other in attendance were Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Cup, Andrew Whitworth, Big Witt, Cliff Kingsbury, Matliff, Floor. But Odell was not on the list. However, he crashed the wedding, which Sean McVeigh enjoyed.

He was talking about his wedding on the I am athlete podcast. So probably the most stressful thing about this wedding was figuring out, all right, how do you get the guest list right where you don't have any sort of interruptions or anybody having their feelings heard unnecessarily? Because you got good relationships with guys. I mean, I love Odell. And so only in Odell's fashion could he be the wedding crusher at our wedding.

So I showed up, crash the wedding, and I loved it. O'Dell is currently a free agent, but Sean McVeigh said he'd love to have him back. Jay Gruden, Kevin O'Connell, Jed Fish, we're all at the wedding as well. Shreger said the food was delicious. Shreger did? Is that what he said? Starting off with a nice sushi spread when you get there,

and I'm not talking about the sushi. You get at the Port Authority bus terminal. Why are you eating sushi at the bus terminal? Is they serve at them? Okay. I'm very particular about sushi. We're both big, you know, Uber-eat-Stash people. Yeah. sushi is where I draw the line.

I will go pick up sushi myself. Don't have a delivered. But I am not getting delivery sushi. I get everything else delivered. But sushi, you know, I get in kicks. Like I was in a big DoorDash kick.

I've been doing a lot of cooking at home. Uncle Colin, yesterday I cooked at home. Well, I do a meal plan during the week. Like Monday through Thursday, I get my, I do like a healthy meal plan.

Oh, so I don't have to worry about that. I'll give you the information. Okay. I do an unhealthy meal plan when Ann's out of 10. Well, I just like, we're both routine people during the week, so I just like, it's easier to just have it. I had oatmeal last night, a thick bowl of oatmeal at 10.20 p.m.

How's that looking? I don't think that's, I mean, it's not good to eat super late, but that doesn't feel like I felt like a manatee at like three in the morning. Have you ever crashed a wedding before? I've been in a few, my own. Speaking of the Rams, Cooper. Cup is coming off an all-time season for a wide receiver, winning the first triple crown since 2005. And there's a lot of top-tier options like Devante Adams and Tyreek Hill signing big deals this

off-season, but he's taking a different approach. He said, instead of chasing the big money contract, he'd rather have a fair deal that keeps him in L.A. said, I want to be here for a very long time and to be doing things with these guys. I want this to be something that makes sense for everyone. I want them to feel good about it. And I think the best way to do that is for me to be at least to be involved in some capacity. It's never going to be at the cost of anything on the football field, but more communication, the better. I mean, we talked about this at the beginning of the show today.

You talked about it about the Rams and how they do business. It's amazing. They have like seven elite players and they can pay all of them. Well, I mean, part of this is, you know, Cooper Cup is saying he'd take less money to be with the Rams. Yeah, I mean, less money. He's not paid. He's not compensated very well, yes.

No, but I mean, there is, there's, In exchange, I think when you reach a certain point in your career, and it's different for everybody, obviously. We unfortunately have to talk about the money that players make, because to be honest with you, I don't, I don't care what anyone makes. It doesn't affect me. I'm not running in these checks. So it doesn't, I don't care what anyone tries to make. If they want to make as much money as possible, if you take team friendly deals, it doesn't matter to me. Now, I do think depending on what kind of player you are and where you are, you are at in your career, the contract that you take reflects how interested you are in winning championships, because we do have a certain amount.

of evidence that shows, particularly the quarterback position, if you're taking up a majority of the percentage of the salary cap, your team's not winning a Super Bowl. It's just we have over a decade of evidence of that. The great thing Patrick Mahomes did was sign what they call a team-friendly deal. And a lot of people beat him up for it. But he keeps ending up in the AFC championship. And that really is important. So if you want to win, there are certain things that are important. Stay healthy. Take care of your body. probably take a little less than maximum. I know.

I know. And my other thing is I understand on your first contract going big. Yes. But when you're net worse over $100 million, I think at some point it comes down to what matters to you? Is it just stacking cash? Or is it like winning? Like I think the worst thing in the world is a pro.

I've worked for good companies. The idea of driving to the arena, Kobe's last few years, he got paid. The Lakers were terrible. I just don't want to be part of that. I've never worked at a terrible company, but I, well, for a couple years, I worked at a wobbly company, and it's no fun. It's exhausting, knowing that you're driving into work every day with a bunch of unhappy people, and you're working with unhappy people, and it's this like game of Thrones environment, and you have no chance of actually winning anything. That sucks.

But I think that the environment for sports is a little different now because there's so much money you can make away from the field and endorsements and people want you to be a part of their business. they want you as an investor. There's so much money you can make. And being a winner helps elevate that money, which quite frankly, that is real money. That's the money that's going to keep you, you know,

where you are in your lifestyle well after you're done playing football. But again, I don't judge how anyone does it. It just thinks it's interesting the type of organization that the Rams have set up. So Baker Mayfield is still a part of the Brown's roster

as the team heads into mandatory mini-camp. the Panthers have been the team that's constantly popped up as the potential trade partner for Baker Mayfield. Obviously, they don't want to take on a lot of his contracts. But Cleveland is an interesting situation now with the Deshawn Watson looming suspension. Do they pick up Baker Mayfield's contract? Reports indicate that the higher the draft pick, the Panthers are willing to include, the more cash the Browns would presumably be willing to throw in to make it happen. So it does seem like this is the most likely landing spot this year for Baker Mayfield.

Again, I feel like at this point the Browns have no choice but to be patient and wait until training camps are over to make a move with Baker Mayfield. I don't anticipate that Baker Mayfield is going to play for the Browns again. I just think there's too much going on there. And there's a lot you could damage as far as your relationship with your fans as well. Like that's very confusing for fans. So am I now supposed to be back in on Baker Mayfield? what if Deshawn Watson comes back? What if Baker Mayfield is good?

Now you're trading Baker Mayfield. What does that do? If you're going to bring in Deshawn Watson, you've made the decision no matter what to move off of Baker Mayfield because you knew that Deshawn Watson was going to serve some kind of suspension anyway. Right. So to me, I think that they should just be patient at this point. This has not been a well-owned team.

Forget run and played. It's not been a well-owned team with Jimmy Haslam. The idea that give Deshaun a completely guaranteed deal is coming back to bite them because I don't think he's going to play a down this year. And that will be two years he's away from football. It's nothing against him, but I don't think you can lose two years of your prime and come back and be the same player. I do not believe that as possible. I don't.

So I don't think Deshaun will be as good as he was. And I always thought he was really good, but I didn't think he was Russell Wilson or Brady or Rogers or I didn't put him in that. I don't think he's, I'll be honest with you. I like Kyler Murray more. I think Aaron's better. I think Russell's better. I've told you, if I was an owner, there's no, I would be, I would be concerned about my leadership if they came to me with this as a viable option for the future of my organization.

Like, I think it would be a reflection of who I am as an owner that you would even want this looming over your organization. If you had a daughter and you owned an NFL team. How about if you just know a human person that's a woman? It's amazing. You don't even have to have made people to understand that. But aside from that, aside from all of that, on the field, you could be bringing in a player on a fully guaranteed contract who has not played for two years.

Who, by the way, has had an injury history as well? It always felt like a desperate move to me for the Brown. Well, Brown's been desperate my whole life. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Colin, call out.

NBA Finals edition. Endless hot water, choose Navvians. all the hot water you need, go to tankless made simple.com. Durable, efficient, 15-year limited warranty. Also, the leader in green technology, Navian tankless water heaters. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk featuring the biggest name,

and newsmakers in the sport, whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little camp?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket 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 you're not just so you're not. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Hardway with me, your host. and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. All right, time for call in or call out. Joy will give me a hot take. And I will tell Joy in America whether I'm in on it or out on it. Here we go. All right. The Warriors have a better bench than the Celtics. Call in or call out?

Call out. First of all, the Celtics bench is averaging 34 a game. The Warriors is averaging 33. I think it fluctuates game to game on who shoots well. And I also think the Celtics ask a little more of their bench, but it does know as deliver. So I think the benches are both good. I don't think either bench is a liability. That's where I stand on that.

Here's a spicy one. The Warriors should take Clay Thompson out of the starting lineup. Call out. He is their second leading score in the playoffs. much like Tatum struggles in the finals. Clay Thompson's going to struggle because the Celtics are a great defensive team. And so you know he's going to have a moment in this finals where he's going to hit three or four straight big shots. That's who he is.

But you understand here he's facing a historically great defense and Clay's efficiency is going to drop a little. The Warriors Championship would be the most impressive of their dynasty. I'll go call in. They don't have a Durant, Tolena. they were the worst team in the league two years ago, and I think the Celtics are the best defensive team they've faced. So I think it's in the running here. Durant made it easier.

We all know that. So you've got players past their prime and young players not quite in their prime. So this is not a year you would expect. I think a year from now, Cominga's better, Wiseman's playing, moody, pool. Right now, they're a little young in spots,

and a little olden spots to be perfect. Draymond Green is the most impactful player in this series. I would say call out. I think he can be the most disruptive, impactful. You know, that's probably going to go to a Tatum or a Curry. I do think he is completely disruptive. And what he does that's valuable is that he gets Jalen Brown off his game. And Brown has become a great fourth quarter score for the Celtics and the postseason.

And he discombobulated him and lose. a little bit in that previous series. Jason Tatum will play at an elite level for the remainder of the series. I'm going to say call out for two reasons. Does everybody understand that Jason Tatum's and numbers are going down after every series? Is he tired? They are demanding a lot of minutes and a lot from him on both ends. He's not quite as efficient each series he faces.

And this is going to go long. The second thing is he has the worst plus minus of any player in the finals. some of this is the Warriors have made it a focus to throw a lot of bodies at him. So just like Luca, I don't think he'll get his numbers. He's not going to have a wildly efficient series. Same I feel about Clay. Steph Curry will win his first finals MVP this series. Well, I would say call in A is the betting favorite.

And number two is he's the only player averaging 31 and a half in the finals. no other player is averaging more than 20. So right now he's got quite a lead. If he just scores about 24 to 25 a game, he's going to be the leading score. And that doesn't mean you're the MVP, but boy, it helps. The Warriors should be up to O in the finals right now. Call out. I thought they had a, listen, they got out played by Boston in the fourth quarter.

They had a terrible quarter. That wasn't luck or coincidence. The other thing is, you know, there's been two or three quarters that the Celtics have absolutely been better, especially the fourth. quarter of game one, the first quarter of game two. So they went to chase and outplayed them in a couple of different quarters. So I think one, one after two is where we should be. Jamon Green will get a technical foul in every game of the series.

Well, that's a bit hyperbolic. I would say call out. No player has gotten two technicals in the finals. Think about that. Who would it be? Who would it be? It was Alan Iverson, a great legendary iconic player. in 2001.

So 21 years ago. It hasn't happened in 21 years. Yeah, so every game of the series would be a lot. This series is going seven games. Call in or call out. I think it's going seven. I'll take the Warriors. I pick the Warriors in six.

I'm going to see what game three looks like. But you have to remember this. The Warriors are shooting 45%. The Celtics are shooting 44. The Celtics have led in both games at one point. Clay Thompson struggling. Jason Tatum struggling. Al Horford was amazing, better than we think.

Jordan Poole was amazing, better than we think. And I think we have two really good defenses, two really good coaches. I think they're very even. And I think they're more even than I predicted before the series. I thought Golden State had too many offensive weapons. But Horford and Jalen Brown, Jalen Brown's really become an all-star level player in the fourth quarter in the playoffs. He's been a tremendous player. In fact, I said, if Tatum played with Jalen Brown's confidence and Jalen Brown played with Tatum's natural skill, you'd have

two A plus players. They're both missing just a little something. Well, I think Boston's going come out in game three with a lot of energy and intensity. So my big bet in game three on Fanduil is I'm taking the Celtics minus one and a half in the first half. Because the last time I bet the first half I won. I took Boston plus one and a half in the first half of game one. So I'm taking Boston minus one and a half in the first half in game three. I like that. I think they're going to come out fiery. I don't have to watch the game nervously. I can just watch the first half with a hundie on it and feel better about myself. So there you go. Nice show today. We got a lot of different people. Chris Mannix stopped by.

It is, you know, we, Joe and I spent a lot of time on that PGA stuff. today and I think we're aligned on that is that you know Dustin Johnson has said I don't want to work forever I've known people that broadcast and they want to die on a microphone I mean that's that's that's that's that's they'll broadcast forever and then I've known people Rick Riley worked in this business and he said I want to go live half the year in Italy and half the year on the beach and they don't want to work as hard and it's like that's pretty good too I talked about this the other day Marv Albert literally was a workaholic Bob Costas works less frequently that's their So Dustin Johnson came out and just said, I don't want to golf forever.

I want to do other things in my life. He's got a rock star wife, an amazing family. And he's like, if I can make three times as much money playing half the tournaments, I'm going to do it. And I'm not one of these precious, you know, ideologues that I believe if I disagree with some of the governing decisions by a country, I can't do business with them. Folks, you know, I had an old boss, Mike Culler years ago, that said this. We were talking about, you know, just the business.

He said, what's your favorite candy bar? And I don't remember what I said, maybe Kit Kat. And he goes, you know, what if I told you that the guy who runs that company is an awful human? And the three musketeers, the guy who runs that company is wonderful. And I said, I don't like Three Musketeers. And he said, exactly. He says, you can't, you just don't know. You think you know.

You don't know what your neighbor's thinking. You don't know what that movie you're watching, who it was written by. Well, I mean, we do know what goes on in Saudi Arabia. There's no mystery about that. My pushback would be you're in no position to tell someone to turn down $125 million if you've never either A made $125 million or will ever have an opportunity in your life to make $125 million. It changes everything. You can literally quit working.

People have done horrible things for much, much, much less. Yes. He is just going to be playing golf. Yeah. We're all somewhat morally flexible based on the offers and the options. in our lives. We'll see you tomorrow. It's the Hurd. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you

funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Hawks. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, 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 not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.