The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lakers Tonight with Jason Timpf - Lebron and Russ pull out the win

Episode Date: March 19, 2022

Jason breaks down the Lakers gutsy win over the Raptors, Embiid and Luka's battle, and why Chicago will still be a tough out in the playoffs despite their loss to Phoenix. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. 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.

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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, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but some. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends,

fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is brought to you by Square. What if your business could sell anywhere, at any time, and open to more customers, all by making one simple choice? Square has everything a business needs to open online, on social media, in store, and on whatever new sales channels might come next, with power. powerful commerce tools that's set up in minutes. Go to square.com slash commerce to learn what's possible. So if your business is open to new opportunities,

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1-877-7-7-70 stop in Louisiana. 1-800-270-1-117 for confidential help in Michigan. 1-8-8-hope-N-Y or text Hope N-Y to 467-369 in New York. In Tennessee Red Line, dial 1-800-9-9-97889 in Tennessee, visit www. www.1-800 gambler.net in West Virginia. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by Fandul here on the volume. I am Jason Tim. Happy Friday, everybody.

I hope you all had a great week. I sincerely apologize for those of you who were listening a little bit earlier. We had some technical difficulties, but we got those resolved. I appreciate you sticking around and or coming back. You may also have noticed that we titled the show Hoops Tonight Tonight instead of Lakers tonight. all that is is a different brand that we are going to use for nights where we don't go immediately after Lakers games, which is obviously going to be more relevant as we head into the postseason. Just a new brand doesn't change anything about the show or where you get it.

But ironically, the Lakers were the most interesting game tonight. So we'll be leading with them. We're going to talk about Russ's big shot and all the chaos surrounding that. We're going to talk about LeBron's vintage fourth quarter. and we're going to get into a little bit of the things that the Lakers did in that game that they can take forward, lessons that they might have learned that they can apply as they move forward. Then later in the show, we are going to talk about the Mavericks, finally losing one of these huge road games in Philly tonight. Talk about this recent stretch from them and what it means. And then for those of you, stick around at the end, we are going to talk a little bit of the Chicago Bulls, a team I have not done a deep dive on of late. So let's start with the Lakers. This was a very important win for a bunch of different reasons. Obviously in the standings it was important. They now have a three game advantage over the San Antonio Spurs for that 11 spot. So within that locker room, if they are interested in trying to make a run at this thing, they need to get a certain amount of wins the rest of the season to even stay in that spot. This idea of them just going out every night rolling over and losing by 20 had this obvious consequence that was going to involve. them just missing the playing all together. And then also it has to do with just, you know,

some sort of building block, something you can take into the next season, regardless of what happens this season, if they miss the play in, if they make the playing but lose in the playing tournament, or if they make it to the first round and get destroyed by Phoenix, regardless of what happens, basketball has to be played next year. And they need to have something that they can build on. And so this win is important for all of those reasons that I just laid out. First of all, Toronto is really, really good. I didn't think the Lakers were physically capable of getting this win tonight on the road in Toronto. If you watched that game at the crypto.com arena the other night, they looked physically outclassed at almost every position. It was one of those things where you, when you try to fathom how they could go into Toronto, play that same basketball team with the same pieces at their disposal, for them to fight the way they did was really impressive.

and it goes to that the same concept that I talked about after that game. I talked about the difference between being big and playing big. The Lakers were a small team that also played small. They backed away and shied away from all of the physical confrontations. They weren't actually trying to win those confrontations. They were conceding those confrontations. That's not what happened tonight. They went in and they were the physical aggressors.

Some of that was Toronto pulling back, probably because they expected the Lakers to roll over. but a lot of it was the Lakers coming out swinging and punching and trying to win those physical battles, and they did. And that's what's so frustrating about this team, because they have a punch that they have access to that has the capability of beating any of these teams in the league on any given night. Are they good enough to win the championship? Probably not. I don't think so. Even with Anthony Davis coming back, they're just too thin at almost every other position group on the floor outside of LeBron and Anthony Davis. But they're nowhere near as bad as the results from this last month would tell you. If you looked at the results, you would think this is one of the very worst teams in the league in the same tier as like an Orlando Magic, for instance.

But that's not how bad this team actually is. They may not be a bona fide championship contender, but they are a healthy playoff team that should absolutely be competitive in every single NBA game. and they were disrespecting the game and poisoning their own situation by playing the way that they were playing over the course of this last month. It's annoying that we know that they can do what they did tonight. Maybe not win. A couple bounces go different. They lose tonight. But they were competitive throughout the game. I would argue they controlled that game for the most part. That's what that team is capable of against any of those non-contenders. No, I don't think they can go beat Phoenix. But against the vast majority of the teams in the league, they should be competitive on any given night. And if LeBron's able to give you what he gave you in the fourth quarter tonight, you should be able to win with this group. And so that's what's been so frustrating about this team this season. I wanted to talk about Russ's shot for a second because I thought it was genuinely

fascinating in so many different levels. You know, Russ is having a really bad season by any stretch of the imagination. And I would argue it's the vast majority of it is his fault. some of it is circumstances you know frank vogel hasn't done the best job he's been elevated to bigger roles because of injury there are circumstances that are outside of his control that didn't go well but the vast majority of this season going poorly was russ's fault him not embracing what he needed to do and i've talked a lot on the show in recent weeks about how he needs to adapt and learn a lesson from the season well that last sequence of possessions at the end of this game you everything you need to know about how Russ has interpreted what has happened this season.

If you thought he was humbled, if you thought maybe he was thinking about changing some of the aspects of his game, hell no. That was answered in a resounding fashion. Let's, let me just lay this out for you, just so you guys understand exactly how crazy those last two shots were from Russell Westford. He is shooting less than 14% from three in the 15 games coming into. tonight. LeBron had 16 points in the fourth quarter. He had just made a three. Because Toronto was ball pressuring the three point line with size and length, the only guy that was getting quality three point shots was LeBron, unless Stanley Johnson wanted to shoot something, but he was moving the ball as he should up in that situation. So LeBron comes off of the screen and misses a

stepback that would have tied the game. The Lakers get an offensive rebound. It ends up back in Russ's Here comes LeBron off of another screen coming back towards Russ, and precious Achua dies on the screen. LeBron is open at the top of the key. And on top of that, Pascal Seacom is guarding Russ, and he's up on the jump shot. He is taking away his airspace, and Russ shot it anyway. And it was one of the worst misses I have ever seen in an NBA game from a player that's allegedly as talented as Russell Westbrook is. he damn near hits the corner of the backboard. And he won-ups himself because on the very next possession, completely unfazed,

he goes down the floor and he makes the shot horribly, like Scotty Barnes was draped all over him, barely had any space, and he knocks down that shot. And it was an amazing shot, and it was the only reason the Lakers had an opportunity to win that game in overtime. So I want to credit that as best as I possibly can. It was an unbelievable shot, saved the night for the Lakers. But that shot tells you everything you need to know about Russ and what he's learned from this season. After this catastrophe of the season, his takeaway was, oh, LeBron's got it going tonight, but I got it going. Oh, LeBron just made a three and has 16 points in the fourth quarter? No, no, no, no, this is my turn.

Oh, I just hit the corner of the backboard and all those other things are true. No, it's still my turn. That tells you everything you need to know about Russ. That's supreme confidence. has carried him throughout his career, but it's become a detriment to him at this phase of his career. And that tells you everything you need to know about whether or not he's willing to adapt at some point soon. Maybe that will still happen at some point, but it's clear mentally that he's not there yet. After the game, Dan Wojki asks him how he prevents those ugly, ugly misses from getting in his head. And he simply answered, I have 23,000 points. And again, I have, I have, admire the confidence. It is Russell Westbrook personified. But the truth of the matter. And look,

I don't know. Maybe he gives the ball to LeBron on both of those possessions and maybe LeBron misses both threes. You know, I can't say that for certain. Russ made the shot. That's all that matters. But in the moment, those were very poor decisions, very, very astonishingly poor decisions with the rhythm that LeBron had. The fact that he's six foot nine, the fact that he can shoot over the top about just about anybody and the fact that he had the rhythm that he had they were confusing decisions but again big shot for us saved the game it just is an interesting dynamic that reveals so much about who russ is as a basketball player what his his basketball character is made up so moving on to lebron i was there were a handful of really really ugly defensive breakdowns at the

end of that fourth quarter getting gary trent wide open threes that ended up nearly costing the Lakers the game. And it's funny because I'm not surprised that the sloppy basketball team that's been sloppy all year long made sloppy mistakes in a pivotal moment. That's, you know, you are who you are in those ways. And the Lakers are going to continue to be who they are in those situations. But what was interesting was it was those mistakes were going to ruin a vintage masterpiece of a fourth quarter performance from LeBron. I tweeted out earlier that LeBron, has these like five minute stretches that he'll go on where he literally is everywhere on the floor. It's almost like there's five LeBron's out there.

And he's making every play and it's confusing. And it's like a title wave that just takes over the game. You know what? When I'm ranking players in the league, you guys, for those of you have been following me for a while, you know, I always prioritize three things. Isolation, scoring, the ability to create your own shot. Playmaking, the ability to create shots for your teammates. and defensive versatility, the ability to impact the game defensively in a bunch of different ways. Well, LeBron is really the only guy in this era that's been unbelievably elite at all three

things. If you look at other guys around the league, like Kevin Durant can be elite defensively, but he's not the best playmaker in the world. Or like Steph Curry, he's actually a very good playmaker as he draws attention, but he's not the best defensive player in the world. So when those guys hit the Jets, when those guys really try to put their stamp on the game, it comes the same way. It's their scoring out first or creating shots for the team, it's things along those lines. When LeBron really pushes the turbo button and takes over a game, because he's so versatile in all of those areas of the game, like I talked about, it's that crazy effect that LeBron has where he's all over the floor, making every single play. And nobody on the

other team can do anything about it. My favorite example of this in his career was the 2013 team finals against the Spurs. And there were two spurts where he did this in game two in the fourth quarter and in game six in the fourth quarter. And in both of those games, the Spurs had leads and had control of the game. But LeBron kind of reached that moment of desperation where he had to empty the tank, empty the clip, do whatever he could to impact the game. And he was flying around up both ends of the floor. You'd see him step up and block Tiago Splitter, or block Tim Duncan at the rim, then get his own rebound and sprint all the way up the floor and like pass fake to a guy in the corner and then pump fake and finish at the basket or drive into the

lane and drop four bodies and kick it out to Shane Batier in the corner for a huge three. Like that was what made those moments for LeBron so iconic. And what made those moments for LeBron so like become the fuel for his goat case. And everybody who says that they think that he's the best player they've ever seen, it's because of that. And we got to see that tonight in that fourth quarter. LeBron was everywhere. On the backline, making defensive plays,

getting into the paint, collapsing bodies, and kicking out to Avery Bradley, finishing at the rim, using his brain, beating people on back cuts. That shot that he hit, the three-point shot that he banked in was eerily reminiscent of the one that he hit to send the game to overtime in Washington back in 2017.

He had 100 different impact plays. in that fourth quarter. It's the thing that I'm going to miss the most when LeBron is gone, because I don't think there's a player in the league who has that type of first because all of the players in the league right now have big strengths, but they also have weaknesses. LeBron has always been the Swiss Army knife of the NBA, and when he gets going like that, it's always been such a sight to behold. One last note on the Lakers before you move on. I thought it was really interesting that they started big. We've seen so many times this season where Frank Vogel has, in a point of desperation, gone super small, right?

Gone to multiple guards, gone to four guards even sometimes, gone to mellow at center with four guards. And what we haven't seen is him just say, screw it, I'm going huge. And it was an interesting reaction to the way that Toronto physically dominated their first matchup. He started LeBron and Wenian Gabriel and Dwight Howard. And I think that was part of what set that physical tone that allowed the Lakers to be the aggressor throughout the game.

Wenian Gabriel was incredible tonight. I've done video breakdowns on him and a bunch of stuff about him on the show. This is just what happens when you have size and athleticism and you play hard in this NBA. You can automatically have an impact just by going out and playing extremely hard and leaving your physical tools on the floor. Both him and Stanley Johnson have big impacts tonight in that way. I like the idea of going big, especially with LeBron being inconsistent.

with his defensive effort. If you have another guy at the center position who can take over all those backline responsibilities, then if LeBron is coasting on the defensive end, it's less damaging. When LeBron's at center and it's four guards on the floor or four perimeter players on the floor and LeBron's coasting defensively,

it's always going to be a disaster because you have to have somebody on the backline who's willing to rotate around. I thought that was an interesting tactic from Frank Vogel tonight, and I think it's an interesting approach to potentially try to move forward. They've had spacing issues and offensive issues all season anyway.

Why not just lean into that a little bit by having some size and athleticism on the floor? Start your bracket with a bang. Right now, Fandall Sportsbook is giving new customers a $150 instant bonus guaranteed. That's right. You'll get $150 in bonus site credit and all you have to do is place your first bet of $5 or more.

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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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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 Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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. Trip 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.

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bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. With the cash out, the ball's in your court so you can close out your bet whenever you want before the game is even over. Join Fanduil today with promo code Jason T. Then you can place your $5 bet to score $150 in bonus site credit guaranteed. That's promo code Jason T on the Fandual Sportsbook app. 21 plus and present in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana,

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So they lost finally on the road tonight in the Philly. They had a couple of huge wins. We broke those down in detail. I did a video on both of them against the Brooklyn Nets and against the Boston Celtics. The Dallas Mavericks are trending in the direction looking like a bona fide championship contender. But they finally fell flat on their face tonight in Billy. I thought I didn't take too much from it. I thought it was related to fatigue.

It's their fourth game on this road trip. Luca and Spencer Dinwiddie, I think they combined a two for 14 from three. That's a big indicator of legs. That's fatigue starting to play a role. the Sixers shot out of their minds. They had six players who made at least two threes. They shot 42% from the game for the game. And the way to beat the Sixers, as we all know, as we've laid out on this show in detail over the last couple of weeks, you have to get out in transition. Dallas did not do that tonight. They only had seven fast break points. If you're not going to

attack Philly's weakness, you're going to struggle in a lot of different ways. I wouldn't take too much from that game. That said, I still. I still like what I've seen from Dallas in this recent stretch of games. And I wanted to provide some perspective here because people always expect these top-tier contenders to just go in and roll over everybody they play, including the good teams. And that's never how it actually goes. For instance, last year, the Milwaukee Bucks won the title. They were only 19 and 17 against teams that were over 500 or 500 or above. That's pretty average, right?

That's nothing to write home about. The previous season, the Lakers, they were only 20 and 14 against teams that were 500 and above. This season, the Mavericks are 21 and 17. That's pretty solid. They are, they have enough signature wins to add legitimacy to what they're doing. We've talked about it a lot on this show. I'm just a huge believer in what they do defensively. If you guys look on my Twitter feed today, I released a video talking about the way they mixed up their defensive coverages against against the nets in that big win in Brooklyn. Big credit to Jason Kidd, who. who's done an awesome job with that team. I don't think they, I wouldn't put them in the top tier of contenders. I don't think they're as good as your, you know, your Milwaukee's, your Phillies, your Phoenix is. But I do think they're in that second tier of contenders, meaning they absolutely could win if a handful of things break right for them.

All right, moving on to the Bulls. So Sun's chugging right along, no issues without Chris Paul. And I think a huge part of that is all of that talent on the roster that I keep telling you guys about. That team, all the focus goes on Devin Booker and Chris Paul, but the real reason why they're winning is from top to bottom. No team in the NBA has more talent than them. Campaign is an awesome, a backup guard. He arguably is a better option than Chris Paul in specific matchups

because he's one of the best point of attack guards in the league. He beats his man off the dribble almost every time. He gets into the paint at will, which gets defenses to rotate. And when you get defenses to rotate and you have good players around him, that can attack those closeouts, you're going to get good stuff. Mikhail Bridges looks like a star in the making. D'Andre Aiton is unbelievable. Just imagine if D'Andre Aiton got to come up the way that Joel Mb did.

On a bad team, shooting 20 shots a game, getting to mix up and take step back jump shots and Hakeem Olajuwon shoulder fakes and all of those things. I'm not saying that Diannre Aten is Joel Embed. I can flat out say he's not. but he is in a different type of development trajectory than Joelle Lombie. And he is a really, really, really good player that is playing a smaller role on a team that doesn't need him to do as much. And what you're seeing in this recent stretch of games is he's got great footwork.

He's got great, he's got a great package of moves out of the post. He's got one of the best little short jump hooks in the league. He actually has a good jump shot as well. He's got a lot to him that he can, that he's got in reserve. Same goes for Mikhail Bridges. Those are the guys that are going to be the huge building blocks alongside Devin Booker in their future. And they're a really exciting team. But I wanted to take a couple minutes to talk about the Chicago Bulls.

They're a team I haven't talked about really since I started with the volume. And there's a very specific reason for that. It's because they've been decimated by injuries. And I know that doesn't sound right because DeMardar Rosen's playing every game. And you're getting Nikola Vucevich every game. You're getting Zach Levine every game. So it seems like everything's fine. but arguably the most important players on this team are Lonzo Ball and Alex Crusoe,

which is interesting for a bunch of different reasons. And for the record, the numbers back it up. In 459 minutes, by the way, these numbers were coming into tonight because MBA doesn't update their stats until later. But in 459 minutes this season, with Lonzo Ball and Alex Crusoe on the floor together, the Bulls are plus 9.3 points per 100 possessions. That's awesome. That is a awesome number.

they are minus 1.4 when those two are off the floor per 100 possessions they are 13.6 points worse on defense with Lonzo and Alex Crusoe off the floor than when those guys are on the floor. It's interesting for a bunch of different reasons. I've talked a lot about the way the game of basketball has been changing over the course of the last five years. And a lot of it has to do with having tons of perimeter players on the floor that can all put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. So if you can't contain on the perimeter, if you can't keep a guy in front or at least make it difficult for him to get to the basket, then your team is constantly existing in rotation and NBA teams are too good to not make you pay for that kind of thing. Perimeter defense is more valuable now in the NBA than it ever has been. And Lonzo Ball and Alex Crusoe are two of the best perimeter defensive guards that we have in the league.

having them on the floor to pick up those perimeter matchups of all the best guards that they play on any given night is what frees up Zach Levine and Demar de Rosen to focus on the offensive end limits their defensive shortcomings because both of those players have had tons of defensive issues throughout their career it just makes their job easier and what's great is Lanzo Ball and Alex Crusoe. We think guards who play defense right they're both big Alex Crusoe is 6-6 and very strong Lanzo ball is taller I think he's about 6-5 So they have great size at the position. So when they go with those lineups with Caruso and Ball, Levine de Rosen, and Nikola Vucevic, they actually have a ton of size in that lineup. So it's really difficult to evaluate the Bulls without those two on the court. That would be the silver lining or the what you tried, the little bit of positivity to cling to if you're a Bulls fan after a pretty frustrating season.

They get off to this awesome start. They're kicking everybody's butt. two of their most important players get hurt. The rest of the season has been kind of floundering and mediocrity, but these guys are coming back. You have an opportunity. The big question is, is Tristan Thompson and Nikola Vucevic, their front court, are those guys going to be able to bring enough athletically and physically to hang with these beast front courts that you see elsewhere in the east? Are they going to be able to hang with bam out of bio? I don't know. Are going to be able to hang with Joe L. Embed? Are they going to be able to hang with

Janice Santinacompo and Brooke Lopez? Are they going to be able to hang with, you know, Andre Drummond even, with a team like the Brooklyn Nets? They're going to have a massive physical disadvantage in the front court in almost every matchup. They can try to come that we've seen like with Dallas. Dallas doesn't have great front court presence either, but they've made up for it with scheme. will Chicago be able to put together enough defensively around those guys to make up for it? I don't know. Patrick Williams is allegedly going to be coming back here in the next week or two. He's a big strong athlete, so that helps a little bit on that front. That would be my biggest concern with the Bulls.

And as is always the case when we're having these conversations, it's like with the Hardin and Beat thing. It's not, are these guys good? I know they're good. I know DeRosen and Levine are awesome. But are they going to beat Kevin Durant in a duel four times out of seven? Are they going to beat Janice Antenacompo in a duel four times out of seven? I don't know. If they get out of the east, are they going to be able to beat that awesome sons team?

That's what's so crazy about how deep the league is right now. When we're evaluating these teams, it's wild the standard we have to hold them to if they're going to have any real success in the NBA. The Bulls being so far down on everybody's list of contenders with the type of lineups that they can throw out there, that Caruso, Ball, Levine, DeRosen, and Vucevich, lineup is one of the best lineups in the lead. That lineup sounds incredible, but it's probably not good enough. And that just goes to show you how incredibly talented the NBA is right now. And that's why I love this job so much. And I love that I get to do this because the NBA is in an

all-time golden age of talent. And it just makes the product amazing. All right, guys, that is all I have for tonight. We will be back tomorrow after the Lakers game in Washington against the Wizards. As always, I sincerely appreciate your guys' support, and I will see you right after the final buzzer tomorrow. The volume. When you need auto parts, O'Reilly Auto.com, is just a few clicks away. We offer convenient options for you to get your parts quickly. Order online and pick up for free at your local O'Reilly Auto Parts store.

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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 Smygle and friends on the I-heart radio app. 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 I-Hard radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.