The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-1-NBA Ratings, Lakers Defense, Kurt Heling

Episode Date: August 21, 2020

Doug fills in for Colin today and gives his "Hypothesis" on why NBA ratings are down. Lakers have great defense, which why they have the best record in the West. Kurt Heling joins the show to also talk NBA Playoffs. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

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

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be vacant as part of your day. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Coward, who claimed to, he's on a boat, he's on a boat, he's on a boat, he's on a boat, he's on a boat. I'm sure there will be a wake surfing video in the very near future, a not-so humble brag from our fearless leader, Colin Calhard.

All right, I got a lot to get to. NBA ratings down. I have some, I have some hypotheses. I think it's very important that we point out hypotheses. That is those of us who paid attention in science class. I can't remember much anything, right? I don't know the sign for boron from the, was it, the scientific table? Is that what it's called?

Right? But what I do know is I do know there's a difference between a hypotheses and a theory. Right. A hypothesis is something that has yet to be proven. A theory is one. A hypothesis that has on some level been proven scientifically to be accurate. So this is more of a hypothesis and stuff. I have thoughts on the NBA ratings. Let's begin with this. The L.A. Lakers completely and thoroughly dominate the Portland Trailblazers. and the dude in me wants to go, ha, told you so. See? When I told Colin that Portland would be too gassed

and that they didn't have a match up for Anthony Davis or for LeBron James, I was right. You know, I almost feel like the bad guy in Scooby-Doo. And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling kids. But then I stop and I take a breath and I try and figure out, all right, but what is the real takeaway? And I honestly, I watched a lot of basketball yesterday. And again, this is part of my hypotheses for why NBA ratings year to year are down, even on ESPN.

Right. And the hypothesis basically goes like this. Basketball's on all the time. Right? It's on all the time. And so there isn't the, There is, there just isn't the level of intensity normally reserved for the playoffs. There isn't anything special.

It's not only on at night. Like literally basketball is on all the time, which is great for those of us, ball guys. And we can watch all the time. But for mainstream America, there just isn't the same sense of urgency when it's on every night. And there's just game after game. And it's really kind of hard to tell the difference between the playoffs. in the regular season or even than the scrimmages. It literally looks exactly the same.

But one of the things that has happened in the bubble happens in the regular season, and frankly it's happened a lot in sports, mostly in basketball, is our infatuation with offensive stats. Right? Offensive stats. Stats can tell the story. And especially to people who haven't watched a basketball game or haven't watched the basketball game. But they need some context. The perfect example is LeBron James, who in the first game statistically was dominant.

But in the fourth quarter, there were several times in which he deferred and it was obvious that he had to take over. What I find fascinating about yesterday, and I'll say this about Milwaukee and about Houston, but mostly about the L.A. Lakers, is I do feel like so many people are missing it. you have to play to your strengths, right? You got to play to your strengths. It's no different yesterday is National Radio Day, right? What I always, what are my strengths? Hey, I believe that I'm one of the best interviewers in radio. Those are my strengths.

I know what my weaknesses are. I won't share them with you, but we also won't do them. Right. Collins' strengths are, he has really strong opening segments, lot of really interesting business metaphors. I have some of that. It's not as strong as Collins. That's why he plays to those strengths.

You listen to Fox Sports Radio and different shows are portrayed differently, right? Play to your strengths. The number one thing I learned when I was trying to play professional basketball, and if I could do it again, when I played coming out of college, my reputation of a guy who couldn't shoot. And so you know what I set off to do? proved to everybody I could shoot. Do you know what that was?

A mistake. That's what amateurs do. Amateurs try to prove to you that the scatter report you have on them is completely wrong, whereas professionals go like, yeah, okay, I can't shoot. Every once in a while I knock down an open one,

but there's no reason I can't make a ton of plays without shooting. Play to your strengths. That's what pros do. And what is the strength of this L.A. Lakers team? It's not three-point shooting, I think, That's been made obvious, right? What's lost in the palaver about does LeBron have it anymore? And I think, you know, I'm going to play for you a cut in a second that does kind of explain what it's like to be in your mid-30s trying to compete with guys in their 20s and earlier 30s that haven't played as much basketball as he's played and aren't as big a body as he is.

but what this forget lebron's scoring the the lakers have the best record in the western conference which it's in arguable it's a tougher conference than the eastern conference right and it may not be at its peak this year because golden state chose not to really compete because the spurs are in transition because you know persing it persingus hadn't played in a year and a half and luka is just in his second year like they're not yet there but they're close you can see Phoenix starting to figure it out, but it took them, you know, having three months off and in the bubble to the when they finally kind of figured out. The pelicans feel like they may be a year or two away from having full Zion. So the West is not what it's been or what it may well be, but it's still pretty damn good, right? They had the best record in the West. Why? Why? The whole year they haven't been able to shoot, that hasn't changed. The whole year, LeBron James has been up and down in terms of his burst athletically. The whole year they struggle with Anthony Davis

finishing games and being aggressive in the fourth quarter. Danny Green has looked like the oldest man on earth all year. Kyle Kuzman's been up and down. How has the, how could they possibly have the best wreck in the West? What's their strength? Ha ha! The defense. They've been the best defensive team in the NBA. And while, yeah, they lost Damien Lillardy hit a couple deep threes

and they got confused and mellow. A couple. And C.J. McCullum hit some shots. They're just amazing in game one. The fact is that in spite of that late barrage by the Portland Trailblazers and the win by the Blazers, the Blazers who want to score in the 120 scored 100 points. And last night it was 88. We do this thing where you only play well, you only play well by anybody's estimation if the

stats say you scored a bunch of points and had a bunch of assists. And if you throw in some rebounds, meaningful or meaningless, it doesn't really matter. That's what we care about. But what's the truth? The truth is, if the other team doesn't score, none of your inaptitude actually matters. It just doesn't. None of your inaptitude matters. And I sit here and look at the Lakers, and I feel like so many people are missing.

What they did last night is the reason. that they were the one seed. It's the same thing that it's what's been lacking with Houston, and granted they were playing a very young Oklahoma City team, but if you watch that game in the fourth quarter, they decided they're not going to score. And that's what happened with the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been an elite defensive team.

Yes, did Janus get it going early, and did they get out to a big lead, and they had Orlando on their hill? Sure, all of that can be true. But we say this all the time. Colin and I, in the NFL, you're not going anywhere unless you, You got a top 10 defense.

And in the NBA, the truth about the Warriors during their championship run and when they won 73 games, they were the best, analytically, they were the best defensive team in the NBA. When that fell apart, so too did the Warriors. So too did the Warriors. All right, we got a bunch to get to today. Bunch to get to today. Coming up next, I'm going to give you my thoughts. My thoughts on exactly what's going to happen. exactly what's going to happen

tonight with the LA clippers. That's the next. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio

FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman

documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm 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-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got? got to do a little kill. 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 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.

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 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. 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. 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 hard way, and listen now. Listen up, fellas. Now you can use the right tools for the job, thanks to this revolutionary company, Manscaped. their lawnmower 3.0 is geared for skin safe technology so this trimmer reduces cuts get 20% off plus free shipping with the code herd h-gred hanscape.com that's manscape.com use the code herd i use it

Colin not a he not he's not like part bear like I am he's just not and you guys did hear that I beat Colin in tennis this week now I got to point out that generally Colin plays all the time he's taken back to playing a little bit of golf maybe that distracted him from his tennis game. I hadn't played a ton. He and I played sporadically here through the summer, usually just a set. It was not pretty. There was one side of the court, which, and this is the type of suburban grit

that you have only from Cowherd and Gottlieb. We played through the fact that when you toss the ball up in the air as the right hand of the sun was right in your eyes like a laser, but somehow we gritted through. But without using my big booming first serve, which occasionally lands in the court, and just went all kind of second serves, big kicker serves, whatever. I was able to beat the herd in one set.

Should be pointed out that it was hot and I was pretty gasp and I wanted a beer. And so after I think winning six three or six, I think it was six four. Six four, we chose to not play the second set, which was a good, that was a smart decision by me. Get your first dub and then get the hell out. Speaking of getting the dub, this is LeBron James on why it's so much harder to get dubs in the playoffs. year. I've had some great teammates in my career. AD is one of those unicorns and he does things that some of my other great teammates are not

capable of doing. But in the same sense, I play with Duane Wade and he could do some things that, you know, the AD is not capable of doing. And I also play with Kyrie Irvin. He can do some things that De Wade and AD is not capable of doing. So I've had the luxury of playing with some great players and that's just three of them. That's just three of them. He went on to say that this is this season.

is like three seasons. And while I understand the logic behind it, with LeBron going like, hey, man, there's been a lot, three seasons, like, you know,

you're trying to turn around a franchise, you have a new coach, you finally, finally got it going. They were the best team in the NBA before it shut down, then it shuts down, then you got to fire back up,

then you got training camp again, then you got like preseason games again, then games, now playoffs. It feels like three seasons, but I actually don't think it necessarily feels that weighty. for other guys. That's your mid-30s. Wait to get to your 40s, right?

You're like, man, I used to dominate that. I used to crush that. Like, yeah, dude, now you're in your mid-30s. I used to be able to play all day. When we're kids and you're a basketball player, like I grew up playing in a place, Miles Square Park in Fountain Valley, California. My dad would get me up.

We'd go and play. And I was little, so to get in like, I was like 13 years old, maybe 12 years old. And he would take me to a mile square. He'd call a game. He'd get me in a game. And he'd watch you and play a little bit. And then he'd leave me, after the first game, he'd coach me up.

And he'd leave me five bucks and I'll be back later. And then, you know, I'd go across the street, get a slice of pie or two in a gatorade. It was like $2.50. Do that a couple times a day. Just stay there and play ball. And you could run on. I mean, how many times when you're a kid, you can run on fumes on anything? And try that in your 30s or your 40s.

You're like, oh, my God. I can't believe I played on cement. I can't believe that I try to eat a hot dog and a Coke and play basketball. How did I do this? It's just different. It's just different. You play three games in your 40s, your 30s, and it feels like six games. You play three games when you're in your teens, your 20s.

It feels like a warm-up. So I do think that all of this stress, all of the season and whatever, it's probably more taxing on everybody, but especially taxing when you've been doing it for 17 years and you're LeBron James and you're carrying 260 pounds of pure muscle. I think it's a lot. And I think there are times of which he's exhausted, and that's why he can't be his regular dominant self.

Let's get to Vince Close with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Vincent, what do you have, my friend? I got some breaking news for you. Actually, Major League Baseball has decided to postpone the Mets versus Yankees series this weekend, out of abundance of caution, and to allow for additional testing, contact tracing,

and contact tracing to be performed with the Mets organization. Originally, they had canceled yesterday's game against the Marlins and today's game against the Yankees, but they have decided to fully cancel the series, postponed, not cancel. Yeah, I mean, that's, you get one coach and one player tested positive for COVID, and they're just trying to figure out what's what. They left the player and the coach behind in Miami. That's not a bad place to quarantine at one point out. Worst place is under the quarantine.

Although summer in Miami sounds buggy. No thanks. Yeah, I mean, I do feel on some level, like baseball seemed to have this thing set. Like, all right, we're good. Everybody's taking this seriously. And now you've got another positive test and a postponement of a major series. So between the Cardinals having to play like 100 games in 10 days and not having the subway series, baseball is definitely going to limp to the finish. Yeah, that's what it feels like.

Yeah, definitely going to be interesting. So we move on to the NFL, Washington's football team got hit with some more bad news yesterday when it was revealed that head coach Ron Rivera was diagnosed with sequimus cell carcinoma located in his lymph node. Rivera told ESPN's Adam Schaeffner about the diagnosis Thursday night and explained to Schefter that he discovered a lump on his neck in early July, and when it didn't go away after a couple weeks, he visited a doctor. While Washington has a plan B in place, Rivera said, I planning on coaching, doctors encourage me to do it. They said, if you feel strongly, do it, don't slow down, do your physical activities. But everyone keeps telling me by weeks three or four, you'll start to feel it.

Rivera also said that the cancer is in the early stages and is considered very treatable and curable. Well, okay, that's the really good news is that it's really treatable and curable, right? And the bad news is he's obviously going to feel bad and be worn down. But like Ron Rivera, this is a hell of a year for him, right? Like he gets fired and he gets fired from an aging team and ownership change and ends up not just taking over his head coach of the Washington football team. But he's like the football czar. You know, he got to pick out, you know, have a little bit of say in the fact that they don't have a nickname, got to say in front office. Obviously, he's going to have a major decision to make or series of decisions to make with quarterback position.

And because Dan Snyder is so persona non-grada, like Ron Rivera's their white knight, really. And now he obviously has this to battle through. This is a heck of a year, man. Heck of a year for him. Obviously, you hope that he recovers. and then proceeds to turn the football team around. Yep. All right.

So we move on the NBA. Damia Lillard exited Thursday's game to loss to the Los Angeles Lakers after suffering a finger dislocation in third quarter. Chairblazers announced that the x-rays were negative. Lillard, however, feared that he had broken his finger. When it first happened, I was pulling at it and it was a little bit. I've never done that. So I pulled it back a little bit myself, but it's still without.

And they had to put it back for me. And at that point, I thought it was broke. So I was just frustrated because I had to go back and get it looked at. I was just frustrated. You know, it was just bad timing. You know, I had the ball a lot, you know, so just knowing that there's going to be some discomfort. And I don't know how that's going to feel and how it was going to go.

It's frustrating. Now, the injury happened on his non-shooting hands. So that's actually a little bit of good news. Later on in his post-game news conference, he was asked about his availability for game three. And he said that he is planning on playing. Yeah. And it's a big post.

Like, it's just left hand. I don't understand guys that in like in basketball when they hurt their left hand, their right hand and they don't play anyway. Like, you can play through it. But it's a dislocated finger. It's, you know, let's not make him out to be a war hero. Yeah, seems like more of an annoyance than anything else. Yes.

Now, in all truth, the way he dislocated his finger, I actually broke my middle finger on my right hand in eighth grade, the same way hitting somebody's shoe. If you saw, it was Anthony Davis's shoe was what his finger kind of ran into, and it got dislocated, and it just, it stings like hell. So I've actually broken a finger that way, but it was my own shoe. It's falling out of bounds, it's playing one-on-one with my brother, and I, like, tried to throw the ball off of him, and somehow I clipped my own shoe, and my finger snapped. Just does, does entire happen, but they've done a great job on Lillard. I know he got loose late in game one, but they really did a good job.

on him and then they bottled him up yesterday as well. And finally, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has weighed in on the quarterback competition in New England to replace Tom Brady. Edelman is currently working with Cam Newton, 2019 fourth round pick Jared Stidham, and veteran Brian Hoyer. Edelman's whole W.E.I. He's about Cam Newton. He's definitely a former MVP for a reason. The guy is a professional. He works his tail off. He's extremely dynamic and he has a charming personality. It's been fun to be around. He has a confidence about him, all quarterbacks

having confidence, but it's just a little different with Cam. It's a vibe that you can feel and get a mindset in a mindset. This comes on the heels of Bill Belichick saying that there's a possibility of platooning his quarterbacks into the regular season. So it'll be interesting to see what kind of chemistry can be built with his wide receivers. Well, look, there's a lot here kind of to unpack. I mean, the first thing is, if we're being honest, it's, hard for anybody to learn a new offense, or a new system, new verbiage when they've been with one team their entire career. You don't have an offseason. So, you know, I also think if we're fair, if you listen to the question and the answer, Belichick didn't say he was going to platoon.

He was asked about platooting him, and he basically said, you know, all options are open, right? Which is a non-answer answer, and it doesn't allow the dolphins to know who they're preparing for. But I don't think it's crazy to think about platooning him early because he doesn't, he's not going to have a full grasp of it. Hoyer will. That's why Hoyers look so much better because he knows exactly what he's doing, where the football is supposed to go. And there's no kind of thinking involved.

It's just kind of reacting, whereas Cam's not there yet. And while there's obviously going to be a push to play Cam early, I think back to when Carson Palmer retired with the Cincinnati Bengals, and then mid-year he gets traded to the Oakland Raiders. supposed to sit for a couple weeks and they threw him in and he was, he threw three picks and he was terrible, terrible. And Carson Palmer's a really good quarterback, but he didn't know what he was doing. You know, you don't know the hot reads, you don't know the verbiage, everything's coming out of you fast. And these are brilliant guys, but it's a lot when you

don't have a ton of time. I think that's the same thing with Cam. Like, there's no reason you can't put him in, run some read option, run some different stuff, you know, give him a small set of plays and let him slowly but surely, you know, at times watch and figure out exactly what he's supposed to do playing for Josh McDaniels. Yeah, and Cam apparently got some more reps in yesterday's practice and looks to get more today because Ian Rappaport reported that Jared Stidham has a leg injury, not thought to be serious, but he will be limited in practice today. And that's Vince with news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. Doug Gottlieb in for Colin Cowherd. Kurt Heelan joins us. He's the lead NBA writer and managing editor at NBCSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter at Basketball Talk. And he's going to join us in a moment.

We'll get his thoughts on last night's games. His thoughts on tonight with the Clippers. Patrick Beverly still, I don't think he's going to play. You know, and it's become kind of the Luca show. I do think it's fascinating that a Clipper team who we did have a sense. Like the regular season does teach you a lot, right? It really does teach you a lot. It gives you that large sample size.

And the large sample size told us that the Clippers, super talented, not great chemistry, most starting lineups in the NBA this year. Like, they're still kind of shuffling things around. Whereas the Lakers, we. We knew they weren't a good shooting team, and sure enough, they haven't been a good shooting team. We knew they're an outstanding defensive team, and you know what? They've been an outstanding defensive team. That's why what Houston did yesterday was so surprising, how well and how hard they played defensively.

Dare I say, James Harden in a defensive stance several times over? That's kind of surprising in terms of, in comparison to reputation. So we also have John Middilcoff is going to join us in Mario L.E., three-time NBA champion, former Houston Rocket. Of course, Marieli who started, he played in the USBL. He and I both USBL alums. Of course, he advanced far beyond the USBL after playing in that league, coming into professional basketball. You know, I'll offer this up in terms of my hypotheses as to why the ratings are down. Right. Do I think a portion of it is, a small portion of it is, there are some,

people are like, man, I just, I just want to watch sports. I want to get away from the social justice thing. Yeah, I think you're going to get some fans that get worn down by. I also think, though, and I love it, but just there isn't a sense of urgency when literally every game looks exactly the same. We've all marveled at how good a job they've done at how they've made it look, but it's literally exactly the same. there's there's very little distinction team to team game to game because the court's the same

the fake crowd only changes you know the the faces and the color of the jersey like that's all that changes so when it's on all the time and it kind of always looks the same it's really hard to tell you no this is an important game that you have to watch it looks like the warm-up games looks like the regular season games looks like the post-season game and then you know not having golden state in it I think obviously hurts. You don't have Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving. Some of the big stars, you don't have Steph Curry and Clay Thompson and Draymond Green. Like, that's five of the 20 biggest stars in the NBA and two of the five biggest stars in the NBA in

Durant and Steph Curry. And they're not playing. And that, you know, those guys, the NBA is built on stars, those guys bring, bring an audience. Let's, welcome being Kurt Heilin, who joins us, lead NBA writer, managing editor, NBC Sports, dot com. Care to offer up a hypothesis, NBA ratings down on ESPN, playoff-wise, 40% year-to-year. What would your hypotheses as to Wabi? I think there's a couple of things. I think you hit the nail on the head. I think the A, it is summer. It's a little offseason. The games feel a little different because of the, you know, there's a lack of star power, especially without Curry and the Warriors. That was a team that had

broken through the, through even the casual fans and had this kind of cultural impact. I also think that this is just continuing part of the trend. We tend to simplify it as cord cutters and people, you know, people are streaming. They're not watching the traditional way. But I think it's bigger than that. Doug, you're still tied in. You still have got some ties to youth basketball, right? Like, you talk to, and I've, you know, I've got two teenage daughters.

I've got their friends who are playing at AAU and I know all these guys. They don't watch games. Nope. No, they do not. They get their highlights off of Instagram. Yep. They love the NBA culture. They watch highlights.

They want a debate. They'd be happy to talk about whether LeBron's The Goat or, you know, who's the best player in the next draft. And it's part of the reason Zion Williamson came into this league. He was such an Instagram internet, you know, youth star that he's already as marketable as anybody in the league because he brought that with him into the NBA. but those guys aren't watching games. And it's a culture, like under 25 people are just not, they're not following the model. The MP is built on to pay its bills,

and it's going to be an issue for the way. Yeah, it's interesting. You bring it up. Adam Silver, I remember earlier this year, he talked about how, you know, do we change traditional start times because people don't watch at traditional times anymore.

Yeah. But that's kind of what we've done here with the playoffs, and that hasn't worked, right? It's just weird to throw on the, the bucks are on at, you know, 11 o'clock on the West Coast, that is not going to, I don't care how many people are watching your home. That's not going to draw a big audience.

No, and you're right, rolling the games all day in the same arena with the same, you know, I know they're putting in the video, you know, they're dropping slightly different logos, but the same center court logo. And you're right, the games all have the same feel for them. It has a summer league feel, doesn't it? Yeah. Like I'm watching the summer league. Yeah.

And look, again, I'm not sitting here and telling you that I, it bothers me that you have social justice sayings on the back of a jersey. But it does not look like the NBA, right? Like, it's one of the things, look, the NFL gets crushed for a couple of things, and there's actually a science to it, right? The idea they have a uniform code. And everybody's like, why do they have the uniform code?

Because when you throw on the San Francisco 49ers, you turn on TV, you know exactly, oh, that's the San Francisco 49ers. Additionally, because of their franchise tag, and this is the most quarterback movement we've ever had, ever. But generally, you throw on the Packers, it's Aaron Rogers. For 20 years, you threw on the Patriots, there's Tom Brady. You know, you have your guys, whereas the NBA, I think the player movement has, you know,

has changed things and made it a little bit harder to keep up with, wait, who my favorite player plays for a different team now. I don't like that. I'm struggling with that. I think fans in some arena, it's weird. I think you're getting with the younger generation, especially with the NBA, and I think it's less with baseball and football. You're getting LeBron fans or Steph Curry fans.

I live, you know, again, I'm in Southern California. I know so many kids, again, under 18 with Steph Curry jersey. Sure. Like, Northern California is not exactly popular in Southern California. No. But Curry is, like Curry is a cultural. And you've seen guys wear Trey Young's because Trey Young's fun to watch.

Right. You know, he's bombing threes from deep and, you know, who cares if he's playing defense? Clearly he doesn't. So, like, there's a sense of becoming fans of a player in a way. And they're like, all right, well, LeBron James is a Laker now, then I'm going to root for the Lakers as opposed.

And there is a large Laker nation, and there are fan bases for each team. But there are fans who jump around and don't, are not, faced by it in a way that like you and I and certainly our parents would have been freaked out by. Keith Ely, like, joining us here in the herd. I'm Doug Gottlieb filling in for Colin. Speaking of defense, I thought that was the story of yesterday, especially with the Lakers. Like we all get so hot and bothered over the lack of shooting.

That's been a problem all year. But the reason they had the best record in the West is what they've done, frankly, in both games, holding Portland even to 100 when you can't make a shot. and then 88 last night. Like, this is who the Lakers are. They're built based upon their defense. And they are long. Every coach who comes through Los Angeles,

and it's true of the Clippers, too, but especially with the Lakers, they come through, and they're like, what's the game playing? They're long. They're hard to play against. This is a big athletic team that is disruptive because of that length. And, you know, the Bucks are the same way.

I think that there's something to this defensively. But it works. You're right. The Lakers really cranked up their defense. Not only were their rotation sharp last night, Doug, but did you watch when they rotated? They, like, landed with aggression, right? Like, they didn't just casually rotate out. Like, they landed and got in your face and were right there. And that's, Houston's been doing that.

We'll see how, you know, how long they can keep it. I'm not a question if they can keep it up. It's just what happens when they run into teams that just shoot over them anyway. Yeah, no, I thought Houston was actually really impressive defensively yesterday. They've been playing great defense throughout the bubble, honestly. They were, I think, sixth in the seating games defensively, and they've played great so far, really bothering Oklahoma City. The Lakers have joined that club.

The Bucks started to join that club. You know, I'm not, I picked the clippers to win it all, and I'm not fully buying into them right now until I see them start playing like that because they have. Kurt Eelan joining us, lead NBA writer-managing editor at NBCSports.com. Follow them on Twitter at Basketball Talk. I follow them. You should, too.

All right, let's get to the Clippers. They have really struggled trying to contain Luca and, you know, a Dallas team built on offense. Obviously, you're not having to go back to Dallas ever. But still, it's one-one. It could very easily be two games to none if Prozingas hadn't gotten thrown out. They're still not going to have Patrick Beverly tonight. What are your thoughts on what's wrong with the Clippers? They're struggling to defend the pick and roll.

Let's be fair here. Lucas is really good. Let's not mess around here. Look at the top 10 player in the league. Borderline, I mean, leaving him off first team on NBA on my ballot was one of the, like, I lost sleepover. I was trying to figure out how to make this. Like, it was hard. He's that good at 21, and he's tearing them apart because if you give him any space, he does that.

And that said, the Lakers in the first game, like, seemed so concerned about him. They really almost overheld on the pick and roll. They were out there. And then suddenly guys were getting open back door and other shooters were open. And then they were adjusting. And suddenly Luca was racking up 42 points because they were just scrambling. This game, they didn't help at all. And it was a layup line.

They were afraid to help off their guy. And they've got to find a balance. And they've got to, again, rotate with the kind of, with the kind of aggression and the kind of intent that the Lakers did yesterday that we've seen with Houston, that we've seen with the, we saw with the bucks. They just haven't played defense on that level yet. Their offense has been fine, but they've got to find a defensive groove. And this is a hard team to do it against.

Like you said, Dallas had the best offense in the league this year. Yeah. Last thing, Kurt, before the playoffs began, who did you like to play in the finals? I had bucks and clippers. I'm not two games in. I'm not totally ready to come off that yet. I'm not split this way. I'm not hitting the panic button, but I've located it.

Yes. I know where it is. For which team are you more panicked about? the clippers. They have not... Look, they just haven't built chemistry all year, and maybe that started to show. Patrick Beverly, not being there, really hurts them.

But again, they're just... I think adding Reggie Jackson was a mistake. I'll be honest. I think adding Reggie Jackson was a mistake. I know at the time they added him, they needed depth at guard, and I get that Landry Shamett might not be right because he's coming back from COVID,

but I thought they had a good thing going, and it just doesn't feel right with Reggie. Reggie, there's some good stuff, there's some bad stuff, but it's all, it seems to be about Reggie just trying to prove that he can score when he gets in the game. I'm not sure that he's the right fit for what they want to do. I think you're spot on. He gets the ball and it feels like a flip of the coin, doesn't it?

Like, is it a good decision, Reggie, or I'm an elite scorer who can score over three people Kobe shot? Yeah, it's a little bit more of the latter than the former, but I'm with you. Kurt, great stuff. Enjoy the hoops. It is on all day, which is, hey, it's good for us, guys that love ball. like you do. Love the content and thanks for joining us.

Thanks for having me on. Take care. Kurt Healing, join us. That's from NBCSports.com. Listen up, fellas. Now you can use the right tools to get the job done. This revolutionary company, Manscaped, their lawnmower 3.0 is geared with skin-safe technology.

So this tremor reduces cuts. Get 25% off. Plus, free shipping with the code Herd at manscape.com. That's Manscape.com. Use the code Herd. Just the code Hurd. Oh, I like this story. I like this story a lot.

You know, this is fascinating to me in regards to the National Football League. What the Ravens were saying without saying when they said it to Des Bryant yesterday. That's next in the herd. 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'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. Clipper Taylor, the podcast. forth. 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-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, 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. 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 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, Tript 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? 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 hard way and listen now. Doug Gottlieb, in for Colin. This is The Hurt on Fox Sports Radio. John Middlecalf will join us next hour. Three and out is his podcast. All ball is my podcast. He does football. I do hoop.

You can call us. I have a calling number. Colin is a calling number? 800-292-5-150. Sure, what the hell? I don't know. Will I will he answer it? somebody will answer.

I don't know if I'll put you on, but I'll give it to you. Saw somebody tweet me. They're going to play golf at Miles Square Park. Miles Square Park is exactly what you think. It is a square mile. Middle of Fountain Valley, California. Why do they call it miles?

Because it's a square mile, which is a big, big-ass park in the middle of Orange County. Before they actually built a park called the Great Park. It was pretty great park, but just not called the Great Park. Anyway. Middle Cough, Mario Ellie is going to, join us. Mario Ellie's going to join us?

I'm not sure I know the story of him blowing the kisses every time he hits the three. Mario Ellie, Rocket's hero, former USBL alum, will join us later on the show. All right, I want to get to this. So Des Bryant went and worked out for the Baltimore Ravens. Now, I understand, look, Baltimore is not just talented, but they're loaded up with talent that fits their quarterback and their system. thought Colin, like, look, we joke about Colin sometimes saying things, which is like, yeah, you got to just got to roll with it. Sometimes he sees things in sports who don't see.

I thought his analogy, and I sent him a text, like, this is really, like, it was really strong. He compared Janice and Lamar Jackson, and I thought that was brilliant. Now, my thinking is similar, like, he's like, well, you can't get, either guy can get behind in the playoffs. True. And, but why is that? Because Janus, last. that one primary skill. The worst thing he does is the thing you may need most to win at the highest level, which is shooting the basketball. Shooting the basketball.

The same thing goes for Lamar Jackson, which is the one thing you need to do best is probably the weakest part of his game, which is throwing a football, consistently, accurately, just snap it to him, you know, read it, throw somebody open. Don't get me wrong. Hollywood Brown takes off the top of a defense.

And their use of tight ends so he can throw inside the numbers is fantastic. And obviously they can run the football because he's a freak athlete and they have a stable of good running backs and an outstanding offensive line. But the reason that people were down on Lamar Jackson is not just what you see in the playoffs. You still see it rear its head in the regular season, which is there are just times in which he lacks normal accuracy. He's obviously improved, but there's just a wild scud throw. A lot of times he goes through his progressions and maybe it's his fundamentals which

have improved. I don't know. But there are just some wild misses. So when there was talk about Antonio Brown joining the Ravens, I was like, yo, that ain't going to work. Antonio Brown is a lot of things. And I think he's a incredible talent. Yes, he's a pain in the ass out the field.

And yes, he's suspended half the year. And you're going to have to just hold your breath and hope he doesn't, you know, defame the name of your franchise, but he's a freak talent at wide receiver. The problem is that Antonio Brown has gotten more targets than anyone else in the NFL, I believe three of the past four years. Obviously last year he couldn't. Like he's a 150 target a year guy, and that's not how the Ravens play. So they brought in Des Bryant, which does make sense because you're like, hey, what if

if Des Bryant's going to get back into league, it's going to have to be like Anquan Bolton. You know, Bolden hurt his knee in college. I think he heard his knee in the pros. Like, Bolden couldn't run, but he's brilliant as a football player. He was big, strong, tough, competitive, and he became a really good blocker. More than anything, he was just an old head who you could throw it to or not throw it to. He just kind of, he just kind of did his job and stuck in the league. Like, remember, Anquan Bolden walked away from the league like a year and a half ago for social justice reform, not because he had to, because he's like, I'm kind of done with this. I want to. He was with the bills.

want to do something else. And I think that's how Des wants to reinvent himself and I think that's smart. But when you go and work out for the Ravens and they're like, that was a really good work. That was a heck of a workout. Wait, are you going to offer a contract?

No, no, no, we just, it was a really good workout. It was a really good workout. Yeah, that doesn't vote well for for Des Bryant with the Ravens, right? When you don't, you want them to come out and go like, that was awesome. sign this paper and we want you on the Ravens today. Look, it's good for Des to put himself out there and it shows he's not trying to

going back to being, you know, the highest paid, the best widers. He just wants to play football. I get it. But it also on a, on some levels, on some level, doesn't look good. Doesn't look good when you're Des Bryant and they don't offer you a deal. I don't know if the Ravens really need another guy. They obviously just want to kick the tires on guys, but I think does at least a better fit than Antonio Brown.

All right, coming up next, my hypotheses on why the NBA's numbers are down. And is it fixable? Find out next in the hurt. 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 headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here,

unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college. college football journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human. Thank you.