The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Nikola Jokic

Episode Date: June 13, 2023

Thoughts on the Nuggets winning the NBA Championship We haven't seen anything like Nikola Jokic in league history What the Heat need to do to get over the humpSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. And here we go on a Tuesday, a championship Tuesday. The Denver Nuggets are the newest franchise, their first ever championship live in Los Angeles. It's the hurt.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. There's a lot of choices out there. And we appreciate you stopping by. It will J-MAC, a 16-win, four-loss, 16-up, four-down, playoff run. Nine double-digit wins. You know a team is good when they shoot 55% from the free-throw line and can't hit a three to save their life. They miss gimmies, and they won.

A little historic. Yeah, I'm wearing black today morning, the end of the NBA season. It's a sad day. Season over. A great season it was. Now we got free agency, and it should be fun, exciting. So 16 wins and four losses. If you go back and look at the NBA champions that have four or fewer playoff losses in their run, they're all dynasties.

The warrior, spurs, Lakers a couple of times, spurs again, bulls four times, pistons, they're all dynasties. Denver didn't just win the finals. They mowed over the league. And you know, basketball has made several key pivots since I've been watching it. 80s and 90s, back to the basket centers, highly physical, tackling was semi-allowed, physicality, rebounding, defense one. And then about 2004, they eliminated the hand check. The game got faster, guards, the tempo, blazing speed.

2014, 2015, the Small Ball Warrior three-point revolution. And do we have another one? Yokic. Janice and Yokic, seven-foot guys handling the ball. But in Yokic's case, it's the shooting, which is elite for a non-center. It's the free throw shooting. It's the passing. He's going to get a lot of centers paid.

It's historically unique. The NBA is getting very very. very international. And these international bigs are highly skilled. They make the flashy domestic American guards less relevant. Yokej is kind of doing as Steph Curry. When Steph Curry came out to the scene, he got a lot of shooters paid, a lot of imitators. A lot of people thought they had in Trey Young another Steph Curry. And Trey Young's good. He's not close to Steph Curry for a million reasons. And when you have Yokic, all of a sudden now watch his influence in the league. He's going to get centers paid. People are going to ask other centers to do Yokic-like things. And he's one of one.

And so was Steph. I know. Steph got a lot of guys paid. And you think your shooting guard is Steph. Nah, the selflessness, the IQ, the movement, the shooting, the clutch gene. There's one staff. And that's the thing. There was one Kareem and one LeBron. There's just one Yokic. To give you an idea, he averages just about 10 assists. You know another center they think is a good facilitator? Good passers, Embed. He averages four, and he's not nearly as durable. And he can't shoot like this. I mean, I really like Janus. But Janus shoots 27% from threes. He shoots 64% from the free throw line and he doesn't pass like this. It was about a month and a half ago where voters decided they could not give

Yokic a third straight MVP. And their argument was, well, come on now, that would be historic. Let me give you some history. Yokic is the first player in the NBA's entire duration to lead the NBA in points, rebounds, and assists in a playoff run. Kareem didn't do it. Akeem didn't do it. LeBron didn't do it.

Magic didn't do it. Not Shaq, not Janus. The first and only ever. And that was the knock, right? You can't give him a third straight MVP. I mean, come on. You've got to save that for guys like MJ and guys like LeBron and guys like Yokic. First player league history.

16 and 4 playoff run. Let them assist, points, and rebounds. Again, this team last night shot 17% from 3-point land, had twice as many turnovers, shot 56% from the free throw line, and won because of Yokic. They won all year because of Yokic. Other good players, including Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, Aaron Godin, good staff.

But Michael Porter talked about it after. I don't really think you can put it into context. Nicola, I mean, he does so many things for our team. He's so good of a basketball player. Like, I don't really think people understand how good of a basketball player he is. I mean, but to do this, you know, we're happy for him and we're happy for everybody on the team. But, I mean, Nicola, he let us all playoffs, with his passing some games, scoring other games. This was a historic run.

I don't know how you can say he's not the best big man ever. Well, he's certainly in that class. He's different than Shaq, who is different than Akeem, who is different than Wilt, who's different than Kareem. But he is one of one, like LeBron and Steph and MJ. The last 15 years, let's talk mobility. Because I think the view, the worldview of the NBA, and a lot of fans don't love it, is it's too mobile.

Stars are leaving. and when they leave, they win. No, let's be careful. The Warriors won pre-KD during KD and post-KD. LeBron moved around the league, and he won wherever he went. Okay, that doesn't mean it works for everybody. Inspect the league closer. Russell, MJ, Bird, Magic, Steph, Kobe, Duncan, Isaiah, Thomas, Akeem.

And I presume, Yokic. multiple championships, stayed with one organization, were patient, and let them build around them. Yes, yes, LeBron did move around a lot and won everywhere he went. But that's like saying, I don't need to go to college because Steve Jobs didn't. You're not Steve Jobs and nobody's LeBron. Here's the big issues with mobility that we don't talk about. Often to get a star like Camaro, La Anthony, remember that, Denver to New York. You got to give up rotational players that are valuable. Draft capital.

And the other thing is, you don't give your free, your front office, time to build and plan and execute. If you go back and look at LeBron, yes, he moved and he won, but there were always weird, odd fits. Kyrie Irving? Yeah, Kyrie LeBron's going to run the offense. Eventually, Kyrie didn't like it. Hey, Bosch, hey Kevin Love, can you move away from the basket? They sacrificed part of their careers, big chunks of their stats to appeal and appease LeBron. Duane Wade and LeBron took a couple of months to figure out how to play together. I still contend they were not a great fit. They were just great players. Denver's players, because of patience, it allowed the front office to draft and develop and have a plan.

plan and take time and now execute. Chemistry develops when a front office finds a star and can methodically build around the star. That's why when you watch Denver, you don't think about, nobody was talking about Aaron Gordon before the playoffs started. But when he got in foul trouble last night, you're like, oh, my God, Aaron Gordon's off the court. They're in trouble. That's what Sting. input does. You're not desperate. The pieces work. They fit. But it takes patience. And I understand

none of us have a lot of that. But be careful about using LeBron as mobility works. The Warriors won before KD and after him. LeBron's a one-on-one. Can't count him. And Mike Malone talked about the slow build, the smart build, the loyalty by Denver. Pat Riley said something many years ago. I used to have it up on my board when I was a head coach in Sacramento, and I talked about the evolution in this game, and how you go from a nobody to an upstart. You go an upstart to a winner, and a winner to a contender, and a contender to a champion.

The last step is after a champion is to be a dynasty. So we're not satisfied. We accomplish something this franchise has never done before, but we have a lot of young, talented players in that locker room, and I think we just showed through 16 playoff wins what we're capable of on the biggest stage in the world. And what's really great about Denver, which has always been an underrated sports city, they love everything, is that there are some physical players that are hard to replicate. I mean, Aaron Gordon, what's the duplicate of Aaron Gordon in the league?

That long. You notice how gas Jimmy Butler was? That's Aaron Gordon leaning on him. bigger, stronger, physical. Jimmy Butler was literally hiding last night for a quarter. He was completely gassed. And Jimmy Butler is a great player. But a bigger, stronger man on you for seven games is a lot than they had Christian Brown,

the young kid on Jimmy Butler. Again, draft, take time, develop, find a place he fits. I don't think you can find another Aaron Gordon. Michael Porter for 610.5 long, uniquely skilled. Yokic. A lot of these championship teams, you can lose a shooting guard. There's a lot of guys in the world that can hit a three. There's not a lot of Aaron Gordon bodies. There's not a lot of Yokic bodies. There's not a lot of Michael Porter bodies. This is a very unique lineup, hard to match up against, hard to replace, hard to duplicate. And those guys are going to be around for a long,

long time. You know, we said during the year, we pay attention during the regular season when the ratings art is good, J-Mack, we pay attention to flashy players and sensational players and fireworks shows. But I found Denver fascinating to watch. They remind me a little of the old school Bird Celtics when they had Parrish's length and McAil's length. And at one point they had Bill Walton and Larry Bird, they were just long and they were feisty and Bird could do unique things and Yokic can do unique things. Length and size. It's a little old school basketball,

and I loved watching it. I did as well. I do wonder, you make it sound like they're going to be potentially forming some kind of dynasty here with the youth.

But Colin, the idea that they have been hunting a title for so many years now, Yokic underappreciated, Jamal Murray underappreciated. They're no longer the underdogs. And you can be sure LeBron and KD

are watching this saying, we're getting revenge on those guys next to you. But it's really interesting. if you look in the West. Now again, we don't know if they'll be healthy. If they went to the finals next year and yoke at your porter, Gordon got hurt. It's different. But what's interesting that plays into Denver's favor, look at the stars out west.

What are they have in common? Kauai A.D., LeBron, Durant, Chris Paul, Dame. They're old. That's a good point. They're all, a lot of the stars. And if they're not old, Paul George, they've had injuries. And so you have this young, gigantic team in their prime. When you're in your prime, when you do get hurt, you get back sooner.

The West has had the most stars for 15 years in this league. They're all aging at the same time. And the wave of new players like the Aaron Fox is excellent. I expect next year to Sacramento to take another leap. Denver, they don't have to take another leap. But what's happening to Denver, sometimes it just works in your favor. When Nick Saban went to the SEC, there was a lot of bad coaches. That was part of the momentum that Alabama won quickly, build recruiting momentum.

What really helps Denver is the West's stars have gotten really old all together. Clay, Steph, Drayman, Kauai, Dame, like they're all getting old. KD. Chris Paul. So it's, again, I think Phoenix is a team to keep your eye on. Really? I think Chris Paul is going to stay in Phoenix. They're going to go get some bench depth.

Vogel will make D'Andre 8 and a better player. But if you start looking at the West, it's getting critical. Well, there are two teams you didn't mention with young stars ascending. Memphis Grizzlies with John Morant. Yeah, silly. And the Dallas Mavericks with Luca Donchich. How about an all-European Western Conference final next year? Luca versus Yolkich.

I'm going to bet on Phoenix. Chris Paul returning. Vogel helps. You just love Kevin Durant. I do. You do. I like Durant. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m.

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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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the fourth. 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,

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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 Jay.

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 you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for 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. You know, it is interesting how often our all-time great players drop in the first round of the NFL draft.

Don't go number one. Steph Curry didn't go number one. Yokic is a second rounder. Patrick Mahomes went like, what, 10 or 11? Didn't have a winning record in college. Yokhage again falls to the second round. Wasn't a dynamic player his first year in the league. And now Mahomes runs the NFL and Yokic runs the NBA.

They have a couple of things in common. and they're a combination of a lot of different players. Mahomes has Brady's penchant for perfectionism, Farve's arm, Steve Young and Roger Staubach's creativity, and the Aaron Rogers brainpower to not make really many big mistakes in big games. Yokic has some of Larry Bird's passing, Janice's ball handling, Dirk Novitsky's shooting, he really does if he looked at the postseason numbers, and Tim Duncan's sort of methodical, humble approach.

Now they both run their league. Also, Mahomes has a great coach and a great co-star in Travis Kelsey. The rest of the parts move around. You've got a great coach in Michael Malone and Jamal Murray. Some of these pieces, they're just going to move around. Both also will play a very long time. Mahomes gets rid of the ball quickly, rarely takes big hits. His coach Andy Reid and that O-line protect him.

Yokic similarly very durable. He's not hyper-athletic. Hyper-athletic players like a Westbrook tend to age poorly and quickly. I've always been, if you listen to this show, you know this. I've always been anti-flashy small guard. John Wall, Derek Rose, Jha Morant. You know, they're fun players and they're dynamic players, and the media just falls in love with them.

But they don't make anybody else better. They don't win championships. They're not terribly durable. And the truth is, more than anything, is do they make anybody beyond themselves great? Yokic's durability, his ability to make B players B plus guys, C players, B minus players is really something to behold. And he tends to make, to me, he makes a John Wall or a John Morant or a Trey Young, exciting, gifted, hyper-athletic players.

He makes them feel smaller, kind of less relevant. They're fun, but it's cotton candy. It's not real winning basketball. It's not, you can't trust it durability-wise. They'll get broken down very. quickly. And there's a lot of players in this league. If you start adding up people that didn't have a lot of flash and people got bored with, Kareem, Duncan, Yonis, Yokic, Bill Russell have 24 titles. Those flashy point guards, I just mentioned, have none. Steph Curry is one of the few flashy point

guards that you can build around. They get hurt. They don't last long. They're often about themselves. Now, Steph is unique in that he's become more of a facilitator too, and he also stepped back when KD arrived. But Yokic makes small ball look like it's over, and he makes these flashy, fun, flamboyant young players that are, you know, drive to the basket, crash to the floor, 44 inch vertical. Don't get me wrong. They're fun to watch. They're unique. But are they really that relevant when it comes to, you know, like May and June? You know, it's, even after winning last night. There's just a kind of a humble, gracious, it's all about people beyond me attitude with Yokic that I think is a turn on for a lot of fans. Here was Yokic after. Now you are an NBA champion,

Nicola. How does that feel? It's good. It's good. With the job is down, you can go home now. People say it's kind of a garbage game. It's kind of ugly. But you start looking around this league. is Kareem's game was the skyhook. Right? Like that's what it was. Russell's game was about defense. Like Shaq was wildly fun and powerful. But a lot of our dominating bigs, Tim Duncan,

it was a methodical approach. Kareem rarely hurt. Akeem rarely hurt. There's something to it. It's international. It's highly skilled. You don't get as much ego. I know it's not flashy and fun.

But it does feel like it's sustainable. I don't. I think he's going to age slowly, like Mahomes. He's going to age well. He's going to age slowly. He's got the right coach. He's got the right co-star. The other pieces will move around, right?

You know, Kansas City may move through coordinators. They're going to move through wide receivers, offensive linement. He's got Travis. He's got the GM. He's got the coach and Andy Reid. That feels like to me with Mahomes, Mahomes can be flashy, but in the end, it's his ability to do all the small stuff, not miss the easy stuff. That's what makes Mahomes. With Patrick Mahomes, we always fall for the wild, crazy, left-handed throw. He does one of those a month. The angle,

side throw. He does one of those a game. What Mahomes is really good at, getting to the line, being creative, fundamentally strong, doesn't make mistakes, finds the open guy. That's really what Mahomes is about with a great coach and Travis Kelsey. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So we can now pivot to the Heat, who had an amazing run as the 8th seed, just couldn't get over the hump in the finals against Yokic. I thought it was a close series, but Denver prevails 4 to 1.

So Miami doesn't look great, you know, like they overachieved, and then they ran into the brick wall. Eric Spolstra was very proud of his team's journey. I think this is a team that a lot of people can relate to, if you've ever felt that you were dismissed or felt that you were made to feel less than, but also the way this team handled setbacks and adversity, you know, to develop a collective grit and perseverance that you don't always get what you want. But there's no regrets from our side.

Everybody, staff, player alike in the locker room, put themselves out there and put themselves into the team, whatever was best for the team and the tough pill to swallow is it just wasn't good enough well the other thing is they at least know now what they need they need to get a bucket star they really do and they've got a I mean a Tyler Hero may have helped

but if you look at them Jimmy Butler looked tired Aaron Gordon leaned on him for seven games five games he looked tired. BAM's more of a defensive specialist but a great player and then they got some guys now as you're Caleb Martin you're Tyler Hero So to me, I kept watch. They were one. The guards were one for 10 last night shooting threes.

What they need is pretty clear. They need a third guy. And what they need is available on the market for the right price is Damien Lillard. Right. So that begs the question. I talked about this on my podcast. Is there a ceiling for heat culture? And is heat culture a failure?

Because you have this great culture. You got to the finals twice in four years. But now we're pivoting to talking about needing a star. And I don't know, Colin, where are you on that? Like they got to the finals as overachievers twice in four years. They do not have a ring. But do you want to play that game where if you don't win a ring, your season was useless? No, I mean, unlike the Boston Celtics, I always feel like these guys won with Shaq.

They won with LeBron. Wade. They won with Wade. Like, they've shown the iteration. They can just move off all-time great players. I think this year was, at this point, Playoff run was a little bit. They got some good fortune. It was not a great year, a great coaching year in the Eastern Conference, like Joe Missoula, like takes over a team, wasn't the first

choice, gets injected into the Celtics, a little overwhelmed when he faced Miami. A little bit of a break, Missoula's better next year, maybe the Celtics are. So there were some things that kind of went in their favor. I mean, they just aren't as good as Denver. And it was very obvious. I mean, Denver swept the Lakers, mowed through Minnesota, pretty much put the hammer down. on the suns. I think their culture is great. But having a great culture doesn't mean you win a championship. Having a great culture means you're rarely awful and you rebound quickly from failures. So Miami's got a great culture. They'll rebound very quickly. They'll add a piece. But I do think I think we mistake like we do this in sports sometimes. We think great talent's a great leader.

Jeter was a great leader and talented. Arod was a great talent. I don't know if he was ever a leader for the Yankees. And we confuse great culture with championships. No, like San Antonio had a great culture, but Tim Duncan was great. They don't have a Tim Duncan. They don't have a Steph Curry. We love Butler. But he's not like a beautifully skilled player. He's a grinder. He's a great clutch player. But I thought last, I don't have the last two games. He looked tired. Well, you know, he averaged like 37 a game against the Bucks in the opening round, carried them in that, had the injury against the Knicks, was very, very good against the Celtics,

was the Eastern Conference MVP in the playoffs or whatever. That's worth. But this idea that like, oh, Jimmy Butler, he failed to get in the finals, he's not awesome, he's not better than Kauai Leonard and all this stuff. Like, people seem to be diminishing the value of getting to the finals. Like, do you know how hard that is? 30 teams every year. Miami is built around Butler. Kauai was icing on already made cake.

The Spurs culture was started. The Raptors culture was started. He came in, you know, he comes in, he's icing on the cake. He's get a bucket, get a stop guy. But you can't, the clippers have. shown it. You can't build around Kauai. You can build around Jimmy Butler. Now, he may be your two,

but he's the kind of guy. Like, we say this about Jalen Brunson of the Knicks. You can build around Jalen Brunson. Okay, but I think you and I agree, Butler can be the best player on a championship team, correct. He's got to the finals twice. I don't know. At the best player on a championship team. But in both

in both finals, LeBron A.D., Yokich, Murray. They were heavy underdogs. Well, that's because... Because of the supporting cast. I think, I think, I think, Butler has can be your best player. He can be your best leader, your best defensive player, but he can't be your best shot maker.

But okay, so is Damian Lillard coming in? Let's say he comes in. Is he your best player? He'll be your best score. Damien will lead them in scoring. And then Butler will be your most versatile player and BAM's your best defensive big. That's a championship team with a great coach.

But I think, so here's a great example. Like Jalen Brunson's not a natural one. He should be the second best player on a championship team. but you can build your culture around it too. Yes, you can be, yeah, yeah. Jalen Brunson's absolutely a guy I'd build a culture around. But you probably need a dominant winger beg to give you, like Carl Anthony Towns is more naturally gifted than Jalen Brunson.

And he would probably give you 23 a night. But you wouldn't build around Carl Anthony Towns. When the T-Wolves did, they weren't very good. Like Washington's tried to build around Bradley Beal for a long time. He should. He could go somewhere and be the Jamal Murray to somebody's yogic. I don't know where that is, but like that's the thing we're like. looking at. Next up, Golden State Warriors,

Draymond Green, your buddy, the incident with Jordan. Oh, look at these Jordan Pool moves. Love the highlights. You know, there may be a path forward for Jordan, Poole and Draymond Green. According to the athletic, Poole has not given the organization a him or me ultimatum following the altercation

that happened, what, 10 months ago? Golden State is reportedly working under the assumption that the two can bend fences. Colin, it's sounding more and more like the Warriors are just going to, hey, let's run it back, maybe tweaks around the edges, but We're keeping our core of four or five guys. Don't you agree, though?

The Clay Thompson piece is what I worry about. I don't worry. I mean, if Steph Curry plays 60 games, that's 22 games Jordan Poole starts. And I think we both agree that he is instant offense. Now, he can be immature. He can drive people. If you told me they brought back Steph Poole, Dremon, and then found a big, I'm like, okay, they can buy with Denver. I think I don't have a problem with Poole and Dremont looking.

I love this. Find a big. It's tough. Well, I think Carl Anthony Towns... What's the market for Clay Thompson? Nurchich. Can you go get Nerkich? Can you go get a really smart guy that's around the league for years can play? Can give you 18 points, but he doesn't need the ball a lot.

Not a great defender. He's hurt a lot. Yeah, I know. But he's a guy that I... The Clay Thompson one is difficult. Like, what's the market for a past his prime guy with a couple of major knee surgeries? I was talking... It's coming off from bad postseason. I was talking to a warrior fan about this. If you run a business, you have to pay great money to people who are great now and

for the future. You can't pay based on previous games. Now you'd say to yourself, well, why did you pay Mahomes? You were paying him big. No, no. When you paid him, you knew at that moment he was going to be great now and great going forward. Clay is not great now and he's going to get less great going forward. So I have no problem. Steph Curry is still great and for at least two more years will be great going forward. So that's my that's my issue with Golden State. They want to pay, they may have to pay great money to somebody who's currently not great now and will have a reduction in greatness going forward. So I think they're in a weird spot. It's difficult. And what's, again, what team needs a shooting guard who is like not great anymore? And really,

what you're getting with him is a culture guy. You want in Golden State help lead our young guys, Orlando, wherever, Sacramento, I don't know, help lead our young guys to what it takes to achieve greatness. Like, you know what that takes. I think Clayton. Thompson, if he had a reduced salary, has remarkable value on the market. I think everybody in the league would take. I think the Lakers would take him tomorrow. It's just the number. So you say that about Clay, but you know who made the savvy move was Denver getting

KCP, a veteran, tough guard. By the way, he matched up with Jimmy Butler a lot. KCP's a tough guy. He made a couple big free throws, big steel down the stretch. Like, he's got the winning DNA. Like, that's a huge win. You know what Denver really had in this series? between Aaron Gordon, KCP, and Christian Brown,

three guys who all matched up well on Jimmy Butler. They didn't have anybody that matched up on Yokic. I mean, they literally Denver was built to stop Butler. Aaron Gordon built us to slow LeBron and Kevin Durant. That's right. It didn't stop him. You're not going to. Colin, who out there can find a guy to stop Yokic?

You can't just find one of those dudes. He's unstoppable against Anthony Davis. Yeah. I don't know. All right. Final story, NFL. Aaron Rogers, Tom. Robert Sala has been around many quarterbacks.

Many quarterbacks in his NFL career. He said Rogers is one of a kind. I've never been around a quarterback like that. We've had some good quarterbacks. Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garapolo, Matt Schaub. This is different not to speak poorly on them. So he throws the ball to CJ Uzama and I was like, he's covered. And he says, guys not looking at me.

He's open. It couldn't have gone any better. Robert, can we leave Matt Schaub's name out of the same? sentence. This is honeymoon period. This is like googly eyes. I mean, they're getting Robert This is like a one year anniversary where you're still like loving life. If you've never had an Aaron and he shows up in camp, it's like, yeah, of course. It's, it's a eye candy. It's like, wow, Aaron Rogers throws a beautiful ball. My question is, I think that you and I both ask this. We know, jets are going to be good. They have a good defense. Their defense is going to

give Miami and Buffalo in divisions week O lines trouble. So they match out with teams. They won seven games last year and we're a mess at quarterback. They're going to win nine or ten games. In the AFC, where they can make the playoffs, I don't know, but they're going to be a good team. We know they are. The question's going to be

in that intense bubble of New York when they start three and three with these high expectations because their schedule. Not when. If. Yeah, but that's schedule. And that schedule has a bunch of teams where the quarterback's been there a while. The culture's been built for a while. You're building that puppy

as you go there. They open with Buffalo. There's some news we're working on for the next hour out of Buffalo Bills. Not great happening right now, but just a quick word on Air Rogers. We had some concern. Would he even mix well in New York? We know he's given the comments he's made on podcasts.

He's not really a New York kind of guy. New York a very liberal city. We don't even know if he'd stick around in the summer. He's all over the scene in New York. He's really embracing it. Colin, I didn't expect this. Did you? Did you expect to be hanging out? Go to hockey games and the Tony Award. I've had 20 different opinions on this, so you could take 19 of them.

And, you know, I've had a bunch of different opinions. Having myself moved multiple times, when you move, the way I've always thought is when I leave a place, I want to get better at my weakness. So like when I left an ESPN and I come here, I'm like, what wasn't I good at there? Was I a good enough teammate or something? So Aaron was prickly with the media. He's made a point to be very open. with the media. The second thing is he had a knock he wasn't great with young players.

What has he been in New York? Great. Complementing young players. So I think Aaron's smart enough to go, hey, listen, I got a little prickly at the end. What are one or two things where I just have to be better? There's no reason to be taunting New York media. They're big, they're loud, they're powerful. Don't taunt them. Get on the good side. So far. Via Parcells, a Joe Tori, a Jeter. You want to be on the good side of the New York media. First impressions matter. and his first impression now. Two ways to write the same column. Be on the good side.

The second thing is he was kind of disengaged with some of the young players. He's very engaged with the young players. So I think Aaron's looked at it. And in my life experience, when I've left, I've said, you know, what could I get better at? You know, what do I? And I think every, I don't think I'm unique.

I think everybody does that when you take a new job. Hey, you know, I got a little sloppy on the details here. Oh, I was a little casual, indifferent on this. So I think Aaron's kind of correcting it's in him. him. He's capable of it. So I'm not shocked by it. But it's encouraging. It's the fun errand. Encouraging. Well, nobody wants to listen to somebody talk about retirement constantly. Like Brady, I've never retire, never retire, never retire. I retire. Does it feel like he got out of an ugly marriage and now he's rebounding and he's on the scene and like meeting new people?

No, it sounds like it was two ships passing in the night that, you know, he in the front office didn't see to eye. He'd done it. He won. He was successful. Aaron just wanted something new. So maybe instead of sticking around Green Bay, he did the right thing. He's like, you know what? I need a new start. I need a fresh outlook, different perspective. I need to change things up. Yeah. It's fun. So far. So far. Yeah. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. There's nothing wrong staying in a job for 30 years. Most of our parents did that. Our grandparents almost all did that. But when you bounce around and you see it a lot. Generally,

quarterbacks in their prime and basketball players in their prime don't bounce around as much as you think, especially quarterbacks. Like Mahomes, they're not letting Mahomes go until maybe, you know, seven years from now. He's a couple injuries banged up. They've got several Super Bowls and he gets super, super, super hyper expensive maybe. But in the end, you know, Aaron has moved out, I think, of his prime. I think he's got a couple of high end years left. But you're going to get the better Aaron. He's going to course correct a little bit. And I think It's fun. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, this is Tom Verducci from Fox Sports, MLB Network and Sports Illustrated. And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around to talk a little bit about managerial decisions and what may have occurred into the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. It's the Book of Joe podcast. I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball. Cars, whined, whatever else we want to talk about. Yeah, well, there are no boundaries, right?

Listen to the Booker Joe podcast on the IHeart radio app, on 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 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, competition. 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 Clivert Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what?

went down and tried 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 all 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, so. They're 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. This weekend, it's the final push for the U.S.FL playoffs. First Saturday at 4, Eastern on Fox. Birmingham takes on Memphis. Then Sunday at 4, New Orleans battles Houston on FS1. Followed by Philly taking on Michigan at 7 on Fox.

Catch all the action this weekend on Fox and FS1. So what do you do with the Miami Heat? The perfect fit is Damian Lillard of the Blazers. Damian Lillard has said the one place it works. He's good friends with Bam out of Bayou. The bottom line is, I mean, a great moment last night that tells you where Miami is. It was late fourth quarter. They desperately needed a basket.

They gave the ball to 37-year-old Kyle Lowry and said, go cook. And he got hammered by Aaron Gordon. They just, they don't, they're not dynamic enough is bad. So their starting back court was one for 10. And Jimmy Butler's now gone to a couple of finals, and he looks gassed at the end because he's kind of like their go-to offensive score. You cross your fingers on Caleb Martin is bam hot tonight. He needs help bad. So, I mean, that's Steph Curry always had somebody.

LeBron always had somebody else. It could be a D-Waid. It could be a Bosch. LeBron's always had somebody else who is a consistent elite score. And then multiple role players on his championship teams, a KCP. a J.R. Smith, a Ray Allen, somebody else that could get a bucket or get hot and end up with 20. Butler just needs more help. And they got a hole and there's a guy to fix it. Now, the other thing for Portland is, I mean, listen, it's been great.

But I think it's a win for Dame because he can finally vie for a championship. And I think joining Miami makes them a championship level team. I think Boston, I think we know what Boston is. I don't think there's another level for Boston. Miami beat Boston, and I think they have another level. Dame would take you to another level. I think we've seen what Boston is. Miami, Milwaukee, excuse me, is going to reboot.

Philadelphia is going to make some moves. I think everybody in the East next year, the Knicks, they'll all get better. I don't think Boston will. I think Boston is what they are. I think we know exactly what all their players are. Horford's old. Robert Williams, a defensive guy. Market Smart's 11 a game, good defense.

Jalen Brown and Tatum, don't work. perfectly together, but they work. And Joe Mazzul is fine, but not special as a coach. I know exactly what Boston is. I know what Miami is too, but they would be significantly better with an elite score. And the other thing, and this is why I've said, you think it's crazy that if you brought somebody like Jordan Pool to a Boston, it means Jason Tatum wouldn't be relied on in these big spots and would have more gas at the end of a series. When you watch Jimmy Butler, he can do it in the first round or two. He can do it for several games. Last three games, he's disappeared. He's just tired. He's got big guys leaning on him. So I think this one works.

I think Portland has the number three pick. That's probably going to be Scoot Henderson, who is their next great guard. They've also got some other good young players. They can maybe get a Tyler Hero, get a bunch of draft picks, and Portland can reboot. I mean, now they're just, Nerkitz gets hurt too much. Dame is small and hurt. Like, it's time for a reboot in Portland. And Dame's one of those personalities. Smart guy gets it. Been around the league. He'll fit in anywhere. Plays hard. Plays as often as he's played hurt for years. Sometimes he's hurt and still plays. So I think this is the perfect combination. Eric Spolstra on the heat coming up short. We ran it up against a team that was just better than us in this series.

And you have to tip your hat to them. I said it, but they're, one hell of a basketball team. They play the right way. They compete. They're well-coached. And they have a strong culture. For the record, that game last night was all tied up late. Put Dame on that team. Potential different outcome.

Because Denver, I think you'd admit to this, J-MAC, Denver was tight. They couldn't hit free throws. They couldn't hit three. They were tight. I think they started one for 16 from three, the worst half, I believe, in NBA finalists. Yeah, they probably played their worst half. They played a great defensive fourth quarter, but they were tight.

Put Dame on Miami last night. They win that game. We'd go back to Miami. And by the way, as we're all talking about where Jimmy Butler go, it wouldn't be a conversation. You wouldn't be looking for Jimmy Butler every time down the floor. You'd have Dame. Dane would be your leading score. Butler would probably be your best overall two-way player.

Bam could be your third score. By the way, if you kept Tyler Hero, just kept him and moved other pieces, he's your fourth. That's a championship team. So did you see Butler, drove late in the game. I think they were down one or two and kicked to the corner and it's Max Struth jacking a corner three with the NBA finals on the line. That's right. You want that to be Damien Liller. I would take a 30-foot Damien Liller shot over Max Truce from anywhere. You know, I mean, outside of Steph, could you not argue Steph and Luca, Dame's the best

shot maker in the league. If you needed a jumper, Steph... I believe he is won. He's had two walk-off three-pointers in playoff history. Nobody's ever done that. Like won a series with a shot. He He did that twice. Yeah. He's clutch. Yeah. I like Damien Liller. So I was watching that game late and I was thinking to myself, if Dames on the floor,

Denver doesn't get away with playing that poorly. How about James Hardin in the heat culture? Would that work? Oh, God, no. Hardin? Oh, no. God no. He's not willing to defend.

He's the opposite of the heat. Heat culture would clean his act up finally. No, no. You're trying to solve a problem. It's too late. It doesn't want to be solved. Yeah, I mean, Dame is small, but he doesn't lack effort on the defensive end. Dame plays hurt.

Dame's been, Dame's flaws he works through. Like Hardin's flaws, he has no interest getting better at. He's not going to defend. So I think Dame is an exceptional guy, an exceptional player. And again, veteran smart, been there. Everybody would be on the same page. Dame, we need two great years. And he would absolutely provide him.

You know, Dame is athletic, but he doesn't have like, he's athletic. But his games, it's a shooting game. He's a shooter. He's going to age fine. Dame Elaine, Dame will be able to shoot when he's 50. All right, hour two around the corner. Joel Clatt, Nick Wright, both stop by today. They're heard.

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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 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. 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfields,

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 podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.