The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Nuggets are on the brink

Episode Date: June 12, 2023

Colin looks ahead to game 5 of the NBA Finals with the Nuggets on the brink of winning their first championship Possible good spots for Chris Paul. The Warriors and Lakers are not good fitsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. You have lots of choices out there one hour from now, as is customary on Monday, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Plenty of both as we get set for the Denver Nuggets to wrap up the season. They are bigger, longer, better. equally smartly coached. J-MAC, we both kind of felt this was going to happen. It's been a little quicker and more dominating perhaps. Jimmy Buckets has disappeared a little bit. Stop it. Don't go after Jimmy

Butler. He can't carry the entire team against the best team in the NBA. But I'm looking forward to you banging on the other New York football team. Very excited for that. Let's start with this. So 16 teams made the playoffs. One, the Denver Nuggets have mowed through everybody. The other 15 lost or have struggled. Denver hasn't. Swept the Lakers, rolled through the suns, humiliated Minnesota, and are hammering Miami. They are the best team. One team of 16 has rolled through it, from IQ to coaching, to versatility, to length, to scoring, to rebound. They're just the best team. Shooting, selflessness. It doesn't matter. They're special.

Basketball, those, a very hard game to officiate. It's a series of pass interference calls for two and a half hours. Big bodies moving quickly, trying to initiate contact, flopping thrown in to add a degree of difficulty. You could call a foul on every play. That's why the NBA more than any other sport, it's hard to officiate. You always hear that, ah, the league is rigged. The league is rigged. So I went back 50 years to 1963.

I think I had to go to 66 with the NFL. How many champions have there been in every sport? And you know what you find? It's all about the same. College football and college basketball, college sports built for dynasties. Both have 24. Isn't that something in 50 years? Baseball 23, hockey 20, NFL 20, and the NBA, Denver would be the 18th.

The only reason the NBA is just slightly lower is because I started in 1963, and that was in the middle of the longest running dynasty in the history of American professional sports, the Boston Celtics. If I had started earlier a few years, they'd be at 22, 23 like everybody else. A lot of those teams have now disappeared in the NBA. The reality is the best team wins in every sport. Every sport also, between the Yankees or the Lakers or Alabama football or Duke or Carolina basketball, every sport also has one or two franchises or teams that have more championships

based on a legendary coach or some geographical advantage or financial. edge or marketing edge. Los Angeles, for instance, in the NBA with the Lakers. It's a winter league. They play in Los Angeles. Nice weather. Entertainment Capital for a league that's star-driven. You get it. But don't kid yourself on Denver. They're just fantastic. Guys like Aaron Gordon are averaging 17 and a half point and he's a defensive stopper. He's got an Andrew Wiggins Warriors field. We'll get into that later. Their top five players are all in their prime, very scary for the rest of basketball. They're going nowhere.

Nothing is rigged. Hate to break it to you. If it was, the Celtics would make it, and so would the Lakers. Denver has rolled. The only team they have rolled through the NBA playoffs, and they're mowing over Miami, and they also have an element of maturity and coaching in Michael Malone, who said his only fear tonight is apathy.

My biggest concern going into any class, close that game is human nature and fighting against that. You know, you're up 3-1. And, you know, there's, most teams when you're up 3-1, they come up for air, they relax. And they just kind of take it for granted that, oh, we're going to win this. Our approach has to be that we're down 3-1. You know, they're desperate. We have to be more desperate. They're hungry. We have to be hungrier. That's what great teams worry about overconfidence. Miami's not worried about that. They're getting squished. That's what the Shaq and Kobe Phil Jackson Lakers worried about. Overconfidence. Being dialed in tonight. Denver is significantly better this

year than the regular rest of the NBA. They were a number one seed. They were so locked in and so much better, they basically took the last two weeks of the regular season off. Yokic missed five of the last seven games. They just sat him. Otherwise, they'd probably have the first or second best record in the NBA. Make no mistake, the better teams the Denver Nuggets. So Sequin Barkley is not the best running back in the NFL, but he may be the most valuable because the owner of the New York Giants forced his GM and his head coach to saddle up to Daniel Jones at a financial number, $40 million a year, I could argue, is almost double

his value. They negotiated against themselves. nobody else would have signed Daniel Jones to anything resembling that contract. So Sequin Barclay's not the best back, but what is Daniel Jones without him? With him, he's mediocre and overpaid. So let's look at Seyquin Barclay's career. He's the number two pick, comes into the NFL and has his best year. 2,000 yards, led the NFL, he was fantastic.

Year two, he was very good, but he missed some games. Year three, he's injured, barely played. Year four, he came back too early, missed more games below average season. Last year, year, year, arguably a second best year, very strong. 1600 yards, 10 TDs. So the Giants rightly and predictably franchise tagged him. That's what any good GM would do. He's had one amazing year, two very strong years,

an injured year, a me year when he came back too soon, and he's missed 21 starts. That's a lot. That's a lot. 21 starts. He's missed those due to injury. May I missed another one just to sit out again. He should be franchise tag. That's why everybody collectively bargained for it.

But the franchise tag would pam a number, $10 million a year that would indicate he's the seventh best running back in the NFL. I think he's closer to four or five, but it's close. The Giants issue, though, and this happens throughout the league and fans, I don't think, recognize it. Owners, Cleveland has one, Dallas has one. The Giants apparently have one, though I never thought the Mara family were really in that class.

They want to see Daniel Jones work. They see some Eli Manning, Southern kid kind of looks similar, same size, more athletic than Eli, maybe not the arm of Eli, but they kind of, they don't want chaos anymore. It's a very blue blood franchise. They don't like chaos. Let the jets have chaos. The lions have chaos. Washington have chaos.

Raiders have chaos. Giants don't like it. They want their quarterback. And so they negotiated against themselves. And that's always bad in any business negotiating against yourself and they massively overpaid for it. And now it makes Saquan Barkley a very, very good back. the back with the most leverage in the entire NFL.

Because the offensive line is average to below average. The receiving core is a nothing burger. So there you are. I like Sequin. I think he's really good. I'd love to have him on my team. But I would have franchise tagged him. Every GM would have franchise tagged him.

But they should have franchise tagged Daniel Jones. Instead, they're trapped. Here's Seekwan Barclay talking about, he's not going to camp, talking about his current situation. It's misleading for sure. I think I've came out and said that I want to be a John for life. I came on and said that I'm not trying to reset the running back market. So for those reports to come out and try to make me look like greedy or whatever,

I just, that's not even close to being the truth. This is where I want to be. And at the end of the day, it's all about something that respectable. by respect. And that's, that's really what it is. He's been paid fairly. He was a number two pick. He's had a great year, two strong ones, a meh, and an injured year. He should be franchise tag. But when the owners swoop in, and they know business and they know wealth, they're billionaires, but they don't know football, you get trapped. Where you don't want to be in the NFL is trapped. You don't have to be great at something. The Houston Texans, they went and got a quarter of

Carolina went and got a quarterback. They're not trapped. They're actually in better quarterback spots. They could move off a C.J. Stroud. They can move off of Bryce Young after a year or two. They're not paying him anything. But by paying Daniel Jones what they did, and I don't deeply believe the GM would have, this is where we are.

Like Sequin, but any reasonable GM would have franchise tagged him. A long-term contract with a player with an injury history at a position with an injury issue, is not a good place to be. Jemak, we're talking about the Jets today in the first hour. Very good news for the Jets. Not so good for the Giants. Listen, we have been agreeing a lot lately on this show, but I couldn't agree with you more on the Saquan Barkley-Dainiel Jones disaster for the New York Giants.

This Daniel Jones thing, you just have to wonder how far the ramifications will be, coach, offensive coordinator, rest of the team. Like, it does not look good right now for the Giants. But Sequon acquitted himself very well. in that interview. I watched all the clips. He said a lot of the right things. Very few running backs have leverage. Sequan's not just negotiating

for himself, but for other running backs right now in the league, because that's a position you have very little leverage. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics

where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. I'm gonna 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, 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It is great to have you back in on a moment. Monday. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. You watched the Canadian Open. Canadian won the Canadian Open. I watched the last hour of it. Very exciting. Jim Nance was very

excited. A lot of stuff this weekend. Watch some Yankees Red Sox yesterday, a lot of documentaries. Canadian Open sounds riveting. How was it? The crowd was nuts. Wow. What sport is that by the tennis? It's golf. Oh, golf. Okay. I knew that. I was joking. It was a nice weekend. There were a lot of nice stories. No story is nicer right now than the nice Aaron Rogers. This is the most engaged. It's the happiest. We've heard Aaron, a little predictable. We kind of thought it'd be a new Aaron, new job, new relationship. Listen to him talk about OTAs. The on the field stuff was really important as we start to work through some of the adjustments and signals and just kind of being the other voice in the room with Hack in the installs and in the QB room.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun, actually. The last six weeks have been about the most fun I've had in a while. So it's fun to come to work and be excited about what we're doing. The last time Aaron Rogers was this motivated, were those two years after the Packers moved up to draft Jordan Love. What followed over the following two years after that, Aaron had 85 touchdowns and 9 picks, a passer rating close to 70%.

Passer rating 116 completion percentage 69%. Motivated Aaron. Insane Aaron. There are athletes out there, not many, the Cobees, the Mahomes, LeBron's, and Brady pre-post during, they're motivated. They're self-motivated. They don't need anything. Peyton Manning was like that. They're just born to compete.

They roll out of bed. The second they just want a title, they want a second, third, and fourth. Aaron is uniquely talented. As talented, I would argue, as any of those previously mentioned athletes. The difference is, how do you harness the horsepower with Aaron? He may need a push. I also believe my theory through the years. I call it the Green Bay quarterback theory.

It's the only franchise in pro sports with no owner, and it's the smallest American town with a pro franchise. When you combine those two, it manifests itself. Farr, Aaron Rogers, were the most powerful people, not football players, They were most powerful people in sports. No owner to call them out. You have the Green Bay, small town market media kind of in your pocket. It's easy to get fat.

It's easy to be unmotivated. You wake up running the franchise. Even Brady had to answer to Robert Kraft. Even LeBron has to answer to Jeannie Bus. The reality, though, is New York humbles you, challenges you, and will call you out. And so it's a little bit of a jet fuel, a little bit of a little bit of a jet fuel, a little bit the Red Bull for Aaron Rogers, and we've seen it before. And I also like this. He's going to the same franchise that Farve did. He can be the better quarterback from Green Bay to do that,

solidifying himself as the best Packer quarterback ever. Also, when Farv left, the Packers briefly dipped, but went back to remain viable. If Jordan loves not the guy and Aaron crushes in New York, it's two more notches in his I'm Better than Brett Farve. belt. Legacy matters to everybody. Matters to Brady. It matters to Peyton. It matters to Aaron. If Jordan Love doesn't sizzle and Aaron does and Fav didn't with the Jets, he wins there as well. And we have a history of Midwestern stars who are legendary, Big Poppy, Kevin Garnett, Peyton Manning, LeBron, Kareem. They're legendary, but because they're in the Midwest, they're not on the coasts.

They're not near big cities. They don't get the love. But when they go to the Red Sox or they go to the Lakers or they go to the Miami Heat, they take over sports. We finally pay that coastal attention to Big Poppy that he didn't get in Minnesota. So I tend to think the happy errand, the energized errand is going to be really special. I don't think they have a great old line, although it was injury plague last year. I don't think they have a loaded receiving core, although it's certainly solid, much better than the crosstown giants.

But good times for the jets. Good Aaron Rogers, energized focused, challenged Aaron Rogers is the best Aaron Rogers, J. Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. It's like when Tom Brady went to Tampa very motivated, kind of sputtered out of the gate, finished strong, won a Super Bowl. their schedule's tough early it is but it's not like you know the one thing they have

going for them the jets have going for them in their division one of the things is so much about the NFL is how do you match it with divisional foes the bill's weakness they're o line the dolphins weakness they're O line the Jets strength their D line that's why last year even with subpar

quarterback play the Jets match up very well with the bills and so that's a huge advantage advantage. It's why, by the way, San Francisco has given the Rams fit because their D-lines their strength and the O-line as Andrew Whitworth age was the Rams' weakness. And even McVey and Stafford and Cooper Cup and Darnold, it's hard to overcome. So the Jets personnel in that division is a handful for the Bills and Miami Dolphins. That's four of their games right there. You didn't even mention the Patriots who are working on a weakness. We'll get you here in about three minutes. First up, No room for error for the Miami Heat down 3-1 to the Nuggets.

It feels over spread approaching double digits. Game 5 obviously must win for Miami tonight. Eric's Bolstra, he's confident as ever somehow. Love playing in these kind of environments, you know, where the crowd's going to be great, you know, tomorrow. Everybody's counting us out. We're used to that. But ultimately it has to be decided between those four lines. The crowd's not going to decide it.

The narratives aren't going to decide it. Whatever the analytics are about 3-1, that ain't going to decide it. It's going to be decided. Between those four lines, whose game can get to whose game and ultimately win at the end. That's what our guys love. That's what we're looking forward to it. Yeah, love Spolstra. I hope he's got something more motivational than that.

Well, Aaron Gordon on Jimmy Butler has been a real. neutralizer to Jimmy Butler's game. We both love Butler. He's not a natural effortless score. He grind for those points. And he was putting up 38, 39, you know, 28, 29, 28, 29, big numbers. Gordon's size and length and youth.

Christian Brown, you can throw him on Butler. Like, they've got a little bit of a secret sauce against Miami's star player. Well, again, Miami did a good job in game four shutting down Jamal Marie. He was five of 17 had like 15 points. Yokic only had 23 points. and four assists. Those aren't great numbers.

They shut down the stars. Then Aaron Gordon has 27 and Bruce Brown's got 21. I mean, Miami's starting guards got benched for the fourth quarter. And I think Struc and Vincent combined to shoot 0-4-7 on threes. We've talked about this for years. If you go look at Super Bowl champions or World Series champions,

hockey, Stanley Cup winners, NBA champions, a lot of the best teams have like their four to five best players in their prime. Gordon Prime, Porter, Prime, Bruce Brown, prime, Yokage Prime, Murray Prime. Like their five best guys

are all in their athletic prime, meaning when they get dinged up, they return faster. You know what I mean? Like when you bang knees, you're back the next game. Like being in your prime, 26 to 31, I mean, you can just see. Denver

has mowed through the West and they look as fresh. You don't even notice it. Miami looks tired. Miami looks like they've had to go longer in series. When you fly through the playoffs and you eliminate teams, how fresh does Denver walk? Yeah, I think, what do they have, four losses in the playoffs? So if they win the title tonight, they will be 16 and 4. Like, that's pretty damn good over the last like 25 years.

I'm not saying they're like a generational team, but Colin, 16 and 4? Like the Warriors team with Curry and Durant, they were 16 and 1. Well, they also... The Shaq Kobe was 15 and 1, but four losses in... And they're close. Yeah. I think one was an overtime loss. No, I mean, if you look at everybody, I mean, even Boston got eliminated, Miami had to go seven games. Every single team in the playoffs of the 16, 15 to 16, either lost or had to go six, seven games. It was taxed physically.

Denver has rolled through the playoffs. This isn't even an argument. They're like easily the best team this year. When were you a firm believer? Was it the sweep of the Lakers? Yeah, I mean, I step. all regular season. I don't know. You know, they reminded me of the early kings,

the Nash Sons, OK, K, I know they're talented. But, like, they didn't have the best record in the league. You don't watch them a lot because they're in the Rocky Mountain. We all knew Yokic. I argued he should be MVP. Jamal Murray that you loved, I was like, just let me wait and see for playoff,

Jamal Murray. Murray now is like a, he's a playmaker, he's not just a score. Like, he's elevated above Devin Booker because of his playmaking. I didn't think that was part of his game. He's had double-digit assists, I think, in every game in the series. 10 plus. It's never happened before. Let me see you do that.

For a guy in his first finals, I don't think it's ever happened before. Now, this is going to sound a little while, but I'm just telling you, I have been a Murray guy for a long time. You had an Alconvert. You have been. The other guy I like, Zach Levine. Now, he's a one, and he ain't the dude. You make him a two in the Murray role with next to say, Joel Embed, or another really, really good player. And I think you can pop.

And again, Anthony Davis was a one in New Orleans. Doesn't work. you're the two behind LeBron for a while. Oh, geez, Anthony Davis looks awesome. This whole one-two thing, there's something there. No, we've said this before. It's really hard to find a one. Some franchises have won their entire franchise.

Lakers have had maybe five or six. I think the Knicks now have found their one. They're a facilitator of their quarterback, Jalen Brunson. He may not be a dominant one, but he's a one. His leadership is intelligence the way he plays scores. Finding the two, as Luca has found out, is hard. Oh, that's a good one. Because it's somebody that's almost as talented, but is more selfless.

So for Jamal Murray to be like, yeah, I'm not Yokic. That's why I always said with Mello. Mello was a one, but no two could work with him. Right. Right? Because he got threatened by Jeremy Lynn. So like Pippen, Mikhail, Tony Parker, they're almost as, you know, I mean, they're, they're Hall of Famers.

So to find a two, like Jamal Murray, they're a Hall of Fameer. He's a Hall of Fame talent. And to be able to say in big moments, I'm going to pull back. That is as hard as finding your one. Damian Lillard's been a one in Portland. Yeah. Maxed out. Damian Lillard is a two in, say, Philly or somewhere, I think is potential to be like a

Jamal Murray, like just not unstoppable, but just like, wow, this is a title contender instantly. Oh, I think if you put Dame on Miami, Philadelphia. I don't think Philadelphia is the perfect fit. I think Miami's the, what does Miami need? an elite star scoring. Not like an undrafted guy who may or may not show. Yeah, Bam's a defensive guy mostly.

Butler's a defensive guy. They need a guy that is all off. Dame is instant offense. He's a little bit of a defensive liability, but you have a rim protector in Bam. You have a wing protector in Butler. That's why... Caleb Martin can be like your Agu Dala,

like a defender wing. So it's like Dame in my... When I watch Miami, I'm saying to myself, they just need another guy to give him 22 a night, 24 a night. They need dame. Next up, NFL story. So D'Andre Hopkins, over the weekend, visited the Titans.

And now he is going to check out the New England Patriots. They are desperate for help on the outside. I don't know. Can you say they haven't had a star receiver since Randy Moss? I mean, you know, they've had good, really good players. Edelman was certainly a playoff star. Edelman was certainly a playoff star. Like a slot guy who was a star.

I mean, you could be a slot guy, but Hopkins is like on the outside. You need your number one cornerback. And if he goes to New England, now Juju falls back into like a secondary role. And then the rookie last year becomes your three, the Speed Kid. I forgot his name on. Yeah, he's young kid, speed kid, Tyquan Thornton. So if he becomes your three, okay, that's a real wide receiving course. So I actually think free agent wide receivers are always iffy.

I would rather draft and develop mine. If he goes to New England, that division is a handful. because now Mac Jones has a real offensive coordinator. I never worry about their O-Liner run game. They run. I never worry about their defense or special teams. They are just, they don't have the perimeter pop offensively. This is a, I mean, if you're talking about who needs him, the two teams that need DeAndre

Hopkins, the Titans and the Patriots. Yeah. They're just not, you don't, I don't view them as playoff personnel teams. Like they need a pop. They need a guy. Yeah. So, I mean, DeAndre. Juju. That would be big.

You know, Matt Jones is behind the scene. Has to be lobbying. You know, when he's looking at the receiver. Oh, my God. Remember, they couldn't get separation? I forgot who had it, but they had the least amount of separation. And Juju's not a separation guy either. He's productive. This, to me, Tennessee and New England, you got to bring out, it's a recruiting visit. You got to bring out everything.

Interesting. We're now into the second week in June, and still nothing on the front of Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, H. They're all running backs. Okay, so ask yourself this. You know what I'm doing. I want you. If you were DeAndre Hopkins, who would you choose?

Well, I don't think the Patriots are contender, so I would not be going there. But I don't know what his financial situation is like. No, I'm talking about between Tennessee and New England, you have to make a choice. Those are the two that fit. I would choose New England. Why?

Is Matt Jones better than Ryan Ten Hill? He's cheaper. Makes us more viable. I think you're trapped with. with Tanna Hill and Henry in Hill's contract. But that division, even with Hopkins, they're still the fourth best team in the division. Tennessee gets Hopkins.

They're behind Jacksonville, right? I think you've got a legitimate shot at a wild card. It's a tall order in New England. I don't know. Mac Jones doesn't cost anything. Super accurate. I feel like with Tanna Hill's contract, I feel like we're a bit limited on what we can bring in.

I got to be honest. I'm surprised the Bears had not put in a call. They already have their guys now. They got Mooney. DJ Moore and Claypool and two really nice tight ends. Chicago's fine at receiver. O-line. All right, final story.

Birmingham Stallions are in a great position to defend their U.S.FL title. They crushed the Houston Gambler Sunday 3815, secured their first playoff birth of the season in the league. The final games with the regular season are next weekend, but the playoffs are basically start now because every other team still has a chance to get into the postseason. We've got a dynasty brewing in the USFL, Colin. Birmingham Stallions. Well, Alabama does pretty well. Look at that cough up. Geez.

Just handed it over to him. It's a little Florida state look to it, doesn't it? It does. Football, it feels like football back at USFL, yeah. This weekend in L.A. was cool and crisp. Went out for a long walk. No treadmill for you, huh? Oh, I did that too.

But I was moving this weekend. Let me tell you something. Football, you can kind of. L.A. by the way, for those. the uninitiated here that don't live in Los Angeles. We no longer have sun ever. What's going on? We got a little sun yesterday, a little peek-a-boo action?

I didn't see any. None? No, we get no sun where I live. No. It's over. Maybe you need to move. You know what? If you can trade Seattle's taxes for L.A., it would be a whole thing.

I did go to Seattle once, and I love the mountains and then the coast. Because I'm like an ocean or a city guy. I'm not really a suburbs. I don't think I'm built for the suburbs. It's too much spice. You live in the suburbs. I consider myself a beach guy. I do not live in the suburbs.

I don't think I can do that. I did the suburbs in Pennsylvania. It's all right. Yeah. All right. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd lie news. Colin right, Colin wrong. DeAndre Hopkins absolutely feels like could win a game for New England or Tennessee. Like that is a free agent acquisition. You're like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can see D. Hop winning a game or two. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. What do you get when you combine a three-time manager of the year

at a three-time national sports writer of the year? It's the Book of Joe podcast. 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, playoff games, and what may have occurred to the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. 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.

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 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, Cliver 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, 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 better. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday on Fox, baseball's most iconic rivalry takes center stage as the Yankees battle. Rafael Devers and the Red Sox or the Rays take on the Padres.

Catch it all next Saturday at 70s, turn on Fox. Check for the game in your area. One of the reasons I believe that even though the NFL only recruits or drafts its players domestically, basketball is a global sport, but why is the NBA draft so quick and why are there so many busts? Half the NFL is undrafted because the football culture, in my opinion, in America, is superior to the basketball culture in developing successful athletes. You have to go to college for three years minimum. You hang out with other people.

You are coached hard. The basketball culture in America is spot talent and get it paid immediately and everybody gravy trains off it. So what you get is a draft that any year can give you about four really good players. Other guys would have been successful, but we rush teenagers to carry a crappy franchise. So one of the key pieces in last year's playoff championship for the Warriors, if you remember, was Andrew Wiggins.

So Wiggins comes in, number one pick comes into the league. Bad team, bad culture, no defined role, just get a bunch of points. And he largely disappears and is seen as a semi-bust in Minnesota. And then a really good coach and a really good culture. The Warriors go, okay, let's bring him over to us. You can be our number three. You're twitchy and athletic and vertical. Be our elite defender.

We'll get your points when we get him. Be about defense. But he was a smart player. He was no longer a teenager. He was hungry because he'd been beaten up and misused in Minnesota. And Wiggins comes to the Warriors and he's everything. they needed. Put them on Jason Tatum. They don't win that championship without Andrew Wiggins, which is why as they reboot their roster, they don't want to give him up. The Warriors didn't

ask a teenager to lead the franchise. That's why so many of the warrior players, Steph Curry went to college for several years. Dremont Green went to college for four years. Clay Thompson went to college for multiple years. They come into the league. You're not rushed to carry the franchise. So this is Aaron Gordon. Aaron Gordon comes out of college. He's the number four pick. He goes to Orlando. Bad franchise.

No defined role. You need to be a teenager and lead the franchise. It's just asking too much of a talented kid. So then a really good culture, a fledgling culture, Denver says, we got a star player and a number two. Come over here. Be a great teammate. Define role. be a stopper. He's got all these, you know, length, size, toughness. I mean, he's really a handful.

And if you go look at what he's done the last couple of years, he's a stopper. You can put him on a LeBron. You can put him on a Paul George, a Kauai. You can put him on any great wing player, and they shrink. If you go look at in this, he's scoring now more points with Denver on fewer shots because they defined his role. So if you go look, at Jimmy Butler in the playoffs. He was lighting everybody up. Right now, Jimmy Butler is making him much less viable. And Aaron Gordon's also giving you in these finals 16 and a half points, seven and a half rebounds, and he is hands down the best defender right now in the finals. So it's another example, Andrew Wiggins and Aaron Gordon, top five picks, wildly done,

dynamic athletes, very good on the defensive end, come into the league young, bad franchises, chaos, don't know how to define their role. Finally, smart teams say, this guy was a number one pick for a reason. This guy was a number four pick for a reason. Let's give him a defined role. We've already got our star in San Francisco in Curry. We've already got our star in Yokic. Here's what we're going to ask you to do with all these physical gifts.

Andrew Wiggins, Aaron Gordon, and it's been a complete home run. He's shrinking everybody in the West, and now Jimmy Butler, his length, his size, he talked about it. I felt like I was going to be a defender for this team, you know, a defenseman for this team. I knew they could score. I like to play defense. That's my niche. That's how I came into the league. defensive-minded.

As far as the offensive side, it was just, you know, get in where I fit in. Find cuts, find openings, find transition buckets, you know, try and get easy ones, and then just, yeah, really just get in where I fit in. He certainly does. I think he's been a key to this series, and if they had an award for teammate of the year, Wiggins would have been it last year. for the Warriors. Aaron Gordon would be it this year. Fit is really, really important. As good as Patrick Mahomes is, you give him a defensive coach, you give him a bad GM, they couldn't reboot their

own line and receiving core like they do now. Part of Mahomes's success is when he was young and raw, he entered a winning culture and a smart organization that was patient with him. He didn't even have to play much his first year. In fact, he started his last game. You put him in a lousy culture with a defensive coach. They're starting in week one. Bad O'line, he's getting crushed, losing confidence, flailing, playing hero ball. I'm not saying Mahomes wouldn't have been successful. But Brady, don't kid yourself.

Dante Scarnacia, Belichick, Kraft are a big part of his success. By the time Tom got really great, he already had multiple rings and confidence. I saw this story. You know, I understand players wanting to make money. Like, I get it. I don't begrudge that. At some point, what you don't want to be is in the conversation of, yeah, he's one of the best players to never win a title.

Carl Malone, Dan Marina, you just don't talk about him. Now, Charles Barkley's also in that class, but he's so profoundly dynamic on television, we talk about him. But Chris Paul has now made $360 million or close to it just in NBA contracts. He also, we looked it up, makes about $5 million per year on state farm commercials, and some between five, six, and eight million dollars a year with a Jordan brand. Money's not his issue. He is becoming best NBA player to never win a ring.

He's in that Malone category right now. So I am all for guys getting theirs, but the Warriors, that's the story this morning. Woj reports it. Chris Paul linked to the Warriors. Yeah, that's what they need to get smaller and older. He doesn't fit there. good maybe for the brand. You'll get into the playoffs. Your shoes will sell more. I also see Chris Paul to the Lakers. Yeah, that's what they need. Old and brittle. They've already got Austin

Reeves and LeBron to wrong the offense. Now, I know, I know, I know. I hear this with both the Warriors and the Lakers. Hey, you can steal him. So what? He'd still need minutes. You'd still be building your offense to some degree around him. It's great that you can get stuff at value. If you can get a car at value, what's it matter if you don't have space in your garage? Like, what's the point of the value? He doesn't fit the Warriors. It's a brand play. He doesn't fit the Lakers.

The Warriors have facilitators. The Warriors have scores. What they don't have is youth and size. Twitchy athletes, people that can score down low. The Lakers, Austin Reeves initiates offense and contact and free throws. So does LeBron James. They may even. keep Dilo. They don't need somebody to facilitate offense that's old and at this point

can't defend. Can't give you big minutes. Like Chris Paul, do you want to be in that conversation of best guy who could never win a title? I think there's a way to come back to Phoenix, take a discount. I kind of like that. Get them some bench help. I think that works. But the teams I'm hearing for Chris Paul this morning feel like brand plays to get you on TV and get discussed. They don't feel like fits. and I think as you age, there are fewer and fewer and fewer places in any industry that you fit, unless you take a drastic pay cut. But this idea that, hey, just bring him to the Lakers, he'll be cheap. He's going to take somebody's minutes.

He's going to be taking Austin Reeves minutes. You can't bring him in and say, hey, Chris, sit on the bench. They ain't going to work. So he's got to be taking somebody's minutes. The idea that, well, he's of value, value can be really overrated. Where does he play? Who's off the floor when he's on it? What if I told you he was taking Dennis Schrooter's minutes?

Because Dennis Schrooter is going elsewhere to make some money. You think he'd be happy in that role? This is a Hall of Fame or first ballot. In the regular season, yes. And then guess what? We need you healthy for the playoffs, Chris. You're not making all NBA. It's 38.

The ship has sailed. You want to play here and maybe win a title? You think he's happy to be... Or do you want to play big minutes in Podunk Orlando, you know? Well, you see the Lakers are a championship contender. I don't see them as a championship. They were in the Western Conference Finals? And Anthony Davis had his longest concurrent stretch of healthy basketball.

LeBron will be a year older. Yeah. Well, I mean, listen, they also ran into a buzzsaw in Denver. And they also with Rui and Austin Reeves and DeAngel Russell, those guys only had, not Russell, but they had like 25 games together to get right. Now they've got a full season. That was the argument for Westbrook. We just need more time.

Well, they got Westbrook out. And I was never in on that argument. Let's let it face. Okay. Okay, well, so you don't want Chris Paul in the Lakers? Everybody's saying you can get a value for him. Okay, whose minutes is he taking? Dennis Schrooter.

He's not going to be happy in that role. So their point guards were Schrooter and DeAngelo Russell. If I told you they would not bring back Russell, not bring back Schrooter, and they get their minutes from Chris Paul and Austin Reeves. So is Chris Paul starting? I would imagine he'd want to start. Sure, Chris Paul can start. So where's...

Oh, by the way, time out. Can I get this as a coach in youth basketball? I like to tell the players it's not who starts. It's who finishes. Who's on the court in the final five minutes? That's who I trust the most. Starters,

Kevin loves starting in the finals. I think that works with eight-year-olds. You don't think that worked with Chris Paul? Chris Paul's going to want to start. Not coming off the bench. Well, you have to have hard conversations with Chris Paul. Chris, you want to play for a title? How many rings you got?

So you're telling Chris Paul, you're going to take a massive salary reduction and come off the bench. He was all NBA two years ago. So LeBron walks into the meeting. Chris, here's all the rings. I got. Pat Riley style. How many you got? Fall in line, buddy. Don't fall in line, Chris.

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 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business. sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind

on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.