The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-1- Porzingis Ejection, Blazers Aren't Normal 8th Seed and Rick Bucher

Episode Date: August 18, 2020

In Hour-1 of the Podcast, Colin gives his take on the situational awareness, or lack thereof by Kristaps Porzingis. The Portland Trailblazers are unlike Dallas, and are Playoff ready. Rick Bucher also joins to talk about the Lakers struggles and more. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 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 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. 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 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 IHeard 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. 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 Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, man, we're packed today.

Live in Los Angeles, which has been a little muggy lately. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, this is the herd. Fox Sports Radio FS1 right here. Joy Taylor is joining me. I'm all fired up today. I've got a lot of things on my mind today. I'm not holding back, Joy, I usually hold back all the time. no more for me.

You usually hold back? The new me, joy. Okay. I'm fired up, too. There's a lot going on. That was a great day of basketball, though, yesterday. Great. I want to talk mavericks and clippers.

So I think the clippers are going to win the championship, and I think the Mavs are a really fun watch, but last night's why they're just a bunch of kids. But it was a prime example. So Porzingis, Chris Tops Porzengis, very good player. He got ejected from the game last night. Now, it wasn't like, you know, the old real ejection where you'd swing at somebody and knock

them down and they kick you out for a game. It was his second technical, and that's an automatic ejection. And that's a real thing here to discuss. Because Maverick fans were like, as weak, weak, referee. No, no, no, no, no, no. If you are one speeding ticket away from losing your license, I don't want to hear, well, it was only nine miles an hour over the speed limit. No, no, no, no, no, no.

You know what's funny about politics? You demand everybody. You don't want to hear about their childhood or their circumstances. You want to demand people who are personally responsible. I don't care what's happening in their home. I don't care about their life. I don't care about their finances. Personally responsible.

But yet, with your athletes, it's the refs's fault. No, it's Porzingis's fault. Got to be an adult. He knows the rules. We don't hold our athletes responsible, but we demand it from society with our politics. Christopps Porzengis is smart. He knows it.

The good news is he admitted it after the game. It was him, not the refs. I saw him getting into Lucas face. I didn't like that. That's why I reacted. And, yeah, that's a smart thing to do from their part. I just got to be smarter and control my emotions next time. of all the professional leagues, the NBA owners know it, the coaches know it, the GMs know it,

they have seminars on it, the players know it, even the rookies know it, the trainers know it. This league is hyper sensitive to fighting. My gut feeling is it's malice in the palace with such a black eye for the sport. They're hyper sensitive. All leagues aren't sensitive. In hockey, Joy and I, you can watch a hockey game. The reps will let guys fight. They'll like let it get it until they can get their arms around and they'll just let them go and throw haymakers.

In baseball, not only can you leave the dugout, pitcher sprint in from the outfield to join fights. No penalty. In the NBA, if there is a skirmish and you are on the bench, if you leave a box, a foot and a half in front of you, you're suspended for a game. If you leave the area in baseball, pitcher sprint 60 yards to join the fight, no, no fine. or suspensions. In hockey, they're wrestling for a while until the refs can get the positioning, knock each other out, okay. In football, guys, push, push, push,

trash talk. It's not the way it works in basketball. Again, personal accountability. Everybody knows the rules. You leave the box. You have game suspension. And that's the way the NBA has always been since Malice in the Palace. It's just, in fact, they have a term in the NBA. It's called escalator to the altercation.

That's a term. If baseball was the NBA, you'd be thrown out for a week for sprinting toward the action. They have a term in the NBA for this. By the way, everybody knows the rules. I have seen LeBron James, one of the smartest basketball players ever, multiple times in his career during a skirmish. And what does LeBron do? He stays on the periphery.

Because LeBron knows he's the best guy on the floor. Marcus Morris is involved in this. He's the seventh best clipper. Porzingis is the second best. Maverick. You've got to know how valuable you are, especially to a young team whose best players, 20.

Luca. I've seen LeBron James multiple times. And I've heard criticism through the years. Why isn't he getting involved? Because he's super smart. If you're a James Harden, you're a LeBron, you're a Porzengis, you're a Janus, and there's a skirmish. You can yell,

you don't get anywhere near it. Especially if you've already got a technical. If you're one ticket from your license being pulled, the responsibility now is not on the cop. It's on you. It's totally shifted. Totally completely shifted. But I think it's remarkable how in our politics we demand accountability.

No excuses for our athletes. Ref's fault. It's not the ref's fault. It doesn't matter how weak that first technical was. Once you get it, the responsibility, the burden of responsibility. is on you the adult to stay out of that. By the way, let's talk the game. The first quarter in the first half was all offense.

So in the NBA, I've heard this criticism for years. All you've got to do is watch the last five minutes. Well, last night was a great example. So the Mavericks are a bad team in close games, two and 12. The Clippers are a great team in close games, eight and three. That's not random or insignificant. That's everything. because in the NBA and I've been watching it for 40 years,

playoff games are decided in the last five minutes. And the last five minutes of that game last night is why the Clippers won. Dallas doesn't know how to win those games. They've been lousy. I've watched Dallas play a dozen times this year. Half the games have been close late. I don't think they've won any of them. They outplayed Houston, I think it was, about two weeks ago, the whole game.

Houston has Westbrook and Hardin and Covington and veterans and beat them. You got last night, all you need to know is that there were multiple times once on a fast break where Luca is wide open and Seth Curry's throwing up a lousy three. Did you notice in the last five minutes how intense the Clippers defense got? You could look at their body language. Did you notice in the last seven minutes that Dallas, who had 14 threes up to that point, last seven minutes, Dallas hit one three. Dallas got no freebies, Dallas got no cheapies, the Clippers played real defense, and in the fourth quarter, Paul George and Kauai Leonard either scored and assisted on all but four points for the Clippers. That's why the Clippers won. My bad, two points.

Paul George and Kauai scored a assistant on all but two points for the Clippers. The Clippers are the better defensive team. it won the game. The Clippers didn't allow any good looks on three pointers that won the game. And the Clippers got it to Kauai and everything ran through Kauai. And then Kauai got it to Paul. He got it to Beverly. He got it to all his veteran players.

That's why the Clippers won. That is why veteran teams like the Clippers are good and close games. And super talented young teams like the Mavs are bad in close games. Dallas has, there is a saying in sports. And it goes across all sports. Do you know how to win close games? It's not just talent. Do you know how to win them?

Dallas doesn't. Last night, you got Seth Curry coming down the floor. Lucas wide open. Seth Bad 3. It's not the way I work for the Clippers. Every possession. Find Kauai and Kauai looking for Paula Patrick Beverly or Lou Williams. Looking for all the veteran players on the floor.

That's why. This is not random. What happened last night was not about a technical. It was about a really great player for the Mavs, not taking personal responsibility, and not understanding his value. And the second part was, five minutes left in this game,

the Clippers totally clamped down and said, okay, fellas, we're real close here. Let's clamp down. And this is why I think the Clippers are going to win the championship. You know, there's always been this saying in the NBA, you can't flip a switch. Well, yes, again. I flip a switch every day.

I'm having a coffee. I'm cracking jokes. I'm messing around. I'm going. Light goes on. I flip a switch. Boom. Hit it.

Let's go. Talk, talk, talk. rant, rant, rant, rant. interview, interview, interview. And then when the show's done, turn it off, go listen to music, have a ham sandwich. I flip a switch every day. You flip a switch for work. We have different personalities.

You don't have a different personality. There's having a glass of wine with your wife. There's, uh-oh, boss is coming into the room, have to act a certain way. You act a certain way with your dogs and your cats and your wife and your kids and your bosses and the management end. We all flip switches. I've never bought into this way. You can't flip a switch.

Life is flipping a switch. I mean, football players, you're literally tackling people violently at 1.30. At 4.30, you're cuddling with your infant baby. You flip a switch. We all flip switches all day. The clippers are going to be fine. I don't buy into this whole, you know, the chemistry. Is Coah Leonard the best?

Get a bucket. Get a stop guy in the league. Yeah. Is Paul George an All-Star? Yeah. His Doc Rivers won a title? Yeah. Is Lou Williams the best sixth man?

Yeah. Do they have young guys who can shoot? Yeah. Do they have big guys that can run the floor? Montrez Harold. Yeah. Did they have a great front office? Yeah. Is it a perfect roster? Pretty damn close. Best one in the NBA. So that game last night, that last five minutes is one of those classic. Watch the last five minutes again. If you go to YouTube or wherever you can get it. Watch the intensity of the Clippers defense get really tight. No more free looks. And watch how everything with the Clippers offensively. It was just like, it reminded me of Michael Jordan. It was just like, all right. Michael's not the point guard, but Michael's going to, everything's going to run through Michael.

Everything, everything ran through Kauai. Get ready, Clipperland. Start stacking those championship trophies. Get ready for it. It's a weird one. It's a bubble trophy, but it's still a trophy. Coming up next, why the Blazers are the opposite of the Mavericks, and the Lakers should be absolutely concerned.

That series starts tonight. That'll be a great one. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays and New 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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 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. 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.

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It's good to have you. in today. A lot of sports playoff action. Very, very exciting. So the Lakers and Blazers play tonight. So the Clippers got it easy with Dallas. They really did. Dallas is young and experienced. They don't have, you know, their best players never been in the playoffs before. They're not great in close games. You know, I mean, like that's perfect. For a veteran team like the Clippers, Dallas can challenge you. I mean, it's not a walk in the park. But in the end, it's a perfect team to open up with. They don't play real defense. They're not good in close games. They don't have any playoff experience. The Blazers are everything Dallas is not. Since January

1st, the Blazers are 9 and 2 in close games. They're better than anybody. Dame, Damien Lillard, this is his 52nd playoff game tonight. Last night was Luca and Porzingas his first. Portland in the fourth quarter can be devastating. because they get everything through Dame, who's also one of the league's best ball handlers, and he controls the tempo. I mean, Portland is really just one wing defender from being a nightmare for the Lakers. Because Portland's got veterans. They've got men, not kids, they've got experience, they've got toughness.

They have situational excellence. Dallas is young and fun and loose, and... But they're like a cake that you pull out of the oven. and it's still gooey. You look at it and you're like, oh, you cut it open. You're like, oh, it's batter. I can see batter. That cake, that Dallas cake, you've got to put it back in the oven for about another year.

Portland's different. You pull the Portland cake out of the oven. It's just a little better icing from being perfect. If they just had a 6-7 wing like a Trevor Arisa doesn't opt out in plays, they're a nightmare. They've got star guards, stars three-point shooters. They've got wing scores, back court, Nurkich, big size. They got everything.

Dallas is the perfect opening round match for the clippers. Challenging? You have to get your defense right because they can shoot. But late in games, no threat, no playoff experience. The Blazers are a nightmare. They're a nightmare. They got everything. They got the size.

They got the veterans. They got the playoff experience. They got a veteran coach. I think it's going to be a great series. I do think the Blazers look a little gas to me. They certainly did Saturday. They just can't. They can't ratchet up their defense.

They can't put away teams. They can't make stops. And I think they're tired. And I think the Lakers are well rested. But it's a real. This is as good, potentially, as a first round matchup gets. This is what the NBA, when you get this, LeBron said it.

Portland shouldn't even be classified as an eight seat. Playoff experience, and you can't try to outscore them because they can score with the best. But they're not your typical eighth seed. I'm not going in as a one. It's a one seat versus a seat I'm going in with as the Lakers versus Portland. So I've already thrown that out of the window. So I won't be going in with my guard down. Dame and Nurkitch are probably two of the top, what, 25 players in the league?

Maybe two of the top 20. So it's a real battle tonight. Anthony Davis and LeBron may be two at the top five, but we got a real battle on our hands. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News.

Well, things got off to a very exciting start yesterday. Yeah. The Nuggets Jazz game was the best game. It's crazy. Of the day. Not a lot of, you know what's funny about this bubble? The offense has shocked us how good it is. The defense is, at times, regrettable.

the one thing about the bubble that will occasionally happen is and it happened in this game there'll be a little bit of like a kind of goofy sequence where like everyone will miss it's a mess. It's a mess. It's a minute straight. Well, YM.C. Yeah, it gets a little, how they call it yesterday, LA Fitness at 3 p.m. Yeah. It gets a little crazy.

But they got it together and it was an incredible game. Jamal Murray was huge late for Denver, scoring 20 of his 36 points, including four three-pointers. in the fourth quarter in overtime. Yokic also recorded a double-double in the playoff opener with 29 points and 10 rebounds. And despite Donovan Mitchell's 57 points, which is the third most in any playoff game, the Nuggets held on to win 135, 125. The Jazz just really didn't have anything left in overtime once they got to overtime. It was the Nuggets game.

But Mitchell's 57 was also a career high for him. He's the youngest players since Michael Jordan to score at least 50 in a playoff game. And by the way, he makes the effort on the defensive end. Donovan plays defense. He was so, I mean, he was hit 57 points, right? So it's like all you could keep your eyes on. But while he's doing that, Jamal Morris is on the other end of the floor, killing it too.

It was just an incredible watch. This is going to be a really fun series. You know, I feel the NFL and the NBA are really led now. I mean, there's a Tom Brady or a LeBron. There is so much great young talent and football quarterback. And there is so much under 25. year old talent in the NBA. I'll tell you something. Denver is about a year away.

One year from now, a year from now, if Michael Porter Jr. is as good as we think, he was the best high school player by a mile. This is a real team. They got like six real players in Denver and a very good coach and they draft well and they find talent. They have overseas scouts. I mean, like Denver is not going to get the publicity of Dallas because of Mark Cuban and Luca.

Watch out for Denver. Denver's really good. And the thing about it is that this. series. They're so well matched. Like, I think this is going to be a long series. We're going to have a lot of really fun first round playoff series, which we usually never have. Yeah. It's, it was just, it was a really fun watch. A little more of a physical game was, uh, the Celtics and 76ers. Joel Embed at 26 points and 16 rebounds last night, but it was not enough. Sixers lost game one to the Celtics 109, 101. And after the game, Mbid says he needs to be a bigger factor for his team moving forward. I got you more. I got a You know, I got one job to do. Just the carriers. You know, I'm going to need my teammates to help me. But I got to do more.

I got to take more shots. I got to be more aggressive. Defensively, I got to help my teammates. He was kind of strange, had kind of strange energy towards the end of that game. He just didn't get enough touches. Yeah, he scored 11 points on 5 at 5 shooting in the first quarter, but ended up with just 15 total shots in the game,

made 8 of 15. Jason Tatum had a playoff career high, 32 points and 13 rebounds. He was great. He was incredible. 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter. God, another great. Jason Tatum is great. He's just all he needs.

He just, you know, he has an occasional dog game. Like he'll have a game where he just kind of goes sideways. Where the great players in this league, you kind of get the same game. Nine out of ten games, it's the exact same game. Jason is just a little refinement. I get from me getting the same Jason Tatum every single game. A little more consistency. But boy, I'll tell you, four to five nights, he is really, and he's a number of these guys.

He's getting better every time you watch him play. Well, the Celtics also scored 21 points off of Philadelphia's 18 turnovers. So not a great game overall for Philadelphia. But look, I mean, we don't have very high expectations. Ben Simmons is out. Joel and B is going to have to carry this team. They're not going to make it past the Celtics. And the Celtics do what they're supposed to do.

The kind of dud of yesterday, but, you know, the Nets kind of made it a game a little while. They came back from down, I believe 33. The Raptors... Yeah, I didn't get to see much of this. You watch it? Yeah, the Raptors have been, obviously, red heart, hot since the restart. They only lost one game so far in the bubble.

They continued that against the Nets. Fred Van Bleet led his team to the 134-110 wins, scoring game high 30 points and going eight for 10 on three-point shots. The Raptor as a whole made 22 three-pointers, which matched the season high and tied their franchise record. God, Van Blyte's just getting... Whoever thought he was going to be this good? See, Ackham, you could tell,

second year you're like, oh, this is going to be special. But this is kind of what the Raptors do. And this is why the Raptors are so dangerous because Van Fleet can go out there and do that. And just, just, I know, obviously look, the Nets are very undermanned and they've had a nice time in the bubble. But, you know, again, we were all taking the Raptors in this series. They were down 33 points at one point in the game. But the Raptors can rely on just one person. Like they have such a great system and culture that everybody doesn't need to thrive,

even if, you know, the Nets are making a comeback. Van Blit said he felt the team was amped up and energized, and this is the most locked in that they've been all year. So they are in playoff mode. But just a lot of great basketball yesterday. Really fun. Kawhi leaves that don't miss a beat. And their young players are getting, like the young players are both a notch better than last year.

I mean, they're going to miss Kauai later in the playoffs. Like he's a superstar. You don't just replace him. But where they've picked off since he's left has been incredibly impressive. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ly News. Senior writer Bleacher Report, Fox Sports NBA analyst. Rick Buecker now joining us, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. All right. Why do you think Port is, I mean, Port-Zingas has been around this league for a while? Why do you think he got even, I mean, they have a term, altercation escalator. I was like, I was joking. In baseball, you can run in from the dugout.

Nobody cares. In football, hockey, you let guys fight in basketball. ball, Rick, since the malice in the palace, like that feels like the point the league said, none of this. Like, you can't even get involved in this stuff. Why do you think he got, went into that little huddle of that skirmish? Chris is, Chris Taps has a reputation for being soft. And no one thinks that more than the Morris twins in particular and the clippers in general. So this was very much, this is Porzingis's first time in the playoffs. And he wanted to make a point, hey, I'm not soft. Watch, I'm going to step in and I'm going to take up for my teammate, Luca.

And he just, he picked the wrong time and honestly the wrong way to demonstrate that he's tough. Because the fact of the matter is simply the way he's physically built. You can wear him down and you can wear him out by being physical with him in the game. He doesn't really have an alternative to that. So this was his way of trying to make a statement and it backfired on him. Yeah. You know, the Mavs four times this year, the Mavericks had more turnovers than assists. And this, two of them are against the clippers.

And, you know, I can point to Luca and say, well, he's the point guard. He controls the tempo. Why don't you think they're better late in games? They're a bad, close game team in Dallas. Well, this is, I believe, it is on Luca. and it is the question. And it's the reason why he wasn't, I thought he should be the number one pick.

I believe that he was the best in the draft. But in terms of making him your franchise player as a point forward, and that's really what he is. We're calling him a point guard, but he can't defend point guards. You've got to switch him off on a big. He's playing the point forward position. And that is the most talented position in the game today,

with LeBron and Co-Whorne and Cowan. Y and KD and Yonis, they're all considered point forwards. And the question was, physically, can he dominate? He's a very clever player. Yes. But you can force him to extend his game in and against the best of the best when he has to go up against a Kauai or a LeBron or a Yonis. You can make the game hard on him.

And you can see where he's trying to get to the same places. but he has to extend himself to get there, and that's what's created the turnover. So, you know, some of the question about can he be physically dominant? We already know he has the talent and the experience, but he's always been a clever player, not a physically dominant player, and he's being tested by the best of the best at his position. And we'll see where that goes, because the other thing that I've noticed is he's always banged up. he's got to extend himself and exert himself so much to make up for that physical deficiency that he's constantly getting knocked down or banged around.

And you already heard Rick Carlisle singing that song to the referees that he's being played too physically tough and manhandled. Hey, this is the playoffs and this is the way people are going to play Luca. And we'll see if he can make an adjustment to it. Yeah, by the way, I know what to hear from any NBA fans. about the fouls. My entire 40 years of watching the NBA, it's officiated differently

in the playoffs. Referees get out of the way and they let you be more physical. If you can't adapt to it as a young team. Last year, Toronto got very physical. They had a lot of veteran players. That's the secret sauce. Now, here's what's interesting, Lakers Clippers.

And you've got to be careful about this. There's two or three things that have happened in the bubble. We've seen a bunch of young stars emerge. Michael Porter was unbelievable. jammer rant. So that's one of the things. The other thing we saw in the bubble is, I don't know how much Milwaukee, the Lakers and the Clippers cared. So I watched the Lakers in the regular season. Yeah. And then I watched the Lakers in the bubble. And my thing is, are these real Laker problems or is this bubble apathy Laker? Like, what is it? I'm right there

with you, Colin. But I don't have the answer. And I'm not, I'm not totally sold on the idea. that it's pure apathy because of the age of this team. Yeah. And because chemistry was such an important part. And because the shooting has been so bad. Look, their defense has been atrocious. And I could credit that to apathy. But when you're missing wide open threes,

when Danny Green can't hit a three, that to me raises the question, is it just harder for them to get their engines going? and have they not been able to do that? And that synchronicity they found during the regular season, are they having trouble getting back to that? In spite of the secret workouts in LeBron James' laboratory during the shutdown, oh, we were supposed to talk about that.

I'm sorry. Forget I said that. No, but I, so look, when it comes to that, that whole Lakers Blazers matchup, the Blazers are going to be what the Blazers are, and they can score. Mike, they can't defend. And so if the Lakers can't shoot from three and they're playing defense as atrociously as they have. Yeah. And it's not apathy. Then the Blazers can win that series.

If the Lakers get back, if this was just apathy or, you know, we're, we're just rolling into it because we didn't have a whole lot to play for, then this is not going to be a long series. But I honestly, Until I see the Lakers play, I'll be very interested to watch this first game. That will tell us a lot about whether this was just the Lakers just laying it down until it mattered or whether there's a real issue here in terms of them getting their engine started again. Okay, so sports change, analytics change. And like in the NFL, almost everybody outside of the Colts and Phillip Rivers wants a quarterback. You can move the pocket.

We're looking for quarterbacks who can really the game is changing. You can't hit a quarterback. Let's get athletic guys. In basketball, I grew up in a world of bigs. But you start adding up all the big playoff wins for Embed in Carl Anthony Towns and, you know, some of the bigs around the NBA. And I'm like, Nikoliyokic hasn't done enough yet. How about Anthony Davis?

Like, where are all the wins? So I watch M. Bede in the Celtics last night. And my takeaway is this is why Biggs turned me off. He didn't get shots. They didn't have the distributor to get him the ball. This is why I would trade M. B. Not Simmons. Simmons controls the tempo, controls distribution, controls the game, can get the ball to three-point shooters. M.B. last night is sitting there, hello, best player on the floor that can't get him the ball. I mean, this is why I don't think it's a center league anymore. It's just too fast, your takeaway. Yeah, I believe, well, first of all, you can't simply have just a big because in game, in need situations, somebody has. to be able to get him the ball, and you can make it difficult for a team to get the ball

to their best player if it is indeed a center or a big. But I'm not giving MB the out on that because you saw him at the beginning of this game. He was dominant. The dude is not in shape. I don't know that he's ever been in shape, and he didn't get the ball because he didn't want the ball. Look, there's a body language for guys. who are demanding the ball.

Shaquille O'Neal wanted the ball, and you were in trouble if you didn't get it to it. So I'm not giving Mbid that out. The trick for teams right now with Biggs is you still need big men. You need rim protectors, but they have to be agile, and they have to be in shape,

and they have to have the skills of a smaller player. M. Bede has that. He can shoot the three. He can put the ball on the floor. he just can't do it beyond 20, 25 minutes, and he certainly can't do it in the last five. But I've never seen him in great shape. And so that's my question,

because Ben Simmons is not exactly a dominant guy in the last couple of minutes of the game either. And that's the Achilles heel of this Philadelphia team, is you have two great talents that should be able to dominate their position, but for one reason or another, they can't and they haven't. And I don't see that changing. So that's the key is, you know, whoever your best player is, you better hope or better know that they are going to be your hardest worker

and that you can count on them in the last two minutes of a game. It's the distinction between them and Damien Liller. Damien Lillard doesn't have the physical advantage that Embed or Ben Simmons have, but you know he's going to be in shape. He's going to be fearless at the end, and he's found a way to maximize what he can do physically in order to lead his team. And that makes all the difference in the world. So our NBA playoffs are underway. It's a whole lot of fun. It was great yesterday afternoon and night. Rick Buecker, good talking to you, buddy. You got it, Colin. Desmond Mason played at Oklahoma State, and a friend of

Doug Gottlieb. He's also going to talk about OKC and Houston play. Is that tonight? We get that. one tonight. Oh my gosh. That's got... Yeah, magic bucks, heat pacer, thunder, rockets, blazers, Lakers today. All right. All right. Coming up next. Nick Saban said something, and it's about the difference between freedoms and privileges. And I think this country, there's percentages of people

who just can't figure this mask thing out and it's not really difficult. And Nick Sabin laid down the law, that's coming up. 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 I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went

down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was 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. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and personal. on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. I always eye roll to people.

I won't wear a mask. Personal freedoms. It's my right. No, no, cowboy. It's a privilege, right in this country. People can't even get the First Amendment right, which is sad. But the First Amendment doesn't give you the right to say anything anywhere. No, no, no, no, no, no.

I can't say anything anywhere here. Now, the First Amendment means your speech can't be suppressed by the government, called the White House and stuff. But it doesn't give you a right to say whatever you want without repercussions. I could be fired today for saying the wrong thing. It's not overly complicated. You don't have a lot of rights in America. You have privileges. You can't smoke on a plane.

They took that right away from you. It was privileged. You can't drink in a lot of places. There are counties in America that are dry counties in an entire county. Texas is a place they love their beer. Can't buy liquor in the state of Texas on Sunday at a liquor store or a grocery store. Can't buy your liquor in Texas. That's one of them there are states that's got all sorts of rights.

No, it's privileges. They could reduce Saturday alcohol sales if they wanted to as well. Thursday, Friday, they could do all of it. They're counties. You can't ever do it. These are all privileges, even the freedom of speech thing, it's not about what you think it is in many cases. That's just the government can't suppress us. And so when I hear people talk about, I get this right, just think about alcohol for a second.

The government will regulate how much alcohol you can have in an alcoholic drink. Then they'll regulate when you can buy it. They'll regulate where you can drink it, and they'll regulate the days you can purchase it. And then when you get in your car, if you've had too much of it, they'll regulate you going to jail or not going to jail. Alcohol is completely regulated. That's just alcohol. Everything's regulated. Nick Saban's talking about that wearing mask thing.

It's not real difficult. It's not just about you. It's about others. Here's Nick Saban. I think democracy is great, and I think people that have all these freedoms, I think that's all great. But I think there's one thing that is probably a common denominator that really makes all that work,

and that people have great moral integrity and the choices and decisions that they make. And I'm not criticized. isn't anybody here, but a lot of people have asked that we wear masks when we're in public, when we're in crowds, when we're in large groups of people, that we keep social distanced. And I don't think they're doing that just for the heck of it. I think there's a reason for it. We're trying to control the spread of this disease.

Yes, a smart man, successful smart man's kind of figured it out. Hopefully all the students at the Alabama can figure it out too. Stop telling me you have all these rights. their privileges. They can be taken at any time. And even the ones we have, the Constitution, have been amended 27 times. Wear a mask. Don't be stupid. I will say this, though. I have been wearing a mask from, you know, the very beginning, socially distancing. So is joy. So is Goulet. I'm not an epidemiologist. It seems to me it's harder to get outside than inside.

It seems like in churches, meatpacking plants, jails, multi-generations. building, small space, a lot of people, much easier to get than outside. How do I know that? Because I live at a beach town. We've had it since December and we've had like 200 cases and everybody's outside and some have masks and some don't. They're next to each other on a beach and we'd be overwhelmed if you could catch it outside as easily as you could catch it inside.

I don't think you can. But I will say this. Now, we have to be honest about this is that I've been checking for the last, you know, probably two, three weeks. I go online. It's called Twitter. they'll have these reports about Alabama and Michigan and Ohio State and all these places testing their athletes. And it's remarkable in almost, I mean, all of them, all these top 10, 15 programs, USC, Texas, I've watched all of them.

They may have a mini outbreak, but they'll have hundreds of tests and three positives. Hundreds of tests for athletes, three positives. Yet at North Carolina over the last two days, they brought the students on campus for a couple days and they had a massive experience. explosion of cases. You can no longer argue that athletes are in grave danger on college campuses, but the student body's not. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You've got an agenda. I get it. You hate the president. Whatevs? The athletes are getting tested more regularly. They're surrounded by medical personnel. Athletes are safer than non-athletes. Carolina is a great example. They're on campus for a week. The whole damn thing blew up. Football team at Carolina is testing every day.

They're not having the positive test rate. So that part I'm done arguing about. Now, if you, if you want college football or don't, I'd prefer to have college football, but I get it. We had David Shaw on yesterday. We don't have all the answers. I get it. But the argument here that, oh, everybody, you know, I hear this whole, they have this new heart inflammation concern. Well, that's been around for seven months. Still no kids. under 17 dying. NFL guys can get that. Basketball players can get that.

Hockey guys can get that. Soccer guys can get that. UFC guys can get that. Like if you don't want to put kids in college who aren't getting paid at risk, and it's a moral thing for you. I get it. I'm not going to argue off that ledge.

I'm not. I get it. If I, you and I have a collective bargaining agreement, like in the NFL or the NBA, where we collectively bargain. I'll play with this thing. I have the right to opt out. But if I play and get sick, I can't sue you.

I'm all for that. Now, you may say, hey, these kids aren't getting paid. This is unfair. I get that argument. That's a real argument. But colleges do allow you to opt out. You're not going to lose your scholarship. You're not going to lose your place in line.

Colleges are saying, listen, man, if you're too big, you've got medical stuff opt out. So they're not forcing you to play. But we've got to get past this whole. There's another thing going on in sports that nobody is talking about, and it's real. When you're an athlete, Joy has been a college athlete. I'm a crappy high school one. There is peer pressure. You are part of a group and you don't want to let your teammates down.

That's not the way campus is. That's not the way campuses. Maybe you're at a sorority. They've had huge outbreaks at sororities and fraternities. That's about as close as you get. But when you're on an athletic team, the Cleveland Indians had a pitcher that snuck out and lied to the team and went out. I don't even think he got COVID. and his teammates called him out in the press.

What are you doing? What are you doing? One of the great things about sports, and parents will tell you this, it creates a bond that you, this is one of the reasons I like my daughter playing basketball when she was young. You're part of a collective. It's not about you. It's about the team.

And you have to sacrifice and you have to give and hard work is rewarded. And it's not always about you getting the accomplishments on Instagram. it's about passing and distributing and elevating others beyond yourself. And that is a real thing in sports. You don't see it much in politics where everybody's out to win the campaign. You don't see it a lot in American business where everybody's climbing the corporate ladder. But in American sport at the high school and college level, there is a peer pressure to not let down teammates, not let down coaches.

It is a collective. It's not about individual, even if you're a fighter. And you think yourself it's about me. No, no, no, no, no. Your trainers, your cut man, the people that have sponsored you, you're part of a collective. And when you watch these college athletes, tip of the cap to these universities, they're testing them. And these kids, very few positive tests. The rest of the campus, fingers crossed, because I don't sense that peer pressure.

And Carolina is an example. Hour two coming up, Desmond Mason, Rockets Thunder, we got an upset. 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 I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw,

unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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.

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