The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - The Lakers defy the odds

Episode Date: May 9, 2023

Colin tries to figure out how the Lakers continue to win games in the postseason after taking a commanding 3-1 lead over the Warriors in the second round He defends Steph Curry by showing why he's underrated  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright in one hour, we'll try to get him on. I guess we'll have to bring him on. J. Mack is joining us. Well, well, well, well, well, even the headline. This morning. Lonnie Walker's thrilling fourth quarter

gives the Lakers a 3-1 series. Lonnie Walker, really? That's what the series has been reduced to. Lonnie Walker, your guy, Lonnie Walker. Lonnie Walker going toe to toe with Steph Curry in the fourth quarter of a pivotal playoff game. We've never seen anything like it. Unbelievable theater last night. Oh, so good.

The Lakers are essentially a team that can't shoot. They have a rookie defensive head coach. They flip the roster at the trade deadline. LeBron now looks gassed and disappears for quarters. AD is great, mostly, although he has bad halves, and undrafted Austin Reeves and Lonnie Walker are lighting it up. Not exactly Jordan's Bulls or Shaq and Kobe's Lakers or Bird and Mikhail or Magic and Kareem. Remember when our parents said, just eat your vegetables and drink your milk. If that's all it takes, she'll be big and strong.

In the NBA, here's the version of that. hit your free throws and play great defense. You don't have to shoot. You'll end up in the Western Conference finals. Is that where we're headed? I mean, I don't get it. LeBron looks tired. There's only one day's rest in between games.

He and AD played more minutes than anybody. LeBron looked gassed. He disappeared for stretches. Anthony Davis offensively looked tired. He was hiding. Steph never looks tired, although I think everybody at Golden State's tired of Jordan Poole. The Lakers, though, are so good defensively that it masks their deficiencies. And that defense, which is a notch better than anything left, including the Celtics,

it keeps them close in really ugly offensive stretches. And man, do they have them? But they're so old school, they're becoming vintage. They're like Polaroids and trucker hats and vinyl records. This doesn't make any sense. Bounce around the league guys, undrafted guys. Now, in 2020, the Lakers weren't. a great shooting team either, but LeBron was much closer to his prime. He looks like a shot fighter

for long stretches. And in football, eventually, if you just run the football, you'll be exposed. You have to be able to some point pass the ball very effectively from the pocket. Can the Lakers get to the Western Conference finals and win a championship and they can't shoot and it's a shooter's era, maybe Vegas now has them as the second best odds to win a championship. Again, in 2020, they were a better offensive team than this. They were better, but they were also 2021 shooting team. But AD had a three and a half month, four months sabbatical because of COVID, so he was in the best shape of his life.

And LeBron wasn't in his prime, but was darn close to it and would give you, three and a half quarters of great basketball. If you get a couple great quarters out of LeBron now, you know, you take it. I don't know. In the 1970s, the NBA was pretty weak. If you had one great player and a bunch of like guys, you could win a championship, right? Like Sonics, Blazers, a lot of that stuff.

And then from that point forward in the 80s until today, you need two great players, sometimes a third, like the Heedles. And then you get to the championship level. Doesn't mean you'll win it. are the Lakers so old school that they have one great player, AD, who by the way is a little hit and miss offensively, LeBron way out of his prime and just a bunch of guys. Because right now they have one star,

and that star is AD, and he is dominant on both ends of the floor, but only one end of the floor every night, and that's the defense event. The game itself was fantastic. It was an all-timer, an all-time classic. Lonnie Walker going toe-to-to-to-to with Steph, and LeBron talked about it after. We're just a resilient bunch.

They hit us with Haymakers after Haymaker, after Haymaker, trying to get us to fall. We just stayed in the fight. We just stayed in the fight. You know, it's a 48-minute game, or if it's a 12-round boxing match, and we stayed in there for 12 rounds, man, that was able to pull it through.

Let's talk about Steph Curry. Steph Curry last night was absolutely great. can remember back in 1993, sitting on a couch in Las Vegas with a friend, 1993. And the sign of greatness is when you have a bunch of really good or great players in a game. And Michael Jordan was so much better than everybody else. In 93, the finals, Phoenix and Chicago, Barclay was sensational. 27 and a half points, 13 rebounds, sensational. Yet the gap between him and Michael Jordan was the Grand Canyon.

That's how great Jordan was. As good as everybody else was on the floor last night, Steph felt like a thousand times better most of the night. Passing, shooting, leadership, handling the ball, assists, all-encompassing, virtuoso performance by Steph. And I wonder, have we understated, have I understated how great he is? The Warriors won a title last season, and their second best player was Andrew Wiggins. Didn't it remind you a little of Tom Brady's last Super Bowl in New England,

where they had no thousand-yard receiver, no thousand-yard rusher, Gronk and Edelman were old men, Brady wins his Super Bowl, eventually leaves a couple years later, and they look slow and unathletic. Look at this team. Clay Thompson, sometimes he's as awful more than he is good. Wiggins is meek. Dante Vincenzo, a couple of bad turnovers last night. Jordan Pools erratic. Nobody trusts him.

Draymond Green doesn't give you offense. And Kvon Luni can just rebound. Now, they're very good at those specific things. But Gary Payton, the second, who's not nearly as good as his dad, was Steph Curry's best teammate last night. That was it. And we always talk about KD.

Steph won a title pre-KD. A couple with KD. post-K-D. Look around. Ask yourself this morning, because I'm asking myself, what are the Warriors without Steph? They're not a playoff team this year. That we know for sure.

They are not a playoff team. And maybe they're a lottery team. But Brady won that Super Bowl with Belichick and without him. With grunk, without him. AFC, NFC, NFC. Edelman. No, Edelman. Go watch the Buccaneers this year.

One year removed from Tom, they have a chance to be the number one pick in next year's draft. And that's with Baker Mayfield quarterbacking, the one everybody loves except me. My question is, have we just underscored and underserved Steph Curry? Is he that much better? I mean, I watched Steph in the fourth quarter last night. Of course he was taking all those shots. Who would he trust? Wiggins is talented, but he can be meek.

Draymond wasn't good offensively. Clay at times was awful, although he hit one big shot. Pool was terrible. They basically benched him. Dante DiVincenzo plays really, really hard but has limitations, and Looney has no offensive skill. And yet here's this team going back home for the record, favored by almost eight points against the Lakers. It should be three to two after tomorrow night. But I look at Steph Curry and you wonder why in the fourth quarter, basically Steve Kirst, said to heck with it, I'm just going to roll with Steph and guys that play pretty well with Steph. Here was his coach after.

Steph was amazing. His effort was incredible. You know, just the stamina, you know, with everything they were throwing at him to do what he did and attack and rebound and distribute the ball. You know, 14 assists and two turnovers. He was amazing. We just couldn't quite get it done. So again, the Warriors are now full. favored by seven and a half points, I think they're going to go home and trounce the Lakers. I would not suggest that you keep A.D. and LeBron on the bench.

But if it got ugly late second quarter, I would get LeBron and A.D. rest, sit them and go with reserves in the second half. I feel like the series is coming back to Los Angeles. It's one thing to roll Memphis. It is another to roll a dynasty. They're going to come out swinging. But, you know, I look at Steph Curry last night. And as good. as AD and LeBron were. Steph Curry, for four quarters, just controlled the pace of the game. It was an all-time classic. We saw him do that against a very good Sacramento team there.

I mean, I know we all now appreciate him finally, but this is a player that before last year's final, I was being told if he didn't win the MVP, he hadn't proven himself. If you're watching Steph last night and you still don't get it, I can't help you. I mean, if you're watching Mahomes at this point and you don't get it, I can't help you. That was an all-time performance. All right, J-Mack. So I think tomorrow night at the Chase Center,

the champion stands tall and defends its title. But going forward, do you think it goes six or seven? I think it still goes seven. I don't think the Warriors are done in the series. But, Colin, I can't believe you just spent 10 minutes talking about that game and did not absolutely tear Clay Thompson to shreds. He was bad. He was abysmal.

And what he did at the end of the game, there's a video circulating. I put it on my Instagram of one of those bad Clay forces in the final like two and a half minutes. And Steve Kerr instantly puts his hands up like, what do you? And then he looks at Clay.

He's like, what are you doing? Yeah. And I know he defended him in the post game, but Clay wanted to be a hero. Remember his dad played for the Lakers. It's coming back. And it was just like hero ball. And that really cost him.

That's why Steph, I think, forced those two threes or the three and the two over AD late. People are like, why is Steph doing that? Like, he just saw Clay vomiting all over himself. Andrew Wiggins missed some shots late. No, no, Golden State. I will say this. If you're a warrior fan and a Laker hater,

the Warriors got great looks all night. In fact, in the first half, they must have missed, they had four air balls, three or four air balls, must have missed seven or eight wide open looks. So the Warriors are getting looks, despite the Lakers' great defense. In the first half, they couldn't hit him. In the second half, they started to,

and then at the end, they couldn't. Started jacking up, sort of even by Steph standards, Clay standards, about three to four feet further deeper than you would like. Yeah, by the way, Lonnie Walker, 15 in the fourth quarter. The Golden State Warriors scored 17. Lonnie Walker. Lony Walker. 50.

Oh my God. Unbelievable stuff. Happy for Lonnie. 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, 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. Yeah, last night an all-time classic. I don't see the Warriors as a championship team. They're too Steph reliant, as we saw again last night. I don't think the Lakers are a championship team. I thought the Lakers would win the playoff game, beat Memphis and then losing five or six games to these Warriors, but they lead three to one. Really the winner beyond just the Lakers organization, the winner in this for the Lakers, it's not LeBron. It's A.D.'s legacy. So first of all, if the Lakers win, and A.D. is the best player on both ends of the floor.

and he would be, this is arguably the worst playoff championship roster ever. There's just nothing here, man. There's no number two that can give you 40 minutes. Secondly, he also has a title in the bubble, and that team didn't have a three star. He's the only star to get John Calapari, who many believe is underachieved at Kentucky, a title. So he'd have a college title and eventually two championships in the league if they won this year. And he would be the star, and this is noteworthy, that ends the Golden State Dynasty. Kevin Durant leaving didn't end it.

But at Steph at 35 years old, if they lose and get really timid performances from Wiggins and Clay, they're going to reboot this puppy and they're going to move pieces and get more front court scoring. Add this, the Lakers have never lost a playoff series when he's played every game in the series. They've yet to lose. But his legacy, because he's playing so well now and every night, he's gone from he can't stay, healthy, he won't play through pain, he really underachieves to becoming an absolute Laker legend in front of our eyes. And what's happened in this series, that his greatest Steph is, when he plays great,

the Warriors can still lose last night. When LeBron plays really, really well, game two, the Lakers can get blown out. They did. But if Anthony Davis is exceptional, they don't lose ever. That's dominance. Kareem or Magic in their prime. Kobe or Shaq in their prime. When they're great, they win.

Steph is more fun, but what you noticed, and we discussed this yesterday, what is happening in this series is the warriors are constantly trying to adapt and figure out a way to defend AD and to bring him out on defense. And generally in a playoff series, whoever has the player, that the other team constantly on both ends has to adjust to wins the series. The Lakers are plus 81 when Anthony Davis is on the floor. That is the best of any player on any playoff team. Now, last night, Steph looked like the better player,

but again, that defense allows the Lakers to have long spurts of offensive inefficiency and be very, very close in games. Here's LeBron talking about him after. Man, he's the best defensive player in the league. I mean, you know, I think the league knows it as well. Not many guys that can protect the rim at all costs and also switch out on point guards, switch out on guys like Steph. Steph is a hell of a player.

I had a hell of a game. I think he even had a triple double. But we trust AD guarding anybody in this league. And he showed that. All time stuff. J. Mack with the news. Turn on the news This is the herd line news

Actually shades of Kevin Love Remember Kevin Love defending Curry on the perimeter game 7, 2016 Yeah Well I mean Curry's 6 3 and a half AD 610 611 You don't have to be right on a guy But I mean it's LeBron in his prime It's 6 9 shut down Derek Rose

MVP Derek Rose in the 4th So big guys When they're long facing smaller guys on the perimeter It can work. Now, it's not going to work for four quarters, but it can work situationally. We saw LeBron and D. Rose do it, and AD did it last night. Indeed, nice job.

Let's start with the Phoenix Suns. There's some news here. They play the Nuggets in Game 5 tonight. They've played the last two games without Chris Paul. According to Shams Sharania, CP3 is going to sit out tonight, but could, could, could return for Thursday's game 6 back in Phoenix. I love Denver tonight. I love Denver tonight.

I like Denver. lot tonight. Do you think they're better without Chris Paul? It was just just going home and the role players stepped up. I think, I think this season only, they are better when maybe Chris plays 22 minutes, not 32. I think, yeah, yeah, I think this has been, he's not nearly as productive. Everybody hits a cliff, and I think Chris has hit it. I think, I think there are moments when he's very, very effective. But like LeBron, sometimes he's better disappearing and letting, I mean, this is a two-team. This is a two-player off. offense. It's Booker and KD. If they could get a 16-point guy off the bench, a Norman

Powell or something like that, it'd be a different team. I think they could beat Denver. They're just really a lob-sided offense. It is interesting. They have been looking to push tempo without Chris Paul. Like get the ball at the floor as possible. Devin Booker, who is going to make one of your lists, I don't want to, you know, spill the beans. But Devin Booker's been playing point guard and just scoring machine. Colin, some of these performances in the playoffs, like, it, You don't think Devin Booker does this again tonight in Denver. Well, he's had nine really good playoff games. There's a difference between Yokic's game, which is the same every night,

and Devin Booker's streak, which is significantly better than his regular season, which was easily his best regular season, and he's gone up 25%. I mean, Jordan was good in the playoffs, but he didn't take his regular season game and go, I'm going to put 30% on it. generally you don't shoot you know 65% in the playoffs as a guard. Something to watch tonight less than a 48 hour turnaround.

Remember they played Sunday like in the afternoon less than 48 hours going to altitude. High altitude. Watch Denver thump them tonight. Well hopefully Denver thumps them. Hopefully. Next up, Dak Prescott. You know, listen, he had a career high

15 interceptions last season, but Cowboys got him a new target in Brandon Cooks. Here's Dak, very excited. about his new receiver after off-season workouts. The moment that guy showed up, just watching him in the workouts, the way he just carries himself from drill to drill. What he does, pre-workouts, post-workouts, to take care of his body and make sure he has that speed.

And when you're just throwing to him, it stands out. His speed is different than many others. But as I said, once again, just the way he approaches the game is now. He's already been helping CD, helping those young guys, playing cornerback, teaching the nuances of the route running, that he's going to be huge for me and he's going to be huge for the room. for the room. Yeah, I'm, I'm, um, so it's C.D. Lamb is the one. Cooks is the two on the outside. Michael Gallup, who was coming off the injury last year. And no Dalton Schultz.

What happens if C.D. Lamb misses a game. What do you, what's that tight end receiving court look like? Well, you know, I'm looking at the list here. Turpin, is he the guy from, oh, come on. Jalen Tolbert is the rookie who they were high on, didn't really do anything last year. Yeah, didn't do anything. You're right. No Zique. At least not yet. Tony Pollard off a major injury and the O line is still in transition. Yeah, I don't see it. They did not. Did they improve the offense?

They lose their offense coordinator. No. Don't tell me. Who we didn't love. They lost their star tight end, their offensive coordinator, and we have no idea Tony Pollard off a major injury what he is. We have no idea. It is a little strange.

They invested in defense in the offseason. Maybe they know. In the NFC, which has weaker quarterbacks, Maybe they know they got to bring it down. They can't win shootouts. I don't. I mean, they couldn't score against Samfran in the playoff loss, right? They couldn't do anything offensively.

I don't know why everybody is overlooking Kellynne Moore. We all acknowledge that when Kyle Shanahan was an offensive coordinator in Atlanta, Matt Ryan won the MVP. Like, Josh McDaniels leaves New England's offense and Mack Jones, hires a D.C. to do it. And literally the offense vanishes. you're talking about one of the smart, creative, offensive guys in the league going to Justin Herbert, and now Mike McCarthy's calling plays.

I think it's a big issue. We're in an era where, like, we're seeing it in the NBA, too. Like, nobody can get stops. It's very, very difficult. Like, look at the Super Bowl. The Eagles defense was what? Top three in the league? And Patrick Mahomes just torches them?

Those are great quarterbacks. Well, guess what you're going to face in the playoffs? Great quarterbacks. Like, Dallas is a weird off-season program. I think both we're in lockstep. There's going to be some pullback here on this team in the NFC. Final story, Matt Stafford. He had elbow issues throughout last season.

He's been throwing this offseason. McVeigh says it's the first offseason in a long time where Stafford is feeling good. His teammate Van Jefferson, remember him, agrees about Stafford's offseason participation. Oh, yeah, I think that makes a huge difference. I think for just all the guys that are out there, you know, throwing with Matt. And he's looking great. You know, he's always been great. So it's just, you know, great to be out there with a game to see him healthy and see him, you know,

slinging in like he does. And, you know, like you said, it's good to just be out there and get some passes with him. Well, suns out, guns out from Mr. Jefferson. We should do one of those sleeveless shows. Yeah, I'm not going to do that. No? Yeah, I know you're working out every day. I'm pumping iron every day.

Big time. Are you a guy who calls for a spotter? Do you go to like a random guy? No. I need your assistance, buddy. You just don't do as much weight, right? Yeah, I don't call for a spotter. I work by myself in a small, tiny, dirty room in my house.

That's what I do. Anyways, Matt Stafford and the Rams, seven and a half win total. Three teams from that division are making the playoffs. Niners, Seahawks, Rams are all making it. Because Arizona is so bad, they're all going to go two and oh against Arizona. Since you already owe me a steak dinner for the Jalen Ramsey deal, do you want to do double or nothing on this, that three teams will not from that division make the playoffs? Double or nothing.

Double or nothing state dinner. So now we have to go, well, if you lose, we have to go to the steak. cows the expensive one, but Buker always talks about. Well, first of all, there's going to be no wild card team from the NFC South. We both think Dallas and the Giants are pulling back, so only one team goes from there. Where do the playoff teams come from? Dab Bears! Chicago Bears, baby. You don't, they have the same win total as the Ram, seven and a half. Schedule's easy. So you're betting, betting on the Detroit lines and here's what I'm betting on. If you look at the last few off seasons, the teams that spend the most money have seen their win total go up three, four.

Jags was last year. Another one two years ago, like, oh, Patriots. When they got Mac Jones, they spent a lot of money. They got the wins. Bears spent a lot this season. Did they all buy linebackers like Chicago, too? Wait, that was the Ravens Sewer. Actually, you're right.

Yes, bears did do some silly linebacker things. Okay. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. Now, the herd line news. It is very easy. Many of my contemporaries, just read the paperwall.

watch the games and come out and make safe predictions. I do not. I think it's going seven. I think Golden State wins the next two. And I'll throw this out. A couple of reasons. Number one is two of the next three are at the Chase Center. Role players, which haven't done crap in L.A., role players tend to play much better at home.

So watch your Jordan Pools, your Dante Vincenzo, your Jamichael Greens, play much better at home. Secondly, if Steph Curry or Clay Thompson each hit one more three, we've got a different series. It's two, two. I mean, three, one golden states. Come down to shots. Number three, I'm going to go with Lonnie Walker doesn't drop 15 in the fourth quarter for the rest of the series. And number four, and this is a big one. I think LeBron and AD are running on fumes, especially LeBron. He is running on fumes. And those guys last night played 14. three minutes more than any warrior. LeBron, and I don't say this is a criticism, but you can watch LeBron.

He hides sometimes offensively. He's hiding. And he's not shooting well, and he's shooting a lot. And he's shooting threes because it's easier if you miss to get back on defense. So the game five betting line is Warriors minus seven and a half. My question is if you're Darvin Ham and it gets ugly by the second quarter, do you just say, LeBron, just get off the floor, A.D. sprinkling a few second half minutes.

I think that's something you have to consider if it gets ugly. Seven and a half for a game four, for game five is a big number. That is a big number. So Golden State, let's not, this is not a 3-1 Memphis Lakers where you felt like you were watching a team. At 3-1, the series was over.

Steph, Clay, Drayman, Wiggins, Kerr, titles, chess moves, rings. So, I think it'll be 3-2 after tomorrow night. here is a shack talking about this series. You're going against the champs. You've got to put the champs away. Champs ain't going to lay down. This ain't Memphis.

The champs ain't going to lay down. Steph Curry, the greatest shooter in our game missed those last two shots. You don't think he's going to be pissed off? And he's a dog. When dogs get pissed off, they come ready to play the next game. So I don't think it's over. I will say, though, the Lakers are so good defensively that even when they really struggle, they just sort of hang around these games.

I think most of you felt the way I felt last night, we're halfway through the fourth quarter, and I'm like, Golden State leads by five or six, and I'm thinking they should be up 14. I mean, they're getting great looks. They're not hitting them. Clay looks awful. Wiggins is timid. Defingenzel is not adding much. Like when the Lakers are playing great, they take big, strong lead tier.

When the Warriors are, it's Steph, cross your fingers. I mean, they basically bench Jordan Poole. I mean, they just said, and I'm not a Jordan pool guy. By the way, all you Nick fans, you think I'm crazy on this, you don't have enough scoring, and the Warriors, if they lose, are going to go heavy into length and rim protection. You think I'm crazy on this. I'm watching the Knicks last night.

Can't win a championship with that team. You can't be Jalen Brunson and a bunch of tough guys who play hard. What do the Knicks need? They need scoring. When Jalen Brunson's off the floor, they got no shooters. What are the Warriors need? What is Dallas and the Warriors need? Biggs, size.

With Luke and Kyrie, there's nobody to play defense. Mitchell Robinson, maybe give Hardaway to the Knicks for a second time. Just a thought. They need offense. We saw Brunson may like Hardaway. He could be in the ear of the Knicks saying, I like him. It's the Luca guy that drives me crazy.

But what are the Mavericks need? They need defense and size. Nicks have a tough. ton of it. They need effort because Luca didn't give you any effort on the defensive end. Look at the Warriors. Jordan Poole's driving them nuts. Steph still has two to three great years left. They've got other stores and Clay and Wiggins. They may bail on Wiggins contract. How about Wiggins and Jordan Poole for Mitchell Robinson, do a three teamer and you can get another wing that can score for the Warriors? I'm just throwing it out there. The Nick fans were like,

I don't want Jordan Poole. You think that BB gun of an offense is close to a championship? team, New York, that little water pistol of an offense? I mean, Jalen Brunson and a bunch of guys who play hard is a mile from the championship, a mile from the championship. I just think keep your eye on the Warriors and Dallas looking at that Knicks roster maybe and saying, man, they got some size and length and not many of their guys are expensive. Just something to throw out there. Someone has the numbers on the Jordan Pool contract, Colin.

four years, $128 million. So he's about a 30... It's a little early for math, but that's about $30 million dollars a year for Jordan Poole. He's in his prime, though, for the next four years. Westbrook, people kept buying that contract for half a decade. You can always move an offensive player's contract. Agreed.

Always move them. I don't know if the Knicks have what Golden State wants. I'm not saying that's the deal. I'm just saying Nick fans getting very precious about, hey, we don't want this, this, this. you're a mile from being a championship team. You said they need offense, I would agree. A lot.

And the guy who wants to be in New York is Carl Anthony Towns. Now, I don't know how you get him to New York. Also, he is a good fit alongside Julius Randall. You basically hit stretch four and stretch five. But Minnesota doesn't need size with Go Bear. They don't need any of the next players. So my takeaway is there are teams in this league that need some rim protection and it would change the way they play. I think the Warriors are, Jordan Poole could be.

out of there, right? We need to workshop this. How do we get? How about Wiggins? I think he has said he was he was her second best player in the finals last year. He was. He missed a couple shots last night, disappointing. He's also coming off like a 30-gate 30-day layoff. He has been really disappointing this series. Listen, if we're calling out everybody who's been disappointing. Clay Thompson's been bad. Clay Thompson's been horrible. And there's another starter who you didn't mention yet. Draymond's not been great. 37 minutes. He was like non-existent other than that late offensive rebound. Five turnovers, seven assists. He, he, Lakers are letting him shoot any shot he wants.

Do you see Dennis Schrooter at one point was like, oh, he's shooting. Go ahead. Not even challenging it. I don't know, man. Curry needs some help. He needs a little bit of help out there. And by the way, they've rebooted before. They rebooted two years ago, got to a championship.

They're not going to sit and bring this team back. I think Wiggins and Poole. I think... If Clay Thompson goes to you and says, hey, you pay Jordan Poole, you paid Curry, I want my 40 mil. A year. What do you... I couldn't pay him that. I couldn't pay him that.

I don't care about this. I think you just got to point to the Kobe situation with the Lakers. Can't do it. The Lakers paid COVID for what he had done. It backfired. They missed the playoffs for like... Joe Lacob, the owner of that team, multiple times, has paid guys a lot of money that maybe they couldn't get on the market or if they did, they certainly wouldn't have a chance to win a championship.

I can see Joe Lacob saying, enough is enough. We couldn't get past the second round. Steph is the only guy that consistently gave me anything. Wiggins is a fascinating piece because they don't have any wing. scoring. It's all back court scoring. Small potatoes, but did you see how Kirk closed with Moses Moody on the court last night? Yeah. He's bouncy.

He rejected an AD dunk. No, no, no, no. I like Moody. He hit a couple shots. I like Devengenzo. He said he would have a good game. He had 10 points exceeded. But he's not as athletic as athletic. But I don't know that you can thrust Moody into being a starter next year if Clay's gone and you're replacing him with whatever to save some money. You know, let's agree on this. If the Warriors get vanquished in this series,

There's going to be some changes. Yeah, and it's going to be, you're not getting rid of Steph. No. I don't know if they break up Draymond and Clay either. I think Wiggins is the guy they'll move. Say what you want, but Clay won them game two. When's the last time Wiggins won them a game? He is two, you can criticize Clay.

Clay is never timid. Wiggins like is timid. And I just, I watched them last night. I'm like, you got to give me something. I thought he was good against the Kings. Rank the four best players for the Warriors so far in this series. Why? There hasn't been.

They've had moments. So it's one Curry and then who's two? It ain't Clay. I would say the only guy that gives you almost what you, Looney gives you rebounding in every game. A Looney 11 minutes last night, 4.3. Well, they're not playing him. I think Wiggins has been the second best player of the series for the Warriors.

That's not saying much. Maybe that's why they're down 3-1. I think I'd have to move him. It worked. You got a title. You would move Wiggins in his prime over Clay? I can get stuff for Wiggins. What are you going to get for Clay?

I can get stuff for Wiggins. By the way, the Knicks, Wiggins, he gives you a second score. Wiggins absolutely be the second best score. He was a former number one pick. If I'm the Knicks, I'd take Wiggins in a second. Give me Mitchell Robinson. Give me a big, give me length. R.J. Barrett, any interest there?

Maybe. If you look like Kerr put Peyton in the start. lineup. They had four players whose dads played in the NBA and Draymond, a high IQ guy. That was a smart team. They played so good. Yeah. So you need high IQ guys. I don't know if Mitchell Robinson I don't know. I'm not to be spurching his name. I don't know if he's a high IQ guy. There's no question. There's a certain kind of player that plays. You have to be on Steph's timeline. You got to be able to figure that catch and react offense very quickly. I mean, DeAngelo Russell went there and just did not work. Totally right. Just didn't work. He was too

school for them didn't work. He's more of kind of an ad libber and artsy player that kind of does what he does what he wants to do. Doesn't work a lot. He's like the second unit. That's what we want a Westbrook to be with the lake. Let's just go out there lead them. But Mitchell Robinson's been in the league for years. So my takeaway, he's been in the league long enough, he'll adapt. But I mean,

they will reject you quickly. Like Bogot was an old guy. It worked. Iggy, Andreigua, old guy. It works. You have to. They've bailed on young guy. I mean, Kaminga's not playing. They got rid of Wiseman. It's taken Moody forever to play. Like the Warriors, you have got to be on Steph's timeline and you got to be able to get into this offense and move and figure it out. Poole's struggling, they're going to get rid of

him. DeLowe struggled. I think pools... It's hard to just dump a $30 million dollar contract. Well, it also is when Steph's off the floor, he can be very good offensively. So it is hard to boo. Wiggins is the one I think I'd move. Man. I know. I'm not denying any of it, but you're watching this series. He's done nothing. And he's in his prime. He's done nothing. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host to The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour?

I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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, Unterman. filtered 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 Cliverts Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what you? went down and tried to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2023 USFL season continues this weekend on Fox, starting Saturday as the Houston Gamblers take on the Birmingham Stallions at 4 Eastern. Then Sunday, it's the Memphis Showboats versus the New Orleans Breakers at 3 Eastern. Also on Fox and all streaming on the Fox Sports app. By the way, the NFL schedule release is Thursday night. It's Tuesday afternoon, so it's Thursday night. Some of the stuff will be leaking out tomorrow later today.

Keep your eye on Aaron Rogers facing Patrick Mahomes in week one or week two. Trying to start the Jets 0-1, huh? That's a bad spate. You don't want to play Andy Reid off a buy or to start the season generally. He's a great September coach because he brings out all these tricks. You don't want that. Speaking of the Jets, Billy Turner,

former offensive lineman Green Bay, they brought him to New York. I think it's a pretty good move for your contract. So he was on XM Serious Radio and he talked about how happy, how overjoyed Aaron Rogers now is as a jet. The dude just shows up to work

and he's just so happy right now. It's very cool to witness and see because it doesn't matter how long you're in this performance. It's the type of profession where regardless of the amount of time you spend in it, you can always experience something new. And he's experiencing something new for the first time in his entire career. And it's cool to be a part of and watch. It is cool.

It's called the honeymoon period. Every relationship is like this. You start dating. You start a new relationship. The food tastes better. The jokes are funnier. I mean, you guys watched Aaron with the media. Let's be friends.

Oh, boy. Call me crazy. Brett Farv's life post-packers has been less than ideal. Green Bay, let's be honest, you can hide, you ride a bicycle to training camp. The Packers didn't have an owner. Packers always gave him an offensive coach and a top 10 offensive line. The Jets have a defensive coach who's unproven, an O line that's crossed your fingers, wait and see. And New York fans are much more harsh than 45-year-old men who wear cheese hats to games.

Green Bay was loyal. And when Aaron got into problems or struggled or disappointed in Green Bay, it was always somebody else's fault. It was the executives. It was Mike McCarthy. It was the vaccine. Whatever. Aaron's now going to take the heat. And Aaron doesn't love the heat.

And so because Jets fans have convinced themselves, they're a top seven, eight roster in the NFL. Jets fans continue to convince themselves that. So if they don't win 11 or 12 games, also Aaron's going to have to deal with a walk-around practice owner who tends to be hands-on, impulsive and impatient. He's never dealt with that. You don't get to just ride your bike to training camp. The media in New York is punitive and harsh and opinionated and very, very knowledgeable. So are the fans. And remember, Green Bay was a relationship.

You sacrifice. you protect in a marriage. You don't in dating. Dating's every person for themselves. So I just think this is a honeymoon phase. It's going to be a lot of fun. But Green Bay is not real life in the NFL. Riding a bicycle to practice.

No real media with teeth. Small for a college town. It's not the real NFL. So he's not going to have that protective layer of support. I do think they're going to win a lot of games. and I do think Buffalo wins the division, Patriots last, and it's going to come down to which offense is firing on all cylinders late. If Miami has their quarterback upright, I take Miami.

If two is not playing, which I think is a 50-50 proposition, then I would take Aaron and the Jets to make the playoffs. We have said before they are the most interesting team in the NFL this year. San Francisco in the Jets, San Francisco is every year, because we can't figure out who the quarterback is on this roster full Hall of Famers, but I think the Jets are going to be very, very interesting. but it's not surprising to me that, you know, it's the honeymoon period. Everything is googly eyes and, you know, the food tastes better and the jokes are funnier.

Top of next hour. So I can think two things at once. That Devin Booker is great, but it's not going to be sustainable. Like when I watched LeBron for 15 years and he would score 39 points on 55% shooting, have 11 assists and eight rebounds and play great defense. It was sustainable for like 12 years in his prime, maybe 15. It's not sustainable now, but it was sustainable. What Devin Booker is doing now is remarkable.

I don't think it's sustainable. I don't think a guard's going to keep shooting 70%, 65% from the field. So I'm going to give you who I think right now this morning, this afternoon, are the 10 best playoff players. Nick Wright can react to that. Nick, of course, has picked the Lakers to win the championship. So he is feeling it today. I didn't think the Lakers were even a Western Conference finals team,

although I didn't think the Warriors were a championship team. So I'm licking my wounds a little today. I do think this thing goes seven. Who do you think the Lakers would rather face Denver at altitude or Phoenix, KD and Booker? They'd rather face KD and Booker. Oh, really? I don't think you want to go to the altitude, yoke it. That's an efficient team that when you play poorly, they beat you every time.

Hour two next. 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 home.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart 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. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.