The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Are the Warriors in trouble?

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

Colin says where he was right and wrong NBA analyst Ric Bucher joins the show in studio to tell Colin if the Warriors should be worried after dropping the opening game to the KingsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. Hour number two. That thing just flew by, right? If you fly over around. It's the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.

Rick Buechran, about five minutes. What a fun weekend. Now, these first games, take a deep breath during the NFL C, and everybody overreacts. But I did think the Knicks Cavs. I'll get to that in a second. Nick's Cavs very interesting. Cavs are very young.

There's some numbers here that if you start looking at the matchup, there appears to be a problem for the calves. I'm not sure they can solve it. Yeah. Wing deficiency is a big thing, but I think you're underrating how much trouble the Warriors are in, Colin.

Defensively, they got nobody. Nobody, not Peyton, not Wiggins, not Clay, definitely not Clay. They can hang with De Aaron Fox. He obliterated them after chasing around Steph Curry most of the game. Like, Deeran Fox is a major problem. I'm a little nervous for the Warriors, but I did bet them tonight. For the series, I'm nervous, but tonight they got to bounce back, right?

I think they'll be fine. All right, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both, and here we go. Where Colin was right? John Morant, my number one concern is. always been, I don't think you can build around him. He's explosive but 174 pounds. You can't stay in front of him. He attacks the basket and collides with a player 75 pounds heavier, A.D. I think he's a spectacular player, but I think he has to be your two. I just don't. Derek Rose, John Wall, I have seen young spectacular guards. Even young guards that aren't spectacularly

vertical, like a Steve Nash, there's limitations. Those Phoenix teams got pushed around by San Antonio. He is a skinnier Derek Rose. He's a very, very good player, and he's wildly fun. You'd pay to watch him play. But this has been my concern. No hand check. He gets by everybody, collides at the rim, hits the floor. I don't think long-term you can build around him as the number one guy.

Where Colin was raw. I thought the Lakers would win, but I didn't think it would be that pretty. I thought they had to win at the free throw line and ugly up the game. And instead, it was really. and Rui, they shot over 50%. It was really pretty basketball. And they didn't have any more free throws than Memphis. It was so, I mean, it was pass it, find the open guy, young guys hit in threes.

I thought it was going to be a wrestling match, and that was their only way to win. That was one of the prettiest quarters of Laker basketball the entire season in the third quarter. And then in the fourth, LeBron got out of the way, let Reeves run the offense. that was almost artistic, which I didn't know if the Lakers would have in them. Where Colin was right. I said, keep your eye on young playoff team shrinking.

Cleveland's young. They got pushed around. Memphis is young. The Lakers blocked 11 shots. Referees swallow their whistles in April, May, and June. That allows bigger, stronger teams to wreak havoc. You go look at that Knicks Cleveland rebounding difference. Outside of the bubble year, old teams win in the playoffs.

Where Colin was wrong. Listen, I thought Phoenix was going to roll over the Clippers, but he as Kevin Durant lost seven straight games. He disappeared late in the game. I just think the Sun's got too much time off, and they got into a big hole in the first quarter. The time off didn't hurt the Clippers. It absolutely hurt the Suns,

lethargic to come out of the gate, sleepwalking the entire first quarter. By the way, Chris Paul, who needed the rest, was only two for eight. He didn't play well at all, surprising to me. Where Colin was right? Well, the Zach Levine story out of Chicago ended as predicted. He's not consistent. He's not a winning player, but he's a highlight reel.

The Zaxter came back down to earth. What do you know? 15 points. Listen, he's got hops. He's got good handles. He's fun to watch. Six years in Chicago. and the East has been garbage for a lot of it.

What happened to the Zaxter? Zero playoff series wins. Sometimes I feel like I'm the mentor and J-Mack's the student. Sometimes students get very hyper after a sugar high or something. Maybe J-Mack had some candy last week and he was just coming out of his bursting at the seams. But the Zaxter is good, fun player. I don't think he's necessarily a winning player. Where Colin was wrong.

I thought when Zion Williamson, got into this league, he was going to be a star, and he would eventually have to move off the Pelicans. The question now is, should the Pelicans move off Zion? He's never in shape, but he's never healthy, and it was not a good look. I don't care what anybody says. It's not a good look in pre-games when you're dunking and shooting, and yet you're not available to play.

Pelicans don't get a lot of these opportunities to get into the playoffs. Give him 16 minutes, eight a half, whatever, but he's been a big disappointment. I don't know if he rises to a bus, but he's been a big disappointment. where Colin was right. Jalen Brunson, 21 of his 27 in the second half. What happened to Trey Young? Five of 18. Jay Mack and I had a big disagreement last week.

I said I would take Brunson over Trey Young. Trey Young is more spectacular. Jalen Brunson's a second round pick. Classic Villanova tough guy, works hard, plays defense, has a lot of big game experience in March for the Villanova Wildcats. But in the end, Brunson is just a great floor general. Trey Young is a greater basketball talent, but Brunson was on full display and that win over the calves. Where Colin was right?

Been saying Bill Belichick's tone deaf, he may be great, but he is tone deaf on offense. And the athletic reports this morning that the Mack Jones Bill Belichick issues are for real. They're not getting better. Bill, you couldn't give, you'd never had dinner with Tom Brady one time in 20 years. You may want to make an exception for Mac Jones. Like the bottom line is you don't draft offense well, you don't develop it well, and in the free agent market, you don't spend it well on offense. And yet, you put in Matt Patricia as a defensive coordinator and thought it would work.

What it was was a shot at Mack Jones, disrespectful to Mac Jones. Belichick has all the titles. He's got a great trophy room. Maybe he has a trophy wing at his house, but he is completely tone deaf on offense. and the fact that this continues to get out. I always say, if you see a couple fight at a party, what's the ride home like? If I'm hearing about how bad it is, how bad does it have to be inside the building? How tense does it have to be?

Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Let's bring on Rick Buecker covering the NBA for 30 years. 30 years. He's got. Linding his teeth when you're talking about the, husband and wife fighting. That's my first question. And too, I'm not so sure about this idea that dinner between Bill and Mac is going to work because since you and I had dinner, a couple nice Cubans afterward, I mean, what I thought was a really nice evening, we haven't...

I've ghosted you. We haven't, yeah, pretty much, that was it. It was, apparently something, something went wrong. So I'm not, I'm not full on board with, you know, sometimes a dinner can take you the right way and sometimes it can take you off the cliff. Who canceled dinner? this week. It was last week. I told you. Yeah, whatever. Okay.

Let's start with this. I think it was fairly predictable. Sack wins game one, biggest game in a decade. Wiggins is not quite ready to give you 39 minutes. I thought he melted a little bit in the fourth quarter. I think they win game two. I think they're a great adjusting team. I just think they're waiting for Wiggins to get all his win back.

I just don't think he's quite there. Now, he needs to get there in the next four games, but your takeaway in game one. I'm not concerned about the warrior still winning this series, but I do think that they made the road a little tougher because Sacramento now gained a lot of confidence. If Wiggins hits the three in the corner, or Steph hits the runner, and we go to O.T. And somehow the Warriors eke that out, then this is a short series. I do believe now the Kings think they can play with them. I need to see them in the Chase Center.

first. And I do believe that the Warriors are more capable of stealing a game in Sacramento than Sacramento is capable of stealing a game in the Chase Center. So that's where it stands. Now, because of everything that they ask

Steph to do, and because of the age of Dremont and Clay, and I hate to continue to beat this drum, like, they can't afford to have series go longer than necessary if they still want to have a shot. it winning it all this year or getting to the final. So that's again where it's a it does some

damage, but I don't think that it's fatal. Okay. So I want to move to a guy you covered for years KD. So I have seen examples. I thought Westbrook got up on him yesterday and gave him trouble. I thought Pat Bev did it a few years ago when he was a warrior, got in his space, gave him trouble. He generally finds his way out of it. But I thought J-Mack hit on something. One shot six and a half minutes. Where's Monty Williams? Where's Chris Paul? I don't put this all on Kevin Durant. I just don't. There are times certain teams handle rest better. I thought all that, because they didn't play Kevin Durant in the last couple games. I thought they didn't have any urgency early. And then I thought it was some bad coaching late on Phoenix. Yeah, I was a little confused

by that. But KD is always a tricky star to deal with. There are times where you would think, think KD has been through this. KD. is aggressive. KD. You don't need to tell him what to do. He's going to demand the ball and he's going to go get it done. And it's just not the way that he always operates. There's times where he will go get it. He will say, I'm in charge. And there's other times where you kind of have to prod him to say, this is your time. And a little bit going back with Luca and Karee, I still think there's an element between KD and Devin in terms of splitting the pie. Like who's supposed to go

get it? Because you saw a lot of Devin at the end where I don't know that that was necessarily the best matchup. So it's something they have to figure out and it's something that Monty has to figure out because if you're asking the players to these are not those kind

of players. As great as KD is as willing as he is to put it on his shoulder. Same with Devin Booker. He's not the Michael Jordan get out of my way, no questions asked. Or Kobe, I mean, I thought Devin Booker shoot a three, dude, it's there. Driving, and then, by the way, arguing with the

official in the middle of a play. It was, it was, it's why I've been slow to get on the Devin Booker band. You have, yeah. Because talent wise, he's a top 15, top 20 talent, no question about it. I'd like to see him, he's improved

defensively, so that's fine. But he gets caught up in these skirmishes. He gets in these battles. you're in the middle of the play. You drive and you're trying to get an and one, which is shaky in the playoffs. Situationally, an odd decision. And then you're in the middle of the play

and you're turning to the referee to complain and the play's still live. I just, if he doesn't do that, if he's still aware, he either dodges that ball that Russ is throwing back in or possibly catches it and the sons are still in business. So that's where I just, I'm not convinced. convinced that Devin is a winning player at this point. Yeah.

Wes, I said if you'd never seen Westbrook play and you gave somebody yesterday's tape, you'd say that's exactly what he is. Offensively, not a lot of self-awareness and he can't shoot. Yeah. But his energy, I called him a walking Red Bull. He is, there's nothing like it in the league. Like, he just, he's the cardio king. Like, he could just play like that forever, seemingly.

Yeah. What I really respected and admired was that they were trying to get the ball to Kauai Leonard, could not get it to him on that last possession, and Russ finally decided, I have to go do something. Now, this is a guy who was three for 19 at that point. Short, close, mid-range deep, he couldn't hit anything. He couldn't. Bad misses. But the ability and the awareness to say, I can't get it there, we need to get a shot off. And I can't, I'm not going to give it to someone else. I'm not going to put that responsibility on them.

I've had the ball most of the shot clock and then gets to the middle and gets to the free throw line and makes the free throws. I have all the respect in the world. Now, did I think he was going to make both? I did. With the way things were going, not at all. But the fact that he had that awareness and willingness, look, when you're 12 for 19, it's easy as hell to go.

Well, yeah. Okay, I can't get it there. Let me go. You're three for 19 and game one is on the line and you go, you know what? I'm going to put it on my shoulders. Uptmost respect for it. That's what you get from Russ. That's why a lot of guys in the league of respect.

No, 100%. Total alpha doesn't care. I mean, last night he battled with fans. Last night he was three for 19. And last night he gave you energy. I mean, it was so obvious that once he, I felt like once he struggled from the field as as badly as he was, he's like, yeah, that's bad. I got to make stuff happen elsewhere.

It almost energized him. Every miss made him play harder on the defensive end. Because we've talked about this. There are times he mails in defense. I mean, he could be, if this is what he could be every night, but I think he was shooting so poorly, he was like, okay, this is bad. I can't help but feel like the whole Lakers experience for him is fueling this right now. Yeah.

Being in the same city. Yeah. Being on the team, you know, down the hall. and he's playing different with them. He is. Like his whole thing, he was still hung up on, I'm a star, I'm a triple double star, I'm a guy who can make shots.

And now he's like, I can be an energy guy. I can be an effort guy. And I want to show that I can still be a winning player. In the Lakers, I've heard this in the building, they were really disappointed with his defense. Like he just, he had such great athletic.

and they didn't give you much on the defensive end. It's almost like he went across town and said, okay, I totally agree. I'll prove it to you. Let's talk about the Lakers. I think one of the great things that a magic, I mean, LeBron's one of the smartest players ever, not just in-game, the way he strategically has used the right agents, used his leverage. I just finished the Jeff Benedict book on LeBron. There's so many great stories.

He's made mistakes like everybody else in the public eye for 20 years, but he's a smart basketball player. And I thought yesterday was a real moment that LeBron knows at 38. Yeah. Like Andrew Wiggins hasn't caught his wind. That's not LeBron's issue. His is, he's 38. And in the fourth, he just stepped back. And he let Rui and Reeves. And I'm like, it was very graceful. Not every star ages like that. LeBron is so smart that he's like, you know what, Rui is out of his mind, AD's in control. And I thought it was a really impressive. moment for LeBron going, I can watch some of this. He did it. He started the game like that too. He was, he was, stood back, he was very, very passive. He allowed kind of the game to come to him.

I really think he, at 38, is looking at it going, if we're going to go anywhere, I've got to be able to stay on the floor and I can't do everything. And look, if you look at the numbers during the season, they are a far better team when he is a complimentary player. Yes. than when he's their top score. Yeah. And that's what I didn't understand from the grizzly standpoint. Now, can Austin Reeves, can the Austin Reeves Rui Hachamura two-man game lead you to a championship? No, no.

I don't think so. But I love this Lakers team. Somehow the Lakers have become the underdog. And in spite of the names and everything that they have, and I thought they played such a smarter brand of basketball. I thought the third quarter was as good as they can play. I thought it was pretty. It was a really nice, complimentary game. At this point, I don't even want to put, like, to set a bar for them.

I'm just enjoying seeing this team evolve, to see, I mean, when did Anthony, I don't know if Anthony Davis is a soap opera star at this point, or he's John Wick. Because we've had the, I can't feel my arm, my ankles broke, like, we've had all that, but usually he doesn't come back. It's over for a month. Totally different player in the last 20, 30 days. I don't know who got to him or what has happened or whether it's like we're just going to amplify everything and make it look like I'm recovering from things that used to take me under.

But regardless, I love seeing this Anthony Davis. And so I don't want to put a bar on what the Lakers can be at this point. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy seeing them be way more than I'll admit they've been way more to this point than I expected them to be. Okay, I don't want to overreact. Yeah. I do not

want to overreact, but here we go. J-Mack, you've heard this before, right? By the way, talk about people doing things in the public eye for 20 years and making their mistakes like everybody. Colin? No, I've had my days. Really? So a lot of mistakes

in the playoffs or issues are correctable. Warriors, Andrew Wiggins gets more reps. Janus doesn't get hurt. But I watch the Knicks series against the Cavs. The Knicks are like top two in the league in second chance points becoming, second chance opportunities becoming points. Yeah.

They're like 23 points against the Cavs in like second chance opportunities. They're the second best rebounding team in the league. Like that is a problem. Yeah. And Jared Allen and Mobley are not like thick physical players like a Robin. and I watched that game and I'm like, oh, we got a matchup problem. The calves are in trouble here. I mean, there were times the Knicks in one sequence.

I think the Knicks got four offensive rebounds in one sequence, three or four. And I'm like, I'm not sure that's fixable for Cleveland. It should be because of the athleticism on their front line. Evan Mowgli and Jared Allen. And the one issue I would say, and I didn't look, I didn't do a deep dive on the numbers, is where are those offensive rebounds coming from? because the one thing that the Knicks have with the Cavs is they have a lot of length on the wings. And they still haven't figured out.

This is why I didn't think that the Cavs were going to go deep into the playoffs. I did expect them to win this series, and I still think they can. But integrating Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, they haven't quite figured that out even to this point, how you make both of them equal threats. It becomes the show of one or the other, a little bit like the KD. Russ in OKC situation. And the other problem is, and this is the other question where can Julius Randall be this kind of guy? It was only 19 and 10, but he made some big shots at big times. Where is the scoring on the front line from the Cleveland Cavaliers going to come from?

Evan Mobley doesn't have that kind of game. Jared Allen doesn't have that kind of game. So they have to win the effort battle. I believe that they can. I also would like to see, even though the Cavs were last in the league and Pace during the regular season, they need to play faster. Yeah. This is in Tom Thibodeau's wheelhouse.

Yes. To play the next game. This tempo. It is. They need to pick it up. It is interesting, though, and maybe not in football, but like in, college basketball, the final four got lousy ratings because we didn't have a Duke or a Kansas. And the NBA has survived and thrived economically without the Knicks. But it is more fun to have

the Knicks. Lakers? It's just, I mean, but I get the Lakers. It's like the Knicks, those games at Madison Square Garden on television, they just look different. Yeah. And by the way, it feels like every Knicks team, you can go back to Willis Reed, because Walt Frazier was a great defensive player, the Pat Riley teams. They're never pretty. You know, even. Even, Even Jalen Brunson is a second round guy from Villanova, which is they grind you. You stay there three or four years. It is just such, like most Laker teams that have been great are flashy. Yeah.

When the Knicks are really good, it's tough, it's resilient, it's inartistic. Pretty much. I just kind of like them in the playoffs. Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah. They are a brand. Their brand is kind of tough that stayed consistent throughout.

Their Biggie's basketball. Yes. Not always the prettiest, but the toughest. Yes. Tibbs is a good fit for that team. He is. The one thing that has surprised me a little bit is that, and maybe it's more a function of what the Cavs were, is that the Knicks usually, or Tom Thibbido teams, don't traditionally do well in the postseason because he maximizes who they are in the regular season. With effort.

They play close to their margin. Right. And they play hard. And they play hard. And now everybody elevates in the postseason. and everybody plays hard, and they have more talent. It's only one game. This is going to be a long series.

I still feel like Cleveland has every opportunity to win. They got a lot of shot makers. I mean, they can score. The calves can score quickly and a lot. For sure. For sure. Yeah. And again, I think that the offensive rebounding, much like it took the Warriors under,

I do think that that is fixable. Okay. With what the calves. I don't think it's just big body. I think there's just a matter of their bigs. Jared Allen and Evan Mowley have to get busy on the boards. Almost everything is fixable. My ears aren't, but almost everything else. I could get hair plugs. I could do bicep lifts. I could fix almost all the flaws here. Ears, I'm stuck with them. I'm just telling you, most stuff is fixable. Do you have a problem with your ears? I don't know where that came from.

The point being is, even in basketball, most stuff is fixable. I'm just not sure that's, I'm not sure. that the calves, I think the Knicks are going to outrebound them in every single game. We'll see. We'll see. I will say this, just to kind of take a step back. This was a glorious weekend to start the players. Oh, great. We had so many games that created more questions.

We had questions coming in. Now we have more questions as a result of what happened over the weekend. I just absolutely, I mean, other than, you know, Boston, Atlanta. Yeah. You know what it is? And Denver, Minnesota. We've got more intrigued than ever. In the NFL, you have to play hard always or you get hurt.

Same in hockey. When you're on the ice, you've got to play 100% or you get hurt. MLS, you don't have many games, playoffs, regular season, guys play hard. Baseball is about pitching, you know, and all pitchers individually. It doesn't matter if it's April or October. They're trying to give you their best stuff. March college basketball. Those kids all play hard.

They're not making any money. NBA is different. Unique bodies, long travel, regular season intensity is one thing. Yep. But when you watch LeBron sprinting down the floor, how many guys jumped in the stands to get a loose ball? I mean,

playoff basketball does not look like the regular season. It is so intense. Guys fighting through screens, you're not doing that in the sixth game, Rode? The guys that I've talked to who experienced the playoffs for the first time, afterward. They just, they were so exhausted. I said, what's the number one thing you learn? He goes, it takes everything out of you. And this is guys play 82 games. Don't feel the same way. They play a six game series and they're like, I'm done for the next two weeks. It's that,

it's that tough, which this is a whole other subject is why we have issues with all these injuries. Yes. Because we have games, but teams don't practice five on five. anymore. So their bodies are not built. And practices are generally harder than the games. They've taken that out of the equation. It's why we've got what we've got. And somehow they need to get back to that. Well, NFL's got the same issue with offensive linemen. They don't hit as much. And offensive line play can get, it's never been in my life this bad. And yet the athletes are all better. So Rick Buech are good stuff. Search Her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 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, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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And the contract he has yet to get. So obviously he was happy with the Odell Beckham edition. According to former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, I think you remember him. He worked for like four minutes a few years back. Yeah, yeah. According to Lombardi, the O'Dell Beckham thing came as no surprise to the Ravens. Lombardi said Lamar Jackson told the Ravens go get Odell and DeAndre Hopkins, and he'll be ready to talk. The Ravens said they could only afford to get one.

And they signed Odell. And I'll add, they overpaid O'Dell. What do you make of this? Do you think Lamar Jackson, who doesn't have an agent, is making demands of Baltimore? Hey, don't talk to me. Go get O'Dell, go get Hopkins, and then we'll talk. Do you? First of all, I would have taken DeAndre Hopkins over O'Dell, wouldn't you?

That's the other thing. Like, why would you get O'Dell coming off a year of inactivity over Hopkins? Now, Hopkins has apparently wants a lot of money, and you'd have to trade something to get him. Well, you've got to be careful about what a quarterback wants. Matt Stafford pounded the table for Alan Robinson. How'd that work out? Yeah, Aaron Rogers pounded the table for Randall Cobb. Yeah, you've got to be very careful about players play, coaches, coach, GM's GM.

Mahomes is not making the call. Last year, 10 rookies played for Kansas City. Okay, Mahomes wasn't banging the table for any of them. They went and did it. So Aaron Rogers is a great quarterback. I'm not listening to him on who, hey, listen, as smart as LeBron is, remember in Miami, he wanted Shabazz Napier because he had a good final four. Players play. Incredible NCAA.

By the way, LeBron wanted Westbrook. LeBron's a brilliant basketball guy, but a lot of times players live in the moment. LeBron's aging. He wants a guy that brings great energy, but Russell Westbrook can't play off the ball so he doesn't work with LeBron. Like, I just think players need to be playing, and GMs need a GM. and I don't think it's a knock on the players. Who's great at two things? Well, I think you maybe took it a little bit too far.

Sometimes quarterbacks can say, I have a good chemistry with this guy. It works like McVeigh pounded the table for Matt Stafford. Now, I know you might say Matt Stafford. But that's a coach, an offensive coach, who says, that's different. You're talking about a player saying, a player is a player. Part of being a coach is understanding some level of personnel. All coaches have some.

Bill Parcells. want me to make dinner, I get a shot for the groceries. So coaches do have some... Jimmy Johnson's greatest strength may have been personnel recognition. But a player is not a GM and a GM's not a player. Like, when did it become bad in society, when we all just did what we did at a really high level, we're not all experts on stuff. It's like when Lamar's like, I'm going to have my mom be an agent.

Well, time out. That's not... That's like saying... I had a friend one time as like, you know, I think I could... He was a decent college golfer. He was like, you know, it was out easy. I think I could play on the tour. I'm like, you couldn't play on the tour.

What you're basically saying is it's so disrespectful to people on the tour to think, because you can occasionally be a scratch golfer, you can play on the tour. There's so much psychologically to it. And I just think we live in a time now where it's okay if you say to a player, just go be a great player. I don't want my quarterback saying who I should sign. I don't think it's a good trip. Well, I seem to remember 2016, you were here at FS1 and you were pounding the table.

We got to bring in McIntyre. We've got to get McIntyre here. But I also own a company. So I would say, as I've always had a great interest in that part of the business. Again, to be an athlete and a world-class athlete takes a 24-7 focus. To be a talk show host, I'm off at noon. I go pound beers if I wanted to it. It doesn't take that much focus.

You're throwing around weights and on the treadmill. You're not pounding beers. Next up, Celtics got a dominant game one win over the Atlanta Hawks. This does not look like it's going to be a competitive series. Jalen Brown, 29 and 12. Tatum 25 had 21 in the first half. My guy, Trey Young, tough night. I do like Trey Young.

Atlanta made five of 29 three-pointers. They made a little run in the fourth, but it was never really interesting. Is this the least interesting series in the first round? Well, one of the things that jumped out to me in this game, it's like institutional knowledge that Tatum Brown Marcus Smart have played so many games together watch the Celtics

passing. When these teams all take load management, like you need the reps. Boston is such a good passing team. I mean, you saw it with Golden State even though they lost. I mean, Draymond Green, he just knows where guys are going to be. And I think when you watch Golden State and you watch

the Celtics, you just see this institutional knowledge based on so many reps and so many games in so many years together that Atlanta's got a new coach, new system, new guy. It's just not going to be the same. A word about the Celtics. I know you've liked the Bucks for a while. I've been on the other side. If I asked you who has the best roster in the playoffs, I would argue to the death that

it's the Boston Celtics. Whether it's Danny Ains before he left or Brad Stevens, who's now in there, their roster is unbelievable, Colin. They have so many good shooters. I mentioned his name Grant Williams, the role player who won game seven against the Bucs. he's not barely playing. I don't know how much he's going to play in this series. They are loaded.

Robert Williams, Horford, who was washed in Philly. Colin, this roster is so stacked. Like, who has a better roster than them? Warriors, nine deep. No comment on that. Where the hell was the bench on Sunday? Jordan Poole had a back game. Peyton's got one job.

Come in and stop Deering Fox. He got cooked. You know, Jordan Poole, Peyton, Wiggins now off the bench. You don't like that bench. Well, Wiggins is probably going to start tonight, right? Okay, so then I get Devengenzo off the bench. I like Devengenzo a lot. Yeah, a nice player.

A pool off the bench, he drives me nuts. Jordan Poole drives me nuts to watch. Yeah, people are coming after you on the internet today for something you said about Jordan Poole. I didn't even notice me. I didn't think it was. Oh, I can't. He drives me nuts. Watching him play defense.

He doesn't play defense. At all. And this culture is, it would be like being a Celtic and playing no defense. Like Al Horford's old and can't play it. But if you play for the Celtics, you have to commit the defense. If you play for the Warriors, you've got to commit the defense. the defense. All you fanboys out there that think Jordan Polkin and a jumper, how many

times this year did Kerr, Dremont take a shot at him after a game? Like, what did Dreymond say after the game? Can't let Malik Munk have 32? Well, Malik Munk gave it to everybody. I don't want to put a spotlight on a guy who had, like, back to back out for the season injuries. But Clay

Thompson, he got obliterated on defense by Monk and by Deer & Fox. They cooked him. This is a young King's team. Colin, I'm worried about the Warriors, but I've said that already once on the show. All right, final story. Sixers got a nice win over the nets in game one. Likely MVP, Joelle Embed. Yeah, it's good game. 26. James Hardin hit seven threes. James Hardin looked like, you know, the guy he did in Houston, right? A really good game. 13 assists. Sixers up. Game two is tonight. Interest level in Sixers' nets. None. None.

Philly rolls. Hardin played well. I think the spread is 10. Yeah, first of all, we've got a lot of these series in the first round. Sons, Clippers, is that going to be interesting? I thought it was going to be a sweep. So did I. It might be off. Kings Warriors, it's very, very interesting. Cleveland Knicks now.

Oh, that's very, very interesting. So you're not going to get, you're going to get some blowouts here. But if you can get three first round series that are really engaging, that's a good first round. Well, we'll see with the injuries. The Jammarant, we still don't have word on that. I mean, if he's out extended, it's over. They're already down two guys. But, yeah, I don't see how the Nets make it interesting

unless Bridges goes for like 45 tonight. I'm with you. Sixers tonight. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app.

This is Steve Kavino. And Rich Davis. And together, we are. are Covino and Rich. Covino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right. Cavino and Rich,

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The show features our unique take on sports injected with some fun, humor, and relatability. Listen to Coveino and Rich five days a week on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Kovino and Rich, get me your hell, yeah. 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, unfilful. conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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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. Good to have you back in. So again, tonight the Warriors, I think rebound against Sacramento. I think they'll be fine. I think it's okay. If they don't, we'll have a real series, but they adjust well. Andrew Wiggins, very good for three quarters.

He'll be fine. Also, I think Milwaukee bounces back. Yonis got hurt. I just don't think, you know, I don't think Miami has. now Tyler Heroes out with an injury. They just don't have enough points. And I also think Phoenix will rebound. I thought the time off really affected K.D. and Chris Paul, they didn't play well, older players.

The one series, I think, is kind of interesting. I thought the Cavs would win in five. I also thought Julius Randall wouldn't play in game one. He did, and they're dominating. I think this is the thing to keep your eye on. The Knicks are third in the NBA in second chance points, and they had 23 of those Saturday. and that was the most of any playoff team,

is that the rebounding gap between the two teams was stark. And I don't know if that's correctable. They push Cleveland around a lot. Jared Allen, Evan Mobley, have size, but not real thick. Jalen Brunson leading the offense and dominating the glass are two things. Tibbs teams do really well. So this is a very young Cavs team now. There's going to be some self-doubt.

What are we? I think there are certain things right now. now that Knicks have advantages, second half point, second chance points. They're a better rebounding team. That game was a Knicks game. If you'd have told me what's it looked like. Cleveland played slower. It played into the Knicks.

They can pound the glass. Jalen Brunson being good is not a surprise. He's been good all year. He's had a great year. But we tend to watch the bigs and their dominance and Yokic and Ambide and Janus and that's our MVP votes. Nobody in this league is more valuable to their team than Jalen Brunson. and if you watch this game over the weekend, you wouldn't argue that.

But he's not a surprise. The gap in rebounding in crisis, crucial situations was like, wow, I'm not sure Cleveland can overcome that. They don't steal the next game at home. The series is pretty much over. So that one, that is one I don't think is correctable. The other news today, which is substantial, Jalen Hertz, has signed a massive contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. it's big money, but $75 million of it are not guaranteed. And I believe on the market, he would have substantial interest from a minimum of six teams.

He's been banged up a little the last couple years, but when he went toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl, I think he is an ascending player. He's not a noisy player. He has an agency clutch sports that does all his work. He is driven. He is laser focused. He has great leadership skills.

He's earned every penny of it. I would have liked to have seen another year. But the bottom line is, Eagles said if we sign them a little early, we can get a little break. The money's not going down. So I think Jalen wins, clutch sports wins. The Eagles feel like they can breathe a little bit,

but 75 million of this is not guaranteed. And Jalen hurts right now, I would take him over Lamar. He's an ascending player. I'm not sure Lamar is. Two things can be true. I can like Lamar, but I would take Jalen Hertz over him. And I'm not sure Lamar is ascending.

Have we seen the best of Lamar? There's an argument for that. Every time I watch Jalen Hertz, he's better. You're one to year two. Year two to year three. Regular season of the Super Bowl. He just keeps ascending. So, you know, I got no problem with him getting the money in Philadelphia paying him.

I thought I'd like to see a little bit more, but they wrapped it up. They've got their quarterback. and in the NFC, let's be honest about this. The AFC has the five best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Most people think that. Jalen Hertz is arguably sixth, and there's a gap. Right now, today, this minute, if you told me, who would you take Jalen Hertz or Lamar for a variety of reasons?

Health, maturity, ascension, I would take Jalen Hertz. All right, all right. Is it a fair comparison to make that? given who they have. So look at what Jalen Hertz went from. Okay? Devante Smith, top 10 draft pick. A.J. Brown, superstar, they bring him in.

That's better than anyone Lamar Jackson has ever had in Baltimore. Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, one, quick thing. Hollywood Brown, his buddy left him. Come on. What is Hollywood Brown? Late first round pick? He's not great. I don't even know if he was just good at Tobinth Smith. Then he's like, get me to somebody else.

Okay, fine. That point is fair. Let me just also mentioned last year, Jalen Hertz's offensive coordinator. He's now a head coach. Greg Roman was Lamar's offensive. of coordinator. Where is he unemployed right now? I'm just saying it's not an apples to apples based on one year. I'm not... I think the body of work for Lamar suggests

he is more talented overall. Now, does Jalen have him in the... Billions quit? Well, that is where he has an edge, but it's closer. Intangibles matter for quarterbacks. Will you say nice things about Lamar, please? I like him. Less than I did two years ago, but I like him.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy. Not quite on humor 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 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to and learn. the hard way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that

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