The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Most improved

Episode Date: June 2, 2023

The Top 10 Most Improved NFL Teams 5 Best NFL Bets for Week 1 Can the Nuggets be a dynasty?   Guest: Ric BucherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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, unfiltered 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 IHard 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd.

Now let's get this party started. listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back to the herd. It's Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd, our number two. As I've explained already, Cowherd had to do a little bit of a travel issue. He will be back on Monday. I believe he's watching this from an airport at an undisclosed, in an undisclosed city. Good luck to you on the road there, Mr. Cowherd.

The big breaking news here that happened in the last 15 minutes. We'll talk about it with Rick Buecker shortly, is that The Phoenix Sons have announced, well, I guess they didn't announce it, but Sharm Sharania announced that the sons are going to be hiring Frank Vogel. A buddy sent me a tweet that like 20 minutes before they got Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers pulled his name out of contention for the Phoenix Sun's job. Smart timing, Doc Rivers, unless he knew what was coming. At any rate, I just, I like Frank Vogel a lot.

I try, you guys know I play a lot of basketball. I talk about the men's league, played a lot of pickup basketball during COVID. And Frank Vogel lives in my neighborhood, or lived in my neighborhood living out here in LA. And one of my neighbors, a good buddy is like, I would see Frank Vogel out. And I said, can you invite him to our pickup game? Because he apparently still plays basketball. He's like, dude, he is the nicest guy, the most down to earth. There's no arrogance. And he was coaching the Lakers. Okay. They ended up winning the title in the bubble. I'm a big Frank Vogel guy. Everybody says nice things about him, defensive guy. He's going into a really toxic situation in

Phoenix. And I know toxic is a strong word, but I'll be brief here because I've got to get to an NFL list. Two things that jump out. Number one, Kevin Durant, my guy, you know, I like KD. We've had a little Instagram DM bromance over the years. He likes to throw grenades at me. That's fine. But he responds. He's open to the discourse. I can't get over Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving saying, who needs a coach? We don't need a coach. We can just roll the ball out and play. Kevin Durant, I respect the talent. Top 15 player all time, no doubt. You need a coach, buddy. It's undeniable.

Like, go look at Philadelphia with Doc Rivers. Go look at Milwaukee with Budenholzer. Coaches matter. And this idea that Frank Vogel is just going to come in, like you're not going to teach Kevin Durant anything. You're not going to teach Devin Booker anything. It's the supporting cast and playing around them and maybe playing an ounce of defense because Denver just shredded them.

But this is a tough one for Frank Vogel. And I mentioned to Eddie House last hour, Vogel likes his rim protectors. when he had that Laker team, they had Javelle McGee, Dwight Howard, and Anthony Davis, room protecting. Right now it's DeAndre Aiton, Joc Landale, and Bismack Biombo, I think.

I don't know that's going to cut it, and I don't know that you could really move Aiton now. So it's going to get interesting, and I do wonder if this ends or just begins, the Kyrie Irving journey perhaps to Phoenix. We'll ask Rick Buecker about that shortly. But first, I came up with the staff this morning. You know, we like a good list on this show.

It sells well on the internet, gets people talking. So I came up with the 10 most improved teams in the NFL. We will count them down. Number 10. We'll start with the Dallas Cowboys. How about them Cowboys? Pick up Brandon Cooks in the offseason and Stefan Gilmore. There's an argument.

This is a top defense, not only in the NFL, but number one in the NFC. The talent is there. I know they lost Zeke Elliott. It's not a huge loss. we'll see maybe for Jerry Jones but not necessary for the Cowboys this is a really good team I'm not 100% sold on them with the Kellyn Moore loss but they are certainly improved as a team adding cooks and Gilmore number nine the Detroit Lions now we've been hyping them for a while here they had a spotty draft maybe reached a bit for the kid Gibbs the running back out of Bama

and of course a linebacker in the first round that doesn't make any sense but I love the secondary additions Cameron Sutton comes over He's been Rock and Pittsburgh, among other places. And C.J. Gardner Johnson, remember from Philadelphia? Very good nickelback. This is a, I got to say, this is a Detroit team that's going to be improved. Jeff Okuda, obviously gone. But they're the favorites.

Well, they're not the favorites, but I think I would make them the favors to win the division over Minnesota. Number eight. Oh, yeah. Jacksonville Jaguars. Calvin Ridley is the sole reason they are the most improved list. So in 2020 in Atlanta, 1,300 yards receiving nine touchdowns. Ridley is a beast.

You add him to Trevor Lawrence, E.N. I mean, this is a team that they kind of pushed Kansas City there in the playoff game. I like this Jacksonville team. We'll talk about bets later in the show. It ain't the worst bet in the world to say they win the most games in the AFC. That division is just absolutely putrid. Number seven. Let's go with the Denver Broncos.

What's not to love about Sean Payton? They also got their offensive line. Added Mike McGlinchie stole him from Sanfran and Ben Powers. But you could make an argument. Most improved? Are the Broncos top three? I had them down here at 7. I do love the Sean Payton edition.

It's just the AFC is so tough. There's still a world where this team does miss the playoffs. Number six. Let's go with the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson, they keep him. That squabble, that marriage it was on the rocks, is back on. they add Odell Beckham. They arguably have, well, not arguably.

They got the best wide receiver room, receiving room if you throw in the tight ends, that Lamar Jackson's ever had. Now, the new offensive coordinator, we'll see how that works out, Todd Munkin. But I do think from an improved standpoint, this offense has all the pieces in place to be an 11 or 12-win team.

Number five. Let's go with the New Orleans Saints. They're here for one reason, and one reason alone. Mr. Derek Carr. What's not to love about Carr? I mean, besides the fact that he was, you know, 16 games or 15 games under 500 with the Raiders. But Carr is a massive upgrade over the poo-poo platter of quarterbacks they've had there since Drew Grease left.

Carr, you know, I think he could make a case to be one of the better quarterbacks in the NFC. Now, the NFC's down on the quarterback front. It's like Jalen Hertz and Dak Prescott. Like, I don't know, it's pretty bleak. But Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr are right there in contention for number two. and I do believe Carr and the Saints, they could be a 12-13 win team. Vegas seems to be a little light on them,

which is a bit of a surprise to me. Number four. Number four, Miami Dolphins. You know I do not like saying nice things about the Dolphins. As a Jets fan, I'm conditioned to dislike Miami. Dates back to that Dan Marino fake spike, but we don't need to talk about that. When you add Jalen Ramsey,

one of the better cornerbacks in the league, and yes, I've called him a pile inspector on the show, and he did not like that. But Jailen Ramsey's a game changer in a secondary. They're going to lose Byron Jones. The other quarterback, Xavier Howard, very good. They're going to have a good secondary.

They're going to have a really good team. The only question is the offensive line. But from an improved standpoint, Jalen Ramsey's definitely a big ad for Miami. Number three. Ah, yes, here we go. Collins Special, the L.A. Chargers. Adding Kellynne Moore's offensive coordinator is immensely huge to Justin Herbert. I really do think this is a Chargers team that finally breaks through in

the playoff game. Remember, the hype has been there for Herbert now for two years. They lose in the final game of the season to the Raiders. Herbert was extraordinary, and they missed the playoffs. Then they get to the playoffs. I think they led, was it like 27, nothing, 20 to nothing, whatever it was on the road in Jacksonville and then blow the lead and lose the game. Listen, it's, I can't say that phrase. I was going to say something that I can't say, but it's time to put up or shut up basically for the Chargers. And I think the improvement of Kellyn Moore is huge. I love the Chargers this year.

Number two. You were waiting, huh? You thought the Jets would be one. They're not. The Jets are the second most improved team in the league. Besides Aaron Rogers. They add Alan Lazzard, Rogers' best buddy Randall Cobb.

Love me some Mikul Hardman, quickness, a lot of junk plays. I know they lost Berrios, which hurts. But Nathaniel Hackett's going to be the most interesting ad. How motivated is that dude going to be after getting run out of Denver? in like five minutes in one of the pretty bleakest head coaching tenures in recent NFL memory. Honestly, this was up there with the Urban Meyer disaster.

It was bad for Hackett. He's motivated. Him and Rogers have worked together previously. I think the Jets have to be the second most improved team in the NFL. Number one. Well, that leaves one team, folks. The Chicago Bears, spend money, make money. That's like a business adage that goes back for many, many decades.

and the Chicago Bears spent like drunken sailors in this offseason. But here's the good news. The last two teams to spend the most in free agency have seen an uptick of nearly four wins. The Patriots two years ago, they made the playoffs and lost. Last year, Jacksonville. This year, Chicago Bears. Here are some of the names they added.

DJ Moore via trade. Dante Foreman, very good backup running back. Robert Tanya, they stole from the Packers in the division. T.J. Edwards, good linebacker. I don't love paying line. linebackers, but I digress. Tremaine Edmins, another linebacker, young, talented. This is a team that got a lot better, folks.

Justin Fields has help. Remember, they got Claypool last year at the deadline, so they got some depth on the outside. Chicago Bears, most improved team in the league, and one of my hottest takes for the upcoming NFL season. The Bears will win more games this year than the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love, and that's going to send Packers fans spiraling because they got no hope going forward. All right, coming up next.

Buecker will tell us if the NBA finals are already over after the Nuggets blow out in game one. And we'll talk about Frank Vogel and the move by the Phoenix Suns. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd 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 Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clever 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 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 a 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah.

Literally, we don't have plenty. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Now you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back here on the herd, Jason McIntyre, for Colin Cowherd. Cowherd is back Monday. Our next guest is tremendous on the NBA and with breaking news.

Thank you, Phoenix Suns, for giving Rick Buecker and I, something to talk about, Rick Buecker, Fox Sports NBA analyst. Frank Vogel goes to the sons, Rick. Yeah. Initial thoughts? I understand why they would do it. Obviously, they need improvement on their defense.

He's also, he's very much a players coach. I heard you in the previous segment talking about what a nice guy he is. He's really nice guy. And this team is going to be run by the stars. It's going to be run by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and potentially Kyrie Irving, as we discussed yesterday. And do I like it? Do I think it's going to get them where they're going to go, where they want to go win a championship? No, I don't, I don't see that. But considering the composition, you have a brand new owner, you are cow towing to the stars.

Frank Vogel is going to make that worse. It's the classic, I'm going to give you the exact opposite of what we had. Monty Williams is a demanding coach by today's standards. And Frank Vogel is not to say he's not demanding, but he's not the least bit confrontational. That was almost may have been what did Monty in, because he was confrontational with Jay Crowder in terms of this is the way it's going to be. Same with DeAndre Aiton.

That's why those personalities didn't mesh. This does give me pause and make me wonder whether they would rethink. And the reason that they hired Frank is because he could cultivate a relationship with DeAndre Aten. That they are more alike personality-wise and they may see this is the avenue to getting the best out of DeAndre. Interesting. I'm sure you saw the video from the Nugget series where Booker was standing, Giannre Aten on the bench, and Booker's like telling him, like, dude, you got to do whatever it was.

Yeah. And Aiton was basically just like not interested. Chris Paul had to take Booker out of there. Yes. And it was just like maybe the coach can salvage Aton, but what about the player's relationship with him? Can that be fans? Well, look, I've heard players and talk to players.

They don't begrudge who DeAndre is. They know who he is. is. He's just not a fire starter. And so he's just got a way about him that you have to accept that's who he is and find a way how you can engage him to the best of your ability. Because the talent is there. I mean, you always have different personalities. And let's face it, you know, Kevin Durant is not the most aggressive forward personality. So I can see it working. Look, you're always going to have different personalities on every team. And it's a matter of whether the coach can reach each one of them on their own terms.

We'll get to the finals shortly, Rick, but I got to go to this John Morant stuff. Like Adam Silver, I know it was like an unintended bomb to drop, but to say, hey, we uncovered some more stuff. We're not going to talk about it now. We'll just do it after the finals. I mean, the speculation is wild. 50 games? I don't know what we're looking at. He embarrassed the league.

Yeah. minimum well it's not just that he embarrassed the league it's that he met with adam and obviously gave him certain assurances that this won't happen again and then it did and adam's not going to take that lightly he's not the late great david stern but he's also he's going to draw the line and my greater concern is whatever underlying issues that job may have those are the ones that need to be addressed because I've seen, this is the guy I saw go to Salt Lake City to sit next to the bench to support their Summer League team in Salt Lake. Now, there are plenty of star players who go to Las Vegas to support their Summer League team. I don't know, I don't, I can count on one

hand the number of them that go to Salt Lake City to do that. So there's so much about Jha that, that is contrary to all of these incidents that we've heard, that I think that there has to be more going on here than meets the eye. And I knew from the very start that going down to Florida for a couple days of counseling and stress management wasn't going to be the answer to this problem. Whatever it is, 50 games, the entire season, whatever it is, I just hope that it is, let's deal with the issue and not just have a punishment and hope that Jha gets it. Like, he's too great a player. He has too much value to the league.

He could set such a great example for young players and kids who might find themselves facing the same challenge. This goes back to, I remember, Rashid Wallace and any number of players who come from a certain background. And we can go back and forth whether Jah qualifies, that but they come from a certain background and they're told don't forget who you are um which is interpreted as don't forget where you came from yeah don't turn your back on the people or don't change your behavior what just because you're in the NBA and got money and the reality the harsh reality is

yeah you're in a different circle now you have to behave differently you have to hang out with different people you have to conduct yourself in a different way because you're in the NBA. But that, for guys who want to be true to themselves, that's a really difficult juxtaposition to be in. I think that's the dumbest thing ever. This idea that, hey, don't forget where you came from, man. That's stupid. But you would agree, right? But the flip side, the flip side of it is, you're being introduced to all these brand new people from a culture that you are not familiar with. And you're being, you trust these people. And how many guys, how many players have we seen who have been screwed over by financial advisors, 100%. People just want to take advantage of them.

What do you think? Jaws getting screwed over by his friends? Hey, I'm going to get off social media, and then its friend goes live where Jaws hanging out with a gun. Yeah. People are supposed to grow up and mature, right?

Are you not? For sure. Yeah. But when you hand somebody in their early 20s, I mean, JMAQ. I was a mess. And I didn't have 30 million.

And me too. Like, you had to be $200 million. Yeah. And all of the fame that the NBA brings at age 22. And I didn't grow up like, you know, middle class, lower middle class, but

like I had good role models growing up. I still, chances are, I would have made the papers or the headlines. Good thing there was no social media. Oh, thank goodness. I'm sure everybody says it. Thank goodness I didn't make my 200 million then.

Let's go to the finals. I don't know, can I say it was a blood bath last night? I mean, it was never close, Rick. Like that game was, I never got a sense, Miami had a chance. I don't know. I would love to make a case that the extra day off before, you know, they got a Friday and Saturday off before game two. Right.

Can Jimmy Butler conjure up a 42-point game to salvage this series? Because Denver just looks so confident, man. Yeah, but look, I said it going in, and I was kind and said I thought that Denver would win in five. I'm still sticking with that, but after watching last night, all the things that I thought were going to come true. They just have all the things that Boston did not. You saw that like the zone, they just sliced and diced that. Miami didn't try it until Yokic was off the floor. Christian Brown and Jeff Green got into the middle of the zone.

They got the ball there. They kicked it back out to threes. They did enough. And then they even tried it against Yokic, and he showed you exactly how he can slice and dice it. So I would say that what I would expect, and this is now you're going to extremes. either play Kyle Lowry on Yokic and single cover him

and say Yokic, go ahead and we're going to let you try to beat. We're going to stay home on everybody else. We're going to put Aaron or we're going to put Bam out of bio on Aaron Gordon because that was, I mean, Gabe Vincent on Aaron Gordon. That just set the tone. But they're going to have to do something extraordinary. Or you start Cody Zeller on Yon. on Yokic and you move and you move Bam over but I just

it's going to take something very creative and even that I'm not sure is going to work. It's going to take like an act of God for my me, no no, in all seriousness, heat fans are trying to sell me on social media. Hey, Highsmith was really good. They unlocked something with Highsmith. Maybe he's kind of like a fire hydrant squatting. I really think that was a joke. I would hope it would. I think it would, I think that was a playoff of the Rui Hachamura. Yeah, remember? At the end, at the end of, at the end of,

You know what? The Lakers found something. I mean, Lakers fans legitimately thought they had, in fact, not even Lakers fans. I mean, I think I heard people on other networks, not this one. They were talking about how the Rui thing was, you know, Rui was the answer to Nicola Yokic. I can't even say it without laughing. Yeah. So the other thing Miami fans are hanging their hat on, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson, Max Struth, the undrafted stars. Yeah. Two for 23 shooting. That's not going to happen again, Rick. All they have to do is at like 40% and this is a game. Yeah, but here's the problem. You're facing a,

first of all, just because of the composition of the nuggets and the length and the size that they have, their defensive players can press up on the perimeter in a way that Boston couldn't or didn't. and so they weren't missing just because they weren't not they weren't all wide open they were far more contested than the shots that they were getting against Boston because for any number of reasons

part of it being that the zone wasn't working and they weren't getting the same transition looks on on missed shots um but this is also the danger when we were ready to anoint Caleb Martin as being on the level of Jimmy Butler, right? He's the next Def Curry, right? Or Clay Johnson? One of those guys, yeah. Just like slow down when a guy has a great series against a particular opponent, or even a couple of series.

I mean, he's been good, and he certainly made himself a lot of money. But there is the test of facing different opponents, different challenges that a player must pass before you can anoint them being at a certain level. And then, you know, and then there's just Jimmy. or the fact that they didn't get to the free throw line and that Jimmy didn't get to the free throw line. Eight fouls called on Denver. Somebody speculating, again, just NBA guys speculating.

Time for the NBA to call in. Scott Foster. Get the cooler in there, get some free throws for the heat. Yeah, but if you watch the game, and I watched the game with my daughter, she's a huge Jimmy Butler. And Jimmy Butler before, he blew up just now, always a Jimmy Butler fan,

and a Miami Heat fan. And she was just two free throws. I said, do you remember any calls where you said, oh, that was a foul? The Miami Heat weren't attacking the rim. Gabe Vincent said it at the end of the first quarter. Like, we need to put pressure on the rim. But when you're playing against guys that are equally athletic and bigger and longer, good luck getting to the rim and getting the shot off.

Porter had a couple nice blocks that was, I mean, I think Caleb Martin beat him to the hoop, and that was a layup against Boston. And Porter just smacked it against a backward. You're like, wow. It is, I, again, it's why I felt that the Denver Nuggets not only were, were massively underrated going into these playoffs and, and certainly going into the last series and into this one. But I, we're looking at potentially the next dynasty, if you will, because they're young, they're athletic. They get the right coach. The chemistry is good.

and Nicola Yochutche ain't going anywhere. Yeah, you look at the contracts, and it's like Murray's locked in, Gordon's locked in. The only guy they could lose is Bruce Brown, who I like a lot. I think he's a very good player, knows his role. But Christian Brown's evolving. Jeff Green is a veteran.

Like, they don't have a weakness. 13 and 3 in the playoffs. And when they get up by double digits, they're 11 and 0. So they know how to just choke you out. Like, you don't come back against this team. You know what this is going to do is I think it's going to bring back seven foot 250 pound centers on every roster. There's going to be a spot for them now.

Because what are we seen with Yokic? Like how do you match up with? The Miami Heat don't have anybody. The Golden State Warriors don't have anybody. You can make the case that even with Anthony Davis, like the Lakers, who are they turning to? Teams just haven't equipped their rosters with, plenty of seven footers that are,

220, 230 pounds. And can chew gum at the same time and run. Yeah. Yeah. But that's, you know, that's Anthony Davis. If you're going to defend Nicola Yokic or Joelle M.B., you're going to need somebody who's got is athletic, but is going to need a little more, or has a little more heft. So I think, I think what we could see with Yokic to a great extent and M.B. to a lesser extent is once more, this is like the Draymond Green effect, right? You had a power forward who was skilled and could defend bigger players and then get out on the break,

now you're going to need, I think you're going to see rosters trying to find that seven-foot guy that can defend the Yokic's and M-Bs for the teams that are interested in playing for a title. Are there any more Plumley brothers out there that we don't know about? I guess we'll find out. Zellers, Big. Yokitch's brothers may get a job. So last one, I got to ask about this Nick Nurse situation.

So Nick Nurch, disciplinarian, holds players accountable yeah um stresses defense yes it's like those are things that james hardin

does not click with and vibe with as the young kids would say out there I'm sure you saw the press conference it was a little contentious um it didn't sound like hardens like we need james hardin back here he's like

i want james hardin back sure yeah i'll take him yeah because it's i mean one it's not up to him two he's walking into a situation where wait a minute what do you mean you don't think he could just say hey James, I'm here now. I want you. You're my guy. Please stay. And then Daryl Mony's up. No. This was not a love letter. The relationship between James Harden and Daryl Mori has been going on for years. And that will be stronger than anything that Nick Nurse has ever able to accomplish. I will say, if there's anybody, and again, I understand the hiring here,

I don't think he's as harsh. He's not Scott Skiles. He's not Tom Thibodeau, right? Wow, look at those references. He's, he's, um, This is the guy who made it work with Kyle Lowry and Kauai Leonard and like O'GN and OB. Yeah, a number of different guys. And I love the way he handled the Raptors this past year. Like, I looked at them and I thought, I thought they would have a better record than they did. But he got everything that he could out of them. They didn't have a closer.

That's what they needed. And the fact that James is or can be, I think that Nick will. appreciate that. My bottom line is, I think Nick has the ability to reach different guys in different ways. Do you think, and if Daryl decides that James, and James decides that he wants to stay, there's a part of me that thinks that this is all a smokescreen. To get money, right? Not only to get money, but to keep the NBA off of Philadelphia's back. Because if you remember, James signed a team friendly deal for this year. He could have, he could have demanded more.

So they could afford, PJ Tucker. PJ, there you go, thank you. So he, well, that's cap. If James was promised we're going to take care of you down the line, that's Capp's circumvention. And the league was aware of it. So this, all this innuendo of he's going to go someplace else and he doesn't know and I want my freedom.

You know what? I'm not sold that it's not just a cover so that when he resigns with Philadelphia, the NBA doesn't come down on him. That's good. I like that. Now, I will say Hardin notoriously likes to stay out at night and party. Fred Van Fleet,

who was his guy, Nick Nurse's guy in Toronto, also eligible to be moved? Like, do you think Nick Nurse would rather have James Hardin or Fred Van Fleet? Oh, that's a great question. I don't know because I said Nurse, not, not Mori, because we know who Mori would rather have Hardin.

That's his guy. Yes. That's a great question. I would think Van Vleet, just because he's got an established relationship with him. You've been to Philly a lot. I lived outside of Philly. Fred Van Vleet is more Philadelphia than James Hardin will ever be. I would agree with that. I'm a big Fred Van Vleet fan. Yeah, bullish. I want the Lakers to go after him, but that Austin Reeves. But he is, I mean, his size and his ability to get his shot, he's an overachiever in what he's been. Give me an overachiever all day, over an underachiever. I'm with you.

I'm with you. But if you ask me who can score more easily with the game on the line, I'm going to give you James Hardin 10 out of 10 times. I love what Van Fleet has made himself into. But if you're giving me one or the other to close a game, it's not a hard choice. I'm going to ask, where was Hardin in game six and seven in that? I'm not responsible for what he does. I'm just telling what he could do.

I know, I know. Listen, he won two games. for them in the series. Literally in the final, what, 30 seconds? Look, yeah, he showed you in game one what he's capable of. When you've experienced that, boy, it's awfully hard to give up to that.

You're constantly going to go, can I just get one more? Can I just get one more? If he can give you two, and then Embedd can win you a game, I don't know, did Embed win any games for them in that series? Yeah. Oh, he was hurt again, yeah.

The conditioning. Rick, one of my favorite videos that went around during the postseason against the Nets was Joel Embed falling down. and he just kept hitting the deck. Like every other possession, he's just falling down,

barely getting touched. Do you think that kind of stuff is going to work with Nick Nurse? Come on, man. I'm just telling you. Well, we see that across the league. It's one of my great issues is that guys fall down,

and if they don't get the call, it's five on four going the other way. Like that part of the game, you know, Jeff Van Gundy is suggesting all these changes. That's what I want to change. I didn't even hear it. Let's stop. time we shoot the ball, every time we go anywhere, we're just going to, we're going to fall down

hoping to get a call. That's what I want eliminated. That's my wish. What was Van Gundy out on halftime or something like that? I saw something about, or resetting the fouls? Yes, yes, five minutes for halftime max. And don't shoot, and don't shoot free throws until the last four minutes. Just give the points when there's a foul. What is the halftime thing about? I don't know. I think it's just to keep it moving. Oh yeah. Guys who load men. advantage. We want to take off games, back to back. Now you're shrinking half time? Yeah. I don't know. Maybe he's trying to run LeBron out of the league. Because between getting rid of halftime and no free throws, like, that was part of the Laker's secret. Like, we've got to get

to the free throw line. Everybody can rest. Let's score from there. We don't want to go up and down. That's part of what Denver did to run them out of the series. All right, Rick Buecker, Fox Sports, NBA analyst will be on speak for yourself later? Yes. Let's just speak. Speak, speak. Speak. I don't know why I said. Yes, abbreviation. Speak later on. All right, coming up next, it's never too early to look ahead to week one of the NFL season. I already have my five best bets for NFL week one.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a mental health podcast. And each week, we try to help turn our mental health issues into mental wealth. And we dive in within. Everyone from a world of sports and entertainment like Sean McVeigh, Lindsay Vaughn, Michael Phelps, David Spade, Guy Friere, and also those who can help us in between the ears,

anyone from a therapist to someone like Ed Milet or John Gordon. So each week, listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer, a mental health podcast on I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clever 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, personal health, personal 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just a lot of it. No, we don't have plenty. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. 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.

Baseball fans, you still have a time. chance at $10,000 this weekend playing Fox Bet Super 6. Download the free Super 6 app on your phone and enter your six weekend baseball predictions for a chance at the jackpot. I'm sure Dodgers Yankees will be in that Super 6 mix. I did not get tickets for Dodgers Yankees. I think it's a resting weekend for me. Back-to-back days on the herd coming off a trip to Paris.

It's going to be a little rest for the weekend. Oh, except I'm playing in a soccer tournament Sunday. You know, good luck to be on that. All right. So you guys know, well, people will follow my podcast. Follow me on the radio show. So I've been doing this NFL gambling contest. You go to Vegas.

You have to sign up in Vegas. That's the only way to do it. Where every week you have to pick five games. And the winner at the end of the season gets like $3 million or whatever. And they place like the top 50 guys. So I've been doing this for like seven years. I've had two really good runs, just missed out on the money, and it's the most challenging gambling thing ever.

So to get myself ready this year for the contest, I've already looked at week one, and I was breaking down the lines last night for week one during the heat nugget snoozer. So I have my five early picks. Now, obviously, this is subject to change, injuries, blah, blah, blah. But five games right now that jump out at me in week one. Here we go. first game is the 49ers at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers getting three points.

Okay, there's a couple obvious gambling adages. Number one, you got to love in week one teams that did not make the playoffs the prior year versus teams that did. Why? Because the gambling public just saw that one team make the playoffs. They're good. The other team, they didn't make the playoffs. They're not good.

And the casual gambler will gravitate. The public will gravitate toward that team. give me the Pittsburgh Steelers getting points. Mike Tomlin, who is an awesome coach as an underdog, awesome at home. I don't know who's starting at quarterback for the 49ers. Pittsburgh fans, I just went on social media during the commercial break, and I saw you're upset that I didn't have Pittsburgh as one of the most improved teams. The good news is I've been hyping them in the show for the longest time.

They are a playoff team. I think they went outright week one against the Niners. I don't care if it's Lance, Sam Donald, Brock Purdy, Steve Young, Joe Montana, it doesn't matter. Give me the Steelers getting three at home against San Fran in week one. Next up, Bears Packers. Okay, I gave the Bears a lot of love in this show, Chicago. Don't think I don't love you.

So bears are favored by two and a half against the Packers. And I think that line's going to catch a lot of people by surprise. Like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Packers are dogs against the Bears? Doesn't Aaron Rogers own the Bears? Remember, he would celebrate with I Own You? the belt. Well, Aaron Rogers is not there anymore. And as I said earlier, most improved team in the league, Chicago Bears. The Bears spent a ton of money. Justin Fields continuity with his

offensive coordinator. There's a lot of newness on that Green Bay offense. I just don't know what I'm getting from Jordan Love. I think the Bears win at home. And I love them not having to pay the premium of three under a field goal. Bears two and a half. That's my second bet that I like in week one. Next up, I'm going to go. Back to a tried and true measure in week one. Are you ready for this? Week one home underdogs in the division. Going back, about 17 years, are hitting over 70% in week one.

So it's home divisional underdogs. Cleveland Browns at home. I know they're facing the Bengals. This also applies to, hey, the Bengals, they made the ASC championship game last year. The Browns, oh, they stink. Go ask anybody. The Brown stink. Deshawn Watson, he's washed.

Stafansky hot seat. Give me the Browns, baby. Listen, I don't know why the Browns win total this year is nine and a half. Vegas knows something. And I think Kevin Stefansky catches the Bengals napping here. Joe Burrow, by the way, staff came up with his stat one in four in his career against the Browns. Give me Cleveland plus two and a half in the opener. Next up, and this is another one, divisional home underdog, New York Giants,

getting three against the mighty Dallas Cowboys. Now, the Giants did make the playoffs, but everybody thought it was kind of just a luck box season. And it was kind of sort of lucky. Daniel Jones looked competent under Brian Dayball. The Cowboys were the better team, obviously. I like the Giants getting three, a full field goal here. I'm not a believer in Mike McCarthy. You guys know that.

I know this Cowboys defense will be good, but I trust Daibald to do enough to get the win or cover here. Giants, by the way, have Darren Waller added a tight end. And keep an eye on the kid, Jalen Hyatt. some very positive early reviews on the wide receiver from Tennessee. I like the Giants getting three against Dallas. And finally, what would a segment on the NFL and gambling be by me? Jason McIntyre without the Jets and the Buffalo Bills. Yes, the Jets in prime time.

Now, this game opened at, I think it was two and a half for three. Jets were dogs. Instant money comes in on the Jets. They're one and a half point underdogs against Buffalo. Under the Lights, MetLife. Week one, the Aaron Rock. Rogers debut, National TV game. Folks, I'm excited for this.

It's June, and I cannot wait. The Jets finally have a franchise quarterback, and I'm betting the Jets here getting one and a half. And I know Buffalo Bills fans are going to, you killed the Bills yesterday. Just hang tight, hang tight. The Jets last year did really well against Josh Allen. They won one game outright,

and I'm fairly certain Zach Wilson was the quarterback. And then they cover the spread in Buffalo. Allen, he struggled against his Robert Sala defense. Jets are for real this year, guys. You can deny it all you want. You can hate the Jets because I like them. I get it. But they are going to cover against the bills in week one.

Now, I do want to go on to something about Buffalo that I talked about yesterday. Okay? I do believe they are under a lot of pressure. Obviously, McDermott, you know, you don't want to regress. And they fell back a little last year. Despite the awesome point differential and the 13 and 3 record, what have you done for me lately? And in the postseason, not good.

Score 10 points at home. Now, here's the problem. Albert Breer said something yesterday that I had totally missed in my analysis of the bills going forward. And listen, as much as I love my own opinion and I think I'm always right, I am open to altering my opinion when I get new information. And this isn't necessarily new, but it was just totally overlooked by me. And it's what Albert Breer said yesterday about the Buffalo bills. Maybe I'm being too harsh.

Here's Breer yesterday. I think they were dealing with a lot more than people remember. at the end of last year. I think that was an emotionally and physically worn out football team. Twice that team was displaced towards the end of the year because of snowstorms. And then the DeMar Hamlin situation, obviously that weighed on everybody in the organization. This is a team that thinks it's being slept on right now that I think is going to come back refreshed. You know, I think you're going to get a quarterback who's going to be in better health going into the year than he was at the end of last year.

I actually like where Buffalo is going into this season, even though they're much more under the radar than they were last year. It's pretty damn good. Now, I've known Breer for a long time. I've read his stuff. I had totally forgotten about they were displaced. And I'm remembering it was the Thanksgiving week. They had to play two games in four days.

Now, Jason, how can you forget that? Well, A, I'm not a Bill's fan. But B, they won both those games. They beat the Browns. And then on Thanksgiving, they beat the Lions. And it was like, okay, they won both those games. Easy to forget when Buffalo was really freaking good. last year.

13 and 3. They lost to the dolphins in that crazy game that they were actually the better team back in September. Then they lost to my Jets. And then they had that brutal loss to the Vikings, which, folks, let's be realistic. That was one of the luckiest wins of the season for anybody. I think Justin Jefferson, was it Justin Jefferson?

Who had that amazing catch? I think it was him. On 4th and like 19? Come on Iowa, Sam. You remember. I mean, it was everywhere on the internet. It was like one of the catches of the year. and the Vikings pull it out in overtime.

There was like a goal line screw up. Unbelievable game. But I forgot about the displacement. Obviously, you can't forget the Hamlin stuff. And it was just one of those moments where I was like, damn, maybe I overlooked some things on the bills. And I was reading too much into that loss of the Bengals, which was embarrassing.

Now, I did have the Bengals in that game, picked him on the show. It was just tough for me to get over, scoring a whopping 10 points at home, with one of the greatest offenses in the league. Against the defense is not, I don't think that Bengals defense was anything great. And now you go into a season where

Buffalo Bill fans may not want to hear it, but McDermott's on the hot seat. And oh, by the way, they lost day bowl. Josh Allen predicted to win the MVP, did not, had a good season. I don't want to anger anybody. But if you asked Josh Allen, did you have a great season?

I'm curious as to what he would say, because he was the favorite to win the MVP award. And his numbers, the counting numbers were good. But I wonder if he considers their disappointment because he laid an egg, along with the offense, in the playoffs against Cincinnati. But I wanted to bring that up. I know Colin does his thing on, I think Mondays or Tuesdays, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong.

And I'm not saying I'm wrong on the bills. I'm saying perhaps I overlooked some things. All right. Coming up in the final hour, can anyone slow down the Joker? Plus, Chris Broussard stops by. Jay Mackin for Colin. The herd. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Podcast. 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, Clivert 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 Cliford Show on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.