The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Playoff pressure

Episode Date: April 14, 2023

The players who are under the most pressure in the NBA playoffs Thoughts on the playoff games this weekend and what if Kevin Durant wins another title   Guest: Metta Sandiford-ArtestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Wherever you may be. However, you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. D.K. Metcalfe next hour in studio, Seahawks. Meta Sandefurt, Artes going to be joining us. He knows all about defense and playoffs. Defense is always a much bigger deal in the playoffs than it gets credit for it. The offense, the regular season is about offense.

The playoffs is a much more strong. split, offensive, defensive equation. Like, the regular season is about 80-20 offense. Playoffs is about 65, 35, 35, 60-40 offense defense. Lakers, protecting the rim the other night. Rudy Gobert's out. A smaller team for the T-wolves. AD's big down the stretch.

You start to getting games five, six, and seven. It's defensive slugfest. The totals come cratering down. Yep. Yeah. So, here. are, in my opinion, the 10 players, J-MAC, facing the most pressure. All right, you're ready to go?

Starting this weekend, the big games, it's going to be a great weekend of NBA playoff basketball. So here we go. Number one. I think it's Joel M. Bede. Okay, dude, if you want the MVP and you just had your best year, you got to win a second playoff series. He's never advanced past the second round.

The Bucks are aging. The Celtic Center, Robert Williams, hit and miss on health. If you're going to want the MVP off your best season, Maxy's become a good player, Harden led the league and assists, it's your time. You've got to win two playoff series minimum. Number two. I think Jason Tatum, listen, there's rumors. If they get bounced before the finals, they're moving off Jalen Brown. Dude, no more passive in crisis.

Last year, he led the NBA playoffs in scoring, but it felt like he wilted in the finals. he's more rested this season. This is structurally as good as any team in the league. They have got to get to the finals. May not have to win it, but they've got to get there. Tatum 2. Number three. I think Anthony Davis.

LeBron is old. This has to be your team, especially against Memphis, without two of their front court guys. Okay? They have John Morant. They've got wings, Dylan Brooks. Their bigs are all banged up. All right?

So you have got to dominate this series. Jaron Jackson gets into foul trouble. He likes fouling. You got to get to the line, you got to hit your free throws. You can't depend on LeBron or Austin Reeves or Dennis Schrooter. Anthony Davis, this is your series. Number four. Nicola Yokic, back-to-back MVP.

Last year, gentlemen sweep first round. Come on. Listen, I have defended the guy, but at some point, it's got to be more than efficiency. If you're going to be MVP, you got to be able to compete in April, May, and June. Yokic at 4. Number 5. James Harden, legacy on the line. Struggled in the playoffs last year.

What is he now? Is he going to go down as just a talented flake? Because now he's got the MVP at center. Maxie's become a great running mate. He's got a head coach that won a championship. He led the league and assists. The only thing missing is some playoff success. James Harden at number 5.

Number 6. John Morant. They should beat the Lakers. They're deeper. They're younger. Why wouldn't they beat the Lakers? If they lose, my gut feeling is, we'll point to John Morant, the eight-game suspension, the star of the franchise, going sideways, not mature enough to handle it.

Number seven. Kauai Leonard. They've reached one conference finals. He was going to be the answer, right? Won a title in San Antonio. Want a title. Now the Clippers decided we're going to build around Kauai Leonard. He's not available.

And because Paul George is out, hey, that's the brakes. That's the breaks. Clay Thompson, coming off an injury last year, the Warriors still won a final. That's the breaks. Nobody cares. You've got to get to the conference finals. Number eight. Chris Paul.

Listen, he's not the score he once was. He had a career low, I think, 14 points a game. But now that he's got Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, DeAndre Aiton, this is the best starting five he's had. They can't be a one-and-done or a two-and-done. They have to get minimum to the conference finals. You know I love Chris, but this is the best supporting cast of his career. Number nine.

I'd say Russell Westbrook, five different teams in five years. Is he just going to end his career? Is the toxic player that can't play with anybody? Now, they've been about 500 since he arrived, and he is productive, and I think he wanted to stay in Los Angeles, his family's here. So this is a big deal for Russell Westbrook. Can he be a functional player? Maybe be at times off the bench, a role player who gives you great energy and spots,

but you don't trust situationally. It's a big deal for him. You don't want to end just bouncing around the league when you're a Hall of Famer. Number 10. Kevin Durant, his legacy right now, fair or not, is tied overwhelmingly to the Warriors and Steph Curry. Now, I think Kevin's one of the best players I've ever seen, but he's only got one conference finals appearance with the Thunder and the Nets.

So I do think elevating a Phoenix Sun's franchise, which had to change owners. Chris Paul's having his lowest scoring year. Monty Williams in eight and a year ago didn't get along. He can elevate, maybe slightly. But I think there's a little pressure on Kevin to prove that, hey, I can take a franchise. Things aren't necessarily perfect. We don't have a great bench. Chris Paul is at the end.

And I can take us to the finals. Top 10 players, most pressure. I don't. my staff may disagree. I do not believe there is a ton of pressure on LeBron James. I don't. I think he's cemented. I think in year 20, anything you get from LeBron over 30 minutes a night is gravy. So I don't feel a lot of pressure on LeBron James. I think Anthony Davis, it's not on Austin Reeves or Dennis Schrooter. I think the pressure's on Anthony Davis. You know, you can't control your health. but when you face a team that's young and missing two of their bigs,

you better control the series. So I don't think there's any question. The NBA playoffs are about defense, rim protection, toughness, getting to the line. That's where Anthony Davis is better than John Morant. And he should be the best player in this series, both rosters. Can I take issue with Embed at one? All right. So he went all out this year.

He wanted the MVP. He hunted that battle. Yes. played the most minutes per game of his career. He really wanted the MVP. But he ain't getting by Boston. They're going to be underdogs in that series. You know they're not beating the Celtics, right?

So is it fair to say you've got to get to a conference final? If Robert Williams plays half the games, which is always possible, you better go seven. If they don't have a legit, if Al Horford garving Embed, M. Bede should score 44 points in the night. I think the Celtics will concede that. Go ahead. Embed, score 44. Do you play 40 minutes, score 44.

we don't think the other guys are good enough. Tobias Harris, Tyrese, we don't think they're good enough to beat us. If he scored 44 a night and they lost in seven, I don't think people, yeah, I don't think people would clobber him. But the idea, like, if you want to be MVP in the East, you got to win a couple of playoff series. Once? Well, the Yokic, you have before.

Well, the West has been deeper, historically. Oh, by the way, Nuggets. We'll talk about them later in the show. Didn't Yokich have a good playoff? They went to the conference finals, I believe, in the bubble, lost to the Lakers. Our guy, we don't get, come on in, man. Meta Santa for Peace is joining us. It is great to see you.

You know, I always, if you ever forget how big NBA guys are, I'm 6-200, almost, and you are just, you're all man right here. You could still play, it looks like. I'm 290 right now. I'm still, uh, oh, yeah, yeah, so I'm 290. I feel very comfortable here, by the way. You're $2.90? Yeah.

Look at it. J. Max, look at him. How do I look? How much do I look? I would have guessed $2.20. $2.40. Good job. That's how I want to look.

So we were talking about pressure on stars. One of your great moments, to me, is hitting the jumpers, game seven, at home. You were a pressure player. Some guys shrink in pressure. I always felt like you kind of liked it. For sure. You liked big games. Not all guys.

guys do, you know this. Especially those young guys. You get to the playoffs. Some of those young guys, they shrink a little bit. When you look at the Lakers, I feel the pressures, you can't put it on LeBron in year 20. I think it's on AD. I think you're right. It's probably more because AD's younger. He's playing well, by the way.

Great. I mean, we got to keep it in perspective, though. The Lakers might not win, but they have a chance to win. Right. They don't have a consistent third score. I mean, with Dilo, they have it now. I mean, he didn't have a great game the last game, but prior games, the reason they're in the playoffs has to do a delo too. So I do believe you, I do agree with you.

AD has more burden on his shoulders. So I've always felt that veteran players, the playoffs are about the old guys. Yeah. You manipulate officials. You manipulate young players. And I think a lot of it is defense. In the regular season, Matt, it's about a 75, 80% offensive game, 20% defense. the playoffs it's closer to 60, 40, 50, 50.

So go back to your career. When you got in the playoffs, you kind of knew the refs would swallow the whistle. Did you change a little bit defensively in the playoffs? Yeah, I was more aggressive. And the playoffs is about defense, right? So I knew this was my type of style. They let you get away a little bit more.

They still call fouls on the stars, but you can get a little bit more aggressive in the playoffs and the whistle's going to be swallowed. You got to be ready for the playoffs, for sure. you, it's, so you, you would go into games knowing, and by the way, would the coach tell you, would, would a coach tell you, would the game plan? Like, I think Golden State's going to lean on Sacramento. Ramon's going to push. Gary Payton, I think they're going to get very physical with Sacramento. Well, I feel like Mike Brown came a long way, right? So from that perspective,

look what he's doing with the Kings right now. Like, these guys had, they have a legit chance to win a title. So I don't see that happen. I see it being a good series because Mike Brown learned from Coach Kerr, Coach Kerr learned from the Jackson and Popovich, obviously, and Mike Brown also learned from Popovich. And he's seasoned, and he's ready for this moment, so I don't think it's going to be a pushover. We think it's six games, Warriors.

Maybe, maybe, but definitely not a pushover. Now, Wiggins has been out for several months. I actually have the Kings winning a championship this year. You do? Kings of the Lakers. Well, in the Western Conference. I mean, the NBA Championship. Okay.

Yeah. You think Sacramento can win it all? Yeah, I think they have a shot. They're about to kids, and they don't play defense. But they're buying into Coach Brown's, you know, habits and his culture and his style and his winning background also, so we'll see. When you look at Wiggins has been out for a couple months. When you go back to your Big Laker day, 17 years, NBA champ,

could you take a guy and just insert him into the playoffs? if he knew the system, because he was so good last year in the finals. Do you worry at all about Wiggins has been gone for two months, personal stuff, whatever happened? And now all of a sudden the playoffs are here. Hey, dude, come back in. Does that work? That works. You got to be lenient as a coach.

You know, Coach Curry, he's been through everything, right? So you got to understand as a coach you're going to go through things. Yeah, let him play. And I feel like with Curry, you know, with Clay Thompson, he's going to figure it out. They're going to put him in the right position. Right. And then also the warriors are not bringing on people with low IQ. Right. So he's going to come back and fit in and make that team better. Was Phil like that? Your best coaches like that?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Phil, I can see Phil doing something like that. You know, somebody's coming back, putting them in, figuring it out. You know, you've got to be a risk taker a little bit. So I'm a huge fan of KD. At this point in his career, he gets banged up a little bit. he's a great player. And I think one of the reasons he works is because he doesn't have a huge ego. He doesn't need to dribble the ball. You plug and play. Yeah. Um, does he remind you

of anybody, your thoughts on Katie as a player, who he reminds you of and sort of stylistically, what is he to you? He's definitely a top, you know, 15, 20 player, you know, all time type of guy when his career is over, right? He's that type of talent, a champion. So, but I feel like, yes, if he does win this title, it puts his legacy a little higher. Right? And I remember playing against it. He's one of the guys

that I played against a couple times, but he had the skill and the talent. When I was older, he was just blown right by me. So he's one of those players. Was he a talker on the court? Not much of a talk about for sure a competitor. You know, not much of a talk about

for sure competitor, and for sure he knew he was going to get to his spot. Let's go to the east. So the Celtics this has been the same group of guys for a long time. Like six, seven years now, it's the Tatum's, it's the Browns. If they don't win, patience is important, but you do get to a point now, is Tatum now and Jalen Brown, they're in their prime.

This is the most you could get for them. Let's say the Celtics don't get to the finals. They get knocked out. Would you run it back again? Or is it time? I mean, the Lakers historically, they don't. run stuff back a lot. Right.

They're like the Yankees. If they don't win a World Series or an NBA title, they blow, you're Boston. If they don't win, let's say they don't even get to the finals. Would you blow up Brown-Tadem, Marcus Mark? Well, I think you don't blow them up. I think you take the San Antonio approach with that team. Now, other teams and other player combinations,

maybe I wouldn't say that. But with this team, they're good, they're unselfish. They play the game the right way. They're winners. So they might not win every year, but I think eventually they'll get over the hump. You see what I'm saying? But yes, everybody's on the clock, especially the Celtics.

Yeah. And the Lakers, because they're trying to get number 18, number 19, right? They're trying to stay ahead of the pack in terms of number of banners. So that's the way the pressure, the extra added pressure in terms of if you were even think about doing something like that. So you talk the San Antonio model, basically keep the guys intact, find somebody in the league. They tried Horford. He's older.

He's a good player. Right. But go get somebody to join your team. Yeah, yeah. You don't want to break up that team, a guy like Marcus Smart, who was a scorer and a defender. Jalen Brown, who's just as good, a better scorer and a little step under as a defender. And you got Tatum who's just a smart player, right? I think you keep a team like that together. Smart is not dominated in the ball. Jalen lets Tatum do his thing, right? So you just add to it. Are you surprised NBA dynasties, as you know, Pistons, Bulls. I mean, the Bulls had a dynasty.

Michael left came back. It was three years both times. We're on like eight, nine years with the warriors. They don't usually last this long. There's egos. Coaches get fired. Owners get crazy. But this owner's like, I don't care about the luxury tax. That's incredible. Everybody likes Kerr. Steph Curry is totally unselfish.

Like, come on in, you take shots. Right. Are you, like the Lakers, even the great Laker teams, you go back to the Kobe Shack days, a lot of clash of egos. Kareem could be a little prickly in magic. There were clashes. Are you shocked at how long Golden States lasted? A lot of different dynamics.

When you got Shaq, Shaq was always a star. Kobe was always a star. So these guys came into the league, a different concept. Kerry became a star. Curry earned the right to be in top 25 or top 20 all time when he retires, right? It's different. So Kerry's perspective is teamwork, get better, and make my teammates better. is very unselfish, right?

He didn't even get recruited from the top colleges. That's interesting. Right, so he's coming into it, and he worked on his game. Now you got this star that's unselfish that could play off the ball and on the ball. You know, and he does everything the right way. And a guy like that, you know, he's definitely another level. I've never heard it put that way. So because Curry came into the league as known as a grinder and an overachiever,

even as he's become a star, that's how he's. views himself. Yeah, he still has these different values that hard work, you know, and I need my team and I need to work on my game or I will not make it, right? That desperation. He has that in him. Right. Whereas Shaq and Kobe, even Kobe at a high school came in as, oh, he's the next Jordan. Right. I'm the best. I'm the best. You know, everybody that has that level, I was New York State player at a year, right? I'm feeling a certain way about my career, right? But when you got the NBA, it's a little bit different, right? But I respect Shaq and Kobe for staying competitive standing their ground, you know, and saying, no, I'm the best, right? I respect that.

You had a great career. When was the moment, and I always think this is interesting, is that everybody in the NBA was the best player on their high school team, was the best player in their region, and most of you were the best player in your state. You were New York States player, a player of the year. Yeah. When did you realize? Was it a game of practice that you're like, I'm going to be more of a role player in this league? When do you realize it? Well, I never really looked at it that way. I always thought my defense was better than people's offense, right? So for me, I was never a role player.

I was a star because. On the defensive side. Yeah. You know, I always felt, I never really wanted to score, but I felt like if I had to score because there wasn't, you know, people wasn't really looking at somebody averaging five points. I was way more comfortable locking up. But when you want to win, you'll do anything to win, so I had to work on my game, right, just so I could win.

Bruce Bone was a little bit like that Bruce always said I love Bruce but we're different I love Bruce but we're different Well no no you're a more physical player But Bruce said he realized very early He goes I was a star On defense

Right exactly Well from that perspective That's how As a defender we're going to feel that way for sure And I respect Bruce's game But yeah I just felt like You know I'd rather play defense I can affect the game on defense

And you see a lot of players like that now But you know sometimes you gotta get your boogie on Get your boogie on You know, yeah. So when you go back, because I think playoff basketball, you know, fans, we fall in love with the stars in the regular season, and then the NBA officials, essentially, as you said earlier, are going to swallow the whistle, and the older, tougher, stronger players are going to control this. For instance, the Lakers lead the NBA in free throw attempts.

Why? Because Austin Reeves, A.D. and LeB. and LeBron attacked the basket. Yeah. Memphis, when their bigs got hurt, now they shoot more jumpers. don't get to the free throw line. Right. Right. And so when you look at, let's go back to this, pivot back to the Lakers.

Right. If my argument is they're tough, they defend, and they get to the free throw line. Let's say they lose to Memphis. And Memphis is good. Memphis is tight. Memphis is deeper. And Memphis has a lot of speed in that back court. If they lose, can we acknowledge now?

LeBron's given you 50 games a year. There's an argument to be made that, and I think Boston's an interesting team, LeBron needs a teammate, a running mate, that plays 75 games and is younger. Horford's getting old. I could see an AD for Jalen Brown swap, so Tatum's got a star big because they can't trust Robert Williams. But I guess my point is, if the Lakers get doused in five games, can you run this back? Well, I think LeBron's dominant. He's proven that when you put good surrounding players around him,

that he's going to get to the playoffs and do work. So from that perspective, he's earned it right. He's that good enough if he want to stay or whatever the case may be that you keep him, right? I feel like, you know, that the injuries hurt him. Adam Deelot is going to help. I think they're catching a stride right now. And I said even years ago, I think I was on the show, when LeBron was 35 or however old he was, he was getting older.

know that, but he's still effective. He's still better than most players. Yeah, his top 10 guys still. Still. Now, you were on the last Sacramento team to make the playoff. Yes. Let's talk about it. What was it like? It was fun, man. It just got traded from Indiana to Indiana Paces. I love the Pacea organization and everybody and Donnie Walsh, those guys. And then, you know, we went to the Kings, the Maloos, great people. Oh, fun. You know, fun people, great family, Mama Maloof, and then Coach Gathelman. We was in, I think, 11th place when I got there in February or January or something like that. Then I said, we're going to go to the playoffs. Everybody was kind of laughing at me a little bit. We go to the playoffs. It was a great run. I came in out of shape. I was really out of shape

when I got to the kids. Who was on that club? The Mike Bibby, incredible, Brad Miller, Kenny. We had Carlis Williamson. Yeah. It was great working with Colis. Because we worked in the playoffs. We was in last place. And I'm like, Colis. You, you. You play out of Detroit, I played at Indiana. Stop playing, man. Let's put some defense in right now. Let's compliment. And we was like in the practice after the shoot-or rounds.

I remember those times. Sharif Abdul, Rahim, Bonzi Wells was on that team. We had a squad. And they broke us up too early. Right? We go to the playoffs from being back to get into the playoffs to almost beating the spurs, gave them a little run, and then they break us up. That's a tough team.

You had tough guys. Tough guys. Tough guys. Was practice tough, physical? Every team I'm on, practice is going to be tough. You don't waste any time on. You bring elbows in practice. Not necessarily, but we're going to work.

Yeah, we're working. So that's why you and Kobe got along so well. Yeah, yeah. I remember some of the practices. R.P. Kobe, we missed Kobe, number 24. But, yeah, in practice, it was tough in the beginning, especially in the beginning when I first got there because, you know, the drill is going to put you on opposite sides. So we had a lot of time to compete against each other.

I love Kobe. We miss him. And did he appreciate you at practice? I think he did. I think he did. I was a little bit, I was like, wow, he really wants me to be a Laker when they called me. I'm like, oh, this is. I said, he must be crazy, right?

And for sure, he's very tough, and it was great to compete and then play alongside him. Yeah. And then compete. Well, Game 7 Celtics here at home in Los Angeles, you got him in title. Great seniors always. You too, man. It's great being here. Good to see you.

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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.

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I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the New England Patriots quarterback competition. It's all season between Mack Jones and Bailey Zappy. I know you're a Mac Jones guy, but apparently it's going to be an open competition. Look at this. You know, they hired Bill O'Brien to be the OC, and he is completely reworking the Patriots offensive playbook according to Alba Breer. What was that time? And the team will need to learn a new offense for the second straight season.

My understanding is Bill O'Brien is completely reworking the playbook. I think it's going to be a hybrid of a lot of different things. It's going to have some stuff that they did at Alabama that Mac is going to be comfortable with. He's got really great perspective because he does have the bones of the Patriots offense. But he's going to be able to do some things that I think are on the cutting edge of where the sport is going. So two quarterbacks, one I love, one is good. are going to have really much better years. Justin Herbert with Kellyn Moore is going to have a great year.

And Mack Jones, with a grown-up, Bill O'Brien offensive coordinator, is going to rebound and have a very solid B-plus year. So do you believe the rumors that Belichick was looking to offload Mac Jones? Yeah, I think Belichick has no, he has no touch with offense at all, and it's been proven time and time again. He can't draft it, develop it, or buy it. Or does he think that Matt Jones doesn't have a great feel the quarterback position.

No, no, he knows he has a great feel. He also is called Mack and Roe Jones that he pushes back. And Tom didn't. And Cam didn't. And Mac as a rookie started to do it. And then last year, Mac, he's never had anybody that pushed back. Garoppolo didn't do it. Brady didn't do it.

The Cleveland guys didn't do it. Mack is like, no, no, no. I get a say. If you're going to give me Matt Patricia, I got to say with my career, totally defend Mack Jones on. Wow. I told you before. If Fox gave me a sales guy to be my content director,

I get an opinion. I don't have to accept it. Now, they wouldn't do that. But again, Mac Jones is put into a position to save his career, and we're all banging on Mac Jones. He doesn't have a career? He doesn't have a career. He said, like, you're three or four.

He said nothing. He got to the playoffs as a rookie. He did or Belichick got to the playoffs? Belichick dragged that team to the playoffs. Come on. Mac, really? So you've got two choices. You could side with Macon.

Justin Fields was part of it. Justin Fields was part of it. 10-game losing streak. In the weaker NFC, Mac Jones and the tougher AFC as a rookie got him to the playoffs. So I asked you, you want Mac Jones or Justin Fields starting your quarterback next season? Who is it? Well, Mac Jones can play.

Right now I'm hoping Justin Fields can. Justin's way more gifted off script. Mac Jones, go look at his rookie numbers with no receivers and weak tight ends. And Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of all time. Who, by the way, when Brady left him, non-playoff? It's been decided. Quarterbacks are more important than coach. So just to recap, you're siding with a guy that's nicknamed McEnroe Jones

against the greatest coach in the history of the sport who had a dynasty for two decades. And you're like, tell me, Mac Jones. No, you're conflating arguments. I am defending a young quarterback who was put in an untenable situation has a right to an opinion. I don't want passive aggressive quarterbacks. I want Brady barking at Josh McDaniels. I never had a problem with Peyton Manning barking at a coach. Quarterback on a rookie deal in year three has a right to bark at Bill Belichick?

A guy who wouldn't take any lip from Tom Brady and undress Brady in the film room in front of everybody to keep everybody in line? That's Tom's personality. It's not McEnroe Jones' personalities. Oh my God. Maybe I need to unleash some McEnroe Jones on the show. Let's see how you handle that. Mr. Belichick of Sports Radio TV. Next story.

I don't know. Kevin O'Connell is entering his second season as coach of the Vikings. They were 13 and 4 last year, your number one pick that you nailed doing a victory lap still five months later. And, of course, they lost in the wild card to the Giants. They've talked about developing a young quarterback, but they still have Kirk Cousins who O'Connell seems excited about? Very excited about Kirk in year two in this system.

And it's been a while since Kirk's been able to say that he gets to come back in the same system he ran pre-year-old. previously with the same play caller. I've had a lot of great dialogue with him about ways we're going to look to fine-tune what we did and grow and improve. So that'll be a big part of 2023 for me, not only as the head coach, but play caller and our offensive staff. Did you have big conversations about him not shrinking in big games? Did you see it with a shoulder shrug? I got a lot of confidence in Kirkland.

There's a lot of chatter from smart people about the Vikings drafting a quarterback in the first round. Remember, this regime did not. Draft Kirk Cousins. And then I wed it to him. New GM, new coach. And it worked well last year. I will say this. Max Duggan is a more talented

Brock Purdy. And Max Duggan's the TCU quarterback. I like him. People think he'll fall third or fourth round. I think he's the Brock Purdy of the draft. I've got a guy, not this player's agent, but the kid Hall at BYU, the quarterback. Yeah.

Super athletic. Good arm. somebody's trying to talk me into him middle round. I think that's the new move. Like, can we find the Brock Purdy in the third or fourth round? If we don't have a star yet. There you go. And in a year or two, he's starting on the super cheap.

Like, I mean, the Brock Purdy thing worked out so well. Taylor Heineke hosted a playoff game and gave Brady in the box, that Super Bowl year, push. Like, if you have a roster that's good and you got a quarterback that's a B-minus, but again, you can throw it. I go back to the Russell-Wilson-Cyattled days. When they brought in Percy Harvin, who barely played, but Pete's like he's a fun toy. He's, even if you put him in a jet suite or motion, he's an unbelievable decoy. He had migraine headache issues, so Percy was a great player, but he just struggled to stay on the field.

But once you have that, Russell was on a rookie deal, you can go get a Cliff Averill. You get all these luxury buys. All these, like, you know, you get these little pieces that you could never afford with a great quarterback. Dak Prescott, mid-round pick, right? In Dallas, Russell Wilson, there's been a bunch of these guys. It's just tough to find them. There's no exact science to it. You've got to fit them into the right system.

I think people would be surprised how many really good quarterbacks come. So Brady's obviously six-round, but Russell Wilson, third, Dak, fourth, Kurt Cousins, fourth, brought pretty seventh. Jalen Hertz was second? Second. Yeah. No, I mean, you go back. Every round has had a great quarterback.

Kurt Warner undrafted. I don't think Kurt Warner was drafted. Tony Romo, undrafted. So I can give you borderline or Hall of Famish guys at every position in football, undrafted, 7th, 6th, I mean, I think Mark Brunel was a later round pick. And Mark Brunel was actually ended up being a real, you know, but I mean just, I think he was a later round pick. There's a lot of good quarterbacks in the world, and there's more now than ever because of all the generational seven-on-seven in the quarterback coaching. These kids are better earlier.

Mark Brunel, fifth round, I'm told you. Slide one in here. You want C.J. Trout's second pick overall, or would you take Max Duggan at the top of the third round? It's a great question. Oh, second overall, I would rather get edge rushers and players and get Doug in the third. Yeah, give me a trade down, left tackle, edge rusher, premium positions. I've got some questions about Stroud. I like them, but I don't love him.

Demico Ryan's, there's no pressure on him in year one. He doesn't have to win that. What he has to do is fix the roster and get the culture right. You don't have to take a quarterback to do that. Final story, Minnesota Timberwolves. They're back in action tonight. Fun play in night of action. win and in scenario and they get Rudy Gover back from suspension after punching

Kyle Anderson they're calling it like a shoulder slap it wasn't like a actual like it was inappropriate here's Rudy Gobert who's back on the scuffle both apologize to each other and yeah you move on I mean you that's life you know that's life it's different when you have millions of people that are watching videos and all have an opinion about things that happen but That we can control, but what we can control is how we, you know, the respect we have for each other and how we handle our relationship. I love how he could just bounce back from it. His teammate said to his face, I'll knock your ass out in the locker room.

Like five days ago. These are young men, a lot of testosterone. Well, there was other stuff I can't say on air. Well, stuff gets said. You got to get over it. You got to get over it. Look at Gobert backing up. Come on.

I can't be doing that. Charles Barclays right. You can't throw a punch and back up. Yeah, Charles Barkley knows a lot about throwing guys through plate glass windows. But he went forward. Yeah, he did, because he's Charles Barkley. If you've got to punch, you've got to go forward. Ron Artecest, you know, he's got the new name.

We should have asked him about Rudy Gobert and the punch. I'm sure he's been in some altercations in his time. He's a large individual. You know what? I can remember Doug Christie and Rick Fawkes. Oh, that was classic. I mean, was that even a regular season game? And then they went into the tunnel afterward, and they were like really,

We've gotten very soft as a society. I mean, like, it was like, everybody was like, Draymond Green and Jordan Pull. Jordan punched Steve Kerr. You've seen the video of this 50 times. But I can remember. Jordan Pool was not expecting a blast. In the 70s, 80s and 90s,

there were guys tackling each other in the Pistons-Lakers finals. It was brutal. You're talking about when guys were smoking cigarettes at halftime in the locker room in the 70s, right? That same NBA? No, I'm saying the 80s, 90s NBA, go watch YouTube highlights of the Pistons like your Celtics.

There were Dr. Jay and Bird came to blows. Now that thing in the huddle is like, whoa. And it got so ugly that David Stern had to change the image of the league because people were calling the guy's names like thugs and stuff and then he had to implement the dress code. Like Stern had to clean that up. You can't have that stuff going on. Well, I think, yeah, ideally you can't have it.

But the players today, there's almost, I mean, I've said that's about, the NBA before. If you don't like the NBA fine, I can go to baseball and football and find a lot of bad dudes that do horrible things. Who's the bad guy in the NBA today? They don't have one.

The Morris twins. But they're not bad. They're just chattie. I mean, seriously. I can go find a million issues with baseball and football players. Is Patrick Beverly a bad dude? Patrick Beverly's talking to. Is he a

not or a bad dude? No, he's just annoying. He's not a bad guy. There's no bad guys in the NBA. Define bad guy. You mean like off the court? I mean like bad guy doing bad things in his personal life to other people, the wife. I mean, just bad guys that do bad things.

So like Draymond knocks out a teammate. Okay, that's just, that's practice and getting rough. That's not. I know Draymond. Draymond's like great dad, great husband, great guy. He's a great guy. He's a great guy. But I mean, again, I'm not, I don't count what happens at practice defining you as a bad guy.

I want defining, but it's part of the equation. I like my guys throwing a few bows at practice. I like tough dudes. This show, this show. This show boxes people out. You know, I can't wait until one of these production meetings. Somebody throws a punch at someone. You're going to say, I like this guy.

Yeah. I'll say, put your phone down, let him work it out. Woo! They are battling over takes. J-Mack with a news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News.

To gain visibility and Control over your financials, HR, e-commerce, take advantage, special financing offer, no payments, no interest, six months, net suite by Oracle. Check it out, net suite.com slash herd. 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. What do you get when you combine a three-time manager of the year at a three-time national sports writer of the year? It's the Book of Joe podcast. Hey, this is Tom Ferducci from Fox Sports, MLB Network and Sports Illustrated. And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around to talk

a little bit about managerial decisions, playoff games, and what may have occurred into the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball. Cars, whined, whatever else we want to talk about. Listen to the Book of Joe podcast on the IHeart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The NBA playing continues tonight, and so does your chance to win $1,000 playing Fox Bet Super 6. Download the free Super 6 app on your phone and enter your six predictions for Bulls Heat or your chance to win big.

It's the silly season. It's two weeks out from the NFL draft. So people just say things anonymously now. I don't believe half of them. Anthony Richardson's the quarterback for Florida, who was 13th in the in accuracy. He lost a Vanderbilt.

He threw for 66 yards passing in one game. Now he's Mahomes. Here's a scout, an anonymous NFL executive. We have reached the silly season on Anthony Richardson. Hey, if you just watched him and knew nothing about his resume, you'd take him number one and not think twice. I mean, he makes hard stuff look really easy. I don't want to play against him.

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure Andy Reiki. Mahomes, they're terrified of playing against the guy that lost a Vanderbilt. I mean, it's crazy. The other thing the article said is, man, he really turned some heads at the combine. So did Zach Wilson. If your tape isn't overwhelmingly why you're drafted, if it's a combine argument, if it's because he did backflips on a pro day, I'm not making him number one.

I mean, give me a break. Patrick Mahomes, it's amazing to me. People fall for this. Patrick Mahomes gives you two amazing plays a game. It's his consistency why he wins. He doesn't beat himself. Look at all of his starts. Only nine times is he had more than one pick,

and he's throwing 40 times a game. He only had in the Super Bowl. He had one unbelievable play, that 26-yard run on one ankle. That was like, whoa. Then he just hit open guys. He wasn't doing sidearm stuff. Matt Stafford in that Super Bowl had one amazing throw to Cooper Cup.

Justin Fields is a highlight reel. He misses too many layups. This guy's a highlight reel. He completes 53% of his throws in college. Wait, can I jump in here? Are you talking about Josh Allen or Anthony Richardson? Because I just looked at, you know, Josh, Josh Allen in college. I love that.

to Boise State. He threw five interceptions in a game against Nebraska. Yeah. Lost to UNLV. Yeah. When you have one comp in the history of the league, everybody points to Josh down and goes, boom, boy, boy, Josh, yeah. There's one exception where a guy

completes 53% of his throws. And then he goes to the pros, gets a brilliant offensive coach and a great defense and wins games. One comp. You got to have multiple comps or multiple examples of how this quarterback back or receiver or defensive tackle works.

53% losing the Vanderbilt, 66 yards passing in the game. Remember, you go to college for as wild as Mahomes was, 66% completion percentage.

In college, 66% his final year, and in his pro career, 66%. That's fair. So, Mahomes is accurate, hits all his layups, in about twice a game, You go, wow. That's all Herbert gives you.

Burrow gives you one of those. The great ones, they don't miss layups. This guy misses layups. Okay. I'll, listen, I'm not an all-in Anthony Richardson guy, but I do like him. I do like him. Listen, you just said, Josh Allen, you gave him a great coach in Brian Dable. Frank Wright knows a little bit about the quarterback position, right?

Shane, what's his name? Stuyken, the new Colts coach. He did some good things with Jalen Hertz last year, Colin. Let's not act like Brian Dable. the only quarterback whisper out there. Oh, he's good. But this guy went three and six in the SEC. NFL guys are like, hey, I don't want to play that guy.

I do. I want to play him all year. He went three and six in college. I want to play him all year. Okay. All right. This is going to be fun. Draft season is going to be exciting.

Because I think you're selling Richardson a little bit short. I don't, trust me, I don't love him one overall. But if I'm the team, if I'm the Panthers. Now, this is a guy, if you're Minnesota, and you can see. sit him for two years with Kirk's contract. That's interesting. He ain't falling to 23. I wouldn't take him high, but he's not falling to 23.

Power Hour next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.