The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - When you doubt LeBron James

Episode Date: May 16, 2023

Nick Wright from First Things First joins the show to set Colin straight for doubting LeBron James against the Warriors Colin updates his top AFC QBs following a questionable outlook for the Jets and Aaron RodgersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Nuggets tonight. Game 1 in the Mile High City, the herd. Wherever you may be in, however, you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright, five minutes. So last hour, at the end of last hour, I talked about the similarities, the many similarities. Russell Wilson moving over to the tougher AFC in a better division.

or at least the tougher AFC. And Aaron Rogers moving over to the tougher AFC, where they were considered top two or three, maybe the best quarterback in that conference, and now they're like middle of the pack. And JMAQ brought up the fact that PFF said, do you know they judge rosters, that the seventh best roster in the AFC this year,

seventh best roster in the NFL this year, is the Jets. That was his argument. Seventh best roster. Congratulations. I went back and looked at that PFF rating a year ago. Do you know the seventh best roster last year? Denver. Oh, that's outstanding.

What a find. So Hackett, O-line issues, coach, we don't know that's young, no real momentum in the organization, excellent young players, but really unproven, ascending, tougher AFC. Russell was considered elite in the the NFC, now kind of middle of the pack, Aaron Elite. I think we both think he's 5, 6, 7-ish in the AFC.

Yeah, he has a few more MVP than Russell Wilson has votes for MVP in his career. So yeah, a little bit better. I like Russ and people tell me I look like him, whatever. Yeah, kind of, yeah, yeah, sure. A little bit. Jets are going to be fine, Colin. All right. I will say this.

So I was, I only have dinner with two people. My wife, an NBA insider with Buker. That was the only two people I ever have dinner with. So we went to dinner last night. We were just talking about the kind of the warriors and what you do. And the new NBA luxury tax, I picked up the check, by the way, the new NBA luxury tax is going to make it very difficult to give Clay Thompson exactly what he wants.

So you're going to have some guys. They're going to have to take some price reductions if they want to stick around. And, you know, there's an old saying out there, you can look at the past. Don't stare at it. here's what ends dynasties in the NBA. Ego, Kobe Shaq. Or usually age. D. Wade got old in Miami.

Duncan got old in San Antonio. Warriors getting old. I would keep Steph because what he does well, he does as well as anybody. I would keep Draymond. What he does well, he does very well. Second team all NBA defense. And when I would try to. to keep Wiggins, and I love the coach.

After that, I'd move anybody. Got four trophies. I would move anybody. Loyalty to yesterday's productivity is the way you extend the drought. Jerry Krause of the Bulls got a lot of crap for this, but he had it right. Guys, one more time. We're coming back, and I always hear this. They were owed another year.

No, they weren't. I mean, Jerry Krauss, the late Jerry Krauss got a lot of crap, but he was like, okay, we won three, we can win three again. This team is old, physically, emotionally, this is it. And they rose and they won, and it was hard. But to me, I would have no problem with a reboot. Just keep Steph because he's great at what he does. Wiggins is still an elite defender, Dremont still an elite defender, Kursan elite coach. I'd move anything.

Rick Kirk, Rick Buecker, NBA Insider, talked about it yesterday on the show. I'm keeping Steph. I'll keep, and I'll keep Draymond. I'll sign him, if he opts out, I'll sign him to like a two-year deal for, say, 20 mil a year. I'll extend that. But then everybody else is on the table. Wiggins would probably be my third keeper, but I got to consider, like, what I'm trying to get. I'm going to have to give up some kind of talent.

I can't just try to get rid of all my bad stuff and expect to get good stuff. I can't look at their roster right now and say this is on the uptick. It's growing, it's getting better. It is slowly decaying and declining. They need to make a big move. You can't tear the Splash Brothers apart.

They can't. They don't splash that much anymore. It's more of a belly flop. You can tear them apart. I mean, this loyalty to the rearview mirror, I don't get. With that, Nick Wright, oh, he is on a heater. I mean, between the Chiefs and the Lakers, oh, my Lord.

I mean, I don't know how your poker's going lately, but I imagine you're going to the tables and bringing home some cash for the fam. Yeah, Liz and I was there last night actually playing some cards while you are out there, you know, whining and dining. This is what happens. You spend the long hours grinding the all-22 in the NFL, staying up late night for West Coast basketball, even on the East Coast. And what you get is America's most accurate sports pundit,

who was laughed at by you, Colin. So let's talk about it. Because two weeks ago it was Warriors in five, and now it's the Warriors are miles away from a championship. Break them up. How could they ever have won? So what happened? Let's talk about it, my friend,

because some of us had the foresight to say, hmm, LeBron plus AD, plus Joe. Just competent role players has equal to championship. The only other year we've had it. And now we have the exact same final four as the bubble. And we're about to have the exact same result. But let's talk Warriors. Let's talk LeBron.

Let's talk LeBron's step. I want to get into all of it. This might be a 45-minute interview. I'm just letting you know. I want to give you my epiphany yesterday. So I went out to have coffee with my daughter the other day. And the guy, guys named with Colin, came up and it costed me kind of. He said, hey, you're going to buy into the Lakers?

Finally. And I said, timeout. I had him beating Minnesota in the plan. I had him beating Memphis. I didn't like him here. I do think they'll beat Denver. But it did make me think, what am I missing? So I came to a conclusion that I missed on, that my opinion was stronger than LeBron's productivity.

And I say, if you stop, I was comparing LeBron now to old LeBron. Well, that's unfair. But if you take LeBron's last 13 games and you contextualize it against the other best players, there's an argument he's a better version of Jalen Brown 24, 10, 1⁄2, 38 minutes, 50%. He's better than Jalen Brown and pretty darn close to Tatum

and when you do that and forget his age, this is a championship team. This feels like a championship. Oh, of course it is. So let's talk about that exact point because there's two LeBron points I would like to make because when people thought the Warriors were going to win, I'm not talking about you here necessarily,

it was a LeBron versus Steff referendum. Oh, LeBron's spot on route. Mount Rushmore's up for grabs. Oh, what if Steph's 4 and 1 in his career against LeBron? And what we heard after round one was this is the best

Steph Curry's ever been. Yeah. All concede the point. What we all know, this is the worst LeBron James since his rookie year. So we have the best Steph ever the worst LeBron ever

and LeBron was better than him Oh Nick it's unfair why What's unfair It's like oh it's like when Steph had Kevin Durant No it's not So LeBron has a Kevin Durant in Anthony Davis Sure and then the third best guy is Austin Reeves and the fourth best guy was Lonnie Walker

As opposed to prime pre-injury Clay Thompson And prime pre-injury Draymond Green So we have the worst LeBron we've ever seen the best step we've ever seen and in this series LeBron more efficient shot almost identical from the three point line scored the same

assist a little less and rebounded better and of course far better defensively and of course in the critical game of the series game for how did the warriors or how did the Lakers win they hunted Steph Curry defensively and then Steph missed two critical shots

and then threw the ball backwards over his head out of bounds. Love Steph, but those are the facts. One other LeBron point. Worst LeBron we've ever seen. I agree with you. So, let's compare him to some... Remember when we used to you and I, we're just

getting to know each other, Colin? I'd wow you with these blind reveals, my friend. I've got one for you. Okay. So, here is LeBron this postseason? All right. That is compared to someone else. You mentioned Jalen Brown, you mentioned Jason Tatum. So that is

LeBron this postseason. And the person on the right, you can reveal it now. Oh, that's Bird's playoff career. So the worst LeBron we've ever seen, what he has been reduced to is

Larry Bird. So it's year 20, 65,000 minutes in. LeBron has been reduced to only being Larry Bird, who when he retired was unanimously considered the greatest forward to ever live. So yeah, I do think maybe because

we are comparing current LeBron to peak LeBron, which is, of course, the highest peak of any player we've ever seen. It looks like he is a far lesser player, and he is. But he's still just about as good as anybody else out there. So J-Mack had Celtics and Nuggets. I had Milwaukee, Phoenix, didn't love either. I thought Milwaukee was old. I kept saying they look old, they look old, and it went down.

Yeah, I whiffed. They got old really fast. And I missed on that. And then Phoenix, they just needed more players. But I didn't think the Lakers were a title team. I did not know if Denver was. I didn't think the Warriors were for the record. So now you have Denver and the Lakers.

I like the Lakers because I think Yokic will face more length and will have more trouble dominating this series. There won't be as many gimmies. Whereas Anthony Davis, Yokic is not an elite defender. They're going to get plenty of Anthony Davis, plenty of LeBron, more experience. I don't know if Michael Porter and Jamal Murray in these moments, I know what I get with AD.

I know what I get. I just watched Austin Reeves. So there's a lot I don't know about Denver. Wouldn't be shocked if they want. I know you like the Lakers. Just give me some context on what do you think the series, Nick, looks like. Okay. Yeah, so I like the Lakers.

I can't give you my game one prediction. I do have to save that for first things first. Sure. That's only because I am 12 and 0 picking Lakers. games. Better than that stupid corgi that went viral and so that's appointment viewing about 305 p.m. Eastern to down FS1, I will give you to get to a perfect 13 and 0. So here's where I see this series playing out. So Yokic has been marvelous. You're not going to hear any hate or slander for me on Yokic what he's done this postseason. My concern for the Nuggets

is going from the Timberwolves and the Sons defensively to the Lake is going to be like when you get out of a hot tub and jump in an ice tub. There's going to be a cultural shock that they deal with initially because Minnesota is not a serious team and then the Sons by the game three of that series had decided screw it. We've got to go all offense and they couldn't guard anything. This is where Anthony Davis is going to have to match Yokic Minute for. minute. And if either one of them

in any game gets in foul trouble, that will swing those games. But this is an Anthony Davis defense series. I think the Lakers can win the series with AD averaging 18 points per game if he exerts entirely all of his energy

on the defensive end. The reason I like the Lakers is because what we saw at the end of the Warriors series was LeBron James mismatch Hunter He did it to Steph Curry. He probably cost Jordan Poole's job.

Just where's the weak defender? We're putting you in a pick and roll. And that means Jamal Murray, who is an awesome offensive player, and Michael Porter, Jr., who is a streaky offensive player, are going to be forced to defend, along with Yokic. They will force them to defend. And I think this is a LeBron series. I think LeBron, with the ball in his hands,

finding the mismatch, forcing bad defenders into the action, and trying to make Yokic exert a lot of energy on that end of the court. That is why I believe the Lakers have the upper hand here. Also, I do think that the altitude can absolutely be a factor in Denver's favor, which is why it was very important. The Lakers took care of the Warriors in six. It's only three days off, but three days is going to. to feel like a week when you've been playing every other day thus far this postseason.

So I think they're going to look pretty fresh tonight. I like the Lakers in the series. Now you're taking, you've been very good in the playoffs, you and JMAQ. And I tend to think that the NBA is steps. So Boston for years and it can get past Milwaukee and then they get past Milwaukee and losing the finals. And now I think they're going to get to the finals and I think they're going to win it, even if they play the Lakers, although I think it's a really good series.

Denver, I think they'll win. I think Denver, if they did get to the finals, would lose and then come back next year with a better chance. It steps. But you are an outlier. You think Miami can actually beat Boston. I like the heat. Wow. Yeah, I like the heat. So I said before the playoffs began, that I thought the heat could give Boston massive trouble in round one, and then Miami lost in the play in and it set this course, you know, poor Milwaukee gets the one seed, they get Jimmy Butler and Eric Spolster in round one.

So it's very simple to me, why I like the heat. Vegas having the heat 15 to 1 to win the title is bananas. So here's why. First of all, adjustments and coaching deeply matter

in the post season. Yes. You might have in this series one versus 30. when it comes to the coaching in the NBA. And I know that sounds mean to Joe Missoula. He was not supposed to be this team's head coach. He wasn't even the lead assistant last year. They lost Will Hardy, and then the Odoka situation happened.

They go with Missoula. I have not been wildly impressed with Joe Missoula at any point this year, this postseason. Spolster, on the other hand, is the best coach in the league full stop, ever since Greg Popovich kind of started taking time off, or at least the Spurs, stop being a real team. changes if they get wimby. So there's that. Then there is this very simple question.

Who has the best player? And I believe the heat do. I understand that Jason Tatum, and people are like, oh my God, did you not see Tatum go for 51? I did. It was marvelous. I saw Jimmy go for 56.

And that's not to say the 56 is better than 51, but Jimmy's peaks are as high as Tatum's peaks. but his valleys are nowhere as low. Thank you. Tatum was scoreless in the first quarter of game four, five, and six. Game six, he's won for 14, and that is an amazing sliding doors moment in NBA history. With six minutes left in the fourth quarter of game six,

Philly had the lead with the ball, three straight possessions. They couldn't get it done if they do. Doc still the coach, and beads broken through, Hardin's getting credit, and they're talking about breaking up Tatum and Brown. To their credit, they came through. Tatum came through and they were brilliant in game seven. But you are going to have some of those droughts. You're not going to get that from Jimmy Butler.

The heat know exactly who they want to be. They beat them in the conference finals in 2020. Games last year they were down three to, they being Miami. Jimmy Butler is a 47, 9 and 8 on the road in game 6, and then a three to execute a 13-point comeback in the final three minutes of game seven. He missed it. He is healthier than he was during round two. I like the heat.

And I don't understand what the heat need to do for people to take them seriously. If you want to say they threw away the regular season, you're right about that. But Jimmy Butler, come the postseason, is one of the six best players in the world. I like the heat in this series. I just do. I can't rely on BAM offensively, although I think Boston, I tend to think your best three players decide a series,

and the Warriors couldn't find that third or sometimes the second consistently. I get Tatum Brown, and I think on, you know, I can either get a Brogden or a Mark as smart. But be that as it may, I do agree. I would take Butler over Tatum. If you gave me two weeks, one series go, I would take Butler.

Finally, you do something. The graphic people here are, I was going to text you the other day. I love this. created, you have something called Club Superstar. It's very, by the way, James Harden, who loves clubs, period, used to be in it. He's bamous. He's gone. Yeah, he's been out.

How many people are allowed in? The concept. Yeah, what's the concept? It's one in one out policy. And while I do love our graphics department, as you've said before, this is, oh, that's last year's club. So I don't know if we have the updated club. That's last year's club.

Hopefully they have the updated club to show you. but I can give you the concept of it. I do love our graphics people, but as you've said, our show has an unlimited budget, Colin. That's commissioned artwork. That is actually a professional artist that makes that and then sends it in.

And so the people in the club last year that were kicked out were Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, and John Morant. The new people to the club are Devin Booker, Anthony Davis,

back in the club, credit to him. And oh, there it is. There we go. Now here's the new club. And also in the club, Jimmy Butler, because of the postseason. You see Jaws pointing saying, that was my seat. There's, I think, some dollars on the ground. So tell people.

So I like this. So the club superstar, that looks like Anthony Davis, Tatum. Anthony. So, yep, AD. So there's LeBron Janus, A.D., Lillard, and Luca, Tatum, Brown, Booker, KD, Steph, Yokich, and Embed, those are the 12 superstars of the league.

The reason we created it was, I didn't like people throwing around the term superstar. One in, one out. If you're going to call a guy a superstar, if you're going to say Donovan Mitchell's a superstar, so be it. Who of the 12 is he replacing? To get Devin Booker in, we had to kick Chris Paul out. To get Jimmy Butler in, we had to kick Kauai Leonard out. to get Anthony Davis back in, we had to kick John Moran out.

I have Deerrin Fox, Shea and Anthony Edwards waiting in line. Kyrie was not considered. James Harden hasn't been in there for years. Those are 12 superstars. The most interesting question I would have for you is this, Colin. There's the 12. Let's say that next year, that Donovan Mitchell does what he did this year, but even better, goes to a conference finals, and he gets in.

who do you think of those 12 is the one with the most precarious position? Who's the one most likely to be asked to leave if Donovan or SGA have to get in. Dame Lillard's aging and smart. Dame. Dame. I think Dame, right? Yeah, you know, it's crazy because the guy had a 60-point game, a 70-point game this year. But what you can't have is three straight years out of the.

postseason. That's right. So I think you're right. The other one that I can't believe I'm saying it, but let's say Dave has a great year or gets traded to a contender. Well, Embeded just one MVP. What about the guy laying on the couch on his phone in Kevin Durant? Oh, that's, it's a weird spot. Colin, Kevin Durant's 30s. His 30s. He has 11 minutes of the playoffs post round two. 2019 was injured for the conference finals, played in the finals,

tragically snapped as Achilles. 2020 out for the year. 2021, lost in round two. 2022 swept in round one. 2020, 23, lost in round two. With his hand-picked teams. This is age 30 through 34.

Also. Next year he's 35. Yep. Go ahead. I said the other thing is it's okay to make mistakes and be emotional. You don't want to be old eccentric guy. And if he reunites with James Hardin and there are a story today, he's now worked through Monty Williams. He didn't like Kenny Atkins and he wanted him gone. He didn't like Steve Kerr. So he's getting to be like coach killer and LeBron's made mistakes, Westbrook. He moves off him immediately and he never makes the same mistake twice. If Kevin teamed with him, he's getting to be like coach killer and LeBron's made mistakes, Westbrook. He moves off him immediately and he never makes the same mistake twice. If Kevin teamed with Harding again in Phoenix. He's becoming the actor. Nobody wants to sign to a franchise. It's too eccentric. Also, that is not, I don't understand

why folks don't get that that is not the model to win a title. The idea that if you're the sons, what you need is a third star, that is not why you didn't win. You didn't win, it's not because you didn't have a third star.

It's because you didn't have eight competent players on your team. In today's NBA, two stars is absolutely enough as long as you have three through eight are playable. The sons, their only hope, in my opinion, is to get someone to bite on Aiton that, like, the potentially showed to be the number one pick that he showed briefly in the postseason a couple years ago when I think Devin Booker was hurt. for a few games and turn Chris Paul into three rotational players.

This trade has been out there, but I think it is one, so it's not my idea, but it's one that makes sense. The Clippers are going to lose Russell Westbrook, trading Chris Paul to the Clippers for some of their wing depth, so you can actually have two-way switchable players and build out a rotation. That's the only hope because you just had Devin Booker's greatest postseason you could ever hope for, and you got rolled in round two. And Durant needs to be a little bit better, but what they need is more players. So I wouldn't add one other star lose hard and lose Chris Paul and then have it be the whole same thing again. Yeah, no, I think two stars, Tatum and Brown,

and then people who do things well, Marka Smart defends well, Robert Williams protects the rim well, Brogden can hit a jumper, Derek White. Three through eight, Rui can hit the corner jumper. He's got great length. Austin Reeves creates contact. Look at the teams who are left. LeBron A.D. and a roster. Yoke at Shemal Murray and a roster.

Jimmy and Bam and a roster. Like that is, everybody is pretending we are still in the era of K.D. Steph, Clay. Draymond, that is gone. That is not who you're competing. competing with what you need is to be able to fill out your rotation, and that's what the sun should be focused on. Good stuff, Nick Wright.

First things first. Colin, I know we're late. Just very, very quickly, it's important to me here. The legendary Doyle Brunson passed away on Sunday. He was a massive fan of yours that I became personal friends with because of coming on your show. He would tail your bets. He loved your football picks.

I got to watch Chiefs Bangle with him at his house a few months ago, and he was a huge fan of FS1. He's one of the most legendary figures in the history of poker. He passed away at the age 89. I just wanted to shout out his friends and family on his favorite show. He liked it more than my show, your show. So shout out to Doyle Brunson. Rest in peace. You were the first person I thought of yesterday when I saw that.

The Ultimate Gentleman, one of the great legendary, if not the – he was the most important poker player of all time, and I had no idea. I knew he liked the show, but if he liked it more than yours, he had exquisite taste. Yeah, he loved you. Talk to you later. Good seeing you, buddy. The great Doyle Brunson saw that yesterday.

All poker players should wear in the next big tournament a cowboy hat, in honor of Doyle Brunson. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Heard to listen live or on demand

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I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

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

you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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's big to me. 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 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. To gain visibility and control over your financials, inventory, e-commerce, and more, take advantage, special financing offer, no payments or interest, six months. NetSuite by Oracle, netsuite.com slash her.

J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, we're going to talk about Lamar Jackson and O'Dell Beckham in Baltimore. They did not participate in the Ravens' voluntary workouts this offseason. I know. Teams installing a new offense behind new OC Todd Munkin.

But Munkin says he's not worried that the stars are sitting out. We're in constant communication with those guys, and we're getting them on opportunities to talk football and try and catch them up to speed. And we're excited about the guys that are here. And I knew that they're working hard. We get updates from those guys in terms of working. So, again, when that, again, it is voluntary.

But we're excited, like I said, about the guys that are here. but I do think that we'll be able to get those guys here, hopefully in a short amount of time. But until that happens, we'll get up to speed with the guys we got. What do you make of that, Jane? Well, I'm told you're going to treat this summer as voluntary for me to actually appear on set or not, or can I do this from my house or maybe Florida or wherever I'm on vacation, and word is, it's okay.

So if O'Dell Beckham and Lamar don't have to be a voluntary workout, it's like, why should anybody be there? I don't love it. I mean, this was Aaron last year, Aaron Rogers. I don't love it. I think it's okay. Now, Tom Brady, I think at the end of his career, but I always felt like Tom knew the system, knew the players. There wasn't a lot of new pieces.

I don't love it. And I don't love it because there's a rookie receiver. There's Odell Beckham. And remember his best receiver got hurt last year. And Lamar was hurt and a new OC. There's a lot of newness. Oh, there's four or five new elements. So to me, I don't like this at all.

Speaking of newness, you were bagging on the Jets earlier. I was able to look at their first six games, right? Yeah. And for their first six opponents, new offensive coordinators. Now, the Ravens, new offensive coordinator. It's going to take some time to get up to speed. It's not going to be like, boom, lights out. Especially if guys aren't showing.

I think this stuff matters. There's something here. It's not nothing. Ravens fan is. Oh, it's no big deal. It's something. There's something. We don't know what, but I don't think you want to find out at this point if you're Baltimore.

All right, let's go back to the NBA conference finals or tonight. Lakers and the Nuggets in Denver. Tomorrow, heat and Celtics. By the way, we touched on this yesterday. These are the same four teams from the bubble in 2020. A lot of people were, oh, the bubble, what? What's amazing about Miami, how valuable would Tyler Hero be for Miami? We forget.

Miami got here without one of their, arguably, their best perimeter shooter. That's amazing. I mean, imagine if the Lakers got here and you didn't have. You took out like Austin Reeves. Like Austin Reeves was very valuable. The Teller Hero was like, I think a lottery pick and like 20 points a game pretty quickly. Austin Reeves undrafted come out of nowhere. Like if you look at this Miami lineup, I don't know how Nick was saying he likes the heat in the series.

I don't know how I'm supposed to depend on for their scoring beyond Butler. But for the record, I didn't know who they were going to have scoring with Milwaukee. You know, as I mean. Well, the Janus injury and the Bucks were just not as good as we thought. I think Boston's the most complete team in the league. Yeah. I just don't trust them. Remember, in that Knicks Heat Series, the Knicks could not make a three.

They're shooting from deep. The Celtics are the best three-point shooting team in the league. Unless they have some out-of-body experience where they can't make a damn shot. You know, I think Celtics in five. Is that? I do think Spolstra will tweak his way to a winner or two. They'll win at least one game in Miami. And by the way, the Celtics have shown the ability to gag in Boston.

I mean, they lose. They don't lock in. I think they're like nine or ten wins and 11 losses in their last 21 home games. It's just they play with their food. They mess around. They're not locked in. But I wonder if the Robert Williams move will be pivotal. Remember, when they did that move in game six, they look like the better team for sure.

Final story, NBA draft lottery tonight. I know you're excited. Yep. The Victor Wembeniama sweepstakes, 14 team. in the lottery. Pistons, rockets, and the spurs have the highest probability. I don't want the spurs to get them. I know a lot of people are like, let's do the Tim Gunn. I want Portland to. I want Dame to have a star. I would love to see. The last time they got it, they had Greg Odin and they screwed it up because he had the foot problems. Nobody in the history of the NBA

has had worse luck. Walton fell apart, Brandon Roy fell apart, Sam Bowie fell apart, Sam Bowie fell apart. There is no precedent in the history. Do you understand how good the Blazers could have been. I mean, they've already got a title. They've always been competent and well-run, mostly. If they had four different stars fall apart physically, early. And, you know, listen, it's tough not to see Wembeyanma's frame and think, boy, poor Zingis, you know, like, but better. He's obviously better than Posenkis. Got hurt immediately. Didn't even play a game this season, like these tall, thin guys with the feet and you worry about it,

but talent-wise, he's certainly there. Houston Rockets are fascinating to me. Because of all this James Harden, Lincoln. Like, if the Rockets win the lottery tonight, what do you think they say to James Hardin? Come on down, help Tudor Wemba? No, no, no, no. Or stay the heck away.

Why is the Hardin rumor to Phoenix out there? Maybe it's Hardin's people floating it because they know if the Rockets get Wambanama, they got no interest in James. I also wonder, this, like, all of a sudden, there's interest in James Hardin. From who? Is he trying to get money?

Is he just, the Sixers like, we need to lowball you so we can build around you and a B, And Hardin wants the money, so his agent is putting out to the media. He's got options. You'd move off him, right? I mean, so it's not as easy as let's just let Hardin go. You can't just let him walk out the door. It was pivotal through the season.

You can't let him go and get nothing in return. You've got to get something. He led the NBA and assist. Yeah, I mean, put up good numbers. And again, he won two games against Boston. I know your boy, Maxie, he didn't win any games against Boston. And Bid didn't win any games against Boston. I mean, if you're going to bring Hardin and Embed back, it's going to look like this again.

I think Tobias Harris is an issue. I think he was a leading score in game seven, but it's like, come on, he couldn't guard me. Well, they overpaid him when they got it. Yeah, they totally screwed up the Jimmy Butler thing. I guess finally, you know, is there any interest in the Detroit Pistons getting Wembeennyama? They have Cade Cunningham who was hurt. I would like that. They got some bad contracts on that.

But Cade Cunningham's interesting. Cade and Wembeeniamma. what is that, 25 wins? Well, it's interesting. I don't know how many wins. It's interesting. I mean, Kade's a nice player. He's good?

Yeah, a good player. I got Marvin Bagley on. I got some bad contracts. They got to purge those. But you're right. Portland, for my money, if it's Dallas, Luca Dodger. Now, it probably won't be. They have a 3% chance.

Portland's got a 10.5% chance, I think. I would love to see Portland. So you've got Wembe Gama, Simons. I like Anthony Simons a lot. So do I. Dane Lillard, and then the kid's Shaden Sharp. Yeah. They like all of them.

It could be a playoff team in the West. Now the West is loaded. No, and by the way, it would be one of the more interesting teams. Would you move, Dame? No. I'd keep Dane with all those young guys. No, no, I wouldn't move them at all. I'm rooting for him because I think he and Bradley Biel are the two great players in this league

who have been loyal and they've gotten, you know, they got rich, but they didn't get kind of the respect they deserve. I mean, I think Dame's obviously a first belt hallfamer, but I think Dame and Bradley Biel are just tremendous players, but their loyalty has cost them relevance. And I think they're both, if you would have put Bradley Beal on the Celtics and not Jalen Brown,

we would talk about Bradley Beal at a much higher level. He'd be the same guy. How many coaches has Bradley Beal had in Washington? Oh, Jesus. That's a mess. That franchise is a disaster. I grew up in the D.C. area when they were the Washington Bullets.

Listen, I remember as a kid. Maybe the most underrated NBA player ever is Elvin Hayes. Oh, I thought I was say Jeff Malone. No, but I mean, they had West Sunseld, Elvin Hayes, Bobby Dandrich, Phil Sheenier, Kevin Grevy. For about a three-year run, them and the Sonics and the Blazers, they were unbelievable. When I was growing up, it was a lot of minute bowl, Liddell Eccles. I think John Hot Plate Williams, because I think that's what a Cornheiser nicknamed him when he was with the Washington Post.

Because, you know, John Williams came in a good player, and then he just kept eating, and he was actually ballooned up, and they called him hot plate. No, when they had Elvin Hayes, Scheneer, Grevy, They were good. Oh, they were in the finals. The team I love with, they had Chris Weber for like five minutes. Chris Weber is one of my all-time favorite players. He made me my favorite college guy. Oh, so good at Michigan.

Oh, he was great. Great stuff. See, you like college basketball. Yeah, I do. I like it in March. Yeah, yeah. And I, well, I used to watch it. I was a kid that grew up in the Northwest.

I loved the Big East. Yeah, I tried to get Duke keeping their point guard in the herd line, and they were like, you know what? The best 30 for 30 that's never been made? and maybe it has Pearl Washington people understand from Syracuse

Pearl Washington Dick Vital favorite player Pearl Washington was absolutely the most unique player the way he handled

the ball and he goes to the NBA and it didn't work at all little before my time but he and Harold Minor went in that baby Jordan Harold Minor they went into the NBA

in your life I couldn't take my eyes off of Pearl Washington as a college player I couldn't figure his game out. Why is he so great in college and a complete whiff in the NBA? I don't understand. I still don't understand it.

That's fair. I don't have any. For anybody listening at my age, Pearl Washington was the most fascinating college play. He had this weird style. He was trunky, small. You couldn't stay in front of him. Trunky. That's a new one.

I have just thick and trunky. How about Bobby Hurley at Duke? He had the car accident in the NBA, which was devastating. Yeah. What do you mean? He was one of the great college basketball players of a generation. Bobby Hurley? Oh my goodness. Yeah, but he won a lot of titles.

He did win a title with Leitner. He won two titles or won one? He won one. I was at that game. Were he had the bowel movement issue before the game and you were there? I asked the question to Mike Shishowski. I asked the question at the press conference the day before. You know, what's going on with Bobby Hurley?

And he said, it's, and then he paused and he went, it's diarrhea. Is that real on YouTube? I can look that up? Yeah. Oh, wow. I did not know that was you. Yeah. Well, I mean, there was like, we were at a press conference.

But I asked Larry Johnson on my podcast. Do you remember this? He's like, of course. How could I forget? Like, it was a thing. Like, Bobby Hurley was terrified of UNLV. I know I was at the press conference. I think I asked him.

I'm almost sure I asked him. But I remember the diarrhea thing. Because I remember I was a young sportscaster. And I went to those, because I was covering UNLV. So I was always at the UNLV. LV Pressers and the Shishchev. I was like, had seven of them. Billy Packers, like, danced around it the night of, uh, because there was no internet back then to like speculate and all this stuff.

I know I asked, I asked for it either in the big press conference or in a one-on-one post game. And I gave me the diarrhea answer. Yeah. I remember it. And that's the end of that second. More college basketball. I love it. Jay Mack with the news.

Yes. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Navian tankless water heater. 15-year limited warranty, get federal tax credits. Go to tankless made symbol.com Navion. 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, I'm Doug Gottlie. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories. You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Alib on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the world. the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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 a little kill. 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 so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS.

on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So how about this?

I was just looking at this, J. Mack. This will get you all fired up. So Warren Sharp, I think he's like, isn't he an engineer who got into football? He's very much into the details. and the data and the analytics. So he has what they call. He doesn't like the NFL schedule. He calls it rest advantage or rest disadvantage

where teams get too many days over the course of a season. If you get many more rest days, you come into games healthier with a chance to have more preparation. So in the NFL this year, the worst rest advantage, meaning a disadvantage,

the Niners minus 20 days. The Rams next at minus 17, the Chiefs minus 13. 13, 13 fewer days, 17, 20. The number one rest advantage in the NFL. The Jets, the Bears, and Washington, plus 12-day rest advantage. So over the course of a year, 12 days extra rest. For me, it's more of a health thing.

Can you get multiple starters over the course of the season? That right tackle, that second corner, that it matters, an extra day's rest. So most of the league, most of the league, I would say 80% of the league is, somewhere between minus six days and plus six. And over the course of his season, I don't think plus six or minus six is going to matter. But I do think when you get into 10, 12, plus, or minus 12, 15, 17, you're losing a couple of weeks prep.

He also notes that last year the team with the worst rest advantage was the Green Bay Packers, and they missed the playoffs. Best rest advantage this year, New York Jets, his theory, and again, this is just a guy with a theory. Jets haven't made the playoffs in forever. Massive drought, huge market, new quarterback. Let's put them on prime time where you get an extra day. I got how many prime time games? Five, six for the Jets? A lot. So, you know, a conspiracy theorist, I see your tinfoil hat over there behind you. The league's trying to help out the Jets. I don't know that I totally buy that. I think this. If you look at his numbers, about 70, 75% of the league, they get a week. They look at it.

lose a week. I don't think that's a, you know, because you got to put the buy somewhere. Ideally, the buy would come in week nine or ten. Some people get it in week six. That's a disadvantage. So, you know, it's, um, they don't like dynasties in the NFL. You know that. Yeah. They want parody. That's why the Patriots dynasty is so remarkable. Hour three 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 helped make you. you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer

Streeter Seidel, help an acapella 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. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year.

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.