The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Franchise players

Episode Date: April 19, 2023

NBA champion Eddie House joins the show to give Colin the truth about how many real franchise players there are in the league right now Colin lists his top 10 NBA clutch playersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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listening to Fox Sports Radio. Yeah, that's a good point. So J-MAC brought this up. Are there 15 guys in the league good enough alphas that could lead a team like you could carry him emotionally and physically, like a Jason Tatum or a Janus, to playoff a playoff series wins. Zach Levine's got all the hops in the world. Six years, no playoff series wins. Damian Lillard is the quintessential.

Like he's an awesome player. He's been a number one. But he's led them to playoff series wins. When he was in his 20s. Yes. In his prime. Now he's, you know, 32. Now he's different.

So the question is, are there 15 guys actively in the NBA that can just win a playoff series with them and a bunch of used parts? Paul George was the number one in Indiana, right when he was younger. Awesome. Now he's a little older, 32. I think we would agree. He's a good, too, right? There's nothing wrong with that.

Yeah, I think, I think, no, I don't, I don't think there are 15 guys. I think Embedde could do it. Kevin Durant could do it. He almost got Brooklyn to beat him. Kevin Durant can. I think Yokic can win you a playoff series. I think Jason Tatum can. But Jason, again, it's hard to argue because we don't, I mean, look at SGA for Oklahoma City.

That guy's just him and a bunch of used parts. Look what he's doing. Let's bring in Eddie House. By the way, former NBA guy, Fox Sports Radio. He's doing Celtics games. I mean, we talk about Jason Tatum. So I've always said this about Boston. if they're going to walk through, you know, Atlanta.

But you cover them, you watch them all the time. And we got into this argument. So the athletic did a poll among players about guys they would build their franchise around. And Janus got over half the votes. And nobody else got 9%. And I said part of building around a player, Eddie, is do they commit on the defensive end? Are they good teammates? Do they work well with others?

Whereas Carmelo was talented. I think Jason Tatum is one of the five, six guys in the league. I would build around. And it's not all his game. He's an A player, but he's an A teammate. You played in this league for 11, 12 years. How many guys at any one time are there? Not just talented.

You could build a franchise around. I would say a handful of guys, you know, not like, and I'm not saying two handfuls. I'm saying a handful of guys where you're saying, I can build or I can build around them. Like I really can put something together around these guys. I don't, and that's where it stands. You know, it's, it all goes into, like you said, are you a great teammate? Do you motivate others? Are you self-motivated?

Are you the hardest worker as the superstar on the team? Yeah. When you get the big dollars, are you responsible enough to handle that business and handle what comes with that? So it's only a handful of guys that can do that. Have we learned anything from the Celtics so far in the first couple of games? I mean, you've seen them all year. This is what I learned that when they're engaged on both ends of the court, it gets ugly for teams. When they're playing the right brand of basketball defensively, and that's where it starts.

You know, we talk about their three point efficiency and how well they play and they can crack guys off the dribble. But it all starts with their defense. They got guys that get deflections, guys that get steals on the perimeter. Then you got guys on the back end like Rob Williams that changes shots, block shots, that makes up mistakes for you being aggressive on the perimeter. So when I look at what I've learned from them is that if they are put together a 48-minute body of work or however long it takes and they stay engaged and don't let go at a rope for any. significant minutes of time or they take their foot off the gas anytime during the game, they're going to be extremely hard to deal with. They're deep.

They're extremely talented. They could score and they can defend and everybody buys in to their role. You know, I was talking to somebody in the league last night about Kauai Leonard. And they said he's a great player, but he doesn't communicate with coaches and teammates, and he's difficult. But yet I could argue so far in the playoffs, he's been the best player. 35. I mean, he's such a... You know, what do you...

If they get beat by Phoenix, what do you do with Kauai? Is it, is it... I mean, you'll be three years in. He doesn't play much. When he does, he's remarkable. What do you make of Kauai as a former 11, 12-year NBA guy? Phenomenal basketball player. But then it goes back to your very first question you asked me.

With all of the things that you said, underlining exactly what he does great, but there's a lot of things under, would you, do you feel like that's a guy you could build a franchise around? I can't trust. Exactly. So to me, I think you have to look at it like, okay, this is what he is, and we have to start looking to try to build a franchise around somebody, but he's a major part of this piece. Yeah. But at the same time, we got to start trying to look, what can we do to make sure that we're secure for the next seven, eight to ten years? years when we get somebody that could come in here via free agency or through the draft.

However it is, it's hard to build on a guy who's not going to be there. You don't know how many games he's going to play per year. You said he doesn't communicate with teammates, doesn't really communicate. And I don't know this to be factual because I don't know Kauai or not. I haven't talked to anybody within the Klipper organization that could tell me any different from what you said. But if what you said is true by what that guy is speaking on, then it's hard to build. There's no communication.

There has to be an open door policy between the star and the front office. They have to always be in a collaborative mode and mindset. And if that's not the case, it's hard to build around them. Now, phenomenal talent, Kauai, is extremely great. But he's not the best player in the playoffs right now. He's definitely not the best player in the playoffs. He's one of the better players, best players, but the best, I wouldn't even give him top four. Oh, how about that?

Draymond Green suspension, surprised by it? The only reason why I'm surprised by it is the magnitude of the game and what it holds for the future of the Golden State Warriors, right? Because this could be the beginning of the end with this, right? It's like, how many times we're going to deal with it? Yeah, they dealt with it when he got suspended against LeBron and then. And he was able to come back and win a couple championships after that. He had issue with Stephen Adams.

He had issue with Brandon Clark. He punches the teammate at the beginning of the year. Now, to his credit with this situation, Sub bonus should have got kicked out of that game. He should have got ejected as well because that is clearly not a basketball play. That's clearly I'm going to wrap up his leg. I'm not going to allow him to run down the court. Dremont's actions were a little excessive,

but at the same time, in the heat of battle, somebody grabs your leg, anything could happen at that particular moment. when you go to grab somebody's leg and do something on a dirty side, expect to get some dirty back, right? And I can say that Sabonis's play was dirty. That was a dirty basketball play. So expect to get something dirty back. Now, his reputation preceded him in this particular moment. With all of the incidents, you're like, okay, man, this is not just accidents that's happened.

This is becoming a habitual behavior by this guy. Right. And I think what really happened is when he showed. up when he got ejected, if he had just had some humility and just went to the lock, like, damn, you know what, man, I messed up again. Man, I put my team in a bad situation. I don't think he gets suspended. But the fact that the matter is when he did the display that he went on yelling, getting

back at the fans and in the heat of battle getting out of pocket. To me, that's what put the league over the top. And they're totally right, man. You continue to do the same thing over and over and you get slapped on the wrist. you're just encouraging bad behavior. And right now, they had to step in and do something. Unfortunately, for the Warriors, or maybe fortunately for the Warriors, you know, because Jordan Pool is going to get an opportunity to play a little bit more.

But at this time, it's just not a good look. Eddie House, former NBA player, Fox Sports. Good seeing you, man. Nice seeing you, too, man. Take care. Yeah. I mean, it literally is there's the saying you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. Like, you just can't do that.

You have to be able to. Because think about this, there's an argument. If Draymond doesn't yell for the crowd, nor does he have any incidents on his resume, it was just two cheap shots. It's technical as you move on. I mean, if you look at the release by the league office, they told you that the resume is a primary reason for, if he'd never been ejected ever and he doesn't rile up the crowd, it's just two technicals. So I think resumes matter, and I, you can't.

you can't rile up people. Like, that thing's a tenderbox. Again, if he's at home, but when you're on the road in a wild rivalry and you're egging on the crowd, can't do it. You're just, you're going to get in trouble. You just can't do it.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket 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 J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Go back to the NFL draft. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Remember, he was at one time going to be in the mix to be number one if none of the quarterbacks had popped up. But then he was involved in that January car crash investigation. His draft stock has definitely taken a hit. Here's what Carter had to say about his draft position during an appearance on HBO's Real Sports

with Bryant Gumbull. Do you think that what happened back in January and the incident is going to matter to NFL teams come draft day? Yeah, I feel like it's going to matter a little bit because, you know, NFL teams look deep into your life. It could have been something I did back in elementary. I'm pretty sure they'd know.

So, you know, this coming out at the time it did come out, I'm pretty sure it's going to affect a little bit. Yeah, I contend that there's an argument if he had no baggage, he's the best player. In fact, I talked to a GM yesterday, and we both agreed. I said he's the most dominant player I saw in college football this year. Single dominant player in any position. And the GM did not disagree.

He said, yeah, there's an argument. I just think he's an unbelievable player. He's not going to be any less dominant. How much do you worry about character with an interior defensive lineman? I want him to play a little angry. I don't need perfect. I mean, seriously, it's not a quarterback. You know what the real story is here?

You see who was sitting next to him on the sofa during that interview? Who? His agent, Drew Rosenhouse. He has done a great job kind of mitigating the damage that Carter had with the off-field stuff. He's cleaned it up. He has great relationships with the media. Yeah. And all of a sudden, Jalen Carter, well, he might slip.

Now his floor is like 10 with the Eagle where they've drafted Georgia guys. And now he was like, well, wait a sec. Maybe you can make a case. He goes two to Houston. I hope Lamar Jackson's watching that. real sports. Lamar has no agent. He can't set up an interview with real sports to make him look good. Good point. These agents, they matter. I know Lamar doesn't want to hear that. He wants to save money, but sometimes you've got to spend money to make money. Well, and also, I do care about the

Wonderlican S2 test for a quarterback. Everything's something, nothing's everything. I don't care about it for a defensive lineman. I don't care. Like, the bottom line is, character, I would like a locker room. Let's be grownups here. I would like a locker room. I would like a locker room. of 55 perfect humans. That's not realistic. That's not realistic. So I'm willing to, in certain positions, really need leadership, quarterback, I mean, like left tackle. I need you to show up and protect my guy. But there are positions where I'm going to, especially on defense, defense, offense is about choreography and teamwork. A lot of defense about blowing stuff up. Jalen Carter blows the lineup.

just my takeaway is I think I would draft him and I know he's not perfect but we but you have to get past we haven't sat and interviewed him we haven't spent any time with him we don't know like we haven't done the deep dive into his background you know these teams have like private investigators around the campus what's this guy really but if all the stuff that's been published is all there is which which there's some bad stuff would you still draft it depends on my coach and my locker room so you have a veteran coach and a good locker room if i'm like the philadelphia eagles bring it out we got this okay okay okay if i'm and i'm and i'm andy read. He's not dropping a 30-1, but yeah, you need a good locker room and you need a good

coach. There's certain teams. Can't really handle it. No, you're right. That's a really good point. I save them for the power hour. You always send your best days. Save your best takes for the power hour. Yes. You always do it. That's your record. You always do that. All right, next up, team, we love this season. If you, if you've missed it, we've been all in on the Detroit Lions, arrow pointing up for them in the NFC North. They finished last year, eight and two. Did get lucky to beat my jets, but nevertheless, many believe Detroit. Detroit will win the North next season. Jared Goff wants everyone to slow their role

on the favorites talk for the Detroit Lions. We played better last year and have a lot of work to do still, but yeah, we're a better team. We'll get teams better shots maybe, but we certainly have done a lot of things that have improved our chances and hopefully can give us a better chance this year. I don't believe there are any favorites to win anything in April.

what do I know? A lot can change from now until August or whatever. We like what we've done in the offseason and last year, but plenty of stuff to get better at and work on. Boy, if you put Jalen Carter on that defense, with Hutchison on the end, Dan Campbell, all those new corners, because Detroit is one of the absolute teams in the league that has no interior push at all. Like, that's absolutely a need now they've cleaned up corner.

If you could say anything for Detroit, it's like more speed at linebacker and some interior D-Line push. That being said, if memory serves, they pretty much shut down Aaron Rogers and the Packers twice last year. They beat him in Detroit. I remember that game. Rogers was awful. And then the final game of the season, they beat Aaron Rogers.

If Jalen Carter goes to Detroit, that feels like literally one of the few players on this draft that would influence, it would influence the way a team looks. Hutchison on the outside, Jalen Carter on the inside, you'd be like, okay, that's a real defensive line. It's like the Washington football team has been bad for years, but their D-line keeps him in games. If he somehow falls to, like, Seattle. Now, Pete Carroll, there's some chatter online that Pete Carroll, they will not go anywhere near players that are kind of radioactive like this.

Who said that? I've read it on some Seattle, well, blogs. But apparently, Seahawks, they don't think Pete Carroll would be bringing a guy like this in. What do you think? Seattle, he's rolled a dice. Well, USC, he's rolled the dice. Yeah, some personalities.

He's pretty good with dealing with personalities. Final story. The Bucks, they're back in action, I guess, soon. Yeah, tonight's game two. Coach Mike Boodenholzer, hopeful that Janus can play. He's been upgraded to questionable within the last hour. He was initially doubtful. I don't know.

I almost, this is going to sound crazy. Do you even need to start Janus tonight? Like, I think you're in good shape in this series. Do you really need to force him? back out there at like less than 100%. If he re-agravates it, you're in deep trouble. No, I think there's an argument you rest him. Even if you lose, I think you'd win the rest of the games

in the series if he comes back. Yeah, you're losing. Who are you facing? Jimmy Butler, Bam out of my own. Duncan Robinson. I don't even think Duncan Robinson plays anymore. I know. Heroes out. It's done.

Kyle Lowry. Kyle Lowry, Max Drews. Gabe Vincent. Like, the buck should be able. Well, Struis. I know. He had one good game. I know.

Well, not my bowls. Kyle Lowry. They got enough guys. I'm not forcing Janice back. I think with him. How about Janus play eight minutes a half? Let's get you in a little shape. Eight minutes a half.

What you get him out there? You can't the game manage on. Hey, Janus, 16 minutes. It's like you. You get you out there? You can't pull you off the floor. Once I'm out there, it's happening. You're like Westbrook.

Not dependable with great energy. No, no, no. But I do hustle like Westbrook on defense. J. Mack, with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The third line news. Lowry, you got Butler, you got Bam, no hero.

You don't have a lot of firepower. Kyle Lowry, though, he had a weird game. Didn't he have like 33 or 38 points? Yeah, and the play and loss. Like he was ridiculous. It's like a best game. Out of body experience. Yeah.

To gain visibility and control over your financials, inventory, e-commerce, HR and more, take advantage, special financing offer. No payment or interest six months at NetSuite by Oracle. That's NetSuite.com slash herd, H-E-R-D. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino and Rich. And together we are Kavino and Rich.

Kvino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right. Kavino and Rich, Fox Sports Radio's newest hit show. Heard weekdays from 5 to 7 Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Every Covino and Rich show is available as a podcast. Just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast and subscribe. I'm such a rocking dude.

The show features our unique take on sports, injected with some fun, humor, and relatability. Listen to Covino and Rich five days a week on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Covino and Rich, give me a hell, yeah. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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 where you'll say. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket 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 all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, 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. 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. So Deerran Fox just won Clutch Player of the Year. This is the inaugural NBA Award for Clutch Player of the Year. So I was saying, I have a ball. I got 15 seconds left in order, 10 to 1. Who would I want taking the shots based on their history? Who would I want taking the shots? 10 through 1. So the must clutch player. So number 10 would be Jalen Brown He did lead the Celtics and fourth quarter scoring, and he led Boston in clutch time field goals. Now, he's the number two on this offense, so I'm not sure he'd get the opportunities, but he's athletic enough that he can score at the rim. You can see in some of these videos, you can kind of trap him, and he can still get a shot off.

So I put Jalen Brown at number 10. Now, I would put Kauai at 9. He has a great mid-range jumper, but if he was stuck out in three-point land, I wouldn't trust him. So he has a certain game, but if he is forced to shoot a late three, this is what docks him. Not that he can't, especially when he's at the top of the arc, but he's really known as one of the great mid-range jump shooters in the NBA. He is nine. I would say Donovan Mitchell is my eight, led the calves in clutch time scoring. he took the second most clutch shot attempts in the league so he likes the ball late he is never bashable

he'll let it rip he's fun to watch seven would be honest the problem being he's a 64% free throw guy so if you foul him and he's got the ball in his hands you know it's a little bit like tim duncan early in his career is that he's not a good free throw shooter now his size and his length are going to give you physical mismatches that very very very good few other guys in the league can give you, but I'd put him seven. Now I'd go Jason Tatum. Now, one of my knocks on him is sometimes I'm not sure he wants the ball. He did average 30 points a game this year, and he led the Celtics in clutch time scoring

this year. But there are times, you'd have to admit this, and you love him. Sometimes I think Jalen Brown demands the ball more than Jason Taylor. Not all the time, but sometimes I dock him a little for that. Does he really truly want it? Number five, Anthony Davis, because inside of five feet, you can't stop him. And he also, he had the most efficient shooting of his career. And I think he's gotten out of the jumper.

For some reason, in the last 20 games, he's become much more comfortable, just staying inside and banging away. And, I mean, that's about as far out as he shoots. I think Anthony Davis, it's the best I've ever seen of him. Played through pain, staying mostly inside. I would say LeBron James, who also shoot 77% free throws, you can put the ball in his hands. He can hit a three, he can hit a two, he can hit his free throws. He did lead.

He's also better beaters of any active player. So LeBron is net, do you know that? Seven buzzer beaders. So LeBron is never shy about taking a shot. He led the Lakers in basically every clutch statistic, minutes, points, shots. So I'd have LeBron 4. I would put your guy Deerran Fox at 3. He led the league in clutch scoring.

I think he's a beautiful handles. Great hands. He's a little bit the opposite of like a Westbrook who's all energy and relentlessness. He's got some sly, some clever. He can shoot. He's got length, threes, and twos. He shot 53% in the clutch this year. That's a huge percentage for a guard.

That's unbelievable. Number two, the best mid-range shooter in the league's history. outside of maybe MJ Kevin Durant, I get length. He can shoot a three. You can't trap him. Outside, can't trap him. He can put the ball on the floor, better ball handler than Kauai Leonard. Like, I get the length over Kauai Leonard.

I get the ball handling. He's also a better three-point shooter. He would be my number two. And my number one is, Steph Curry. Best free throw shooter in league history, unlimited range, 43% in clutch time, which is under Deerran Fox. But the bottom line is if you foul him, it's over. Three-point shooting, it's over.

And what's your big argument on my... It's a damn good list, cowhert. When you were rattling off, Janus at 7, Tatum at 6, I'm like, what does this guy do? What's going on? Janus can't hit a free throw. And I love Tatum. But you watch the... No, no, Tatum is money.

He could get a bucket against anyone in the league. But sometimes don't you ask yourself, does he want the ball as much as Jalen Brown? Yeah, I think he does. The only notes I have here is you were like, Kauai Leonard, three, shaky. What's his three this year? Six for 10 in the playoffs. I know it's a sample size of two games. I was waiting for Trey Young to pop up here.

I did not see his name. Have you seen Trey's. John Morant did not make the list. Well, John Moran's not a great shooter. He's a great athlete. Yeah, no, no. I'm not disagreeing. I, shockingly, this is better than any NFL.

What is that? What do you do, the herd hierarchy? Yeah, yeah. This is better than any herd hierarchy all season. You know, it's funny. It's funny people get reputations. Kobe actually had some really bad clutch statistics. Everybody was always like, Kobe is clutch.

No, he needed, at the time, Meta World Peace, to hit the three. Well, also, Kobe takes a million clutch. You're not going to have great clutch stats. Like, Jordan missed a million clutch shots because he took all of them, you know? But LeBron got this reputation early. And not very clutch, and it's like, no, he's got, he's actually very clutch. He's never afraid to shoot a jumper. The only other thing, people are going to look at this and be like, who is that at number three?

Deere and Fox has taken the league by storm, and it's not just the clutch points of season. When you watch the games and the ball's in his hands late and you've got the lead, it feels like you've got the game. He's unstoppable at the foul. He's long. Ultra quick. Yeah, quick, long. So the advantage to Deerran Fox, whereas like a Westbrook is short and kind of feels short and stocky. Deeran's like long and angular, so it's much harder to trap those players.

You can't box them in. Like Kevin Durant, it doesn't matter where he's on the floor. You can't box him in. Again, this is, I hate talking about my men's league, but what I usually have to guard the quickest guy, the point guard. The only way to slow down a guy like Deeron Fox is to pick him up full court. Yeah. Now, do you want Andrew Wiggins doing that? I'm talking ball denial on the inbounds.

get it to anyone else. I don't want this guy getting it because if he gets it, I'm getting cooked. Well, you can trap him over the timeline. You can, but then you're giving up a four-on-three fast break to the rest of your team. And it's like the Warriors are kind of old. Somebody sent me on-off court stats of Clay Thompson with Curry on and Clay off. What are the stats? Well, they're really bad with Clay Thompson on the court.

They're better with him off. And it's only a two-game sample size. But Clay's killing them in the series. Clay and Jordan Poole have done nothing. The problem is Clay cannot guard Fox and you cannot guard Monk. No. So what do you do? So you've got to have someone quick enough to guard those guys.

I know. I have suggested this to people around the warriors, not in the building, but people that know a lot of personalities, is that it's okay. People, you can't break up the Splash Brothers. Yes, you can. They both got titles. They're both highly compensated. It's okay. It's like what you don't want to do in these dynasties, like Jerry Krauss got a lot of crap for this.

and when they won their second three in a row, and Jerry Krause said, I'm not bringing everybody back. I'm not, and the knock was, we've earned the right to defend our title. This year for the Warriors may be, it's their defending title year.

And they're, because I think a lot of people thought this had about two more years left. It may just be it. We missed it. This is a bad matchup with the speed. And remember last year, how many playoff games for the Warriors? Like 21, 22,

extended long season. old guys against the fastest, quickest team in the league. And I will point out the picking up Fox full court. Have you seen Davy on Mitchell? When he's on the court? He's in Curry's jersey 90 feet all over the court. Yeah, I mean, all dynasties end, they're clunky. Well, John Elway, and it's, I mean, he got Terrell Davis.

They won two Super Bowls, rode off in the sunset. He's probably the greatest retirement act ever. Derek Jeter was bad the second half of the season for the Yankees, but he, remember his last game? I mean, Peyton wasn't great in the Super Bowl, but he, won the Super Bowl. I mean, I had like a hundred twenty-five. But it's, Michael Jordan Wizard.

It's, I mean, Brett Farr was. Well, no, he went to the Vikings with the NFC title game. But then the second year with the Vikings wasn't a little choppy. Oh, that's like there was a second year. He made that terrible interception or something. Yeah, I, I, I think he got injured maybe. I don't. I mean, look at Aaron Rogers' career.

Aaron Rogers' careers ending with the Jets. Brady left with the Tampa where he couldn't get along with a coach and the team had no run game. It got to the playoffs. I know, but it was, it was not ideal. It stayed one year too long. Yeah. So it just doesn't end well. Wait a minute.

Aaron Rogers can end on a high note. Just get the Jets to the Super Bowl. It's not a tall task. I mean, they've been there. Oh, no, they haven't been there in my lifetime. That's right. Yeah. I could argue the AFC East is the best division in football because every single team has

something that's great. The bills have a great quarterback, right? Miami has a brilliant offensive coach and wide receiver says. New England's got a brilliant defensive coach and the Jets have a great defense. It's the only division with everybody's got something you're like oh, that's top three in the league.

AFC West? Well, what do the Raiders have top three in the league? Nothing. It's the only division where everybody Josh Allen, top three quarterback in the league. Raiders have an elite wide receiver, Devante Adams. I'm not talking about an individual player

outside of quarterback. But I mean, and you go to that division, that's a top five, that's a top three defense jets argue it's top. It's top three or four defense in the league. Don't you think? The numbers were a little, they faced a lot of backup quarterbacks,

but they didn't play well this year. At top, we'll give it top 10. You give them Aaron Rogers and yes, I would agree with you. They gave Josh Allen some trouble. Belichick can't. If Lamar Jackson returns,

I think the, I don't trust Cleveland. Burrow Watson. No, no, no. I don't trust Cleveland. I don't trust them. I like their coach and GM. I don't trust the owner.

Pittsburgh? I mean, what Kenny Pickett's a nice. I think, you know, I think Kenny Pickett's a little like Mac Jones. I think you saw his ceiling in year one. Because like Kenny Pickett played so many years, like Brock Purdy. This is what Brock Purdy is. This is what Kenny Pickett is.

Now, I think Mac Jones has a little more, because he didn't start very long at Alabama, but he's not going to do anything off script. A lot of these guys come in, like, when you watch Kenny Pickett, I feel like he's got about 10, 12% upgrade, but this is kind of what he is. And by the way, Mac Jones, I think this is mostly what he is. Brock Purdy, this is absolutely what he is. There's just no ceiling to it.

NFL takes in April. By Halloween, you'll be saying, Kenny Pickett over Mac Jones. By Halloween. I haven't even seen the schedule. I'm going in blind. I'm on the picket train. Well, he's a bigger athlete and he's a better athlete.

He's a better athlete. And he's more chill in the pocket. He's not yelling at coaches. Yeah, he's a better athlete. He can move. He's not, he's, he's a little like, he's a, he can move. He's not a, going into the season, would you take Pickett or Mac Jones? This morning, Matt Jones. But, but, I always say, year two Thanksgiving, I'm not going to judge a quarterback. Year two, Thanksgiving. Now I've got like 24 starts. Now I've got a sense of what a guy is. Your first year, you're overwhelmed. Okay, I'm going to give you eight more starts to Thanksgiving. Then I know what you, you. Then I can see some ceiling. Like Mack Jones, by the second year, you're like, the ceiling's low. I mean, I do you, like, I think.

The ceiling's low. Can you bring him Bailey Zappy? I think Pickett's ceilings. He's got a little more, but not a ton. I think what you saw as a fair representation, mostly maybe 15% of what he is. All right. We'll see you tomorrow. 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 Lerner, help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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.

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