The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - NBA Finals predictions

Episode Date: June 5, 2023

More on the rumor that Kyrie Irving is trying to lure LeBron James to the Mavericks Colin gives some NBA Finals predictions with his "Magic 8-ball"   Guest: Eddie JohnsonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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. 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, 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, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the 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. 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 put on 10. I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app

by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right. It's not waste any time. You're ready to go? You're not ready to go. I just keep marinating this LeBron, Kyrie situation. And I'm wondering, is Kyrie unhappy in Dallas?

No. Is he lobbying to get more talent there as opposed to go elsewhere where he can't make as much money? Well, Kyrie just wants to get paid. We've seen he doesn't have, he's not concerned with necessarily winning. He wants to get paid. Yeah. All about the Benjamin's for. Yeah, so you can't build around him.

The NBA has got a history. John Wall, Westbrook, Kyrie, there's always a desperate team. At least with Westbrook, I get somebody that deeply cares about playing every night. Right. I mean, he may not be my favorite player, but indifference, Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, indifference is the killer to me. I don't know what to do with it. You can be a totally, there's no perfect player in the league.

I mean, Yokic isn't much of a defender. Janus can't hit a free throw. Steph is small. Luca can't play with others. There's literally no perfect player in the league. But they're not in... There's got to be eight. I don't think there's not a perfect player.

It would be LeBron if he wasn't 30 years. In his prime, LeBron was virtually a perfect player. I think he averaged 28 points a game this year. Yeah, but I mean, you get a great half. He's not going to give you a great game. LeBron's about as close to a perfect player as we've ever had. Michael Jordan was darn close. But even our best players,

Luca, very ball-centric, not in great shape, won't defend. For his position, yeah, pretty unstoppable. A smaller athlete to get. Kareem in his prime, about as good as you get. Bill Russell, defense, offense, leadership, toughness. Nine teams in the league when Bill Russell played.

I had cable. I watched them every night. Oh, stop it. It wasn't out a global sport. Listen, I know Bill Russell, great player, great in the community, all that stuff. You can't put in on that. You can't. There was nine teams in the league. Well, whatever. There were nine good ones. Nobody messed with the Rochester Royals.

You didn't go into Rochester. You better be ready for a struggle. Eddie Johnson played in the NBA for 17 years. Now he's a Phoenix Suns TV analyst. Are you some, I mean, it's funny about usually a team gets to the finals and analytically it makes sense. They have a lot of elements. And then you look at Miami. They're an eight seed. They almost didn't make the playoffs. They don't have a ton of size. Undrafted players. You've covered the league forever.

You've been in it forever. Between broadcasting and playing, you've been in this thing for 30-some years. Are they the strangest finals team you've ever seen? Without a doubt. I tweeted out last night. Pronosticators need to stop trying to figure them out doing the course of a game.

Because they're going to turn around and they're going to shut you up. And that's exactly what happened last night. It's hard to understand. understand, and you know, it goes back to the heat culture thing. I kind of kick back on heat culture a little bit, but I'm starting to believe it at a high level now. I think a lot of organizations had culture, but it's amazing the kind of level of play they get from their guys that, quote unquote, no one really thought of when it came draft time. It's been simply amazing watching them doing this run, Colin. And it's not going to stop. I'm done trying to figure them out

and think that somebody is going to beat them. You know, if you look at the best players in the world, Luca, Abroad, Janice, Yokic, M. Bid, a lot of guys, not domestic products. They started overseas. When you watch Yokic, do you see the European influence on his game? There was always for years and years the feeling was they're a little soft, but highly skilled.

I don't think there is soft anymore. But when you watch Yokic, where do you give the credit, to? Is it just he's a hard worker? How did we overlook him? Well, first and foremost, it's a myth that they saw. I played over in Europe, and I am telling you, it was the most physical year I've ever had, including the NBA. So that was not true. They literally have guys that are out there just to beat you up a little bit, especially when you're an American ball player because of the talent separation that you had when you went over there. But what else I saw is I saw them with John Wooden books.

Like I saw them going to the basics like Rocky again. Like not going to the high tech gym, but going to this dark musty gym and working out. We went two of days for nine months. I was on a team with young players. And at first I kicked back on it. And then I thought about it. And I said, you know what, Eddie, this is going to prepare you to go back to the league because I took a year off to go to Greece.

And I am telling you, it's no shock to me, Colin, when you see the European player in their skill set because they drilled them every day, two days for nine months. I am not kidding you. And so it doesn't shock me when I see the skill set of yokeage and his footwork and looking like he went to Pete Newell camps his whole life. I mean, it's just amazing what he does on the basketball court. Do you still – my gut feeling is Denver's length. they'll, you know, they're not going to have the peaks and valleys offensively. They're not very reliant on the three.

So you kind of know what you get every night. Miami's going to have more peaks and valleys. But if Tyler Hero comes in, there's another weapon. I still like Denver, but I don't feel as good about it today as I did a week, you know, four or five days ago. Where are you on this thing? Yeah, I had Denver in six as well, but I don't feel good. I didn't feel good about it when I said I had him in six.

Because look at what Miami has done. I mean, they beat Milwaukee, who arguably, maybe on paper was the best team going into the playoffs. Then they double down and they beat Boston in Boston in the game seven. So, you know, for me, I'm not all against them, but Denver does have a lot of talent. They have size and they have the best player in the series, in Nicola Yolkis. But Colin, everything centers around him. And Eric Spostra, you know, all due respect to Mike Malone, who's one of the top coaches in the league,

but Eric's posture right now is the best coach in the league. And he's the best at changing up between games. And what he did in game, too, it really forced Nicola Yokic to have to go for it offensively. Took away all his other avenues. I think 13 of his passes out of 3080 through what I read that led to a shot. And so credit Miami and finding an antidote to force Nicola Yokic to have to go for it, but yet leave the other guys dry.

And in the fourth quarter, when they needed to take shots and make shots, and make shots, they didn't have great rhythm. And I think that's the secret to Miami and what they did to them. So Frank Vogel takes over in Phoenix, his reputation, I mean, I've watched it, he's very good with Biggs, really good with Biggs. So to me, that feels like he can save DeAndre Aiton, who didn't get along with Monty Williams. Frank's not as confrontational, perhaps. Does that signal Booker, K.D., and DeAndre Aiton are staying?

is that what I take from it? Well, I would say that, you know, obviously DeAndre has been up and down since he's been a son. So, you know, I would be lying if I didn't say that obviously they're looking. I mean, when you play in the NBA, you're not going to play for your franchise the whole entire time. And once you come to that realization, you know that a time or another, you're going to be trade-bated. And it's up to DeAndre, I think, to really convince Frank Vogel that he's, willing to really adjust his game in a lot of ways. It's not up to Frank Vogel. It's up to DeAndre. We know he's talented. But is he going to give

in to what Frank Vogel is going to need from him? And he's going to do a lot of convincing in the offseason if he wants to stay in Phoenix. Because without a doubt, I'm sure the sons are listening. And I know DeAndre knows that they are. But he is a talented basketball player, man. And if he can play to the level that he's capable of, then yeah, I think Frank Vogel would love to keep him. Yeah. So John Morant's story, we'll find out probably in a week what's going to happen with John Morant. So it's different.

You grew up in a basketball culture where you went to college for four years. You came into the league. Guys were in relationships. They're 22. They're 23 years old. It's a whole different ball game. Guys come in at 19. It's a lot.

They can't drink at the hotel bar. When you look at John Morant, do you? Do you blame Jha, the surroundings, the culture of the league to rush players into professional basketball? What do you make of it? I blame everything that's surrounding him from friends that he's dragging with him to this high level and not wanting to climb the ladder with him, but just lay around all day. And when he's out of practice, they want to get out and run around. And they're not saying no to him when he does some silly, immature things.

And those are the friends you have to share. I shared it, my friends. I grew up in Chicago. I probably have one or two good friends from my childhood. And I still loved the others, but they weren't willing to climb with me. And I was not going to have them around me because I knew what my mission was. And Jai is struggling with that. He's struggling with a reliance and a dedication to people that are not telling him the correct thing.

And I think it's important. He's fortunate. He's grown up with two parents. I didn't have a dad. Okay, I had a lot of father figures. And I think his dad has taken responsibility in this. And I'm sure he's trying, but he's got to try harder. Because this young man right now is at a point where he can cost himself not money in general,

but he's putting himself in harm's way with the reckless things that he's done. And so, you know, he hasn't committed a crime, but he could commit a crime based on really being loose and free with something that can end somebody's life. And so he has to come to that realization. And also know that this is an NBA law. It's not, yeah, Second Amendment rights and all of that. People throw that around, they have nothing to do it. It's NBA.

As a player, as a guy that's representing your company, you cannot do things like this. And I hope the young man gets help because I believe that he's going to get a lengthy suspension. I do. And I think the commissioner might shorten it, Colin, based on how he acts doing the course of his suspension. Yeah. And I'm hoping and I'm praying that that's what happens for John Moran. Eddie Johnson, by the way, Sun's TV analyst,

Bally Sports, Arizona for a long time. He's been a voice in the NBA for 19, no, 20 years now. It's great seeing you, Eddie, as always. Appreciate it. Thanks, Carl. I appreciate you. Yeah. 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.

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. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisks. hits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

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 you're not. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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. Um, J-Mack with the news. No. No. No. Lose. This is the herd line news. It's weird.

The John Moran thing. He might get half a season suspension for being, for holding a gun on an Instagram video. 40 games. Does it seem excessive? 40 games. Well, Eddie's point, and it's right, people say, it's not illegal. You're not a franchise player. There's a standard, and I've used this before, it's not illegal to have an only fan's account.

If you had one as a kindergarten teacher, you'd get fired. What's it old? No, I'm just kidding. I can't believe you reference that. But I mean, that's not illegal. But there are jobs if you're supervising kids or you're considered, you know, you're something at a church that an only fan's account's not acceptable. So guys always, guys are always there to defend bad behavior because guys behave poorly. Yeah.

They're all there to defend him. You don't have a big boy job. nobody's counting on you or you're not working with kids, you're not being held accountable, you're not in a supervisor role. John Morant's an NBA franchise player. Can't wave a gun around on IG. I'm wondering what else Adam Silver found.

That, to me, is going to be interesting. And he did it multiple times. There's got to be more than just holding a weapon. He must have done something really regrettable that was somehow buried. Also, yeah, if you do something and they say don't do it and you do it again. Yeah. That's the difference between.

eight games and 40. So you take Memphis out of the playoff race in the West. Somebody's coming up. Yeah. All right, we'll figure it out. All right, let's start with a quarterback I love to bag. And I wasn't ready earlier because I was compiling all these numbers for this guy. Mack Jones, your guy.

You love Mack Jones. I don't love him. You love him. Oh, my God. One of your favorite quarterbacks in the league. And, you know, listen, he's got a proper offensive coordinator around Bill O'Brien. Despite a poor 2020 season, Mac Jones, committed to writing the ship. Here's what he had to say.

Do everything I can to earn the respect of everybody in this building again. And sometimes the most confident people come from a year where they might not have been their best. And I feel like that's where I'm at. Really great people are formed through ups and downs. And I think some of the learning experiences I had last year will really help. There's a lot of things I could do better. I know that as a person, as a player. Yeah, and reportedly they're going to hire an actual offensive coordinator.

Oh, they did. They did. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, good. Big move. So two years ago, as a rookie, he had an offensive coordinator, right? Yeah. Do you see his numbers? I did.

But I've got some context for those numbers. Context matters. Okay. So they went 10 and 7th. Rookie. They beat three teams with a winning record. Are you ready? Are you ready?

Here, the teams they beat. They beat the Chargers who were 9 and 8 missed the playoffs. Yeah. They beat the Titans who were the number one seat. Pretty good team. Oh, yeah. In that game, no Derek Henry, no A.J. Brown. And the Patriots smashed him.

And then, for their third win over a winning team, they beat the Buffalo Bills. Yeah. You remember that game? It was the wacky, windy game where Matt Jones threw three passes the entire night. Those were his three wins that got them to the playoffs where they got their teeth knocked in by like 70 against Buffalo. Listen, that was a, I said the Miami Heat had a fluky fourth quarter last night. This is a fact. Matt Jones making the playoffs as a rookie was flue.

was fluky. They are not going back to the playoffs. They're not winning any playoff games. I don't feel confident about a lot in June in the NFL. I'm confident about this. Well, saying way off on that. Saying New England's not going to win a playoff game is not a revelation

of Watergate status. It's not a jaw dropper. But your love for back to us out, he's got Bill O'Brien, quarterback whisper, quarterback savior. He will not be the problem. Who will? Belichick? No, I mean, I think they're going to be a nine-win team.

I think they're going to miss the playoffs by a game. They're going to be in it until like week 15. They're going to be represent themselves well. Mack Jones won't be the problem. Oh. A lack of dynamic playmakers, again will be the problem. So next offseason, Bill Belichick will be doing what? Looking for a quarterback or looking for dynamic playmakers?

Golfing in Jupiter, Florida. Is that a real place? Jupiter, Florida? Yes, beautiful. Okay. It's like Tiger Woods. I don't know. I've never been there, but it's like all the rich people.

Jupiter, Florida. That's beautiful. Okay. Next, AFCE East. We'll talk about the dolphins now. This is kind of cool. I don't like the dolphins at all,

but if you look closely at Tua's helmet on the screen, he's got a camera on the side of it. Where? I guess it's to help the footage is going to help dissect Tua's decision-making and what he's seeing during reps on the field. I've never seen anything like this. He looks a little heavier. Did you notice that?

I did not. Take the footage. Show the footage again. He is absolutely added 15 pounds. He's bulking up. Time out, look at it. No, no, not that picture. Look at the next one.

He's put on 15 pounds. Maybe you've just been looking at. Oh, yeah, thick. No, I mean, he is 15 pounds bigger than last year. He is no question a bigger player. You think that's so he can absorb hits and not get ragdolled? That's exactly it. Jalen Hertz put on 15 pounds.

Tua has put on 15 pounds. Bryce Young looks like a sixth grader standing next to Tua. I mean. Look at him. Look at this. Look at a fullback. He's trunkey. He looks like I'm going to feel back.

He's kind of... Why is he wearing a hoodie in May? I'm not knocking him. He's thick. Yeah, listen, I got to be... I bag on Miami a lot, but their coach is pretty damn good. He's great. I like McDaniel.

So there's a chance that they prove me wrong. I'm not shaving anything in my head. Don't worry. We're not doing that anymore. Final story, Detroit Lions missed the playoffs last year. But they took a step in the right direction with your favorite quarterback in the NFC, Jared Gough. They also kept their O.C.,

Ben Johnson, who is very optimistic about 2023. I personally expect a huge step forward in terms of the growth, the knowledge base of our players, the experience they have under their belts now. And so that's why the emphasis has been on the basics. Let's get really good at the fundamentals because that's what helped us win games at the end of last year. And we did a lot of really nice things a year ago. And, you know, it really means nothing going forward to this.

this year. We've got to be a lot better in terms of the execution. And we should be because we've ran in it. We should know what the problems are for the plays that we're running now. Wild card team, but they'll make it. Did you just see the excitement and confidence in his, he looks like he could sell us in Cyclopedias. And I would buy one, even though we have the internet now. The way he was talking, the confidence. Ben Johnson, man. They have good players. I'm listening. First time in my life, Detroit's got really good football players. Oh, Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders weren't. I mean, in that, but I mean units. They got like multiple good players, two good

tackles. They have like good receivers. Aidan Hutchison is. He's a bad boy. Yep. That's a good team. It's a good roster. Yeah, I would, um, division winners, unless you think Jordan Love is any good. No, I don't. I think Minnesota is going to win the division. Detroit is a wild card team. That might be another

steak dinner that you welch on once a line. I didn't welch on anything. He just makes scenes out here randomly throwing you, throwing you right into the fire. I'm taking Bucre out to dinner tonight. Yeah, I heard. Well, bromance brewing, huh? Yeah, you know what?

I only go to dinner with NBA Insiders. My wife and NBA Insiders, that is it. Yeah, okay. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot. baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport whether you believe in analytics or the i-test we've got all the bases covered new episodes drop every thursday so do yourself a favor and listen to inside the parker with rob parker on the iHeart radio app 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 unleashed human potential. Either way,

the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper 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 what 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-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you, y'all know i mean at this point mark this is the second episode where we've discussed correct so i'm starting to see that there's a through line we also have AIDS on the table right now so thank you finishing that sentence and 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 i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts simply safe doesn't rest on its laurels always innovating new two In1 smoke and CO detector can distinguish between fire and cooking smoke. Go to simply save collin.com. It's time for the magic eight ball. Jay Mack, are you ready? You asked the question and I look up the answer on the magic eight ball. Magic eight ball batting like 30% recently?

I wouldn't go there. No, okay. 25, baby. All right, let's start. Will the NBA finals go seven games as predicted by one Jason R. McIntyre? Most likely. The NBA finals have gone at least six games in each of the last four seasons. So the Magic 8 ball says most likely.

All right, well, the heat win both games three and four in Miami to take a three-one lead over there. Don't count on it. Nuggets have won three straight road playoff games and they're three point favorites, two and a half to three point favorites in Miami. Next up, will the Joker average a triple double in the finals? Yes, most signs point to yes. He's averaging 30 point triple double this postseason. So that's his average.

He's got a record nine triple doubles. Remember when Westbrook did that? It was all the rage. Now, this guy is so consistently productive. We don't even talk about it. We talk about his passing. We don't even care about the triple double, which, for the record, we shouldn't. Who cares?

Are you winning big games? This is a very tough question for the Magic 8 ball. Are the heat more likely to return to the NBA finals next season? My sources say no. Because Denver, all five Nuckets starters, are signed through 2024, 2025. So the Nuggets guys, we don't know where Miami's going. Denver's guys are all locked into contracts. Bruce and Vincent, who knows?

Kevin Love will see. Will Butler and Yokic lead their team in points in every game for the rest of the series? Ask again later. Butler has not been the heat's leading score in either finals game. He's not known as a true score. He's a great player, but you're not shocked if all of a sudden one of their undrafted guys drops 24. Well, he's going under his player point. five straight games for Butler.

So I don't know if he's wearing down a little bit. Remember late in the Boston series struggled, but he's going home, maybe some hook-and-cooking. We'll see. Will at least one team win a game by 20-plus points? Most likely, Nuggets have the highest average margin of victory and 13 playoff games. 13 have been decided by 20-plus points.

Will Jamal Murray be the most impactful player in the series? Magic 8 ball says very doubtful. It's got the worst defensive rating by any Nuggets player. And they're three and two when he scores under 20. So this team is not necessarily based solely on his point production. He gives you 18 points. They can win. Yokic.

18? Porter. K.C.P. Porter got benched last night, I think twice by Michael. Michael Malone's not happy with his defense. Because Porter didn't play hard. Will Yokch score 50 plus points in a game? game this series. Do not count on it. By the way, they're 0 and 3 when he scores 40 or more.

So that used to be kind of the Kobe number. Like people thought, oh, Kobe's going off. It's not necessarily Denver at their best. Denver at their best. KCP's got 14, Gordon 13, Porter 14, Murray 24. They're a balanced unit with a star player whose distribution is profound. They're not built for him to score 40. That's not when they're at their best. If the Nuggets win this series, does the Magic 8 ball say Yokic will win the MVP? It is certain. Heavy. Heavy. Heavy. Heavy favorite. I mean, who else would it be? I guess Murray. I put down a couple bucks on Murray to win the MVP, but it doesn't seem like it's got a shot.

It's early in the series. Remember, after a couple games last year, Boston was like, you know, going to take down Golden State. Next up, if the heat win the series, Will Butler win the MVP? It is certain. He's been the heat's leading score, leading assists, leading minutes, leading effort. I also think Jimmy Butler is the centerpiece of their entire culture. Yeah, but through two games, bam out of bio, has been better than it. Yeah, I think your earlier point is a really good one, and I haven't heard anybody else bring this up.

Remember Jason Tatum wore down at the end of last year's final? A two-way player? Yokic doesn't expend that kind of energy on defense. Either does Jamal Murray, by the way, who's a bad defensive player. Did you see who was guarding Jamal Murray, a lot of the game? Jimmy Butler. Like, that's tiresome. I mean, Murray doesn't stop running.

Guard him on the final play. Yeah. Murray and Yokic kind of mailed in occasionally on defense, but they give you so much offensively. It's when Michael Porter mails it on defense that Malone sits in because you don't get the additive offense. All right. Finally, will Yokic retire if the Nuggets win the series?

My sources say no. He just signed a five-year, $272 million deal, which is, I think, the biggest in league history. I should apologize. I didn't write that question. That was a bad thing. I don't know where it came from. Should we try to call out the member of this? I was kidding.

No, I mean, I think right now, the best player in the league is Yokic. Yonis is two, with free throw concerns late. I think Luca is considered the third best talent, although we're kind of trying to figure out who he can play with. If I said there's three players you can start your franchise with today. Yokic, Janus, Luca. I would go, Luca, too. He had been my number one. This Milwaukee stuff's going to be interesting, okay?

Well, they got some... Keep an eye on what's happening there. New ownership. Remember, the ownership situation is kind of shifted. They fire Budenholzer. Brooke Lopez old. I think they're going to move, they're going to move Brookloven. Well, they got...

It's Janus, Drew Holiday, and then just... We'll see what happens with Middleton. They've got to get younger. Bobby Portis is like, maybe their third best player if Milton doesn't, I don't know. There's a lot of questions in Milwaukee. They looked to me unathletic

in a late regular season game against Boston, and then they looked unathletic against Miami. They got punked by Jimmy Butler and Bam out of Miami. They looked slow. Hey, by the way, we didn't talk about the Knicks. Julius Randall's surgery on his ankle over the weekend. You can't trade him. Nobody's trading for a guy who just had surgery.

he should be ready maybe for like September. So I don't know how the Knicks get better. Remember you love the calves a lot in the East? I think that's the team to watch maybe passing the Bucks who had a lot of changes. East is going to be interesting. We'll see. Boston, Jalen Brown, we don't know.

What are they going to do with R.J. Barrett? What do you do with? I think he's a trade chip, right? I like him. I like him too. But you don't love him. Well, I don't have to love him. I think there's value.

R.J. Barrett's. out value. It doesn't feel like New Yorkers are into him. They love Jalen Brunson. They like some length. They like Randall. R.J. Barrett gets nothing but shade. Think back to the game they lost to Miami to get bounced. Jalen Brunson was everything.

I mean, he was unbelievable and he got very little help and you're like, come on, guys. I still like to Carl Anthony Towns fit there. I don't know how it happens, though. NBA's going to have some spicy stuff going on. James Hardin, Kyrie Irving. Also, the story today, Chris Hayne, Sham Sharana simultaneously

break the story vis-a-vis Kairi Irving that Kyrie Irving has reached out to LeBron about interest in coming to Dallas. Rick Buecker talked about that earlier today. I'm fascinated by the idea that you would have

LeBron, Luca, and Kyrie playing together. Oh, love it. You love it offensively. You don't love it defensively. It is such a ridiculous notion that LeBron would go to Dallas. Why would he go to Dallas? He's still getting paid like 40 some million

dollars next season. I just, I don't know how you possibly make that work. Your bench wouldn't be great. Your bench would, you wouldn't, you and me would be sitting on the bench. They'd have guys there just wearing uniforms just so it looked like they had a full team. Well, you ask, why would you want to go to Dallas? Luca, he's the third best player in the world, maybe second. Be a nice guy to play with. I don't know. I was trying to workshop the Lakers trade for the Mavs and it's like, Davis

Bertans, Tim Hardaway, like there's no way the Lakers are that dumb. A third team involved. Oh, okay. Maybe a fourth and fifth. 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 Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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.

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. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.