The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Ryan Hollins

Episode Date: June 19, 2023

In this hour of The Herd, NBA veteran Ryan Hollins joins Colin to break down the biggest storylines coming from the NBA. Finally, Colin ranks his top-ten trios in the Association after Bradley Beal joined the Phoenix Suns. See 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith ruling. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind 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 Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart radio app by searching Heard.

Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. Hour number three in a Monday. It's the herd. So we were talking about this during the... I was root for Rory McElroy yesterday. So if Brooks Kepka is the best golfer in the world, now Kepka didn't like the U.S. Open Course, he was okay. He was never bad. He was just kind of around.

If you take Brooks Kepka out, who I say is the best big event golfer in the world, I think Rory McElroy is second, but he doesn't have a major. When's the last time he won a major? So Rory has four last one in 2014. So he hasn't won a major. in nine years. Now he was very close at the master. Second at the Masters last year.

Okay, so it's funny about Rory McElroy. He doesn't quite, he's missed some really key pots. I love watching him play. I think he's the only guy that's got some Tiger Woods. He can get the ball out of the rough. I mean, he's strong. He's an athlete. And you can see he can use that power game.

He's just, you know, when Tiger was in his prime, he was putting radar. Yeah. And Rory doesn't quite have that. But I find myself, there's four golfers on this planet that get me to a TV if they're winning. Rory, Brooks Kepka, Phil Mickelson, and I would say Dustin Johnson. If those four are on Sunday going for it, I'm locked in.

Well, again, I feel like Tiger's been there, done that. I mean, I don't think he's going to, you know, he won the Masters a few years ago, but I kind of feel like we're out of Tiger majors. He's just not physically, you know. That's fair. I'm not going to argue with you. But there's about, that's why when the PGA guys said, you know, some of them said, we're going to go to the live tour. Like, I got it.

like there's in the NBA there's 15 guys that can get me to a TV in the NFL there's lots golf's got about four at any one time in my life there have been four golfers that gave me to a TV and they were never treated better than other golfers and that's why a lot of them said this isn't this isn't right but I Rory I find myself with Rory he's not underachieving because he's still really good but it's so cruel in golf he's great off the tea got great iron play he's always in the running. If you gave him like 12 pots in his career that didn't fall, that fall, I feel like

he'd have seven majors. And we'd view him differently. Do you view him as elite? I do, but I'd love him. I love watching. How could he not be elite? Like what's the again, it's just he just, only four majors. Has it won one in nine years. How many for Brooks Kepka?

Well, he's, he, I've, off the top in my head, five, but he's also, he's really, I think five, he's really good. He's a big event. He's a player. How many has he got? Five. Yeah, five. Wow. Yeah. That's surprising. I didn't know he had more than Rory. Wow. Yeah. Well, after spending his, it was a long 11 years, his 11-year career in Washington, Bradley Beale is reportedly on his way to join Devin Booker and KD in Phoenix. For years, I've been saying, I wish Bradley Beal would go to a winning organization, a great front office, great ownership,

other great players. And, you know, for about an hour, you thought the John Wall, Bradley Beale thing would work, but Wall was never what people thought he was. And so Bradley Beal, really good player, really smart guy, loyal player, sat for years in a bad operation. Then the Phoenix Suns go out and they get a new owner and he's much better than the previous owner. And new owners tend to be really, really aggressive. We saw Steve Balmer do this. We saw David Tepper, Carolina do this.

New owners want to put their imprint on an organization. And so the Phoenix Sun's owner says, get me Bradley Beal. That's after getting Kevin Durant, and I love this squad. Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker. Yes, that's a really good basketball team. I hear this. What about Phoenix's bench? You know who led the NBA in bench scoring this year?

The Pacers. The Spurge were second. The Pistons were top five. You know who wasn't good off the bench in terms of productivity? Miami, Celtic, Sixers. Denver was middle of the pack. A good GM can move parts and cobble together a workable bench. A great GM can't make Chris Paul younger or Landry Shamit better. For the record, the Sacramento Kings had the number one bench scoring in the playoffs. One and done. See ya. Give me a break on bench. They have DeAndre Aiton. My guess is they'll move him for parts.

They'll fortify their bench. They'll get another average starter. And there you go. But we've discussed this multiple times on the show. You don't need three megastars. In fact, Brooklyn did that and it flamed out. You need three very impactful players that can work and fit together. KD doesn't need the ball in his hands.

He worked instantly with Phoenix. Devin Booker has the ball in his hands a little more, but he's not a ball hog. He's not a Westbrook player or a James Harden player. He dribbles the air out of the ball. And then you have Bradley Beal. Again, can catch and shoot, can lead traffic. But Chris Paul was getting old.

Chris Paul wants to end his career somewhere in L.A., Clippers, Lakers. This is a perfect fit. When anybody laments Phoenix's bench, A, it wasn't as bad as you think. Go look it up from last year. And secondly, who rolled through the NBA playoffs? Was it Yokic, Murray, and Gordon, or the Nuggets bench?

Give me a break. Bragging about your bench in real estate is like bragging about your two-car garage. It ain't selling the home. The kitchen is. The master bath is. The neighborhood is. The landscaping can help. It's not your two-car garage.

So it's nice to have. It'd be great to have the league's best bench. But if you have three impactful players, chances are you can't afford it. That's why the Pacers had the best bench scoring, and the Spurs were second. What do you bet with Victor Wembeyanama? They probably won't have great bench scoring because their star will do more of the scoring. So I got three guys, all smart veterans, all impactful, none of them constantly need the ball. All of them want one thing.

That's a ring. Again, there was a reason Twitter blew up and the Internet exploded with the news that Bradley Beale was going to the Suns. It did not explode because they picked up a bench wing 3&D guy. They're just bench guys. You have free agency to improve your bench. You have a trade. You have the draft. You have the buyout market.

Kevin Love came out of the buyout market. Pat Bev. You have the trade deadline. I get Bradley Beal a camp and offseason, a full season with Vogel, K.D. Booker. this is going to be a really, really good basketball team. My guess is their bench will be, I don't know, top 12 to 15 in the league, exactly where Denver's was. All right, so part of the trade was Chris Paul going to Washington.

Now, Chris Paul, they're going to buy him out, and Chris Paul is going to be a free agent, and then Chris Paul is either going to go where he wants to live in Los Angeles to the Lakers and Clippers. Chris Paul was on with Michael Strayhan. morning America this morning and talked about how he found out he'd been traded. I see this potential blockbuster deal between you and Bradley Bill that may take you from Phoenix to Washington and vice versa.

I was surprised. What are your first thoughts on that? I was surprised too. I found out on the plane yesterday flying here for this. You know, in this league, anything can happen. So you just figure out what's next. What if your first reaction? Don't push him any further.

He's trying to be nice about it. Yeah, he is right. What's happening? It's crazy to me how many people are pushing back on Chris Paul to the Clippers. For three years,

I've watched this team with a great owner and a great coach and two phenomenal wing players have no facilitator and try to make Kauai Leonard who in his prime was not a facilitator. he's been a get a bucket get a stop guy he's never been get a teammate an easy jumper guy westbrook's a score bad hands not great vision it's not who you want leading you and he needs

the ball all the time chris paul is the classic facilitator on a team with a great owner a great front office a great coach and terrific wings yes it would be better if he was 28 not 38 but he's not And it would kind of be odd if you had a 21 or 22-year-old point guard with Kauai and Paul George anyway. I would prefer a younger Chris Paul. But Kauai's not a leader. Kauai's not verbal. Check, check. Chris Paul is both.

Not everything is a six-year plan. We talk about this all the time. I say that's about Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers quarterback. Not every player has to be a 401K. Some are day trading stocks. Some you buy, you sell, you move. Chris Paul for a year with the Clippers. Because remember, Kauai and Paul George,

one more locked in year with the Clippers than player options. They could be moving. So it's a one-year deal, potentially two. And again, impactful players. Is Chris Paul a star? Well, obviously he is from the commercials, but what he is is impactful. He's outspoken.

He's a leader. He'll set up your offense. He's going to play 48 to 52 regular season games. If you play 17 games in the the playoffs. Can he play 14? Remember, this, this Chris Paul led sons gave Denver issues until Chris Paul got hurt. So, the way I look at this thing, you need in league history, historically three impactful players who fit together.

Check, check, check. And you generally win a title if two or three are in their prime, not the kids. I don't think Chris makes them a championship team. Does he make him a Western Conference Finals team? I think it's in the running. Denver, Phoenix today are really good. We don't know quite what to do with the Lakers, the Warriors, or the Clippers, but I feel better about the Clippers this morning with Chris Paul

than I did yesterday without him. This team's been running around trying to make Kauai and Paul George, their facilitator. It's like taking a slot receiver and say, hey, be our quarterback. Get the offense up and running. You can pick up yards, but in the end, it doesn't look right. It doesn't feel right. It's clunky. It takes some time to get into plays.

I like Chris Paul to the Clippers a lot. I wish he was younger, but I also wish Kauai was available more often. He's not. That's your reality. Are you better today if Chris Paul goes to the Clippers? Yep. You're better. Are you great?

Doubt it. Are you good? You were good last year. Owner, front office, coach, wings, and a little too old point guard. Sounds like a really good basketball team to me. 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. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that

not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple 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 Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but 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. Well, he played 10 years in the NBA, nine different teams, and all those experiences have led to somebody with a great deal at his age of a lot of NBA wisdom. and Ryan Hollins, who's got a podcast, Rookie Life on IHeartRadio. So, listen, Katie Booker and Beal are perimeter players, okay, and you could argue it's not a perfect fit.

But, man, smart guys, they don't need the ball all the time in their hands. They're all willing defenders. Feels like they'll kind of figure out how to make it work, right? I do. I believe they'll figure it out. Obviously the biggest questions like you just admitted are what, chemistry, you know, getting the right pieces to fill in, seeing how they'll work together. I play with Bradley Bill. Here's the thing about Brad that he never got credit for is his ability to playmaking playoff of the basketball. When John was there, John was so good with the ball in his hands that we needed John to be dominant.

He loves the past. He could playmate. He was one of the leagues, but one of the league's best point guards. But Brad, when John will go out the game, took over with the ball in his hand. So I think you're going to, and get a chance to see Bradley Bill's playmaking. Hey, Colin, here's a reality with the new NBA. You're likely not going to see these three guys play together a bulk of time this season. Right. So you're going to need Bradley Bill to carry the load in a lot of situations. Yeah.

So Aiton's an interesting player. First of all, he's a big that runs well. He's not an elite offensive player nor an elite defensive player, so we don't consider him a top six big. But he's got value. He's athletic. Vogel tends to make bigs better. my guess is I think I would move him if I could to get two pieces,

fortify the bench, get another maybe less talented big. You don't need scoring from that position at all now. What is your guess? What do you make of Aiton as a player? What could he fetch? What do you think they do? First of, DeAndre Aden is an immense talent. Okay, he can run.

He can jump. He's got great touch around the rim. But unfortunately, the center position, the way that he plays it is not winning you a championship. You know, Yokic is, he's an outlier, okay, he could pass, he could dribble, he can do all that. We're, Colin, we're still

trying to figure out what he is. So ultimately at the end of the day, I do agree that they're looking to move DeAndre Ait, I have not heard that from any of our sources, just only what we've seen put out. And they do need to bolster and they can get a rim protector, someone of a cheaper value, to come in and protect the rim,

rim run, doing an assortment of things that Aiton did, because at the end the day for that value, you would rather take, you know, two or three mid-level guys who can bring toughness and permit or shooting and veteran leadership because at the end of the day, when you make a move like that and you're to Phoenix Suns, you have to win a championship. You've got to compete for a championship. And if you're looking at it, unfortunately, we got a lot of respect for the nuggets. But if you want to come out of the West, the time is now. There are no juggernauts in the entire NBA. The time to come out the West, the time to win the

championship is now, and that's why you see Phoenix making these aggressive moves. So a couple of non-Phenix questions. I loved Zion Williamson out of college. But New Orleans is, it's a party city, it's a fun city, he's a young kid, and I've seen this with Jha. We ask a lot of our stars and Instagram and the women and the fame and the, and Zion feels like in New Orleans, Ryan, he just, he may need a really. reboot. Am I being too harsh? Would you move it? Sometimes, Andrew Wiggins needed a reboot.

Aaron Gordon, it's okay. I'm not blaming the player. Not everybody's first job is their best job. What would you do with Zion if you were New Orleans? Here's the thing, Colin. You're right. If you're Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, I think a trade would be best for both sides. Not that the Pelicans don't have a great team and they're not building amazing things over there with Dave Griffin and a former teammate of mine coaching doing a great job. I think for Zion, it's a fresh start. He gets a chance.

I remember as a young player, I was in Charlotte, and, you know, I didn't play much. I wasn't really appreciate it. I could trade it to Dallas, and all of a sudden I'm the highest jumping fastest running guy on the team. And I filled a role that that team didn't have. And it was also a wake-up call to the league where I had to, you know, excite myself and redefine myself with Zion's.

an immense talent. I think when he goes somewhere, I think it would be a hit of reality. And sometimes just in life, a fresh start can be good. And I don't think in this point, we really always like to point fingers. It's Zion's fault. It's the Pelicans fault. They didn't build around him. Sometimes it's just a fresh start. And it doesn't have to be anybody's fault. Yeah, that's right. It doesn't have to be anybody's fault. Okay, so Victor Wembenyama is a generational player. It feels like every eight or nine years, we'll get a LeBron, right? Will you get a, you don't get many of them. You may get one or two a decade, and sometimes like Yokic, you don't even see them coming. So it's very rare in my life, maybe once or twice a decade. You get a Dunkin where

everybody knows, this guy's going to be a great player really quick. And I think Victor's that. Now, I don't watch enough college basketball to be an expert. Scoot is wildly dynamic. You could see some jaw there. The kid from Alabama, 6-9, runs the floor. He's going to be a nice NBA player. Then there's some guys that have holes in their game. If you were drafting second, who would you take Thursday, Ryan, and why would you draft them? Man, with all due respect, there's no question. That would be Scoot. He has the potential to be a generational talent.

He's a guy. You look at the success that John Morant had. I don't think he's a shooter that Jock is, but I think from a physical standpoint of being NBA ready and you think about the spacing that you have on the floor, this kid is box off and ready to step in and play. I got a chance to talk to a couple people that work with him with that ignite and behind the scenes. And he's a gym rat.

He loves the game. He comes from a basketball family. So a lot of the off-the-court issues or is he motivated, is he ready to play? I don't think those are concerns here. And I'm not taking a knock at any of the other guys. But I think the way that the NBA is played to take, Scoot Henderson is going to step in right now and make an impact. And Charlotte is going to have some questions there.

Are you going to bring him in to play with Lamello? Are those two going to be able to share the basketball? Or do you see there's maybe a power move that can be made to get someone and get a stacked team there around Lamello? So I think, man, we are going to see one of the most exciting drafts that we've seen in a while. And, you know, unfortunately, Maraqis, hey, who knows? They may slide into that pick. They may not. I just think there's options everywhere.

But we were excited in Houston thinking that scoop was going to be the guy. But, hey, man. Our rocket's got the fourth pick, and I'm excited. I speak for myself, not the organization, to see what's going to happen moving forward. Yeah, I mean, there's certain guys you see in the draft, and the eyes don't lie. When Minyama is going to score 20 plus as a rookie, nobody's, he's just going to get shots. Scoot is going to fly past. I think you put it with spacing today and no hand check, nobody's going to stay in front of Scoot Henderson.

Nobody's going to stay in front of that guy. That guy is lightning. My only concern with these young guards, Derek Rose and John Morant without a hand check, John, Ryan, there's no way to stay in front of them and they often finish at the rim against the big trees. So I saw a story a week ago where Scoot was hanging out with Steph Curry. And I thought to myself, that is the perfect guy to hang out with

because I think my concern always with Derek Rose or John Wallace, if you don't have a great shot and you can get past everybody, then you will. And I think Scoot has to develop a jumper. otherwise it's going to be, I mean, that's my takeaway on him. You can see how fast he is. Nobody's going to stay in front of that kid. There's absolutely no way. That's how I see it.

How do you see it? Yeah, man, listen, like I said, he's NBA ready right now. He's going to be taking guys for a ride. And if you remember a young Derek Rose, Derek Rose wasn't the greatest shooter. That's something that he went and worked on. But Derek Rose was a jumper. But from a physical standpoint, I don't think I've seen a guard that he has what Scoot has. He almost reminds me of Rayjeant Rondo, not quite picking the ball up off the floor,

but the way he just palms the ball on the way to the hoop. And then another thing, Colin, I think he'll be able to step in right now and stay in front of those guards and defend. Now, there's things he's going to have to learn about the nuances of game, how great guys shoot. But he is a student in the game. He's going out and he's figuring things out. Some of these guys, Colin, and you know it, their box office early. LeBron James was playing pickup ball with Michael Jordan at 15 and 16 years. old. School Henderson is already running around with some of the NBA's best, and we've seen this.

So these guys that come on the scene, the Kevin Durant, the John Moritz, they're already around these great players before they become great. Ryan Holland's NBA Rookie Life podcast on IHeart Radio. Look good as always, my man. Appreciate it. Appreciate it, brother. Talk soon. Yeah. I could see, what if you were a team like a Milwaukee and you're like, you know what? We got Janus. We got to get athletic. We give away a ton. Get us up and get him. Spurs aren't moving, obviously. But, I mean, there, scoots a kid that can play today.

You mentioned Milwaukee, Colin. I got a lot of people upset. Why? The NBA Twitter crowd, those bozos. All of them are, oh, the Nuggets are definitely going back to the finals. Come on. Nuggets are going back to the best team. We like the nuggets a lot. We see the potential.

Didn't everybody say this about the Milwaukee Bucks when Janice, Middleton, and Holiday went to the finals a couple years ago? Yes. Have they been back? It's not easy. This idea that just because you win a title, you're going to go back the next year, it's a lot different hunting than versus being the hunted.

And now everybody's gun for the nuggets. What really pulled Milwaukee back is Chris Middleton's injury. Things happen. Okay. Jamal Murray has another injury. Michael Porter. He's integral to this team, man. He's a good player.

But I mean, Jamal had the ACL. If he got in, it's not the same team. So it's, listen, that's why you, You cherish championships. Like, think how good the Heels were. They got two. You know how many times in, what is it, 47 years or how many years of Nuggets have been in the league? How many titles they have?

One. Yeah, it's hard. Do you know how many times LeBron has been to the finals in the last 15 years? Like, it's crazy how franchises can't get to the finals. Think about this. Just off the top of your head, if I said, a player that comes into the league, it's rare. Victor Wambayamaama is so rare. name the last five players who came into the league,

and we all knew they would dominate immediately. They would be really good. Victor will be one. Tim Duncan. LeBron, Tim Duncan, Shack. We did not know Kobe was going to be. We did not. That's right.

That's right. Absolutely not. We did not know Steph Kurt. No. We didn't know KD. KD was skinny. He was talented. He was picked second after Greg Oden.

Yeah. So, I mean, Victor is going to be one of those guys. LeBron was one of those guys. Duncan was one of those guys. Shack was one of those guys. They all lived up to the height. I would say, I would say magic. Michael went third.

A team, I would say a team. Yeah. I mean, I'm saying, if you say once a decade, it's in that every eight years, you get a guy and you're like, oh yeah, he'll score 20 as a rookie. You don't want to poke holes in Elijah one who had a really great career, all the favor. But when did he win his two titles?

When Michael left. Right. And again, I don't know that Jordan would have kept winning titles if he had stayed, but, you know, a lot, it's tough to win chip. It's tough to get to the final. Well, it's exhausting. I mean, people, here's the other thing. Like, you see this in baseball.

If you go to the postseason, like the Dodgers went time after time after time, well, you're asking your starting pitchers, five more postseason starts. They don't get done until like November. And then you turn around for spring. So that, you know, there's a term for it. Obviously, it's arm fatigue. It's hard to go to a back-to-back playoff run. I mean, you've seen Atlanta, Houston, Dodgers,

but it's hard because of fatigue. Do you know what you're asking, these, especially Biggs? You're asking Yokic, just added another 20 games with that body. He's going to go overseas, he's going to drink some beer, ride some horses,

you're going to come back, and then you're going to ask him to do another 82 games, another 100 games. By the way, do you know how many playoff games Tatum has played in in the last four years? It's like a full entire season. When you're playing 20 playoff games,

and you have said many times, how playoff games are not like regular season games. Nope. It is a, it's totally more taxing on the body and the mind. And you're adding now 420 game post seasons. That's 80 games. That's another season. Yes.

Even though Tatum's young and Brown's young, like that's a lot. Look at Jordan. Jordan, I remember reading a story about Jordan after he retired the first time. It's just, even for Jordan, who was relentless, it's exhausting. Those postseason runs. And Michael's area, you could be tackled. Michael just like needed, he literally, It was like, I need baseball.

My body needs rest. It adds to, and I know LeBron haters don't want to hear this, but like the fact that LeBron went to the finals, was it eight years in a row? I think he did, right? Yeah. Cleveland, Miami, like, Cleveland. Like, that's unbelievable.

And was also playing a majority of the regular season games. Yeah. Can you imagine if he took a year and a half off to just a sabbatical? Like, how refreshed would LeBron be now going into his late 30s? There were a couple of games this year. Remember when he got dinged up? this year and he took time off. Didn't he come and he came back and he played, he had a couple of games where you're like, my God, he looks like 29 years old. Like, you can see when LeBron,

like, was it the, one of the Denver games, like LeBron got an extra day's rest. He got like two or three days rest. And he were like, oh my God, LeBron looks out. But the next game, like the gas tank's empty. Let's keep an eye on the heat, right? They went to the finals. Last year, they lost in game seven of the Easter conference finals. I think they went to the finals in the bubble. A lot of playoff games on a guy like Jimmy Butler who was running. to the ground by Tibido, I have my concerns. They need to add Damien Little. They can't just run this back.

There's no chance in. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's give some love to Jordan Love, QB1 in Green Bay. He feels confident in what this offense can do. I mean, I think we've got a great team.

I think we've got a good offense, a young offense, and we have a lot of work to keep putting in, keep building together. and I think we have really good defense that once we get everybody back and healthy will be really good I think once everybody just gets rolling gets comfortable with the offense and you know

being where they need to be every play that you know the sky's the limit for us it's just a small thing Colin I got to be honest I looked at the image of Jordan Love there and I was like oh I didn't know he had that kind of haircut like when you're the guy behind the guy

the media is not up in your grill every game they're talking to Aaron Rogers and the other play No, it's a different ball game. Jordan Love has got a lot more on his shoulders than just figuring out the offense and defense and stuff. You've got to meet the media after every game. And he looked pretty solid doing it there, but we can see a lot of Jordan Love. I'm actually very interested to see how he plays. I do believe he's going to have the opposite of last year for Aaron.

Remember, Aaron did not go to OTAs with the receivers. And there's no question there was stunting of the growth of their offense. And then Thanksgiving, Aaron got really good because they'd work together. I think Jordan's the opposite. I think he's going to be pretty good early. Everybody then is going to get tape on him and then you know what he can't do. But Mike, if you look at their schedule,

I think Green Bay is actually going to be pretty good. First eight, we don't know what Jordan Love is and we don't know what he isn't. That could be positive. They could take some teams by surprise. What's their schedule look like? Open at Chicago, then at Atlanta. I think there'll be probably favorites

and maybe both of those. And then versus New Orleans. That'll be the Derek Carr game. So there's a lot of newness there. of reasonable versus Detroit. I mean, you know, at the Raiders, 5-0 is not out of the question. I don't think it'll happen.

So I think they're going to be, I think Green Bay last year was kind of a mess until Aaron had some symmetry with the young guys. The advantage with Jordan Love, he is a young guy. So I think he's going to be, and I think he feels that pressure. I think the whole Watson, Romeo Dobbs, the young tight ends, I think they're going to be a handful. I think they're going to be really interesting.

And you're going to be kind of guessing defensively what they can do. I do think, though, eventually there are some limitations to his game. Week 9, 10, you kind of know what he can not do. And then I think they're second half of the season. If you look at a lot of their rivalry games, second half of the season, then I think they sputter a little bit. I think they're a seven to eight win team. I forget who, was it Atlanta?

We looked at the schedule last week. Atlanta's got the easiest schedule. All backup quarterbacks? Or like rookie quarterbacks or first year guys. Like, yeah, we'll see. We'll see all Jordan love. Next up, let's go to the Bengals. They won back-to-back AFC North titles.

Won five playoff games in those two seasons. I think Andy Dalton had zero wins in his tenure there in Cincinnati. Head coach, Zach Taylor, thinks this year's squad could be the best he's ever had. It's the best we've had. And that's, you know, it's hard in football now to have, you know, I think as strong as a 53-man roster. that we could potentially have. I just think it is.

The way the salary cap's built and you got to acquire young players and hope that they can step up quickly and you feel like this thing is way ahead of we've been in years past, you know, just from, especially the first day I got here. So you can see the details. Guys are moving so quickly

because they understand. It's such a great understanding. You know, the players here are empowered. They've taken ownership of our schemes. And so that allows them to take the next step. Windows open. Quarterback, on the rookie deal, not much longer. I think Cleveland thought bringing Deshawn Watson in was going to be this magic elixir to championships.

If Kenny Pickett can play, Cincinnati's loaded. If Kenny Pickett can play, did you get Deshawn Watson to finish in third and fourth? I mean, Baltimore's a better organization. By the way, speaking of guys coming into the NBA, you didn't know would be a star. Did anybody think Joe Burrow would have this kind of success this early? I got ripped when I said I thought he'd be a better Tony Roman. Because I thought Tony Romo was a B-plus quarterback. I thought Tony had a really nice career.

I said, I think he's a better Tony Romo. I got crushed for it. Obviously, I was wrong. He's a way better Tony Romo. I didn't think he'd be this. No, I don't think anybody did. Well, a lot of people were saying, yeah. He couldn't start at Ohio State.

His first year, I'll never forget. His first year at LSU, he had like, what, 14 touchdown. So minuscule numbers, and you're like, then the next year's like a 90 touchdown. I remember hearing people say Joe Montana, and I remember saying on the air, can we stop? That's insane. Of course. He looks. He had, there's a lot there.

It's unbelievable. His rise. He's, he is so good on key downs. He's so, he's like Mahomes. He's situationally. That's the difference between him and Lamar and Herbert and Alan. He's so good in situational. Third and eight, getting nine.

He is so good. I think he's as as good. He's not as talented. as Mahomes, but he's as good in those crisis moments. Remember how worried that people were like, oh, Brady and Manning are going to be retiring soon. The league's losing all their star quarterbacks.

It's like, Mahomes and Burroughs. We haven't lost anything. There's two all-time greats, it feels like, right? They're so young in their careers. Outside of Jalen Hurts, every great young quarterback talent is all in the AFC.

I mean, Justin, no, I mean, honestly, Mahomes, Burrough, Alan Lamar, Herbert. That's five. Dak, cousins. They're not young anymore. I would say Jalen Hertz is, whatever order you want to go in. Those are the six like, wow, young quarterbacks. Like, just different. Five are in the AFC. Pretty loaded.

Unfortunate for my jets. Final story, Wyndham Clark became a, I hope I said his name right, became a first-time major winner on Sunday taking the 2003 U.S. Open title, finished 10 under, one shot ahead of Collins guy Roy McElroy. It was not easy, by the way. No. He got a little tight. He did.

This was only his second PGA tour victory after winning the Wells Fargo Championship last month. I don't really know his background, but I do like these come out of nowhere stories. Like, Wyndham Clark could have delivered a pizza to this studio a week ago. And we would have been like, hey, thanks for the pizza. You know, no idea who he is. Yeah, no, I mean, he got, he felt a little tight. You know, he's obviously a super talented guy. Ricky Fowler just hit too many,

I don't know if you call him bad shots, but Ricky Fowler got himself in trouble a little bit too much. I thought at one point he was going to win it. Rory McElroy played great. I would say L.A. Country Club, which is in a beautiful part of Los Angeles, is not as striking, obviously, as a Pebble Beach and the cliffs. I thought it was a nice tournament. It didn't feel, am I being harsh?

It didn't feel like Pinehurst. It didn't feel like I didn't feel like that. It felt like it was a round of golf with a bunch of good guys playing on a Sunday. Fun fact about Wyndham Clark. And I didn't watch the telecast, so forgive me if they brought this up. He was a high school classmate of Christian McCaffrey.

Yes, yes. They talked about that multiple times. Yeah, no, no, yeah. Clearly I didn't watch a lot. That's okay. You're not in the demographic. Life's too short for me to watch a lot of golf on TV. You know, there's just stuff to do.

Well, my life is running short, so I have nothing but time for you. Since we're not, you know, just radio. So my daughter had her first ever dance performance Saturday. And I go up to another dad. I'm like, oh, what's going on? He's like, did you see Blake Griffin over there? I guess Blake Griffin has a daughter in this program. Well, you live in a very boogey.

Yeah, by the way, Alexei Lollas rolled up at the same time. I was like, to my son, look, there's a famous guy here. Alexi Hollis was laughing, of course. Yeah, well, you live in a very, a lot of celebrity athletes were you. You need to talk about your neighbor? No, no, no. My neighborhood is old people. Oh, old famous people as well.

No, just old people. Oh, okay. We have modeled cars there from the 60s. I thought you said Dustin Hoffman picked up a newspaper and gave you a shout out. No, no, no, I've seen him before. Yeah. I've seen some, you know, I've seen Henry Winkler. Very nice people.

I just, I live in a very sedated. You live in a very jockey beach volleyball. Yeah, right. Come on. You do. J Mack with a news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. It was so funny because I had cousins in town. And I'm not going to say where I live, but there's a lot of older, you know, it's an older area in Los Angeles. Henry Winkler is known as the nicest guy in the world. It's the nicest celebrity in the history of Los Angeles. There was Kamala Harris was in town and the vice president, and she lives around a couple streets down.

Whenever she's in the neighborhood once a year, there's 600 cops. It's just unbelievable. And so my cousin's sitting there with his window open and this horrible traffic. And he looks over and Henry Winkler's like, can you believe this traffic? He's like, Fonzie. It was like he couldn't believe it. He talked about the whole weekend. He was like he was such a nice guy.

I'm like he's known as like the nicest celebrity. How about the Happy Days theme song? One of the all time, like top 10 theme song for TV show of all time, even if you didn't grow up with the Happy Days and I'm, I'm not that old. But I watched the reruns. And the theme songs just... You watched the reruns?

When I was a kid, you know, you stay home sick from school with the fake cough. You watch the love boat. You watch Happy Days. You don't remember that? Yeah, well, I didn't... My mom wouldn't let me stay home. Yeah, I was good at fake... Shoot, my parents are watching.

Anyways, let's move on. They do watch every... They talk about the outfits that I wear. We're on radio, so maybe they didn't switch over to FS2. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we could go... My mom would be like, get to school.

Be sure to catch live editions of the Hurstions of the Hurstions of the Hurstons of the weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Covino and Rich Davis. And together we are Covino and Rich. Covino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right. Covino 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, get 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 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-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 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 yeah, yeah, yeah. 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. Well, now that Bradley Beal will join Devin Booker and Kevin Durant for a pretty remarkable big three, J-Mack. I thought I would rank 10. through one, the best

trios in the league. There's some really good ones. Really good ones. Let's see him. Okay, here we go. Number 10. I would say Kings. Now, they led the NBA in offense. Sabonis is a rebounder and kind of limited. But Deeran Fox, DeMontes, DeMontes, Sabonis, and Keegan Murray.

Murray's not yet a great player. Fox is obviously the best. Sabonis somewhat limited offensively, but that's number 10. Number nine. would be the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley. Now, Mobley's a good player. He's not yet great, so I put them at nine. They were the number one scoring defense, lowest field goal percentage allowed.

Mowgli's by next year is going to emerge as a 20-plus point a game big. Number eight. I'd probably say the 76ers. Hardin plays no defense, and Maxie is, Tyrese is becoming. ascending to star power, but it's Embededed Heardin, Tyrese, M. Bid and Hardin are one of the better pick and roll duos in the league. Maxi by this year, I think. Hardin also led the league an assist, so they get my number eight. Number seven. The Lakers with LeBron A, D, and Austin Reeves. LeBron at 38 years old is the only guy in the league that averaged 25 points, eight rebounds,

and six assists on at least 50 percent shooting. So he's still a remarkably efficient play. and 80 was the best defender in the playoffs. I think Reeves should be your four or five starter. It's not really a classic point guard or a shooting guard. That's why I put them only seven. Number six. The Warriors have the best catch-and-shoot guys in the league. Steph, Clay, and Draymond led the NBA in catch-and-chute scoring.

They made the most threes, second-highest three-point percentage. Played together, high- IQ, great culture. Clay had a disappointing last series, but I would put them at number six. I put Miami because they're much better defensively. Bam out of Bayou and Jimmy Butler are elite defenders. Tyler Hero, Tyler Hero, who was kind of squirly a couple years ago, gives you 20 points a game and they've reached the finals in two of the last four years. So that's why Dame is so intriguing that I think even though they were an eighth seed,

they're kind of malleable. I mean, Bam, when he's playing well offensively, gives you size. Butler just needs help on the offensive end. He's a two-way player, but he's a two-way player. not a great easy scoring player. So I would put Miami at five. Number four. I may have them low. I have the bucks at four because Chris Middleton's been banged up and

I think he's peaked. But I think Janice and Drew Holliday are the best two-way trio in the NBA. Great players. Middleton, I think, again, I worry about his health. But the bucks have made the playoffs in seven straight seasons. And may have Matadla. My guess is Yonis bouncing. back and is the leader in the MVP voting next year.

Number three. I think it's the Celtics. They don't have a ring. I will say this about Marcus Smart. I've never thought of him as a great facilitator, but the last four years, he's averaged more assists every year. Did you know that, J. Mack? And this year he averaged the career high six and a half.

And so we look at Smart as a defensive player, but these guys led the NBA in net rating, and I would put them at three. Number two. I think offensively, this is the best trio. Beal, Booker, Durant are insane. They were the highest shooting percentage team in the playoffs, and they've added Bradley Beal.

I mean, folks, these are like three all-star shooters. I mean, this is a great shooting offensive team, and Beal does have the ability to facilitate. He's not a classic point, but he can do some of it. Number one. Got to go with the nuggets, mostly because of the way they fit. Yokic makes everybody better. Gordon's an elite long defender and Murray's your classic shooting guard.

So they really fit perfectly. Well, the sons may not fit perfectly. You know, Lakers, Austin Reeves, and LeBron, I think are both better with the ball than off the ball. May not fit perfectly. Warriors may be a little old. You know, heat. I wish Butler was a little more skillful offensive player. The points came easier.

They seem like they take so much effort. That's why he's exhausted by the end of the year. But there we go, my trios. I'm surprised Buechre doesn't like Beal, Booker, and Durant. You and I are both surprised by them. I love it. I like scoring. We both like Buker, good guy.

I just feel like once some of this group think takes on like the rolling steam, it's the steam gathers or whatever the phrase is. I just feel like everybody starts to say, oh, Bradley Bills wash. Bradley Bills hurt all the time. Sons are duplicating like on the perimeter. Like, sons don't play. Everybody's parroting the same crap. and it's all looking backwards.

None of these people have the ability. Very nice thing to say about Buker. I mean, he's saying the stuff that I'm seeing out there, and it's like, I don't know how all these people are seeing backwards, but you and I have the ability to look forward. Well, maybe we're like X-ray vision sports. But we're also seeing the positive. A lot of people want to view the negative.

I don't know. Ask yourself this. Beale, Booker, Durant. Are they better than last year? 100%. And I'm not even counting Aiton. Well, last year they beat the nuggets twice. If Chris Paul doesn't get hurt, it may go, what did it go?

Six? It can go seven. I mean, it's like those are real. How many games are you go? Game two and game five were very close touch and go. The Sun's one and six. The Nuggets won and six. Nuggets beat them.

One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Frum. 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 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two.

Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.