The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - The NBA had a crazy fight last night

Episode Date: November 15, 2023

Thoughts on the Niners during their 3 game losing streak Jets HC Robert Saleh might be on the hot seat and thoughts on the player only meeting Colin discusses the crazy brawl between the Timberwolves and the Warriors last night   Guests: Daryl Johnston, Ric BucherSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Daryl Moose Johnson, now Fox Sports NFL analyst is joining us.

So you did the Jags Niners last week, and it's one thing to watch a game or you watch film. It's another thing to watch in person. So Trevor Lawrence is fine. That Niners off a bite was a handful. But I want to talk Brock Purdy. You've now seen him live. And against the team that's got some players, what do you make of Brock Purdy?

System, not system. What do you make of him? Well, I think there's a little bit of system for every quarterback. You know, I can go back to Troy. You know, in Norv system, I mean, he loved it. He had confidence in it. And he played outstanding. When Chan Galey came in and he was in that system, it didn't play to his strength.

So I think everybody, every quarterback, even Hall of Fame quarterbacks, you know, there's a system component to how they play. So there's going to be a little bit of that for Brock Purdy. But I tell you what, Colin, he can make some throws. And it's exactly what Kyle Shanahan was talking about. During that three-game losing streak, I really looked more at the defense. I mean, that's what popped out to me on film. They weren't playing to the 49er standard.

Drake Greenlaw was hurt. Kind of the same impact that Trent Williams and Debo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey being nicked up had on the offensive side of the ball. Now, he had some critical interceptions, especially down the stretch in those games that are directly related to the loss. but, you know, the majority of the game, you know, he's playing extremely well. I mean, he's still making those great throws, very anticipatory. He's building trust.

If you look at the five interceptions that he had during those three games, two were to Brendan Ayuk, who he said he's getting much better with and understanding and building that trust. Ray Ray MacLeod, Elijah, the running back, Mitchell. Yeah. And then one more. And it was people who he's not familiar with, Joanne Jennings was the last one.

So he's still got to build that rapport with them. So when you're throwing an anticipatory style into the middle of the field, if quarterback and wide receiver are not in lockstep, you have the potential for an interception. And that's one of the things that Kyle shared with us. He goes, you know, he loves the phrase, let a rip. He wants that let a rip quarterback. And he referenced a little bit with Kirk Cousins of why he's had interceptions through his career.

You know, when you play that style, you know, sometimes you're going to have those interceptions. he was fine with Brock's style of play during the course of those three games. And I think he proved to everybody coming out after that by how well he played against Jacksonville. Dallas is almost like a college team where they're just crazy good at home. Like at home they play with their hair on fire. There's a different emotional level. And then they go on the road and you're not quite sure what the college team is going to give you. You just don't know half to half.

I don't know if it's cultural. I mean, DAC is virtually as a favorite unbeatable at home. it's weird. The NFL's not like that. You got headsets, you can hear. Good teams don't go on the road and fold. That's just not the way it works. But Dallas is interesting. A couple years on this, Moose. I can't even, there's not a comp. I always feel like Philadelphia. I get the same team home or away. Maybe a little better at home, same team. Same with Kansas City. I get kind of the same team. What do you make of Dallas, this almost collegiate home team that can throw a stinker out on the road? is it leadership, is it culture, what do you make of it?

Well, I don't, I'm not going to put the Philadelphia game in that category. I don't know what happened in San Francisco. And that was one of the things that Kyle Shanahan shared with us that got himself into trouble. He said, he goes, I was the most unpleasant foreno coach in the history of the NFL because I felt like we weren't playing very well. And then we played Dallas and everything was great. You know, that's what we expected. So, you know, was that a great San Francisco?

Was that again, some of that bad Dallas on the road? since that game, they've kind of started to transition offensively into a different style of play. And I think it's going to be interesting to see how that transmits on road games. I think the Philadelphia game, you know, you saw how well Dak played in that game. I mean, it literally came down to a game of inches, right? The spot on the goal line, stepping out of balance on the two-point play.

You know, it's just those parts of the game where you say football is a game of inches, that you really get a feel for what that exactly means. So I think that there's been a change in what they're doing in the offensive style of play. And I'm interested to see how that translates on the road. But it was one of the things that Jimmy Johnson was always big with us. You know, always started off. You've got to win your home games.

You're going to split on the road. You know, he had this theory. But his whole mantra was having that swagger going on the road. And just go back to the University of Miami, you know, when they traveled, when they came into stadiums at the collegiate level, you know, the bravado and the swagger that they brought there. you know he wanted us to have that whether we were going to the vet going to candlestick wherever we were going you know we needed to carry that with us and i think it's something that has to be talked about i think it has to be part of the culture inside the facility you know half of your

games are going to be on the road and if you're a team that really struggles on the road it's going to put you in a really tough spot come december so um i said last week i don't remember jimmy johnson's cowboys having a lot of players only meetings or or or bill walsh's nineers usually it's a sign of crisis, but I'm not saying, you know, it'd be almost like in my family if there was a kid's only meeting, no parents. Like this, you know, maybe it can help. I don't know. But when I hear it, I get very cynical. I'm like, okay, this is, I joked earlier. It's like when your boss says, hey, could you stop by my office after work? Nothing good is going to be discussed. What do you make a player's only meetings with the Jets? Is that,

is Sala in trouble here? Oh, that means nothing is going right. There's something really, really big behind the scenes that they feel that they have to have conversations away from coaches, but the coaches already know. Players-only meetings, we had a couple of them, and nothing really gets done. It's basically the airing of the grievances. Yeah. And then you just kind of move on.

I really don't know if I've ever heard anybody come up and say, oh, no, no, that's not true. We had a players-only meeting one time, and we really got down to some of the core issues. And, you know, after that player's only meeting, we really turned everything around. So I think it's always a sign of a team in trouble. And then there's really not anything that's earth-shattering coming out of it. So you're kind of in that same position. But now everybody knows you're in trouble because you call the players-only meeting. I have a great parlay for you this weekend, thanks to Draft King Sportsbook.

New users use the code heard, H-E-R-D when you download the app. Now for my parley pick of the week via Draft King Sportsbook. I always take good teams that have been humiliated the week before. Jags got hammered by the Niners. I'll take a minus six and a half to cover at home against the Titans. No way the Rams beat the Seahawks twice. Seattle's minus one, a better, younger, healthier team. I'll take Seattle.

Broncos at home minus two. I know it's a short week off the Monday night football win, but I think the Josh Dobbs story has limitations. Go Denver. If you want to take the Hurd Parlay, check out Draft King Sportsbook. New users, please use the code Hurd. H-E-R-D when you download the app. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction.

Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler. In New York. Call 877-8-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope & Y 467-369. See show notes for full details. 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, 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-Hart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. 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 and 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 Jek. 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 There's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So 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 Finally, Moose, Darryl Moose Johnson, Fox Sports, three rings. It's supposed to be a great college quarterback draft class. Well, we know this last one wasn't supposed to be any good. In Anthony Richardson's dynamic, C.J. Stroud's amazing. Will Levis has something. So you don't really know. But we talked about Arizona, a team, you know, they beat Dallas.

I said the 10 teams right now that would have the first 10 teams, picks. I said, I could see all of them taking a quarterback. But I push back on Kyler Murray. If Arizona had like the first or second, I could trade that and get a boatload of picks. And I said, this guy went to a what's perceived as a poorly owned,

poorly coached team in a division with McVeigh, Pete Carroll, and Shanahan, and made the playoffs. He was an overcomer. I mean, Dak came into the league. He had Zeke, a great old line. Cowboys generally draft pretty well. There was nothing going

right in Arizona. And he pulled them to the playoffs. I'm a Kyler Murray fan. People push back in his personality in the video games. And here's what I say, Moose, and tell me if I'm wrong. Modern players are different. They do play video games.

It's a different world. I mean, this kid was a baseball star, a football star. I'm a Kyler Murray believer. I feel like I'm on an island. If they got a first or a second pick in what it is perceived as a great college class, Moose. Would you take

a quarterback or stick with Kyler? I think the previous regime has already kind of forced you into position there with the contract that's on Kyla right now. So how is that going to impact your cap? If you've got to step away from it, what is the trade value there of somebody picking that up?

I don't think it's just the video game because you make a great point. Today's modern college athlete, professional athlete are gamers. And it's part of their culture. It's part of their culture but when that gets in the way of your preparation when all the sudden there's a clause and a contract that's requiring you to work a little bit harder there's something more there than

just playing video games so that would be something that I would be concerned about that you'd have to get a good feel on I agree with you know Arizona in that division you know what he did when he was healthy is is pretty amazing but but that's the other component for me and and I think it's got a lot to do with Lamar. You know, the dual threat quarterback in the NFL usually is not as fit as he was at the end of the season from a health standpoint just because these teams lean on them so much in the past game, in the run game. You know, they're not playing their best football or they're not capable of playing

their best football when you get to December and January. And that's what you have to have from not only your team, but especially your quarterback. So I think that that's a big part of it as well. And we've seen Tyler start the season very, very well, but we're still waiting for that finish. So I think that there's a number of things out there that would make this intriguing. And then you've got a new staff. You're going to have a coaching staff and an offensive side of the ball that wants to put their spin on what they want to do. Does Kyler fit into that?

Are they going to move towards him? And the skill set that he brings to that position, that will be something that we'll have to wait and see. But I think the other element that's there now is when you hear somebody like Caleb Williams say, If I don't get drafted to the right team, I'll just stay in school another year and make a lot of NIL money. You're not going to make as much as you would in the NFL, but you're going to make a lot of money at the collegiate level with these NILs now. So there's a different dynamic there where when we saw, you know, the quarterbacks in the past, you know, the Peyton Mannings of the world and things like that where I'm not coming to that team, don't draft me, you know, things like that. And now you've got a little bit of ammunition with that stance. You know, you can actually, you know, you've got something to fall back onto.

So I think there's a ton of things going on in that decision, and it's actually going to be one of the more intriguing ones in the offseason. Yeah. Fox Sports, glad to have him. He's got the Niners back-to-back weeks. That's a good team to have back-to-back weeks. That is a, you got Hall of Famers in every unit. It is remarkable how valuable Debo is to that team, as you well saw.

So they're healthy. They've got the, I feel a little bit bad for the bucks. That's a 3,000-mile flight. I wish them the very best of the Niners is a rough sled. Moose is always, it's great seeing you. Great to visit with you, Colin. Take care. Yeah. How about that?

Getting a plane fly 3,000 miles and have to face the most talented team in the NFL in several years. They are stacked. Did you see the video of San Fran coming out of the tunnel against Jacksonville with the boombox? And it's like Trent Williams out front, who's like 6-6, massive. Debo Samuel, dancing, Chase Young. I mean, I'm just telling you right now, this team, they're looking at the same. scary. People want to say, oh, they lost three in a row.

No. That was not the Niners, okay? They had guys out. His team's... No. Hotel lobby, that's the scariest-looking team in the league. Just big bad dudes. It is.

They are in person, different than everybody in the league. Those linebackers just fly around. Like, this team... And they added Chase Young, who's a specimen. Like, their receivers are physical. They're everybody's... Their safeties are physical. They're linebackers.

Like, nobody... They just play a different style of football in the rest of the league. I saw just the first quarter, like first two drives of Jacksonville. And I had a buddy who was on Jacksonville texting me. I'm on the wrong side. You could just tell it's over instantly. I knew second drive. I'm like, well, came on one.

Niners were dialed in. Nothing worse than losing an early game in the window. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I'll start with Justin Fields. He's back, baby.

Missed the last four games with that thumb injury. We heard from Matt Eberflus yesterday, and he said that, Fields is on board starting in the road game against the Lions. Here it is. He's progressing well, and our plan is to start him this week. He looks good, and so we're excited where he goes. And again, this will be a big evaluation today.

Like I said, I think it was Monday about going full speed, doing full speed reps and all that. So it'll be a big evaluation today. Very exciting. Line was 10, down to 9. You see 9 and a half on the screen in some shops. I think the bears are live in this one. I think they will be very frisky. I agree.

Nine and a half is a ton for divisional game. The Lions came off a wildly emotional win. Will they have quite that energy? Their offense probably won't be as dynamic. And you know what next week is, right? Thanksgiving week. Lions play on Thursday against the Packers. Divisional game, rivalry game.

They've owned the Packers of recent last three games. I guess they dominated them. Yeah. Feels a bit of a sandwich spot. Not a huge one because the pack of steep. No, but if I get Justin Fields, I get a playmaker and they can hang around. And we can talk all we want about the draft. Okay?

Justin Fields does not want the Bears to draft the quarterback. He's going to be playing for his job. If he plays really well, I know they might get the number one pick from Carolina. By the way, we had no say. Remember when Kyler Murray, I had Arizona last week? That was the game I passed on that I should have taken. Kyler Murray hadn't played. And I said, Kyler Murray would not play unless he was ready.

because his reputations in the line and Kyler won the game. Justin Fields here, his reputations on the line. He's going to come out and play. And by the way, I don't think you'll learn a ton not playing, but you do get motivated not playing. When the understudy, you hear some chatter locally, sports radio, newspaper, hey, this guy's interesting.

He's going to be totally focused this week. You want to get interesting. Let's just say Carolina wins a couple games and they end up with the third pick. The Bears get the third pick. Listen, Marvin Harrison? Justin Fields Who's he got, DJ Moore,

the running game is solid, the defense is coming around, I'm not saying the Bears are a juggernaut or anything close, but you had Marvin Harrison and then they have their own pick. Like, there might be something in Chicago, maybe. I'm not totally done with Fields. I think you're closer to being done with them?

Well, I came in like 57, 43%, and I think, I mean, if he has a good run at the end of the season, then we're fine, but it doesn't look great. The other thing is, forget the winning part. not healthy enough. You've got to be available every week. I mean, for all the criticism of Tua, he's there every week this year. You've got to be available. Would love him as the backup with the Jets next year, if that's an option. All right, let's get to Mack Jones. Oh boy, he is the

starting quarterback for the Patriots currently, but I don't know how much that means. They are on a buy. I saw a quote that Mack Jones was asked after the game in the jury. Why didn't you guys throw, Hail Mary at the end of the first half, and he goes, no clue. You know, he's starting to revert to old Mac Jones. Like, I don't know what's going on. Anyways, in an appearance on the Jones and Migo show yesterday, Mego, Miko, whatever. Mack addressed whether he's a starter after the by week.

We haven't talked about that. Really, just today we watched the game film and kind of talked about the planes for the biweek. So we have practice tomorrow. So just see how it goes there. And, you know, the bye week is a great time to work on. things that you can do better. So that's what I'm going to do. Really just focusing on, you know, things I can control and focus on that.

I've always done that. And I really need to improve, obviously, and that's what I'm going to focus on. I think, you know, everyone's frustrated. And obviously, I am too. And there are a lot of things that, you know, I wish I could do better. And I know I'm going to put the work in to do it. Very in. Now, we had heard some stuff here about Mac and the locker room.

There's reports out of the Herald or anything. NBC Sports Boston, the Patriots locker room is 80-20 out on Matt Jones. I mean, he's not been benched, what, two or three times this season? Yeah, it's a real issue. I was told last year he was confronted by one of his offensive teammates. I know who it is. I'm not going to call him out that on this cheap stuff that people were like, dude, that's going to come back to us.

The cheap shots, yeah. Yeah, I mean, so the coaches and the players are out in him. He's a bit of a brat. He struggles being coached hard. Yeah, when the season's overall... It sounds insane to say is Belichick losing the locker room, but we know the secondary is a total disaster now. Also, you have to remember...

The kid from the Chargers is blowing up in his face. This staff, Judge, Patricia, Belichick, Bill's kids, this is not an optimistic, progressive, offensive staff. It is a hard coaching staff. Bill O'Brien. Yeah, Bill O'Brien. These guys are barkers. guys are tough and mac little coddled you know what i mean alabama was good living best year

covid year good living i don't think he was ready for how hard and how hard coached he was going to be there's probably some people driving around now saying well he's got no skill position guys you put mac jones on the miami dolphins he'd be torsing it like no he wouldn't i'm i'm not a belief i'm just out on mac jones final story lebron james returned to the lakers last night after missing sunday's game with a calf contusion. Boy, they were hot. They looked good last night. They crushed the Grizzlies.

They were. They had to play 23 minutes, sat out the entire fourth because they were rolling so much. Memphis is just reeling without John Morant. I listened in the second half. They were on, they just shot well. I'm just telling you, man, you guys get to play with LeBron. Cam Reddish has been bounced by like three or four teams. He starts to play with LeBron.

It's like Cam Reddish is good. Like, he's a player. After the game, LeBron said he turns 39 in what, like 35 days or something. says that he's not feeling his age. I actually don't. And I'm just going out there and just playing free, free basketball. I feel like it's not anything that I cannot do that I did in my 20s out on the basketball floor. So I continue to just try to be the ultimate triple threat, you know, scoring in the low pole,

scoring the paint, scoring the mid-range, scoring threes, you know, gets a free throw line when I can. Things of that nature. So I was just trying to keep defense at bay. and always had the ability to be able to rebound and find my team me. So that's always key. I think that was the best they played all year. That was the best of Lakers played. Well, Memphis stinks.

They got Sacramento tonight on a back-to-back, not ideal. So they're on the road? No, they're at home against Sacramento. Sacramento's okay. And then Portland, Houston. Houston's looking good. Remember that Rockets take I had this summer that was super spicy? People were totally mocking me after I said,

keep an eye on the Rockets as a playoff team. Forget people. Ryan and I were mocking you. I like the Van Fleet. I like the Brooks. I mean, I don't like him, but they look good. It's early. Remember, when Binyama, after five games, it was like, could the spurs make the playoffs? They're like three and eight now.

They get the snows. They got nothing. They got nothing to work with. And by the way, he just plays in brief spurts. They're doing it right. I mean, he's hit like a 10-game wall if that's a thing. Last five games, he can't make a shot. It's a tough time. It'll be fine.

Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping. by the herd line news well do it check in on the warriors last night getting in a fight the clippers without harden there's some stories Rick Buecker stops by next 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 listen to comeback stories I'm Darren Waller you may know me best as a tied in for the New York

Giants you may also know me for my story of overcoming addiction and alcoholism. You may have heard a few of my tracks as an artist or a producer. You may have seen the work that I've done through my foundation. And you may know my friend and co-hosts Donnie Starkens as well. He's a mindfulness teacher, a yoga instructor, a life coach, a man fully invested in seeing people reach their fullest potential.

And we've come to form this platform of comeback stories to really highlight not only our own adversity, but adversity in the world. lives of well-known guests with amazing stories. Catch us every week on comeback stories on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. 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 big. 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 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 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, we had a little skirmish last night in the NBA, and Rick Buecker was there at the Timberwolves Warriors battle last night. So, was it predetermined? Did these teams have a little bit of an issue here? What did you?

It looked really overly feisty. Like there were something behind the curtain here. What happened here? Yeah, well, look, the Timberwolves expected it to be a scrappy game. You're playing back-to-back games against the same opponent, and you're doing it against the Warriors team that was missing Steph Curry. So they knew, one, they were coming in, having been beaten soundly the previous game, and two, knowing that they were going to have to be physical and mucked this game up,

because as of right now, the Minnesota Timberwolves are just a vastly more talented team. So that was the mindset coming in. The Timberwolves expected it. There's also an element with Jaden McDaniel, I was told, is that he won really good, long defender, and a lot, but a bit of a hothead, and a lot of guys are going at him early, trying to get him teed up, trying to get him kicked out of the game. There was no accident that this started with Clay Thompson and Jaden McDaniel. That was going to be a tough matchup.

But this in general is what championship older, aging championship teams do when facing a younger up-and-coming team. They try to get the intimidation factor going. They try to get physical to muck the game up because, one, there's pride, and two, because that's really the best chance they have of winning. You know the Warriors better than anybody that comes on this network. They feel very step-dependent. They are deep. They play like nine guys.

They're a little bigger. Sarich has helped their length. They're a little bigger than they've been. I kind of like their length. I like their depth. But, man, do they feel step-dependent, right? 100%. And this is the dirty little secret about the Warriors now, which I don't know if everybody has fully grasped it. But the reality is they're not a very good shooting team.

You've got Steph Curry. You've got Moses Moody. You've got Dario Sharich as a big man who can shoot it from distance a little bit. Clay Thompson, wildly inconsistent, is more of a chucker. He's going to still take shots. He might be hot some nights. Some nights he's not going to be. and then you look at the rest of the team and where are you going to get it. Jonathan Cominga?

Can't count on him as a shooter. Draymond Green? No. Andrew Wiggins at this stage. Streaky at best and has not been good this season. So when you look at the array of pieces that they have, Kavanaughan Looney, another one. Like, they just, we think of them as the Splash Brothers

and this amazing offensive juggernaut. They're a better defensive team than they are in offensive. one right now. And that's probably the biggest concern is I don't know how they necessarily fix that issue that they don't have enough three-point shooters. James Harden, Clippers are 0 and 5, the chemistry, they're a bad fourth quarter team. J-MAC argues they'll get it right eventually. I do love the way Paul George is playing. Will they get it right eventually? Because they're not good at closing games out right now. Yeah, I don't see it, to be honest to you. The names are bigger than the games. Paul George said the other, I don't know if it was last night,

but recently that, hey, we got four really good guys. You know, we're going to, we're going to, we'll find a way to get this done. And he's right. You have four really good guys. You don't have great guys anymore. Kawhi Leonard is good. Not great anymore. Not dominant. Russell Westbrook, good. Not great. James Harden, good. Not great. Paul George, is the one among the four who actually looks like he can have great nights, but he also looks like someone, and this has been consistent with his career, who is a victim of his own talent. He played hero ball last night, took two threes at times where they weren't necessary down the stretch as they were closing it and trying to get back into this game.

His decision making is still questionable. I compare him to Josh Allen. He's so confident in his ability to get shots. and to get where he wants to go and to make plays, that he doesn't always make the right play or the smart play. And as long as they have that, as long as they don't realize, you know what, we're not for great players anymore.

We can't beat just people on talent. We have to beat them on execution. We have to beat them on effort. We have to beat them on how we play defense. Until that message gets through, I have no confidence that they're going to put this together. And unfortunately, Ty Loo's probably going to pay the price for this. I don't know that he should, but you have all this talent, and when it underwhelms people,

the coach is usually the one who pays the price. I've said this about Zach Levine. Wildly fun to watch, worth a ticket. I'm not sure he's a winning player. Zion Williamson, to me, kind of falls into that. I think he'll move at the trade deadline potentially. He's grumbling, reading between the lines. I'm not sure he makes people better.

I just like watching him play. Is that a fair comp that there are guys in this league that are great television? They're not necessarily making you win more, but they're productive and great TV. Yeah, Zach is certainly electric in the same way that Zion is electric. I would give Zach a little more credit for his game having evolved since he got into the league. That's my biggest issue with Zion, and I've called it out before. and been told by people in the Pelicans organization. He doesn't work on his game.

Not to the level that you would expect. Does he work out? Has he tried to get in shape? Sure. All of that. But he's taking 149 field goal attempts this season. Only one of them has been beyond 16 feet. Wow.

And that was a missed three-pointer. Like his entire game is 10 feet and in. You can't possibly operate in today's game, today's positionless game, today's spacing game without a greater offensive arsenal than that. And yes, he's been injured, and yes, he's missed time, but that's the perfect time to work on your jump shot when you're not having to play games, when you can develop that game. And so, look, I've said it before, and I said it because I was told it and got pushback from Larry Nance Jr. is the first one that comes to mind.

And I'm just looking at Zion's game right now. And if he's working on it, then you have to question what he's working on. Because in my estimation, it has not evolved since he came into the league. Rick Buecker. Good stuff. Good, good stuff. Warriors need more. Man, we squeeze that in. I need more time, Colin. We like, this is, I just, we need a show. We get way too much here. Well, why don't you come to L.A.? We got, you know, do they have hotels here?

We can go to dinner. Yeah, it's a big city. I do miss our dinners. I will say that. All right, good seeing you, buddy. I also have to give Rick credit. He introduced me to Cafe Americano, which I'd never had in my life. Now I thumb my nose.

I look down at coffee. Coffee's not good enough. Once you have a cat, I told a friend this year night, once you have Cafe Americano, you're very European feeling. It tastes better. You'll look down at coffee. I'm a Seattle kid, right? Like I grew up in a coffee area.

not good enough. I'm just giving you a little advice as your mentor. Cafe Americano is so good. And I just never had it. I know you want to take credit for being my mentor, but I have to it's Steph Curry.

He was the first guy I had on my podcast back in the day. I met him again recently. He's a super nice guy. He's a little more of a mentor than you. You'd be like a 1B as my mentor. Is that why you're a chucker? Yes, exactly. You nailed it.

No game this week. We secured the number one seed. I know you want to talk men's basketball. Yeah, sure. Adult leagues. Yeah. All right, Joel Clatt, good stuff. We'll put that on the pod.

That was good. That was a nice Wednesday show. We brought some energy today. And by the way, UCLA. What are you doing with Chip Kelly? Eight wins, nine wins. Now you've got six wins. A real chance, potentially.

They could beat USC. Seven wins. You're not good enough? This is the best of Pac-12's ever been. Some of these cool. Now, I mean, again, if that was a long, Ohio State or that was Oregon or so. Okay, that's that the standards are different.

But if you look at the PAC 12 over the last 10, 12 years, Washington, Oregon, USC, Utah are more committed and should have a slightly higher standards in terms of double use. They beat LSU a couple years ago. Be Utah and Washington last year. They got a freshman quarterback. They play defense. They run the ball. They just have some, like the Jets, some personnel limitations at quarterback. We'll see you tomorrow live in Los Angeles.

It's the hurt. 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 I-Heart. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the

athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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.

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