The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 3 - UCLA HC Mick Cronin stops by The Herd, looking at the NBA playoff match ups

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

Colin talks to UCLA head coach Mick Cronin about the Final Four and what makes UConn such a tough team to beat.  Plus, he takes an early look at the NBA playoff match ups with Rachel Nichols and why Victor Wembanyama might lead the Spurs to the championship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. I've said this. In last couple of years, you know, sports are cyclical outside of the NFL, which just keeps getting more popular. College football got very, very regional, very Alabama, Georgia. Now it's much broader. College basketball, I think, in the last three years, there's just so much talent of the size of college teams.

quickness is no longer the name of the game. It's just get big. Be like Illinois and Michigan. Just get big. Mick Cronin, his Bruins, faced all four of these teams in the final four with different results. He's joining us now live. 22 years coaching in college basketball,

170 of his games. UCLA and everywhere. Okay, let's start with Illinois. That was one of the wildest games of the year in the sport. It was 95-94. You beat him by a point. Your guards, they're bigs. you know, it was just a wildly entertaining game.

Is there a secret to beating Illinois, Mick, or do you just have to acknowledge they're going to score on you? They're big. I mean, well, when you beat him, did you go into that game thinking, listen, this is going to be a high-scoring game. It's just the way they play. Yeah, Colin, I thought it was going to take 80 to beat them for sure.

Look, they're so well put together with Vogler at the point as an elite freshman. So you have the NBA guy checked. You have Colin Boswell, the senior grizzled vet guard. You got that box checked. You got shooters all around checked. You got two seven foot two guys rotating in the middle checked. And a great coach and Brad Underwood. And Stoyakovich is a great slashing wing. They just got great components. What the difference for them in the tournament has been, as you guys know, their defense has really stepped up in the NCAA tournament. They don't give up twos at the rim. You've got to make shots to beat them. And we were able to make double digits, double digit threes and obviously a last second basket to beat them. But it's really

hard to score on them at the rim. Okay. So you narrowly lost to Arizona in a more normal game, 69, 65, but you held Burrys and, and a co-opete. You held those guys to single. figures. They did not play particularly well. So Arizona, a lot of people think Arizona could win this whole thing. You had success against two of their stars, and that game was different tempo. Talk a little about Arizona and the success you had slowing them down a little bit. Well, in fairness, playing them, and I believe it was late November, you got three freshmen starting. Right. There's so much better now. Braden Burys is played himself, into the top 10 of the NBA draft.

Karchenkov is also going to be an NBA player. And Co-A-Pete's gotten better as well. So, again, they checked the box with senior grizzled point guard and Bradley. And look, they're two big guys, Toby O'Waco, and Mo Krivaz are big-time strong guys. And look, we play every year, and obviously we played more than that in the Pac-12. So we know each other. So our games tend to be uglier, grinded out games. But they're so much better than they were, Colin, back in November.

It's not like when I watch them play, like they don't shoot a lot of threes, but Burry's Carrchenkoff and Delorsal, they can do it when they need to do it. You can't just not guard those guys. So they may be the most complete team right there with Michigan. I think as you see the Ken Palm thing where they're two of the best, they're two of the best four teams in the last 25 years. from metricly. Yeah.

So you played Michigan. It was your worst loss of the year. It was also Gonzaga's worst loss. My take on, I watched them last week live. I went to the United Center and I was upstairs. So their passing feels like an NBA team. Their size is excellent. If they're hitting shots, to me as a college team, they're virtually unbeatable.

If they're hitting threes, I mean, sometimes there's just a team coach and you're just like, guys, I'm not sure we match up. Did it feel a little bit like that with Michigan? Yeah, it was 40, 38 at the half. And again, I know you got to get 80 to beat them. And, you know, we weren't able to keep scoring with them in the second half. They're so hard to contain offensively because they can beat you in so many ways. And look, Yoxel is a guy that would pre-NIL.

He's in the NDA, Colin. Right, right. You know, he is not in gut. And that's, and you mentioned, you know, as we let in. in, right? College basketball has gotten so much better in the last four years because guys aren't making mistakes by going pro too soon. And it's going to elongate their NBA career by doing it. It's good for the players as well, not just that they're making money. You don't have guys making mistakes going out too soon trying to get to some money. So, but he is, he is so good. I mean,

he's the best player in the final four. And then you put, you know, Amara and Johnson are first round picks around them. And look, Trey McKinney off the bench. Like when you bring guys going to play in the NBA off the bench, which Michigan does,

Trey McKinney will play in the NBA someday. That's how good they are. I agree with you. They're going to be a tough out for anybody. But look, Arizona is really good.

So you lost to Yukon. You know, it's funny. So because I used to live in Connecticut, I follow Yukon. And I watched them throughout the year. They had a bad loss to Marquette. But, you know,

all year, my takeaway is they need another guy. I don't, you know, they got an old school big, Taras Reed. He's an old school big. So I appreciate that. Are you surprised, they beat you guys. Are you surprised they're here? Or when you played them, did you say, well, they're physical?

They're Yukon. They're well-coated. Do you kind of thought they may end up here? Yeah, there's no surprise to me. I thought Duke, obviously, you know, Duke dominated most of that game. But, you know, it's college basketball. and anything can happen. And in this case, it did at the end of the game.

I didn't think that they would get blown out. One thing about Yukon, and I don't know how far it's going to carry them, like their fighting spirit in their culture that Coach Hurley is built there is so good. Imagine they're playing with a guy with two championships. Caraband, Alex Carabin, has two championships. I don't know. I mean, is Kareem, I mean, when's coach Wooden's guys, were the last guys to be playing for their third championship.

I mean, that just tells you about their DNA in their program is so deep. I mean, they just, you know, they're not going to go quietly into the night. You're going to have to play to the final buzzer to beat Yukon. But I think Illinois's got better players. So do I. That's what I think, I think, I'll tell you, I want to talk Keaton Wogler, the Guard, who came from Kansas, nobody recruited him, Minnesota did, and Illinois did. and he got onto campus and Brad Underwood told me this week, you know,

when he was playing around in the summer, the players on the team said, coach, you got to come. See, this kid is something else. If you ever had a guy like that? Because it's funny, the Dallas Mavericks have the sixth pick. I said, if you put him with Cooper Flag, oh my Lord. Have you ever had a kid that came on to your campus, whether it was Murray State, Cincinnati, UCLA,

and you're like, he is way, better than we thought. Not to that extent. I've had some guys that have been better than you thought they were going to be. But very rarely, his parents are quoted as saying they dropped him off to redshirt his freshman year when they dropped him off at school. And I think they both played college basketball and they were all for it. Very rarely, look, he's probably NIL-wise, their lowest paid guy. Turns out to be your best player. It's a great story.

You know, and good for him. He seems like an unbelievable kid. He's humble. But with his size and skill, and he just plays with great pace, Yukon's going to challenge him physically. The one thing that playing Yukon last week up close, they're really physical with your guards.

And we had great guards here at UCLA. And they threw our guards off with their physicality. But he's handled it. I mean, he's played in a big. 10 all year. You know, Tommy Lloyd announced that he's staying at Arizona. And my take was

there's so much fluidity to the sport now with NIL and transfer portal, but if you can get a good job and you're aligned with your administration, you don't want to, I mean, I'm for mobility, but there's so much mobility in the sport now

that I think you're better served as a coach that just stop job hopping. If you got a good job, top 15, just stay there. Are you surprised Tommy Lloyd State or do you kind of agree? Maybe maybe you see it differently. No, no, I told you're right on the money. Look, very rarely does do power coaches hop to other power schools. And if you have the NIL support and you have the administrative support,

I think the only reason you would see somebody leave is lack of alignment with the administration, right? because why else would you go to think you can get better players? Like, you know, I coach a mom, Wemontar, Cincinnati, 13 years a long time. But honestly, I thought I'd be able to get better players. There was no NIL. There was no portal. UCLA is UCLA. You know, I mean, you know how it is.

You lived in L.A. I mean, Westwood's Bel Air. Like, it's such an advantage in recruiting. But then NIL comes along. And now it's all business. So North Carolina is a great job, and they're going to get a great coach. But it's not what it used to be as far as the advantages. You can have the same advantages at Texas Tech, you know, in Lubbock, Texas, if you have the money.

So you don't, and if you're happy there and you have support, especially if you have alignment, your administration is on the same page, that's really important. You know, it'll be no different than an NBA coach with his front office and his owner. when you have that good relationship, there's just no point in leaving. Okay, Michigan, Arizona, I think Arizona is going to have to shoot some threes to win. They don't necessarily. I like Michigan. Your thoughts?

Yeah, I say it's pick them. I think everybody thinks what you're thinking about Arizona. You know, they're going to have to make threes. They're going to have to make threes. And what I would tell you is they do when they need to. they just don't settle for threes. So what Tommy does, they put so much pressure on the rim and the paint on every possession. They call it, when they shoot them, they're usually wide open.

They don't shoot first past threes and transition. They don't shoot desperation or hard shots from three. It's usually because you've helped so much in the paint that those guys are now playing force on the outside. And they can make them. Cartchenkov's gotten way better. Like we said, Braden Burys is a different player. He's a lottery pick.

And even Avery Badley can make them. And then Del Orso comes in. So I don't think that'll be their problem. You know what? Simple. These games like this could come down to free throws or foul trouble in a one-game shot. You know, there's somebody that's bad night at the line like Kansas did against Syracuse. I think back in the day when Coach Bayheim won his title,

Kansas missed like 15 to 17 free throws. in that game. So it could come down to foul trouble as well because there's going to be a lot of physicality at the rim in this game. And officiating is going to be important. I like Illinois over Yukon close. Your thoughts? Yeah, I think it's going to be a low scoring game. I think Illinois defense has really improved and I believe in Yukon's defense and their toughness. The question's going to be for me, Torres Reed has carried Yukon, Colin, on the interior. Yeah. But he's playing against two seven foot two guys. Yeah.

That he hasn't seen. And is he going to be able to bull rush them and power layups? And he had 26 last game. I mean, if he can't score inside, Yukon's in trouble. Because they really need that. Because that's kind of how they're built. It's from him on out. And, you know, because Caraband is, he's got to get shots off screens and off of you

doubling down on Torres Reeds. So if they're able to stop Reed, it's going to really sway in Illinois's favor. Finally, I asked Tom Izzo about this when he was on. I said, you know, Tom, with the NIL and the portal, does it change the way it coached? Can you yell a little less? I've always said the best players ever like confrontation. They kind of like it. Your thoughts on, and Petino Hurley, you know, most of the great coaches use volume.

What's your take on that? Yeah, it's an interesting phenomenon. that people have focused so much on on the way people coach, you know, delivery. What I would tell you is, for instance, you know, I have got on my team,

Eric Daly now is like, he's every, coach, you got to be, you got to get on us more. Like, we're better when you're honest. Jaime Hockes,

I mean, he was all about it, like all about it at all times. Tiger Campbell just great toughness. So I couldn't agree with you more. It's hard to have a really good team if your best players don't want you to coach him. You remember the story where Kareem had the bad game against Boston,

sat in a film session. He told Pat Riley, come on, give it to me. Just give it all to me. You know, don't hold back. And then he came back and he, like he had saw the fountain of youth and dominated the next game. And that's why he's Kareem and Abdul-Jabbar. Yeah.

That Jason Tatum jokes that he had a game, Shoshavsky came in at half, and the whole half time was Shishvsky on Tatum. Tatum scored 28 in the second half at Duke. and he's like, you know, he's like, it just, he doesn't do it much to me, but about once a year, twice a year. And I, I, I, you know what, uh, dad, my dad got mad at me one time. I told me, Mick, he was going, I got to tell the story. I don't think I've ever told this story. So my dad was going to work. He was an optometrist. He had the white jacket on.

And he was going to move the sprinkler in the yard. And he said, Tiger, squeeze the, squeeze it. So that, and my dad got to it and I let it go. And the sprinkler nailed my dad at seven the morning. Mick, I never did that again. I never did that again. I'm sure you didn't. Well, I can tell you, my dad's the greatest of all time. I had great parents. And I wouldn't be here if he wasn't hard on me. I can tell you, if you, you know, there's some stories. It was a little bit different growing up in our era, Colin. A little bit different than it is now. Great seeing, coach. You too. Thanks for having me. You bet. Yeah, you know, Rachel, to this, Dad went out there and he was moving that sprinkler and I don't know what got into me and I let it go.

And it just started and oh, he was glasses, jacket. But I never did it again. I was coachable. I made a mistake and I was coachable. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast.

Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of Pipe and Hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special.

So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas. brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. The morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, We break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering our minds, Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world. He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive?

The largest tax investigation in a billion dollar fraud. American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Rachel, with the news. This is the Heard Line News. I like imagining mischievous young pollen. I think that's good.

All right, let's keep the college basketball conversation going, breaking news in the last hour. Tommy Lloyd reportedly agreeing to a new five-year deal with the Wildcats. This comes after, of course, North Carolina was in hot pursuit. Here is Lloyd on staying with Arizona. I'm a simple guy. I'm kind of just one thing at a time. I'm not a multitasker. You can ask my wife. So I'm 100% locked in on Arizona basketball right now. And I'm excited to see what this team can do. I have a real strong belief in this team. And this team deserves my full attention.

So that's what I'm giving them. Good for him. I'm happy for him. Yeah. I mean, look, you've been big all show on this is good for Lloyd. This is good for Arizona. What do you think this means for North Carolina, though? Well, it's a great job.

I'm a believer in Billy Donovan, the Chicago Bulls coach, who was at OKC. I think Billy's tremendous. I think the Bulls are a frustrating franchise as a season ticket holder. No. I am, but this is a good draft, so we'll see what transpires. But I would call Billy Donovan has always been my first choice. I think he's intense. I think it's very hard for competitive people when they're not competitive in the current

environment. And I'm not sure the Bulls can win in the next two or three years. So that would be my call. No, not at all. And what I like about the Billy suggestion as well is like, I know it's been a while since he was in college basketball, but first of all, he's clearly a winner. And college basketball, because of what you've been talking about, I'll show with the NIL, has really,

changed. So a guy who's been out of college ball for a long time. Previous, it was like, can he still recruit? It's transactional. He doesn't have to do that in the same way anymore. Yeah. Right? And by the way, North Carolina has a lot of money. So I like that too.

All right, NBA, Luca Donchich, as we've been talking about, injured his hamstring last night. There has not been an update yet on the severity of the injury column. We just expect that later today. But I personally, I have a hard time seeing the Lakers not playing it safe here with, you know, how long he's out. Right. I agree.

Remember, he had actually a. hamstring tweak in the first half of this game. Yeah. And the medical staff was like, no, you're clear to go into the second half. And they absolutely, I certainly, they have medical degrees. I don't. But considering then what happened, happened. And the timeframes, even if it's a minor injury, they say one to two weeks.

The average in the NBA this year has actually been more like 22 days, which would put them like to game three of the NBA playoffs first round. We don't know if it's more severe. If it's just even a grade two, they say three. to six weeks and that would obviously, I think, end the Lakers' playoff chances kind of right there. I don't know. I mean, I certainly this conversation of will he come back and play that one more game he needs for the regular season to make awards?

I can't see that happening. Well, I mean, Rachel, they are so dependent on his offense. I mean, like last night, Luca gets hurt. LeBron only takes seven shots. So this is, we've talked about it all year. It's a lobsided roster that needs somebody beyond Marcus Smart to be an elite defender. And so they have been so beholden. into his offense, which was remarkable,

but he's number one in the NBA and usage rate by a long shot. So to me last night, his body gave out. It wasn't banging up against guys. His body gave out. I mean, there's certainly a lot of argument for that. I remember, this is the same handstring that he hurt earlier this season. So it was already a little bit tenuous.

I don't know, man. I mean, going into last night's game, there was a lot of like, hey, maybe LeBron should stay with the Lakers. He can embrace this third guy role, all of this stuff. We don't need to make major roster changes. I think the Thunder certainly put some of the lie to that in terms of where they need to be in that Louis Vuitton

echelon you mentioned and then we'll have to see if Luca gets hurt I can see some bigger changes coming there too so we'll have to see what's going on there all right UFL we have some awesome week one stuff that we've been talking about and now we're going to get to week two tonight last week we saw right the first four point field goal over 60 yards you get four points and Austin Reed

set the single game pass record So that's fun with past yards. I think we're going to get more tonight. The DC Defenders, that's my team, Colin. They take on the Columbus Aviators at 8 Eastern on Fox. And the aviators are a new team this year. So this will actually be this franchise's first home game ever. So that's pretty cool as well.

I don't know. Are you psyched for this week? Yeah, 46 guys last year in the U.F. played, made NFL roster. So we've been saying this every single year, the quality of play gets better. And there's no exception here. If you watch the games, you can see elite players. There's a lot of guys out that are going to end up playing on Sundays.

Plus, you know, tonight on Fox, this is my team, the D.C. team. They won the championship last year. Their favorites to win again. So everybody should watch and cheer for my team. Yeah, I think that's reasonable. Rachel with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. Minnesota moving up, rockets moving down. The playoffs, if they were to begin tomorrow. Rachel and I are going to go series to series. There won't be a lot of changes going forward. That's next. It's The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD

Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name

Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential.

potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody

coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So I had said a couple, maybe it was last week. I said, I think there's only three teams that can win it. Spurs, Celtics,

and OKC. OKC's defense. Spurs depth is insane. And Wemby. And I think the Celtics offensive efficiency, they just don't commit turnovers. It's a very clean, smart. Jalen Brown and Tatum,

very heady guys. So it's a very clean, smart, efficient team. They don't have a real weakness. They got a little old with Horford and Porzingis, and they moved off them. Now they're younger, a little more nimble in the front court. So I really like the Celtics. So Rachel, she's got an MVP vote. She is in arenas all over this country on a regular basis.

We always have to call and say, hey, are you available? If not, she's in somewhere on a plane going to this. So let's start. We can have a little light NBA music. Let's start with the Eastern Conference. I'll set it up for you. All right, pistons, one seed, Hornets, eight seed. Who do you like and why?

I'm putting an asterisk on my pick here. I have the pistons coming out of this, but it really depends on Kate Cunningham. The expectation is he's back for the playoffs. But with a collapsed lung, it's not like you can do conditioning in the meantime, right? If you have like a shoulder injury, you can still run in the meantime. You can't do that when you have a collapsed lung. So I'm very curious to see what he looks like when he comes back,

because even though this is the number two rated defense in the NBA, he's what makes that offense run without him. The Hornets have been spicy, man, Colin. I don't know how much you've been paying attention. They are 25 and 8 in their last 33 games, and that's, by the way, like 40% of the season. So if Kate isn't himself or if he certainly isn't back, I might go back on this.

But for now, I got to say Pistons for that one. Yeah, they're a better defensive team. They're very physical team. I think Carolina's been a great story. I don't think they're ready to beat Detroit. I think Detroit's just got. just got a little more time tested, so I'll take Detroit. Okay, Cavs, Hawks, I never know what to make of this Cavs team.

Cabs Hawks, what do you got? I'm going to go Cavs here, no asterisk, no reservations. I mean, the Hawks have had some pleaky moments this season, but I like the idea of James Hardin on this Cavaliers team. I'll continue to talk about this through this segment. But we've seen Hardin run out of gas in the playoffs, right, when he's had this crazy high usage rate during the season. He's now not going to be the primary offensive guy.

And he wasn't with Kauai, but Kauai was in and out during the playoffs because of injuries. Donovan Mitchell has had a rock star season. I just saw them the other night. And I'm curious to see what James can do next to Donovan. They obviously have some strong defensive play there with the big guys. So I think this will actually be pretty easy for the caps to handle this first round. All right, Nick's very reliant. They're starting five.

Not much bench scoring. Don't generate free throw attempts either. So they need Jalen Brunson and Kat to deliver. They take on the Sixers. I like New York, what say you? I like New York, but I got to tell you, I am conflicted about this one because New York has not beaten a team with a winning record in nearly a month, Colin. And the floor just fell out on them the other night versus Houston.

They didn't look good against the thunder. They're having some of the stagnation issues they had last year. There still seems to be a bit of a role thing with Kat. What does he do? And Brunson's undergone some criticism and all of that. So, look, Philadelphia certainly has looked so much better in recent weeks. They've got all their guys back. Joelle's sick right now, but in general,

Paul George had 40 points the other night. Yeah. I just, I got to give the Knicks the edge. They were the preseason pick to come out in this conference, but this is going to be very spicy, and I think it's going to be one of the most fun first round matches. Number two in offensive efficiency, Celtics and the Raptors, pretty obvious here, right?

Yeah, I mean, look, I'm picking the Celtics to come out of the East. We'll see that in a minute, and I don't think this is going to be, if it's not a sweep, it might be a gentleman's one. Yeah. Okay, then we go back to the top. The number four, now we go, Pistons, Cavs. Again, if Cades healthy, I like Detroit, what about you? I'm going to go with the Caves on this one. I, you know, I'm not going to pick them to win the East. You'll see that. But I do think that this is a stronger team than people think. And I do think if Jared Allen can stay healthy and in there, I think that they will do some damage here. And the Pistons just, they still don't have quite the offense that they need to get as far in the playoffs as I think their fan base deserves. and I'm interested to see what they do in the offseason

because I don't think they were at their best at the trade deadline and I think the Cavs will come out of those winners. So again, the Knicks are very reliant on their starting five. They don't get to the free throw line. They don't have a lot of points in the paint. It kind of depends on if Brunson and Kat are hot. Sometimes Cat won't be in the game late. I think this, I don't like the matchup here for New York against Boston, do you?

I do not. And look, New York was legitimately beating the Celtics last season when Jason Tatum got hurt. So I think they would have won that playoff series anyway, but this is a different year, different teams, different coach. And I just think the way Tatum has so seamlessly come back in is shot making isn't exactly what it used to be, but that doesn't have to be that way.

I'm picking the Celtics in this one, and I'm not conflicted about that one. A lot of talent, Boston and Cleveland in the Eastern Conference final. Again, you just, Tatum and Brown had been in so many big games. I think they had the fewest turnovers in the league. They're a clean team. If they're like Michigan basketball, if they're shooting well, I mean, they could win this thing in four or five games. Your thoughts on it.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they have an elite coach. They have elite players. Jalen Brown is going to be an MVP conversation this year. Tatum, obviously, we know what he can do. And it is boring, Colin, when they just launch all these three after threes, but it is effective. The math problem we talk about in the NBA, three is worth more than two. I think that they will be able to overpower anyone that they see in the East.

And they're just, I mean, the more you see them play, they're the class of the class. conference. Yep. All right. Let's go to the West, which is considered certainly middle up, the better conference. Number one, thunder against the Blazers. Is it a sweep? What do you think? I, yes. I never like to say sweep. You never know. People can be gritty, but man, the thunder are all about their business. You saw that last night. And they're just so consistent. They've got a bunch of injured players who've come back. And I see this is a super easily handleable series for them. Okay. Denver, if they're healthy, is a handful. I think they could end up in the conference finals.

Houston has a big issue, whereas they don't have a true point guard. They're bad in clutch situations, and you're not blowing Denver out. Rockets are a fun team for me to watch, but they're also frustrating. Who do you like here? Nuggets, certainly. I mean, look, the Rockets did have another great win the other night over the Knicks, but I just don't think when you face Nicola Yokic and Jamal Murray when he's in the playoffs and the way that team has gotten more depth this year, I pick the nuggets pretty easily in this one.

Okay, I think the most interesting first round series in either conference is, Lakers T-wolves. Now, you know, Ant is going to hunt down Austin Reeves and Luca. There's a little wild card here. How many games does Luca play in the series with the hamstring? He possibly won't be in great shape when he plays. I think it's a really, really interesting series. I think J.J. Reddick's a better coach today than he was a year ago today.

I think it's a close series. What do you think? I think it's close. And I'm putting an asterisk on my Lakers pick because of the Luca factor. but I actually don't think that if Luca is at full strength, this is going to be as close as you do. We'll have to see who's right. But, you know, the Lakers have handled the Timberwolves all season.

I think they're three and O against them. And the last time that they played, Timberwolves couldn't shoot their way out of a paper bag. I just think over time a seven-game series, the Lakers offensive firepower will win out in this one. But it will be close for sure, and it could go six or seven games. And if Lucas hurt, then absolutely.

I see Anthony Edwards running rough shot there. Phoenix was good for them. Surprisingly interesting this year. I mean, we thought it was a tire fire for Phoenix. About a year ago, we're like, and they actually played their butts off? The chemistry was good. Good luck against the spurs. What's the series going to look like?

By the way, I'm going to recommend that the Sun's marketing staff put that on a poster to season secret holders. Colin Cowherd, Phoenix, good for them. But yeah, I totally agree with you. Look, I have been very impressed with what they have done this season. Demba Booker is a pro man. He is just so good. But I don't think they would stand a chance in this. And you know, I've been on Victor Webbenyama before he even got drafted.

I think he's going to be a top 10, top five player of all time. And he is out for blood in this playoffs for sure. Okay. OKC, Denver, your thoughts? Yeah, I'm going to go with OKC here. Just Denver, you know, there's been enough little issues and little tech. Now, these guys had a great playoff series last season. It could have gone either way.

I've got to give the Thunder the Edge, reigning champions, just all the sort of complete play that they have. But Nicola Okich, man, I still think if, you know, if he's not the best player in the NBA, he's one of two. So I think this will be another six or seven gamer. I also think OKC, you saw it last night, will shift gears. I think once you win a title, you don't get the true team in the regular season. I think OKC is going to shift gears and going to look clearly in that series.

he's better. Lakers Spurs, again, wildly entertaining. A lot of veteran Laker players, very young Spurs team. What do you got? Yeah, I'm going Spurs on this one. I know a lot of Lakers fans, especially before last night, we're like, oh, we could beat the Spurs, you know, we could probably beat the Thunder. I don't think so. I mean, again, look, we'll see, and it's fun to have a big offensive output series, if that's what this turns out to be. And I would trust Luca in the last 30 seconds of any game. That being said, I just so firmly believe in the Spurs team, if anybody can break the sort of NBA truism of, you've got to fail in the playoffs to win in the playoffs. I think it's this team. And I just love Wemba, Miamas focus and the way he's so

determined this season to not just do better than last year, but do best. Yeah. So the Spurs, for the record, have eight players averaging double figures in the history of the NBA. That has never happened. So their depth is unbelievable. They also have the greatest defensive player of all time. Wembe. I like San Antonio over O KC in a six-game series. What say you? It's you and me in the dark, Colin. I am with you, and we are pretty much the only ones. Most people, you know, looking at this matchup, we'll pick the thunder. I'm with you.

I think that the Spurs, obviously, we saw what they did to Oklahoma City this season. I think they won three out of four. And I just think Wembe is unanswerable. And I actually think the longer a series go, the more advantage he has. The strength of playing against Wembe right now is you can throw him things he hasn't quite seen before. That's not going to happen for three or four games in a row. because he will have seen it, and then he adjusts, and he's shown that over and over again.

Finally, this would be a great final. The very young emerging spurs against the veteran Boston Celtics. I think this will be, now, this is where Boston has an advantage. Missoula's been there, the roster's been there. I think it's a really good series. I would probably go San Antonio, you? I'm going San Antonio. I'm going to, I'm this.

I'd rather be early than late on this team. And, you know, I think super highly of the Celtics, but I'd love to see the energy in the NBA, that shift you're talking about generationally. If the Spurs can go out and win this, I mean, how great would that be for the league and to have Wendy just sort of reining over it all? Yeah, and Stefan Castle, since the All-Star break,

is shooting the lights out on the three-point shot. He's always had every other element to his game. Defense, aggressive can finish at the rim. Stefan Castle is on an absolute two-month heater from the perimeter, and I think that is the difference, because Boston's going to have those games. Yeah. When they are on fire, you've got to have somebody to match them.

I don't worry about the spurs on the interior. Rachel Nichols, filling in today for you were great. Thank you so much on late notice for filling in. Absolutely. Great stuff. Nice shows. Good week. Mick Cronin stopped by, Daniel Jeremiah.

You know, the draft. Next week, we really start getting closer to the draft. The NBA playoffs are around the corner. We'll keep you update on Luca Dantage. And that situation, MRI. We'll wait for results. We'll see you Monday. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?

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