The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What’s Wright - Nick Wright REACTS: LaMelo’s SHENANIGANS, VINTAGE Curry saves Warriors! + MUST-SEE playoff matchups

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.   Nick Wright recaps every game from the Play-In Tournament starting with the Charlotte Hornets defeating the Miami Heat, and the debate over LaMelo Ball’s reckless play against Bam Adebayo. Then, Nick discusses what is next for Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors after a crazy comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers. After, Nick previews every matchup of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Later, Nick and Damonza answer your questions. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? 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. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

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 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. and we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome in! What's Right with Nick Wright, episode 446. After a very interesting last 48 hours. This episode of What's Right when NickRite is presented to you By Booth Mobile. True story. Yesterday, 45 minutes before the TV show starts,

I am standing on the corner where in Hell's Kitchen area, I just walked from the deli to go get a drink. And this guy walks up to me. Young guy, maybe, you know, DeMonsey's age, maybe, says to me, hey, man, how'd you leave Steph Curry off that list? And I'm like, God, dog. I was like, this is not.

And little did I know that an unintentional Steph Curio mission. And by the way, it was such, if I had done a list of the five greatest guards ever and Steph wasn't on it, that I think could have been perceived as just like a bad take. since I did a list of the 10 greatest guards ever and Steph's not on it, that has to be understood as just a huge screw up in my editing process. But little did I know, that's not the controversy people even care about today. So, and then little did I know, Stefan Dremont, holy smokes. What an awesome throwback. Like, when you like,

championship level effort and the NBA has done a great job of right when you thought you were out they pull you back in these last two days where three just awesome games one pretty good game sixers magic was fine but the at least was close late and just high level shop making and then with a little capstone last night of of Stefan Draymond for four minutes for the young folks out there that didn't don't remember 10 years ago when those two guys looked like they were going to run the league along with Clay for an extended period. The 2015 Warriors into the 2016 Warriors in the regular season, how they did it, how no lead was safe, how they had simultaneously the league's most deadly shooter. Trevor and one of the four or five greatest defenders in the history of the league. And they both put it on last night.

And our ex-guys helping them out, man, Chris Staps and Al Horford. Cooking. Oh, yeah, that's right. I didn't even think about that. Old man, Al, you know, another, like, a lot of champions up and down that Warriors team. So we'll get to that. This episode, What's Right, and the guy is presented to you by Boost Mobile. We'll get right straight to voicemail brought to you by Boost Mobile.

Show Aotani strikes out 10 against the Mets. Shout out to Asia Wilson. Three years, five million bucks, which is a record by a lot for WMBA players. They got that new CBA. That still makes her almost assuredly pretty wildly underpaid, but it is a massive step in the right direction. And people are calling the Raiders about the first pick. One scheduling note, tomorrow's show.

We will not do a mailbag this week. Instead, tomorrow's show will be me and DeMonsay, each of us, our full playoff bracket, and my full NBA awards ballot. So that will be on tomorrow's show. Amazingly, however, DeMonse, we cannot start today with Steph and Dremont. We will get to them in a moment. Instead, we need to start today with Tuesday night's game, then Wednesday afternoon's fall out from it involving the Charlotte Hornets.

Take it away, pal. So the Hornets took to win in OT was a very exciting game, but that's not what this is about. Lamello had a dirty play where he kind of tripped up, bam. You went on the air to talk about it, kind of called him a clown a little bit, and then his family and Lonzo and his dad responded. Yeah. Have you reconsider what you said at all? All right, so we can throw up a few of Lonzo's Twitter.

tweets. Oh. Nick Wright a bum with a clown face. Totally fair. Folks saying clown with a perm, F-O-H. I replied to that one. I was like, these are my natural curls. Thank you very much. LeVar then sent a long video. We can play a brief snippet of it for you here. Go ahead. I think we can play it. We'll play it. Daniel, tell me when we can play it. But I see it. There you go ahead. Good take.

Good take. He then went on to also go after Whitlock. I don't know what Whitlock said. By the way, you know, your enemy's enemy is your ally or whatever. Like, hey, LeVar, if there's anything we can come together on, I will cite unseen, co-sign whatever criticism you have of that person. So I'm with you on that, buddy. And then he went on to defend Lamelemy.

obviously blatantly tripping BAM saying he didn't mean to do it. So a lot here. Let me start with this. It appears I have underestimated how offensive for some folks being called a clown is. And maybe that is my own numbing of my sensibilities. by the fact that I get called a clown all the time. And it doesn't really bother me. And it always every day.

You're like, who is this clown? That clown? I have never looked at clown as some like third rail almost slur adjacent term. So for the folks out there, if they're asking, do I retract anything I said? the only thing that I would have retracted brew god bless him and this is why he's he's just such a great guy to work with brew instantly stepping in

and being like when i said he'll always be a clown him yeah and brew was like no like i don't even though this well brew was essentially saying there is even though that's your opinion nick i object to it so much i'm stepping in and saying i disagree and it made me pause reconsider i was like you know what i disagree with myself as well that's i you know i don't want to nobody is one thing forever and so i would have had bru not done that in real time then i would have today felt like i probably do need to apologize for that piece of it the rest of it however

if you feel more comfortable and would be less bothered if you replace every time i said clown with immature man-child, fine. Okay, all right, man. That's fine. Like, honestly, like, if you would, if, if, if, if, and here's the other thing. I didn't think this was going to be a controversial opinion. I thought there were, there was a level of universal kind of understanding that, Lamello is this

wildly talented Brew two days ago called him a Hall of Fame level talent His ball handling and passing and size all that stuff His game is very fluid The right right All these things But that

That is consistently undercut With What can only be what can most easily be called shocking and historic on court immaturity. And that shows up in the fact that he has no business being one of the worst defenders in the league, but he has been for six years. The fact that he in that play-in game missed more threes than anyone has. ever missed in any playoff or playing game ever got cooked on defense like two or three different

times celebrating after taking a shot and you know listen in overtime turn over five just forgot like stop paying attention for a minute they scored you the and then the the turnover at the end like that is it for a guy who's been in the league this entire decade who is on a max contract who is supposed to be the best player on his team, that is, again, just such, such a lack of basketball immaturity. And then where people are like, yeah, but you didn't keep it to the basketball court. Lamello has not done a good job of keeping his own immaturity to the basketball court. And I said this on the show. And again, I didn't, I don't and didn't look at clown as that means you're a bad.

person that means you are you know that there is something wrong with your character like I didn't I he and again maybe I've just been called a clown so many times I'm numb to how much it stings people but I we've all seen the the compilation of Lamello in 10 different either monster trucks or transformer cars ripping out of the Hornet Stadium, blowing through that red light. A car accident like six months, six months ago. Right. And driving, we all saw that video, that compilation before we saw the video of one of the most

cartoonish car accidents we've ever seen, where it's just two people driving, heading towards each other on what looks like a pretty normal street. and one guy just like drives over the other guy like the and so the these are the these are the the trademarks of a very very immature person i think he plays basketball on an immature style i think he and then after the game again i'm not a i'm not a i'm not a i'm not a not a prude and I'm and I curse all the time in this context. I'm not you know anti foul language but there is a time and place for everything and the MBA finds you and doesn't like it when on their broadcast live broadcasts whether it's on a streamer regular you know linear cable or the over the

air for you to curse and without even like without it even recognized. or registering to him. He says Cass the other. He's like, yeah, I fucked the game up. And it didn't even do the thing aunt usually does, which is like, oh, my bad. My bad, yeah. Especially in an instance where you just heard a guy,

you might be getting repercussions about it afterwards. You're going to curse after, yeah, it's, well, so that's the other, that is the other piece of it. People are like, well, you didn't have to go that hard. I've now done 10 minutes on this and not even mentioned, oh yeah he so clearly intentionally took bam out of bio's legs out from underneath him and do i find that extra egregious because of the injury it caused yeah of course is that totally fair and not really but that's kind of how life works like the again to use the driving example if you're texting

and driving and you drive into a train tree and no one gets hurt. And if you're texting and driving and you drive into a person and someone gets hurt, your crime is the same. But the impact of it, yeah, change. The repercussions are changed by what the impact of it was. And so I, and then I got, I got extra, I don't want to say angry, but I just was, I just thought the whole thing was. so outrageous, the combo platter of heat Twitter finding the play from two years prior, where he had done almost the exact same thing in the exact same circumstance, the exact same spot of the court to bam.

And then his postgame press conference where he was like, I got hit in the head. I didn't even know where I was. I didn't know what was going on. I don't know what a concussion is. Completely contradicts that in the video that he put out. I mean, by saying that, oh, we balls, we might do something crazy, basically saying he did it on purpose.

Oh, his dad. Well, listen, LeVar. So I've, I, long time viewers of FS1, if they remember the LeVar ball on Colin Cowherd, Christine Leahy, stay in your lane thing. I was there that day. and I like this is what's so I want to give a little more context here

and then I'll tell that story real quick because folks found a tweet of mine from nine years ago where someone asked me what I thought about Leangelo and at the time 15 year old Lamello's NBA prospects and I said Leangelo's got no shot

and I'd be very surprised if Lamello was in the league. Folks are like man, this guy's been hating for a decade. Listen, I think I am prior to yesterday. Here is my entire history on the ball family, if you will. I don't know that anybody was higher on Lonzo than me. One of the tweets that still gets thrown in my face was the Jason Tatum draft tweet when I was underestim how good Tatum would be.

And someone asked me who's going to be better than him in this draft. and the first person I named was Lonzo, who I thought was the best player in that draft. One of the reasons I was so high on Lonzo and have always respected Lonzo is because he's a professional. He brings a lot of the great passing Lamello brings to the table, doesn't have the athleticism, is obviously dealt with injuries, isn't as natural of the score, but is an adult and was an adult back at UCLA. play. Lonzo, in my opinion, of the, him, his two brothers and his dad has been the most mature person throughout his whole career. And I got no problem, none whatsoever with Lonzo coming after me. None. Like, that's your, you're defending your little brother. That's your little brother.

It's totally fair. And him coming after me doesn't change my opinion of how much I received. respect him not only as a player, but he dealt with real athletic tragedy as far as the injuries he had and has fought through him. So I was, but the reason I even bring that up is, it would appear my, you know, pre-draft analysis of the Ball Brothers is, Lonzo I was too high, Leangelo, I was exactly right, and Lamello, I was far too low. In fairness, my, it, right, Exactly. In fairness, when I was asked this question, I was about two months removed. I mean, Lamello was on the AAU circuit competing with, you know, playing in the same tournaments as Demosa's team, which was full of the opposite. Like, DeMazze's teammates were L.J. Cryer, who plays for the Warriors now, one of the most, like, professional, like, got it together, young people I've ever met.

Grimes, who at 15, carried himself like a total grown man and felt like real professional adult. And then I watched one of the guy on the other court, not crossing a half court and shooting 50 footers. I'm like, okay, I don't think this guy's going to make it. I was wrong about that, by the way. He ended up being a, you know, a top five pick. So there's that. Now let me give you one other piece of context. And dig up the tweets, folks, they're there. I was one of LeVar's biggest defenders. I made the point repeatedly that LeVar Ball, decades ago, basically said, if I put my entire life into turning my sons into NBA players,

I'm going to do it. And he did it. And so the people, people, people. can could, back when he was like, I beat Michael Jordan one on one and the bombastic like kind of clown stuff.

Oh gosh, see I said it again. I didn't even mean to. So my God. But that type of, you know, Carnival Barker stuff, I,

I was on the record on TV and on Twitter saying, listen, I understand if the guy rubs you the wrong way. But as a father, it's pretty hard to say, give him anything other than, Super high marks.

He had a plan for his boys. He went out to execute it. And one kid was the second pick of the draft. One kid was the third pick of the draft. The other kid played, you know, the middle son played internationally or whatever, but at least played in college, like pretty sick. Like, pretty sick result. So I had said all that prior to, this was the whole background to the stay in your lane thing.

And this is the last moment I ever spoke to LaVar. in person. So LeVar at the time, 10 years ago, thought correctly, I was kind of one of his allies. And I was in the green room when he did the stay in your lane thing and came in. And then he came in the green room and was like with whomever he was with, like laughing about it and joking about it. And I was like, hey, man, that was way out of line. Like just for the record. Like, you know I've been one of your bigger defenders in the media.

That was way out of line. And you owe all the people involved in an apology. And he doesn't have like that gear. At least he didn't at the time. He was like, oh, that's crazy, blah, blah. And that was it. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, 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, a pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. 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 was... 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 Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest,

SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter Streeter Seidel help an 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.

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 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. Sports slice 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. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. So that is, I'm a pretty open book on this stuff. I don't.

I had no reason going into anything to like or dislike or have a preconceived notion on any of these guys. I think that here is the glass. the most absolute glass half full reading of this whole foolishness. Okay? Maybe that clip and that and this moment gets thrown in my face for the next 10 years because Lamello grows up. And you know what? I'm not going to lie and be like, and that's why I did it. I was trying to inspire.

No, that's not, that's not the case. But if that happens, awesome. That would be sick. He is a great talent. And he, by all accounts, is not in any ways a bad, listen, the BAM thing, the dirty play really bothers me and it's really reckless. And that's a dirty play is not enough for me to say you're a bad guy. But it's, that is the dirty play in. injuring other people, potentially injuring other people really rubs me the wrong way.

But set that, let's just put that in a box, set that aside. Aside from that, there's no indication whatsoever. He's a bad dude. To me, there are a lot of indications, a lot. He is going to be one of the bigger man. What ifs? If he ever just put it all together, how good could he have been? because even in a game where he's taken 16 threes, one-footed in the biggest game of his entire basketball life by a mile.

He wasn't playing bigger games at Chino Hills. He wasn't playing bigger games in New Zealand. The Hornets have never played big games since he's been there. He's just being a cartoon character for large stretches and then still hits the game-winning layup. like there are parts of his game his size and vision and passing that can't be taught but they get so overshadowed by the fact that there is almost no distinction between the style with which he played when i first saw him in person 10 years ago as a 15 year old on damonze's a u circuit as he plays in an elimination in B.A game. And so, like, I don't, I'm not, I'm not trying to, like, fan the flames on this.

One of the things that you guys know, and like, if you're watching this and you consume this show, or you consume first things first long enough is, I am at a point in my career in my life, where I do think my work speaks for itself. I don't think people can say, ah, Nick's always going personal.

Nick's always out of line. Or, you know, that I just, and if you feel that way, so be it. Maybe I haven't done as good of a job as I think I've done. And there are, there are certain times that, I, you know, put it into high gear on a very pointed commentary that I know blurs the line between just on the court and more than just on the court. I don't do it often. And it's never

done flippantly or unintentionally. The only flippant thing I did was the specific word clown, which again I you know I've become numb to it it's like the opposite of like a beautiful woman thinks people always tell people how beautiful they are it's like no that's just you for most people

it's pretty rare like maybe I had no idea that for a lot of people it's like he called him a clown I was like yeah I didn't I didn't think that was that bad um I'm respectful apparently well

what listen there's also like seems to be maybe even a deeper level of why this flag to a lot of people but I don't listen I can't speak I can't speak to all of it all I can speak to is what my record is

whether I stand by what I said or not and and this is the last thing I will say on this part and then you can we can get to some of these follow-up questions before you get to the Warriors. I do think, deep down,

almost everyone that has watched this young man's career agrees with this statement. He at oftentimes is his own worst enemy and the

one sentence. The one sentence, description of what at this point is a six-year veteran's NBA career is wildly talented yet maddeningly immature and because he's so young and because all of a sudden the hornets are building a little something maybe he turns the corner on that me personally I don't, I, I don't. And if the, the word brew had always used was silly, here is one thing, 100% of NBA champions,

and I would argue NBA finalists, teams have in common. Their best players, number one descriptor, is not silly. I think the silliest great player ever is probably Shaq. And he was pretty damn serious when it came to playoff basketball and dominating people. And so there is a level of being a professional and being an adult that if you want to win games at the highest level, your lead you can listen everybody on your team doesn't have to be dialed and locked but your best player does and right now the hornets don't have that say it again so that's coby white he's pretty buttoned up oh it's Kobe white listen and well he's pretty buttoned up um Kobe and Kobe

white is an adult yeah you know what I mean con canipal who played terribly he seems to be pretty buttoned up um oh i the oh the i and so but no coby white by the way what a what a great addition for them and but and you know who's also really buttoned up and really serious charles lee oh well okay sure but their head coach oh you were doing diabate i don't the charles lee who um um Charles Lee made, I think, an incredibly bold decision to Monzae in benching con canipple. And a decision that had they lost, would have put a bit of a damper on their season. It's like, man, the whole season was about, in part about the time.

I mean, looking at the game, it was the smart move. I mean, we're saying that yes, but if Kobe White misses that three and they lose, and down the stretch, you had Grant Williams taking clutch three. Oh, my goodness. You know what I mean? I think then people are like, oh, my God, you can't have con out there. Now you get to chance to reset for con, but that was a gutsy gambit that a lot of, I think, coaches wouldn't have been comfortable doing.

All right, the other, I know you have one lamello follow up quickly and then we'll move. So he avoided a suspension. He got, I think of $35,000 total in fines. Do you think that was enough? Yeah, you got $35,000 for the play. He got $25,000 for cursing. They also called it retroactively a flagrant too, which means the league saying that would have gotten you kicked out of the game. I would have been okay with a suspension because he wasn't dejected and bam,

got hurt. I didn't think the precedent was there for a suspension, but I thought it was on the board. Instead, they gave him the harshest thing they can give him without a suspension. And it's fine. You just can't do that. That is just the, the, and we've talked about this before. Lou Doort just did, oh, I mean, Lou Doort did it like two months ago, the Okish. I guess they were standing. So, yeah, and by the way, you. and I went semi-scorched earth on dork. Like I have, like, I find there is to me such a difference between, like, straight up, you know, doing something to somebody or it's like, like, low-key, not expecting it.

Like, the little. Yes. So, like, I think when you're boxing, I think the guys who, when they're boxing someone out, hit them with a crazy elbow to the wrist. I don't really have a problem with that. Yeah. Like, I think that's part of, you know what I mean? You're fighting for positioning and all that.

I mean, you're not fighting for positioning when you're tripping somebody. It's like, do you expect that when going for a rebound? And I think the, if a guy's going for a layup and you're your team's enforcer, you're like, I'd like to block it. But I might club him in the head. I, again, like, I, that doesn't make me. me mad. I'm not saying it should be legal, not be penalized. That doesn't make me mad. But the, a guy goes for a layup, you're out of the play and you try to undercut him, or a guy like in BAM situation is not looking at you, you swipe his legs. Those are the things that I, there's just like a hard line on that I think are just so out of line and dangerous.

And it is crazy that in the first quarter of a do or die game, the heat's best player got hurt by a dirty play. and got knocked out for the game. I really feel like they glossed over it. It was a huge thing, and I just feel like it wasn't that big during the game. You mean during the broadcast? Yeah, during the broadcast. Yeah, it was just like. Listen, and I'm not going to kill the refs for not noticing it the moment it happened,

and they're in a tough spot because you can't then retroactive review it. But I thought he could have been suspended, but he wasn't. All right, you have one more follow up before we move on to, you know, step in the warrior. So Tuesday you upset the internet by forgetting Steph out of your top 10 list yesterday by calling Lamello a clown. What's on the menu for today? Nice easy, chill day, I think. All right.

I didn't expect either of these things to happen. I didn't think I would make one of the worst list of graphical errors I've ever made. Can I explain myself on the Steph thing just for a moment? Just. I mean. how what go ahead I mean no I want to explain the

mechanics of what I screwed up okay because it was it wasn't it was all my fault and our our stats guy Josh like is like he like feels bad about it it was 100%

my fault and the you know ABC of it is I was, so you guys know I have my 50 greatest players of the last 50 years list. Yep. I was trying to do the 10 greatest.

So whenever I have to do any historical rankings, I have them done already. I have them done already. However, for the greatest guards ever, West Oscar and Kuzi didn't play in the last 50, like they were pre-list. So I was trying to figure out where, make sure I felt comfortable, but where I was slotting them amongst these other guys and where She would slot into that. And so one of the things I was doing was checking, it was either MVP finishes or all NBA. It was something. And I sorted Shea versus.

retired guards. So I got Michael, I got Magic, I got Kobe, I got Wade, I got, you know, all these guys, right? Yep. Isaiah. Oscar West Cousy. You know, the, um, do you, I said Wade, yeah. And I, I felt comfortable about where Shea was. And I, and then I just forgot to put Steph back in because he's,

not retired. And then I gave it to Josh right before, right, right before the show. And I was like, hey, can you make these? Can you turn instead of just a names list? Can you put their pictures on it? And I just did it. And during the segment, I didn't even notice. I'm just talking during the segment, whatever it is. And like an hour later, I get a text. I'm like, oh my God. What a disaster. That calls for a text. Yeah, just mortifying. But like I said, it was such an egregious error that I think people have to know it was an oversight and not like, no. You know, when you put pin to paper, I just think D. Wade's better than Steph. Exactly. And I love D. Wade, but like nobody. So that's that.

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Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. 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. 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, 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. 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 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. SportsLice 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 Slicelife-Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. All right, Damanzay, let's talk about the game of the night last night.

Yeah, so we got vintage performances from Curry and Draymond. Clippers held firm control there for a minute, but they pulled away. and now they go on to face Phoenix for the final playoff spot. They win in that game? Yeah, listen. As great as Steph was, the story of that game was Draymond Green. Draymond Green in the fourth quarter,

just erasing Kauai. Yeah. Just flatly, Kauai couldn't, Kauai couldn't catch the ball. Yeah. Kauai couldn't get a shot up. Like, Dremond, who's the first guy who coined,

there's 82 game players and there's 16 game players, really showed that even at his age, he can get to a level defensively that on the perimeter is matched by nobody else in the league. And like right now, still think Dremont as an overall defender when he's dialed like that, only Wimby Thompson. And he's... Not even Kauai when he's...

Well, Kauai's not that level of defender anymore. But speaking of Kauai, this is another thing like that I'm on the record of from years ago. There was a three-year stretch where Kauai won two defensive player. the year awards and Draymond won one. And I know people think, you know, that Draymond and I have these major issues and, you know, I don't think he likes me a ton, but the, and I've obviously been critical of certain things.

But I'm on the record for years that Draymond should have won all three of those. And with seeing Draymond and Steph last night for a team that they and their coach knows has no shot. forget of winning a championship no shot of getting out of round one against okay c and i think is very on the board they just lose to phoenix friday like that that that you know that they shot their bullets last night and that phoenix having the extra day of rest and all of that is enough seeing them say who gives a shit not losing tonight.

We are for at least one more night going to remind everybody what Stefan Dremond in a huge playoff moment can do. And I thought it was, actually, I thought it was, no, I just thought it was so awesome as a basketball fan to see these two guys who were the, and no disrespect to Clay Thompson, none, but they were the two most important people of the dynasty, and they're the only two players who were there for the start of the dynasty and are still there, those two guys say 12 years in to playing high leverage

playoff games watch us cook Jeff you got the offense Dre you got the defense Al Horford pitch you know Al Horford was huge down the stretch of that game but it was it was those two guys and

I thought it was so much fun to see um and And it, the reason you got to take those things, you can't take those things for granted is, is it on the board that that was those two guys last great postseason moment together? Yeah. It's on the board. Because at their age, you don't know what next year is going to bring. and I would say it's a non-zero chance that Dremond is part of some major Warriors trade next year.

He has a player option. So there's just, and I thought you saw the emotion with Dremond and Kerr after. It was, that was, as far as 9, 10 playing games go, that was pretty damn special. Yes. You know what I mean? was really, really cool. And, oh, I mean, especially because the way that it was looking, like it just looked like the clippers were just going to do it.

And they, they found a way. Clippers were going to win. And it was just going to be another, like, kind of ho-hum, quiet end to the warrior season. I, you know, and I was obviously dead wrong. I thought the warriors were like, we're going to pack it in. and they were down early. But I thought the Warriors didn't want to be there that they, but instead, you know, very cliche here,

never underestimate the heart of a champion. Those two guys in particular were like, we're not dead yet. I thought Dr. Long was going to step out of the game for a second. Yeah. And Steph left the game early with injury and they came back, played 36 minutes. The Clippers were up what, like 12 to 2 early?

And I was like, okay, this thing. things just going to and instead they fought. It was, it was great. And then there is, I'm going to skip the follow-ups to Monzae. Instead,

I was going to talk about Kauai's Clippers tenure for a moment. Because, and you know, Lakers Twitter this morning is doing a decent job reminding everyone of what the actual expectations were seven seasons ago when Kauai got there.

It was, he's the best player in the league. They're the favorites. An entire new balance campaign around there is a new king in L.A. You know, my, my pal, Max Kellerman, just flippantly saying the only thing LeBron does better than Kauai's pass, and that's not

debatable. And that might have been the end last night. Kauai's got one year left on his deal. We don't know how this aspiration investigation is going to go. And their absolute ceiling of the era was getting smoked in the conference finals in 2021 without Kauai. Their absolute ceiling in the playoffs with Kauai was a unfathomable blown 3-1 lead in the second round to Denver, where they had 15 plus point leads in game. five, six, and seven before losing all three of them. What is it?

What's up with the Clippers in closing games? Man, for the whole, and the final five years, pardon me, of the, so year one, Kauai with the Clippers, they blow a 3-1 lead in the bubble and don't want to be there when they're supposed to win the title. year two, Kauai with the Clippers. He tears his ACL in the playoffs, and they somehow make a conference finals without him,

but they're dead. Year three, Kauai with the Clippers, they're bounced in the play in. He's out all year with that torn ACL. Year four, Kauai with the Clippers. They win 44 games.

Gentlemen swept in, round one. Year five, Kauai with the Clippers. They win 51 games. They have home court in round one against Luca and the Mavs.

But Kauai once again, just like the previous year, can't play the whole playoff series. They lose in six. Year six, Kauai with the clippers. They win 50 games. Kauai is able to play the whole playoff series. They lose in round one.

And year seven, Kauai with the Clippers, they win 42 games. They are the nine seed, and they lose the first play in game. It is hard to find a, and a lot of that's bad luck. A lot of that is, you know, just,

awful, awful injury luck for Kauai. But there's also a year like this year where Kauai's healthy, basically all year, averages the most points he's ever averaged for his entire career. And yet they still find themselves in the 9-10 play-in game. And then in the fourth quarter, Dreymonder racism. I mean, that's, that is, that is how it went. And we are just a year removed after which game was it. Game two of Nuggets Clippers last year when Kauai had the 39 points and on 19 shots and the Clippers won

when folks are understandably but preaching the book of playoff Kauai. But the rest of that series, he never came close to that again. And this year, despite his individual excellence in the regular season,

that team was not good enough. And now I do wonder what their next move is because it wouldn't be good business for them to give him an extension, but players like Kauai don't typically go into the final year of their deal. So could he be traded? I would imagine. And if that was the end of the Kauai Leonard Clippers era,

it is inarguably one of the most disappointing, given the hype and the expectation, one of the most disappointed long runs we've seen, you know, in the 2000s in the NBA, and the only real legacy of the Kauai Leonard Clippers era is it helped build a juggernaut in Oklahoma City. That's the legacy of it. Today's episode is sponsored by Ethos. You need to be ready for anything in life, making sure you have a plan. for your family in the event of unforeseen circumstances should be a top priority.

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But let's keep going. So Tuesday, I said I called that the magic we're going to take care of business and Pete the 76ers and play the Celtics. That did not happen. The Philly crowd was chanting instead. We want Boston by the end of the night. They do not want Boston. But yeah, too, the Orlando.

Hold on. Let me ask you a question, though. Did you really think the Sixers were going to beat, I'm sorry, the Magic we're going to beat the Sixers, or deep down, is that just what you were rooting for? Because you're a little nervous about Philly. Yeah, I would have definitely preferred to play the Magic. Yeah, the Sixers have some pieces, but I still think that we'll take care of them. I'm not nervous about it. Listen, I think Boston will take care of them as well. Yeah.

But the Sixers beating Orlando like that with no Embed does make you a little apprehensive if Embed comes back. And you're not playing Adam Bona and drumming. He combined 47 minutes. What did you say? Hey, Bono was pretty nice. He was cooking. I mean, listen, he played. But the match.

But Maxie was great. Edgecombe was excellent. Ubre gave him good minutes. Paul George actually didn't play that well. It didn't matter. And wasting a Desmond Bain 34 points on 16 shots game is wild. 34 points on 16 shots for Bain because Palo wasn't good enough. Now, and Franz Wagner got to care.

He just didn't even see mentally. It's so weird. And now, you know, you do have a Charlotte team that is feeling great about itself. And, you know, it might have a bit of a rallying cry. We're going to show that guy that calls you a clown. And a magic team that seems like it's just waiting for the season to end. However, this game will be in Orlando. What's throw in the dock for me, guys.

what's the line? My guess is it is Orlando by one and a half. Orlando against Charlotte. My guess is I haven't looked at these lines yet. Here's what I think it'll be Phoenix by two and a half over Golden State and Orlando by one and a half over the Hornets. Wow. Hold it.

No. So Phoenix by two and a half I nailed. But Orlando is getting three and a half against Sharma. I was kind of surprised that you had Orlando favor there. They're at home. They're at home and they like. Vegas saw the game last night, the facial expressions. Yeah, I mean, clearly.

I mean, I was way off there. That's stunning. to me a bit. And it's never good when like your coach is pre-fired. All these reports, no matter what Orlando does, they're firing mostly. Like you don't, nobody loves to hear that. So I, but Phoenix minus two and a half sounds right as well. I just worry for the warrior, worry.

I worry for the warriors. That, you know, one quick turnaround travel, the emotion. The other thing, did I tell you? Did I explain? The 7-8 team is supposed to be the one with the extra rest. They don't get it. Oh, wow. Well, we're going to have to make some adjustments here in a second.

They don't get the extra rest. Philly doesn't. Charlotte does because there was a flyer. game in Philadelphia instead on Tuesday so the Sixers had to play Wednesday All right, but breaking news the NBA and NBA

Players Association have ruled in favor of Luca and Cades appeals. So they both So that all of a sudden makes

the final all-MBA spot, very interesting. It becomes Cade versus Jalen Brown for that final all-MBA spot. Assuming Luca, Shea, Wimby, and Joker are locks. That is a tough one. But it also means for Friday's show, I have to do some quick adjustments. It also means somebody's going to get bounced out because I, whatever. We'll worry about that later. All right, real quick, DeMonse, let's do the play-in thing and then our playoff wins draft because we have a lot still to do.

So you haven't exactly talked very highly of the play-in, but with all the exciting basketball that we've gotten, where you maybe change your opinion on that? It's been some pretty good stuff. Listen, I, from a fairness perspective, you know, I'd been saying if you're under 500, you shouldn't be in the play-in. Like, we don't always need the play-in. But what I will tell you is obviously these guys. games have been unbelievable. Yeah.

Absolutely unbelievable. And I'm glad we got them. And what a, I mean, the play-in has been a big success. And what, you know, what we got because of it, I think is we got to see what, you know, elimination level basketball where everyone's available and everyone cares looks like. Now, you can't get that every night in the right. season, I understand, but figuring out how to get more nights like that in the regular season, whether it's shortening the season, everything, we don't have to talk about.

But NBA basketball, when guys are playing and they care and they're dialed in, is just so good. I mean, it's just the shot making and the skill is just impossible. So, yeah, I mean, it looks like I was, I'm glad we got these games. I'll tell you that much. I'm also glad Luke and Kate are eligible for the awards. I got to redo my ballots here in a minute. All right, before we get to the playoff wins draft,

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details visit boost mobile dot com uh all right so here's the way i want to do this de monzee we're not going to um do a snake draft we'll just alternate we each get to pick eight teams and so that does mean you're going to have to do a little bit you don't get to pick like the winner of or land like you're going to there you there's 18 teams remaining because of the play in and we're we're so we each get eight teams and this is very simple every win your team gets over the course of the playoffs you get you get a point. So the

it doesn't get simpler than that. I'm going to lead us off and take the team it's a little unfair and I'm a little bit of a bad guy for doing this because this is your team. Oh, I can't take them if you take the team I can't pick them? Correct.

Okay, that's added the heart. Oh, you know what? All right, you know what? No, no, no, no. No, go ahead. To be fair. No, no, no. And I didn't mean to do it. I did the wrong thing there. Um, I should give deference to you. I'll give you the first pick. I'll give you the first pick, but once a team is taken, they're off the board. Copy.

You follow? I just go, OKC. Yeah. I'm not kidding, I got Boston. So you're taking Boston? Of course, yeah. All right. Now I, there's a little bit of strategy involved here.

I am going to take OKC next. All right. I'm going to take San Antonio. Yes. All right. That was the strategy piece. Give me Denver. Because Denver was going to be my second pick.

But I was like if I take Denver, I mean, Denver was going to be my first pick. I knew you would take OKC second. And I was trying to weigh in my head whether or not you would take, you know, the. So, okay. So now I feel better about you getting Boston. Because I got essentially my second and third picks. All right, you're up next. So next, I feel like it's a little tricky for me here.

I'm going to go with Houston. I don't want to go with Houston. But like I feel like I'm going to go with Houston. But you're very confident they're getting four wins. I feel like you've made a major error here. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm going to go with a team that I'm very confident is going to get eight wins. They're going to show up in the conference finals.

I will take Detroit. Oh, Jesus. Yeah, that wasn't a great just error. That was your major mistake. So now you got to go through and think who you believe is going to be in round two. Next, I'm going to go with, I mean, you have Denver, but I think I'll just have to take Minnesota there. You're really, you're really playing this poorly. You got to think about Eastern Conference teams that are going to win around.

You're going to get trounced in this. Well, yeah. I'll just go ahead. I'll just go ahead and take the Knicks. Yep. I think they're losing around one anyways. Oh, wow. All right.

Well, then maybe you're not. And I mean, with the rest of these teams, I will take, I'll go Atlanta. Well, no, no, no, I'll go Cleveland. Cleveland, that's smarter. All right, so teams left. Are the Lakers, Portland, Phoenix, and Golden State, Toronto, Atlanta, Philly, Orlando, and Charlotte. All right. The, I'm going to go with Toronto.

I think they can get a few wins in round one. What was Portland's got? Portland's got San Antonio. Oh, yeah. Lakers have the Rockets, Portland and San Antonio, Phoenix or Golden State have OKC, Atlanta's got the Knicks, Philly's got Boston, Orlando or Charlotte.

All right, so let's go. I'll go Atlanta here. That's smart pick. Because I could see Atlanta getting three wins, even if they don't get out of round one. Yeah. All right. I got to tell you this draft's gone just according to plan.

Because now I get a team that I'm rooting for every day. That you think could make a deep run. Yeah, that might be able to make a deep run. Give me the Lakers. Now they might only win one game, but give me the Lakers. All right, we each have two picks left. Oh, my. let's go.

I'm going to go. It's weird for me because I feel I got to go. You can, that's good insurance. I'll go Philly. Yeah, that's smart. I'll go Philly. It's good insurance.

Philly's the smart pick there. I will go Portland because they're already in. And now kind of a, you know, here you have to pick who you think is going to win the final play-in game and okay Charlotte is your pick all right I'll go Phoenix and Phoenix is worth zero because they might lose in the play-in and they also very well even if they don't they're not going to beat O'KC but all right so DeMonsei has Boston and then went

Western Conference heavy Spurs Houston Minnesota Cleveland Atlanta Philly Charlotte I went okayc Denver Detroit the Knicks Toronto the Lakers Portland Phoenix so my need my ideal scenario would be an okay C Denver

conference finals and a Detroit against the Knicks conference finals then you are totally shut out entirely yeah your ideal scenario is a Boston against

Cleveland a Boston against Cleveland Conference Finals and a San Antonio against against who would it have to Houston

oh yikes you're the you yeah so you need a but but if you get Spurs Celtics in the finals you're in good shape um the all right

that's fun draft I have to remake my all-MBA teams briefly. And we are going to do my official playoff picks, along with the Monzae's playoff bracket, plus my awards ballot for tomorrow's show. But again, the breaking news today, Luca and Cade, All-MBA and Awards eligible. We'll talk more about that on Friday's show. Talk to you guys. Hey, guys, it's us.

The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. 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. on Humor 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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. and at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know.

I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garros. She's an outsider to win the French name. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerabachina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcasts on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo.

And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.