The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Nuggets CRUSH Celtics, Tatum to the RESCUE? Luka-LeBron FAILING + Combine HEADLINES | Nick Wright

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.   Nick Wright recaps the Denver Nuggets' blowout against the Boston Celtics and the impact that Jayson Tatum will have when he returns. After, Nick reacts to Kansas star Darryn Peterson's availability concerns and what that means for his NBA Draft stock with Duke's Cam Boozer and BYU's AJ Dybantsa in the mix for #1 pick. Then, Nick weighs in on the Los Angeles Lakers' chemistry issues between Luka Doncic and LeBron James, and the race to the No. 1 seed between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Later, Nick discusses where his Kansas City Chiefs should look in the NFL Draft including Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love before 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 IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be. played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome in. What driving the Great episode 430 for the first time in quite some time. Back in this room in studio. We have last, earlier this week, we did it from a hotel room

on the West Coast. Last week, we did it from the, the Blue Duck Studios on the West Coast. The week before that, we had to scrap an episode because I was in a Fugazi hotel room in Daytona Beach that just didn't have the tech set up for it. So it's been quite some time since I've been in this room doing this show. We will have a full schedule, by the way, next week. And then the week after, we actually will take a week off right at the, as middle of March, early March as all be out of town. Speaking of March, by the way, we're going to talk a little

college basketball here on the show. I have a pretty cool March Madness contest that I'm going to tell you guys about that the podcast audience can be a part of. But that's coming up in a few minutes. DeMonsei, good morning. How are you? Great to see you. Good morning. I'm doing great. Good to see you, pops uh so we are to just full disclosure here a very interesting part of the sports calendar in that i love the NFL real off season i love the free agency period the draft all that stuff right now though NFL wise is a little bit of a dead time because the new league year hasn't started now just a few minutes ago there was a pretty notable trade with the Jets trading Jermaine Johnson to the Titans for former second round pick

to Vandre Sweat. I actually like that trade for the Jets a lot. I like Sweat, young player cost controlled, and it lets the Jets basically guarantee we're going to take whoever our number one edge rusher is with that, what do they, the second overall pick of the draft after Mendoza goes number one. So I like that trade. for them, but we don't get a lot of those moves, you know, for the next 10 days or so. In the NBA right now, there were two NBA recaps this morning that the ESPN headline was

Team X beats short-handed Team Y. That was the headline of the Pistons went over the Thunder and a different win. I can't remember which one. And so we're in a bit of a bit of limbo. However, there are still some noteworthy things and this Darren Peterson story at Kansas, the fact that Luca, you know, has not taken a single shot to tire take the lead in the final 90 seconds of a game all season. Those things jump out to me. So we will get to all of that. But first, I got to remind you guys this episode of What's Right and Nickrite is presented to you by our friends at Boost Mobile. And our friends at Boost Mobile do, of course, as always,

bring us straight to voicemail some rich James Hardin has I guess a slight fracture in his right thumb this is where it's noteworthy that he is left-handed he's going to play through it he's not going to have surgery he missed last night but sham says he's got it should be you know a full go with a splint after that I can't imagine that's good though and we'll see how that impacts him even if you're left-handed use your right hand for everything, including shooting to a degree. So I'm very curious how Hardin will look when he comes back. Sean Payton is claiming he's giving up play calling duties to Davis Webb. I find that incredibly difficult to believe.

Just, you know, my opinion on that is, I, it is very hard for me to believe Sean Payton is actually throughout the entirety of the season. and they give up play calling duties. However, Davis Webb was a guy that was in some head coaching conversations, certainly some you run out the entirety of our offense, be the head coach of the offense conversations. So maybe this was a happy medium to get him to stay in Denver. And last but not least,

in something that I just do want to spend a moment on because the internet yesterday seemed to really disagree with my take on Brandon Aubrey. because Brandon Aubrey wants to shatter the kicker contract record. And DeMonse, I said on the TV show yesterday, I would give Brandon Aubrey the Mahomes deal for kickers. I'd give them 10 years. 10 years, $75 million. The 7.5 million would be the most any kickers ever made.

Super useful. Correct. Super useful guy. With the new kickoff rule and his. He's the fifth most accurate kicker ever, but I actually think that undersells him. Because due to the fact that he can make 65-yarders, they ask him to kick a lot of super-long field goals. Other kickers simply wouldn't be asked to kick, and that can drag his percentage down. I was just, if he were to hit free agency, there almost isn't a number that if I were the Denver Broncos, I wouldn't pay him in that thin air with a defense that good, a coach that good, a quarterback who credit to him for his playoff performance, but whatever.

His first have struggles and stuff. Yeah, exactly. in a regular season. And you would feel like if he played in Denver, Aubrey, and the other team kicks it into the end zone, you get on the 35, you're one first down away from being in legitimate field goal range. And the point I made on the show yesterday

that people took issue with, but I will stand by, if the Chief's biggest competition to return to AFC supremacy is the best team in their division, other than them, Denver, the bills who have been banging on the door, and the Ravens who have been banging on the door. I would be, all of those teams need a top tier wide receiver and the other big free agent for the Cowboys is George Pickens. I would be more bothered as a Chiefs fan if any of those teams landed Brandon Aubrey than if they

landed George Pickens. I'm totally serious about that. Like if you're, I think having that type of, when all three of those teams have what I would call shaky question marks at kicker, all for all three of those teams, I think Aubrey would be a legit game changer. All right. Remindered everybody, like rate, subscribe review to the pod. We're up over 230,000 subscribers on YouTube.

The iTunes and Spotify numbers have been great. Great, but if you guys could continue to help us out by subscribing to the pod, that would be outstanding. All right, Damanzi, this was a little you versus Daniel last night. Your Celtics played Daniel's Nuggets. Let's get to it. Yeah, so the Denver cooked us in the second half. We were coming off of back-to-back. But Shams reports that there are reinforcements coming back.

Tatum is practicing full five-on-five. How highly would you rank the Celtics with Tatum at 100% maybe? Let me rank them without Tatum first, okay? Because we talked on Tuesday about Jalen Brown being, you know, third on my MVP ballot to me firmly in the top five. And how impressed I've been with what he's done, what Missoula has done, the way they've kind of proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, the math edge they have night in, night out, right?

so I have given Boston their flowers and been very, very, I think, fair to what they have accomplished this year without Jason Tatum. With all of that said, I would put them at close to 0% to win the championship, not make the finals, win the championship if Jason Tatum does not come back. if Tatum doesn't come back to Monzae, I would have the following teams in no particular order, but the following teams ahead of Boston in championship probability. OKC, San Antonio, Denver, Detroit, the Knicks, the Timberwolves, the Rockets, the Caves, the Cavs, and that I might end there, Sixers, Lakers would be the next teams that come to mind. But I, they would be,

they, I do not believe they can win four rounds without Tatum. And I believe they absolutely can win four rounds with him. Particularly if he were to come back in the next two to four weeks and have some ramp up before the playoffs, and then also get something, here's the other piece of it, because they've been so good without him, he could get some ramp up in the playoffs. If they stay the two seed and then in round one,

even if they were to drop to the three, I guess, but in round one, if they stay the two seed, you are getting Charlotte or Atlanta or Miami or Orlando. I don't think you would need full go Jason Tatum. I don't even think, let me rephrase it. I think the Celtics as presently constituted, without Tatum at all, could win, I would pick him to win any of those series. So he could continue to the ramp up.

But this is where I kind of want to pivot the conversation a bit on Tatum and his return. because there is an element of, ooh, they're playing so well, Jaylen's playing so well, would he screw it up? And last night to me was a reminder that that is a faulty conversation because you simply cannot win a title

with the team you have right now. You can't. And the Celtics have been to a finals and lost. They've won a title. They are not a, hey, nice seven game round two exit. That means nothing to them. And so the conversation surrounding Tatum and his potential return should be more of a, I'm going to overdo it here, but like hero story.

Cause he and I understand the Celtics don't need saving because they are playing really well and they're a really good team. But if it's one winner and 29 losers from them, you know, that's your mindset of, then they do need saving because right now they can't be the one winner. And last night you saw it. That that was not even, you know, the. Nuggets have not been a dominant team for months. Going into last night, they were 16 and 16 in their last 32. They have really missed, obviously, Aaron Gordon, who is their third best player, but maybe their second most important player, certainly.

And Jamal Murray left that game early with an illness, DeMonse. He played eight minutes. and the Nuggets still annihilated Boston. Yeah, I think if you got Tatum and he wants to play, he's obvious, I don't think he can possibly make the team worse. You got to, you got to. Correct. That's exactly right. And it is, it's, here is the other thing that I think is important to recognize for the Celtics

when it comes to the Tatum return. This year, Jalen Brown is averaging 35. minutes a game. Derek White is averaging 34 minutes per game. Peyton Pritchard is averaging 33 minutes per game. He is not going to take minutes from those guys.

Those guys will still play 33, 34 minutes per game. He will be taking minutes from Hauser, who again is having a fine year. He will be taking minutes from probably not Queda because he's the center. But

he he will be taking minutes from Garza. Those are the guys that you are Baylor Shireman that Tatum will be taking minutes from, which is where he doesn't have to be a hundred percent Jason Tatum for him to be a huge addition for them. And so it'd be one thing if Jalen Brown, Peyton, Pritchard, and Derek White were all playing like 40 minutes a game and it's like okay it will be their rotations will be significantly altered by Tatum's return they are Jalen Brown last year I'm just gonna look this up in real time played 34.3 minutes per game this year Jalen Brown is playing 34.3 minutes per game the exact same down to the 10th Derek White last year played 33.9

minutes per game. This year he's playing 34.3 minutes per game. So he's playing an extra 25 seconds a game like then he was last year. I think Pritchard, I'm going to check, I think Pritchard is playing a little bit more. More run than in the past. He was playing 28 minutes last year. This year is playing 32 and a half, but I think that'll maintain. I just think that's because he's improved, you know, as a player. And so I just, I don't. I don't think the framing of man could Tatum disrupt things as the right framing. I think in the temporarily it might and it might be rocky. And you are, you know, as far as him knocking the rust off and getting back to himself,

all of that, there will be some growing pains. But those growing pains are worthwhile because right now, as you saw last night, again, one game, but a Nuggets team that did not have Aaron Gordon, that essentially did not have Jamal Murray, they were blown off the court by him. So I do think they can win the East if Tatum comes back. I think I might pick them to win the East if Tatum comes back,

and then you would see who they draw on the finals. What else do we have on this? Would you invest in them winning the final? at plus 1,100 right now. I think 11 to 1 on Boston right now is a more than fair price if you believe Tatum's coming back. Right. Without him, again, without him, I would say it should be 16 to 1 or worse. But with him, I think they are a 7 to 1 team.

And so you can do the own, you know, math in your head on percent. If they're 16 to 1 without him, if they're 7 to 1 with him, what percent chance do I think it is that he's coming back, all that stuff? But yeah, I think, you know, do they have a 9% chance of winning the championship? Yes. And so, yeah, I do like that. All right, what else do we have on this game? If Yokage clears his 65 game mark, do you think he's en route for his fourth MVP? So that's a really interesting one because if he's, you know,

He clears it and Shea doesn't, then definitively yes. Like, those two guys are the top, top, top two contenders. The, but it is now, Shea all of a sudden, you know, keeps missing games. Shea has played 49.

The Thunder have played this year. Sorry, I'm doing this in real time. The Thunder have played 60. So Shea's missed 11. So he can, and you can miss 17. And so, you know, he has more room to play with. The Nuggets have played 59. Joker has played 43.

So Joker can only miss one more. So I don't think he's going to clear it. Here's the other thing. but now I also could see Joker sitting at 63 games with two games to play

and being like, I don't care. Like I'll see, you know, I'd rather rest. And listen, winning league MVP is obviously a massive honor and him becoming

joining the four MVP club, which is, so Kareem's got six, Russell has five, Jordan has five, Bronn has four, does Wilt has four or five. So, Wilt has four, Wilt has four. So, Wilt has four. So, and that's the list. like nobody the Joker Magic Bird Moses Moses has three Moses has three

and so yeah joining the 4 MVP club obviously would be sick but he has reached I think Jalen Brown is going to get it

I do think he's going to get the MVP this year the Yonkch with 4 MVP is in one title does sound kind of weird, but, but yeah, I think, I think Taylor Brown gets it this year. And to me, he deserves it. So I think he, I don't think he's at a better season than SG, than SGA or Joker, but let's just say for the time being that neither one of them are eligible. I agree with you. I said on Tuesday, I would have him third. That, you and I are out of the mainstream on that as far as the voters. So last week, Tim Bond Timps did that straw poll.

And here were the people ahead of Jalen Brown in addition to SGA and Joker. Cade Cunningham, who, again, like that is, he has a similar case as Jalen Brown, which is, we weren't expected to be this good. you know, they've got now the best record in basketball. They have passed the Thunder best record in basketball. Wimby, who again, the games played thing is going to be tough on Wimby and Luca. Now, I don't think there is a strong argument to have Luca ahead of Jalen Brown. Jalen Brown, though, was barely ahead of Donovan.

Well, he was, I guess, strongly ahead of Donovan Mitchell. Wimby is an interesting argument because, He is like they are overachieving expectations. Nothing without Wimby. Well, so here's the thing. I don't know that I agree with that because I think Castle's been awesome. They have good guards. But Wimby is so like a game like last night is a great example for Wimby where he's three for 12,

only has eight rebounds and has scores 12 points. and they're plus 19 in a three point win when he's on the court because of his defensive impact. So I don't, I think that Jalen, Cade, and Wimby all have right now a really good individual argument that they should be third in MVP voting. And third can become first if Joker and Shea don't hit the 65 game mark. Hey, it's us to 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, 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, 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 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 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 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. 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 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. All right, let's go on to some college hoops. So we got a loaded NBA draft class this year up with the guy at number one.

1 or projected number 1, Darren Peterson has the tendency to sub himself out of games. Is this something for GMs or teams to look at? 100%. And it's one of the most bizarre college basketball stories I can remember. And listen, DeBancis is awesome. Carlos Boozer's kid, Cam Boozer, is awesome. but going into the year it felt like it was a pretty clear peterson won de bansa two cambooser three but this nebulous is he hurt is this about reaching his nill threshold does he not care all of that that would in a year de Monzae where it feels like there are two other absolute studs at the top of the draft

in DeBanson Boozer, that would scare the hell out of me. That would just flatly, now we haven't seen a guard prospect this highly regarded in at least a decade. and he is the prototypical modern NBA guard with great size, athleticism, all of it. But the, wait, what is going on factor would worry me. And it makes Kansas a very difficult team to handicap for the NCAA tournament. Because Kansas obviously has been awesome. You know, awesome is maybe overstating it. Kansas has been quite good all year, despite the fact he's missed a dozen games, essentially.

And so, oh, speaking of the NCAA tournament, it just launched yesterday. The folks that I've done stuff with in the past at Splash Sports, we did the big, you know, we did a what's right NFL Survivor. contest for like a hundred bucks an entry or 50 bucks an entry i don't quite remember and then we also did the high roller 5k in entry survivor contest they they have and they put my face on it um what i think will be the biggest march madness survivor contest in the world this year first place and somebody's going to get it is three million bucks and it's it's not like one of those impossible contests where it's like, hey, all you have to do is do a pick a perfect bracket. It is a true survivor contest where you pick the, I'll explain the rules more thoroughly as we get closer to it.

But basically a team every day or later in the tournament, a team every round, and you just need to be the last man standing and you were last person standing, you win three million bucks. It's a March Madness Survivor, almost. It is, not almost, it's exactly what it is. And it's $150 to enter. And you can have multiple entries if you want, but it's not unlimited, but you could have a bunch if you want. But $150 is, you know, I think a reasonable price point to where you guys, everybody can get involved for at least one entry if you want. And this was the contest, DeMonze. I was in one of these last year.

The day that your mom and I went to the Grizzlies Lakers game, and we were sitting courtside in that video of Braun coming over at the end of the game, I'm on camera because of where I was sitting. A bunch during the game and looking at my phone and not the game, in front of me because that was the night of either the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8. I don't remember. And I was down to me, Hubbs and Danny split an entry in the Splash Sports, I think, like High Roller March Madness Contest.

And we were down to five entries left. And I was sweating like in real time on terrible internet streaming. I won that day. We won that day. We didn't win the whole thing, though. But so the cool thing about March Madness Survivor is it's unlike NFL Survivor, teams get eliminated. So you have to basically reverse engineer who you think is going to win the championship, save them. And then the ideal way to do it is for every team you pick.

to win that they lose their next game. Yeah. You want, you, a disaster is a team that you pick in round one makes the final four. Because then you're just not going to have teams available. So yeah, I, so again, and three million bucks for first place, pretty sick. And it's winner take all. Well, the, I mean, you know, I suppose that might depend on your. municipality i'm not sure uh but yeah so uh and people can check it out if they want i the splash sports

dot com uh slash nick and this is uh the i am again full disclosure on this stuff as always my buddy brent hanks introduced me to the splash sports people uh years ago and i have a very very small percentage of equity in the company. And so that's how they can use my face on this stuff and have the quick, easy ways for you guys to find it at splash sports.com slash nick. Again, I think we've already had a few hundred people sign up and it came up yesterday.

The math on $3 million dollars divided by $150. So around, you know, they're anticipating around 20,000 entries in it. And so hopefully some of you, guys join me in it uh but the done with that for a moment to get back to where i was going yeah i i think at this point it is incumbent upon darren peterson to either come out and say listen i have an injury that i've been playing through and here's what it is or to do you know to cut this shit out and i don't know if it has tangibly uh hurt his draft stock yet but if he were to do this de monsee in the NCAA tournament i think it would eliminate him from going first and maybe going

second. Now, it's also possible. Does not care. The money difference between going first and going third is not that big. But it's just it's a lot of weird stuff happening right now around him. And I don't, I would

be anxious if I were the Atlanta Hawks who have the Pelicans pick or the Wizards or the Jazz or any of these tankers. Maybe he's ramping up for the tourney. that would be great.

I've never seen the load-managed college player. Yeah. And it concerns me. Today's show's brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida's Sportsbook. I know it can be tough with no football, but like the song says, I bet I will survive with Hard Rock Bet.

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All right, DeManzai, let's get to the Lakers. So Tuesday, Luca had a chance to close out the game against Orlando. We kind of passed up on the shot, threw it to LeBron. LeBron's shot it missed it. Last year, you said that LeBron will find a way to mesh with his team and make it work. Do you think it's time to walk that back? Well, listen, the Lakers have some roster construction issues. That's the biggest problem is they don't have enough shooting or defense,

which are the two most important things in the modern NBA. So that has nothing to do with the Lucas. LeBron pairing. Now, the defense has to do with the fact that Luca doesn't defend, Austin can't defend, and LeBron's 41. So like those, that part is, but that's not about meshing. Yeah. As far as the meshing goes, here is the statistical reality of the Lakers right now. The Lakers, when Luca and Austin are on the court without LeBron, are awesome.

Great net rating. And the Lakers win LeBron is on the court with just bench guys are awesome. Great net rating. But when the three of them are on the court together, it's a disaster.

And I happen to think that's more to do with the defensive limitations when those three guys are on the court than guys not adjusting because here is a shocking fact but you know what maybe it's not shocking just an eye-opening fact lebron of his 23-year career has the lowest usage percentage of any

season of his career right now. The maybe somewhat shocking fact is, Luca of his eight-year career has the highest usage percentage he's ever had. And he was on some teams in Dallas where he was the only guy who could score. So this is the highest usage Luca's ever had, the lowest usage LeBron's ever had. On percentage of the time on the ball this year, LeBron is down to 23%,

Austin is at 34%, and Luca is at a eye-popping 41%. So LeBron has adjusted, and by the way, he somewhat instantly adjust. Last year, LeBron was at 31% on ball, and Luca was at 37. This year, LeBron has dropped down to 23. Lucas jumped up to 41, and Austin went from 30% last year to 34%.

So that part, they haven't, and their only path forward to Monzae was going to be score 1.30 a night. They have right now the number 10 offense in the NBA. They need to have a top three offense because the defense was going to suffer. And so they are just squarely not a championship contending roster. And the only path they had to championship. contention was Luca playing

the best ball of his very decorated amazing career and that particularly since he came back from the hamstring hasn't happened and the culture over there is go ahead this coached I mean you got say it again

I mean Clint Capella you got DeAndre Aden coming out saying that they want me to be Clint Capella I'm not Clint Capella but Clint Capella is better than DeAndre Aiden and it's just and that's your big way I agree with you. Like,

I, so listen, I, I, DeAndre Ait in his first team all time, lack of self-awareness. Excuse. Yeah.

The Lakers would love to have prime Clint Capella. Prime Clint Capella would be just perfect. Yes. For, I'm not talking about Clint Capella now, a dozen years into his career. No, but click the When he was on the Rockets

Yes, and his first or his first Couple years on the Hawks Yeah, I'm going to give you Good defense Catch Lobbs Rebound, I can't shoot free throws, but whatever. Like That is the exact type

of big man that would be perfect for Bron and Luca. And so, and that was their big offseason move. Yeah. So I don't I mean, listen, they are just what they are. If you catch the Lakers on their best night, they look scary. But, and

that magic game, and as far as as Luca not taking that shot, I just don't know what to say about it. Yeah, and it's like, that's not LeBron's fault. He didn't shoot. I don't think that's a molding thing. That's just, but it also, I mean, it might be confusing for Luca. Like, is this my team? Like, should I be taking

the last shot? But I mean, the play was drawn up for him. Right. The play was drawn up for him and I mean credit to JJ. They got exactly what they wanted. And Luca wasn't like afraid of the moment. Luca's a killer. It was just weird.

But it's also weird that Luca has not taken a shot this year to tire take the lead with 90 seconds or less left. Yeah. I think LeBron's taken six. Austin's taken five. Ruy's taken a handful and Luke hasn't taken one. That is odd. How would you rate his tenure so far in L.A.?

Lucas? Yeah. At this point, disappointing. Right. I mean, the playoff, I thought they, I thought they got the exact playoff matchup they wanted last year

in Minnesota, and they got blown off the court. That was a Minnesota team that Luca had just beaten to go to the NBA finals with Dallas the year before. And this year, they are, you know, Luca has not appeared to improve on the things he needed to improve on, most notably conditioning and defense.

Like he's dealt with a few nagging injuries, and the defense has been as bad as ever. With that said, he's averaging, he's the scoring champ right now. He's averaging 32 and a half points a game. He's giving you 32, 8, and 9 a night. So it's hard to, you know, he's been, he's been night to night awesome. And it's still a little disappointing because that, you know, every year,

it's like this will be the year Luca wins MVP. It's not going to be this year. And so that part is, that part is disappointing. All right, let's, we can do the LeBron Vegas thing. Yeah. Yeah, so there was an article that talked about LeBron maybe coming out after retirement and with Rich Paul investing in a new Las Vegas team with expansion coming. Could you see LeBron actually getting into this?

Well, listen, he has been very open forever that he wants to own an NBA team and he wants to own the Vegas team. The problem is the numbers have gotten insane. You know, LeBron's done incredibly well on the court and even better off the court. But they're talking about the expansion fee. The money you got to, the check you got a right to the NBA, but then to distribute to the other 30 owners could be $6 billion. They ain't got that.

they ain't got close to that now the story was could rich sell clutch sports which is worth i i'm pretty sure well north of a billion and lebron owns a stake in that a good stake in that i think i don't know i also think it would be really good for the league for lebron to be an owner owner. When Michael Jordan wanted to be an owner, he kind of got cut a sweetheart deal. It does not appear the league is going to do that for LeBron. So I don't know what the path is. That's a lot of money. It's a lot of money. And to need it liquid and in cash, obviously you'd have to take on other investors. But I mean, can't LeBron get like a massive loan with like the amount of money that he, that he makes.

I can take out a loan right now today, but LeBron obviously has much, you know. So here's the thing. I don't, yes, I think LeBron has, you know, exceptional credit.

You can take out a crazy loan. But I don't think he could get a loan for $5 billion. I don't, you know what I mean? But again, now I'm talking over my skis. I don't know how any of that works. I also don't know if the NBA will let you finance a team.

Or if it has to actually. be cash in hand. So I, you know, but I, I think it would be good for the league if Braun owned a team. Yeah. And the team, Vegas is, you know, Vegas is about to have the A's. They have the Raiders. They have the Aces. You know, Vegas becoming a real big sports town.

All right, Boost Mobile is proving that you don't have to overpay for great wireless. Unlocked the savings with the $25 a month forever unlimited plan. It's a permanent price with no contracts, no price hikes. You can keep your phone and your number, but you save up to $600 a year compared to the major carriers. Stop overpaying and switch to a fair price at boostmobile.com today, based on average annual single-payment, single line payment, pardon me, of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan as of January 2026. For full details, visit boostmobile.com. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news, Nick? 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 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. And 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, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with

Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. SportsClyce brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. All right, DeManzay, let's get to the other NBA from last night. Yeah, so last night, Detroit defeated a depleted OKC team. This is kind of crazy where we are at the beginning of the year. We're just saying who's going to beat OKC,

but now it's possible that they could lose home court advantage. What's going on with OKC and over the Western Conference? Well, listen, so this was, I mean, OKC last night didn't have five of their top leading scores. Okay, so we can throw that game in the trash. however they are now 10 and 8 in their last 18 after starting 24 and 1 so after starting 24 and 1 they are 21 and 14 which is good that's a 60% winning percentage so that's not but it's not you know the 60% winning percentage just for context is what a little bit worse than the timber wolves have done all year it's a little bit better than the

raptors have done all year if you win 60% of your games all year long 6.6 times 82 you win 49 games okay so like that's that's who they've been for a big stretch 10 and 8 in your last 18 that's what the heat have been all year long basically and so the question is flawed all of a sudden or bored my money is on board however you are correct in that they now if it were to be thunder pistons in the finals they wouldn't have home court the spurs have 16 losses the thunder have 15 losses the thunder have 15 losses. If they finish with the same record, the Spurs get the one seat. That absolutely could matter. And as dominant as the Thunder looked early in this year, it is of course worth remembering that last year in the playoffs, that wasn't no kid, despite the fact that they won 68

games, the playoffs were a different animal for them. They needed a game seven to get out of round two against Denver and they needed a game seven in the finals that we don't know how that game would have gone had Halliburton not gotten hurt so it it is super and the last champion forget repeat

the last champion to forget make the finals the last champion to make the conference finals the year after winning the championship was the final year KD was on the Warriors 2019. The 20, you know, the 2020 Raptors didn't sniff it. The 2020 Lakers didn't sniff it. The 2021 Warriors didn't miss.

of the playoffs outright. The 2022, hold on, sorry. The 2021 bucks lost in round two. The 20, I'm saying all these years wrong. Let me back up. I apologize. The Raptors won in 2019. In 2020, the Raptors missed the playoffs, I think, or at least didn't. It was Kauai left. The Lakers won in 2020. That year, they lost in round one, I believe. The following year. The Bucks won in 2021. They lost in round two in a classic seven game series to Boston. The Warriors won in 2022.

They missed the playoffs the next year. The Nuggets won in 2023. They lost in round two in shocking fashion to the Timberwolves. The Celtics won in 2024. They lost in round two in shocking fashion to the Knicks. and the Thunder won in 2025. So no one's even come close to defending their title. And so it is worth noting.

The other thing is this. How real are the Spurs? And how unprecedented a... What the Spurs winning the title, Demonset, would mean for Wimby is just hard to put into terms. Okay? Here is the full list of guys who are in the Hall of Fame or won a league MVP who won the title their first time in the playoffs. Manu Genoobly, but he was a role player on Duncan's team. Kevin McHale, but he was a role player on Byrd's team.

He turned into a great player, right? Magic Johnson, number one pick of the draft, you know, won finals MVP, but he had Kareem who that year was league MVP and it was his sixth league MVP. He was on Kareem's team that year. Michael Cooper, who again was on Magic's team, and then the one guy who first time in the playoffs, we win the championship and I'm unquestionably the best guy. Bill Walton. Bill Walton with the Blazers in the late 70s. Here are, for the 12 greatest players ever, De Manzay,

how many playoff runs they had before they won a championship, okay? Or the playoff run where they won their first championship, okay? LeBron, seven, seven playoff runs. His second playoff run, he made the finals, his seventh playoff run, they won the title. Kareem, his second playoff run. Shout out Kareem, but again, four-year college player as well.

Jordan, his seventh playoff run. Magic is first. We just talked about it. Bill Russell, his first. But again, that team had a guy who had won league MVP previously in Bob Kuzzi and had won the championship two years. No, they hadn't won a championship before Russell got there, but they had Bob Coosie, who was league MVP that year.

They didn't win a championship before Russell got there, but they had Bob Coosie. Where's the rest of my list? Here it is. Oh, okay, Wilt in his seventh playoff run. Duncan in his second, he had David. Robinson, he was his best player there. Kobe in his fourth, he had Shaq,

and he was awesome by his second and third rings. Akeem was in his ninth, Shaq was in his seventh, and Steph was in his third, and Bird, I think I left out, was in his second playoff run, second or third.

Wimby winning a title on his first playoff run would be essentially unprecedented. Walton's the only one who can be like, I was the guy and I did it and they absolutely could like the the spurs absolutely can win the championship this year I didn't see that coming I thought but Castle has been awesome awesome Fox has been really good they haven't needed as much from Harper they're

well coached they're deep the whole the whole nine um so Yeah, it's hard not to like that team. Even outside of basketball, it seems like they probably can make stuff work. I like the character on that team, should I say. The, no, I mean, and it is. Yeah. And I think playing in San Antonio helps that, honestly. Fair enough.

Like, no, I'm not. I just, I just think it's like, hey, we're here to play ball. Like, yeah. And San Antonio is a fun city to spend a long weekend. Like, I'm not knocking San Antonio. There's good food. Charles Barclay. No, but you just don't have the distractions.

I mean, OKC is the same thing going for. You know what I mean? Like, it's just, no, we're here to play ball. All right. Let's talk a little chiefs here before we wrap up. So GM Brett Veach came out and said that he wants to make the running game more explosive. So maybe going for a free agent running back or using the ninth pick to get Jeremiah I love.

In 2024, you said how it was a mistake for Philly to go after Sequin, considering all the other holes they had. Do you feel similarly to the Chiefs this year? Well, I was obviously wrong about Philly. You know, that worked out amazingly. Here is how I feel about the Chiefs. I would like an edge rusher at number nine. I know Ruben Bain has short arms. I really don't like short-armed left tackles.

I don't mind it as much for past rushers. quite it's still not ideal um but i think that guy's a monster averil wreaths and david bailey i don't imagine he'll be there so if bane's there he's the guy i want if he's not there i wouldn't hate jeremiah love and here is the thing about running backs that go crazy high in the draft they work.

So I'm just going to give you, you know, in the list of in recent NFL history, the running backs who have gone incredibly high. Top ten? Like, yeah, or top half of the first round. So Ashton Genty, we'll see. Didn't have a great rookie year, but we'll see. Here are the guys sent him. Bijon at 8 Superstar Jamir Gibbs at 12 Superstar

You then have to go all you have not had am I right on this prior to be Jean at eight and Jamir Gibbs at 12 you didn't have a running back go in the top half of the first round since Seqq Sequin. Sequin didn't work out for the Giants as well. I mean, he was awesome, but I mean, he obviously is a stud. They didn't have the infrastructure. Leonard Fournett went number four. He was really good.

That Jags team with no quarterback got to, you know, an AFC championship game. Christian McCaffrey at eight, superstar. Zeke went number four. He was unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, for the Cowboys for five years. Todd Gurley went number 10. He was offensive player of the year and was unbelievable.

And that is, that's the list for the last decade. So you don't have really running back busts in the top 10. The question is, can you get better value at a different position? And this is a spot where for the chiefs, man, you sure wish the draft was before free agency. Because they can't go into next season without a major upgrade at running back,

particularly because you don't know how healthy Patrick's going to be at the beginning of the year. But you also don't want to go spend a bunch, you know, offer Kenneth Walker a bunch of money. And then the draft falls a certain way. Right. And so that's where Veech's job is hard. Do they have the cap space you think to even pay for a running back? Yes. They absolutely can because running, even, you know, great running back makes like $12 million. Yes, they can pay for a running back. But that's the other reason people don't like to take running back super high because a great running back in free agency costs you, call it $15 million.

bucks. A great edge rusher in free agency costs you 35 million bucks. So you know, the cost control of a running back, you're not saving nearly as much as an edge rusher. And so the only, here are the only things I would not like the chiefs to do at nine. Take an offensive linemen. I do not think they need it. Their, um, their left tackle was their first round pick last year, Josh Simmons. Listen, he missed games. He had a weird off-field thing, but he's awesome. The left guard, Suamataia,

who's the second round pick a few years ago, played well for him. They have the best center in football and Creed Humphrey. They have an awesome right guard and Trey Smith. Right tackle they're going to need to address. But you can, you know, that's fine. You have four of your five spots taken care of. So I don't want them taking off into linemen, and I only want them to consider a wide receiver.

Wow. If I said, no, I'm not saying. No, you said consider, but I'm just even surprised you. We're not a receiver at all. Well, listen. Yeah. I mean, I don't know what Rishi Rice's status is going to be. And I also have, you know, I think it's fair to say Xavier Worthy's year two was

underwhelming. So they might still have a need there. However, I would only be okay with wide receiver at 9 if no wide receivers have been taken. Or if the guy you would have taken, you know, if the guy, if a wide receiver's been taken, but he wasn't your top receiver. Like, I would only want you to draft a receiver at 9

if he's essentially first receiver off the board. And so for the chief's purpose, nothing would be better than some team falling in love with Ty Simpson and a, you know, a quarterback going in the top eight. You know Mendoza is going to go one. And so every offensive lineman or quarterback that goes two through eight is good for the chiefs because it pushes back, you know, Joe, love, Jeremiah Love, the running back from Notre Dame,

the pass rushers or the wide receivers. Or maybe Caleb Downs, I don't think they would take a safety at night. So that's where I'm at on that. All right, let's get some listener questions quickly because then I've got to go. Marcus asked, will there be any WBC coverage? Whatever, WC coverage on the pod. WBC. I was going to say, can Demonsay guess what WBC stands for? World Broadcasting Corner.

You got the first word correct. All right, I'm going to give you the C. World Blank Classic. Oh, World Basketball Classic? Baseball. There you go. You nailed it. I think there might be some because I wonder if we might do some shows from there

because Fox has it. So there might be some. WBC, by the way, used to be like the pre-imbris. belt in boxing. It might still be one of the belts. But yeah, so there could be some WBC coverage on the pod. All right, next. Curtis says, Nick, I really enjoyed the Q&A-style podcast recently.

But we see more of those in the future. The summer could be prime time for some Q&A podcasts while sports slowed out. Yeah, we might even, when I get back from my March vacation, and we get back to three episodes a week, We might just make the Friday episode, a mailbag listener question episode, until sports really start ramping back up. So yes. All right, next.

Producers ask, Nuggets at Thunder tomorrow night. If SGA is back, who do you think wins? It can be a good game. Assuming Jamal Murray's illness was just a night, I'll take the Nuggets. Because I think SGA is going to take time to rant back up. I also wonder if that's a spot where SGA's 20-point streak could end. Like SGA scored at least 20 and a hundred-some straight games. He's approaching Wiltz record.

And so I like that. Reminder, everybody, like rate, subscribe, review to the show. We will be back here on Tuesday. It is great to be back home, back in studio. Great job, Demonsie, great job, blue-duck, great job volume. Thank you so much for our great sponsors, Hard Rock Bet, and Boost. Talk to you guys on TV today in a few hours. What's right.

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 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 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 Garris.

She's an outsider to win the French win. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina 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 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 SportsSlic.

On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.