March 25, 2025 • 31 mins
NBA analyst Ric Bucher joins the show in studio to explain why Duke's Cooper Flagg could be better than Jayson Tatum
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Covering the NBA since the early nineties. Fox Sports NBA
analyst our friend Rick Buker, you know it's I read
a really interesting story the other day in The Athletic
a writer I did not know, but I thought it
was an interesting point. He said, March has always been
a bad time. Late March is bad for the NBA
(00:45):
because college basketball is playing with all this passion and intensity,
and NBA teams that aren't in the playoffs are like
Pelican Sixers last night. Who are these guys? I had
talked about this earlier, load management. Most of the young
guys like Tatum and Sgt they want to play. One
of the old guys like Jannis want Knight's off. I
get it. I think you can, as they tweaked it
(01:07):
with the award sixty five games. You can tweak load management.
I do not believe watching Bill Simmons Celtic City with
Larry Bird last night. Bad team, get Bird, great team.
I don't think you can control it. It's the unsolvable
problem we knew two years ago, three years ago. Cooper
Flag was good, four years ago. Wemby was teams plan
(01:31):
like a three year planned by Popovitch to get Wemby.
You could argue when they didn't sign to Jeantey Murray.
So my takeaway is on all this is that there
is an unsolvable problem in the NBA. Football's got violence,
you can't solve it. Baseball's got no urgency. Is I
just think we have to get used to the bottom
half of the NBA is gonna tank. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
I don't think it's the entire it's not the bottom half.
I agree with you in that the impact of a
single player is so great in the NBA that you're
never going to get rid of completely teams at the
end of the year saying we don't have anything else
to play for it, let's play for that guy. And
they're going to roll out lineups of guys as you said,
(02:15):
that you've never heard of before. But they have done
a great job of minimizing that because it used to
be half of the league would be angling in that direction.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Now with the play in, you have.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Virtually like twelve teams in each conference that still have
a chance to get into the play in. And if
you get into the play in then you get an
extra you know, potentially an extra game at home.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
That's money.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
And if you get into the playoffs, now you still
have something to play for. And so those middle range
teams that their odds are long to get that number
one pick anyway, are going to say, we might as
well try. We're going to be a mid range, mid
first round pick anyway. The difference between being in the
lottery or being sixteen or seventeen is so minimal, why
(03:02):
don't we just go ahead and see if we can
make the play in. And like the Chicago Bulls right now,
normally in their situation, they'd be like, let's play.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
For the lottery.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
But if they can sneak into the play in and
they win, they have put the position themselves where they
only have to win one play in game and now
we're in the playoffs. That's a plus for the front
office and for everybody else. So I think they've done
as much as they possibly can. You're always gonna have
teams like Philadelphia New Orleans that have no hope. But again,
(03:35):
as long as it's minimized with a particular team like Detroit.
Now Detroit was there for two or three years, now
they're not. They've turned that around. They got a kid Cunningham,
They've been smart in their picks. So you're never going
to completely get rid of it. But I think they've
done a pretty good job with the play in in
minimizing it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So there's always a honeymoon phase in relations and in
pro sports, and the Luca Lebron honeymoon phase was points
and smiles and rainbows. And now they've lost seven of
ten and Lebron's not at one hundred percent. Is that
Is that something that could explain suddenly the Lakers looking
(04:17):
exhausted and joyless.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, first of all, I just appreciate that the honeymoon
era with me and this show has not ended, and
it's been going on for years.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
I mean, it's just it's a beautiful thing. You're welcome
to America.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yes, when when Lebron or when Luca first got there,
there was the euphoria of oh my god, we got
Luka Doncics and Lebron and Luca were doing their best
to try to figure out how do we play together?
And more importantly, they got everybody involved. And what happened
when Lebron stepped out is it became the Lucas Show. Yes,
(04:54):
much like it was in Dallas. Yes, And you heard
the grumblings for years, like love Luca, great player, great teammates,
but boy is he ball dominant. We stand around a
lot waiting to see what he's.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Going to Jamack, are you hearing this?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
And so when Lebron stepped out, it became the Lucas
Show and it looked like Dallas. And the reason that
you had everybody defending as hard as they were because
they were touching the ball.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
They knew that if they ran the floor.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
The ball is going to be passed ahead and I
might get a fast break legs.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Lebron. Lebron has done as much of that as anybody said.
Lebron's always been more magic than Michael hundred percent. Is
the leader of an orchestra one hundred percent. Luca is
the lead singer hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
But this is the tricky party here where they are
right now. Lebron at forty can't do all the things.
He doesn't draw double teams. He's not attacking off the
bounce and creating havoc defensively. Luca does that. He does
it at a slower pace, but he's still attracting far
(06:04):
more attention. And so that's where they're kind of stuck,
is that Luca plays a certain slower way in terms
of getting people involved that isn't quite the same as
Lebron at his best. And Lebron can't do it anymore.
So he needs Luca to do that, but he needs
it to Luca to do it faster. And Luca was
doing that initially, but you take Lebron out of the
(06:27):
equation and now it's like and just getting a little
more comfortable. Right, I'm going to do it my way.
I need to get the numbers. I need to justify
why I'm here.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
First month on the job. Everybody's on that best.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Absolutely trying to make everybody look good.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
I'm the best teammate. Right, Look, we're paying you X amount.
We need you to deliver. Oh okay, all right, I
need to augur in that's what you say.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I may be a little delusional because I you know,
I loved. I love Staph and I love Kerr and
the Warriors culture and Draymon. I got to tell you
kaminga now back in tow I really like the Warriors
in the postseason. I really like them. And I know
I'm thinking, Okay, honeymoon phase, but actually it's different because
(07:12):
Jimmy is a better playoff guy. Yes, and Jimmy will
set the hard screens in the playoffs. Yes, is that
this honeymoon? Let's be honest. Butler hasn't played well, hasn't
shot well. Yeah, So my take is I really like
the Warriors a lot. Is just is that confirmation bias
on a trade.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I love They're better, They're better, and they're more potentially
lethal than I thought they would be. I thought that
Jimmy Butler would give them a little bit of a bump.
I think it's more than that. But it still stands on.
And this is for everybody in the Western Conference. Who
do you get matched up with and when do you
(07:51):
get matched up with them? Because the size is still
going to be an issue for them, even with Jimmy Butler.
If they see Denver or they see Minnesota, there's potential
trouble there because they just don't have size, not at
their best, Jimmy Butler playing the four and then Draymond
(08:15):
Green playing the five, like that's sort of them at
their best. And so it just depends on who they
see and when they see them. But there are plenty
of teams out there, the Houston's, the memphisis, the OKCS
even where I like the Warriors chances, but that's with everybody.
(08:37):
Like there's just certain teams that are built to play
smaller and faster, and there are teams that are bigger,
like Denver can't necessarily play fast, and so it's going
to be a chess match there in terms of which
wins out.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (09:00):
So we had this topic a week ago, and you
may have put this in my ear. Maybe I heard
you say it somewhere else. I don't recall. Sorry if
it wasn't Rick, but somebody had said on the platforms
that I listened to that every time Jannis gets brought up,
Buck fans hate the national media because it's always, hey,
when's he going to be a nick or a Warrior.
(09:20):
But I think there's a bigger issue, and I thought
I saw this when the Bucks played the Warriors, is
that this league changes fast. I mean, Dwight Howard's unstoppable,
and now he can't play like we don't need rebounders.
Can you hit a three? This is a cruel league.
NFL has always been tough guys, blocking and tackling at
(09:41):
the heart of it. In baseball, throw strikes get people out.
Basketball changes and with your kitchen whimby coming into the league,
who can hit the point? Centers? Yannis with no jumper
looks a little limited and when Raymond shuts him down.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Yeah, you're like, damn, that was fast.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
The next kareem to kind of a limited player who,
by the way, can't shoot free throws even though he's
at the line contint And it does feel like he's
aged quickly, right, Yeah, well, look, if you think about
where he started, he's grown immensely unbelievable, right, I mean,
his game has evolved.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
But when we saw him at twenty four and twenty five,
and now he's playing in the finals and he's winning
championships or winning a championship, the thought was he's going
to continue to evolve, and quite honestly, that hasn't happened
at the rate that we expected. I'm not so much
worried about the three point shot as I am the
(10:46):
mid range. He has to have a reliable mid range
and that hasn't happened, that's right. And he has to
be able to consistently knock down a free throw, and
I am just it is. I sometimes just watch Janice's
free throw form through the course of a season, and
it changes like eighteen times. He's trying something different like
(11:09):
every two weeks, and there's no consistency.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
In doing that.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
And so, yes, you make a great point in terms
of we have these bigs now. You know, we've evolved
from point guards to point forwards to now point centers,
and Yannis ultimately in today's game, should be that. But
he's for him to be and I don't think he's
(11:36):
a great passer, but for him simply to operate in
that mid post area where he can get everybody involved,
he has to be a scoring threat from there, and
right now he's not. And so yeah, Janis looks dated.
The Milwaukee Bucks look dated overall because they are older
and they don't have the athletics.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Stars.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Game looks a bit aniquoid, but it's also Yannice is
at the heart of it. If Yannis develops a mid range,
just a consistent mid range, I can knock down free throws,
the Milwaukee Bucks wouldn't look nearly as old and out
of contention as they do.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
What are your NBA scouts and executives and people in
your ecosystem saying about Cooper Flag.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
He's the complete package and that the beauty of him.
I would compare him to Pallo Benkaro in terms of
a guy coming in who can play, who has the
individual game, and yet also knows how to play within
a team. It's not all him right right, and game
very mature. Game understands it and knows how to play
(12:46):
within a team, knows how to move without the ball
and be able to play with it in his hands
and be a playmaker, and obviously has the size and athletics. Yeah, so, look,
is he on the freakish level of a Wemba Yama?
Speaker 4 (13:02):
Not quite.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I'll throw this at you. He's Jason Tatum, but more
developed at this age that he does everything well. I
don't know if he's great at anything. He's very good
at everything.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I would agree with that. And I think he's got
a little more grip than Jason.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I think he does too that he's got a little
nasty and it's exactly right.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
He's Jason edge. Jason doesn't have it.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I have to say, I was so gratified to hear
I saw a clip of Jason Tatum's dad saying, you know,
can your dad he was asked, can your son evolve?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
And he was like, yes, he can.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
He needs to get a little more and he used
different words, but he needs to get nastier. And I
was like, thank you for all those knuckleheads out there
who are.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
Like you have been so negative about Jason Tatum, He's
got no no, no. It was like, no, he's too
nice of a guy. His dad is saying he's too
nice of a guy.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
So if you're complaint about anybody who points that out,
sit the bleep down.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And by the way, we both love Jason Tatum without question.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Great.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
I thought he should be the I thought he should
be the Finals MVP.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
He was there, do everything.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Guys have his best year ever.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I know Jalen, I know, Look, Jalen Brown has that
I want to be the closer, has more of that,
has more of that nasty, that's the That's the one
thing he has over Jason Tatum. But Jason Tatum does
everything for the Boston Celtics. I'm not worried he has
the sprain. That's a little questionable.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, he never gets hurt.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Never gets hurt, and it looked like a high sprain,
which takes longer. But they can get through the first
round without him the way the Eastern Conference is, so
he's got a good four weeks.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
I think they're okay.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Do you play the brackets at all?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (14:48):
The with the NBA or the NC double A, n A,
n C double A and uh, for the first time ever,
I know the least about college basketball this year, I'm
in last I checked.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
I was tied first in my in my bracket.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
I filled out too. One is in last place, the
other one's in first place. So you can tell me
I went wild on one and I went conventional on
the other. And conventional is that's a whole other subject.
Conventional now is the way to go because all of
the star power, thanks to the money, is being allocated.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
It's funny when nil came out there was you know,
there was different opinions on it. But what it's done
is the same thing AI is going to do and
centralize things. Yeah, it's just the big dogs will win
like AI. It's going to be six companies that very crossoft.
You'll control it and you know Google will have theirs and.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Everybody thinks it's going to spread the wealth and it's
going to make it make an equal.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
It's going to do these act opposite. It's going to consolidate.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Good stuff. Today. It met your son as well. He's
a football player on the East Coast. Let me guess.
Let me guess linebacker Bingo.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
Very good.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Well, he's got shoulders I got Yeah, I have to
negotiate my weight with him now, I can't put him
in his place.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
That's my life experience. Everything with j Mack is negotiation
and I mean that lovingly. All Right, good stuff. Rick
Builker live in Los Angeles. It's to her.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non am Pacific.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David, and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together, I mean that says something.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Right, So check us out.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
We like to get you involved, to take your phone calls,
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And if you miss any of the live show, just
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and of course on social media that's Cavino and Rich
(17:19):
Lively show.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Today Nick Wright, we acknowledged Brawny was playing really well.
The Cooper Flag stuff's really exciting. It is. Of course,
I'm selfishly I want to see him go to Chicago
because I do think right now, New York, Philly, San Francisco, La.
I think Dallas next year is going to be outstanding.
I think you could have a big Midwest market Chicago
(17:40):
gets a Cooper flag out of it'd be great for
the sport.
Speaker 7 (17:43):
By the way, to your point on Cooper flag being
a star, March Madness just announced their ratings highest viewership
through two rounds.
Speaker 8 (17:50):
Since nineteen ninety three. Nineteen ninety three, Colin, that's over
thirty years.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
The ratings are.
Speaker 6 (17:57):
Through the roof.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
And by the way, is it all favorites? Is that
a lot of Cooper flat Let's ask you this, well,
what would happen this year? Oh? There were no upsets?
Speaker 8 (18:05):
That's another in fact.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
In fact, I would argue if you could have picked
one upset, if you were CBS, it would have been
Calli Paulari a villain beating Rick matems like the world's
best upset. And Arkansas's got like NBA dudes like they
you watch them play, they got a good roster.
Speaker 8 (18:19):
They're dangerous.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Oh no, no, they started poorly. They had a bunch
of injuries. I watched Arkansas. I'm like, I'm not sure.
I think they're better than Saint John's. Like, they look
better than me.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
Your Thursday and Friday nights are kind of locked in
this week. These are good games.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
No, it's great because I have to fly to Chicago Thursday.
IM gonna watch games. Oh how good is that?
Speaker 8 (18:36):
You better make sure your airline has has that?
Speaker 1 (18:38):
No? No, no, no, no, no, no, you know I do fubo.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Oh yes, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Right that is I just charged. I got earphones charged up.
Ready to go. J Mack with the news.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
No, no, no, this is the headline news.
Speaker 7 (18:54):
Jimmy Butler returns to Miami tonight. Colin, Now, listen, this
is a little bit of a story. Previously, he said
the Heat had taken his joy out of basketball before
the deal. So now he's returning, and some people are
saying this is a big shot at pat Riley and
the Heat. You take a listen, let me know what
you think. You get some guys that buy in, you
(19:17):
get some really good players, and you get the opportunity opportunity.
Speaker 8 (19:21):
To talk about Heat culture a little bit more.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
I'm not saying it to talk down or anything, but
I think whenever you have really good players, you can
name it, and you can name it whatever you want.
So he's kind of saying heat culture overrated.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Your thoughts, well, I think it's a real thing. Is
it talked about more than it deserves. It's almost like
small ball. It's like, yeah, it was Stephen Clay, everybody
else tried it. Big guys dominate the league. I don't
think it's over ready because I think Mickey Rrison, Spolster
and Riley are excellent and super smart guy. So I
(19:58):
don't but I will say in the end, the minute
Jimmy Butler leaves, they don't have their dog and they're
not a good team.
Speaker 8 (20:05):
Since the Butler deal, there's six and seventeen.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, I mean I watched them. They just don't have
a They don't they don't have a dude.
Speaker 7 (20:10):
But historically heat culture seemed like a thing, didn't it.
But when you Donnis Haslam was there and they've been I.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Think, And by the way, the Warriors are still small.
They don't have a true centers like Wiseman didn't work.
They shipped him off. So there is some component to
small ball. Steve Kerr has created line Draymond Green allows
them to be small because he's such a great defender.
Outside of Yokich, he stops big. So there's true to it,
but it has probably been overplayed by people like us
(20:37):
in the media.
Speaker 7 (20:37):
Are you gonna do like a Jimmy Butler over points
bet tonight for his return against Miami?
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Just a stick it to tell you if if you
had best watches in the league. I love watching the
Warriors play.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
We don't know.
Speaker 7 (20:49):
I think Curry's gonna go tonight, but nothing confirmed yet
on that front.
Speaker 8 (20:53):
Should be a good game. Next up is Doc Rivers Colin.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
He's had an interesting career, but what are the pieces
of his legacy With the fact he's blown several three
to one series leads that if a choke artist, Doc
told escape quote, no one tells a real story, and
I'm fine with that.
Speaker 8 (21:10):
It's unfair in some ways. I don't get enough credit
for getting the three wins.
Speaker 7 (21:16):
I get credit for losing. I always say, what if
we had lost to Houston in six? No one cares.
One of the things that I'm proud of is that
we've never been swept. All the coaches have been swept
in the playoffs. My team's achieved a lot of them
over achieve and I'm proud of that. Is this a
guy just saying too well?
Speaker 1 (21:34):
No, I think Doc, like all coaches, has strengths. He
gets he gets old guys to play and play hard.
He can create chemistry. I think sometimes people have questioned
situational basketball decisions. You know, He's not Steve Kerr or
(21:55):
that way, So you know, I think it's I also
think Doc has coached in a lot a high profile series.
He's had good teams, a good play yeah, and he's
had good jobs. And so it's like Andy Reid. Andy
Reid's clock management is terrible. Would it have been as terrible?
You know, they don't talk about it in Kansas City
when he's got my home, No what he talked about
clock management? So I mean I always thought, you know,
(22:17):
Blake Griffin's a funny guy and he's a great player,
but like wasn't really a perimeter shooter as the league
was turning into a space and shoot league and DeAndre
Jordan was basically needed Chris Paul to score. So the
we won Bob City was a lot that the marquee
was better than the team, and he got blamed for that.
They had one great complete player, Paul. They had a
(22:39):
great athlete in Blake and DeAndre Jordan was a little overstated,
and everybody's like, well, well, why aren't you winning more?
They were overrated, they weren't that good.
Speaker 7 (22:48):
So to you go up three to one in the
series as best of seven, you got to win one
game to close it out, and he just keeps losing
these series. No other coaches blown this man.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I think the criticism fair, but there's some circumstances in
you know, that Lob City thing. I always thought got
way more love than it deserved. I just didn't like
the makeup of the team as much as everybody else.
Speaker 8 (23:14):
At the time. They were better than the Lakers. The
Lakers were in that.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Like, and that's why they got talked.
Speaker 8 (23:19):
They got major.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Oh lob City. No, just because of the LA basketball
team's good, it doesn't mean it's gonna end like the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
Our final story is Adam Schefter is reporting that Titans
are scheduled to have another private workout with cam Ward.
According to Schefter, the Titans have been more and more
impressed with Ward, and it would now take a stronger
package to get the one pick from Tennessee. I don't
think there's any debate here. They're taking cam Ward. They're
not trading this pick. They need a quarterback. Callahan's gotta
(23:48):
win after that two and fifteen debacles.
Speaker 8 (23:50):
I mean, I think they were two and fifteen against
the spread. It was bad. And cam Ward we like
him a lot.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Man.
Speaker 8 (23:55):
This guy's good.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, he's very good.
Speaker 8 (23:58):
I think they can win the division with well.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
I think your your belief is that Tennessee is the
dark horse team in the NFL. I would feel a
little more. I think it's a good pick. Actually, it's
a good call. I'd feel a little more because their
schedules not very strong in the divisions.
Speaker 7 (24:12):
Because you nailed Washington with the number one pick rising
so now I'm trying to find a quarterback.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
And I think it's a good call. I wish he
had more games as a pure pocket guy. Jeff Schwartz
talked about that he's been a little bit of an
ad lib guy. But I do think it's one of
your think. I think the Patriots and Tennessee, if they
both doubled their wins, you'd go, yeah, that kind of
makes sense. They had money, they upgraded quarterback, coach or
you know, I think Tennessee's going to be a live dog.
(24:41):
They're going to be picked to win five and a
half the six and a half games, and they'll probably
win nine. I think that's fair.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
Other picks on the offensive line, they've got to protect
cam Ward.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I like him a lot.
Speaker 7 (24:51):
I think he's a really talented quarterback. And I like
Kelly and as it was in a Grade O s
with the.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Smart, sharp guy on the right side of the ball. Yeah,
back with the news.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping. That's the
heard line news.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah, so I talked about it my show today. I
think Aaron Rodgers is being smart, being patient. Now there
are a lot of people think that he's gonna announce
in Pittsburgh he's gonna be a Steeler any may. But
it's weird. Wouldn't that get out if it was true? Like,
wouldn't that get out? Somebody would hear? I mean Aaron
Rodgers stuff. He had a darkness retreat and we knew
(25:27):
where it was. Like everything gets out with Aaron Rodgers.
People are taking pictures of in paparazzi, So maybe he
signed with the Steelers. It just feels like you couldn't
hide that for two weeks. That's not something you could hide.
But it may happen, wouldn't surprise me. I think, uh,
I think he should wait till after the draft. Let's
see how the brock Pretty contract goes. Let's see how
(25:49):
the quarterbacks in the draft fall. If Kirk Cousins would
have been more patient, he wouldn't have gone to Atlanta. Right,
Maybe he got a better situation. So here's Nick right
earlier on Aaron and his pen decision.
Speaker 9 (26:01):
I believe Aaron Rodgers is going to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
I think the Steelers know what I think Aaron knows it.
So then the question is what is gained by waiting,
And the answer is, well, one thing that could be
gained is just raw, unadulterated ego. I think he knows
the only place he's gonna play football this year is
(26:22):
the Pittsburgh Steelers. Florio postulated that he's trying to make
some grand announcement at a live show in Pittsburgh in
a couple of weeks. Maybe, But I think Aaron has
known it's Pittsburgh for a long time. I think the
Steelers have mostly known, and he's dragging this out because
he can and because it serves Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Yeah, I think that's you know, that's a take. I
don't know if that's true. I you know, I mean,
if he was that concerned about branding, you know, he
lost some of his commercials with his vaccine stance, and
so if he was that concerned with brand I think
he would do things differently. I don't think he cares
too much about marketing and branding. I think he sort
(27:05):
of goes to the beat of his own drummer. Yeah,
we'll see. You know, it's funny about it. I'm talking
about it a lot. It's a slow time of the
year for US little college basketball, little NBA draft coming
up in three and a half four weeks, But I
don't think it'll change much. I would say the Pittsburgh
Steelers right now feel like an eight and a half
(27:27):
win over under, and I think with Aaron Rodgers, they
would be a nine and a half over under. And
I think I'd bet the under, and both would bet
the under. I think they're going to be around five hundred.
They ended the season so poorly with Russell Wilson and
not enough to win a playoff game. Maybe back door it,
but remember Harbaugh and Justin Herbert. Year two, Okay, Sean Payton,
(27:51):
bow Nicks year two, I think you're getting three playoff
teams from the AFC West. I think that's very possible.
Last year you did Kansas City Chargers in Denver. You
got three playoff teams last year from THEFC West. I
think you're going to do it again. And I think
New England's going to be a playoff team. So there's
just not a lot of space. And I think Cincinnati's
going to be a playoff team if Joe Burrow is upright.
(28:13):
So the editor topic today we've talked about is I
think Cooper Flag and Wemby in the last couple of drafts,
when players are so great and they're tagged early at
like fourteen to fifteen years old, they're going to be
great that you can't you can't really avoid the tanking issue.
Go ahead. All the owners are billionaires. Find them a
(28:36):
million dollars. It doesn't mean anything. That's why they created
that second apron because they realize guys like Ballmer you
could you could literally you could take away three hundred
million dollars for tanking. They don't care. That's a good
day at Microsoft, Stock and Nick Wright also talked about
the NBA and the tanking issue.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
The fix would be the way that they can you
know that they enforce other rules, which is real financial penalties.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
For teams the league hit.
Speaker 9 (29:04):
Who did they hit recently?
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Utah?
Speaker 9 (29:06):
I think with a hundred they hit somebody with one
hundred thousand dollars fine, And I'm sure the Jazz were like,
have you seen with respect the Sixers the last three weeks?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Where's they're fine?
Speaker 9 (29:18):
When you're talking about issues with the NBA, I don't
think tanking is high on the fans list. I think
good teams, who's good players, rest, load and load and management.
I think that is a far greater fan concern than
the bad teams throwing games at the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
There you go, all right, you know that Brownie story Today,
every time we talked about that, I could see a
glint in your eye, could see just you were getting
because you've probably plaid rec games on that same floor.
Speaker 8 (29:51):
Stop it. I have not let me ask you.
Speaker 7 (29:53):
So I went on chat GBT Collin to say, give
me a comparison looking at Cooper Flag based on his
eys age length.
Speaker 8 (30:01):
All this stuff. They came up with a bunch of
interesting dames.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I want to hear this.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
Andre Kirolinko, who you probably remember from back in the
very toolsy guy Jason Tatum was one of them. Yes,
the spiciest name, which one staff member here does not like.
For Cooper Flag, comparison is Kevin Garnett. Kevin Garnett fiery, long, awesome,
defensive player. Cooper Flag checks a lot of boxes. Remember
KG made the leap right to the pros. Cooper Flag's
(30:26):
only eighteen when he's gonna be drafted.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
I think his I think his offensive game has.
Speaker 8 (30:31):
It's better than Kevin Garnett's at eighteen.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Well, it's got more dexterity.
Speaker 8 (30:34):
He's pulling up and hitting threes.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Yes, yeah, it's just he's doing more now than Kevin
Garnett did.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I always considered Kevin a pure post like he could
do some things, but it was kind of sixteen feet
and in is that's what he did.
Speaker 7 (30:47):
Yeah, But Cooper Flag, legitimately, it has you know, five
tool baseball player right can do everything. That's what Cooper
Flag is. I'm just telling you watch him. He will
bring all up on the fast break and go around guys.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
And he Buker mentioned this, he's a little better finisher
and nastier at this age than Tatum was. Yeah, he's
dog and he'll he'll go, and he'll talk trash and
finish right. And he likes the ball late. He wants
the ball. Got an edge See tomorrow.
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Covering the NBA since the early nineties. Fox Sports NBA
analyst our friend Rick Buker, you know it's I read
a really interesting story the other day in The Athletic
a writer I did not know, but I thought it
was an interesting point. He said, March has always been
a bad time. Late March is bad for the NBA
(00:45):
because college basketball is playing with all this passion and intensity,
and NBA teams that aren't in the playoffs are like
Pelican Sixers last night. Who are these guys? I had
talked about this earlier, load management. Most of the young
guys like Tatum and Sgt they want to play. One
of the old guys like Jannis want Knight's off. I
get it. I think you can, as they tweaked it
(01:07):
with the award sixty five games. You can tweak load management.
I do not believe watching Bill Simmons Celtic City with
Larry Bird last night. Bad team, get Bird, great team.
I don't think you can control it. It's the unsolvable
problem we knew two years ago, three years ago. Cooper
Flag was good, four years ago. Wemby was teams plan
(01:31):
like a three year planned by Popovitch to get Wemby.
You could argue when they didn't sign to Jeantey Murray.
So my takeaway is on all this is that there
is an unsolvable problem in the NBA. Football's got violence,
you can't solve it. Baseball's got no urgency. Is I
just think we have to get used to the bottom
half of the NBA is gonna tank. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
I don't think it's the entire it's not the bottom half.
I agree with you in that the impact of a
single player is so great in the NBA that you're
never going to get rid of completely teams at the
end of the year saying we don't have anything else
to play for it, let's play for that guy. And
they're going to roll out lineups of guys as you said,
(02:15):
that you've never heard of before. But they have done
a great job of minimizing that because it used to
be half of the league would be angling in that direction.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Now with the play in, you have.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Virtually like twelve teams in each conference that still have
a chance to get into the play in. And if
you get into the play in then you get an
extra you know, potentially an extra game at home.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
That's money.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
And if you get into the playoffs, now you still
have something to play for. And so those middle range
teams that their odds are long to get that number
one pick anyway, are going to say, we might as
well try. We're going to be a mid range, mid
first round pick anyway. The difference between being in the
lottery or being sixteen or seventeen is so minimal, why
(03:02):
don't we just go ahead and see if we can
make the play in. And like the Chicago Bulls right now,
normally in their situation, they'd be like, let's play.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
For the lottery.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
But if they can sneak into the play in and
they win, they have put the position themselves where they
only have to win one play in game and now
we're in the playoffs. That's a plus for the front
office and for everybody else. So I think they've done
as much as they possibly can. You're always gonna have
teams like Philadelphia New Orleans that have no hope. But again,
(03:35):
as long as it's minimized with a particular team like Detroit.
Now Detroit was there for two or three years, now
they're not. They've turned that around. They got a kid Cunningham,
They've been smart in their picks. So you're never going
to completely get rid of it. But I think they've
done a pretty good job with the play in in
minimizing it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So there's always a honeymoon phase in relations and in
pro sports, and the Luca Lebron honeymoon phase was points
and smiles and rainbows. And now they've lost seven of
ten and Lebron's not at one hundred percent. Is that
Is that something that could explain suddenly the Lakers looking
(04:17):
exhausted and joyless.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, first of all, I just appreciate that the honeymoon
era with me and this show has not ended, and
it's been going on for years.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
I mean, it's just it's a beautiful thing. You're welcome
to America.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yes, when when Lebron or when Luca first got there,
there was the euphoria of oh my god, we got
Luka Doncics and Lebron and Luca were doing their best
to try to figure out how do we play together?
And more importantly, they got everybody involved. And what happened
when Lebron stepped out is it became the Lucas Show. Yes,
(04:54):
much like it was in Dallas. Yes, And you heard
the grumblings for years, like love Luca, great player, great teammates,
but boy is he ball dominant. We stand around a
lot waiting to see what he's.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Going to Jamack, are you hearing this?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
And so when Lebron stepped out, it became the Lucas
Show and it looked like Dallas. And the reason that
you had everybody defending as hard as they were because
they were touching the ball.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
They knew that if they ran the floor.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
The ball is going to be passed ahead and I
might get a fast break legs.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Lebron. Lebron has done as much of that as anybody said.
Lebron's always been more magic than Michael hundred percent. Is
the leader of an orchestra one hundred percent. Luca is
the lead singer hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
But this is the tricky party here where they are
right now. Lebron at forty can't do all the things.
He doesn't draw double teams. He's not attacking off the
bounce and creating havoc defensively. Luca does that. He does
it at a slower pace, but he's still attracting far
(06:04):
more attention. And so that's where they're kind of stuck,
is that Luca plays a certain slower way in terms
of getting people involved that isn't quite the same as
Lebron at his best. And Lebron can't do it anymore.
So he needs Luca to do that, but he needs
it to Luca to do it faster. And Luca was
doing that initially, but you take Lebron out of the
(06:27):
equation and now it's like and just getting a little
more comfortable. Right, I'm going to do it my way.
I need to get the numbers. I need to justify
why I'm here.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
First month on the job. Everybody's on that best.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Absolutely trying to make everybody look good.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
I'm the best teammate. Right, Look, we're paying you X amount.
We need you to deliver. Oh okay, all right, I
need to augur in that's what you say.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I may be a little delusional because I you know,
I loved. I love Staph and I love Kerr and
the Warriors culture and Draymon. I got to tell you
kaminga now back in tow I really like the Warriors
in the postseason. I really like them. And I know
I'm thinking, Okay, honeymoon phase, but actually it's different because
(07:12):
Jimmy is a better playoff guy. Yes, and Jimmy will
set the hard screens in the playoffs. Yes, is that
this honeymoon? Let's be honest. Butler hasn't played well, hasn't
shot well. Yeah, So my take is I really like
the Warriors a lot. Is just is that confirmation bias
on a trade.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I love They're better, They're better, and they're more potentially
lethal than I thought they would be. I thought that
Jimmy Butler would give them a little bit of a bump.
I think it's more than that. But it still stands on.
And this is for everybody in the Western Conference. Who
do you get matched up with and when do you
(07:51):
get matched up with them? Because the size is still
going to be an issue for them, even with Jimmy Butler.
If they see Denver or they see Minnesota, there's potential
trouble there because they just don't have size, not at
their best, Jimmy Butler playing the four and then Draymond
(08:15):
Green playing the five, like that's sort of them at
their best. And so it just depends on who they
see and when they see them. But there are plenty
of teams out there, the Houston's, the memphisis, the OKCS
even where I like the Warriors chances, but that's with everybody.
(08:37):
Like there's just certain teams that are built to play
smaller and faster, and there are teams that are bigger,
like Denver can't necessarily play fast, and so it's going
to be a chess match there in terms of which
wins out.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Eastern non a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So we had this topic a week ago, and you
may have put this in my ear. Maybe I heard
you say it somewhere else. I don't recall. Sorry if
it wasn't Rick, but somebody had said on the platforms
that I listened to that every time Jannis gets brought up,
Buck fans hate the national media because it's always, hey,
when's he going to be a nick or a Warrior.
(09:20):
But I think there's a bigger issue, and I thought
I saw this when the Bucks played the Warriors, is
that this league changes fast. I mean, Dwight Howard's unstoppable,
and now he can't play like we don't need rebounders.
Can you hit a three? This is a cruel league.
NFL has always been tough guys, blocking and tackling at
(09:41):
the heart of it. In baseball, throw strikes get people out.
Basketball changes and with your kitchen whimby coming into the league,
who can hit the point? Centers? Yannis with no jumper
looks a little limited and when Raymond shuts him down.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Yeah, you're like, damn, that was fast.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
The next kareem to kind of a limited player who,
by the way, can't shoot free throws even though he's
at the line contint And it does feel like he's
aged quickly, right, Yeah, well, look, if you think about
where he started, he's grown immensely unbelievable, right, I mean,
his game has evolved.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
But when we saw him at twenty four and twenty five,
and now he's playing in the finals and he's winning
championships or winning a championship, the thought was he's going
to continue to evolve, and quite honestly, that hasn't happened
at the rate that we expected. I'm not so much
worried about the three point shot as I am the
(10:46):
mid range. He has to have a reliable mid range
and that hasn't happened, that's right. And he has to
be able to consistently knock down a free throw, and
I am just it is. I sometimes just watch Janice's
free throw form through the course of a season, and
it changes like eighteen times. He's trying something different like
(11:09):
every two weeks, and there's no consistency.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
In doing that.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
And so, yes, you make a great point in terms
of we have these bigs now. You know, we've evolved
from point guards to point forwards to now point centers,
and Yannis ultimately in today's game, should be that. But
he's for him to be and I don't think he's
(11:36):
a great passer, but for him simply to operate in
that mid post area where he can get everybody involved,
he has to be a scoring threat from there, and
right now he's not. And so yeah, Janis looks dated.
The Milwaukee Bucks look dated overall because they are older
and they don't have the athletics.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Stars.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Game looks a bit aniquoid, but it's also Yannice is
at the heart of it. If Yannis develops a mid range,
just a consistent mid range, I can knock down free throws,
the Milwaukee Bucks wouldn't look nearly as old and out
of contention as they do.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
What are your NBA scouts and executives and people in
your ecosystem saying about Cooper Flag.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
He's the complete package and that the beauty of him.
I would compare him to Pallo Benkaro in terms of
a guy coming in who can play, who has the
individual game, and yet also knows how to play within
a team. It's not all him right right, and game
very mature. Game understands it and knows how to play
(12:46):
within a team, knows how to move without the ball
and be able to play with it in his hands
and be a playmaker, and obviously has the size and athletics. Yeah, so, look,
is he on the freakish level of a Wemba Yama?
Speaker 4 (13:02):
Not quite.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I'll throw this at you. He's Jason Tatum, but more
developed at this age that he does everything well. I
don't know if he's great at anything. He's very good
at everything.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I would agree with that. And I think he's got
a little more grip than Jason.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I think he does too that he's got a little
nasty and it's exactly right.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
He's Jason edge. Jason doesn't have it.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I have to say, I was so gratified to hear
I saw a clip of Jason Tatum's dad saying, you know,
can your dad he was asked, can your son evolve?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
And he was like, yes, he can.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
He needs to get a little more and he used
different words, but he needs to get nastier. And I
was like, thank you for all those knuckleheads out there
who are.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
Like you have been so negative about Jason Tatum, He's
got no no, no. It was like, no, he's too
nice of a guy. His dad is saying he's too
nice of a guy.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
So if you're complaint about anybody who points that out,
sit the bleep down.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And by the way, we both love Jason Tatum without question.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Great.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
I thought he should be the I thought he should
be the Finals MVP.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
He was there, do everything.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Guys have his best year ever.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I know Jalen, I know, Look, Jalen Brown has that
I want to be the closer, has more of that,
has more of that nasty, that's the That's the one
thing he has over Jason Tatum. But Jason Tatum does
everything for the Boston Celtics. I'm not worried he has
the sprain. That's a little questionable.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, he never gets hurt.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Never gets hurt, and it looked like a high sprain,
which takes longer. But they can get through the first
round without him the way the Eastern Conference is, so
he's got a good four weeks.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
I think they're okay.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Do you play the brackets at all?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (14:48):
The with the NBA or the NC double A, n A,
n C double A and uh, for the first time ever,
I know the least about college basketball this year, I'm
in last I checked.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
I was tied first in my in my bracket.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
I filled out too. One is in last place, the
other one's in first place. So you can tell me
I went wild on one and I went conventional on
the other. And conventional is that's a whole other subject.
Conventional now is the way to go because all of
the star power, thanks to the money, is being allocated.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
It's funny when nil came out there was you know,
there was different opinions on it. But what it's done
is the same thing AI is going to do and
centralize things. Yeah, it's just the big dogs will win
like AI. It's going to be six companies that very crossoft.
You'll control it and you know Google will have theirs and.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Everybody thinks it's going to spread the wealth and it's
going to make it make an equal.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
It's going to do these act opposite. It's going to consolidate.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Good stuff. Today. It met your son as well. He's
a football player on the East Coast. Let me guess.
Let me guess linebacker Bingo.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
Very good.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Well, he's got shoulders I got Yeah, I have to
negotiate my weight with him now, I can't put him
in his place.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
That's my life experience. Everything with j Mack is negotiation
and I mean that lovingly. All Right, good stuff. Rick
Builker live in Los Angeles. It's to her.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non am Pacific.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David, and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together, I mean that says something.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Right, So check us out.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
We like to get you involved, to take your phone calls,
chop it up. As they say, I'd say the most
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Rich Live on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app
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And if you miss any of the live show, just
search Kobe Know and Rich wherever you get your podcasts,
and of course on social media that's Cavino and Rich
(17:19):
Lively show.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Today Nick Wright, we acknowledged Brawny was playing really well.
The Cooper Flag stuff's really exciting. It is. Of course,
I'm selfishly I want to see him go to Chicago
because I do think right now, New York, Philly, San Francisco, La.
I think Dallas next year is going to be outstanding.
I think you could have a big Midwest market Chicago
(17:40):
gets a Cooper flag out of it'd be great for
the sport.
Speaker 7 (17:43):
By the way, to your point on Cooper flag being
a star, March Madness just announced their ratings highest viewership
through two rounds.
Speaker 8 (17:50):
Since nineteen ninety three. Nineteen ninety three, Colin, that's over
thirty years.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
The ratings are.
Speaker 6 (17:57):
Through the roof.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
And by the way, is it all favorites? Is that
a lot of Cooper flat Let's ask you this, well,
what would happen this year? Oh? There were no upsets?
Speaker 8 (18:05):
That's another in fact.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
In fact, I would argue if you could have picked
one upset, if you were CBS, it would have been
Calli Paulari a villain beating Rick matems like the world's
best upset. And Arkansas's got like NBA dudes like they
you watch them play, they got a good roster.
Speaker 8 (18:19):
They're dangerous.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Oh no, no, they started poorly. They had a bunch
of injuries. I watched Arkansas. I'm like, I'm not sure.
I think they're better than Saint John's. Like, they look
better than me.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
Your Thursday and Friday nights are kind of locked in
this week. These are good games.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
No, it's great because I have to fly to Chicago Thursday.
IM gonna watch games. Oh how good is that?
Speaker 8 (18:36):
You better make sure your airline has has that?
Speaker 1 (18:38):
No? No, no, no, no, no, no, you know I do fubo.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Oh yes, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Right that is I just charged. I got earphones charged up.
Ready to go. J Mack with the news.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
No, no, no, this is the headline news.
Speaker 7 (18:54):
Jimmy Butler returns to Miami tonight. Colin, Now, listen, this
is a little bit of a story. Previously, he said
the Heat had taken his joy out of basketball before
the deal. So now he's returning, and some people are
saying this is a big shot at pat Riley and
the Heat. You take a listen, let me know what
you think. You get some guys that buy in, you
(19:17):
get some really good players, and you get the opportunity opportunity.
Speaker 8 (19:21):
To talk about Heat culture a little bit more.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
I'm not saying it to talk down or anything, but
I think whenever you have really good players, you can
name it, and you can name it whatever you want.
So he's kind of saying heat culture overrated.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Your thoughts, well, I think it's a real thing. Is
it talked about more than it deserves. It's almost like
small ball. It's like, yeah, it was Stephen Clay, everybody
else tried it. Big guys dominate the league. I don't
think it's over ready because I think Mickey Rrison, Spolster
and Riley are excellent and super smart guy. So I
(19:58):
don't but I will say in the end, the minute
Jimmy Butler leaves, they don't have their dog and they're
not a good team.
Speaker 8 (20:05):
Since the Butler deal, there's six and seventeen.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, I mean I watched them. They just don't have
a They don't they don't have a dude.
Speaker 7 (20:10):
But historically heat culture seemed like a thing, didn't it.
But when you Donnis Haslam was there and they've been I.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Think, And by the way, the Warriors are still small.
They don't have a true centers like Wiseman didn't work.
They shipped him off. So there is some component to
small ball. Steve Kerr has created line Draymond Green allows
them to be small because he's such a great defender.
Outside of Yokich, he stops big. So there's true to it,
but it has probably been overplayed by people like us
(20:37):
in the media.
Speaker 7 (20:37):
Are you gonna do like a Jimmy Butler over points
bet tonight for his return against Miami?
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Just a stick it to tell you if if you
had best watches in the league. I love watching the
Warriors play.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
We don't know.
Speaker 7 (20:49):
I think Curry's gonna go tonight, but nothing confirmed yet
on that front.
Speaker 8 (20:53):
Should be a good game. Next up is Doc Rivers Colin.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
He's had an interesting career, but what are the pieces
of his legacy With the fact he's blown several three
to one series leads that if a choke artist, Doc
told escape quote, no one tells a real story, and
I'm fine with that.
Speaker 8 (21:10):
It's unfair in some ways. I don't get enough credit
for getting the three wins.
Speaker 7 (21:16):
I get credit for losing. I always say, what if
we had lost to Houston in six? No one cares.
One of the things that I'm proud of is that
we've never been swept. All the coaches have been swept
in the playoffs. My team's achieved a lot of them
over achieve and I'm proud of that. Is this a
guy just saying too well?
Speaker 1 (21:34):
No, I think Doc, like all coaches, has strengths. He
gets he gets old guys to play and play hard.
He can create chemistry. I think sometimes people have questioned
situational basketball decisions. You know, He's not Steve Kerr or
(21:55):
that way, So you know, I think it's I also
think Doc has coached in a lot a high profile series.
He's had good teams, a good play yeah, and he's
had good jobs. And so it's like Andy Reid. Andy
Reid's clock management is terrible. Would it have been as terrible?
You know, they don't talk about it in Kansas City
when he's got my home, No what he talked about
clock management? So I mean I always thought, you know,
(22:17):
Blake Griffin's a funny guy and he's a great player,
but like wasn't really a perimeter shooter as the league
was turning into a space and shoot league and DeAndre
Jordan was basically needed Chris Paul to score. So the
we won Bob City was a lot that the marquee
was better than the team, and he got blamed for that.
They had one great complete player, Paul. They had a
(22:39):
great athlete in Blake and DeAndre Jordan was a little overstated,
and everybody's like, well, well, why aren't you winning more?
They were overrated, they weren't that good.
Speaker 7 (22:48):
So to you go up three to one in the
series as best of seven, you got to win one
game to close it out, and he just keeps losing
these series. No other coaches blown this man.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I think the criticism fair, but there's some circumstances in
you know, that Lob City thing. I always thought got
way more love than it deserved. I just didn't like
the makeup of the team as much as everybody else.
Speaker 8 (23:14):
At the time. They were better than the Lakers. The
Lakers were in that.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Like, and that's why they got talked.
Speaker 8 (23:19):
They got major.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Oh lob City. No, just because of the LA basketball
team's good, it doesn't mean it's gonna end like the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
Our final story is Adam Schefter is reporting that Titans
are scheduled to have another private workout with cam Ward.
According to Schefter, the Titans have been more and more
impressed with Ward, and it would now take a stronger
package to get the one pick from Tennessee. I don't
think there's any debate here. They're taking cam Ward. They're
not trading this pick. They need a quarterback. Callahan's gotta
(23:48):
win after that two and fifteen debacles.
Speaker 8 (23:50):
I mean, I think they were two and fifteen against
the spread. It was bad. And cam Ward we like
him a lot.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Man.
Speaker 8 (23:55):
This guy's good.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, he's very good.
Speaker 8 (23:58):
I think they can win the division with well.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
I think your your belief is that Tennessee is the
dark horse team in the NFL. I would feel a
little more. I think it's a good pick. Actually, it's
a good call. I'd feel a little more because their
schedules not very strong in the divisions.
Speaker 7 (24:12):
Because you nailed Washington with the number one pick rising
so now I'm trying to find a quarterback.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
And I think it's a good call. I wish he
had more games as a pure pocket guy. Jeff Schwartz
talked about that he's been a little bit of an
ad lib guy. But I do think it's one of
your think. I think the Patriots and Tennessee, if they
both doubled their wins, you'd go, yeah, that kind of
makes sense. They had money, they upgraded quarterback, coach or
you know, I think Tennessee's going to be a live dog.
(24:41):
They're going to be picked to win five and a
half the six and a half games, and they'll probably
win nine. I think that's fair.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
Other picks on the offensive line, they've got to protect
cam Ward.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I like him a lot.
Speaker 7 (24:51):
I think he's a really talented quarterback. And I like
Kelly and as it was in a Grade O s
with the.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Smart, sharp guy on the right side of the ball. Yeah,
back with the news.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping. That's the
heard line news.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah, so I talked about it my show today. I
think Aaron Rodgers is being smart, being patient. Now there
are a lot of people think that he's gonna announce
in Pittsburgh he's gonna be a Steeler any may. But
it's weird. Wouldn't that get out if it was true? Like,
wouldn't that get out? Somebody would hear? I mean Aaron
Rodgers stuff. He had a darkness retreat and we knew
(25:27):
where it was. Like everything gets out with Aaron Rodgers.
People are taking pictures of in paparazzi, So maybe he
signed with the Steelers. It just feels like you couldn't
hide that for two weeks. That's not something you could hide.
But it may happen, wouldn't surprise me. I think, uh,
I think he should wait till after the draft. Let's
see how the brock Pretty contract goes. Let's see how
(25:49):
the quarterbacks in the draft fall. If Kirk Cousins would
have been more patient, he wouldn't have gone to Atlanta. Right,
Maybe he got a better situation. So here's Nick right
earlier on Aaron and his pen decision.
Speaker 9 (26:01):
I believe Aaron Rodgers is going to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
I think the Steelers know what I think Aaron knows it.
So then the question is what is gained by waiting,
And the answer is, well, one thing that could be
gained is just raw, unadulterated ego. I think he knows
the only place he's gonna play football this year is
(26:22):
the Pittsburgh Steelers. Florio postulated that he's trying to make
some grand announcement at a live show in Pittsburgh in
a couple of weeks. Maybe, But I think Aaron has
known it's Pittsburgh for a long time. I think the
Steelers have mostly known, and he's dragging this out because
he can and because it serves Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Yeah, I think that's you know, that's a take. I
don't know if that's true. I you know, I mean,
if he was that concerned about branding, you know, he
lost some of his commercials with his vaccine stance, and
so if he was that concerned with brand I think
he would do things differently. I don't think he cares
too much about marketing and branding. I think he sort
(27:05):
of goes to the beat of his own drummer. Yeah,
we'll see. You know, it's funny about it. I'm talking
about it a lot. It's a slow time of the
year for US little college basketball, little NBA draft coming
up in three and a half four weeks, But I
don't think it'll change much. I would say the Pittsburgh
Steelers right now feel like an eight and a half
(27:27):
win over under, and I think with Aaron Rodgers, they
would be a nine and a half over under. And
I think I'd bet the under, and both would bet
the under. I think they're going to be around five hundred.
They ended the season so poorly with Russell Wilson and
not enough to win a playoff game. Maybe back door it,
but remember Harbaugh and Justin Herbert. Year two, Okay, Sean Payton,
(27:51):
bow Nicks year two, I think you're getting three playoff
teams from the AFC West. I think that's very possible.
Last year you did Kansas City Chargers in Denver. You
got three playoff teams last year from THEFC West. I
think you're going to do it again. And I think
New England's going to be a playoff team. So there's
just not a lot of space. And I think Cincinnati's
going to be a playoff team if Joe Burrow is upright.
(28:13):
So the editor topic today we've talked about is I
think Cooper Flag and Wemby in the last couple of drafts,
when players are so great and they're tagged early at
like fourteen to fifteen years old, they're going to be
great that you can't you can't really avoid the tanking issue.
Go ahead. All the owners are billionaires. Find them a
(28:36):
million dollars. It doesn't mean anything. That's why they created
that second apron because they realize guys like Ballmer you
could you could literally you could take away three hundred
million dollars for tanking. They don't care. That's a good
day at Microsoft, Stock and Nick Wright also talked about
the NBA and the tanking issue.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
The fix would be the way that they can you
know that they enforce other rules, which is real financial penalties.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
For teams the league hit.
Speaker 9 (29:04):
Who did they hit recently?
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Utah?
Speaker 9 (29:06):
I think with a hundred they hit somebody with one
hundred thousand dollars fine, And I'm sure the Jazz were like,
have you seen with respect the Sixers the last three weeks?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Where's they're fine?
Speaker 9 (29:18):
When you're talking about issues with the NBA, I don't
think tanking is high on the fans list. I think
good teams, who's good players, rest, load and load and management.
I think that is a far greater fan concern than
the bad teams throwing games at the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
There you go, all right, you know that Brownie story Today,
every time we talked about that, I could see a
glint in your eye, could see just you were getting
because you've probably plaid rec games on that same floor.
Speaker 8 (29:51):
Stop it. I have not let me ask you.
Speaker 7 (29:53):
So I went on chat GBT Collin to say, give
me a comparison looking at Cooper Flag based on his
eys age length.
Speaker 8 (30:01):
All this stuff. They came up with a bunch of
interesting dames.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I want to hear this.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
Andre Kirolinko, who you probably remember from back in the
very toolsy guy Jason Tatum was one of them. Yes,
the spiciest name, which one staff member here does not like.
For Cooper Flag, comparison is Kevin Garnett. Kevin Garnett fiery, long, awesome,
defensive player. Cooper Flag checks a lot of boxes. Remember
KG made the leap right to the pros. Cooper Flag's
(30:26):
only eighteen when he's gonna be drafted.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
I think his I think his offensive game has.
Speaker 8 (30:31):
It's better than Kevin Garnett's at eighteen.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Well, it's got more dexterity.
Speaker 8 (30:34):
He's pulling up and hitting threes.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Yes, yeah, it's just he's doing more now than Kevin
Garnett did.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I always considered Kevin a pure post like he could
do some things, but it was kind of sixteen feet
and in is that's what he did.
Speaker 7 (30:47):
Yeah, But Cooper Flag, legitimately, it has you know, five
tool baseball player right can do everything. That's what Cooper
Flag is. I'm just telling you watch him. He will
bring all up on the fast break and go around guys.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
And he Buker mentioned this, he's a little better finisher
and nastier at this age than Tatum was. Yeah, he's
dog and he'll he'll go, and he'll talk trash and
finish right. And he likes the ball late. He wants
the ball. Got an edge See tomorrow.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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