May 6, 2026 • 41 mins
Thunder beat the Lakers in game and Colin discusses the uphill battle LeBron and the Lakers have including Austin Reaves horrible shooting night
He gives his thoughts on players complaining about the flopping issue in the NBA and if it will ever be fixed
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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 Foxsports 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 3 (00:26):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday. We are live.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It is The Herd. NBA Playoff week. Good games wherever
you may be, however you may be listening or watching.
Thanks for making us part of your day. You know
how sometimes people will come up to you and they'll ask, Hey,
how you doing, How are things? They're hoping you say good.
(00:53):
They don't want to hear about your problems, and nobody
cares in the NBA. If you injured your old bl
leak over a month ago. Austin Reeves was three for
sixteen and awful last night. Nobody cares about the injury
and was great coming off an extended knee hyper extended
knee Game one embiide his appendix burst. He's been great.
(01:17):
Kate Cunningham had a collapse long missed eleven games. Kate
Cunningham nobody cares. He's great. Austin Reeves last night was dreadful,
aer for ten on uncontested shots. Nobody's done that in
this league since Draymond Green three years ago. I understand
his popularity. He's undrafted the headband, he's scrappy. He gets
(01:41):
a little bit better every year. Seems like a great kid.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
He was awful.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And here's what happens. You see his limitations. So when
a team picks on you, they're not doing it in
the abstract.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
They have watched film on you.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Last year the t Wolves, Chris fin a great staff
watched film on Austin Reeves and attacked him.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
He was bad.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
OKC watched film on Austin Reeves, saw him as a
weakness and attacked him. Put ball pressure multiple, multiple turnovers.
And you saw this with Derek White of the Celtics.
Everybody's like Derek White had a down year. Know when
Derek White was a five or a four. The Celtics
were a championship team this year because the Tatum injury
(02:27):
and they moved off Porzingis and other players there were knights.
He was a two, he was often the third. And
then you see the ceiling with Derek White, who's a
good player. Austin Reeves a good player. But when you
ask the number three starter in baseball to be your
eighth and go toe to toe with you know, Garrett Cole,
(02:49):
he's not. That's and that's my take on Austin Reeves
in his playoff career. That's the best coach's best teams.
He gives you sixteen four and four shoots about forty
two forty three. That's fine, but it's not special. He
is a number four on a championship team, a number
three on a decent playoff team, but he gets hunted defensively.
(03:12):
And both Minnesota last year in Oklahoma City last night,
they look at film, they scout and they attack him,
and they put ball pressure on him, and they're making
sure switches. They want Austin Reeves guarding one of their guys.
And that's the reality of it. And Embiid Kade Cunningham,
(03:35):
Austin's oblique injury. Nobody cares so far in the playoffs.
The Lakers are better with Austin Reeves not on the floor.
I know the oblique injury. And also here's something else
to think about. In back to back seasons, he's been
injured right in the playoffs. He's in the playoffs. He's
(03:59):
not one hundred pc. Why because he has an undrafted
athlete's body. He doesn't have big, dominant physical traits. Caleb
Williams goes number one to the Bears. He's never hurt.
Lebron's a number one pick. He's never hurt. Part of
being a first round picker a number one pick is
the body, the traits, the size, the durability. I mean,
(04:21):
big Ben didn't get hurt until the end, Eli Manning,
you know, John Elways, Dan Marino's bigger, stronger athletes, so
he's banged up. I've said this about brock Purty. It's
a smaller guy gets hurt more. Caleb Williams gets hammered.
He's never hurt. That's part of being like a number
one pick. So, you know, the big issue we're all
(04:42):
talking about with the Lakers next year is, hey, Lebron's
going to take a pay cut. And here's my question,
is the bigger issue is Austin Reeves worth thirty eight
million dollars a cap hit because his cap pit now
is going to triple and he's not a one and
he's not a two. The question is are you a
championship team if he is a three? And I don't
(05:04):
think you are. I think you can win a playoff
series or two.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
But it's I'm not picking an Austin Reefs. I get
his popularity.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I like him as a player, but folks, regular season
basketball is not playoff basketball. Are you noticing what's happening
in the playoffs? Embiid and.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Wemby Kat Holmgren's great why your best players rise above schemes,
Your more fraudulent players get picked on. So for all
the criticism.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Cat gets in the playoffs, Cat now it's a pretty
good player. Well, Cat has always been a really good player.
Flaky silly fowls can drive you nuts. He's a big
time talent. So Austin Reeves is eligible to sign a
five year, two hundred and forty one million dollar deal,
Cat pit would go from fourteen million to forty eight million.
(06:04):
You think he's a forty eight million dollar player? I
know the headband undrafted scrappy gets better every year. Let
me ask you, it's that a forty eight million dollar player?
Go look at the Celtics and Derek White. I'm not
being mean here, Austin Reeves.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
He took the hit.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
He said, nobody cares about the injury because I thought
the Lakers that they got in just a decent game
from him. He had a real basketball game. I mean
the Lakers, I don't think they're a very good defensive team,
but they're playing their butts off. I mean they are
playing their butts off. Lebron's playing real defense. Here's JJ Reddick.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
After you can make mistakes, there's a basketball is a
game full mistakes. There's just too many tonight. We got
to clean that up. But you know, there were some
some good things. We want expected score. You know, held
Shay under twenty. He ended up his seven turnovers. The
guy's played hard. We just to do a better job
(07:01):
with execution. It comes down to just the attention to
detail on that. And I know we'll clean things up.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And Austin Reeves is twenty eight next month, five year,
dally be thirty three, being old thirty three and you're
paying him forty eight large just things to think about.
All we're all saying Lebron's got to take a pay cut.
Me in this is outrageous. I don't know Lebron's really healthy.
Lebron's got that number one pick body. I mean, he's
playing his butt off. I mean, you think about this.
(07:28):
Lebron James is forty one years old. He outscored SGA,
the reigning MVP, had fewer turnovers than the reigning MVPSJA,
had better shooting percentage Lebron James than the raigning MVP,
and all of us, myself included, are like, he needs
(07:49):
to take a pay cut. I think what I'm more
scared about is Austin Reeves tripling three and a half
times as cap hit. That's what worries me. Those are
tough decisions. He deserve credit for getting him, and Austin
deserves credit for being a very very good pro. He's
a good pro. He should be proud parents have raised
the great kid. He gets better every year. He has
(08:12):
maximized his talent. There's nothing wrong with him. But you know,
we talk about this now. Can't make trades in the NBA.
It's brutal aprons, caps like cap hit matters. You start
Conston thirty eight, forty three, forty eight. I gotta think
about everything. Are you a regular season guy? You're gonna
(08:34):
be healthy at the end. I gotta think about everything, Okay,
So I want to talk about the flopping. First of all,
SGA is a really good player. He's a fluid athlete,
one of the best mid range jumpers of all time.
He's got tight handles. He's a great player. He's an
all star player. But because the flopping is allowed and
(08:56):
it's really bad sports. We all know that, right, And
what bothers me is it's become a central point of
the playoffs and a central part of his game. If
you do it once a game, I'm okay with it.
It's become like the central point of his game. And
the NBA is the sport with the most creative, artistic athletes, right,
(09:17):
And this is like acting versus AI acting. It's just
not as authentic. Watching him flop during an NBA game
is like, to some degree, it's like inserting one of
those life alert commercials. I've phone and I can't get
up into cert d Sola. It's like, eh, kind of
(09:40):
tears at the fabric of the creativity of the NBA.
And the NBA has always been the sport since I
was a kid in the seventies.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Doctor j.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Like Magic, David Thompson, Michael Jordan, it's our most athletic sport,
it's our most creative sport. One of the reasons I
don't like all the three point shots. It reduces athletics.
I don't want ant shooting fifteen threes. I want him
bunking in people's face. And I like SG. I think
he's a great player, fluid, good handles, moves well, athletic,
(10:11):
although not terribly vertical. But it's just bad sports. And
I do think the NBA, if they win back to
back titles, will step in and change it. NFL change
the catch role, change the pat Major League Baseball took
away the defensive shift. I don't think it's good television.
I don't think it's good sports. And again, just to
give you some sense of how outrageous it's become, SGA
(10:37):
has shot four hundred and twenty five more free throws
over the last two years, the number two like, it's
just become too much of a central part of his game.
And Donovan Mitchell in another series is not getting the
calls and everybody's talking about it. Listen, know what Donovan
(10:59):
Mitchell says about flopping.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
The free throw disparity is not why we lost tonight.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
I want to make.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
Sure I say that, but I don't know. I'm trying
to get downhill and a friend of mine got fine
for talking about flop. I'm not gonna try to double down,
but I mean, like I feel like that's what I
got to do. At this point, I'm just not getting
the calls. I don't know why I don't flop. Maybe
that's why this isn't just a tonight thing.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
So the NBA used to have a slogan where amazing happens.
Nothing amazing happens at the free throw line. So when
it became again, if SGA had thirteen free throws more
than the next guy, maybe even twenty three, but if
you got four hundred and twenty five more, I mean,
look at this one right there. That's an absolutely awful
(11:50):
call against the Lakers, and it's just bad sports. It's
like when we used to watch the NFL and the
guy make a great catch and they're like, well, it
kind of wiggled by his elbow. No, NFL is like,
it's bad TV. It's bad sports. Defensive shift. Bryce Harper
hits a bolt and the second basement standing in right
field catches it.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
That's bad sports.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I want to see Bryce Harper when he rips a ball,
I want to see it it drop unless he it's it.
You know, I don't want to see clean hits of
a ninety six mile hour slitty get caught by a
second basement standing in right. So I think the NBA
and they've done they've done this before, hack a shack handcheck.
I mean, they've done this multiple times to elevate the
(12:33):
quality of the overall product and the television product.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They've tweaked it, and I think we're getting to that point.
So J Mack, listen, I know you love Austin Reeves.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
I know you do, and I'm not trying to pick
on him because he had a bad night, but it does.
You know, here's the reality outside of baseball, salaries matter
a lot. I mean, in baseball you can diffirm if
you want, which is crazy, but you can. And that's
the thing with Austin Reeve three and a half times
the cap hit, So again, he's going to be paid
(13:05):
like a two and he's closer to a three or
a four. And this is Boston felt this with Derek
White this year because the Tatum injury, there were nights
he had to be a two. Well, Jalen Brown's like
a great two or a good one. Jalen Brown would
be the best three in the league by a mile.
Derek White's a four on a great team. That one
(13:26):
great Celtics team. He was almost a five. But now
you you elevate him, you know, to the number two
starter in the rotation, and you're like, well, Derek White
wasn't as good this year. He's being guarded by better players.
He has to guard better players. You're elevating to a
spot he's not really as suited for. So I mean,
a forty eight million dollar cap hit would be bigger
(13:47):
right now than Kate Cunningham and ant Okay.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
Let's settle down bassing Austin Reeves off one game when
he is barely removed from a oblique injury.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
That kept him out for a month ago.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
We got three years of Dad bro on Austin Reeves
that he's a really good player, and honestly, the blueprint
is there for Luca. He took the Maps to the
finals with Kyrie Irving as his wingman. If you can
get eighty five percent of Kyrie Irving from Austin Reeves,
I think you're going to be just fine. Now the
question is can Reeves stay healthy. Remember Kyrie Irving also
had many issues with injuries.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Lo frail time.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I don't believe historically we're gonna view Austin Reeves as
eighty five percent of Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving, Kyrie Irving,
but Dallas Kyrie Irv. Well, yeah, but prime Kyrie Irving
won a title.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
He was spectacular.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
I'm just talking about the Dallas one who was a
wingman to Luca.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
They need you to create a little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, but they that wasn't prime Kyrie, and he was
multiple injured Kyrie, and they didn't win a title. The
Lakers win titles. They don't care about going to the finals.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
You got to get there to win it though, I mean,
Lakers are barely getting out.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Of the first round.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Now, you got to put is not sixty percent really
prime Kyrie. Kyrie Irving at his prime is the greatest
small am a dexterous finisher in the history of the league.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Go back to the Celtics team.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Definitely, There's never been a finisher both hands that size
in the history of the sport of Kyrie Irving.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
But that's the thing.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
He wasn't prime in Dallas when they went to the finals.
He was just good, you're really into this. Went to
the finals.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
You got to win, wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Why is Michael Jordan considered the greatest player six for
six in the finals, magic went to thirty percent more,
but he lost a third of them going to the finals.
Didn't the Pacers just get to the finals?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
What does it mean?
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Does it mean anything? You seeing a trip to the finals?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Rick Smith's got to a finals. Nobody cares. They don't
care about your oblique injury. They don't care that you
got to the finals, Los Angeles. When it comes to
baseball and it comes to the Lakers, there are certain
things like Ohio State football, we played in the Natty.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Who cares you didn't win?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Ohio State is one of the Duke doesn't brag about,
you know, we got to the final four. Duke brags
if they win. I mean that's what the Lakers are,
their standard is I mean Austin Reeves is a top
ten jersey seller. What team's third best player is a
top ten jersey seller?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And for the record, Kyrie was a number one one
overall pick. Yes, So let's not kid our those about
who's undress seven to eight year period that Kyrie was.
I mean, honestly, after Stephan, Lebron was as good a
player and watch as the league had, the whole sport had.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Yeah, and he needed Lebron to get to the playoffs
and win. He could do nothing by himself. Austin Reeves
is a one no shot as a two. I'm buying that.
Remember fifteen and two in March, Colin with Austin Reeves
as the two Lebron seeding to the three.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah again March.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Hey is Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio Now.
Speaker 7 (17:04):
In addition to hearing us live weekdays from five to
seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for
the show.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
YEP, that's right.
Speaker 7 (17:14):
You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube
every day. All you gotta do search Covino and Rich
FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube search Covino and
Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, subscribe hit that
thumbs up icon.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And comment away.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
So a lot of times in the media, people don't
want to be in an island because if they're wrong,
they'll get crushed. And I noticed this last year with
the Micah Parsons trade, and I'm saying he's not good
against the run. He hasn't been great in the playoffs.
And the Cowboys defense with Micah Parsons in twenty twenty
four was thirty first in the league. Now I'll admit
(17:55):
when he left it was worse. It was thirty second,
But I said it's banned with him, he can't defend
the run. And Jerry Jones, an oil man, doesn't want
all his oil in one or two wells. He wants
to have seven or eight wells. They want to diversify
their portfolio. So Stephen Jones is now admitting one year
later with Kenny Clark ra Sean Gary and their draft
(18:18):
picks where they went Caleb Downs and another edge rusher
and Quinnon Williams, Stephen Jones is like, yeah, it worked
out just the way we told you it would.
Speaker 8 (18:31):
We feel really good about it. Obviously, much respect for
Micah and what he stands for and how he plays
and the caliber player he is. But you know, at
the same time, we feel good about what we've added,
you know.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Via that trade.
Speaker 8 (18:45):
You know, the decision we made was you know that
multiple players. One player is not worth you know, four
or five good ones. And we feel like that's where
we're going to end up here and in a good spot.
And you know, we had that opportunity there and didn't
feel like we were one player away last year. But
I certainly feel like we're putting the pieces together.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
When you make a big trade, nobody's denying that the
star that comes to town, it can be Matt Stafford,
it can be Micah Parsons. They add value to the team.
They land, no question. But if you really go and
look at a lot of the big trades, the team
that loses the star frees up capital and draft picks.
(19:28):
Stafford leaves the Lions. That was actually the beginning. A
year later and about a year and a half later,
it was the beginning of something special. All those draft
picks and a free Jared Goff. That's how Brad Holmes
built what he has right now. If you go look
at Tyreek Hill, all those draft picks Kansas City got,
they used them to show up their defense. That dynasty
(19:50):
started as an offensive dynasty. The last several Super Bowls
have been a defensive dynasty. Mahomes and defense. They all
came from the Tyreek Hill. Now Tyreek Hill added some
value to the Dolphins. Nobody's saying he didn't. I mean,
if you go look at Russell Wilson when he got
moved off Seattle.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Two of the draft picks they.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Got from Russell Wilson Charles Cross excellent left tackle and
Witherspoon On Witherspoon from Illinois unbelievable, second or third, maybe first,
best corner in the league. So two of the foundational
pieces for the Seahawks, Super Bowl or the or the
rebuild of the Lions, or Super Bowls twice with the
Chiefs come off the value from moving a start. Nobody's
(20:32):
denying that a Mica or a Stafford, or a Tyreek
Hill or a DK Metcalfway, whatever the whatever the trade is,
it adds value, or smart gms wouldn't do it. But
I think sometimes simultaneously you just forget most of these,
most of these, I mean the Jimmy Johnson trade of
Herschel Walker is a great example. Herschel was a great
(20:53):
player and a great back. It started to get the
last Cowboy dynasty. So you want to have we say
this all the time in the NFL. It's not about
being great everywhere. It's about not being terrible anywhere. The
coaching's too good a lot of times in college football,
(21:14):
you know, uh, you know you got grad assistance on
the staff, you know. I mean, you can have holes
and teams either don't have the talent or don't have
the foresight to attack it. In the NFL, if you're
bad at safety, you will be burnt at safety. I
mean last year, as good as the Rams were McVeigh,
Stafford Puka great defense, they were weak at corner and
(21:36):
that's why they don't win a Super Bowl because the
Seahawks were really good at corner. I mean, just the
rams inefficiencies on special teams was enough of a hole
that Seattle had better special teams. So you don't have
to be great everywhere. Dallas is lousier in fewer places
going in the next year. I still don't know if
(21:57):
I love the coach, but the old line receive quarterback,
tight end, edge rushers, defensive line, depth, safety, they're good.
May I'd be great at corner, don't think they were
a super Bowl team, but last year they were bad
in several areas outside of corner and pretty good looks
a pretty good defense. Jmack with a news.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
This is the herd Line News.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
Let's start with the Detroit Pistons. They got a nice
win last night against the Cavs. Cleveland did not play great.
Detroit down the stretch took over Kid Cunningham twenty three
and seven.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Yeah. Coach JB.
Speaker 6 (22:37):
Bickerstaff talked about the team's tenacity sixteen offensive rebounds.
Speaker 9 (22:40):
Here we go understanding what the moment needs and what's
called for, and then having the poison confidence to go
and execute it. And you know, playing in three basically
elimination games, you understand that, you understand, you know how
important starts are, the urgency, You understand, you know how
to close and how to finish and how to get
to your spots, and then you grow belief that you can.
(23:02):
And I think that series did a lot of that
for us.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I really respect Detroit and I like Detroit. No, people
forget this. In the seventies, the Warriors were a great team.
They had Rick Berry. Now, when I was a kid
growing up, the first great team I ever watched was
the Rick Berry Warriors. He was in the ABA, went
to the Warriors Al Addams as a coach, and then
for a long time before Steph, the Warriors were kind
(23:26):
of irrelevant, but they always had a great fan base.
I grew up with Bob Lanier and Dave Bing and
really good Pistons teams, and then you had the Bad
Boys and then the Rip Hamilton championship teams. Detroit's a
great basketball city. They're starving for good basketball and every
good Pistons team.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
I always say this.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Every good Lakers team has been flashy, it's just the city.
Every good Pistons team has been tough. This team is
built like they should be. They play real defense. There's
still a player away. But I think Kate Cunningham's unbelievable
and I like watching them play. Every team has to
be aesthetically beautiful. I like watching Detroit. I think they
(24:04):
know exactly what they are. They need one more nineteen
to twenty three point a game guy, but I like
watching him play.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
I liked him in this series.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
And I'll tell you this, they made They gave the
Knicks trouble. They weren't because they'll they go. They are
what gives the Knicks trouble. They are all about toughness
and physicality. There's no pretty to Detroit. But I kind
of like this team, I really do. I like what
the Pistons are about.
Speaker 6 (24:29):
I mean, Cad, you know, the final stat line says
he was good. I think he was like six of nineteen.
He wasn't great. And then listen, Cleveland played terribly Okay,
James Tarten had a bad game. Donovan Mitchell's not flopping
as you heard earlier and as a result, not getting
any free throws. Donovan Mitchell great driver. He shot eighteen
free throws in the last eight games. Like what's going on?
Such a weird whistle. But Colin this game was tied
(24:50):
at ninety three with five minutes left. The Cats played
very mediocre. Jared Allen, their starter, he had two points
in the game. Is a guy who was dominant in
Game seven against Toronto. So this SERI is.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Definitely not over.
Speaker 6 (25:03):
I thought they benched the Thompson twin there late for
Dennis Jenkins the G League Heiro.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Some interesting buttons were pushed to these athletic You got
to say that about James Bouncy.
Speaker 6 (25:13):
Yeah, yeah, So nice win for Detroit thir up one
zero in the series. Let's move on to the Knicks
Huge games and I against the Sixers. Nicks big seven
and a half point favorites and Mike Brown, the coach
of the Knicks, was asked about owner James Dolan's comments
about the Knicks needing to reach the NBA Finals. Mike
Brown finally addressed it yesterday.
Speaker 10 (25:34):
People have talked about a mandate like I'm coaching within
so I doesn't matter what others say. Uh, I mean
disappointed if we're not the finals and having a chance
to lack, that's all I looked at it as. But
mandate all that other stuff. Fight, That's that's what I expect.
(25:57):
That's what I want to do and hopefully it can
have but who knows.
Speaker 6 (26:02):
Yeah, getting in the finals with the chance to win it,
that's all you can ask for if you're a Knicks fan.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Right get to the finals.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
You gotta get by, don't you think? I mean it's
the line is telling you to bet.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
The next Uh it's seven and a half? Yeah, yeah,
that that's an insane line.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
Well, this is this is the hottest team in the
league with respect to the thunder. This team's won their
last four games by what like two million points. I
mean they're blasting everyone of late. I know it's a Hawks, but.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
I know, but I mean usually there's a zig zag theory.
You feel anytime a professional athlete is humiliated, they play
really well the law. I would have thought the lines
like two and a half to three, seven and a half.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
I would think Philadelphia comes out with their hair on
fire motiva first quarter. I don't know, Ab, I'm just
telling you, I think this NIXT team, Mike Brown is
really doing some smart chess moves, especially with Karl Anthony.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Jake Brown deserves a ton of credit. Yeah, I want
to hear that cat, you know. Or in the middle
of the season, if you remember, you do remember, there
were talk that Nicks didn't like each other. There were
like locker room rumors.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
It's like they're playing such complimentary basketball and it's just
fun to watch.
Speaker 6 (27:10):
My guess is they move Joel Embiid onto Josh Hart
to get him on like a non shooter so he
can roam the lame more. They had no rim protection.
Nicks felt like they had like ten dunks in game one.
Really impressive stuff, all right, final story, Colin, let's go
to the NFL. So we have a nice guest here
on the show later, and that is NFL coach Michael Lafleur.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
We talked to Rogers Cardinals yesterday. I don't know if
you saw this.
Speaker 6 (27:32):
Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne went on social media and
is now recruiting Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, come on, we waiting on you.
Speaker 6 (27:41):
I mean, listen, this is I'll let you take this one.
I mean, Kendrick Bourne barely unpacked his box. Excuse me
in Arizona.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Did Kendrick Bourne go to the Harvard of the Polooe?
He went to Eastern Washington University, an esteemed academic institution.
Speaker 6 (27:59):
I didn't where reading Kendrick Gordon like Jason Bourne. But
I don't know. I don't know that this is going
to work. I mean, does Aaron Rodgers get cell service
in the darkness retreat? I don't know if he's even
aware coming that the Cardinals are coming after him.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I everybody is saying, now, this is a non story. No, no, no, no,
this is a story.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
I'm fascinated by it. We got the coach coming on later.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
I know, no, no, no punches are being pulled here.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Okay, you're coming after me, first time head coach.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
Make sure to ask about how it was running the
Jets offensive as a Jets OC back.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
In the day. I was doing some homework on that.
It was not pretty. Yeah, well it's the Jets. It
was the Jets. Jmack with the news.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the
herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
The words matter.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And one of my favorite sports is called I'll speak slowly.
College football. It's played on a college campus where you
have to go to school. I saw a story this
morning where Mark Cuban came out and said Indiana called.
(29:07):
They said, we really like this quarterback. He fits Kurt
Signettes system. We need a little more money. And Indiana
where Mark Cuban went to school, a top eight business
school in America.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
He wrote a check and the rest is history.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Let me be clear, I enjoy better academic schools now mattering.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
It's more balanced.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Now you don't win just because of your proximity to
more great high school football programs. Vanderbilt academic power is
now much better in hoops in football. Michigan Elite Academic
University just won a Natty in basketball, Indiana Top eight
(29:52):
business school just won sixteen to zero a Natty. In
college football, I didn't like where we were with college football,
where if you were a second or a third tier
academic university, but we just care more. Well that should
matter some, But I like now that it just costs
(30:16):
more and the Big ten has more money. That should
matter too. College football alumni of a college, and the
better the college, the richer the alumni. Vanderbilt got walked
over for years because you know, they had academic standards,
(30:38):
and so what I like about college sports now is
it's not all academics. The Ivy League is not going
to become LSU football, but academics kind of matter. Academic
standing matters, and I want you to just think about
the nil the next time you criticize it. Young athletes
are now going to better academic institutions, and they're now
(31:03):
staying longer in school at better academic institutions.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Let that bake for a second. Say that out loud.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Athletes in America are choosing better academic institutions and they're
staying at them longer. That's bad for all the hostility
and angst. That's bad that a kid from East Texas,
ends up at Michigan and stays for four years, not three.
(31:38):
Yaxelanaborn could have gone pro. I want to go to Michigan,
great academic institution, hang out with a student body, meet
new people, stay another year in college.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
That's bad.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Duke won the ACC basketball and football title this year.
You're not going to convince me that's bad. You're not
going to convince me. Michigan, Vanderbilt, Duke, Miami, really good
academic institutions, winning Indiana. You're not going to convince me
(32:14):
it's bad. Mark Cuban talked about it. They gave him
a call and he he obliged.
Speaker 11 (32:21):
Here's Cuban and then we started talking. He's like, we've
got this quarterback that we really really liked, that we
think would be great.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
Just need a little bit more.
Speaker 11 (32:31):
I'm like, how much is a little bit? And so
he told me, and I'm like, okay, you know we're
on a roll. And so I'm like, okay, I'll put
up the money and we can go get Fernando and.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
The rest is history. How much did they need?
Speaker 11 (32:43):
They needed enough.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
That's what I always say to Fox, I just need
a little more. J Max says that all the time
to him, I just need a little more. And you
know we we just you know we did it. We
took care of business.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
We won a national championship.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
But I Duke won in football and basketball Indiana. Here
are the teams winning now, Vanderbilt, Duke, Indiana, Michigan. There's
still plenty of room for football powers. Georgia's still winning,
Ohio State still winning. But you're not going to convince
me that the nil that get kids going to better
(33:21):
academic institutions and staying longer. You're not gonna You're not
going to convince me that's bad. Now do we need
more guardrails?
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Is it perfect?
Speaker 6 (33:29):
No?
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Like the transfer portal, I think everybody should be able
to transfer once and then transfer a second time if
the if the coach leaves, or you know, something like that.
But I don't think six transfers four transfers is the
way to go. And I also think you should have
to be on a call. I've always said with nil,
you shouldn't pay high school players. You should have to
have at least a quarter in college somewhere. To be paid,
(33:53):
you have to play at least a quarter. You have
to go one academic semester or quarter on a college
campus before you get the first check. I don't like
buying high school players. That feels sketchy to me.
Speaker 6 (34:03):
But Colin, some of these guys who are transferring because
they're going to get two million dollars, those guys are
not going to sniff the NBA. And some of those
guys probably won't even play in Europe. Maybe they'll maybe
they'll show up in you know, South Africa, hold on
and play for you know, eighty five thousand dollars. So
if you can chase two million dollars for three years
transferring around, I think you've got to do that as a.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Twenty twenty one year old.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
You're not going to get an accounting job out of college.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
It pays that.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
So that's the reason I'm okay with the guys transferring
to chase some money.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Yeah, and most players don't transfer four times. It should
be noted, you know, maybe you get two transfers and
a third you have to sit out or something. I
don't like the constant, and but I also believe it's
the free market. If a guy's transferring for a fourth
time and somebody's interested, well do your homework. I mean
if if let's be honest, if you went to buy
(34:54):
a home and somebody said, uh, you say, who was
the last two owners? Yeah, they own to each for
one year, You'd be like, what's wrong with the neighborhood?
Is the neighbor crazy? I've done that before where I
like the house and you ask somebody and they're like, well,
you'd be the third owner in four years. My first
take is something it's either haunted or I got you know,
(35:14):
sketchy guy next door. Like, something's wrong with the neighborhood.
So my take is if a guy's transferring over and
over and people keep paying him, there's got to be
some value.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Well, do you.
Speaker 6 (35:25):
Early in your sports media career bounce around to Vegas
and takes.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Around my ole? Yeah, bounce around, bounce around, right, So
what's the difference here. It's not it's a good argument,
it's I don't like all the movement. But your argument's
are very valid one, which.
Speaker 6 (35:39):
Is, yeah, the long times college sports fans are like,
I can't loot root for my team when I got
twenty new transfers every year in football and college basketball,
Duke gets like seven new guys every year, and it's
like you don't have that.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Bobby Hurley for three years, Christin Layton or you know.
Speaker 6 (35:54):
There's something to that. But again, I got a side
with the players here.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Man, No I don't.
Speaker 5 (35:58):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I think it's a legit them an argument. I just
think there needs to be a few more guardrails. I mean,
we got college football programs now at forty five million dollars,
and it's I think we're getting to a point where
it's like it doesn't bother me.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
I'm not. It's not that I'm missing sleep at night.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
But my take is, like, you start getting into that figure,
and my take is, boy, you're eliminating a lot of
people from the party.
Speaker 6 (36:23):
This is major League Baseball, right, the Dodgers and the Marlins.
That's what we're headed toward.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Again.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
I had more fun watching the college football playoff and
March Madness this year than I have in a decade,
and a lot of it was the quality was better.
Let's let's be honest. We only watch the top teams.
If you watch March Madness, look at the ratings. We
watch the big boys like that. That's what we're doing.
We watched the big boys, and the truth is the
big boys now are stacked the top fifteen to eighteen
(36:53):
football and basketball programs.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
They have four NBA do just like the eighties. We
got four, but you got twenty three year old dudes.
The quality of the product is way better. In Chicago,
it's the hood.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern a em Pacific.
Speaker 6 (37:14):
We got more United Football League action coming up this weekend.
Fox UFL Friday features the Columbus Aviators against the Saint
Louis BattleHawks at eight eastern. Then on Saturday, the Louisville
Kings and DC Defenders at one thirty, all on five.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
So three of the four times the Spurs and the
Tea Wolves have met this year, it's been decided by
one basket. Game one decided by two points, so every
call matters. And when Wemby goes out and has a
dozen block shots, Chris Finch says, that's great, but you
(37:55):
do get that several of these were actually goaltending.
Speaker 12 (38:00):
Here's Chris to me, it's a little alarming that none
of them were called who's seven ft six? Who goes
after everything? And there's like no height in awareness that
these these blocks could could be you know goaltends. I
mean the third possession of the game was a goaltending.
That's also you know, thirty three percent of his blocks
(38:25):
or goaltending uncalled. And you know, if I were to
give you a thirty three percent raise, you'd like that, right.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
I thought too, were absolutely goaltending. The first one's obvious.
There was a one later nine minute like this is
the early one that was off the backboard.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Yeah, that's a goaltending. So they missed it.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
And again, this is what Phil Jackson, the great Laker coach,
used to call gardening, planting seeds in the officials mines
in between games, planting seeds. I covered Phil on that
Blaze series and he would get fined for it.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
But it's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
It's it's forcing now when you watch the next game
and you're officiating it, that's top of mind. And that's
all Phil Jackson wanted. That's all Chris Finch wants, is like,
hey guys, we we all of our games are decided.
It's a fascinating series. I mean they're very similar. They're
two well coached teams, two deep teams, the two best
shop blockers in the sport. Minnesota's stronger and older. I
(39:29):
would say San Antonio feels a little quicker and younger.
Minnesota's roster, Tim Conley has built a He did it
in Denver and he did it in Minnesota. It is
a That roster is really good. I mean, I know
j Mack loves Austin Reeves and I don't want to
pick on him, but you start adding up the Go
Bear and the Ant and the Jaden McDaniels and the
(39:51):
nas Red and now they got this Shannon kid. You
start looking at this roster Julius Randall. Did they go
like seven eight deep with dude, like seven eight deep
and all of them are willing defenders, all of them,
I mean, and he'll put he'll play real defense. Mike
Conley's older now, but he knows the angles. He's a
(40:12):
smart player. So yeah, I just think so in a
series like this, it's mind games. You know, it's a
little trash talking by a player, and I think it's
I think it's valid. So I I the game two tonight.
(40:33):
I mean, really, it's the series. It's it's the series.
If if remember ANT will play only played eighteen minutes
or something in Game one, Ant's probably gonna play twenty
five minutes twenty eight minute, you're gonna get more of
an So I mean, if if Minnesota comes in tonight
and secures it. And it was interesting if you watch
game one, now, Wemby's gonna play better than he did
in Game one.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
He was zero for eight on threes.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
But what's interesting is san Antonio kept trying to like
having a three point lead and a four point lead,
kept thinking, and they couldn't make stops because Minnesota went
right at them. So san Antonio has been the aggressor
defensively against everybody they play. They forced you to change
your offense, and Minnesota's like, we're not doing that. We're
gonna go right at you. And it's the first team
(41:16):
all year that's like we're not. Shannon's like, I don't
care you block three of my shots, you got block seven.
I'm gonna go right at you. And it's like it's
almost like you know you're that big heavyweight champ. And
somebody says, holy Field says to Tyson, No, we're gonna
go blow for blow. I'm gonna hit you too, and
Tyson was shook or the Spurs shook
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 Foxsports 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 3 (00:26):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday. We are live.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It is The Herd. NBA Playoff week. Good games wherever
you may be, however you may be listening or watching.
Thanks for making us part of your day. You know
how sometimes people will come up to you and they'll ask, Hey,
how you doing, How are things? They're hoping you say good.
(00:53):
They don't want to hear about your problems, and nobody
cares in the NBA. If you injured your old bl
leak over a month ago. Austin Reeves was three for
sixteen and awful last night. Nobody cares about the injury
and was great coming off an extended knee hyper extended
knee Game one embiide his appendix burst. He's been great.
(01:17):
Kate Cunningham had a collapse long missed eleven games. Kate
Cunningham nobody cares. He's great. Austin Reeves last night was dreadful,
aer for ten on uncontested shots. Nobody's done that in
this league since Draymond Green three years ago. I understand
his popularity. He's undrafted the headband, he's scrappy. He gets
(01:41):
a little bit better every year. Seems like a great kid.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
He was awful.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And here's what happens. You see his limitations. So when
a team picks on you, they're not doing it in
the abstract.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
They have watched film on you.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Last year the t Wolves, Chris fin a great staff
watched film on Austin Reeves and attacked him.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
He was bad.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
OKC watched film on Austin Reeves, saw him as a
weakness and attacked him. Put ball pressure multiple, multiple turnovers.
And you saw this with Derek White of the Celtics.
Everybody's like Derek White had a down year. Know when
Derek White was a five or a four. The Celtics
were a championship team this year because the Tatum injury
(02:27):
and they moved off Porzingis and other players there were knights.
He was a two, he was often the third. And
then you see the ceiling with Derek White, who's a
good player. Austin Reeves a good player. But when you
ask the number three starter in baseball to be your
eighth and go toe to toe with you know, Garrett Cole,
(02:49):
he's not. That's and that's my take on Austin Reeves
in his playoff career. That's the best coach's best teams.
He gives you sixteen four and four shoots about forty
two forty three. That's fine, but it's not special. He
is a number four on a championship team, a number
three on a decent playoff team, but he gets hunted defensively.
(03:12):
And both Minnesota last year in Oklahoma City last night,
they look at film, they scout and they attack him,
and they put ball pressure on him, and they're making
sure switches. They want Austin Reeves guarding one of their guys.
And that's the reality of it. And Embiid Kade Cunningham,
(03:35):
Austin's oblique injury. Nobody cares so far in the playoffs.
The Lakers are better with Austin Reeves not on the floor.
I know the oblique injury. And also here's something else
to think about. In back to back seasons, he's been
injured right in the playoffs. He's in the playoffs. He's
(03:59):
not one hundred pc. Why because he has an undrafted
athlete's body. He doesn't have big, dominant physical traits. Caleb
Williams goes number one to the Bears. He's never hurt.
Lebron's a number one pick. He's never hurt. Part of
being a first round picker a number one pick is
the body, the traits, the size, the durability. I mean,
(04:21):
big Ben didn't get hurt until the end, Eli Manning,
you know, John Elways, Dan Marino's bigger, stronger athletes, so
he's banged up. I've said this about brock Purty. It's
a smaller guy gets hurt more. Caleb Williams gets hammered.
He's never hurt. That's part of being like a number
one pick. So, you know, the big issue we're all
(04:42):
talking about with the Lakers next year is, hey, Lebron's
going to take a pay cut. And here's my question,
is the bigger issue is Austin Reeves worth thirty eight
million dollars a cap hit because his cap pit now
is going to triple and he's not a one and
he's not a two. The question is are you a
championship team if he is a three? And I don't
(05:04):
think you are. I think you can win a playoff
series or two.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
But it's I'm not picking an Austin Reefs. I get
his popularity.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I like him as a player, but folks, regular season
basketball is not playoff basketball. Are you noticing what's happening
in the playoffs? Embiid and.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Wemby Kat Holmgren's great why your best players rise above schemes,
Your more fraudulent players get picked on. So for all
the criticism.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Cat gets in the playoffs, Cat now it's a pretty
good player. Well, Cat has always been a really good player.
Flaky silly fowls can drive you nuts. He's a big
time talent. So Austin Reeves is eligible to sign a
five year, two hundred and forty one million dollar deal,
Cat pit would go from fourteen million to forty eight million.
(06:04):
You think he's a forty eight million dollar player? I
know the headband undrafted scrappy gets better every year. Let
me ask you, it's that a forty eight million dollar player?
Go look at the Celtics and Derek White. I'm not
being mean here, Austin Reeves.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
He took the hit.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
He said, nobody cares about the injury because I thought
the Lakers that they got in just a decent game
from him. He had a real basketball game. I mean
the Lakers, I don't think they're a very good defensive team,
but they're playing their butts off. I mean they are
playing their butts off. Lebron's playing real defense. Here's JJ Reddick.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
After you can make mistakes, there's a basketball is a
game full mistakes. There's just too many tonight. We got
to clean that up. But you know, there were some
some good things. We want expected score. You know, held
Shay under twenty. He ended up his seven turnovers. The
guy's played hard. We just to do a better job
(07:01):
with execution. It comes down to just the attention to
detail on that. And I know we'll clean things up.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And Austin Reeves is twenty eight next month, five year,
dally be thirty three, being old thirty three and you're
paying him forty eight large just things to think about.
All we're all saying Lebron's got to take a pay cut.
Me in this is outrageous. I don't know Lebron's really healthy.
Lebron's got that number one pick body. I mean, he's
playing his butt off. I mean, you think about this.
(07:28):
Lebron James is forty one years old. He outscored SGA,
the reigning MVP, had fewer turnovers than the reigning MVPSJA,
had better shooting percentage Lebron James than the raigning MVP,
and all of us, myself included, are like, he needs
(07:49):
to take a pay cut. I think what I'm more
scared about is Austin Reeves tripling three and a half
times as cap hit. That's what worries me. Those are
tough decisions. He deserve credit for getting him, and Austin
deserves credit for being a very very good pro. He's
a good pro. He should be proud parents have raised
the great kid. He gets better every year. He has
(08:12):
maximized his talent. There's nothing wrong with him. But you know,
we talk about this now. Can't make trades in the NBA.
It's brutal aprons, caps like cap hit matters. You start
Conston thirty eight, forty three, forty eight. I gotta think
about everything. Are you a regular season guy? You're gonna
(08:34):
be healthy at the end. I gotta think about everything, Okay,
So I want to talk about the flopping. First of all,
SGA is a really good player. He's a fluid athlete,
one of the best mid range jumpers of all time.
He's got tight handles. He's a great player. He's an
all star player. But because the flopping is allowed and
(08:56):
it's really bad sports. We all know that, right, And
what bothers me is it's become a central point of
the playoffs and a central part of his game. If
you do it once a game, I'm okay with it.
It's become like the central point of his game. And
the NBA is the sport with the most creative, artistic athletes, right,
(09:17):
And this is like acting versus AI acting. It's just
not as authentic. Watching him flop during an NBA game
is like, to some degree, it's like inserting one of
those life alert commercials. I've phone and I can't get
up into cert d Sola. It's like, eh, kind of
(09:40):
tears at the fabric of the creativity of the NBA.
And the NBA has always been the sport since I
was a kid in the seventies.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Doctor j.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Like Magic, David Thompson, Michael Jordan, it's our most athletic sport,
it's our most creative sport. One of the reasons I
don't like all the three point shots. It reduces athletics.
I don't want ant shooting fifteen threes. I want him
bunking in people's face. And I like SG. I think
he's a great player, fluid, good handles, moves well, athletic,
(10:11):
although not terribly vertical. But it's just bad sports. And
I do think the NBA, if they win back to
back titles, will step in and change it. NFL change
the catch role, change the pat Major League Baseball took
away the defensive shift. I don't think it's good television.
I don't think it's good sports. And again, just to
give you some sense of how outrageous it's become, SGA
(10:37):
has shot four hundred and twenty five more free throws
over the last two years, the number two like, it's
just become too much of a central part of his game.
And Donovan Mitchell in another series is not getting the
calls and everybody's talking about it. Listen, know what Donovan
(10:59):
Mitchell says about flopping.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
The free throw disparity is not why we lost tonight.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
I want to make.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
Sure I say that, but I don't know. I'm trying
to get downhill and a friend of mine got fine
for talking about flop. I'm not gonna try to double down,
but I mean, like I feel like that's what I
got to do. At this point, I'm just not getting
the calls. I don't know why I don't flop. Maybe
that's why this isn't just a tonight thing.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
So the NBA used to have a slogan where amazing happens.
Nothing amazing happens at the free throw line. So when
it became again, if SGA had thirteen free throws more
than the next guy, maybe even twenty three, but if
you got four hundred and twenty five more, I mean,
look at this one right there. That's an absolutely awful
(11:50):
call against the Lakers, and it's just bad sports. It's
like when we used to watch the NFL and the
guy make a great catch and they're like, well, it
kind of wiggled by his elbow. No, NFL is like,
it's bad TV. It's bad sports. Defensive shift. Bryce Harper
hits a bolt and the second basement standing in right
field catches it.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
That's bad sports.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I want to see Bryce Harper when he rips a ball,
I want to see it it drop unless he it's it.
You know, I don't want to see clean hits of
a ninety six mile hour slitty get caught by a
second basement standing in right. So I think the NBA
and they've done they've done this before, hack a shack handcheck.
I mean, they've done this multiple times to elevate the
(12:33):
quality of the overall product and the television product.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They've tweaked it, and I think we're getting to that point.
So J Mack, listen, I know you love Austin Reeves.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
I know you do, and I'm not trying to pick
on him because he had a bad night, but it does.
You know, here's the reality outside of baseball, salaries matter
a lot. I mean, in baseball you can diffirm if
you want, which is crazy, but you can. And that's
the thing with Austin Reeve three and a half times
the cap hit, So again, he's going to be paid
(13:05):
like a two and he's closer to a three or
a four. And this is Boston felt this with Derek
White this year because the Tatum injury, there were nights
he had to be a two. Well, Jalen Brown's like
a great two or a good one. Jalen Brown would
be the best three in the league by a mile.
Derek White's a four on a great team. That one
(13:26):
great Celtics team. He was almost a five. But now
you you elevate him, you know, to the number two
starter in the rotation, and you're like, well, Derek White
wasn't as good this year. He's being guarded by better players.
He has to guard better players. You're elevating to a
spot he's not really as suited for. So I mean,
a forty eight million dollar cap hit would be bigger
(13:47):
right now than Kate Cunningham and ant Okay.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
Let's settle down bassing Austin Reeves off one game when
he is barely removed from a oblique injury.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
That kept him out for a month ago.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
We got three years of Dad bro on Austin Reeves
that he's a really good player, and honestly, the blueprint
is there for Luca. He took the Maps to the
finals with Kyrie Irving as his wingman. If you can
get eighty five percent of Kyrie Irving from Austin Reeves,
I think you're going to be just fine. Now the
question is can Reeves stay healthy. Remember Kyrie Irving also
had many issues with injuries.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Lo frail time.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I don't believe historically we're gonna view Austin Reeves as
eighty five percent of Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving, Kyrie Irving,
but Dallas Kyrie Irv. Well, yeah, but prime Kyrie Irving
won a title.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
He was spectacular.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
I'm just talking about the Dallas one who was a
wingman to Luca.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
They need you to create a little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, but they that wasn't prime Kyrie, and he was
multiple injured Kyrie, and they didn't win a title. The
Lakers win titles. They don't care about going to the finals.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
You got to get there to win it though, I mean,
Lakers are barely getting out.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Of the first round.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Now, you got to put is not sixty percent really
prime Kyrie. Kyrie Irving at his prime is the greatest
small am a dexterous finisher in the history of the league.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Go back to the Celtics team.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Definitely, There's never been a finisher both hands that size
in the history of the sport of Kyrie Irving.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
But that's the thing.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
He wasn't prime in Dallas when they went to the finals.
He was just good, you're really into this. Went to
the finals.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
You got to win, wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Why is Michael Jordan considered the greatest player six for
six in the finals, magic went to thirty percent more,
but he lost a third of them going to the finals.
Didn't the Pacers just get to the finals?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
What does it mean?
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Does it mean anything? You seeing a trip to the finals?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Rick Smith's got to a finals. Nobody cares. They don't
care about your oblique injury. They don't care that you
got to the finals, Los Angeles. When it comes to
baseball and it comes to the Lakers, there are certain
things like Ohio State football, we played in the Natty.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Who cares you didn't win?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Ohio State is one of the Duke doesn't brag about,
you know, we got to the final four. Duke brags
if they win. I mean that's what the Lakers are,
their standard is I mean Austin Reeves is a top
ten jersey seller. What team's third best player is a
top ten jersey seller?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And for the record, Kyrie was a number one one
overall pick. Yes, So let's not kid our those about
who's undress seven to eight year period that Kyrie was.
I mean, honestly, after Stephan, Lebron was as good a
player and watch as the league had, the whole sport had.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Yeah, and he needed Lebron to get to the playoffs
and win. He could do nothing by himself. Austin Reeves
is a one no shot as a two. I'm buying that.
Remember fifteen and two in March, Colin with Austin Reeves
as the two Lebron seeding to the three.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah again March.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Hey is Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio Now.
Speaker 7 (17:04):
In addition to hearing us live weekdays from five to
seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for
the show.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
YEP, that's right.
Speaker 7 (17:14):
You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube
every day. All you gotta do search Covino and Rich
FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube search Covino and
Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, subscribe hit that
thumbs up icon.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And comment away.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
So a lot of times in the media, people don't
want to be in an island because if they're wrong,
they'll get crushed. And I noticed this last year with
the Micah Parsons trade, and I'm saying he's not good
against the run. He hasn't been great in the playoffs.
And the Cowboys defense with Micah Parsons in twenty twenty
four was thirty first in the league. Now I'll admit
(17:55):
when he left it was worse. It was thirty second,
But I said it's banned with him, he can't defend
the run. And Jerry Jones, an oil man, doesn't want
all his oil in one or two wells. He wants
to have seven or eight wells. They want to diversify
their portfolio. So Stephen Jones is now admitting one year
later with Kenny Clark ra Sean Gary and their draft
(18:18):
picks where they went Caleb Downs and another edge rusher
and Quinnon Williams, Stephen Jones is like, yeah, it worked
out just the way we told you it would.
Speaker 8 (18:31):
We feel really good about it. Obviously, much respect for
Micah and what he stands for and how he plays
and the caliber player he is. But you know, at
the same time, we feel good about what we've added,
you know.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Via that trade.
Speaker 8 (18:45):
You know, the decision we made was you know that
multiple players. One player is not worth you know, four
or five good ones. And we feel like that's where
we're going to end up here and in a good spot.
And you know, we had that opportunity there and didn't
feel like we were one player away last year. But
I certainly feel like we're putting the pieces together.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
When you make a big trade, nobody's denying that the
star that comes to town, it can be Matt Stafford,
it can be Micah Parsons. They add value to the team.
They land, no question. But if you really go and
look at a lot of the big trades, the team
that loses the star frees up capital and draft picks.
(19:28):
Stafford leaves the Lions. That was actually the beginning. A
year later and about a year and a half later,
it was the beginning of something special. All those draft
picks and a free Jared Goff. That's how Brad Holmes
built what he has right now. If you go look
at Tyreek Hill, all those draft picks Kansas City got,
they used them to show up their defense. That dynasty
(19:50):
started as an offensive dynasty. The last several Super Bowls
have been a defensive dynasty. Mahomes and defense. They all
came from the Tyreek Hill. Now Tyreek Hill added some
value to the Dolphins. Nobody's saying he didn't. I mean,
if you go look at Russell Wilson when he got
moved off Seattle.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Two of the draft picks they.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Got from Russell Wilson Charles Cross excellent left tackle and
Witherspoon On Witherspoon from Illinois unbelievable, second or third, maybe first,
best corner in the league. So two of the foundational
pieces for the Seahawks, Super Bowl or the or the
rebuild of the Lions, or Super Bowls twice with the
Chiefs come off the value from moving a start. Nobody's
(20:32):
denying that a Mica or a Stafford, or a Tyreek
Hill or a DK Metcalfway, whatever the whatever the trade is,
it adds value, or smart gms wouldn't do it. But
I think sometimes simultaneously you just forget most of these,
most of these, I mean the Jimmy Johnson trade of
Herschel Walker is a great example. Herschel was a great
(20:53):
player and a great back. It started to get the
last Cowboy dynasty. So you want to have we say
this all the time in the NFL. It's not about
being great everywhere. It's about not being terrible anywhere. The
coaching's too good a lot of times in college football,
(21:14):
you know, uh, you know you got grad assistance on
the staff, you know. I mean, you can have holes
and teams either don't have the talent or don't have
the foresight to attack it. In the NFL, if you're
bad at safety, you will be burnt at safety. I
mean last year, as good as the Rams were McVeigh,
Stafford Puka great defense, they were weak at corner and
(21:36):
that's why they don't win a Super Bowl because the
Seahawks were really good at corner. I mean, just the
rams inefficiencies on special teams was enough of a hole
that Seattle had better special teams. So you don't have
to be great everywhere. Dallas is lousier in fewer places
going in the next year. I still don't know if
(21:57):
I love the coach, but the old line receive quarterback,
tight end, edge rushers, defensive line, depth, safety, they're good.
May I'd be great at corner, don't think they were
a super Bowl team, but last year they were bad
in several areas outside of corner and pretty good looks
a pretty good defense. Jmack with a news.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
This is the herd Line News.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
Let's start with the Detroit Pistons. They got a nice
win last night against the Cavs. Cleveland did not play great.
Detroit down the stretch took over Kid Cunningham twenty three
and seven.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Yeah. Coach JB.
Speaker 6 (22:37):
Bickerstaff talked about the team's tenacity sixteen offensive rebounds.
Speaker 9 (22:40):
Here we go understanding what the moment needs and what's
called for, and then having the poison confidence to go
and execute it. And you know, playing in three basically
elimination games, you understand that, you understand, you know how
important starts are, the urgency, You understand, you know how
to close and how to finish and how to get
to your spots, and then you grow belief that you can.
(23:02):
And I think that series did a lot of that
for us.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I really respect Detroit and I like Detroit. No, people
forget this. In the seventies, the Warriors were a great team.
They had Rick Berry. Now, when I was a kid
growing up, the first great team I ever watched was
the Rick Berry Warriors. He was in the ABA, went
to the Warriors Al Addams as a coach, and then
for a long time before Steph, the Warriors were kind
(23:26):
of irrelevant, but they always had a great fan base.
I grew up with Bob Lanier and Dave Bing and
really good Pistons teams, and then you had the Bad
Boys and then the Rip Hamilton championship teams. Detroit's a
great basketball city. They're starving for good basketball and every
good Pistons team.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
I always say this.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Every good Lakers team has been flashy, it's just the city.
Every good Pistons team has been tough. This team is
built like they should be. They play real defense. There's
still a player away. But I think Kate Cunningham's unbelievable
and I like watching them play. Every team has to
be aesthetically beautiful. I like watching Detroit. I think they
(24:04):
know exactly what they are. They need one more nineteen
to twenty three point a game guy, but I like
watching him play.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
I liked him in this series.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
And I'll tell you this, they made They gave the
Knicks trouble. They weren't because they'll they go. They are
what gives the Knicks trouble. They are all about toughness
and physicality. There's no pretty to Detroit. But I kind
of like this team, I really do. I like what
the Pistons are about.
Speaker 6 (24:29):
I mean, Cad, you know, the final stat line says
he was good. I think he was like six of nineteen.
He wasn't great. And then listen, Cleveland played terribly Okay,
James Tarten had a bad game. Donovan Mitchell's not flopping
as you heard earlier and as a result, not getting
any free throws. Donovan Mitchell great driver. He shot eighteen
free throws in the last eight games. Like what's going on?
Such a weird whistle. But Colin this game was tied
(24:50):
at ninety three with five minutes left. The Cats played
very mediocre. Jared Allen, their starter, he had two points
in the game. Is a guy who was dominant in
Game seven against Toronto. So this SERI is.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Definitely not over.
Speaker 6 (25:03):
I thought they benched the Thompson twin there late for
Dennis Jenkins the G League Heiro.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Some interesting buttons were pushed to these athletic You got
to say that about James Bouncy.
Speaker 6 (25:13):
Yeah, yeah, So nice win for Detroit thir up one
zero in the series. Let's move on to the Knicks
Huge games and I against the Sixers. Nicks big seven
and a half point favorites and Mike Brown, the coach
of the Knicks, was asked about owner James Dolan's comments
about the Knicks needing to reach the NBA Finals. Mike
Brown finally addressed it yesterday.
Speaker 10 (25:34):
People have talked about a mandate like I'm coaching within
so I doesn't matter what others say. Uh, I mean
disappointed if we're not the finals and having a chance
to lack, that's all I looked at it as. But
mandate all that other stuff. Fight, That's that's what I expect.
(25:57):
That's what I want to do and hopefully it can
have but who knows.
Speaker 6 (26:02):
Yeah, getting in the finals with the chance to win it,
that's all you can ask for if you're a Knicks fan.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Right get to the finals.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
You gotta get by, don't you think? I mean it's
the line is telling you to bet.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
The next Uh it's seven and a half? Yeah, yeah,
that that's an insane line.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
Well, this is this is the hottest team in the
league with respect to the thunder. This team's won their
last four games by what like two million points. I
mean they're blasting everyone of late. I know it's a Hawks, but.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
I know, but I mean usually there's a zig zag theory.
You feel anytime a professional athlete is humiliated, they play
really well the law. I would have thought the lines
like two and a half to three, seven and a half.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
I would think Philadelphia comes out with their hair on
fire motiva first quarter. I don't know, Ab, I'm just
telling you, I think this NIXT team, Mike Brown is
really doing some smart chess moves, especially with Karl Anthony.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Jake Brown deserves a ton of credit. Yeah, I want
to hear that cat, you know. Or in the middle
of the season, if you remember, you do remember, there
were talk that Nicks didn't like each other. There were
like locker room rumors.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
It's like they're playing such complimentary basketball and it's just
fun to watch.
Speaker 6 (27:10):
My guess is they move Joel Embiid onto Josh Hart
to get him on like a non shooter so he
can roam the lame more. They had no rim protection.
Nicks felt like they had like ten dunks in game one.
Really impressive stuff, all right, final story, Colin, let's go
to the NFL. So we have a nice guest here
on the show later, and that is NFL coach Michael Lafleur.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
We talked to Rogers Cardinals yesterday. I don't know if
you saw this.
Speaker 6 (27:32):
Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne went on social media and
is now recruiting Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, come on, we waiting on you.
Speaker 6 (27:41):
I mean, listen, this is I'll let you take this one.
I mean, Kendrick Bourne barely unpacked his box. Excuse me
in Arizona.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Did Kendrick Bourne go to the Harvard of the Polooe?
He went to Eastern Washington University, an esteemed academic institution.
Speaker 6 (27:59):
I didn't where reading Kendrick Gordon like Jason Bourne. But
I don't know. I don't know that this is going
to work. I mean, does Aaron Rodgers get cell service
in the darkness retreat? I don't know if he's even
aware coming that the Cardinals are coming after him.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I everybody is saying, now, this is a non story. No, no, no, no,
this is a story.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
I'm fascinated by it. We got the coach coming on later.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
I know, no, no, no punches are being pulled here.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Okay, you're coming after me, first time head coach.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
Make sure to ask about how it was running the
Jets offensive as a Jets OC back.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
In the day. I was doing some homework on that.
It was not pretty. Yeah, well it's the Jets. It
was the Jets. Jmack with the news.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the
herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
The words matter.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And one of my favorite sports is called I'll speak slowly.
College football. It's played on a college campus where you
have to go to school. I saw a story this
morning where Mark Cuban came out and said Indiana called.
(29:07):
They said, we really like this quarterback. He fits Kurt
Signettes system. We need a little more money. And Indiana
where Mark Cuban went to school, a top eight business
school in America.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
He wrote a check and the rest is history.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Let me be clear, I enjoy better academic schools now mattering.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
It's more balanced.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Now you don't win just because of your proximity to
more great high school football programs. Vanderbilt academic power is
now much better in hoops in football. Michigan Elite Academic
University just won a Natty in basketball, Indiana Top eight
(29:52):
business school just won sixteen to zero a Natty. In
college football, I didn't like where we were with college football,
where if you were a second or a third tier
academic university, but we just care more. Well that should
matter some, But I like now that it just costs
(30:16):
more and the Big ten has more money. That should
matter too. College football alumni of a college, and the
better the college, the richer the alumni. Vanderbilt got walked
over for years because you know, they had academic standards,
(30:38):
and so what I like about college sports now is
it's not all academics. The Ivy League is not going
to become LSU football, but academics kind of matter. Academic
standing matters, and I want you to just think about
the nil the next time you criticize it. Young athletes
are now going to better academic institutions, and they're now
(31:03):
staying longer in school at better academic institutions.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Let that bake for a second. Say that out loud.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Athletes in America are choosing better academic institutions and they're
staying at them longer. That's bad for all the hostility
and angst. That's bad that a kid from East Texas,
ends up at Michigan and stays for four years, not three.
(31:38):
Yaxelanaborn could have gone pro. I want to go to Michigan,
great academic institution, hang out with a student body, meet
new people, stay another year in college.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
That's bad.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Duke won the ACC basketball and football title this year.
You're not going to convince me that's bad. You're not
going to convince me. Michigan, Vanderbilt, Duke, Miami, really good
academic institutions, winning Indiana. You're not going to convince me
(32:14):
it's bad. Mark Cuban talked about it. They gave him
a call and he he obliged.
Speaker 11 (32:21):
Here's Cuban and then we started talking. He's like, we've
got this quarterback that we really really liked, that we
think would be great.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
Just need a little bit more.
Speaker 11 (32:31):
I'm like, how much is a little bit? And so
he told me, and I'm like, okay, you know we're
on a roll. And so I'm like, okay, I'll put
up the money and we can go get Fernando and.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
The rest is history. How much did they need?
Speaker 11 (32:43):
They needed enough.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
That's what I always say to Fox, I just need
a little more. J Max says that all the time
to him, I just need a little more. And you
know we we just you know we did it. We
took care of business.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
We won a national championship.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
But I Duke won in football and basketball Indiana. Here
are the teams winning now, Vanderbilt, Duke, Indiana, Michigan. There's
still plenty of room for football powers. Georgia's still winning,
Ohio State still winning. But you're not going to convince
me that the nil that get kids going to better
(33:21):
academic institutions and staying longer. You're not gonna You're not
going to convince me that's bad. Now do we need
more guardrails?
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Is it perfect?
Speaker 6 (33:29):
No?
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Like the transfer portal, I think everybody should be able
to transfer once and then transfer a second time if
the if the coach leaves, or you know, something like that.
But I don't think six transfers four transfers is the
way to go. And I also think you should have
to be on a call. I've always said with nil,
you shouldn't pay high school players. You should have to
have at least a quarter in college somewhere. To be paid,
(33:53):
you have to play at least a quarter. You have
to go one academic semester or quarter on a college
campus before you get the first check. I don't like
buying high school players. That feels sketchy to me.
Speaker 6 (34:03):
But Colin, some of these guys who are transferring because
they're going to get two million dollars, those guys are
not going to sniff the NBA. And some of those
guys probably won't even play in Europe. Maybe they'll maybe
they'll show up in you know, South Africa, hold on
and play for you know, eighty five thousand dollars. So
if you can chase two million dollars for three years
transferring around, I think you've got to do that as a.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Twenty twenty one year old.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
You're not going to get an accounting job out of college.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
It pays that.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
So that's the reason I'm okay with the guys transferring
to chase some money.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Yeah, and most players don't transfer four times. It should
be noted, you know, maybe you get two transfers and
a third you have to sit out or something. I
don't like the constant, and but I also believe it's
the free market. If a guy's transferring for a fourth
time and somebody's interested, well do your homework. I mean
if if let's be honest, if you went to buy
(34:54):
a home and somebody said, uh, you say, who was
the last two owners? Yeah, they own to each for
one year, You'd be like, what's wrong with the neighborhood?
Is the neighbor crazy? I've done that before where I
like the house and you ask somebody and they're like, well,
you'd be the third owner in four years. My first
take is something it's either haunted or I got you know,
(35:14):
sketchy guy next door. Like, something's wrong with the neighborhood.
So my take is if a guy's transferring over and
over and people keep paying him, there's got to be
some value.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Well, do you.
Speaker 6 (35:25):
Early in your sports media career bounce around to Vegas
and takes.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Around my ole? Yeah, bounce around, bounce around, right, So
what's the difference here. It's not it's a good argument,
it's I don't like all the movement. But your argument's
are very valid one, which.
Speaker 6 (35:39):
Is, yeah, the long times college sports fans are like,
I can't loot root for my team when I got
twenty new transfers every year in football and college basketball,
Duke gets like seven new guys every year, and it's
like you don't have that.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Bobby Hurley for three years, Christin Layton or you know.
Speaker 6 (35:54):
There's something to that. But again, I got a side
with the players here.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Man, No I don't.
Speaker 5 (35:58):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I think it's a legit them an argument. I just
think there needs to be a few more guardrails. I mean,
we got college football programs now at forty five million dollars,
and it's I think we're getting to a point where
it's like it doesn't bother me.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
I'm not. It's not that I'm missing sleep at night.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
But my take is, like, you start getting into that figure,
and my take is, boy, you're eliminating a lot of
people from the party.
Speaker 6 (36:23):
This is major League Baseball, right, the Dodgers and the Marlins.
That's what we're headed toward.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Again.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
I had more fun watching the college football playoff and
March Madness this year than I have in a decade,
and a lot of it was the quality was better.
Let's let's be honest. We only watch the top teams.
If you watch March Madness, look at the ratings. We
watch the big boys like that. That's what we're doing.
We watched the big boys, and the truth is the
big boys now are stacked the top fifteen to eighteen
(36:53):
football and basketball programs.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
They have four NBA do just like the eighties. We
got four, but you got twenty three year old dudes.
The quality of the product is way better. In Chicago,
it's the hood.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern a em Pacific.
Speaker 6 (37:14):
We got more United Football League action coming up this weekend.
Fox UFL Friday features the Columbus Aviators against the Saint
Louis BattleHawks at eight eastern. Then on Saturday, the Louisville
Kings and DC Defenders at one thirty, all on five.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
So three of the four times the Spurs and the
Tea Wolves have met this year, it's been decided by
one basket. Game one decided by two points, so every
call matters. And when Wemby goes out and has a
dozen block shots, Chris Finch says, that's great, but you
(37:55):
do get that several of these were actually goaltending.
Speaker 12 (38:00):
Here's Chris to me, it's a little alarming that none
of them were called who's seven ft six? Who goes
after everything? And there's like no height in awareness that
these these blocks could could be you know goaltends. I
mean the third possession of the game was a goaltending.
That's also you know, thirty three percent of his blocks
(38:25):
or goaltending uncalled. And you know, if I were to
give you a thirty three percent raise, you'd like that, right.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
I thought too, were absolutely goaltending. The first one's obvious.
There was a one later nine minute like this is
the early one that was off the backboard.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Yeah, that's a goaltending. So they missed it.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
And again, this is what Phil Jackson, the great Laker coach,
used to call gardening, planting seeds in the officials mines
in between games, planting seeds. I covered Phil on that
Blaze series and he would get fined for it.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
But it's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
It's it's forcing now when you watch the next game
and you're officiating it, that's top of mind. And that's
all Phil Jackson wanted. That's all Chris Finch wants, is like,
hey guys, we we all of our games are decided.
It's a fascinating series. I mean they're very similar. They're
two well coached teams, two deep teams, the two best
shop blockers in the sport. Minnesota's stronger and older. I
(39:29):
would say San Antonio feels a little quicker and younger.
Minnesota's roster, Tim Conley has built a He did it
in Denver and he did it in Minnesota. It is
a That roster is really good. I mean, I know
j Mack loves Austin Reeves and I don't want to
pick on him, but you start adding up the Go
Bear and the Ant and the Jaden McDaniels and the
(39:51):
nas Red and now they got this Shannon kid. You
start looking at this roster Julius Randall. Did they go
like seven eight deep with dude, like seven eight deep
and all of them are willing defenders, all of them,
I mean, and he'll put he'll play real defense. Mike
Conley's older now, but he knows the angles. He's a
(40:12):
smart player. So yeah, I just think so in a
series like this, it's mind games. You know, it's a
little trash talking by a player, and I think it's
I think it's valid. So I I the game two tonight.
(40:33):
I mean, really, it's the series. It's it's the series.
If if remember ANT will play only played eighteen minutes
or something in Game one, Ant's probably gonna play twenty
five minutes twenty eight minute, you're gonna get more of
an So I mean, if if Minnesota comes in tonight
and secures it. And it was interesting if you watch
game one, now, Wemby's gonna play better than he did
in Game one.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
He was zero for eight on threes.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
But what's interesting is san Antonio kept trying to like
having a three point lead and a four point lead,
kept thinking, and they couldn't make stops because Minnesota went
right at them. So san Antonio has been the aggressor
defensively against everybody they play. They forced you to change
your offense, and Minnesota's like, we're not doing that. We're
gonna go right at you. And it's the first team
(41:16):
all year that's like we're not. Shannon's like, I don't
care you block three of my shots, you got block seven.
I'm gonna go right at you. And it's like it's
almost like you know you're that big heavyweight champ. And
somebody says, holy Field says to Tyson, No, we're gonna
go blow for blow. I'm gonna hit you too, and
Tyson was shook or the Spurs shook
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com