April 19, 2024 • 41 mins
Colin breaks down his predictions for the entire NBA playoffs as the first round is set to begin on Saturday.
College Football reporter Bruce Feldman joins the show in studio to provide insight on the top QB prospects for the NFL draft
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
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Speaker 1 (00:26):
All right, here we go, hour two. It is a Friday,
live in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
It's The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you
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Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Jordan Schultz joining us from Bleacher Report.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Chris Bruce Sard will join us next hour talk about
the NBA playoffs. Bruce felban in about five minutes, talking
about all the stuff that's happening with these quarterbacks. He's
been talking to scouts all week. Bruce spends a lot
of time on the draft. All right, Jordan, So you
used to cover the NBA and then you pivoted to
the NFL, but used to have love. You grow up
in Seattle, your father of course on the Sonics. You
(01:01):
love NBA basketball. You played college hoots nice jumper, couldn't defend.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Nice jumper matador it. Yeah, the only way to play.
Go ahead, go ahead, have a day. So let's go.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Let's look at the play I'm gonna make my predictions
on the playoffs. So here we go, soup the nuts
top to bottom. Let's start in the Eastern Conference first round. Celtics.
We'll take on the Heat of the Bulls. Boston's gonna
win that series. Listen, they were forty one and eleven
against the East, all right, They're the deepest team in
the league. And Miami now if they win, Jimmy Butler's
all banged up, so that'll be a that'll be a
(01:32):
four game series.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Next up, Caves Magic.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Magic can't shoot, meaning if they fall behind in this series,
they're in trouble. I'm gonna take Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell will
be the best player on the floor. And again, Orlando
is not built to come from behind. They they they
may be in be in the Clay Thompson sweepstakes.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
They're just not.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Built in a playoff series to come back. And you
gotta be built and be able to win multiple ways.
So I'll take Cleveland there. I'm gonna take Milwaukee over
Indiana in a seven game series. I think Giannis will
be available the final three to four games, so the
Pacers give up points in the paint. Milwaukee is really,
really big and really experienced, and remember Milwaukee was shocked
(02:10):
last year early in the first round of the playoffs,
so they got a little revenge on their mind. I
think it's a very good series. Indiana is a tough matchup.
Indiana is going to be a really good team in
the East, like OKC in the West. Going forward, I
think they'll lose in seven games because Giannis will return
and when Jannis and day Murhammon, it's the number two.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Duo in the NBA. So I'm in the minority here.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I like the Sixers over the next I think New
York is very Jalen brunts independent, and right now the
hottest team in the league is Philadelphia, and let's be honest,
they were thirty two and eight when MB played and
they have a second star in Maxi, So I again,
I think it's going to be a really good series.
But Philadelphia has got more good players and at the
(02:49):
end they'll have arguably the best player in the series.
Although Jalen Brunson certainly deserves some discussion. He's a great
player now and all right, then we go to the
next round. I'm going to take Boston over Cleveland again,
easiest team. They average almost five more threes a game
than Cleveland, So even if Boston doesn't play particularly well,
they shoot the ball well, and in playoff games, that
(03:12):
ability on an off quarter or an off half to
shoot your way to respectability or back in. That's one
of the many things Boston does well better than Cleveland. Milwaukee, Philadelphia,
the Bucks Philadelphia seventy six ers because I think, let's
(03:33):
be honest about Milwaukee, they haven't played well since stock
Rivers got there. They're under five hundred, so they're not humming.
I give them the win over Indiana mostly because of
experience inside, but they wouldn't have the big size advantage
over Philadelphia. So I think Philadelphia, finally MAXI has become
now a legitimate one A two. Tobias Harris got Little
Buddy healed, Nicholas Patoomb got good roster, they're playing well,
(03:54):
good roster, and then Boston I think extinguishes Philadelphia very quickly.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
That could be a sweep.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I don't think that's particularly great matchup, and I think
I feel pretty strongly about most of those picks Milwaukee, Indiana.
If Giannis doesn't play the first three games, then we've
got a different story. My guess is he is healthy.
They sit in for the first game or two, Milwaukee
draws a split, they feel good about it and go
on to win the last couple of games. All right,
(04:20):
we go out Wes thunder in the Pelicans or the
heat lit'tenn. Okay See is going to win this. They're
a better team, first of all, and they've beaten those teams,
the Kings and the Pelicans in four straight games. So
they also have the best player in that series with SGA,
so that matters when you get into a series best player.
Ok See, I'm gonna take the Mavericks over the Clippers.
We don't know if Kawhi is going to play, and
(04:41):
Dallas has really improved defensively. It's not the offense, it's defensively. Also,
Dallas has been playing well since the All Star break,
and the Clippers right now have a lot of questions
and they're just kind of a murky team right now.
I'm gonna take Dallas t Wolves, Sons. This a tough one.
I'm gonna go Suns. They were three and oh. Against
(05:03):
the t Wolves. They match up well. Listen, I get
Kady and Booker, and Beale has played his best basketball
this season. Late Grayson Allen not that he had a renaissance,
but hasn't been better than we all thought off the bench.
I think they're gonna shoot their way. I like, aunt
Ant's not a great shooter, he's a great score so
(05:24):
I think the shooting the perimeter excellence here. They beat
him three times this year. I'll go Suns. That's an
interesting series Lakers, Denver, I think the Lakers match up
with him, but the best player in the series is
gonna be Jokic. And who are we kidding here? They
were three and oh against the Lakers. In fact, let
me check here, they've won eight straight against the Lakers.
Most of them have been close. But an older Laker
team with high altitude, Nope, I'm gonna take him in five. Denver,
(05:48):
let's go back to the top. I'm gonna take Dallas
over OKC. The reason being, you know, Lucas having his
best defensive season, and the thunder are I mean, they're
just they're just too young. Second least experience in the
NBA playoffs could be a very fun series. I think
Indiana in the East and Oklahoma City in the West
are gonna have a great six to seven years. I
just don't think they're quite ready yet. And outside of
(06:09):
the bubble season, young teams can struggle in the playoffs,
Suns Denver is interesting. I think Phoenix can give Denver
some issues and they'll shoot their way to a couple
of wins. But in the end, I'm gonna take Denver.
Best player on the floor is Jokich, but I will
say Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen's emergence makes this really tasty.
(06:32):
And remember the Suns had a very tough late season
schedule and they aced it. So Phoenix is healthy, Beal's
finally playing great, Phoenix Denver is tasty. That's a six gamer,
and Phoenix shoots their way to a couple of wins.
I'm gonna take Denver over Dallas. I just think overall
they're the better team. That's a big argument there again entertaining.
(06:56):
I think Phoenix, though, may give Denver more trouble than
Dallas because of Mac. And then we have the Nuggets
and the Celtics and the finals. The deepest team in
Boston to me, the greatest player in the world in Jokic.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I think it is a.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Six game series. I'll take Denver and again what I'm
really interested in Jannis's health. I think my big takeaways
Philadelphia finally delivers. They got the right coach, Nick Nurse.
Em Beat is mostly healthy. So Philadelphia in a really
(07:33):
weak middle down Eastern Conference, finally answers a lot of
the critics. They've been playing well. I think they Darryl
Morey's built a roster with some depth in a second star.
I worry about Giannis's health. The Knicks are a better
story in my opinion than a team. And in the West,
Phoenix is the wild card. Grayson Allen, Beal, Booker, Durant,
(07:59):
those guys all hit a three, and there'll be Knights
when they're all hitting threes.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
And if Denver's gonna get.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Beat, it's not gonna because the team is necessarily got
a better player. It's gonna be an Onslaught, It's gonna
be a Phoenix hits eleven of thirteen three. So that's
the way to beat. And that's why Boston has a
shot against Denver, because Boston can hit threes. They can
get hot. So there's my Oh, there's not a lot
of gambles.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Here, right, you're a talkavy, but.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
I will say the Phoenix, Phoenix last nine ten games
of the year. Look who they played good teams played well.
And you know when Grayson Allen came over, everybody was
like whatever. That ended up being more substantial than people think.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
He got a huge deal and they've put feel a
little bit more at the point, which is helping its
Phoix tough.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
All right, let's bring him on.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Bruce Feldman covers everything except the NBA, and we're done
talking it right now.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Bruce.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
It's good as olds to see you, buddy. Bruce Feldman,
Fox Sports college football reporter. So a lot of college
football reporters cover the draft, but you have a lot
of sources on this, and there's a lot of interesting
things here. For instance, we've said from the beginning, JJ McCarthy,
much like Alabama quarterbacks played with the lead a great
run game, using the best coach, using the best roster.
(09:16):
Outside of an occasional Ohio State or Georgia game, he
was playing downhill. I tend to like quarterbacks who either
give me huge numbers like a borough at a football factory,
or they're overcomers. They carry people mahomes or you know
those kind of guys in college where they're asked to
carry people. He didn't really do either. You didn't give
me huge numbers, didn't carry anybody. That's what worries me.
(09:39):
When you talk to scouts on JJ, what part of
his game Bruce is under the radar.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
The biggest part really is his athleticism.
Speaker 7 (09:47):
I don't think people give him enough credit for just
what a dynamic athlete he is. You would see him
make and create and run when they really needed him to.
You saw that against Ohio State and some critical situations.
You saw it actually in the playoff where he would
do some really athletic things. The sample size is much smaller.
Even though he played a lot of games. You know,
you remember he was not in there's a handful of
(10:10):
games in the Big Ten. He was not even in
in the late and you know in the third quarter,
he wasn't in the fourth quarter. I just think what
you're getting with him. Everybody likes him in the interviews.
They're impressed by how he conducts himself, how football smart
he is.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
I think there's an aura about him. They like you
know there's you'll hear some comparisons.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
A little bit like, oh, he's kind of a rock
Purty kind of quarterback in terms of what what they
think they're gonna see in terms of what he was
asked to do, but he in terms of like he's
much more athletic than than Kirk Cousins. Yes, so I
think those comparisons I don't think they're they're spot on.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
I can see some of the overlay for that.
Speaker 7 (10:50):
He is a guy from one of the coaches I
talked to in the NFL this week who felt like
both JJ and Drake May they were guys who were
gonna need a little more time, especially Drake May. But
both of them, you know, and they look and they're
both younger players. They're not Michael Pennix. They're not Bo
Nicks who had been in college football for six years and.
Speaker 6 (11:10):
Then played a ton. These guys hadn't played that much.
Speaker 7 (11:14):
And I think that's what's going to be interesting to see,
you know, how high he goes and where he goes.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, we said yesterday he is If JJ is Kirk
Cousins with mobility and inexpensive, that's a quarterback in the NFL.
I mean, Kirk is a borderline a you lack a
little bit of juice moving and he's expensive.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
That limits the roster. Well, if he's got.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Juice moving, as you say, and he's cheap, that's pretty
good quarterback. For the record, Sam Darnold probably the starter
if they got McCarthy, much like McCarthy has a little
juice athletically, so you'd have kind of quarterbacks who play
the same style.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
So that's interesting.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
I think the other part was Sam and it's good
to mention him was you know, I think you and
I are both very high on him coming out of college.
Really good athlete. I think temperament, leadership was really good.
He went into a bad situation and I think he
buckled with that. I mean there's the famous clip from
Uncan Ghosts. Yeah, and I think that's the challenge and
the risk with all these young quarterbacks. If they go
(12:10):
into a really bad situation, you.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
Can ruin them.
Speaker 7 (12:15):
And I think that's why, you know, it's maybe fifty
to fifty on the quarterbacks who get drafted.
Speaker 6 (12:20):
I think almost all of them have a lot of talent.
Speaker 7 (12:22):
It's just I think people tend to forget Patrick Mahomes,
you know, sat for a year behind Alex Smith, who
is a guy he could really learn from and learn
the right things.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
And then he's in Andy Reid system.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
You know, whereas you go someplace else, you don't have
your force to play. Maybe the quarterback room is not
very good, there's nobody can lean on. And then also
there's no Andy Reed. You're with a defensive guy or
a first time offensive coordinators. It's a really kind of
like fickle dynamic that you're they're walking into.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So Jade and Daniels I was told as Washington they
believe is the best fit. So Cliff Kingsbury has used
quarterbacks who are mobile and accurate. And I like Jayden
a lot. I watched them at Arizona State. He was
really thin. He's still pretty thin, but he's developed. The
numbers are pretty profound. Is there anything I see a
(13:13):
little Lamar? It looks good in the pocket. Brian Kelly
can be tough on quarterbacks. He ran through him, but
he loves this kid. And this kid just got better.
I mean, if you look at the two years with Brian,
he got better. So he's coachable. Are there any concerns
with Jaden? What does the scouts say?
Speaker 3 (13:28):
That you hear.
Speaker 6 (13:29):
Scouts really like him.
Speaker 7 (13:31):
The stuff I heard from coaches especially, it's like, first
of all the Arizona State Part three offensive coordinators in
three years, that program was in disarray around him, right,
he continued to physically develop. Love how he grew at LSU.
You know he was he was very good as a
transfer his first year and then he made dramatic improvement
as a passer. How he saw the field three. Yeah,
(13:55):
you know he there is some Lamar. I mean, he's
not as physically strong as Lamar. I think that a
little bit of the only hesitation you get on some
people is, you know, in terms of outside the number throws.
He has a good enough arm. It's not an elite arm,
but he's accurate. He has a work ethic that people love.
(14:15):
And then his ability to extend plays and you see
him show up in a lot of big games. You know,
you watch what he did against against Alabama. You watch
what he did like and granted he has two first
round receivers he was throwing to, but he was going
up against a lot of big time athletes.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
How about Arizona State against Herbert and Oregon wild shootout, Yeah,
you look like you're watching two first round quarterbacks years.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Ago, and he's in a bunch of those, right, And
I think that he is a guy. To me, the
more people you talk to, the more you're like, oh,
there's a lot of people who actually feel more comfortable
with him than any quarterback in this draft.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
So let's talk about Caleb Williams. He is going to Chicago, obviously,
I have maybe because I know him a little bit
and I know a lot of people around him. My
take has been the fingernails, the jumping into his mom's arms,
even people, some people push back, he's a little cocky
with you in the interview. I'm like, first of all,
anytime you're the first anything, it's difficult. He's the first
(15:12):
nil superstar in a major market. Let's give him a
little pass if he got into his fields a little.
I mean, I know at twenty one, when I got
a new pair of shoes, I thought a had gate. Okay,
kid was making four million bucks more than the assistant coaches.
So I just think, we, you.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Know, la money nil.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I can get over fingernails. I think he has a
sense of humor. I've talked to him three or four times.
I think he's a bright, quick, funny kid, very confident.
Any of that stuff were even Chicago though, all the
stuff the peripherals.
Speaker 7 (15:41):
I don't know how much it worries Chicago. I know
there are people in the draft process who love his talent,
but are have some concerns about him in terms of
like you're going into. You know, I just mentioned the
chief situation. You know, he gets compared to Patrick Mahomes
a lot, fair or unfair. Patrick Mahomes got to be behind,
(16:02):
got to be behind Alex Smith for a year and
watched him. That's not this situation. You have Tyson Badget
and you're gonna have Brett Rippin that's not Alex and
a defensive coach and also yeah, defensive coach who you
know is definitely you know, maybe he'll get another year
after this year. But it's not like the ideal situation, right,
you know, a first time offensive you know, a new
offensive coordinator who's going in there. Then on top of that,
(16:26):
you know, you don't have the Andy Reid factor of
a guy who knows exactly what he's doing running an
offense and running a team. So I think there's a
lot of stuff that's TVD Now, maybe Keenan Allen becomes
the guy he can lean on and say, hey, you're
supposed to do it this way, because look, he won
a Heisman at USC and he had a great but
like this past year was a borderline disaster for USC. Right,
(16:47):
they should have they shouldn't have been that bad, right,
And so I think some of the stuff about Okay,
you know, is he going to be the team guy?
Is he going is he going to listen to the
people around him?
Speaker 6 (16:59):
Who is he listening? Two? I think those are things
that people have legitimate concerns.
Speaker 7 (17:03):
I don't think it's like, oh the fingernails or whatever,
like a lot of that stuff I think is more
anecdotal and separate. But I think the bigger things are,
you know, how is he going to respond to, you know,
real adversity but also trying to be the face of
a team and going into a locker room and hey,
(17:24):
we're all about winning games, not about you know, all
this other stuff that was going on with him at USC.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Is there a player because none of these quarterbacks are
quite ready. I saw a quote yesterday from Bill Belichick.
He said the only player he's ever had in his
career that was ready week one year. One was Lawrence Taylor.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
He said, it does There's definitely no Lawrence Siale in
this draft. This is not a good defensive you know,
frontline draft.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Is there a player I kind of think it's Harrison
that's just ready to be productive right away.
Speaker 6 (17:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (17:56):
I think Harrison and Adunza are really polished inacter wise,
really solid. Now the guy who I've heard the most
stuff so this past you know, a couple of weeks,
I've been talking to a lot of NFL position coaches
and scouts the one because I would have been saying
the two of them are the closest thing to can't
miss in terms of character.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
They're really polished. They're both good sized guys.
Speaker 7 (18:21):
But it's the one who is the is the wow
guy is actually Mylik Neighbors. I mean, there are NFL
receivers coaches I talked to who think Molik Neighbors is
the number one.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
A lot of yards after catch potential.
Speaker 7 (18:32):
Just just incredibly explosive, just has this dog mentality.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
And is so dynamic.
Speaker 7 (18:42):
And you know, one of the receivers coaches I talked
to two days ago said he's the best receiver coming
out of college in a long, long time, he said,
I would have said, since Jamar Chase and Jamar Chase
had great film. I actually think he's he is more
explosive than Jamar Chase. Now he's not quite as physically strong,
but he's not that far off it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
You know, it looks like to me it's a quarterback
left tackle draft. I think all drafts are now receiver drafts.
I just think they all are because but.
Speaker 6 (19:10):
This one's much better than the one.
Speaker 7 (19:11):
Last year you had Quentin Johnston, whose hands were spotty.
You know, you didn't have a lot of big guys.
This draft is much better than last last.
Speaker 6 (19:18):
Year or so.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
I don't remember a draft with eight left tackles like early.
Is that is that the un Is that the position?
Joe Alt, I've been told. I've heard there's a lot
of people. All doesn't have a huge ceiling, but should
be good really quickly. You know, he'll be a two
time Pro Bowler. Not Trent Williams. That's what I would
heart from an executive in the league.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
They like Alt.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
They don't love any of the tackles, but they like
about eight of them to ten of them. There's a
kid at Duke that can go inside outside Oregon State kid,
people say is like as good a run blocker, you'll
see it tackle. You just won't see him any better
in anywhere on the planet. Is that the best position
in this draft?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Do you think?
Speaker 7 (19:55):
I still think it's receiver because I think you have
three e the players at the top of it. You know,
Joe all to me is maybe.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
In that realm. I don't think he's as far.
Speaker 7 (20:07):
You know, you can get guys offensive linemen also where
I think there is not to the dreary quarterbacks, but
there is kind of a boomer bust feel to some
of them, right, So you know you mentioned Oregon State,
Troy Fatanu at Washington similar kind of player where really physical.
There's coaches in the in the Pac twelve who actually
(20:28):
thought Troy was a little better than Telisi from Oregon State.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
But they're both, you know, they're bruisers.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
They're physical guys who I think can play outside, but
also if you need them, can are good enough to
play inside as well, and versatile and smart and tough.
Speaker 6 (20:43):
There's a couple of I don't want to say real boomer.
Speaker 7 (20:46):
Bus guys, but Tyler Goeyton from Oklahoma, Bill Beiden, Mose
the old line coach there. He was with Lincoln before.
He's an old leech guy. He has cranked out a
lot of star.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
NFL Lineman's got a lot alignment.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
Geyton might be the most talented guy he's ever worked with,
but he's really raw, so you may be getting a
couple of years where he's got to work through it.
He you know, he kind of came to offensive line
really late. And then you have a guy in a
Marius Mims at Georgia. Is this enormous guys you know,
six eight, three forty. You know, people worry I talked
to in the NFL worry a little bit about just
(21:18):
in terms of durability when somebody is that big. Sure
he's only played started seven or eight games, but there
are a lot of offensive tackles that are interesting. You
just don't know, you know, do they go in the
eighteen to thirty range? You know, Barton from Duke people
like him because you can play so much. I don't
think anyone loves him in anyone's.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Spot, can play three spots.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
Yeah, is he Is he going to be a lead
at any of them? I don't know.
Speaker 7 (21:44):
You know, you have a really good center in from
Oregon and Jackson's Power Johnson Zach Frazier is a really
good center that people really like.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Wes Virginia. Yeah, so it's a I think it's a
good offensive line draft.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Finally, Dion Sanders fourteen players Lee I said earlier transfer portal,
ninety percent of the players that you get or leaving
are not foundational. Quarterbacks matter more than any I don't
look at this as he's got a sales pitch. Some
kids fall in love with the pitch and move on.
What do you make of what's happening to Colorado.
Speaker 7 (22:16):
I think it's it's kind of reflective of a lot
of what's going on actually around the country, just to
not to the same degree. And I don't want to
say this is the exact or this is a cu thing,
but I think one thing I'm hearing a lot of
in this cycle is you're seeing a lot of kids
go back into the portal and after not being in
there very long, and what is happening is a lot
of players are finding out that that the things they're
(22:38):
being told they think they're getting aren't exactly what they're getting.
They're not getting that much because they may be told yeah,
it's going to be four hundred thousand dollars or it's
going to be two hundred thousand dollars. But it's a
car that you're getting a rental you're not. You don't
own it. So it's not like you or I could
turn around and sell.
Speaker 6 (22:55):
It right right.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
It's a house that they're that you're being you have
access to, but you don't own it. So there's some
of those things that I think.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
Are are are are.
Speaker 7 (23:05):
Tough for a lot of the kids to figure out
right now. They think they're getting one thing, they're not.
It's there's a lot of times I've heard stories of
guys who think they're getting eight or nine hundred thousand,
they maybe end up with two hundred thousand.
Speaker 6 (23:17):
So you get some frustration on that.
Speaker 7 (23:19):
And again I don't think this is you know, in
Dion's case at CEU, they were so bad when he
got there and he made us, you know, a huge
overhaul of the program, and I think a lot of
it is now you've had a handful of assistants. Sean
Lewis is offense coordinators now the head coach at San
Diego states You've had some people come and go.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
I suspect.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
You know, especially with Shador there, they will go as
they go into a new league, from one win to
four wins at least. I think eight, you know, I
get it there. I think there will be more, you know,
significantly better. I don't know how much better than eight,
but you know I wouldn't. You know, You're gonna see
a lot of guys, especially with grad transfers come and go,
(24:02):
and I just think that people are looking for the
right fit. And sometimes people are constantly hitting the reset button,
like the kid on the video game who doesn't like
the start of it, and all of a sudden like
let me start that all over again.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Good seeing your buddy as all as Bruce Feldman the
athletic Fox Sports, you've.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
Upgraded your shooting guard here. I think I've seen. I
know Jason fancies himself as a shoe.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
No, you couldn't have j Mac and Jordan the same backcourt.
It would be it would.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
It would It would basically be a black hole.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
It would be no passing bad shots.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
It would Bemoie and Kobe White. You'd be fun to watch,
but I'm not sure you.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
Defend any I think there's more. Jordan Poole going on here.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Yeah, you too, kind.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
The brilliant Eque s us a V from Mercedes Benz
of available digital light technology so smart even the head
lamps are thinking the vehicles all electric. The choice is
all yours. Learn more at MBUSA dot com Slash Eque.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Dash SUV one more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app.
Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
All right, good stuff with Bruce Felman, Jordan Schultz, without
further ado with the news.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
No no, no turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
This is the Herd line news.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
All right, Colin, Let's start with some basketball.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
USA Basketball announced their roster earlier this week for the
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Olympics in Paris.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
The most notable names included Steph Curry and Lebron James.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Steph explained his
decision quote, I think the timing is just right. I'm
later in my career. This is probably the last opportunity
I have to pay I have to play.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Colin.
Speaker 5 (25:40):
I wasn't here for the discussion earlier in the week,
but people are comparing.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
This team to the ninety two Dream Team. Did I
hear that right?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well, I mean, I think the best players on this
team are Lebron and Steph Okay, very old players out
of their prime. Where I still make an argument where
the ninety two team had the best player in the
world in his prime, Scottie Pippen in his prime, there
was a lot of I don't know. I don't think
there's anything that compares the ninety two nothing. I think
(26:10):
our domestic basketball talent, if you took Lebron and Steph
old guys off this roster, it's pretty limited. Go back
to look at the Tokyo USA Olympic team is pretty
limited team. So I mean this team works because of
Lebron and Stephan Durant. Our young domestic talent is you know,
(26:31):
bam Adebayou's average over twenty like one time. He's a
good player. Drew Holidays more about defense. Tyreese Halliburton's excellence,
but he's a kid. Anthony Edwards is dynamic, but there's
some limitations to playmaking and shooting in defense. So it's
it's our domestic product is up against it right now.
The world's overall talent at the very top is really
(26:54):
really good. And the best player in this draft is
arguably a French player, a French.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
Guard Our ninety two Dream Team squad of Barcelona. I
mean David Robinson, the Admiral, a first ballot guy was
coming off the bench. Barkley struggled to get minutes sometimes.
I mean that team was insane.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Docton.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
The best shooter in the world at the time was
arguably Reggie Miller didn't make the team. The best pure
point was arguable day Isaiah Thomas didn't make the team.
The human highlight reel, the Aunt Edwards of his generation,
Dominique Wilkins did not make the team. David Robinson seven
times scored twenty three or more a game. BAM's been
(27:32):
over twenty or twenty one one time. And that's the difference. Now,
I mean, the game's different. The Bigs now can shoot threes,
most of them. But it's it's again, it's more of
an international talent in the NBA is winning all the
MVPs than by next year, the two best players, the
three best players in the NBA next year by the
(27:55):
All Star break could be Jokich, Wenby Luca, and then
maybe Yannis and Sga all European player. They all Yeah,
four Europeans, one Canadian and that's not a stretch.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
That's probable.
Speaker 5 (28:09):
Wow, I would say the ninety two Actually, that team
spurred a lot of this, that spearheaded a lot of
the international game.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
Yes, so that was awesome. But now we're paying the
price as a USA team in the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:21):
Now, the NFL, the Houston Texans shocked everyone last season,
winning their division behind stellar play from rookie quarterback CJ.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Stroud Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
There's a lot to be optimistic about with this Houston
team going forward, but GM Nick Cassio says last year's
success doesn't mean a thing.
Speaker 8 (28:38):
Frankly, it's kind of laughable. I mean it's so early.
I mean, we haven't done anything. So what happened last
year has no bearing on this year. So we're focused
on right now. We're focused on the present. We're focused
on improvement, and I think the player's focus is just
on their attitude, the effort, and their commitment to being
a good player. So outside of that, I mean, the
rest of it is just a bunch of garbage.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Well here's what's not garb. If you said the five
most important things for an NFL franchise quarterback check coach,
check left tackle, check edge, rusher, check weapon, check five
for five.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
So I mean, right now.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Because not all positions are equal, they could use another corner,
soaka the league. But I mean Diggs, give them a receiver.
C J.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Stroud, Jeremy Tunzel got the coach.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Added Dale Hunter lost, Gernard added Hunter brought it. Joe
Mixon Pro Bowl back.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, so they It's not like I always say in
the NBA, it's not that you have a star, you
have the right star, a committed star. Almelo was a star,
not already committed defensively, you know, not committed to the
three point.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
Shot, Olympic player.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
But it's about do you have the right players at
the right places. And Houston now has all of the
boxes check even.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Stingley that corners the corner.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
So you could argue, if that's the sixth most important position,
they got that too.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
Plus great you mentioned the coach. I mean, I cannot
say enough good things about Demiko. I do wonder we
talked yesterday.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
On Speak about c J.
Speaker 5 (30:05):
Stroud's success and how that could potentially hurt someone like
Kayla Williams because the expectations.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Are so high.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
But what CJ. Shroud did last year, Colin was literally
a unicorn. First rookie ever to.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
Throw for four thousand yards and win a playoff game.
That's how good c J. Strout was.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
So now we're talking about Kayla Williams being generational the
next Mahomes, Let's pump the brakes a little bit. What
Stroud did was incredible.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
Sticking with the NFL, Trevor Lawrence has shown some flashes,
some flashes of greatness since being drafted first overall in
the twenty twenty one draft. Now, during his fourth year
in the league, Lawrence is eligible for an extension. This week,
GM Trent Balkey was asked about the progress on those
contract talks. He said, quote, you try not to force anything.
We've had some great talks and great conversations. I spoke
(30:51):
with his agency again last night. We're working, But you
can't force this stuff.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Colin. If you were the Jags, are you throwing the
bag at TELT.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, because it's not a great NFL market, so you
have to be viable to even sell the tickets.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
That's this is this is this market is.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
One of the weaker NFL markets in terms of merchandising,
So you have to be really fun to watch to
sell tickets. It's a college football market, It's not like Baltimore.
They're going regardless.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Of the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, So, I mean I think he's got a lot
of leverage. I mean, what's this franchise for twenty five years?
They when they had Brunell, they were interesting, Tom Complin
and Brunell, and now they're interesting with Doug Peterson and
Trevor Lawrence. So that this organization is fighting an uphill
battle in terms of game day revenue, merchandising, getting on television,
(31:41):
you know. I mean they're throwing games over to England
or you know, wherever they Europe anytime they can.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
So I think you have to sign him.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
What's the alternatives? Anative?
Speaker 3 (31:51):
And there's nothing on the market like this, So no.
Speaker 5 (31:53):
I mean the only other cop would be Dallas. That's
what's their alternative atack. But they have Big Deed. That's
arguably the most important franchise in the Yeah, that's the difference.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
Finally, Colin, let's get to the draft. We're less than
a week away.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
The Broncos are among plenty teams looking for a quarterback.
As we discussed earlier, we've really focused on the top
six qbs throughout this draft process, but now Broncos GM
George Peyton is suggesting there might be more quarterbacks than that.
Speaker 9 (32:21):
I do think it is a good quarterback class. There's
seven eight quarterbacks that we like that think can play
in the league one day. I'm not going to get into,
you know, how we have them rated, but it is
a good quarterback class. We've it's been fun getting to
know them, you know, seven or eight of them, and
so we think we.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Can get a quarterback early.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
We think mid rounds.
Speaker 9 (32:40):
We think there's gonna be quarterbacks you know, throughout the
draft that are interesting to us.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
So if you're saying, hey, that would include Sam Hartman
at Notre.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Dame and Michael Prattatuling.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Yeah, my Hartman I feel like is a fifth fourth,
fifth round best Yeah, good.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Player, good player, I think too.
Speaker 5 (32:57):
I think after the six, I think Krat's probably the
next guy.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Tu Lane.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
It's tou Lane and from what I've been told, the
B plus arm potential starter, probably a backup to begin
his career, certainly left the first couple of years.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
But good player. Hartman.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
You mentioned coming from waite Forest had some success in
Notre Dame, but Colin seven or eight starters would be
historic on every level.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
Yeah, no, I don't see it.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Jordan with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping by The Herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
So there is.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
We've talked about how europe international players are absolutely winning
the MVPs, the the best players in the world. Wemby
will be a top three player in the league next year.
I would guess Aunt Edwards couldn't be the most dynamic
domestic player American player, but I've got a theory on
how he's just gonna be Dominique Wilkins great. Perhaps not
(33:52):
in the conversation fifteen years after he's done. I'll give
you that next And I like him, but I like
the Suns to win. That.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app two.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
NBA Insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right
into the NBA Great Five.
Speaker 10 (34:15):
All happening in only one place this league Uncut. The
New NBA Podcast with Me Chris.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Haynes and me Mark Stein join us.
Speaker 10 (34:25):
As we team up to expound on everything we're covering.
Hearing and Chason.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein.
Speaker 10 (34:34):
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
Tomorrow on FS one, two iconic teams go head ahead
as the Mets take on Mookie Bets, Showetani and the Doggers.
Coverage begins tomorrow at three Eastern on FS one.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
So on g Wold Sun's first Round, I'll take Phoenix.
Good series, though Anthony Edwards twenty two years old, was
asked about his game in the series, and he's as
I think in three years, two years, I'll be the
best player in the NBA. And it's interesting, different position,
but I view him. My guess is he will end
up being the Dominique Wilkins of my era, an All Star,
(35:13):
a lot of points, highlight reel, absolutely spectacular, but no titles.
Could never get past better players or better teams. So
he's not going to have the defensive impact or close
to it of a Wemby. He is not, as I
would say, a good two way player is SGA who's
an MVP finalist and a better defender. He doesn't score
(35:37):
like Luca. Luca is also a better creator for others,
and he's not as good as Jokich. The Celtics could
be the team of the next ten years, or it
could be OKC that's stacked, or it could be Denver.
Nobody thinks right now it's Minnesota. And I'm not saying
he's not great. But if you look at Wemby, there's
(35:57):
an argument to be made by the All Star Game
next year, he and Jokich are the two best players,
and lucas three, and Giannis is four and Sga is five,
and most of them are really good at a multitude
of things, all of them arguably better than Ant Edwards
on defense, and a couple better in shot creation for others.
(36:21):
So again, that's not to say that Dominique Wilkins wasn't great,
but he's not really in the conversation anymore. It's like
Dan Marino was great, but he wasn't as great as
contemporaries in terms of wins, playoffs, super Bowls, So I
can like him, but the Celtics are going to be
the next five years along with Denver. Those are the teams,
so you're not gonna have the team success. And I
just I kind of start looking at ant Edwards and
(36:44):
you know, he's gonna score a lot of points, and
he's gonna be on many nights the most spectacular and
he's a very very good player. I don't think he'll
ever be the best player in the league. He'll win
a scoring titler three. Dominique Wilkins was often the most exciting,
the most fun to watch. I can remember being a
local sports cap. I remember this for an NBC affiliate
(37:04):
and it's how old I am. And then we used
to get this feed every night. It was this like
national feed with highlights, and I could remember getting Dominique
Wilkins Georgia highlights and I'd never seen anything like him.
I'd never seen a player dunk that hard and jump
that high. But we don't talk a lot about Dominique.
(37:25):
He didn't make the Dream Team and he was great.
So I'm interested to watch Anthony Edwards. I'm really interested
to watch him because this influx of European players, Wemby
is going to be a thirty point a game player
and the best defensive player in the league.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Ant's never gonna be that. It's never gonna be the
best defensive player.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Jokis now is arguably the best passing center, great score rebounder.
There's certain things Ant can't do. SGA's better two way.
Nobody shoots like Luca. I mean, it just it's like
Aunt entered It's almost like Phil Mickelson entered golf. His
prime was Tiger's prime. It's like, well, okay, what are
you going to do? His prime was Tiger's prime and
(38:04):
it happened. I mean, there's a lot of guys in
the NBA they were in Lebron's prime or Michael Jordan's prime,
and once he got Scotti, pivot and Phil Jackson, Michael
had to leave the sport for.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
The Rockets to win.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Where is Tatum fitting in this?
Speaker 1 (38:17):
I think Tatum is the second most dynamic domestic player.
He will get success because he's part of a great
Celtic organization that has a history of winning when they
have the right players. So Tatum will get his He'll
eat He's going to be in finals. The Eastern Conference
is weaker and in the Western Conference he's got to
get through Denver. San Antonio's gonna figure it out. Oklahoma
(38:39):
City is well run, well coached, loaded with draft picks.
Lakers are never down for too long. You know, Warriors
could reboot. I mean, here comes Sacramento. So a lot
of it is in life is what conference are you in?
Who's the star ahead of you? I mean, Lebron kept
a lot of good people out of the finals. Michael
Jordan kept a lot of really good Western teams, Sonics
(39:01):
Blazers from winning championship suns. It just sometimes you get
an icon and that icon, you know, if Caitlin Clark
goes to the Fever and she's good as everybody says,
and all of a sudden they make an eight year
run and win five titles. The second best team could
have been a team that five years earlier would have
won titles and five years later would have won titles.
(39:22):
But they have Caitlin Clark in their prime.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Who's the NFL comp by the way, to Anthony.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
Edwards, is it Josh all like Josh Allen?
Speaker 4 (39:30):
Josh Allen?
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Yeah, I mean, but I mean Big Ben had Manning
and Brady, but he got two. He did he got
there early, but middle and late. You know, you saw
how it ended. So a lot of stuff is you know,
I was say, in real estate, it's all location. In sports,
it's a lot of timing.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
It is a lot.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
I mean, by the way, I've said this before.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
If Andy Reid, if the NFL would have paid out
the CTE billion dollar check ten years earlier and the
league would have pivoted to offense ten years earlier, it
would be Andy Reid who would be the goat, and
Belichick who would be second or third Belichick the primary
years of Bill Belichick's you know, prime coaching years, it
(40:11):
was a defensive league. So you had Brady and the
ability to do things you're not allowed to do anymore.
Once you lose Brady. Now builds a defensive coach in
an offensive league. Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin. They kind of
feel outdated. So Andy Reid had to overcome the rules
and was still winning the NFC. Now he gets Mahomes
(40:32):
and the league pivots, and Buffalo's got a defensive coach
and the second best quarterback. So if Mahomes did not exist,
I think, Josh Allen, will you get all you're getting now?
But super Bowl appearances? And so I mean when the
Cowboys had eight but in Jimmy Johnson. They you know,
Montana and the Niners kept a lot of good teams
out of it. And so back to my initial point
(40:54):
with Ann Edwards, Wemby is going to be arguably the
best offensive and defensive player in a year. Jokic is
the best offensive player now, Luca. There's just too many
good players. And Denver is still young, and the Celtics
aren't young, but most of their best players are in
their prime, so you're not gonna be on the best teams.
And then the teams after that that we're looking at
(41:16):
are Indie, n and East, the Knicks a little and OKC.
So even the young teams who had the longest tarmac,
you're not on those. So this could be you don't know.
I'm really interested to watch the t Wolves and the Suns.
I think it's a really good series, but I'm gonna
take Phoenix just because of how Beale has played and
how Phoenix has played in the last three weeks.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
Really good basketball. Our three Chris Brussards around the corner
on a Friday, So good to have Jordan in here.
J Max back Monday Live in La. It's the hed
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 noone 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 (00:26):
All right, here we go, hour two. It is a Friday,
live in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
It's The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you
may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Jordan Schultz joining us from Bleacher Report.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Chris Bruce Sard will join us next hour talk about
the NBA playoffs. Bruce felban in about five minutes, talking
about all the stuff that's happening with these quarterbacks. He's
been talking to scouts all week. Bruce spends a lot
of time on the draft. All right, Jordan, So you
used to cover the NBA and then you pivoted to
the NFL, but used to have love. You grow up
in Seattle, your father of course on the Sonics. You
(01:01):
love NBA basketball. You played college hoots nice jumper, couldn't defend.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Nice jumper matador it. Yeah, the only way to play.
Go ahead, go ahead, have a day. So let's go.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Let's look at the play I'm gonna make my predictions
on the playoffs. So here we go, soup the nuts
top to bottom. Let's start in the Eastern Conference first round. Celtics.
We'll take on the Heat of the Bulls. Boston's gonna
win that series. Listen, they were forty one and eleven
against the East, all right, They're the deepest team in
the league. And Miami now if they win, Jimmy Butler's
all banged up, so that'll be a that'll be a
(01:32):
four game series.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Next up, Caves Magic.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Magic can't shoot, meaning if they fall behind in this series,
they're in trouble. I'm gonna take Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell will
be the best player on the floor. And again, Orlando
is not built to come from behind. They they they
may be in be in the Clay Thompson sweepstakes.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
They're just not.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Built in a playoff series to come back. And you
gotta be built and be able to win multiple ways.
So I'll take Cleveland there. I'm gonna take Milwaukee over
Indiana in a seven game series. I think Giannis will
be available the final three to four games, so the
Pacers give up points in the paint. Milwaukee is really,
really big and really experienced, and remember Milwaukee was shocked
(02:10):
last year early in the first round of the playoffs,
so they got a little revenge on their mind. I
think it's a very good series. Indiana is a tough matchup.
Indiana is going to be a really good team in
the East, like OKC in the West. Going forward, I
think they'll lose in seven games because Giannis will return
and when Jannis and day Murhammon, it's the number two.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Duo in the NBA. So I'm in the minority here.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I like the Sixers over the next I think New
York is very Jalen brunts independent, and right now the
hottest team in the league is Philadelphia, and let's be honest,
they were thirty two and eight when MB played and
they have a second star in Maxi, So I again,
I think it's going to be a really good series.
But Philadelphia has got more good players and at the
(02:49):
end they'll have arguably the best player in the series.
Although Jalen Brunson certainly deserves some discussion. He's a great
player now and all right, then we go to the
next round. I'm going to take Boston over Cleveland again,
easiest team. They average almost five more threes a game
than Cleveland, So even if Boston doesn't play particularly well,
they shoot the ball well, and in playoff games, that
(03:12):
ability on an off quarter or an off half to
shoot your way to respectability or back in. That's one
of the many things Boston does well better than Cleveland. Milwaukee, Philadelphia,
the Bucks Philadelphia seventy six ers because I think, let's
(03:33):
be honest about Milwaukee, they haven't played well since stock
Rivers got there. They're under five hundred, so they're not humming.
I give them the win over Indiana mostly because of
experience inside, but they wouldn't have the big size advantage
over Philadelphia. So I think Philadelphia, finally MAXI has become
now a legitimate one A two. Tobias Harris got Little
Buddy healed, Nicholas Patoomb got good roster, they're playing well,
(03:54):
good roster, and then Boston I think extinguishes Philadelphia very quickly.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
That could be a sweep.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I don't think that's particularly great matchup, and I think
I feel pretty strongly about most of those picks Milwaukee, Indiana.
If Giannis doesn't play the first three games, then we've
got a different story. My guess is he is healthy.
They sit in for the first game or two, Milwaukee
draws a split, they feel good about it and go
on to win the last couple of games. All right,
(04:20):
we go out Wes thunder in the Pelicans or the
heat lit'tenn. Okay See is going to win this. They're
a better team, first of all, and they've beaten those teams,
the Kings and the Pelicans in four straight games. So
they also have the best player in that series with SGA,
so that matters when you get into a series best player.
Ok See, I'm gonna take the Mavericks over the Clippers.
We don't know if Kawhi is going to play, and
(04:41):
Dallas has really improved defensively. It's not the offense, it's defensively. Also,
Dallas has been playing well since the All Star break,
and the Clippers right now have a lot of questions
and they're just kind of a murky team right now.
I'm gonna take Dallas t Wolves, Sons. This a tough one.
I'm gonna go Suns. They were three and oh. Against
(05:03):
the t Wolves. They match up well. Listen, I get
Kady and Booker, and Beale has played his best basketball
this season. Late Grayson Allen not that he had a renaissance,
but hasn't been better than we all thought off the bench.
I think they're gonna shoot their way. I like, aunt
Ant's not a great shooter, he's a great score so
(05:24):
I think the shooting the perimeter excellence here. They beat
him three times this year. I'll go Suns. That's an
interesting series Lakers, Denver, I think the Lakers match up
with him, but the best player in the series is
gonna be Jokic. And who are we kidding here? They
were three and oh against the Lakers. In fact, let
me check here, they've won eight straight against the Lakers.
Most of them have been close. But an older Laker
team with high altitude, Nope, I'm gonna take him in five. Denver,
(05:48):
let's go back to the top. I'm gonna take Dallas
over OKC. The reason being, you know, Lucas having his
best defensive season, and the thunder are I mean, they're
just they're just too young. Second least experience in the
NBA playoffs could be a very fun series. I think
Indiana in the East and Oklahoma City in the West
are gonna have a great six to seven years. I
just don't think they're quite ready yet. And outside of
(06:09):
the bubble season, young teams can struggle in the playoffs,
Suns Denver is interesting. I think Phoenix can give Denver
some issues and they'll shoot their way to a couple
of wins. But in the end, I'm gonna take Denver.
Best player on the floor is Jokich, but I will
say Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen's emergence makes this really tasty.
(06:32):
And remember the Suns had a very tough late season
schedule and they aced it. So Phoenix is healthy, Beal's
finally playing great, Phoenix Denver is tasty. That's a six gamer,
and Phoenix shoots their way to a couple of wins.
I'm gonna take Denver over Dallas. I just think overall
they're the better team. That's a big argument there again entertaining.
(06:56):
I think Phoenix, though, may give Denver more trouble than
Dallas because of Mac. And then we have the Nuggets
and the Celtics and the finals. The deepest team in
Boston to me, the greatest player in the world in Jokic.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I think it is a.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Six game series. I'll take Denver and again what I'm
really interested in Jannis's health. I think my big takeaways
Philadelphia finally delivers. They got the right coach, Nick Nurse.
Em Beat is mostly healthy. So Philadelphia in a really
(07:33):
weak middle down Eastern Conference, finally answers a lot of
the critics. They've been playing well. I think they Darryl
Morey's built a roster with some depth in a second star.
I worry about Giannis's health. The Knicks are a better
story in my opinion than a team. And in the West,
Phoenix is the wild card. Grayson Allen, Beal, Booker, Durant,
(07:59):
those guys all hit a three, and there'll be Knights
when they're all hitting threes.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
And if Denver's gonna get.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Beat, it's not gonna because the team is necessarily got
a better player. It's gonna be an Onslaught, It's gonna
be a Phoenix hits eleven of thirteen three. So that's
the way to beat. And that's why Boston has a
shot against Denver, because Boston can hit threes. They can
get hot. So there's my Oh, there's not a lot
of gambles.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Here, right, you're a talkavy, but.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
I will say the Phoenix, Phoenix last nine ten games
of the year. Look who they played good teams played well.
And you know when Grayson Allen came over, everybody was
like whatever. That ended up being more substantial than people think.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
He got a huge deal and they've put feel a
little bit more at the point, which is helping its
Phoix tough.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
All right, let's bring him on.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Bruce Feldman covers everything except the NBA, and we're done
talking it right now.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Bruce.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
It's good as olds to see you, buddy. Bruce Feldman,
Fox Sports college football reporter. So a lot of college
football reporters cover the draft, but you have a lot
of sources on this, and there's a lot of interesting
things here. For instance, we've said from the beginning, JJ McCarthy,
much like Alabama quarterbacks played with the lead a great
run game, using the best coach, using the best roster.
(09:16):
Outside of an occasional Ohio State or Georgia game, he
was playing downhill. I tend to like quarterbacks who either
give me huge numbers like a borough at a football factory,
or they're overcomers. They carry people mahomes or you know
those kind of guys in college where they're asked to
carry people. He didn't really do either. You didn't give
me huge numbers, didn't carry anybody. That's what worries me.
(09:39):
When you talk to scouts on JJ, what part of
his game Bruce is under the radar.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
The biggest part really is his athleticism.
Speaker 7 (09:47):
I don't think people give him enough credit for just
what a dynamic athlete he is. You would see him
make and create and run when they really needed him to.
You saw that against Ohio State and some critical situations.
You saw it actually in the playoff where he would
do some really athletic things. The sample size is much smaller.
Even though he played a lot of games. You know,
you remember he was not in there's a handful of
(10:10):
games in the Big Ten. He was not even in
in the late and you know in the third quarter,
he wasn't in the fourth quarter. I just think what
you're getting with him. Everybody likes him in the interviews.
They're impressed by how he conducts himself, how football smart
he is.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
I think there's an aura about him. They like you
know there's you'll hear some comparisons.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
A little bit like, oh, he's kind of a rock
Purty kind of quarterback in terms of what what they
think they're gonna see in terms of what he was
asked to do, but he in terms of like he's
much more athletic than than Kirk Cousins. Yes, so I
think those comparisons I don't think they're they're spot on.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
I can see some of the overlay for that.
Speaker 7 (10:50):
He is a guy from one of the coaches I
talked to in the NFL this week who felt like
both JJ and Drake May they were guys who were
gonna need a little more time, especially Drake May. But
both of them, you know, and they look and they're
both younger players. They're not Michael Pennix. They're not Bo
Nicks who had been in college football for six years and.
Speaker 6 (11:10):
Then played a ton. These guys hadn't played that much.
Speaker 7 (11:14):
And I think that's what's going to be interesting to see,
you know, how high he goes and where he goes.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, we said yesterday he is If JJ is Kirk
Cousins with mobility and inexpensive, that's a quarterback in the NFL.
I mean, Kirk is a borderline a you lack a
little bit of juice moving and he's expensive.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
That limits the roster. Well, if he's got.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Juice moving, as you say, and he's cheap, that's pretty
good quarterback. For the record, Sam Darnold probably the starter
if they got McCarthy, much like McCarthy has a little
juice athletically, so you'd have kind of quarterbacks who play
the same style.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
So that's interesting.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
I think the other part was Sam and it's good
to mention him was you know, I think you and
I are both very high on him coming out of college.
Really good athlete. I think temperament, leadership was really good.
He went into a bad situation and I think he
buckled with that. I mean there's the famous clip from
Uncan Ghosts. Yeah, and I think that's the challenge and
the risk with all these young quarterbacks. If they go
(12:10):
into a really bad situation, you.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
Can ruin them.
Speaker 7 (12:15):
And I think that's why, you know, it's maybe fifty
to fifty on the quarterbacks who get drafted.
Speaker 6 (12:20):
I think almost all of them have a lot of talent.
Speaker 7 (12:22):
It's just I think people tend to forget Patrick Mahomes,
you know, sat for a year behind Alex Smith, who
is a guy he could really learn from and learn
the right things.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
And then he's in Andy Reid system.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
You know, whereas you go someplace else, you don't have
your force to play. Maybe the quarterback room is not
very good, there's nobody can lean on. And then also
there's no Andy Reed. You're with a defensive guy or
a first time offensive coordinators. It's a really kind of
like fickle dynamic that you're they're walking into.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So Jade and Daniels I was told as Washington they
believe is the best fit. So Cliff Kingsbury has used
quarterbacks who are mobile and accurate. And I like Jayden
a lot. I watched them at Arizona State. He was
really thin. He's still pretty thin, but he's developed. The
numbers are pretty profound. Is there anything I see a
(13:13):
little Lamar? It looks good in the pocket. Brian Kelly
can be tough on quarterbacks. He ran through him, but
he loves this kid. And this kid just got better.
I mean, if you look at the two years with Brian,
he got better. So he's coachable. Are there any concerns
with Jaden? What does the scouts say?
Speaker 3 (13:28):
That you hear.
Speaker 6 (13:29):
Scouts really like him.
Speaker 7 (13:31):
The stuff I heard from coaches especially, it's like, first
of all the Arizona State Part three offensive coordinators in
three years, that program was in disarray around him, right,
he continued to physically develop. Love how he grew at LSU.
You know he was he was very good as a
transfer his first year and then he made dramatic improvement
as a passer. How he saw the field three. Yeah,
(13:55):
you know he there is some Lamar. I mean, he's
not as physically strong as Lamar. I think that a
little bit of the only hesitation you get on some
people is, you know, in terms of outside the number throws.
He has a good enough arm. It's not an elite arm,
but he's accurate. He has a work ethic that people love.
(14:15):
And then his ability to extend plays and you see
him show up in a lot of big games. You know,
you watch what he did against against Alabama. You watch
what he did like and granted he has two first
round receivers he was throwing to, but he was going
up against a lot of big time athletes.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
How about Arizona State against Herbert and Oregon wild shootout, Yeah,
you look like you're watching two first round quarterbacks years.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Ago, and he's in a bunch of those, right, And
I think that he is a guy. To me, the
more people you talk to, the more you're like, oh,
there's a lot of people who actually feel more comfortable
with him than any quarterback in this draft.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
So let's talk about Caleb Williams. He is going to Chicago, obviously,
I have maybe because I know him a little bit
and I know a lot of people around him. My
take has been the fingernails, the jumping into his mom's arms,
even people, some people push back, he's a little cocky
with you in the interview. I'm like, first of all,
anytime you're the first anything, it's difficult. He's the first
(15:12):
nil superstar in a major market. Let's give him a
little pass if he got into his fields a little.
I mean, I know at twenty one, when I got
a new pair of shoes, I thought a had gate. Okay,
kid was making four million bucks more than the assistant coaches.
So I just think, we, you.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Know, la money nil.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I can get over fingernails. I think he has a
sense of humor. I've talked to him three or four times.
I think he's a bright, quick, funny kid, very confident.
Any of that stuff were even Chicago though, all the
stuff the peripherals.
Speaker 7 (15:41):
I don't know how much it worries Chicago. I know
there are people in the draft process who love his talent,
but are have some concerns about him in terms of
like you're going into. You know, I just mentioned the
chief situation. You know, he gets compared to Patrick Mahomes
a lot, fair or unfair. Patrick Mahomes got to be behind,
(16:02):
got to be behind Alex Smith for a year and
watched him. That's not this situation. You have Tyson Badget
and you're gonna have Brett Rippin that's not Alex and
a defensive coach and also yeah, defensive coach who you
know is definitely you know, maybe he'll get another year
after this year. But it's not like the ideal situation, right,
you know, a first time offensive you know, a new
offensive coordinator who's going in there. Then on top of that,
(16:26):
you know, you don't have the Andy Reid factor of
a guy who knows exactly what he's doing running an
offense and running a team. So I think there's a
lot of stuff that's TVD Now, maybe Keenan Allen becomes
the guy he can lean on and say, hey, you're
supposed to do it this way, because look, he won
a Heisman at USC and he had a great but
like this past year was a borderline disaster for USC. Right,
(16:47):
they should have they shouldn't have been that bad, right,
And so I think some of the stuff about Okay,
you know, is he going to be the team guy?
Is he going is he going to listen to the
people around him?
Speaker 6 (16:59):
Who is he listening? Two? I think those are things
that people have legitimate concerns.
Speaker 7 (17:03):
I don't think it's like, oh the fingernails or whatever,
like a lot of that stuff I think is more
anecdotal and separate. But I think the bigger things are,
you know, how is he going to respond to, you know,
real adversity but also trying to be the face of
a team and going into a locker room and hey,
(17:24):
we're all about winning games, not about you know, all
this other stuff that was going on with him at USC.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Is there a player because none of these quarterbacks are
quite ready. I saw a quote yesterday from Bill Belichick.
He said the only player he's ever had in his
career that was ready week one year. One was Lawrence Taylor.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
He said, it does There's definitely no Lawrence Siale in
this draft. This is not a good defensive you know,
frontline draft.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Is there a player I kind of think it's Harrison
that's just ready to be productive right away.
Speaker 6 (17:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (17:56):
I think Harrison and Adunza are really polished inacter wise,
really solid. Now the guy who I've heard the most
stuff so this past you know, a couple of weeks,
I've been talking to a lot of NFL position coaches
and scouts the one because I would have been saying
the two of them are the closest thing to can't
miss in terms of character.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
They're really polished. They're both good sized guys.
Speaker 7 (18:21):
But it's the one who is the is the wow
guy is actually Mylik Neighbors. I mean, there are NFL
receivers coaches I talked to who think Molik Neighbors is
the number one.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
A lot of yards after catch potential.
Speaker 7 (18:32):
Just just incredibly explosive, just has this dog mentality.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
And is so dynamic.
Speaker 7 (18:42):
And you know, one of the receivers coaches I talked
to two days ago said he's the best receiver coming
out of college in a long, long time, he said,
I would have said, since Jamar Chase and Jamar Chase
had great film. I actually think he's he is more
explosive than Jamar Chase. Now he's not quite as physically strong,
but he's not that far off it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
You know, it looks like to me it's a quarterback
left tackle draft. I think all drafts are now receiver drafts.
I just think they all are because but.
Speaker 6 (19:10):
This one's much better than the one.
Speaker 7 (19:11):
Last year you had Quentin Johnston, whose hands were spotty.
You know, you didn't have a lot of big guys.
This draft is much better than last last.
Speaker 6 (19:18):
Year or so.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
I don't remember a draft with eight left tackles like early.
Is that is that the un Is that the position?
Joe Alt, I've been told. I've heard there's a lot
of people. All doesn't have a huge ceiling, but should
be good really quickly. You know, he'll be a two
time Pro Bowler. Not Trent Williams. That's what I would
heart from an executive in the league.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
They like Alt.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
They don't love any of the tackles, but they like
about eight of them to ten of them. There's a
kid at Duke that can go inside outside Oregon State kid,
people say is like as good a run blocker, you'll
see it tackle. You just won't see him any better
in anywhere on the planet. Is that the best position
in this draft?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Do you think?
Speaker 7 (19:55):
I still think it's receiver because I think you have
three e the players at the top of it. You know,
Joe all to me is maybe.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
In that realm. I don't think he's as far.
Speaker 7 (20:07):
You know, you can get guys offensive linemen also where
I think there is not to the dreary quarterbacks, but
there is kind of a boomer bust feel to some
of them, right, So you know you mentioned Oregon State,
Troy Fatanu at Washington similar kind of player where really physical.
There's coaches in the in the Pac twelve who actually
(20:28):
thought Troy was a little better than Telisi from Oregon State.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
But they're both, you know, they're bruisers.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
They're physical guys who I think can play outside, but
also if you need them, can are good enough to
play inside as well, and versatile and smart and tough.
Speaker 6 (20:43):
There's a couple of I don't want to say real boomer.
Speaker 7 (20:46):
Bus guys, but Tyler Goeyton from Oklahoma, Bill Beiden, Mose
the old line coach there. He was with Lincoln before.
He's an old leech guy. He has cranked out a
lot of star.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
NFL Lineman's got a lot alignment.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
Geyton might be the most talented guy he's ever worked with,
but he's really raw, so you may be getting a
couple of years where he's got to work through it.
He you know, he kind of came to offensive line
really late. And then you have a guy in a
Marius Mims at Georgia. Is this enormous guys you know,
six eight, three forty. You know, people worry I talked
to in the NFL worry a little bit about just
(21:18):
in terms of durability when somebody is that big. Sure
he's only played started seven or eight games, but there
are a lot of offensive tackles that are interesting. You
just don't know, you know, do they go in the
eighteen to thirty range? You know, Barton from Duke people
like him because you can play so much. I don't
think anyone loves him in anyone's.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Spot, can play three spots.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
Yeah, is he Is he going to be a lead
at any of them? I don't know.
Speaker 7 (21:44):
You know, you have a really good center in from
Oregon and Jackson's Power Johnson Zach Frazier is a really
good center that people really like.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Wes Virginia. Yeah, so it's a I think it's a
good offensive line draft.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Finally, Dion Sanders fourteen players Lee I said earlier transfer portal,
ninety percent of the players that you get or leaving
are not foundational. Quarterbacks matter more than any I don't
look at this as he's got a sales pitch. Some
kids fall in love with the pitch and move on.
What do you make of what's happening to Colorado.
Speaker 7 (22:16):
I think it's it's kind of reflective of a lot
of what's going on actually around the country, just to
not to the same degree. And I don't want to
say this is the exact or this is a cu thing,
but I think one thing I'm hearing a lot of
in this cycle is you're seeing a lot of kids
go back into the portal and after not being in
there very long, and what is happening is a lot
of players are finding out that that the things they're
(22:38):
being told they think they're getting aren't exactly what they're getting.
They're not getting that much because they may be told yeah,
it's going to be four hundred thousand dollars or it's
going to be two hundred thousand dollars. But it's a
car that you're getting a rental you're not. You don't
own it. So it's not like you or I could
turn around and sell.
Speaker 6 (22:55):
It right right.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
It's a house that they're that you're being you have
access to, but you don't own it. So there's some
of those things that I think.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
Are are are are.
Speaker 7 (23:05):
Tough for a lot of the kids to figure out
right now. They think they're getting one thing, they're not.
It's there's a lot of times I've heard stories of
guys who think they're getting eight or nine hundred thousand,
they maybe end up with two hundred thousand.
Speaker 6 (23:17):
So you get some frustration on that.
Speaker 7 (23:19):
And again I don't think this is you know, in
Dion's case at CEU, they were so bad when he
got there and he made us, you know, a huge
overhaul of the program, and I think a lot of
it is now you've had a handful of assistants. Sean
Lewis is offense coordinators now the head coach at San
Diego states You've had some people come and go.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
I suspect.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
You know, especially with Shador there, they will go as
they go into a new league, from one win to
four wins at least. I think eight, you know, I
get it there. I think there will be more, you know,
significantly better. I don't know how much better than eight,
but you know I wouldn't. You know, You're gonna see
a lot of guys, especially with grad transfers come and go,
(24:02):
and I just think that people are looking for the
right fit. And sometimes people are constantly hitting the reset button,
like the kid on the video game who doesn't like
the start of it, and all of a sudden like
let me start that all over again.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Good seeing your buddy as all as Bruce Feldman the
athletic Fox Sports, you've.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
Upgraded your shooting guard here. I think I've seen. I
know Jason fancies himself as a shoe.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
No, you couldn't have j Mac and Jordan the same backcourt.
It would be it would.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
It would It would basically be a black hole.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
It would be no passing bad shots.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
It would Bemoie and Kobe White. You'd be fun to watch,
but I'm not sure you.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
Defend any I think there's more. Jordan Poole going on here.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Yeah, you too, kind.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
The brilliant Eque s us a V from Mercedes Benz
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Speaker 2 (24:55):
Dash SUV one more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app.
Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
All right, good stuff with Bruce Felman, Jordan Schultz, without
further ado with the news.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
No no, no turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
This is the Herd line news.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
All right, Colin, Let's start with some basketball.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
USA Basketball announced their roster earlier this week for the
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Olympics in Paris.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
The most notable names included Steph Curry and Lebron James.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Steph explained his
decision quote, I think the timing is just right. I'm
later in my career. This is probably the last opportunity
I have to pay I have to play.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Colin.
Speaker 5 (25:40):
I wasn't here for the discussion earlier in the week,
but people are comparing.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
This team to the ninety two Dream Team. Did I
hear that right?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well, I mean, I think the best players on this
team are Lebron and Steph Okay, very old players out
of their prime. Where I still make an argument where
the ninety two team had the best player in the
world in his prime, Scottie Pippen in his prime, there
was a lot of I don't know. I don't think
there's anything that compares the ninety two nothing. I think
(26:10):
our domestic basketball talent, if you took Lebron and Steph
old guys off this roster, it's pretty limited. Go back
to look at the Tokyo USA Olympic team is pretty
limited team. So I mean this team works because of
Lebron and Stephan Durant. Our young domestic talent is you know,
(26:31):
bam Adebayou's average over twenty like one time. He's a
good player. Drew Holidays more about defense. Tyreese Halliburton's excellence,
but he's a kid. Anthony Edwards is dynamic, but there's
some limitations to playmaking and shooting in defense. So it's
it's our domestic product is up against it right now.
The world's overall talent at the very top is really
(26:54):
really good. And the best player in this draft is
arguably a French player, a French.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
Guard Our ninety two Dream Team squad of Barcelona. I
mean David Robinson, the Admiral, a first ballot guy was
coming off the bench. Barkley struggled to get minutes sometimes.
I mean that team was insane.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Docton.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
The best shooter in the world at the time was
arguably Reggie Miller didn't make the team. The best pure
point was arguable day Isaiah Thomas didn't make the team.
The human highlight reel, the Aunt Edwards of his generation,
Dominique Wilkins did not make the team. David Robinson seven
times scored twenty three or more a game. BAM's been
(27:32):
over twenty or twenty one one time. And that's the difference. Now,
I mean, the game's different. The Bigs now can shoot threes,
most of them. But it's it's again, it's more of
an international talent in the NBA is winning all the
MVPs than by next year, the two best players, the
three best players in the NBA next year by the
(27:55):
All Star break could be Jokich, Wenby Luca, and then
maybe Yannis and Sga all European player. They all Yeah,
four Europeans, one Canadian and that's not a stretch.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
That's probable.
Speaker 5 (28:09):
Wow, I would say the ninety two Actually, that team
spurred a lot of this, that spearheaded a lot of
the international game.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
Yes, so that was awesome. But now we're paying the
price as a USA team in the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:21):
Now, the NFL, the Houston Texans shocked everyone last season,
winning their division behind stellar play from rookie quarterback CJ.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Stroud Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
There's a lot to be optimistic about with this Houston
team going forward, but GM Nick Cassio says last year's
success doesn't mean a thing.
Speaker 8 (28:38):
Frankly, it's kind of laughable. I mean it's so early.
I mean, we haven't done anything. So what happened last
year has no bearing on this year. So we're focused
on right now. We're focused on the present. We're focused
on improvement, and I think the player's focus is just
on their attitude, the effort, and their commitment to being
a good player. So outside of that, I mean, the
rest of it is just a bunch of garbage.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Well here's what's not garb. If you said the five
most important things for an NFL franchise quarterback check coach,
check left tackle, check edge, rusher, check weapon, check five
for five.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
So I mean, right now.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Because not all positions are equal, they could use another corner,
soaka the league. But I mean Diggs, give them a receiver.
C J.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Stroud, Jeremy Tunzel got the coach.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Added Dale Hunter lost, Gernard added Hunter brought it. Joe
Mixon Pro Bowl back.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, so they It's not like I always say in
the NBA, it's not that you have a star, you
have the right star, a committed star. Almelo was a star,
not already committed defensively, you know, not committed to the
three point.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
Shot, Olympic player.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
But it's about do you have the right players at
the right places. And Houston now has all of the
boxes check even.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Stingley that corners the corner.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
So you could argue, if that's the sixth most important position,
they got that too.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
Plus great you mentioned the coach. I mean, I cannot
say enough good things about Demiko. I do wonder we
talked yesterday.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
On Speak about c J.
Speaker 5 (30:05):
Stroud's success and how that could potentially hurt someone like
Kayla Williams because the expectations.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Are so high.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
But what CJ. Shroud did last year, Colin was literally
a unicorn. First rookie ever to.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
Throw for four thousand yards and win a playoff game.
That's how good c J. Strout was.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
So now we're talking about Kayla Williams being generational the
next Mahomes, Let's pump the brakes a little bit. What
Stroud did was incredible.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
Sticking with the NFL, Trevor Lawrence has shown some flashes,
some flashes of greatness since being drafted first overall in
the twenty twenty one draft. Now, during his fourth year
in the league, Lawrence is eligible for an extension. This week,
GM Trent Balkey was asked about the progress on those
contract talks. He said, quote, you try not to force anything.
We've had some great talks and great conversations. I spoke
(30:51):
with his agency again last night. We're working, But you
can't force this stuff.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Colin. If you were the Jags, are you throwing the
bag at TELT.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, because it's not a great NFL market, so you
have to be viable to even sell the tickets.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
That's this is this is this market is.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
One of the weaker NFL markets in terms of merchandising,
So you have to be really fun to watch to
sell tickets. It's a college football market, It's not like Baltimore.
They're going regardless.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Of the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, So, I mean I think he's got a lot
of leverage. I mean, what's this franchise for twenty five years?
They when they had Brunell, they were interesting, Tom Complin
and Brunell, and now they're interesting with Doug Peterson and
Trevor Lawrence. So that this organization is fighting an uphill
battle in terms of game day revenue, merchandising, getting on television,
(31:41):
you know. I mean they're throwing games over to England
or you know, wherever they Europe anytime they can.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
So I think you have to sign him.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
What's the alternatives? Anative?
Speaker 3 (31:51):
And there's nothing on the market like this, So no.
Speaker 5 (31:53):
I mean the only other cop would be Dallas. That's
what's their alternative atack. But they have Big Deed. That's
arguably the most important franchise in the Yeah, that's the difference.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
Finally, Colin, let's get to the draft. We're less than
a week away.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
The Broncos are among plenty teams looking for a quarterback.
As we discussed earlier, we've really focused on the top
six qbs throughout this draft process, but now Broncos GM
George Peyton is suggesting there might be more quarterbacks than that.
Speaker 9 (32:21):
I do think it is a good quarterback class. There's
seven eight quarterbacks that we like that think can play
in the league one day. I'm not going to get into,
you know, how we have them rated, but it is
a good quarterback class. We've it's been fun getting to
know them, you know, seven or eight of them, and
so we think we.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Can get a quarterback early.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
We think mid rounds.
Speaker 9 (32:40):
We think there's gonna be quarterbacks you know, throughout the
draft that are interesting to us.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
So if you're saying, hey, that would include Sam Hartman
at Notre.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Dame and Michael Prattatuling.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Yeah, my Hartman I feel like is a fifth fourth,
fifth round best Yeah, good.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Player, good player, I think too.
Speaker 5 (32:57):
I think after the six, I think Krat's probably the
next guy.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Tu Lane.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
It's tou Lane and from what I've been told, the
B plus arm potential starter, probably a backup to begin
his career, certainly left the first couple of years.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
But good player. Hartman.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
You mentioned coming from waite Forest had some success in
Notre Dame, but Colin seven or eight starters would be
historic on every level.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
Yeah, no, I don't see it.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Jordan with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping by The Herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
So there is.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
We've talked about how europe international players are absolutely winning
the MVPs, the the best players in the world. Wemby
will be a top three player in the league next year.
I would guess Aunt Edwards couldn't be the most dynamic
domestic player American player, but I've got a theory on
how he's just gonna be Dominique Wilkins great. Perhaps not
(33:52):
in the conversation fifteen years after he's done. I'll give
you that next And I like him, but I like
the Suns to win. That.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app two.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
NBA Insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right
into the NBA Great Five.
Speaker 10 (34:15):
All happening in only one place this league Uncut. The
New NBA Podcast with Me Chris.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Haynes and me Mark Stein join us.
Speaker 10 (34:25):
As we team up to expound on everything we're covering.
Hearing and Chason.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein.
Speaker 10 (34:34):
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
Tomorrow on FS one, two iconic teams go head ahead
as the Mets take on Mookie Bets, Showetani and the Doggers.
Coverage begins tomorrow at three Eastern on FS one.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
So on g Wold Sun's first Round, I'll take Phoenix.
Good series, though Anthony Edwards twenty two years old, was
asked about his game in the series, and he's as
I think in three years, two years, I'll be the
best player in the NBA. And it's interesting, different position,
but I view him. My guess is he will end
up being the Dominique Wilkins of my era, an All Star,
(35:13):
a lot of points, highlight reel, absolutely spectacular, but no titles.
Could never get past better players or better teams. So
he's not going to have the defensive impact or close
to it of a Wemby. He is not, as I
would say, a good two way player is SGA who's
an MVP finalist and a better defender. He doesn't score
(35:37):
like Luca. Luca is also a better creator for others,
and he's not as good as Jokich. The Celtics could
be the team of the next ten years, or it
could be OKC that's stacked, or it could be Denver.
Nobody thinks right now it's Minnesota. And I'm not saying
he's not great. But if you look at Wemby, there's
(35:57):
an argument to be made by the All Star Game
next year, he and Jokich are the two best players,
and lucas three, and Giannis is four and Sga is five,
and most of them are really good at a multitude
of things, all of them arguably better than Ant Edwards
on defense, and a couple better in shot creation for others.
(36:21):
So again, that's not to say that Dominique Wilkins wasn't great,
but he's not really in the conversation anymore. It's like
Dan Marino was great, but he wasn't as great as
contemporaries in terms of wins, playoffs, super Bowls, So I
can like him, but the Celtics are going to be
the next five years along with Denver. Those are the teams,
so you're not gonna have the team success. And I
just I kind of start looking at ant Edwards and
(36:44):
you know, he's gonna score a lot of points, and
he's gonna be on many nights the most spectacular and
he's a very very good player. I don't think he'll
ever be the best player in the league. He'll win
a scoring titler three. Dominique Wilkins was often the most exciting,
the most fun to watch. I can remember being a
local sports cap. I remember this for an NBC affiliate
(37:04):
and it's how old I am. And then we used
to get this feed every night. It was this like
national feed with highlights, and I could remember getting Dominique
Wilkins Georgia highlights and I'd never seen anything like him.
I'd never seen a player dunk that hard and jump
that high. But we don't talk a lot about Dominique.
(37:25):
He didn't make the Dream Team and he was great.
So I'm interested to watch Anthony Edwards. I'm really interested
to watch him because this influx of European players, Wemby
is going to be a thirty point a game player
and the best defensive player in the league.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Ant's never gonna be that. It's never gonna be the
best defensive player.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Jokis now is arguably the best passing center, great score rebounder.
There's certain things Ant can't do. SGA's better two way.
Nobody shoots like Luca. I mean, it just it's like
Aunt entered It's almost like Phil Mickelson entered golf. His
prime was Tiger's prime. It's like, well, okay, what are
you going to do? His prime was Tiger's prime and
(38:04):
it happened. I mean, there's a lot of guys in
the NBA they were in Lebron's prime or Michael Jordan's prime,
and once he got Scotti, pivot and Phil Jackson, Michael
had to leave the sport for.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
The Rockets to win.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Where is Tatum fitting in this?
Speaker 1 (38:17):
I think Tatum is the second most dynamic domestic player.
He will get success because he's part of a great
Celtic organization that has a history of winning when they
have the right players. So Tatum will get his He'll
eat He's going to be in finals. The Eastern Conference
is weaker and in the Western Conference he's got to
get through Denver. San Antonio's gonna figure it out. Oklahoma
(38:39):
City is well run, well coached, loaded with draft picks.
Lakers are never down for too long. You know, Warriors
could reboot. I mean, here comes Sacramento. So a lot
of it is in life is what conference are you in?
Who's the star ahead of you? I mean, Lebron kept
a lot of good people out of the finals. Michael
Jordan kept a lot of really good Western teams, Sonics
(39:01):
Blazers from winning championship suns. It just sometimes you get
an icon and that icon, you know, if Caitlin Clark
goes to the Fever and she's good as everybody says,
and all of a sudden they make an eight year
run and win five titles. The second best team could
have been a team that five years earlier would have
won titles and five years later would have won titles.
(39:22):
But they have Caitlin Clark in their prime.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Who's the NFL comp by the way, to Anthony.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
Edwards, is it Josh all like Josh Allen?
Speaker 4 (39:30):
Josh Allen?
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Yeah, I mean, but I mean Big Ben had Manning
and Brady, but he got two. He did he got
there early, but middle and late. You know, you saw
how it ended. So a lot of stuff is you know,
I was say, in real estate, it's all location. In sports,
it's a lot of timing.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
It is a lot.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
I mean, by the way, I've said this before.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
If Andy Reid, if the NFL would have paid out
the CTE billion dollar check ten years earlier and the
league would have pivoted to offense ten years earlier, it
would be Andy Reid who would be the goat, and
Belichick who would be second or third Belichick the primary
years of Bill Belichick's you know, prime coaching years, it
(40:11):
was a defensive league. So you had Brady and the
ability to do things you're not allowed to do anymore.
Once you lose Brady. Now builds a defensive coach in
an offensive league. Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin. They kind of
feel outdated. So Andy Reid had to overcome the rules
and was still winning the NFC. Now he gets Mahomes
(40:32):
and the league pivots, and Buffalo's got a defensive coach
and the second best quarterback. So if Mahomes did not exist,
I think, Josh Allen, will you get all you're getting now?
But super Bowl appearances? And so I mean when the
Cowboys had eight but in Jimmy Johnson. They you know,
Montana and the Niners kept a lot of good teams
out of it. And so back to my initial point
(40:54):
with Ann Edwards, Wemby is going to be arguably the
best offensive and defensive player in a year. Jokic is
the best offensive player now, Luca. There's just too many
good players. And Denver is still young, and the Celtics
aren't young, but most of their best players are in
their prime, so you're not gonna be on the best teams.
And then the teams after that that we're looking at
(41:16):
are Indie, n and East, the Knicks a little and OKC.
So even the young teams who had the longest tarmac,
you're not on those. So this could be you don't know.
I'm really interested to watch the t Wolves and the Suns.
I think it's a really good series, but I'm gonna
take Phoenix just because of how Beale has played and
how Phoenix has played in the last three weeks.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
Really good basketball. Our three Chris Brussards around the corner
on a Friday, So good to have Jordan in here.
J Max back Monday Live in La. It's the hed
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Colin Cowherd
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