April 22, 2024 • 40 mins
Colin explains why the Lakers don't stand much of a chance against the Nuggets
He discusses the hype leading up to the NFL Draft
Joel Embiid can't seem to stay healthy
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
It is a Monday, and we are live in Los Angeles,
and it is The Herd. Wherever you may be and
however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part
of your day. Uh top on next hour. Colin Wright,
Colin Wrang, Jamach. I know you were out and about
with the America. I was grounded here in Los Angeles
(00:49):
watching playoff games the whole weekend. Lakers Denver. Stop me
if you've seen this result before, nine straight.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Season on the line tonight for Lebron. But yes, I said,
I've nas Vegas. It's not Nashville, nas Vegas. Yeah, awesome city.
It's great, so you need to get there soon. I've
been to Nashville more than once. Great city. I would
suggest leaving the wife at home, Well.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
No, she likes Vegas, doesn't and Nashville. So the thing
about greatness like the Denver Nuggets is they create clarity.
How do you compare to greatness? They really illustrate a
team's flaws, and when the Lakers face Denver, you really
see their flaws that can be hidden against average teams
to slightly better than average. D'Angelo Russell can't trust them
(01:34):
in big playoff spots. Austin reeves, he's a nice four,
not a great one. Lakers bench eh Darvin Ham, Eh
A D and Lebron were great. Thirteen total assists, fifty
nine total points, fifty six percent from the floor. Lebron
and ad were fantastic. It's a great one two punch.
(01:56):
But Denver has the world's best player in Jokich and
maybe the best duo in the league with Jamal Murray,
who's one of the rare players who's significantly better in
the playoffs than in the regular season. Aaron Gordon, a
top athlete, defender, Michael Porter seventeen and seven KCP, always
lethal in the postseason, and an experienced championship winning coach.
(02:18):
Twice in Game one, Denver just shifted gears for like
ninety seconds to two and a half minutes. Blew the
Lakers doors off, and again Lebron and Ad were great.
But the Lakers have lost nine straight to Denver, and
they've led by ten or more in half of those games.
But the difference is the Nuggets give you consistent excellence
(02:40):
with an occasional spurt. The Lakers are hot and cold.
There's a nuanced analytics stat called organized offense percentage by quarter.
It's boring, but what it illustrates is Denver is literally
the same team the entire game, and the Lakers were
very good early and very bad late. As Lebron, as
his age gets old and gets tired, he often gets
(03:02):
very sloppy and that initiates these big Denver two minute
runs and it's game over. So Denver's very much a
marathon runner. They run the first mile at the same
speed as the last mile, and they know it's Steve Prefontaine.
They can endure more than you can over the course
of a couple hours, and you're just watching an excellent team.
(03:23):
And I said before the series, it's not that the
Lakers are going to lose, because they are, But what
if they get swept again or lose in five games,
which they will, what are the repercussions. Lebron has options.
Golden State is interested. Will Darvin Ham get run out?
D Lo's gone. Are they tired of just Austin Reeves
ad and nobody else on the bench you can really trust.
(03:45):
There are repercussions for great players when they lose. Maybe
not for KD who's a bit of a wanderer, but
there have been historically for Lebron, who is not He's
just mobile. But when he gets his feet in the
ground in the place he wants to live, he's gonna
make changes. So this series and these games nine straight times,
I've watched all these games, they're all the same. D
(04:07):
LO doesn't deliver. It feels like they're slightly out coached.
They have moments of excellence, but it's the continued consistent
success that Denver provides and it creates clarity. That's the
great thing about championship teams. You look at the Chiefs,
you start looking at great teams across the board. Michigan
this year, they point out your flaws, what you need
(04:29):
to work on, and boyd does Denver do that to
the Lakers. And here's Lebron after you don't have.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Much Rolf Air versus Denver Tan especially out there on
their home floor. They're just a team that's been through everything,
and obviously they're just finish champions. So no, you got
to execute, you got to make shots, you got to defend,
and then you can't give them extra possessions.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
No you can't.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
All right, it's draft week.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
It is draft week, and Caleb Williams is going to
go number one to the Chicago Bears. And I'm reading
the Athletic this morning, and there's a quarterback coach in
the NFL who played in the league, and he talked
about Caleb Williams. He said, listen his arm. There's a
lot of wild stuff here. This kid's spectacular talent. This
(05:11):
is generational stuff. But he also added context, said this
NFL quarterback coach, who again played in the league, and
I think he made great points about Caleb Williams, and
I'm going to show him to you. The first one
he said, is the Bear's head coach safe. You have
a first year coordinator. It's not like he's going to
a place that's stable. It's not like the Jordan Love
(05:33):
takeover in Green Bay, the coach continued, not going to
be like that in Chicago. Defensive head coach, hot seat,
new oc. There was quarterback stuff for the last number
one guy with Justin Fields. Half the team wanted him
to stay, half didn't. Those things are huge factors for
a young quarterback coming in at the start of his career,
(05:54):
and he continued, look at rock perty goes into a situation,
all the boxes are checked. Solid organization, good defense, play caller,
developer of talent, knew exactly what he was looking for.
Those things are critical. If Purty goes to the Panthers,
we don't know who he is right now. I do
not disagree with any of those points, but I'd like
(06:16):
to add that something else is true. If you're destined
to be a star in this league, you will be.
Trevor Lawrence entered a complete clown show year two in
the AFC. He won a playoff game Justin Herberts had
(06:36):
two coaches, both whiffs. He's gotten to the playoffs in
a division with Mahomes. Joe Burrow entered with a young
head coach, losing record, frugal owner nor indoor practice facility,
none in Cincinnati, a northern climate, horrible offensive line at
the time, didn't have a dominant weapon running for his
(06:58):
life and his career two plays for winning a Super Bowl. Yes, yes,
where you land is really critical, but the great ones
find a way to do it. The Colts were a mess.
Colts were a mess before Peyton Manning. He won four
MVPs there and got to two Super Bowls. If Caleb
(07:19):
Williams and I believe he is is generationally great, you'll
see it. The Bears GM and owners will see it.
And if Matt Eberflus isn't the guy, he'll be gone.
I suspect he will be after year one. Herbert got
(07:39):
the bag. I mean, Josh Allen, think about this. Has
yet to have a great O line, has a defensive coach,
he's on his third coordinator, has never had a true
number two receiver. Finally got an elite running back. In
the last five years they've been top fouri an offense.
You'll figure out how to get it done. Every business,
(08:02):
talent overcomes, Talent wins, Talent separates. Yes, for ninety percent
of these players, For ninety percent of these players, it's
where you land, it's who coaches you. JJ McCarthy is
not talented enough, nor is bo Nicks. Michael Pennix and
I like all three to some degree, they're not talented
(08:23):
enough to go to a clown show and deal with
a coaching carousel. Herbert is and in my opinion, Caleb
Williams is. If you're destined to be a star in
the entertainment business, singing music, athletics, you will be Jordan
hit on his third coach. Jordan eventually got Scottie Pippen. Eventually,
(08:46):
as Jordan fought with his owner and his GM in
the first couple of coaches and teammates, eventually it worked.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
It always does, all right, j mc so.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I sat around Saturday and Sunday and after little morning workouts,
watched a ton of playoff basketball, and I've come to
the conclusion it is put up her, shut up time
for Joel Embiid. There's no way with Jalen brunts and
not having a great day and no second star on
that team that Joel Embiid should lose that game with
(09:19):
a second star.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Would be interesting if they lost Game two and then
you started hearing rumblings about Joel Embid. I'm done in Philly.
Get me to New York to play with Jaylen Brunson.
We've know the Embid New York stuff's been out there
for a minute.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
That'd be very Kevin durant of him. I'm out, I
just lost to you guys. I'll go play with New
York that. By the way, the environment at the Garden
was in electric.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
You know what I was telling my friend Jason timph
on my podcast last night, I said, you know, NBA
players don't need any individual market to succeed. You can
get rich anywhere shoe deals, Instagram salary. But right now,
many of the best teams are about to be best
teams OKA see Minnesota, Denver, Nuggets, Orlando. There's a lot
(10:04):
of brands that aren't very big national brands. And if
the Lakers get ousted, STEP's out, Lebron's out, the New
York Knicks become very valuable as a brand for the league.
I watched that game and the Knicks just because of
the Garden and those fans and the celebrities. It felt
(10:25):
like a Game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. The
intense I'm sorry, Cleveland and Orlando in Indianapolis and OKC,
don't jump out of my TV like like Madison's Square
Garden does I mean the show Star Star Star Star Star,
Big loud guys puppet and there's something about the lights
in New York where they light the crowd. Maybe that's true.
You can see the celebrities. That thing felt like a
(10:46):
Game seven of a conference final.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
The only environment home teams by the way, eight to no.
I think that was the first time in like over
ten years that that's happened in the first round Game
one Minnesota environment with Anthony Edwards going off. I thought
that was the second best the garden. It was just like,
this is big time basketball. Ye really fun stuff. Home teams,
rolled be sure to catch live editions of The Herd
weekdays and noon Eastern nn AM Pacific on Fox Sports
(11:11):
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
You can keep telling me something is great, but I
need proof data something I've been hearing for years. Joe
Lmbid is a great all time center. Okay, so all
the great centers since I started watching the NBA in
nineteen seventy two, they've all won championships. Wilt, Moses Malone,
(11:38):
Bill Walton, Akeem Shack, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, now Jokic,
they've all won. Walton in the seventies, Wilt seventy two,
is the first year I remember watching the NBA. They've
all won, even second tier centers Ewing Dwight Howard got
to finals. Embiad's been in the league for like eleven years.
(11:59):
He's played for eight of them came in hurt. He's
never won a second round Eastern Conference playoff series. The
East has never been this week. I mean, I love
the Knicks, but a two seed it's never been this week.
He's got a second star. He lost this weekend again.
(12:21):
He's losing in the East often losing is the favorite
in this Knick series. He has a second star. Max
he was great thirty three points. Kyle Lowry, the ghost
of Kyle Lowry appears. He was really good, and you're
gonna let Josh Hart and Miles McBride beat you. Jalen
Brunson has very few stinkers. That may be the only
(12:42):
one in the series. Eight for twenty six. Didn't play well,
not efficient. He's a great player, so Jalen Brunson doesn't
play well. Jalen Brunson doesn't have a second star. He's
got rotational guys, number three and four guys. Embiid gets
his number two guy that plays out of his mind,
Kyle Lowry plays an incredibly important game. I'm sorry, I
(13:02):
need proof. Well the MVP. Let's be honest, that was
an anti Jokich vote. It wasn't a pro mb'd vote.
You got tired of the European guy dominating MVP voting.
And Jokich is truly great. He does more well than
MB does, and he's always available. But all the top
players right now in the NBA who at least have
(13:24):
some age on him and experience, they've all been to
conference finals. Kawhi's and Jimmy Butler's and Steph and Lebron
and Ad and Tatum. It doesn't matter. They've all been
to conference finals. Joel Embiid can't win a second round
playoff series in the East, the weakest it's ever been.
At some point, dude, you were zero for five in
the fourth quarter. At some point, I need more April
(13:45):
May and June wins. I'm sorry, I'm not going to
put you in all these classes. Oh, he's shack. He's
this that he's a center who's often not available and
not clutch in big playoffs. And this was a break,
this was a window. Jalen Brunson has very few clunkers
(14:06):
doesn't have many of those. You may not get another
one in the series. Maxi was sensational, Kyle Lowry was good.
I'm sorry that you have to change this narrative.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
It's not on us.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
This is about you delivering. That's the difference between very
good and a stat monster at this point and Beads
a stat monster. There's nothing else beyond it. He's a
three hundred and twenty hitter in baseball that never wins
a playoff series. You got to give me something here,
j Mack with a.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
News no, no, turn on the news. This is the
herd line. You're right, I mean now Sixers fans pushed
back well with Embead on the floor. They were plus fourteen.
It's the non embiid minutes. And that's where I'm like, well,
who do you look at for that? The GM? Where's
our roster? I mean Nick put two bailed them out
against the heat. Remember that you like twenty point six
(14:54):
threes and beat goes off the floor.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
They got no if embads off the floor and Jalen
Brunson's play poorly, you still have a star and the
next don't I mean the Knicks Brunson played poorly.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Julius Randall not available.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You Sixers can't beat them just when he's off the floor.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Tobias Harris benched in the fourth quarter. Again, your guy,
Your guy to Tobias Harris. By the way, Jalen Brunson,
are you ready for this? Five offensive rebounds Joel Embiid three?
How's a tiny point call?
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Well, the Knicks are incredibly likable because they squeeze every
ounce of talent when you they're Villanova in the pros.
It's a bunch of these grinder guys who just the effort.
Josh Hart is everywhere, so it's not about and I
do think there's a ceiling to this, but in the
Eastern Conference, maybe there's not a ceiling to this team.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So a lot of pressure on Embiid to win this series.
I thought Kevin Durant had the most pressure. I think
it's probably oh, I think it's on Embid. Yeah, big time.
All right, let's get started with Jason Tatum and the Celtics.
Your buddy, Jason Tatum. It wasn't a close game, so
they rolled. He had a triple double, twenty three, ten
and ten. He also got fouled. If you're watching at home.
This is kind of a cheap shot by Martin. Caleb
(16:03):
Martin in the final minute of the game.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You know what I was thinking about. And so they're
winning the game convincingly, and the Celtics still have Tatum
in the game, and Miami's like, Caleb go be disrupted?
Oh right, am I wrong?
Speaker 2 (16:16):
A little bit of a cheap shot?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
All right?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Well here's what Tatum said about the cheap shot after
the game.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Little just understand his playoff basketball, right, It's a physical
game playing against a physical team. You know, going to happen.
It's not the last time I'm probably gonna get hit
like that or foul in this series. So you know
it wasn't hurt, you know yet you get hit like that,
(16:42):
you know, just get up.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I mean, if you look at it, you know, I
third and four time, you see Drew Holliday gave a
little shove to Martin, who then.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Was a little let's watch the highlt I didn't quite
see that. They're not trying to sell me on.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
That, listen. I don't think it was dirty. I don't
think spos was dirty. Caleb Martin plays hard. This is
the guy I bet on a lot back in college.
He's just a g I will not stop playing for
forty minutes. I did like how Jalen Brown stepped up
for his buddy. There.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
That's a potentially scary fall for Tatum, who is no.
I let Jayleen Brown came over to show hands.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, basically, anybody shoves you like that, I'm gonna step up. Hey, hey,
oh buddy, all right. Next up the Dallas Mavericks. Boy,
I picked him to go to the finals. We did
not look good. They had thirty points and a half. Yeah,
so Cowherd, you know, calls me yesterday. It is just
mocking the Mavericks for five minutes and I just had
to take it. U No Kawhi Leonard thirty points a
(17:34):
half for the MAVs and Jason Kidd talked about the
embarrassment after the loss.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
I thought the physicality was the biggest thing that stands out.
They were physical and we were passive. So we have to,
you know, look at that when we look at the
video tonight and tomorrow, that the physicality. We have to
embrace that and do better on the floor. And I
understand we got wide open looks that we just didn't make.
(17:59):
We were one from six from the corner from three
normally we knocked those down. So we'll look and see
and how we can get better and hopefully we have
a better effort in the first half.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah, Phoenix in Dallas honestly just didn't really want to
engage like they just Phoenix in Dallas from the very beginning.
Both got pushed all over the floor. Just a really
weak effort. Now again, it's a seven game series, Dallas.
I don't know about Phoenix. Dallas is gonna play well.
They're a little bit of a lobsided roster where their
scoring comes from basically two players, whereas the Clippers have
(18:33):
four guys sometimes five that could give you points. Even
Terris Terrence Man can sometimes drop a twenty. But I
think Dallas will re cover. Like this game, when they
had thirty and half, you're like, Okay, that's not the
way this series is gonna look.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
So it felt like motivation was everything. MAVs came in
the hottest team in the league, I think seventeen.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
And so the Clippers are on their toes ready to go.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
No Kawhi Leonard. So MAVs are like, we got this,
and you know these Gebroni's like you and I say, oh,
Maverick's got this series. I think everybody picked the Mats
to win this series. So Tylu motivated his guys. Yeah,
and you could see like Zubats came out and was
like dominant. He had like I think twenty and fifteen.
And by the way, remember James Harden last year. What
did he do early in the series. No, he's very good.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Harden's playoff history is good early in series.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Oh yeah, Harden could't miss yesterday. We'll see how that
goes in game six et seven. Just file it away
all the paper, kip clips, fans and my mentions. Final story,
Let's get to the NFL. This is this is kind
of interesting. Dak Prescott finally talking about his new contract,
and he's not he's not worried about his future with
the team. At a charity event over the weekend, he
(19:33):
spoke about what he's looking for listen closely in his
upcoming contract negotiations, and.
Speaker 7 (19:38):
No, I'm not trying to be the highest paid necessarily. Okay,
so we'll wait till negotiations began, and obviously want to
put this team in the best situation. I'm not gonna
say I fear being here or not I don't. I
don't fear either situation. To be candid with you. I
love this game and love to play and love to
(20:00):
better myself as a player, and my teammates around me.
Right now, it's what the Dallas Cowboys is where I
want to be, and that's where I am, and that's
the focus. And after the season we'll see where we're
at and then the future holds that then if not,
we'll go from that one.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
If you paid quarterbacks, if you made your money based
on how good you are, Mahomes is the highest paid.
I would put Josh Allen's second highest paid. Who's third
highest paid? You have to consider everything. Well, Lamar is great,
but he has struggled in the playoffs. So if you're
if you're paying a quarter This is not the NBA
(20:36):
where the regular season doesn't count. In the NFL at
all counts for everything that productivity, availability, playoff wins. So
Mahomes will be the highest paid quarterback in the league.
Josh Allen is second. Didn't have Super Bowl wins, but
wildly productive, often the team he has to overcome elements
on his team. Who's third? Let me throw a name
(20:58):
out at you. Matt Stafford yeah, but the injury history.
I know that, But he is he not in the
class for third. Oh yeah, he's in the mix, Burrows
up there. But no, we've got like four straight years
of injuries. Yeah, well I've got I've got Stafford, a
year of injuries and a Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Okay, I want to go back to the video. Were
you watching it? So? I don't want to be body
language expert. Guy Dak was rocking back and forth the
entire time when he was answering that question. I don't
want to be the most paid necessarily, that's a big tail.
This is weighing on him a lot. You could even
see it. He's holding back what he really wants to say.
I gotta get paid. I don't want to be a
lame duck quarterback. And I agree with him. The problem
(21:36):
is Dallas is up against it.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Colin, if you're talking, I guess my point is if
you paid quarterbacks based on production, playoff wins, availability, is
Dak about ninth and right now he's taking.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Look a him. Lookt him rocking back and forth. That
is not the look of a guy when he's at
the podium after games. He's just standing their stone face
and talking he is rocking back and forth, and to me,
that is that I need to get paid. Show me
the money, all right, And can you blame him?
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Can you blame well, I don't blame anybody. Yeah, for
wanting money. I don't blame anybody for that. I'm just
saying it is interesting if anytime the DAK thing comes up,
if you.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Pay, it's a good segment for us.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
If you paid quarterbacks based on availability has to be
a part of it. That hurts Burrow a lot. You've
got to be available to play. Are you productive? That's
second third is okay, I need some playoff stuff. That
hurts Lamar a lot, justin Herbert. But it's interesting when
you start getting to Dak, it's like you're just not
getting He's mostly available, he's very productive. I don't get
(22:39):
anything in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
That's the interesting thing. Like you're looking at some quarterbacks
who are now playing the waiting game, Dak Tua. Did
Trevor Lawrence get paid yet? I don't think he has.
And those are guys who it's like, you know which
team is going to blink first and cough up a
ton of money. Listen, Trevor Lawrence is up against it too.
You look at his numbers last last couple of years, turnovers.
I mean, listen, I don't care that Lamar want an
MVP five years ago. I'm not paying him based on
(23:01):
that MVP. Right, It's tough.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Jmack with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping by the.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Herd Line news.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
So when Damian Lillard went to the Bucks, we liked
the move. They needed a killer on the outside, like
an elite Steph Curry kind of guy. Chris Middleton, good player, eroding,
not that guy. And so we know Dame is great
and we know Yannis is great, but the question is
(23:34):
why aren't they great together? So Jannis is out this weekend,
Dame has the green light, and he put on a
Steph Curry show. I mean he didn't even have to
show up in the second half. He had thirty five
and a half. The Bucks have decided this is their franchise.
They defer to Yannis even on coaching hires. Jannis makes
(23:55):
the call I want another player. They get rid of
jew Holiday, who they love. Yannis is great, no question,
and the Bucks offense is built around Yanni's attacking the basket.
But that means a lot of times Dame has to defer,
and it's very funny. Dame's to me, not an off
the ball guy, like I think. Steph Curry has warped
(24:16):
everybody's mind that everybody believes that a shooter like Dame
can just play off ball, And the truth is Steph
Curry is unique. Steph Curry has warped everybody's mind thinking
what he does, we've all normalized it, while you just
play off the ball more Dame yesterday when it was
his team and he's got the ball and he's attacking
(24:38):
and he sets the tempo, totally different team. He was
one hundred percent on ball. It's his team. It looks
totally different thirty five and a half. So two great
players don't always equal great chemistry. Lebron has worked with
virtually everybody. He worked with D Wade, Eventually he worked
with difficult Kara Kawhi Kyrie, Eventually he worked with a
(25:02):
D still does and by the way, Steph worked with Clay,
and Steph works with k D and Drama. Lebron and
Steph work with everybody, but not everybody's game. Is that
when I watch Giannis and Dame, and I don't watch
every Bucks game. But when I watch them, I always
feel like it's your turn, my turn? Is it?
Speaker 6 (25:18):
My turn?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Of your turn? Your turn? My turn?
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Whose turn is it?
Speaker 1 (25:21):
And that's not necessarily a great team. But for Dame
to score thirty five points and a half and he's
got the ball and he controls the tempo and he
controls the offense, that's ideally suited for Dame's game. But
that's not really what the Bucks. How they're constructed. Jannis
(25:43):
wants a new coach, They get a new coach. Jannis
wants a new star. They let Drew Holliday go, They
get a new star. Giannis wants the ball, Giannis gets
the ball. Here was Dame after his performance.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
I don't think that is all on me, but I noted,
I gotta be a little bit more aggressive, and I gotta,
you know, step forward a little bit more assertively, and
in the playoffs, like I said before, it's about setting
a tone. You know, we're going to see this team
a lot of times, and you want to establish yourself,
especially on your home floor. And you know that was
just my mentality to come out and you know, try
(26:16):
to set the tone in that way.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
So let me throw this at you j Mac so
home teams went eight to no and in most instances,
Here's why I believe this to be true is that
because the NBA regular season is teams tanking at the
end and the good teams resting stars at the end,
that the sort of intensity of the NBA regular season
(26:40):
does not feel like the playoffs at all. And at
the end of a season with many teams tanking, you
have to be careful about the teams that get into
winning streaks, like the Sixers and the Maths and the Suns.
But what happened this weekend is there is such a
gap between the regular season and the playoffs that teams
road teams go on the road in the playoffs and
(27:03):
the home team they also played in the same regular season,
but they get the jet fuel of the crowd. And
if you ever got into an NBA playoff game, it
is not an NBA regular season crowd. It's a totally
different sport. It's not like college football or hawkyar or baseball. No, no,
you go to an NBA playoff game, it is louder.
They're standing, and the road teams because they're such a
(27:25):
malaise about the NBA regular season the road teams. Lakers
were the only one that came out with better energy
than the home team. They came out with better energy.
But like a Phoenix or a Dallas, a lot of
these teams came into the game and they just were
overwhelmed by the crowd, the physicality and the intensity. So
if you're a boxer and you have the crowd behind you,
or if you're a basketball team and you have the
(27:46):
crowd behind you, you tend to be more aggressive, you
play with more physicality, and a lot of these road
teams they just weren't ready to play. They just got overwhelmed.
Young Indianapolis just got overwhelmed. Dallas not even ready to
be physical. Phoenix pushed around for two and a half hours.
So my guess is the losing road teams will will
come in with you won't see these rebounding disparities and
(28:08):
these physicality disparities in the second game.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah, and I did a little of this on my
podcast with how you gamble in the NBA playoffs, Like,
I don't think you automatically take the Lakers tonight, but
like Lakers first half tonight makes sense. Colin season on
the line for the Lakers Let's be real. You can't
go down two to Dedverord expect to beat Jokic for
four or five. That's not happening, right, I mean, you're
not dominating the rest of the series. And I think
same thing for the Sixers tonight. They're gonna come out
(28:32):
and it's not gonna just be embiid, like they're gonna
be playing with their hair on fires, like this is it.
You can't go down oh two or you're in deep trouble.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, this feels like the Sixer season.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah. And by the way, Phoenix Suns, that's another team
like we love everybody love the Suns against the Temperwolf.
You dominate them in the regular season. The Anthony Edwards
average fourteen a game against the Sun.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Who's the best player on the floorpable. Three out of
four teams that win Game one in the NBA Playoffs
win the series. It just you gotta be ready to play.
And I think is the regular season has become more
load management and less intense. These these road teams walk
in and that Milwaukee crowd that doesn't sound like a
Tuesday against Orlando.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I love Helliburton. What was going on? Like it was
the first playoff game and look what you took seven shots?
What are you doing?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
And then dame at home a veteran looked like it
was game seven.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
But we don't need giannis. I'm good. I got thirty
five at the half and they didn't score it all
in a second, did not? Yeah, yeah, crazy strangest line.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd Weekdays
and Noone Eastern a em Pacific.
Speaker 8 (29:36):
Hey, what's up everybody? It's me three time pro bowler
Levarrington and I couldn't be more excited to announce a
podcast called Up on Game?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
What is Up on Game?
Speaker 8 (29:45):
You asked, along with my fellow pro bowler TJ. Huschman,
Zada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right, Plexico Burris.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with me, lebar Arrington, T J.
(30:06):
Hutchman's Ada and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple
Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
And I was thinking of this.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
You know people love to point out when opinionists like
myself and others. Many others are wrong, but what happens
when you are years ago? There was this argument that
KD was better than Lebron, and I laughed at it
over and over. Lebron's game there's more depth, he's a leader,
he's stronger, he's more reliable, and he makes really good decisions.
(30:42):
What if Kevin Durant gets rolled here in Round one
by Minnesota, not exactly a historical juggernaut, it will point
out what the almost apologetic NBA media always fails to do.
KD makes bad decisions. Can you imagine Patrick Mahomes saying,
I'm done with Andy Reid and Travis Kelsey. I want
(31:05):
to go play for the Jets because I like this
slot receiver. That's essentially what KD did, leaving a dynasty.
At one point, the argument that KD was better than
Lebron was a furious debate. I rolled my eyes at it.
KD is a great shot maker, and all timer love
his game, but his skill set should put him in
(31:26):
the top one or two in the last decade, and frankly,
he's getting lost. Jokic looks much better Historically. Steph is
really the soul of the Warriors, winning titles before him,
during and after. Anthony Davis now is a more consistent
player on both ends. Giannis has more regular season MVPs.
(31:49):
As I'm watching Phoenix get rolled, Kevin Durant's becoming increasingly irrelevant.
It wasn't long ago that the apologetic NBA media gave
him a pass for leaving the NBA penthouse from ownership
down for a fixer upper in Brooklyn, and then a
(32:13):
remodel in Phoenix. And it's not working here either. I
like him, I like his game. I've said if there
was a one on one tournament, he'd probably beat Jordan.
He's a great scoer. But NBA players have power and
they have leverage. That doesn't mean they make good decisions.
What if he gets rolled by Minnesota after that debacle
(32:36):
in Brooklyn, anybody in the NBA media gonna call him out.
You'd call out Mahomes because the NFL media isn't here
to protect its stars. It's here to cover them, report,
not support. But you know what, Katie's starting to feel like,
you're gonna call me nuts, like a more available Kawhi
(32:58):
enigmatic mystif is not sure why he does what he
does super talented, can get your basket and a stop.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
But what is he is?
Speaker 1 (33:12):
He's just somebody that's talented with a skill set that
should make him a top two player in the league.
But with all these young great players coming most from Europe,
Jokic now established as the best player. What's the gap
between Jokic and Durant. It's not close. It's the Grand Canyon,
and Lebron's already established him as a grand Canyon separation
(33:35):
from KD. Steph Curry now has separated, Yannis has more
regular season MVPs. It's not the say I don't like
Katie's game, But couldn't I argue he's kind of closer
to Kawi now than the best players of the league.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Is that a hot take?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
But when he left Golden State that had the best
GM arguably, and the best coach and the best unit
and the best players. Because you know, he struggled sometimes
with a her or Draymond, get over it, Like I know,
he just wanted to go play with his friend. But
at every other sport, would you leave a Yankee dynasty
to go play with the Rays? Really, if you already
(34:12):
had the bag, would you leave the Chiefs and Andy
Reid as a quarterback to because you had a buddy
going to play for the Jets. I thought the decision
at the time was ridiculous and nobody called him out
on it. And maybe that's just the NBA where players
have power and leverage and can do what they want
to do. But if they do get rolled by Minnesota,
and I mean they didn't even they didn't look constructed,
(34:34):
well like that wasn't competitive, and I think they'll come
back and be competitive. But what has Katie become? And
I asked Jmack, who's got a personal relationship apparently with him,
what will he become? As I watched for two and
a half hours, Phoenix not be and by the way,
Booker was awful. I'm not blaming Katie. What does he become?
Because I know the debate four years ago that I
(34:55):
rolled my eyes at was.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Better than Lebron?
Speaker 1 (35:00):
That Warriors title once he left kind of put the
dagger in that argument, didn't it.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
I would say so, But let's be real that hoole
KD better than Lebron. It wasn't like a five minute argument.
That was two years where they went back to back.
KD was the best player on the best team and
KD annihilated Lebron on the finals. Now he did have
a stacked deck. A stacked deck, yeah, a stack deck.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
All right.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Since then, he's done Jack squad the thing that troubled me,
and I still think the Suns win this series. Let's
not overreact to Game one. He had one assist in
thirty nine minutes and that's been his game. I just
want to hoop. I want to go. Well, that's not basketball,
it's a team sport. In the huddle, who's getting on
Devin Booker? D book what's going on? McDaniels is locking
you up? Booker could do nothing. If they're getting fifteen
(35:43):
twenty points from Booker, they're not winning this year.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
It was an f in terms of effort. They were
completely pushed around for two and a half hour. And again,
I can think two things at one time. I think
he's an all time great player, but he's becoming less relevant.
I mean, when Kawhi misses a game and they trounce
the Mavericks. I said this two years ago, you got
to move off Kawhi. Well, what are we doing here?
What do we keep pretending he's something.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
They're not doing that come on Clippers opening. By the way,
I drove by the new Clippers facility. Have you seen
the outside looks amazing. Let's take something out of the Avengers.
But I do wonder, like, you know, what is Kevin Duran?
You know, we do the whole legacy thing. It's been
one game in the playoffs, but you start to work.
He can't be a top ten player all time. He
just cannot.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
If he was.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
He's not a guy that calls players out. He wouldn't
call Simmons out in Houston broadcasts.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
He'll do it, but he won't be it.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
He wouldn't call Kyrie out in person in Brooklyn. He
didn't call Booker out this weekend. Again, some guy Kobe
Bryant was confrontational. Michael Jordan was confrontational. I don't know
if Lebron is or not. Katie's not maybe a podcast confrontational,
but not real. And again I like his game, but
considering his skill set, I mean I had I've had
people tell me that we're on the Olympic staff, like
(36:54):
you cannot believe his talent. It's next generation. It doesn't
even make sense compared to other great players. And I'm
just like, he just now I look at him and
I'm like this, this this Phoenix thing, I ain't working.
I mean, is this what it is? They got hot
at the end of the season, mostly because Belle played great.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
I think let's not get caught on the krycicon. Okay,
it's it is just one game, but something's got to
change pretty quick. I think Durant has to be the
who's the leader in that huddle?
Speaker 1 (37:18):
We've said, we said this all, we said this for
years now. Before Chris Paul got there, Phoenix was awful. Yeah,
with Devin Booker, So Chris Paul was the leader. So
Chris Paul leaves, say what you want, he's a leader.
Kevin comes in, Well, Kevin's not a leader, and Beal
doesn't want to be a leader, and Booker's never been
(37:40):
the leader. They're just talented dudes. They're just great players.
So it's sort of a rudderless ship. Like Anthony Edwards
was embracing leadership Mike Conley. Historically, they brought Mike Conley in.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
That's a leader. It was Karl Anthony Towns's team, and
pretty quickly we realize this is ant squad.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Well, and they also brought in Mike Conley. Mike Conley's
high IQ veteran players terrible by he was, but he
holds guys accountable. Chris Paul has n't been good, but
Chris is verbally he'll come after.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
You like you knew when the Bucks came out, like
Dame Liller was in that hall of guys. I've been
to the show.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I've always got Dames a leader, right, I've always thought
Dames elider.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
You can't quantify that. But does Kevin Durant have the leadership?
Speaker 8 (38:17):
I want to him.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
I went to a Lakers Warriors game. You and I
went to the one winner. You were way upstairs. And
when I went to that game, the game was over late.
Draymond Green is I left the arena with two minutes left.
Draymond Green's on the huddle and they leave by whatever
ten twelve, barking like some guy like and by the way,
his barking was off putting to Durant, who was there
at the same time. You can't leave that team for Brooklyn.
(38:41):
You can't leave Stephan Kyrie. You can't do that. And
then you can't want out and go to Phoenix and
not be a leader when you know Booker and Bill aren't, like,
at some point, let's stop subporting, start reporting and being honest.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
Here.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
It's weird that he made such a great move dumping
OKC and RUSS to go to Golden State, like genius move,
one of the smartest I've ever seen in the NBA,
and then everything since then has just not been good.
I don't know why. I still don't know why he
picked Kyrie in Brooklyn. Kyrie's kind of like cool among
the players love him. You know, Kyrie is your favorite
player's favorite player. You know that saying. I don't know
(39:15):
if anybody's favorite player other than Anthony Edwards is KD
because all he does is score. He doesn't make anyone
better in thirty nine minutes.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Oh, we've been too harsh. Colin right, Colin wrong, top
of next hour. Maybe we're too harsh. Maybe we have
to soften things up, become like the NBA media just
coming in hot. I'm so excited for the draft Thursday.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
Yeah, I fact.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I've had two opportunities to get a free dinner Wednesday.
I've turned it off. Can't do it. You've got to
be rested for a draft day. I've had two people
reach out there in town a on dinner Wednesday? Account available?
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Is it because of the restaurant? If they said no
boom Malibu, you gotta hit it. No, I've never been.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
You can't be up late Wednesday. I have to get
solid sleep Wednesday. No alcohol weekend. Total clarity for draft.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
We have a little to little time here thirty seconds.
Have you noticed how there's not as many leaks this
year in regard to the draft.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
You know why because there's gonna be more moves.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Well, there's also gambling involved, and I do think the
league has done a great job. A lot of this.
Jadon Daniels too, that's starting to pull back. According to
the Gamblings, it was running on nothing. It was like
Jamie Daniels can go second, Why again? Who's reporting that?
And it was all just speculation. Drake may back up
to two Cowherry. It's happened. It's happening, baby, all right.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
We are ready to go. Don't forget save big and
your water and energy bills. Tanklessmade simple dot Com. It's
a Navvy in fifteen year limited warranty. Monday hour two
next
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
It is a Monday, and we are live in Los Angeles,
and it is The Herd. Wherever you may be and
however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part
of your day. Uh top on next hour. Colin Wright,
Colin Wrang, Jamach. I know you were out and about
with the America. I was grounded here in Los Angeles
(00:49):
watching playoff games the whole weekend. Lakers Denver. Stop me
if you've seen this result before, nine straight.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Season on the line tonight for Lebron. But yes, I said,
I've nas Vegas. It's not Nashville, nas Vegas. Yeah, awesome city.
It's great, so you need to get there soon. I've
been to Nashville more than once. Great city. I would
suggest leaving the wife at home, Well.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
No, she likes Vegas, doesn't and Nashville. So the thing
about greatness like the Denver Nuggets is they create clarity.
How do you compare to greatness? They really illustrate a
team's flaws, and when the Lakers face Denver, you really
see their flaws that can be hidden against average teams
to slightly better than average. D'Angelo Russell can't trust them
(01:34):
in big playoff spots. Austin reeves, he's a nice four,
not a great one. Lakers bench eh Darvin Ham, Eh
A D and Lebron were great. Thirteen total assists, fifty
nine total points, fifty six percent from the floor. Lebron
and ad were fantastic. It's a great one two punch.
(01:56):
But Denver has the world's best player in Jokich and
maybe the best duo in the league with Jamal Murray,
who's one of the rare players who's significantly better in
the playoffs than in the regular season. Aaron Gordon, a
top athlete, defender, Michael Porter seventeen and seven KCP, always
lethal in the postseason, and an experienced championship winning coach.
(02:18):
Twice in Game one, Denver just shifted gears for like
ninety seconds to two and a half minutes. Blew the
Lakers doors off, and again Lebron and Ad were great.
But the Lakers have lost nine straight to Denver, and
they've led by ten or more in half of those games.
But the difference is the Nuggets give you consistent excellence
(02:40):
with an occasional spurt. The Lakers are hot and cold.
There's a nuanced analytics stat called organized offense percentage by quarter.
It's boring, but what it illustrates is Denver is literally
the same team the entire game, and the Lakers were
very good early and very bad late. As Lebron, as
his age gets old and gets tired, he often gets
(03:02):
very sloppy and that initiates these big Denver two minute
runs and it's game over. So Denver's very much a
marathon runner. They run the first mile at the same
speed as the last mile, and they know it's Steve Prefontaine.
They can endure more than you can over the course
of a couple hours, and you're just watching an excellent team.
(03:23):
And I said before the series, it's not that the
Lakers are going to lose, because they are, But what
if they get swept again or lose in five games,
which they will, what are the repercussions. Lebron has options.
Golden State is interested. Will Darvin Ham get run out?
D Lo's gone. Are they tired of just Austin Reeves
ad and nobody else on the bench you can really trust.
(03:45):
There are repercussions for great players when they lose. Maybe
not for KD who's a bit of a wanderer, but
there have been historically for Lebron, who is not He's
just mobile. But when he gets his feet in the
ground in the place he wants to live, he's gonna
make changes. So this series and these games nine straight times,
I've watched all these games, they're all the same. D
(04:07):
LO doesn't deliver. It feels like they're slightly out coached.
They have moments of excellence, but it's the continued consistent
success that Denver provides and it creates clarity. That's the
great thing about championship teams. You look at the Chiefs,
you start looking at great teams across the board. Michigan
this year, they point out your flaws, what you need
(04:29):
to work on, and boyd does Denver do that to
the Lakers. And here's Lebron after you don't have.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Much Rolf Air versus Denver Tan especially out there on
their home floor. They're just a team that's been through everything,
and obviously they're just finish champions. So no, you got
to execute, you got to make shots, you got to defend,
and then you can't give them extra possessions.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
No you can't.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
All right, it's draft week.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
It is draft week, and Caleb Williams is going to
go number one to the Chicago Bears. And I'm reading
the Athletic this morning, and there's a quarterback coach in
the NFL who played in the league, and he talked
about Caleb Williams. He said, listen his arm. There's a
lot of wild stuff here. This kid's spectacular talent. This
(05:11):
is generational stuff. But he also added context, said this
NFL quarterback coach, who again played in the league, and
I think he made great points about Caleb Williams, and
I'm going to show him to you. The first one
he said, is the Bear's head coach safe. You have
a first year coordinator. It's not like he's going to
a place that's stable. It's not like the Jordan Love
(05:33):
takeover in Green Bay, the coach continued, not going to
be like that in Chicago. Defensive head coach, hot seat,
new oc. There was quarterback stuff for the last number
one guy with Justin Fields. Half the team wanted him
to stay, half didn't. Those things are huge factors for
a young quarterback coming in at the start of his career,
(05:54):
and he continued, look at rock perty goes into a situation,
all the boxes are checked. Solid organization, good defense, play caller,
developer of talent, knew exactly what he was looking for.
Those things are critical. If Purty goes to the Panthers,
we don't know who he is right now. I do
not disagree with any of those points, but I'd like
(06:16):
to add that something else is true. If you're destined
to be a star in this league, you will be.
Trevor Lawrence entered a complete clown show year two in
the AFC. He won a playoff game Justin Herberts had
(06:36):
two coaches, both whiffs. He's gotten to the playoffs in
a division with Mahomes. Joe Burrow entered with a young
head coach, losing record, frugal owner nor indoor practice facility,
none in Cincinnati, a northern climate, horrible offensive line at
the time, didn't have a dominant weapon running for his
(06:58):
life and his career two plays for winning a Super Bowl. Yes, yes,
where you land is really critical, but the great ones
find a way to do it. The Colts were a mess.
Colts were a mess before Peyton Manning. He won four
MVPs there and got to two Super Bowls. If Caleb
(07:19):
Williams and I believe he is is generationally great, you'll
see it. The Bears GM and owners will see it.
And if Matt Eberflus isn't the guy, he'll be gone.
I suspect he will be after year one. Herbert got
(07:39):
the bag. I mean, Josh Allen, think about this. Has
yet to have a great O line, has a defensive coach,
he's on his third coordinator, has never had a true
number two receiver. Finally got an elite running back. In
the last five years they've been top fouri an offense.
You'll figure out how to get it done. Every business,
(08:02):
talent overcomes, Talent wins, Talent separates. Yes, for ninety percent
of these players, For ninety percent of these players, it's
where you land, it's who coaches you. JJ McCarthy is
not talented enough, nor is bo Nicks. Michael Pennix and
I like all three to some degree, they're not talented
(08:23):
enough to go to a clown show and deal with
a coaching carousel. Herbert is and in my opinion, Caleb
Williams is. If you're destined to be a star in
the entertainment business, singing music, athletics, you will be Jordan
hit on his third coach. Jordan eventually got Scottie Pippen. Eventually,
(08:46):
as Jordan fought with his owner and his GM in
the first couple of coaches and teammates, eventually it worked.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
It always does, all right, j mc so.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I sat around Saturday and Sunday and after little morning workouts,
watched a ton of playoff basketball, and I've come to
the conclusion it is put up her, shut up time
for Joel Embiid. There's no way with Jalen brunts and
not having a great day and no second star on
that team that Joel Embiid should lose that game with
(09:19):
a second star.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Would be interesting if they lost Game two and then
you started hearing rumblings about Joel Embid. I'm done in Philly.
Get me to New York to play with Jaylen Brunson.
We've know the Embid New York stuff's been out there
for a minute.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
That'd be very Kevin durant of him. I'm out, I
just lost to you guys. I'll go play with New
York that. By the way, the environment at the Garden
was in electric.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
You know what I was telling my friend Jason timph
on my podcast last night, I said, you know, NBA
players don't need any individual market to succeed. You can
get rich anywhere shoe deals, Instagram salary. But right now,
many of the best teams are about to be best
teams OKA see Minnesota, Denver, Nuggets, Orlando. There's a lot
(10:04):
of brands that aren't very big national brands. And if
the Lakers get ousted, STEP's out, Lebron's out, the New
York Knicks become very valuable as a brand for the league.
I watched that game and the Knicks just because of
the Garden and those fans and the celebrities. It felt
(10:25):
like a Game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. The
intense I'm sorry, Cleveland and Orlando in Indianapolis and OKC,
don't jump out of my TV like like Madison's Square
Garden does I mean the show Star Star Star Star Star,
Big loud guys puppet and there's something about the lights
in New York where they light the crowd. Maybe that's true.
You can see the celebrities. That thing felt like a
(10:46):
Game seven of a conference final.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
The only environment home teams by the way, eight to no.
I think that was the first time in like over
ten years that that's happened in the first round Game
one Minnesota environment with Anthony Edwards going off. I thought
that was the second best the garden. It was just like,
this is big time basketball. Ye really fun stuff. Home teams,
rolled be sure to catch live editions of The Herd
weekdays and noon Eastern nn AM Pacific on Fox Sports
(11:11):
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
You can keep telling me something is great, but I
need proof data something I've been hearing for years. Joe
Lmbid is a great all time center. Okay, so all
the great centers since I started watching the NBA in
nineteen seventy two, they've all won championships. Wilt, Moses Malone,
(11:38):
Bill Walton, Akeem Shack, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, now Jokic,
they've all won. Walton in the seventies, Wilt seventy two,
is the first year I remember watching the NBA. They've
all won, even second tier centers Ewing Dwight Howard got
to finals. Embiad's been in the league for like eleven years.
(11:59):
He's played for eight of them came in hurt. He's
never won a second round Eastern Conference playoff series. The
East has never been this week. I mean, I love
the Knicks, but a two seed it's never been this week.
He's got a second star. He lost this weekend again.
(12:21):
He's losing in the East often losing is the favorite
in this Knick series. He has a second star. Max
he was great thirty three points. Kyle Lowry, the ghost
of Kyle Lowry appears. He was really good, and you're
gonna let Josh Hart and Miles McBride beat you. Jalen
Brunson has very few stinkers. That may be the only
(12:42):
one in the series. Eight for twenty six. Didn't play well,
not efficient. He's a great player, so Jalen Brunson doesn't
play well. Jalen Brunson doesn't have a second star. He's
got rotational guys, number three and four guys. Embiid gets
his number two guy that plays out of his mind,
Kyle Lowry plays an incredibly important game. I'm sorry, I
(13:02):
need proof. Well the MVP. Let's be honest, that was
an anti Jokich vote. It wasn't a pro mb'd vote.
You got tired of the European guy dominating MVP voting.
And Jokich is truly great. He does more well than
MB does, and he's always available. But all the top
players right now in the NBA who at least have
(13:24):
some age on him and experience, they've all been to
conference finals. Kawhi's and Jimmy Butler's and Steph and Lebron
and Ad and Tatum. It doesn't matter. They've all been
to conference finals. Joel Embiid can't win a second round
playoff series in the East, the weakest it's ever been.
At some point, dude, you were zero for five in
the fourth quarter. At some point, I need more April
(13:45):
May and June wins. I'm sorry, I'm not going to
put you in all these classes. Oh, he's shack. He's
this that he's a center who's often not available and
not clutch in big playoffs. And this was a break,
this was a window. Jalen Brunson has very few clunkers
(14:06):
doesn't have many of those. You may not get another
one in the series. Maxi was sensational, Kyle Lowry was good.
I'm sorry that you have to change this narrative.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
It's not on us.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
This is about you delivering. That's the difference between very
good and a stat monster at this point and Beads
a stat monster. There's nothing else beyond it. He's a
three hundred and twenty hitter in baseball that never wins
a playoff series. You got to give me something here,
j Mack with a.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
News no, no, turn on the news. This is the
herd line. You're right, I mean now Sixers fans pushed
back well with Embead on the floor. They were plus fourteen.
It's the non embiid minutes. And that's where I'm like, well,
who do you look at for that? The GM? Where's
our roster? I mean Nick put two bailed them out
against the heat. Remember that you like twenty point six
(14:54):
threes and beat goes off the floor.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
They got no if embads off the floor and Jalen
Brunson's play poorly, you still have a star and the
next don't I mean the Knicks Brunson played poorly.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Julius Randall not available.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You Sixers can't beat them just when he's off the floor.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Tobias Harris benched in the fourth quarter. Again, your guy,
Your guy to Tobias Harris. By the way, Jalen Brunson,
are you ready for this? Five offensive rebounds Joel Embiid three?
How's a tiny point call?
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Well, the Knicks are incredibly likable because they squeeze every
ounce of talent when you they're Villanova in the pros.
It's a bunch of these grinder guys who just the effort.
Josh Hart is everywhere, so it's not about and I
do think there's a ceiling to this, but in the
Eastern Conference, maybe there's not a ceiling to this team.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So a lot of pressure on Embiid to win this series.
I thought Kevin Durant had the most pressure. I think
it's probably oh, I think it's on Embid. Yeah, big time.
All right, let's get started with Jason Tatum and the Celtics.
Your buddy, Jason Tatum. It wasn't a close game, so
they rolled. He had a triple double, twenty three, ten
and ten. He also got fouled. If you're watching at home.
This is kind of a cheap shot by Martin. Caleb
(16:03):
Martin in the final minute of the game.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You know what I was thinking about. And so they're
winning the game convincingly, and the Celtics still have Tatum
in the game, and Miami's like, Caleb go be disrupted?
Oh right, am I wrong?
Speaker 2 (16:16):
A little bit of a cheap shot?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
All right?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Well here's what Tatum said about the cheap shot after
the game.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Little just understand his playoff basketball, right, It's a physical
game playing against a physical team. You know, going to happen.
It's not the last time I'm probably gonna get hit
like that or foul in this series. So you know
it wasn't hurt, you know yet you get hit like that,
(16:42):
you know, just get up.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I mean, if you look at it, you know, I
third and four time, you see Drew Holliday gave a
little shove to Martin, who then.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Was a little let's watch the highlt I didn't quite
see that. They're not trying to sell me on.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
That, listen. I don't think it was dirty. I don't
think spos was dirty. Caleb Martin plays hard. This is
the guy I bet on a lot back in college.
He's just a g I will not stop playing for
forty minutes. I did like how Jalen Brown stepped up
for his buddy. There.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
That's a potentially scary fall for Tatum, who is no.
I let Jayleen Brown came over to show hands.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, basically, anybody shoves you like that, I'm gonna step up. Hey, hey,
oh buddy, all right. Next up the Dallas Mavericks. Boy,
I picked him to go to the finals. We did
not look good. They had thirty points and a half. Yeah,
so Cowherd, you know, calls me yesterday. It is just
mocking the Mavericks for five minutes and I just had
to take it. U No Kawhi Leonard thirty points a
(17:34):
half for the MAVs and Jason Kidd talked about the
embarrassment after the loss.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
I thought the physicality was the biggest thing that stands out.
They were physical and we were passive. So we have to,
you know, look at that when we look at the
video tonight and tomorrow, that the physicality. We have to
embrace that and do better on the floor. And I
understand we got wide open looks that we just didn't make.
(17:59):
We were one from six from the corner from three
normally we knocked those down. So we'll look and see
and how we can get better and hopefully we have
a better effort in the first half.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah, Phoenix in Dallas honestly just didn't really want to
engage like they just Phoenix in Dallas from the very beginning.
Both got pushed all over the floor. Just a really
weak effort. Now again, it's a seven game series, Dallas.
I don't know about Phoenix. Dallas is gonna play well.
They're a little bit of a lobsided roster where their
scoring comes from basically two players, whereas the Clippers have
(18:33):
four guys sometimes five that could give you points. Even
Terris Terrence Man can sometimes drop a twenty. But I
think Dallas will re cover. Like this game, when they
had thirty and half, you're like, Okay, that's not the
way this series is gonna look.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
So it felt like motivation was everything. MAVs came in
the hottest team in the league, I think seventeen.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
And so the Clippers are on their toes ready to go.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
No Kawhi Leonard. So MAVs are like, we got this,
and you know these Gebroni's like you and I say, oh,
Maverick's got this series. I think everybody picked the Mats
to win this series. So Tylu motivated his guys. Yeah,
and you could see like Zubats came out and was
like dominant. He had like I think twenty and fifteen.
And by the way, remember James Harden last year. What
did he do early in the series. No, he's very good.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Harden's playoff history is good early in series.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Oh yeah, Harden could't miss yesterday. We'll see how that
goes in game six et seven. Just file it away
all the paper, kip clips, fans and my mentions. Final story,
Let's get to the NFL. This is this is kind
of interesting. Dak Prescott finally talking about his new contract,
and he's not he's not worried about his future with
the team. At a charity event over the weekend, he
(19:33):
spoke about what he's looking for listen closely in his
upcoming contract negotiations, and.
Speaker 7 (19:38):
No, I'm not trying to be the highest paid necessarily. Okay,
so we'll wait till negotiations began, and obviously want to
put this team in the best situation. I'm not gonna
say I fear being here or not I don't. I
don't fear either situation. To be candid with you. I
love this game and love to play and love to
(20:00):
better myself as a player, and my teammates around me.
Right now, it's what the Dallas Cowboys is where I
want to be, and that's where I am, and that's
the focus. And after the season we'll see where we're
at and then the future holds that then if not,
we'll go from that one.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
If you paid quarterbacks, if you made your money based
on how good you are, Mahomes is the highest paid.
I would put Josh Allen's second highest paid. Who's third
highest paid? You have to consider everything. Well, Lamar is great,
but he has struggled in the playoffs. So if you're
if you're paying a quarter This is not the NBA
(20:36):
where the regular season doesn't count. In the NFL at
all counts for everything that productivity, availability, playoff wins. So
Mahomes will be the highest paid quarterback in the league.
Josh Allen is second. Didn't have Super Bowl wins, but
wildly productive, often the team he has to overcome elements
on his team. Who's third? Let me throw a name
(20:58):
out at you. Matt Stafford yeah, but the injury history.
I know that, But he is he not in the
class for third. Oh yeah, he's in the mix, Burrows
up there. But no, we've got like four straight years
of injuries. Yeah, well I've got I've got Stafford, a
year of injuries and a Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Okay, I want to go back to the video. Were
you watching it? So? I don't want to be body
language expert. Guy Dak was rocking back and forth the
entire time when he was answering that question. I don't
want to be the most paid necessarily, that's a big tail.
This is weighing on him a lot. You could even
see it. He's holding back what he really wants to say.
I gotta get paid. I don't want to be a
lame duck quarterback. And I agree with him. The problem
(21:36):
is Dallas is up against it.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Colin, if you're talking, I guess my point is if
you paid quarterbacks based on production, playoff wins, availability, is
Dak about ninth and right now he's taking.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Look a him. Lookt him rocking back and forth. That
is not the look of a guy when he's at
the podium after games. He's just standing their stone face
and talking he is rocking back and forth, and to me,
that is that I need to get paid. Show me
the money, all right, And can you blame him?
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Can you blame well, I don't blame anybody. Yeah, for
wanting money. I don't blame anybody for that. I'm just
saying it is interesting if anytime the DAK thing comes up,
if you.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Pay, it's a good segment for us.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
If you paid quarterbacks based on availability has to be
a part of it. That hurts Burrow a lot. You've
got to be available to play. Are you productive? That's
second third is okay, I need some playoff stuff. That
hurts Lamar a lot, justin Herbert. But it's interesting when
you start getting to Dak, it's like you're just not
getting He's mostly available, he's very productive. I don't get
(22:39):
anything in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
That's the interesting thing. Like you're looking at some quarterbacks
who are now playing the waiting game, Dak Tua. Did
Trevor Lawrence get paid yet? I don't think he has.
And those are guys who it's like, you know which
team is going to blink first and cough up a
ton of money. Listen, Trevor Lawrence is up against it too.
You look at his numbers last last couple of years, turnovers.
I mean, listen, I don't care that Lamar want an
MVP five years ago. I'm not paying him based on
(23:01):
that MVP. Right, It's tough.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Jmack with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping by the.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Herd Line news.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
So when Damian Lillard went to the Bucks, we liked
the move. They needed a killer on the outside, like
an elite Steph Curry kind of guy. Chris Middleton, good player, eroding,
not that guy. And so we know Dame is great
and we know Yannis is great, but the question is
(23:34):
why aren't they great together? So Jannis is out this weekend,
Dame has the green light, and he put on a
Steph Curry show. I mean he didn't even have to
show up in the second half. He had thirty five
and a half. The Bucks have decided this is their franchise.
They defer to Yannis even on coaching hires. Jannis makes
(23:55):
the call I want another player. They get rid of
jew Holiday, who they love. Yannis is great, no question,
and the Bucks offense is built around Yanni's attacking the basket.
But that means a lot of times Dame has to defer,
and it's very funny. Dame's to me, not an off
the ball guy, like I think. Steph Curry has warped
(24:16):
everybody's mind that everybody believes that a shooter like Dame
can just play off ball, And the truth is Steph
Curry is unique. Steph Curry has warped everybody's mind thinking
what he does, we've all normalized it, while you just
play off the ball more Dame yesterday when it was
his team and he's got the ball and he's attacking
(24:38):
and he sets the tempo, totally different team. He was
one hundred percent on ball. It's his team. It looks
totally different thirty five and a half. So two great
players don't always equal great chemistry. Lebron has worked with
virtually everybody. He worked with D Wade, Eventually he worked
with difficult Kara Kawhi Kyrie, Eventually he worked with a
(25:02):
D still does and by the way, Steph worked with Clay,
and Steph works with k D and Drama. Lebron and
Steph work with everybody, but not everybody's game. Is that
when I watch Giannis and Dame, and I don't watch
every Bucks game. But when I watch them, I always
feel like it's your turn, my turn? Is it?
Speaker 6 (25:18):
My turn?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Of your turn? Your turn? My turn?
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Whose turn is it?
Speaker 1 (25:21):
And that's not necessarily a great team. But for Dame
to score thirty five points and a half and he's
got the ball and he controls the tempo and he
controls the offense, that's ideally suited for Dame's game. But
that's not really what the Bucks. How they're constructed. Jannis
(25:43):
wants a new coach, They get a new coach. Jannis
wants a new star. They let Drew Holliday go, They
get a new star. Giannis wants the ball, Giannis gets
the ball. Here was Dame after his performance.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
I don't think that is all on me, but I noted,
I gotta be a little bit more aggressive, and I gotta,
you know, step forward a little bit more assertively, and
in the playoffs, like I said before, it's about setting
a tone. You know, we're going to see this team
a lot of times, and you want to establish yourself,
especially on your home floor. And you know that was
just my mentality to come out and you know, try
(26:16):
to set the tone in that way.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
So let me throw this at you j Mac so
home teams went eight to no and in most instances,
Here's why I believe this to be true is that
because the NBA regular season is teams tanking at the
end and the good teams resting stars at the end,
that the sort of intensity of the NBA regular season
(26:40):
does not feel like the playoffs at all. And at
the end of a season with many teams tanking, you
have to be careful about the teams that get into
winning streaks, like the Sixers and the Maths and the Suns.
But what happened this weekend is there is such a
gap between the regular season and the playoffs that teams
road teams go on the road in the playoffs and
(27:03):
the home team they also played in the same regular season,
but they get the jet fuel of the crowd. And
if you ever got into an NBA playoff game, it
is not an NBA regular season crowd. It's a totally
different sport. It's not like college football or hawkyar or baseball. No, no,
you go to an NBA playoff game, it is louder.
They're standing, and the road teams because they're such a
(27:25):
malaise about the NBA regular season the road teams. Lakers
were the only one that came out with better energy
than the home team. They came out with better energy.
But like a Phoenix or a Dallas, a lot of
these teams came into the game and they just were
overwhelmed by the crowd, the physicality and the intensity. So
if you're a boxer and you have the crowd behind you,
or if you're a basketball team and you have the
(27:46):
crowd behind you, you tend to be more aggressive, you
play with more physicality, and a lot of these road
teams they just weren't ready to play. They just got overwhelmed.
Young Indianapolis just got overwhelmed. Dallas not even ready to
be physical. Phoenix pushed around for two and a half hours.
So my guess is the losing road teams will will
come in with you won't see these rebounding disparities and
(28:08):
these physicality disparities in the second game.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah, and I did a little of this on my
podcast with how you gamble in the NBA playoffs, Like,
I don't think you automatically take the Lakers tonight, but
like Lakers first half tonight makes sense. Colin season on
the line for the Lakers Let's be real. You can't
go down two to Dedverord expect to beat Jokic for
four or five. That's not happening, right, I mean, you're
not dominating the rest of the series. And I think
same thing for the Sixers tonight. They're gonna come out
(28:32):
and it's not gonna just be embiid, like they're gonna
be playing with their hair on fires, like this is it.
You can't go down oh two or you're in deep trouble.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, this feels like the Sixer season.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah. And by the way, Phoenix Suns, that's another team
like we love everybody love the Suns against the Temperwolf.
You dominate them in the regular season. The Anthony Edwards
average fourteen a game against the Sun.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Who's the best player on the floorpable. Three out of
four teams that win Game one in the NBA Playoffs
win the series. It just you gotta be ready to play.
And I think is the regular season has become more
load management and less intense. These these road teams walk
in and that Milwaukee crowd that doesn't sound like a
Tuesday against Orlando.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I love Helliburton. What was going on? Like it was
the first playoff game and look what you took seven shots?
What are you doing?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
And then dame at home a veteran looked like it
was game seven.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
But we don't need giannis. I'm good. I got thirty
five at the half and they didn't score it all
in a second, did not? Yeah, yeah, crazy strangest line.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd Weekdays
and Noone Eastern a em Pacific.
Speaker 8 (29:36):
Hey, what's up everybody? It's me three time pro bowler
Levarrington and I couldn't be more excited to announce a
podcast called Up on Game?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
What is Up on Game?
Speaker 8 (29:45):
You asked, along with my fellow pro bowler TJ. Huschman,
Zada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right, Plexico Burris.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with me, lebar Arrington, T J.
(30:06):
Hutchman's Ada and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple
Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
And I was thinking of this.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
You know people love to point out when opinionists like
myself and others. Many others are wrong, but what happens
when you are years ago? There was this argument that
KD was better than Lebron, and I laughed at it
over and over. Lebron's game there's more depth, he's a leader,
he's stronger, he's more reliable, and he makes really good decisions.
(30:42):
What if Kevin Durant gets rolled here in Round one
by Minnesota, not exactly a historical juggernaut, it will point
out what the almost apologetic NBA media always fails to do.
KD makes bad decisions. Can you imagine Patrick Mahomes saying,
I'm done with Andy Reid and Travis Kelsey. I want
(31:05):
to go play for the Jets because I like this
slot receiver. That's essentially what KD did, leaving a dynasty.
At one point, the argument that KD was better than
Lebron was a furious debate. I rolled my eyes at it.
KD is a great shot maker, and all timer love
his game, but his skill set should put him in
(31:26):
the top one or two in the last decade, and frankly,
he's getting lost. Jokic looks much better Historically. Steph is
really the soul of the Warriors, winning titles before him,
during and after. Anthony Davis now is a more consistent
player on both ends. Giannis has more regular season MVPs.
(31:49):
As I'm watching Phoenix get rolled, Kevin Durant's becoming increasingly irrelevant.
It wasn't long ago that the apologetic NBA media gave
him a pass for leaving the NBA penthouse from ownership
down for a fixer upper in Brooklyn, and then a
(32:13):
remodel in Phoenix. And it's not working here either. I
like him, I like his game. I've said if there
was a one on one tournament, he'd probably beat Jordan.
He's a great scoer. But NBA players have power and
they have leverage. That doesn't mean they make good decisions.
What if he gets rolled by Minnesota after that debacle
(32:36):
in Brooklyn, anybody in the NBA media gonna call him out.
You'd call out Mahomes because the NFL media isn't here
to protect its stars. It's here to cover them, report,
not support. But you know what, Katie's starting to feel like,
you're gonna call me nuts, like a more available Kawhi
(32:58):
enigmatic mystif is not sure why he does what he
does super talented, can get your basket and a stop.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
But what is he is?
Speaker 1 (33:12):
He's just somebody that's talented with a skill set that
should make him a top two player in the league.
But with all these young great players coming most from Europe,
Jokic now established as the best player. What's the gap
between Jokic and Durant. It's not close. It's the Grand Canyon,
and Lebron's already established him as a grand Canyon separation
(33:35):
from KD. Steph Curry now has separated, Yannis has more
regular season MVPs. It's not the say I don't like
Katie's game, But couldn't I argue he's kind of closer
to Kawi now than the best players of the league.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Is that a hot take?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
But when he left Golden State that had the best
GM arguably, and the best coach and the best unit
and the best players. Because you know, he struggled sometimes
with a her or Draymond, get over it, Like I know,
he just wanted to go play with his friend. But
at every other sport, would you leave a Yankee dynasty
to go play with the Rays? Really, if you already
(34:12):
had the bag, would you leave the Chiefs and Andy
Reid as a quarterback to because you had a buddy
going to play for the Jets. I thought the decision
at the time was ridiculous and nobody called him out
on it. And maybe that's just the NBA where players
have power and leverage and can do what they want
to do. But if they do get rolled by Minnesota,
and I mean they didn't even they didn't look constructed,
(34:34):
well like that wasn't competitive, and I think they'll come
back and be competitive. But what has Katie become? And
I asked Jmack, who's got a personal relationship apparently with him,
what will he become? As I watched for two and
a half hours, Phoenix not be and by the way,
Booker was awful. I'm not blaming Katie. What does he become?
Because I know the debate four years ago that I
(34:55):
rolled my eyes at was.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Better than Lebron?
Speaker 1 (35:00):
That Warriors title once he left kind of put the
dagger in that argument, didn't it.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
I would say so, But let's be real that hoole
KD better than Lebron. It wasn't like a five minute argument.
That was two years where they went back to back.
KD was the best player on the best team and
KD annihilated Lebron on the finals. Now he did have
a stacked deck. A stacked deck, yeah, a stack deck.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
All right.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Since then, he's done Jack squad the thing that troubled me,
and I still think the Suns win this series. Let's
not overreact to Game one. He had one assist in
thirty nine minutes and that's been his game. I just
want to hoop. I want to go. Well, that's not basketball,
it's a team sport. In the huddle, who's getting on
Devin Booker? D book what's going on? McDaniels is locking
you up? Booker could do nothing. If they're getting fifteen
(35:43):
twenty points from Booker, they're not winning this year.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
It was an f in terms of effort. They were
completely pushed around for two and a half hour. And again,
I can think two things at one time. I think
he's an all time great player, but he's becoming less relevant.
I mean, when Kawhi misses a game and they trounce
the Mavericks. I said this two years ago, you got
to move off Kawhi. Well, what are we doing here?
What do we keep pretending he's something.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
They're not doing that come on Clippers opening. By the way,
I drove by the new Clippers facility. Have you seen
the outside looks amazing. Let's take something out of the Avengers.
But I do wonder, like, you know, what is Kevin Duran?
You know, we do the whole legacy thing. It's been
one game in the playoffs, but you start to work.
He can't be a top ten player all time. He
just cannot.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
If he was.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
He's not a guy that calls players out. He wouldn't
call Simmons out in Houston broadcasts.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
He'll do it, but he won't be it.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
He wouldn't call Kyrie out in person in Brooklyn. He
didn't call Booker out this weekend. Again, some guy Kobe
Bryant was confrontational. Michael Jordan was confrontational. I don't know
if Lebron is or not. Katie's not maybe a podcast confrontational,
but not real. And again I like his game, but
considering his skill set, I mean I had I've had
people tell me that we're on the Olympic staff, like
(36:54):
you cannot believe his talent. It's next generation. It doesn't
even make sense compared to other great players. And I'm
just like, he just now I look at him and
I'm like this, this this Phoenix thing, I ain't working.
I mean, is this what it is? They got hot
at the end of the season, mostly because Belle played great.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
I think let's not get caught on the krycicon. Okay,
it's it is just one game, but something's got to
change pretty quick. I think Durant has to be the
who's the leader in that huddle?
Speaker 1 (37:18):
We've said, we said this all, we said this for
years now. Before Chris Paul got there, Phoenix was awful. Yeah,
with Devin Booker, So Chris Paul was the leader. So
Chris Paul leaves, say what you want, he's a leader.
Kevin comes in, Well, Kevin's not a leader, and Beal
doesn't want to be a leader, and Booker's never been
(37:40):
the leader. They're just talented dudes. They're just great players.
So it's sort of a rudderless ship. Like Anthony Edwards
was embracing leadership Mike Conley. Historically, they brought Mike Conley in.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
That's a leader. It was Karl Anthony Towns's team, and
pretty quickly we realize this is ant squad.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Well, and they also brought in Mike Conley. Mike Conley's
high IQ veteran players terrible by he was, but he
holds guys accountable. Chris Paul has n't been good, but
Chris is verbally he'll come after.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
You like you knew when the Bucks came out, like
Dame Liller was in that hall of guys. I've been
to the show.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I've always got Dames a leader, right, I've always thought
Dames elider.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
You can't quantify that. But does Kevin Durant have the leadership?
Speaker 8 (38:17):
I want to him.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
I went to a Lakers Warriors game. You and I
went to the one winner. You were way upstairs. And
when I went to that game, the game was over late.
Draymond Green is I left the arena with two minutes left.
Draymond Green's on the huddle and they leave by whatever
ten twelve, barking like some guy like and by the way,
his barking was off putting to Durant, who was there
at the same time. You can't leave that team for Brooklyn.
(38:41):
You can't leave Stephan Kyrie. You can't do that. And
then you can't want out and go to Phoenix and
not be a leader when you know Booker and Bill aren't, like,
at some point, let's stop subporting, start reporting and being honest.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
Here.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
It's weird that he made such a great move dumping
OKC and RUSS to go to Golden State, like genius move,
one of the smartest I've ever seen in the NBA,
and then everything since then has just not been good.
I don't know why. I still don't know why he
picked Kyrie in Brooklyn. Kyrie's kind of like cool among
the players love him. You know, Kyrie is your favorite
player's favorite player. You know that saying. I don't know
(39:15):
if anybody's favorite player other than Anthony Edwards is KD
because all he does is score. He doesn't make anyone
better in thirty nine minutes.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Oh, we've been too harsh. Colin right, Colin wrong, top
of next hour. Maybe we're too harsh. Maybe we have
to soften things up, become like the NBA media just
coming in hot. I'm so excited for the draft Thursday.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
Yeah, I fact.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I've had two opportunities to get a free dinner Wednesday.
I've turned it off. Can't do it. You've got to
be rested for a draft day. I've had two people
reach out there in town a on dinner Wednesday? Account available?
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Is it because of the restaurant? If they said no
boom Malibu, you gotta hit it. No, I've never been.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
You can't be up late Wednesday. I have to get
solid sleep Wednesday. No alcohol weekend. Total clarity for draft.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
We have a little to little time here thirty seconds.
Have you noticed how there's not as many leaks this
year in regard to the draft.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
You know why because there's gonna be more moves.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Well, there's also gambling involved, and I do think the
league has done a great job. A lot of this.
Jadon Daniels too, that's starting to pull back. According to
the Gamblings, it was running on nothing. It was like
Jamie Daniels can go second, Why again? Who's reporting that?
And it was all just speculation. Drake may back up
to two Cowherry. It's happened. It's happening, baby, all right.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
We are ready to go. Don't forget save big and
your water and energy bills. Tanklessmade simple dot Com. It's
a Navvy in fifteen year limited warranty. Monday hour two
next
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