April 16, 2025 • 32 mins
Colin is hesitant to celebrate the Warriors advancing to the playoffs after their win over the Grizzlies despite Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler combining for 75 points. He shares 4 bold predictions for the upcoming NBA playoffs. Plus, Chris Broussard from First Things First joins the show to tell Colin why the Lakers are in prime position to win the West and why Luka Doncic has the potential to be the face of the NBA.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday. We are live
and this is the Herd. Wherever you may be and
however you may be listening, Thanks for making us part
of your day. We have a lot today. There's a
continuing stories going on. One of the more fascinating the
first holdout in college football ever, and how that's planned out?
(00:48):
Is that kid, that great quarterback, talent, young kid. Is
he gonna land at USC or UCLA lot of rumors
this morning on that Jordan Schultz film. It for Jmak
who's on vacation. So the Warriors won, got off to
a huge lead, but if you were a Warrior fan,
they look tired and they looked vulnerable. That was a
(01:11):
depressing win for an old band about to go on tour.
So Let's start with that. Remember the trade deadline and
there was that rumor that Kevin Durant maybe going back
to the Warriors, and KD squashed it. Steve Kerr did
he plant it? Did they need light? They need another score? Now? Playoff.
(01:34):
Jimmy and Steph Curry were great, combined for seventy five points.
But when you watch them, they need another athlete, they
need another wing. And this is where the Jonathan coaminga
story is so obvious. Did not play him again last night?
I mean, they're telling the league we're moving off him.
They're doing something. But you watched it last night, like
(01:56):
they Memphis was a jaw Morant, turned ankle and an
in from beating the Warriors. So they had great energy
in the first half, they had a great game plan,
took a twenty point lead, but boy do they have holes.
They couldn't make any stops. They're just not long enough.
And Jimmy Butler gave this team a vibe and an energy,
but vibe has a ceiling. He brought this intensity to
(02:19):
the regular season, and a lot of teams in the
regular season, especially the second half of tanking or resting starters.
So but Golden State looks old, they look tired. They
don't have a ton of scoring depth, and outside of
Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, who thank god, hit back
to back threes, that was the difference probably in the game,
They're not terribly dynamic. And so now it's interesting because
(02:41):
they face Houston. Houston is they're exactly what the Warriors aren't. Young, long, athletic, dynamic,
and a great rebounding team. So they're going to blow
out the Warriors in a couple of these games. The
question is can there be enough close games in the
Houston Warriors series for Golden State to win? Because Golden
(03:03):
State will be a much better team in close games.
They'll manipulate the refs, They've got the better coach, Draymond
Butler and Steph have been in so many huge playoff games,
close games. I'll take the Warriors, but they're gonna get
blown out a couple of times in this series. Because
you know, an old band can go to the sphere
in Vegas, can still make money in tour, but an
(03:24):
old NBA team you can't hide behind the drums and
the lyrics. They looked old. And I'll say this, the
Jimmy Butler thing the playoff. Jimmy thing is real. He
had a remarkable first half, played well throughout. But Golden
State is favored against Houston, and I feel like they're
(03:47):
gonna be incredibly Butler and Curry reliant. They're not as
deep as long as athletic as Houston. I think we
got an upset on our hands coming because Golden State
is favored. So Steve Kerr seemed somewhat satisfied. Here was
his take on what we all watched last night.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
I tried to downplay it a little bit before the game,
but we desperately needed to win this game and get
four days. Our guys have been basically playing knockout games
for about three weeks to eighty three games. But we're
right where we want to be, which is, you know,
back in the playoffs, and we've got a chance. But
(04:30):
maybe most importantly, we get the time to rest and
prepare because these guys need that.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, the old band members need to head home for
a few days, sleep in, sleep late. Again. If you
look at the Warriors starting lineup in the playing game
last night, Stephan, Jimmy gave you seventy five points. Everybody
else looks small, look limited and shot six for nineteen
(04:58):
and gave you sixteen total points. So Houston is the
opposite of the Warriors. The Warriors are favored, and I
think it's mostly based on playoff experience, but if there
is a first round upset coming, it's going to be
Houston beating this team. Houston is excellent in size and rebounding.
The Warriors are not. And now that they've apparently opted
(05:20):
to not play kaminga I mean, you watched last night,
Zach Edy was a problem, like they just I mean,
and he didn't play well and he's not a refined
NBA player, but they didn't even want to challenge him
at the rim Zach Edy. So here comes Houston. Watch out,
all right? So this story is fascinating. So we talked
about this. I've talked about this every day. It's the
(05:42):
first holdout in college football. So there's a really talented quarterback,
la Kid arch Manning and him, the kid, were the
top two quarterbacks out of high school. He goes to
Tennessee and he makes two and a half million dollars
red shirting. So there's a bidding war for these kids. Now,
the great quarterbacks Niko Iamali and then he decides obviously
(06:04):
got advice, bad advice from somebody in his family, probably dad,
I would guess, and that I am. I'm not gonna practice,
I'm gonna hold out. I want four million. And Tennessee said, yeah,
see ya, we're not going there. So he's a talented kid.
But not only did Tennessee hold the line, a lot
(06:27):
of people are holding the line. Tulane said no thanks,
Belichick said no thanks. Oregon has the money. They've said
no thanks. So the rest of college football is holding
the line as well. Now for the next ten days,
the transfer portals wide open, and he may land somewhere.
But the overriding feeling I get from this story because
he's talented is quarterback dad is a real thing, and
(06:51):
it's the equivalent of pageant mom, weird helicopter getting in
the way of talented kids, living through your kids bad advice.
Quarterback dad has become pageant mom. Not a lot of
self awareness here. So I mean a kid. It's a MetalMan,
(07:12):
not a middleman. And now Marv Marinovitch, California, Todd Morinovitch's
dad rest in peace. He was the beginning of the
tsunami of where and I've heard this for years from
college coaches, like dads get in the way. You know,
everybody's like, oh, you need a strong dad. Dads that
(07:32):
were semi athletic but not as successful as they think
they should have been lived through their kids. Now the
Nico family is saying that this is not why he left.
It wasn't bad advice. Why would Tennessee there's a lot
of grifting going on. Why would Tennessee just bail on him?
Give me a break? You know what this is all about.
It's about the cash. And so I think the nil
(07:53):
has been gas on a flame of parents who are
very strong willed and often turn into pangan mom. So
I'm surprised he doesn't have more offers. I think he's
really talented. But Tennessee made a statement, okay. And what's
interesting is, and we know that money drives everything from
(08:14):
politics to sports, but it looks like college football, a
lot of college football has made a statement too. And
I do think bailing on your team is a bad look.
I don't think it would affect him. The interesting thing here,
if he would have just stayed at Tennessee and had
a good year, not even a great one, He's probably
a first round quarterback next year and would have made money,
would have never been a problem in the rest of
(08:36):
his life. So the family is saying there's a lot
of misinformation, But he was the starting quarterback for Tennessee.
Decided not to practice, and Tennessee said, no, thanks, you
just don't do that for a kid this talented. This
kid's too talented to just bail on cuz you know,
he had a ice cream headache and missed a practice.
He's too talented. So Joel Klatt came on the show
(08:58):
yesterday and talks about what he thinks is going to
happen to this really, really talented kid in a weird situation.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
I could see him back on the West Coast, I
would I would think that he wants to be in
the Big ten, I would think, But I think he
could wind up somewhere else. I think UNC is interesting
North Carolina's that's just to just to keep your eye
on that. The LA schools make a lot of sense.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Now.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I have heard that there has been a huge, quiet
influx of UCLA money. That's all. So I'm not going
to be shocked if he winds up at UCLA.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I will be a little surprised. At UCLA, it's public university.
Everything gets reported. You know, USC has always had an
advantage on UCLA. It's private. They can pay their coaches
whatever they want. It doesn't have to go through a
board or regents. Nobody cares. If you want to pay
an assistant two million bucks, you can. At UCLA. Historically football,
they don't pay their assistance very well because it's got
(09:59):
to get improved. So unless somebody stepped up and said, okay,
USC could be pretty good this year their arrival, let's
go pay three million bucks. But it's a fascinating tale
because I'll are you all day long. The kid is talented.
He's young, he's not refined yet, he is talented. From
LA goes to the SEC and Tennessee's like, we're not
(10:19):
going to play this day. We're not going to play
this game. We're not going to do this. And it's
interesting to watch a lot of teams that need a
quarterback right now in college don't appear to be interested.
And he's as talented as anybody out there. So stay tuned.
Coming up, speaking of quarterbacks, I got a second and
a third NFL person telling me I'm wrong on Jackson
(10:46):
Dart of Old Miss, who I think is a slightly
better version of Zach Wilson from BYU went to the
Jets and flamed out. I'll talk about that next.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd Weekdays
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Speaker 1 (11:05):
There's a story out today. The Rams have spent expensive
time on Ole Miss quarterback Jackson Dart because Stafford's getting old.
I would be shocked if the Rams drafted him. I'll
just tell you that. I would be surprised. Now. I
think he's Zach Wilson to the Jets, a little better version.
I think he's more talented, but I think he's Zach Wilson.
So it was easy for me to predict Zach Wilson
wouldn't work to the Jets defensive coach bat o line,
(11:29):
wonky organization, impulsive ownership. That was an easy call. Jackson Dart.
If he did go to the Rams and sat behind
Matt Stafford for two years with a guidance and composure
and intelligence of Sean McVay, it could be a different outcome.
I mean, let's be honest, Sam Darnold's the greatest example
of this. Awful with the Jets, Great with the Vikings,
Baker Mayfield and Tampa. Oh, he's pretty good. So Geno
(11:52):
Smith reboard in Seattle with a competent staff. Awful with
the Jets. Oh, you can actually play a little in Seattle,
made a Pro Bowl. So where you land for young
people in any industry, it can be broadcasting, it can
be football, it can be law, it can be medicine.
Your first mentor is a game changer, certainly was for me.
So Jackson Dart to the Saints and Jackson Dart to
(12:12):
the Rams, sitting for two years behind Stafford with McVay.
Those are two potentially different outcomes. And here's the thing.
Football is different. So where you land in basketball may
affect how many trophies you win. Right, Michael Jordan eventually
got Phil Jackson and they drafted Scottie Pippen. You do
need a good GM and you need you know, an
(12:32):
owner that's going to pay for the right coach and
get the right coach. But you can still get twenty
eight points a night. Kevin Durant still getting twenty seven
points a night shooting fifty three percent. You can still
get yours. You may not get trophies. But in football,
bat old line, bad coordinator, bad outcome, bad results, maybe
you get hurt. So the gap in football coaching in
this country is Gigannick. I don't think the gap in
(12:54):
NBA coaching is huge. I think Kerr is obviously very good,
ty Lu Tibbs obviously a great defensive coach. But I
mean Joe Missoula had no head coaching experience, was a
second row guy. They give it to him. By the
second year he's winning a title. I don't think the
gap at NBA is a player driven league. Football coaching
is everything. I mean, the Chargers went from the worst
(13:15):
defense in the league to the best defense in the
league because they got the right defensive coordinator, same players.
You don't see that in the NBA. You don't go
for twenty eight wins to fifty eight wins because you
hired a coach in the NBA. So Jackson Dart if
he lands at the right place, I mean, look at
what Sean Payton did to Rookie bow Nicks. Look what
Matt Eberflus did to the more talented Kayleb Williams. So
(13:39):
if Jackson Dart goes to the Rams like this story
says it's possible. I don't believe that's true. And six
for two years with mcveigh's guidance, Okay, all bets are off.
That's a whole different outcome than going to the Saints.
Derek carrs hurt starting Week one that in my opinion,
would not end well. But I have three people now.
One has made a stake dinner debt, bet he really
(14:01):
likes him. And I see Zach Wilson, same high school,
same size, struggled when they played better competition in college
and the game speeds up. So there you go. You know,
this is one of the great parts about the draft,
is the quarterbacks taking a swing. I'm gonna put it
out there. I don't think Jackson Dart's a first round quarterback,
(14:22):
in my opinion, goes to the Rams. I'll probably be wrong.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
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Hey Steve Covino and I'm Rich David, and together we're
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Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
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I mean that says something, right, So check us out.
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Speaker 1 (15:31):
Here we go, it is Wednesday, Playing games started last night,
Fun Stuff Live in Los Angeles. It's the Hurt Wherever
you may be and however you may be listening, thanks
for Megan Hou's part of your day. Diana Russini in
five minutes. You know, it's really I love this time
of the year. I mean, we just had March. Maddins
(15:52):
was amazing. The Masters was my favorite Masters in forever.
Masters has delivered so many times. There's just some things
in my life that have always been there on Sunday
NFL Sopranos for about a decade, and the Masters is
very infrequently not delivered. And I thought CBS did a
(16:14):
great job with it. And this time we got all
this NFL draft stuff. I do not remember a draft
where I had stronger disagreements with friends and people I know.
I like Sador Sanders much more than people that I
(16:36):
know in the league. You know, I don't think he's
an A prospect. I think he's a B plus prospect.
But I think he's a really good kid, a really
good player, better arm than he gets credit for it.
This idea that he's a pocket quarterback. He's not immobile.
He moves, he had to move. He had a terrible
offensive line. He's fine. So I like him much more.
I don't I'm not into the Louisville quarterback who's like
(16:59):
twenty seven, not into Jackson Dart. I like Kyle McCord.
A lot of people don't because you know he's a
little Philip Rivers. Kyle McCord pocket guy. Can make some
risky throws, but he's competitor. He'll throw it into traffic,
he'll take risks, he'll throw it downfield. He's not a
DNC and dunk guy. So I think Kyle McCord with
the right hands, he is really aggressive pocket passer, not
(17:21):
a great athlete. But I like the fact that there's
wide variations of opinions. That's what makes this job fun.
So before I get to Diana Russini, she's got great
stuff on the draft and other things. I'm going to
give you five four bold predictions to the playoffs, kind
of bold. One of them's bold. Number one is I
think the joker. I think Denver's gonna lose to the Clippers,
(17:44):
although I think it's a very good series. He's going
to average a thirty point triple double. First of all,
if he's not on the floor, Denver's bad. He has
to play, and after Zubots, the Clippers have no center depth.
Ben Simmons is their backup center, so he's going to
have to log forty minute and he's going to put
up massive numbers, so he's going to have an all
(18:05):
time playoffs series. I think the Clippers win. I think
the Rockets upset the Warriors. Amon Thompson is their best
athlete Houston, and he guarded Steph the last time they played.
He's a terrific player, terrific athlete. The Rosters young athletic.
They defend the three great rebounding team young. They will
(18:25):
not lose energy over the course of the series. And
I think the Warriors are unbelievably Steph and Jimmy Butler reliant,
and the Kaminga issue hurts. They need Kaminga to play
real minutes with his length against the Warriors, and now
he's a DNP coaches decision. Rockets upset the Warriors. Number three.
(18:45):
The Detroit Pistons will have more ejections than wins against
the Knicks. First of all, they're going to struggle to
stop Jalen Brunson they have this year. Secondly, they're a
very young emotional team is Detroit. They led the Eastern
Conference with ten player ejections and they got a chip
on their shoulder, and New York is a physical team
(19:07):
and a chatting team at times, and they're going to
frustrate that, you know what out of the Piston. So
I think I think New York flies through them. Pistons
players have multiple ejections. And for the record, the Knicks
do not play the caves of the Celtics. Well, they're
thirty four to ten against the rest of the East,
so they're gonna hammer the Pistons and number four Ant
(19:28):
Edwards will have multiple forty point games against the Lakers.
They're not a team that gets easy buckets. Go Bear
and Julius Randall don't have a history of scoring consistently.
In the playoffs. Ant played great down the stretch. He's
actually the last two playoffs been a very efficient player.
(19:48):
He shoots better. So Ant's playing the best basketball of
his career, and I think the Lakers defense maybe let
Ant have his We're not going to lose because Julius
Randall goes off, I think and is going to be
highly productive. I think it'll be a wildly entertaining series.
But I just don't think the t Wolves can consistently
(20:09):
initiate enough offense They'll have too many, if not wasted possessions,
too many difficult, clunky possessions. The Lakers between Austin Reeves
playing the best basketball of his career, Lucas in better shape,
Lebron's rested, ready to go, They're going to get more
easy looks, easier transition to offense, and I think the
(20:30):
Lakers are going to win that series in six.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
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Speaker 1 (20:43):
Chris Brusard co hosts First Things First, joining US live
from New York. I said this, I understand Steve Kerr
says the Warriors are tired, but the Rockets are a
tough matchup, long, deep athletic. I'm on Thompson can guard
Steph Turk Curry. He's their best athlete. I think, I mean,
if there's an upset in the offing, I think Houston
(21:06):
is a rough matchup. They're also a great rebounding team,
and you saw last night the problem Zach Edie and
his size gave the Warriors. I'm surprised Golden State. I
guess Steve Kerr veterans. I think Houston's gonna win the series.
Am I nuts.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
Warriors in six, Colin Warriors in six. No, look, you're not.
Zach Edy looked like an All Star yesterday against the Word.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
He really did.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
He was dominant. I mean, seventeen rebounds. They could do
nothing with him. You're hitting on the Warriors' weakness, which
is their lack of size.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
That's there.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
I've been harping on that for the last few years.
If you go back, I know twenty two, they weren't
that huge. You know, Kevon Looney was playing more than
when they won the championship. But go back to all
their previous championship teams, and they had an Andrew, they
had a Festus Azeli, Azaza Peculia.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
They had size.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
It wasn't great size, but it was size that they
could put out there. Now they don't have that. And Houston,
to your point, is the best rebounding team in the
league and the rock The Warriors are actually a good
rebounded team too, despite their lack of size. But the
last three games, for whatever reason, they have been crushed
(22:25):
on the glass, including last night, and that's the key
to this series. If they get destroyed on the boards,
then Houston's got a great chance.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
You mentioned the athleticism.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I'm in Thompson.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Yes, he can you know bother Steph Curry because he's
long and athletic. But I think ultimately, Colin, when you
look at this series, as great as Emoludoka is, best
coach is Golden State, best player is Golden State. Second
best player, I think Jimmy Butler, Golden State, best defender,
Golden State, Draymond Green, and obviously the wealth of experience.
(23:02):
So Rockets great season. I think they'll, you know, this
will be good for them going forward in the future.
But I don't see them after having never made the
playoffs in the last five years or four years, and
then all these young guys shng Goon Green. I'm in Thompson,
this is their first taste of the postseason against a
season champion. I think they're going to learn from this,
(23:25):
but go down in six.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
I gotta ask you. I like the Lakers over the
Tea Wolves, and one of the reasons is even though
Ant's been very good in the playoffs, he's kind of
their go to answer offensively. Julius Randall's never been a
good playoff guy. Good player, but not a great playoff player,
Rudy Goberts limited Mike colmley age, whereas the Lakers have
three offensive playmakers and initiators and sometimes in the playoffs
(23:51):
in these close games. I said this yesterday, t Wolves
Lakers are going to be one o four, one oh four,
four minutes left, and I've taken Luca, Lebron and Austin
Reeves over one guy at I like the Lakers in
this series, and I think it will become very apparent
early in the series that Minnesota doesn't have the fire power.
How do you see it plan out?
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Yeah, I'm with you on this one. If the games
are closed, and we hope they are just for entertainment value.
But the Lakers are a very good clutch team. Not
only do you have Lebron and Luca you can go to,
but Austin Reeves. You remember when they lost that game
on the half court heave recently to Chicago, Austin Reeves
was the guy getting the buckets at the end of
the game. So they're very good in the clutch and
(24:34):
Minnesota's terrible.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Now.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Anthony Edwards gets a ton of points. I think he
led the league in points in the clutch, but they
lose those games. They're like nineteen and maybe twenty four
or something like that in clutch games, so they're not
good at closing out games. So I agree with you there.
I think this is an interesting series, though I think
the Lakers win. I actually have them winning in five.
(24:57):
Whether or not Minnesota can push it to six is
all based on Julius Randay. Like you said, he has
been one of those guys in the league that is
an All Star doing a regular season and just goes
could put in the playoffs. This is a chance for
him to change that image. If he does, maybe Minnesota
(25:17):
makes it competitive. If not, the Lakers should cruise. And
I think Andy Erras will play well, but the Lakers
will cruise.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
So let's be honest. The NBA regular season doesn't get
huge numbers and guys like Steph and Lebron and the
Celtics and the Knick steel the Thunder, and I pivot
to the Thunder. Oklahoma City put up the greatest point
differential in league history. They have they create turnovers, but
they don't have turnovers. They've got a dominant MVP level scorer,
(25:47):
they've got a good coach, tremendous depth, They've got size,
and there's part of me that thinks we just don't
want them to win because we want Lebron and Steph
and the Celtics. But if they flew through the Western
Conference playoffs, would you be surprised? Or do you think
they're youth in big road playoff games? And Chris, young
(26:11):
players on the road in the playoffs are different than
they are at home. What do you think transpires with
a thunder? Are they a buzz saw in the playoffs
like they were in the regular season.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
No, if they ran through the playoffs in the West,
Colin I would be shocked. Now, I wouldn't be shocked
if they win the West, but if they just run
through it the way they did the regular season, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I'd be surprised.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Now. Remember I don't know the exact record, but they
were around five hundred against the best teams in the West,
and I mean like the four best teams in the
West something like that, so they didn't dominate the West elite.
I also think you hit on it with the youth
this team. I've said it before on this show. It
would be the youngest team ever to reach the finals
(26:57):
and the youngest team to win it, of course, but
they also have only won one playoff series together. That's
just it's very unusual for a team with such little
experience to go ahead and get all the way to
the finals, especially when you got to go through the
all time greats that they do. Obviously, the Lakers have
them Jokics with Denver staff in Golden State, and so
(27:22):
I would be surprised if they run through these playoffs.
They also only have one star, and we saw colin
last weekend when they were playing the Lakers, or a
week and a half or so ago. The Lakers, they
rolled them obviously in the first game, and then the
second one. They were up by a point in the
fourth quarter when Luka Doncas got ejected. So I thought
(27:45):
they showed everybody that if the Lakers and OKC meet
in the Western Conference finals, I'm taking the Lakers because
you got two great stars Luca and Lebron against one
great star in Shay, and I'll.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Take that to expirits all day. Okay, finally, I'm gonna
throw this out there. I threw this out to Nick Wright.
I said, right now, Rory McElroy is the face of golf.
Messi's the face of the MLS. Ovechkin was arguably the
face of hockey for the last decade, Shoe Otani and
Aaron Judge are the face of baseball, and Connor McGregor.
The UFC was never more popular than when Ireland's Connor
(28:20):
McGregor was the biggest draw. And this idea of the
NBA can't have an international star, And I told Nick Wright,
I said, I always was maybe maybe not. But the
thing about Luca, he's very domestic. He barks at refs,
he barks at fans, He's got an attitude, he's fun,
He's got a crazy bag of tools, right, And there's
(28:42):
part of me that thinks, if he averages thirty six
in the finals and the Lakers won, Chris, I think
he's a bigger personality than Wemby. I think his game
has got a lot of tools. I think Luca come.
I mean, if he goes through Jokich, don't want to
be the face he goes through Sga, who's pretty reticent
and quiet. What if Luca just blows these playoffs up?
(29:07):
Why can't he be the face of the league.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Well he can.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
And look, I used to feel like about seven years Ago,
I said, I don't think an international star could be
the face of the NBA, but I didn't foresee the
I mean, the three best players in the league being
international guys, if not more than that, this will be
what when Shae or Jolkish wins. I think it'll be Shay,
but this will be like I think the seventh straight
(29:33):
International MVP or seventh straight year and international players won
the MVP, and there's just more coming. Luca's gonna win
one at some point, Wimby's gonna probably win several at
some point.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Like it's not stopping.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
And so I yeah, the face of the league, the
only American out there because Joe has kind of hurt
himself off the court, like the only Anthony Everards is
like our last hope for an American player to the
face league Jason Tatum if they win it.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
But I don't know.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
He doesn't captivate people like that. Luca, to your point,
he has the game. His game is flash. He doesn't
dunk like he used to early in his career, but
he still got all the moves and the craftiness. He's
fun to watch. He does have an attitude. He's with
the Lakers and Colin. I think this trade, this trade
just made him even more popular, and it made him
(30:24):
somewhat sympathetic because the Mavericks just ripped him anonymously, of course,
but ripped him on the way out. He was you know,
he drinks too much, he's too much, he's not in shape,
he doesn't play defense, all that. And now you see
him go to the glamour franchise of the league, and
if he wins it, he will have proved Dallas wrong.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
But also I think people.
Speaker 5 (30:45):
Feel like, man, this dude got a raw deal.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
He loved Dallas and they did him wrong.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
And I do think if they win the championship and
he's the MVP, he is the Lakers' best player. With
all due respect to Lebron. It's Lebron's team, clear, but
Luca's the best player right now. And yeah, if they
wouldn't the championship, he could he he will become the
face of the league.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Chris Brussard, First things first, could see anybody you too, Collins. Yeah,
yesterday we had merchandise jersey sales. Luca was way up
and Luca was number one. Wasn't he wasn't Luca number one?
So Luca was number one over Lebron and Steph So
I mean Jason Tatum was four or five? Yeah, I
mean top selling NBA jersey. This is before the playoffs.
(31:27):
So the NBA ratings triple in the playoffs, double and triple.
So you say, well, you know he you know the
Laker jersey is new. He hasn't. I don't want to
hear that. I mean that Victor Webbin Yama's jersey's new.
He's six. So Steph Curry's two and everybody's had that jersey.
(31:47):
Who wants it? That's a popularity contest. Why can't Luca
be the face of the league? And I when you
throw in this, he's great, His game's highly offensive, he's
on the Lakers, he's po rising because of the trade.
And he's a trash talker. I mean, you know, Michael
Jordan talked a little trash. Michael Jordan had little ledge,
(32:08):
Larry birdo a little edge Shack, and Kobe had a
little edge. You don't have to be the likable guy.
Kobe Bryant was kind of a trash talker. Bird was
a trash talker. Michael Jordan talked trash, and Michael like
Luca was somebody that had like a rival and some controversy,
and the Pistons and the celt for there were a
(32:30):
million reasons to like Michael, a lot of reasons to
like Luca. You know, you're not face of the league
because you played great defense. Can you drop thirty eight
on any given night? Do you play for a big
market team, do you have a little polarization. Do you
have a trophy if they win a trophy? To me,
Luca is the face of the league. Live in La
it's the herd.
Thanks for listening to the Best of 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
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or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday. We are live
and this is the Herd. Wherever you may be and
however you may be listening, Thanks for making us part
of your day. We have a lot today. There's a
continuing stories going on. One of the more fascinating the
first holdout in college football ever, and how that's planned out?
(00:48):
Is that kid, that great quarterback, talent, young kid. Is
he gonna land at USC or UCLA lot of rumors
this morning on that Jordan Schultz film. It for Jmak
who's on vacation. So the Warriors won, got off to
a huge lead, but if you were a Warrior fan,
they look tired and they looked vulnerable. That was a
(01:11):
depressing win for an old band about to go on tour.
So Let's start with that. Remember the trade deadline and
there was that rumor that Kevin Durant maybe going back
to the Warriors, and KD squashed it. Steve Kerr did
he plant it? Did they need light? They need another score? Now? Playoff.
(01:34):
Jimmy and Steph Curry were great, combined for seventy five points.
But when you watch them, they need another athlete, they
need another wing. And this is where the Jonathan coaminga
story is so obvious. Did not play him again last night?
I mean, they're telling the league we're moving off him.
They're doing something. But you watched it last night, like
(01:56):
they Memphis was a jaw Morant, turned ankle and an
in from beating the Warriors. So they had great energy
in the first half, they had a great game plan,
took a twenty point lead, but boy do they have holes.
They couldn't make any stops. They're just not long enough.
And Jimmy Butler gave this team a vibe and an energy,
but vibe has a ceiling. He brought this intensity to
(02:19):
the regular season, and a lot of teams in the
regular season, especially the second half of tanking or resting starters.
So but Golden State looks old, they look tired. They
don't have a ton of scoring depth, and outside of
Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, who thank god, hit back
to back threes, that was the difference probably in the game,
They're not terribly dynamic. And so now it's interesting because
(02:41):
they face Houston. Houston is they're exactly what the Warriors aren't. Young, long, athletic, dynamic,
and a great rebounding team. So they're going to blow
out the Warriors in a couple of these games. The
question is can there be enough close games in the
Houston Warriors series for Golden State to win? Because Golden
(03:03):
State will be a much better team in close games.
They'll manipulate the refs, They've got the better coach, Draymond
Butler and Steph have been in so many huge playoff games,
close games. I'll take the Warriors, but they're gonna get
blown out a couple of times in this series. Because
you know, an old band can go to the sphere
in Vegas, can still make money in tour, but an
(03:24):
old NBA team you can't hide behind the drums and
the lyrics. They looked old. And I'll say this, the
Jimmy Butler thing the playoff. Jimmy thing is real. He
had a remarkable first half, played well throughout. But Golden
State is favored against Houston, and I feel like they're
(03:47):
gonna be incredibly Butler and Curry reliant. They're not as
deep as long as athletic as Houston. I think we
got an upset on our hands coming because Golden State
is favored. So Steve Kerr seemed somewhat satisfied. Here was
his take on what we all watched last night.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
I tried to downplay it a little bit before the game,
but we desperately needed to win this game and get
four days. Our guys have been basically playing knockout games
for about three weeks to eighty three games. But we're
right where we want to be, which is, you know,
back in the playoffs, and we've got a chance. But
(04:30):
maybe most importantly, we get the time to rest and
prepare because these guys need that.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, the old band members need to head home for
a few days, sleep in, sleep late. Again. If you
look at the Warriors starting lineup in the playing game
last night, Stephan, Jimmy gave you seventy five points. Everybody
else looks small, look limited and shot six for nineteen
(04:58):
and gave you sixteen total points. So Houston is the
opposite of the Warriors. The Warriors are favored, and I
think it's mostly based on playoff experience, but if there
is a first round upset coming, it's going to be
Houston beating this team. Houston is excellent in size and rebounding.
The Warriors are not. And now that they've apparently opted
(05:20):
to not play kaminga I mean, you watched last night,
Zach Edy was a problem, like they just I mean,
and he didn't play well and he's not a refined
NBA player, but they didn't even want to challenge him
at the rim Zach Edy. So here comes Houston. Watch out,
all right? So this story is fascinating. So we talked
about this. I've talked about this every day. It's the
(05:42):
first holdout in college football. So there's a really talented quarterback,
la Kid arch Manning and him, the kid, were the
top two quarterbacks out of high school. He goes to
Tennessee and he makes two and a half million dollars
red shirting. So there's a bidding war for these kids. Now,
the great quarterbacks Niko Iamali and then he decides obviously
(06:04):
got advice, bad advice from somebody in his family, probably dad,
I would guess, and that I am. I'm not gonna practice,
I'm gonna hold out. I want four million. And Tennessee said, yeah,
see ya, we're not going there. So he's a talented kid.
But not only did Tennessee hold the line, a lot
(06:27):
of people are holding the line. Tulane said no thanks,
Belichick said no thanks. Oregon has the money. They've said
no thanks. So the rest of college football is holding
the line as well. Now for the next ten days,
the transfer portals wide open, and he may land somewhere.
But the overriding feeling I get from this story because
he's talented is quarterback dad is a real thing, and
(06:51):
it's the equivalent of pageant mom, weird helicopter getting in
the way of talented kids, living through your kids bad advice.
Quarterback dad has become pageant mom. Not a lot of
self awareness here. So I mean a kid. It's a MetalMan,
(07:12):
not a middleman. And now Marv Marinovitch, California, Todd Morinovitch's
dad rest in peace. He was the beginning of the
tsunami of where and I've heard this for years from
college coaches, like dads get in the way. You know,
everybody's like, oh, you need a strong dad. Dads that
(07:32):
were semi athletic but not as successful as they think
they should have been lived through their kids. Now the
Nico family is saying that this is not why he left.
It wasn't bad advice. Why would Tennessee there's a lot
of grifting going on. Why would Tennessee just bail on him?
Give me a break? You know what this is all about.
It's about the cash. And so I think the nil
(07:53):
has been gas on a flame of parents who are
very strong willed and often turn into pangan mom. So
I'm surprised he doesn't have more offers. I think he's
really talented. But Tennessee made a statement, okay. And what's
interesting is, and we know that money drives everything from
(08:14):
politics to sports, but it looks like college football, a
lot of college football has made a statement too. And
I do think bailing on your team is a bad look.
I don't think it would affect him. The interesting thing here,
if he would have just stayed at Tennessee and had
a good year, not even a great one, He's probably
a first round quarterback next year and would have made money,
would have never been a problem in the rest of
(08:36):
his life. So the family is saying there's a lot
of misinformation, But he was the starting quarterback for Tennessee.
Decided not to practice, and Tennessee said, no, thanks, you
just don't do that for a kid this talented. This
kid's too talented to just bail on cuz you know,
he had a ice cream headache and missed a practice.
He's too talented. So Joel Klatt came on the show
(08:58):
yesterday and talks about what he thinks is going to
happen to this really, really talented kid in a weird situation.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
I could see him back on the West Coast, I
would I would think that he wants to be in
the Big ten, I would think, But I think he
could wind up somewhere else. I think UNC is interesting
North Carolina's that's just to just to keep your eye
on that. The LA schools make a lot of sense.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Now.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I have heard that there has been a huge, quiet
influx of UCLA money. That's all. So I'm not going
to be shocked if he winds up at UCLA.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I will be a little surprised. At UCLA, it's public university.
Everything gets reported. You know, USC has always had an
advantage on UCLA. It's private. They can pay their coaches
whatever they want. It doesn't have to go through a
board or regents. Nobody cares. If you want to pay
an assistant two million bucks, you can. At UCLA. Historically football,
they don't pay their assistance very well because it's got
(09:59):
to get improved. So unless somebody stepped up and said, okay,
USC could be pretty good this year their arrival, let's
go pay three million bucks. But it's a fascinating tale
because I'll are you all day long. The kid is talented.
He's young, he's not refined yet, he is talented. From
LA goes to the SEC and Tennessee's like, we're not
(10:19):
going to play this day. We're not going to play
this game. We're not going to do this. And it's
interesting to watch a lot of teams that need a
quarterback right now in college don't appear to be interested.
And he's as talented as anybody out there. So stay tuned.
Coming up, speaking of quarterbacks, I got a second and
a third NFL person telling me I'm wrong on Jackson
(10:46):
Dart of Old Miss, who I think is a slightly
better version of Zach Wilson from BYU went to the
Jets and flamed out. I'll talk about that next.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd Weekdays
and noonietnin a im Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS
one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
There's a story out today. The Rams have spent expensive
time on Ole Miss quarterback Jackson Dart because Stafford's getting old.
I would be shocked if the Rams drafted him. I'll
just tell you that. I would be surprised. Now. I
think he's Zach Wilson to the Jets, a little better version.
I think he's more talented, but I think he's Zach Wilson.
So it was easy for me to predict Zach Wilson
wouldn't work to the Jets defensive coach bat o line,
(11:29):
wonky organization, impulsive ownership. That was an easy call. Jackson Dart.
If he did go to the Rams and sat behind
Matt Stafford for two years with a guidance and composure
and intelligence of Sean McVay, it could be a different outcome.
I mean, let's be honest, Sam Darnold's the greatest example
of this. Awful with the Jets, Great with the Vikings,
Baker Mayfield and Tampa. Oh, he's pretty good. So Geno
(11:52):
Smith reboard in Seattle with a competent staff. Awful with
the Jets. Oh, you can actually play a little in Seattle,
made a Pro Bowl. So where you land for young
people in any industry, it can be broadcasting, it can
be football, it can be law, it can be medicine.
Your first mentor is a game changer, certainly was for me.
So Jackson Dart to the Saints and Jackson Dart to
(12:12):
the Rams, sitting for two years behind Stafford with McVay.
Those are two potentially different outcomes. And here's the thing.
Football is different. So where you land in basketball may
affect how many trophies you win. Right, Michael Jordan eventually
got Phil Jackson and they drafted Scottie Pippen. You do
need a good GM and you need you know, an
(12:32):
owner that's going to pay for the right coach and
get the right coach. But you can still get twenty
eight points a night. Kevin Durant still getting twenty seven
points a night shooting fifty three percent. You can still
get yours. You may not get trophies. But in football,
bat old line, bad coordinator, bad outcome, bad results, maybe
you get hurt. So the gap in football coaching in
this country is Gigannick. I don't think the gap in
(12:54):
NBA coaching is huge. I think Kerr is obviously very good,
ty Lu Tibbs obviously a great defensive coach. But I
mean Joe Missoula had no head coaching experience, was a
second row guy. They give it to him. By the
second year he's winning a title. I don't think the
gap at NBA is a player driven league. Football coaching
is everything. I mean, the Chargers went from the worst
(13:15):
defense in the league to the best defense in the
league because they got the right defensive coordinator, same players.
You don't see that in the NBA. You don't go
for twenty eight wins to fifty eight wins because you
hired a coach in the NBA. So Jackson Dart if
he lands at the right place, I mean, look at
what Sean Payton did to Rookie bow Nicks. Look what
Matt Eberflus did to the more talented Kayleb Williams. So
(13:39):
if Jackson Dart goes to the Rams like this story
says it's possible. I don't believe that's true. And six
for two years with mcveigh's guidance, Okay, all bets are off.
That's a whole different outcome than going to the Saints.
Derek carrs hurt starting Week one that in my opinion,
would not end well. But I have three people now.
One has made a stake dinner debt, bet he really
(14:01):
likes him. And I see Zach Wilson, same high school,
same size, struggled when they played better competition in college
and the game speeds up. So there you go. You know,
this is one of the great parts about the draft,
is the quarterbacks taking a swing. I'm gonna put it
out there. I don't think Jackson Dart's a first round quarterback,
(14:22):
in my opinion, goes to the Rams. I'll probably be wrong.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Eastern nin am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
Hey Steve Covino and I'm Rich David, and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 6 (14:48):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well, other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I mean that says something, right, So check us out.
Speaker 6 (15:06):
We like to get you involved, to take your phone calls,
chop it up. As they say, I'd say, the most
interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive
show on planetar. Be sure to check out Cavino and
Rich live on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app
from five to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific,
And if you miss any of the live show, just
search Covin no on Rich wherever you get your podcasts,
and of course on social media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Here we go, it is Wednesday, Playing games started last night,
Fun Stuff Live in Los Angeles. It's the Hurt Wherever
you may be and however you may be listening, thanks
for Megan Hou's part of your day. Diana Russini in
five minutes. You know, it's really I love this time
of the year. I mean, we just had March. Maddins
(15:52):
was amazing. The Masters was my favorite Masters in forever.
Masters has delivered so many times. There's just some things
in my life that have always been there on Sunday
NFL Sopranos for about a decade, and the Masters is
very infrequently not delivered. And I thought CBS did a
(16:14):
great job with it. And this time we got all
this NFL draft stuff. I do not remember a draft
where I had stronger disagreements with friends and people I know.
I like Sador Sanders much more than people that I
(16:36):
know in the league. You know, I don't think he's
an A prospect. I think he's a B plus prospect.
But I think he's a really good kid, a really
good player, better arm than he gets credit for it.
This idea that he's a pocket quarterback. He's not immobile.
He moves, he had to move. He had a terrible
offensive line. He's fine. So I like him much more.
I don't I'm not into the Louisville quarterback who's like
(16:59):
twenty seven, not into Jackson Dart. I like Kyle McCord.
A lot of people don't because you know he's a
little Philip Rivers. Kyle McCord pocket guy. Can make some
risky throws, but he's competitor. He'll throw it into traffic,
he'll take risks, he'll throw it downfield. He's not a
DNC and dunk guy. So I think Kyle McCord with
the right hands, he is really aggressive pocket passer, not
(17:21):
a great athlete. But I like the fact that there's
wide variations of opinions. That's what makes this job fun.
So before I get to Diana Russini, she's got great
stuff on the draft and other things. I'm going to
give you five four bold predictions to the playoffs, kind
of bold. One of them's bold. Number one is I
think the joker. I think Denver's gonna lose to the Clippers,
(17:44):
although I think it's a very good series. He's going
to average a thirty point triple double. First of all,
if he's not on the floor, Denver's bad. He has
to play, and after Zubots, the Clippers have no center depth.
Ben Simmons is their backup center, so he's going to
have to log forty minute and he's going to put
up massive numbers, so he's going to have an all
(18:05):
time playoffs series. I think the Clippers win. I think
the Rockets upset the Warriors. Amon Thompson is their best
athlete Houston, and he guarded Steph the last time they played.
He's a terrific player, terrific athlete. The Rosters young athletic.
They defend the three great rebounding team young. They will
(18:25):
not lose energy over the course of the series. And
I think the Warriors are unbelievably Steph and Jimmy Butler reliant,
and the Kaminga issue hurts. They need Kaminga to play
real minutes with his length against the Warriors, and now
he's a DNP coaches decision. Rockets upset the Warriors. Number three.
(18:45):
The Detroit Pistons will have more ejections than wins against
the Knicks. First of all, they're going to struggle to
stop Jalen Brunson they have this year. Secondly, they're a
very young emotional team is Detroit. They led the Eastern
Conference with ten player ejections and they got a chip
on their shoulder, and New York is a physical team
(19:07):
and a chatting team at times, and they're going to
frustrate that, you know what out of the Piston. So
I think I think New York flies through them. Pistons
players have multiple ejections. And for the record, the Knicks
do not play the caves of the Celtics. Well, they're
thirty four to ten against the rest of the East,
so they're gonna hammer the Pistons and number four Ant
(19:28):
Edwards will have multiple forty point games against the Lakers.
They're not a team that gets easy buckets. Go Bear
and Julius Randall don't have a history of scoring consistently.
In the playoffs. Ant played great down the stretch. He's
actually the last two playoffs been a very efficient player.
(19:48):
He shoots better. So Ant's playing the best basketball of
his career, and I think the Lakers defense maybe let
Ant have his We're not going to lose because Julius
Randall goes off, I think and is going to be
highly productive. I think it'll be a wildly entertaining series.
But I just don't think the t Wolves can consistently
(20:09):
initiate enough offense They'll have too many, if not wasted possessions,
too many difficult, clunky possessions. The Lakers between Austin Reeves
playing the best basketball of his career, Lucas in better shape,
Lebron's rested, ready to go, They're going to get more
easy looks, easier transition to offense, and I think the
(20:30):
Lakers are going to win that series in six.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
One more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Chris Brusard co hosts First Things First, joining US live
from New York. I said this, I understand Steve Kerr
says the Warriors are tired, but the Rockets are a
tough matchup, long, deep athletic. I'm on Thompson can guard
Steph Turk Curry. He's their best athlete. I think, I mean,
if there's an upset in the offing, I think Houston
(21:06):
is a rough matchup. They're also a great rebounding team,
and you saw last night the problem Zach Edie and
his size gave the Warriors. I'm surprised Golden State. I
guess Steve Kerr veterans. I think Houston's gonna win the series.
Am I nuts.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
Warriors in six, Colin Warriors in six. No, look, you're not.
Zach Edy looked like an All Star yesterday against the Word.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
He really did.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
He was dominant. I mean, seventeen rebounds. They could do
nothing with him. You're hitting on the Warriors' weakness, which
is their lack of size.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
That's there.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
I've been harping on that for the last few years.
If you go back, I know twenty two, they weren't
that huge. You know, Kevon Looney was playing more than
when they won the championship. But go back to all
their previous championship teams, and they had an Andrew, they
had a Festus Azeli, Azaza Peculia.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
They had size.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
It wasn't great size, but it was size that they
could put out there. Now they don't have that. And Houston,
to your point, is the best rebounding team in the
league and the rock The Warriors are actually a good
rebounded team too, despite their lack of size. But the
last three games, for whatever reason, they have been crushed
(22:25):
on the glass, including last night, and that's the key
to this series. If they get destroyed on the boards,
then Houston's got a great chance.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
You mentioned the athleticism.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I'm in Thompson.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Yes, he can you know bother Steph Curry because he's
long and athletic. But I think ultimately, Colin, when you
look at this series, as great as Emoludoka is, best
coach is Golden State, best player is Golden State. Second
best player, I think Jimmy Butler, Golden State, best defender,
Golden State, Draymond Green, and obviously the wealth of experience.
(23:02):
So Rockets great season. I think they'll, you know, this
will be good for them going forward in the future.
But I don't see them after having never made the
playoffs in the last five years or four years, and
then all these young guys shng Goon Green. I'm in Thompson,
this is their first taste of the postseason against a
season champion. I think they're going to learn from this,
(23:25):
but go down in six.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
I gotta ask you. I like the Lakers over the
Tea Wolves, and one of the reasons is even though
Ant's been very good in the playoffs, he's kind of
their go to answer offensively. Julius Randall's never been a
good playoff guy. Good player, but not a great playoff player,
Rudy Goberts limited Mike colmley age, whereas the Lakers have
three offensive playmakers and initiators and sometimes in the playoffs
(23:51):
in these close games. I said this yesterday, t Wolves
Lakers are going to be one o four, one oh four,
four minutes left, and I've taken Luca, Lebron and Austin
Reeves over one guy at I like the Lakers in
this series, and I think it will become very apparent
early in the series that Minnesota doesn't have the fire power.
How do you see it plan out?
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Yeah, I'm with you on this one. If the games
are closed, and we hope they are just for entertainment value.
But the Lakers are a very good clutch team. Not
only do you have Lebron and Luca you can go to,
but Austin Reeves. You remember when they lost that game
on the half court heave recently to Chicago, Austin Reeves
was the guy getting the buckets at the end of
the game. So they're very good in the clutch and
(24:34):
Minnesota's terrible.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Now.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Anthony Edwards gets a ton of points. I think he
led the league in points in the clutch, but they
lose those games. They're like nineteen and maybe twenty four
or something like that in clutch games, so they're not
good at closing out games. So I agree with you there.
I think this is an interesting series, though I think
the Lakers win. I actually have them winning in five.
(24:57):
Whether or not Minnesota can push it to six is
all based on Julius Randay. Like you said, he has
been one of those guys in the league that is
an All Star doing a regular season and just goes
could put in the playoffs. This is a chance for
him to change that image. If he does, maybe Minnesota
(25:17):
makes it competitive. If not, the Lakers should cruise. And
I think Andy Erras will play well, but the Lakers
will cruise.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
So let's be honest. The NBA regular season doesn't get
huge numbers and guys like Steph and Lebron and the
Celtics and the Knick steel the Thunder, and I pivot
to the Thunder. Oklahoma City put up the greatest point
differential in league history. They have they create turnovers, but
they don't have turnovers. They've got a dominant MVP level scorer,
(25:47):
they've got a good coach, tremendous depth, They've got size,
and there's part of me that thinks we just don't
want them to win because we want Lebron and Steph
and the Celtics. But if they flew through the Western
Conference playoffs, would you be surprised? Or do you think
they're youth in big road playoff games? And Chris, young
(26:11):
players on the road in the playoffs are different than
they are at home. What do you think transpires with
a thunder? Are they a buzz saw in the playoffs
like they were in the regular season.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
No, if they ran through the playoffs in the West,
Colin I would be shocked. Now, I wouldn't be shocked
if they win the West, but if they just run
through it the way they did the regular season, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I'd be surprised.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Now. Remember I don't know the exact record, but they
were around five hundred against the best teams in the West,
and I mean like the four best teams in the
West something like that, so they didn't dominate the West elite.
I also think you hit on it with the youth
this team. I've said it before on this show. It
would be the youngest team ever to reach the finals
(26:57):
and the youngest team to win it, of course, but
they also have only won one playoff series together. That's
just it's very unusual for a team with such little
experience to go ahead and get all the way to
the finals, especially when you got to go through the
all time greats that they do. Obviously, the Lakers have
them Jokics with Denver staff in Golden State, and so
(27:22):
I would be surprised if they run through these playoffs.
They also only have one star, and we saw colin
last weekend when they were playing the Lakers, or a
week and a half or so ago. The Lakers, they
rolled them obviously in the first game, and then the
second one. They were up by a point in the
fourth quarter when Luka Doncas got ejected. So I thought
(27:45):
they showed everybody that if the Lakers and OKC meet
in the Western Conference finals, I'm taking the Lakers because
you got two great stars Luca and Lebron against one
great star in Shay, and I'll.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Take that to expirits all day. Okay, finally, I'm gonna
throw this out there. I threw this out to Nick Wright.
I said, right now, Rory McElroy is the face of golf.
Messi's the face of the MLS. Ovechkin was arguably the
face of hockey for the last decade, Shoe Otani and
Aaron Judge are the face of baseball, and Connor McGregor.
The UFC was never more popular than when Ireland's Connor
(28:20):
McGregor was the biggest draw. And this idea of the
NBA can't have an international star, And I told Nick Wright,
I said, I always was maybe maybe not. But the
thing about Luca, he's very domestic. He barks at refs,
he barks at fans, He's got an attitude, he's fun,
He's got a crazy bag of tools, right, And there's
(28:42):
part of me that thinks, if he averages thirty six
in the finals and the Lakers won, Chris, I think
he's a bigger personality than Wemby. I think his game
has got a lot of tools. I think Luca come.
I mean, if he goes through Jokich, don't want to
be the face he goes through Sga, who's pretty reticent
and quiet. What if Luca just blows these playoffs up?
(29:07):
Why can't he be the face of the league.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Well he can.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
And look, I used to feel like about seven years Ago,
I said, I don't think an international star could be
the face of the NBA, but I didn't foresee the
I mean, the three best players in the league being
international guys, if not more than that, this will be
what when Shae or Jolkish wins. I think it'll be Shay,
but this will be like I think the seventh straight
(29:33):
International MVP or seventh straight year and international players won
the MVP, and there's just more coming. Luca's gonna win
one at some point, Wimby's gonna probably win several at
some point.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Like it's not stopping.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
And so I yeah, the face of the league, the
only American out there because Joe has kind of hurt
himself off the court, like the only Anthony Everards is
like our last hope for an American player to the
face league Jason Tatum if they win it.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
But I don't know.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
He doesn't captivate people like that. Luca, to your point,
he has the game. His game is flash. He doesn't
dunk like he used to early in his career, but
he still got all the moves and the craftiness. He's
fun to watch. He does have an attitude. He's with
the Lakers and Colin. I think this trade, this trade
just made him even more popular, and it made him
(30:24):
somewhat sympathetic because the Mavericks just ripped him anonymously, of course,
but ripped him on the way out. He was you know,
he drinks too much, he's too much, he's not in shape,
he doesn't play defense, all that. And now you see
him go to the glamour franchise of the league, and
if he wins it, he will have proved Dallas wrong.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
But also I think people.
Speaker 5 (30:45):
Feel like, man, this dude got a raw deal.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
He loved Dallas and they did him wrong.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
And I do think if they win the championship and
he's the MVP, he is the Lakers' best player. With
all due respect to Lebron. It's Lebron's team, clear, but
Luca's the best player right now. And yeah, if they
wouldn't the championship, he could he he will become the
face of the league.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Chris Brussard, First things first, could see anybody you too, Collins. Yeah,
yesterday we had merchandise jersey sales. Luca was way up
and Luca was number one. Wasn't he wasn't Luca number one?
So Luca was number one over Lebron and Steph So
I mean Jason Tatum was four or five? Yeah, I
mean top selling NBA jersey. This is before the playoffs.
(31:27):
So the NBA ratings triple in the playoffs, double and triple.
So you say, well, you know he you know the
Laker jersey is new. He hasn't. I don't want to
hear that. I mean that Victor Webbin Yama's jersey's new.
He's six. So Steph Curry's two and everybody's had that jersey.
(31:47):
Who wants it? That's a popularity contest. Why can't Luca
be the face of the league? And I when you
throw in this, he's great, His game's highly offensive, he's
on the Lakers, he's po rising because of the trade.
And he's a trash talker. I mean, you know, Michael
Jordan talked a little trash. Michael Jordan had little ledge,
(32:08):
Larry birdo a little edge Shack, and Kobe had a
little edge. You don't have to be the likable guy.
Kobe Bryant was kind of a trash talker. Bird was
a trash talker. Michael Jordan talked trash, and Michael like
Luca was somebody that had like a rival and some controversy,
and the Pistons and the celt for there were a
(32:30):
million reasons to like Michael, a lot of reasons to
like Luca. You know, you're not face of the league
because you played great defense. Can you drop thirty eight
on any given night? Do you play for a big
market team, do you have a little polarization. Do you
have a trophy if they win a trophy? To me,
Luca is the face of the league. Live in La
it's the herd.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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