Reaction to Lakers-Nuggets, Mavericks-Clippers, Knicks-76ers, Suns-Timberwolves | Colin Cowherd NBA

Welcome to the official YouTube channel for the Colin Coward podcast. Go ahead, hit that Subscribe button, here you go, if you want to be among the first to hear my weekly takes on NFL college football. More right there, okay, welcome, it's our Sunday night. Monday Morning Podcast with Jason T Hoops tonight we'll be doing this for the next six to seven weeks during the NBA playoffs and sometimes simplicity wins. I'll give you an example, so I went, I went, I worked out in the mornings. I usually go out to exercise in the mornings. I get up around 6:15, uh, have a coffee, you know, play a game while I read a little bit and then around 7:30 7:45 I go out to work out.

I did it this morning and after training there is Bristol Farm it's a grocery store right next to my gym and I usually go there and buy a piece of fish that I'll have for lunch. I grew up on the coast of Washington state. I like my seafood. My children like their seafood. I did that this morning, I went to do Lin Klein cardio, blah blah blah, and I go to the store and I don't blame the store at all. This is happening everywhere and I have some smoothie at the Smoothie Bar and then. Go get the piece of salmon.

I grew up in Westport Washington, which was along Wan Illinois. We used to be small towns for the salmon capital of the world, which was the Marquee that was in town, so I grew up with a lot of them. of salmon a lot of fish a lot of oysters a lot of clams so when I'm not someone like I have been I'm very lucky to have done well and I'm very grateful that's why I don't spend a lot of time checking my food bills. I kind of go get what I want, so I go to the grocery store probably twice a week.

In general, it's always been around 45 dollars, 48 ​​dollars and now it's become $60, so when I notice it, I think I don't really check these things much, so if I notice it, I feel like I like that a lot of people like it, so this morning when I checked my piece of salmon and it wasn't a giant piece of salmon. It was pretty thin, a small portion, like the one at lunch, was 19 and a half dollars and usually that's closer to 13 or 14 for a small piece of fish. Now I know that fish is a luxury that some people can't afford, whatever some people can.

I'm lucky. so sometimes we think more than the room I watch a lot of these political shows that I don't normally watch, but now I will be engaged from the end of April, May until November, I will watch them more than usual in election years. And seeing all these political experts is the only thing that's going to matter in this election, because you know that the trial with Trump is going to take a beating. There will be people who win or lose and who will distance women from Trump's independence. but I told this to my daughter.

I told him, you know, we never talked about grocery prices this morning. I went and bought a piece of salmon. It was $19. It usually costs 13. 14. A year ago. A year and a half ago. She goes, dad, that's all. her friends talk about how expensive food is, she says that's a great topic of conversation, she says, you know, because we all live, check after check, you know, we really know that when we go out, we eat something at home, just we can make appetizers. What we're talking about is the grocery store and how expensive it is and I was thinking about this is the choices are going to come down to this if the cost for the average family continues if you drive by McDonald's and it's $22 and I used to be 13 so that now you need a second bill, not get $7 back for a $20 bill, then Biden is in trouble, that's the election, you can talk about Ukraine, you can talk about Spain, that's the election, the incumbents win when the economy It's okay, it doesn't matter exactly where. where is the stock market or where is the real estate market if people are making the most of their paycheck they are generally happy and don't want change people get scared of any change especially political change so like I say that is the reason I tell you That story is when I was watching the Lakers and the Nuggets and you know when it happens, you hit the refs and you hit Darin Ham and you hit D'Angelo Russell and once again you know against the Nuggets all Laker nugget games.

They look exactly the same, but it all comes down to this: They get an automatic basket in the second half, third quarter, fourth quarter every time they need it with joy. That's the series in which the Lakers don't have an automatic basket. Offensively it's usually a good three out of four games Reeves D'Angelo Russell can be good but he can dry up LeBron, you know he's not going to give you all the energy he gave you six years ago and either get the bucket or pass the ball to someone who gets a dollar ET and that's really the difference in the last nine games where Denver beat the Lakers is that their number one offensive threat in the second half of games is automatic, he's a Pat of a great field goal kicker and you simply don't, that's the series because the Lakers have the size of the door that matches Denver, but what matters is only the third quarter, the fourth quarter, six, seven, eight possessions.

You have a much higher statistical chance of getting a bucket with a yic than you do with LeBron or ad, so it's 2024 and let's talk. About something really important, if you are ever injured, check out Morgan and Morgan, they are the largest injury law firm in the United States and they are there to help you. More than one hundred offices throughout the country. Think about that, over a thousand lawyers with over 20 billion, that's a billion dollars. recovered for over 500,000 clients things happen in life unexpectedly filing an injury claim with Morgan and Morgan is actually very easy, like winning in the NFL is hard, we know being a quarterback in the NFL is hard filing a claim is easy , if you ever get injured, check out Morgan and Morgan their fee is free unless they win.

For more information, visit forthepeople.com or dial pound law from your cell phone. Morgan and Morgan have a proven track record of fighting for you to obtain full and fair compensation if an unexpected accident occurs. in your life and I've had a few, well, we bring Jason Tim Hoops on tonight, uh, and for the next six to seven weeks, this is what we do, we cut it, we give it medium cough, you know, we're good company . give the middle cough a little vacation Jason could take this in August, September and November or whatever, well he doesn't take November off, he's an NBA leader, okay, let's bring it to Jason temporarily, okay, my theory, my thoughts about joic trigger what you see?

Then you know it's funny. I did my video session this morning. I just recorded one for my channel that has I think 27 clips from last night's game and it really came down to these two stretches where there was a 10 run. Denver midway through the second quarter and there was a 130 run for Denver to midway through the third quarter and the Lakers' execution was atrocious as you look at those two runs, they had a good offensive possession on all of those two. run and you know I did this whole spiel on the show about execution and all the different things that the Lakers have to adjust and the reality is they have to play perfect, yeah, to beat Denver, yeah, and nobody plays perfect and that .

It's really the problem because even in those runs, a lot of times it's just Denver flexing their muscles and what happens is Denver just does that all game long, yeah, and then you hold on to the rope and hold on. For the life of me and the Lakers were in it for about a quarter and a half, you know, and then when they released it like that, the 10 run in the second quarter was less than two minutes, yeah, the 130 run in the third fourth was less than three. Minutes and a half, ironically I thought the big swing factor in the game was DLo and Austin, they were both clearly dead in AAL like they were both not ready for that game and that put the responsibility of shot creation on LeBron and one .

One of the constant themes for the Lakers all year is that when LeBron gets tired, he gets sloppy, yeah, and when I hate going after LeBron like this because I thought he was amazing last night, but he was the main culprit in those two bad streaks and it was like he got tired, he got sloppy, there was no one else there that could run the offense without him starting things and the wheels came off, so yes, there is a way, yes, there are adjustments, there is a Lots of different things, the Lakers. They can do it, but the reality is that expecting them to do it four times in the next six games is very unlikely, yeah, if you get to the end of the game in the last eight or nine minutes, LeBron doesn't take many shots and I think he's frustrated. with D'Angelo Russell.

I said it when I suggested they knew the guys facing OKC. For many reasons, he is better than Denver. One of them was the repercussions of getting hit again by Denver. LeBron has some player options at the end of the season, um, they get swept again by Denver, beaten in five straight, he's sitting there thinking, okay, I don't trust Darvin DLo, it's not working for me, we need another player, um and by the way, Draymond and LeBron are close, those guys are looking. for another big body, Steph needs someone next to him that can give him 32 minutes and 26 points, that's what he's looking for and not a shooter, no one will take the ball out of his hands too and by the way, Steph can play without ball with ball.

And so, I think what you're seeing, I almost felt a little bit last night like LeBron had run out of gas, but he gets frustrated, it's like D'Angelo, you've got to have a good game against these, you've got to give me a brother. to give me a 29 point game and I think this series is very difficult for LeBron mentally because he's really at this point, you know, I thought he played very well last night for the most part and AD, which by the way didn't make the ballot. for defensive player of the year, which is another topic entirely.

I thought he was the best defensive player in the league, but I'm wondering about the reps in this series because Denver is better. You see it. I see. Denver is better. They are starting their first six. They're just better home advantage the high altitude, I mean it just makes it harder and harder, even the altitude matters, what are the repercussions? How do you see this list if they lose in five? You know it's interesting because I, your friend Nick Wright came in. on your show a couple of weeks ago and he pitched everything like the Lakers should try to get Denver to the first round and I initially disagreed with him because I was sitting there thinking no, if you want Jared Vanderbilt back, you want his defending.

I only really started to get better in the last two weeks of the year so I thought another month of playoff basketball to polish up their defense could really help so I was against that but once we got into this series like The way I understood it was based on the fact that last year I thought the Lakers let go because it was like, guys, we made it to the Western Conference Finals, as you know. Round of applause, I still had a successful year, there is no version of this that is not a disaster if they lose, which I think makes it more likely that you will make a more desperate and committed effort in this first round series and, Honestly, in that first quarter. and a half was the best the Lakers have looked against the Nuggets in two years and, also, as one of the only road teams that came with more energy than the home team all weekend.

I thought the Lakers played off a bright start. I was as good as they can play, yes absolutely and I think for example one of the big swing factors last night was Ruy Austin and DLo were outrebounded by Aaron Gordon Michael Porter Jr and kcp in fact outrebounded only those three. another three 21 to 1, so it's kind of a mess on the glass that you can see in Reading when you watch the game properly, but there will be games in the series where that will lean more in the Lakers' favor and if LeBron and AD also play well.

I think they'll get one or two wins. I think it's five or six games, but obviously I'd be absolutely stunned if Denver didn't win, but going into the offseason, honestly, it's going to look appealing to LeBron. Examine the league landscape. I just don't think he's going to leave unless he's a big hitter. Market clear chances of winning the title as an obvious type of move like something like to the Knicks or the

76ers

or something like that. Those lines, if something like that were to materialize, I could see him doing that, the problem is that Steph hasn't played very well at the end of the season, in his last 22 games or so, he's been kind of a shell of himself and I.

I honestly think the idea of ​​him jumping to Golden State doesn't necessarily improve their championship chances much, so I don't think he'll leave because of that, but if they lose, let's say they get swept, I think. You're most likely going to start examining your outlook because here's what Colin LeBron is playing super well, it's one of the least discussed things in the league right now in the last 22 games of the season, so basically everything after the En During the All-Star break he was the only player in the league to average at least 27 with at least 50% shooting from the field and at least 40% shooting from three-point range.

He averaged 28 points, eight rebounds and 10assists at 58% on field goals and 45%. Threes were great when he was on the court and bombed when he was off. I said this on my show the other day and I believe it after the All-Star break. Luca and joic are the only two guys who play better than LeBron. He's playing at an incredibly high level right now, so if I'm him as a competitor, I think if I don't have a chance in this situation, I do. There's good basketball left in me. I have to try somewhere else. No, I think that's a very good point.

You know, I was thinking about this. I wrote down some names today so I started watching the 1972 NBA uh it was Wilt it was old Wilt with a headband Jerry West Gail Goodrich uh I think Don Ford was on the Lakers Bill Walton and the Blazers were good the Sonics they had those good teams 72 73 it was the '70s where there wasn't a great team pre -ic pre- bird obviously pre Jordan um and and luel Cinder Kareem 71 won the title with Milwaukee and was emerging as a great player, there are very few players who of somehow break a threshold, so Kareem said We created the first time in league history the unstoppable shot.

We had many good players, no one had an unstoppable and unblockable shot. I think Wilt blocked Kareem a couple of times, but most of the time no one can touch him and then there was a magic that broke through that we never had. a 68 and a half point guard like it's just a showdown in hell for everyone its like that's not the way it works dave cins was a center in the 70's he had 68 magic magic on a calwell jones defended with fins he defended to a cross and he breaks through and then no one with that power ran down the court like that, it was a freight train, we had never seen anything like that, so obviously Michael Jordan was great, but we had seen great athletic players from DynamicWing. that he was simply the greatest of all time.

Steph's shooting range makes its way as if transcending time. I think LeBron's Swiss Army knife ability to do everything at an absolutely high level. I mean, Larry Bird couldn't defend like LeBron, he wasn't LeBron's athlete. LeBron was literally everything and then I look at Joic and I think I covered Sabonis in Portland, this guy is like Sabonis in his Prime athletic because Sabonis could hit a three, not like that, he couldn't pass, not like that, I look at Joic and I think You know which is that players used to come to this league with potential, the big ones, Jason, with really great skill, they could shoot, they were ball handlers, they were rebounders and defenders, they were not cookie cutter, not even Kareem, there are limitations. going on, there's Li with the ball handling LeBron, he's one of those, oh hell, he does everything right and I think he's taking it, he's the first great one in my life, like a real Center, a refrigerator wide Center, he that even defensively he is not as bad as everyone says LC is.

In fact, I become a good defender. I look at him and think: "He's the LeBron of Europe, where you say, oh God, he's an A in everything, a minus defensively. I've never seen a player like this, yeah, it's not going to be difficult for G." He needs to match the wrecking ball of a two-way athlete that LeBron was when he was in his prime, obviously because LeBron brought that transition element and that defensive element like if he could take off and guard Derrick Rose in a playoff series, he's not going to to do that. Yeah, even in 2020, like he was the one who shut down the Nuggets in that run by passing Jamal Murray, in that bubble run, LeBron has a certain defensive versatility that takes him to another level, but I'm glad.

I really think he's a better offensive player right now than LeBron ever was and that's a very, very high bar that I think he's overshadowing and it sounds crazy to say, but it's honestly the separating piece because I actually think they're in. levels similar to a playmaker I think LeBron throughout his career has been underrated as a playmaker and LeBron was cheerful in the sense that he always made the right read and made you pay every time the difference is that he's not LeBron, not Kobe, not MJ, not even Steph. there's never been a player in the modern era of the NBA that has a shot that he can make consistently and it's going to be two-thirds of the time like even MJ, it's like he's going to get to that jumper, but it's about a 50-50 Shot.

Steph is going to get to that three-point shot, but it's a 406 shot. LeBron is going to try to get to the basket and play, but he doesn't have anything there, so he's making two 3s at a time and you mentioned that he's wide from the refrigerator and that's the key because I know it very well because when I was in college I had to play a lot of power forward and center, so I was constantly fighting with players bigger than me. 66 pretty strong, I was 225 pounds, but I had a strength advantage, but most guys were three and four inches taller than me and the way I bothered them was by bothering their base, that's how you bother a taller player, you you place under them.

You disrupt their energy transfer from the ground to the shot, and if you do, they will typically miss more often than normal against a player they have a good base on. It's impossible to disrupt his base like you do. he can't do it, when he catches around the rim, there are guys pushing him, they're trying to get him off balance, but he likes you, there was a late fade, he hit LeBron in the fourth quarter of or the At the end of the third quarter of that game last night , where LeBron James at 270 pounds was like trying to hit Yic and he does a little spin on his right shoulder and goes up and down completely unimpeded and that's the problem is that you can't.

In fact, make Jic upset before his release and when you get to his release, it will be two-thirds of the time, so there is no easy answer for him. I know he's crazy and I know he's heretical and all that and it seems like recency bias. but I don't know about you, Colin, I can't remember a time in my time watching basketball. I can't remember a player who was so inevitable offensively, there is literally nothing you can do with him, nothing and if he does. He doesn't make the shot, which is basically his choice, someone else makes the shot.

I'm talking about the fact that you can put Porter in the corner, which is a great three-pointer. The other thing is that it's a perfect build of a team where Gordon doesn't need plays. designed for him and he can give you 12 kcp which I didn't like at all seven years ago I fell in love with him I just love him now he's just a constant you know he's just one of those players that will never be given to him he only does it because he tends to be the fourth or fifth best player on a good team, the Laker bubble team or this team, ice in his veins, big shots in the fourth quarter, he just doesn't care, there's a reason he keeps playing on winning teams that he beats. hit. a lot of big shots, so the team building is joyful.

I think the word you used inevitable is perfect, so I want to talk about the Minnesota Suns, so you know it's interesting if we tend to give basketball players back a little bit of a pass, then, you know, in baseball there is the term five-tool player, you know, Barry Bonds could hit, run, steel, you know everything, defend, and in football, we like our quarterbacks, they really penalize you, Jared, if he's not mobile , it's not Super Bowls, so we like our quarterbacks and our baseball players to have multiple tools and I'm watching Kevin Durant and I'm sitting there and I think and I understand that scoring 75% of the game defense is 25 %, but he is not a great assist. guy, he's a willing defender, he's usually not a great defender, he's not a great rebounding guy, he's a great guy to catch a basket, but he doesn't want to be a leader, you know, and I'm watching that series and Minnesota is putting pressure on Phoenix from all sides. the court and at no point would LeBron in his prime or out of it have called time out, he would go to the huddle, call the guys, dwade would do that, a lot of the players in the league really Le Steph Curry lean towards Draymond Green Ni I don't even want to say that he's a great player, but Draymond catches your attention and I look at him and think that's two and a half bad hours of effort, it's a terrible effort, they're putting pressure on them from all sides. floor ant Edwards has taken over the game Dynamic player, but I wonder sometimes with KD you know he's a Wanderer when he left Golden State.

I presented the argument. I said if Moms left the Chiefs and Andy Reid for the Jets, we'd crush him. you're like you're crazy, he left with Kyrie and we were like, well you know he's got a different personality, he left the Warriors, he's hanging in there, you get along with Draymond and I looked at him and I was like, shall we give KD a pass? because in a sport that is very Artistry, he is one of the great shooters of my life, but I want more from him. I watch that game and I think you have to get physical.

I want more from you here than 27 points, which Every night you tell me if I'm being too harsh or if any of this rings true. I think it's the reality of KD's personality in the sense that I think KD loves basketball and I don't think he gives a damn what we think. It should be and what I mean by that is, for example, when he went to the Warriors, yeah, that move is a very clear demonstration. He saw all this obvious

reaction

that he was going to be there, but in the middle. He saw it, but hey, playing basketball with Steph Curry could be a lot of fun, you know, and he'd like to play in a really good smart basketball system.

That's what he saw, that's what he was aiming for and he went there. Now he went south because of a lot of different things while he was there, but I think honestly basketball drives most of his decisions, even when it comes to leadership and Kevin Durant said this on Twitter before, but he doesn't necessarily see leadership . like something you tell people or you're very loud and visible, he's a guy who leads by example and honestly, he has a chance here in this series because he has the best ability to reverse the trend of this. What he went through in that game was what he went through to Phoenix many times this year: Sometimes they get punched in the mouth in a physical game and they wilt.

We talked about this literally the last time we were there, we did a show with yeah, oh yeah. There's a separate conversation we could have about how the game is getting super physical and teams like Minnesota are benefiting from it, like teams like the Clippers are benefiting from it, teams like the Knicks, like I'm actually playing with the strength of the most. physical-minded teams, but one of the problems is the difference from what they did in their last regular season matchup: they put an ant on KD in the regular season matchup and put Jaden McDaniels on Devin Booker, this time they passed the ant to Bradley Beal and so on.

KD had Carl Towns on him and to your point, 31 super efficient points, 11 of 17, but the Sun offense was terrible that entire game and the main thing he can do to change that again is not try to bark at him to the people. and yelling that it's all about him in terms of his approach, he needs to focus on the cat as an entry point to get the defense in rotation so they can play more team basketball in that game, they had assists on less than half of their field goals made on that team. has been good after the deadline because they have received assists on 66% of their made field goals.

After the deadline they look good when they drive, kick and play for each other and when you have the three star structure if you play my turn the returns are diminishing and you don't benefit from all the talent when you play the one for the other and now Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant are attacking the closeouts, that's when you have the force multiplier element of having all those stars together and what I want KD to do is yes help set the physical tone, that's going to be something that everyone has to do, but I think he needs to take that matchup with Carl Towns as an opportunity to beat the dribble and be a playmaker because if he does that I think that will loosen things up for the Suns, but again I think that we've seen enough of KD in recent years that he doesn't really care what we think of him as a leader, he doesn't, I just, yeah, it was a very weak effort and it was never course corrected, this one just didn't. it's going to be our game and as you know even the Mavericks made a run against the Clippers and I want to pivot to that, I mean they had a terrible first half and it was basically who is their third best player, PJ Washington, it was Kyrie and Donic and that's his type of offense, etc.

Again, I think in the NBA we always used to talk about tandems, but I think you have to have very high-level third players. I mean, Jesus is kcp, the fifth best nugget, he's a really good fifth player. Derek White is your fifth best Celtic, who is a very good NBA player. P PJ Washington is your third best player. He has approximately 12 or 13 points. He's not a bad player at all, he should probably be your fourth or fifth if he's a third and I'm just. I'm throwing it like a guy, I think it's like 13 points a game, but it was interesting, so the local teams did well.

Older teams tended to do well, even though the LakersThey had a very, very good first quarter. but as I watched the Clippers play them again, I noticed the same Suns t-wolves Clippers Clippers more physical in the paint and I wondered this in a regular season of diminishing returns that is very much Milwaukee's social team today . Hey, the part of the year that no one cares about is over, that's the team, so these road teams that you know haven't played much intense basketball go on the road home, playoff game number one crowds in national television games and off the Lakers I felt like I had seen a lot of road teams, they were submerged, they just weren't ready. to play a local team, they come out of this, you know, they love a fair regular season, but they they're the crowd is jet fuel, you know, Milwaukee pulls out and the crowd is on fire, it's national television, they don't appear on national television and they just bring a ton of energy.

The young guys in Indiana, you know you're kind of regular season, they have less pulse, but that was my conclusion about Dallas and the Clippers, it was like the home team, high energy, super physical old guys. a lot of Pride and Dallas just weren't ready to play, it's that fair. I agree 100%. I did a little snap

reaction

to that on my channel before and that's what I started with Dallas really not looking ready um. I thought you could say that both teams' first possession was Maverick's first offensive possession. Luca dribbles around the perimeter. He works through two swings and takes a step back.

Three Clippers get a rebound the other way. James. Harden screen comes yelling a downhill kick to Paul George, misses the three, but Kyrie Irving is just standing in the corner and Terren's man just runs at him, grabs the offensive rebound, kicks out to air the coffee in the middle top of the key and hit. a three and you're like, wait, it's like going from cold mode to a blender on the opposite side of the floor, it's crazy what a difference it makes and honestly, I think that also plays into what we were talking about before with the look. physicality is that the league has allowed more physicality and defenses have been given more power, the local teams that feed off of that are benefiting from it.

I think athletics helps too, and honestly, I think experience helps to some extent. I thought the Pacers game in particular, since the Pacers are the third most efficient jump shot team in the league according to Synergy and the Bucks allow the fifth most jump shot attempts in the league according to Synergy, would which should be a matchup that favors Indiana and over 10 at one point, yeah, yeah, like they can't do anything because they're all nervous and, you know, one of the other things is also in a super physical environment, guess which jump shots are really difficult to make.

It's kind of the reality of that situation, but I know that as far as the Mavericks Clippers game goes, this is the real story and I think it's going to be an issue that the Mavs are going to have to deal with every day. One time on the court he picked up Luca Donic, had him switch to James Harden or Paul George and attacked him every time, it was crazy, like now Ty Lou is famous for this and I've seen it personally as a Lakers fan, since he always One time we played the Clippers it's like attacking Austin Reeves attacking Austin Reeves attacking Austin Reeves that's how they do it, you're like one of my favorite coaches in the league because you have a different approach than some of the the most uh, you know, uh, super fancy schematic coaches, it's a lot like we're a matchup attack team, that's our roster, we have a group of guys that can attack matchups, we'll pick your weakest link every time you pass on the floor and it was literally like he found out early, it's like, oh, Gafford, you can't guard zubot, let's just post it every time until they took him out of the game, they took gaffard out with like eight and a half minutes left in In the first quarter, Kbach scored three consecutive times in the post, okay, now we go after Luca and they started attacking Luca and that's how James Harden got going, he hit Luca three baskets in a row and then he He got into a rhythm and then started hitting the harder shots.

Paul George started attacking him as if the real problem was that Luca during the regular season can float, but he will have to find a way to counter that there is an easy schematic counter that they need. For Luca to cover and recover, we won't go into that, but it's a schematic counter that they can do to protect Luca in that situation, but Luca will have to accept that defensive responsibility because the Clippers are not going to stop attacking him well in this series. and you know the Clippers are interesting sometimes you know we have questions about Kawai.

I never questioned. I love Paul George, but there are a lot of guys here, I mean, in their prime. Westbrook Off the bench Harden Terence man zubac kawhai Paul George like, come on Let's not fool ourselves here, it's one of the best rosters in the league, there are really good players, they have size, they have experience now, there are a lot of strange players, lively players like Harden and rushed in the postseason. Kawhi Leonard is like non-verbal, it's a strange roster, but If you start stacking Z at seven, you don't get to Westbrook at six and seven in the NBA, like again, Dallas' third best player is possibly PJ Washington, good player , I mean not to criticize him, good player, Kentucky kid, really good player, I think.

Kentucky, but okay, you start, you start to go Paul George is your third best like Paul's, really, he's a seven eight times Allstar, whatever it is, so as I watch that series I think, you know, last year I bought other Clippers with force and I just went, it was a facial. I really believed them, but they hadn't played together much. It was weird, um, okay, the 82-game NBA preseason is in the books, now it's time for real basketball, don't miss it. any of the playoff action draftking sportsbooks, the official sports betting partner of the NBA, from tournament play to the finals, draftking sportsbook has you covered, live betting, odds boosts and much more Plus, all you have to do, download the Draftking Sportsbook app. you know the exercise takes about 90 seconds download the Draftking Sportsbook app enter the code Colin C L I N new customers bet $5 that's five dollars to get $200 in bonus bets and you get it instantly you can't lose the code Colin only in draftking sportsbook The Crown is yours, when are we going to have a conversation about?

I have a couple of stars and then a group of specialists because that was literally what Houston was with Chris Paul and James Harden, yeah, and he had a certain ceiling and now we see it with Kye, where it's like he's the ball, like You could literally look at Kba like catch on the wing and say, Am I supposed to shoot it like you know? And it's one of those things where I think if Dallas loses this series, it's time to start having a conversation about how the specialist in this super athletic speed-based game, you have to have five guys that can play offense and That's what Denver has.

Denver has five. Guys Could Play Offense Golden State had five guys who could play offense, so to me it's a really interesting subplot here: the Clippers just took the ball away from Kyrie and Lucas and those other guys couldn't score well. . and you know Jason this is why it's so important this is why I always dragged Melo if you don't defend then I'm forced to put people on the court that are great defenders and they're limited yeah so Kyrie He doesn't defend, Luca is better. on defense, but now you are in favor of forcing me to acquire people to protect you.

The greatness of the Warriors was that Draymond was a great defender but an offensive catalyst and Clay was a great defender but the best catch-and-shoot cat and shooter, maybe a decade, so their guys were great on defense, where you had than guarding Steph, you didn't have a lot of size, they ended up being really valuable offensive pieces and by the way, that's weird, you know, if Ben Wallace could have shot a three, heh heh. He would have been an all-time player, instead of 12 a game, he has 22, so it's hard to find those guys, but I think when you have elite offensive players, that's why the pairing of Luca and Kyrie is a little trouble, oh.

I have to get a rim protector, well he can't score well, I still have to get him and you know, that's one of the reasons why I think the Lakers have a lot of promise because Reeves DLo LeBron and everyone can score well. so you can, you can, and it does matter. I guess I feel like the Mavs are on the left side, it's almost like when Tennessee had Ryan Tanah Hill, like we have to like being a little tall located in On The Run. We have a ceiling at quarterback, they finished number one one year, but when they make the playoffs and you play with better teams and better coaches, they expose it and I think what the Clippers did exposed the Mavericks, you have two guys. on the court they just aren't offensive players, but if you don't have them, Kyrie isn't even responsible sometimes defensively, so I think that's the downside of having highly offensive players, most great offensive players compromise in his best years. tired of the defense or worn down, but they commit to it, like Kobe, for an eight-to-nine period and then at first you're not very good, at the end you're not very good, but I felt like watching Dallas, it's them. a little Mike Malone said before that specialists can't play in the playoffs, it's been kind of like, well, they're the easiest guys to target in a lot of ways and it's interesting because PJ Washington and Maxi kba together in the front court in the 45 has been my favorite Dallas look since the trade deadline.

I actually like it when they don't go center, they're more athletic, they have more ability to fly in rotation, but, to your point, that ended up being a major offensive issue in this particular matchup today and, like PJ Washington , I agree with you. I think he's probably their third-best player and has more offensive power overall, but he's kind of a catch-and-shoot guy with low 3s, so generally speaking, whenever you can. It kind of shades the floor in a certain way to where it hooks on the perimeter, you can close short and you have a better chance of containing that and that and like and essentially like they're actually the opposite of the

suns

in the sense. that as if the Suns said no, we are going to have very good offensive talent without the ball and they do, so Minnesota is fine, we will just stay home without the ball and have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal play one . -against one and two, two on two on ball screens and making them make difficult shots on our Elite defenders allow and Rudy goar, the Clippers are like the Mavs are the exact opposite, they don't have great offensive talent without the ball, but they do . "They have good defenders on their off-ball players, so the Clippers think we're just going to throw the kitchen sink at Luca and Kyrie and make these guys score, and what you're seeing is the problem with both of them because the Suns they can".

He doesn't compete physically in a lot of given matchups and the Mavs can't score against these types of matchups, so it's an interesting conversation about team building, like what you need like Aaron Gordon, an interesting example. Aaron Gordon is a Swiss Army knife. in his own way, he can attack mismatches in the post, he can guard LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, those guys credibly, but at the same time he's like a really functional piece in their five-out offense, so which is like he's a super versatile basketball player, but if you get into him, you're like he's a sketchy shooter, he's not the most efficient guy in this place, blah blah blah blah, but it's like his whole of spe specific skills will fit what Denver needs him to do, super valuable and that's why I think it's just an interesting conversation about team building and what's interesting for him, like Draymond, you don't have to create offense for Draymond, he creates his own rebounding screen with Gordon, you wouldn't want another shooter.

Kcp shoots. Murray shoots. Porter from the corner shoots yic. I don't need to design any more plays. I don't need him to be a perfect player when you had Steph Clan Durant. I don't need another guy who has to make shots for Draymond to give me seven. 13 rebounds 11 assists The great teams have that guy like him, he will give you 11 but he is totally Rodman with the Bulls, totally proud of being the tough guy, the goalie on the bar, the ugly player, the guy on the court and incredibly proud. in it uh and I think it's Gordon so I want to go let's finish with Nick's Sixers so I chose this is just a big mistake.

I think Nick is a one-man offense and not even a highly functional offense if Jaylen Brunson isn't in them. It's like watching Villanova, the margins aretight, they're not explosive offensively, but they play good defense, they give you a great effort, so my opinion of the Knicks making the playoffs was thanks to Thibo, his effort in the regular season is so strong. They win the 82 games with effort because in the regular season, I mean, you are resting, the players don't realize that the older teams, Milwaukee, their nights, Milwaukee just didn't show up to play, New York always note. to play, to get to the playoffs, everyone's effort is high, but I'm watching that game and there are like seven minutes left and I say, yes, I think Philadelphia has more good players, I mean, if you have Embiid and Maxi, you have two stars, um. can I get a jump shot from Buddy ji, I got Batum um, gotta know, Tobias Harris.

Me and I look at the Knicks and I think they really are Villanova. I think they have a self-confidence that they defend. On every possession they have guys who could finish with nine points, they all come at the right time and I think in the East that is good enough in the West. I would blush, but I look at the Knicks and I think I still doubt them. I love Brunson, but I say they have to have Julius Randall, they have to have 19 points, what am I supposed to do with the Knicks? I mean, it's supposed to be now, some of it could just be, you know, Nicks has energy in the outfield, but I saw that I can keep hitting Philly.

Philadelphia has good players, there are a lot of good players here, what is it, what are the Nicks? Magic analytically, what does the data say? His magic is, first of all, like he's in the same camp as you coming into this series. I actually sat down for my movie session thinking I was going to pick the Knicks today and then I started. Watching the film I'm like, "Oh, Philly is really good. I'm cool, they have a lot of really good players and I think I started to think they'd really be able to throw the sink at Bronson." I think this is going to be a midcourt mismatch so I ended up picking the Sixers and for the record, about one in four times a team loses the first game and comes back to win the series, so There will probably be two teams in the second round in this first one.

The round that lost the first game but won again last year happened twice in the first round and the Warriors lost in Sacramento. The first game he came back and won the series. The Suns lost to the Clippers. They came back and won the series. happen and the script could be flipped, but the dynamic was actually crazy, how much the Knicks dominated this game on the margin, so here are some, this statistic is amazing. Colin, the half-court offensive rating, which means just half-court possession points per 100 Sixers possessions. had a 99 half-court offensive rating against the Knicks in that game, the Knicks had a 77 offensive rating, so they dominated the half-court battle by 22 points per 100 possessions, which is like a total overmatch. , but the knck and here's why. on second chance points and on fast break points they won 53 to 9 and 53 to 9 they absolutely beat them on the offensive glass and they beat them in transition so the Sixers have a simple path here yeah if you can if you can keep going the rhythm of the dirty. work, you'll probably win, you have more skill in the half court, you saw Tyrese Maxi dicing it in that third quarter, you saw Jo, they made good shots, they made very good shots, now all I'm saying is a counterbalance to that .

One little thing that stood out to me in that fourth quarter: Mitch Robinson might be able to guard him because he did a good job on him and there's something that happens sometimes, it's really funny because I use this example in my show, remember LeBron Like LeBron just took sharp shots all league long and no one could guard him, but then he ran into Andre Guadala or Kawhi Leonard, ran into like a random guy? That was what could match him physically, yeah, and then he would make LeBron work harder and honestly, that's when you saw LeBron at his best when it wasn't easy and he still found the right way to do it.

We even see that sometimes with Yic it's like you see him go up against Embiid and it's like Ebiid is big enough to be with him and that makes things difficult. Mitchell Robinson has the unique ability to give Embiid some space. but also closing the gap and competing and so if I'm a Knicks fan, the only thing I'm okay with, we were dominated in the half court, maybe the Sixers can change this, the only thing I'm okay with I cling. What if Mitchell Robinson gives up and it's just a bad series because then this could get ugly because Tyrese Maxi also had some issues with Duce McBride there where he could match him with his quickness so I think the Knicks have some ability. to close that gap in the half-court offense, but the Sixers have to close that gap on the margins or they will simply be out of this series.

Yeah, I'm trying to think of a historical competition to include, so people have said. Shaq is a player, but Shaq had great postseason success almost every time in my life. The word you used earlier in jic was perfect and inevitable. A dominant big in this league usually wins and we're talking about a top five most talented big. You've probably seen him before, I mean, he has a chance and he had a chance against the Knicks. I'm not even sure if there might have been an early whistle where he turned his body to the side, threw him off the glass, he and I were. how the hell was it that doesn't even look like an h, it was just a move Dame would make, it was like you're 72, you can't do that, but in the weaker Eastern Conference it's just inexcusable.

I have to win a second series, I mean, the first series is against the dog, usually now the Nicks are not dogs, but that's how it is. I wonder what the movement of the ball is when it is embedded because I feel like there are times when it slows down a little. you, by the way, saw this with Julius Randle sometimes in the Knicks as if he were outside, the ball moves sometimes with the greats that, by the way, there is no Yannis today with Milwaukee, the ball is moving, you know, Give me He's controlling her, the rhythm is better, I just If he loses to the Knicks now, what do we say?

I know it's cool, but come on, it's like you're a great quarterback in the weekly conference. Gotta have some wins in the playoffs. You know, you have to give me some of those. It would be one thing if you're facing Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar in their prime, if you're facing the NFC guys, I need some wins. Matt Stafford gets a Super Bowl, it's better than that division, I get that conference, I don't know. Where do I land on Embiid, yes I know he has talent but he needs to win more in April and May. He just does it, how do you land historically with Mbat?

Of course, he likes that he has to win, there is no doubt. I've seen things on Twitter like when he went down, there's a funny moment when he went down in the second quarter where everyone was saying the sky was falling, it's like the NBA is responsible for these guys getting hurt. I'm like no, this is just a fluke play, like everyone relax, yeah, everyone relax for a second, huh, but one of the things that happens is Embiid consistently makes the postseason, usually his jump shot crumbles and starts spinning the ball a ton in his Offensive effectiveness craters and every year uh embiid fans will be like he's hurt and they're not wrong, like you come back, um, you come back last year, he he was dealing with a bulky knee, which was two years ago when he had his face broken in Toronto, the fluke play at the end of the Toronto series.

I think Ogan Anobi elbowed him in the face and he really struggled and this year he has the same excuse when he came back from a knee injury and it clearly bothers him. I mean, last night he left the game in the second quarter, so obviously he's struggling, but the bottom line is at a certain point a guy makes the playoffs every year and gets hurt every year. you have to include that in the calculation, it's like with Kawai. I vividly remember you and I sitting like a man who was crazy. Kawai, the last two playoff races broke down in the middle of the playoff race, what if that happens again and you?

I know Clippers fans will say, well, you can't really plan for that, but here we are again, it's true, and Kawai's not playing, so at a certain point, that's like part of the calculation with Kawhai, you know he can't, can't say. he in the top five players in the playoffs if his body can't sustain a playoff run and that's what I 100% agree that Embiid has this otherworldly potential and there's a version of his story where in At some point in the next two years he makes the playoffs healthy, runs hard on everyone and is crowned the best player in the world and gets a trophy, but what have we seen in recent years to show that he can actually survive four playoff rounds let alone?

You know, thriving in that environment and at the end of the day, I feel bad for him because I think a lot of that is because he's a giant human being and there's a certain kind of risk factor that comes along with that. and I don't necessarily want to blame him, but regardless of what the external circumstances are, the product on the court hasn't been enough right now. One thing I will say: I was really impressed with how he played last night while he was on the court. against a really tough, physical New York Knicks team, but again, as we talked to Iguodala on kawhai, if Mitchell Robinson gives you a challenge, you have to find a way to solve that puzzle because the other great players found a way to solve it when They ran into this in the postseason, so you know it's interesting.

Over the years, I had the feeling that once in this email discussion with Mark Cuban, I once had the feeling that very few players really I think we have the feeling that in the NBA a lot of players change grades. Hell, the NBA put Giannis when he was the best player in the league four years ago on NBA TV midday playoff games like the league is telling you he's not moving the needle, a lot of centers don't move the needle, Shaq did because some of that was just personality in the Lakers Brandon Kobe, but most centers don't move the needle, they don't play a fast, dynamic game of Twitchy, that's fun.

Derek Rose to me in Chicago, okay, the Bulls, you know, there are certain players and they're great, but it's Minnesota, but I was watching the Knicks game and I and I thought we always talk about how market size doesn't matter in the NBA because players can get rich everywhere. I don't deny it, but garden games are different, they're just different. They just look different and I'm watching that game and I see the celebrities and I think I stayed in that game and I thought it had juice. I'm sitting there thinking this is great television, it's like watching football.

Michigan big house game Jason feels bigger than an Arizona Wildcat game just feels bigger and I'm watching the Knicks and I'm thinking, boy, the league could really use the Celtics Knicks and I don't think Jaylen Brunson, I think I need another star, but you know there's been this kind of Mala and the regular season and people talk about ratings and the NBA is good, it's happy, it's going to do well, it's more international, it's still great, the players have never been better , but I'm watching the Knicks and I think they're incredibly nice because they play hard, they get everything out of each player.

Brunson is a great story, it's New York, he's the guard and the fans are so hungry they might as well have a tick or ribbon parade after they won, the fans were going crazy in the street and I really did. Jason was watching it and I thought he's been in television for about 20 years and I thought this is great television, this is completely magnetic television. and I'm sorry, if that game is in Charlotte, it doesn't feel that way. I mean, how did I feel when I saw it? I felt, oh my God, this feels like a conference final, this is what New York and the Garden are doing to this sport. that's what I felt, yesterday was the best game, yeah, and I liked the way the roof flew off after those last threes from Josh Hart that felt like 10p pointers when they went in, but that spread all over me life, I remember.

Even when I was a kid, I was an NBA fan, like when Kobe went to Madison Square Garden, you dropped everything and watched when LeBron went to Madison Square Garden, you dropped everything and watched, and so watching them play meaningful basketball and me. I don't even think Knicks fans are aware yet that this is just the beginning. I think this is the start of a long era of really good Nicks basketball. We've already talked about it before. I think they are very well positioned. move this offseason I I I I 100% agree that that game was easily the most magnetic and entertaining game of last night.

In fact, I have a follow-up question. Yesterday I saw a report that the talks wereThey have stalled in conversations on television. for the NBA with Turner and with Disney, what did you do with that? Well, you know again, first of all, um, you know, some of this is anecdotal, so my kids love going to NBA games. I love going to NBA games. I've been to four this year um so I go to more NBA games than any other game um I think the product when you're in the arena is fantastic and fun. I hate load management and I think it hurts the league.

I don't think Adam Silver would tolerate it. I don't think David Stern would tolerate it. I think fines would be imposed and a lot of them, and I think they were years ago, the late David Stern, so I think there are some social problems. I think the burden of administration has put a lot of people off. the game is becoming like baseball and hockey, it's very international now so it's harder to follow a guy if you don't know, you know he's in Lithuania instead of Duke, the reason I know Zion played at Duke, your shoe blew off at Duke. and so you know, part of that is we're society and we're all distracted now, I mean our phone, my usage rate.

I was on the phone during the NBA. I'm on my phone constantly, just the way my usage rate goes. up to 400% during the NBA Playoffs, so we are distracted, so we don't follow the path and the journey of the players. You do it, you're an expert at it, but most people don't, so we like this. I watch a guy in Ohio. State for 3 years or Michigan, it's microwave safe, it goes with my Texans, I know who it is, I have a jersey, I have a visceral AB connection with him in the NBA, more and more guys don't play in college and it's like Oh and they go to bad teams at the top of the draft so you won't see him for three years until they make the playoffs Wy because he has transcended historically in a unique way we talk about him so I think executives look at this and they tell themselves the players are telling us that the regular season doesn't matter the league by not imposing punitive measures they are telling us that the regular season doesn't matter Am I paying nine billion for playoff games like I'm not interested and I think that Fox I won't do it?

I speak for Fox or the Murdocks, but I think people in our company have looked at baseball and they say we love the playoffs, but the 162, you know, the Braves, the Braves Brewers or whatever, it's hard for people to take interest in a distracted society where we are on our phones for a long time. Regular season sports are dying, so the NFL is not urgent. The World Cup is not every four years. The Olympics are not March Madness. Men and women are not college football. It's not UFC. It's not baseball. Hockey. The NBA regular seasons continue.

TV just isn't dynamic and these leagues, the NBA, the pros, I mean, we're going to have great series here, these first round series are going to be really good. Nick Sixers will feel like a great series because Philadelphia and New York The Yorkers just jump off the television. My conclusion is that the leagues send messages to the networks and the message is that the regular season doesn't matter much and I run Fox orn or TNT, okay, so let's have two packages, you know, I'll pay. for the playoffs I don't want the regular season and I think that's where you know the NFL and I think March Madness is like well I gotta watch these games, they're all sudden death you know so what do I do?

I do it, I do it, the product is good, but the league is sending a message to the networks and it's back to bite them in the butt, which is not load management. I've always felt the league should have about 60 games the first one. The round should be three games, the rest of the way should be five until the final, seven. There is no urgency. I mean, there is literally no urgency in these games. It's like I watch them because I love the NBA. The NBA will get their money, but you have it. To be honest, everything that is working is creating urgency.

I mean, the quality of men's basketball in the NCAA now is horrible, Jason, it's the actual quality of the game, yes, but the numbers were fantastic, so now women's basketball is much better today than it was 20 years ago. So the quality in the Caitlyn Clark story is great, but I think baseball, I mean, have you heard of that? I mean, Apple doesn't want any part of B NBC and Apple isn't happy with their baseball packages. Wow, Sunday Night Baseball, they want it. 140 million nobody wants to pay that fox I would take it for 40 million we are not going to pay 140 million so I think I think baseball, hockey and basketball, I think you have to look in the mirror as owners, you have never been richer, It is the best.

The place in the world to own any investment in the world is English Premier League teams or American sports teams, that's where the richest people have their money. Eppl teams only go up and American sports teams go up mainly. I think we have to reduce the number of There are parties that you have to demand. The starters play. I think we need to have more urgency. I think what you have in the NBA is that you have two and a half months of playoffs. It should be a month and shorten the season. Now you say the players will say.

Well, we won't make as much money, but if everyone got 10% less, that would be fine. If LeBron could play 15 less games a year, he would be fine with less, most players would be fine, but I think it is a reality what is happening. the distraction, the fragmentation, you can't ask people to sit through these long regular seasons of hockey, baseball, NBA, especially when the players don't seem all that motivated by it, that's my opinion and I love the league, yeah, you know , you and I had a debate, uh, it was a couple of months ago, but we were talking about the difference between the NFL and how the NFL has been encroaching on their turf and what they're doing, like three Christmas Wednesday games this year. , very similar to us in one of the counterpoints I did for It's like I don't really see the league as the NBA or even on equal footing with the NFL because I see the NFL as a sport of urgency and I see the NBA as a sport of inventory, yeah, well the NBA is actually leaning. more and more in the inventory it's like here's a seasonal tournament here's a play tournament they just expanded the first round of the playoffs from five to seven games like 20 years ago or whatever they did like they've done nothing else than adding inventory and while total revenue has increased, I think the kind of focused desire surrounding the NBA regular season is less and to your point, I've always been a big believer in shortening the regular season because I think if you could cutting it down to three games a week with only two days off guaranteed each week in a row somewhere for the older players, I think you'd have better player engagement overall, not to mention the bigger urgencies surrounding it. in the games and what bothers me is why can't you look at the tournament during the season and the tournament as the revenue generators to make up for the loss of revenue in a shortened season and if you shortened the season, I don't.

I think you would see an initial drop in revenue, but I think in the big picture, because there is more star participation, about 20% additional urgency by eliminating 20% ​​of the games, I think you would see in the big picture a greater value in the regular. season package, but I agree with you 100% that how could you experience all the things that the NBA offers between the games of chance between the highlights between the playoffs between the play tournaments during the season? The summer league is a big deal every year I go. I'm shocked by the fact that the summer league is wait until you see what Team USA will be like in Las Vegas, like that's all working out great, but the regular season itself is sinking lower and lower. in the food. chain and that they need to pay more attention in that direction.

I agree with you 100%, yes, also the international participation has now increased, they are more skilled, they are mastering the MVP. I don't have a problem with that, I've never seen it. players as good as wemi and joic but it's harder to follow and in a distracted world it's very difficult to follow and I'm a sportscaster but I mean it's like they make jokes on TNT that Shaq and Barkley don't know certain people players. That gives you the feeling that you know they're constantly sending messages that half of these games don't matter, well that's not a good message Colin, I'm a complete basketball nut.

I train him on a voluntary level here in the city. I play literally six days a week. I get bored in the NBA regular season. I do what everyone in the media does and I have to find reasons to be excited about our recovery when you're in January, it's hard work, it is literally. "It's hard work and, again, I'm crazy when it comes to these things. I've argued for years that I would start the NBA on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, so I would start a month later because I think it can be done." I don't compete with football, but after Thanksgiving people get this hearty helping of football and you talk about it on Monday on sports shows and Tuesday and then Wednesday because it's college football after Thanksgiving thanks.

Wednesday I've noticed for years in my business that on Wednesday you're like God, wouldn't it be great if tonight was opening night of the NBA? So you would push it back a month at the end of August to the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, um, you would cut it. if it was reduced to about 66 68 games it would end on July 1st so that would push it back a little bit more, nothing happens in June and early July and it would just be a real estate move like if the NFL moved free agency to March. It was because they wanted to, they wanted to take something away from March Madness, they saw opportunities.

It would just be buying a different beach property and moving back after having no chance to compete until after Thanksgiving. It's just too much football. but then college football weakens a little bit and the NBA and then they reduce the games, but you have the summer wide open, I mean, June and early July are wide open and then June, July 1st, you crown your champion, You have the draft four days later, thanks. to fly United NFL Camp NFL camps open in November, yes NFL camps open three days later and it's perfect, the NFL has been great at this, they just keep buying different real estate to move out of this, the N , the NFL offers you June and the first week of July.

If they give it to you, you're not going to beat them, head, head, here we go, all good, good things, temporary Jason, Hoops tonight, sorry Milwaukee fans, Indiana, sorry Pelican fans, we'll talk about you I'll cover it later. We'll cover them tomorrow, we'll get to them, tomorrow, okay, buddy, good to see you, thanks.