Transcript
Colin Cowherd (0:00)
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That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Access to the card member entrance not limited to the American Express Platinum card. Learn more@americanexpress.com withamx thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, do we have a show today. Oh, yeah. If you're not bringing your A game, this isn't a show for you. Live in Los Angeles, the home of winners, only winners. It's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be watching or listening, thanks for making us part of your day, J. Mac, I was thinking about this this morning. Had a good night's sleep? I have a good night's sleep. Show cooks. Good to hear. So I'm watch the little of the Warriors. Steph Curry against the Knicks. Here's Steph Curry on a bad ankle. Gonna be 37 in a week. Back to backs goes to the garden. He's now 12 and one at the Garden. And you know the warriors are cooking. And by the way, Kaminga's all banged up. Wait till he comes back. I'm just saying, you. You've been poo pooing Steph Curry forever. I've been hearing this forever, the disrespect. But here's Steph Curry, 37 in a week. It was not that long ago. That Steph Curry dude has had 32 assists in the last three games. 12 and one at the Garden. They finally got him a legitimate star. And every time he's had one clay in his prime, or kd, he wins titles. His legacy is amazing. Titles before kd, two titles with kd, title after kd, with an older Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins. And right now, since Jimmy Butler arrived, who leads the NBA in plus minus Steph Curry. But he's had doubters, the SMH crowd, the shake my head crowd. Y'all fall in love with your IG reels and your YouTube highlights and your hops and your handles. I like IQ and EQ and maturity and great off the ball and great with the ball. And he's strangely nuanced that he's flashy, yet nuanced and can be, like, almost on the edge of out of control, but always dependable in the clutch. He is a culture builder. Y'all love James Harden. For years, all I heard about is James Harden. James Harden was in the same draft as Steph Curry. How relevant is James Harden today? Oh, John Wall, the Bullet. He was the first draft after Steph Curry. He's out of league. How about Derrick Rose? Good God, it was just a volcano of Derrick Rose love for a decade. He was a draft before Steph Curry. Where's he? Oh, he's out of the league, too. No disrespect. I mean, Harden can play Derrick Rose. John, Walt, they got game. I mean, There were two point guards drafted before Curry in the draft. Johnny Flynn and Ricky Rubio. One couldn't shoot, one could barely play. It's been disrespect from draft night on. It's incredible, the disrespect. He had to be a Finals mvp, right, to justify. He's in, you know, all time great stuff. All time great stuff. I mean, there's an argument, and I don't think it's wrong. In today's basketball world, he's the point guard starting in the. On the best starting five of all time. There's only one argument. It's Magic. It's Magic or Curry. Best two guys with a ball ever in their hands. Point guard. I mean, there's only a few certainties in the NBA, all time team. Michael's on it. LeBron's on it. We can argue about everything else. And one of the arguments is think how great Magic Johnson was. There's an argument in today's NBA, Magic, you know, got to be able to shoot. The three would still be good, but the league is more athletic. Steph Curry is just really rare, disrespected, underappreciated superstar. I'm not even sure if there's another one in sports. I mean, because we all love and respect Josh Allen. Maybe Lamar Jackson kind of falls into that category where he's one of the greatest players of all time and still doesn't get the love. But I mean, Curry, think about this. Great knows great. There's an old saying about management. A's, people who are secure in themselves. A's higher A's, B's insecure, higher C's. Go ask the great player. Who did LeBron James go after before he landed Luca? For two years, he was trying to lure Steph Curry to be a Laker or he be a warrior and you go to the Olympics when it's all alphas. Jason Tatum had two points in the gold medal game. Who had four threes in the final three minutes. Who did the stars rely on? Who did the stars go? Hey, get it to Steph. Let's bring in the closer. I mean, last night, games close late. Here comes Steph. 110 run, bad ankle, back to backs on the road. It's unbelievable. Yeah, I'll say this, finally, that show that, you know, J. Mac doesn't like refuses to watch. Wink, wink. Finally, Shaq delivered the truth last night. I demand you fans to start putting Steph Curry in that greatest of all time conversation. I played against Mike, played with Colby, played against him, With LeBron, they're all great, but you go, at some point, we'll have to put Steph Curry in that category. I'm not saying he is, but let's just have the conversation. That's right. That's right. Let's just have the conversation. I mean, it's unbelievable. A basketball team in Minnesota took two guards in front of him. Anytime he's had a legitimate number two. Klay Thompson in his prime was arguably the best. No, not even arguably. He was the best catch and shooter player in the league. So Clay in his prime's a Hall of Famer. Titles, and then he gets kd, couple titles, and then he gets Clays out of his prime. They give him Andrew Wiggins, who's talented, but you can't really trust him in a big spot. Title. And right now, you start looking at these games, you start looking at the way this team is built. Kaminga's banged up, bad ankle coming back. I'm just saying, every single time you've given him a legitimate dude, he explodes. Dude's got 32 assists. And what's amazing about Steph is that for as often as he has the ball and is the centerpiece, he's remarkably unselfish. I mean, for a guy that's so great with the ball, he's arguably the best player in the league off ball. I mean, there's all sorts of nuance to his game beyond. Beyond the obvious stuff, beyond the damn, he's a good dude. Plays with anybody. I mean, he. It's just very rare. I mean, LeBron's got this quality Magic did as well. So good with the ball, but also great off the ball. Finally, LeBron now is getting a little off the ball love. But I'm glad Shaq said it, because I. I just think he's been so disrespected. Had to beat Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the final to justify his greatness. I mean, come on now. What are you watching? The games. So this is a big deal. So sometimes I get on tangents, and I'm not talking for a show or a week. I'm talking for six years. I have been on a tangent for about six years, and I know it's irritating, but offensive lines are really important. The final four teams this year in the NFL all had top 10 offensive lines. The top seven graded offensive lines in the NFL this year all made the playoffs. Seven for seven all made the playoffs. The Chicago Bears had a defensive coach, and the offensive line kept getting worse. Ben Johnson gets hired by the Bears. And I know last year the Bears were doing stuff with wide receivers and oh, front page of the Chicago Tribune. It was on all the websites. Receiver, receiver, receiver. This year, Ben Johnson, offensive coach. First two big moves. Two days ago, guard, Rams. Yesterday, guard Joe Tuney, Chiefs. Two experienced dudes. This guy gets it. The first thing he addresses is the O line. Two guards. You know who else pays Guards? The Rams, the Chiefs, the Eagles. Offensive coaches get it. I like Mike Tomlinson. Eight years now. Offensive line stinks. Go to the Super Bowl. It was all line play. And I don't trust Ryan polls the GM in the draft. He's had too many whiffs. I don't think he's terrible, but I don't trust him. This is easy. Jonah Jackson can play, Joe Tuni can play. Two starters and they'll probably go draft a tackle with their first pick. So it, it's just easier if you're not great in the draft. And the Bears I don't trust. Last year's draft looks like a mess. The Velas Jones picket receiver years ago turned my stomach. Bottom line is great move. And by the way, Jim Harbaugh last year, Jim Harbaugh, everybody was like, oh, they lost Keenan Allen, Mike Williams got a receiver. What did what Jim Harbaugh do? Joe Al Notre Dame tackle was great. What did Sean Payton do? First thing he did, he kept Russell Wilson, who he didn't love. He rebuilt the o line. Sean McVay takes over the Rams first big move. Andrew Whitworth, all Pro left tackle, Cincinnati. I mean, I know we all watch quarterbacks, but a quarterback's best friend is protection and push up front. This is a great day to be a Bear fan. I know it's not sexy. I know it's, it's not going to lead sports shows and other networks, but the seven highest graded offensive lines last year all made the playoffs. Joe Burrow was arguably the best quarterback in the league last year. What was his o line? Ranked? 30th. He missed the playoffs. And last year, do you remember this? And, and I understand if you don't, but last year, Washington, we were all caught up in Cliff Kingsbury and Dan Quinn and a new owner and a new gm. You remember the first thing Washington did last year? Before they ever gave Jaden Daniels a snap in a big game, they went and got two offensive linemen free agency, Right? So this is, this is what Washington did last year. And those don't make headlines, but the last couple of days, this is what offensive coaches do. It's what McVeigh does. Reed does Ben Johnson. I mean, you start looking at Philadelphia and Detroit. I mean, the Rams were really good last year, and one of the reasons they got good by about Thanksgiving, they got hot before that is the offensive line got healthy. So this is really encouraging. I know it's not. It's not a blaring headline to interior offensive linemen, but when you have a young quarterback time to throw a run game, an extra half second is the difference between doing something like Washington did and, you know, doing something like Caleb Williams had to deal with in his rookie year with a defensive coach. Jmac spitting it today. Steph Curry last night. Yeah, you are on fire. You love. You love Steph Curry. Of course, my favorite player of all time. It used to be Magic Johnson. Right. I love the flair and the passing. And then Steph Curry overtook him. He's been my favorite probably for, I don't know, over a decade. Isn't it interesting, though? So, you know, we kind of looked at the warriors, and their front office deserves credit because we kind of looked at him. It was a treadmill to nowhere. Yeah, it is amazing. I was down on them. Right, right, right. And we were waiting for Wiggins to be a two. He's not. We were waiting for Kaminga to be a two. He's not. When you slot it now Steph Butler's a two. And now Kaminga's like, oh, he could be a three pods, he could be a four. Draymond still doesn't score much, but it is amazing what you do. It's like a pitching staff. When you put a legitimate two with Steph, then the three and the four can be inconsistent, and that's why they're three and fours. It's like when you give LeBron Luke offensively now, you like Rui way more because Rui goes from. Instead of having to be a three offensively now Ruiz a four. And offensively, Rui can be a little hit and miss. But when Rui goes from three to a four, now Ruiz a really good four. Oh, yeah. Instead of a reach at three. So now Kaminga, because we've been waiting for Kaminga for years. You could be looking at a Lakers, warriors, second round matchup that would. That could. That's the kind of game that could break the Internet. Like Luca Butler, LeBron. I mean, Curry, just amazing collection of talent. If that happens in the second round, I'm sure the TV executives would love a Western Conference finals with those two. LeBron and Curry. NBA's rigged, by the way. Zion did you see. See Zion last night? I did not. I mean, he was unstoppable. Well, no, he was. Lakers still won by 30. You're 40 or whatever it was, but. Oh, I mean, looked really good. Yeah, I only watched the first half. Yeah. Fell asleep. Yeah. I mean, the Lakers season's really going to come down to this. It really is going to come down to this. Health. Luca, look. Looks in much better shape. He looks in much better shape. And LeBron's obviously playing with a ton of energy. I. I think at some point, you know, it's like your new best friend, you know, at some point, LeBron's energy and Steph's energy will come down. Honeymoon phase. Yeah, I think. I think. I think we're in the honeymoon phase. I mean, you're. I'm watching last night's honeymoon phase stuff, but there'll be a time when, you know, again, you get about 20, 30 games in with a new teammate. Like. Like the warriors right now, it's the honeymoon phase. I mean, Steph is playing out of his mind. He's playing like. Be honest. If Jimmy Butler's not on the team, does he take last night off? If they're not playing in New York, back to back off Charlotte where he got hurt? Is it. It's possible. Steph's like, I'm not New York is why he played. Jimmy Butler's why he played. It's like, okay, I'm gonna play this game. If they were battling for a 10 seed with no Butler and they're playing in New York first, then Charlotte, he's not playing. So the energy with the Lakers and the warriors and I. I gotta tell you something, just got bits and pieces. Early Lakers last night, because I had a bunch of stuff going on late. Here's what jumps out to me about the Lakers and being an executive in Los Angeles. For any team, including an athletic director for SC or ucla, it's very unique in the country. I don't think there's any city like it. And it. And I'll tell you why. One of the things that makes it really hard in Los Angeles is our weather, because it's Mediterranean and every. I want. I had to do something last night. People are outside, they're having a good time. And it's. Forget the game last night, that game. Secondary. What's really fascinating about the Lakers coming up next, and not just the Lakers, but why LA forces the Lakers to do things sometimes to an area of discomfort, work, sometimes didn't work with Westbrook to LeBron and the Lakers works other times. 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