Best of The Herd

Summary

Summary of "Best of The Herd" Episode
Release Date: April 21, 2025

The Herd with Colin Cowherd delivers an engaging episode that navigates through the intense NBA playoff battles, the eagerly anticipated NFL Draft, and insightful discussions with sports experts. Hosted by Colin Cowherd and featuring contributions from Jason McIntyre, Steve Kerr, JJ Redick, and special guests like Daniel Jeremiah, the episode provides a comprehensive analysis of current sports narratives.

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NBA Playoffs Analysis

Warriors vs. Rockets Series

The episode delves into the contentious NBA playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. Jason McIntyre expresses concerns about the Rockets' half-court offense, highlighting their young roster's struggles against seasoned teams.

• McIntyre on Rockets' Offense:
  "[02:10] I thought the Rockets offense was a mess. They shot under 20% from threes and outside of Sengun, I don't know what they are in the half-court set."

Steve Kerr, providing an insider perspective, acknowledges the Warriors' strategic execution during crucial moments.

• Steve Kerr on Game Strategy:
  "[07:49] And obviously carried us offensively. Players win games."

Lakers vs. Minnesota Series

The discussion shifts to the Lakers' unexpected loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. McIntyre critiques the Lakers' lack of energy and urgency, contrasting it with Minnesota's aggressive playstyle.

• McIntyre on Lakers' Performance:
  "[06:10] They pushed him around the floor for two and a half hours. I think the Lakers will bring in more urgency."

JJ Redick emphasizes the importance of physicality and consistent effort in playoff basketball, noting Minnesota's improvement under pressure.

• JJ Redick on Playoff Intensity:
  "[53:07] You know, you can't waste possessions no more. That's the name of the playoffs."

NFL Draft Insights

Daniel Jeremiah joins the conversation to shed light on the 2025 NFL Draft, focusing on team strategies and top prospects.

• Jeremiah on Draft Strategy:
  "[16:27] We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason."

The panel discusses the critical decisions facing teams like the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns regarding quarterback selections, weighing the options between proven players and emerging talents.

• McIntyre on Giants' Draft Choices:
  "[23:34] You can get all the defensive ends and rush ends you want. You have to move the chains right."

Player Spotlight and Team Dynamics

Russell Westbrook's Impact

Russell Westbrook's performance in the playoffs is a focal point, with McIntyre and Redick debating his value and consistency.

• McIntyre on Westbrook's Contribution:
  "[43:14] Russell Westbrook can drive me crazy. But I thought he and Jokic won game one, a very tight game."

• Redick on Westbrook's Leadership:
  "[50:23] Russ probably led the locker room meeting after coach got fired."

Caitlyn Clark's Influence in the WNBA

The episode highlights Caitlyn Clark's significant impact on the WNBA, lamenting her omission from influential lists and celebrating her role in elevating the league.

• McIntyre on Clark's Influence:
  "[29:33] What an absolute disgrace that she was not most influential. She should be in the top 20."

• Kerr on Clark's Confidence:
  "[30:37] There is a confidence about Caitlyn Clark that you just don't see."

Special Segments and Guest Contributions

Impact of Team Experience in Playoffs

JJ Redick shares personal experiences from his playoff games, underscoring the heightened intensity and the necessity for urgency on the court.

• Redick on Playoff Preparation:
  "[56:30] I wasn't shocked because you don't know what it's about until you're in it."

Future Predictions and Recommendations

The panel offers predictions for upcoming games and draft picks, emphasizing the importance of strategic decisions and adaptability.

• McIntyre on Draft Predictions:
  "[24:45] NFL people view Cam Ward as a sure thing. Travis Hunter is a sure thing."

• Kerr on Draft Strategies:
  "[25:15] What's interesting is you go back to the Anthony Richardson year."

Concluding Thoughts

The episode wraps up with reflections on the current state of the playoffs and draft season, reinforcing the themes of experience, strategy, and player development as critical factors influencing outcomes.

• McIntyre on Playoff Adjustments:
  "[53:46] So listen, I thought Chris Finch and the T Wolves had a better plan."

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This episode of The Herd offers a deep dive into the complexities of playoff basketball and the strategic maneuvers ahead of the NFL Draft. With expert analysis and candid discussions, listeners gain valuable insights into the factors shaping today's sports landscape.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

Thanks for listening to the Heard 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 [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. All right, it is a Monday after a wild NBA playoff weekend NFL draft as well. Jordan Schultz sitting in one hour from now. Where Colin was right. Where Colin was wrong. I sat in front of a TV all weekend long. And I will be sitting in front of a TV next weekend, all weekend long for the NFL draft and NBA playoff. So you make, you make predictions going into the playoffs and I, I may flipping one of my predictions after one game. I don't want to do recency buys. I don't want to overreact. But what I watched last night from the Warriors Rockets is really troubling if you're a Houston fan. So let's start with this. I didn't follow my own advice. I've always said in the playoffs, just take the experience. And I said, you know, the warriors look old and tired, they're small and I'm going to take the Rockets in six or seven and they may still win. Yeah, they're easy to get enamored with. They're so twitchy. They're so athletic in Houston. Yeah, I forgot they can't shoot. And three of their starters, this is their first playoff series. So they, they look the part when they get off the bus. But if you take away transition points from Houston and make them play half court offensive basketball, man, they look lost. Jalen Green, what is he? Yeah, he's athletic. Congrats. It's the NBA who isn't. He can't shoot. He's not a pure point guard. He can't put him at that position. Amen Thompson, great athlete. Don't trust him shooting. I love Sengun, the center from Turkey. He's got, he's like got a guard's touch. He's a little like Jokic, feathery touch. But you can't depend on him to beat Butler, to beat Steph Curry, to beat Steph Curry because there's a coaching advantage with Golden State as well, and it's a prime example. Like Jalen Green and Amen Thompson are a prime example. They didn't go to college. They went to make some money. Overtime, elite G League and they, and they made some money. But what are their games? What are their games like? Yeah, I mean, I thought they both panicked and again they're fun to watch. But playoff basketball is half court basketball. You don't get all the freebies because everybody's playing hard. The coaching is better. You're playing the same team over and over and over. So the fool's gold in the easy baskets. It doesn't work that way. Everybody, everybody is equally rested. And I watched Houston and my takeaway was, man, do they need KD or even Devin Booker. They need buckets in the half court set. So. And Conversely, here are the old Warriors State Kerr, we're not going to play Kaminga. We don't need the length. We're going to stay with our small ball lineup. No panic even in the fourth quarter, just run through our sets. So both teams have an identity. But I think Houston has to tweak their identity. And I thought the warriors would have to play Kaminga more than they want to do to tweak theirs. Now Houston dominates the offensive glass, so they're going to win games in this series. They played horribly in the first three quarters and that game got down to about four points. But you see how valuable playoff experience is. The referees, we tell you this every year. Playoff basketball looks different. The referees want the players to win the games, okay? So they swallow the whistle. They're going to allow physicality. All these young players looking for the whistle, Bruh, you're not getting in the playoffs. You're not getting a whistle over Steph Curry or Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green. You're not. The veterans know how to manipulate refs. And Golden State, by the way, is 20 and one all time when they win the first game of a playoff series. I was worried about the old team playing Houston. Rockets home court advantage, size advantage, energy advantage. And then I watched that game and my only question now, do the warriors have the stamina to get six or seven games out of this series and then go in to another series? Their best players are all in their mid-30s, but. And the Rockets again, they're so big and athletic, they'll win games and Jalen Green has to play better. Although it's very clear the coaching staff of the Rockets did not trust Jalen Green late. They had no interest in him being part of the offense. So Fred Van Bleet will shoot better and play better, but I don't know. I looked at this and I thought 85 points was a season low and they're going to get into the 90s, they're going to have better games. They're. Obviously, playoff basketball is all about adjustments, but Houston's got a problem again. They look great off the bus, but half court offense, they're really young. And what are they? They're just really athletic. And then you're watching the warriors just stay patient, stay with their sets. Every time Golden State comes down the floor late, they got a good look, man. You can count on one hand how many great looks Houston got when they needed it in the fourth quarter. Here with Steve Kerr on Steph Curry after he just made some amazing plays.

[Steve Kerr]

And Obviously carried us offensively. Players win games.

[Jason McIntyre]

It's our job to, you know, to try to help them along a little.

[Steve Kerr]

Bit here and there.

[JJ Redick]

And.

[Jason McIntyre]

I've coached Steph Curry and Draymond.

[Steve Kerr]

Green for 11 years, so of course.

[JJ Redick]

We'Ve got a lot of playoff wins.

[Jason McIntyre]

So I do worry about the Rockets going forward. I may have just missed on that. Now let's talk Lakers losing the opener to Minnesota. I'm not worried about the Lakers, I don't think. But JJ Redick welcomed the playoff basketball. He didn't pull enough levers. So unlike the Rockets, the T Wolves can shoot. In fact, they had 42 open threes. They just got great looks and they hit a lot of them. But it was more about the Lakers lack of energy and urgency and especially physicality. You just kept waiting for the Lakers to kind of shift into a second gear and they never did. So Minnesota is a little like the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL where they're at their best sometimes playing ugly, really physical. A lot of tough guys play with a ton of physicality and energy. And it's not always pretty. You know the Lakers, when they're at their best with Luke, LeBron, Austin, it's pretty they're getting to the free throw line. But the Lakers big three, Luca, yeah, he scored a bunch of points. He had one assist. It can't just be points. Austin Reeves totally out of rhythm again. T Wolves beat up on him physically. And LeBron, you know, I thought he did a job. He's kept waiting for the game to come to him a little bit and it's like, bro, you look disengaged. And so it was just ugly. And remember the T Wolves have played Luka before. This is a really good coaching staff. So. And the other thing that makes you wonder about the Lakers, the Lakers, not everything from the regular season carries over, but a lot does. Like Houston didn't shoot well in the regular season. Houston didn't shoot well yesterday. The Lakers are a bad road team. They were sub 500 on the road and they just lost home court advantage. Minnesota, like those Ravens, they can win on the road. Why? Because physicality in all sports like baseball and pitching, physicality in basketball and football travels. Alright, so the Minnesota is going to give you a very consistent effort. Not to mention Ant Edwards, you know, unlike Ja, Morant has grown, improved. He's more refined, his pacing, his tempo, he's a patient player. So like maybe it's just a bad matchup for the Lakers. I think we're going to get a more Physical engaged, Laker team. That's what I think. So no sign of panic. If I'm the Rockets though, this morning, I don't know if we can be. I don't know if we can beat the warriors with our half court offense. The Lakers can run, the Lakers can shoot, the Lakers can play defense, but it worries you a little. Jackson Hayes didn't play much, so Reddick doesn't think. He didn't give many minutes. And the Laker, Minnesota is big to begin with. You take Jackson Hayes off the floor, it's like, do we got a matchup problem for the Lakers? No reason to panic. But here is J.J. redick.

[Steve Kerr]

After we were mentally ready, I thought our spirit was right. I thought even when they made runs, our huddles were great. You know, the communication was great. I'm not sure physically we were, we.

[Jason McIntyre]

Were ready, if that makes sense.

[Steve Kerr]

And really when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, like we just didn't respond immediately to that.

[Jason McIntyre]

And that if you watch that game, this was an easy one to scout. If you had an assignment to scout the game, you're like, Minnesota took the game to the Lakers and they wanted to be a little ugly. They wanted to be physical. You know, they got sides, they got tough guys. So that was totally Minnesota's game. And then when you add in them shooting as well as they did, so, you know, LeBron said after, maybe it just takes us a game to get ready. That's entirely possible. Odds makers are usually not terribly wrong. I mean, they like the warriors to win it. I'm watching that game thinking, yeah, they had it right. But DeFincenzo, Julius, Randle and Edwards.

[JJ Redick]

A.

[Jason McIntyre]

Lot of dudes didn't always have to be pretty, but it was not only physical, it was physical and pretty for Minnesota. So that's a little troubling if you're a Laker fan. They play tomorrow night in game two. We have all sorts of stuff that has developed. This is of course, draft week. Daniel Jeremiah, 50 minutes from now, former NFL scout for three different teams. He is the one that labeled it. He said, it's not a star draft. It is a starter draft. I had dinner with a NFL offensive coordinator over the weekend and there's a lot of good players in this draft. A lot of good players. There's just not a lot of star power at the top. And we know Tennessee's taken Cam Ward number two. We know Cleveland number. Cam Ward's going number one in Tennessee number two. Cleveland's taking Travis Hunter the draft kind of starts with the New York Giants, and they've done a ton of homework on Jackson Dart and Chador Sanders. So my guess is probably take a defensive player. I'm just guessing. I could see if they would take Shador. I think I would take Shador Sanders if I was the Giants, but I think they would. I also think the New York Giants because the draft's gonna sort of start with them because we know the first two picks. I think if I was the Giants, I would take calls. And if somebody wants Shador Sanders, and I think they should, it's never been more of a quarterback league. There's seven or eight teams that desperately need upgrades at quarterback, and Tennessee is going to solve that with the first pick of the draft. So this is a very, very fun week. Coming up next, the best playoff series, the most even series, is Denver and the Clippers. Plus, Cam Newton sounds off on a decision by a young man that took money over common sense. We'll talk about that coming up. Live in la, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis, and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? 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 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, 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 planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and Rich looking to transform your.

[Colin Cowherd]

Business through better HR and payroll. Meet Paycor, a paychecks company, the powerhouse solution that empowers leaders to drive results. From recruiting and development to payroll and analytics, paycor connects you with the people, data and expertise you need to succeed. Their innovative platform helps you make smarter decisions about your most valuable asset. Your people. Are you ready to become a Better Leader? Visit paycor.com leadership to learn more. That's paycor.com leaders t mobile stats are.

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

Podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL Draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And how teams with new coaches should approach the draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered. Before your favorite team goes on the clock, we'll break it all down. Once all 257 picks have been made.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Jason McIntyre]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[JJ Redick]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Jason McIntyre]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together All Star panel Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the middle.

[Jason McIntyre]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Jeremy Neil DeGrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[JJ Redick]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Jason McIntyre]

Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Steve Kerr]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Steve Kerr]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jason McIntyre]

So we told you a story was going to happen last week. I think it was Wednesday or Thursday. I said, this really talented kid, Nico Maldeva, he's a quarterback at Tennessee, and he bailed on him and he said, I'm going to. I told you. I was told by somebody close to the family he was going to be a UCLA Bruin. Well, it was made official yesterday. Listen, I don't love the decision because Tennessee's got $149 million of annual revenue. They have better coaching staff, better facilities, better players. I mean, in the sec, they've won nine plus games in three straight seasons. So the coaching staff's pretty good. UCLA in the last decade has won nine games once. So. And the market did not materialize when he said, I want more money. Now they're arguing. The family say it's not about money. But I don't know, you know, that Tennessee is like, why would you leave Tennessee? Well, it's about the offense. Well, Tennessee's putting their last couple quarterbacks in the NFL. That's all I know. Tennessee quarterbacks end up in the NFL. That doesn't mean they end up being as good as, you know, Jaden Daniels. But you play in the fcc, you get to the NFL, they're doing something right with quarterbacks. So this feels like I said it last week, quarterback dad is now pageant mom. And this feels very much like, you know, dad made a big decision. I don't love it. Cam Newton voiced his opinion on this.

[Steve Kerr]

Whoever advised this kid to sit out and chase in hopes for more money is a fool because the reality is this. And I'll need to tell everybody about.

[Jason McIntyre]

What NIL was and is intended for. It's just to make your college experience comfortable. This is not forever money. You have to understand that even though.

[JJ Redick]

You'Re talking about millions and millions and millions.

[Steve Kerr]

Of money.

[Jason McIntyre]

By the way, couple million bucks in LA, welcome to the 45% tax bracket minimum. I mean, so that stuff, I mean, trust me, I live out here. A smoothie cost you about 16 bucks, a good one. In Tennessee, it probably cost you six. And there's no state tax there. So the money goes nowhere in L. A. And it goes a long way. But I mean, I just, to me, if I'm a quarterback, if I was coming out of high school or a young quarterback, there are programs I would go to and it would be programs that put NFL offensive linemen in the NFL, like, you know, Ohio State, Notre Dame and, you know, Georgia. I'm going to a place where I get protection, where I've got, you know, really good playmakers. So I'm not sitting there running for my life, throwing to like guys that are unrestricted, free agent level guys in the NFL. That's Tennessee. That's not ucla. UCLA put some guys in the NFL, but Tennessee is a better football program. So I wish him well. It's certainly a big ad for ucla, there's no question about that. But the market did not materialize. There was not a huge market. Belichick turned off. I talked to another person at a top 10 program really turned off by. And this was such a public story. It's going to stick to the kid, so he's going to have to really play well. A lot of this stuff, we don't see how the sausage is made. It's kind of ugly. This nil stuff, it's kind of ugly, but we don't see how it. We don't really see what happens. But this was so public that it's going to stick to the kid. So he's going to have to be great at ucla and UCLA doesn't have great talent. All right, so in the Big Ten, they're, I mean, I'm, I'll throw it out off the top of my head. What are they, the seventh to eighth best football program? Tennessee is as well funded as anybody in the SEC that is in a big boy adult football program. So I don't love to move. Chasing money is folks, even in the NFL. You don't make real money in the NFL to your second contract. And Cam points out this is not forever money in the nil. It's to make college more reasonable and more comfortable. And pizza's on me. If you're looking to get rich in college and you're just going to take the biggest check, I think most of the time that's not going to be. That's not going to be the right fit. Football's about fit and about coaching and about support systems. Not just about get me mine. You know, talk to guys who have played in good organizations like the Eagles and the packers and the Rams and they go chase money in free agency. Go ask them how happy they are. Right? It's, it's not. Jordan with news. No, no, no, no.

[JJ Redick]

Turn on the news.

[Jason McIntyre]

This is the Herd line News on.

[Steve Kerr]

The NFL draft kicks off Thursday and one of the biggest question marks is in the top five whether the Browns and Giants will both pass on taking a quarterback. Now, according to Daniel, Daniel Jeremiah, who'll be on the show today. It's almost a game of chicken of who's going to pay the biggest price and how much they love one of these quarterbacks. Reference Giants have Danny, Tommy DeVito, Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson, Browns, obviously Desean, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett. Now I believe that should the Giants pass, should the Giants take Shador Sanders and pass on Abdul Carter? I believe the Patriots would then take Abdul Carter at 4 because I know they really like Will Campbell. They've done a lot of homework on him, the offensive tackle at lsu. But Abdul Carter is viewed as a generational player. And even though the Patriots have Harold Landry, they have Keon White, to pass on Abdul Carter at 4 would be a big, big deal.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, I think NFL people that I talked to this weekend, they view Cam Ward as a sure thing. Travis Hunter is a sure thing. Abdul Carter is a sure thing. And then the draft becomes should be a really good player. I don't think Shador Sanders and most quarterbacks are viewed as a sure thing. So the Giants are sitting there thinking, well, Abdul Carter's a sure thing. He's going to start day one and be a really good player. And they're absolutely right. Shador though is a quarterback and we'll touch the ball 65 times a game. He'll win us games. So I mean the Giants have had a good D line for years and, and can't sniff the playoffs. So you can get all the defensive ends and rush ends you want. You got to move the chains right. You got to move the sticks. So it's a tough situation where the Giants can take a sure thing but it won't change outcomes or they can go on a 6040 proposition, but it will change outcomes. And I, and this matters to me, you start looking at this division now, Philadelphia with Jalen hurts, Washington with Jaden Daniel. You can't have a Hammond Egger at quarterback. Right. To me, you go get a Shador Sanders. You're get, you get four or five years now to load up the roster.

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Because you have to. You have a lot of ground to make up on Washington and Philadelphia. You're not doing it with Abdul Carter.

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's one guy that's worth, if he becomes a Pro Bowler, worth half a point a game.

[Steve Kerr]

You can get a Pro bowl pass rusher in free agency. It is almost impossible to get a franchise changing quarterback other than the draft. Now, Shador Sanders might not be a sure thing, but he feels tailor made for New York and I know that that building. There are people in that building that really like him.

[Jason McIntyre]

I also think there are people in that building. I've been told to like Jackson Dart.

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah, yeah. Jackson Dart's also interesting. Maybe second round, maybe you come back up the Giants. That's where the draft starts. You said earlier that to me is where the Draft starts at 3. Sticking with the draft, the Raiders Pete Carroll hold the sixth overall pick and have been heavily linked to Ashton Genty. Speaking at their pre draft presser, GM John Spitek was asked specifically about drafting the Boise State running back. Take a listen.

[Jason McIntyre]

Ashton Genti get talked about in that top 10 by pretty much everybody has.

[Steve Kerr]

Put together mock drafts. What do you think about him in particular makes him so special to where he might be.

[Jason McIntyre]

Be careful.

[Steve Kerr]

I'm going to be careful about talking about any specific player but you know I. More broadly to the running back question, I, I mean we just saw Saquon Barkley just change the Eagles in one, in one year now. They had a great team around them and you know it was adding an elite player and I think when you sit where we sit, I mean the idea is to add elite players at any position. Yeah, there's a lot there to take in.

[Jason McIntyre]

I think he, I really do. I think if I, I said this last week, I did a. If I was general manager here's who I would take. And I think once you committed to Geno Smith and Chip Kelly it makes drafting Ashton Genty redeemable because Gino is a very capable quarterback on play action translation solid run game. Well the Raiders have no run game so you gotta solve that. I mean I wouldn't be surprised if they get Ashton Genty in the first round and in the fifth or sixth round they go get another bat. So Geno Smith is two quarterbacks. There is time to throw with a prominent run game. Geno and this is a little Sam Darnold too. And then there is frenetic throwing on third and long and then Sam and Geno become really ordinary players. So this to me is not just about solving running back. It's elevating Geno Smith who you're in a relationship with for probably two years.

[Steve Kerr]

What's interesting is you go back to the Anthony Richardson year. Pete Carroll was taking selfies with all the quarterbacks including Richardson. Ends up taking Devon Witherspoon with the fifth pick. This could very well be a smokescreen. You never really know with Pete. You just don't.

[Jason McIntyre]

He loves corners, he loves cornerbacks early in the draft.

[Steve Kerr]

But this Might be a little high and it's.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, it is. Will Johnson.

[Steve Kerr]

Johnson, yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Will's not a burner.

[Steve Kerr]

Right. Will Guy. He's terrific. Terrific playmate or four Guy.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. You're not going to put. He's not shutting people down. Will's just the best corner in this draft. We don't have a superstar corner. We have. Michigan has one, Texas has one. They're really good players. Yeah, there's a lot of good corners, but there's no superstar. So I don't think. And I am a huge Will Johnson fan. I have him going nine to the Saints. Yeah. But I. Ashton Genti, to me, you know, you could roll the dice. I do think the Raiders would consider this. The Raiders would consider. Listen, number six is a little rich. We got to get better as a football team. We're going to trade down. Yeah, yeah. Like maybe only to 11. And then you get another draft pick and you take the North Carolina running back. Hampton.

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah, he's.

[Jason McIntyre]

I could see that. I had somebody this weekend tell me they thought he was a better version of Joe Mixon.

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah. You know. Yeah, yeah. You mentioned Hampton also. Then, then you could jump right ahead of Dallas because you worry about Dallas taking him at 12 because they need a running back. The other part too is a big part of Gino. Gino wanting to be a Raider was the relationship with Pete, but also Chip Kelly. And if you think about Chip Kelly, he has always loved great running backs. In fact, Lashan's McCoy's two best years were with Chip Kelly. They could be extremely creative with a running game. Regardless of if the Raiders take Genti at 6. If they hold that pick, Colin, they got to get at least one, maybe two running backs. To your point, we talked a lot about Caitlin Clark last week. A lot. Specifically, she was snubbed from Time 100 most influential list. Colin, you love this. We all know how influential Clark has been and here's some more proof. According to fanatics, she had the second highest jersey among selling among all basketball players behind only Steph Curry. That put her ahead at Tatum, LeBron.

[Jason McIntyre]

Look at that.

[Steve Kerr]

Michael Jordan, Wimby, Luka. What an absolute disgrace that she was not most influential. She should be in the top 20.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, I mean I, I, I have, I said this last week. Michael Jordan obviously was influential, but Magic and Bird get a lot of credit for many believe saving the NBA. I don't think they saved it, but I mean Magic and Bird are icons for a reason. They had a rivalry and they played in college. So Michael didn't save the NBA. He elevated it. Michael made it global. But Tiger woods, as Jack Nicklaus was getting older. You know, golf needed a guy. Yeah. Tiger like doubled purses. Like that's changing a sport. I mean, golf would have always survived, but guys, you know, guys like Marco Mira figured that out very quickly. Hey, everybody, this dude is getting. We're going to all get rich on this guy. And he's a great guy. So Tiger changed a sport. Caitlyn changed the sport. They used to have commercial flights.

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

She arrived. They all fly now. Private. That's the Caitlyn Clark effect. Think about that. As great as Michael was, it was magic and bird that got you on better flights, right?

[Steve Kerr]

Yeah. You mentioned Clark 2 and how cool MJ was. There is an a confidence about Caitlin Clark that you just don't see and we haven't seen in wnba. There's a swagger to her, not just her game, but her confidence. And I actually see some of that with Paige Becker. So I'm really excited about where the league is going. But the Caitlin Clark omission, Colin, was catastrophic for any list.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, Time magazine thought too much. Don't out think the room. Influential.

[Steve Kerr]

Play the hits.

[Jason McIntyre]

Influential is the word you used. She is the most influential WNBA player and I'm not even sure who is second. I'm not sure there is a second. Jordan with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The herd lies. So through the years, I've always had a problem with six, four or under point guards or guards that can't shoot, that are hyper athletic. Derrick Rose, John Wall, Westbrook. It's like, okay, John Moran. I'm like, okay, you can't shoot, so you're going to have to score at the rim. And that means you're going to go up against bigs and you're going to get injured. And Westbrook has been a player that's super talented but can drive me crazy. He doesn't have a lot of. He's got one gear which by the way, sometimes you need that gear. And he's going to be a Hall of Famer. I would not doubt that. But it was very interesting. Nuggets, Clippers. Clippers outplayed him for about three quarters and then the Nuggets made a decision in the fourth quarter. We're going with Russ and you got the full Russell Westbrook experience. Hero baskets, insane energy, turnovers, questionable decisions. But man, you got rebounding, man, you got energy. And for a six four guy in a league of people that are seven feet tall. You can't miss him. So he's got a, this, this quality where when you watch him and he's on your favorite team, you're holding your breath a little. But I thought Denver needed his energy and the coaching staff deserves credit. They're like, we're playing him and we're getting him out there. And I thought he was incredibly valuable. And again, if you run down his plays, it's a lot of hit and miss. He was 1 for 6 from the field in the first three quarters. And the Denver staff is like, now we're going to go with Ross. And this team is so Jokic dependent. It's a one man Jokic that they need another gear. And I like Jamal Murray, but he's never been an all star. So it sort of illustrates Denver's dilemma that there's so much about Jokic and Murray's a good player, but he's not a great player that they don't trust. Michael Porter, clearly he's not getting minutes late. And so, you know, you're sitting around there like, okay, we know Jokic is great. Who's giving us energy if Jamal Murray's just a little off and we, you know, we can't ask him to go bucket to bucket with Harden and Kawhi. And so it's like, let's put Russ in. And I thought, I still like the Clippers in the series, but you got to be fair in this business is that, you know, players that can drive me crazy. Westbrook's rebounding, his energy, his production was absolutely necessary and he deserves credit. If he doesn't play in the fourth quarter, they don't win that game. I really believe that they don't win that game. And you know, again, it was the full Russell Westbrook experience. But, you know, we can't always use the hammer here. Sometimes we got to be fair. And I don't think they win the game without him. And I don't, you know, he could play in game two and have several key turnovers. He plays full speed all the time. And I've said this, you know, in a world of load management, Russell Westbrook is ready to go on the floor anytime you ask him. And here's the Denver coach after the guy win. Russ is Russ. Defensively, he was absolutely incredible. He was playing free safety out there. I thought a lot of the reasons why the turnovers happen, even if it wasn't him forcing it, just the way he was roaming around and impacting the game, you know, was great for us. And then offensively, you know, a couple times I thought he attacked, we maybe we could have pulled it out and executed. But that's what Russ does. That's he's going to play in attack mode, so I don't think he's going to change after 17 years. Yeah, Russell mania is perfect. He's just going to play one speed. He's going 100 miles an hour. And guess what? Playoff basketball is intense basketball. And Denver, the rest of that offense, outside of Yoko, sometimes can get a little lethargic and a little stale. And Russell's never stale. And I always have believed that the really profound players in this league, when they're on the floor, they jump off the TV screen. Luka does that. You can tell when Luka's on the floor. And Russell again, In a world of 676-869 guys at 6 4, he plays way above his size, so good for him. Don't forget, top of the hour, Daniel Jeremiah stops by where Colin was right where Colin was wrong. Boy, Jimmy Butler delivered, did he not? We'll talk about that coming up. Tankless made simple.com be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific Looking to transform.

[Colin Cowherd]

Your business through better HR and payroll? Meet Paycor, a paychecks company. The powerhouse solution that empowers leaders to drive results. From recruiting and development to payroll and analytics, paycor connects you with the people, data and expertise you need to succeed. Their innovative platform helps you make smarter decisions about your most valuable asset, your people. Are you ready to become a Better Leader? Visit paycor.com leaders to learn more. That's paycor.com leaders t mobile stats are.

[T-Mobile Ad Voice]

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

The 40s and free agents Podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL Draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And how teams with new coaches should approach the draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

So as draft season comes To a close, We've got you covered. Before your favorite team goes on the clock, we'll break it all down. Once all 257 picks have been made.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Jason McIntyre]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[JJ Redick]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Jason McIntyre]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Jason McIntyre]

Thanks for having me, Jeremy.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[JJ Redick]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Jason McIntyre]

Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Steve Kerr]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Steve Kerr]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jason McIntyre]

Here we go. We are rolling. First hour flies by. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, it's NFL draft week and the NBA playoffs had begin in begun in earnest. It was a great weekend. Clippers, Nuggets was fantastic. Warriors, Rockets good, especially at the end. Keep your eye on Orlando in the next several years. Not at full strength right now. Boston's gonna fly through them. Orlando's interest. They can't shoot, but I like their players. Moncaro's great. All right. Daniel Jeremiah, been a scout for three NFL teams, is going to be joining us. Somebody I trust absolutely when it comes to the draft, works at the NFL Network on their draft coverage. And we do it every Monday at this time. Where Colin was right. Where Colin was wrong. And here we go. Where Colin was right. Well, we told you last Wednesday that talented young quarterback Nico Iamaliava was going to transfer to ucla and it became official yesterday. His family said it's not about the money and he didn't have much of a market. I think he's really, really talented, but I think it was a big turnoff that he bailed on a better football program. Now he is a California kid, so he's bouncing back home. But you know, clearly Tennessee's a much better consistent football program. So I'm not sure how it plays out. But we broke the story and we'll take a little credit for it. Where Colin was raw. Yeah, I may have just missed on the Rockets Warrior series. The Rockets offense was a mess. They shot under 20% from threes and outside of Shangoon, I don't know what they are in the half court set. He's, he's brilliant. I mean, he's got the nicest touch. But Jalen Green, according to their coaching staff, appears to be a liability. Now I do think Fred VanVleet will play and shoot better, but I thought their size and athleticism and the home courted man advantage and the energy would play a part. But in every crucial possession down the stretch, I just felt better every time with the warriors offensive possession. And the warriors also did a great job down the stretch offensive rebounding to secure Game 1 in Houston, where Colin was right. Well, I predicted Aaron Rodgers would be best served waiting until the draft is over to make a commitment. And according to last week, he's in no hurry and is not making a commitment. And I don't think it's a bad decision, by the way. Ask Kirk Cousins, he got burned on it. And also the Pittsburgh Steelers, who apparently haven't checked the calendar in about a decade, have forgotten that quarterback matters. They're the only team desperate enough to be really, really interested because even Aaron Rodgers admitted that Minnesota's not waiting for him. So, you know, listen, Aaron's talented, but he's very, very distracted. Doesn't feel like there's a huge market for him. And I think Pittsburgh's a bad fit. But we saw it coming where Colin was wrong. It's not that the Timberwolves beat the Lakers. They pushed him around the floor for two and a half hours. And I think the Lakers will bring in more urgency. But Luka had one assist. Austin Reaves got pushed around. I think LeBron has to be more engaged. But the T Wolves, baby, were humming from the outside. And it's not like they were just shooting well. They were Getting great looks. 42 open threes. Is that a playoff record? I don't know if we looked that up, but that surprised me. It just surprised me the lack of urgency and physicality by the Lakers where Colin was right. I've been saying this. If you start paying Brock Purdy 50 large. That window's closing, baby. And how about Puka Nakua apparently believes the same thing.

[Steve Kerr]

Brock Purdy, is he gonna get a 5?

[Jason McIntyre]

I don't think so.

[Steve Kerr]

Do you think he's gonna go with a four? He's gonna start with a four.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[Steve Kerr]

A high four?

[Jason McIntyre]

No, I think mid four. A 45. I think so. I mean, I think if he does.

[Steve Kerr]

That, that'd be smart for him and them.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, I mean, I think he's, he seems like a smart guy. I think he, like, they're still, they have a chance to still be in their window. And I think if, if he goes for a five, that the window closes. Did we send him our transcripts? I love it.

[Steve Kerr]

Where Colin was wrong.

[Jason McIntyre]

Russell Westbrook can drive me crazy. But I thought he and Jokic won game one, a very tight game. And you got the full Russell Westbrook experience. I mean, you got his energy, you got his rebounding, you got his toughness, you got his defense. I thought he, you know, I mean, he, he's not a flawless player. This three we're showing was huge. But you got to be fair in this business, I don't always love him as a player. I thought he was so valuable. And you can say whatever you want with Westbrook, but it's 6, 4. That dude is a great rebounder and he, he has no problem battling six, nine guys in the paint. He loves it. Good for him. Where Colin was wrong. I'm not a huge fan of Jackson dart. I think when you put pressure on him, he becomes a better version of Zach Wilson. I just even went to the same high school. But you know, people I like in the NFL who I trust, Rams like him. Reportedly day ball likes him. So I've talked to somebody over the weekend that likes him a lot, an executive in the NFL who I have respect for. So yeah, I, I want watch them a lot in college. I watch Ole Miss and SEC football and Lane Kiffin and Jackson dart a lot. I never looked at it and thought, wow, it was a first round talent. Now I think he's better than a Will Levis. I think he's better than Zach Wilson. He's obviously a talented guy. There's a, you know, whatever it is, you know, he can make big throws, but he beat up on a lot of bad teams in College, was 1 and 3 against Bama in Georgia and that one win he had 13 completed passes. But the league. Wilson, see, we'll see on Thursday. But the league apparently disagrees with me. Colin, right calling wrong on a Monday. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app looking to transform your.

[Colin Cowherd]

Business through better HR and payroll? Meet Paycor, a paychecks company. The powerhouse solution that empowers leaders to drive results. From recruiting and development to payroll and analytics, paycor connects you with the people, data and expertise you need to succeed. Their innovative platform helps you make smarter decisions about your most valuable asset, your people. Are you ready to become a Better Leader? Visit paycor.com leaders to learn more. That's paycor.com leaders t mobile stats are.

[T-Mobile Ad Voice]

As impressive as your favorite athlete's highlight reel because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now, keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualified unlock device, credit service report in 90 plus days device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card is no cash access and expires in six months.

[JJ Redick]

Foreign.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL Draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And how teams with new coaches should approach the draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered. Before your favorite team goes on the clock, we'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Jason McIntyre]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[JJ Redick]

You know, I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Jason McIntyre]

Anna I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Jason McIntyre]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Jeremy Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[JJ Redick]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Jason McIntyre]

Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Steve Kerr]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Steve Kerr]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right. One of my favorite guys, we don't get it much. The hall of Famer, Paul Pierce. He's busy. He's on speak after us. 19 years in the NBA. All right, let's. I don't mean to create controversy, but Joe Mazzulla, when Tatum and I, the whole thing about a flagrant foul, Give me a break. That's. I don't know. But he fell on his wrist and he was in pain. And Missoula called off the trainer.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

What do you make of that, man?

[JJ Redick]

Let me tell you something about Joe. He, he's a no nonsense type of coach, you know, like every time I go to Boston, he's like, paul, let's go. Let's go do some MMA training. Like, he likes to. He's a fighter. Last year, before the season, you know, all you. He brought in a motivational speakers, you know, maybe a former player, a coach or something like that. He brought, you know, he brought in, he brought Navy seal. He did. I was there, I was there. And he was doing activities with the Navy seal, like, and it was just like, that's who Joe is. That's who Joe is. When I saw it, he was like, get up. Like, that's the type of mentality he's installed in this team.

[Jason McIntyre]

You got play hurt in the playoffs.

[JJ Redick]

Let's go. You got to like, let's go. And then when I looked at it, the fall wasn't that bad. So, you know, it wasn't. It didn't look that bad when he fell. It looked like a normal type of fall. Thank God it was only his wrist.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[JJ Redick]

And he'll be fine. But I love Joe. I love the mentality he installs in this ball club. And you can just see it. So, like, man, you don't need to run over there for all of that.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's how he, his culture is toughness. Toughness because they got enough guys that can shoot threes. He wants to create toughness.

[JJ Redick]

And it's all time. He don't go to the golf course. He goes, mma. That's him.

[Jason McIntyre]

So listen, I, I sometimes I wish Westbrook could play, could shift down something into a second or A third gear. But that's not how Russell Westbrook plays. Did you ever play? Because I thought Russell was so valuable to Denver. He just gives him great energy and he's a great rebounder for a size. You ever play with a guy like that? That kind of has one gear, but it's contagious the way he plays.

[JJ Redick]

Well, yeah, Kevin Garnett. Yeah, one gear. I mean, he plays at the playoff intensity during the 82 game regular season. That's what Russ is. And so that's what was lacking from in the Denver in their squad. Because I feel like the Denver team lacks some leadership that they lost when they lost KCP and you know, Jeff Green and all the other veterans they had during their career and their coach. And their coach. Exactly. But like Russ, I can say this. I bet you Russ probably led the locker room meeting after coach got fired and probably was like, look guys, our goal stays the same. He's that type of person like, we're here. I came here to help y'all win another championship. Whereas I don't know, you know, what's Joker's mentality or who else is in that locker room, but I know for sure that Russ said something in that locker room and it shows on the court, his leadership.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, the. You know, it's funny watching Houston warriors clearly said, don't give them any transition points, make them beat us in the half court. And again, Amand Thompson, Jaylen Green are talented.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

But Jalen's kind of one of those guys. It's like, well, he's not a point guard. He's not a great jump shooter. He's a great athlete. I honestly picked the Rockets in seven in this series. Six or seven. And after that game, I was like, I don't know if the Rockets are good enough in the half court.

[JJ Redick]

No, that's their, that's their Achilles heel right there. They can't really score. They're built on defense.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[JJ Redick]

You know, that's what he made his team when he was in Boston. Top tier defense. That's what got them the number two to seed in the West. And so. And they're young, you know what I'm saying? They built on their young stars. They have some veterans around them, but their stars are young. And so if you notice that around these playoffs, you got these young stars with these veteran players to where it's like they're playing against these veteran teams that know how to win. And so late in the game, it just seems like everybody's crumbling. These young teams.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, I Mean, the warriors, every time down offensively, it ran through Butler, Curry, and everybody on the floor in the organization knew it. I felt like Houston was kind of like Sengun or cross your fingers. They almost got panicked.

[JJ Redick]

Well, they know who they are. Golden State, right? We don't know who the Rockets are. They're still learning who they are. Like, because there's regular season, there's playoffs. You got to know when you get into the playoffs, we can depend on this. You know what I'm saying? And they're still learning one another that they like. We know sanguine is good, but who can we trust?

[Jason McIntyre]

Who. I don't trust anybody else.

[JJ Redick]

That's what I'm saying. And that's where you learn in the playoffs who you can trust. Because in the regular season, you can get away with all of that, whatever you're doing. But the playoffs is a different monster.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, depth and athleticism.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

And youth wins a lot of games in the regular season.

[JJ Redick]

A lot.

[Jason McIntyre]

You play hard, you win.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Are you more impressed with Minnesota or more disappointed in the Lakers?

[JJ Redick]

I think I'm more impressed with Minnesota and I'll tell you why. Colin Antman, Ant Man's game has matured so much.

[Jason McIntyre]

It's incredible. You can see the work.

[JJ Redick]

Like, yes. I mean, he's like. People are like, why are you selling it for threes? But he's knocking them down at a high rate now. He's making his teammates better. That's even more scary because now if he's gonna be out here understanding what to give the game, that's. That's dangerous because when I was, as a player, me, when I came into a game, it got to the point where I learned, like, what does the game need today?

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, okay.

[JJ Redick]

And you fill it out and be like, oh. And that's what I saw from Ant Man. You know what? I maybe don't have to go for 30 today. Let me make them better.

[Jason McIntyre]

So your first year, you didn't get it?

[JJ Redick]

It took me a while to get it. It took me a while to get it because, you know, I was a scorer deluxe. And so it was just like, you know, what do I have to do to make like today they need my defensive rebounding and my playmaking. And then if I'm there down the stretch, I can make some big shots, but I don't have to have a mentality of going, like, I have to get 30 for us to win. He understands that now at a young age, and it looks so beautiful to watch. And the scary part about it is like how do you make this adjustment now? Do you stay home on the shooters? Oh well, he's good enough to go out there and get you 40 if you open up those lanes now and win that way. So I, I don't know. This is going, it's going to be interesting to see, see what the adjustments are for the Lakers.

[Jason McIntyre]

Listen, I thought Chris Finch and the T Wolves had a better plan.

[JJ Redick]

Yes.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean nothing against JJ but it was his first playoff coaching. Right. I didn't know what the Lakers offensive plan was.

[JJ Redick]

No, it was just get the ball to Luca Braun.

[Jason McIntyre]

And Luke only had one assist so he wasn't getting to anybody else.

[JJ Redick]

And so that's right. They was like, hey, he's going to have to go for 40. But we're not going to let these other guys have big games. Our role players, Jackson, Vincent, all these other guys, you know, even Austin Reeves, we're gonna limit those guys because when they play well, the Lakers usually win.

[Jason McIntyre]

Right. So you know, it's funny, I watched the Knicks, it was such a playoff game. Detroit plays great and then all of a sudden New York's like, all right bro, 21 nothing run.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah, that was crazy.

[Jason McIntyre]

What do you make? I know what every Knicks player is and I think I know what Karl Anthony Town is. I've seen him play live three or four times. He is so talented offensively.

[JJ Redick]

Right.

[Jason McIntyre]

They may have to move off him. How do players view Carl Anthony Towns?

[JJ Redick]

I think they view him as an offensive talent, you know, definitely an all star in this league. And you know, those are hard to come by, you know, so still learning. But I saw some growth in this game yesterday. Was it yesterday or the other day like because he's just known as just a head down shooter, scorer.

[Jason McIntyre]

Right.

[JJ Redick]

You know, doesn't see the double teams, doesn't have a high iq, you know, but I saw, I was like, man, he looked like he, he's learning a little bit more. He's making extra plays, these extra passes that I saw that I didn't see him make over the years and that could be scary. Yeah, that could be. He can see it now. He can see it now. I mean he was just a one dimensional player. But if he's going to well round his game and give the effort on the defensive end and give them some grit inside, they gonna be tough.

[Jason McIntyre]

I want to, I want you to talk about, take some time, go back to your first playoff game. So, and I've said this before, most human beings aren't built to be 611. So to ask a 611 guy carrying 245, 255, hey, play hard. 82 games. I mean, I'm exhausted. If I fly from Chicago to LA the next day, I'm exhausted. Yeah, you guys are burning 7,200 calories. You're getting, you're banging around. Your bodies are just, you're just big guys. NFL's got one game a week. Baseball guys sit in a town for five days when they play basketball, hockey, guys, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. And at least in hockey, the ice helps you move. So I always said, NBA guys, you're not getting NFL effort every Tuesday in Orlando, go to your first playoff game as a pro. Were you shocked by the intensity of it?

[JJ Redick]

I wasn't shocked because you don't know what it's about until you're in it, you know. You know what prepared me for this type of intensity? Because I played high level in college, you know, in Kansas. Big games, big games every night. So I kind of knew. But you don't really know until you're there. But there. But I had a sense of urgency once I played my first playoff game and I understood that, like, look, these. You can't waste possessions no more. That's. That's the name of the playoffs. You can't have wasted possessions.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's what Houston had.

[JJ Redick]

Too many wasted possessions. Same thing with the Clippers. Too many wasted. And you have to play with a sense of urgency. So I knew that coming in. And you know, we had a fiery coach at the time, Patino O'Brien at the time, who kind of like. And Antwan, you know, so we were like mentally prepared, but you never really prepared until you get out there after like the first couple minutes, you know, you know that you going to have to raise your intensity and you got to have awareness and you got to play with a sense of urgency. Like, this is the last possession, every single play.

[Jason McIntyre]

Do you know your first playoff game? Do you remember it? It was against the six.

[JJ Redick]

I think I had about 30. 30 and 10, something like that.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, 31, 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals. Who were you guarding?

[JJ Redick]

Man, I was guarding everybody. McKee, Snow. I was guarding Snow a lot.

[Jason McIntyre]

Is that the finals team?

[JJ Redick]

Yes. The next year.

[Jason McIntyre]

Iverson, Snow, McKee.

[JJ Redick]

Yes.

[Jason McIntyre]

Maybe the worst finals team ever.

[JJ Redick]

Tekembe Matambo.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yes.

[JJ Redick]

Yes. Yeah, we played them the next year after they went to the finals. So we made it. My fourth year, we made it to the playoffs.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's Pretty cool.

[JJ Redick]

We went straight to the Eastern Conference finals, too. I thought we were going. I thought we were going to play the Lakers that year. We went up 2. One against Jersey, and then J. Kid happened.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, he happened a lot.

[JJ Redick]

He happened a lot.

[Jason McIntyre]

Paul Pierce. So as we look at everything you've seen, I think we all look at Oklahoma City, and we all know they have a good GM and a good coach, and we know SGA is good. A lot of people, myself included, are like, are they going to win road games? They're really young to beat a team by. What are they beating by 50? When you see OKC, what do you see?

[JJ Redick]

I see a team that look like they thought they should have won the title last year. They look like they want to send a message to the rest of the league because, you know, they were the number one seed last year. They were the number one seed, but they don't get no respect. They're not on national television every day. They don't get the bright lights and all of that. So they had a bunch of young dudes who are looking to earn their respect.

[Jason McIntyre]

They're a feisty team.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah, they're very feisty. And they. They look. They know that nobody. Because we. We go on these shows and be like, who's coming out of West? Well, Oklahoma City won the west by 14, 15 games, and nobody's still picking them.

[Jason McIntyre]

Right.

[JJ Redick]

You know, everybody's like, well, the Lakers go to state, and they like, yesterday they was like, y'all better start saying our name or we gonna make y'all say it.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean, the thing about in Boston did this last year, where Boston had a lot of nights last year, they won the title, but they blew people out.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

And oftentimes the Celtics on the road would go on the road, face a playoff team, blow them out.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oklahoma city won by 16. A lot.

[JJ Redick]

Yeah, a lot.

[Jason McIntyre]

A lot. Paul Pierce, almost 20 years in the NBA. Great stuff as always, Paul. We appreciate it. He's on. Coming up in a couple hours on speak.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[JJ Redick]

70% of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck not black people, not brown people, everybody. And whether you're white, black, red, brown or yellow, you want to see some more green? Can I get an amen? Hey. This is Financial Literacy Awareness Month. Tune in to Money and Wealth with John O'Brien, a podcast that breaks down financial freedom in a way that's real, relatable and rooted in and empowerment. From rebuilding your credit to starting your wealth journey, I give you all the tools to rise. I'm going to break down how the modern economy works. This is what they never taught you in school. You're not dumb and you're not stupid. It's what you don't know that you don't know is killing you, but you think you know. To hear this and more practical wisdom, open your free iHeartRadio app, search money and wealth with John O'Brien and start listening today.

[Steve Kerr]

If money is a taboo topic and nobody wants to talk about it, how can we be educated on something we're unwilling to talk about?

[Jason McIntyre]

April is Financial Literacy Month and Black.

[JJ Redick]

Tech Green Money is where culture meets capital.

[Jason McIntyre]

Each week I sit down with black entrepreneurs and leaders to share their blueprint for building generational wealth through tech innovation and ownership.

[Steve Kerr]

Once we know more, we can have more. One thing we tell our clients is the more that you learn, the more that you earn. But you have to be willing to.

[Jason McIntyre]

Learn to hear this and more game changing insight.

[Steve Kerr]

Listen to Black Tech Green Money on.

[Jason McIntyre]

The iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

The 40s and free agents Podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL Draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And how teams with new coaches should approach the draft.

[Greg Rosenthal]

So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered. Before your favorite team goes on the clock, we'll break it all down. Once all 257 picks have been made.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.