Best of The Herd

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Best of The Herd – April 3, 2026
Host: Colin Cowherd | Guest Co-Host: Rachel Nichols | Special Guest: Mick Cronin

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Overview

This “Best of” episode showcases the day’s biggest sports headlines with a focus on NBA playoff implications, the current NBA MVP race, shifting college basketball dynamics, and deep analysis of the upcoming Final Four. Colin is joined by Rachel Nichols—standing in for J. Mac—and later by UCLA coach Mick Cronin, providing uniquely informed perspectives on both NBA and NCAA basketball. The tone throughout is engaging, insightful, and sometimes candidly skeptical of hype and conventional narratives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lakers vs. Thunder Blowout & the Lakers’ Flaws

Time: 01:06–06:08

• Colin scrutinizes the Lakers’ disastrous performance against Oklahoma City, highlighting how the Thunder’s defense exposed LA’s weaknesses and suggesting the Lakers are not real championship contenders.
• Luka's injury: Luka Doncic limped off in the third quarter (soft tissue issue), and Colin declares this knocks him out of the MVP race and likely costs the Lakers dearly in the short term.
• Thunder’s targeted defense against Luka and Austin Reaves, who, when guarded, allowed OKC shooters to go 70% and 65% (respectively).
• LeBron’s lack of impact: “LeBron was minus 37, a non factor, only took seven shots.” (04:17)
• Colin’s ongoing skepticism about the Lakers overcoming top-tier teams due to their defensive liabilities and overreliance on Luka.

Notable Quote:

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell a fake Louis Vuitton bag from a real one until they’re next to each other.” — Colin Cowherd (02:07)

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2. NBA MVP Debate: Wemby vs. SGA vs. Luka

Time: 01:06–12:35

• Colin sees Wembanyama as his MVP pick, while acknowledging SGA and Luka as strong candidates.
• The Thunder are intentionally “humbling” the Lakers to boost SGA’s MVP case.
• Rachel Nichols later underscores how last night was OKC demonstrating Luka wasn’t ‘all that’ in the MVP race, especially with direct defensive intensity.

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3. College Basketball’s Final Four – Strength & NIL Impact

Time: 06:08–12:01

• Colin celebrates the depth and star power of the 2026 Final Four: Arizona, Michigan, UConn, Illinois.
• He’s bullish on the variety of playing styles at the NCAA level versus the NBA’s homogeneity:

  “When college basketball is doing something, it offers something that the NBA is struggling with. In college basketball, you get a diversity of offense… NBA is homogenous. It’s repetitive. This college basketball is not.” (07:41)

• Analysis of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness): Despite fears, NIL has not disproportionately benefitted only the biggest college programs.
  • 14 out of last 16 Final Four teams are unique; only UConn has consistently returned.
  • Notable upsets and sustained competitiveness across non-traditional powers.

Notable Quote:

“People, especially men and young men that live on the Internet and are pulled in by fear… NIL is big money and big brands, and it’s just a bunch of nonsense.” — Colin Cowherd (08:35)

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4. Interview: Mick Cronin on the Final Four’s Teams & Trends

Time: 16:10–31:32

Illinois

• Elite guards and size, hard to score on at the rim.

  “What the difference for them in the tournament has been… their defense has really stepped up in the NCAA tournament.” — Mick Cronin (17:20)

Arizona

• Young, much improved since early season, don’t rely heavily on threes but can shoot when necessary.

Michigan

• “Virtually unbeatable if they’re hitting threes.” Cronin notes their NBA-level passing and depth.
• NIL credited for keeping top talent in college longer, producing more mature, skilled teams.

UConn

• Cronin lauds their culture, championship DNA, and “fighting spirit.”
• “Imagine they’re playing with a guy with two championships. Caravan, Alex Caravan, has two championships… that just tells you about their DNA in their program.” — Mick Cronin (22:15)

On Tommy Lloyd Staying at Arizona

• Both agree that program alignment is more important than chasing a “bigger job” now:

  “If you’re happy there and you have support… there’s just no point in leaving.” — Mick Cronin (25:24)

On Tough Coaching Styles

• The best players embrace coaching and confrontation; great teams need leaders who want to be pushed.
• Colin & Cronin swap stories about tough coaching and parenting, emphasizing a ‘coachable’ mindset.

Memorable Moment Quote:

“It was a little bit different growing up in our era, Colin. A little bit different than it is now.” — Mick Cronin (31:16)

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5. NBA Playoff Picture Breakdown (East & West)

Time: 33:06–43:32
Rachel Nichols brings her trademark candor and analytical chops, making predictions with nuance:

Eastern Conference

• Pistons vs. Hornets: Rachel picks Pistons, “but it really depends on Cade Cunningham.” (33:06)
• Cavs vs. Hawks: Cavs, with James Harden’s reduced usage being a good fit for playoff stamina.
• Knicks vs. Sixers: Knicks, but Rachel’s “conflicted” due to NY’s inconsistencies and Sixers resurgence.
• Celtics vs. Raptors: Celtics in a probable sweep.
• Conference Final: Celtics easily.

  “Jaylen Brown is going to be in MVP conversation this year… the more you see them play, they’re the class of the conference.” — Rachel Nichols (37:33)

Western Conference

• Thunder vs. Blazers: Sweep for OKC.
• Nuggets vs. Rockets: Nuggets advance; Rockets lack playoff composure.
• Lakers vs. T-Wolves: Rachel picks Lakers with an asterisk—Luka’s health makes it close, but Laker firepower could prevail.
• Spurs vs. Suns: Spurs easily, “I think [Wembanyama’s] going to be a top 10, top 5 player of all time.” (40:14)
• Thunder vs. Nuggets: Rachel edges OKC amidst “little issues” for Denver but praises Jokic.
• Lakers vs. Spurs: Spurs’ youth and Wemby’s drive outweigh Laker experience.
• West Final/Championship: Both Colin and Rachel favor the Spurs, cementing the generational shifting of power.

  “I just love Wembanyama’s focus and the way he’s so determined this season to not just, just do better than last year, but do best.” — Rachel Nichols (41:29)

• Special mention of the Spurs’ record depth: 8 players averaging double figures, “never happened in NBA history.” (42:05)

Notable Finals Prediction:

• Both pick San Antonio Spurs over Boston Celtics in a bold call, declaring “the energy in the NBA, that shift you’re talking about, generationally… if the Spurs can go out and win this, I mean, how great would that be for the league.” — Rachel Nichols (43:13)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Fake vs. Real Louis Vuitton Bag: Colin’s colorful metaphor for Lakers’ pretensions as contenders. (02:07)
• Luka Doncic’s MVP Hopes Fade: “His body just collapsed in the third quarter. And that’s all those minutes.” — Colin (05:32)
• On NIL Fears: “It’s just a bunch of nonsense.” — Colin (08:35)
• On toughness in coaching: “It’s hard to have a really good team if your best players don’t want you to coach him.” — Mick Cronin (29:42)
• Spurs Endorsement: “I’d rather be early than late on this team.” — Rachel Nichols (43:13)

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Key Timestamps

• Laker Meltdown & MVP Talk: 01:06–06:08, 12:01–12:35
• College Basketball & NIL: 06:08–12:01
• Mick Cronin Interview: 16:10–31:32
• NBA Playoff Predictions (East): 33:06–37:56
• NBA Playoff Predictions (West): 38:06–43:32

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Summary

This episode delivers a rich mosaic of critical sports analysis—a brutal autopsy of the Lakers’ playoff viability, spirited NBA MVP debate, an in-depth look at the Final Four and NIL’s true effects on college hoops, and strong, sometimes daring NBA playoff picks. The coaching perspective from Mick Cronin grounds the basketball talk, while Rachel Nichols provides sharp and flexible playoff logic, taking team health, chemistry, and shifting trends seriously. The episode is both a reality check for hype (especially around the Lakers) and an affirmation of basketball’s generational evolution, with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs symbolizing the league’s bright, disruptive future.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Rachel Nichols]

Guaranteed Human.

[Colin Cowherd]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird.

[Rachel Nichols]

What is this, your first date?

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league anyways.

[Colin Cowherd]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Rachel Nichols]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Daniel Alarcon and this is my friend. He's much more famous than I am.

I wouldn't go that far, but I'm

John Green, co host of the podcast

the Away End with my old friend Daniel.

On our podcast the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

Together, we'll find out why. Of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you podcasts.

Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and 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. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is Friday. We have had a great week. Today may be our best. We have all sorts of topics. We're live, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however, wherever you may be listening, thank you for making us part of our day. Rachel Nichols, who really we feel like is part of the staff. J. Mac took the day off. He's got his kids tournaments he's going to. And Rachel steps in, who, for the record, does have an MVP vote in the NBA. We're going to talk about that today because I think the race is Wemby and sga. I like Wemby. Many like sga, some like Luka. But I do think, Rach, I'm going to start with a game Laker fans don't want to talk about. But that was ugly last night. I mean, I took a nap. I was going to stay up and watch it, and I'm about seven minutes in and that was. The Lakers moved Up, let's say in weight class and got knocked out in the first round. And Oklahoma City is led by 30 at half three times this season, twice against the Lakers. And sometimes it's hard to tell a fake Louis Vuitton bag from a real one until they're next to each other. And I think you know what I'm getting at. Once a team wins a championship like the Thunder last year, they don't care as much about the regular season. But here's what the Thunder care about. Humbling the Lakers and going after Luca to get sga, the mvp. They made a point from the very beginning to not only hunt Luca defensively, but make him work for every basket. And before he limped off in the third quarter, he was 1 for 7 on threes. 3 for 10 was six turnovers. They made a point to go after Luka on both ends. And this has been my. I've been preaching this for two months. The Lakers are going to struggle with okc, San Antonio and Minnesota. Austin Reeves will get hunted. Last night, Oklahoma City players shot 70% if Austin Reeves guarded him and 65% if Luca guarded him. So in a nutshell, last night the Lakers got blown out in five minutes. LeBron was minus 37, a non factor, only took seven shots. Austin Reeves got hunted first possession on and. And Luka limped off. So let's stop thinking the Lakers are a championship team. I also think, you know, games like this again when you put him up against the heavyweight champ. The new ownership Group looks at LeBron and wonders, oh, this is. This is a real champion and we're not close. And now Luca is going to have an mri. He's out of the MVP race. He won't qualify. Doubt he plays for two weeks. He also probably won't work out for two weeks. And we've talked about this. He not only in March had his biggest minutes per game average. He leads the NBA in usage rate by a mile. And because the Lakers are a lopsided roster, they really depend on his volume and his minutes and his scoring. He doesn't. You know, let's. Let's be honest. In a game like last night, sometimes you get LeBron with energy, sometimes you don't. And OKC makes Austin Reeves play defense, so you don't get his offensive production. So last night when. When Luca got hurt, it wasn't a collision. It's a soft tissue issue. At halftime, they were working on it. His body just collapsed in the third quarter. And that's all those minutes. So all that stuff we talked about in March and 15 and 2 and I kept saying, guys, the regular season is different if you're a great half court offensive team. It is hard in the regular season to prepare for you on no rest or one night's rest. But having a team face the Lakers, a good team like okc, San Antonio, Denver, night after night after night, seven straight games, they are lopsided. They are so dependent on Lucas offense. And so here was LeBron after the humiliating drubbing last night.

Well, I mean, it's never a time to get comfortable in this league.

Only thing we do know is that we won't be in the playoff. So the play in.

So we have that week.

But I mean health is wealth.

I mean obviously. And like I said, we have. We're already out with Marcus right now and now Luka.

We don't know what the timetable is, but obviously. But

we'll see what happens.

Okay, just, just to show you. And when I turned that game on last night, it had a playoff feel to it. They were all ready to go in Oklahoma City. It was going to be, it was going to be tough. So Luca against the Thunder this season, a great defensive team that hunts him on the defensive end. Luca averages 15 points. Luca shoots 33%, 14 from three. Those are all lowest of any opponent. So I don't care about Luka against the Rockets. They don't have anybody. He has to guard. I don't care about him against Detroit or the Pistons, Portland or. I don't care about that. Minnesota, okc, San Antonio. He has to play defense. Austin Reeves has to play defense. LeBron's got to play defense. You see what happens last night? Fake Louis Vuitton bag. Real Louis Vuitton bag. All right, our final four is set. Saturday is going to be fun. Arizona, Michigan, UConn and Illinois, in my opinion. And you know, as you age, maybe my long term memory fades. It's probably the most stacked final four I ever remember in terms of composition of rosters, elite brands, great head coaches. There are in the first round alone 10 players who will be drafted from those four teams. And I know y' all love the Hoosiers. I know it was a great movie. I loved it too. But I like dunking. I like length, size, quickness, skill. Michigan, Arizona jumps off the television. So when college basketball is doing something, it offers something that the NBA is struggling with. In college basketball, you get a diversity of offense. I mean, Arizona doesn't shoot threes in the NBA you gotta shoot 30, 40, 50. Or if you're the Celtics. Some nights there's 80. It's homogenous. It's repetitive. This college basketball is not. And so one of the things we've talked about is that people were very, very worried is that only the big dogs and the big brands would eat with the Nil. So I went back to the last four Final Fours, including this one, all during the Nil era. Well, what do you know? Going back to 2023-2024-2025-2026, 14 of 16 teams, unique. Only UConn keeps showing up. Yes. No Rich Kentucky. No North Carolina. No Texas Longhorns or Aggies with all that oil money. People, I'll be honest, a little social commentary here. People, especially men and young men that live on the Internet and are pulled in by fear and grievance. It's fear mongering. They don't like when people financially separate from them and they just, you know, they're on the Internet too long and they're afraid of everything that is pulling away from them. And NIL is big money and big brands, and it's just a bunch of nonsense. Indiana Hoosiers just won a national championship in football. Iowa low nil team, had a great tournament run. Knocked off big money. Florida. The only team that keeps coming back to this thing pre nil and post nil, is the great Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies. And he can't wait for tomorrow.

They deserve to have, you know, a good 24, 36 hours of joy. It was an incredible moment, incredible accomplishment to get here. But, you know, at UConn, we, you know, we're about rings and banners and, you know, we don't hang banners for Final Fours, and you don't get rings for getting to the Final Four. You gotta watch. So, you know, we're locked in on Illinois right now.

Record ratings, record revenue, loaded rosters. Kids staying in school longer now, getting better coaching from the Tom Izzos and the Rick Patinos. Not G League coaches and kids finally getting paid for all the hours they put into it. Nil's great. Like the ABS system in baseball. 9 out of 10 things about it are unbelievable. Yeah, it needs more guidelines. It's a little wild. Wild West. You're not sure where all the money's coming from. Somebody's got a good bank in Switzerland. But this is a great, great Final Four. Fantastic. Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, that doesn't shoot threes. Yukon, the powerhouse. No. Kentucky. No. Carolina. Duke almost got there and didn't. All right, Rachel, you know, it's really interesting watching last night because I do think, and I've talked about this before, the NBA season is long and I think if you're a skilled offensive team, you're very hard to prepare for in the regular season. I mean LeBron Austin, Luca Ayton walk into town and if, you know, you have a five, ten minute film session and it's very hard to ask your players in an 82 regular season game schedule to play great defense every night. The travels, you know, it's the whole country and college basketball, 35 games, NBA 82. So I do think great defensive teams sometimes don't wow us in the regular season, then you get to the playoffs. But it felt like to me watching last night, this was one of the three or four regular season games that OKC said, okay, we're going to play playoff defense.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Didn't it feel like that to you?

[Rachel Nichols]

Oh, absolutely. Just the energy, the swarmingness. Also, there's been a big conversation over the last month of is Luka catching up to SGA in the MVP race? And this was a way for them to show oh, he's not all that. I think they really took that defensive challenge against him even before he got hurt. And it also works on the fl. The Lakers have had success defensively by mixing in a lot of zone over the last few months and you can't play as much zone in the playoffs because teams again have that extra 24, 36 hours to prepare for you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good stuff. So we've been waiting in the NBA for the baton to be passed or taken from LeBron, Steph and KD. You watched last night and the last week and it's official and we'll talk about that next. We're live in Chicago. She's live in la. It's the Hurt. 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 me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the streets.

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[Rachel Nichols]

Hey everyone.

[Colin Cowherd]

Check out this guy and his bird.

[Rachel Nichols]

What is this, your first date?

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Colin Cowherd]

Anyways, only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Rachel Nichols]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Colin Cowherd]

I've said this in last couple years you know, sports are cyclical. Outside of the NFL, which just keeps getting more popular. College football got very, very regional, very Alabama Georg. And now it's, it's much broader. College basketball, I think in the last three years, there's just so much talent, the size of college teams, Quickness is no longer the name of the game. It's just get big. Be like Illinois and Michigan, just get big. Mick Cronin, his Bruins faced all four of these teams in the Final Four with different results. He's joining us now live. 22 years coaching in college basketball, won 70% of his games. UCLA and everywhere. Okay, let, let's, with Illinois, that was one of the wildest games of the year in the Sport. It was 95, 94. You beat him by a point. Your guards, their bigs, you know, it was just a wildly entertaining game. Is there a secret to beating Illinois, Mick, or do you just have to acknowledge they're going to score on you? They're big. I mean when you, when you beat him, did you go into that game thinking, listen, this is going to be a high scoring game, it's just the way they play.

Yeah, Colin, I thought it was going to take 80 to beat them for sure. Look, they're so well put together with Vogler at the point as a, an elite freshman. So you have the NBA guy checked. You have Kylan Boswell, the senior grizzled vet guard. You got that box checked. You got shooters all around checked. You got two 7 foot 2 guys rotating in the middle checked. And a great coach and Brad Underwood and Stojakovic is a great slashing wing. They just got great components. What the difference for them in the tournament has been. As you guys know, their defense has really stepped up in the NCAA tournament. They don't give up twos at the rim. You gotta make shots to beat them. And we were able to make double digits, three double digit threes and obviously a last second basket to beat them. But it's really hard to score on them at the rim.

Okay, so you narrowly lost to Arizona in a more normal game, 69, 65. But you held buries and, and co opied, you held those guys to single figures. They did not play particularly well. So Arizona, a lot of people think Arizona could win this whole thing. You had success against two of their stars and that game was different tempo. Talk a little about Arizona and the success you had slowing them down a little bit.

Well, in fairness, playing them, and I believe it was late November, you got, you got three freshmen starting right there's so much better now. Braden Burry is played himself into the top 10 of the NBA draft. Cart Shenkov is also going to be an NBA player and co opied's gotten better as well. So again they checked the box with senior grizzled point guard and Bradley and look there are two big guys. Toby Iwako and Mo Crevas are big time strong guys now and look we play every year and obviously we played more than that in the PAC 12. So we know each other. So our games tend to be uglier grinded out games but they're so much better than they were Colin back in November. It's not like when I watch them play like they don't shoot a lot of threes but. But buries Karchenkoff and Del Orso. They can do it when they need to do it. You can't just not guard those gu. They may. They may be the most complete team right there with Michigan. I think as you see the Ken Palm thing where they. Yeah, they're two of the best. They're two of the best four teams in the last 25 years from metrically.

Yeah. So you played Michigan. It was your worst loss of the year. It was also Gonzaga's worst loss. My take on I watched them last week live. I went to the United center and I was upstairs. So their passing feels like an NBA team. Their size is excellent if they're hitting shots. To me as a college team they're virtually unbeatable if they're hitting threes. I mean sometimes there's just a team coach and you're just like guys, I'm not sure we match up. Did it feel a little bit like that with Michigan?

Yeah, it was 40:38 at the half and again I know you got to get 80 to beat them and you know we weren't able to keep scoring with them in the second half. They're so hard to contain offensively because they can beat you in so many ways. And look, Yoxel is a guy that would pre nil. He's in the NBA. Colin.

Right, right.

You know he is not in. And that's. And you mentioned, you know as we let in. Right. College basketball has gotten so much better in the last four years because guys aren't making mistakes by going pro too soon and it's going to elongate their NBA career by doing it. It's good for the players as well. Not just that they're making money. You don't have guys making mistakes going out too soon trying to get to so. But he is. He is so good. I mean, he's the best player in the final four. And then you put, you know, Amara And Johnson are first round picks around them. And look Trey McKinney off the bench. Like when you bring guys going to play in the NBA off the bench, which Michigan does. Trey McKinney will play in the NBA someday. That's how good they are. I agree with you. They're going to be a tough out for anybody. But look, Arizona is really good.

So you lost a UConn. You know, it's funny so because I used to live in Connecticut, I follow UConn and I watched them throughout the year. They had a bad loss to Marquette, but, you know, I. All year. My takeaway is they need another guy. I don't, you know, they got an old school big Taurus Reed. He's an old school big. So I appreciate that. Are you surprised they beat you guys? Are you surprised they're here or when you played them, did you say, well, they're physical, they're UConn, they're well coached. Do you kind of thought they may end up here?

Yeah, there's no surprise to me. I thought Duke, obviously, you know, Duke dominated most of that game, but, you know, it's college basketball and anything can happen. And in this case, it did. At the end of the game. I didn't think that they would get blown out. One thing about UConn and I don't know how far it's going to carry them, like their fighting spirit of. In their culture that Coach early has built there is so good. Imagine they're playing with a guy with two championships. Caravan, Alex. Caravan has two championships. I don't know. I mean, is Kareem. I mean, Coach Wooden's guys were the last guys to be playing for their third championship. So I mean, that just tells you like about their DNA in their program is so deep. I mean, they just, you know, they're not going to go quietly into the night. You're going to have to play to the final Buzzer to beat UConn. But I think Illinois's got better.

So do I. That's what I think. I think. I'll tell you, I want to talk Keaton Wagler, the guard who came from Kansas. Nobody recruited him. Minnesota did and Illinois did. And he got onto campus. And Brad Underwood told me this week, you know, when he was playing around in the summer, the players on the team said, coach, you got to come see this kid is something else. Have you ever had a Guy like that. Because I, it's funny, the Dallas Mavericks have the sixth pick. I said, if you put him with Cooper flag. Oh my Lord. Have you ever had a kid that came onto your campus, whether it was Murray State, Cincinnati, ucla, and you're like, he is way better than we thought.

Not to that extent. I've had some guys that have been better than you thought they were going to be, but very rarely. His parents are quoted as saying when they dropped him off to redshirt his freshman year, when they dropped him off at school, and I think they both played college basketball and they, they were all for it. You very rarely look, he's probably nil wise, their lowest paid guy turns out to be your best player. It's a great story, you know, and good for him. He seems like an unbelievable kid. He's humble, but with his size and skill and he just plays with great pace. UConn's going to challenge him physically. The one thing that playing UConn last week up close, they're really physical with your guards. And we had great guards this year at ucla and they threw our guards off with their physicality. But he's handled it. I mean, he's played in the Big Ten all year.

You know, Tommy Lloyd announced today he's staying at Arizona. And my take was there's so much fluidity to the sport now with Nil and transfer portal that if you can get a good job and you, you're aligned with your administration, you don't want to. I mean, I'm for mobility, but there's so much mobility in the sport now that I think you're better served as a coach that just stopped job hopping. If you got a Good job, top 15, just stay there. Are you surprised Tommy Lloyd stayed or. Or do you kind of agree? I mean, maybe you see it differently.

No, no, I told you're right on the money. Look, very rarely does do power coaches hop to other power schools. And if you have the Nil support and you have the administrative support, I think the only reason you would see somebody leave is lack of alignment with the administration. Right. Because why else would you go to think you can get better players? Like, you know, I coach him alma mater Cincinnati, 13 years. A long time. But honestly, I thought I'd be able to get better players. There was no Nil, there was no portal. UCLA is ucla. You know, I mean, you know how it is. You lived in la, I mean, Westwoods, Bel Air, like it's such an advantage in recruiting. But then Nil comes along and that now it's all business. So North, North Carolina is a great job and they're going to get a great coach, but it's not what it used to be as far as the advantages, the advantage. You can have the same advantages at Texas Tech, you know, in Lubbock, Texas, if you have the money. So you don't. If you're happy there and you have support, especially if you have alignment, your administration is on the same page. That's really important with, you know, it'd be no different than an NBA coach with his front office and his owner. When you have that good relationship, there's just no point in leaving.

Okay, Michigan, Arizona. I think Arizona is going to have to shoot some threes to win. They don't necessarily. I like Michigan. Your thoughts?

Yeah, I say pick them. I think everybody thinks what you're thinking about Arizona. You know, they're. They're going to have to make threes. They're going to have to make threes. And what I would tell you is they do when they need to. They just don't settle for threes. So what Tommy does. They put so much pressure on the rim and the paint on every possession that Colin, when they shoot them, they're usually wide open. They don't shoot first pass threes and transition. They don't shoot desperation or hard shots from three. It's usually because you've helped so much in the paint that those guys are now playing horse on the outside and they can make them. Karchenkoff's gotten way better. Like we said, Braden Burries is a different player. He's a lottery pick and even Avery Bradley can make them so. And then Del Orso comes in. So I don't think that'll be their problem. You know what simple could this. Games like this could come down to free throws or foul trouble in a one game shot. You know, if somebody has bad night at the line like Kansas did against Syracuse. I think back in the day when, when coach Boeheim won his title, Kansas missed like 15 to 17 free throws in that game. So it could come down to foul trouble as well because there's going to be a lot of physicality at the rim in this game and officiating is going to be important.

I like Illinois over Yukon. Close. Your thoughts?

Yeah, I think it's going to be a low scoring game. I think Illinois defense has really improved and I believe in UConn's defense and their toughness. The question is going to be for me, Taurus reed has carried UConn Colin on the interior.

Yeah.

But he's playing against two seven foot two guys.

Yeah.

That he hasn't seen. And is he going to be able to bull rush them and power power layups and he had 26 last game. I mean, if he can't score inside, UConn's in trouble because they really need that because that's kind of how they're built. It's from him on out. And you know, because Caravan is. He's got to get shots off screens and off of you doubling down on Taurus Reed. So if they're able to stop Reed, it's going to really sway in UConn's or in Illinois's favor.

Finally, I asked Tom Izzo about this when he was on. I said, you know, Tom, with the nil and the Portal, does it change the way it coached. Can you yell a little less? I've always said the best players ever like, like confrontation. They, they kind of like it. Your thoughts on. And Patino Hurley, you know, most of the great coaches use volume. What's your take on that?

Yeah, it's an interesting phenomenon that people have focused so much on on the way people coach, you know, delivery. What I would tell you is, for instance, you know, I like, I have got on my team Eric Daly now it's like he's. Every year coach, you got to be. You got to get honest more. Like, we're better when you're honest. Jaime Hawkes, I mean, he was all about it, like, all about it at all times. You know, Tiger Campbell, just great toughness. So I couldn't agree with you more. It's hard to have a really good team if your best players don't want you to coach him. You remember this story where Kareem had the bad game against Boston, sat in a film session, he told Pat Riley, come on, give it to me. Just give it all to me. You know, don't hold back. And then he came back and like he had saw the fountain of youth and dominated the next game. And that's why he's Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Yeah. That Jason Tatum jokes that he had a game. Krzyzewski came in at half and the whole halftime with Shashevsky on Tatum. Tatum scored 28 in the second half at Duke. And he's like, you know, he's like, it just. He doesn't do it much to me, but about once a year, twice a year. And I, I, you know what, dad? My dad got mad at me one time. He told me, Mick, he Was going, I gotta tell this story. I don't think I've ever told this story. So my dad was going to work. He was an optometrist. He had the white jacket on and he was going to move the sprinkler in the yard. And he said, tiger, squeeze the. Squeeze it. So that. And my dad got to it and I let it go. And the sprinkler nailed my dad at 7 in the morning. Mick. I never did that again. I never did that again.

I'm sure you didn't. Well, I can tell you, my dad's the greatest of all time. I had great parents and I wouldn't be here if he wasn't hard on me, I can tell you. You know, there's some stories. It was a little bit different growing up in our era, Colin. A little bit different than it is now.

Great seeing you, Coach.

You too. Thanks for having me.

You bet. Yeah. You know, Rachel, I. To this day, dad went out there and he was moving that sprinkler and I don't know what got into me and I let it go and it just started. Oh, he was. Glasses, jacket. But I never did it again. I was coachable. I made a mistake and I was coachable. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. So I had said a couple. Maybe it was last week I said, I think there's only three teams that can win it. Spurs, Celtics and OKC. OKC's defense, spurs depth is insane. And Wemby and I think the Celtics offensive efficiency, they just don't commit turnovers. It's a very clean, smart Jalen Brown and Tatum, very heady guys. So it's a very clean, smart, efficient team. They don't have a real weakness. They got a little old with Horford and Porzingis and they moved off them. Now they're younger, little, you know, more nimble in the front court. So I really like the Celtics. So Rachel, she's got an MVP vote. She is in arenas all over this country on a regular basis. We always have to call and say, hey, are you available? If not, she's in somewhere on a plane going to this. So let's start. We can have a little light NBA music. Let's start with the Eastern Conference. I'll set it up for you. All right, Pistons, one seed, Hornets, eight seed. Who do you like and why?

[Rachel Nichols]

I'm putting an asterisks on my pick here. I have The Pistons coming out of this. But it really depends on Cade Cunningham. The expectation is he's back for the playoffs, but with a collapsed lung. It's not like you can do conditioning in the meantime. Right. If you have like a shoulder injury, you can still run in the meantime. You can't do that when you have a collapsed lung. So I'm very curious to see what he looks like when he comes back because even though this is the number two rated defense in the NBA, he's what makes that offense run. Without him, the Hornets have been spicy, man. Colin, I don't know how much you've been paying attention. They are 258 in their last 33 games, and that's, by the way, like 40% of the season. So if Cade isn't himself or if he certainly isn't back, I might go back on this. But for now, I gotta say Pistons for that one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, they're a better defensive team. They're very physical team, I think. I think Carolina's been a great story. I don't think they're ready to beat Detroit. I think Detroit's just got. Just got a little more time tested. So I'll take Detroit. Okay. Cavs, Hawks. I never know what to make of this Cavs team. Cavs, Hawks, what do you got?

[Rachel Nichols]

I'm going to go Cavs here. No asterisks, no reservations. I mean, the Hawks have had some plucky moments this season, but I like the idea of James Harden on this Cavaliers team. I'll continue to talk about this through this segment, but we've seen Harden run out of gas in the playoffs right when he's had this crazy high usage rate during the season. He's now not going to be the primary offensive guy and he wasn't with Kawhi, but Kawhi was in and out during the playoffs because of injuries. Donovan Mitchell has had a rock star season. I just saw them the other night and I'm curious to see what James can do next to Donovan. They obviously have some strong defensive play there, you know, with the big guys. So I think this will actually be pretty easy for the Caps to handle this first round.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right. Knicks very reliant in their starting five. Not much bench scoring. Don't generate free throws attempts either. So they, they, they need Jalen, Brunson and Cat to deliver. They take on the Sixers. I like New York. What say you?

[Rachel Nichols]

I like New York, but I gotta tell you, I am conflicted about this one because New York has not beaten a team with a Winning record in nearly a month. Colin and the floor just fell out on them the other night versus Houston. They didn't look good against the Thunder. They're having some of the stagnation issues they had last year. They're still. Seems to be a bit of a roll thing with Kat. What does he do? And Brunson's undergone some criticism and all of that. So. Look, Philadelphia certainly has looked so much better in recent weeks. They've got all their guys back. Joel's sick right now, but in general, Paul George had 40 points the other night. Yeah, I just. I got to give the Knicks the edge. They were the preseason pick to come out of this conference, but this is going to be very spicy and I think it's going to be one of the most fun first round matches.

[Colin Cowherd]

Number two in offensive efficiency. Celtics and the Raptors. Pretty obvious here, right?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah. I mean, look, I'm picking the Celtics. Come out of the East. We'll see that in a minute. And I don't think this is going to be. If it's not a sweep, it might be a gentleman's one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Okay, then we go back to the top, the number four. Now we go Pistons, Cavs again. If Cade's healthy, I like Detroit. What about you?

[Rachel Nichols]

I'm going to go with the Cavs on this one. I'm not going to pick them to win the East. You'll see that. But I do think that this is a stronger team than people think. And I do think if Jarrett Allen can stay healthy and in there, I think that they will do some damage here. And the Pistons just. They still don't have quite the offense that they need to get as far in the playoffs as I think their fan base deserves. And I'm interested to see what they do in the offseason because I don't think they were at their best at the trade deadline. And I think the Cavs will come out of this winners.

[Colin Cowherd]

So again, the Knicks are very reliant on their starting five. They don't get to the free throw line. They don't have a lot of points in the paint. Kind of depends on if Brunson and Cat are hot sometimes. Cat won't be in the game late. I think this. I don't like the matchup here for New York against Boston, do you?

[Rachel Nichols]

I do not. And look, you know, New York was legitimately beating the Celtics last season when Jayson Tatum got hurt. So I think they would have won that playoff series anyway. But this is a different year, different teams, different coach. And I just think the way Tatum has so seamlessly come back in is shot making isn't exactly what it used to be, but that doesn't have to be that way. I'm picking the Celtics in this one and I'm. I'm not. I'm not conflicted about that one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Lot of talent. Boston and Cleveland in the Eastern Conference final. Again, you just. Tatum and Brown had been in so many big games. They. I think they had the fewest turnovers in the league. They're a clean team if they're. They're like Michigan basketball if they're shooting well. I mean, they could win this thing in four or five games. Your thoughts on it?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they have an elite coach. They have elite players. Jaylen Brown is going to be an MVP conversation this year. Tatum, obviously, we know what he can do and it is boring, Colin, when they just launch all these three after threes, but it is effective. The math problem we talk about in the NBA, three is worth more than two. I think that they will be able to overpower anyone that they see in the east. And they're just. I mean, the more you see them play, they're the class of the conference.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep. All right, let's go to the west, which is considered certainly middle up the better conference number one Thunder against the Blazers. Is it a sweep? What do you think?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yes. I never like to say sweep. You never know. People can be gritty, but man, the Thunder are all about their business. You saw that last night and they are just so consistent. They've got a bunch of injured players who've come back and I see this as a super easily handleable series for them.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. Denver, if they're healthy, is a handful. I think they could end up in the conference finals. Houston has a big issue, whereas they don't have a true point guard. They're bad in clutch situations and you're not not blowing Denver out. Rockets are a fun team for me to watch, but they're also frustrating. Who do you like here?

[Rachel Nichols]

Nuggets, certainly. I mean, look, the Rockets did have another great win the other night over the Knicks, but I just don't think when you face Nicola Jokic and Jamal Murray when he's in the playoffs and the way that team has gotten more depth this year. I picked the Nuggets pretty easily in this one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. I think the most interesting first round series in either conference is Lakers T Wolves. Now, you know Ant is going to hunt down Austin Reaves in Luka. There's a little wild Card here. How many games does Luka play in the series? With the hamstring he possibly won't be in great shape when he plays. I think it's a really, really interesting series. I think JJ Redick's a better coach today than he was a year ago today. I think it's a close series. What do you think?

[Rachel Nichols]

I think it's close and I'm putting an asterisk on my Lakers pick because of the Luka factor. But I, I don't, I actually don't think that if Luka is at full strength he's. This is going to be as close as you do. We'll have to see who's right. But you know the Lakers have handled the Timberwolves all season. I think they're 30 against them and the last time that they played the Timberwolves couldn't shoot their way out of a paper bag. I just think over time a seven game series, the Lakers offensive firepower will win out in this one. But it will be close for sure and it could go six or seven games and if Lucas hurt then absolutely. I see Anthony Edwards running rough shot there.

[Colin Cowherd]

Phoenix was good for them. Surprisingly interesting this year. I mean we thought it was a tire fire for Phoenix about a year ago. We're like. And they actually played their butts off. The chemistry was good. Good luck against the Spurs. What's the series going to look like by the way?

[Rachel Nichols]

I'm going to recommend that the, the Suns marketing staff put that on a poster to season ticket holders. Colin Cowherd, Phoenix. Good for them. But yeah, I totally agree with you. Look, I have been very impressed with what they have done this season. Devin Booker is a pro man, he is just so good. But I don't think they would stand a chance in this. And you know I've been on Victor Wembanyama before he even got drafted. I think he's going to be a top 10 top 5 player of all time and he is out for blood in this playoffs for sure.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, okc, Denver, Denver, your thoughts?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, I'm going to go with OKC here. Just Denver. You know there's been enough little issues and little tells. Now these guys had a great playoff series last season. It could have gone either way. I got to give the Thunder the edge. Reigning champions, just all the sort of complete play that they have. But Nikola Jokic, man, I still think if, you know, if he's not the best player in the NBA he's one of two. So I think this will be another six or seven gamers.

[Colin Cowherd]

I also think okc, you saw it last night, will shift gears. I think once you win a title, you don't get the true team in the regular season. I think OKC is going to shift gears and going to look clearly in that series better. Lakers, spurs, again, wildly entertaining. A lot of veteran Laker players, very young spurs team. What do you got?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, I'm going Spurs on this one. I know a lot of Lakers fans, especially before last night, were like, oh, we could beat the Spurs. You know, we could probably beat the Thunder. I don't think so. I mean, again, look, we'll see. And it's fun to have a big offensive output series if that's what this turns out to be. And I would trust Luka in the last 30 seconds of any game. That being said, I just so firmly believe in the spurs team. If anybody can break the sort of NBA truism of you gotta fail in the playoffs to win in the playoffs, I think it's this team. And I just love Wembanyama's focus and the way he's so determined this season to not just, just do better than last year, but do best.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So the spurs for the record have eight players averaging double figures. In the history of the NBA, that has never happened. So their depth is unbelievable. They also have the greatest defensive player of all time, Wemby. I like San Antonio over OKC in a six game series. What say you?

[Rachel Nichols]

It's you and me in the dark, Colin. I am with you. And we are pretty much the only ones. Most people you know looking at this matchup will pick the Thunder. I'm with you. I think that the spurs, obviously we saw what they did to Oklahoma City this season. I think they won three out of four and I just think Wemby is unanswerable. And I actually think the longer a series go, the more advantage he has. The strength of playing against Wemby right now is you can throw him things he hasn't quite seen before.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep.

[Rachel Nichols]

That's not going to happen for three or four games in a row because he will have seen it and then he adjusts and he's shown that over and over again.

[Colin Cowherd]

Finally, this would be a great final. The very young emerging spurs against the veteran Boston Celtics. I think this will be now this is where Boston has an advantage. Missoula's been there, the roster's been there. I think it's a really good series. I probably go San Antonio. You?

[Rachel Nichols]

I'm going San Antonio. I'm going to I'm, I'm, I'm this. I'd rather be early than late on this team. And you know, I think super highly of the Celtics, but I'd love to see the energy in the NBA that shift you're talking about. Generationally, if the spurs can go out and win this, I mean, how great would that be for the league and to have Wemby just sort of reigning over it all.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And Stefan Castle, since the all Star break, is shooting the lights out on the three point shot. He's always had every other element to his game. Defense, aggressive, can finish at the rim. Stefan Castle is on an absolute two month heater from the perimeter. And I think that is the difference because Boston's going to have those games when they are on fire. You got to have somebody to match them. I don't worry about the spurs on the interior. Rachel Nichols filling in today for. You were great. Thank you so much on late notice for filling in. Absolutely Great stuff. Nice shows. Good, good week. Mick Cronin stopped by. Daniel Jeremiah. You know, the draft next week, we really start getting closer to the draft. The NBA playoffs are around the corner. We'll keep you updated on Luka Doncic and that situation. Mri. We'll wait for results. We'll see you Monday.

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Rachel Nichols]

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