← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - LeBron Is The “Soul” Of The Lakers, NBA Can’t Avoid Tanking, Does OKC Have A Weakness? Flagg Is The Next Tatum,
00:53:21
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
Welcome to a day in the life of an AMEX gold card member 7:00am Iced coffee with up to $84 back annually at Dunkin locations. Mmm 12:00 pesto zoodles with 4 times membership rewards points on purchases at US restaurants up to $50,000. This is so good. And to finish strong, the freshest sushi spot with up to $100 back annually on eligible purchases at US resi restaurants. What a day. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Cap applies. Learn more@americanexpress.com withamx you can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile, keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Require card has no cash access and expires in six months. Yo, what's good? It's Jeff C from Club 520 podcast here to share my latest fresh take on the 2025 NCAA tournament. Brought to you by Wendy's, the official.
- [01:15]
Jason Timpf
Hamburger of March Madness.
- [01:17]
Colin Cowherd
This past weekend was a great round 32. I had the best game of the year. Had to be the Maryland versus Colorado State game. It ended with a game winner. It was exciting.
- [01:27]
Jason Timpf
Derrick Queen Good shot.
- [01:28]
Colin Cowherd
Looking ahead to the Sweet 16. I'm really looking forward to watching Arkansas versus Texas Tech. I'm looking forward to it because it's similar styles. They both play hard defense, they both.
- [01:37]
Jason Timpf
Greedy teams and they play in the post. It should be a battle for the ages.
- [01:40]
Colin Cowherd
I'm also looking forward to the Duke vs. Arizona game. Both elite programs. Legendary status.
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Jason Timpf
It should be a battle that we.
- [01:47]
Colin Cowherd
All looking forward to. Probably be the game of the night. And when it comes to the Final Four, I'm all in on Duke and Houston. Two great coaches, two legendary programs. Should be exciting for their road to the Final Four. More from me soon. But while you're watching the games, remember the freshest deal in fast foods gotta be Wendy's right now. You can get a junior bacon cheeseburger or a double stack for $1 with the in app offer and purchase. Again. Head to the Wendy's app to grab.
- [02:10]
Jason Timpf
A $1 Junior bacon cheeseburger or a $1 double stack with the in app.
- [02:15]
Colin Cowherd
Offer and a purchase for the freshest hamburger around. Gotta be Wendy's, the official hamburger of March Madness.
- [02:21]
Jason Timpf
We live in a divided country, and our media couldn't be more polarizing. 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. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. 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.
- [02:45]
Colin Cowherd
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson.
- [02:46]
Jason Timpf
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or.
- [02:49]
Colin Cowherd
Wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume well, I've said it before. Fubo is one of my favorite ways to watch sports. College basketball, NBA, it doesn't matter what the sport is. FuboTV delivers. I watch it constantly on airplanes. If I'm in my car and I'm driving and I want to stay up to date in the game. Fubotv.com Colin you will get $50 off for two months of FuboTV and the Masters is going to be on it. Major League Baseball is going to be on it. It's just in my life I can't always be in front of a but I want to stay up to date on what's happening in sports. Fubotv.com Colin 50 bucks off two months. Fubo. Well, you're going to hear him more regularly now over the next seven weeks. Jason Timp, host of Hoops Tonight as we get very close to the playoffs, the young teams OKC and Houston still playing their ass off and the old teams are resting and retreating. So you get, you know, March is such a weird month for the NBA as you watch college basketball and playing a walt dispatch. I want to start with a little college basketball. So you know, the minute Michigan State got down 10, it's over because they can't shoot threes. They're like 318th on field, goals made, three pointers made like it's over. But all four teams are great defensive teams. Houston, Duke, Auburn, Florida. And my take is you have to be in college basketball. Even St. John's has no shooters. So the truth is in the game, like when you watch Duke, you're like, oh yeah, that's Cooper. Flag could play in the NBA right now at 18. Like he's that good. Not LeBron good at 18, but he's really, really good. Any big takeaway from college basketball? I've never understood why college basketball fans want less talented teams in the Final Four. They all root for Cinderella And I'm like, I'm supposed to be bummed out because Duke and Houston are playing like what are we talking about here? Any thoughts from you?
- [04:57]
Jason Timpf
The problem is is that to your point, in order to go on a deep run in the tournament, you have to be great on defense.
- [05:04]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [05:05]
Jason Timpf
And the skill level is just so dramatically low compared to the NBA that when that high level defense is played, it's really hard to create shots. Honestly, it was one of the few reasons why I was actually a little optimistic about Arizona going into this tournament is I was like, Caleb Love is a grown up who can score and they're great defense and if they pair those two together they can, they can make some noise. Cooper Flag's been fun. You know Colin, I was talking with Josh Goldman before the show today and he was like, hey, let's talk a little Cooper Flag. And so I was watching some film of him from the tournament and you know the guy he actually kind of reminds me of, and I mean this sincerely as a compliment, is Jason Tatum.
- [05:47]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [05:48]
Jason Timpf
He projects to be a big strong forward at his position who has a ton of attributes, none of which are like eye popping. Like he's a good athlete, but he's not this earth shattering athlete. He's got a good first step, not a great first step. He protects to be a good shooter, not an elite shooter. He can do stuff on the ball but he can also operate like he did against Arizona as a screen and roll threat for a while. He just is super versatile and can do all these different things and I think of him as that type of player with almost a little bit more upside just simply because I that Cooper Flag's motor runs hotter than a guy like Tatum who can kind of lack that from time to time. But overall like I was watching him and it's just one of those like no brainer type of draft picks where it's like there's no like giant red flag that would get you off of him. I, I look at him as just a shoe in, you know, 15 to 20 year all star type of pro.
- [06:45]
Colin Cowherd
This is what I have said. I think he's Jason Tatum with a little nastiness to him. He, he likes to finish. He, he'll be a better finisher early in his career. Tatum sometimes now, not this year, ne but there are times in Tatum's career he's let the game come to him and Cooper's more aggressive. Cooper's going to take the game to you and he's. And even in college where even Michael Jordan, in college, you know, you play within the system. You have the coach and the brand. Cooper will take it over. Cooper on a break, he'll be like, I'm going to take this. And I mean, there's even the story about Jayson Tatum's dad saying, yeah, I wish my son, you know, played with a little more edge. But I look at Cooper flag as a B plus at everything, A minus at everything. Nothing is wow. Now, I do think Jayson Tatum, there are some things. Now he's getting close to a material. First of all, his durability. He's hurt recently. He's never hurt. He's got. I mean, the guy just plays a lot of minutes, a lot of games, and he plays hard all the time. And I do think Jayson Tatum has heard people criticize him about kind of an apathy at times in big moments. And I think he's course corrected. I think he's been more aggressive this year when I've watched him. So I think he's been. This is the best Jason Tatum I've seen, but it's exciting. I've said this before. I love the NBA. So obviously during the football season, I don't talk it much, but by late January, I start watching. By mid February, I'm watching every night. And my take is what we need is more great players ready to play out of big, big college brands. I think the NBA thought they could do it themselves with the G League. And then they kind of realized, you know, college basketball is really popular, especially in March. And I've said this before you go, you go make 300,000 in the G League or get 3 million doll marketing playing for North Carolina, Arizona or Duke. Take the marketing. And by the way, those guys have chefs. All of them. Gonzaga chefs swag 20 pair of shoes like it's. It's a pretty good life in college. It may not be as good as the G League, but I would argue Duke's campus and what you get from the coaching down the chefs is just as good as the G League for one year. Then it's exponentially better because of all the marketing. We don't know who Zion is. Without Duke, I have no idea. So I think college basketball fortifying the NBA helps. I mean, let's be honest. The reason, I mean, NFL has these college legends. Baker Mayfield is a brand the minute he lands. Like, it was pretty rare that Zion was a brand day one. I mean, NFL gives you about three of those a year, four of those a year. Quarterbacks are like, oh, yeah, I know all about, you know, Cam Ward and Shadour Sanders. They're brands right now. They'll sell tomorrow. So I, I think I made a mistake. I overthought it. I took Arizona beating Duke. I think Duke's going to win it though. Anybody. You're.
- [09:38]
Jason Timpf
You, you like, I would say Houston's looked really good. I've been disconnected from college hoops relative to most people because I just dive headlong into the NBA.
- [09:49]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [09:49]
Jason Timpf
That said, yeah, I, I would say Duke or Houston. I, I like the point you made about, about Tatum and his durability. I saw that clip going around social media while I was traveling this weekend and I'm so glad you emphasized that because that such an underrated element in this era as everyone's trying to grind through the regular season and all these teams are so good. You know, I, I look, I was listening to Pete and Darius from Laker Film Room while I was on my plane today, and they were talking about last week's games and they were talking about how in the future, as the Lakers are planning for what they're going to be doing, they need to bank on, you know, LeBron and Luka both missing 20 games. Yes. And when they said that, I was sitting there thinking, I was like, it's insane that like, Luca is going to be 26 next year and we, it feels like a safe bet that he's going to miss somewhere between 15 and 20 games. Like, that's a, that's a fourth of the season and, and that in it. And it makes it so much harder night in and night out. I mean, look at the injuries and the way the Lakers spiraled under the injuries to their front court over the last couple of weeks. And so again, when you're looking at Tatum, I think Jokic is another great example of this. I think Shay Gilders Alexander is another example of this. The dudes where you can book them for 75 plus games, they just give you such a high floor as you go through the regular season. And I think it is definitely an underrated trait, but I've enjoyed watching the college hoops, you know, in the casinos and stuff as I'm walking around Vegas this last weekend. The intensity is just another level. You mentioned it as like a breeding ground for like big personalities in the NBA. I also just think of it as just a great place for a basketball player to develop. You know, one of the things we talk about the playoffs is like, oh, the refs make it more physical. It's not that the players make it More physical. Everything's on the line. Finally, for 82 games, they're. They're just getting through it. And then you put the Larry O'Brien on the line, and you have to win those games. They rotate. They're in help side defense. They're making all these efforts that are inconsistent in the regular season. You want to know why college basketball looks so ugly sometimes? They're incredibly well coached, and they play every possession like it's the last possession they're ever going to play. So you see these loaded up. Help side defenses, the rotations. There's you. Everything that looks like an open 3. The dude sprinting at him like it's his final closeout he's ever going to throw in his life. And I just think that's a great spot for a basketball player to learn how to process information and make reads and receive the floor. How are they sped up, or can they slow down and thrive in that environment? For the record, like, Cooper's just thriving. Like, that's a good Arizona defense that was throwing the kitchen sink at him and he was cooking them. And I just think. I think it's a great. I think it's just a great part, a fundamental part of basketball player development, and that's why I would like to see that maintained over the years.
- [12:35]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I mean, as a parent, my kids going to college. I said, guys, I don't. You're both great students. You got some scholarship money. I don't care if you're B students in college. Like, high school's weirdly more important than college. You have to get into college. I said, once you get to college, go to a party, you know, have friends sleep in. I'm like, you know, it's so. I feel like. Like college for players for a year or two, it's like you're gonna. You're gonna. You're gonna connect with people you would have never met anywhere else in the world. You're gonna have a couple international guys. You know, you're gonna have a couple seniors. Somebody on the coaching staff's gonna yell at you. It's. It's, you know, the G League. Everybody's going in the same direction. There's guys on even, like Kentucky's college team. They're not playing. They're going international, they're not playing in the pros. So I just. I love the idea for a couple years. I just think college was so valuable for me, and I love to see high school players. Nothing against Jalen Green's journey, but I love the idea of going to college for Cooper Flag. And it's just like, you know, you're part of something. Like, you're Duke basketball. You're part of something, you know, you go play for, you know, the El Segundo G League team. That's basically. That's an apartment complex. Everybody's trying to get out of it as fast as they can. Right. Whereas college is a little bit more like a house, like, for a lot of players. You know, they get to Duke and they don't want to leave. They're not playing in the NBA, man. They. This is a home and a neighborhood and a community. So I just. I've always loved college basketball. It's a little bit of a turnstile now, so it's harder to follow than the NBA. You can't. You know, except for a Duke or an Auburn, it's hard for me to name multiple players. I do want to talk about something, though. About. You know, there was a comment I thought was interesting. LeBron was on a podcast or a show, and he talked about, you know, Giannis would have scored 250 points back in the 70s. And I laughed because I thought, no, because they'd foul him and he can't hit free throws, so it wouldn't work. But, you know, it's interesting because I grew up with a 70s basketball, and I loved it. And I do think sometimes, you know, the players since 1973 have grown half an inch. The NBA was big and athletic then. Now, nutrition's better, travel's better. But I didn't love LeBron saying that. I was like, LeBron, Wilt and Jerry west played in the 70s. Dr. J played in the 70s. Bill Walton played in the 70s. I don't know why it didn't bother me, but it was one of those. I heard it and I thought, no, Giannis. Now, Giannis may have averaged 40, but he can't shoot like, he can't shoot. What did you make of that comment and your thoughts about generational comparisons?
- [15:29]
Jason Timpf
Well, for that. For that exact reason, like, you mentioned the size. If it was not just size back then, spacing was poor back then. And in general, like, Giannis would have been running into a lot of bodies. That said, I firmly believe giannis would average 40, 45.
- [15:43]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
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Jason Timpf
If he played in that era, just simply because it would be like a man amongst boys in terms the athletes that he'd be competing with. I Just a couple things. I don't see any point in comparing era to era in general. I mean, like, we talk about the 70s like, it was not that long ago, that's 50 years ago now. Like, that's, it's a half century ago. And in general, there's just been so many changes. Schematically, there's been so many changes in player development and the skill. Like, you know what's always so funny to me? When you go back and you watch basketball players in the 60s and 70s, the jump shots are all weird looking. And one of the reason why the jump shots are all weird looking is they didn't get to go on YouTube or go turn on the TV and watch their favorite players play. When they were kids, they, they taught themselves how to shoot. Everyone today kind of shoots more or less the same type of jump shot. And yeah, some people look weird, but most people shoot, shoot the same sort of jump shot. Same with.
- [16:32]
Colin Cowherd
The same with golf swings, by the way, the unique golf swing is over.
- [16:36]
Jason Timpf
Exactly. Because now it's been optimized. We've optimized it. Now you reach your hand into the cookie jar, you start from the legs, you know, wasted motion. We don't want to hit you in the shot, you know, and so it's one of those things where, like, we've just perfected this sport in so many different ways. And, you know, one of the things that I dislike about it, and it kind of goes back to what we talked about when we were talking about Stephen A. Smith a couple weeks ago. But when you, I don't believe in stooping down to that level. You, by the way, are. You have the a say, a saying that you've used over the years that I've loved. You said, I can have an opinion and you can have an opinion on my opinion. I don't need to have an opinion on your opinion of my opinion, which, by the way, is like a foundational thing that I lean on when I'm, when I'm doing what I do too. And like, one of the big things that I look at there is like, okay, LeBron, you're playing basketball. Okay, these old guys are trashing your era. What good does it do to then step in and then be disrespectful to their era? That doesn't serve a purpose in my opinion. It kind of is. It's stooping to that level. It doesn't forward the conversation. And like, like from that same point, I feel like LeBron is just. Shouldn't be the guy sending that type of message that he's trying to send. That said, like, I think in general, LeBron's just sick and tired of getting criticized by like the the MJ clan, the throwback like the old league was better type of clan. And I think he's just sick of it and I think he's acting out.
- [17:58]
Colin Cowherd
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- [19:18]
Jason Timpf
Terms apply.
- [19:19]
Colin Cowherd
Cap applies. Learn more@american express.com With Amex, you can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [19:59]
Jason Timpf
We live in a divided country.
- [20:00]
Colin Cowherd
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [20:03]
Jason Timpf
Kinds of different people.
- [20:04]
Colin Cowherd
You know, I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother.
- [20:07]
Jason Timpf
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. Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas. Each week we bring together an all star panel.
- [20:20]
Colin Cowherd
Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [20:22]
Jason Timpf
Thanks for having me, Jeremy.
- [20:23]
Colin Cowherd
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [20:25]
Jason Timpf
Thanks for having me. And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia. 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. We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary?
- [20:47]
Colin Cowherd
And what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what.
- [20:49]
Jason Timpf
We'Re doing in this situation.
- [20:51]
Colin Cowherd
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson.
- [20:52]
Jason Timpf
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or.
- [20:55]
Colin Cowherd
Wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:57]
Jason Timpf
Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast this Is Working can help with that. Here's advice from Google CMO Lorraine Twohill on how to treat AI like a partner.
- [21:10]
Colin Cowherd
I see AI as an incredible copilot. You may use different tools or toys.
- [21:15]
Jason Timpf
To get the work done, but ultimately.
- [21:16]
Colin Cowherd
As editor, as creator, as maker, you.
- [21:21]
Jason Timpf
Own it and it needs to be good. AI is just the latest flavor of that.
- [21:25]
Colin Cowherd
You're still the judge of what good looks like.
- [21:27]
Jason Timpf
I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief.
- [21:29]
Colin Cowherd
On my podcast, this Is Working, leaders.
- [21:31]
Jason Timpf
Like Indra Nooy, Ray Dalio, and Rich Paul share strategies for success and the real lessons that have shaped them. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:50]
Colin Cowherd
You know, it's, I had a commentary this weekend that I do essays on Sundays, most Sundays, and we were talking about, you know, lead management, overload management, and I like sga Ant and Tatum. They play the regular games. One of the things that I think is really interesting about Tatum and the Celtics is that, and I think this is, this is rare. So when teams win a championship, so OKC in Houston and Cleveland, I mean, these teams are, this is the old Derrick Rose Bulls. Like you get the, when you get the combination of really good team playing hard, you know that you will win to 60 games. I tell you, I watch Boston and they'll have a guy missing every night. Drew Holiday's got a bad finger. Poor Zingus. I'm telling you though, Jason, that team plays their arse off. They play hard and they coach hard. Like, Missoula is still barking. It's very rare. Once you get the ring, generally you pull back. Everybody does rotational stuff. Like, okay, it's your night off, your night off. Their depth. Peyton Pritchard the other night, I'm watching Hauser jack up threes. I'm like, jesus, man, Horford can still play. I said it last year and I'll say it again. I just, I. I don't remember an NBA team that deep like Denver a couple years ago with their title when they had everybody, kcp, Brown, that team, you're like, okay, they got eight dudes that I trust hit a shot. And then quickly, you know, quickly all the aprons, they're moving off guys. I know everybody likes Cleveland and okc. I don't think anybody beats Boston because there is no switch. They need to click. They're intense. I mean, I'll watch them play. They will jump out to huge leads against the Knicks in the first quarter. They will go toe to toe. They'll go into a bad team and blow them out. It'll be 40, 24 early. Do you think they stumble? I mean, what is your take on them?
- [24:01]
Jason Timpf
So I think that they're vulnerable in the same way that everybody in the top tier is vulnerable to a certain extent. Cleveland has started to show some limitations over the course of the last couple of weeks too. I don't think anybody's unbeatable, but I have never wavered from Boston as my favorite this year. You've been really keyed in on this lately, and I think it's really smart, which is that there is a difference between a rotation of a bunch of young 20 year olds navigating the NBA season versus a bunch of dudes in their late 20s and early 30s. It's a fundamental difference in just level of urgency every single day. I think there's the obvious talent conundrum they present to teams, which is they just have way more good players than most teams.
- [24:42]
Colin Cowherd
Right.
- [24:43]
Jason Timpf
But I also think that it's time that we acknowledge Boston organizationally, from the top down, is the most well run because you've got willingness to spend a front office led by Brad Stevens that is obsessed with finding guys that can dribble, shoot, pass and defend. It's like a mandatory foursome for him to consider you as an investment for the franchise, a coaching staff that has built a drive and kick scheme, and really a culture that is all about pursuing the great shot over the good shot. And then you've got the players that are all bought into it and it's so it's from the top down. And one of the reasons why I think that's so impressive, one of the ways that that manifested, I thought was that ass kicking that they delivered the other night without Jason Tatum. You get a group of guys without Jason Tatum going on the road into Phoenix against a really good Suns team that was playing good basketball, not a really good team.
- [25:31]
Colin Cowherd
I watched that.
- [25:32]
Jason Timpf
But they were. Yeah, they were. They were like, I think four and one in the previous five. The Suns are the classic. Like we're going to try hard for a week or two, but then we realize we don't have enough horses, so we just let go of the rope. But in that game, you can see them just playing a style of basketball which is like modern 4 out 1 in driving, kick spacing basketball, which requires incrementally breaking down the defense. So Jalen Brown identifies where the advantage is, kicks it to a guy who's open. Once that guy's open, his job is not to shoot necessarily. His job is to drive the closeout to get past the guy going at him. Draw another helper and you incrementally break down the defense until you get these unbelievable wide open shots. And what was so funny about that game is it was almost like, oh, Tatum's out. We're not going to be able to lean on individual greatness as much tonight. Let's play Celtics basketball. And that's the key. They have Celtics basketball separate from Jayson Tatum. Jayson Tatum fits into Celtics basketball and he makes it better. He's a force multiplier for Celtics basketball. But Celtics basketball is about an organizational approach, starting with Brad Stevens all the way down in the willingness to play for each other in a driving kick scheme, to get great shots, in the willingness to defend. And all of that is part of what makes the Celtics the Celtics. And that's what that's. You want to know why a team has sustained success, meaning the Celtics team that has been a threat in the Eastern Conference for my entire life as an adult, like dating back to before the, the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett partnership with Ray Allen. So like they have a culture that has been established and it's, it's the only way to have sustained success in the NBA. I think it's super, super impressive.
- [27:11]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, the, you know, it's interesting. The other day I was saying about okc, I'm like, I know they're going to win in some series. I know they're really good. I'm not doubting that. Brilliant gm. I Don't think SGA will quite get that whistle in the postseason, but he'll get a whistle if Chet Holmgren's healthy. They've got some offensive. I do worry about their young players in big road games. You know, everything changes. No sport in our country changes more from regular season to postseason. I mean, I'm watching here today you got a fight in the NBA, Minnesota's coaches, and it's. You're getting feisty now and playoff seating and it's like it changes the game. It's a. Outside of the COVID year, men win in the playoffs. Young men can do really well in the regular season. But the one thing about Oklahoma City, Tom Tolbert texted me when I was talking about him. He goes, they lead the NBA in assists or they lead the NBA in creating turnovers, but have the fewest turnovers. They just are really, really efficient. They don't turn it over and they force turnovers. Is there like. I don't think Golden State could beat okc. I think Golden State would beat Houston. I don't. Houston shooting's better today than three months ago. I still don't trust them in a big playoff spot. Oklahoma City to me is they're. They're like Cleveland the last couple of years. They're going to win playoff series. They're just too good. They got too many good players, too good of a coach. Go deep dive on Oklahoma City. And because I look at them and I think they have two or three things that really matter. They're well coached, a dominant score. So they know late in games, in a playoff game, here's where the ball goes that is so important. The great teams all have that. Denver had it with Jokic and generally, like the spurs, you'll have a second guy in Tony Parker. If Duncan gets doubled, it's great to have two. And if Holmgren's healthy, I trust him at a big spot hitting a shot. He's a great player. So they have an identifiable star and a co star. They're well coached, they play real defense. They're young, but they're not inexperienced. Like these guys are played in big colleges, big moments. I think they're a Western Conference finals team. I don't. I mean, I would take the Lakers over them and I don't feel like I'm being a homer. I would just take LeBron and Luka and the possessions and a half and a game. What do you think their journey looks like in the postseason?
- [29:40]
Jason Timpf
So their defense, I'm 100% sold on, will perform really well, the only team that I'm worried about them defensively against is the Lakers, because LeBron and Luka attacking their smaller perimeter players. Their Oklahoma City's defense is nearly perfectly constructed. They're incredibly fast on the perimeter, and Mark Daginol has built their scheme towards forward aggression and passing lanes to try to build, to force turnovers. It's optimized to. Towards the type of personnel they have. They also have rim protection and Chet Holmgren, which is a very important part of success in the playoffs. And then they have a couple of different types of defenders that are especially valuable. So for instance, Lou Dort is one of the very best guys in the league that you can throw against a big star forward. And like, like there's just so many of them in the Western Conference, whether it's Luka and LeBron or it's literally Kawhi Leonard or it's Kevin Durant or whoever it is you're playing. There's all these star forwards. He's a great option. Isaiah Hartenstein has come kind of come to the surface as like a guy they use for the bigger power players, and he's had a lot of success, by the way.
- [30:44]
Colin Cowherd
The Knicks have missed him defensively, no question.
- [30:48]
Jason Timpf
Yeah, he. His ability to defend in a bunch of different types of coverages, but specifically to handle the big, strong bully ball types of players has been a huge asset to that Thunder defense. The only weakness I see in the Thunder defense is size as an aggregate thing, particularly on the perimeter. And it manifests in bad defensive rebounding, which has been a consistent thing they've struggled with over the years. And then that's where I can see some vulnerability, where it's like, okay, you put Lou door on Luka. Great. Who's guarding LeBron, that there's just nobody else on the roster that can make LeBron feel really all that uncomfortable. So I think that's what we're saying. The offensive end is where I see some cracks in the armor in the sense that they thrive in transition off the strength of their defense. But what happens if there's a team that takes really good care of the basketball and controls pace and keeps OKC trapped in the half court? And it's a big, high leverage playoff series where you need J Dub and Chet and Dort and these guys to be effective offensively? And again, I want to be clear, I'm not trying to nitpick here because we are. I should be clear. We are nitpicking here because this is the one seed in the Western Conference, as I agree with you, I would be stunned if they didn't make it to the conference finals. But in the conference finals context, if they faced a Denver or a Lakers, I think it's at least worth mentioning that those teams would be dramatically more experienced and dramatically bigger on the perimeter. One last thing I'll say about it, they do rely heavily on Shay, Gilders, Alexander pull up shooting when things go south for them. Offensively. In those situations, I like a team of a bunch of 6, 8, 69 guys that have long arms to contest, and that's something where I could see that being a valuable a value. So I think they deserve to be the favorite. But yeah, I'm, I'm with you to where, like, if I saw the Lakers and the Thunder about to play in a Western Conference finals, it'd be really hard for me to not pick a leg.
- [32:41]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, yeah. It's interesting because the Lakers are the rare team that doesn't have a dominant center, but they're actually big and long.
- [32:48]
Jason Timpf
Rui everywhere.
- [32:49]
Colin Cowherd
Jackson, Hayes, everybody's big and long. Even Austin Reaves is. And they're also very comfortable offensively with contact. Austin, LeBron, Luca like Rui, they like contact. They, they, they're a team that you, you could see in playoff games getting to the line a lot, you know, what I found interesting and, and I've always liked Austin Reeves. My argument is you can't win a championship if he's your two. I'm not sure you can if he's a three. You're absolutely an excellent team if he's a four. So he's a three on this team. But it was interesting when Luka came. I thought, oh, boy, is he going to get as many touches. It's weird, the Luca, because Luka's. LeBron's a great passer. Luka is very good at getting the ball ahead. Sometimes they think he does it. So he, this is my thing with Luka. Sometimes I think he's, he's one of the great. He and Jokic, they're great down the court passers. They are great quarterbacks. Sometimes I'm like, Luca just doesn't want to defend. He's like, you guys, I'm going to get the ball up the floor. It's too far for me to lag. Just go ahead, take the play. And that's my, you know, and that's kind of my Luca criticism is that he, he's a. Defense is more of a hobby than it is, you know, a vocation. But, but Austin Reeves Has. This has been the most impressive he's been to me, because I honestly think with Anthony Davis, sometimes there was a sense, and I could be wrong on this, Jason, but there was a sense sometimes. Slow it down. We got a big. Let's use him. This is an opportunity for LeBron in this half. Court set. Let's get it to Anthony Davis. And with Luke and LeBron, the tempo feels like really plays into Austin's game, because Austin's a good passer. He likes contact, he likes the ball. He can play off ball. He moves. And I feel strangely that I thought Luka would be a net negative. I feel like it makes Austin better. It's almost like there are times Luca, especially after he's had a couple baskets, not that he takes the total possession off, but he likes. He conserves energy. I see that with LeBron and Luca sometimes, hey, kid, this is your possession. But I feel like this is the best Austin. I'm not sure if the efficiency ratings say it, but I feel like this is the most free he's played.
- [35:06]
Jason Timpf
No, he's been excellent. He's averaging in his last 10 games, over 27 points per game on over 67% true shooting, which is insane. That's just field goal percentage weighted for threes.
- [35:16]
Colin Cowherd
And some of that is mental. Like he feels like it's his possession, right?
- [35:21]
Jason Timpf
Oh, absolutely. There's. There's a certain amount of LeBron's injury having been good for the Lakers to help those guys get in a rhythm. Austin had been dealing with a calf injury, if I remember correctly, that he had just come back from, and then Luca, obviously had missed a good chunk of the season. And so both of those guys were a little out of rhythm in the Celtics game in particular. Like, Austin and Luca were both bad in the Celtics game up until, like, Luca put up a big box score. But most of that was later in the game. So, like, Those two, when LeBron was out, had an opportunity to really just get tons of touches and. And get their rhythm figured out. And to LeBron's credit, when he's come back, he hasn't really stepped on their toes. And this is because, you know, we've talked a lot about Kevin Durant being a plug and play superstar. And I want to be clear, I still think he's one of the very best, maybe the best plug and play Star ever. But LeBron, I don't think, gets enough credit for this in the sense that, like, Luca and Austin come with their fair share of shortcomings. Like, Austin's not A great athlete. Luca is a bad defensive player most of the time. LeBron is the guy that they can be like, oh, we need you to run, like, run the offense in this stretch. He can do that. Hey, Austin's cooking. A great example of this was the pacers game. When LeBron hit the game winner in the second quarter, LeBron came out and Austin was cooking. Austin was just frying everybody on the Pacers. And so instead of co opting the offense, LeBron just set screens for him at the top of the key and played off of Austin. And at the same time, like up before his injury, he was playing some of the best defense he had played in this late phase of his career. He's basically taking all these elements of his game and picking and choosing how to plug them in into what the team needs in that particular game. Austin gets hurt in the second half of the Pacers game, isn't out there in that fourth quarter stretch. LeBron needs to be a scorer again. Suddenly goes out and scores, and he gets over 10 points after he had three through the first three quarters. Like, that's, that's part of LeBron's versatility and how it fits into this picture. The thing that I think is important to remember too, and this is one of the most common misconceptions about how we talk about star trades, we go, well, there's only one ball. And the reality is, is that basketball as a team sport against elite defense is about incrementally breaking down defenses. Like we were talking about with Boston, Austin, Reeves, when he catches the ball on the perimeter with the defender closing out at him and he looks to score, gets over 1.35 points per attempt. That's sky. That's sky high. Meaning when Austin's man helps on Luca in LeBron action, Austin is scoring almost every time in those situations. The beauty of what makes the Lakers so difficult to guard is that you can't really have enough resources to account for all of them. And inevitably one of them is going to get an advantage. And Austin just does such an amazing job attacking with those advantages. I think that there's no rhythm problem with those three guys. Any issues that we have with the Lakers, I think should be centered around the defensive end of the floor, rim protection, health, things along those lines. I am 0% concerned about LeBron, Luka and Austin figuring out how to work together offensively the.
- [38:26]
Colin Cowherd
The play in tournament. I don't know if it's an imperative, but I think Golden State's better served not playing just because they you know, you want the fewest minutes, but I'm going to throw this at you. One of the things I've talked about and I've text a few guys in the NBA about this, and I think Chris Finch has talked about this and other players that European players, because it's all academy, come into the NBA more skilled and a lot of times more mature. They've played against older players. The spotlight in their country has been on them and they come in like John Morant and Zion just weren't mature enough. They were good enough, they were talented enough, they weren't quite mature enough and ready. You don't see that with international players. I mean, sometimes they're boring. They just come in. It's basketball sleep. Basketball sleep. And, you know, it's interesting. This is not a maturity question with Jonathan Kaminga, but I feel like if Jonathan Kaminga would have come to us via Europe, he would have been more skilled early. Every time I watch Jonathan Kaminga, and you may have said this, I think you may have said this, and I'm digesting, consuming a lot of NBA content, is that when I watch the Warriors, I'm often left thinking, okay, I like Kaminga's length and acceleration. I like his ability. What is he great at? And I think European players come to the league and you can see very quickly, oh, they're really good at that. And they're 19 to 20. Cooper flag is the rare college player where you're like, man, he's close to being great at a couple of things. He's not there yet. I mean, started the year he was 17 at Duke. And I watch Kaminga and I'm like, I wouldn't trust coming in a playoff series if I needed him. I just wouldn't. And I think he, to me, is the classic domestic player issue, which is we all know he's long athletic, he works hard, he's gotten better. So I know it's not a work ethic thing. Jason, he gets incrementally better at every year. What is he as a player? Can I trust him in a big series against okc? And if I can trust him to do what?
- [40:41]
Jason Timpf
I don't trust him. I don't think the warriors trust him. I think he's going to get. I think he's going to get some DNPs when we get into the postseason. I think that's on the table. I don't think it'll be like a game One thing, I think they'll throw him out there and see how he does because he has enough of an athletic upside to where like, I mean, you could throw him out there in game one in a late first quarter stretch and he could get eight points in three minutes, you know, like he's got sort of upside. So I think, I think Steve Kerr will try him. But I think there's a chance that you see like a game four series two to one, Golden State needs one, that you get a DNP from Commander.
- [41:12]
Colin Cowherd
I mean, Jason, it's year four, you can't have that.
- [41:16]
Jason Timpf
On one level, I feel bad for him because two weeks before the trade deadline, it looked like the warriors might not do anything. And it was like, here's your chance, Kaminga, like, we're about to go the other way and like move on to the next era. You're going to get the keys, you're going to get all this opportunity. Nope. They make the Jimmy trade and to make matters worse, while Jonathan Kaminga is out, they win a bunch of games. So now it's like we are dead serious championship contending. Steph's now saying impressors, like, we got these, this, these two years, this year, next year, last chance to make all this happen. And suddenly it goes from it was the perfect situation for Kaminga to learn how to play to. This is now the worst possible situation because part of the Jimmy Butler trade was clearing out the rotation. The warriors had like 15 dudes they could play, now they have 10 or 11. And so as a result of that, like all these crystallized roles appeared like Gary Payton and Brandon Pajemski. Is that two next to staff or Moses Moody as the guy who's taken on the Wiggins role of guarding the other team's best players. Spotting up in the corner, Kaminga has immediately is, when he came back, had a 0% chance of taking Moody's starting spot. Moody was crushing in that role. They weren't going to move it. So now it becomes you've got to be a bench player in this context on this team. And to your point about his traits, he does have an elite trait, which is if he gets a Runway, he is a truly transcendently great athlete at the rim. There is a certain amount of big picture potential for him as like an ISO post player because some guys can't keep him in front of. He's good at getting to the foul line. There are a couple things that he does well, that project for him when he's like 27, 28, 30, whatever years old to be a decent player. But in this team, on this warriors team, alongside Steph Draymond and Jimmy, you have to be elite at one of two things to be able to be on the floor with them. Shooting the basketball or playing read and react. Like mental processing of the game.
- [43:07]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [43:07]
Jason Timpf
And he's terrible at both. And that, that's a death sentence for him in this particular environment. So he basically gets to be like every other 9th or 10th man in a playoff rotation, which going to toss you out there early in the series and see if you've got a couple matchups you can capitalize on. But if not, we're punting on you. And it's going to be, for instance, like, I think Steve Kerr would trust a G. Santos as a forward who will knock down open shots, make reads in the offense, play defense and rebound. I think he trusts him more in a big spot than he does Kaminga.
- [43:35]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. With international players, you. You sense very early what they're very good at. They. They usually come in, they're very good shooters, ball handlers and passers. You know, defensively, it's real hit and miss. With international players, frankly, it's hit and miss with everybody defensively, like some guys just are great at. Yeah, LeBron wasn't great early. Yeah. And so. But I, I watch Kaming and I think he, he is a part of the AAU domestic issue, which is, yeah, he's long, twitchy, athletic. You give him, you give him a little space, driving to the rim. It's a poster. Just get out of the way. But that team has so many defined players. I mean, I, I'll give Pods credit. When he came in, I knew immediately what he did. He'd been in college enough. I knew immediately what he was. I'm sitting here, year four, I think it is, with Kaminga, and I'm like, you don't have a stock move. I don't really know what you are. And I think you documented it well. Like the two things they demand, you know, D'Angelo Russell's another guy in that system. Like, he just didn't read and react well. It was like, yeah, too squirrely. This isn't going to work at all. So that system, I think, you know, and you see this a lot of times in the NFL where there are certain systems, they ask a lot of their players, like, if you can't adapt quickly, they're not real patient. New England was that way. Like, they gave you about a year in the system. By year two, they're not playing around. If you can't figure out some of the offensive stuff with Tom, they just Tom wouldn't throw you the ball and it was over. Year two Trade deadline It was over. It's the last game of the season and with Amex you can save time with card member entrances at select venues and go straight to the action so you can catch every moment. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms Apply. Learn more@americanexpress.com with Amex, you can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com Keep and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months we live in a divided country. I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [46:04]
Jason Timpf
Kinds of different people.
- [46:06]
Colin Cowherd
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [46:09]
Jason Timpf
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. Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas. Each week we bring together an all star panel.
- [46:22]
Colin Cowherd
Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [46:24]
Jason Timpf
Thanks for having me. Jeremy Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [46:27]
Colin Cowherd
Thanks for having me.
- [46:28]
Jason Timpf
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia. 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. We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here?
- [46:50]
Colin Cowherd
But that doesn't seem to be what.
- [46:51]
Jason Timpf
We'Re doing in this situation.
- [46:52]
Colin Cowherd
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson.
- [46:54]
Jason Timpf
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or.
- [46:56]
Colin Cowherd
Wherever you get your podcast.
- [46:58]
Jason Timpf
Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast this Is Working can help with that. Here's advice from Google CMO Lorraine Twohill on how to treat AI like a partner.
- [47:11]
Colin Cowherd
I see AI as an incredible copilot. You may use different tools or toys.
- [47:16]
Jason Timpf
To get the work done, but ultimately.
- [47:18]
Colin Cowherd
As editor, as creator, as maker, you.
- [47:22]
Jason Timpf
Own it and and it needs to be good. AI is just the latest flavor of that.
- [47:26]
Colin Cowherd
You're still the judge of what good looks like.
- [47:28]
Jason Timpf
I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief.
- [47:30]
Colin Cowherd
On my podcast, this is working leaders.
- [47:32]
Jason Timpf
Like Indra Nooy, Ray Dalio, and Rich Paul share strategies for success and the real lessons that have shaped them. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [47:46]
Colin Cowherd
And now for our next segment, whiskey business brought to you by Green River Whiskey, the official whiskey of the Colin Cowherd podcast. If you want to enjoy life's simple pleasures, reach for Green River Whiskey. Whether it's rye whiskey, single barrel bourbon, you're getting over a century of craftsmanship packed into every bottle. Hop on over to greenriverwhisky.com and discover legend in a bottle. Today, this part of the season, I think the Lakers have, what is it, eight games left, eight or nine games left in the regular season. LeBron obviously has come back off the groin tweak. He's there, feels like it's, it's. He's just kind of waiting for the playoffs. I get it. There was the honeymoon period with Luca. Kind of look at one of the things that disappointed me with Luca. Not that I'm a critic of it, because I think Dallas though, is going to be really good next year when everybody's healthy. I really like their center rotation. I just think they have now they need another shot initiator, another shot creator, beyond Kyrie. It kind of feels like they're a little light there. But when LeBron left, JJ Redick on a couple of different occasions said, yeah, we just didn't communicate at all. And I was like, you never hear that when LeBron plays. Like you never ever hear that. And as much as I like Luka, I understand scoring is the key to the game, but if we sort of, because his game, he was so brilliant early and he is so great at the most aesthetically pleasing part of basketball. He's not in great shape. He doesn't defend. JJ Redick has made more than one comment on lack of communication. The team got blown out several times when LeBron was out and Luka and Austin were playing. There are parts of me that think we've become so fascinated by what he can do. But here's 40 year old LeBron and he still is the soul of the team. And first of all, it speaks to what LeBron's legacy. It's insane what he's doing. And I'm not being a critic of Luca, but I said when he first got in here he's a much better Carmelo Anthony and I think he's a better passer than Carmelo. Do you look at him with rose colored glasses or do you now. Now that you're seeing every minute of his game, do you see little holes that frustrate you?
- [50:09]
Jason Timpf
So, you know, I. I think rooting for a player as someone who roots for the Lakers is, like the best way to truly learn about a player. And it's been funny because there have been certain things that have been reinforced for me about Luca after watching him, and then there are certain things that I've changed my perspective on in the sense that, like, I used to be kind of similar to you, where I kind of viewed his heliocentric, try to do everything kind of style offensively as something that had some drawbacks. I now view that entirely differently. Luka's just a. An incredible offensive player, like, just a remarkable offensive player. And his ability to consistently compromise the defense and generate these wide open catch and shoot situations that guys can either drive or shoot out of is truly remarkable. And it's like a superpower. And it's, like, unlike anything I've watched as from a perimeter player in my time covering the league. Like, his ability to pressure the rim from the perimeter relentlessly, regardless of the type of defender that's on him, regardless of the type of scheme, is a superpower. I think you're absolutely right that LeBron is the soul of the team. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that Luca doesn't really have a massive leadership type of personality, which is fine.
- [51:25]
Colin Cowherd
He doesn't. Yeah, he just doesn't.
- [51:26]
Jason Timpf
LeBron can fill that role. To me, LeBron is that guy. And I thought the biggest way you saw that was on defense. Like, when LeBron went down, the defense cratered, just completely cratered. And, and, and by the way, a good chunk of that initial struggle they had when LeBron came back was for that reason. LeBron came back. And you could tell LeBron was not quite getting the motor running. You know what I mean? And there's a certain amount of that where I think LeBron's like, I just tweaked my groin. These guys. These guys need me to be Draymond in the playoffs. So it's most important for me to get from here to April 18th in one piece. And I think that's the way LeBron's looking at it. But there's no doubt that LeBron is, like, the personality leader of the team, but Luke is the firepower. It's like watching the Lakers over the last few years. There was just this Lack of consistent. Like, when you watch one of the best basketball players in the world really inflict himself on a game. It's unlike anything you see in sports. When you watch Jokic take over a game, when you watch Prime LeBron take over a game, Luka take over a game, they can. One player on a court of 10 can strangle the game and change it completely. And like, I've seen Luca do that so many times since he's come to the LA that like, I've grown to appreciate that. Lucas style might look different, but it's powerful on D, on, off, right on defense, he was embarrassingly bad in the Celtics series. He's been good at times, a lot of times with the Lakers. But the Pacers game, for instance, like, like, just wasn't sliding his feet on the ball and just gave up. Drive, drive, drive to Andrew Nemhard and Tyrus Halliburton cost him a game towards down the stretch. My, my thing with Luca is, to me, that defense piece is a prerequisite to him getting to where he wants to go. Like, I don't think he'll ever accomplish what he wants to accomplish until he ties that piece together. There's a certain level of commitment on that end that he needs. But I, having rooted for him over the last couple of months, like, like, I'm a truther when it comes to him on the offensive end of the floor. Like, he just is an indomitable force that generates great shots every single time down the floor. When they beat Indy, there was a stretch down the end of the game where Indy was trying so hard to get a stop and they literally couldn't stop the Lakers from getting a completely uncontested three for a good shooter every single time down the floor. And I was like, this is remarkable. This is clutch time. This is. They're trying on defense, they're game planning on defense, and they literally can't stop the Lakers from getting a butt naked, wide open three. And like that. That to me is just a superpower that he has that not many players in the league can match.
- [54:01]
Colin Cowherd
You know, I want to wrap it with this because I thought it was a really interesting topic. I had Rachel Nichols on and I think Adam Silver is a good commissioner. I thought when I had him on, I thought he overreacted a little to Kevin Durant, to the Warriors. And my take is, well, Ohtani came to the Dodgers. It's been great for Ohtani, great for the Dodgers, great for Fox, great for baseball. People like trades, people like stars and Big brands. Harbor bought a Michigan. There was no downside. Yeah, Michigan was going to throttle people and you'd have more blowouts in the Big Ten. So what? And so they overreacted and they've now created this environment where aprons. It's hard. It's like you can't, you'll never duplicate. Unless you hit on every draft pick for four years. You'll never duplicate the Celtics roster. You can't have eight good players. It doesn't work that way. And my take is people like trades, they don't mind dynasties. And Kevin Durant was bound to not get along with Draymond Green. So it wasn't going to be an eight year run. It was three years. They wore each other out. It was Shaq and Kobe. It was bound not to work forever. But I've talked about this before, is that there are certain unsolvable things. You can go to a therapist, I can go to a therapist. There's a basic, basic foundational personality I have based on my childhood that you're not going to change. I can get better. But I am what I am. And same change is hard when you want help and want to change. It's impossible if you don't. So we are kind of at our core sort of what we are. And I think there are certain things. You can't get away from the violence in football or ufc. You can't get away from the lack of urgency in baseball. And I don't think you can avoid tanking because. And the reason being is because in basketball, and this is not true with other sports in basketball you could identify at 13 years old. Kobe, LeBron, WEMBY, the Spurs went on a three year mission to get Wemby. They, they saw that that's just not the way it works in football. Lamar Jackson, we were arguing after he was drafted, can he play quarterback? You know, Mahomes couldn't win in college. Josh Allen, he's overrated and wild in basketball. Men and women, freshman year of high school, it's defined. That player is different. That UConn girl that dominates sixth grade basketball. It's like, oh, that's the best sixth grade basketball player we've ever seen. So, and my take is basketball, the ability to spot transformational talent so early. It's not a singular year. Tank people see it. They don't have to resign players, they can move off players that the NBA should just be like, listen, if, if we're, if there's a great player every year and a different team gets the great Player, it's unavoidable and it's not terrible for the league. Like, Cooper Flag probably saved Charlotte. I mean, literally, if he goes there, it's like, okay, now lamelo ball, Cooper Flag. That's a watch. Like, that's a watch on television. My take is the NBA spends so much time paralyzed by tanking and trades, it's like football violence. Just. Just do the best you can. You can't avoid it. What say you?
- [57:23]
Jason Timpf
Yeah, I like. I like that you. You say it's an unavoidable piece of it. I'd say the same thing about the super teams and the willingness of players to try to partner up and in a one team becoming powerful, that they present a talent mismatch to everyone in the league. To your point about Boston, like, this is post KD and Steph, it happened again. And you know how it happened. The league at large undervalued Drew Holiday and Chris Al Porzingis. That's not on Brad Stevens. That's not Brad Stevens fault. That's the other 29 GMs fault that they were like, sure, Brad wants to pay for Chris ops. Let him. Well, okay, well, now he's a problem. Okay, so it's like, now they have five $30 million play players. And. And I also just generally think that, like, I mean, to your point, that there's. There's five, six teams this year that have a really good chance to win, even with Boston being the way that they are. So, like, I, I don't think. I think it makes for interesting storylines. As far as the tanking piece goes, it's even more unavoidable when you factor in just basic stuff, which is like, if it's game 65 and we don't have a chance to make it to the playoffs, I shouldn't be playing my vets. I should be playing my young players. It's no different than if you're like, hey, you know what? I don't need to see Andy Dalton start in week 15. I'd rather see my third round pick get a chance to go out there and see what he can do. Let him get the reps, let him learn how to play. And so at a certain point, like, even if you disincentivized it through the draft, you would never be able to stop a team from looking at the situation and going, this season's over. We need to give our young guys the keys, and that's going to lead to a lesser basketball product. I would say that generally speaking, the basketball gods will reward the teams and the franchises that play serious basketball. Meaning, like, you'll see OKC did this a couple years ago where it's like they're playing their younger players. They're load managing Shea, but they're also teaching those kids to play damn good basketball.
- [59:18]
Colin Cowherd
Hey, Chicago right now is playing.
- [59:22]
Jason Timpf
That is a. That is a foundation. What Chicago is doing right now is a foundational part to any hope they have of being good in the future. If you practice playing bad basketball, you'll be a bad basketball team. And so the way I look at it is like, to your point, you'll never be able to stop tanking because it's impossible to stop teams from even prioritizing younger players minutes. But inevitably, organizations behaving like losers tend to remain losers. And organizations like, here go the Kings again. They had that one season. But it's like, it turns out that even a really good year from Dear and Fox and, and from Malik Monk and from Demona Sabonis is not enough to overcome organizational incompetence. Like, at the end of the day, you can't stop bad from being bad. So stop trying to legislate it out, if that makes sense.
- [60:14]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I mean, I, I look at teams like Utah and I know their record isn't good, but I, I love their gm. I think they have an excellent young coach and they play hard and they're just going to get better with all those draft picks, they're probably three years behind okc. So if they land Cooper flag, and I think they have the best percentage now, they're tied. If Utah got Cooper flag, that's a playoff team potentially in a year, like, that's a really good basketball team. Obviously, if Wemby got him in San Antonio. But it's like, I look at it and I think if Washington got Cooper flag. Oh, I feel so bad for Cooper flag. If Utah got Cooper flag. To your point, I'd be like, like, that kid hit a home run, he's going to do really, really well. No immediate pressure. Danny Ainge, great young coach, nice little supporting players. They just don't have a guy.
- [61:01]
Jason Timpf
Kessler too. He'd be so good.
- [61:02]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, Walker Kessler is really a nice player. In fact, the Lakers were interested in him about if they would have got him.
- [61:08]
Jason Timpf
I would have been talking very reckless on your show, Colin.
- [61:13]
Colin Cowherd
He's a good player. All right, Jason Timf hoops tonight. Good 50 minutes of basketball call. Thanks, buddy.
- [61:19]
Jason Timpf
It was good to see you. Until next time.
- [61:24]
Colin Cowherd
The Volume. This is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser Podcast have you guys seen this new commercial From Stand up to All Hate? It's basically Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady going back and forth with reasons that they hate each other. But then when you really listen to them, the reasons for the hate are just so stupid. I don't know.
- [61:43]
Jason Timpf
This.
- [61:43]
Colin Cowherd
This commercial really got me. It's a strong reminder that hate in our country continues to be out of control. So join us at I Heart in Standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up. Call it out. Your voice is a powerful tool in this fight. You can learn more by following hat's upwithhate.
- [61:59]
Jason Timpf
Geico's motorcycle expertise gives me the coverage.
- [62:01]
Colin Cowherd
I need like 24.
- [62:03]
Jason Timpf
7 claims I'm on cloud 9 disclaimer.
- [62:06]
Colin Cowherd
Clouds are wholly unable to support the weight of an adult human.
- [62:08]
Jason Timpf
What's happening?
- [62:09]
Colin Cowherd
Furthermore, clouds are not numbered. Even if you procured a jetpack and.
- [62:11]
Jason Timpf
Searched, you'd find no cloud number nine. However, at that altitude, you'd likely befriend.
- [62:14]
Colin Cowherd
A flock of migrating snow geese.
- [62:16]
Jason Timpf
Geese who'd encourage you to leave your 24.7geico motorcycle claims insurance behind, as they would take you in and even share.
- [62:20]
Colin Cowherd
Their dinner of crickets and clovers with you. Geico assumes no liability for any indigestion that may occur from a clover cricket dinner. Geico expertise for your motorcycle.
- [62:29]
Jason Timpf
We live in a divided country, and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast majority into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. 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.
- [62:53]
Colin Cowherd
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson.
- [62:54]
Jason Timpf
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or.
- [62:56]
Colin Cowherd
Wherever you get your podcasts. You feelin this too is a horror anthology podcast. It brings different creators to tell ten vile. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Grotesque.
- [63:11]
Jason Timpf
Oh my God.
- [63:12]
Colin Cowherd
Horrific stories on what scares them the most. You feeling this too? Listen on the I Heart Radio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.