← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Warriors EXPLODE Late To Bury Rockets, Russell Westbrook A “Force Of Nature” For Nuggets, What Went Wrong For The Lakers?
00:51:17
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
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Jason Timf
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Colin Cowherd
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Colin Cowherd
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- [01:44]
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- [02:36]
Colin Cowherd
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- [05:03]
Jason Timf
Yeah, you know, the margins are pretty slim, Colin. Like it was here we were, Houston, game seven. They're on a run. It's 63 to 60 as Amend Thompson starts taking over there in the third quarter. And it's like literally could have gone either way at that point. But what happened at that point, which I thought was super fascinating, was that was really when Steph Curry started to assert himself, myself. And as I came out of game six, there were two main areas where I thought Golden State had obvious ability to just play better, so to speak. And it was one, they had completely lost control of Fred Van Vleet and Alper and Jangun. Defensively, yeah, they had, they had 50 points in Game 6. Those two guys both looked completely held under control in tonight's game. And so that was the first big one. Get control of Fred, get control of Shangoon, shout out to Looney and Draymond. I thought those two guys just did an unbelievable.
- [05:49]
Colin Cowherd
Looney was huge.
- [05:51]
Jason Timf
Oh yeah. And then as all of their guards did a great job on Fred Van Vliet throughout the game, a bunch of different guys got minutes on him. The second piece of it was there's a pretty strong correlation in this series with exception of game four, there was a pretty strong correlation in this series between Steph's shot making and the warriors winning. When he was going offensively, they were in control and when he would cool off, Houston was able to get enough stops to kind of get in transition and get going. And one of the things that Steph did in that second half was he just stopped running off ball and he just started bringing the ball at the floor and he brought the ball up the floor and he just started spamming high ball screens and he got a bunch of good looks for himself and for his teammates out of that. That has been kind of the break glass in case of emergency warriors offense for years now is when things bog down for them, they'll just let Steph run high pick and roll. And again like he had, I think he finished with 20 or 20 something points. That's, that's underselling his impact because he only had, he had zero up until the very end of the first half. And so he scored at a top tier superstar level during that second half stretch when they really pulled away. And the last piece I wanted to shout out was Buddy Healed. The numbers coming out of game six were pretty strong that the warriors were better with Buddy Healed on the floor versus Gary Payton. And this is not an anti Gary Payton take. I'm a big Gary Payton fan. It's just they don't need his upside as much in this particular matchup because they're not guarding, you know, really high level guards. Next round they're going to need him for Anthony Edwards. They're going to need him in a big way. But in this series, with the way Houston was guarding having that other shooter on the floor that could really compliment what Steph was doing. That was a big. I thought Gary Payton getting sick almost helped Steve Kerr in that way because it almost forced him to lean into Buddy more. And Buddy was fantastic. But that was just championship warriors basketball when it mattered, and a lot of immature basketball from Houston, and that was the difference.
- [07:45]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I mean, shot making matters. Buddy, I think, finished with seven threes. You know, it was an interesting game. When Curry was struggling in the first half, Buddy was huge. I thought pods hit a couple of big baskets. You know, there's going to be people that are just never going to like Draymond Green. Look, I get it. But he had a couple of big plays, just big, big baskets. And, you know, then he was shooting back to back threes and that was end of the clock. And it was bad Warrior possessions. But when, when Steph, I mean, at one point I'm looking up and I'm like, warriors lead. And Steph had like two points or four points. I'm like, God, they're in good shape. This is just incredible. And you know, the thing about Curry, when you watch him and Steph has these games, Steph has these halves. He's. Where'd he go? And it's not that he needs the confidence, but Steph is not a. He's such a collaborative force that if he's off, he's really good at decoying, he's really good at off ball stuff. And sometimes I almost feel like Kur has to say, bro, this is your offense. Like, we're not going to do this. You're going to bring the ball up and make shots. And I don't know, I just. I felt like the team knew Steph wasn't playing great and everybody else kind of. And then did you notice when Steph was playing great, everybody finds their perfect role. You know, Butler's like, okay, now they need me late. I'm going to take. He had like a little six, nothing run. But I find that the team. There's a harmony, especially with, like, pods has it now. Like, he knows. Okay, Steph's on a heater. Steph's hot. Set screens for Steph. You can sense the team's senses. Okay, Steph's back, guys. Everybody get the pitching staff in order. Now everybody knows where their spot on the floor is, right?
- [09:38]
Jason Timf
Yeah. In general, you can tell that the team kind of senses whether or not Steph's in one of those zones. And I mean, Steph will send his own signals. Like, I. Like there are stretches. There were stretches over the Entire second half of the series where you could tell Steph was like, in this part of the game, I'm not really looking to be aggressive, I'm looking to save energy. And I thought it was really interesting. I don't know if you noticed this, Colin, but whenever he would in the second half, he was doing this to save energy, he would come off the high ball screen. And if they ever, if Houston ever defended it well, like if they didn't get anything out of that first action, he would like take whoever was guarding him, whether it was Dylan Brooks or Men Thompson or whatever, he goes stand out by almost half court and just let them face guard him out there so the other guys could play four on four. And it's just part of the energy conservation piece of it that you could tell Steph was finding little parts. The point is, is like with Steph, it's flurries, It's. It's these six or seven possessions where he makes four or five shots and it blows a five point lead into a 17 point lead there. That Steph is very much an avalanche type of player. And that's. The entire team is built around that. And to your point, like, like I mentioned off the top, when, when we were talking about the defensive end, the two things they had to fix were they needed to get Steph going and they needed to get Fred and Shangoon under control. You want to know why the warriors had a lead despite Steph not playing so well? They completely shut down Shangoon and Fred to start the game. And look, Draymond had a really bad offensive series. There were some very specific reasons for that. The Rockets put Fred Van Vliet on him so that they could switch ball screens. One of the biggest pieces of offensive utility for Draymond on this team is him running ball screens with Steph and getting to make the decisions as the guy leading the 4 on 3. On the other side of the team blitzing Steph Curry, soon as they put Fred Van Vliet on him, it kind of neutralizes Draymond offensively and turns him into a spot up shooter, which by the way, he did hit a couple threes to start this game. But that, that puts Draymond in a predicament where he has to be fantastic defensively to really be valuable. And I thought Draymond was amazing defensively in this game. He was the one who stonewalled Shangun. Shangun was not getting to his short hook in this game. He kept having to turn over his right shoulder and take one leg, fade aways. Along the baseline. Draymond had Shangoon in jail tonight. And so, like, you always have to look beyond just the box score with him. He's the foundational piece of everything that makes them great defensively.
- [11:59]
Colin Cowherd
It's going to be interesting for Houston because, like, Amen Thompson was so valuable to them tonight when, especially when Van Vliet, I mean, Jalen Green, to me, I'd move him tomorrow. He's a little like Kaminga, where I know I'm getting a world class athlete, but Jonathan just doesn't naturally, he doesn't feel natural offensively. He doesn't. Sometimes he's like a lost kid at the park. He's just kind of like, I'm not sure where I fit. And you're like, dude, you are long and athletic. Get near the rim, something good will happen. And he's hovering on the outside. Amen Thompson makes himself so useful. It doesn't matter what it is. It's keeping a ball active. It's on the floor. It's being a defender. Like, the dude is just a classic, an annoyance. And then offensively, he's just so aggressive. It's not Westbrook, but it's some guys in this league that are so aggressive. They just. Players don't want to face them, they don't want to guard them, they don't want to be in their space. Butler's got a little bit of that, but he's a much better offensive player. But I was thinking as I watch Houston, I would keep Sengoon. Who? Milwaukee would want a Yanis trade. Anybody would. And I would keep Amen Thompson. But I was talking to an NFL GM years and years ago. He goes, when you make a big trade, everybody thinks we want draft picks, but I don't want nine draft picks. Your team gets too young and veteran coaches get really frustrated with 22 year olds. Houston is literally too young. They go to the bench and it's a 22 year old. And I sat and I said, I keep Shangoon young, I keep Amen Thompson. I would move some of those young players. I felt like, I mean, Van Vliet's great, he really knows his role. But I think sometimes they need to develop these offensive players, these young guys, they're dependent if Fred's not hitting, they can really struggle. Jason and half court and I mean just getting good looks if he's struggling.
- [14:01]
Jason Timf
There were points in this game where I was like, man, I kind of think Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr going one on one is a better option than Shangun and Fred because it how in jail those two guys were. You know, I was thinking about it tonight as we were watching these crazy Amend Thompson like wing drives where they, they kind of just let him, if he brings the ball up in transition and he comes up the left wing and he likes the matchup in front of him, they'll kind of just space and let him go one on one. And it actually reminds me a little bit of Zion Williamson in the sense that like no one can keep him in front off the dribble. And then he just pops up off the ground just short of the rim and he could shoot little floaters, short jump shots and little scoops all over the place. He had an insane move tonight where he hit a behind the back dribble into like a crazy up and under on the other side of the rim. And I was like, good God, this is like a NBA superstar type of play. But Amen Thompson to me is completely untouchable. Shane Goon, it's one of those things where you, you barter with him. But if, if right. If Milwaukee goes, we're hanging up the phone, but that's how I feel. We'll call it in right? Then you make that sort of deal. But ultimately like the there's a men Thompson succeeding in this series and guys like Kaminga and Jalen Green not succeeding in this series I actually think is a very interesting kind of storyline in the sense that they're all freaky athletes. But there's two things with Amend Thompson that separates him from the other two athletes. Amen Thompson is an elite on ball defender. Yes, Kaminga and Jalen Green or not. And then Amen Thompson is elite processor in the middle of the floor. He is, he makes quick decisions and he gets the ball where it needs to go. Those are both the specific reasons why Jalen Green and Kaminga struggle so much on offense. Amend Thompson is useful athleticism because he has a really high basketball IQ and he's great at one thing on defense already, which is what he can do on the ball. Kaminga and Green, they're not great at anything and they're both poor processors, which is kind of a death sentence for an athlete, especially when you get in the postseason and all of a sudden like quickly reading the floor and making decisions is the difference between success and failure in many cases.
- [16:07]
Colin Cowherd
I think the warriors could struggle against Minnesota because Minnesota offers you size but with veteran half court experience. So you like sometimes with Houston, you know, when the Golden State waved the white flag in game five, they Were telling you this theme's not beating us back. We feel really good about this series. You can't give games to Minnesota. You're not giving anything to Minnesota. I think Minnesota size, I think their coaching staff, I mean, I think Ant won't have as many great looks as he did against the Lakers. They're going to throw more bodies at him, I think. You know, I think Draymond Green, I mean, they'll just throw different looks and bodies. So I don't think Ant will have. Maybe will, but I don't think. I think sometimes ant saw Lucas straddle over to him and thought, okay, this is a bucket. Which way do I want to take him? But I don't know if this is a. It doesn't feel like a great matchup for Golden State here.
- [17:06]
Jason Timf
So, you know, it's interesting. Colin. I came away from the first round feeling like Golden State has no chance against okc, but I actually think that they have a pretty decent chance against Minnesota. Let me, let me give my two cents here because it's kind of a basketball matchup piece. So one of the reasons why Houston guarded Steph so well is they have a bunch of really quick players and that quickness was very attentive to the details and they didn't let let Steph get easy ones off ball. Oklahoma City is laid in. Their roster is laden with players like that. Super fast, super smart. Minnesota is a little bit more upright in big. And one of the things that stood out to me in this series was Steph felt really comfortable one on one against Jabari Smith. We had a late ISO against him in this game and against Dylan Brooks. They're bigger wings that struggle to shift their weight from side to side. That's the first piece of it. I think Steph is going to like his matchups against Nas Reed, Julius Randle, even Jaden McDaniels a little bit as a taller wing. The second piece of it is I spent this last week watching a bunch of Minnesota Golden State film because I just assumed they would close it out, which took to this point. But they did end up closing it out and Golden State won three straight games against Minnesota. And in the last two games in particular, they were clutch time games and Nas Reed, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randall multiple times lost focus off ball when Steph was running around and they left him wide open and he burned them. Here's why that matters. The Lakers series was very different. You have these two really big forwards in Luca and LeBron. They're these big strong forwards. That are playing one on one basketball. There's no, there's no fancy approach other than I'm better than you one on one trying to score because I'm bigger and stronger. That fed right into the strength of Minnesota's defense, which is they have a bunch of big strong perimeter athletes. Yeah, Golden State presents an entirely different challenge. It's a mental challenge, not a physical challenge. It's. He's running in circles. There's all this ball in player movement and you've got to be paying attention. And we even have a recent example with Anthony Edwards in the conference finals last year where he got cooked by Kyrie Irving because Dallas was running him through a bunch of off ball screening action.
- [19:23]
Colin Cowherd
Yes, I remember that.
- [19:25]
Jason Timf
So one of the things that I'm looking at in this series, and by the way, for the record, Colin, I think Minnesota probably will be favored. And I'm not saying I'm going to pick Golden State, but I've seen enough from the specific ways that Minnesota guards Golden State and the way that Steph can succeed against bigger, taller players because he's just so much faster. I do think Golden State's going to present some problems for them. And that's not even before we even get to the fact that Golden State is a flat out substantially better defense than the Lakers were. And it will be a very different challenge. They're more athletic on ant on the perimeter and they're much better on the backline. They have the best defensive player of our era there. So I do think it'll be a closer and more competitive series than people realize.
- [20:07]
Colin Cowherd
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And again, Donovan Mitchell's a score they have scoring Guards, but it is. It's like losing your quarterback. Whereas Indiana. I think Indiana plays aesthetically as pleasing a game to watch as anybody in the league. They play with pace. They can shoot threes, but don't rely on them. They're young, they're athletic, they have length. Don't depend on it. And Halliburton just doesn't turn the ball over. He's an incredibly smart player who. They're pacing their ball movement. They get good shots. They're not. They. They rarely are sloppy. They're rarely out of control, which, for a team that plays with pace, often you get out of control. And I'm. And some of this, I'm just like, okay, Cleveland doesn't have their. Their setup guy. The backcourt, like, some of this is great backcourt. Missing their. Missing their guy. But another part of this is when I watched it, I just thought, oh, the Pacers are playing their game. This is what they look like when they're playing their best basketball. Good pace, good shots. Halliburton's controlling all of it. And I'm like, this. This could be a problem. Like, I mean, Cleveland can really defend, rim wing. Like, they're really good, and we all know this, but, boy, they. There were. There were pacing things today where I'm like, man, Cleveland just looks out of sorts. That's what it looked like to me. Just, visually, Cleveland was not in sync today. Why?
- [27:18]
Jason Timf
This was a really fascinating game. 1. I think you're hitting the nail on the head in the sense that I thought today was mostly that the Pacers just. The Pacers just sent a message to the basketball world, like, this is what they look like when they're at their best. I thought you put that perfectly. They did. First of all, they defended Donovan Mitchell extremely well, pressured him all over the place, played him into a really inefficient game. I want to get to that in a second because that's a. Donovan Mitchell tried to conquer his demons today by scoring. And I thought that that was a mistake. That's something to keep in mind. But specifically with Indian offense, they do such an amazing job of taking every single easy opportunity that ever presents itself in the game. If you're running up the floor and Tyree sees you, he's throwing the kick ahead pass, if he's just dribbling on the wing and you're on the opposite wing and your man kind of sinks in towards the top of the key, he's just going to swing it to you every single time. And if you're on the opposite corner. And your man's got a foot in the paint because he's trying to help. Tyrese is going to throw it over the top and he's going to hit you every single time. And there is very much an empowerment from Rick Carlisle that goes down the roster. Yes, everyone is encouraged to be aggressive on the catch every single time. And so Tyrese is the relentless advantage hunter. And I thought the Cavs were entirely caught off guard by that today. They were really sloppy off. Ball left a ton of easy openings that they can clean up in game two. And I'm sure Kenny Atkinson will be all over that. But Tyrese was hunting those advantages, and then everybody was just in a groove playing off of him, attacking every single time time Tyrese hits them. And Tyrese also. This is the subplot here. Tyrese is what's bringing the real ceiling here where they look like they can actually beat anybody. And it's because Tyrese is playing like he did to start last year. There was this thing that happened at the start of last year before he hurt his hamstring where he was killing everybody. Colin, remember he won. Remember he won the in season tournament, Eastern Conference and ended up losing.
- [29:08]
Colin Cowherd
But then he disappeared. Like, then he just. He got injured and he just. Everybody went. What happened to him?
- [29:13]
Jason Timf
That hamstring piece is his downhill ability to beat bigs and switches. Because the key with Tyrese Haliburton is he's such a gifted passer that if you run traditional ball screen coverages against, he'll pick you apart. So what you have to do is you have to switch against him. He scored or generated a basket in a switch against Jared Allen six times today. Literally five of his. Five of his nine made baskets were directly against Jared Allen in switches. And what that. What that is, is it's the explosiveness. You saw that step through bank shot he hit on Jiren Allen late. He was driving past Dean Wade on switches. Like Tyrese, when he's explosive, is a bigger, more athletic Steve Nash. He just needs to have that extra bit of explosion, which has been inconsistent since he hurt his hamstring. But the subtle thing that makes Indiana like a legitimate puncher's chance threat to win the conference is just how high of a level Tyrese is playing on the other side of the floor like Donovan Mitchell. I was watching the. I rewatched the game during the commercial breaks of that Houston game, and I just. It was almost like a dude trying to ram his head through a brick wall. It was like, no question, Just two.
- [30:18]
Colin Cowherd
Guys took all their shots.
- [30:20]
Jason Timf
Yeah. And it's like what made Cleveland so great all year, the drive and kick game. Max Strew sitting catch and shoot threes. Sam Merrill hitting catch and shoot threes. DeAndre Hunter hitting catch and shoot threes. That's their game. In the game, Colin Indiana generated 17 unguarded catch and shoot jump shots. Cleveland generated 10. That's the difference in the approach. Donovan Mitchell four assists, 30 shot attempts. He tried to, he tried to win this game playing hero ball and it got the entire team out of rhythm. And so even if Darius Garland is hurt and not at 100%, just having him back out there to help the flow of the offense I think will go a long way. And Cleveland does have a lot to clean up on defense. Andy threw a great punch. I do think this is going to be a long series though.
- [31:02]
Colin Cowherd
Okay. I got to pay respect to Denver. So I took, you know, it's really interesting for those listening. So the Clippers go into a game seven and you think to your. I said before the series, I said, ty Lou is worth a game. Because generally Denver's playing badly at the end of the year. They replace their coach, like everything just spells trouble. Then they play an experienced Clippers team with an excellent coaching staff. And I'm like, this is bad news. And yet the late game execution, the adjustments by Denver, it's like, oh, all right, maybe it's the players, maybe it's the staff. But I felt late in games. First credit to Westbrook, who I. Westbrook has found some sort of self awareness in the last month where he's had these quotes. He goes to the podium and he's like, you know, my game doesn't look like everybody else's. He goes, but I know what I am. I bring a lot of energy. Now sometimes that energy is a turnover. And I'm like, oh my God, who unlocked this? Who unlocked this? Westbrook. But it's like, I have no problem with that game if you know it. And he was. For years he'd get very defensive and now he's like, hey, man, my game doesn't look like everybody's. It's like, that's right, Russell. That's exactly right. He's such a tone setter. He's so relentless. And now he's really come to terms with, hey, listen, man, it's a different game. It's not always great. He like almost laughs at it. He's like, it just doesn't look like yours. But I gotta tell you, Denver, considering, I mean you would predict, I thought, who's playing poorly at the end of the year, fires a respected coach, plays a veteran team that's well coached and win. I don't know why the reason was. But some of it is Jokic, some of it's Westbrook is more of it just disappointment from the Clippers.
- [33:00]
Jason Timf
It's all of it, Colin, because I mean, to your point, you want to know how a team that is, in my opinion, more talented. I think the Clippers have more talent.
- [33:06]
Colin Cowherd
So do I.
- [33:07]
Jason Timf
And they were playing substantially better. A better, more experienced.
- [33:11]
Colin Cowherd
They were on fire for the last 40 days.
- [33:13]
Jason Timf
Oh yeah. And they were in commanding position to win the series, Colin. They were up 2 to 1. Like they should have won that series. Like there's a whole, there's a whole other conversation to have about the Clippers being in the position that they're being in. But I want to credit Nicole Jokic. He's the main one that stood out to me. What happened after Game 3 when the Clippers blew, really blew them out and took control of the series. Jokic got on his guys in the huddle and was like, this is, this is not good enough in game three though, in the third quarter, or excuse me, in Game four. So Clippers up to one in Game four. It was close at the half in that third quarter. Jokic played one of his best offensive quarters of the, of the series to that point and built that first bit of margin. And really since that point, for the entire second half of the series, the Nuggets scored the ball extremely well. They had like a 127 something offensive rating with Jokic on the floor. Like they, they were excellent offensively after that third, that Game three kind of blow up that they had. And I thought Jokic in his overall intensity really led the way. Jamal Murray obviously was fantastic. Aaron Gordon was amazing in Game seven.
- [34:18]
Colin Cowherd
Christian Brown to start Game seven was really good.
- [34:21]
Jason Timf
And he was. Yes. And he was the guy who did the great job on James Harden throughout the series. In general, throughout the tail end of the series, I just thought Denver was in control. I never really, once we got to that point, I felt pretty sure that Denver was going to close the deal. I picked the Clippers to win the series at the start of the series. But once we got to, once we got to Game four, I picked Denver. I just, I felt like, I felt like Jokic was just so much more in control of the half court dynamic and you know, then to take it over to the Clippers side, you know, with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, the two of them, they just aren't. They just aren't good enough right now to be able to compete in the Western Conference with their shot creation. Kawhi Leonard struggled to handle double teams all series and just wasn't aggressive enough. James Harden, it was like feast or famine with him. I mean, he has 11 in game five, he has seven in game seven. And one last thing before I kick it back to you about Westbrook. One of the things I loved about his quote, and he used the same phrase that you used when we did the POD on Wednesday. You said, force of nature. And he was like, I'm a force of nature. This is what I do. And the way I interpreted it, it was almost like he was saying, like, my style is to not think, but just to. To just act. Yeah. Which is funny because in the quote, he was like, I definitely think, like, I'm a smart player and I know he is, and that's not what I mean. But, like, he's definitely an instinct player. Like, he follows his gut and he doesn't second guess himself. And that comes with mistakes naturally. But when you combine that, like, audacity and confidence with his overwhelming athletic traits, it makes him a wrecking ball in, like, the best possible way. And he can, oh, my God. Like that stretch towards the end of the game where he's just getting steals and going out in transition and dunking everything like that is force of nature basketball. And yeah, it comes laid in with mistakes. But I would argue the thing that's put him over the top is, one, his ability to operate as a cutter around Jokic, and two, just him becoming a better three point shooter. Him becoming a better three point shooter has gotten rid of all the clangs that were part of those bad plays and mistakes that were really causing him to hurt his impact.
- [36:24]
Colin Cowherd
He's also a momentum player. So you notice this in this series. If he hit a three, he hit another. And I think sometimes he's obviously a very confident guy. The way he dresses and his attitude. He's a very confident guy. But even the most confident, Alex Rodriguez got dropped to eighth in a batting order once for the Yankees. I don't care how confident you are, everybody struggles, right? Like, basketball is so much of basketball, more than any sport is a confidence game. Like, even Steph Curry will have these 0 for 6 stretches. You're like, he needs. This is just not a good step. And he'll go off ball and move around. And so Westbrook can have these bad stretches but the truth is when I watch him and like, amen Thompson, Amend Thompson has so much value because he's so relentless and so aggressive that guys, he's a pain in the ass to guard. He's a. You know what I mean? Like, he's. Westbrook's hard. He's hard to guard. He's in your face. He's physical and by the way, like a running back that's 5, 8 with leverage. Russell's got those. This trunk and like he's really strong. And so you're a 6, 7 guy and Westbrook's got leverage on you and he's banging you around. He rebounds exceedingly well for his size. And so there are these basketball players and they're very rare that they're. It's just like a genetic, like they're just relentless athletes and it's. And so I love that Westbrook's like, listen, man, it doesn't look like everybody else's game, but I know what I bring. And it's like, that's exactly what you do. And like a lot of times, like, Jalen Green doesn't know what he is and I don't think he even has a pathway to it. Like, Westbrook's come full circle to being a guy that I always thought lacked a self awareness, to having total self awareness. It's like, hey, man, I'm going a thousand miles an hour. I know what I'm doing in this series. So I think when you do what we do for a living and I'm critical of people, you also have to be fair. I don't care if it's Baker Mayfield or Russell Westbrook. I watched him in this series and Jokic is obviously the best player in the world. I thought, I thought Westbrook was really valuable to the Nuggets. Do they, do they match up with OKC at all?
- [38:43]
Jason Timf
I. This is a matchup I was hoping for. As much as I thought the Clippers would beat Denver, I didn't think the Clippers had nearly the playmaking talent to beat Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City plays very aggressively up in passing lanes and on the ball. And ball pressure to try to force turnovers and get out in transition. That's like one of their foundational traits. They're the best defense in the league and they get out in transition and run on you like crazy. Denver is an elite, like top tier passing team. They pass the ball extremely well. They're also a great screen setting team, which is very important because that's how they get free guys like Jamal Murray are going to be guarded by Lou Dort. You've got to get Lou Dort off of Jamal Murray. The main thing though is Jokic is a superpower. OKC cannot guard him. He posted up 62 times against Oklahoma City this year. That's over 15 times per game. He averaged only 10 against everyone else. This is a matchup that he loves to post up again against a lot. They successfully can set screens to get Jamal Murray open. He had a big game in this matchup this year. They each won on each other's floor once. It was 2 and 2 in the season series. Denver's going to be able to score though, and that's the main reason why I think it'll be a longer, more interesting series. In their last matchup, they hung 140 points on him. The Jokic machine, the Jokic Murray machine. They're going to score against okc. Now in theory, on the other side of the floor, this is a type of matchup that favors Denver in the sense that they can load up and it's not a real like space you out type of team. Oklahoma City can get cold from three sometimes. They can be, you know, a little bit sloppy with their passing sometimes. But that said, Oklahoma City's a lot older than they were last year, more mature than they were last year, more experienced than they were last year. I was really impressed with them in their first round series because Memphis actually plays a similar style of defense to Denver in terms of loading up the strong side. And I thought Oklahoma City passed through Memphis really well so OKC should be favored. I was stunned at how much they were favored by they were like -700 to win the series, which I thought was crazy. On DraftKings. Like I would have thought more like a minus 300, minus 350 kind of favorite. Like I think OKC should be favored, but Vegas is saying Denver doesn't have a chance. I think Denver's going to score and that is just more than enough to make this a competitive series, in my opinion.
- [41:00]
Colin Cowherd
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Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So, you know, degree cool rush Deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula and it did not go over well with their fans. So Degree's whole thing is it turns up the sweat and odor prot when you turn up the effort. And good thing it does, because Cool Rush fans really turned up the effort to bring the original formula back. One guy even started an online petition and Degree listened. They admitted they effed up. They're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. It's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. There's a reason it's been the number one men's antiperspirant for the last decade. It's the same reason why people were not happy when it changed. So if you've never tried it, it might be a good time to see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart, Target and try the OG Degree Cool Rush for yourself. 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 legends in a bottle today. Yeah, the. You know, it's. Let's go back to the warriors and we can finish it with this Jason Timf. Obviously, hoops tonight. A lot of the old teams lost. The Clippers were an old team, they lost. The Lakers were an old team, they lost. Milwaukee was an old team, they lost. You know, Golden State's an old team and they won. Some of that is because they were playing a young team that feels like they're a year or two behind okc. Like, they're just not like Cleveland was three years ago. OKC was last year. Some of it's just the baby step nature of this league. Houston wasn't ready to win a series, and even though they had some clear athletic length and depth advantages. But there is something to be said about. Kerr is really. I mean, Peyton's sick. Kaminga, he doesn't want. Basically they had five guys and then like a loony. That was the lineup. It's like five guys and loonies. There is something to be said for Steve Kerr. He was a great broadcaster, smart executive, really good player. He did a lot of coaching tonight. There was a lot of. I mean, when Curry struggling. He is going through lineups. I mean, Kaminga's in. Kaminga's off the floor. Looney's in. I'm keeping Looney in. I want to talk a little bit about Kerr. All these old teams lost. It would have been very easy on a night if I'd have said to you, you didn't watch the game. Yeah, Curry was awful in the first half, and it was just warriors really struggled offensively and they won. I think some of it is. I think Kerr has such a heartbeat. I mean, we said into this series, Jason, oh, they have to play Kaminga, and they really didn't. And it worked. I mean, and I've got to told you, yeah, Kamingo won't play much. What he does, he clearly frustrates the hell out of Kerr. Oh, yeah, Game seven. Peyton will be sick as a dog. There was a million reasons why they should have lost this series. I mean, wasn't there?
- [47:10]
Jason Timf
Yeah, I. I texted our mutual friend Logan Swaim in the middle of this game and I said, man, because, you know, he's a fellow Lakers fan as we've been lamenting the disappointing end to the season. And I said to him, like, I still think Kerr and the warriors are just miles smarter than the Lakers. And it just drives me crazy when I'm watching him because Courageous played every button right tonight. Now, obviously there was the illness to GP2, but it was right. Buddy was the guy you needed to lean into. Buddy, that was the right move. Quick hooks with Kaminga. He got two quick shifts. He made a bunch of mistakes right away, and he was called it. He called a timeout to get him out in one of them. So, like, like, like, so they. He had quick hooks on Kaminga going towards Kevon Looney in this game instead of quitting post, he understood this is going to be a bloodbath. This game's going to be about rebounding, not about spacing. So we're going to go towards Kavan Looney. I thought that was smart. The. The. Against the zone. I won't get into the. The intricacies on here because it just would take too long. But there were a couple of specific things that they tried right away and got really good looks against the zone, which was the big story, because in Game 6, when they lost control, Houston zoned them 18 times in the fourth quarter and they scored three times in 18 possessions. So that was a huge storyline coming into game seven. Would Kerr and the guys be able to solve the zone? They did a much better job against it tonight. Every single little button that needed to get pushed got pushed. And it was the difference. I mean, this game was a three point game in the second half. Like it. I think, I think we underestimate how much these series come down to pretty tight margins. Like if you look at Denver, look at Denver versus the Clippers. You've got an overtime game. You've got Aaron Gordon dunking at the buzzer to win one of the games. Look at Detroit vs. New York. All those games swung on, crunch time sequences, Lakers, Minnesota, Game 3 and Game 4 were where the series were decided. Both of those games were tied in the final minutes in Minnesota pulled away like the margins are slim. And if you have an advantage in, you know, the strategic side of things with your coaching staff, it makes a massive difference.
- [49:11]
Colin Cowherd
Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So you know Degree Cool Rush deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula and it did not go over well with their fans. So Degree's whole thing is it turns up the sweat and odor protection when you turn up up the effort. And good thing it does because Cool Rush fans really turned up the effort to bring the original formula back. One guy even started an online petition and Degree listened. They admitted they effed up. They're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. It's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. There's a reason it's been the number one men's antiperspirant for the last decade. It's the same reason why people were not happy when it changed. So if you've never tried it, it might be a good time to see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart, Target and try the OG Degree Cool Rush for yourself. I do want to talk about this. Obviously, J.J. redick. I didn't think J.J. had a great last couple games in the series. Okay. And I was thinking about this. I went on a walk this morning in Chicago and I. And I thought about this. So when Matt LaFleur got the green Bay packers job, he'd never been good looking, smart guy in Tennessee coordinator, but had never been a head coach, had never owned the room. So he goes to this iconic organization, replaces a Super bowl winning coach, Mike McCarthy and the first thing I noticed is they became a very good first quarter team, much like JJ Redick. Very intentional, you know, classic coordinator becomes a head Coach the Packers offense first quarter. It was clearly that he was a great in the film room coach. That's why he got the Packer job. But I didn't love his halftime adjustments because as a coordinator the coach is doing a lot of the half. He's doing the talking at half right. So you're doing a lot of what the coach wants at half. And then I thought by year two, Matt LaFleur became a really good full coach. He came in his first year, he was a great. They took leads that you win 70% of your games in the NFL if you take a lead. But he wasn't a great adjustment coach. He was year two. Similarly, JJ Redick Lakers were a very good first quarter team many times this year. They'd have these great stretches. Very intentional, very good in the film room, very smart guy. But I do think adjustments take time to be a great adjuster. Kerr is a great adjuster. I think Joe, I think Missoula in Boston's gotten much better at that at the, you know, playoff series, have four and five adjustments. Chris Finch's team, very good at layering. And I just think JJ I think it's just part of being a rookie. Head coach Jason Kidd, his first go around, you know, you're good in the film room, you're intentional, you come out. This is what we do well and they don't. So much of this league is second half last four minutes out of a timeout. And is it a fair criticism on the film you watch to say that JJ will become a better overall coach? That there were times this year that he wasn't. Now maybe I'm the opposite is true, but I just didn't think he was always the greatest adjuster.
- [52:23]
Jason Timf
I thought he was a little slow to adjust at times. I think, you know, I think in general with jj I have had no big picture concern just simply because I think he's smart and I think he's hyper competitive and like kind of obsessive, which I think is what you just need to, to, to be, to be good at that job is. I think he'll, I think he'll have some issues over, over his career with just how hot tempered he is and how that can rub people the wrong way. I mean we saw that with Mike Malone. You can wear out the room pretty quick if you're a great coach. And I think those will be things that he'll have to work at. I, the, the perfect example of that to me was the Warriors Lakers regular season game towards the end of the Year where like Steve Kerr comes out for his little interview at the end of the first quarter and he's just so calm and cool and collected. And then they go to JJ for his interview and he's like, clearly mad and angry and agitated. And it's like, like you, you learn too, that like, your players start to. I actually learned this from the high school coach that I coached with, like, you. You. Your players take on your personality in a lot of cases. And which is why it's so important for you to kind of stay as even keeled as you can, because if you get super emotional and worked up, your players will get emotional and worked up and stuff like that. But over the course of the series, I thought he made several mistakes. There was the, at the beginning of the series, the. The Lakers just came out looking flat out unprepared for game one in terms of the intensity. JJ admitted after the fact that he thought he made a mistake by not scrimmaging at all in that week before the game. Which I, when I heard that, I was like, wait, you guys didn't play basketball for a week? I'm like, you're about to play the Timberwolves. It's going to be a war. You need to be ready. But to JJ's credit, he acknowledged it. He understood that there was a mistake there offensively. I thought the team made a key mistake in the series by not attacking Minnesota's Smalls at any point. At any, at any point in the series. There was no extended stretch where LeBron or Luca attempted to post up in that series. LeBron shot Colin. This is a crazy post. LeBron. LeBron shot out of the post in that entire series. Five times. Five times in, in five games. This is like literally what he's done in his career as like the thing he goes to when his back is against the wall and he was just unwilling to do it there. But it also goes to Luca. Luca wasn't attacking Smalls. They were only attacking Bigs. There was the, the substitution pattern at late in game four, which I think again is a little bit more convoluted because, you know, they win that game, you're playing Monday morning quarterback in a lot of ways. But game five, though, in particular, he switched his scheme towards double teaming and they looked completely unprepared, meaning, like they were giving up wide open layups and dunks to where, like, if they were a little bit more schematically prepared for that, they should have been able to at least tilt that towards the three point line in Certain guys shooting, they looked like an unprepared team for that scheme, which I think reflects poorly on jj. But at the end of the day, like I thought, JJ overwhelmingly in his first year, exceeded expectations.
- [55:08]
Colin Cowherd
Same. Same.
- [55:08]
Jason Timf
I don't think JJ is the reason they lost to Minnesota. I think the reason they lost to Minnesota is Austin Reeves was awful for the majority of the series. Like, literally, the Minnesota took him out, and Luka when. Whenever the series was hanging in the balance, late in game five, late in game four, late in game three, Luka was bad. And. And that really was the series. And like, I would. I will always kind of look at the stars before I look at coaches, but there's no doubt that JJ's got a lot of room to grow. I'm just not worried about it because of how competitive, how smart he is. That stuff will come in time.
- [55:43]
Colin Cowherd
I do. I do think they have to consider there's some duplication with Austin Reaves, and they just need. Somebody's going to want Austin Reaves, and somebody's going to be looking to get rid of a big. And it's nothing against Austin. I think he has value. That wasn't a great series for him. Well, it wasn't a great matchup. I mean, the truth is, Minnesota's athletic and strong and physical, and they pounced on it, and he just couldn't get to the free throw line. But I look at it, and I think he has served his purpose. He's an unranked player. Use him as a trade piece. But if you're not going to play Jackson Hayes against the team with Rudy Gobert, you need some size. You got to get a legitimate big in here.
- [56:21]
Jason Timf
Austin Reeves is one of my favorite players, and so it hurts me to say this because rooting for him has been. And watching him go from like, literally an undrafted guy to like, a legitimate player probably deserves $30 million a year in this league. Like, he's so good. And by the way, Colin, this is the first time in several playoff series that I've watched Austin and thought that he was overwhelmed. Like, he's been very good in four previous playoff series. So, like Austin, this was a really bad matchup for him. They're just so athletic. He caught the Anthony Edwards matchup most of the series and Ant just put him in jail. And Dante DiVincenzo defended him really well. My thing is, it's more just about roster construction. I don't think you can build a lineup that succeeds in the modern NBA with two inferior perimeter athletes. I think that's where you're. You're reaching. You're reaching kind of like below the. The. The, like, mandatory minimum level of athleticism that you.
- [57:14]
Colin Cowherd
That's right.
- [57:15]
Jason Timf
And so. So even though. Even though, like, it makes some sense in the context of LeBron, when LeBron retires, you're now building around Austin and Luca, and you would need the other three guys in that lineup to be, like, absolute peak athletes for that to work.
- [57:32]
Colin Cowherd
Yep.
- [57:32]
Jason Timf
And that's just difficult to do in terms of roster allocation. And so, honestly, when I look at it this summer, you don't. That doesn't mean you get rid of Austin for nothing. But I begin to look at Austin as a key asset with which to return somebody that actually fits this timeline better. And there's the second piece of it, which is if you get rid of Austin, you better have a plan for another ball handler. Cause LeBron is 40. So, like, there's got to be a. This is. This is going to be a really fine line that they're walking this off season because they need to walk the win now line alongside LeBron, but they also need to have some sort of plan post LeBron. And so that's where it gets tricky. I look at, like, you know, if you could call a Brooklyn and see if you can't package together Austin in another salary and get like a Cam Johnson and a Nick Claxton, so you get like a legit 3 and D guy and a real center to put next to Luke and LeBron. But even then, you better be calling behind the scenes to stars and be like, hey, we're going to need somebody to come in here and be Lucas number two pretty soon. And, you know, maybe it ends up being a Kyrie after his injury or something like that. Who knows? But there's. There's definitely a fine line here that they have to walk in. A lot of different pieces that have got to. That got to go, right. But I left the series thinking the same way you did, Colin. I'm like, I love Austin. I'm not sure if he makes a lot of sense here in the big List.
- [58:50]
Colin Cowherd
Nico Harrison gave you a little bit of a roadmap when he had Kyrie and Luca and like, okay, I need size and rim protection. Yep. And they were really good and got to the finals. And I just think that's the reality. It was the reality with Carmelo Anthony, who wasn't a willing defender. It was James Harden. There are just players in this league who are so gifted offensively, you overlook stuff if. If LeBron is old and Luca is your star. You're going to need some elite defenders. You need rent protection. That's just the way it is. It's okay and you can get it. I mean they almost pulled off that deal for it was at Market Williams.
- [59:28]
Jason Timf
Yeah. And I don't think, I don't think he's the answer either. Colin.
- [59:31]
Colin Cowherd
No, he. He's always hurt and he's not a good defender. Oh, so he's just a big guy. Not a great.
- [59:37]
Jason Timf
He's just a big guy. He's got a little bit of the Charlotte Hornets. Itis. So there's always a little bit of that. Like maybe, maybe he bring him in and he could make it better. But I didn't love the film that I saw with him playing defense at Charlotte.
- [59:49]
Colin Cowherd
All right, so we get ready for some more unbelievable NBA playoffs. I've been so damn fun. Just so great. And I could not wait for this game to start. And I was so looking forward to this one too.
- [60:02]
Jason Timf
This was one of the biggest games I can remember in recent history. Like the ramifications of Golden State.
- [60:07]
Colin Cowherd
The numbers are going to be huge. The number is going to be huge for this. And by the way, let's give credit to the Pacers fun watch if you're a casual NBA fan. They're just a great pacing, really smart. Halliburton's a tremendous playmaker and passer. They've got a well coached. They've got physicality. They can shoot it through me. They don't depend on it. Just a really nice pacing, an easy, fun, smart basketball watch. And. And they're going to give Cleveland some trouble. So as always, Jason, this was great.
- [60:40]
Jason Timf
It's good to see you Con. I'll see you next week.
- [60:43]
Colin Cowherd
The volume Blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high octane world of sports, Vice Sports brings an exciting and diverse range of programming that goes beyond the game. From action packed live events to gripping behind the scenes documentaries to hard hitting investigative pieces and in depth profiles of athletes, coaches, teams. Vice Sports captures the raw energy, drama and passion that makes sports truly unforgettable. Catch live events and other exclusive sports programs Only on Vice TV. Go to Vicetv.com to find your cable channel. Summer is almost here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber eats. Now what do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A nice tan. Sorry, A box fan. Happily, yes. A day of sunshine no. A box of fine wines. Yes, Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details.
- [62:02]
Jason Timf
Okay, have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. Their fans rebelled and wanted the old SIM back. That and degree. Listen, that doesn't happen often.
- [62:12]
Colin Cowherd
They admitted that they effed up and.
- [62:14]
Jason Timf
Are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back.
- [62:16]
Colin Cowherd
And it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason it's the number one men's antiperspirant.
- [62:24]
Jason Timf
And it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores for under $4. So try it and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local stores to try the OG Cool Rush for yourself.
- [62:35]
Colin Cowherd
Gaming isn't just something you do, it's how you prove yourself. Every match, every move, every second matters. And when your squad is relying on you, there's no room for lag. That's where Lenovo Legion comes in for the next era of gaming. Intel Core Ultra processors unlock better streaming, sharper performance and seamless teamwork by offloading AI tasks like background removal and audio optimization. Plus accelerate on device generative AI to create, compete and dominate. Be future ready with AI with the Lenovo Legion Series. Shop now@lenovo.com.
- [63:14]
Unknown Sponsor
This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. When you're streaming the fight or sharing those takedown highlights, you need a wireless provider that keeps you close to the action. With Total Wireless, you're covered by the Verizon 5G network, so you don't have to worry about your connection being knocked out at the biggest moments. It's not something you can usually say about a wireless provider, but Total Wireless really does have your back. They're in your corner every second of the day, so you never miss a thing. Visit totalwireless.com or visit your local Total Wireless Store to learn more about how Total Wireless can be in your corner. 5G access requires a 5G capable device and a 5G service area. Additional terms apply. See website for details.