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- [00:00]
Capital One Bank Guy
Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One Bank Guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com Bank Capital One NA Member.
- [00:27]
Uber Eats Guy
FDIC Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But 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 Regency app.
- [00:57]
Jeremy Hobson
For details 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. But from the avalanche of news, listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:28]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're gonna be bringing you 40s and free agents the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday. Keeping you up to date as we head to to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [01:58]
Capital One Bank Guy
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
- [02:18]
Jason McIntyre
Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports. Rad. Welcome to the Herd. It's Wednesday. Jason McIntyre still in for Colin Cowher joined today by Alex Curry. Alex, it was a phenomenal night in the NBA.
- [02:36]
Alex Curry
It was so much fun. Also like watching Lakers okc. I'm like this would be such a fun, spicy series when it, when and if they meet in the playoffs.
- [02:45]
Jason McIntyre
Yes, yes, yes. Very exciting show today. We got a couple one guest in studio. We got an NFL gambling guest. I'll do some over unders later in the show. Obviously some more NFL draft talk. But folks, I have to start with that amazing night in the NBA. No, I'm not talking about the Timberwolves blowing a 24 point fourth quarter lead. I'll get to my Knicks. Yes, I can call them my Knicks. Another gut wrenching loss to the Celtics, folks. I've got to start with the Los Angeles Lakers. Did you see what went down in the dust bowl last night? Lakers at okc. And we saw a phenomenal basketball game with one of the softest ejections I can recall in the NBA this season. It was laughable. Folks, it's the Lakers against the world. And it's official. You see Luka putting in this one handed shot there in the lane that put the Lakers up one with about eight minutes left in the game. And then Luka got ejected. You could see the official there tossing Luka. Luka made a basketball and just talk trash to a fan. Now this fan is, you know, the typical meatball in the stadium who's always there. He has a history of talking to players, including Luka. And Luka let him know, hey man, I made that. Luca said some choice words, but the official happened to be right there. And what went down in OKC last night after Luka was ejected, I saw it. And we have our narrative for the postseason. It's the Lakers against the world. OKC fans went crazy. The OKC players were excited. Luka got run. And then if you went online and checked the temperature, folks, everybody hates the Lakers. And it's official. It's the Lakers against the world. Here's Luca talking about his ejection last night, which was laughable.
- [04:30]
Luka Doncic
Yeah, I mean, you can see it, that happened. But you know, I never got a fan ejected. Never. But if he's going to talk, I'm going to talk back like always. So that had nothing to do with the ref. So I didn't really understand. I mean, it was tough. I mean, we were right there. I think we fought the whole game. You know, we were Done. Eight at halftime. We came. We came back in the third quarter. We were fighting, man. So it was tough to see that with this kind of situation that happened. And, you know, that's on me, too. So I can't let my team down like that.
- [05:02]
Jason McIntyre
So the narrative is built. It's official, right? Luka is whiny and complains a lot. We don't like him. That's official around the league. And now he's a Laker, which compounds matters. And then LeBron also has the same, oh, he whines, he flops, he complains. He's better than Jordan, but I don't like him. And so now you put those two together, toss in a little Lakers history, and they're the biggest villains in the NBA. This Lakers team, since the Curry Durant warriors, when they steamrolled the league and were unstoppable for two, two championships. You. I think you could even compare this Luka LeBron pairing to the hate that LeBron and Wade got with the Heatles back in the day. If you guys remember that squad, this is a Lakers team. People just don't like them. People don't like them because they're great. I think they have the best one, two punch in the league. And I think if you watch these last two games against the Thunder guys, it's pretty obvious the Thunder do not match up well with Luca, LeBron and Austin Reeves. And yes, I'm tossing Austin Reaves in there. Now, I do want to add one other note. If you look around the west, when I say the Lakers are villains and they've got targets on their backs, remember, Dylan Brooks of the Rockets has gotten into it with Luka and LeBron in the playoffs. Desmond Bain of the Grizzlies, he wants to go at LeBron. They've gone at it. We know Draymond Green and LeBron are friendly, but when Draymond and LeBron are on the court, it gets heated, folks. You can pick any team in the west and there's beef with the Lakers or Luka. And then you toss in the referee factor. And I had to look this up during the meeting this morning. Guys, Luca does not lead the league in technical fouls. Oh, but that's right. He missed about, I don't know, 30 games due to injury, and he's still near the top of the technical foul leaders. Luca's averaging, like, a technical foul a game. So you've got opposing teams don't like Luca, and LeBron fans clearly don't like the Lakers. And Luca and Lebron and oh, we're now going to toss in the referees who seem to have it out for Luca, who is prone to doing some jawjacking. That's his thing. But folks, nobody hates the Boston Celtics, the defending champs. They just don't. Nobody hates the Thunder. They're kind of still irrelevant despite being a 60 some odd win team. And I don't think anybody hates the Cavs. They just kind of exist. So I think all the attention now is going to be focused on the Lakers and Luca and LeBron, and it's shaping up to be a pretty glorious NBA playoffs. I want to shift my attention now to the NFL and oh boy, here we go. A phenomenal headline on Yahoo. Sports. The Cowboys have a brilliant scouting network. They also have Jerry Jones. That's, that's genius headline work. Give that man a promotion. And it's really spot on. You can look at the Dallas Cowboys draft history, folks. The Cowboys in the last five or six years have drafted so well in the middle rounds when you're kind of sort of throwing darts. They got over shown in the third round. He has been a home run. I know he's injured, but he was great. Duron Bland, fifth round pick. You look back a little further, their center, Tony Pollard, Dalton Schultz, those two guys have moved on, but they've drafted really well. And the Cowboys had a great run under McCarthy, right? Three straight years, 11 plus wins, and you're like, damn, you're great at drafting. But then you look around and Tony Pollard's gone and Dalton Schultz is gone. And all of a sudden you start looking around that roster and it's like, we're getting kind of old. We're losing some players. Jerry's negotiating tactics, not great with Dak, not great with cd, certainly not great with Micah Parsons. And it reminded me of that Jerry Seinfeld episode where he goes to the rental car place and Jerry's like, hey, I got my reservation for the car. They're like, oh yeah, we have your reservation, but we don't have any cars. And Jerry Seinfeld kind of loses his mind. He's like, wait a minute, you took my reservation, that's why I should have a car. And they're like, we know how reservations work. And Jerry Seinfeld, you don't. If you do, if you did know how the reservations work, you'd have my car. And there's kind of a parallel with the Cowboys here because they know how to draft well. They just don't know how to keep their guys. Folks, you could go through the entire roster, it's kind of devoid of talent. I mean, eventually, you know, this summer after the draft happens and everything, people break down the rosters by position group and I'm just telling you right now, it's bleak for Dallas. You know, you look at their skill, position players, they're at least average or below around the league. Their offensive line got old quickly. It is below average. You look at the defense and they do have a couple nice pieces, but by and large, their front seven mid at best. The Cowboys don't know how to hold on to guys. And there's really the finger to only point at one guy and that's Jerry Jones, who keeps botching these contracts. I mean, worse yet, he's compounding matters by trading away the valuable picks that they continue to hit on. Remember mid round picks in the NFL, guys, they're tough. You're kind of sort of throwing darts. The smart move is give me more picks because If I get 10, I'm probably gonna miss on six if I hit four. That's amazing. And Jerry Jones is trading away picks, folks. He gave up fourth round pick for Joe Milton, the quarterback he traded for Trey Lance, who's no longer on the roster. What about picking up Mingo, the wide receiver who did nothing? He's giving away valuable picks for guys who aren't really going to contribute. It's really a bizarre situation for Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. And I'm going to be honest with you, like we're going to do over unders later in the show. And I really thought long and hard about the Cowboys under. It is below where it has been under McCarthy. And you see these images here on the screen of fans kind of unhappy with Dallas. And then as I said, you look at that roster and you're like, are these guys that good? I mean, the Cowboys are priced a little bit ahead of the jets and Giants as they should be. They have a quarterback in Dak Prescott and a couple other pieces, but you look under the hood and there, there's just not much there. And it reminded me. So I took, I talked about this on the show. I coached this girls basketball team. We entered this tournament, it was a bunch of sixth graders. We had like an all star team, but we only had like one practice together. And we roll up to the tournament and our first opponent comes out. The coach has a boombox on his shoulder. He's playing music all loud. The crowd is excited. We're like kind of wide eyed, like, what's going? Gee, what's going on? What do we get ourselves into the opponent? They've got these jerseys that are all made up. They looked like they knew what they were doing. They score the first basket of the game, and I'm like, oh, geez, we're down 02. What do we get ourselves into? And then, of course, we proceed to full court, press them and steamroll them. We win, like, 29 to 7. One of the parents comes up to me afterward and says, jason, that whole boombox thing. And this team, they look good. You know what they say about Cowboys, right? All hat, no cattle. That's what that team was. They look good. They look the part, but they don't, really. Can't back it up. And I thought about the Dallas Cowboys instantly. The all hat, no cattle. And that's kind of where we are, folks. I'm just telling you, you look at the roster for the Cowboys, I don't know that it's better than, say, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have no quarterback right now as we wait for Aaron Rodgers. Still, I'm keeping it real with you. My New York jets match the rosters together. Sure. The Cowboys have a quarterback and they have Micah Parsons, and they have CD Lamb after that. I mean, the jets have more talent. The Eagles blow away, completely blow away anything the Cowboys have. The Niners lose, like, six starters this offseason. Go put the Cowboys next to the Niners. Go look at those rosters and you tell me who's got a better one. Dallas is really sliding downhill, and Jerry Jones is the only one to blame. You can't blame the scouting department. They're doing their job. Jerry is it doing his job? So, Alex, we got a spirited show today. I'm very excited. I do also want to get to talking to you about White Lotus.
- [13:16]
Alex Curry
Oh, you finally watched.
- [13:17]
Jason McIntyre
Finally. You know, I'm old, so now I gotta watch, like, half of it one night. No, no, no.
- [13:21]
Alex Curry
You were flying home when the finale aired.
- [13:24]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [13:24]
Alex Curry
So you had an excuse.
- [13:25]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [13:26]
Alex Curry
You had to catch up. I'm happy you finally got there because it's like major Star wars ending, which I didn't see coming.
- [13:33]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [13:33]
Alex Curry
I don't want to spoil. Yeah, yeah.
- [13:35]
Jason McIntyre
I grew up on the east coast, so watching sports on the east coast is tough. Lakers and warriors, when they're on, it's like 11:30 and it's like, oh, come on. But out here, those games are done at like, 8:39. Then you. Yes. Said it for sure, you could fire up the White Lotus. But coming up next here on the show, one NBA contender still has a major flaw. I'll tell you who it is. That's next here on the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FM and the iHeartRadio app.
- [14:08]
Capital One Bank Guy
Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast, too. Oh, really? Thanks. Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC spring.
- [14:37]
Uber Eats Guy
Is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But 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 Regency app. For details.
- [15:08]
Jeremy Hobson
We live in a divided country.
- [15:09]
Jason McIntyre
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [15:12]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
- [15:13]
Alex Curry
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [15:16]
Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.
- [15:24]
Alex Curry
Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.
- [15:26]
Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [15:31]
Uber Eats Guy
Thanks for having me. Jeremy.
- [15:32]
Jeremy Hobson
Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [15:34]
Jason McIntyre
Thanks for having me.
- [15:35]
Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
- [15:40]
Jason McIntyre
Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
- [15:43]
Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.
- [15:52]
Uber Eats Guy
We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary? And what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.
- [16:00]
Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [16:06]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're gonna be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast back here on the herd.
- [16:36]
Jason McIntyre
Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. You guys know I was born in New York. I love to mention that. Gives me street cred. Obviously. I'm a huge Knicks fan. Patrick Ewing was my favorite player for much of my young life. And then of course Magic Johnson as well. It I was so excited for this team this year. Guys, I'm a little sad right now because of what went down last night, but on the way into work this morning I saw a bumper sticker. If you learn from losing, you have not lost. That person was probably a Buddhist, but if you learn from losing, you have not lost. Well, the Knicks, after losing an overtime thriller to the Celtics at home, have now fallen to Wait till you see this stat. Winless 0 and 7 against the Celtics and Cavs, it stretches to 09. If you toss in the Thunder, it stretches to 0. 15. Yes, that's right. The Knicks are 0. 15 against the Celtics, Cavs, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Thunder 0 and 15 with 11 double digit losses. Look at that point differential. Guys. I love Tom Thibodeau, but hot seat doesn't begin to describe where he's at right now. Again, 015 against the best of the best in the league with 11 of those 15 losses being by double digits. So last night they played the Celtics and you're like, all right, big game. We got to prove we can beat a, a a a top flight team. Celtics are at full strength. We got this. Jalen Brunson's back and the Knicks look freaking great. Loving the game, everything about it. And then the end of the game comes and the Knicks are up by 3 late in regulation and in just an absolute disaster of a possession, they give up a step back three to Jason Tatum to tie the game with two seconds left. Now here's where things get really ugly for Thibodeau and the Knicks. After the game, OG Anunoby was like, yeah, I should have fouled him. But Tibbs was saying don't foul Jason Hart. Not Jason Hart, Josh Hart. The minutes per game leader, I believe in the NBA. Him and Bridges are 1, 2. We'll get to that. In a second. But Hart says we should have communicated better whether to foul or not. This is a veteran team. We're in game 79 of 82 and you can't communicate what the hell to do in the end of a game. Guys, all signs are pointing to Tibeto in real trouble now. Here's Tibs after the loss. Forget what he says, but just look at the man. He looks beaten down and defeated. They're the defending champion, right? So until someone proves they can beat him, that they're defending their championship. And so we know that there's a lot of work for us to do. You know, we're still, you know, working through things. Still working through things in game 79. I mean, I know we added, we, we added Bridges and Cat and it was gonna. There was going to be a learning curve. I was going to give him 25 games. I even wrote that for Fox Sports early. Hey, the Knicks, despite this slow start there, that's a buy value. I thought this team matched up so good in the summer when they added bridges. I mean, when you add bridges in. Karl Anthony Towns, Cat, I believe, has been all NBA a couple times. And Bridges is an elite defender. Huge value to match up with the Celtics, folks. The Celtics beat their brains in three times. And then last night, Boston wins in overtime. Porzingis hits eight threes. I mean, really, Porzingis out playing Towns. Like, if anything could have gone right for the Knicks, they just foul Tatum at the end of the game. It's so basic. Anybody who's played basketball, if you're up three foul. The guy Thibodeau, according to his players, was worried that Boston would try to get up a shot and then get three free throws. Come on, Tibbs. I feel like he's living in the Stone Age still, folks, here's what's troubling. His calling card is defense. The Knicks add a great defender of Bridges, a negative defender in Towns who, you know, doesn't protect the rim at all, and they've fallen. Last year they were a 50 win team that finished 10th in defense. This year they're a 50 win team that's down to 15th in defense. But 50 wins isn't good enough for the 2 seed like it was last year. Now they're the 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers change their coach and are zooming up the charts. They've got 63 wins at the top of the East. They got the number one seed. They've left the Knicks in the dust. So I'll leave you with a bit of a hot take. And I teased this yesterday. Michael Malone was fired by the Nuggets. He is a fiery, intense, but great basketball coach. He was good with the Kings, they ran him off. Good with the Nuggets wins a title. They run him off. After a decade. I would not be surprised if game one next year, Knicks are being coached by Michael Malone and he moved to New York to take over the Knicks. I mean, you just look at Thibodeau and he's on thin ice and you start to wonder if the players have tuned him out. He got into it with Josh Hart in the huddle earlier this season. He got into it with Bridges. A little war of words. These are guys who's he's running into the ground. I think Thibodeau, I don't want to say he's lost the locker room, but they better win that opening round series. And I don't know that they have a snowballs chance in hell against the Celtics who swept them 40 this year. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.
- [22:13]
Alex Curry
Well, J. Mac, let's start with the best team in the east because the Cavs clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference after last night's win. And Cleveland has its second best record in franchise history at 63 and 16. And it's the first time they finished the regular season atop the east since a 201516 season with LeBron. It's been 10 years, which shows you the kind of impact that LeBron has while he's with the franchise and then once he leaves. So big congrats to the Cavs. I definitely think it's a huge step in the right direction. I'm not sure that they're at a place yet where I think they can beat Boston and beat a team in the West. But again, it is the step in the right direction. But it's just crazy to kind of wrap your head around like how long ago it was since they were here 10 years ago. The price of gas at that time. J. Mac, $2.14 a gallon.
- [23:07]
Jason McIntyre
Oh, my gosh.
- [23:08]
Alex Curry
J.J. redick led the league in three point percentage. Obviously he's now coaching the Lakers. Number one song was Work by Rihanna. That's a good song. Still a banger. Yeah, still a banger. Biggest box office hit, Captain America, Civil War.
- [23:21]
Jason McIntyre
Great.
- [23:22]
Alex Curry
No, love that movie.
- [23:23]
Jason McIntyre
Can I say great, you do what you do.
- [23:24]
Alex Curry
Yes. No, I love it. No, I'm a huge marvel.
- [23:27]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, I'm a marvel.
- [23:28]
Alex Curry
I love any Marvel show. Movie. I'm like, bring it on.
- [23:31]
Jason McIntyre
People are probably rolling their eyes. Captain America. Civil War is good.
- [23:34]
Alex Curry
It was great.
- [23:35]
Jason McIntyre
That's the one with the. Don't ask me where he takes out like eight guys in the elevator.
- [23:39]
Alex Curry
It's just, it's all great.
- [23:40]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, they're all. The Captain America series. Sorry, I'm a nerd.
- [23:44]
Alex Curry
No, same. I mean, I love Star Wars.
- [23:46]
Jason McIntyre
So let me ask.
- [23:47]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [23:47]
Jason McIntyre
Who do you have less faith in in the playoffs, The Cavs or the Thunder? The two number one seeds who haven't won a title with this iteration.
- [23:59]
Alex Curry
Who do I have less or more?
- [24:02]
Jason McIntyre
We could make it positive.
- [24:03]
Alex Curry
More. It's tough because I, I don't see either of them winning the final. But I also like, I have the. The Boston Lakers.
- [24:13]
Jason McIntyre
We just saw highlights of Ty Jerome, which Jared Allen, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland. Like, it's. I'm sorry. The Celtics aren't afraid of that.
- [24:20]
Alex Curry
No, it's great. But experience matters once you get to the postseason and playoffs. And Celtics, obviously defending champs, they know how to win. They were just there. And the Lakers, you have one of the most experienced guys in the playoffs in LeBron James leading a franchise which like doubt them if you want. That's going to be all the better for the Lakers once they get in the playoffs. I, I put my faith in experience and veterans once you get to the postseason. So I don't know if I, I don't want to put either of them down because they're both, they've both taken huge steps for their franchises and like they are.
- [24:58]
Jason McIntyre
The future Cavs will have home court against Boston.
- [25:01]
Alex Curry
Huge.
- [25:01]
Jason McIntyre
They'll be. And Donovan Mitchell. Yeah, he's a tough matchup despite them having White and Holiday and all those guys.
- [25:07]
Alex Curry
I, I just, I wouldn't take him in series. Yeah, I'm not going to take him winning the series. I mean they're going to get a couple games if it's going to be close and it's going to be a great series. Yeah, that's where I'm at there. Okay, let's head to the west because the Timberwolves had a 24 point lead in the fourth quarter and blew it. Getting outscored 39 to 8 down the stretch by the Bucks. And Minnesota started the game in a four way tie for fifth place in the West. Now they are sitting alone in the eighth seed with three games left before the play in starts. Now, this is not the time of year to be having these kind of meltdown moments, especially when you're that close with that many teams, I mean the west is absolutely crazy. There's still a 1, 2, 3, 4 way tie between the Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors, Grizzlies and Grizzlies are in the play in like it's, it's, it's, it's must win for all of these like kind of French. Even the Lakers, they're only a game ahead of this four way tie in the West. Like it's crazy. Like that meltdown by the, by the Timberwolves was all. Giannis alone scored the same amount of points as the entire Timberwolves team in the fourth quarter, 40 to 13 or something like that. He had 13 and T Wolves had 13 points. Like it. It's absolute. You cannot do that.
- [26:32]
Jason McIntyre
This year's the. Oh my gosh, four of 20. The weirdest part is they had been I think 15 and two in their last 17 games. So they came in hot. They're rolling.
- [26:41]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [26:42]
Jason McIntyre
And if they win that game, they would have been fourth in the West.
- [26:45]
Alex Curry
Yes.
- [26:45]
Jason McIntyre
Because they lost. They fell to eight. That's like kind of devastating and we do like a huge drop. I'm an Anthony Edwards fan.
- [26:51]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [26:52]
Jason McIntyre
Chris Finch, the great coach comes on this show. I like them. I think they're good. I think they're dangerous. I don't think you want to see Minnesota in the first round.
- [26:59]
Alex Curry
No, definitely.
- [27:00]
Jason McIntyre
Edwards could average 40 in the series.
- [27:02]
Alex Curry
Definitely not. But you also don't want to be in the play in like you want to do everything you can to like because anything can happen in the play in tournament. Like it's not.
- [27:09]
Jason McIntyre
And the worst part, Bucks not a gear enough game. Lillard.
- [27:12]
Alex Curry
No.
- [27:13]
Jason McIntyre
Like how do you do that?
- [27:15]
Alex Curry
Four point fourth quarter, complete meltdown.
- [27:17]
Jason McIntyre
That's a game you lose sleep over for sure.
- [27:19]
Alex Curry
Complete meltdown. And, and that's a momentum swing kind of a game. Like you hope that they need to rebound their next game. They need to come back. They play. They're at Grizzlies, then versus Nets, then versus Jazz or their last three games. And these are must win games. These last three.
- [27:35]
Jason McIntyre
So that's a lock. Yeah, but look at that. It looks like the Bucks went, the Bucks went zone there. I seem 2, 3 zone. And Minnesota had never seen a zone before.
- [27:44]
Alex Curry
They just, I guess they just absolutely destroyed them. Absolutely destroyed them. Like how do you, how do you get outscored 39 to 8 and blow a 24 point lead down the stretch in the fourth quarter when you. These are must win games for you?
- [28:00]
Jason McIntyre
Brutal.
- [28:01]
Alex Curry
Brutal. Well, let's close it out with LeBron James. Because Barbie and the LeBron James Family foundation have partnered up to release a brand new edition of the Ken dollar. Now, the doll is one inch taller than the standard Ken doll and outfitted like LeBron would be going to a game. And we've seen Super Venus Williams have their own Barbies. But LeBron is the first athlete to have his own version of the Ken doll. And I don't know if you saw his, the video that they posted. When he was seeing the Ken doll, he got so excited. It was so cute. You kind of saw like, the little kid LeBron come out, but it looks rad. Like, this is a sick game fit. Like, the attention to detail. The hat comes off too. He was, he was kind of like showing off the fit, taking off the hat yesterday. He's like a kid in a candy store. It's so cute.
- [28:51]
Jason McIntyre
Can you just imagine if they made a Barbie doll out of your image, Alex?
- [28:56]
Alex Curry
Cool.
- [28:57]
Jason McIntyre
That's. I can see why LeBron's excited. I mean, it's really. I, I don't know what you do with this. Do you gift a LeBron Barbie to kids? I, I don't.
- [29:04]
Alex Curry
Yeah. Are you kidding me?
- [29:05]
Jason McIntyre
That's so cool. As a, as a boy, I, I, I never was like a, I was like in the he man action figures.
- [29:11]
Alex Curry
Okay. But there's like, also, there's so many female sports fans. Like, this is a big thing. This is a fun thing I had, and people like having these things. Like, I had a bobblehead, and it's great. It's weird to see something of yourself, like, created into a figurine. But it's also iconic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fans love it. It's just another piece of memorabilia that they can add to the collection.
- [29:36]
Jason McIntyre
The people have like a LeBron wall at home with a jersey and all this. Yeah.
- [29:39]
Alex Curry
You've been hearing all the LeBron songs, right? He's having a trending firing moment right now.
- [29:45]
Jason McIntyre
Not a joke, my daughter. Are you guys going to talk about LeBron?
- [29:48]
Alex Curry
If I'm telling you he's having this whole, like, LeBron James song trend right now is like, skyrocketing him to the younger generation.
- [30:00]
Jason McIntyre
Big TikTok user.
- [30:02]
Alex Curry
I have it. I post. I don't scroll, so I, I limit myself.
- [30:06]
Jason McIntyre
That's it. I guess it started on Tick Tock, so I did. I'm on there. I like it.
- [30:11]
Alex Curry
But you're like, after a couple weeks, they always make it to Instagram.
- [30:14]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, exactly. Eventually I saw it.
- [30:17]
Alex Curry
You're in the group that like, you'll see it a couple weeks later.
- [30:20]
Jason McIntyre
He's.
- [30:21]
Alex Curry
It's great, though, but it's, it's like, I think it was Baylor's choir did an insane, insane performance. LeBron James song. It's beautiful. I'll show you during the break.
- [30:32]
Jason McIntyre
So Barbie dolls, LeBron. Ify. He, he's everywhere.
- [30:35]
Alex Curry
He's having a moment. He's having like a, he's having. Well, no, I'm just saying with the, with the social, like the social trend with the younger generation. He's, he's blowing up with the young, which is great. This is how you stay relevant. I love it. It's beautiful.
- [30:52]
Jason McIntyre
Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. Yesterday, the show was interrupted with massive seismic breaking news that Michael Malone was fired by the Denver Nuggets. Who knows what today will hold? However, coming up next, I am going to float the idea of a superstar in the NBA whose coach may have just gotten fired, possibly being traded. We'll talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.
- [31:24]
H
Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis, and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and Rich.
- [32:21]
Capital One Bank Guy
Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh, really? Thanks. Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank Capital One NA member.
- [32:48]
Uber Eats Guy
FDIC Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine?
- [33:08]
Jason McIntyre
No.
- [33:08]
Uber Eats Guy
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 Regency app for details.
- [33:21]
Jeremy Hobson
We live in a divided country.
- [33:23]
Jason McIntyre
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [33:25]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
- [33:27]
Alex Curry
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [33:29]
Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the v middle into the national conversation.
- [33:37]
Alex Curry
Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.
- [33:40]
Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [33:45]
Uber Eats Guy
Thanks for having me.
- [33:45]
Jeremy Hobson
Jeremy Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [33:47]
Jason McIntyre
Thanks for having me.
- [33:48]
Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
- [33:53]
Jason McIntyre
Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
- [33:57]
Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.
- [34:05]
Uber Eats Guy
We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.
- [34:13]
Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [34:19]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [34:49]
Alex Curry
Go Short Track Racing at Bristol. The pre race kicks things off at 1:30 Eastern, with the green flag flying at 3 Sunday on FS1.
- [35:00]
Jason McIntyre
So, obviously, yesterday's show was phenomenal. When Michael Malone got fired, the reactions were, I mean, just shock. Everyone around the league stunned. There were some early reports. Early in the season, I believe September, there was a report about some rumblings between the GM and the head coach in Denver not getting along. And then there was a story, I believe it was a November, that the Nuggets were essentially dealing with what the warriors had dealt with. Remember, the warriors had Steph Curry, Clay and Draymond. And then they were fortunate enough that when your Curry got hurt, they drafted James Wiseman, second overall. Then they got Jonathan Kuminga, and it's like, okay, we've got this old group, this core, and we want to blend it with this young group, right? And we have two timelines that we need to merge them together. And they tried like hell to make it happen, and it just never took. So they quickly move off. Wiseman, listen, LeBron has famously said, I don't want to play with young guys. You can't win with young guys. So he historically has moved off of them. The warriors realized it's incredibly difficult. They move off of wise men, end up getting Wiggins and get back to the title and win the championship. So the Denver Nuggets were kind of facing the same thing, except they weren't as old. And Michael Malone really, really does not like playing young guys. So they have a couple young dudes on the bench, and he just doesn't trust them, doesn't want to play them, and is grinding Jokic and Murray into dust. Apparently this season, Jamal Murray was playing a career high minutes. He got hurt again. Jokic is playing a career high minutes. So Malone just didn't want to work with the GM to play the young guys, and that fractured relationship kind of spilled out, and I guess the owner had enough. Here's Steve Kerr of the warriors on Michael Malone getting fired.
- [36:50]
I
I think one thing that's happened is most teams are now owned by billionaires, big corporations, and so we're all more expendable. There's so much money in the business now, and there's pluses and minuses to that. You know, we're all making bigger salaries than we were five years ago, but we're all much more vulnerable because I don't think a lot of the owners are that concerned with firing a guy and paying him off to go away. And again, it's. This is A business we, we chose and we all love it, but it's, you know, it's not the most stable profession.
- [37:34]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, coaching, I don't know, man, you gotta have a stomach for that. Your family's got to be up for moving all the time. It's incredibly difficult. We've seen three coaches in recent years win a title and less than two years later, they're gone. Frank Vogel, Malone, and then Budenholzer also got run, so it's unstable. Now this is where it gets interesting. Okay? If you look at the NFL model, you have the Kansas City Chiefs, their front office and Andy Reid work swimmingly together and have they're in lockstep in agreement. Hey, we got to move off Tyree Kill. Okay, we got to move off Tyree Kill. We'll adjust the offense. Hey, we want to add this guy, we want to move this guy. We want to become this kind of offense. We want to focus on this position. And Reid and the front office work great together. It has thrived the situation in Kansas City. And you look at the Philadelphia Eagles and Howie Roseman, they. You have to have a shared vision between coach and front office. It's a little difficult in the NBA because the shelf life for these coaches is so fast. And sometimes the GMs have a different vision. I saw a report that Calvin Boot, the GM who got fired, he hired a shooting coach, Mike Penberthy, who had previously been with the Lakers. And Michael Malone's reaction was, no, that's a coach. I hire the coaches. So it was like a weird power struggle. So you add, oh, let's get one more sound before I get to my point about potentially trading a star, folks. When the news broke, I was stunned on air. Alex was shocked. And we brought John Fanta in, the college basketball reporter who knows the NBA very well, to covers the draft. This was John Fanta's reaction to Michael Malone getting fired.
- [39:15]
J
What is going to change that severely by making this move? He's holding them back that much. Michael is beloved by a lot of people and a lot of the people that I talk to in the NBA, like, they really do like Michael. And we've seen him get a little bit sharp at times with the media and he could, he could certainly show a different angle to him where he can be a little bit, you know, prickly and, and going at people sometimes, but like, he's still a really, really good coach. This is nothing short to me. An ownership group who wakes up, gets a phone call or two and has a knee jerk reaction ahead of the postseason.
- [39:58]
Jason McIntyre
Interesting. So you, you put all that together, right? The Kerr comments, the Fanta comments, the ugly GM coach situation. And obviously everybody wants to draw the parallel, well, Jokic is going to be gone, and then you see gambling line surface. Oh, yes, this number to land with the Lakers as his next team. And my initial reaction was, that is stupid. I'm not going to entertain any of that nonsense. But, you know, as much as I like to think I know everything, we got an interesting group of guys in our morning meeting and they're like, helping me, you know, build a case and challenge me. And I got to be honest, I still don't think there's any chance Jokic gets run. However. We're in a weird era, guys. Luka Doncic just got traded a few months after leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals. They ran Luca out because he allegedly was like out of shape when he came back from the off season. What you think? Jokic is always in shape. I mean, he. I call him Doughy on this show jokingly. Some people don't like it on social media that's. He's not chiseled, he's not Shaq or Dwight Howard, but he doesn't have to be. He's probably a better overall player than both of them. Jokic is having a phenomenal season. Is there a world where Jokic says, hey, we had a good run. I like Coach McCarthy, Coach Malone, I don't like what you guys did. I'm out of here. Trade me. I'm not signing an extension. Get me out of here. Does that happen? It seems unlikely. However, the other one is as we watch a Jokic 90 foot shot go in. Aren't we going through this with Milwaukee and Giannis too. International player who we were told would never want to leave Milwaukee. He's a fine small market guy. Well, I don't know. Things got. Things quickly went south after they won the title. Then they had to reach and grab Dame. Lillard giving up Drew Holiday in the process. That initially looked like a bad move. And now all of a sudden the Bucks lose Dame to blood clots and it's like, are the Bucks going to be one and done? Could Giannis be on the move? And again, I know you're thinking, oh, no chance. Giannis, Jokic, Come on. I'll remind you, Luka just got shipped for ad. My man, Super Max Christie and a draft pick. It's not like they got this massive hole now. What would. What could you get for Jokic? Well, I don't know. I mean, let's say Michael Malone ends up going to the Knicks. Thibodeau gets fired. The Knicks hire Michael Malone. Does he push for Jokic to say, hey, ask out. We can get you. We'll give up. I don't know, Cat this, that, and the other in a pick. And we'll have a nucleus of Jokic, Brunson, and Bridges, whatever. Whatever the combo may be. But is there a world where Jokers leads? Now he's 30, Giannis turning 30. And they still are in their prime, no doubt. But as their teams go south after winning a title, I think you really got to ask yourself, I don't know, could both of them be on the move? Now, the team to watch, as I was going through here, is the Miami Heat, their coach and their gm. The front office are in lockstep, always. Spoelstra Riley, that group seems to be together. However, Jimmy Butler just forced his way out. That was because they didn't want to pay him, as opposed to organizational failure. But you look around the league and it's like that's kind of the way to go. Find a great coach, lock him up with the gm, shared vision, and go get superstars. Could Jokic be on the move? I don't know. It's a bit of a tough sell. All right, we could wrap up this hour by looking at the NFL and this Aaron Rodgers Pittsburgh Steelers situation. So I saw the. The news that the Steelers were going to be meeting with Shadur Sanders this week. Hmm. Two weeks to the draft. Let's kick the tires on Shadour Sanders, who allegedly is sliding, depending on who you want to believe, what mock draft UI into. And you're like, okay, Steelers drafting in the early 20s. Shador's not going to be there. He's not passing the Saints, right? I don't know. I just saw one of these pundits say Jackson Dart rated ahead of Shador. Jackson Dart could go to the Saints. At this point, you start to lose your mind. But where it gets interesting is the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers are still doing that dance. Do you want to come play with us? And I gotta be honest, guys, I don't know if Aaron Rodgers best move is to commit to the Steelers before the draft or after the pros. For before, hey, I'm your guy. I'm coming in. You no need to draft a quarterback. I'm your guy. I got you. That's one way to look at it from Roger's point of view. If you're the Steelers, sure, we'll rent Aaron Rodgers for a year, but we're also going to draft a quarterback. You see what the Falcons did last year? They paid Kirk Cousins. They ushered in the Kirk Cousins era. Kirk Cousins said, I'm happy to retire an Atlanta Falcon. Two months later, they go draft Michael Penix in the top 10. And Kirk Cousins is left like, wait, what. What just happened? And clearly it messed with his head. He was coming off an injury. Rogers coming off an injury as well. It was two years ago. And you start to wonder, like, no wonder Rodgers isn't committing. He just saw Kirk Cousins get totally shafted. Rogers for sure will wait until after the draft. Hey, Pittsburgh, if you take Shedeur, I ain't going there. What am I doing going there? So Pittsburgh is now kind of screwed. They have to make a decision. What do we do? Do we appease Aaron Rodgers? Do we become the third team in like, four years to try to appease Aaron Rodgers? What's the saying? When you try to make everybody happy, you make nobody happy. Folks, there's no way to make Aaron Rodgers happy. The Steelers cannot win here. The smart move would be move, move off Rodgers completely. Now, there is another line of thought that says Rogers isn't really waiting for the Steelers and the draft. He's waiting to see, hey, man, is there a. A franchise with like, a maybe a good quarterback who gets hurt? I mean, if Brock Purdy, who's had a couple shoulder issues, goes down, you don't think Aaron Rodgers would crawl on his hands and knees to play for Shanahan? I think that happens in a heartbeat. You don't think Rogers is potentially waiting for another good starter to get hurt somewhere so he could go in? I don't know. J.J. mcCarthy, who's coming off two surgeries. There's good coaches and good teams that Rogers could pivot to later in the off season, but in the meantime, he's got. He's left in, like, a holding pattern. What do I do? Do I jump at the Steelers? Do I wait? I don't know. It's a. It's a really interesting dance. And frankly, I don't think Shedeur Sanders falls all the way down to the Steelers. But the most interesting take I heard on Shador and Rogers was, what if Cleveland takes Travis Hunter 2 and Cleveland also has the 33rd pick? Could they package the 33rd pick and something else to move up to? I don't know, 14, 15, maybe even 8 to get ahead of the Saints and then draft Shedeur. So the Browns then bring in Travis Hunter and Shador Sanders. That could Be in play. That's super spicy. If you're Cleveland, you. You've totally forgotten about the DeSean Watson era. That's beyond you. You're way past that. If you get a new quarterback and Travis Hunter. So again, we're about 15 days. No, I think it's less than that. 15 days to the draft. No. Yeah. Two weeks from now, and there's still a lot of uncertainty, which is good. Good for ratings, good for interest, good for speculation. I mean, Shador's gap now we're looking at he could go two to the Browns. Well, I'm looking at that. A lot of people say no way. And then could he fall to 21 in that range. Like that is a massive range of outcomes for Shador Sanders. But yeah. Alex, we're within two weeks to the draft. Almost two weeks. Fifteen days. Yeah. And I like all these rumors and speculation. I love this.
- [48:11]
Alex Curry
I think it's great.
- [48:12]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [48:12]
Alex Curry
I think it's because, again, you have no idea what these teams are thinking, and they don't even know what's going to happen because it's all going to determine the draft pick in front of them could reset and mess up their entire strategy. So it's. I'm excited to see where Shador goes.
- [48:26]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [48:26]
Alex Curry
But like, Steelers wouldn't be a bad place.
- [48:28]
Jason McIntyre
Not bad at all.
- [48:29]
Alex Curry
That would be a great place for him.
- [48:31]
Jason McIntyre
Coming up next, four absolute locks for the NFL season win totals. That's next.
- [48:37]
Uber Eats Guy
Spring is here, and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan. Sorry, nope. But 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 Regency app. For details.
- [49:07]
Jeremy Hobson
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. One item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the IHEARTRADIO app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [49:38]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.