THE HERD - Hour 1 - Luka Doncic's injury, Final 4 games this weekend are going to be great

Summary

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THE HERD with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1

Episode Theme: Luka Doncic's Injury Impact, MVP Race Shake-Up, and a Loaded Final Four Weekend

Date: April 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this dynamic episode, Colin Cowherd—joined by Rachel Nichols—dives into the night’s headline NBA matchups, most notably Luka Doncic’s injury and its ripple effects through the tight MVP race. The discussion moves from the Lakers’ humbling defeat at the hands of Oklahoma City to deep analysis of the NBA’s changing power structure and the stacked NCAA Final Four. Thoughtful social commentary, debates about NBA award eligibility, and NFL draft speculation round out an episode packed with top-tier sports talk.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Luka Doncic’s Injury and the Lakers’ Collapse

• Luka’s Injury Impacts the MVP Race
  • Luka left the game with a soft tissue injury, knocking him out of MVP contention. Colin speculates he’ll miss two weeks and notes the heavy minutes and usage rate contributed to his breakdown.
  • “Now Luka is going to have an MRI, he's out of the MVP race, he won’t qualify. Doubt he plays for two weeks.” — Colin Cowherd (02:14)
• Thunder Dominate Lakers
  • OKC led by 30 at half, exposing the Lakers’ major deficiencies, with Austin Reaves and Luka targeted defensively.
  • “Sometimes it’s hard to tell a fake Louis Vuitton bag from a real one until they’re next to each other... Once a team wins a championship like the Thunder last year, they don’t care as much about the regular season. But here’s what the Thunder care about: humbling the Lakers and going after Luka to get SGA the MVP.” — Colin Cowherd (01:45)
• LeBron’s Ineffectiveness
  • LeBron was a non-factor (minus-37), further fueling criticism about the Lakers’ viability as title contenders.

Notable Quote

“Austin Reaves got hunted first possession on and, and Luka limped off. So let’s stop thinking the Lakers are a championship team.” — Colin Cowherd (02:55)

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2. NBA MVP Race & League Structure

• MVP Race Now Between Wemby and SGA
  • Rachel Nichols, holding an MVP vote, confirms the race is between Victor Wembanyama (Wemby) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) with Luka likely out.
  • “Is Luka catching up to SGA in the MVP race? And this was a way for them to show, oh, he’s not all that.” — Rachel Nichols (10:57)
• Strict 65-Game Minimum Reshapes Award Races
  • Top stars (Anthony Edwards, Steph Curry, LeBron, Giannis, Tatum) now ineligible for All-NBA teams and MVP due to missed games.
  • Rachel calls the rule “a bad rule” and points out the negative impact on league history.
  • “It’ll almost be like these guys didn’t exist. I mean, I’ve been a long proponent: this is a bad rule.” — Rachel Nichols (24:22)
• Debate: Was the Rule About Fans or TV?
  • Colin argues the rule was for fans missing out due to load management.
  • Rachel is more cynical, suggesting it was to placate TV networks with big money contracts.
  • “I’m going to be more cynical… they were less concerned about that fan and more concerned about the TV networks...” — Rachel Nichols (26:01)

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3. The New Faces of the NBA

• Passing the Torch: Wemby & SGA
  • Colin declares 2026 the clear year that LeBron, Steph, and KD give way to Wemby, SGA, and (to a lesser extent) Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum.
  • Steve Kerr heaps praise on Wemby, likening his dominance to transformational players like Steph, LeBron, and Magic.
    • “There’s plays where you can’t do anything about it; several lobs where it looked like a Nerf hoop, just catching it and dropping it right in.” — Steve Kerr (16:28)
• Wemby’s Unique Impact
  • Wemby is averaging 29 points a game, and Colin can’t wait to see his playoff minutes and production.
  • Comparison to how past generational talents (Bird, Magic, LeBron) redefined positional roles.

Notable Quote

“Wemby and the Spurs’ offense is the only franchise using a microwave. Everybody’s still preheating their oven.” — Colin Cowherd (16:45)

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4. NCAA Final Four: One of the Best Ever?

• Stacked Matchups and NIL Era Parity
  • Saturday’s Final Four: Arizona, Michigan, UConn, Illinois—Colin calls it “the most stacked Final Four I ever remember.”
  • Notes 10 likely NBA draftees among these teams.
  • Dispels the NIL myth that only wealthy programs dominate—UConn is the only repeat in four years; smaller schools like Iowa and Indiana have thrived.

Notable Quote

“I like dunking. I like length, size, quickness, skill. Arizona jumps off the television... This college basketball is not [like the NBA]—it’s not homogenous. It’s repetitive [there], but here, it isn’t.” — Colin Cowherd (06:05)

• UConn’s Mentality
  • Huskies’ coach Dan Hurley: “At UConn… we’re about rings and banners… you don’t get rings for getting to the Final Four. You get a watch.” (08:35)

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5. NFL Hot Topics: Hurts’ Future & Draft Preview

• Jalen Hurts & Eagles Drama
  • John Middelkoff speculates Philadelphia’s frustration might mean Hurts is on the hot seat.
    • “It’s on, man. Either shape up or you shape out… We will not hesitate.” — John Middelkoff (21:16)
  • Rachel underscores 2026 as a “make or break season” due to contract structure and a new offensive coordinator.
• Cowboys Draft Strategy
  • Brian Schottenheimer says Cowboys are open to best player, offense or defense—Colin and Rachel don’t buy it: both expect them to go heavy on defense.
    • “They had the worst defensive sort of performance that they have had in the history of the franchise… I think they are absolutely going to go defense with these first two picks.” — Rachel Nichols (29:06)
• QB Contracts and Team Building
  • Colin reiterates his rules: don’t overpay non-QBs, where your QB lands is critical, and the danger of superstars on defense not translating to playoff wins.

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6. The Changing College Football Landscape

• Should Conference Championships Be Eliminated?
  • Alabama AD Greg Byrne, despite his school’s success, advocates abolishing conference title games—Colin agrees.
  • Reasons: too many games, player safety, and awkward playoff calendar.
  • Lane Kiffin, conversely, sees strategic value in fighting for a bye.

Notable Quote

“Texas A&M, their last regular season game last year was November 28th. Their first playoff game was December 20th. That’s ridiculous. … You’re not getting quality football there.” — Colin Cowherd (40:47)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:45 – Colin’s analogy: Lakers exposed as “fake Louis Vuitton bag”
• 03:00 – Lakers blown out, Luka limps off; MVP race significance
• 05:03 – Luka’s stats vs OKC; defensive mismatch
• 08:35 – UConn’s Dan Hurley: “We’re about rings and banners”
• 10:57 – Rachel: Thunder’s win as a statement in MVP race
• 16:08 – Steve Kerr on Wemby: “Unbelievable confidence… like a Nerf hoop”
• 21:16 – John Middelkoff on Jalen Hurts & Philly’s message
• 24:20–26:10 – Rachel & Colin debate 65-game awards rule
• 29:06 – Rachel: “They are absolutely going to go defense with these first two picks.”
• 34:45 – Colin: “Luka limping off… eliminates himself from the MVP race.”
• 37:25 – Adam Silver on 65-game rule: “We always knew… somebody’s going to fall on the other side of that line.”
• 40:16 – Lane Kiffin on conference championships’ risk/reward

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Memorable Moments / Quotes

• “Wemby and the Spurs’ offense is the only franchise using a microwave. Everybody’s still preheating their oven.” — Colin Cowherd (16:45)
• “Luka, limping off the floor last night, probably eliminates himself in terms of the MVP race because there’s about 10 days left in the regular season.” — Colin Cowherd (34:45)
• “It’ll almost be like these guys didn’t exist. I mean, I’ve been a long proponent: this is a bad rule.” — Rachel Nichols on the 65-game award minimum (24:22)
• “We’re about rings and banners… you don’t get rings for getting to the Final Four. You get a watch.” — Dan Hurley (08:35)
• “Is Luka catching up to SGA in the MVP race? And this was a way for them to show, oh, he’s not all that.” — Rachel Nichols (10:57)

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Tone & Conclusion

The episode balances sharp analysis with the show’s signature snappy wit and healthy skepticism. Colin and Rachel move fluidly between basketball, football, and social commentary, always with a willingness to question conventional wisdom—whether on award rules, NIL “fearmongering,” or the authenticity of championship contenders. For listeners, it’s a lively, no-nonsense journey through the week’s defining sports narratives.

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Transcript

[Rachel Nichols]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Colin Cowherd]

Guaranteed Human 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 [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started.

[Rob Parker]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[Colin Cowherd]

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

[Rachel Nichols (guest or co-host)]

Well, I mean it's never a time to get comfortable in this league. Only thing we do know is that we won't be in the playoff. So the play in. So we have that week. But I mean health is wealth. I mean obviously and like I said, we have. We're already out with Marcus right now and now Luca. We don't know what the timetable is obviously, but we'll see what happens.

[Colin Cowherd]

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

[Dan Hurley]

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

[Colin Cowherd]

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

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Didn't it feel like that to you?

[Rachel Nichols]

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

[Colin Cowherd]

Good stuff. So we've been waiting in the NBA for the baton to be passed or taken from LeBron, Steph and KD. You watched last night and the last week and it's official and we'll talk about that next. We're live in Chicago. She's live in la. It's the Hurt.

[Rob Parker]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app hey, it's me, Rob Parker.

Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest mix names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Rob Parker]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[John Middelkoff]

Zach.

[Rob Parker]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Really? How's this?

[Rob Parker]

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[Brian Schottenheimer]

No.

[Rob Parker]

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[Colin Cowherd]

How can I go any further faster?

[Rob Parker]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Hey, whoa, whoa. That's too fast.

[Rob Parker]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Get on the fast track. T Mobile now has the fastest 5G home Internet. And for a limited time, it starts at just 30 bucks a month with autopay and a voice line, plus a five year price guarantee plus taxes and fees. Fastest according to Ooklo Speed test intelligence data. Second Half 2025 all rights reserved. Guarantee for monthly price of 5G Internet data on eligible plans. Find exclusions and details@t mobile.com you know, for about 15 years, Brady Brees, Peyton Manning and Big Ben kind of drove the NFL. And then it quickly became Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson. And the ratings didn't dip because the NFL is more like the James Bond series. It doesn't really necessarily matter who plays James Bond, but it, but it does matter in the NBA who the star is. And this is something that we've, you know, waxed on and on about this before is how much can you ask of LeBron and Steph and KD, maybe to a lesser role to carry the league. It is official. 2026 is the year the baton was taken. I love Kevin Durant, but The Rockets won 51 games last year and yeah, or 52 last year. They're going to win about the same this year with KD. He's had no real impact and LeBron took seven shots last night even with Luka being hurt and Steph's been hurt almost all season. LeBron, Stephen and KD. The new faces of the league are WEMBY and SGA. A little time, a little bit reluctant Ant Edwards, he's a little reluctant. Jayson Tatum, somewhere around there. But I thought it was very interesting. Steve Kerr said something this week after facing Wemby. And this is the way people talked about, like Steph seven years ago, eight years ago. It's the way people talked about, like LeBron eight or nine years ago is there's just nothing we can do. And here was Kerr talking about, in my opinion, kind of the new face of the league. Wemby.

[Steve Kerr]

I just think he's, he's got unbelievable confidence now. You know, he just looks like he knows exactly what to do at both ends all the time. Whereas I thought his, you know, first couple of years he looked young at times. He doesn't look young anymore. He just looks like he knows exactly what he's doing, obviously dominated the glass. You know, I thought Draymond did a really good job on him defensively. And then there's plays where you can't do anything about it. You know, several lobs where it looked like a Nerf hoop, you know, just catching it and dropping it right in.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, Draymond Green, he said, played very well against him and had four fouls in the first half. And Wemby had 21 points and 12 rebounds with 8 minutes and 30 seconds left in the second quarter. I said this yesterday. Wemby and the spurs offense is the only franchise using a microwave. Everybody's still preheating their oven. They just do stuff more quickly. And what's going to be fascinating with Wemby is you would be fairly certain, I think, to suggest that Wemby will play more minutes in the playoffs if necessary. San Antonio knows they're really good. What have they won? 26 to 27. They know they're really good. They know they have. They call them in the league the alien. Defensively, he's doing all this average in 29 a game. What happens when it goes to 37? Like, so for people that don't vote WEMBY the MVP, and I know it's a regular season award, but, I mean, he's playing and kind of one leg of the barstool minutes is not really part of it. Like, they're. They're. They're. They're just saying, hey, man, we're not going to give you all the minutes here. We know what we have. Whereas SGA or A LUCA are much more offensively vital to overall winning, but especially the offensive part of the ball. Okay? San Antonio, they have enough young talent now. They can get 21 out of WEMBY. They're good. They can still win by 13 because they are so dominant defensively. But I think what's really going to be fascinating is that Wemby's doing this with 29 minutes a game. This is going to be the first time we see him in the postseason playing, and the first time he's playing 35, 36 minutes a game. I'm fascinated to see what the production's like, because when you got Steve Kerr saying it looks like a Nerf hoop, you go back nine, ten years. I remember the first time Jack McCollum wrote the article for Sports Illustrated, when Larry Bird came into the league. Larry Bird. And I remember one of the lines. There's never been anybody like Bird. And you're thinking, well, what Larry was the Best shooter in the league. And he was a, he was a six, nine forward. You know, in the 60s and 70s and the 80s, mostly your shooters were like the number two guy. You had a dominant center and then they called it a shooting guard. And then you had a power forward. And it wasn't because he was using power tools. He was a tough guy that couldn't shoot. And then Larry walked in and he's six, nine, runs the floor, best passer in the league, not named Magic and the best shooter in the league. And it was like, oh, that we, we've never seen that. Magic Johnson, six eight and a half point guard, but we'd never seen anything. I've told the story about LeBron James. The first time Mike Krzyzewski saw him play as part of Team usa and there was a loose ball at half court and you know, Krzyzewski sitting there kind of on the bench at half court. And LeBron flies into the picture, grabs the ball, takes one dribble from half court and finishes at the rim. He's like, what in the world? I just watched. What is that? And that's what the best. That's the story I heard relayed to me. Is that the greatest players ever. I mean Caitlin CLARK in the WNBA, it's like, is that a 30 footer? What is that? They're really all time great players. There had never been a Dr. J. You can look at Dr. J's highlights today. Go to YouTube and look up Dr. J's highlight reel. There's nobody that plays like that today. Wilt, Kareem, Magic, Wemby's in that class where you're hearing people say, I've just never seen that. So that to me the new face of the NBA KD, Steph and LeBron certainly carried their weight for 15 years. Tip of the cap to all three absolute legends. Rachel with the news. No, no, no, turn on the news.

[Rob Parker]

This is the Herd line news.

[Rachel Nichols]

Love the Nerf hoop because you know Steph Curry stretched the court and now Victor Wembanyama is like shrinking down the basket. It's great. All right, let's go to the NFL column because Jalen hurts getting even more heat right now. Remember earlier this week a big story came out suggesting mounting frustration with the over Hertz's coachability issues. Well now former Eagles scout our guy John Middelkoff believes that this issue could potentially lead Philly shipping him out of town. Take a listen.

[John Middelkoff]

I think the Eagles are doing this as like it's on, man. Either shape up or you shape out. Here's the thing about Jalen hurts. He's not like a bad guy. He's always in shape.

[Colin Cowherd]

He works hard.

[John Middelkoff]

He's extremely serious. But as you could see in there, quarterback is a very nuanced situation. I think they're putting this out there because they want it to be known. Like, this is not going to be tolerated anymore. I know you're making a lot of money, but you've seen before we got rid of a guy to put you in there. If you don't think we will do this again, you're dealing with the wrong people. Because we will not hesitate.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, Rachel, we say on this show, and John nails this stuff gets out when people want it out. You're a reporter.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. You've had more than a few people share things, and you probably walked away and went, oh, they want that out.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yep.

[Colin Cowherd]

You didn't have to dig too hard.

[Rachel Nichols]

Nope.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think this is the classic. Philadelphia just wants it known we're all on the clock here. We're all on the clock.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, it's interesting, right, because Lurie has come out since all this, you know, sort of bubbled and been like, you know, we support him, but actions over words. Next season is the only fully guaranteed season on Jalen's contract, and they are not extending him this off season. That's all the reporting. So that tells you. I mean, do you think the Eagles should consider moving off him?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I think, again, I think you just. I think a lot of times in the NFL, there's some certainties. We know Herbert's great. We know Burrow's great, Know Josh, Lamar Mahomes. There's guys we know. I mean, I think Fernando Mendoza, after this year, you're going to go, wow, that's what. That's what a franchise guy looks like. And then there's guys like, you know, you go back and forth. Sam Darnold, is this real? I'm not C.J. stroud. I thought he was great. Maybe he's not. Jalen hurts. Then I think there's got Baker Mayfield. How good is he? Is he. Is he coordinator dependent? I think we have. At any one time in my life, I've always felt like there's about four, five quarterbacks that everybody just knows. You don't even take a. You wouldn't even pick up a call, a phone call if you were gm. You wouldn't even pick the phone up. Right. And there's another five guys that you would never call another gm. But if somebody called you and Asked a, you know, would you consider? And I, I think that's the situation. And then there's 15 quarterbacks. You would make a call to see if you could move them. I don't think Jalen's there yet because he's had too much postseason success.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, I mean, it's interesting, Rafe, because you got a new OC coming in there this season and he's going to be asked to be more flexible than he has had to be in the last couple seasons. And that's the criticism of him. And all these stories that are coming out is he's not flexible. So I think it is a make or break season for him in Philadelphia. We'll have to see. I want to get back to the NBA and what you guys were talking about a little earlier with Anthony Edwards. He missed last night's game with illness and he's also nursing that right knee injury. What's notable about that is him sitting out now makes this official. Colin. He will not meet the league's 65 game threshold for NBA awards. And I want you to look at the list of other superstars who are now also not going to meet this threshold. It is crazy. It is Anthony Edwards. It is Steph Curry. It is LeBron James. It is Giannis. It is Kate Cunningham. It is of course Jayson Tatum. And it's not just that they're not qualified for mvp. They can't even be on like three third team, all NBA. So when we tell the official story of this season, it'll almost be like these guys didn't exist. I don't, I mean, I've been a long proponent. This is a bad rule. What do you think?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, they, it, it was initiated because of load management. So I think the heart was in the right place for the league to say, hey, because I, because I think the biggest problem in the league is not tanking. I think it's load management and repetition of offense, repetitive three point shooting. I don't, I think tanking is unavoidable. And if, if, I mean there. People are doing it because they have. They don't want to do that. They have to because there's no other. Acquire great players and make trades. Nobody wants to tank. So, you know, I think even the constitution's been amended, as they say. My take is you look at it and you say, okay, should we go to 67 games? Should we go to 68 games? Should we have a Cade Cunningham rule? I mean, for years there was a Larry Bird exception. Remember that?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, of course.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. What about a Cade Cunningham rule, which

[Rachel Nichols]

is you go down, right, to like 60 games or something.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, there's nothing you can do. But I do think this was created because a lot of players for several years just didn't, you know, at 445, decided, hey, Ty Lue, I just don't. I'm not into it. So it wasn't like the NBA went after the players. What they did, they tried to protect the fans, which, listen, I grew up in a small town. I went to one NBA game a year. If I had gone to a Sonics game and downtown Freddie Brown and Jack Sigma had just decided, I just don't want to play. I'm sorry. There's a lot of fans like that in Milwaukee that go to one game a year. And so I think the NBA had the heart and the mind in the right spot for the right reasons.

[Rachel Nichols]

Anyway, I'm going to be more cynical about this and say they were less concerned about that fan and more concerned about the TV networks who were complaining to them about cutting the contract money if these guys didn't show up on big Saturday night games. I agree with you that load management was and still remains a huge. I just don't think this was the solve. If you were going to address load management, attaching it randomly to the awards, it just was completely random out of the air. It's almost like we're going to try to bribe guys to play more. It doesn't work with NBA professional players. And frankly, I will say this over and over about tanking and player participation and everything else. If the owners actually wanted to stop these things, they would walk downstairs to their GM's office and say, don't do this anymore. Having to have all these complicated rules that impact players and fans doesn't make sense to me when you could just say we're not doing this anymore in our own house. But they're not willing to do that because they all want to win and have rested players. So there you go. All right, let's go back to the NFL where the draft is just 20 days away, which is unbelievable. The cot boys hold. Of course, we know 12th pick, 20th overall picks, and they have, let's just put it mildly, Colin. They've got some defensive holes to plug, but Brian Schottenheimer, very interestingly, not ruling out taking an offensive player with one of those top two picks. Listen to this.

[Brian Schottenheimer]

What I love about the draft, this whole process, is the unpredictability of it. You know, I really do feel like we've set ourselves up to take the best player available. We've got ourselves in a position, we can make some moves and move back, move up, do what we have to do. But if the best player on the board is clearly an offensive player, then we'll certainly discuss that and more than likely knowing Jerry, pull the trigger.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, there's one number one wide receiver. They don't need that. Okay. And there is one true offensive tackle, Fano from Utah. The Miami players could be interior better than tackle. So I mean the truth about the offensive draft, Love is a great player. Carnell Tate's a great player. Fano, the right tackle is going to be a great player. But it's, it's a lot of this draft. At the top of the Cowboys first pick are defensive players. Couple of corners, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles. You look at these top picks, take out Fernando Mendoza, most of the players outside of like a Love or a Carnell Tate, the best eight, nine players, they're all defensive guys. So Dallas can say what they want about take whoever. My rule in the NFL draft has always been unless you're like the Raiders need a quarterback and there's a really good one, you should always try to trade down like the New York Giants. To me, I'm seeing all these mock drafts. The Giants have like, they're pretty good, they have a pretty good roster. They have their quarterback, they have their left tackle, they have their back. They have a good D line. They have about four guys to get. The Giants to me are the classic trade down, get another third round pick, solve all your issues in the first three to four rounds. I think Dallas knows in the building, Rachel, they need, they need inexpensive, preferably secondary help.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, I mean, look, first of all, I never believe anything anyone says leading up to a draft because it's all smoke. Right. They had the worst defensive sort of performance that they have had in the history of the franchise last year and that is a serious franchise. They know who they need to go get and there's a little bit of like, hey, we got Ceedee Lamb when we didn't expect him to and we were going to draft a defensive player then and Ceedee was available and look how well that turned out. But I just don't buy it. I'm sorry. I think they are absolutely going to go defense with these first two picks. I just don't see it any going any other way.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good stuff. Rachel with the news.

[Rob Parker]

Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I've said this before, Mike Sando does a great job. He works at the other place and he does these deep dives and he does these tiers. And recently he talked to NFL executives anonymously. And it was so funny when I came in this morning for the prep. We had all these Mike Sando stories and I swear to God we have a leak. Either either NFL executives watch our show or we have a leak on the staff. Because I feel like this has been part of our prep work. One of the Mike Sando anonymous exec said Dak Prescott's making 60 million. He doesn't have a Super Bowl. Sam Darnold's got one at 33 and a half. That feels like one of my rants. Another Mike Sando NFL exec said about the Niners. Why are they always hurt? Because you signed hurt players. That's what I said about Mike Evans. I love Mike Evans. He's old and gets dinged up about Minnesota. Minnesota improved. I like what they did with Kyler Murray. How could you not exactly. And finally about the Detroit Lions. Good team. Biggest questions remain on their coaching staff. That's what we've said. When Ben Johnson left, you lost an all timer. There are parts of the NFL. All these stories from Sandow are a reminder that there are parts of the NFL that are very complicated. I still can't quite figure out compensatory picks, the salary cap. You need a capologist and I can guarantee a Ben Johnson and Sean Payton's playbooks are complicated. And then there are two or three things that are not only simple, they're proven. And yet people make mistakes. Number one is if your quarterback takes every dollar that he can get, you're not going to get to the Super Bowl. Josh Allen. They don't have a Pro Bowler on defense. Mahomes o line run game non existent. Okay. That's the first thing. The second thing is where a quarterback lands Kyler Murray now to a great offensive coach matters. I like Kyler Murray more than everybody else. I don't think anybody can succeed right now in Arizona. I love Sam Darnold, but it was the jets where your quarterback. You ever notice that almost everybody with Kyle Shanahan last guy picked Brock Purdy looks like a Pro Bowler. And the number three thing in the NFL that is absolutely true and time tested is pay really really big money outside of quarterback where you got to pay some big money pay really big money to other positions very infrequently. Think how dominant TJ Watt is. TJ Watt is an unbelievable first ballot hall of Famer do you know what his playoff record is? 0 and five with one sack. Miles Garrett can't get to the playoffs. Micah Parsons 1 and 3 in the playoffs with a single sack. And those are hall of Fame level players. Pay your quarterback, hopefully you get a reasonably team friendly deal. Seahawks, I would pay the left tackle after that, even with great edge rushers. Be careful, be very, very careful. I mean the Browns are a tire fire and Miles Garrett is probably second to Lawrence Taylor ever at that position. I mean he's on a short list. I mean Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald. Miles Garrett's on a short list of one of the best defensive guys up front I've ever seen. I mean he's that good. So it's just interesting when you listen to these execs talk. I'll really push back on the people that don't think Kyler Murray's not going to work. Minnesot I don't think he's going to be as good as Sam Darnold because I always love Sam Darnold. Sam's bigger, he's got a stronger arm. You know me, trunky, thick, big guy, can take the hits. But I think Kyler Murray is a really, really special player. I really do. I don't. He's, he's a more elusive version. I thought of Russell Wilson and Russell in his prime was money. Say what you want, he was money. Okay, coming up next, the Alabama athletic director is like, yeah, let's get rid of conference championship games. And Alabama's dominated it. They've got more than more wins than anybody. And he's saying get rid of it. And another thought on Luka and that injury last night that's coming up.

[Rob Parker]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9:00am Pacific.

[Rachel Nichols]

You know, Saturday night is baseball night on Fox. This week we've got Pete Crowe, Armstrong and the Cubs versus Jose Ramirez and the Guardians or Ronald Acuna Jr. And the Braves against the Dining backs. Baseball night In America tomorrow, 7 o' clock Eastern only on Fox.

[Colin Cowherd]

So Rachel has an MVP vote. I would give it to Wimby 1 SGA 2 Luka 3 but Luca limping off the floor last night probably eliminates himself in terms of the MVP race because there's about 10 days left in the regular season. But I want to say this, my take on Luca is I don't feel like not giving it to Luca would be like not giving it to MJ or LeBron. In their prime they were great defensive players. They were on dominant teams. Remember this this Laker team with Luka is 1 in 10 this year against top 4 teams. SJ and Wemby just play on better teams and that matters. Everything matters. Another thing is Luca missed a game because of the technicals like that. That's another thing. His behavior doesn't feel like most valuable. Sometimes he's the most toxic. The other thing is he's an absolute defensive liability. You saw it again last night where people go after him. Nobody went after MJ and LeBron in their prime. I remember LeBron shutting down tiny Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose was the MVP. LeBron's like, I'll guard him. I mean, can you imagine Luca saying all guard Giannis and shut him down? Like, this is not lebron in his prime or MJ in his prime and not getting the mvp. Wemby, I think is on both sides of the floor is just different. I think SGA at least puts in an effort defensively, does help the rest of his roster. A stack defensively. I'm not going to deny that. But I think the quality. And there's no dispute that Luca does help the Lakers. If you go look at net rating, Lakers are plus four with him, minus four without him. He's an eight point swing. He gives up a lot in the defensive end, but he's profound and prodigious on the offensive end. So nobody denies that he is in the running for mvp. He's also already been given his supermax contract, so he's been paid. It's all good. But I just, when I look at it, I always said coming into the league, he's a better Carmelo Anthony. I'm not sure if he's in great shape. And forget about defense. Carmelo is a guy I would have never voted mvp. And people say, well, Luke is a great scorer. Yes. And he'll win the scoring title. And that goes in the record books. So there is a signature. There is. That's historic. If you win the scoring title, if he wins six more, they'll all be in the record books. That's not. That doesn't classify as an award, but the award is about the number of games you play. And Adam Silver, when he came in with that 65 game template, that rule, he knew it would be trouble.

[Adam Silver]

We always knew when there's a line you draw that somebody's going to fall on the other side of that line. And it may feel unfair in that particular instance. You know, let's. Let's see what happens at the end of this year. But having said that, you know, we also have to remember that to the extent that one player is no longer eligible, some other player will then be all NBA and will slot into that spot. So I'm not ready to standing here saying, I don't think it's working. I think it is working.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen, when mom and dad make rules, the kids always make excuses when they break them. No snacks before dinner. And then you see them handing the cookie jar, grabbing the peanut butter cookie, and they're like, well, mom just made them. And they're fresh. And I could smell it when I was doing my homework upstairs. And then Uncle Colin has to come in and go, rules are rules. So listen, you knew this was going to be a little problematic. You knew. It's, you know, it was somebody like Cade Cunningham who I really feel bad for. But in this instance, you kind of knew going in, you set rules, and some guys weren't going to be able to get past that threshold. Okay, this is interesting. So for a long in the history of the sec, Alabama's won more SEC championships, mostly with Nick Saban. But their athletic director, Greg Burns, smart guy, comes out and says, the ship has sailed. It's time to move on from the SEC championship. This isn't another ad. This is the guy that wins the most of them. And he's like, yeah, ship has sailed. And I totally agree for obvious reasons. First of all, with a college football playoff now, Miami and Indiana played 16 games last year, guys, that's an NFL schedule. Sixteen games now for the teams to get to the championship. In my perfect world, you'd get one at a conference game, then go immediately into conference play, start the playoff earlier, not in the middle of the NFL playoffs. People have said, how come the college football playoffs don't get a little better ratings? Because they're right in the middle of the NFL playoffs. And I think conference championships are outdated. I think players could get hurt. The sport used to end with bowl games, and sometimes the SEC championship felt like the national championship. It doesn't anymore. With nil, the playoff gives you some strange outcomes. I mean, Oregon beats Ohio State, then Ohio State destroys them the next time they play. The other thing I don't like about conference championships, it may not happen much, but there's a possibility you would have a team playing another team for a third time. I don't want that either. Now, Lane Kiffin's a coach, not an athletic director, but he says he kind of likes the conference championship.

[Lane Kiffin]

The conference championship, you know, could have a big impact both ways for people. So I've Talked to other coaches. So I'll just kind of give you the feeling from some other coaches that, you know, they don't want to be in it. You know, the risk to get a buy. Sorry, the reward to get a buy versus the risk to get knocked out completely. I mean that's a pretty big. That's a really big risk just to get a buy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I would argue the opposite. The inverse could be true. Or somebody. You could cannibalize your own conference. Right. Here's something though that I think everybody, Lane Kiffin, Greg Byrne, you, the fans, we would all agree on. Texas A and M, their last regular season game last year was November 28th. Their first playoff game was December 20th. That's ridiculous. Okay, that is insane. My way one at a conference game, play who you want. Get into conference play. Start that puppy right after conference play is over. Vote on your 12 teams. I don't care if you expand it to 14. Right. If the conference championship isn't played well, Colin, that one team could have maybe got. Okay, expanded to 14 or 16. I think 12 is fine. I'm okay with 14. But the ridiculous nature of it that Texas A and M had to wait almost a month to go from the regular season to the playoff game. You're not getting quality football there. I mean, in the NFL we know this to be true, that buys don't necessarily help performance. You would think that a team, the NFL now, AFC gets one, NFC gets one. You would think a great team with a buy would always look fresh. And they don't. In the NFL, professional football players get a week off. And sometimes like the Seattle Seahawks, a young football team, you know, they won the Super Bowl. But an older team like the Eagles maybe kind of old in spots. They could take a buy. They need a buy. Younger teams, they don't want to buy. They're on fire. So I college again. College football has made. Between the nil and the College Football Playoff, there have been a series of like revolutionary sport altering moves and we're all, you know, it's in flux to some degree. But I think conference championship. The thing that bothers me more is these are college athletes. Football is getting older. College football is getting older. Guys are staying in. That means they're older and stronger. So college football now has older, stronger players. That means the hits are more punitive, the collisions are more harsh. And you're asking them to play more games. That doesn't make sense to me. I want a national championship where the kids are healthy, they're going to play a great game. We all get to benefit from it. Then they go on play in the NFL and have long, productive careers. I don't want to.

[Rachel Nichols]

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